Lady Luck

I found some fun dice beads that I thought would make awesome rings.  I think they're really fun, and a playful twist on the chunky ring trend that's so hot right now.  You're gonna need these lucky beauties, since you never know when a spontaneous road-trip will end in Vegas...

Lady Luck Cocktail Ring

Fits a ring size 7, but will stretch for larger sizes
Supplies:
7 plastic dice beads
.5mm Silver elastic beading cord
Size D crochet hook
Scissors

Load all of your beads onto the elastic.

R1: ch 4, sl st to first ch to close round.
R2: slide a bead up and sc through the center of the ch 4 circle.  Repeat until all of the beads have been used. Sl st into the first sc to close the round. (7 st)
R2: chain 20 (add more stitches for a larger ring, leave some off for a smaller ring).  Sl st to the 2nd ch of R1 (or whatever stitch is on the opposite side of R1 from the chain).  Fasten off.  Weave in ends (which there isn't much space to do, I just tied it in a surgeons knot and used my crochet hook to weave it between the beads a little.) Snip off any extra elastic.

And don't forget to send me a postcard from Vegas!

xoxo

9/14/12 edit: You know, it has occurred to me that these would also be good for a Yahtzee party... you know, if Vegas wasn't your thing... :D
xo J

Candy Corn Soap Dispenser Cover

A couple of days ago I made the cutest candy corn hand sanitizer cover.  It occurred to me that it would be super fun to make a full-sized soap dispenser cover in candy corn colors, so I whipped one up using my Bath and Body Works foaming soap cover pattern.  It turned out HUGE!  Ahahaha!  I guess the Bernat worsted weight cotton yarn is larger than the Lily Sugar'n Cream worsted weight cotton yarn I had used for those covers.  I would have caught the problem much sooner if I had tried it up to the bottle at any point while I was crocheting the cover, but I didn't, so I had to remake it.

Since I had already crocheted one in single crochet (and my F hook has gone missing...), I decided to make the new one with half-double crochet stitches.  I like it!  As a bonus, it crochets up wickedly fast.

Candy Corn Soap Dispenser Cover
Supplies
Worsted weight yarn in Yellow, Orange, and White (I used Bernat handicrafter 100% cotton yarn in Mango, Orange, and White)
Size G crochet hook
Yarn needle
Bath and Body Works Foaming Soap Dispenser

Using yellow yarn, ch 26.  Being careful not to twist chain, sl st to first ch to close loop.
R1: ch 2, hdc in the back loop of each ch around, sl st to first st to close round (26 st)
R2-5: ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (26 st)
R6: change to orange yarn, ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (26 st)
R7: ch 2, (hdc next 2 st tog, 11 hdc) 2 times, sl st to first st to close round (24 st)
R8: ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (24 st)
R9: ch 2, (hdc next 2 st tog, 10 hdc) 2 times, sl st to first st to close round (22 st)
R10: ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (22 st)
R11: ch 2, (hdc next 2 st tog, 9 hdc) 2 times, sl st to first st to close round (20 st)
R12: change to white yarn, ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (20 st)
R13: ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (20 st)
R14: ch 2, (hdc next 2 st tog, hdc next 2 st tog, 6 hdc) 2 times (16 st)
R15-16: ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st to first st to close round (16 st)
Fasten off.  Weave in ends.  Slip cover over soap dispenser and enjoy the candy corn goodness!

**If you use a different type of soap dispenser, you can check out my other soap dispenser cover patterns.  You can convert all of them into candy corn covers by working the bottom third of the pattern in yellow, the middle third in orange, and the top third in white.**

One more thing about candy corn: I am a rather lazy decorator.  I don't like to haul out boxes of decorations for each holiday, swap them with the previous decorations, and lug the boxes back down to the basement. I am just not that type.  So I like multi-holiday seasonal decorations.  Candy corn is a perfect decoration, since it works as a general fall decoration.  It's just as appropriate for Halloween as it is for Thanksgiving.  I can put it in the bathroom in September, and I don't have to put it away until Black Friday. Perfection! I love candy corn!

xoxo

It Came From Beneath the Sea...

I like library sales.  I like them because I can get really cheap books and vhs tapes (yes, we still use vhs tapes, especially because Mims can put them in herself, and we have players in most of our old, outdated, vintage tv sets).  I love craft books from the 60's and 70's, and I have found a few gems for the collection at library sales.

I have lately been on the lookout for vhs tapes with super hard, 'video-rental'-type cases.  I wanted to make a hard sided tool case for holding pointy scissors, and sharp needles, since I'm finding that since I started this blog, I have been carrying my crochet with me everywhere! In fact, the other day I almost sheared through the side of the nylon Work-In-Progress bag with my little scissors, which made me think that enough is enough.  Time to bite the bullet and make a case for my dangerous work implements.

My intention was to make a crochet lining, with a flap for holding my crochet hooks, but I was so inspired by the movie that had been inside this case, that I opted to go for something a little more fun.

The large tentacle is open on the bottom, so that I can use it for hook storage if I need to.  The smaller tentacles could hold yarn needles, if I need them to.  Once the tentacles fold inside the case, there isn't a whole lot of room for much more than a hook, a yarn needle and a pair of scissors.  Ah, but it's worth it for the tentacled fun in public...

Besides, if I want to make a case to hold the rest of my supplies, I'll use one of the other awesome cases I found...  I'm always up for some Sesame Street fun!

xoxo

Fun with a wig...

It's summer!  It's hot and no one needs a hat, yet, I felt inspired to make one. Actually, I felt inspired to make  a crocheted wig, which necessitated an under-beanie to help hold the shape, so really it's a double layered heat-trapping super hat.  Terrible timing, but funny doesn't care what season it is.  And I live for funny!

We took the crazy thing to the Fullerton arboretum, because if you've got a heat-trapping super hat, the best thing to do is take it outdoors in 90 degree heat!  But it's so funny!

I miss fall...

I made everyone else wear the crocheted wig too, because it make me laugh!

Mims absolutely fell in love with the giant Ombu tree.  We probably played there for an hour.

We couldn't get a good photo of Mims and Jake in front of it, because so many people had carved their initials into it.  I really hate graphitti. It's just so disrespectful.

But, as I sat on the bench near that beautiful tree, I was inspired to create some graphitti of my own.  Something that could be easily removed.  But something that, while it lasted, would be more interesting than hacking into a tree that I remember playing under when I was little too.  Red seemed like an appropriate protest color...

xoxo