Mini Tutorial: How to crochet leaves

Hey crafty gals!  I hope the weather is as nice where you are as it is here in Melbourne.  I have all the windows in my house open and I am just soaking in this fabulous 70 degree weather with a refreshing crisp breeze.  There's nothing like it!

I hope you have checked out the Patterned Paper Wreath Remix--what a great way to welcome Spring!  (Depending on what that little Groundhog sees tomorrow, I suppose.)  I received a few questions about the embellishments on the wreath so I thought I'd give ya the instructions on how to make 'em.

First of all, the pattern for that oh-so-sweet flower is not a Crafty Girl original--it came from a blog called A Little Birdie Told Me.  It's a great tutorial for beginners as it has lots of pictures!

The leaves, though, are result of playing around and because I'm a new crocheter, my "pattern" may not be correct in terms of jargon, but I think you'll get the picture.  ; )

Start with a chain of 14.  Then in the second stitch from your hook, make one sc going through the top half of the chain (all stitches will only go through one side of the chain--see pictures below to see what I mean).  1 hdc in each of the next two stitches, and then 1 dc in each of the next two stitches.  Chain one, then 1 tr in each of the next three stitches.  Chain one, then 1 dc in each of the next two st, 1 hdc in each of the next two st, 1 sc in the last stitch.  Chain two and repeat the same pattern, working up the other side. 

 This picture illustrates how to work your crochet into half of the chain.  You'll work into the other side of the chain when you work your way around. 

Here's a visual of how I wrote the pattern in my trusty graph-paper notebook that goes absolutely everywhere with me:

Yeah. As I was writing this, it occurred to me that newbies should not be writing crochet patterns.  Hope it makes sense to you in some capacity!