Pao's 10 Birthday and Potholders

Dear God, thanks for another year! a new beginning, a blank slate to start again with renewed energies! For the past 10 years we have had the privilege to start the year with a bang, Pao's birthday is on the third and it gives us an extra bust to start the year happy and joyful and above everything, blessed to have her in our lives. She is such a source of happiness and joy! I am so glad to have followed my mom's advise and decided to have a second child...thanks mom, you were right once again!!

For Christmas her best friend Emily gave her a pot holder loom kit, we were so excited to try a new craft!! The very next day we started looming away...the technique is very simple once you get it. The box did not bring many instructions but YouTube came to the rescue, isn't it amazing  everything you can find in YouTube? 

We were happily looping and weaving pot holders and came to the realization that we needed to find another source for the loops. The kit brought enough looms to make 4 pot holders, but we wanted more!!! Could we use yarn instead? But of course!! This YouTube video does a nice job explaining how to use yarn in the weaving loom.

The results are  different and we like them both, you can see from the pictures the difference in size and texture. With the “real” looms you get a stretchy square, thicker and probably better for grabbing a hot pot. With the yarn the results are nice too, the square is larger and thinner with a medium consistency. I wanted to put roses on them!!..jajajaja…

These are the real looms:

These are the pot holders made with cotton yarn

 

 In this picture you can see the difference in size:

Merry Christmas!

 

It's been over two months since my last post and believe me, I have missed it soooo much!
For over three years we had a project dear to our hearts, finding our dream home. We had been blessed we our cozy townhouse, home to our family for almost 13 years, for both our kids that is the only home they knew, but we wanted to expand a little bit. Earlier this year we decided it was time again to start the search and before the summer ended we were pre-approved and the search officially started in August, by September we found it, it was love at first sight!, me made an offer and the roller coaster ride was on...only God and my dear husband could keep my sanity for those weeks and the weeks after. The closing on Halloween day and the move on Thanksgiving weekend...we have many people to thank and to be grateful about, thanks to each one of our friends and family that supported us mentally (that was the hardest part :), and physically...the day of the move we had 17 helping bodies, 17 angels carrying our lives and things to our new home. Like my son said, we have a house and now we have to make it a home. That day of the move, the "homing" process began (I just made up a word...jajaja).

I must say I have missed my crafting duties very much, looking at blogs and making lists of future projects kept my crafting mojo alive. Vicariously living through my crafter's fellows, what an inspiration you are!! Thanks to all the love ones that supported us through this process, without you we couldn't be where we are today...THANKS from the bottom of our hearts!!! I promise pictures very soon.

Going back to crafting and making stuff, Pao and I have been busy with hamma bead! or Perler beads. Such an easy project that brings so much satisfaction!

Pao made some hair bows for her friends at school, a bumble bee for her spelling bee teacher, and Christmas lights for the tree!!!



See if you can find them on the tree.

Wrist warmers - Work in progress

A couple of months ago I bought yarn at Michael’s sale event for $0.99, the colors is what attracted me the most (and the price, couldn’t pass on a deal like this!).

I loved the mix of greens and purples, kind of reminded me of a mystical forest with fairies and beautiful wild flowers.

At the time didn’t know what I would make with it…I just liked it and bought it, I really struggle buying stuff I don’t need, trying to be frugal and mindful of my expenses but I can’t say I regret it…

I started knitting a pair of wrist warmers and fell in love, every row knitted and purled revealed shades of green and purple in the most wonderful harmony, I felt like a little girl in a candy store or in my case in a yarn store, not knowing what to choose. I didn’t want to stop, each row brought me more joy…I was soooo happy…

 

 

 

 

 

Now back to the important stuff, cast 33 stitches with yarn Amazing - Wild Flowers - Medium, Lion Brand Yarns and knitting needles 4 mm.

Happy Birthday dear Mily!!

Today is my dear friend Mily’s birthday from Mily CooperPhotography! She takes the most adorable pictures to young and old, small and big, she has a way to capture special moments with her lens.

Below (new born pictures) are some examples of her work (I made the blanket…sooooo exciting), for more beautiful pictures or to schedule a session visit Mily Cooper Photography, she lives in Los Angeles CA with her dear husband and beautiful children Sophia and Benny (and Trevor, the family fox :)

 I made this tiny blanket wrap for her newborn sessions, hopefully she could wrap something with it J (I ran out of yarn a little too soon)

 

 

 

 

My intention was to crochet a baby beanie (in my defense, this is my FIRST attempt) but ended up being too big for a baby. I hope Sophia enjoys it!!!

Here is Paola modeling …



 

Mily Cooper Photography

Marta and Armando First Wedding Anniversary

My dear friend Marta and her husband Armando inspired me to create this little butterfly display, I have always wanted to make something with butterfly cutouts and this project allowed us (Pao and I) to enjoy ourselves and to create a memory for their special day: First Wedding Anniversary.

Martita (as I called her cariñosamente) was so wonderful to take the pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The materials are very simple, scrapbook paper, magazine soap opera pages (a Corin Tellado story works perfect),metallic silver acrylic paint (to cover/hide some of the words in the magazine pages), a couple glitter stickers (optional), hot glue gun to adhere the butterflies in place, and a shadow box frame, ohhh, and your handy dandy butterfly punch!!!

 

I picked scrap book paper that matched Marta and Armando’s wedding theme, beige, white, black and sparkle, for the third row of butterflies I used their Menu printout, your could use a wedding invitation or something related to the person your are making the frame for.

Crochet Banner with Roses