Crocheted Bangles

Hey, all!

I suppose I could save this post for Monday and revive my old "Makeover Monday" series, but meh. Yesterday I saw a video that showed how to cover bangles with old sweaters. It's prettier than that sounds, I promise. I was inspired to try to cover a couple of old bangles with crochet. And guess what? It worked!

I picked these beauties up for about 25¢ each at a yard sale. And then I may have worn them once. Turns out I'm not an 80's plastic bracelet kind of girl. Who knew? I should have known, to be honest. If you're not a yard sale shopper, craft shops have blanks in many different sizes.

I had bits of yarn left over from previous projects, so this didn't cost me anything. Yay for free(ish) projects!  I did the blue one using a Double Stitch. The rainbow one was done using a Half Double Stitch. When beginning the bangle, leave a tail of a few inches. When you've filled up the whole bracelet with as many stitches as you can fit in, tie the last stitch off and then connect it to the beginning by tying the tails together. Both bracelets took me about 20 minutes total, which qualifies this project as Super Simple. Here's a tip for you: yarn is bulky, so make sure your bracelet will still fit over your hand with the added mass. I didn't think of that until after, but they still fit. Yay, again!

I love how the yarn isn't really attached to the bracelet. The pattern is constantly changing as the yarn slips around the bangle, which makes it a bit more fun.

Love,

Super Simple Memo Board Makeover

Hi, all!

I haven't had a lot of time for crafting lately, but I did get the chance to revisit my Makeover Monday: Easy Memo Board Re-Do post from 2011. Yes, 2011! Can you believe it? This one was much easier. The frame was already white. Score!

I was in desperate need of a cute memo board for my office. but I'm cheap. You know how that goes. I picked up the VÄGGIS Noticeboard from IKEA and covered it with the same fabric remnant I used with the quick envelope pillow cases I whipped up this winter.

As with the first memo board, I used a case knife to tuck the fabric into the frame. Just cut the fabric slightly larger than the inside cork area. There's no need for adhesive. It's Super Simple!

Love,

Super Simple Easy Bow

Umm...so this is kind of late. Remember our costumes for Halloween? Well, this is how I made Sean's bow tie, which can be repurposed. Stick around for that.

I cut two pieces of felt. One was 10 inches by 2.5 inches. The second one was 1.25 inches by 3.25 inches. Still with me?

I folded the large strip in half, overlapping it a bit. Using a needle and thread, I sewed the ends together and created the pinched look. I then wrapped the small strip around the center and sewed the ends of that together, but not attaching it to the large strip. For the bow tie, I slipped a large safety pin into the back.

Once Sean was finished with it, I then slipped it onto a headband. Adorable! You could also use a clip.

This whole project took me less than ten minutes. And I'm awful at sewing. I'm thinking of making these in several different colors to match my daughter's wardrobe.

Love,

Peeps! (a headband and a craft fail)

Peeps bunny headband slide

When the Iron Craft Peeps Challenge was issued, I knew just what I'd do. Peeps Pops! They were adorable...in my mind. In reality? Er...more on that later. So I had to come up with a back up project. I whipped up this Super Simple headband using felt, a brown fabric marker, card stock, and a super strong glue stick.  I also used a pair of scissors, Made's Peeps Bunny template, and a plastic gold headband.

Infinity Scarves...Forever!

Zara's ecstatic over her new pink scarf.

I've developed an obsession with infinity scarves. Luckily, they're so easy to make they're Super Simple. Iron Craft's challenge is Warm Up, which, hello, is perfect for my new fixation.

Heart on a StringMommy-Daughter Necklace Set

You've got my heart on a string!

Hearts and Flowers was the theme for Iron Craft's second challenge of the year. I did a simple Mommy-Daughter necklace set out of shrink plastic, some cord, a couple of jump rings, and a few self-adhesive rhinestones. It was so Super Simple! The smaller heart is made from the inside of the larger heart and the three sparklies represent the three members of our family. Just cut the shapes out with scissors and a craft knife, make the holes with a hole punch, and bake according to directions. After they've cooled, add the rhinestones and jump rings and string it onto some cord. And then give one to your little Valentine. Or keep it for yourself and layer them. Whatever.

Super Simple Lock & Key Keychain

I was tempted to keep this one.

For this Christmas, I tried to make as many presents as possible and this was just one of them. And it was Super Simple!

Ingredients:

• Key ring
• Chain
• Jump ring
• Charms
• Pliers

Attach the chain to the key ring and then attach the charms to the chain using the pliers. Easy, no?

Super Simple Art Fix

Swirly!

For the past six years I've had a problem. A massive, ugly problem. A hideous, embarrassing problem that has cause me much stress and has made me think hard for a solution. Wanna know what the problem was?

Super Simple Dangly Beaded Earrings

Warning: I'm easily distracted by shiny objects.

I whipped these Super Simple dangly beaded earrings up as a thank you gift for my friend Deirdre who gave me a fab ring just because I admired it. How sweet was that?!

Ingredients:

• Chain
• Ear hooks (2)
• Jump rings (2)
• Head pins (4)
• Beads
• Wire cutter/plier tool

Simply cut the chain into six pieces, making sure that you have a matching set. Using the head pins, attach the beads to the ends of the chains. Attach the chains to the ear hooks using the jump rings.

Told you it was easy!

Super Simple Wreath Napkin Rings

These wreath napkin rings would make great favors for your holiday party.

So now that you have a stack of No-Sew Napkins just in time for the holidays, you need a bunch of Super Simple Wreath Napkin Rings to go along with them. Well, that was my thought process for this week's Iron Craft Wreath challenge.

Boo! (A Jane O'Lantern)

This is Jack's sister Jane.

Iron Craft's Boo! Challenge was a no-brainer for me. I had some pie pumpkins that needed to be decorated. Zara and I used washable markers instead of carving so that the pie pumpkins can be turned into, ummm, I dunno...pie after Halloween.

Beaded Chain Rings

Cute and easy!

I was reading a great blog the other day called Michon, which is written by a talented lady named Leah. She had a post called Chain Rings (check out the super cool one with the large circle ring) that reminded me that I made a couple of them a while back. It was before I even had a blog, so I don't have any progress photos, but these are Super Simple and easy to figure out without all of the pictures.

Low Cal Coffee Drink (recipe)

So sweet!

I love coffee, but only if it doesn't actually taste too much like coffee. Basically, I love coffee-tinged milkshakes. Since I started calorie counting I've had to cut back on Frappucinos. Man, I miss Starbucks! Anyway, I figured out a way to have my decadent coffee fix without all of those empty calories (and hits to my budget).

Jammy Croissants (recipe)

Super Yum!

This is a Super Simple and super delicious treat. I'm calling them Jammy Croissants. Earlier I was calling them jam turnovers, but that wasn't exactly right. Jam-filled croissants is just too long and too hard to say. Jammy rolly thingies is...um, no. So, Jammy Croissants it is. And I'm sure I'm not the first to think of these, but I've never seen them before, so they're new to me.

Thinking of You Card

An easy way of letting someone you know you're thinking about them.

I've seriously been on a card-making kick lately. Blame all of the gorgeous Amy Butler papers that I got for cheap. Here's another one and this one's Super Simple.

Chocolate Covered Oreos

White chocolate covered Oreos and almond bonbons.

Recently I visited a bakery shop and discovered something that'll probably be very detrimental to my waistline - chocolate covered sandwich cookie molds. Mmhmm. That's pretty much as awesome as it sounds. While at the same store, I picked up a pack of food dye markers. Of course, I had to try the two things out.

Super Simple Bow Hair Pin

Plaid matches everything, right?

Iron Craft's Challenge #21 - Where We Come From asked us to do something indicative of our heritage.  I'm Cherokee, Scottish, and English. That's a pretty broad spectrum to pick from, but still I was blocked. I'm going to admit, I kinda copped out on this one. I made a Super Simple bow hair pin out of plaid fabric. I think it turned out totally adorable.

Makeover Monday: Super Simple Berry Wreath

Berrylicious Wreath

For this week's Makeover Monday, I turned my attention to a wreath that had been given to me by my aunt. It had been in her basement for ages and needed a bit of a pick-me-up. During my last trip to a Dollar Tree, I found bunches of berries that I thought were sweet. I bought four bunches and used every bit of them for this wreath. And did I mention that this wreath is Super Simple? It took me all of, oh, I dunno, maybe four minutes to throw together.

Super Simple Four Loop Hair Bow

This bow looks way more complicated than it actually is.

My daughter Zara loves hair bows like I love earrings. She's so my girl. She's very particular about what she likes in a hair bow. It needs to be smallish and cute but not too cutesy and absolutely nothing big and garish. It's always worn on the right side. Only one at a time. Any deviations are not tolerated. She's three and the girl knows what she likes. She needed a navy blue hair clip, so I whipped this little one up. It's Super Simple, like most of the hair clips I make for her.

Silk Rose Hair Pin

A sweet and understated hair pin.

You might just recognize the blue silk from the post I did on creating a silk flower headband. You might also recognize the rose from the post I did on adding flowers to a plain bag. I made a ton of those flowers. Well, this is a Super Simple way to use up one of those flowers.