Altered Composition Journal

So I've tried three times to get this posted. Between life, and winter storms knocking the power out, I've not managed it until now.
I know I promised I would keep my page current. I'm trying I tells ya! Ha ha. Seriously though. I'm teaching a knitting class on Tuesday nights. Wednesday nights are church nights for my oldest two. The rest of the week features my vain attempts at keeping up with housework and Laundry. Sunday mornings are church and visiting. Excuses! I give you excuses! I am working on being better at time management, but hey, I've heard it said that creative people are horrible time keepers. With all of that blather said, on to what I do have finished!

As for items I used, first off you of course need your Composition notebook. I just used a basic 88 cent one from Wal-Mart.
Secondly you need some pretty papers. I used scrapbooking papers, but you can use wrapping paper, pretty napkins, construction paper, whatever your little heart desires. Just remember that it must be opaque enough to cover the pattern on your notebook.
You also need some sort of adhesive. I used regular old clear school glue, and spread it thinly with a paint brush.
I also used a pencil for marking, and a ruler to help smooth things out. Go gently with it though or you'll tear your paper.
I haven't embellished or covered the front inside cover yet. When I get that done I'll add pictures and some details of what I did.

First I gathered my materials, then I decided which papers I wanted where. After that I traced out the covers on the white side of the papers and cut them out.

Next, I lightly spread some glue onto the cover.

Then I spread it all over using a paint brush.

I only did one side at a time. I placed a paper towel under it so when I weighted it down to absorb any glue. I should have used waxed paper, but my kids have used it all for playing with play-dough.... Yeah, so, anyway.

I used this giant box of crayons to weight it down. If  you are using book binding adhesive, or double sided tape you won't have to add weight while it dries because it isn't a wet adhesive.
These are the front and back cover that I have done. I have the back inside cover, covered in green and white polka dot paper which I will share in my next installment.  I hope this shows you just how easy it is to make a custom journal! :)

Stretchy Button Bracelet

So today I was playing around with the idea of making a bracelet of buttons. I wanted it to be stretchy so anyone could wear it. Here is what I used: an assortment of buttons. I got mine from an estate sale in a big box of buttons.

 Size 6/0 seed beads in your color of choice. (I recommend coordinating them with your buttons.

 I used about 12 inches of the clear plastic cord from the bottom of this pack. Not sure what the size is.

 This is the first stack of buttons I used. I went up from under the bottom up through the two buttons, then put a seed bead on, then went back down through the two buttons.

 Next I chose another of the smaller buttons and came up through the bottom, and then down through the other hole. I did the diagonals on 4 hole buttons.

 Continue on doing stacks and singles until you get your bracelet the length you want. I did mine about 7 1/2 inches long, then I slightly pushed all the buttons closer together. I then did 3 over hand knots and put a drop of super glue over all of  the knot. Trim the excess cord, let dry and ta-da! you have a gorgeous bracelet!

DIY watercolors

So, my kids are always wanting to paint. I do think that I have a couple of budding artists in my girls.  The problem with that is that art supplies can be expensive. I usually try to buy extra when the school sales are on, but it's never enough!  I ran out of watercolors, and was wondering if I could do it myself. I found lots and lots of recipes, but they're all pretty much the same. We tried it and they work pretty good for a child's palate. I'm not sure how long they will last, or how colorfast they are, but the kids loved them and that's what matters.

 

 

So here's the recipe I used, and it filled up two ice cube trays.  More than enough for 2 girls to paint with.

Watercolors:
1 cup baking soda
3/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons corn syrup (I didn't have any so I used pancake syrup, and it worked fine.)
1 cup of corn starch
food coloring (powder or gel work better.)

In a medium mixing bowl pour in the baking soda, and mix in the vinegar 1/4 cup at a time. This will fizz, so watch out for it. When the fizzing stops and the mixture is smooth, add in the corn syrup and corn starch.(now would be a good time for a corny joke, ha ha! ) Mixing will become pretty tough. I bent a metal soup spoon and had to switch to a wooden mixing spoon. Once the mixture is thoroughly combined you can start adding it to the ice cube tray or what ever little pods you're going to store your colors in.  I did this using a measuring spoon, and put about a tablespoon and a half of mixture in each well.  After that you get to add your food coloring to each one and mix it in well. After that it's just a matter of letting them dry. Well I guess you wouldn't have to let them dry, you could use them immediately if you wanted to.

This is my oldest daughter's first try at using the paints. She tried mixing a bit, but it would work much better on watercolor paper. This was construction paper, and it worked okay, but it was colored so the watercolor's true colors didn't pop as well.

If you try this recipe, leave a comment and tell me how you think it worked!  Hopefully by next week I will have my DIY Journal done and I will take pictures to show you how I did it.

I'm back!

Hey every one! I know, YEARS since I've posted. To be honest, I've had another baby, started and ended a business, changed emails, and lost my account info. I usually keep everything in my handy dandy notebook, but something happened to that. :( 
Well anyway, I'm back, I'm going to do better. I've decided that I will have to do better.  I need to keep myself going. After having child number three, we've also decided to do homeschooling. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I chose to homeschool my girls ages 11 and 5. You have to know how to engage your child. For my oldest that isn't that hard. My youngest however still wants to play, play, play.  So we've devised ways to keep her going without her realizing she's being taught.
My first new project is simple, Word Bingo.  We are using a phonics based reading program that allows you to move at your child's pace. Each unit has a list of words that the child is learning. I took the words from all of the units that she has finished and made a list. From this list I randomly wrote nine of them on 3X3 grid I marked on a 4X4 square of paper.  I did this until I had used all of the words at least twice.   Then I wrote the words again on smaller squares of paper to call from like Bingo Balls. For markers I just cut squares of construction paper big enough to cover each word.
This game allows reinforcement of her beginning reading, and she loves it. If she's having a particularly hard day wanting to homeschool, I just pull this game out, and she's ready to go.

My Gap Inspired Leg Warmers.

Okay so I was going to make these into a pdf and try to sell the pattern... and maybe I will eventually make a pattern to sell but I figured these are too cute and I'd really like to  see my design utilized as they are cute. Here's the story on how they came to be. I posted in my facebook's local sellers page that I do knitting for commision. A wonderful lady asked if I could possibly make her grand-daughter a pair of legwarmers like those on the GAP's page for toddlers....Sooo I checked it out, and yeah seemed pretty easy, so I took a few days of putting it together, knitting, frogging, writing, erasing and  by the end of the week I had the first leg warmer done and, a functioning pattern. So I had another knitter in my area knit up a pair and see how the pattern worked out.. She said it was a good pattern, but I had written the pattern too close togther so insteady of k2,p2 it should have been more like k2, p2... made it easier.. so I hope you all find it just as easy. (I wasn't sure how to do the cable braid in words.. so I made up my own way of writing it out... I hope it's understandable)
Gap-Inspired Leg Warmers

Info: This pattern was inspired by leg warmers advertised on the Gap’s website. Like the original Gap leg warmers I used acrylic yarn.

Materials:
Size 7(4.5mm) dpns or size to get gage
Acrylic yarn in color of your choice. I used around 120 yards for a pair.
Tapestry needle for bind off and end weaving.

Gage: 22sts X 26 rows = 4 inches when worked in cable pattern.

Abbreviations: K= knit
P= purl
sts= stitches
inc= increase
dec= decrease
rnd= round
K2tog= knit 2 together at the same time
kfb= knit into the front and back legs of the stitch
CB2= Slip 2 stitches to cable needle, hold to the back of the work
CF2= Slip 2 stitches to cable needle, hold to the front of the work
KCN= Knit stitches from the cable needle

Cast on: 40 sts, join and knit 1X1 ribbing for 6 rounds
Inc Rnd: Knit around increasing as follows, K5, kfb, K5, kfb, K7, kfb, K7, kfb, K5, kfb, K5, kfb (46 sts)

Cable Pattern
Rnds 1,2,4,5,6,8: K4, P3, K4, P3, K6, P3, K4, P3, K4, P3, K6, P3,

Rnd 3: CB2, K2 ,KCN, P3, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, CF2, K2, KCN, K2, P3, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, CF2, K2, KCN, K2, P3

Rnd 7: CB2, K2, KCN, P3, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, K2, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, CB2, K2, KCN, P3, K2, CB2, K2, KCN, P3
Continue in cable pattern for 6 repeats(or desired length), plus 2 rows, stopping at the end of row 2.
　
Dec. Rnd: K5, k2tog, K5, k2tog, K7,k2tog, K7, K2tog, K5, k2tog, K5, k2tog (40sts)
Work in 1X1 ribbing for six rounds
Bind off.
I use an invisible ribbed bind off.
Cut your working yarn about 3 ft and thread on tapestry needle. You will be using your needle like a knitting needle entering the sts knit or purl wise.
Set up: Purl into the first st on your knitting needle, pulling yarn all the way through, then come between the first two stitches on the knitting needle from behind and pull the yarn through. Then enter the second stitch on the knitting needle knit wise and pull yarn through.
Work the rest of the sts using the following 4 steps.
Step one: Using tapestry needle knit into the first stitch on the needle(you already purled into this stitch once) pull the yarn all the way through, and slip this stitch off of the knitting needle. (Viola one stitch bound off!)
Step two: Purl into the second stitch currently on your knitting needle, pulling the yarn all the way through. Leave this stich on the needle for now.
Step three: Purl into the first stitch on the knitting needle, pulling the yarn through and slipping the stitch off the knitting needle.
Step four: Come between the first two stitches on the knitting needle from behind and pull the yarn through. Then enter the second stitch on the knitting needle knit wise and pull yarn through.
When you have one last stitch left, purl into the closest leg of the first stitch you bound off. Then finish with step three, and secure and weave in ends. This will make the jog between the first stitch and last stitch less noticeable.
There is a great tutorial for this bind off at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23uJSGokBDA&list=FLvI46Yz7jaH6KdwFUgraYYA&index=1

Okay so I've modified this pattern to fit an adult small/medium.
Yarn weight, 4 or worsted weight yarn
US size 7 and 8 needles
Using size 7 needles cast on 58 sts and work in 1X1 rib for 10 rounds.
Switch to size 8 needles and work the cable pattern
Continue in cable pattern for 9 repeats(or desired length), plus 2 rows, stopping at the end of row 2. 
Switch back to size 7 needles and work in 1X1 rib for 10 rounds and bind off.
Cable Pattern
Rnds 1,2,4,5,6,8: K4, P1, K2, P1, K4,  P1, K2, P1, K9,  P1, K2, P1, K4,  P1, K2, P1, K4,  P1, K2, P1, K9,  P1, K2, P1,

Rnd 3: CB2, K2 ,KCN, P1, K2, P1, CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, CF3, K3, KCN, K3,  P1, K2, P1, CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, CF3, K3, KCN, K3,  P1, K2, P1

Rnd 7: CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, K3, CB3, K3, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, CB2, K2, KCN,  P1, K2, P1, K3, CB3, K3, KCN,  P1, K2, P1



I don't care what you do with the finished product, wear it, give it away, sell it... just please don't claim the pattern as your own.

Elephants for Joplin

Around the holidays there are a lot of movies boasting the feeling you get when you have charity in your heart and help others less fortunate. Well I have a challenge for anyone who reads this blog. Check out  Elephants For Joplin Facebook page and see what has come about from one little 8 year old girl wanting to share hope in the the form of knitted elephants.
Incase you have no idea why Joplin, Missouri needs help, here's a quick recap. This spring a class EF-5 tornado almost leveled the town. Last I heard there were 112 reported deaths and many, many more injured, and I can't find a total for the number of people living in Red Cross shelters.   Imagine having to spend the holidays in a FEMA trailer.  I know that in the nearly 7 months since the tornado that a lot of improvements have been made, and permenant homes have been built, but so much was lost, including, jobs, and the ability to replace everything lost. So in the Spirit of the Season, I'm challenging any of you who read this to give an Elephant Kiss, or knit a pair of gloves, a scarf, or a hat, or even an elephant!

This is my Figure 8 Hat. This hat is a one-size, Adult small/medium,hat pattern but could easily be adjusted. I used a DK weight polyester yarn I had lying around (I buy up cheap yarn to make toys for my kids and the kids in the family with.)The faux-cables make this a very elastic fabric. All slipped stitches are slipped purlwise
Abbreviations:
sts = stitches
k =  knit
p = purl
yo = yarn over
sl 1= slip one
k2tog = knit 2 together
p2tog = purl 2 together
psso = pass slipped stitch over


With size 8 dpns(or favorite circular method) Cast on 80 sts and mark begining of round.
k2, p2 ribbing for 1 inch.
faux-cable pattern for 6 inches
Faux Cable Pattern
Rnd1: *k2, p2* repeat around
Rnd2: *k1, yo, k1, p2* repeat around
Rnd3: *k3, p2* repeat around
Rnd4: *k3, p2* repeat around
Rnd5: *sl 1, k2, psso, p2* repeat around

decreases
Rnd1: *k2, p2tog* repeat around
Rnd2: *k1, yo, k1, p1* repeat around
Rnd3: *k3, p1* repeat around
Rnd4: *k3, p1* repeat around
Rnd5: *sl 1, k2, psso, p1* repeat around
Rnd6: *k2tog, p1* repeat around
Rnd7: *k1, p1* repeat around
Rnd8: *k1, p1* repeat around
Rnd9: *sl 1, k1, psso* repeat around
Rnd10: * k2tog* until the last st. k1 (don't worry.. this one extra won't affect the look)
Rnd11: *k2tog* repeat around
Cut yarn long enough to  finish. Pull through remaining sts. Weave in ends.
Tada! Figure 8 Hat!

I don't care what you do with the finished object, sell it, donate it, give it to your best friend :) Just please don't claim the pattern as yours.