Crocheted Tulle Dish Scrubbers

These dish scrubbers are quick and easy to make and are effective as a scrubber, and holds a lot of suddy soap. :-)

So, here's what you need:


- A roll of 6 inch tulle
- Crochet hook (I think I used an M size hook)
- Piece of string

And here's the pattern.

Ch 4 and join with a sl st.
ch 2, then 11 dc in circle.
join to ch 2 with sl st.
ch 2 then 1 dc for each dc in the inner circle.
join to ch 2 with sl st.
Finish off.

For the last step, take your piece of string (I put a small piece of tape on one end), and thread the string in and out of the outside set of dc's.
Cinch the string til the top (outside set of dc's) are gathered together.  Then tie the string together using a double knot (or maybe a triple).  Make sure it's tied securely.

That's it.  It's ready for dish washing.

I think this pattern can be changed as a body scrubber too, tho I haven't actually tried it.  All you need to do is use an elastic string to cinch the top.  Then you should be able to fit a bar of soap right inside.  :-) 

Charity Baby Blanket - Granny Hexagon

Here is the second charity baby blanket I made for Project Night Night.  I call it a Granny Hexagon for the basic reason that I use a regular Granny Square pattern, but added a couple of side to make it a hexagon.

Here's the crochet pattern.

Ch 4. Join with slip st to form a ring.
Rnd 1: Ch. 3 (acts as first dc), 2 dc in ring, ch 2 (3 dc in ring, ch2) 5 times; join with slip st to first dc.
Rnd 2 and so on: Slip st in next 2 dc and in next ch-2 sp.  Ch 3 (2 dc, ch2, 3 dc) in same sp. (Ch 1, 3 dc) as many times as needed til you reach the next corner (on the round 2, this will only be 1 time). For all corners (except the starting corner), do (3 dc, 2 ch, 3dc ) in the same sp.  Continue round after round til you achieve the size of blanket you want.

That's it.  I hope this is right, as it is the first time I wrote down a pattern. Most of it was rewritten from a granny square pattern that I had.

I plan on sending these out in a the near future with the other blanket that I crocheted.
This bubble blanket also would have worked well for this charity.

Folded Paper Heart Note

 
I learned how to fold these heart notes in high school.  Tho, I never gave them to anyone, I always liked knowing how to fold them.  Anyway, I ran into a folded heart a few days ago, and decided to share a tutorial of how to fold them to you guys as a last minute Valentine's day craft.

I took pictures to do the majority of the talking.

Here goes:

 

1. Start out with a piece of paper.  Fold in half lengthwise, and then again, so you have the paper folded in quarters.
2. Open up the last fold, and fold top corners to the center line.
3.  Open up the whole paper, and refold with a squash fold technique.
4. Fold up one of the edges that do not fall in the main triangle area (see picture for details)
5. Open up the sheet again, and invert the folded edge into the triangle.

 

6.  Refold the squashed triangle.  Turn over the paper.
7.  Fold in the top side edges of the paper to the center line.
8.  Fold down the top of the triangle, into the area voided by the side folds.
9.  Turn over the paper.
10.  Fold up the triangle leaves, turn the paper back over.
11.  Fold up the bottom corners of the paper.

12. Slip the folded bottom corner into the center triangle of the heart, repeat for the other bottom corner.
13.  Fold down the top leaves in a bit of an angle so it forms the top portion of the heart.
14. Fold and Slip in the tips of those leaves into the center triangle of the heart.

I repeated the pictures for these last steps, with some lines drawn on the edges for a clearer view.  

That's it.  Now you have a heart.  You can re-open it up, write your note, and refold it.  Makes a perfect homemade special valentine's note.  (The picture on the very top of this post is the back side of the folded heart.)

For information on the nylon flower in the picture at the very top of this post, there is a helpful video to show you how to make the tulip.  The one pictured is using the same technique but on a smaller scale.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Have a wonderful weekend.

Candy Cane Hearts

Happy Early Valentine's Day folks. 

I had extra little candy canes from this past Christmas of which I like eating them, generally, but I always end up with more than enough (even with my occasional snacking). This is one way to transform them into Valentine candy cane hearts instead of old Christmas candy canes (same candy, yet, it sounds better.)

Oh, as a side note, and as a shout out to my cousin... it's Valentine's Day not Valentime's Day in case there was any confusion there.  :)

Let's get started:

Materials:

 - Mini Candy Canes
 - Cookie Sheet and parchment paper or silicone mat.

How To:

1.  Open up the candy canes.

2. On the cookie sheet (and parchment paper or silicone mat), stack them so that they form a heart, and their ends lay on top of each other.

3.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees F
 

4. Place the cookie sheet and candy canes in the oven for about 8 minutes. 

The candy canes should be soft enough to adhere to each other, but not heated thru enough to melt all the way. If pressing the candy canes together are not adhering well... stick in oven for an additional minute or two. The candy canes are hot at this point. 

5. Pressing the ends together can cause a bit of a burn.  If you want, you can try pushing them together with a chopstick or something.  They should just smoosh together easily.  When you have the perfectly shaped hearts, set aside or stick in the freezer for a minute or two (best to keep them on the cookie sheet during this process).  The candy cane will go back to it's previous candy like state and you have Candy Cane hearts. 

Enjoy the tasty candy cane hearts, and Happy Valentine's Day.