Crochet Sea Pennies Tutorial

Hey everyone! Today I'm sharing a very basic crochet technique to make crochet "sea pennies".  They're fun and easy to make, plus they are the basis for making crochet flowers and hats.  So ya,  it's a good crochet skill to have under your belt.

Materials: 
(You can make these with any size hook and any type of yarn, but this is what I used for this tutorial)
Yarn- worsted weight
Crochet Hook- size H

Step 1: Make a basic loop.  Some call this a "magic circle" because it allows you to pull the circle to close it together after you finish stitching.  You can find a tutorial on it HERE or you can do what I do, just make a loop like you're tying a simple not. It's a little harder to close the circle with my method, but it works for me.

Step 2:  Chain 3.

Step 3:  11 double crochet into the beginning chain.

Step 4:  Slip stitch into the top of the beginning chain 3 and fasten off.

Step 5:   Pull the beginning tail of your loop or your "magic circle" to close the gap in the middle and weave in ends.

There you have it!  You can make a whole blanket out of these or use them as embellishments.  I have plans to make a bracelet with these soon!  

Photo of the Week

I'm starting to appreciate the beauty of ice.  My camera has amazing zoom capabilities that allow you to see things you couldn't see with the naked eye, unless you  put your face right next to it.  I was not about to lay down on the icy ground, so I'm grateful that my camera could do the work for me :)

ABC Board Art Hanger

I love the art of children.  It's so honest and unpremeditated.  While it doesn't always make sense to adults, it's an amazing tool that children use to make sense of their world.  I love watching my son draw for that reason.  We talk while he draws and it's amazing to see his imagination coming to life.  

 I find children and art fascinating. I could go on about that forever, but I will spare you.  On to my latest art-related project:  

THE ABC BOARD ART HANGER!

My son has an ever growing collection of drawings/ sticker/ pom pom creations and my fridge space is limited.  We needed something he could hang in his room to display his work.... and I thought I'd try to make it educational too by putting the alphabet on it.  

I took one of the boards that were left over from our new fence and gave it a coat of primer.  Once that dried, I spray painted it this lovely happy green color... my fav!  Next I did a lot of stencil work.  I don't own a cricut or any machine of that sort, so made my own designs by hand and traced them out.  It took quite a while.

Once I had all the stencils painted in I gave it a nice coat of varnish.  Then I glued the clothespins on.  And wala!  A beautiful and handy art hanger!  This really brightens up the little guy's room.  

A Look at my Sketchbook

 Happy 2013!  I think I'll start off the new year with a few sketches of my favorite little boy.

I hardly ever sketch this kid live. He moves much much too fast.  So I usually sketch from photos.

I love my little boy and I love reading him stories!  I am constantly inspired by the beautiful illustrations in children's books.

These leaf drawings were inspired by a book called Grandpa Green, a really cute book about a gardening grandpa who makes sculptures from bushes in his yard that tell the stories of his life.  The illustrations are amazing!  I may attempt a watercolor along these lines in the future :)

Photo of the Week

Happy New Years Eve!

It was snowy and cold all week long, so when the sun managed to peek out for a few minutes I got a shot of the ice cycles on my house :)

I'm kind of glad to see the end of this year.  It was a big, busy, and stressful year for us.  We bought our first home and handled the many home-repair projects that came our way.  It was stressful, but also good.  But the reason why I'm the most ready to start a new year is to see if this will finally be the year that I get a handle on the migraines so I can live my life again.  Last year was better for the migraines, but not as good as I had hoped.  I'm now trying to get off medication, (as torturous as it is), to see how I'll do.  So this is to 2013... may it be less full of migraines and more full of fun!

Christmas Paintings

Now that Christmas presents have been opened, it's safe to post these paintings I made for my sister.

Another Japanese Quince and....

A custom watercolor portrait of the cute couple!  

I have a tutorial HERE, if you want to try your hand at making your own portraits, but I am also considering offering to make custom watercolor portraits through my Etsy shop.  What do you think?  Would anyone go for these?

The Old Broken Down Bus

Hey there! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  Probably a lot of you are still partying and hanging out with family.  I would be too if my hubby didn't have to go back to work today.....man! It's just me and the little guy hanging out today.  At least we've got a new game of monopoly and more candy than we know what to do with to keep us occupied :)

  

So, I came across this little beauty while driving around my home town last spring.  It must have been in the junk yard for for-ev-er, but it had some awesome colors and rusting going on.  I snapped a quick photo because I knew I had to paint it one day... and that day has arrived.

Here's my watercolor illustration version of the old broken down bus.

Who says junk yards can't be beautiful?

For sale here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/118033844/original-watercolor-vintage-bus-painting