Crocheted Jar Covers

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It is canning season so jars are everywhere right now. I don't can but I do enjoy crafting with jars. There are so many ways you can use jars besides canning; as storage and organization, as decor, centerpieces, and so many more. You can paint them, fill them, or make a crochet cover to put on them which is what I decided to do.

Princess Craft Party

-This post sponsored by Oriental Trading Company. This post contains affiliate links.-

One of my girls recently had a birthday and my mom invited her to have a sleepover party with her girl cousins. My grandma happened to be visiting and we thought it would be a good way for all of the little girls to spend some time with their great grandma. I wanted to come up with something that the girls could do that would be fun for all of them and since my daughter loves making things I thought a little craft party would be fun. I decided to go with a princess theme and found some little projects that I thought would be good for a group of girls ranging in age from 3-13 to make. 

Stenciled Address Sign and Front Door Update

-Products for this project provided by DecoArt. This post contains affiliate links-

There is not much time left before the weather starts to cool and summer is over. Fall is my favorite time of year so I am not sad about that, but I had an outdoor project that I had been wanting to do for a while and I wanted to make sure I got it done before it started getting to cold. We have lived in our house for over 7 years and when we first bought the house we said that one of the first things we wanted to do was paint the doors. They were a kind of sagey green color and they weren't very well painted because you could see a brighter teal color coming through in some areas. I didn't love the color and we figured painting them would be an easy fix and a lot less expensive than replacing the doors.

BOO! Sign

This week I am joining with a whole bunch of other bloggers to share some quick and easy, 15 minute or less, Halloween projects that you can make with a Cricut. And you may want to stick around to the end of this post because along with lots of fun Halloween ideas there is a giveaway too, and it's a good one.

Yarn Pooling Made Easy Blog Tour

-I was provided with a copy of the book to review. This post contains affiliate links-

Have you ever tried planned pooling? If you don't know what planned pooling is it is a techinque that uses variegated yarn to create an argyle pattern. Variegated yarns can be pretty to look at but sometimes when you actually try to crochet with them it doesn't turn out so nice. Pooling is something that happens with variegated yarn as you crochet, the colors pool as you work. Planned pooling is a way to make the pooling work in a way that creates a design element rather than just random clumps of color. It was really popular all over the online crochet world last year. It seemed like every crochet facebook group had post after post of people trying to get their yarn to pool correctly or showing what they had made. It can be a tricky technique to master because you have to figure out the right number of stitches to make it work and have your tension just right. Marly Bird has several YouTube videos and blog posts to help you understand exactly how planned pooling works and to make it easier to figure out. Once you know how it works it is a lot less intimidating to try. Now she also has a new book, Yarn Pooling Made Easy, that features several projects made using the planned pooling technique and I am participating, along with several other crochet bloggers, in a blog tour to share this book and give you a chance to win a copy of your own (keep reading for giveaway info).

Felt Flowers with the Cricut Maker

-This post sponsored by Cricut. This post contains affiliate links.-

A little over a month ago I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Cricut Mountain Make-a-Thon, held here in Salt Lake, where they unveiled the new Cricut Maker. That week we attended classes where we were shown the new machine and the things that it could do as well as having the opportunity to try it out and make some projects of our own. I was really excited to see the new blades, the rotary blade and the knife blade (the knife blade will not be available for another month or so). The tiny little rotary blade cut through fabric so smoothly and perfectly. I immediately started thinking about all of the things I could cut more easily with that little blade. A couple of weeks ago a new Maker showed up on my doorstep and I couldn't wait to use it.

Cricut 101: Frequently Asked Questions and a Giveaway

-This post and giveaway sponsored by Cricut. This post contains affiliate links-

Over the first half of this year I posted my answers to some of the most frequently asked Cricut questions. While answering those questions I also shared lots of different projects I made with my Cricut. Before I got my Cricut I thought it sounded really cool and would be neat to have but I wasn't sure I would use it enough to justify the expense. I have had a Cricut now for over a year and I love it. It is great when I need a quick project, I use it for kids crafts, t-shirts, baby gifts, home decor, cards, and so much more. I have the Cricut Explore Air 2 in mint and if you keep reading to the end of this post I am giving one away along with a bundle of supplies (giveaway ends 9/1/17). I also recently got the new Cricut Maker and it is also amazing, I used it a couple nights ago to cut fabric for a whole quilt top and it was great. Even though the Maker is the newest machine there is still a ton you can do with the Explore family of machines and Cricut has said that with the release of the new machine they are not doing away with the Explore machines, they are still part of their current lineup of machines. There is so much you can do with either machine so be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of the post. But first, here are my answers to the most frequently asked questions about Cricut machines: