Guest Post: MIchelle from Scissor Quirk attacks her yarn stash!

Good morning! I am so, so happy to end our celebration of National Craft & Crochet Month here at Donna's with one of the sweetest and most creative bloggers of all the land, Michelle! I've sponsored Scissor Quirk a few times within the last few months, and it has been so enjoyable getting to know Michelle and her crafty talents! Not only is she an incredible scrap book designer:

But, she's not too shabby with crochet and embroidery as well! Check out this ADORABLE mp3 player coozie DIY she posted! So cute and such a sweet way to package a new iPod for a special person :)

Without further adieu...

Hi there! It's Michelle, from Scissor Quirk, here. :)

I've recently begun a love affair with all things yarn! I learned to crochet last Spring and have been hooked, since! My mind seems to work faster than my hands, too, so - coupled with the newfound love of yarn and an ever-growing stash of it, this means I have tons of projects on the go at any given time! Usually, that's not such a bad thing - it's nice to hop & skip from project to project when one gets mundane or a new idea strikes! :)

However, the problem is that I live in a very small 600 square foot apartment with my husband, and my 'craft room' is actually a corner of our living room - much like some of you, I'm sure! This means storage is always kind of an issue - especially when you're making room for *another* craft in your home, and these temporary, bulky piles of yarn need someplace to go! lol.

I've had to come up with some sneaky ideas to get them all hidden away - or to 'store' them in a pretty, visible-in-the-living-room kind of way. Here are some ideas that I've used lately for project storage from around my couch/desk - if your work-in-progress projects are scattered all over the place, look for little nooks or open spaces to utilize these ideas, yourself:

I have an Ikea coffee table (about 3 feet from my workspace) in my apartment, and it has this handy-dandy ledge underneath it, so it can double as a storage space, as well. I snuck a little bin under there the other day to hold a crochet baby sweater I'm working on - not only is it hidden, but when I slump down on the couch, it's within my reach to work on! My plan is to keep it filling it with new things when I finish what it's currently holding.

The thing about work-in-progresses is that they're only around temporarily - so you have to make space for them while you're working on them, and then it'll be empty (at least for a little bit) once you're done! It's a good idea to save any pretty empty bins or containers you come across (especially when purging your craft space, next time!), and use them to store these temporary projects around your workspace in a pleasant way.

I have an old yellow bin (or a 'trash can' for a few bucks at Ikea - never used as a trash bin, of course) that I used to use to store large rolls of paper. It almost went to the thrift shop as a donation, but then I realized it would be the perfect crochet blanket-in-progress holder!

An empty rolling bin with a lid is handy for bigger projects - like this work in progress granny square blanket of mine. It keeps all the little bits in one place, and when the lid is on you can roll it right under your desk or coffee table or even stack things on top of it easily until you have a chance to get back to it!

And my favorite little work-in-progress holder to use, mostly because it's the prettiest - is a large flat round plastic serving tray that I picked up at Ikea a few years ago. I pile whatever I'm working on at the moment on it, and then it easily moves with me to where I'm working, or to store away when we need the coffee tabletop for drinks or food - I've used it to hold quicker projects like crochet garlands, granny squares, and other smaller projects - and I can hide it on my desk or on top of my shelves when I'm not working on these things really quickly!

I hope I've inspired you to keep your projects tidy & open (or closed & hidden!) - but, either way, organized and useful while you're chugging away on them!

Thanks so much for having me guest-post, Liz! :)

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I hope this helps you get your craft room organized and allows you to do a bit of spring cleaning!

Don't forget to stop by and visit Michelle!

Guest Post: Malori's Lavendar Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Good morning! I'm so happy to have Malori from Sunday Morning Sugar here today to share a yummy recipe with you! Sometimes I think we forget how talented and "crafty" people are in the kitchen. Some of the most creative people I know flourish in the kitchen! So, I'm happy that Malroi was eager to add a little twist to my month of celebration!

Hello everyone!

I’m so excited to be here today on Donna’s Decembers doing this little guest post. I usually blog over at Sunday Morning Sugar so if you like what you see, be sure to stop by and say hello :).

When Liz emailed me and asked me to come up with something crafty, my mind instantly went to food! I don’t know about you, but the idea of a crafty evening sans delicious snacks sounds awful. I’ve been thinking about great recipes for nights spent crafting and I found some simple ideas that you can use to spice up your next crafty gathering.

(Could I have said the word craft any more in that paragraph? I think not…)

Finger foods that don’t make a mess are really the best for these sorts of gatherings. You don’t want something that takes away from your focus and you learned your lesson about messy foods when you ruined Great Grandma Ruth’s scrapbook with your Sloppy Joe.

The ultimate finger food is a cookie. Some of you may disagree but you’re clearly wrong and I’m right ;). I really don’t think you can go wrong when you have a cookie in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. So today I’m going to share with you a recipe for lavender chocolate chip cookies. I found it last year and made them for my family for Thanksgiving and they were a hit. Something about baking with lavender is like smoking crack for my dad and I. We really can’t get enough of it. So here goes…

Lavender Chocolate-Chip Cookie

Makes: 8 servings.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender, lightly crushed

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (about 6 ounces) semisweet and/or dark chocolate chunks

1. Heat oven to 325°. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars and lavender until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

2. Roll the dough into balls (about a tablespoon each) and place on a cookie sheet. Cook for about 10-12 minutes

3. Enjoy!

I can’t remember where I found the original recipe for this but it was originally supposed to be a giant cookie-cake situation. I think it’s much better in smaller doses :).

I hope you enjoy these cookies and your craft month!!

Xoxo,

Mal

Be sure to checkout Malori's blog and shop!

Feeling felty? Guest Post from Bean Bell!

I'm so happy to have another guest post to celebrate National Craft & Crochet Month here at Donna's Decembers. Today's guest post comes from one of the sweetest bloggers I know. Bean is a pro at upcycling and recycling craft supplies, so in a time when pennies are being pinched and clutter is no longer an option, Bean has a fabulous DIY using felt scraps you probably have collecting in a drawer or bag somewhere!

Hello, I'm Bean Bell!

I got really restless and bored at the end of 2010 and instead of having a midlife crisis, I started a blog. I'm too young for a midlife crisis, anyway! I decided to merge my love of craft materials with my admiration of animals.  I am a part-time nanny (aka Beaniesitter) and recently sold fancy chocolates, worked in a pet store, and volunteered at Brookfield Zoo.

I hope you enjoy seeing what animals, critters, and beasties I create!

I have been making many stuffed critters and have a ziploc bag full of felt scraps. I am feeling the urge to do some spring cleaning but couldn't just throw away all the brightly colored fuzzbits. Instead I made an ice cream pint cozy with them.

For this project you need:

-paper

-felt scraps

-scissors

-pencil

-sewing thread & needle

 

First, I traced the pint on the paper, rolling it along the paper to get the shape I needed. It needs to be slightly longer than needed so you can overlap the felt when the felt strip is sewn together.

I sorted through the scraps, pulling out shapes that looked aquatic. I trimmed one into a more fishy shapes but left most of them as is. I stitched them onto the felt base with a simple running stitch and gave the fish french knot eyes.

After all the scraps are attached, fit the felt strip around the ice cream pint and sew together where it overlaps. Make it snug! It can fold flat in a drawer between ice cream noshing and will keep your hand cozy warm!

What a great way to avoid trashing easily reusable felt scraps, plus keeping your icecream container looking adorable ;).

You could also do this same project for aluminum cans turned storage units!

Thanks so much, Bean!

Finding Crochet Inspiration: Kathryn from Crochet Consupiscence!

I am so excited to introduce our first guest blogger for National Craft and Crochet Month!

Please welcome Kathryn Vercillo, a San Francisco artist/writer/crafter who writes the blog Crochet Concupiscence!

10 Sources for Finding Crochet Inspiration

I actually think it might be possible for me to read about, write about and work on crochet all day long every day for years without tiring of it. I find the entire lifestyle surrounding crochet to be infinitely inspiring. But everybody experiences some slump in her sense of creative inspiration sometimes. Just in case that ever happens to me, I keep an arsenal of options available to re-inspire me in my crochet work. Many of these things also inspire my writing, collage work and other crafting … I hope that they’ll inspire you too!

10 sources of crochet inspiration for me:

1. Crochet blogs. The thoughts and projects that other crochet artists post on their blogs are always inspiring. Other than Donna’s Decembers, some of my favorite crochet blogs for inspiration are Nancy’s Crochet, FutureGirl Craft Blog, Crochet By The Sea, My Crochet Life and Hooks, Yarns, Crafts & Gardening.

2. Art openings. I do love crochet artists but I don’t limit myself to just their work. I like to attend art openings of all kinds and to check out art museum shows as well. You just never know what creative expression might inspire you. And there’s something about being amidst a group of artists that enhances the energy that you need to feel inspired.

3. Going for a walk. Sometimes just getting away from all of the noise inside helps you to clear your head. The longer you walk, the more you start to really look around you. This never fails to inspire me in some way and I find that it works for other people I’ve talked to as well.

4. Any news or information about yarnbombing. I find this creative endeavor entirely inspiring whether it’s being done by groups in foreign countries or I stumble across the work of a lone artist here in San Francisco. Looking at the pictures, reading about the work that’s been done and just chatting with others about their thoughts on yarnbombing always inspires me to want to do SOMETHING with yarn. One of my favorite examples is the yarnbombed Wall Street bull by Olek.

5. Make a list. When I don’t think that there’s anything I want to crochet right now, I drum up a list idea and start brainstorming. I might make a list of everyone I want to make a Christmas present for or a list of clothing items I need more of or a list of charities I’d love to support or a list of techniques I’d like to try. Each list inspires tons of crochet ideas.

6. Fashion magazines, shows and products. Browsing through fashions of any kind makes me think, “hey what if I did that in crochet?” It could be Vogue or Project Runway or a trip to the local used clothing store; whatever it is, fashion never fails to inspire me. Christopher Kane’s crochet at 2011 London Fashion Week was inspiring for me!

(source)

 

7. Talking to someone else who crochets. The energy of a good conversation about crochet (especially if you’re at a Stitch n Bitch and actually working on crochet at the same time) is always infinitely inspiring.

8. Social sites related to crochet. Ravelry and Crochetville are endless sources of crochet inspiration for me. Conversations with Etsy crocheters and Facebook crocheters also fall into this category for me.

9. People watching. Checking out the people in the world around me always inspires me in one way or another. One person might be wearing a crochet item I want to make a version of myself. The next might be wearing a non-crochet item in a color scheme that inspires me. Yet another might be sketching something that inspires me. Open eyes always bring inspiration into my world.

10. Deep exploration of non-crochet interests. I believe it’s important to be passionately interested in multiple things, to explore them deeply and to see how they connect to other things you love. That’s how I decided that I HAD to go to Argentina where I discovered a yarn district that definitely inspired my crochet work and it’s how I’ve started trying to find ways that crochet might relate to sign language, a language I really want to learn.

What else inspires your crochet?!

Thank you so much for stopping by, Kathryn! If you're interested in more National Craft & Crochet Month posts, click here!

This is a guest post by Kathryn Vercillo, a San Francisco artist/writer/crafter who writes the blog Crochet Concupiscence. This blog covers all things crochet including artists, fashion, news, tutorials, book reviews, quotes and interviews with crocheters. Find her on Twitter and Ravelry. Subscribe to her crochet blog feed.