- Erica17 14 Comments

Dish Drying Mats or Dish Towels

Dish Drying Mats or Dish Towels

Dish Drying Mats or Dish Towels

Hey Everyone!

Please tell me that I am not the only person without a dish washer. Because that would be tragic. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but I do have dish washer envy. It seems that with three little boys and a husband, as soon as I finish washing the dishes by hand, walk to the fridge and back to the sink that the sink is full again.  It’s like magic, I tell you!  That or I live in a house full of stealthy ninjas and just don’t know it.  (My boys wish they were secret ninjas, but, in reality, they are more like a herd of elephants.)
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Ruffle Washcloth

ruffle washcloth dishcloth crochet

Ruffle Washcloth

Hello Everyone!

Should I crochet these Ruffle Washcloths for the bathroom? Or the kitchen? I just can’t decide.

I guess I will have to make a ton of these washcloths so there are enough for both rooms.  With five people in my family, that’s going to be a substantial amount that we need.  I’d say I have a pretty good start already, but I’ll have to find time to make some more.  Honestly, it’s addicting. I’m considering making some to give away as gifts as well. They are so easy to make! And did I mention fun? Because they are!

They would make a great project for when you’re on the go too—riding as a passenger in the car, on the bus or train, lunch break busy work or while watching your children play at the park.  I love portable projects.  You can take them anywhere.

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- Erica17 4 Comments

Jumbo Dish Scrubbers

jumbo dish scrubbers crochet

Jumbo Dish Scrubbers

I have seen quite a few washcloths and dish scrubber patterns circulating around Pinterest lately and I wanted to put my own spin on it.

Several years ago, I designed a scrubber that was two panels thick, palm-sized and smooth on both sides. And here’s a secret—I’m still using them! They may be faded, but they’ve held up awesome! There were aspects of my design that I didn’t care for though. Like for one, they took forever to dry when laid flat on the counter—yuck! I actually use them once and then wash them. It just doesn’t seem sanitary to leave a wet scrubber lay on the counter. Maybe it’s just me… And you really had to put some elbow grease in if you needed to scrub something.
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St. Patrick’s Day Wreath

St. Patrick's Day wreath

St. Patrick’s Day Wreath

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

Sorry.  Couldn’t resist.

Who doesn’t need some extra luck in their lives? I know I always can!

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays that I really don’t have many decorations for…certainly not as much as Halloween or Christmas. If you’ve seen any of my other posts, you may notice that I love garlands!

I knew that I wanted to make a St. Patrick’s Day Wreath and my mom actually suggested that I try wrapping one of my garlands around a wreath frame to give it a ruffly appearance.

So I tried it and it didn’t work, but I liked where she was going with that idea. After thinking about it for a week or so, it finally came to me.  I could make three separate garland pieces, stitch the bases together and wrap that around the wreath frame.  Bingo!

And how fun to change up the colors instead of one solid color!  I couldn’t wait to try it!
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Valentine’s Day Wreath

Valentine's Day Wreath hanging on door

Valentine’s Day Wreath

Hey Everyone!

I have to say—love is in the air! And what a better way to show it than with your very own crocheted heart shaped Valentine’s Day Wreath.

Originally I had made a round wreath.  It was nice, but it wasn’t really screaming Valentine’s Day to me.  (This was back in February.)  I actually stumbled upon a heart shaped wreath form when I was out shopping one day and stuffed it in my cart immediately with zero hesitation!  It was perfect!  There would be absolutely no mistaking which holiday this wreath was dedicated to.

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- Erica17 4 Comments

Holiday Garlands

Holiday Garlands

Holiday Garlands

There are quite a few archways in my house and for some reason I feel like they need some sprucing up. They just look so naked. What better (and more flexible) way to highlight these architectural designs then by lining the arches with crocheted garlands!

Even my husband likes them, so they must not be too girly.

If you could see our house, it is decorated with country/rustic items: deer, black bears, grubby candles and oil lanterns. When I was growing up I never thought that was how my house would be decorated, but the truth is that I love it!  I’ve always been fond of nature, the outdoors and animals.  As a child, I played in the woods behind our house, building forts and swimming in a creek that I later found out had poisonous snakes in it! Yikes!
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Love/Luck Reversible Sign

love/luck reversible sign crochet

Love/Luck Reversible Sign

This past February I went a little nuts designing and creating crocheted decorations for Valentine’s Day. I was trying to build up enough inventory for when I opened my Etsy shop and launched my blog. I had the idea to make the word “Love” into a vertical hanging sign. And how cute to make the “O” a heart instead!

So I sat down with my graph paper and graphed out a heart design. With my favorite crochet hook, I grabbed some Red Heart Yarn that I had left over from another project and got to work. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but I kept going anyway. The final result ended up being a really cute wall hanging decoration!
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Hope Hanging Tags

Hope Hanging Tags

Hope Hanging Tags.

Hope…

It stirs so many emotions in me. Never give up. Don’t lose faith. Dream big. Now dream bigger! Everything will work out in the end. (It usually does too!)

This inspiring little word needed a place of honor in our home. A reminder to never give up hope. Something that my children would grow up reading every time they saw the tags.

They’ve watched just how hard their mom has worked for months and months to prepare for this blog. And hope is what brought this dream of sharing my patterns with the world into reality. I hoped, I worked and I achieved. That’s the kind of example I want to set for them. If I can do it, they can do it too!
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Upcycled Shamrocks

Upcycled Holiday Garland

Aren’t these Upcycled Shamrocks so cute!?

Hey Everyone!

I never know what to do with those pesky rings that sometimes pop off my water bottles when I open them. I don’t like to throw them away and if I throw them in our recycling container, they just collect at the bottom and become a mess of stickiness!

Thank goodness our little town has a recycling center because my family goes through a ton of plastic bottles.

So what can you do with those little plastic rings?

Why craft with them of course!
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