Sweater Makeover - Duplicate Stitch Heart Elbow Patches

After the fun I had adding pretty patches to this chunky knit, no sweater in my closet is safe! I was inspired by Karen Barbé's intarsia patch tutorial on mending her well-loved arm warmers. I decided to use the duplicate stitch technique and try to give this old sweater a new, more colorful, life. Thankfully this sweater is a thick knit, so it didn't take me too long to stitch on the hearts. I decided to add the hearts around the cuffs because I wanted the awesomeness of this sweater to be visible from all angles. It's like wearing little heart bracelets and I love it! 

The elbow patches were a little trickier because I had to make sure they covered my elbow and didn't end up floating too high around my biceps. Ha. Biceps. I printed out a simple heart shape from Microsoft Word, attached it to the proper elbow-centric location on my arm, and outlined the heart with a running stitch. I started out simply trying to fill it in with duplicate stitches, but it looked a bit off and wouldn't stay in even rows. So I did my best to work within the heart shape and create an even pattern. I'm so glad it worked because I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!  

I love all of my crazy sweaters, down to the last swan and polkadot, but I think this one might be my new favorite. I guess it's the DIY pride in taking an old, bulky, Target sale-rack sweater and making it my own. Plus, the hearts are just in time for February!

So what do you think? Should I sport this beauty on Valentine's day? Too obvious?

Blueberries and a little blue camera

Baking and crafting all weekend long. So...not too much to complain about over here. ;) Like everyone else, I really try to appreciate my time away from classes and pretend like the weekends are my everyday. I finally baked the blueberry galettes. What? You doubt me? Yes, if you can't tell, the pictures above are supposed to be the blueberry galettes. Haha. I have no idea how the recipe creators got such perfect pieces of pastry. Oh well. They were still very tasty! Besides, if I'm not willing to mess up every now and then, what's the point of trying new things? There's a lesson for me in there somewhere...

I also finished up my plush camera from craft night last week. I used Elycia's exact pattern, colors, and everything because I needed the visual help with my entry level sewing skills. Thanks to a lot of sewing wisdom from my mom, my toy camera now has it's own toy camera!

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you saw my other project from the weekend....my sweater patches! I am so excited to share the finished product with you tomorrow!

How was your weekend? I hope you had a chance to relax and do something you love! I know I'm thankful for the time to reboot before the long week of classes ahead.

Weekend Plans 1/27 - 1/29

I feel like this week went by so fast! I'm not complaining one bit because it was definitely a busy week filled with lots of reading and William Faulkner induced headaches. Oh, the pains of an English major. I spent most of the week running around town for my internship and finishing homework for my other classes. I'm definitely looking forward to a very crafty weekend. Here are my plans...

1. Ever since I posted about this intarsia sweater patch tutorial I've been dying to try it! This grey sweater is probably the least crazy in my collection....for now....

2. I really want to bake the blueberry galettes I posted about earlier this week too. They just look so scrumptious! I find all of these delicious recipes but rarely give them a try. That should change, right?

3. I write some letters and need to catch up with my pen pals. 

4. I participated in Elycia and Chantilly's first craft night on Tuesday evening. It was a lot of fun! They did a live, streaming video together on how to sew a camera plush. However...I'm slow. Seriously slow. It took me ten minutes to get the needle threaded. When I looked up from my battle with the sewing needle, feeling all proud and triumphant, I discovered they had already finished over half of the camera. So....I'll be finishing that up this weekend. At my slow, beginner's pace.  

Thanks so much for all of the sweet comments about my crochet valentines! If you decide to make a few for your loved ones, would you mind sending a picture my way? I would love to do a valentine's post with all of your creations! 

Also, for some reason the reply button in the comments section isn't working. I try to click on it but nothing happens! I hope to get this fixed soon so I can start replying to your wonderful comments. :)

What are your plans for the weekend? Are you working on any fun craft projects too? 

Adding a Crochet Edge to Paper - Valentines & Frames

I am so excited to finally share this fun crochet project! For the past month I've been trying to come up with a way to use my old 2011 calendars. They were far to pretty to just put in the recycling bin so I decided to recycle them in my own way. I initially thought I wanted to make a bunting, then a photo album, but I knew I had to incorporate some yarn into this project. So I decided to add a pretty crochet edge to the paper to make some art for my walls and valentine cards! 

For this project you will need:

- Yarn. I used a relatively thin yarn to make sure it would fit through the holes and not be too bulky.

- A crochet hook. A smaller crochet hook works best, so I used a G6. 

- Thick paper, not easily torn. You need to make sure the hole doesn't rip when you are crocheting around the edge. 

- A single hole punch or needle to puncture the paper. 

Directions:

1. Cut out your desired shape. For the valentine I simply drew a heart and cut it out. It's a little lopsided but I think that's cute! 

2. Punch holes around the edge of your shape far enough away from the edge so it won't tear easily. I spaced mine about an inch apart. 

3. Slip your first stitch into one of the holes. Chain a desired amount of stitches (I did about 3 or 4 chs) and slip stitch into the next hole. When you come to a corner, slip two stitches into the same hole. Repeat this process around until you are back at the beginning and join with a slip stitch (sl st). I used two types of edging, scallop and picot. 

For scallop edging (pictured above)....

- Sl st into the space underneath the chains from the previous round. Add 1 single crochet (sc), 1 double crochet (dc), 1 sc, and then end with a sl st in that same space. Repeat this pattern all the way around until you reach the beginning. Join with a sl st and bind off. Weave in your ends. 

For picot edging (pictured above)...

- Sl st into the space underneath the chains from the previous round. Add 2 sc, ch 3, sc into your last sc stitch, sc, and end with a sl st. Repeat this pattern all the way around until you reach the beginning. Join with a sl st and bind off. Weave in your ends. 

4. If you are creating a piece of art to hang on the wall, ch your desired number of stitches so you can decide how high or low you want it to hang on the wall. I ch 30 for my string. 

5. All finished! Hang it up or mail it to someone you love! :-)

I hope you all enjoy this project! I certainly did. I'm addicted to crocheting on paper now. It's such a great way to give something I would normally toss out a new life!

Because I love you all so much I would like to send the first five U.S. citizens who comment on this post a crochet Valentine from me to you! Please leave your email address and I will contact you shortly. I wanted to do this just for fun because I love getting mail and I'm sure a lot of you do too! :-)

A Warm and Windy Outfit

(Whew. A little dizzy.)

// Top - Milk & Honey boutique // Skirt - Milk & Honey boutique // Tights - Target // Boots - Target //

Instead of doing my typical rage at Texas for having such warm weather in January, I decided to take advantage and snap a few outfit photos. It just seems to work out that I only have time to take pictures of my outfit on Sundays when I am all dressed up after church. I really don't wear skirts and dresses all the time. I need to get some pictures of me in just a fun sweater and jeans. My typical uniform. :)

I love this outfit because it's a bit more daring than I tend to dress. Wow. That sounds silly when 80% of my body is covered in fabric. Hehe. (Remember who's talking here.) I guess daring to me is when I question three or four times whether or not I should change before I leave the house. Anyway, I love the mixture of the fancy-awesome-puffy-sleeve top with the long floaty skirt and casual boots. It doesn't exactly match, but I really like navy and mustard together. Also, I cut my hair! This is the shortest it's been in quite awhile and I like it a lot! 

These outfit posts are definitely inspiring me to have fun with what I wear. They are also inspiring me to be ok with my goofiness. I thought if I ever wanted to post outfits on this blog I would have to suddenly become a model. Ha! Yesterday all I did was stand in front of the camera, look fondly at my shoes, get tossed around by the wind a bit and, when I felt especially awkward, pop up on my tip-toes for no reason at all. I learned that one from Tyra. 

Has anyone else decided to put themselves out there and take a few outfit photos? I would love to see. I hope you all have a happy Monday! 

The Blush List - In case you haven't smiled today...

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I certainly am even though homework is once again in my near future. Here are a few of my favorite finds from this week that will hopefully bring a smile to your face! :)

Knitting // I am obsessed with this tutorial by Karen Barbé on how to add intarsia elbow patches to knitwear. A few of my sweaters are about to get a makeover. 

Crochet // Adorable russian nesting dolls via People Webs

Etsy // Sweet, porcelain face brooches by Minini

Style // How beautiful is this sheep sweater? I found it on Fixed Forever, a Tumblr photo diary. It reminds me of Princess Diana's famous sweater. I've always wanted one just like it. 

Art //  Ah college!! The end is near!!! Such a perfect illustration by Hello Heute for how I'm feeling right about now. 

Food // Mini Blueberry Galette recipe via Spoon Fork Bacon. Wouldn't these be perfect with a cup of tea? 

I've been feeling the stress of balancing my blog schedule with my school schedule once again. I don't know what it is, but every new semester I panic when I can't do as much blogging as I would like. Very few of us have the time to blog as much as we would like though, right? And that's ok. I just continue to tell myself to just enjoy it all! Blogging is fun! Haha. Mini pep talks are happening a lot over here if you couldn't tell.

Enjoy these lovely finds and have a happy Sunday!

Exploring Dallas - Milk & Honey Boutique

Last week when I was out and about taking pictures for my photo an hour post, my mom and I stumbled upon Milk & Honey boutique. Words cannot describe and pictures cannot properly illustrate my love for this store. All I can say is thank goodness I had my camera with me because from the moment I stepped inside I probably gasped a total of 73 times. Every rack held a dress, sweater, or top that I immediately wanted to get my hands on. The clothes are beautiful but the displays are just amazing. I mean, how cool is that moss covered arch over the sale section? And any store that has yarn balls floating around the ceiling is the place for me. I hope these pictures make you feel a smidge of the happiness I felt when I was inside. I found so many pretty pieces that I wanted to take home with me. Since the prices at Milk & Honey are extremely reasonable, I was able to walk away with a few of my favorite finds. 

This store is new to the area and located smack dab in the middle of my two favorite places in Dallas, We Are 1976 and The Pearl Cup. Basically that means I will be there a lot. I know this shop isn't exactly handmade, but I love supporting small, independent businesses in the area! You should definitely stop by this store if you are ever in Dallas. Get ready to fall in love fast. :)