Knit One, Curse Too!

My mothers group has a crafting club (Creative MAMAs) that I am in charge of. We try to have a project each month that anybody in the club can come and do. I’ve taught a few beaded jewelry ones. My friend does the stamping projects and is going to do a fall wreath project for next month. This month my other friend taught us how to get started knitting. We learned to cast on, knit and cast off. I did WAY better than I thought I would. I actually am going to pick up a pair of needles and maybe try making a scarf for myself. Actually I figured I could at least make a pot holder. I aim low, what can I say. I do have a problem with making my stitches way too tight though. I’m sure that will work itself out when I get more comfortable with holding the needles.

Some other news… My daughter (now 14 months) has been taking more steps on her own. She did 12 steps across the living room the other night, unassisted! She also starts moms morning out next week at the same place I take my son. She has been there for drop off a few times and always seems to enjoy it. The teachers there are real sweet. If you are in the Marietta, GA area and need a good preschool, please check Creative Montessori School Out. They are in the process of redoing all of their playgrounds with new equipment. I am trying to help them raise funds for that through Stuck On You Labels.

I am an independent Agent for Stuck on You. They manufacture fun and colorful labels for kids clothes and other belongings. Dishwasher and Dryer safe. You can view all of their items by visiting here. If you order and mention me (Alicia G.) or Creative Montessori School in the ‘how did you hear about us section,’ I will donate half my commission to the school’s playground fund. I also can run fundraisers for other schools and organizations, so if you know of a place that might be interested, please email me and I’ll send out some brochures.

Hectic week

My mother in law came for a visit this week.  So I was busy cleaning and making the house presentable.  While she was here my husband and I went on a day trip to Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, AL.  It took us about 2.5 hours to get there.  I have to say after hearing about it in the press and reading their website I was a bit disappointed.  I thought some of their prices were high for used stuff.  I saw the same DVD player I have at home and it was cheaper when I bought it new, and at retail price!  I did not have a chance to go through clothing, so I’m not sure how the prices were on that.  I certainly didn’t feel as if they were great bargains.  We did manage to come home with 4 Elmo DVD’s for the kids, which we will save for our road trip to Texas in October.  It was nice to get out for the day without the kids.

I haven’t had much time to do anything crafty this week, although I did pick up some great things at the craft store.  A new soldering iron, some chunky yarns and some beads.

Still have a lot to do to get ready for the Festival my business partner and I are launching our business at mid September.  We will use the opportunity to recruit consultants for our home based business “The Craft Cart”.   Still have to work on that website!  So many things, so little time!

Sunday Morning

I like Sunday mornings. My daughter usually sleeps late and I let my husband sleep in. That leaves just my son and I to do something together. He likes to watch ‘Little Bear’ so that gives me a few moments to catch up on email and write something. It has been a bit of a hectic week. My niece went in for surgery to remove her brain tumor. They were only supposed to go in to help relieve the pressure of it bleeding but when they saw it, it was much bigger than they had expected so they had to remove it. She is recovering from that only to be starting some intensive cancer treatments. Even though she is a little less than 2 years old, she seems to already have a fighting spirit.

Not much craftiness happened the last few days. I did however come across an interesting site for swaps that I had no idea about before. It is called Swap Bot. I plan on taking part of a few swaps when I have more time. Lately I’ve been in crunch time for launching my business The Craft Cart. Right now it’s just a pathetic static page, but within a few weeks it will be changing thanks to my husband. My friend and I own the business. We teach kid and teen crafts at parties and events. We are opening up a consultant program mid September. We are stay at home moms who designed a program friendly to budget conscious at home moms who are looking to be a part of a direct sales company with no high pressure quotas or high start up costs. I’ll let you know when more information is up. You can also contact me if you want more info.

I’m also working on some tutorials for some of the items I’ve shown on my site. I noticed someone searched for a crochet flower pattern. Here is the pattern I used for these flowers:

Hook size: G Pattern: Chain 6, slip st. to close loop. Turn and chain 2, slip st into loop. 2 Double Crochet, chain 2, slip st into loop. Repeat for 5 petals. If the opening hole is too big, try chaining 5 in the beginning. Now I’m not a crochet expert, so if you have any suggestions on this pattern I’ll take them. I did think it made a cute and quick flower. The bottom two were done with a bulkier yarn. The top one is done with 2 colors of regular weight yarn.

If that makes you want to crochet in any way, I suggest you take a look at Crochet Pattern Central, they have great free patterns there.

Another Day, Another Flower.

Had a rough sleeping night last night. Not sure if I was having some sort of anxiety attack (I do get those), but my heart was racing a mile a minute. Finally at 2am I was able to get some sleep. My son was up for the day at 6:45, so I’m going to take advantage of both of them napping in a little while to get some much needed rest. I used my sleepless time last night to crochet a few flowers last night as well as make a few yarn flowers. Both are pictured below.

I did get some creating done last night. As you can see, I used the new yarn I mentioned yesterday. It’s called ‘Rag Doll’.

Today after lunch, I took the kids downstairs in the basement to play and I was able to make this felt and fabric flower with a beaded center.

I’m so very pleased with it. On the back I made a felt pocket that I can either slide a pin-back in or a headband. I plan on making my future hair accessories for kids like this so they can fit over the inexpensive plastic headbands. That way when the headband snaps, and it most undoubtedly will, it can be put on a new headband or hair clip.

Hubby comes home tomorrow afternoon. I did enjoy the break. Now back to the normal routine. My son’s preschool mornings have changed from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to Monday, Tuesday, Friday. I’m so excited about this because Fridays means Garage and Estate Sales, Yay!

By the way, if any of you are interested in detailed instructions to make anything I show a picture of, please let me know.

I’m such a hoarder.

I went to Walmart this morning to get drano and a new broom. I probably should have gone to Target because at least then I wouldn’t be tempted to get more craft stuff. I do love Walmart’s mini craft section. I picked up a few new colors of yarn for more hair flowers. I have a booth at a community festival coming up in September so I’m going to put out some of my hair accessories. I’ll take a photo of the yarn for you a little later. I know I buy way too many craft supplies. I don’t even get to use it all. I may start selling some of my old craft supplies on ebay, probably just to raise money for new stuff. It’s a vicious cycle I know, but I love it.

My husband is out of town for another two days. I can’t say that I miss him all that much because he’s been really crabby towards me. I think it’s a good break for us. In general the house seems more relaxed and quiet when he’s not here. I’m having an easier time than I expected taking care of the kids 24 hours a day. I’m enjoying watching my DIY and HGTV. My husband is a total TV hog. He’ll be at his computer or on his pocket PC and says, “you can watch whatever you want..” So I turn on ‘House Hunters’ and then he complains. Yet he doesn’t want me in another room watching another TV. Can we say control freak? Boy could I write pages on that!

Not much craftiness happened today. Tonight I’m working on my mother’s group’s webpage. Maybe I’ll work on some glass tile bracelets afterwards just like the ones in my Flickr gallery. Well, my oldest just woke from his nap. I hope you all have a nice evening.