Organic Heart Washcloth: Crochet Pattern Testers Needed

Update: No more testers needed. :)

Last Valentine's Day, I made some washcloths similar to these for my two kids. I have now written a new pattern for these organic cotton washcloths so that others can enjoy them, too! 

If you would like to be one of my fabulous pattern testers, please leave a comment below to let me know. Make sure that I can respond to your comment by checking that you are not a no-reply commenter.

Pattern FYI:

Yarn: Nature's Choice Organic Cotton

Crochet Hook: USJ-10 (6.00mm)

Level: Beginner (I love testers of any level!)

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Love Heart Organic Washcloths

I just returned from a whirlwind weekend trip to California for my grandmother's memorial. It was beautiful day and a wonderful celebration of her life.

On the flight home, I made Valentine gifts for my children: love heart washcloths.

These wash cloths were quick and easy to make on the plane. One flight attendant even asked if I could give her a crochet lesson during the flight...but I was exhausted and fell asleep before I had a chance to teach her.

I used this tutorial for the hearts and sewed them to the single crocheted square(ish) washcloths, made from some really soft organic cotton yarn. Love it! 

Now these are packed and ready to take up to Scotland as I get ready for another trip...this one not as far, though. Our two hour flight tomorrow is going to fly by compared to the ten hour flight I just took today!

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I'm linking up to these fabulous parties!

Doily Spider & Mouse

Since our watercolor Valentine Card making craft was so successful, we did another kids craft today. After opening a package of doilies that Grandma sent to us, my little creative geniuses got to work. My little girl knew right away she wanted to make a mouse. And there's no surprise when my little guy wanted to make a doily Spiderman spider. They chose their supplies, decorated the doilies, and turned them into two new creatures.

Miss Doily Mouse...

...watch her crawl away.

Mr. Doily Spiderman... 

...watch him crawl away.

Yay!

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I'm linking up to these fabulous parties!

Watercolor Valentines

Today we finished our Valentine's Day cards. I recently saw this tutorial for watercolor resist cards on Grow Creative that shows how to make homemade Valentine's Day cards. My kids loved it, even my little guy who isn't usually that interested in the creative projects I plan for him and his sister. Now we have another way to make homemade Valentines for my kids to give their friends, teachers, and loved ones!

I usually do involved projects like this in stages with my kids. So, on Friday the kids used white crayons and stencils to create a variety of designs. Today, Saturday, we pulled out the paints and they added beautiful colors to the cards.

After painting the first few Valentines, we started to wonder why the crayons weren't resisting the paint as much as they should. We could barely see the hearts on the one above...or the sun and kitten in the other. At first I thought our crayons weren't quality enough, but then we tried using the crayon on a new card and painting it right after.

This worked much better! So I strained to see the shapes and designs on the unpainted-but-already-designed-cards and traced over the work my children had done the day before.

I love the effect. I love that my kids didn't stick with only the traditional hearts for their Valentine's Day cards, but used a variety of shapes from our stencils...circles, stars, squiggles, even a Christmas holly leaf to make a shooting star!

They did some Valentine hearts, too. This one looks like a bleeding heart...unintentional, of course.

My kids really enjoyed watching the colors mix, watching the shapes emerge, and making the Valentines special for each person!

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I'm linking up to these fabulous parties!

Valentines Day Cup Sleeves & Two New Hats

Here's a look at our newest listings in our shop, Sunshine Makings. First, we've got two new colours of crocheted hats. I have to mention that there is only one of the multicoloured hat and as of now I don't have the materials for another one. So, if you like it, then now is your chance to have a truly uniquely colourful crocheted hat!

Click Pink Crocheted Hat to see it in the shop.

Click Multicoloured Crochet Hat to see it in the shop.

Second, (surprise!) we've got more coffee sleeves. These are extra special with heart buttons that make them even more perfect for Valentine's Day! There are 7 colour choices for the sleeves and a few choices of buttons, too.

Click Pink Love Heart Sleeve to see it in the shop.

Click Love Heart Cup Sleeve to see it in the shop.

Click Love Heart Cup Sleeve to see it in the shop.

And remember, I'm offering a January discount to anyone who follows my blog! Just enter the code: SSBLOG to receive a 10% discount at Sunshine Makings anytime in the month of January.

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I'm linking up to these fabulous parties!

Felt Valentine Tutorial

This is how to make felt valentine pouches, pockets, purses, wallets, envelopes...I'm not exactly sure what to call them, but they're what my daughter is using to package her Valentine's Day gifts for her friends. I was originally going to use ziploc bags, but have been feeling so crafty lately now that I'm creating things on a regular basis. So, I made these.

What you need: Felt, Sticky Felt, Cutting Tool, Ruler, Velcro, Pencil, Heart Shape...

...and of course something to sew on or with. 

First, cut felt to desired size. My original piece was 9"x12" so I cut it in half in order to make two pouches from one felt piece.

 Next, fold 1/3 of each piece up. Since mine was 9 inches, I folded up 3 inches. Pin in place.

 Then sew in place. I used about a 1/4" seam. My thread was red and didn't show in the pictures so I added stitch lines to the pic.

 Next, place your velcro where you want it and stitch (or iron on) in place. I took the easy, lazy way and ironed mine on since that's the kind I had in my stash.

Then I used heart-shaped cookie cutters in two sizes to trace hearts on the back of the adhesive felt.

 Next, stick the hearts on the front of the pouch...and they're done! I let my little girl help with this part so that she could feel a part of making her Valentines.

 We filled them with our heart shaped crayons.

These were so easy and quick to make and I'm pleased with the result. Definitely much cuter than ziploc bags!

If you make one, I'd love to see it. Feel free to share a picture on my flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sunnystitching/

Melted Crayon Hearts

So many crayons sat in a tub and were rarely used. Markers, pencils, and pens are the utensil of choice in our house. I'm not sure why because I love colouring with crayons and the diversity they offer. If you press really hard, the colour is bold. If you hardly touch the crayon to paper, the colour is soft. I fairly recently discovered how to make a rainbow of melted crayons. I'll post about that another day. I also learned how to melt crayons to make new crayons. What a great way to get the kids to use their crayons again! 

I had this idea on my Pinterest board and experimented with it last week when my little girl had a friend over. First, we peeled all the "bad" crayons. We saved the crayons that were still in pristine condition and put them back in the tub. 

Once they were all peeled, we broke them up into little pieces My 2 year old boy liked this part of the process. Next, we placed similar colours into heart shaped silicone baking molds (from Poundland!). We found some good tips from this blog for the baking (melting) aspect. Ours took about 20 minutes to melt with the oven set at 110ºC (230ºF). 

I did check them once or twice while they were melting because I was a little paranoid about them melting too much (is that possible?) or burning (is that possible?). It was also fun for the kids to peek into the oven from a safe distance and see the process. After they were completely melted, I let them sit on a cooling rack for a couple minutes and then stuck them in the freezer for faster cooling. They solidified pretty quickly and were super easy to peel out of the molds. 

I did not expect them to be nearly as beautiful as they were. My little boy didn't try, but he did ask initially if he could eat one. I told him about five times that they were not food. They were for colouring. It was so ingrained that he went around telling the same thing to all his little friends again and again for the next hour. 

My kids are now colouring with crayons again and have found other uses for the hearts as well (stacking, sorting, etc.). They were such a success that we're going to make them as Valentine gifts for my little girl's classmates!

If you make one, I'd love to see it. Feel free to share a picture on my flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sunnystitching/