Cushy Bobble Bath Mat {crochet pattern}

Cushy Bobble Bath Mat

MATERIALS:

9mm/M hookAran cotton yarn, doubled

Stitch guide:

sl st: slip stitch

bobble: pick up next stitch, yo, pull through, yo, insert hook into same stitch, yo, pull through, yo, insert hook into same stitch, yo, pull through (6 stitches on hook), yo, pull through all six stitches

sc: single crochet

ch: chain stitch

DIRECTIONS:

Chain 50, ch 1 turning stitch

(increase in multiples of 2 stitches)

*bobble 1, sl st 1*; rep from *to* to end, ch 1 turning stitch

Repeat row 1 39 more times (until mat measures approximately 24" x 15")

Making use of my time...

...while the kids are *all* hanging out with their grandparents!  It's eerily quiet here....

I've got tons of catching up to do on my blog, but for now, I'm getting lots done to prep for my upcoming September wedding!  Today's project was colored jars, which were inspired by this pin.

I'm really happy with how these turned out...

especially the green one!

Our wedding is going to be a laid-back outdoor affair at a forest preserve, so we're going with a rustic theme and no particular colors (which I this will make decorating not only easier, but more fun as well).

Last night's project...

Recently, my loving fiance got me a new cellphone that I am wholeheartedly in love with.  For serious, you guys.  It's my first "smart phone", which very well could be the reason I love it so much, but this thing seriously rocks.  I can now keep track of my Myfitnesspal.com account (and I *do* -regularly, even!), my kids reward charts (I LOVE the iRewardChart app...  it's a star-based chart system with different tasks and rewards you can set yourself.  It's pretty sweet)!  I can even blog from my backyard now!  ...which I'm not doing at the moment, given that it's only 8:30 in the morning and I'm pretty focused on getting coffee in my bloodstream.  ....Oh, how my life has changed in about a week,  I question how I lived without it!  Kidding.  Sort of.

I love my phone so much that, of course, I had to make a pretty little case for it.  After much searching on Ravelry, I finally decided on this one.  It's so pretty...  unfortunately, I only had a little bit of yarn so I ended up running out before it was big enough to make the envelope-style case that I wanted.  Luckily, it *was* big enough to make a "sock" or sleeve...

I love it!

Here it is all buttoned up.

Needless to say, I still want to make the lined, envelope style case but I have plenty of other unfinished projects to finish before I move onto that one.  And, for now at least, I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out.

Making laundry more, err, fun...?

So a few posts back (when I shared my plant markers with you), I mentioned that I'd been doing some painting...  here it is:

(inspired by this)

I still have to hang it up, but I'm hoping that this will make me smile occasionally while doing laundry...  I also have an old school wooden and glass washboard that I'd like to hang up in the laundry room.  Hopefully I'll remember to get pictures of it all when it's done.

Time to do some catching up...

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear and loving soon-to-be husband!  I made him a birthday dinner that he was very happy with- musaka (a dish he grew up on), custard and scalloped pineapple (a.k.a pineapple bread pudding)....  recipes will be coming shortly.

Well, about a week ago or so we were having absolutely gorgeous weather...  now it feels more like it's supposed to this time of year (which I'm okay with, I suppose).  I took advantage of our lovely weather and got my hands dirty!  My fiance and I hit the garden department at a nearby grocery store and picked up a raspberry plant and a blueberry plant, which I managed to get in the ground (almost) right away...  they're currently covered with empty storage bins to stop them from getting too cold, though we haven't had a freeze in quite awhile ::fingers crossed:: that we don't have any more!

Our blueberry plant

Our raspberry plant

The single packet of swiss chard seeds that I planted are showing some progress, too!

My fiance has been super sweet and put in a new raised planting bed off of our porch that I can't wait to use when the warmer weather gets here!

Look at it, just asking to be planted in...

This rose used to live where the planting bed is now,

ans it's a good thing that I noticed it there

because my fiance had no idea what it was

and was ready to whack it down!

I saved it's life.

While the weather was sunny I made a point of taking out my paint and getting some stuff done.  It was then that I realized that the fact that I haven't *really* picked up a paintbrush since high school shows itself...  please disregard the blobby-looking "lettuce" stone.

I got this idea from this pin on Pinterest.

...mine aren't nearly as adorable as the originals,

but I like 'em enough and they get

the point across.

I *did* get a little more painting done, but I'll have to show you that in a future post 'cause it's just too darn late for this momma....  I have to make breakfast for the kids in the morning, after all. 

And here I thought the stress would end after the holidays...

....and the house should be cleaned too, right?  I dunno, I guess life has been a few steps ahead of me lately.  I suppose it's normal to be in a bit of a slump this time of year...  The snow just won't go away- as soon as you think it's over, there it is the next morning.  It's getting a little frustrating.  I JUST WANT TO GO OUTSIDE.

Spring will be here soon enough...  according to accuweather.com, at least.

In the meantime, I've had even more crafty A.D.D. than usual.  I'm still trying to finish the embroidery that should have only taken a couple of days, but the idea of this craft sale I'm doing with my "wife" (best friend of many years) has me a little flighty with my crafting.  I'm doing my market bags and produce bags...  and maybe a few other things.

There are three sizes...  this picture shows (from left to right) 

a small bag and two medium ones.

...my produce bags!

I cannot stress enough just how much I love these things.

They're so tiny, but they stretch and hold SO much!

(I apologize for the slightly blurry picture, this was the best out of ten or so)

I'm debating whether or not to sell the pattern for the bags...  they're crocheted.  If you're interested, please let me know.

A gift for my readers...

...Menu planner printables! (click on the link below the picture to print....  please let me know if you're having any issues printing these, thanks!)

bird with cherry blossoms

carrot menu planner

cucumber menu planner 

floral bird menu planner

mushroom menu planner

orchid menu planner

peas menu planner

Enjoy!  

(use these with my menu planner tutorial)

Also, please note that this is *not* my artwork...  this is all stuff that I got off of sites offering images for free, such as 4to40.com and others that I can't remember at the moment.

Apparently, I can't write while I'm listening to music that I love...

....because I want to start writing the lyrics!  So, rather than a post about my menu planner, you're going to get Regina Spektor lyrics instead.  That's cool, right?

No, I'm kidding....  but if you really want to sing along, here's the playlist I'm listening to:

Anyway, earlier tonight I realized that I didn't take any meat or anything out for dinner....  after posting this dilemma on Facebook ("Hmm...What to make for dinner tonight....?"), I got a few suggestions from some friends and a comment from my mom, "What's on your menu board?!?!?"

Oops.  

So, I went to my kitchen and grabbed it.  I filled out what we ate last night and went to work at filling it out for the rest of the week.  (Thanks for keeping me on track, Mom!)

Here's what it is: 

• a 8 1/2" x 11" picture frame from the dollar store
• a dry-erase marker
• a piece of paper to fit your frame with the days of the week printed on it (I cut some scrapbook paper to fit and avoided using color ink that way)
• some ribbon or string to hang the marker from the frame and to hang the frame if you like - I used hemp for mine
• staples to secure the string for the marker to the frame

I think you can figure it out from there.  It literally took about five minutes in all.  Here's how you do it:

1. Cut the paper to fit your frame and print the days of the week on it.
2. Take the back off of the frame and clean the glass on the inside.  Let it dry.
3. Fit the paper into the frame and put the back on the frame.
4. Cut your ribbon or string to the desired length and tie it around the cap of the dry-erase marker (you can glue it if you please)
5. CAREFULLY staple the other end of the ribbon or string to the *back of the upper right corner* of the frame
6. You could be done now if you wanted to be, or you could tie a loop of ribbon or string to the back of the frame ( I just tied mine to the little metal hangie thing that was already on the frame)
7. Hang it up in you kitchen or dining room
8. Write your menu on it!

I totally made that more steps than it needed to be just to make it look like it was more work than it really was.

This is what mine looks like...

...but I made four or five inserts because I have decorating ADD.

I'm going to try to put together a few different styles of meal planners to share with you, my readers.  Hopefully I'll have them up in the next couple of days...  If I don't, please bug me about them 'cause I probably just spaced it out due to the chaos that comes with motherhood.  

February's inspiration...

...from my inspiration jar is "Exercise/get moving 3x a week."  Not a bad one.  I'm not sure if I put this on the list of things I was going to put in the jar, but it's one that I need to make a point of following through with.  I'm going to start today by lengthening the walk home from Rye's bus stop this afternoon- instead of the two blocks home, we'll walk a few extra blocks.  I'll make it at least twenty minutes and get the kids involved, too.

I'm also working on changing my eating habits, adding LOTS more veggies and upping my proteins with lots of good, organic, cage-free eggs (they're TWO DOZEN for $5.99 at Costco!  Cheap!) and Greek yogurt.

Another change I'm making this month is omitting the use of grocery bags...  this one is going to take teamwork with my fiance, but it was kind of his idea so it shouldn't take too much prodding, right?  We already have a whole bunch of reusable shopping bags, and I'm making some that are smaller and lighter weight produce bags (with these patterns).  Now to remember to bring them IN the store!  I remembered to bring them with me the other day, but then forgot them in the car...  if I had been alone, or even had another adult with me, I would have gone out and gotten them, but I wasn't going to with the kids with me.  Next time.

Some of this month's inspiration...

(yeah, I know I misspelled "exercise")

February is going to be a good month.  Garden planning, seed starting and hopefully starting to compost (depending on the weather), lots more changes!

I'm getting soooo excited...

...about my current embroidery project!  Its the first of a "series" that I've been wanting to do for at least a few months now and its coming along really nicely.  I'll post a picture in a few days when its finished.  If you're curious, go take a look at Andrea Zuill's blog and her Etsy shop to get a feel for my inspiration.

(this is one of the patterns that I'll be doing...  ISN'T SHE AWESOME???)

...remember when I mentioned changes?

...I didn't forget!  I swear!  This year, rather than having a New Year's resolution, which I surely would have broken by now, I decided to make some life changes and set realistic goals for myself.  Some of these changes are definitely much bigger than others...

The first one was changing my eating habits and, in turn, my family's as well.  We are now "flexitarian," so to speak....  not in the fancy "the only meat we eat is free range, organic, no antibiotic, etc." sort of way (I wish we could, but with a family of five living on one income, we just plain can't afford it).  We are simply limiting our meat-based meals to every-other dinner or less.  That was an easy enough change, given that we're all pretty open to trying new foods.  :o)

My next change is challenging myself to drink more water.  I want my eight cups a day.  I feel better when I drink it, and I start to lose weight, which boosts my self-esteem.

Another change was having my no-more-babies surgery.  Done and recovering.  No more worries, yay!

Other changes include being more active, playing more (especially with my kids), starting to compost come springtime, and completing at least one challenge from my inspiration jar each month.

....which brings us to the inspiration jar itself...

Things it's filled with are:

• poach an egg
• make croissants
• make pot stickers
• make pirogi
• make myself a skirt
• make myself an apron
• finish Rye's doll (I started crocheting a doll for her a year ago and *need* to finish it!)
• make moussaka
• finish O's painting (same deal as Rye's doll)
• finish my zebra painting (yeah, this is something I started in high school -it's about time I finish it)

...I'm sure I'll keep adding to this list as time goes on, too.

Oh, and I have to plan our September wedding.

Looking at all of it here, it looks like a lot...  but I know that if I break it all down I can totally do it.  And I'll do it all well, goshdarnit.

Happy New Year!!!

Well, here it is, a little after noon on New Year's day and I'm finally getting moving...  Though it's not like I had all that much recovering to do from last night.  I stayed home with my kids, my mom came over and I babysat my niece.  All in all it was a quiet night.  I even got to give my fiancee a New Year's kiss...

I realize that it's been a little while since I've posted and I have to catch you up on how our crafty Christmas went!  I managed to finish most of the gifts that I had planned...  with the exception of the rag rug for the girls and O's bean bag chair.  Which was fine, they each still got a total of four handmade gifts from me alone.  I made them each slippers, a robe, an embroidered pillow (which was also what I made for family members) and two sketch books based on Amy Karol's idea.  The only change that I made was using plain poster board instead of backer board, which made them a little less sturdy, but a little bit less expensive.

Rye's robe

Moo's robe

O's robe

Rye's pillow and Moo smiling over hers

O and Moo's pillows

Kitty Gramma's pillow

Rye's initial reaction to the sketchbooks.....  

"a blank book?!?!  Ooooh, it's a sketch book!" (then came the smile)

My mom (Kitty Gramma) made them all kinds of stuff!  Oh, let's see if I can remember it all....  O got a hobby horse (from this tutorial).  They all got really cool overnight bags- I want one, they're so neat!  She also made them growth charts that match the quilts she made for them last Christmas, and the girls got a wall hanging for their room that ties together both of their quilts.

The girls' wall hanging

Rye's overnight bag

Rye's growth chart

Moo's overnight bag

Moo's growth chart

O's overnight bag

O's growth chart

My Gramma (Puppy Gramma) made the girls their super cute corduroy jumpers that they're wearing in the photos.  (She said that O will get something handmade from her soon)

I got a toasty fleece circle vest thingie from my future mother-in-law.  It's adorable.

I made my fiancee a pair of slippers, a simple fleece blanket (the kind where you tie knots around the edges), and two hot/cold rice bags (video tutorial here).  All of it was camo themed.

rice hot/cold packs

The kids also got TONS (too many, if you ask me) of toys from us, the grandparents and Santa.  Moo didn't get the bike she wanted.....  yet.  But all three kids got helmets and a promise that they will get to pick out their own bikes.  Rye got the Barbie kitchen she asked for, and O even got the dress-up bin he asked for.

It was a good Christmas.

....back to New Year's stuff...

I don't like the idea of "resolutions."  They're stupid promises that people make to themselves and end up breaking weeks, or even days later.  I'm not down with that.  I've been through enough broken resolutions in the past that I'm not going to waste my time with them.  So this year, I'm going to try something new.  I'm going to make some major lifestyle changes.  I think that that's as far as I'm going to go with that topic for now...  I'll share more in a future post.  Just remember "CHANGES."

....and now it's nearly 4:00 and I'm *finally* posting!  Eh, at least I got around to it today...

Nine days to Christmas and counting....

I'm still making progress, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to end up pulling another all-nighter on Christmas eve like I have for the past two Christmases....

We went to my cousin's 4th birthday party last night, where she got her pair of slippers from me.  When I talked to her mom this morning, I was told that she had been wearing them all morning with her other dress-up stuff she got for her birthday.  Apparently she loves them and she has a little room to grow in them.  ::win::

Here are the ones I made for my girls using this pattern (Moo's are purple and Rye's are peach):

And here's a shot of the sparkly fabric paint dots to make them non-skid:

I also finally got some shots of O's slippers (here's the pattern), though the red was so bright that I had to fiddle with the saturation and stuff (maybe I can get the fiance to take some better pics of them in the future).

....the rug for the girls' room is well on it's way, and you can expect a crochet pattern for that sometime in the future!  I guess I'm a little more motivated than I thought...

My crafting motivation is beginning to dwindle.....

...and I still have TONS to do before Christmas.  I was doing really well for a few weeks there, too.  I *am* making progress, just not as much as I'd like to be making.

-I finished the slippers for Rye, but when I did Moo's, they came out waaaay too small.  Which is fine, I suppose, since my cousin's daughter's birthday is coming up and it looks like they'll fit her perfectly.  But now I have one more pair to do.

-I finished sewing O's beanbag chair, but I can't find ANY filling for it.  All of the craft stores in my area appear to be out of both styrofoam "beans" and shredded foam.  

-I finally found a robe pattern that I'm happy with and picked up fleece for each of the kids.

-I started a crocheted rag rug for the girls' room using a re-purposed bed sheet and a doily pattern, but it's coming out too small- I think I'm going to try to find an actual rag rug pattern and just deal with the fact that it's not a flower like I want it to be.

-I have 5 of (at least) 8 of the projects I'm doing for family members, and I'm beginning to realize that I'm putting too much time and detail into some of them.  But that's just who I am, and it's so hard to leave it out!

So, I think to help ease my crafting exhaustion I'm going to put on another pot of coffee, put on a movie and just push on through.  I'll get over it and force myself to finish.....................  even if that means staying up until 5 a.m. Christmas morning putting on the final details.

How do you motivate yourself to get moving?  Please comment!

Another wreath...

...It's a different one, but this time I'll show you how to make it! Yay!

Materials: 

• sticks/small branches
• scissors
• eye protection
• hot glue gun
• foam core or cardboard, cut into a ring shape
• scrap fabric, cut into strips and/or ribbon (optional)

Glue one end of the fabric to the back of the wreath shape and begin wrapping to cover so that no cardboard is showing.

When it's completely covered, hot glue the end and trim.  Attach a ribbon for hanging, or leave the tail of the fabric and hot glue into a loop (which is what I did).

Now, take your sticks and begin breaking them so that they're about an inch to an inch and a half longer than the width of the wreath.  My wreath is about 2" wide, so my sticks are about 3"-3 1/2".  If it helps, use the scissors to score the sticks where you want to break them. You should be wearing EYE PROTECTION while doing this...

Do your hands hurt now?  

Begin placing sticks evenly around your wreath, hot gluing as you go....

Keep filling it in..........

......and voilà!  You're done!

What did you think of my first tutorial?  Did you find it helpful?  Did it all make sense to you?  Please comment!

...and thanks for reading!