Tea Anyone?

As much as I love a good cup of coffee, too much makes me jittery, and really you can't beat a good cup of soothing tea. I am slightly fanatical about my herbal tea collection, and am a sucker for a nice bit of packaging and graphic design. I love the newly designed Clipper tea boxes:

The card is matt in texture, and the pictures so pretty. Clipper also produce my all time favourite, liquorice tea. Admittedly, an acquired taste, liquorice is renowned for its soothing effect on the digestive system and always makes me feel calmer in moments of stress. And what about Celestial Seasons?

You only get 10 bags in a box, so I like to think of them as the luxury tea, wrapped in waxed paper the flavours are very unique - have you ever tried a 'Red Zinger'?

Another favourite brand is 'Yogi' tea. They do a delicious chocolate tea, which combines vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa shells and liquorice. My 2 boys enjoy a hot cup of this, which is a nice non dairy alternative to hot chocolate. Anyone else a tea lover? any recommendations?

Splash of Red

Not much happening on the 'Hooking' front right now, I am defiantly needing some inspiration. I guess as we start to emerge from the cold winter months, I don't much feel like making any cosy hats or gloves. I did pick up a bargain 50p ball of silk/kid mohair yarn from our local Red Cross Charity shop, and fancied making a little neckerchief to brighten up my all too grey outfits. This one was made during a half hour episode of 'Nurse Jackie'.

I started with 3 chains, gradually increased at either end of the row to make a 'tip', and then decreased until I had 5 stitches. Crocheted until it was long enough to go round my neck and then repeated the 'tip' for the other end.

I'm rubbish at 'accessorising' outfits, so I'm hoping this will make me try a bit harder - it's a start...

Da Font (Snow day activities -part 2)

I like to encourage my children to draw and colour in pictures as much as possible, but even I have to agree that there are some uninspiring kids colouring books and printable websites out there. I discovered the website Da Font (a free to download font website) a few years back, when I grew tired of the default fonts Microsoft supplied you with and wanted some fresh ideas. The Dingbat category (a type of font that uses small pictures instead of letters) is inspired!

yesterday I down-loaded a few funky fonts, opened a Word Document and let the little peeps rip - Lego was their Dingbat font of choice, but honestly there are hundred to choose from.

I converted a few of the docs into paint files and showed then how to use the 'fill tool' - very satisfying.

P.S - let me know if you need help with the technical side of installing fonts, and I'll do a quick tutorial.

This Week

Snow days are good for art......

...and alcohol is good for the heart

Snow day..

The Schools were closed today in our part of Aberdeenshire after a day of mad snow storms yesterday. The weather has been pretty filthy outside again today, so I knew a day of indoor activities was on the cards with the little ones. Two ideas in particular hit the mark with my two boys (aged 5 and 7) who are both quite active lads, and crafting with them is usually a challenge in itself.

Idea 1- Recycling old Grotty Crayons.

I have seen this idea on the Martha Stewart website, but have never got round to doing it - so thank you HelloCayce for reminding me of the idea on your blog this morning!

Look out your collection of old, broken crayons.

Peel off the paper wrapping and snap up into small pieces.

Find some oven proof moulds, I used some little silicon cupcake cases, but your could use a muffin tin.

Fill up the moulds with the broken crayons and pop in the oven (coolish setting, around 150 degrees centigrade) until melted (about 10 mins)

Once melted, remove from oven and allow to cool down and set in moulds.

and there you have it, a very lovely set of new crayons - my two LOVED the whole process of making these!

(idea 2 to follow tomorrow)

Cupcakes in the Post today!

This beautiful felt garland arrived for me in the post today - Thank you my Dear one !

Cupcakes and Hearts, I can think of no sweeter combination....

Acorn hat Pattern - or how to make up your own design

I posted a photo of my acorn hat on the crochet board of Craftster, and was asked if I had a pattern to go with it. Well, I guess I just made it up as I went along, but if you know the basic principles of crocheting on the round, making a hat is very easy. So I have jotted down some steps for you to follow to make up your own hat pattern:-

Basic Hat pattern Instructions

begin by crocheting a flat circle,* until it is the diameter of the crown of your head (approx 15 -20cm)

Once you have reached your required diameter, continue to crochet around and around and around...until desired length

If you want your hat shape to look a bit more like this (as I did with the acorn hat) Decrease stitches as you crochet down. Make sure you decrease evenly for a uniform shape, but not too much or it will be too tight!

If you'd prefer a more A-line hat, Increase your stitches gradually as you work down

Keep trying on your hat as you go, that way you'll know if you need to decrease/increase stitches, and you should get a perfect fit.

I used very chunky yarn for the acorn hat and made it longer in length to allow for a brim to be turned up. For the stalk at the top, I broke off my wool once I had completed the hat length, and rejoined at the first round on the top of the hat (6 stitches) and crocheted another 6 into them and then went around and around the 6 stitches until my stalk was the desired length.

*Note*

How to crochet a flat circle

R1: Ch2, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook (6)

R2: Sc 2 in each Sc around (12)

R3: *Sc 1, 2sc in next sc* x6 (18)

R4: *Sc 2, 2sc in next sc* x6 (24)

R5: *Sc 3, 2sc in next sc* x6 (30)

R6: *Sc 4, 2sc in next sc* x6 (36)

.....and so on, you will see a pattern forming, each round is increased by 6 stitches. I find I do have to count the stitches as I am crocheting at this point.

I hope this has all made sense to you, please email me if you require any help or clarification.

Squirrels and Scribbles

Fab Valentine's Day trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh featuring squirrels and a chance to hang a wee expressive moment on a willow woven dome inside the beautiful John Hope Gateway.

Acorn Hat for Pixie Girl

I am always deeply flattered when someone asks me to crochet something for them, so when my sister Jill (PixiePeg crafts) asked me if I would mind making an acorn hat for her I was thrilled (if a little nervous) at the challenge. In the end I decided to use a chunky wool mix yarn in a nice brown shade. Because the wool was chunky, it made up in no time, although as always when you can't see a person to measure as you go, I was worried the hat wouldn't fit..

I didn't use a specific pattern for the hat, but if you know the principles of crocheting 'on the round' it is quite simple. I used a single crochet stitch, which I thought gave a nice natural textured weave, and made it long enough to roll up a brim at the bottom, and finally made a short stalk on the top.
Jill phoned me today to thank me for the hat I had posted to her, and I was relieved to see it fitted.

Thanks for the photo Jill, it suits you (see Jills Blog for more photos)

I ♥ Hearts

I have a big thing for hearts - their curvy shape, symmetry, lush red colour and the country cottage feel they can lend to a home. If you were to come round to my house, you would notice them dotted in practically every room.

I love this heart garland I made to decorate my dresser at Christmas time, so much so much it never came down. Click here for this great pattern on the blog Suzie's Stuff.

I have been trying my hand at a pattern for a 3d crochet heart, and I have to admit, I am finding it tricky to get my heart symmetrical!

There are many patterns on the Internet for crocheted hearts, but I found this one the simplest to follow at Instructables. A bit more practice I fear before the 14th!