A DIY Christmas

 Now that Christmas is over, I can post all the things I made and handed out as gifts.  The coasters seemed to go over well as did the salt dough ornament tags.  I think my favorite was the Santa wine bottle covers and etched wine glasses.  I hope everyone liked their DIY gifts!

Most of all I had a really good time getting together with family for the pinterest parties and creating most of these crafts.   It was fun bonding, cooking, eating, crafting and trying new things.  I think I am in need of another pinterest party soon! 

Check out all the things we made

Soy Candles
Coasters
Wine Bottle Covers
Etched wine glasses
Corn Pads with drawstring case
Modpodge holiday decor
Glass Block holiday decor
Salt dough ornaments
Sharpie and dollar store dishes
Stay put dish towels
Crochet hook case

Paracord belt and rifle sling

With my husband dabbling in prepping and buying 300 feet of paracord and me with an idea for crocheting paracord...

Because I am lazy and did not want to take the time to learn all the fancy pants knots used to tie paracord lanyards and bracelets, I decided to crochet it. Also with crocheting it comes undone with a simple pull and no untying knots. So armed with a crochet hook and a vague memory of a paracord belt I once saw somewhere on line I started my little project.

First I needed to figure out a belt buckle. My husband has lots of these fabric belts that come on his cargo shorts so I thought he could spare one. I cut off the buckle, attached to the paracord and began.

I chained one row, measured it on the hubs and then double chained on the way back and finished off the end weaving it thru a few times and melting the ends with a lighter.

This belt is around 80 feet of paracord and a little too long because I lazily measured it on the hubs. But it works and if he ever needs 80ft of paracord he will have it in his Apocalypse stock pile.

While I was making the belt the hubs got a bright idea he wanted a sling. At this point my fingers were sore as paracord is a bit difficult to crochet so I said no. After a few days of healing I decided I would make that sling he wanted. After getting proper measurements from the hubs (32.5in) I crocheted in the same manner as the belt. This sling took about an hour and it's approximately 47 feet of paracord. We attached it with D rings.

So now he's set for survival if ever in need of paracord!

Crochet- Santa Wine Bottle Cover

Previously I posted that I intended to crochet these adorable (in my head) wine bottle covers, well folks, I have done just that!  I think they are adorable!  Don't you? 

Even though these took me about 3 weeks to complete, they really are simple and quick to make.  I just take breaks for days in between crafting.

So here's what I used to make these:

Red Yarn
Crochet Hook (size of your choice)
Feather Boa
Black Ribbon
Spray Glue
Needle & Thread
Card Stock
Silver Sharpie
Scissors


I don't have a pattern, I just used the wine bottle to gauge the size.  I also worked from the top down as that seems to be easier for me than making the magic circle and getting the bottom to be the right size for the bottle. Just did a little decreasing for the bottom to close it up. If you have the smallest crochet skills you can do this too! But if you need a pattern for some reference then you might want to check this out from crochet spot.

Once I finished crocheting the cover itself, it was time for the pretties! I hand sewed the feather boa to the top and the bottom making sure the stitching was not visible from the inside of the cover.  The next step was the black ribbon for the belt.  I just used spray glue to attach the ribbon.   For the belt buckle, I cut it out of card stock and used a silver sharpie to color it.   I also attached it with spray glue. So that's it and I think I love these. 

Here's How I gift wrapped them

Dreams of Crocheting Grandeur

So I'll be the first to admit I am not great at crocheting seeing as I taught myself with a starter kit and have very little practice or skill.  SO many unfinished projects just sitting in a basket all sad that they were never completed.  I am determined to crochet a blanket someday!   But I decided to have a go at some DIY wine bottle covers that I think will go perfectly with my etched wine glasses. Yet another pinterest project to finish.  Pinterest being the Devil it is has inspired me to combine several ideas into my own version of a Santa inspired wine bottle cover.   I have seen so many made by crocheting, but I think lack a certain pizazz.  Some made with felt and stitch witchery, sleeves of sweaters,  even socks.  EWE.  So I set out with a ball of red yarn, a crochet hook, an empty bottle of wine and an idea!  We shall see how they turn out!

**update:  find out what they look like here