Bringing the Ocean to My Bathroom

One day while I was looking on Pinterest for a gift idea to give to one of my friends, I came across a photo of some pretty crocheted washcloths.  I have always wanted to try to crochet them.  So I immediately pulled out some cotton yarn and worked out a pattern!  Since then I think I have made over 50 of them!  They are so fast, easy and fun to make. 

Of course, I couldn't just stop at making the washcloths.  So I came up with a cute flower pattern, too!  You can use these as make-up removers, coasters or something to set a candle or vase on.   The cotton yarn that I like to use is from Hobby Lobby and is very soft.  It makes the best washcloths.  It's called, "I Love This Cotton" yarn.  You can buy it at the store or order it online. 

Because I don't live near the ocean, I always try to bring a bit of the ocean to my bathroom decor.  So I drew up a starfish pattern and added that to the mix!  I added some ribbons, sea shells, fancy soaps and some stamping tags to complete the look.

What do you think of them?  They not only decorate your bathroom, but make nice gifts to give, as well.  My friend got this purple basket as her gift.  She loved it!

 

Each washcloth takes about 30 minutes to make.  The flowers can be make in less than 15 minutes.  You can almost make a whole set of them while watching a movie on tv.  I just love making them! 

 If you'd like to make some to decorate your bathroom, click here for the pattern tutorials! 

An Old-Fashioned Feel to Them

Last month I made some cards that had a sort of old-fashioned feel to them.  I just love this look!  I got the Dress Up framelets (that cut out shapes) from Stampin Up and had so much fun playing with it and with some of my new stamps.  On this card, I added some color to the rose by sponging the cantelope color onto it.  There is some sponging on the card done with a light tan, but you can't see it that well in the photo.  I found the idea for this card on Pinterest (my favorite online place to be!) from Sharon Cheng.

 This card is made with the Post Card background stamp.  So cute!  I love the colors, love the antique ribbon, love the whole card.  I got the idea from another stamper, Narella Farrugia.  She has some pretty nice stuff on her blog.

 

It's been a long time since I've made a card using a wheel!  But I really liked this wheel when I saw it in the catalog. I thought that it had a little different look to it.  Even the "lady" focal point is part of the wheeled images.  I added a folded doily fan and a rose made from paper clay that you don't have to cook in the oven.  I got the idea from Ann Clemmer at stamperdog.com.

I love all three of these cards, but I think the Post Card is my favorite.  Which one do you like the best?

Valentine Cards

I spent a little time this week making some Valentine cards.  Here is an easy, trendy-looking card that I made.  It has a cute little favor to go with it. It is quick and easily made with one of the new open-ended punches.  I will be putting these favors on the table for my family when we celebrate our Valentine's Day dinner. 

This card has some ruffled ribbon on it that just makes it look so special!  I love the ruffled ribbon that Stampin Up sells.  There are 5 different colors.  Eventually I want all of them.  I like to use this ribbon on my sewing projects, too.

I got the idea for this card from Laura Mackie.  She made it as a wedding card and I modified it to look more like a Valentine's card.  Change up the colors and I think it can be any kind of a card that you'd like.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but it has a little bit of bling on it- the rhinestones just make it pop.

Now to just get my cards in the mail!  (Making them is the easy part- ha ha!)

What Does the Fox Say?

Have you heard the song from Ylvis (a two-brother comedygroup from Norway), What Does the Fox Say?  If you haven't, you need to listen to it.  I love the silliness of it.  Click here for a link to the song. 

Now that you've heard the song, this card will make sense to you!  This week we made this foxy card with a new stamp set from Stampin Up called Life in the Forest.  The little fox caught my eye as soon as I opened up the new mini catalog.  I got the idea for this card from Kay Cogbill on Pinterest.

Before I showed my stampers this card, I told them that is a hate-you, love-you card!  They will hate to do all of the cutting, but after they are done, they will love it.  And it is true.  All of the stampers loved this card! 

Do you want to know what the fox says?

He says Happy Valentine's Day!  :)

I'm going to send this card to my kids!  I know they will get it (they want to know why I am listening to this song!) and I think they will love it.  Do you?