Crochet Hats and Christmas Cards

 

 Hi Friends!!  Gosh I think I'm back to my old crafty self!  I've been on the roll creating stuff!  It's nice to have the old me back. . .not quite the same old me but I've been having fun creating again.  I've been working on crochet hats a lot lately.  I just made the one above last night.  It's a super slouchy hat made with soft acrylic yarn.  It's very light weight and just an overall fun hat to use during the winter.

With this hat I used a chunky wool yarn.  It's more of a beret style than a slouchy hat.  Wool keeps your head really warm and with the yarn being chunky, it's a good hat on a windy day.

Yup, I worked on cards too!  Yipee!  I went through my containers and found this old Stampin Up rubber stamp.  I heat embossed the image using white embossing powder.  You can't really tell in the photo that it's heat embossed but heat embossing is a great way to have a white image on a darker card stock.

Maybe you can see the embossing better in this picture.

This image is by Close to My Heart.  My first time to use it and I think I bought it 2 or 3 years ago.  All I did was color it with my Copic Markers and added Tullip's Puffy Paint to create the snow.  To make the paint puff, you heat it up with a heating tool and it puffs up.  It's a great way to create snow on your cards.

I added my handmade crochet flower on to the ribbon for embellishment.  Just letting you know. . .I sell crochet flowers in my Etsy shop. . just like the one on my card.  I crochet them myself. . .:)

Anyway, sorry I haven't been posting regularly but I've been busy creating!  I'm going to be looking for a real job soon so I'm making the most of the time I have in creating and selling them.  The extra money I make on Etsy helps a lot while I'm still out of a job.  If you have the time, please pray for my success in finding an RN job soon.  I would really appreciate your prayers.  Thank you for stopping by my blog!!

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More Slouchy Crochet Hats and Fall Beanie

 Hi Friends!  I decided to work on a few more crochet hats.  The beanie above is like the beanie that I posted previously but in fall colors.  I went to Michaels today and bought a few fall colored yarns.  With this hat, I used acrylic yarn.  I'll work on a few more fall colored crochet hats this week and maybe start on a few Christmas colored ones soon.

The stitching are double stitch and single stitch primarily.

 The next two crochet hats are slouchy hats using Pure Merino Wool.  I love the feel of this yarn.  The yarn is pretty pricey but so worth it.  It's light weight but it'll still keep your head warm.  The hat above was created using puff stitches to part of the hat.

This one looks like the hat above but the stitches are different.  

 As you can see it's not puff stitches like the blue one above or the one that my daughter is modeling below.

 Sometimes it's hard to see how a hat looks on a real person. . .so that's where my daughter comes in handy.  Thank goodness I have her head to model my hats.  LOL!

Anyway, just to let you know, I listed the 3 hats above on Etsy in the case you'd be insterested in purchasing them.  I'll be making more hats and listing them soon.  Thanks for stopping by my blog!!  Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!


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Slouchy Crochet Hats and Beanies

 Hi Friends!  Happy Saturday to all of you!  Thank you for all your kind comments about my cards in my previous posts!  I really appreciate it!  Before I begin, I've been receiving emails regarding some of my SVG files that I've shared.  People have been letting me know that the files are no longer available when they attempt to download them.   I'm really sorry about that.  The web site that I had used to store and share my SVG files deleted all of my files because I had not updated my account.  I'm a little frustrated about that because it takes quite a bit of work to upload them and link them to my blog post.  Furthermore, I would have to look through my computer files and find them and reupload them.  I don't have the time to do that right but I will try to do some of them when I have the chance.  In the mean time, my files will not be available for sharing.  I do apologize for that.

Now to my beanie hat. I've been crocheting beanies the past few days.  With the hat above, I used a mercerized cotton blend (the teal stripes) and merino wool for the gray stripes.  It's very light weight and stretchy so it can be used on warmer days or as a fashion accessory.

 I really love the pattern on this beanie because there are endless color possibilities with this pattern.  I will be posting new crochet hats on Etsy on a regular basis now that winter is approaching. I originally saved my crochet hats to sell at a Farmer's Market near where I live but I'll see how well it does on Etsy first.  I have quite a few of them to sell but it's a matter of listing them.  If you are interested in crochet hats, stop by my Etsy shop regularly and see what new hat I've listed. It does take quite a bit of work to take photos of them and list them so I can only post a few at a time.

 With this beanie, I used a mix of acrylic yarn and wool. 

 This slouchy hat, the base is all wool and around the rim is acrylic.  I didn't have a solid colored wool yarn that matched the base of the hat so I had to use acrylic for that part.  What I love about the slouchy hat is if you pull the rim forward down your forehead, it appears more like a beanie type of hat but not so snug on your head.  If you move the rim back closer to the top of your head as shown in the photo, it has a slouchy appearance.  You can also tuck your hair inside the hat.

 Wool has a fuzzier texture but it's great in keeping your head warm.  It's perfect for winter.

This is my daughter posing with one of the slouchy hats that I made. Sometimes it's hard to visualize how a hat looks without it being modeled on a real person.  I wish she could model all of my hats but she can't so I will have to use my mannequin head to model them instead.  With this hat I used a satin acrylic yarn.  Acrylic yarn are much more durable than natural fiber so the care is much easier.  With acrylic yarn, you can wash them in the washing machine and they usually keep their shape and they resist shrinking.

Anyway, again. . if you're interested in crochet hats. . .please stop by my Etsy shop!  I'm thinking of making a few coffee cup cozies soon.  I have a lot of left over yarn from the hats that I made so they will be perfect for coffee cup cozies!!  

That's it for today!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Etsy Shop: Inspired & Unscripted

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Non-holiday Cards

Hi Friends!!  The cards I'm posting today are actually cards I made last month but didn't share with ya' all!  These are actually the first cards I made after a long hiatus so I was a little rusty in the coloring category.

 This CC design image is so darn cute!  It's a perfect "girlfriend" image!

I actually colored the image over a year ago.  There was a time when I stock piled a bunch of images that I colored and used later for cards.  I still have quite a few that I colored and are still waiting to be used.  I'm slowly getting around to using them.

 This is another CC Design image that is perfect for a "girlfriend" card.

 This is the first time for me to use this Unity Stamps image.  I love this image!  It's a fun birthday cake image.
 

 The only purchase I made this year is the Nestabilities die.  Other than the die purchase, I really haven't shopped for anything new.  I have way too many craft stuff already.  Because my focus is to sell my cards, it's not really necessary to buy the latest or trendy tools and materials.  I think when your audience is more to show your work to other crafters there is a tendency to want to buy the latest craft materials but if your audience are customers, most have no idea what the latest trends are.  All they care about is purchasing a well crafted card using quality materials.  That's my opinion anyway. . .

I still have a lot of seam bindings that I had dyed a while ago so I was trying to focus on using them. 
I again used a Unity Stamps image . . .as in the birthday cake image, my first time to ink this one too!

Nothing much else to say about this card.

Another one of my focuses. . .I seem to have quite a few. . .is to use my Stampin Up Wheels.  I have a bunch of wheels that I haven't used for years.  I stored them in a container and had put them in the garage.  They finally saw the light of day after I moved into my new place.  I do have a lot of them and what a waste not to have used them so I'm going to start inking them up.  The song notes image going across is a Stampin Up wheel image.

The rest of the images are by Unity Stamps.  I was a Kit of the Month subscriber at one point and believe it or not, my package of rubber stamps would arrive at my doorstep and I would automatically throw them on a pile of rubber stamps.  I had so many rubber stamps that I didn't even bother to open the package because I knew I didn't have the time to use them all.  After awhile I began to realize how silly I was so I cancelled my subscription.    I can't believe how gluttonous I was with buying craft stuff.  I now find it so ridiculous and so wasteful.  To relieve my guilt, I've stopped buying things and to actually start using what I already have.  

Anyway, that's all for today!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday and thank you for stopping by my blog! 

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Elegant Christmas Card

 Hi Friends!  I just wanted to share one more card for today before I forget to share it.  I actually made this card a few days ago.  I wanted to create a more elegant card this time around so I kept the card simple and used pretty embellishments to have the design stand out.

I embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder and to accent the card I used a satin ribbon then topped it off with a Stampin Up Filigree and rhinestone brads.  I also added lace to the embossed card stock to give it a pretty vintage look to it.

That's it.  Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!

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More Holiday Cards

 Hi Friends!  I've been busy making holiday cards lately.  I actually created a bunch that I haven't shared on my blog.  I'll work on posting them soon.

This snow guy is by Unity Stamps!  I've used him several times already.  He's one of my favorite snowman image.  To create the snow I used fabric paint then applied glitter.  Fabric paint are thick so they work really nicely in creating snow.

 I don't make too many Halloween cards but I did make a few. The image is by Magnolia Stamps.  Did you know. . .I have not cut up a single 12 x12 designer paper in making all the cards I have the past few weeks.  I've been really really good at using my scrap pieces and I have a ton of them.  There are three things that I'm trying to use up because I have so many of them. . .dew drops, Prima Flowers, and scrap designer papers so you'll see a lot of the cards I'll be making will have those embellishments on them.

 I colored the image with my Copic Markers.  I don't know if you know but if you use a gray colored Copic Marker to shade and color over it with the color you want, you can create nice darker shades on your image.  That is what I did with the girl's dress.  I used an orange color, then colored over the orange color with gray then went over the gray with the same orange color.  This allows you to shade your images without having to buy a darker shade Copic Marker.

 I had this rubber stamp image for ages and never used it.  I just have way too many rubber stamps.  I decided to ink the image up and I cut out the image and layered it to give it a 3D effect!

 Nothing much else to say about the card other than I colored the image with my Copic Markers.

 I just love this Precious Moments image.  It's such a cute image.

 I do have a few more cards that I made but I'll post them on another day.  Just to let you know. . .I am selling all the cards I post on my blog on Etsy.  Please stop by my shop and check out what I've listed.  I'll be listing crochet hats soon. . .just in time for winter!

Hope you all have a wonderful.Monday!

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Stampin Up Christmas Cards

 Hi Friends!  I decided to work on more Holiday cards. . this time with a focus on using my old Stampin Up rubber stamps!  I think the last time I used the bear rubber stamps was five years ago.  I happen to come across it this weekend and decided to ink it up.

I colored the image with my Copic Markers and added a little glitter and liquid applique to the image.

 

This is another old image by Stampin Up.  I think I only used this rubber stamp once ever.   

To give Santa's coat and beard a puffy 3D appearance, I used liquid applique and heated it up so it will puff up.  I actually used the Tully Puffy Paint which works just like liquid applique.  It's actually a fabric paint that puffs up when you heat it with a heating tool.

Anyway, I have a few more cards that I made but I'll post them on another day.  Thank you for stopping by my blog.  Hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday!

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Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Birthday Cards

 Hi Friends!  Blogging has become a really foreign thing for me.   Funny how that is considering I've blogged for close to 5 years n the not so distant past.  I remember blogging on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day.  I recall going to bed thinking of the new projects I was going to create the next morning, the tutorials that I could share, and blog them all.  It was a ritual for me for the past 5 years.  I really did enjoy it.

But. . .I've developed new routines, new habits and honestly, blogging and even crafting have become secondary to other things in my life.  Now, I do it when I'm in the mood and when I have the time.  To some degree, it's actually a good thing.  I've become interested in other things in life and I feel my life is much more balanced.  I'm no longer a slave to my craft and to my blog.

 Anyway.  . .I did work on a few cards the past few days.  Actually, I created quite a bunch but I'll post the others on another day.  My goal right now is to work on holiday cards as well as celebratory cards.  I had the tendency in the past to randomly create cards and many times, they were primarily "all occasion" type of cards. . .more like note cards or "just because" cards.  

 I'm also on a buying freeze and I will only use my old rubber stamps.  No more buying new rubber stamps.  I have too many that have gone unused and I feel I frivolously wasted money because I wanted to keep up with the trend. . .buying and buying and buying things for no reason than just to collect them.  Ugggh!

This Santa image is by Stampin Up and I've had the stamp set for years, and I mean YEARS!  But if I didn't tell you, you would have never known and you would probably think it was a new stamp by Stampin Up.  LOL!

 I also have a ton of "sentiment" rubber stamps that I rarely used in the past because they were too large.  I primarily used "image" type of rubber stamps and smaller sentiment stamps but large sentiment stamps can really make quite a statement when it's embellished with pretty flowers and dew drops.

 Anyway, I'll end it here.  Thank you for stopping by my blog!!


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