Well, I have been neglecting my blog lately… sorry, guys! Most of you know that I have been a crocheting machine for the past month or so! What started off as a few harmless baby hats has turned into a mini-business for me. I didn’t see that coming at all!
This can all be blamed on my sister, Kelsi, by the way. She wanted a few hats for baby Braxton (he should be here in just a few weeks now!), and I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy they were to make. So I thought I’d see if any of the local military families (I think of it as the Tri-Base Area, haha) would be interested too. Well, they were! I suddenly found myself scrambling to think of prices and get some photos up on Facebook. I haven’t had a day without an order to fill since. No complaints here… I’m making some money by doing one of my favorite hobbies, while sitting in my pajamas watching movies. Yeah, the chore board has been a bit neglected… oops. Good thing we don’t have pets or kids to make a real mess of the house!
But the house has been taken over. By yarn.
This is what the couch looks like on a regular basis now.
I usually manage to corral all of the yarn in bags and baskets. Sometimes I even bring some of it upstairs to the craft room. Although, when I do, I end up needing a color I just brought upstairs, so it all ends up back in the living room. I find scraps of yarn on the floor (which are now being collected in an empty Wheat Thins box), yarn fuzz on all of my clothes (sometimes I remember to use the lint roller before I leave the house…sometimes), and finished projects lining the back of the sectional. Man, I must have a very tolerant husband. 🙂 He DOES get to use all the throw pillows now, since I rest my arms on skeins of yarn.
I’m up to 22 completed items now, not including the ones I made for Kelsi. I can’t wait to see those little hats on my nephew-on-the-way! Here are a few of my other customers though:
Two of my first customers!Just in time for our snow day!A windy day -- the ears were flapping in the wind!
Want to see more? Find me on Facebook at NK Crochet! 🙂
I know I wrote a post about chores and putting myself on a schedule for them. But I really wanted a more flexible and more fun way to tackle each week’s necessary tasks. After browsing on PInterest, I found a few ideas that I liked, and I created my own version of a chore board. It was cheap, easy, and relatively quick to make. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so it took me longer than it probably should have to make this.
My finished product
The perks of this chore board:
You can move things around.
This is nice when you know you’ll be too busy one day to do several chores. You can just move them to a day that’s more convenient for you. It’s also nice when you have a “lazy day” (I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this), and you don’t get your chores done. Just move them to the following day(s).
It’s colorful!
I can’t walk past this and not look at it. I have mine in the hallway between the kitchen and the rest of the house. I walk through here countless times, so it’s a constant reminder to get things done. Plus it matches my decor! 🙂
It’s a physical thing.
What I mean by this is that you can remove the chores as you complete them and put them in the little box. Sometimes knowing I can remove them once they’re finished is the only motivation I have to complete the day’s chores. And wanting to see a blank board is my big motivator to finish everything up on Friday!
It’s yours!
You can make this however you want! I don’t like doing chores on the weekend, so I only gave myself the weekdays to get things done. But when you make your chore board, you can put as many clothespins as you want on there (generally 5 or 7). I do laundry several times a week, so I made multiple laundry cards to work with. I also included chores I don’t do weekly, such as ironing and washing windows, so I can put them on the board as needed.
Okay, so let’s make this! Here’s what you will need:
photo frame (I used one that holds an 8-1/2″x11″ piece of paper)
scrapbook paper and tissue paper (if you want)
scissors
hot glue gun
clothespins
a small box (I used a tape box, but I’ve also seen crayon boxes used)
packaging tape
letter stickers
ruler
First make your background for the frame. I took a 12″x12″ piece of scrapbook paper and cut it down to fit in the frame. Then I used letter stickers to spell out “Chores.” When I made one of these for my mom, I just printed out the title letters, cut them out, and glued them on. Next decorate your clothespins. I measured the clothespins, then cut pieces of paper to fit. I attached the paper with double-sided tape. Next I added letter stickers for the days of the week. Finally I covered the decorated part of the clothespin with packaging tape. You could also use Mod Podge to do this. Now you’re going to decorate your little box, which will hold your chore cards. You will need that little tape or crayon box and either a) a small square of white cardstock and some tissue paper, or b) cardstock and something to score it with (like a butter knife). The first time I did this, I cut a square of white paper to go on the front of the box. Then I covered the box in coordinating tissue paper. But when I made my mom’s chore board, I just used cardstock to cover the box. You’ll probably have to score the paper to make it fold nicely. The reason I didn’t use cardstock when I made mine was because I didn’t think it would be as easy as it was to work with.
Now you’re going to attach the clothespins to the edge of the frame (I would space them out beforehand so you know where you want to put them) with your hot glue gun. And then use the hot glue to attach your box to the glass. Have you already come up with your list of chores? If not, now is the time to do it. I typed mine out in a cute font and printed them out on cardstock. Then I cut them out and covered them in packaging tape (it’s my cheap way to laminate things!). And that’s it! Put your chores in the clothespins however you wish, and hang your board up somewhere where you will see it. I hung mine on a door, but a wall in the kitchen would be convenient too. Hopefully some of you are thinking, Yes! I can’t wait to make this for myself! But I know there are others thinking, Ugh, I don’t really want to put the time and effort into that. I wish someone would just make it for me. Well, those of you in the second group are in luck: I’d be happy to make one for you if you’d like. 🙂 All you have to do is send me $20, your list of chores, and what colors you’d like. Easy peasy, huh?
I started knitting just a few months ago. I decided I was going to teach myself, so I bought a book, some needles, and a skein of yarn from the crafts store on base. There was a LOT of trial and error. I’m sure that first project heard a few naughty words here and there, and I pulled it all apart several times in frustration. But…where there’s a will, there’s a way, or so they say. I completed that first project and decided to make another scarf trying a new pattern. This one I wanted to make for Andrew’s mom as part of her birthday gift. Her birthday is New Year’s Eve, so I didn’t really have any downtime between my Christmas projects and this one!
The pattern is called Stockinette Seed Diamonds. It’s from “The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting,” which is the book I used to teach myself to knit. If I could make this over again, I would put a border on it, because it does have a tendency to roll up on itself a bit. I had it pressed smooth in the pictures.
The yarn I used for this was a wool blend — so light and soft! Plus I loved the color. I used 2 balls of yarn for this, which gave me a pretty good length.
On An Even Kiel 