GiveawayWinner!

 Oh dear, I posted this on my other blog, and it took me 2 days to realize it!  SO SORRY!!

Thanks to everyone who entered!
Random.org chose number 22 as the winner........

Liz, love.

Congrats! ( I sent you an email.)

 

Ok, if you are still reading, you may have noticed I haven't posted anything all week.  My apologies.  I haven't disappeared, but I have been insanely busy.  Something just had to give.  I've started building my portfolio for my part time gig as a photographer.  If you are in the DC/Baltimore Metro Area, and need a photographer cheap, visit my website (domain name still pending) at www.nicolebarrphotography.smugmug.com 

I have a few cute tutorials coming up!  Don't abandon me forever!

Giveaway Time!

There is nothing like giving a child a gift that you put your heart and soul into.  Handmade gifts become such keepsakes, they are treasured for years to come.

My friend Kate has put her heart and soul into creating this lovely tutorial for an A-Z animal felt book.

Each template is beautifully hand drawn by Kate, and includes step by step instruction and stitching guides, making this a perfect tutorial for crafters of all skill levels.

 It includes basic stitch instructions for all of the stitches used in the book! Customize the template designs to your liking or use the brief guide describing how you can design your own pages and make your book completely unique.

There is one page for every letter of the alphabet, PLUS 5 additional vowels! 

You can visit Kate's Etsy store here!

And for one lucky winner, Kate is graciously giving away one copy of her tutorial!

(due to the size of the templates, you will recieve a copy on cd-rom.  You must have adobe reader installed to view and print the tutorial.)

Giveaway Rules:

All you have to do is visit Kate's Etsy store Growing Laufey and leave a comment telling me which letter/animal is your favorite from the tutorial.

(one entry per person please!)

Giveaway ends on midnight, October 24th.  Winner will be selected by random.org and announced on Monday, October 25th.

Knitting.....the easy way.

I am pretty good at crochet.  I suck at knitting.  I've tried and tried, and it just never looks right.  Then I discovered circle looms.

 Now I'm making knits in no time.  I finished this hat in about an hour. 

Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of circle looms.

Provocraft makes plastic circle looms called the Knifty Knitter.  This is a good economical choice if your a beginner.  They are inexpensive, and easy to find at you local craft stores.  Provocraft also has links to free projects to make with your looms.  Your not limited to just hats.  Make purses, scarves, blankets, and gloves.  Each looms comes with detailed instructions to get you started and there are also full instructions on the how to of the different knit stitches on the website.  I recommend the Knifty Knitter if you are using bulky yarns. Also, the better quality your yarn is, the better your hat is going to turn out.  I used Tahki Montana pure new wool in Slate.

image via decor accents inc.

Decor Accents Inc. makes some of the finest quality looms I have found.  These looms are recommended for every gauge and quality of yarn.  The looms are all handmade, and different sized gauges are offered from a fine gauge to a regular gauge along with different sizes from newborn to adult.   Decor Accents also offers a line of plastic looms and economy looms.   You can also find links to projects on the website.

Happy Knitting!

I'm sharing this project with these awesome link parties:

{Keeping It Simple}  {Making The World Cuter}  {The Girl Creative}

{Sumo's Sweet Stuff}  {Mad In Crafts}  {Creative Itch}  

{Sugar Bee}  {Sew Much Ado}  {Fireflies and Jellybeans}

{It's So Very Cheri}  (Seven Thirty Three}  {Someday Crafts}   

{Blue Cricket Design}   {Somewhat Simple}    {Trendy Treehouse}  

{The Train To Crazy}  {Fingerprints on the Fridge}  {Lit & Laundry}  

{Finding Fabulous}  {A Little Lovely}  {Tatertots & Jello}  

{I Heart Naptime}  {Under The Table and Dreaming}

Ready...Set...Action!

I've been busy playing with the actions I just purchased from Florabella's Luxe Collection.  These are definitely going to be my all time favorites.  

Guest Posting Today!

Today I'm guest posting for....

I'm so excited!!  Check out my tutorial for this easy sweater bag!

Make a Sweater Better......as a pillow cover!

Ahhhh....it was in the low 60's today.  That is weather I could live with all year round.  Is there anywhere in the U.S. that I can move to that never get's below 60 degrees and never higher than 79 degrees?

Anyway, it was perfect SWEATER weather.  I must be honest and say that I had intentions of making all the tutorials myself for Make A Sweater Better event.  But life happens.  I never had a seasonal allergy in my life until after I gave birth.  No kidding.  It's been really bad this year.  I'm sorry to all of my family and friends who I would roll my eyes at when they would complain about their allergies.

Anyway....I am in love with sweater covers for pillows.  But the price tags on some of them make me laugh out loud.
Still, they are very beautiful......

via Pottery Barn

via Apartment Therapy 

via Country Living

 via Martha Stewart
   
I knew if I wanted to find a good tutorial on making these sweater pillows, all I had to do was visit Ashley at Make It and Love It.  Go here for the tutorial!