Guest Post: Daisy Garland Crochet Pattern

Alright, alright... I'm writing you from Denver today. Since I last posted, I visited both LA and Vegas, and now here I am in Colorado, drinking in the mountainous views and open spaces. LA and Vegas were both pretty whirlwind-y and unfortunately I just haven't been able to post here or on my Instagram as much as I'd hoped. I just think that all too often, pinning yourself behind a camera/phone really detracts from your actual experience of a place or thing. 

This post is extra special because it comes to you from one of my favorite crocheters & bloggy friends, Tanya! Tanya is amazing and wonderful and takes the loveliest photos and crafts the cutest projects. JUST LOOK AT THIS GARLAND. You know how I feel about garlands right? Cause like, I can't get enough of them. I want to string them everywhere for every occasion and also no occasion at all. Enjoy! 

------

Hey everyone! It’s Tanya from Little Things Blogged! I am so excited to be sharing a totally spring pattern with you today! When Monica got in touch with me I was so thrilled and immediately decided to crochet a daisy garland! After all spring is all about flowers!:)

You will need:

• Yellow, white & red 100% cotton yarn ( I used Catania)
• 4 mm (G) crochet hook

Pattern:

To make the daisies (make 5):

Using 4 mm (G) crochet hook and yellow yarn:

Ch6 sl st to form a ring

R1: 12 sc in ring, join to first sc with sl st

Change to white yarn

R2: 1 ch, * 1 sc, in first sc of previous round, 15 ch, join with sl st to base of sc* repeat from * to *11 more times. (12 petals in total)

Fasten off.

To make the red flowers (make 2):

Using 4 mm (G) crochet hook and red yarn:

Ch6 sl st to form a ring

R1: *ch 3(counts as first dc), dc in ring, ch 3 sl st in ring,* repeat from * to * 5 more times to form petals (6 petals in total)

Fasten off.

To make the yellow/red flowers (make 4):

Using 4 mm (G) crochet hook and red yarn:

Repeat the red flower pattern but change color for petals

Fasten off.

To make the yellow bows (make 4):

Using 4 mm (G) crochet hook and yellow yarn:

Ch 32 and sl st to first ch to form a ring.

R1: ch 1, sc in same st, sc in next st, hdc in next two sts, 2 dc in next two sts, 3 dc in next st (forms the first corner) dc in next 2 sts, 3 dc in next st ( next corner), dc in next 2 sts, hdc in next two sts, sc in next 4 sts, hdc in next two sts, dc in next 2 sts, 3 dc in next st ( next corner), dc in next 2 sts, 3 dc in next st (next corner), dc in next 2 sts, hdc in next two sts.

Fasten off and tie center together using yellow yarn.

For bow tie:

Ch 20 + 3 (counts as first dc)

Dc in next two sts, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next 10 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, dc in next 3 sts

Fasten off.

Attach to center of basic bow body by tying a knot with yellow yarn.

To make the garland:

You will always ch 25 in between the flowers and bows.

The sequence is: bow, daisy, yellow/red flower, daisy, yellow/red flower, bow, red flower, daisy (this is the center daisy of your garland). Repeat by following the exact sequence reversely.

Fasten off and admire your garland!

Thanks for having me and happy crocheting!:)

------

...so cute, right?! I'm obsessed with those daisies, and can't wait to whip some up once I get my hook back in hand! I'm off for more mountain climbing, but y'all enjoy this pattern, and be sure to swing by Tanya's blog & Instagram feed for more uber cute crochet goodness!

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Washi Tape Heart Pins

You guys, I am looking SOOO hip right now as I type this. I am actively upping my hipster cred. I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Seattle, sipping a latte, typing on my iPad, wearing a leather jacket... My trip is still going well. Hawaii was beautiful and wonderful and now I want to live there for a brief time. Just until the island fever gets me, or I grow tired of the never-changing weather. Seattle is also gorgeous so far, and I've decided that I need to live somewhere mountainous. 

This is a craft I actually did quite a while ago, when I helped a friend with a baby shower board. I actually made these little hearts really quickly and kind of on a whim, but I'm really happy with how they turned out. So friggin' cute. Check out the details on ThinkCrafts, and leave some love over there. I check for comments on my posts there, really! 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Ombre Chevron Embroidery

I'm posting this from Chicago, the first leg of my big giant trip. It hasn't really set in yet that this is it, I'm on my trip. I'm catching a bus to St. Louis in just over an hour where I'll be visiting some family I haven't seen in ages. The good news is that my first bus here was nowhere near sketchty, which is what I had feared. Two lessons I've learned so far: for jeans to be truly mutli-purpose they must be a good, unfaded dark wash, and that to secure a good, non-motion-sickness-inducing seat on the bus, you must show up plenty early. 

Anyway, a while back, I posted a chevron embroidery project I stitched up, and I'm still pretty smitten with how it turned out. I bought the pattern on Etsy and switched up the thread colors, and then it sat on a shelf for months because I wanted to "finish" the back and never bothered to look up how. Do you ever do that to your projects? Neglect them because you're waiting to make them "perfect?"

Regardless, that cross-stich project gave me the stitchin' bug, and as with most projects I wanted to come up with my own version. I did some searching and ended up downloading the "StitchSketchLE" app on my iPad and messing around with designs. I wanted something simple, because I'm a simple kind of girl, but you can also use a stylus pen to freehand draw something! You can save and email the pattern file to yourself for printing, and then voila, you've got an original cross-stitch design! 

So I used three shades of green thread, though the difference between the last two does not look terribly obvious in these photos. I also gave up on "finishing" the hoops and just cut the cloth in a sloppy circle and called it good. I'm trying to really embrace imperfections. Tell me I'm not alone in that struggle... Do you have a hard time calling a project "finished?"

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Crochet Heart Pillow: Pattern & Tutorial

If you've been hanging around here for a while, you may be like, "Girrrrl, you already posted your crochet heart pillow -- you cray?!" And you aren't wrong. Since I posted my original pattern a year ago, I have gotten a lot of questions about the pattern specifics and particular steps in the process. I have also tweaked the pattern a bit, and thought I'd put together an updated tutorial for all a y'all. I hope this makes things clearer, and please, let me know if you have any more questions! 

**Access the original pattern post here. I also have it posted to Ravelry here.**

Stuff You'll Need: size N crochet hook, 1 skein bulky weight yarn, 2 colors worsted weight yarn, scissors, large yarn needle, stuffing/fiberfill

Here is the basic pattern (I'll follow with details and photos below): 

*Note, I am using US crochet terms

Abbreviations: ch = chain, st = stitch, dc = double crochet, slpst = slip stitch, dc2tog = double crochet 2 together/double crochet decrease

Rnd 1 - Using all three yarn strands at once, make a magic ring. Ch 2 (does not count as st throughout), 7 dc in ring. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 7 dc

Rnd 2 - Ch 2, 2dc in each st around. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 14 dc

Rnd 3 - Ch 2, *dc, 2dc in next st,* repeat around. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 21 dc

Rnd 4 - Ch 2, dc in each st around. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 21 dc

Rnd 5 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 6 sts, 2dc in next st,* repeat from * twice. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 24 dc

Fasten off, cut yarn leaving a tail of about 6", and set aside. Begin at round 1 again to make a second "hump." When you finish your second hump, do not fasten off. Instead, you will slip stitch into one of the Rnd5 stitches on your first hump, and start at round 6:

Rnd 6 - Ch 2, (working in first hump) dc in each of next 23 sts, 2dc in next st, (move to second hump) dc in each of next 23 sts, 2 dc in final st. Slpst to top of first dc (on first hump) to join. = 50 dc

Rnd 7 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 8 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 45 dc

Using your yarn needle and yarn tail from first hump, sew together hole formed between humps.

Rnd 8 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 7 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 40 dc 

Rnd 9 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 6 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 35 dc 

Rnd 10 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 5 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 30 dc 

Rnd 11 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 4 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 25 dc 

Rnd 12 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 3 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 20 dc 

Begin stuffing heart at this point. 

Rnd 13 - Ch 2, *dc in each of next 2 sts, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 15 dc 

Rnd 14 - Ch 2, *dc in next st, dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 10 dc 

Add rest of stuffing so that pillow is firm, but crochet is not stretching. 

Rnd 15 - Ch 2, *dc2tog over next 2 sts,* repeat from * four times. Slpst to top of first dc to join. = 5 dc 

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew base of heart closed and weave in ends. 

Now for some notes about the pattern... 

The 2 chains at the beginning of each round are there to fill in the space formed by joining two double crochet stitches at the end and do not count as a stitch. You will basically work each round like those stitches aren't there, skipping over them when you join at the end. You can see this join more clearly in the photos above. Also important, the first double crochet of each round is worked in the SAME STITCH as the chains. You can see this above as well. (click the photos to enlarge if necessary)

These are some detail photos of the "hump joining" (HAAA). The joining of the humps... HAAA... Okay, anyway, the first photo shows the slip stitch from the second hump into the first hump. The second shows the beginning of round 6, working in the first hump. I always slip stitch into the first stitch of round 5 on the first hump, so that my yarn tail is in the middle for sewing (shown in the following photos). 

When you finish round 6, you will notice a hole between the two humps. If you don't notice it by then, you will certainly notice it soon. I instructed you to sew it together sooner than shown here -- I wanted the hole to be really obvious in photos, so I stuffed my heart first but it will be easier if you sew it while the heart is unstuffed and the base is still pretty open. All you're going to do is thread your yarn needle with the yarn tail from the first hump, sew together the hole, tie off, and weave in the end. I try to sew on the underside of the stitches so it's less obvious when the heart is finished. 

So there you have it, my updated heart pattern! I switched the decreases to all multiples of 5 because it's easier for me to keep it all straight. Crochet can be so math-y, am I right?? This ends up making the heart a bit narrower than the original, but I actually like it better. 

My favorite thing about this project is the marbled effect you get from using multiple yarns. Nope, I lied. It's actually how quickly this works up because you're using multiple yarns. But the marbled look is good too. ;) What do you think? Do these photos help those of you who've attempted the pattern before? Do you have any more questions? 

If you've made a heart pillow, please, email me at monmakesthings[at]gmail[dot]com, leave a link in the comments, or show me on Facebook/Instagram! 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Gilded Mason Vases

Are mason jars still trendy? I hope so, because I am still a fan. I've seen so many mason jar vases on Pinterest these last few years... Something about their rustic elegance, I guess. So when CreateForLess asked me to try out some glass paints and the new Ball Transform Mason line, I knew I wanted to make some pretty vases of my own. 

I have never arranged flowers before. Like, ever. But since I have been having repeated emotional breakdowns in my last semester of school, boyfriend unexpectedly bought me a pretty bouquet of pink roses one day, and I quickly took it apart for these gilded jars. I have never considered myself a "girly-girl," but man-oh-man do I squeal over flowers from a boy. Who's with me? ;) 

Check out my full tutorial over on ThinkCrafts and leave some love. They're SUPER easy, I promise... And who doesn't love an easy DIY? No seriously, who doesn't?!

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Lacy Ghost Mobile

I may have mentioned boyfriend's love of Halloween before, but if I haven't, boyfriend loves Halloween. It's his favorite holiday, in his favorite month, filled with his favorite weird gory, skeleton-y decorations. So I tried to make some DIY decor this year, that was still in keeping with the holiday, while not being overly creepy and scary. Cause ya know, I still wanted to walk through my living room at night without being FILLED WITH TERROR. I realize this is a little late in the game, but if you're like me, you may not start holiday crafting until the day before the holiday, mmkay? ;) 

This was a pretty quick project that I made up on a whim. I love project ideas that hit you like a bolt of lightning, especially when you have pieces you can use immediately to make it happen. Of course I've seen similar ghosties over the years with styrofoam balls and what have you, so this is not like some new innovative thing. Credit where credit is due, ya know. 

Stuff You'll Need: plastic Christmas bulbs (I used two different sizes), lacy fabric (got mine at the thrift store), black felt, white thread, fishing line, 12" embroidery hoop, black yarn, scissors, tacky glue

1. Remove the metal hanger from your Christmas bulbs. 
2. Holding your bulbs upside down, drape your fabric over each bulb and cut it to size. You can make your fabric as drapey as you like, and don't worry too much about cutting a straight line or anything. 
3. Cut a length of thread and tie it around the base of your bulb (the plastic stem), securing the fabric. 
4. Cut two small ovals from your felt and glue them on using tacky glue. You could also add a third oval for a mouth if you'd like. 
5. While the glue dries, wrap your embroidery hoop with black yarn. 
6. Cut two pieces from your black yarn, about 3 feet each. Center one piece under your hoop and loop each end of the yarn outside the circle, inside, then back out. Pull the ends until they are relatively even. Repeat with your second piece perpendicular to the first. 
7. Tie the four ends of yarn together in a knot at the top (you can shorten them at this point if you'd like). 
8. Thread a length of fishing line through the fabric at the top of each ghost, matching up the ends of the fishing line so that the ghost is centered. Tie a knot just above the ghost's head to secure the line. Then tie your ghosts onto your hoop, hanging them at various heights.
9. Hang your ghost mobile from the ceiling and enjoy for Halloween! I stuck a 3M cord clip to my ceiling so I could remove it when I move out, and it's working great! 

What do you think of my ghosties? I love them, myself. So easy, too. Except they creepily keep all staring into that mirror they're next to... They never move, haha, they just stare at their reflections (weird). 

Only one more day to stock up on mini candy bars before all the stores sell out, friends! I live in an apartment, so I don't get to hand any out... But lord knows I love an excuse to buy sweets... Who's with me?! 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Jack-O-Lantern Jars

Hello readers! :) I just want to thank those of you who checked out my "Take This, Make That" feature over at All You magazine, and those of you who entered my Halloween Handbook giveaway! I am feeling the love -- y'all are awesome! 

This is a quickie DIY I made for Think Crafts this month. Just a fun little twist on jack-o-lanterns, minus the pumpkin guts. ;) Check it out and look around the site for a few more Halloween jar DIYs, ha! I had no idea other contributors were doing similar crafts. Great minds, you know... 

What have you been crafting up for Halloween, friends? 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

All You Magazine Feature: Yogurt Cup Lighted Garland

BIG NEWS, FRIENDS. Alright, I kind of already blew my big news in my last post, and on my Instagram account, because I COULD NOT CONTAIN MYSELF.  BUT, here goes: I am in a magazine this month! Months and months ago, before I moved and before I even started apartment hunting, an editor at All You Magazine contacted me about participating in a new monthly craft blogger challenge for the magazine. The challenge involves taking an everyday object and up-cycling it into something fabulous for $5 or less, in about 3 steps. Each month, two craft bloggers are assigned a new object and then "face-off" on the All You Facebook page! There isn't a prize, other than bragging rights, and you know... glory. ;)

Obviously, my "everyday object" was yogurt cups, and I was admittedly intimidated by the seemingly intense limitations, but I then found that the limitations could be inspiring! Since the project needed to cost no more than $5 (not including the cost of the yogurt, of course), I started brainstorming ways to up-cycle other things that everyone has. Enter: Christmas lights! I repurposed a string of mini Christmas lights that I had lying around, and since they are something seemingly everyone owns, they weren't factored into the cost! For the rest of my supplies, I dug through my craft supply boxes and raided the dollar store. I can't believe how nice it turned out for so little money!

Stuff You'll Need: 10 yogurt cups (I used Chobani), gold metallic acrylic paint, paint brush, ribbon, tulle, scissors, Christmas lights, exacto knife, optional: lighter, triple thick glaze

Start by removing any labels from your yogurt cups, then wash and dry them. Paint the bottom half of your yogurt cups gold (I didn't tape off, because I'm daring and have a vendetta against painter's tape, hah). I did two coats; I have them numbered 01 & 02 in the photos above. I added a coat of triple thick glaze to my painted cups for durability, but if you don't have any, don't worry about it. When the cups are dry, cup an X in the bottom of the cup with your exacto knife (refer to photo 03). 

Cut a whole bunch of ribbon pieces to about 6" long, and cut your tulle into 3" wide strips. Again, for durability, carefully melt the ends of your ribbon with a lighter. I snagged all my ribbon and tulle from the dollar store, and had a ton left over. Knot your ribbon and tulle pieces along your light strand. Count your lights and distribute your yogurt cups evenly along the strand. Push a light bulb through the X cut into the back of each of your yogurt cups until they are all on your strand. Hang it up and enjoy! 

What do you think of my upcycled yogurt cups?! I would be lying if I didn't tell you that during the production of this project, I had a mini-breakdown that included me face-down on the floor on the verge of tears. I don't like pressure!! Haha, I should add that between school and a speedy deadline for this project, I only had one day to work on this... And I may have done a lot of trial-and-error crafting in that one day... It was exciting. But being in a magazine?! MORE EXCITING. 

I bought 10 copies... And the cashier didn't even ask me why! Moment ruined, cashier. I was all ready to be like, "Wellll, if you turn to the last page, you can see that this is me. FAMOUS!" Hahaha, oh well.

Grab a copy of the magazine in stores now, and go to the All You Facebook page to vote here! Voting closes November 8th. If you vote for me, I thank you in advance, and if you leave a comment, you will probably make me blush. ♥

P.S. Don't forget to enter to win a Halloween Handbook from All You in this post! The book is filled with super fun, super easy craft ideas and recipes, and there are a TON of easy ways for you to enter! 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Spider Pumpkins & a Giveaway!

So if you follow me on Instagram, you may know that I am featured in All You magazine this month! But I have a whole post planned about that, so more on that later. ;) Just over a week ago, I was contacted by All You about their Halloween Handbook, and was sent a copy to review. I'm sure you can guess how much I love craft books... They're like, pre-Pinterest inspiration, people. This is how my mom got all her great ideas back in the day. And who doesn't love the glossy pages of a new book, hmm? 

I flipped through the book plenty of times, dreaming of all the projects I wanted to make, before settling on the adorable spider pumpkins (at least partly because I had all the supplies on hand, am I right?). You can see the original project in the photo above. 

The book is filled with clever ideas for Halloween, and not just crafts! There were home decor projects, party planning projects, outdoor decor projects, adorable DIY costume ideas that I'm mentally storing for my motherhood-days, and recipes for both party foods and devilish desserts -- yum! Some stand outs for me include a googly-eye wreath I wanted to tackle, many more pumpkin projects I may get to, and a ton of super delicious looking cake & drink recipes that boyfriend is begging me to make. 

The beauty of this too, is that All You is a women's magazine focused on saving money, a.k.a. affordable projects! So none of these ideas will break the bank. Instead, they're all clever and creative ways to deck out for the holidays without spending a fortune in the seasonal aisle of Target (guilty). ;) 

I tweaked the spider pumpkin project a bit because, you know, gotta work with what you've got. So instead of the reccomended twigs, I used pipe cleaners, and instead of push pins & paper fangs, I used giant yellow felt circles. 

Stuff You'll Need: (mini) pumpkins, black paint, foam brush, black pipe cleaners, yellow felt, scissors, tacky glue

To make these, simply paint your pumpkins black and let them dry. I used tiny mini pumpkins, so I cut my pipe cleaners in half (4 pipe cleaners per pumpkin), and pushed them into the sides of my pumpkins, 4 legs per side of course. I then bent the pipe cleaners to look like spidey legs, cut out some big circles from my yellow felt, and glued them on for eyes! Ta-da! How simple is that? And such a cute take on pumpkin decor, right?

And lucky for you, All You wants to send two of you readers a copy of the Halloween Handbook, too! This is my first self-hosted giveaway, so pardon the shameless self-promotion. ;) I wanted there to be LOTS of ways you can earn entries! You can enter using the Rafflecopter widget below, and be sure to share with your friends who may like a copy as well! The giveaway ends Monday, October 21st at midnight, and you can earn extra entries for tweeting each day! Good luck, beautiful readers! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. If/when you "like" All You on Facebook, check out their Take This, Make That  feature, and vote for your fav! Yours truly is one of the competitors, but you know, no pressure. ;) 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Mini Canvas Washi Tape Magnets

So as you may remember from my Washi Tape Mini Album, I am currently obsessed with washi tape. Who can blame me? This stuff is so cool. I made these magnets as one my latest projects for ThinkCrafts, a blog for the craft supply store Create For Less. They came together super quickly and are so much fun. I LOVE having them on my previously boring fridge. There are just so many colors and patterns! 

Check out the full tutorial here and say hello from Mon Makes Things! 

And don't forget -- I've got a giveaway from Diamond Candles going on right now! The giveaway ends tomorrow (Thursday, 9/12) at midnight EST. Enter to win a huge, all natural soy candle with a ring inside that could be worth up to $5k! 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss

Chevron Cross Stitch Emroidery

When I joined Kollabora, my fav new online DIY community, I started seeing all kinds of rad embroidery and cross stitch projects. I wrote a little bit about my history with cross stitch here, but it is probably the first craft skill I remember my mom teaching me when I was little. I remember cross stitching some Looney Toons pattern as my first project, ha! 

I am an impulsive person, and a really impulsive crafter! So one night at probably 10 or 11 o'clock, I decided I wanted to start a cross stitch project... And 15 minutes later I had found, downloaded, and started a pattern! I found this bossy chevron pattern on Etsy and I loooove how it turned out. I switched up the colors of course, much to boyfriend's dismay. ;) 

I used white as one of my colors, underestimating how much it WOULDN'T show on the fabric. Silly me. You can see them in the "work in progress" photo above if you look, but they really weren't visible from afar. So I outlined the white arrows in a single strand of dark purple. I would have used black, but couldn't find my black thread. For everything else, I used a 6" hoop, 14 count aida cloth, and 3 strands of embroidery floss. 

The whole stitching process is so relaxing. It seems like something that could be tedious and repetitive and boring, but it's almost mesmerizing once you get into a groove. I love the texture of each stitch, the pull of the floss through the canvas, and the use of the grid. Now I just need to learn how to finish or "frame up" this piece and get it on the wall! 

Have you done any cross stitch projects? 

What do you think of this modern pattern for an old fashioned craft? 

Don't forget to enter to win your own Diamond Candle with a ring inside! Help make it look like my blog has readers! ;) Enter here! 

let's connect ---> facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest // bloglovin // rss