ASL I Love You Crocheted Valentine

-Compensation for this post provided by Fairfield World, all ideas and opinions are my own-

Just over 8 years ago my second baby, first little girl, was born. We were so excited to add a baby girl to our family and had no idea how much her birth would change our world. With my first baby I don't think I even realized that they that they did newborn hearing screenings because he had passed his, I don't think I realized it until the nurse walked in with my newborn baby girl and told me that she hadn't passed. We didn't really know what that meant, they didn't really know what that meant. They told us that lots of babies fail right after birth because of fluid in their ears so we should just come back in a week, retest her, and chances are she would pass. The only problem is she didn't pass a week later, or the next week, or any of the times over the 2 months that we took her in to have her hearing tested. By the time we finally got some answers and a diagnosis we were more relieved to finally know what was going on than anything else. She was diagnosed with a moderate hearing loss in both ears. Further testing revealed that she had a progressive hearing loss and would most likely eventually lose all of her hearing.

I Love Books Bag with Bookroo

-This post sponsored by Bookroo, all ideas and opinions are my own. Post may include affiliate links-

Some of my best childhood memories involve books. I loved reading books myself and there are so many books that grew up loving, picture books and chapter books both. My mom used to read books to us too. I remember so many times that we would beg her to keep reading, just one more chapter, then one more, and one more. Some of my favorites were those books that she read aloud. I think part of it is the stories but I think part of it was just that we all loved when she read to us. I have always felt that one of the biggest reasons that I grew up loving books and reading was because my mom read to me and shared her love of books  with me and mt siblings. When my husband and I found out that we were expecting our first baby over 10 years ago one of the first things we did was start a little collection of some of our favorite books. It was so important to me to share my love of reading with my kids.

Through the Cracks Cowl

I made this cowl quite a while ago and have been meaning to get it posted on here but with all of the holiday projects I was trying to get up it just had to wait. I got the idea for it just looking through my stash of yarn that was leftover from other projects and saw a small ball of Red Heart Unforgettable that  was left over from my Spring Colors Scarf. I really like the colors of that yarn but there was just a small amount left and I wasn't sure what I could with it. 

Colorwork Hearts Pillow

I finally got my newest pattern up on the Fairfield World site. I wanted to make something to get ready for Valentine's Day next month and I had the idea to do another graph pillow but this time I used single crochet instead of corner to corner. Because it is all single crochet it is a beginner friendly project. No complicated stiches to learn, just a basic single crochet. You change colors as you work to make the hearts.

Cricut 101- Is It Worth It? and a Unicorn T-Shirt

-This post is sponsored by Cricut, all opinions and ideas are my own. This post contains affiliate links-

I have had my Cricut for nearly a year now and I have really loved having it. It has been a fun addition to my craft room and I use it all the time. For a while now I have been wanting to start a regular blog series about using the Cricut. I want to share lots of little tricks I have learned, fun things you can do with your Cricut, and answer questions you may have about Cricut machines. Before I got my Cricut I would see all of the projects people made with their cutting machines and think it would be really fun to have one. There seemed to be so much stuff that you could do with them. But then I would think about the cost and I wasn't sure it was really worth it. I mean, it looked like it would be cool but would I really use it enough to make it worth it. Then an opportunity came up for me to get one, and in full disclosure it was in exchange for a blog post so I didn't have to pay for it, and I was able to try it out and see how much I would use it and whether or not it was worth the expense. I think that is one of the first questions that a lot of people have when it comes to items like this. It is kind of like getting a sewing machine if you don't sew a lot, or kitchen appliances that you may only use once in a while. Is it worth the expense? I think the answer to that question will vary from person to person but I can share the ways that I use mine and maybe that will help someone decide whether or not it would be worth it for them.

2017 LDS Youth Theme Printables

Each year the LDS (Mormon) Church has a theme for their youth program and this year the theme is "Ask" based on a scripture in the New Testament, James 1:5-6, which says,

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” 

Valentine Candy Bags

Today I am participating in a series called "Craft Lightning" with a Valentine's theme. We were challenged to come up with Valentine projects that you can make in 15 minutes or less. When I am trying to think of a quick projects I usually don't immediately think of a crochet project since those usually take me more than 15 minutes (although the little crocheted hearts I made at Christmas time only take a few minutes to make and they would be perfect for Valentine's Day). Instead I decided I would make a super simple sewing project, little muslin treat bags with iron on hearts perfect for filling up with treats for Valentine's Day.

Three Wise Men: Crochet Nativity Add-On

-This post may contain affiliate links-

*Purchase an ad-free version of this pattern on Etsy or Ravelry 

Over a year ago, in Novmber of 2015, I posted the pattern for my crocheted Nativity set. From that time I had planned to make a set of Wise Men to go along with it. Originally I hoped to make them that year and publish the pattern before Christmas but with the craziness of that time of year it didn't happen. Then I thought maybe I would try to get it done in July for a Christmas in July type post which would give people plenty of time to work on it for Christmas, but I had a baby in July so a lot of things that I had planned didn't happen. Then I thought I would get it done before Christmas for sure. But once again I didn't get them done. I thought about waiting to finish them and post the pattern until closer to Christmas but then I realized that I obviously have a problem with getting them done by the time I plan to so I thought it would be best if I just got them done now and posted the pattern. It may seem like kind of a wierd time to publish a Christmas pattern but I figured it was either get it up now or it might never get done. Besides, today actually happens to be 3 Kings Day so in a way it works. Also, now anyone who wants to make a nativity set for Chirstmas has almost a whole year to get them done.

Lucy's Crochet Unicorn

My little Lucy loves unicorns. I'm not really sure when it started or where it came from but lately she has been obsessed. The only thing she told us that she wanted for Christmas was a unicorn. She ended up with some unicorn toys, unicorn pajamas, and a unicorn book. A few days before Christmas I was looking at my yarn wanting to make something, not that I didn't have projects I needed to work on, I just wanted to make something just to make it. I saw some pink yarn that I had left from a couple of other projects (I used it for Mary's shawl in my nativity and for a little clutch that I made that combined sewing and crochet) and the thought popped into my head that Lucy would love a pink unicorn.