Crocheted Red, White & Blue Throw

It’s the 4th of July and I just finished this red, white and blue throw! I bought this yarn a while back and finally got the chance to use it. I have the privilege of actually going to the Herrschner’s store in Stevens Point, Wisconsin when I visited my daughter this past spring. It’s such a fun place to shop for yarn.

This yarn called Whirlwind is quite thick. One reviewer even said it was thicker than a 5 weight, but I think 5 is accurate. The one thing I noticed about this yarn is that it is a very loose twist. When you crochet with it, it’s very easy to drop one of the plies and that’s something you have to watch for. Otherwise it’s a very soft yarn and easy to work with.

The one thing I noticed about this yarn is that it is a very loose twist. When you crochet with it, it’s very easy to drop one of the plies and that’s something you have to watch for. Otherwise it’s a very soft yarn and easy to work with.

What I loved about this particular color blend, is how rustic it is. At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like the combination of red white and blue with gray in it, but as it turns out, it’s a really great look. The white has speckles in it and often one color. It has little bits of another color mixed in. 

And as lovely as it looks, I can’t help feeling that it may not hold up very well in regards to pilling after several washes. The picture on the right gives you a feel how delicate the fibers are.

All things considered I would buy this yarn again in a different color. It’s really soft for being as thick as it is. It also comes in a lot of different combinations. 

I used a simple Corner to Corner stitch from The Crochet Crowd to make this. It took 5 1/2 skeins to make a decent sized throw, approximately 30” x 60”.

Bright Birthday Flowers

Today's card is made for three challenges: Color Throwdown #836,  Retro Rubber Challenge #258 and Triple B Challenge. Below are the requirements for each. I love the bright colors of the Color Throwdown. And I love how the challenge made me make brown leaves instead of green. It's a fun and unexpected twist. For Retro Rubber, all they ask is that you use a stamp set that is over a year old, and in this case, make a birthday card. Easy peasy! And Triple B is always fun because all they ask is that you add a Blossom, Bird or Butterfly on your card. Flowers are my absolute favorite thing to stamp. They also have a mood board you can follow for additional inspiration, but any B, B or B will do!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Bunch of Blossoms (2016)
• SU! Melon Mamba Card Stock & Ink
• Michaels Kraft Card Stock
• Doodlebug Designs Orange Dotted Paper
• Pebbles Spring Fling Kraft Patterned Paper
• Hemptique Twine
• Darice Embossing Folder
• Memento Desert Sand Ink
• Memento Toffee Crunch Ink
• SU! Sahara Sand Ink
• Papertrey Hibiscus Burst Ink
• SU! Polished Pink Ink
• SU! Peekaboo Peach Ink
• SU! Tangerine Tango Ink
• Memento Tangelo Ink
• Dollar Tree Rhinestones

I put a bit of extra bling on this card because I know it's going to need a non-machineable stamps, so I may as well use those extra rhinestones. I've got my eye on some "low profile" enamel dots from Stampin' Up! and can't wait to order and use those. Saving money on postage is always a good thing!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day! :)

Red, White and Pool!

Today's card was made especially for the Shopping Our Stash Challenge, (#SOS551) which is Red, White and Blue, plus you have to use something that's currently in your stash. Well the products used in this card just made it. I got the set in the mail last week, just days before this challenge went live. So it's new to me, but still in my stash.

I first saw this set over at Caroline's KISS Blog and I fell in love. How stinkin' cute is this! My first thought was "you seriously don't need any more supplies," but when I went to the Concord & 9th website "just to look" the price blew me away. Currently the bundle is $38.75. I hit a sale a few weeks ago (the order did take over 2 weeks to arrive) and paid $15.50 for the same bundle. At that price, all common sense went out the window. I bought some other ridiculously priced items too. I think it really pays to follow these manufacturers and keep and eye out for bargains. They're certainly out there! 

Here's my complete supply list:

• Concord & 9th Poolside Dies & Stamps
• Authentique Red & White Patterned Paper
• White Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Poppy Parade Card Stock
• SU! Blueberry Bushel Card Stock
• SU! Real Red Card Stock
• SU! Night of Navy Card Stock & Ink
• Die Cuts With A View Glitter Paper

One thing I knew but really realized with making this card is that die cutting isn't my favorite way to make cards. I love stamping and fussy cutting. I think it's interesting because I feel like there's something wrong with me. But this set is really worth it. I'm glad it's in my stash now too because I'm way too guilty of just making flowers, flowers and more flowers. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a "beautiful day!"

Frosty Friends for Word Art Wednesday

Today is a really exciting day for me! I just joined the Word Art Wednesday design team! I'm so excited to be a part of this great group, and to kick off Challenge for Weeks #706 and #707, I've created a card using a stamp set from their sponsor, Lawn Fawn. One lucky winner will be chosen randomly at the end of this challenge and that person will win a $25.00 Lawn Fawn Gift Certificate! That's enough to purchase the stamp set I used for this challenge and then some!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Lawn Fawn Frosty Friends Stamp Set
• Copic Markers
• White Card Stock
• Patterned Christmas Paper
• Silver Paper (Michaels)
• Glitter Paper (Joann's)
• Memento Black Ink
• Stampin' Up! Real Red Ink

What I love about this set is that it's not just limited to Christmas. If you're running a little late on your card sending, this set is perfect for a winter wish. And all the little details are just so, so cute! 

You can purchase the set directly from Lawn Fawn here. But regardless of what card you make, please join us over at Word Art Wednesday for a really fun challenge. You can choose to use the scripture that they provide, or use anything you like. It's always Anything Goes and we'd love to have you play along!

Concord & 9th Stencil Card

This week my package from Concord & 9th came! I got some really cool things, but what I'm most excited about is how little I paid for it all. They had a ridiculously good sale going so I treated myself to a few things I normally wouldn't buy. This stencil set is one such item.

It came at a perfect time, because over at Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. this week, the letter is "S" since it's the 5th week, which means use your stencils! And I'm also entering it over at NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) #76 because it's brand new. And since I'm venturing more into the world of stencils, I'm playing along with the Stencil Fun Challenge, which will really help me grow in this area. 

I love how this card looks, but sometimes I struggle with the idea of stenciling. It seems like, with whole picture stencils (as opposed to background stencils) that there's only one thing you can do with them and that is to make the given design. Having said that, this set is a little different in that it came with dies that you can cut out a few of the components and create a more stamped feel. I'll have to experiment a little more and perhaps watch a couple of YouTube videos. It's amazing what people come up with!

Looking at it now, one thing I think I could do is to add a couple different shades of pink and green rather than just use one. Or I could work on my skill of not stenciling the whole thing so solidly, but press less in some areas so that it's a lighter shade. I'm also wondering if hand drawing in some details in the leaves and flowers may make it better. Hmmm.....

It's not too noticeable in the picture above, but the vase is stenciled in gold and there are gold squiggles of Stickles in the center of the flowers. It just felt like it needed a little something extra after making this one.

Here's my complete supply list for this one:

• Concord & 9th Filled With Joy Stencil Set
• Concord & 9th Filled With Joy Stamps
• Papertrey Hibiscus Burst Card Stock
• Michael's Purple Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Highland Heather Ink
• SU! Polished Pink Ink
• Dew Drops Brillance Galaxy God Ink
• Gold Stickles
• True White Speckletone Card Stock

I think I'll get more on the stenciling bandwagon as I use them more and more. One thing I found out is that I need more blending brushes. I only have four and I had to reuse one of them for this project. But for all my skepticism, this was a really fun card to make.

Be sure to stop over at NBUS and play along. Their challenges run all month long so there's plenty of time to get involved. And be sure to visit Darnell's blog. I love her chatty style and wonderfully witty humor! And Diane and Darlene have a wonderful array of all sorts of fun chalets play along with, so be sure to check them out too!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

A Sunny Orange Flower

Today's card was made with one of my favorite stamp sets. I just love it's bright and bold look. Perfect for summer. One of my favorite go-to techniques is to throw some black into a project. It always seems to make it pop more. 

Here's my complete supply list:

• CTMH Promise of Spring Stamp Set
• Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie Card Stock & Ink
• SU! Daffodil Delight Ink
• SU! Parakeet Party Ink
• SU! Patterned Paper
• Memento Cantaloupe Ink
• Black Rhinestones
• Simon Says Stamp Pre-Printed Sentiment Strip

This was so quick and easy to make. the preprinted sentiment strip really helped with that. I'll have to get more of those. Despite it's simplicity, I'm hoping it will pack a lot of punch when someone gets it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

A Beautiful Day Sympathy Card

While getting ready to write out a sympathy card to a woman who lost her father, I realized that I have never posted it. I really like how it turned out and wanted to have a record of it and possibly make another one in the future.

This card is a 5 x 7 which allows enough room for both the butterfly and the flower on it. I tried to go with soft colors to keep in tune with the sympathy part. I think the yellow and browns are good for that. 

Here's my (fairly) complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Beautiful Day Stamp Set
• Copic Markers
• SU! Enamel Dots
• SU! Baked Brown Sugar Card Stock
• Michael's Twine
• Unknown Patterned Paper
• Unknown Sentiment

The person requesting this asked for cards to keep as a memento of her father's passing. Such a beautiful thought. It's so important to hold loved ones near and dear.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Regarding Dahlia In Peach & Cobalt

Today's card was made with three challenges in mind. First, over at Color Hues, they're combo is Peach and Cobalt.  Then over at Inkspirational Challenges, they're asking for a stencil. And finally, over at Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. Challenge, it's A week, which means anything goes. 

Here's the supply list for my card;

• Stampin' Up! Blueberry Bushel Card Stock 
• SU! Regarding Dahlia Stamp Set
• SU! Patterned Peach Paper
• Tim Holtz Stencil
• Memento Danube Blue Ink
• Copic Marker in YR02
• SU! Peach Card Stock
• SU! Sticky Sequins
• Gifted Crinkle Ribbon

This is definitely a card I wouldn't have made on my own, but I'm so glad I did. It's fun and I think someone will like getting it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Happy 100th Birthday!

I am up way too late tonight because I said I was just going to get started on the idea for this card and an hour later I was still at my craft desk. I'm realizing this is a common occurrence. Once I get crafting it's hard to stop!

I guess I'm excited too because there is a woman in The Angel Card Project who's going to be 100 next month and I wanted to make her a really nice card. The idea started with a sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches #692 that has three blocks. I thought the numbers 100 would fit nicely in there. I had the idea to make her a shaker card too, and when I saw the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge over at Retro Rubber #257 (#rrcb257) the idea all came together. (See the pic below for the three I chose on the card.)

I wanted to also add that this is a really large card. A friend gave me a stationary set that included envelopes big enough to hold a 5.5" x 8.5" card, and that's the size of this. I needed this much space to pull off using these large numbers. But when you're 100, you deserve a really big card!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Number of Years (2018) Stamps & Dies
• Papertrey Lovely Lady Card Stock
• Papertrey Hibiscus Burst Ink
• SU! Bermuda Bay Card Stock
• Unknown Gingham Paper
• Unknown Floral Paper
• Sequins from Sparkle & Sprinkle
• Acetate Sheet from Kat Scrappiness 

It's almost 1:00 a.m. now and I've got a Walmart Pick Up order for 7:00 a.m. I must get to bed! But it's been so fun playing along with the challenges!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great day! 

One Layer Plaid Masculine Card

Today's card challenge comes at a perfect time for me. My hubby writes to an inmate. He's a family member of someone at our church, and he asked for a pen-pal of sorts, so Clark stepped up. He usually writes long notes to him on plain white paper and I've been bugging him to send a proper card. However I know that sometimes layered cards can't be sent to prisons because I suppose some bad things may sneak in that way. So for a few weeks I've been wanting to make a nice one-layer card.

When I saw The Paper Players One-Layer Card Challenge, I knew it was time. I combined that with the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge, which is plaid or checks. I'm also entering thiso over at The Neglected Stuff Challenge because I don't know when I last used this Deep Red Vintage Woody stamp, if ever! It has been highly neglected for years.

I have to credit the current Stampin' Up! catalog with the idea for this one. On page 114, there is a treat box made with acetate. They took alcohol markers and made a plaid design on it. It's really cute, and that's where I got the idea to make the plaid on a one-layer card. 

Here are a few pictures of how I did this:

This was a little harder than I anticipated, but I guess that's why it's called a challenge! I'm pleased with the card and I'm really happy that we have something to send to our friend on his birthday.

Here's my complete supply list for this one:

• 110# White Card Stock (Michaels)
• Avery Removable ID Labels
• Deep Red Vintage Woody Stamp
• Verve Sentiment
• Stampin' Up! Be The Star Stamps
• SU! Art Deco Label Dies
• Copic Markers
• Memento Paris Dusk Ink
• Various Copic Markers

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a blessed day!

Blackened Background Technique

I fell in love with this sketch over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday as soon as I saw it. I like simple designs that can still make an impact and this seemed to fit the bill. The team over there has made some really clever cards, but I knew I wanted to do simple flowers. 

One of my favorite sets is this floral one from Stampin' Up! After stamping the flowers, I remembered a technique that I saw on YouTube years ago. You stamp an image, then color the background black, then color the image. I don't remember who did it. It may have been Jennifer McGuire, but I'm not sure. All I remember is that it was done with little envelopes in the foreground. Anyway, I thought for an added extra zing I would try this now.

I really like how it turned out. I did the background in Sharpie Markers, which I had on hand. They really hold up to a lot of coloring.

Here are a few pictures of the process:

First I stamped the images, then cut the circles, then colored. That way I didn't waste ink or time.
You can see the difference in the tips of the Sharpies. I couldn't have done this without both of them.

Here's my complete supply list:

• 
  Stampin' Up! So Very Grateful Stamp Set
• Memento Black Ink
• Sharpie Markers (Fine and Extra Fine)
• SU! Mango Medley Card Stock
• SU! Granny Apple Green Card Stock
• SU! Black & White DSP
• Copics R43, YG06, Y13, Y38
• Verve Stamps Sentiment
• Doodlebug Designs Enamel Dots
• Spellbinders Circle Die
• Spellbinders Scalloped Die
• My Favorite Things Sentiment Die

This was a really fun card to make! Thanks so everyone over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday for putting this together. Be sure to check out their challenge and hopefully play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Word Art Wednesday Guest Designing, Again!

I'm honored and blessed to be guest designing another time over at Word Art Wednesday! This time their sponsor is a company called Not Too Shabby, and they are giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to a randomly chosen winner. And let me tell you, for this challenge you'll definitely want to enter, because Not Too Shabby has so much wonderful stuff in their shop.

This was my first time buying from them and choosing was so hard. I wound up ordering the Serene Escape Ephemera Pack and Coordinating Paper. I chose these because I have quite a bit of purple card stock that I bought at Michaels and even have some purple envelopes. So these were perfect. 

Ephemera makes card making so, so easy and I just loved working with these pieces. They're so pretty and unique. I ended up making 12 cards in one afternoon and since it was just before Mother's Day I ended up taking them to church for the ladies to take if they wanted to. (See my picture below.) 

The scripture fit perfectly on the card as well. I printed it at home on some light lavender card and trimmed it down. It makes a great centerpiece for the ephemera.

In addition to the supplies from Not Too Shabby, I used purple card stock from a Michael's pack, Stampin' Up!'s Basic Gray card stock and some pearls from Jolee's. Super simple!

Here's the card rack at church. The flowers were there already and I love how they matched!

My desk just as I was getting started. I did add some of my own rubber stamp scriptures to the 12
cards I made for church.

Here are a few other photos of the cards that I made with this set...

Be sure to check out this challenge over at Word Art Wednesday and play along. It's always an "anything goes" challenge and you never have to use the scripture if it doesn't work. It's just fun and they would love to have you!

Masculine Birthday Stars

Here's a quick post of the two cards that I made today. One thing I love about card making is how they sometimes seems to make themselves, and today is a perfect example of that.

Father's Day Freshly Made Sketch

Tomorrow is Father's Day. It's 11:15 at night and I decided last minute that I wanted to make a card for a friend whose family is sick and they're not able to celebrate tomorrow. I know he must be down so I thought a card would cheer him up, even though he's not my dad.

Needing some quick inspiration, I turned to Freshly Made Sketches #690 to give me a starting point. My supplies were very limited as I only have this one stamp that says Happy Father's Day. The images I have for men are limited too. Thankfully this guy likes fishing so I think I've got a good combo.

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! By The Tide Stamps
• CTMH A Little Everything Stamps
• Core'dinations Patterned Paper
• Kaiser Kraft Patterned Paper
• Misc. Patterned Paper
• SU! Night of Navy Card Stock
• Memento Nautical Blue Ink
• SU! Blueberry Bushel Ink

I still have yet to make (or find a previously made card) for my hubby by tomorrow. I've spent way too much time cross stitching today and now I really have to hustle. I've even procrastinated on the gifts so we have to open them tomorrow night. Where were we before Amazon!?

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful day whether you're celebrating a special guy in your life or not. Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Cardz 4 Guyz #374 Seashell Card

Hello stamping friends. Today's card was made especially for the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #374. The theme is seashells. I used to have a wonderful Stampin' Up! set of shells years back, but got rid of it as I was thinning out my supplies. The best I could come up with was this sand dollar that I picked up at a Stamp Festival years ago. I think it's a pretty close second, even though I guess technically shells are on the outside of a sea creature and a sand dollar is actually inside of it. Anyway, since both are pretty and can be found on the beach I'm going with it!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Seaside Stamping Ink Large Sand Dollar
• Stampin' Up! Wetlands Stamp Set (birds)
• SU! Blueberry Bushel Card Stock & Ink
• SU! Baked Brown Sugar Ink
• SU! Crumb Cake Card Stock
  
• SU! Balmy Blue Card Stock
• SU! So Saffron Card Stock
• Sizzix Circle Die
• Stampendous SSC1883 Sentiment

Much of this card was pieced together with torn card stock and a die for the sun. I forgot to emboss or stamp the "sand" and "water" before I taped them down, so I left the sand blank, as there wasn't a lot of room showing anyway. For the water I used a light blue Copic and hand drew little waves on. That way it was easy to work around the already-taped-down edges.

I always love the challenge of making guy cards and I'm so thankful to everyone over at Cardz for Guyz for creating these great challenges! 

Primrose Cottage Freebie Cross Stitch June 2025

I just finished this adorable cross stitch freebie from Primrose Cottage. Each month they email you a free pattern if you’re signed up as one of their newsletter subscribers. This was my first month signing up, and I didn’t do so until June 7. I wasn’t sure if I would get the pattern because it was past the date that they send it out, but I got it right away.

If you’re not on their email list and would like this pattern be sure to sign up before the end of the month. It may be available after that, but not for free. Here’s the link to sign up:

https://primrosecottageshop.com/blogs/free-stitch-friday/q-a-with-aldo-vacca-1

I’m excited to see what next month’s freebie is!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

D is for Dies (and No Dies too!)

Happy Monday! Here we are at the beginning of another week and it's fully summer just about everywhere I'm sure. My daughter is in Nebraska this week complaining about the heat! And I'm feeling very summery too. So when I went over to Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. Challenge and saw that D is for dies, one of the first ones that jumped out at me was my "Hello Sunshine" from Pink & Main.

I love word dies that also have backgrounds, and this is one of my faves, but I've never used the whole thing because I feel it should have a sun on the card somewhere. Usually I just use the part that says "Hello" as it's easy to cut away the "Sunshine" part. But as I hopped around on other blogs this morning I saw some summery cards and really wanted to make something using the whole "Hello Sunshine" sentiment. But alas, I have neither a sun die (only little ones I bought premade on eBay) or a sunburst die. So, taking Darnell's cue, I made both!

I started by creating my own sun using a round die and a diamond die strip then cutting the diamond shaped pieces apart and gluing them around the circle. Then I created a sunburst by cutting four pieces of paper into triangles. You can see in the last picture that the pieces of patterned paper didn't line up perfectly, which is why I cut strips of orange to over up the gaps. 

Here's my complete supply list:

• White Card Stock
• Black Card Stock
• Pink & Main Hello Sunshine Die Set
• Spellbinders Circle Dies
• Sizzix Border Dies
• Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight Card Stock
• SU! Pumpkin Pie Card Stock
• SU! Pineapple Punch Card Stock
• Various Yellow Patterned Papers
• Generic Diamond Embellishments

I tilted the sentiment to give it a fun feel and hopefully the placement of the diamonds lead the eye up to the little bee. Had I planned this better I would have made his placement more pronounced, but he's still visible so I'm happy.

In addition to Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. Challenge, I'm also uploading this to Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge and The Four Seasons Challenge, both perfect summer challenges. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a sunny day!

Color Throwdown For Freshly Made Sketches

Hi stamping friends! Today's card was made specifically for a combination of two challenges. Over at Freshly Made Sketches #689 is a sweet, square sketch and over at Color Throwdown #834 you had to use three colors, orange, turquoise and green. What a fun combination! And I was also encouraged by Carol over at Inkspirational Challenges to enter there as well, following their summer-y mood board.

My biggest difficulty was determining exactly what color turquoise is. I used to have a Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise Ink, but that's been discontinued and now I have Azure Afternoon, which is the one I decided to use in this challenge. The picture below shows the three inks that I do have that I thought would be considered turquoise, but none of them really captured exactly what I was looking for. Pinkfresh Studio makes a turquoise ink and refill that I want to get, but I had to make do this time.

Here's my complete supply list for this card:

Hmmmm.... turquoise?

• Stampin' Up! Cup of Tea Stamps & Dies
• SU! Azure Afternoon Ink & Card Stock
• SU! Orange Dotted Patterned Paper
• SU! Pumpkin Pie Card stock
• SU! Parakeet Party Ink
• SU! Perfect Peach Card Stock
• White Card Stock
• SU! Cucumber Crush Ink
• Generic Rhinestones

I created the middle section first, following the Freshly Made Sketches Design, then decided that the size of the card would need to be 5.5 x 5.5 in order to accommodate the design. This will be a hand-cancel mail anyway so the larger envelope size shouldn't be a problem.

This was so much fun to make. And if you're up for a challenge be sure to check out these two. Thanks so much to everyone over at those blogs for making creative time a bit more challenging! Hugs!

Sweet Watermelon Season

My top favorite thing about summer is indeed watermelon. Or should I say, WATERMELON! I really love watermelon. I'm on my fourth one this season and it's just hubby and me. In fact, one of my resolutions is to eat 30 watermelons this year. It's a weird resolution that my daughter challenged me to do on a BINGO New Year's Resolution Card. I don't think it should be a problem.

Anyway, over at Shopping Our Stash this round their theme is "Sweet." So naturally I chose watermelons! And since my sentiment is quite large, I'm also entering it over at Word Power Challenge. And because the Color Hues Challenge this time is Coral and Green, and my watermelons are in the coral family, it's being entered there too. And over at Never Before Used Schtuff (NBUS) they are celebrating their 75th challenge and giving away three $25.00 gift cards to any company of your choice. Wowza! And since I haven't used this set yet, I'm entering it over there too!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Watercolor Watermelon Stamp Set
• Sweet Dies and Sentiment from Pink & Main
• SU! Calypso Coral Card Stock
• SU! Cucumber Crush Card Stock & Ink Ink
• SU! Flirty Flamingo Ink
• SU! Soft Suede Ink
• SU! Garden Green Ink
• Dollar Tree Dimensionals

I hope your summer is off to a good start and that you're enjoying the things you love most about summer. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a sweet day!

Pearls In The Ocean Lap Blanket

I'm glad that Colorful Options gives us a sneak peek of their upcoming challenges, because this project really needed the extra time! I started on it right when the June inspiration picture came out, but it took twice a long as I thought and of course, cost a bit more too. However I'm really pleased with the finished project.

I got the idea for this after seeing the colors in the challenge. I wanted to combine those colors with the lap blankets that I'm making for some people at my church who are going to give them to nursing home residents this coming Christmas.

The pattern is one that I made up as I went along. Basically I started with a chain 7, joined it then worked in sets of 3 double crochets. As I went along I could see when it was getting too wavy, and I just cut back on the next row. But basically it's a bunch of double crochets. Pretty easy!

One thing that this piece gave me the opportunity to do is to add beads to my work. I've always wanted to try doing it and it's really easy. Just pull the yarn off the hook and while it's folded, string a bead on, then put the yarn back on the hook and stitch like normal. (See pic below.)  The only thing with the beads is that you need to make sure the hole is big enough. Mine were 3 sizes, and on the smallest ones I had to stick the yarn through with a toothpick, but it worked. These beads became the "pearls" in this project. And I know that pearls don't float on top of the waves, but it was a fun concept to create.

I have a whole new respect for pattern makers and those who create crocheted pieces on YouTube. There is so much work that goes into creating, and in my case, I had to pull out so many rows and try again until I got just the right look that I wanted. And while I'm pleased with it, I think something a little less ruffly would maybe be better. It was a hard balance to strike. It seemed like the waves were non-existent or too wavy. I think to get it 100% perfect it would have taken me a year! From now on, unless it's something really simple, I'll let someone else do the difficult work and just follow along!

The idea behind the lap warmer is to give nursing home residents a little something fuzzy
to keep them warm, cozy and feeling loved.

For my supplies, I used the following items pictured below. The blue yarn is from Walmart. The white fuzzy yarn and the beads came from Michaels. The third picture shows how I crocheted the beads on.

I wasn't planning on putting the white yarn in the project, but my mom suggested it and it I'm glad she did. She said that the foam is always white and she was right, even if it did add an extra $10.00 to the project!

I'm not sure if I'll keep it or pass it on to someone in a nursing home. But this was a great project to create, and I really have Colorful Options to thank for stretching me and helping me create something unique.

If you're not familiar with their challenge, be sure to check them out at challenge HERE. Their challenges are so fun! I'm already thinking about what I can do for next month. I hope to see you there, and happy crafting!