Adventure Time Felt Applique How-To

I don't make handmade gifts for just anyone, but I knew Alex would appreciate anything I made him for his birthday this year. Making the gift Adventure Time-themed ensured its success, even if my craft skills failed me. Luckily, they did not!

This was my first-ever felt applique project, and I learned many lessons along the way. To save you from felt applique anxiety, I'm sharing those lessons here in an easy little tutorial. Adventure felt applique time!

Free Download: Knitting Stitches You Need to Know

Sometimes you're in the mood to try something new, yeah? Me, too. Whether you're a beginner knitter or a more advanced one, this new downloadable from Craftsy is awesome for introducing you to knitting stitches.

Waffle stitch, anyone? Mmm, waffles.

 

Two of my tutorials --  the waffle stitch and the seed stitch pictured below -- are both included in the download, plus there are tutorials from Craftsy writers Lisa and Andrea. Download Knitting Stitches You Need to Know for free and start knitting something new!

Crafty Travels: Fabric and Yarn Stores in Savannah, Georgia

I've just returned from an amazing trip to Savannah, Georgia, that included spiked slushies, an education on architecture, and of course a few new craft stores to add to my list of favorites. Visiting Savannah? Get your craft on with these fabric and yarn stores. (Just don't go in there after you've slurped those spiked slushies. Bad things can happen to your bank account.)

Fabrika Fine Fabrics

If the embroidery hoop wall art doesn't suck you in, the cute fabrics will! I loved every single yard of fabric in this store, from sewing-pin prints to adorable animals.

After you drool over the fabrics, swing by The Book Lady a few doors down. Their selection of craft books isn't great, but they have plenty of other categories, including a sweet Flannery O'Connor section.

The Frayed Knot

The Frayed Knot has some beautiful sample projects on display so you can really feel some of the yarns feel when they're knitted up. Drop by on Tuesday or Thursday nights for their weekly craft and crochet groups. I picked up this pretty trio of Cascade Cherub Aran Sparkle when I was there, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. Shawl, perhaps?

If you're a movie buff, eat at Laurie's next door where scenes from Forrest Gump were filmed.

Measure: A Fabric Parlor

One of my favorite parts of Measure was the super cute sign. I just happened to spot it on our way to tour the Mercer House. This fabric shop has a nice selection of leather and apparel fabrics, plus some really cute trims.

Shout out to my patient travel companion Alex who accompanied me to all these stores without any complaint -- and even got pretty excited over some of the fabric.

Know any other good Savannah craft stores? I'll put 'em on my list for the next trip.

Make a Finger-Knit Necklace

I'm totally devoted to my knitting needles, but sometimes you gotta try something new. Enter finger knitting!

Finger knitting is similar to loom knitting, and it creates knitted objects in a snap -- especially when you use super bulky yarn. Check out my finger knitting tutorial on Craftsy to learn how to make this cute finger-knit necklace!

Spring Cleaning: Organizing Yarn Scraps

Ugh. Spring cleaning. I get as far as washing my duvet cover and that's pretty much where it ends. But this year, I decided to include some hefty craft organizing in my spring cleaning. Organizing yarn scraps is one of my biggest problem areas.

My solution? I came up with this scrap yarn organizer that makes a pretty display -- and a great organizer.

 

Want to make one of your own? Check out my Craftsy spring cleaning post for this yarn scrap organizer and ideas for donating yarn you're not using anymore. Let's clean up those craft spaces!

 

And if you don't launder your curtains this spring, I won't judge you.

Make Your Own Lip Balm in Less Than 15 Minutes

I hoard lip balm apocalypse-style, so when Anne-Marie of Bramble Berry contacted me about trying out a lip balm kit, I immediately said yes.

I tested the basic lip balm kit, which came with everything I needed to make 24 heart- and daisy-shaped containers full of balm.

I procrastinated making the balm for a long time (typical of me) and kicked myself when it took less than fifteen minutes to actually prep and pour the balm. About five of those minutes were consumed by me digging in the cabinet for a microwave-safe bowl.

In the past I'd always wanted to make lip balm, but figuring out what I needed and where to get it always stopped me from even considering lip balm as a project. This kit took all the guesswork out of that, making it perfect for crafters who want to try something new but don't have a lot of time to research supplies.

Photo via Bramble Berry

The lip balm base in the kit means there aren't too many ingredients to mix up. My favorite part was deciding how much coral mica powder to mix in to get the exact color I wanted. Smelling that cucumber melon oil while I worked was pretty sweet, too.

I plan to make even more lip balm pots and giving them out as birthday gifts for the rest of the year. I'm even sharing some of the crafty love with my family. I saved some of the supplies so that my 10 year-old cousin could try it out later, too. She was super excited about making her own lip balm and giving it to her friends. I would totally make this a slumber-party craft if it were still acceptable for me to have slumber parties.

Wanna make your own? Grab the lip balm kit from Bramble Berry to get everything you need.

An Easy Felt Heart Garland

The week before Valentine's Day, I spent a freezing cold Saturday with Darned Ideas at Foundry, one of the most awesome stores in Asheville. Yeah, yeah, this craft involves felt hearts. But who says we can only craft with hearts on Valentine's Day? Not this gal.

The unbelievably adorable heart garland was made using upcycled bed sheets and felt. Simple! It came together easily, too, with just a few colorful running stitches to seam them up. Pinking shears gave them a nice little border.

I didn't finish my garland at the crafternoon, but because I sewed the hearts together using a running stitch, it was the perfect craft to make while watching TV. (I'm currently addicted to Scandal. You?)

I turned this little heart into a magnet for my fridge by just hot gluing a magnet to the back.



 

I hope you believe in crafting hearts year round, too!