Can you guess which one is me?

To catch up, I recently participated in a panel at Show Me The Blog Conference in St. Louis. It’s a new conference on the blog conference circuit, but I think it has great potential. Much like real life, SMTB (as it was known on Twitter) encountered a few bumps in the road, but all in all, I totally would have paid the $40 early bird ticket price for all that I learned. Heck, I probably would have spent the $60 regular (full) ticket price, I really learned that much. I’m just a cheapskate at heart and mom taught me how to get the best deal. It’s hard to break that kind of training.

Show Me The Blog Conference is hoping to grow to a semi-annual event and I’m making plans to make sure I’m there next spring. If you are new to blogging, anywhere close to St. Louis and interested in attending a blog conference, this would definitely be a good “training” conference to see how you like it. Much better than trial by fire at BlogHer like I did. I met a lot of local bloggers and learned a lot of great info from the speakers and panelists.

One major announcement that was announced at SMTB was that I have moved from the ‘job’ of ‘mommy blogger’ to an in-office, 9 to 5, desk job. I recently accepted a position as Social Media Coordinator for a local company that deal with a lot of mommy bloggers. I’d say more here, but let’s just say this company’s owners were on the cutting edge of social media and have used it well to their advantage. Thankfully I’m not building a social media presence, I’m just taking over the reins. Which means, they have a few thousand “fans” on Facebook and I really don’t want to make my work more difficult by connecting too many dots and making it easier for my stalkers to find me. (Is that cryptic enough for you?)

Unfortunately, right after the blog conference, I inadvertently committed the worst blog conference sin EVER, I didn’t post anything. No blogs, nothing. But it’s not my fault, really. My poor little MacBookPro tried to commit computer suicide. Thankfully for me, it was a known issue and Mac (with their excellent customer service, thanks to a class action lawsuit) took care of it. Now my little Mac is back home and ready to serve a few more years with me.

Anyway, all that to say. I’m still here, still blogging and have some plans for fun homemade holiday crafts to share with you. So my question for you is, are you crafting for the holidays? What are you working on? What do you hope to finish before Dec. 24th?

We decided leftover streamers might be just the thing to create the look of fire.  All the kids had quite a bit of fun ripping, twisting and filling bottles with a variety of streamers to create different effects. It was a great impromptu craft session.

Streamers are definitely now added to my list of ‘must have’ craft supplies to keep year round. What’s on your ‘must have’ list for impromptu kid craft sessions?

he was being crafty and sweet.

It’s just easier with the iPhone. Bing. New e-mail. Mid-day inspiration while my children are fighting over light sabers in the backyard. What’s not to love?

Since I cleared my reader, I found a few projects I love that you might as well, so I’m dumping them here. Seriously, it’s my blog, I can do post what I like, even if it’s just for my own convenience. <wink>

First up, for those who love embroidery or want to learn. I firmly believe anyone can pick up this skill and should. Lots of tutorials online, lots of free patterns, lots of uses for this skill. On to the find…

From my internet friends over at Sibling Craftery, a quirky wedding present, embroidered tea-towels of LOVE.

There are three images in the FREE set, but the macaroni and cheese is my favorite. Click over to see ‘frosting on my cupcake’ and ‘cookie to my milk’. Who doesn’t love embroidered food with faces?

For those who crochet, check out these adorable and not too kitschy Fruity Trivets and Pot Holders from The Purl Bee.

I love that it’s the same pattern for all 3 fruit, and they give you the exact colors used on each. The photos are beautiful and easy to follow, especially the demonstration of how to create the seeds.

Make sure if you plan on making these you read the instructions carefully. To be practical and actually protect you from heat, the yarn is doubled and the pattern uses a size K crochet hook.

Please don’t forget your crafty internet etiquette. If you download or use these patterns, leave the creators some comment love and if they have Flickr groups, upload images of your finished project to their group. They are sharing their hard work for free, so it’s a nice way to say “Thanks”.

Father’s Day handkerchiefs

Originally uploaded by wistfulwrists

Are you running out on time for a crafty Father’s Day gift? These are some handmade handkerchiefs I created last year for my father. Since these were made when I was just beginning to embroider, I had limited resources. These were both made from basic clip art you probably already have sitting on your computer.

You can use plain pre-made handkerchiefs, new or vintage. No, I’m not being disgusting, I’ve seen many brand new packages of plain handkerchiefs on thrift store shelves. With very basic sewing skills, you can make your own from 100% cotton fabric. Feeling especially green & thrifty? Upcycle one of dad’s old cotton dress shirts.

Embroidery floss is cheap, about 3 skeins for $1, less if you catch a sale. This whole project could be done for $5 or less. Depending on your sewing and embroidery skills, the project should take 1-3 hours per handkerchief.

Print the images you want onto plain paper. The fortune cookie was a single file. For the bowling one, I used 2 different clip art pieces together, only tracing the parts I wanted with my transfer pencil. You can use tracing pencil or tracing papers, whatever you have on hand.

I made an entire set of handkerchiefs using images that were significant to my memories of my father. My parents participated in a bowling league when I was a child, so I have great memories of evenings spent at the bowling alley with them. My father has perfected his own recipe for “Springfield style” cashew chicken. I can’t tell you how many weekends he spent cooking it for the whole family.

There were a few other images in the set, but you get the idea. Take your favorite memories, find an image that evokes that memory or inside joke, and stitch away!

It’s only been within the last 12 months that I have truly begun to make meaningful friendships with Christian women locally, in real life. It has truly revolutionized my life. We have a need for friendships, women we can hug (sorry bloggers) and call or text when life gets sticky. You need that friend that will bring food, pick up your kids or hang out in your living room with your kids so you can have your first shower in 3 days. The problem is, in many places, especially larger cities with large churches, this isn’t always easy to find. We attend a large church & have morning Bible studies, so I frequently have to leave early to pick up my half-day kindergarteners.

For me, the change came when a group of divinely inspired ladies started a Bunco group. Sometimes we as women need an excuse, a reason, and more importantly a starting objective or common goal to give us reason to create friendships. I think TerryAnn understands this well. Rather than a traditional Bible study group, she proposes a knit or crochet (or both) group which also studies the Bible. Much like Bunco was for my group, needlework is the starting place for the Bible study. The accompanying discussion, prayer and sharing of life is what will weave bonds for life.

Now on to the knitty gritty of what you’ll find in the PDF Knit and Crochet Bible Study. For the purchase price of $27, you gain reprint rights for each member of your group. If you’ve priced study books lately, you’ll find this a real steal. Some studies are book and workbook combinations, with each member needing to purchase their own. I love that TerryAnn provides this at a reasonable price, especially considering how much work she’s put into it. With 6 members, it’s less than $5 each. Yet it’s also feasible for a single person (group leader or small church) to afford. The PDF file is a whopping 40 pages total. There are 10 lessons total, perfect for a weekly summer Bible study.

My favorite things about this study:

• Each lesson begins with scriptures printed at the top of the page in 4 different translations.
• While lesson focuses on Proverbs 31, study includes cross-references to other scriptures.
• Each lesson is 1-2 pages long, with a few questions at the end to facilitate discussions.
• It’s not homework intensive, which could exclude new members joining mid-study.
• You could choose to assign work a week in advance, or choose to hand out sheets each week as members arrive. While more time for meditation could enhance the group, if that’s intimidating for your members, it’s not necessary.
• Lesson is on one page, with questions on a separate page. This makes it easy to print and disperse as needed to fit the needs of your group.
• Uses PDF format which is easy to read for any user with free Adobe Reader download. Or, if you are like me, go paperless with Dropbox and an iPhone!
• Written by a woman, mother & crafter for women. TerryAnn addresses many of the mental and emotional issues such as inadequacy that women face in a very honest manner.
• Study begins by setting the tone and “rules” for the study. Many studies don’t address this and assume members all understand issues like gossip and keeping confidences within a group.

My only critical comment about this study is that at the time of my review (I received a preview copy) there was only one crochet pattern included. But, on the website there is a post entitled Where to find FREE Patterns. I’m sure this is because a blog post is much easier to update with new information than a PDF file.

Update: Terry confirmed that the final purchase copy does contain additional knit/crochet patterns!

I recently polled my Twitter followers about what are the best projects for beginner knit or crocheters. Two resounding answers came back: baby items and dishcloths. If you were beginning a study group, either of these would make fantastic projects that could in turn be donated to charities. Baby items can be donated to hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, Newborns in Need or many other great organizations. Dishcloths could be sent to organizations that help families rebuild their household after flood, fire or homelessness or if your church has a kitchen, just gift them to that ministry.

If you are looking for that perfect summer study that is full of value, but not overwhelming with homework, you should check out Knit and Crochet Bible Study, Book 2: The Proverbs 31 Woman . You’ll notice on that page that there is a previous knit/crochet study available as well, or you can buy both at a significant discount.

I received a complimentary previem PDF copy of this study to read and review from TerryAnn Porter of Knit & Crochet Bible Study. These are my personal opinions, no other compensation was received for this post.
For more information please see my Disclosure Policy.

On Mother’s Day, I can’t help but mention my mom. I truly owe ALL my craftiness to her – the good, bad and the ugly. She taught me to try new things, experiment, and never give up. Good lessons for crafting and for life. I wouldn’t be the woman or mother I am today without her. Thanks, Mom!

For the final part of this series, I’ll show you some of the crafts and activities the kids enjoyed at our Mario themed birthday party.

As guests arrived, we invited them to sit and make a craft. I found this helped to direct their excitement and give them something to do as people trickled in.

I was inspired in early February by this Groundhog’s Day activity. I considered the classic green pipes in the Mario games, and together with my 7 year old, adapted it to suit our party. We used green paper cups from the party store (easy to find near St. Patrick’s day); colored popsicle/craft sticks and craft foam from the dollar store; and adhesive backed white craft foam and a white paint pen from the craft store.

Each guest made their own piranha plant and attached it to the green popsicle stick. We used a craft knife to cut a small hole in the bottom of the paper cup and inserted the piranha plant inside. The boys really loved this activity. Each guest had their own take on exactly how the teeth should go.

For games we played egg and spoon races, inspired by Yoshi’s eggs. We also had PVC marshmallow shooters for some wild fun. I considered painting the PVC green, but decided since they would be close to the children’s mouths, it was best to just skip that step rather than worry about what type of paint to use. The boys didn’t mind at all. We chose a simple T shaped design rather than the more intricate designs you find on the internet. They worked pretty well, there were a few stuck mini marshmallows, but nothing the boys couldn’t resolve. We’d hoped to play this outside, but the weather was not in our favor that weekend. We played inside in the unfinished basement, and I sat out bowls of mini marshmallows in two spots on opposite sides of the room for the boys to reload. It worked fairly well. The downside of playing inside was that my husband had to vacuum up all those marshmallows when we were finished. I love that man!

Our son also chose a piñata, a tradition for our family. Instead of finding or making a piñata to fit our theme, he chose the more traditional donkey shape. I was really hoping he’d go with the theme, because I found this great idea for a Chomp piñata, adapted from a store bought ball shaped piñata. Oh well, it’s was his party, and they all enjoyed the piñata. Let’s face it, kids don’t really care what it looks like as long as candy falls out of it.

If you are looking to plan a Mario birthday party yourself, don’t forget to check out these two great blog posts which really inspired me: Super Mario 1st Birthday Party Theme and Super Mario Birthday Party.

First up, the hats. What began as the bartering chip for an “at home” party became the centerpiece of the whole theme. Last October, I created Mario and Luigi hats for Halloween costumes. I told the birthday boy I would make a hat for each of his friends IF he agreed to a party in our home. He countered that the girls invited should have Princess Peach style crowns. I agreed, on the condition that we only invite a few children, 1 for each year of his age, and his brothers were automatically invited as well. The terms were accepted by all parties and I began crocheting hats in February.

I used the same pattern I used last fall, Mary Jane Hall’s Purple Newsboy Cap. This time I chose the Caron One Pound yarn in the scarlet color. I caught it on sale for about $5 a skein (pound) and I was able to make 4-5 hats out of each skein. Quite the deal! Also helpful is the fact the Caron One Pounds are dye lot free. That way if you run out, it’s easier to pick up a new skein without having to worry about the colors being ‘off’.

For the badge, I used acrylic felt. I grabbed a drinking glass from my kitchen cupboard that matched the size I wanted. Tracing around the edge of the glass helped to keep my circles uniform. I folded the red felt in half using the same technique you would to cut out a heart, and I free handed the letter M. On my original hats, I hand stitched the badges to the hat, but since we were making so many, I opted for hot glue as a quick solution. They turned out just fine. One tip: if you use hot glue, make sure to place some newspaper inside the hat so the hot glue doesn’t accidentally drip onto the back portion of the hat. It’s possible that it might render the hat unwearable if you miss this step.

For the Princess Peach crowns, I found a lovely tutorial from Juicy Bits and just adapted it to mimic Peach’s design.

The birthday boy chose a “Fire Mario” design for his hat, it was made with Red Heart Super Saver in white and the badge is the inverse of the others, a white letter on a field of red.

The hats were a huge hit and all the guests were thrilled to have a special hat to take home with them!

Join me later this week for details on the food and party activities.

The pattern is called The Empty Tomb and you can find it at Made By Lindy. Can you believe she designed this pattern when she was only 16 years old?! You can see what other colors and yarns have been used on this project at Ravelry. She has several other nice spring cloth patterns if you are interested in a non-Christian themed pattern. The Bloom and Daisy patterns would be great for this time of year.

It knits up quickly and if you cast on today, I’m sure you can have it finished by Sunday. It’s a perfect hostess gift if you are celebrating in someone else’s home. A great reminder for the real reason for all those marshmallow chicks and chocolate eggs. Have a fantastic weekend!