Crafting – Page 4 – Pure Sugar

best headband ever

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Carol — 5 Comments ↓

I am showing my Massachusetts roots when I say this: It’s been wicked freaking hot out. I am not a big fan of humidity, especially with my long hair. Normally, I would throw it back into a ponytail, or twist it into a bun. However, my daughter freaks out when my hair is up for some reason.

As long as my hair is down in back, she’s happy. But the minute I put it up, Laura furrow her little two-year-old eyebrows and says, “Mommy fix hair! Mommy fix hair!” She says it over and over until I take out the twisty pins or elastic. And with temperatures in the 90s and bangs that are growing out and hair halfway down my back, I need to keep it away from my eyes and behind my ears at the very least. So I needed another solution: headbands. Pinterest to the rescue! I found several great (free!) tutorials to make cute headbands and first decided to sew up a few using this tutorial from Happy Together.

This is a great project for all those fat quarters one tends to buy just because one likes the pattern. 😉 They are quick and easy to make and stay in your hair very well. I’ve been wearing mine constantly! I even got brave and decided to model one of them. Please ignore my grubby tee and my lack of makeup. It was about a zillion degrees out when I took these photos.

These headbands reminded me of what Sassy magazine dubbed “Alice Bands” back in the early 90s (referring, of course, to Alice in Wonderland). Do you remember that trend with the thick headbands? I always liked it, so I’m glad it’s kind of back. You can obviously make these headbands as funky or plain as you like. I’d recommend giving the pattern a go!

“shrugging” on this project

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Earlier this week I cast on for the “Midwest Moonlight” scarf from Scarf Style. It’s a pattern I’ve had flagged literally for years. However, when I picked up the knitting needles again, I soon remembered why I haven’t knit in a while: it takes forever compared to crochet. So… what to do?

Do I keep plugging along at this? Earlier this morning I stopped by Old Navy because they have a super-duper sale going on and I bought this adorable tank for under $4. I love the picot detail!

It looks great as-is, but I think it would be sweet with a little crocheted shrug or sweater. They actually were selling crochet shrugs right next to it, but the smallest size they had was still too big, plus it was in awful shade of olive. But I think this blue would look great as a little cardi, don’t you? I have quite a bit of this yarn, so I am thinking of starting a shrug using another skein. (Just in case I don’t like that either and want to go back to this scarf at some point — you can see how fickle I am when it comes to this stuff.) Good thing I’m not into making jewelry. I’d probably spend all my time on wire management because I’d change my mind on projects so often!

I need to just commit to one project and finish it. Right now I have so many unfinished blankets and garments in my closet that it’s embarrassing! Please tell me I am not the only one, LOL!

afghan update

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Carol — 2 Comments ↓

This is one sad looking little afghan, isn’t it? Sigh… so much for my goal of one square a month! I really need to get back on track. Honestly, now I’m not even sure I like the blue so much. But I’m just going to keep on going. I can always redo a square if I need too later on. My mom is crocheting the same pattern, but in just one color and she is so far along and it looks so pretty! She didn’t like a few of the squares in the sampler, so she substituted other squares that fit. I might end up doing the same. A couple sets of instructions are very confusing. I’ll either save those for last, or not do them at all. Well, I’d better get hooking!

bandana dress

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Carol — 1 Comment ↓

I have so many sewing and craft projects in my “to do” pile, that I get dizzy thinking about them. But since I had the luxury of kid-free time today, I thought I’d tackle one that promised to be quick: the bandana dress.

I’ve read tutorials for bandana dresses and pillowcase dresses and honestly, I think the end product looks pretty much the same, but since the bandana version did not require any cutting, I went with this tutorial from Trey and Lucy. And yes, it was every bit as easy as she makes it sound! I spend more time fussing with the ribbon and getting the bows just right. Truth be told, I would prefer to have lime green ribbon, but white was the only thing in my stash that matched. I can easily switch it out later. Also, I think the 1.5-inch ribbon is a little overwhelming. I’ll have to see it on Laura. The next one (because there will be a next one, oh yes!) will use narrower ribbon.

The cool thing about this dress is that you don’t really have to use bandanas. Just cut fabric you like to the size of a bandana (well, I suppose you’ll want to sew back the raw edges, but you know what I mean. I can’t wait to make these using holiday or seasonal fabric. I think this type of dress will look really cute over a turtleneck in the winter!

And, of course, I’ll have to make a hair bow to match 🙂

red and blue vintage circus bunting tutorial (sort of)

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Carol — 1 Comment ↓

Yesterday I completed the one project I wasn’t sure I’d complete in time for Laura’s birthday party — a fabric pennant/bunting/whatever you want to call it. These have been all over the web for a while now, and on my “to do” list since spring. I kind of made up the instructions as I went along. All I knew was it had to meet these requirements:

Easy to do. I do not have the time right now to be all fussy with things like this.
Look old and vintage-y. Fraying? No problem. Uneven lines? Hey, that’s okay! It just makes it look more handmade.
Be multi-purpose. I need to use this for more than just one event.

So, the color scheme I’m using, as you know, is turquoise and red. Well, it’s lapsed into various shades of blue and red which is perfect since the party is also Memorial Day weekend. I will be able to use this bunting for years on the 4th of July as well, so I will definitely get a lot of use out of it.

First, I chose my fabrics. I just bought a bunch of fat quarters in patterns that I liked. Then I ironed them flat, then folded each in half the long way (with right sides facing each other) and ironed it again. I used this template from Cicada Daydream to trace triangles on the wrong side of the fabric. Because I wasn’t going to be turning my triangles inside-out, I cut out my triangle pattern on the dotted (sew) line. I used pinking shears because I like that look. It looks old. It also makes me think of my grandmother 🙂 Then, I sewed a straight stitch around the two long sides of each triangle. I didn’t go across the top.

Then I took some navy blue bias tape that I had in my stash, snugged a triangle up inside, and sewed it. Repeat until you run out of triangles or the bunting is as long as you want it. And let me warn you: if you decide to have a little glass of Tia Maria and milk while you sew up your second bunting, chances are you will mess up a few triangles and then your husband will ask why you’re cursing so much. 😉

In hindsight, a smarter thing to do would have been to take fabric glue (personally, I like Fabri-Tac) and glue each triangle into place on the bias tape, and then sew one single line across. It would look a lot neater and save some time. But I’m still happy with the way this came out. I’ll be sure to take a photo of it “in action” at the party on Sunday!

spring sewing

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Carol — 2 Comments ↓

Spring is in the air (finally!). That means it’s time to put away the le creuset braiser in favor of the grill, trade in my clogs for flip-flops, and switch out the wool for some delicious fabric. This week Joann’s has it’s “Daffodil Days” sale going on and the prices on fabric are so good! With 50% off their red-tag clearance fabric, I just could not resist going a little crazy. (And the week’s not over yet 😉 )

I do have projects in mind for most of this. With the blue and white fabric, I’m making a cover for Drew’s electric piano. With the blue and yellow polka-dot fabric, I’m making matching skirts for Lulu and her cousin. I’ll probably also make skirts from the other polka-dot fabric and maybe that patchwork fabric, too. (I should have bought more of that one — I love it.)

I’m not sure about the brown, yellow, and orange floral. Honestly, I don’t love it as much as in the store, but now I have two yards of it. Maybe it’ll make a cute pillowcase-type dress towards the fall? If nothing else, I can always make some kind of stuffed animal with it, I suppose. Might be cute for an owl.

What craft projects are you guys working on right now?

boutique bow winner

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Thanks to all who entered in my latest boutique bow giveaway! The winner this time around is…

Congratulations, Kelly! I will be e-mailing you.

sure, now the sun comes out

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Carol — 2 Comments ↓

It was a long, gray, rainy day. It poured. It got humid. It poured some more. And then it cooled off. And then it rained a little bit more. And then, after dinner, after the long, gray, rainy day, the sun finally came out.

Too bad it came out too late to do anything, LOL!

So yes, it was one of those days where we were cooped up inside. I didn’t go to the consignment shop as planned, nor did I go to the grocery store. But I managed to get some cleaning done so all was not lost 🙂 I also looked at some ideas for birthday presents for fathers since Drew’s birthday is later this month. I always like to have the kids give their daddy a little something.

Well, now that the munchkins are all in bed, I think I’m going to treat myself to a scoop (well… maybe two) of some mint chocolate chip ice cream, pour myself a cup of tea, and crochet some roses. I spent all last night trying to figure out this pattern and finally gave up in frustration. I must be missing something, because after four attempts, my flower did not look anything that even vaguely resembled a rose. Luckily, I have another pattern that isn’t as confusing for me! With any luck, there will be photos tomorrow.

ubp giveaway

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Carol

One of my favorite things about parties is putting together little favor bags for the guests. And while it would be impossible to give a favor to each and every blog visitor from the Ultimate Blog Party, I can host a giveaway for a little something. So whether you’re a longtime reader, or someone who has just discovered my blog through UBP11, just leave a comment on this entry for your chance to win this springy boutique hair bow. I made it from three different ribbons: a polka dot grosgrain, a lime green grosgrain, and a pink and green printed satin ribbon. The center is embellished with a silk flower and a tiny rhinestone.

I’ll accept entries for the duration of the blog hop (until April 8). I’ll use Random.org to pick the winning comment and post the name here bright and early Saturday morning! Good luck!

hats off

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Although you can probably crochet anything (well, maybe not hot tub spa covers), I’ve been busy on the basics lately. Namely: hats. One of my best friends recently started her own photography business and asked if I’d crochet some baby hats for her photo shoots. I was honored that she thought my skills were that good! Of course, I said yes and I set to finding two patterns: a feminine pattern and one that could be used for either little boys or little girls.

The hat in the photo at the top of this post was crocheted using The Dainty Daisy’s Shell Stitch Beanie pattern. I have since made several other hats using this pattern and I love them all! The pattern is easy, hooks up quickly, and is pretty true to size. This is a 6-12 month hat and you can see that it is too small on Laura (who loves wearing this test hat anyway!)

The other hat is just a basic HDC stitch. It’s a little more boring and a little slower, but I still love the results:

I’m also making some embellishments for the hats (crochet flowers, loopy bows, and buttons) on clips so she can use them in any of the hats. With a little luck I’ll be finished up by the end of the week. I hope she likes what I’ve come up with!