Intentions....

I intended to write a lovely post about origami during the last week of March. Whoops.

Real life has gotten really busy lately! I am busy prepping for a big event at work, but I've stolen a couple quick minutes to write this.

Quick, the March monthly wrap-up!

I made this slouchy crochet hat:

I loom-knit these pretty cabled socks (my dog approves of them):

And I finished this long-time WIP, a giant felted bag:

I was so busy that I really didn't do any more than that all month!

I have spent this month mostly planning, working on WIPs, and sketching up some ideas for original designs. I will definitely share them with you if I can figure out how to make them work and whip up a sample!

Alright, back to the real world. Keep crafting!

Craft Month Projects Post 2

So this is a bit of a "What Not To Do" post, by accident.

I wanted to select a project that would be quick and would celebrate spring. When looking through a craft store for inspiration I saw some decorative mesh and thought, "Why not a mesh wreath for Easter!"

You're about to find out "why not".

I wanted to make something that looked like this, but using a foam wreath base and floral (greenery) pins.

I picked up an instructional brochure at the craft store, some pretty colored mesh, and the pins.

Monday night I sat down to make this. It seemed so easy! Just gather the mesh every 8-10 inches, pin it down 2 inches from the last pin, continue until covered. It took about 20 minutes from start to finish. Sooo easy!

Right.

This is what I got:

It was really easy to make! Unfortunately, I just happen to hate it. I don't know if I picked a bad color of mesh or if I should have pinned it together closer (I followed the directions, honest!), but I hate how it turned out. I'm going to leave it together for a while because I hate doing the work for nothing, but I think after Easter I'll pull it apart and do something different with the materials.

So, here is my actual recommendation for what to do for craft week:

Make a mixed-media collage!

I haven't made mine yet, but what I plan to do is start with a chunk of cardboard and just start hot-glueing interesting objects to it, like pictures, drawings, bits of lace, an old key, some fabric, etc. Here is a Google image search of some neat collages from which you can take inspiration.

Share your projects with me in the comments! Maybe you decided to celebrate this week of craft month in a completely different way. That's great, please share your ideas! We all need a little inspiration! Plus I would love to share it on here and credit you (plus link your website/store/etc.) so I hope to hear from you!

Craft Month Projects Post 1

Okay, Craft Month Projects, here we go! This week my recommendations for two quick and fun craft projects are as follows:

Have a bit of fabric and a sewing machine? Make the Easiest Pillow Ever from howtosew.com

I made one of these on the first day of National Craft Month last year, and it took me about half an hour and just a 1/2 yard of fabric. You can make a whole set in one afternoon! Here is mine:

Have a bit of yarn laying around? Make a finger knit skinny scarf!

In one afternoon I made three 80" lengths of finger knitting and braided them together to make a braided skinny scarf. I used all one kind of yarn (and it was only about half a skein), but you could try using multiple colors for added colorful fun! Here is mine:

If you make one of these projects, please let me know! I'd love to see your projects. You can comment on this blog post or email me at fuzzydorffcreations@gmail.com

Tune in next Sunday for another couple of projects!

It's National Craft Month!

It's National Craft Month!

How are YOU going to celebrate? Here is an article I found that I thought offered some good ideas.

As for me, I'm going to try to offer some fun ideas on here each week. I'm off to brainstorm right now- check back later this week for some fun and easy ideas to celebrate crafting!

(Check out this Google image search for fun signs of celebration!)

Think Spring Wrap-Up

Oh please, please, please let spring arrive soon! I'm actually a big fan of snow, but at this point we are looking at another winter storm here in a couple of days, and all I can think about are warm, sunny afternoons out playing with the dog. I'm also ready for some warm weather crafts, like dyeing yarn (and hanging it outside to dry), repainting furniture (there's an old table on my front porch in need of some TLC), and lacy knitted and crocheted tops. I need to daydream about those crafts to come....

But now for some crafts past:

A knitted shawl from some handspun yarn that I started in January and finished up mid-February-

A woven heart (I used the Martha Stewart loom and this tutorial to weave this- 

A locker-hooked heart wall-hanging (using old fiber from my parents' sheep)- 

A knitted Statue of Liberty cat hat- 

A sewn patchwork owl from fabric scraps- 

A fuzzy art yarn- 

A curly, beaded art yarn- 

And finally, I finished the afghan I started last fall!!

You can see it's been a busy month! I also currently have a pair of socks and a felted bag in the works. 

I've been buying tons of craft magazines lately and just absorbing the beautiful pictures and inspiring ideas. Many different things are brewing in my head right now...I hope that at least half of them get to come to fruition! My day job is really getting in the way of my crafting time, you know? :-)

Happy crafting!

Pinterest!

Hello, Pinterest users! FuzzyDorffCreations is now a board on Pinterest. You want to follow it, don't you? :-)

Come check out the things we have for sale on Etsy without having to dig through the vast marketplace that is Etsy. Just follow the Pinterest board and you'll catch all our new products as they get listed!

Groundhog's Day Wrap-Up

Happy Groundhog's Day! I am currently enjoying a nice, cozy day inside my house while the area cleans up after a big winter storm. It's a great day for crafting!

I got a lot done in January. Here are my FOs (finished objects):

I finally finished the crocheted socks that I started last spring!

A cute little double-thick dish scrubber. 

A braided scarf made from three strips of finger knitting- you should try it!

A sewn bag for my friend Mo- sugar skulls!

Two knitted preemie hats for charity.

A knitted nisse hat that I think I will give to a friend that is expecting a baby.

A GIANT weaving- I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, as it was really just a sample piece so I could try out the four-shaft loom that I got last fall. It's about 3.5 yards long and took ALL month. Whew!

And right at the end of the month I made this cute little button bug from buttons and wire. 

I also worked on my afghan that I've been working on the for the past couple months and a big, airy scarf from handspun. You'll have to wait til I finish them to see the pictures!

There are lots of good crafting events coming up in the next several months. Is there anything exciting happening by you? Let me know in the comments! I'd love to check it out.