Market Bag (Lion Brand Free Pattern)

Oh crafty pals, how I have missed you!  I miss posting regularly (more info on why we're not as frequent here).  But it's all about balance, right?  I find it extremely hard to balance and compartmentalize my life.  Anyone out there feel me? 

Anyhow, my husband and I recently went on a 5-day cruise without the little one (gasp)!  We had a great time and while we were away, I crocheted.  Yep.  I may have looked like a grandma in my skirted bathing suit, big floppy straw hat and crochet in hand.  Or maybe not.  Or definitely.  Whatever.  It's all a matter of perspective.

Make fun of me if you must, but I know you won't make fun of my end product--this bad boy:

I made this bag using the Market Bag (FREE!) Pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website.  You do have to create an account to get the free patterns, but it's well-worth the two minutes of your time.  Pinky promise. 

Here's the bottom of the bag, where the pattern starts:

Lessons learned?  It's a great pattern.  Even for beginners.  But I would highly recommend following the instructions as they're written.  The pattern is perfect--don't deviate.  I didn't turn the work after each round (as you're instructed to in the directions) and it turns out there's good reason to do so.  Also, the bag looked a bit small so I added a few extra rounds at the top and now it's a few rows too long--especially for a shorty like me.  I didn't account for the fact that a bag like this stretches with use so I now regret those extra rounds. Ughh.

And for your viewing pleasure, I wanted to share my "modeling" pics with you.  I know my husband sure did have a good laugh while photographing me.  I'm SO awkward around the camera... but I'm a crafter, not a model.  I was just glad my dress had pockets so I had somewhere to hide my hands. 

I reminded myself of that 30 Rock episode where Liz Lemon models for her Deal Breakers show.  LOL!

Source

For more crochet inspiration, check out the Lion Brand Site for LOTS of free patterns.  Or check out my Crochet board on Pinterest.  Whatever you do, have fun crafting this summer!

 

P.S.  Next week I'll be guest posting over at Sew Homegrown for the Cure the Summertime Blues series.  Follow the progress thus far by clicking on the icon below! 

New Beginnings

Our dear readers, we apologize immensely for being away on hiatus without offering you an explanation. We have some unfortunate news. Tristin and I will be able to continue with the blog, but not at the consistency and volume that we had previously been working at. We are both entering very new and exciting phases of our lives. And unfortunately, those phases will take up much more time than we had anticipated.

As many of you know from reading the blog, Tristin has a beautiful and adorable little girl who has recently turned two years old! Those of you who are moms all know what this means - she is entering the wonderful world of toddler-hood. This is an exciting time of learning and discovering new ideas and abilities.We don't want to detract from their time together and from what is most important in our homes - our family. I certainly don't mean to say that if you're a mother, you should not have a blog! Tristin and I both agree that motherhood is a great time for blogging. But Tristin and Elliott are starting a new phase together, and this may detract from daily blog and craft time in the near future.

No, I don't have children yet, but I am also entering a new phase in my life. I'm starting pharmacy school in August. This is a very exciting undertaking that I've been working toward for years now. I am so ready to extend my knowledge and understanding of all of the intricate interworkings of our delicate bodies. I want to use the knowledge that I have gained as well as the compassion I have for others to help people and possibly change lives. But first comes studying. Lots and lots of studying.

So what does this mean? It means that we will not be able to keep up with the 4-5 posts per week that we have previously determined for ourselves. Instead, we will post on Two Girls Being Crafty whenever we complete a project. The posts may be more sporadic than they used to be, but we hope to keep coming up with new and exciting ideas for you all. We hope you will keep checking back for new inspiration.

It has been such a pleasure creating things and sharing them with you. We are so grateful for each and every one of our readers - we couldn't have done it without you! Thank you for all of your support and comments. We hope to have inspired you in some way. Keep reading TGBC and as always - keep crafting!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

It seems as though every baby gift I have bought or made since Junebug was born has been for a little boy.  I mean, boys are great and all but it sure is nice to craft and shop for little girls!  Just when I was growing tired of little boys, my Uncle and his wife welcomed a sweet baby girl (named Sharon--how 'bout that Sharon?!) into the family.

For the latest bundle of joy I made a cute little hat and later picked an outfit to match it (thanks Target!).

P.S. Please forgive the poor photographs.  I tried to spruce them up in Picnik but even Picnik couldn't help my poor photography skills this time around.  I'm a crafter, not a photographer.  Obviously.

 

The hat pattern I used is the trusty Girl in Air's Happy Halloween Hat.  Works like a charm every time!

Of course, I couldn't resist the opportunity to practice my amigurumi skills so I made a cute little duck, too.  (I like to keep my hands busy while I watch Seinfeld reruns late at night.  Then I don't feel guilty and unproductive.)

Perfect for a little girl!

 

Nice Day for a White Wedding

Recently our church had the privilege of welcoming a new family.  They're new Christians, newlyweds, and new to our area.  What better way to welcome someone (officially) than by throwing a fun party in their honor?

This party was the doing of my mother primarily, though myself and several others from our congregation worked to contribute pieces of awesomeness that resulted in an elegant evening for all to enjoy.

I thought you'd enjoy a peek!

Junebug's Summer Birthday Party

As of yesterday, it's officially summer--though here in Florida we've been feeling summer for a few months.  And the air conditioning in my beautiful yet aged Volvo just went out.  Sheesh.  But that's not what I'm here to tell you about today.

I want to share Junebug's second birthday bash with you!

You probably remember from my last post that the theme was simply "Summer".  I left lots of room for interpretation and mind-changing ('cause I can be a bit fickle when it comes to choosing "themes").  And if you follow me on Pinterest then you probably have a good idea of what we did for the birthday party based on my pinboard.  So without further adieu, here's how we celebrated!

The Decor:

The Food:

Looong story short (really, it's a long story) these cupcakes had to have the liners removed before serving because some of our weirdo freaky-deaky Florida ants showed up unexpectedly in my laundry room (where these lovely cupcakes were waiting) and started munching on the WRAPPERS, but not the cupcakes.  Seriously, how weird is that?  Once hubs figured out what was going on he removed all of the cupcake liners and saved the day!

The Birthday Gal:

I can't believe she's TWO!  Time flies.

She's Second to None.

My little one is about to turn two.  Two.  I still can't believe how quickly time flies when you have a child.  Two is only 1/9th of the way to 18, when she'll leave me for greener pastures.  Ok, I'm not ready to talk about that--so let's talk party!

We'll be celebrating Junebug's birthday this weekend with a small family gathering.  I opted out of paper invites this year because I'm cheap I thought an Evite would be a "greener" option.  Yeah, because I wanted to be "green". 

Here's a little peek at what our guests received in their email:

Writing things in sand is a great way to take beach pictures.  Plus, I'll always remember how old she was in that photo.  Brilliant, I am.

My mom and I spent a bit of time yesterday making tissue paper pompoms for the party--they're already fluffed and are waiting in the laundry room for the big event.  It's quite comical, really--check it out:

I want the decor to be a surprise to Junebug on the day of her party--so I have to keep her out of the laundry room (which is tougher than it sounds).

I'm also so excited about my other party finds.  The "theme" of the party is simply "Summer".  Bright colors, sunshine, funky patterns, you know what I mean, right?

 

I'm so excited.  I'm using some of the same things I used for Junebug's first birthday party last year.  Last year's theme was "Watermelon" and what a fun theme it was! 

The pièce de résistance last year (that people are still talking about) was Junebug's "Watermelon Cake".  I wanted to forego the messy smashcake tradition and enjoy a slice of refreshing watermelon. Having to immediately bathe my daughter after her first cake experience while having 20+ guests at my home didn't seem appealing.  So sue me.

Here's a pic of Junebug's party last year:

 

The "Watermelon Cake" was a little trickier than I had initially anticipated and there were definitely a few lessons learned, but all in all it was well worth the effort.  I couldn't find any sort of instructions or tutorial for such a thing so I winged it and I'm glad I did!

If you're interested, you can check out the inspiration for Junebug's second birthday party on my Pinterest page.

P.S. Once I recover from the event, I'll be sharing some photos--so check back next week!

How Very P(interesting): Part II

Hey friends! Like Tristin, I am going to ignore the gap in posting. I promise we're going to update you soon!

I just want to reiterate what Tristin has already said - Pinterest is amazing! And extremely addictive. I started my account last night, and since then I've been pinning everything in sight. Seriously, if you haven't already done so, you must try this! I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I was invited to it, and I was even a little bit overwhelmed when I started my account. But just like Tristin pinky promised - I soon feel head over heels in love with it!

It's extremely user-friendly and great for people who like to be compulsively organized. You can add as many categories or "boards" as you want, and then just pin away! It's a great source of inspiration, and who doesn't like looking at pretty pictures of pretty things?? Give your bookmark folders a rest and come join us on the best website ever! I look forward to checking out your boards!

If you want to check mine out, here's the link:

http://pinterest.com/sharon_ramsey/


Until we meet again,
xoxo,