Polymer Clay Hooks

Hello my gorgeous people!

Hope you sweeties are doing good and gearing up for the weekend..
This is a short post from my end. Was waiting for good light to share these with you but alas...that doesn't seem to happen when i am free...Having worked with various crochet hooks i must tell you that i root for the Clover ones. They are my absolute favorite...except at almost HK$ 90 it is not a friend of my pocket. When my clover 2.00 mm hook got twisted with repeated assault i started thinking about doing something to reuse my old steel one. But its really tough on the little hands you know..Then i remembered seeing the pretty polka dotted and colored handles and thought..hey i am crafty! I can make one... He he...

There are loads of ideas on the net for making all this Polymer Clay. But i found THIS one site particularly interesting. She actually tells the technique for covering pens. I tweeked it to suit my needs of crochet hook. You wanna see the result??

 and yes EM guessed it right!

 They are an absolute delight to work with. I could adapt easily and in fact my work was a tad bit faster i think..But the best part is, you can do it in any shades and techniques and create you own personalized hooks!

 I also added "a thumb rest" as i seem to hold my hook like a knife :) It really feels comfortable!

 This one's my favorite...Love the red and white dots together...Already have requests from my family members for hooks in their favorite shades. This it's a perfect crochet gift. What do you guys say? Which ones did you like the most?

PS: A warning. My hands especially my palms hurt a lot on the first day after making these as i really had to roll hard to make the clay workable! So i could not hook for that day! But the result is so so so worth it!

Have a great weekend! Love and more..
xxx

Sunburst Granny Bag

Hello my LOVELY people!

My morning cup of coffee, little people asleep, banker off to office, computer and house all to self, blogging and catching up - perfect morning i say! Hope you guys are doing crafty and good...

You know there are some patterns which just speak to you, call you, remind you and then you have to have a crack at it? Yes, THIS pattern absolutely falls into that category. Into my second year of blogging, i thought maybe i could write a pattern using this basic square to create a bag. Well, its not actually a pattern...its more of a how-to thing...Do stay with me...he he

 

For this bag you will need:

*12 crochet squares hooked together in 2 sets of 3x2 rows and columns.
*Base color thread of both cotton and acrylic in same shade.
*Lining cloth.
*Wooden handles/handles.

**Note**
1.While joining granny squares i used the SC method, but i changed the thread after every edge to match up with the square. So in the pic above, you see that the mustard square and red square are joined by mustard thread. The red square and the purple one are joined by red thread and so on....
2.I really need to line all my bags - for the only reason that good patterns have some gaps in them. Also i feel the durability of the bag increases.
3.Handles - They reeeeally enhance the final product and also the bag is easier to use. Have tried crochet handles but not like real handles i am afraid.

How to:

Step1: Assemble your 2 sets of the granny squares

 

Step2 : Holding a strand of cotton thread and a strand of acrylic yarn crochet the base and sides. I used Laura Cotton and Stylecraft DK - both in white shades. The base should measure as much as the length of the granny patch and the width is up to you...I used SC again as they form a thick and sturdy base.

 

 Step3: Once you are done with the base, do the sides in a similar fashion. Join the threads to any side edge of the base and SC along the side. Continue in this manner till you reach the height of the width of the granny square.. Maybe a pic is more useful than my gibberish!!

 

Step4: Attach the base+side piece to the granny patch with the white color cotton thread again using SC itself.

Step5: SC with double strands at the top to give a neat finish. I did 2 rows of SCs.

Step6: Now the difficult part..need to line it.. I am sure there are lotsa tutorials out on the net for this. But i really like THIS as it is explained with examples and i like such explanations :)

Now i don't have a sewing machine(yet) so i had to hand sew this part and it was pretty boring job. But had to get it done right...

Step7: Attach your handles again with 2 strands and SCs. Do this by YO the handle...

 You can do a zip too..but that's really out of my hands(literally) for now.

There you go, a perfect pretty sunburst bag!

Here's my favourite square:

 

Hope you guys could follow what i have blabbered! If you do need any more info please feel free to pop a query! 

Now i leave you with a riddle. What can you make out of the below picture? Fabric, paper rolls, or..let me know :)

 Have a great day ahead!!

Lotsa love......

xxx

Give-away winner!

Hello my dear friends and my lovely readers!

Yesterday my blog turned 1!!

 

I cannot imagine being here without all you guys my lovely friends who take time and visit me and make me feel so good! Art and craft is my passion and i do hope to continue this adventure for a long long time..hopefully i will be w/o a diaper in my bag by then :)

I had a give-away to celebrate this occasion, first birthdays are always special right? Thanks to all you guys who supported me, spread the word and all my new followers and friends for all the kind words...

Ok, now i know i know, the winner right?

 

My little princess picked the lucky one and drum rolls please.......

 

 .....for Preeti from Creat-E-witty Unleashed!!! She is an amazing lady and runs a very creative blog HERE. DO visit her and have a look around.

Preeti please send me your address so i can send the lovely parcel to you right away!!

Happy crafting my dear friends and lotsaa love!

xxx.

 

Things to ♥

Hello my lovely dearies!

Wishing you a very Happy Valentine's Day. Hope you share it with your loved ones :)
A honest confession from myside.. i have never been a romantic person at heart, tho the banker disagrees, but i never have read the Mills n Boons or any other romantic books for that matter. Neither do i do candle light dinners or the romantic songs. Like the suspense and murder mystery genre more :)

But i am happy to be blessed with people and things to love. Foremost are my 2 little ones. They mean the world to me. A caring and loving tolerating and supporting(he supports all my crafty needs) husband, caring parents and in-laws. Also all my friends whom i have met thru this wonderful blogging adventure.

I am also blessed with the ability to be crafty(i think i am right?). My love for yarn and crochet, my paper crafting love and in general getting excited at anything crafty love.

Ok, now to show you guys some color love...

There has been a lot of this sunburst goodness going around the crochet bloggerland and you can find the famous pattern HERE. I have used Laura Cotton thread hooked with a 4.0mm hook. For the base n sides i held a strand of Stylecraft Special DK n a strand of Laura cotton together for additional thickness and firmness. But still i need to shop for handles and also sew in a lining....ahhh... more to do so much to do and so less time!

My second crochet love - blue ripple blanket. Coming along nicely...

Oops... when did she get in here..off i go now to bake a cake.
Do leave me a comment as i love hearing from you guys...

Have a LOVEly day my dearests!!

Love,
xxx

Outstanding Orchids

Hellllo my lovely dearies!

Good morning to you all and a happy chinese new year 2013 :)

Thankyou all my friends for wishing me so well and being part of my blogging happiness.

We had been on a holiday and boy it was soo relaxing...ahh..well not so very relaxing as having 2 small ones in hand means lotsa running and fun too. But it was great to be away from home. Yes, i did not crochet...but it was a welcome break :)

Singapore was our destination solely voted because it is kid friendly and a lot like HK. This post is about a beautiful garden - The Singapore Botanical Gardens. Indeed it is a very beautiful and mesmerising spot. My favourite in this city and you can see for yourself why...

Beautiful stunning awesome orchids in every imaginable color. A true feast for your eyes. This is a must visit for anyone who does Singapore.There was a dream wedding set present too. What a great place and backdrop for an unforgettable wedding right?

 My little miss, posing for her mommy.
We did the Singapore flyer in the night. Hmm...it was not such great event as i much prefer the HongKong skyline to Singapore's. Hongkong is probably the best skyline in the world mainly because of the amalgamation of sea, skyscrappers and mountain all in one frame!

Hope you enjoyed the orchids today. Will be back tomorrow with more clicks tomorrow and also some interesting information about the Lion City - Singapore:)

Have a great time and keep crafting.

PS: Have started a new colorful hooky adventure. Cannot wait to show it to you guys....
 

Pretty Flower Dress

Hello my dear lovely people!

Wishing you loads of sunshine and warmth from here. First i would like to thank you all for such kind words and comments on my Giveaway. Do leave me a comment on that post and remember you have a lot of time, till Feb 18th actually :)

Second thing i need to share with you guys - me and the little people and the banker are taking a vacation to sunny Singapore today! Yeah....after 3 years we finally decided that we can do a week's holidaying with kids. Or many be 5 days :) I finally successfully managed to wean my son off and i am so proud of myself for that. He never drank the formula and was on cow's milk since 7 months.. i know the docs and the internet sites don't advice it... But what do i do when he throws up all the flavors and all the companies milk? I HAD to feed him milk right...so he always sipped from glass. Now he is totally off my milk too and i have been enjoying good full night's sleep since last couple of days :) Hurrraaay!! Feel like my children are all grown up and off to college :))) sigh! Ok, so i am off to the sing land and will be checking my mails and blog after i am back.

Before i am off, wanted to share this cute little frock with you. There comes an idea and you have to have to have to execute it. I had lots to pack, things to do, clothes to sort, but i saw this plain frock i had bought for my girl and had an instant creative idea gushing. Forgetting all my priorities i took my hook and this is what i came up with...

This was what it was before.

Tucking my kids off to bed, switching on my lappy for daily dose of Hustle series i did this..

My girl loved loved it!!!

Before i go, here's the button for my Giveaway.. Do take part and have a great time!!

Love and more...
xxx