Cowl Neck Scarves

Cowl neck scarves are quick, easy projects that only require one ball of yarn to complete.

I have tried a few different patterns but this is the one I like best. It is shown in the off white sample. 

Needles - Size 15 -  circular 16"
Yarn - Lion Brand Hometown Solids 

Cast on 54 
Place marker and join in the round
R1 - Knit 1, Purl 1
R2 - Purl 1, Knit1
R3 - Knit 1, Purl 1
R4 - Purl 1, Knit 1

Row 5-8 Knit

Repeat 2 more times

Bind off

Infinity Scarf

Infinity scarves are popular this fall so I decided to try and make one to prepare myself for Chicago's cold!

I found many nice crochet patterns but I only know how to knit so that got me nowhere. I went to Hobby Lobby and found a nice soft, grey, sort of chunky yarn. 

Size 13 needles
Yarn - 2 balls any chunky yarn


Cast on 25
Row 1 - Knit all the way across
Row 2 - Purl all the way across
Repeat until finished both balls of yarn are finished
Bind off
Sew the two ends together

** This pattern causes the scarf to roll. If you want it to lay flat you can block it after you finish or try a different stitch. 

Bedside Table Redo

My husband has an old table from early college years that we have been using for a bedside table in a guest room. It is old, ugly, stained, and has nicks all over it. I decided to paint it a nice neutral gray color. After quickly sanding it down and applying two coats of gray paint it turned out nicely.

Homemade Skirt

I have a skirt that I love from Banana Republic, it fits perfectly, it's a nice gray color, goes with everything. I wish I had bought it in every color last year. Since I didn't, I decided it can't be that hard to make it. It is one piece and has an elastic waistband. So I googled free patterns online and couldn't find one I liked, or understood. As I usually do with knitting, I just made my own pattern. 

I first measured my waist and then multiplied it by 1.5. 

I then measured the length I wanted, from my waist to just above the knee. I added 2.5 inches to that for the top elastic. 

I used a 1 inch elastic and measured my waist size minus one inch. 

I bought 1 yard of fabric, in a nice flower pattern. 

I cut 2 equal size pieces and sewed them together length wise except for the top 2.5 inches. I then pressed the bottom hem about  a half inch. After ironing, I sewed the bottom hem together. I then folded the top edge down one inch pressed and then one more inch and pressed it again. I then sewed the top along the hem edge for the casing for the elastic. I left 2-3 inches open to thread the elastic. I used a safety pin to thread the elastic threw the seam. Then, sew the two ends of elastic together and sew up the end of the casing. 

Frames With Floating Photos

 When most people put a photo in a frame it usually stays in there for years without being updated. I like to have current photos displayed and these frames make that easy to do. I made one awhile ago and it is hanging in my living room. I change out the photos quiet often. I bought a cheap frame from target and painted it the green color to match my other living room decor. Then I placed 2 small screws on each side after measuring where I wanted to wire to hang from. I strung the wire and bought tiny clothes pins from Michaels. 

I had a bunch of old black 8x10 frames that were not being used so I decided to do the same thing. I painted them  a few different colors and added one wire to each. These will fit a 5x7 or 4x6 photo. You do need to decide ahead of time if you want them to be vertical or horizontal so you can attach the wire in the correct spot. For some I added flowers for a little extra effect.

Yard Work

This weekend was filled with yard work. First, mulching all the flower beds that we created last year, also adding 3 new ones. Thanks to 2 friends of ours helping it went much faster than just Ty and I. 

I needed a few plants to fill the planter on the deck. It doesn't get full sun which is nice when it's hot out and we are shaded on the deck enjoying a drink or two. But for plants, it's hard to find things that call for part sun and mostly shade. I saw these great colored leafy plants at Lowes called Kong Coleus. They grow to about a foot and half tall and wide so I only put 2 in the planter. I hope they like the deck!

We had a bad weed year last year so there are patches of dead grass in the back yard. We raked away the dead grass, put down top soil, spread seed and fertilizer and watered it generously. Hoping this works!

       Before                                          

                    After Dressing

I also planted some Lilies on the corner of the garage. 

Green Door

Our garage door is the main access to our house. The house had a standard off white door. It was very boring and showed all the dirt from people opening and closing it. I found a nice bright green paint from Lowes and 2 coats later the door had a little more character. I used a small roller which was much easier to work with than a standard roller or brush. 

Wall Art

Our kitchen/living room is all white and an open floor plan. Rather than paint the large space one color or break it into two, we decided to add decor. We ordered a wall decal from the company Wall Spirit. They had a Groupon available so we jumped on the offer.  You get to customize the size, the color of the tree, and colors of the leaves. 

It is extremely hard to put on a decal this large. You have to keep it flat while trying not to get any bubbles and also smoothing it out. Each leaf (200 of them) had to be put on separately. The whole thing took about 4 hours to do and it is definitely a two person project. Luckily my husband was home and his artistic eye helped to place each leaf strategically on the branches.

Homemade Clock

I needed a weekend project and decided that because of my love for clocks, I would experiment with making my own. I bought a decorative piece of wood and painted the whole thing gray. I then taped off stripes with painters tape and painted the stripes turquoise. I also did an orange edging. I bought the equipment for the clock and black hands so they show up better. Thanks to my husbands nice handwriting, we used a black sharpie to write the numbers and add the dots. 

This will go in the guest room (aka Gersh's Room)!

Boot Cuffs

My sister-in-law requested that I make her boot cuffs. I had no idea what she was talking about so she sent me a picture. Basically they are just for show and they should go inside your boot and stick out about an inch or so. They do not need to be long like a leg warmer because no one can see that part and it creates too much bunching.

I could not find a pattern for these cuffs so I tried to make one up. After many attempts and too many trips to the post office, sending each trial pair to Tennessee, we FINALLY figured it out. The tricky part was, they needed to lay flat enough that there would be room inside the boot. I had to use very thin yarn and did a ribbing pattern so that the cute part would be showing. I have made brown, gray, and black so far. 

My friend Holly modeling a gray pair of boot cuffs.

Wreaths

I love wreathes. I like to have one for every season. Our front door is black to it is easy to work with.

I recently made a spring wreath out of tulips. I alternated light and dark pink and added the green leaves in between. I used a brown vine wreath as the base. I didn't need any hot glue for this,  simply weave the stems in and out of the vines. 

I love using hydrangea in wreaths because they have such nice size so you don't spend a fortune on the flowers. I made a pink and white summer wreath. 

My fall wreath is made out of orange, brown and green hydrangea.  I painted a wooden R orange and  attached it with wire. 

Elephant For Nursery

My friend is doing an elephant theme for her baby's nursery. I decided to make a wooden decoration that can be hung on the wall or just sit on a dresser. I used a elephant stencil and cut out five different pieces, each in a different color or pattern of scrapbook paper. I bought an 8x8 wooden box (it is hallow underneath) and painted it gray. I used mod podge to attach the scrapbook paper to the wood. I put a very thin coat under the paper and then did 3 coats over the whole surface, allowing time to dry in between each coat. 

Dried Wedding Bouquet

After my wedding my Mom took my bouquet and dried the flowers. Three years later I found the bouquet and decided I needed to do something with it. I made a shadow box out of flowers. I needed  something to put in the center of the old family photos hanging on the wall and since the flowers are aged I thought they would compliment each other well. I bought a shadow box but it was an ugly brown color so I decided to make it match the frames it would be hanging with. I painted the box and put an antique glaze on it. Then, very carefully I took the ribbon off the bouquet and cut the stems off the roses, right where the stem meets the bud. I used a hot glue gun to attach each rose bud to the back of the shadow box. A few roses fell apart when I was handling them but I had enough to fill the box and have a few extra.

Antique Frames

My uncle came to visit and brought me tons of old pictures of my mom's family. I picked my favorites and wanted to frame them. I needed frames that would be appropriate for the age of the photos. I didn't have any antique frames and couldn't find them anywhere. I decided to buy new frames that had some texture to them from Michael's and try to make them look old. I sanded them and spray painted them a nice sea green color. I then took an antique glaze, found at Lowes and painted the frames in all the little crevasses. Then, wipe off the glaze so  deciding how much you want on each one.