Noodle Craft

Turning Point

2012-01-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

As a move to simplify, I am merging blogs so there will be more posts of everyday life here.

This last week Emily turned three! We had fun celebrating it over two days as a family.

She wanted a rainbow cake with purple frosting and the girls helped with the decorating. I should have taken a picture of the inside which had layers of every color of the rainbow...I'm sure you can imagine it.

Here are some of her favorites:

Favorite color: pink, which she wears just about everyday except on Sunday when she wears her favorite purple dress.
Favorite food: just about anything, but especially loves fried rice and meatballs or just meat.
Favorite activity: puzzles. She starts to gather up all the pieces once she decides she can finish the puzzle on her own. Playing picnics is a close second.

New milestones:

Is fully potty trained day and night and I couldn't be happier since this is hands down my least favorite parenting task up until now.
Loves to say prayers. It took a little bit of coaxing at first but now she loves to say them all by herself and of course now she and Hannah fight over who is going to say it.
Knows her ABCs and lots of numbers. It's hard to believe that she has 2 more years until school...

Melt my heart moments:

She usually thanks the cook of the meal, "Mama (or Papa), thanks for the delicious food!"
When she tries to contain all her love for her sister and says, "Baby Sarah I love you, I touch your neck!"
When she and Hannah are getting along, which seems less frequent these days. Why must siblings fight, compete, tease, etc. ?

We love you Emily!

Valentine

2011-02-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

This is our first year making valentines for a little valentine party the girls and I are going to. I wanted to avoid attaching sugar as much as possible, since I already know there will be a lot of that around.

The hearts were made using the super simple Love Hearts crochet pattern, and they have a magnet attached to the back.

Originally I was going to reuse some used canning lids, since the message would make more sense, but decided against it since they sort of have sharp edges and all the paper stuff was too much work.

Crafting Craziness

2010-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Pausing in the crafting craziness to show off a little of what is going on around here...I hope I don't spoil the surprise for the recipients :)

Some pretty flowers for some pretty girls:

Pear pin cushions:

And a whole lot of knitting going on...

Simple Striped Baby Hat

2010-09-02T20:13:00.001-07:00

Have you ever tried to knit a simple baby hat and wanted to add stripes? I've tried several times and always wondered how to get the stripes to line up better...and then I happened to see a video describing how easy it can be to make jogless stripes (hooray)!

So, here's my first try at it and it's barely noticeable (I think).

Crochet Flower Embellishment

2010-08-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

It appears harvesting and preserving vegetables from our garden has practically eaten up all of my extra time! I'll try to take pictures of all the pretty jars we made...

Before I do that, I wanted to post the instructions on making that flower embellishment that I made for the Starling Handbag, just in case there is someone out there who might like to make one too.

Makes a 4.5" diameter flower

Materials

Worsted weight yarn

Size G crochet hook

Instructions

Make a magic ring with 16 sc. (here's a good video to learn to make a magic ring)

Round 1: ch 7, sl st 6 down the chain, sl st in same as beginning of chain,

[sl st, sc, ch 7, sl st 6 down the chain, sl st in same as sc before chain] 7 times (8 petals total).

Round 2: sl st, [sc, sc, sc, hdc, hdc, hdc, hdc 3, hdc, hdc, hdc, sc, sc, sc, sk 1, sl st, sk 1] 7 times.

sc, sc, sc, hdc, hdc, hdc, hdc 3, hdc, hdc, hdc, sc, sc, sc, sk 1, sl st, fasten off.

Now attach a button, yo-yo, or fabric scrap or any combination of those to the center....and now go embellish away!

Starling Handbag

2010-06-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

I love the Starling Handbag from Futuregirl. I finally got my act together and made the medium version.

This was a great pattern. It was easy to follow, and I especially love that it's seamless. I added a simple flower embellishment, which is a modified version of the floppy flower pattern.

This bag is perfect for anything. At the moment it's being used by my four year old, who packs it full with all her coloring supplies. So, I guess I'm off to whip up another one for me!

Simple Gift

2010-05-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

For some reason we tend to under celebrate birthdays once we reach a certain age, and I find that unacceptable! As mothers who wants to make our own special meal and cake? Going out might not always be an option. We often even buy our own gifts or defer it to the last big purchase. This is sad, and I think it should end!

Having just under celebrated my own birthday, I wanted to make a little something for a friend who was having a birthday to hopefully brighten her day...nothing fancy, a sewn version of this fabulous flower by Vanessa of V and Co. as a wearable pin and homemade cinnamon pancake mix in a lovely homemade drawstring bag.

Birthdays, regardless of the number, should always be celebrated. How do you celebrate birthdays without "breaking the bank"?

A Garden Birthday Party

2010-05-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

The requested ladybug cake:

Eyes from marshmallow pieces and mouth made of stretched laffy taffy. Hmmm, notice the upside down candle? Ooops!

Since the cake was small we also had these cupcakes

Cut marshmallows for the flowers and a sour gummy thing for the center.

Happy children, who could ask for anything more?

They all left with their own little garden to plant too!

Gong Xi Gong Xi

2010-02-14T13:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine's Day! These are those great fabric fortune cookies I made a while ago using Brassy Apple's fabulous tutorial. I love that they unfold and store flat for the next year.

Puppy Dress up

2010-02-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

What little girl doesn't love to dress up her puppy?

I used these instructions for the puppy and made leashes out of ribbon and put some velcro on the backs of the flowers I made a while back so she can decorate her puppy to her little heart's content!

Maybe I'll add some skirts...any other ideas?

Projects

2010-01-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Stardust Cloth Shoe is probably my favorite pattern at the moment. There are LOTS of other patterns (cute ones too), but I love this one because it stays on!

I also decided to crank out some matching hair clips (yo-yos, scraps, and buttons). One of these days I'm going to try Heather Bailey's scrap flowers...guess I'm just waiting for the right scraps to come along :)

Petite Scarf

2010-01-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

I had some leftover yarn from the sweater, so I made another petite scarf. I actually created a few scarflets/neckwarmers for Christmas gifts, but I failed to get pictures of them since I had to get them in the mail pronto.

To give you an idea, here are some of the other patterns I used:

And the local yarn shop, Yarn Explosion, is my new favorite stop for beautiful yarn.

Ribbed Jacket

2010-01-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

I've made a wearable item! Sadly, although it looks like it fits like a charm on my oldest, it's a bit short...so it's a good thing I have a smaller daughter who will be able to wear it for a bit!

Since I'm a beginner knitter, this pattern was great for me because it is knit in one piece. I originally found the pattern on ravelry.com, but here's a link to the page with the downloadable pattern.

With all the sales going on I bought more yarn (whoot!) so there's more projects in the works :)

Yummy Treat!

2009-12-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Are you filling your kitchen with yummy treats? Have you tried these easy pretzel turtles yet? They are my new favorite.

They really are the easiest ever. Try not to eat them all.

Do you have a Christmas treat you must have during the holidays?

Snowflake-ish

2009-12-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

Remember the leftover pieces I had from the wreath? I glued 12 of them together and created these snowflake-ish things.

Similar to these ornaments, except that my leftover paper pieces were 1"x5", and I used 12 of them. I thought about hanging them but they stand well on their own so now they line our fireplace mantle.

With all my leftover pieces I had enough to make 7 of these. So for those who are interested in making the wreath you really only need 3 - 4 12"x12" pages.

Paper Wreath

2009-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

The holiday crafting has begun! I used this tutorial from Razzle Dazzle Crafting, and I think it turned out pretty well. At least now our front door looks a little more festive.

I cut 8 sheets of 12"x12" scrapbook paper from my stash, which created more than enough paper loops to go around the 14" wreath form that I used. In fact I'm using the leftovers for a different project...coming soon!

Daisy

2009-11-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

I've been knitting again, and I love it!

The Itty-Bitty Hats patterns by Susan B. Anderson are simple and cute. I've had my eye on the upside-down daisy hat, and I finally got around to making it. I loved using the baby merino wool I brought back from New Zealand, and I'm wishing I had crammed more of it into my suitcase!

Crochet Flower Variation

2009-11-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

This flower is similar to the Floppy Flower but it is smaller and holds it's shape a little better.

Materials

1 skein of non-divisible, fray resistant craft thread or crochet thread

Size 3/2.1 mm crochet hook

button or other embellishment

Instructions

Make ring: ch 2, sc 14 in 1st ch, join with slip stich to first sc.

Round 1: ch 6, sl st 5 down the chain, sl st in same as beginning of chain,

[sl st, sc, ch 6, sl st 5 down the chain, sl st in same as sc before chain] 6 times (7 petals total).

Round 2: sl st, [sc, sc, sc, hdc, hdc 3, hdc 2, hdc, sc, sc, sc, sk 1, sl st, sk 1] 6 times.

sc, sc, sc, hdc, hdc 3, hdc 2, hdc, sc, sc, sc, sk 1, sl st, fasten off.

Attach button to the center.

As you can see this is a fairly easy pattern to modify to your liking. Enjoy!

Pine cone Turkey

2009-11-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

A quick fall craft using bits of nature! And great to use to decorate for Thanksgiving...

Supplies:
pine cone (the more round the better)
leaves of various color
googly eyes
yellow foam or paper for the beak
red felt for wattle
glue

We used the stem end of the pine cone as the head. Glue the leaves to the pine cone between the scales of the pine cone arranging them like feathers. Glue the eyes, beak, and wattle.

If you have brown pompoms available you might try using those as the head and glue the eyes, beak, and wattle to that.

I'm not sure how long the leaves will stay this vibrant, but you could use all sorts of things instead of leaves...paper, feathers, etc.

A Halloween Treat!

2009-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Crocheted Floppy Flower

Materials

1 skein of non-divisible, fray resistant craft thread or crochet thread

Size 3/2.1 mm crochet hook

button or other embellishment

Instructions

Make ring: ch 2, sc 14 in 1st ch, join with slip stich to first sc.

Round 1: ch 6, sc 5 down the chain, sl st in same as beginning of chain,

[sl st, sc, ch 6, sc 5 down the chain, sl st in same as sc before chain] 6 times (7 petals total).

Round 2: sl st, [sc, sc, hdc, dc, dc 4, dc 3, dc, hdc, sc, sc, sk 1, sl st, sk 1] 6 times.

sc, sc, hdc, dc, dc 4, dc 3, dc, hdc, sc, sc, sk 1, sl st, fasten off.

Attach button in the center.

Pretty Flowers

2009-10-30T20:51:00.001-07:00

More to come...

Wordless

2009-10-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

What to do?

2009-10-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

I was trying to wait until after Halloween to try new pumpkin recipes but alas I was unable to contain myself from picking up a can of pumpkin puree from the grocery store. So now I've made pumpkin cookies and buttermilk pumpkin pancakes...but now what? I've got probably about a cup or so left...any suggestions?

Updated Pumpkin

2009-10-26T07:14:00.001-07:00

Sticky back velcro dots stick much better to the pumpkin and foam. We made some more interchangeable parts too!

Ms. Pumpkin Head

2009-10-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

This week we went in search for a pumpkin patch so yours truly could select a pumpkin worthy of decorating. After watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" a few too many times, this one really believes that there is a Great Pumpkin and wants to be a ghost with lots of eyes for Halloween...wow media is oh so powerful.

Well, our search was a bit anticlimactic since we ended up scrounging around in the pumpkin bin at our closest Walmart, but we found a lovely pumpkin in the end.

Wanting to avoid the mess involved with carving and because we want to eat it later, we opted for a cleaner decorating option involving craft foam, scissors, markers, and adhesive. This turned out to be something a three year old could actually handle too! She picked the colored foam and drew the parts (including hair, ears, and arms), I cut them out and added adhesive and she placed them on the pumpkin. We have lots of foam so we can even make more parts to change things up similar to Mr. Potato Head, but Ms. H is convinced this is a "she" so we've resorted to calling her Ms. Pumpkin Head.

Note: double sided tape doesn't work very well with the foam. I'm going to try adhesive velcro when I remember to pick some up.

Easy Peasant Skirt

2009-06-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

I had some extra fabric and came across this great peasant skirt tutorial. The fabric I used was stretchy but it worked okay. I would have loved to have serged the edges and sewn them overlapping on the right-side, but uhh no serger and no extra time. I did attempt a lettuce edge on the hem, which I've decided is definitely the easiest way to handle the hem with stretchy fabric. Hmmm, must find some fabric to whip one of these up for me!

Baby Legs

2009-06-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm probably the last person to try this super easy tutorial to make baby legs. I've had multiple pairs of socks in my stash for a while, and I finally got around to making them. They were so easy (I think I finished 3 pairs in a half hour), and they are about 3 times cheaper than the $10/pair already made from the store. They also double as arm warmers for my super skinny 3 year old who wants to wear everything her baby sister is wearing. Good thing we're traveling in a cooler climate so I can put these to good use!

Applique some onesies

2009-06-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

I love how easy it is to customize your own onesie (I love you Heat N' Bond). The idea for this one comes from Alissa (I love her super cute fabric choice), and you can get the free pattern for the kimono shoes from HomeSpun-Threads.

Check out these ideas and tutorials. Now, if only my fabric stash were more accessible!

SMS basic applique

SMS more applique
Octopus and Rocket
Animal templates from Martha Stewart

It's A Boy!

2009-06-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

A dear friend is having a baby soon, so we celebrated yesterday with lots of ice cream and other yummy treats. I wanted to share the printables in case anyone else wanted to use them. I obviously went the simplistic route...go crazy and let me know if you use them!

Large version (intended to make a garland type thing to decorate the room)
Tags (used on the favors and on gifts around the room)
Toppers (you could double side them on the toothpick and tie a ribbon under for a "super cute, I-have-too-much-time-on-my-hands" look)

Toddler Pa'u Skirt

2009-05-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

For Personal Use only. Feel free to link to it, but please do not distribute or make it for profit.

Materials

2 yards of 45" wide fabric
1 1/2 yards of 1/2" elastic
matching thread

Instructions

1. Calculate the height of the skirt. Measure your child from the waist
to mid-calf (or longer) and add 8 inches for the casing. In my case the
total height is 21 inches.

2. Cut the fabric using the measurement made in Step 1. You should
have a piece of fabric that measures 2 yards by your height
measurement. In my case, 2 yards by 21 inches. (Tip: use a cutting mat
and rotary cutter for a straighter cut)

3. Sew the short ends together (5/8" seam). Press the seam open.

4. Fold the cut edge toward the selvage edge (wrong sides together) to form an 8 inch casing. Pin and iron the fabric.

5. Sew the ruffle row 3/4" from the folded edge.

6. Sew 3 casing rows each 3/4" wide leaving a space in each row to slide in the elastic.

7. Measure your child around the waist and cut 3 equal pieces of elastic.

8. Work the elastic into the 3 casing rows starting with the row
closest to the ruffle row. Join elastic ends (make sure you don't twist
the elastic) and sew the row closed. Use the same process for the other
two rows.

If you would like to hem the edges of your skirt, add an extra 1" to
your height measurement and make a 1/4" turn hem on each edge before
Step 4.

Note: To make an adult pa'u skirt use 4 to 5 yards of fabric and the full 45" width. Just fold over the excess to make the casing.

Paper Baby Shoes

2009-05-12T02:51:00.000-07:00

I made these over a year ago for a friend's baby shower, and I've finally made a downloadable pattern for it! Download it here and test it out.

Remember that this is for personal use only. Please, please, please link back to this page if you post it online.