26 Candy Cane Crafts

Now that Halloween is over we are starting on our holiday crafts.  Did you know there are only (drum roll please)... 53 days left until Christmas !?!

My children came up with the bright idea to make it through this list of 26 Candy Cane Crafts wonderfully written by "About Family Crafts".

Candy Cane Reindeer Craft

We were just tickled to see that our Candy Cane Reindeer Craft (shown above) is #16 on the list!    All the crafts on the list are so delicious my kids couldn't make up their minds and that's when they decided to go for them all.  I love the simplicity of rope crafts so my personal favourite is # 19. Twine Candy Canes.

Please share your finished projects.  We would love to see them!

Free Slipper Boots Crochet Pattern

Adorable Slipper Boots (Crochet)

My first crochet slipper boots!  

Here is the free pattern by Bernat to these super adorable slipper boots:

Free Slipper Boot Pattern

This was the most challenging project I have done so far and although I pulled a lot of hair out and used a few choice words I must say I feel pretty proud of myself. 

It's all worth it :)

Free Strawberry Crochet Dish Cloth Pattern

Strawberry Crochet Dishcloth

On first impression this pattern was a funny looking strawberry to me but now it has become a favorite in our home.  The design is super easy to hold and the little green stem doubles up as a scrubber.

We had a lot of country red Bernat yarn left over from our apple crochet dish cloths and wanted to try something new and different.

The strawberry pattern is free from Bernat. This is the link:

It's the Berries Crochet Dishcloth Pattern Here

The best part of this pattern is there are no seed embellishments to add,  I'm thinking of experimenting with hot pink and green yarn next. 

Please feel free to share your projects on our facebook page here!

Free Crochet Placemats & Tea Cozy Pattern

Crochet Placemats & Tea Cozy

The inspiration for these placemats came from the Bernat Eco-Kitchen collection. 

Lily Sugar n Cream and Bernat Placemats (Knit)

I absolutely fell in love with these placemats especially the little pocket for silverware but there was one slight problem - I can't knit. Believe me I have tried many times and it's not happening.   I found a similar crochet stitch and simply recreated the pattern from the drawstring tea cozy I had just crocheted the week before.

Free Tea Cozy Pattern here from Ravelry.

Our children make fun of me because I won't let them eat off of them everyday. 

Our kitty loves to crochet too!

Please share your projects on our facebook page here.   We would love to see your placemat patterns for crochet or knit.

Free Heart Pillow Crochet Pattern

Heart Pillow (Crochet) 

A crochet pillow is a really neat idea to use up that little bit of extra yarn that is usually left over from blankets.  I generally make pot holders and dish cloths but this time I decided to get creative for my daughter's birthday present to make it extra special.

After an extensive search the best heart pattern I could find online is by "Loops & Threads".  The pattern specified for fashion fun fur but I didn't have any so I doubled up with two strands of yarn and it worked out just fine.  This pattern is super easy to follow. I filled mine with acrylic pellets and stuffing.

Loops & Threads Heart Pillow Pattern

This pillow and blanket will sure to be an heirloom in our family.  The blanket was crocheted using lines of every stitch I have learned over the years including the popcorn stitch.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful darling daughter!

Cross Stitch on Crochet Free Horse Pattern

Cross Stitch on Crochet Projects

Well, if you are anything like me the Fall season is absolutely the best time to learn a new craft.  The children are back-to-school and the wind is starting up and I can't forget the rain my goodness we live on the west coast. Today I'm super excited to share my latest discovery which has been done many times but it's new to me...cross stitching on crochet! 

Our family loves the homey look of cross stitch and crochet. 

Getting started is easy if you know the basics, if not, here is a fantastic free tutorial link to get you started:

 Free cross stitch on crochet tutorial 

The horse pattern pictured above is by Paton's Beehive.  If you are interested in trying it out the pattern is below:

A quick search online gave me a few really good patterns I plan to try soon.

Running horse from Mother Bee's designs

As you can see our daughters are crazy about horses. I chose the running horse pattern because it reminded me of the applique my daughters tee.

My youngest.

My oldest.

The backs of the projects will show with cross stitch so I thought it best to embellish pillows or pot holders.  My mind is racing with ideas for Christmas projects mainly UNICORNS! 

Good luck with your project and feel free to share it with us on our face book page here!

Free Romantic Shawl or Blanket Crochet Pattern

Crochet Scarf Pattern Turned Blanket

For my little sister and brother-in-law's 10th Anniversary Vow renewal gift I crocheted them a romantic blanket intended to be large enough for the happy couple to cuddle together. 

As you can see from the photo above my sister has a very beautiful sense of style so I chose the following free lacy shawl pattern by Red Heart with 100% cotton yarn by Peaches'n Cream.

Free Pattern: 

Ch multiples of 5. 
Row 1 (Right Side): Dc in the 5th ch from hook, * ch 2, skip next 5 ch, 4 dc in next ch, ** ch 2, dc in same ch; repeat from * across, ending at ** in last ch; turn. 
Row 2: Ch 4, dc in first dc, ch 2, skip next 3 dc and ch-2 space, * (4 dc, ch 2, dc) all in next ch-2 space, ch 2**, skip next ch-2 space; repeat from * across, ending at **, 4 dc in space between last dc and beginning ch-4; turn. Repeat Row 2 until 64” from beginning or desired length. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Happy Anniversary Cory & Rose!

Xoxoxox

Animal Crochet Pattern Kit

Animal Crochet Pattern Kit

These cute stuffed animals were handmade with crochet or "Amigurumi" (the Japanese art of crafting stuffed crochet or knit toys that are usually made into animals, dolls and inanimate objects).  We purchased a kit.

The kit included a 12 pattern book, one size 4 crochet hook, yarn materials and safety eyes for two animals and instructions. The patterns proved to be a little advanced for my daughter although they were easy to follow instructions she is still practicing so I decided to make them for her as a birthday gift.

We used an alternative to the yarn replacing it with a lovely chamomile scented cotton by Bernat.

As the kit only includes safety eyes for two animals we made a special trip to an arts and crafts store for more.  These were difficult to find and we might consider ordering them online for future projects.

At the end of the day I think the kit was worth the amount of inspiration we got out of it and our cat thinks so too!