Off Da Chain: My Misadventures with Crochet (Or How I Spent Most of My Saturday...)

Hi friends,

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! I know I have not been as faithful lately with my blogging, but I thought I would give a quick update on my current crafty project. Inspired by all the sweet granny square crochet afghans I have seen popping up all over the interweb, I was determined to teach myself how to crochet. I thought to myself "hey lady, you have a few extra hours this morning, why NOT learn to crochet?". I'm pretty convincing, so I decided to give it a go. How hard could it be right?................................................................................



Really, really really really hard, I soon found out! My hands just don't work like that!!! I watched countless youtube videos in which several very nice ladies effortless created chains and double crochets and, um, other stuff. Time and time again I would attempt to reproduce their results and I would fail miserably. My best attempt produce a sad and pathetic granny half circle. Blast!

Take heart friends! I refuse to give up this battle. Normally, I am not this tenacious and would usually throw the project in the closet in a fit of rage, but I vow that I will learn to crochet damnit! I will make granny squares like a true granny. I will succeed and when I do, I will post a picture of said granny square. It will be magnificent.

Note: Sorry for the lack of visuals....I figured you really weren't interested in pictures of a mangled granny square and me with a defeated and frustrated expression on my face. Stay tuned for the real deal!
Love, Bean

Fun Friday: When Good Crafts Go Bad...

I stumbled upon this website (www.craftfail.com) and llloooooooooooooveeed it! I can't count the number of times I have tried to follow crafting instructions and ended up with an epic fail - especially with any kind of cupcake/cookie decorating. I seriously suck at that (thus the eventual smart decision to not make my own cupcakes for my wedding). Anyhoo, I recommed checking out this fun website. Stay tuned next Friday for Part III of The Many Applications of Kool Aid.



Love, Bean

Fun Fridays: The Many Applications of Kool Aid (Part II)

So you have made it through another week and are ready to learn yet another crazy thing you can do with Kool Aid. Today's project: Super Awesome Scented Playdough. A wonderful lady I work with makes this playdough all the time and the kids love it! I found a recipe here and decided to whip up a bunch. Warning: wear gloves unless you want Kool Aid coloured skin!

Love, Bean

Thrifty Thursdays: Dollar Store Decor

    I like to rearrange furniture in my spare time. Giving a room a new look and feel by simply moving a chair or bookshelf is way more fun (and cost effective) than buying new furniture or repainting. Maybe I have too much time on my hands.....hmmmm. Anyway, even though we haven't even been in our house a year, I decided to do a little switcheroo and move the bookshelf to the opposite wall beside the television. It worked! The only problem was that the previously perfectly centered letters that spelled the word HOME were no longer perfectly centered. Now I realize that this is not a big deal for most people, but the fact that it was unbalanced and weird looking drove me nuts! Time for a project.

             I first found this idea on craft gawker and thought it was genius! A small mirror, some paint and bbq skewers is all you need to create a really neat wall hanging. I was able to find all these supplies at the dollar store for under five dollars. I'll let you check out the website featuring this craft for all instructions and steps.

DIY Sunburst Mirror from www.smallhomelove.com

 Just a note though, if you hate measuring, do as I did and just randomly glue them on and cut them smaller if need be. It looks almost as cool without the aggravation. 

In Progress

Painting 

Finished Project

Ahhh.....much better!

Love, Bean

Today's Crafty Adventure: Knitted Yoga Leg Warmers

I've been knitting up a storm lately trying to finish up a few different projects. These knitted leg warmers were created as a gift for my sister's b-day. The pattern is pretty simple (because I still can't follow a complicated one.....someday...sigh). I used a basic garter stitch to sew the leg warmers and measured around my leg. When I had the required amount knitted, I sewed them together. Easy peasy.....just the way I like it!

Love, Bean

Marvelous Idea Mondays: On My To Read List (Eventually....)

      There are many great crafty books out there with many inspiring and unique ideas. Although I have quite the list of books to finish (including War and Peace which I have been laboring over for like three years and Hunger Games which I have finally decided to cave in and read),  I thought I would include a list of the books that I would like to read....someday  

Something I still find challenging: Sewing in a Straight Line

For a little comedic relief: Regretsy - Where DIY Meets WTF

Beautiful Ideas: Handmade Living 

Love, Bean

Something Special Sunday : The Big Reveal

      Hello Friends and Happy Easter! After a few false starts, the knitted Easter tie is finally complete and just in time too! Initially, I was following a pattern that I had found online that used seed stitch, but I found I wasn't loving how the tie looked. I decided to simplify and used a simple garter stitch ( knit, knit, knit knit and knit some more). I started out by casting on 10 stitches and then decreased to 8 stitches by knitting two together on both ends. I used one of the hubs old ties to determine when to start decreasing. The result: a retro skinny knitted tie in Spring/Easter colours!
     I hope everyone is enjoying this sunny, long weekend. I've included a few pictures of how we spent part of our weekend. Can you guess where we went? Here's a hint: It's in Ontario, Canada.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my awesomest sister! Hope you have an amazing day and you enjoy the avocado pie I made for you :P!

Love, Bean

Fun Fridays: The Many Applications of Kool Aid (Part One)

     Did you know that you can do a lot of crazy things with Kool Aid? Besides imbibing this colorful, sugary concoction, you can use it in a whole host of different ways. Case in point: you can use lemon flavoured Kool Aid to clean your dishwasher and remove rust stains from concrete! For reals. If you don't believe me, click the link to investigate further. 
   Anyway, as part of Fun Fridays, I thought I would focus on a few of the different ways to (craftily) use Kool Aid. Today's focus: lip gloss. With nothing more than some petroleum jelly, hot water, and the Kool Aid flavour of your choice (I would suggest staying away from that tropical kind and lime but to each his or her own), you can create your very own lipgloss. I found a few different techniques on the interweb that seemed doable. You can check them out here and also here. 

        I will warn you that this is an extremely messy and gross process that may leave you with pink

 countertops and pink,sticky hands. I was actually mildly disgusted at some points.You have been warned. Stay tuned for Part Two of  The Many Applications of Kool Aid. As the Kool Aid Man would say: Oh YEAAAAAAHH!

Love, Bean

Today's Crafty Adventure: Mad Men Inspired Knitted Tie

Taken from Etsy. You can buy this sweet pattern! Click here.

Inspired by the return of the much loved Mad Men, I have decided to try my hand at creating a 60's style knitted tie. Despite a false start with the wrong sized needles, the project is coming along quite well. Stay tuned for the completed project and instructions. I'm hoping to have it completed just in time for Easter (fingers crossed!). Wish me luck!


Love, Bean

Marvelous Idea Mondays: Book Review

There are so many great crafty books out there, I thought I would share with you a few of my favourites. Seven months ago, prior to moving into our first house, I was looking for some cool ideas to pretty up our new joint without spending a ton of cashola. It was the name that first struck my fancy: The Big Ass Book of Home Decor. Flipping through, I found this book full of unique and relatively inexpensive DIY ideas that were pretty kick ass. Now if your style is more refined than eclectic, this book may not be for you. But, if the idea of using plastic space men in rainbow colours to create a "boom sculpture" (page 207 if you are interested) appeals to you, I suggest you take a closer look. Some of my personal favourite projects include: Block Print Suzani Blanket (page 173), Chic Doodle Feather Pillow (page 33), Spin Art (page 199) and the Treetop Table (page 222). Enjoy!


Love, Bean

Something Special Sundays: Throw a Craft Party!

It’s often hard to find the time to devote to crafty initiatives. With work, significant others, friends and maybe even cleaning the bathroom once in a while, we all lead pretty busy lives. The solution? Throw a craft party!  Send out invitations to your like-minded, crafty friends for a Sunday afternoon full of tea (or wine if you are so inclined....just be careful with that glue gun!), great food, and a little bit of craftiness.

Here are some ideas to get the crafty party started:

To drink:

For some reason, tea and crafting seems to be a nice fit. Here are some good ones from David's Tea

Honeybee Tea

Strawberry Ginger Tea

To Eat:

Simple finger foods are the way to go......you can eat and craft at the same time! You may want to
include:

The Raw Brownie from My New Roots

Mango Salsa from Martha Stewart Whole Living

Salmon, Avocado and Watercress Tea Crackers from Martha Stewart Whole Living

To Make:

The sky is the limit! Basically, anything that takes less than an hour to make and has few or relatively cheap materials would work well. You could even organize some type of theme if you are really ambitious......

Here are a few ideas:

Stick Vase from Wonder Forest

Painted Plant Pots from Marry This!

Party On! 

Love, Bean