Aprons, Cowls, & Bags, oh my !

Pattern Reviews...  

               Some of my favorite things!

      Aprons, Cowls & Bags....

I wanted to try out some sewing, crochet patterns that I have had my eye on, so the following projects (except the Apron..that's all mine:) will each contain the links to the tutorials where I discovered them!!

I was looking forward to the upcoming Spring season, but with it being a little early in the year yet, I decided to settle for a Spring-looking Apron instead !

Up close!

My spur of the moment creation ...the apron, not the dog :))

Next up...

              A super-easy Crochet cowl pattern from an awesome site I happened upon...

"Compulsive Craftiness" is the site and name of this game:)

This pattern was literally so easy to follow, even I could do it. And it was completed in an evening...in front of the television!! CHECK IT OUT HERE:

http://compulsivecraftiness.com/2011/tutorial-quick-chunky-ribbed-crochet-cowl/

Next, here is the coolest and fastest  

                  SLING BAG Pattern in the world.....

A Happy New Sling Bag Owner!!

I copied the flower from the apron to spruce things up!

 Find this Sling Bag tutorial at a very cool site:  

             "Crap I've Made"  here's the link:

http://www.crapivemade.com/2011/07/reversible-sling-bag-tutorial.html

Last, I have had a mini obsession with knitting looms and I completed this burgundy scarf in time to give it as a gift.....

Thanks for checking all this out! 

Next up: Dolls and their Pattern Links

Till next time,

     Wickedjypsi

Prayer Flags for a great year!

Making my world a better place.....  

                      WELCOME  2013 !!!!

I have always loved to see the variety of colors, designs and patterns in Prayer Flags and figured it was an excellent time to make my own.......

I made a fabric stash raid and a trip to the fabric store to choose fabrics that not only looked, but also "felt" good to me and brought forth different feelings (e.g. ambition, peace, nostalgia, motivation, etc.) that would inspire me the whole year through. 

 

These will hang in my house in a place that allows them to be seen daily, specifically in the morning as I wake up and begin my day! 

  A new year begins...crafting and enjoying this blog, Law school applications and LSAT testing, article writing, starting my book store and, of course, spending every available moment with my daughter, watching her grow and make me so very, very proud!!

"Wishing you all the absolute best this year" 

till next time,

Wicked jypsi

Crafting a WOODLAND Christmas

Gnomes, Trees,  Wreaths.....GALORE!

 

GNOMES...My New Addiction...strange, but true!!

 

 

 

 

 I have been absent for a few weeks, but not idle! I have had so much fun making my decor..

    

 

 

Here are my Woodland favorites!

My Little Doll !!

An awesome book is "FaLaLaLaLa Felt" by Amanda Carestio & Kathy Sheldon..... I have gotten so many ideas from this book and here are a few I have completed....

The "Yarn-wrapped Trees" from a variety of yarn widths and paper mache or Styrofoam cones from the craft store in different sizes...

 ...next is the "Felt-pieces Wreath" made with a piece of wire formed into a circle and scrap pieces of different colored felt and fleece.....

 ....last, the "Yarn-wrapped Wreath"..made just like the tree cones, but I used a round foam wreath as a base and ModgePodge to secure the strands..and of course, added a few pom poms: (a better pic of this wreath will be up soon)

please forgive the resolution...the colors of the yarn are so dark (navy blue, burgundy, and forest green), it is hard to get them to show up!

It was a surprise to find mistletoe right in my front yard.......

 

 

 

so I grabbed an empty grapevine wreath and went to work...

 

 

Here is what came of it...

my own "Mistletoe Wreath": 

Last, (I said that before, but this time I mean it :) I had to make sign to hang in the hallway entrance, and some stockings to add more color to the walls..... so I decided on these:

 More to come...and I hope your holiday season is coming about marvelously!!

"MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL" !!

Crafting Christmas GNOMES..(that's right, Gnomes) and MORE!

It has been a busy week, but I have started my holiday crafting and gift making. My big obsession this year is Gnomes !!
I know that may sound weird, but I am a little weird...so, Gnomes it is!!

 I have come across some AWESOME patterns and tutorials online and will be sharing those projects for the next few weeks as we get closer and closer to CHRISTMAS.... (don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving. But the way I figure, both Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrate the closeness of family and showing gratitude for the blessings in our lives. But really it is just so I can keep my tree up for 2 months ;)

The first Gnome Project:
 --with some wooden balls, felt pieces, yarn and glue, these were so fun to put together and inspired my fixation this year with everything GNOME!!!

               Mr. & Mrs. Christmas Gnome
A Wonderful idea and tutorial from the December 2012 issue of Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest edition...(pages 40and 45)

 I also have been yearning for more organization as the holiday season begins, so I put together a simple, but cute Christmas Planner to organize all the necessary info I need:

The outside cover....

 For the interior of my planner, I used manilla envelopes with handmade tabs labeled for my 5 most important categories in keeping myself organized for the Holidays : 
  
     1. Gifts to Make
     2. A calendar page
     3. Cards received and sent
     4. Recipes old and new
     5. Receipts ( to make sure I stay within my budget....hahaha, yeah right!)


Last, I received a beautiful set of these "Noel" wooden letters from my extremely crafty sister in Utah:

Much more to come...Gnomes and more, that is.....in my next post as I share more Gnome pics, ideas and tutorials I created and discovered....and other Christmas decor!!

Merry Christmas & Happy Thanksgiving All!!

   Wicked jypsi

Halloween Countdown: "Mad Scientists Lab"

Halloween Countdown:

             

             "Mad Scientists Laboratory"

.......It's the countdown and with it being the night before, I wanted to share my favorite decoration of this year......

           First: "Laboratory Brain Cylinder" 

                Second: "Witch's Potion Shelf"

Some bottles and a package of Halloween labels from Michaels..

.....made for a great combo to add food coloring and glow paint to make color filled Potion Bottles.

Viola !!!!!!

Have a Happy Halloween y'all and I'll be back with a few more decoration items I used and a recap of our Halloween before we move on to ...... 

           Christmas ........Yahooooo!!!

Till Next time,

         Wicked jypsi

Halloween Countdown: MONSTER PORTRAITS

                        HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN:

                           "Monster Portraits"

                        First :  Mr. Hairy Monster

Say Hello to Mr. Hairy...man of the hour.

With very few tools, this portrait can be a snap to assemble.

 * 1/2 yard of fake fur (color of your choice)

 * Frame with backing (size of your choice)

 * Eyeballs (I found resin ones at Michaels and painted them different colors..as shown)

  * Staple gun

First, I  measured the fur to fit inside the frame and before stapling, I made two small holes in the fur where my eyes would be glued to the backing board so the can poke through the fur when it is stapled to the backing board. Last, I stapled the backing board to the frame and hung up my Hairy Monster for all to see!

                   

            Second:  Hollywood MONSTER Wall Art

Count Dracula...Mr Halloween Himself !

Mr. Frankenstein...

...& Mrs. Frankenstein ....my favorite monster of all !

All three!

These were assembled using unfinished wooden plaques (ovals) from the Hobby Lobby. I copied and sized some Hollywood Monsters pictures and Modge Podged them to the front of the plaques. I then applied Golden brand Self Leveling Gel to smooth and even out the surface as well as add a shine. Then I hammered upholstery nails (black, white and brass colored) to the sides of each plaque and screwed in two small eye screws near the tops of each plaque and added chain (small black white and brass) for decorative hanging!

Coming up in the next post (Friday 10/26/12):

the "Evil Scientists Lab" with potion bottles and a brain cylinder to DIE for ....hahaha!!

See you then,

   Wicked jypsi

"It's Halloween Time" Wicked jypsi Style!!

Halloween is my Favorite time of Year!!

   

Almost all projects that follow will be made into quick tutorials on my next post later this week:

 With Homework all caught up, I've been catching up on my decorations for the season.

So far, my Painted Skulls, Hollywood Monster Plaques and Hairy Monster Portrait are some of the projects I have been dying to finish...so here they are:

 

A very important message for all who enter my Halloween lair :)

My Hollywood Monster Portraits were an easy but essential addition to my Halloween....

Plain fingers and eyeballs from Michaels were painted to be used in following projects...but are so fun all on their own too!

My sister going to work on our wolf-head scarecrow for the front porch!

Painting Session...one of many :)

Poofy Cheeks Tutorial "Halloween Shelf Sitters" link HERE !

Last but not least.....Hairy Monster Portrait....my absolute favorite!!

  Don't forget to check back in a day or two for mini-tutorials on the "Hairy Monster Portrait", "Hollywood Monster Plaques", Painted Skull light and more !!!! 

...and Thanks for visiting:))

Till next time,

         Wicked jypsi