DIY: Holiday Wreath

Now that Thanksgiving and black Friday have passed, Christmas decorations are popping up left and right. This year I decided to join the masses and get into the spirit early too! A friend mentioned she made her own DIY wreath from an idea on pintrest, and I decided I would try a version of my own as well.(see above!)

Starting out I was a bit skeptical, but let me tell you, this was by far the easiest project I've attempted, and I love the way it turned out.

You will need:

Christmas balls (58 balls)
wire hanger
ribbon
Twine

Step 1: unwind the wire hanger

Step 2: Bend the wire into a circle

Step 3: If you have many different colored balls formulate a pattern, begin stringing the balls onto the wire (if the tops of the balls are not firmly on, I would consider hot glue gunning each on)

Continue to string the balls

Once you have about half the balls on, lift the right side of the hanger up, all of the balls should slide down towards the left side, and create a thicker looking wreath

Continue the process of adding more balls, and lifting up the right side of the hanger, until you have all 58 balls strung, the result should look something like the below:

Now, retwist the top of the wire hanger back together

Lastly, tie a bow and attach with twine at the top of the wreath

How to: Add Fringe to a Scarf

As cold weather is right around the corner, I've been quite busy crafting many many scarves for friends and family. I have not yet added that extra special punch to my creations though, this being: FRINGE! So, I think it is high time that I figure out exactly how this is done.

Of course the first step is to crochet a scarf

Here's the pattern I came up with (I think this is great for a Man's scarf)

Create a slipknot, chain 200

Row 1: single crochet in the 3 chain from the hook, continue to single crochet in each remaining chain, when you reach the end chain 2, turn your work

Row 2: single crochet in each single crochet, when you reach the end chain 2, turn your work

Row 3->11: repeat row 2

Fasten off

Now for the fringe..

Cut strands of yarn 12 inches long, for this I actually took a small notebook and just began wrapping the yarn around multiple times

Then I cut the yarn at the top of the notebook

I then inserted the crochet hook into the first stitch (this pic is of the second stitch, but the process is the same)

Next I took 6 strands of yarn and folded them over the crochet hook

Then I pulled the yarn through

Lastly, wrap fringe over the hook and pull through, tug to tighten

Continue this process for all bottom and top stitches of your scarf

When you're finished you should have something like this!

Homemade Lip Gloss

Happy Monday! I must say I am so excited about this week's project: Homemade Lip Gloss! I first saw this on pintrest a few weeks ago, and knew I had to give it a shot.

My lips, like most, chap easily, and for the last few years I've been using Rosebud Salve, I never leave home without it. And although it's not that pricey, it's not always accessible, unless of course you live by a sephora or urban outfitters, which I don't.

So, for convenience and in an effort to save a few bucks, I'm hoping this new recipe with prove to be my rosebud salve replacement.

What you'll need:
1 tub shea butter petroleum jelly
1 pkg of desired flavored kool-aid (I used both pink lemonade, and fruit punch; pink lemonade doesn't show any color, and fruit punch comes out pale pink)
lip gloss containers (either new, or recycle old ones)

Directions:

Step 1: use a microwave safe measuring cup (make sure it has a spout, which will make pouring the lip gloss into containers easy), spoon a third a cup of vaseline into the measuring cup.

Step 2: heat the vaseline in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each heating. It took me about 5 minutes for the vaseline to liquify. Remove from microwave with an oven mit

Step 3: take out of microwave and stir in kool-aid drink crystals until the crystals dissolve.

Step 4: Add a small amount of water into the mix and stir (this will help you achieve color)

Step 5: Pour mix into lip gloss containers

Step 6: cap containers, put in freezer for 15 minutes until the liquid solidifies

That Easy!!

Custom Cozy Drink Holder

Happy Halloween!!

For this week's project: Custom Drink cozy (it's a hit at any tailgate!)

For those of you that keep stopping by every week that aren't interested in learning crochet, I promise, I WILL start posting other projects that don't include crocheting. For those of you that like crochet, this is an extremely simple project. I had some extra time on Friday but I didn't want to get caught up in a long project; I was prepping for a Saturday college football tailgate, and with the weather forecast so grim, I figured I'd try my luck at making a drink cozy. As the project seemed so simple, I didn't bother looking up a pattern. I figured I'd wing it, and hope for the best.

I can say now, after a few people have tried out my cozies; and we unfortunately lost some beer, in an effort to maintain snuggness, I am altering my original pattern. (I didn't take into consideration how much the yarn would stretch)

Here's the revised pattern..

Materials:
SIze H crochet hook
acrylic yarn (2 colors)
darning needle
scissors


Create a slipknot
chain 12
1st Row: double crochet in the 3 chain from the hook, continue to double crochet in each of the following chains until you reach the end of the row; chain 3, turn your work
2nd Row: double crochet in the first double crochet, continue to double crochet in each of the following double crochets until you reach the end of the row, chain 3, turn your work
3rd through 13th Row: continue to repeat directions in the 2nd row.

Now, cut 1 foot of yarn
crochet 1, but instead of leaving the yarn on the hook, pull the 1 extra foot of yarn through, pull to tighten, and you should create a knot
You should have something that looks like the below...

Next, thread the darning needle

Match up the beginning and the end of your work, and begin to sew together

Weave yarn through end to end, you should be left with something like the below:

tie the two excess pieces of yarn together, knotting twice, and then cut of the extra yarn. Now, flip your work inside out, you've completed your cozy.

Lastly, if you want to customize your cozy for a specific team, your own initials etc, thread the darning needle with a different color than what you used on the base, in my case I used white.

After threading the needle, I tied a knot at the end of my yarn

Next, I began to sew in my letters, by starting the first letter threading the yarn through from the inside of the cozy

I then continued to sew in and out until I was pleased with the thickness of my letters

When my letters were complete, I poked the darning needle into the inside of the cozy, threaded my remaining yarn through, tied a knot, and cut off the excess yarn

Below is one of the finished cozies

Be sure to check back next Monday for a new non-crochet project; have a great week!

Simple Crochet Ear Warmer

Above is my first attempt at a winter ear warmer. I think it turned out pretty well considering I made my own pattern.

Below is a much prettier version, created by threemagicsheep on etsy.com, this served as my inspiration. I'm not really a flower on the hat type of girl, plus I don't know how to make flowers just yet, so I kept my version simple. I do however love this version and will attempt the flower in the future & perhaps give as a gift.

Here's how I created mine:

Materials:
Caron Simply Soft Yarn in Grey Heather
H Crochet Hook
Darning Needle
Scissors

To Start: Create a slipknot

Chain 18

Row 1: In the 5th chain from the hook triple crochet. Continue to triple crochet in the rest of the row until you've reached the end

Row 2: chain 5, turn, triple crochet in the first triple crochet, continue throughout the row.

Row 3 through 22: Continue repeating Row 2

Note: Depending on the size of your head you may want to create more or less rows. Also, most yarn can be very stretchy, so keep this in mind.

Now that you've reached your desired length, cut 2 feet extra of your yarn, and tie off

Now line both ends of the headband up

Thread the darning needle, and begin to weave both ends of the headband together

snip off the excess yarn

Flip the headband inside out

Finished!

Celeb Inspired Infinity Scarf

My inspiration

Remember as this is a Craftynovice blog, NOVICE being the operative word, everything I post on here for the most part is basic and with a few foundation techniques you should be able to make everything I write about. That said, if you have some free time, give this scarf a try.

If you've mastered the slipknot, chain and double crochet this project will be a sinch.

Matierals Needed:
2 Balls of Yarn
H Crochet Hook
Darning Needle

For this project, I used vanna's choice yarn (that's right, vanna white has her very own yarn, who knew!), and I used the following double crochet scarf pattern (similar to beginners scarf pattern with 2 extra chains)

Chain 18
Row 1: Double crochet in the 4th chain from the hook and in each chain across.
Row 2: Chain 3, turn, double crochet in each double crochet across.
Repeat Row 2 until you've used up all of the first ball of yarn and almost all of the 2nd (leave 3 feet of yarn at the end)

Your scarf should look something like this:

When you have 3 feet of yarn left, and you've reached the end of your last row, chain one, and pull the three feet of yarn all the way through the loop

Now thread the darning needle

Match up both ends of the scarf (make sure it's not twisted)

Using the darning needle, sew both ends together

After you've completed sewing both ends together, tie off and cut off excess yarn.

Now, to wear just continously wrap around your neck; all done!!