| Art, Crafts, Embroidery, Flower, Review, Tips & Tricks
Mini Maker embroidery kits from Leisure Arts are a great way to get your embroidery fix. The designs are modern, beautiful, and full of a variety of stitches. Instructions with images are give for each stitch. Also, the thread is comes tied onto a card, ready to go.
Today I have a review of two of the kits I tried out, a few tips for you, and even a giveaway at the end of this post. The giveaway ends on March 16, 2020, so be sure to enter in time!
| Art, Book Review, Crafts, Embroidery, Flower, Nature
Embroidered Country Gardens is packed full of beautiful botanical stitched creations. Furthermore, Lorna Bateman packed the first half of the book with a bevy of embroidery stitches, tips and techniques. This book should be on the shelf of every embroiderer!
| Art, Craft Tutorial, Crafts, Flower, Home Decor, Painting
Dimensional paint and paint marbling are so fun! I just love playing with paint, I find it incredibly relaxing and enjoyable. Both of these techniques require the right products used the right way. Today I plan on helping you with both.
| Art, Craft Tutorial, Crafts, Flower, Nature, Origami, Origami Pattern
The origami iris is such a lovely flower that will show off your paper-folding skills. Pair it with the stem and leaf pattern I shared last week, or make it one it’s own in various sizes. Origami iris is an intermediate pattern, but take it one step at a time and you will be making fields of these beauties!
| Art, Craft Tutorial, Crafts, Flower
I’ve been trying to decide what to do with several pretty colors of Plaid watercolor paints, and I finally figured it out! I saw these nifty flower paintings made with books and string and just had to give it a go. I tried it out and it was so much fun! I think the girls and I will be making more of these to use in out present wrapping.
The paint used in this post was provided by Plaid. All opinions are my own. (more…)
| Art, Craft Tutorial, Crafts, Flower
Have you seen these Kanzashi Flowers? They are so neat! I got to try out several Kanzashi Flower Makers from Clover and they are so easy and fun! I have pretty pictures to show you and a tutorial to help you create beautiful flowers with your own Kanzashi Flower Makers. At the end of this post you can enter a giveaway to win some of your own!
There are many ways to use flowers in crochet. They can be at the center of a motif, they can be the motif itself, they can be used as an accessory, or they can be part of the color pattern, just to name a few. One thing is certain, they add a little extra flair to everything. Here are 7 free crochet patterns that feature flowers.
Here are the names and links of each pattern. (more…)
Love is in the air! Join in the joy with this collection of heart patterns all made using various yarns from Red Heart.
Here are the names and links of each pattern. (more…)
| Craft Tutorial, Crafts, Flower, Video
I recently found myself in possession of a Boye Flower Loom. I’d never used one before, but I’ve always been fond of the pretty little flowers they create, so I thought I’d give it a go. You know what? It was really easy and the results were spectacular! I have a few ideas of what to do with some of these lovely flowers already!!
The loom came with instructions on how to use it, but I know some of you are more visual learners, so I thought I would make a video tutorial for you. I actually have 2, one that shows how to make the flower in a single color, without cutting the yarn between the flower and the center, and one that shows how to make the flower in two colors (flower and center). I hope these help you create beautiful flowers for all your upcoming floral needs!! (more…)
| Crochet, Flower, Home Decor, Round Up
There are flowers everywhere around my house and they make me so happy! I also love crochet flowers as decorations, so I put together a collection of free crochet patterns for you to decorate your projects. I hope the flowers make you as happy as they make me.
Here are the names and links of each pattern. (more…)
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I love Kreinik carry along threads. I have used them in many of my patterns, and plan on continuing to do so. The yardage on the cones is always plenty, the metallics are sparkly, the glow-in-the-darks glow bright and for a long time, the reflective really reflects well, they are all wonderful! And the color choices – SO MANY!!! They really bring your project up a notch. So, in honor of my love for these awesome carry along threads, I have put together a round up of patterns that use them, including several of mine and 2 knit patterns!
Kreinik is one of our awesome sponsors for Yarn and Wine 2016, so if you attend, you will get to play with some of these awesome carry alongs as well!!
Here are the names and links of each pattern. (more…)
Sometimes I get on kicks with my crochet, and currently I’m on a cable kick. I just love the texture and fun designs they create. There are several ways to make crochet cables, the most common of which is post stitch cables. Once you get the idea of how to make them down, they’re actually pretty easy! If you need a little help, here is a tutorial on crochet post stitch cables.
Now here is a collection of crochet patterns that feature cables which I have put together for you. Enjoy!!
Here are the names and links of each pattern, along with a little something that each designer has to say about them. (more…)
| Baking, Crochet, Flower, Friends, Holidays, Star Wars, Stories
I know I have been lax in sharing snaps and stories of the family lately. I haven’t even been sharing WiPs lately. I will get back to all that.
I have been working on find some organization in my life. I finally have found a way that works for me to keep on top of this crazy little blog. Slowly but surely I have been working towards that end. Somehow, the personal posts seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Just as I was realizing how long it had been, this happened.
If I am recieving an award for best personal life posts on a crochet blog, maybe I should be sure to keep posting them, right? Not to mention my family may be a bit upset with me if I don’t share some stories of the twins, like, now.
So let me just tell you that a schedule is happening, and updates to the blog are happening as well. I would love for it all to be complete by the end of February. For now, the schedule is:
Monday: Crochet or Knit ALong (CAL, KAL)
Tuesday: alternating between a free knit pattern and a Stitchopedia post
Wednesday: evening round up
Thursday: free crochet pattern
Friday or Saturday (or Sunday…): one or two posts about the family and/or WiPs and such
Sunday: evening link blast
I reserve the right to lose my mind and change it all.
For now, here are nearly 40 photos of the last 6 or so weeks of 2014, and a little bit of text to tell you what they are all about.
Sometime Kyla needs to dress up.
I know I told you a little about our Thanksgiving trip in my last family post, but here are a few pictures I missed sharing. I taught the girls to crochet while we were there. They just learned the chain st, but they had fun with it. (more…)
| Crochet, Family, Flower, Knit, Organizing
Oh my goodness, I have so many things to share with you! Exciting things! I have a new pattern that will be going up for sale in the next week or two. You’re really going to love this one. I’m hoping to set up some time soon with my awesome photographer Emily tp get some really great pictures before I release it. My testers need to give me some great pictures as well, and then it will be all ready to go.
Want a little sneak peek?
Maybe…
OK, just a little one…
I also have some new toys. They were kind of a mix between necessity and want. But enough of the necessity that they are tax-deductible! I love tax-deductible!
You see, for quite some time I have been wanting to start a new feature on this blog. I want to have a stitchopedia, I have been dreaming about it. I know, I’m silly. I want to include different knit and crochet stitches, appliqué patterns, motifs, all sorts of fun stuff. And for every entry in my stitchopedia, I want to have a video, a written pattern, pictures, and a graph or chart. OK, all of those things might not happen on all of the entries, but I’ll do my best! Of course, there are certain tools I need to achieve this goal. As you may have noticed, I do have charting software to make crochet charts. I still need to figure out something for the knit graphs, so if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.
As for the videos, the camera I had wasn’t quite cutting it. So I finally decided to just buy a real video camera! I found a great one at the wholesale club, but didn’t quite break the bank. Isn’t it pretty? I’m already in love! (You can get your very own from Amazon, here)
As for my other new toy, those of you who have been with me for a while may remember how excited I was when I a Dragon. Well, I am sad to say that it was such an old version that it was not compatible with my new laptop. I haven’t bought a new version, because honestly they can be kind of expensive. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine pointed out that the Dragon was on sale, so I went ahead and ordered the most recent version and I am happily talking my posts instead of typing them now!
I’ve been working a lot lately. Even when the kids are home they sometimes don’t see me because I’m hiding out in the basement trying to get things done. I know it will not always be this way, but for now, to reach my goals, there’s a lot of work happening. Doug and the girls all had a snow day on Wednesday. So I hid out in the basement and got some stuff done. Doug did have to go to his second job (tutoring at Huntington Learning Center) in the evening and the girls asked if they could go with him. He has taken them on occasion before, and it’s never a problem, so he went ahead and took them. The ladies who work in the office are in love with the girls! When they came home Kyle a gave me this. Isn’t she a sweetie?
One of the new yarns I’ve been playing with a lot lately is Red Heart Baker’s Cotton. I really like it. I love the look of the color and the white twisted together, and it doesn’t even muddy when it’s washed! I haven’t washed anything a bunch of times yet, but I did make a little swatch with a few of the colors and toss it into the washing machine with a couple of loads. It came out the same colors that it went in. Yay! I see quite a few patterns in my future with this yarn.
One last little peek. You will learn all about the flowers and leaves you see here in some of my first entries of my stitchopedia. That means they’re free! I have even just finished recording a tutorial on how to do the beading. We’re going to have so much fun together. This is going to be quite a year!
That’s it for now my friends. I have videos to edit and a stitchopedia to work out. Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you on the flip side.
©Copyright 2014 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.
Well, yesterday I promised you lots of pictures, so here they are!
A couple weeks ago I helped out with the book fair at school. I finally remembered to bring my camera and take a snap of this quote on the gym wall that I just love. Good advice for kids (and adults as well.)
For 2 days the gym was full of books and kids, it was fun.
I had this little beginning of a granny~something~or~other laying about, and it ended up in Kyla’s hair the other day. She loved it.
Last Sunday while I was at my yarn group, Doug and the girls worked on unpacking some of the boxes that have been sitting upstairs for a year. They had so much fun playing with their “new” toys.
Vada was a silly dinosaur.
Sometimes dinos get a little too silly and fall down.
So this is what happens when I tell Kyla to comb her hair. Ugg.
We had our last Daisy Girl Scout meeting of the school year the week before last. We had a pizza, cookie, and coloring party.
These girls really love to color.
Look at them, all focused on their creations. Aren’t they just adorable!?
Eventually the last meeting had to end. I look forward to a full year of meetings next year, with lots of advanced planning, and fun extras added in!
Oh, so Vada bought a glow in the dark pointer along with a book at the book fair. Here she is with Daddy checking to be sure it really glows in the dark.
Kyla asked me to knit her a dress for her birthday. She doesn’t really distinguish between knit and crochet, so I crocheted her a dress, as it is quicker.
I just kind of made it up as I went, so no pattern. However, I may make a skirt pattern based off of this, because I love how the skirt bit works.
Here is a closer look at some of the front. I promise cute photos of it being worn in a month after the girls’ birthday.
On Saturday there was much cleaning over here. Doug did a lot of yard work. I did some yard work, and inside stuff as well.
I asked Kyla if she wanted to help me pick flowers for the table, and she showed me the bush that she and Vada decorated.
She was so proud of the pretty little bush they made!
Eventually we picked some more flowers for the table. Kyla hammed it up when I went to take snaps.
I really like using these little bottles for flowers. I have tons of them, and they do have a purpose planned in the future. However, for now just a few are little flower vases!
After we put our little arrangements together, we went back outside and Kyla found a dark purple flower hiding under a bush. I have no idea how it even got enough light to grow, but there it was, where no one would ever see it. So Kyla picked it for the table!
I love her little fingers covered in dirt from helping with the yard work.
Here we go, with its friends!
Later on Saturday we went to the “climbing” playground. There are so many playgrounds around here that we have given them all special names so we know which one we are talking about.
There are usually not any other kids at this one, as it is tucked in behind the parks and rec building. I think it probably gets the most use when there is a game on the soccer field that is back there as well.
You may remember pictures of this playground from a few years ago when we were at the Halloween party at the Parks and Rec building.
During a water break, we saw a triceratops in the sky. See it’s frill? Pretty cool!
That’s all for now. I have some pattern writing to do, and dinner to make. Have a nice week!
©Copyright 2013 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.
Sunday morning Kyla wasn’t feeling well. Throughout the day she ended up with a fever and feeling very bad. She slept most of the day away. Here she is sleeping on my lap.
Poor dear. I hate when they are sick, but she sure looks sweet, doesn’t she?
On Monday morning, Vada wasn’t feeling to well, either, so I kept them both home. Vada spend most of the day on the couch with the emergency sick bowl, just in case. As you can see, she was not happy. I really wished there was something I could do to make her feel better, but sometimes the best thing we can do is watch over them and just let them fight it off and build up immunities.
Thankfully everyone was fine by this morning. After school and homework, the girls picked flowers. Kyla really likes to pick the flowers most people think of as weeds.
Vada found the neighbor’s basketball, and tossed it back over the fence.
There are some great flowers at the side of our house, next to the side of the neighbor’s house. Basically where no one will ever see them. We tend to pick those a lot, that way they can be enjoyed!
The girls were very proud of their pretty little collection. It took one champagne flute, and one tiny tea cup to hold them all!
Vada wanted a solo shot with the flowers.
These tiny tea cups come in quite handy for flowers picked by the littles. They have a tendency to pick them with very small stems, so a short “vase” is needed.
One of the flowers fell apart in the arrangement ~making. Kyla turned it into a finger person hat. Her little finger person was very excited about it’s new chapeau.
I did manage to make a much needed grocery run while the girls were in school. I bought two of these caramel apple kits for $1.00 each. The expire in August, so they were put on clearance. I think we can use them before August. As a matter of fact, we used one kit today. It was ooie~gooyie~good!!
OK, so remember when I told you about Doug’s coworker giving us some toys her daughter had grown out of? Well, there was a bag of Barbies and other Barbie~type dolls. Vada pulled this one out today.
What is up with her legs? They are 9″ long, and she is only 13″ long. That is crazy! Does anyone know what kind of doll this is? I’m not sure if the dress she is wearing in the previous picture is supposed to be hers, but I doubt it. It doesn’t exactly fit very well.
Look what I got today! I have found some amazing companies through Angie’s list. How nice to get a little gift for giving reviews!
Well, I hope your week is going well, my friends. Good night.
©Copyright 2013 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.
How did that happen? I swear someone stole like 3 days from this week…and a week from last month! Oh, well, here are some snaps I have taken over the last week or so.
The magnolia tree out back bloomed…and the dropped petals all over the yard.
It was kind of pretty mixed with all the dandelions and other little flowers that sprout up in our yard.
So colorful.
We need to buy a lawn mower.
The neighbor’s mint has started taking over again. I don’t mind, it’s useful!
I have no idea what these are, but there are bunches of them spread out around the yard.
Here is a pretty daffodil, before they all dried up. Vada really loves daffodils, she is very sad that they are all gone now.
Here is another lonely little beauty. I don’t get the lay out of the flowers around the house. It’s very random, and all spread out. If we are still here in a year or two, I will have to do something about it.
Here is the new baby. I have to say, as much as the whole fiasco last weekend was a real bummer, I feel so at peace now. I knew the old water heater was going to have to be replaced at some point, and now I don’t have to worry about it any more!
Here is a close up. No questions about the warrantee. There is the install date, 6 years, and the sticker for the plumber in plain view. I LOVE my plumbers!! MarGo is beyond awesome! The price was exactly the same as the quote I got a few months ago, and they took the old heater away. When Mike left, you couldn’t tell he had been there. Except for the fact that there was a new water heater, and I swear the area around the heater was cleaner then when he got there.
On Tuesday, the girls and I went to InsaniTea after school. Vada played one of Ingrid’s guitars for a bit.
Then she made a sculpture with one of the games.
Kyla made a much more symmetrical sculpture once Vada was done.
Yesterday was field day, and the girls were just too cool. Yes, I let them pick out their own cloths. On occasion I have to edit, but most of the time I let them go how they want.
Here is another after I made them smile!
After school and homework, Vada tried her hand at the hula hoop Kyla had brought home. I can’t get over the pure joy she takes from life!
Have a great weekend, my friends!
©Copyright 2013 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.
Doug’s Grandmother’s birthday fell a few days after Easter this year, and Doug wanted the girls to make her something special. So the day before our Easter gathering, he guided the girls in this craft. Apparently some of the kids he tutors had brought them into the center, and he thought they would be easy enough to duplicate.
So, without further ado ~ here is a fun tutorial typed up by me, but inspired by my Crafty Husband!!
Hand Print Lilies!
To start off, trace some little hands onto construction paper.
Cut them out.
My 5 year old girls did both of these steps themselves, making it a true kid craft!
Now wrap the wrists around a straw and staple. This bit required adult assistance. My girls are not friends with the stapler…
I made a vase out of construction paper as well. I cut it to about 8″ high, and folded up the bottom 1″. I then clipped into that bottom 1″ every 1/2″ or so. I then rolled it around a thin bottle, gluing the seem at the end. Fold up all the bottom flaps and tape them well.
Now toss some rice, beans, rocks, or some other little bits for weight in the bottom and arrange your flowers.
Give to Grandma for lots of smiles!
©Copyright 2013 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.
| Cooking, Costume, Crafts, Crochet, Family, Flower, Friends, Knit
I know, I have neglected my blog and my lovely readers over the past few weeks. I am sorry. First Doug was on break, and we spent the days working around the house (I did at least share a bit of that with you.) Doug still had to go to his second job, but it was nice to have him around during the school day.
Then there was a week with no one on break, and me working feverishly to get ready for craft fairs. I seem to have quite a few tea cup coasters and appliques. I think they will do well. It was a very productive week for me on that end, but I let all the photos pile up in my “blog” picture folder. Sometimes I get into making things and can see nothing else.
These little spring wraps were one of the patterns I came up with that week. I hope to have a written and video tutorial for you this week!
Then this past week the girls were on Spring break. We had a lot of fun. We played in the yard ~ OK, they played in the yard while I was in the garage making things ~ we took long walks, we went to the playground, we got some shopping done, we even had a Scooby Doo marathon on a rainy day.
I am amazed at all the fun creations I have to sell. Some of which are samples from my pattern writing, and some are creations made just for the fairs.
I bought some large, clear, plastic bins to pack everything up into.
I discovered that 3 clothing racks break down nicely into this never used trash bin.
I even unearthed some fun pictures to put in my “window” above my sewing table. Yes, this is in my unfinished basement, hence the ugly.
I haven’t gotten as much done on the adult version of Kat as I would like.
We did get to see Jenn, George and the girls last weekend. Look how big Katrina is!!
Dot has always had the greatest angry faces!!
On the first day of the girl’s spring break, I made them bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast.
As always, they were very happy with that breakfast!
Another night I decided to finally give these silly skewered hot dogs a shot. I don’t usually have hot dogs in the house, so this will not be a regular on our menu. It did take a while to skewer all the dogs. I cut up a few hot dogs, and then threaded 5 pieces of spaghetti through each one.
Then I just cooked them as I would for just the spaghetti.
When they were done I tossed them into a quickie sauce, and dinner was done. The girls were amused. Not the most gourmet dinner, but fun on occasion, and not too unhealthy.
And more fair prepping. All these random flowery bits needed to become pins.
Yea, I’m still not to sure about this. I think it is the obnoxiousness of the glitter in the netting that is driving me crazy.
Sometimes random things pile up in the oddest of places in my house.
I have a feeling this is going to be a WiP for a while. These old jeans will become something “new” one day.
Me and the net yarn. We are one. There was a good sale and I got a little out of hand…
Super Daddy!!!!
One of the play-in-the-yard days Kyla picked me flowers.
One night last week we were supposed to be able to see the aurora borealis. I don’t know if it was the clouds, or if it was just not visible but that is NOT the northern lights.
On Thursday Izabel came over to play. The girls had a great time in the playroom!
We had a pair of Rapunzels!
I know she is Rapunzel, not Snow White, but this was just too cute not to document!
I did get a little done on the Kat coat.
I hope to be more regular with my posting again now. The breaks are over, and the creations for the fairs are pretty much ready to go. The first one is a week from today, wish me luck!
©Copyright 2013 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.
Well, I have been home alone all day and have finally finished adding all the patterns and tutorials for the girl’s flower faerie costumes. I am listing all the links here.
Bloom Hat~This was the first piece I made, Kyla’s hat! (more…)
