Easy V-Stitch Baby Blanket

Looking for an Easy Crochet Baby Blanket tutorial? This one is really easy, kind of a mindless pattern, that works up really quick. It is made with using the v-stitch. I originally shared it a few years ago on Craftaholics Anonymous and I thought it was about time I shared it here too.

5 Little Monsters Top Ten Posts from 2018

Another year is over which means it is time for my yearly top ten post. Each year I like to go back and look over the projects I have shared over the past year and see which were the most popular posts. These are the top ten most popular posts that I published in 2018, it doesn't include popular patterns from years past. I also am only including project posts, no roundups or things like that. 

Best of the Best Crafts of 2018 - Top Posts from 25+ Craft Blogs

I really enjoy going through at the end of each year to see what my top posts were that year. I will be sharing the top 10 for my blog in a couple of days, but I thought it would also be fun to get together with a bunch of other craft bloggers and share each of our top posts from this year. So here we have a list of the very best post of 2018 from lots of different bloggers! See if any of your favorites made the list! Over 25 of the The Best of the Best Crafts of 2018.

Joy Wreath Sign

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I recently shared a simple Christmas craft project over on Design Dazzle as part of their Christmas Wonderful Series and today I am going to share it here. This little Joy Wreath Sign is a really quick and easy project to make, and I think it turned out pretty cute.

30 Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

If you have been following along at all over the past couple of weeks you know that from December 1-12 I did a 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers Series where each day I shared a small, simple project that could be used as a stocking stuffer. None of them were really Christmasy at all so they could be used anytime you need a small project but they all fit in a stocking.

Crocheted Gift Card Holders

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 12

Day 12, the last day. 12 days of quick and easy small crochet projects, I hope over the past 12 days you have found some ideas you can use. Whether it be for gifts, stocking stuffers, craft fairs, or whatever else you may use them for. It has been kind of fun to make lots of small projects that were quick finishes and that I could make with yarn I had in my stash.

Quick and Easy Crocheted Boot Cuffs

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 11

Today is day 11, only one more day to go. Tomorrow will complete the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers. Hopefully these quick, small projects have given you ideas to make to fill stockings or give as gifts.

Farm Animal Finger Puppet Playset

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 10

Day 10, only a couple of days left to go in the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers Series. Hopefully you have enjoy the projects so far and they have given you some good stocking stuffer ideas.

Easy Crocheted Coin Purse

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 9

Day 9 and today's project is a super simple and quick project, a little coin purse. It only uses a tiny amount of yarn so it is a great project for using up scraps.

Crocheted Surprise Eggs

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 8

Today is day 8, 2/3 of the way through. Today's project was inspired by my kids. My kids are obsessed with blind bags, surprise eggs, or whatever else you call those little toys that you don't know what you are getting until you open it. So for this project I made a crocheted version of those toys.

Basic Crocheted Hat with Ribbed Edging

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 7

It is Day 7 of the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers and today is hat day. I chose a really basic hat pattern to kind of stick with the quick and easy theme. 

Grit Stitch Washcloth

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 6

Day 6, we are halfway through the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers. Today's project is a washcloth which kind of goes along with the Face Scrubbies from Day 2. Washcloths are one of my favorite quick crochet projects. 

Bead Stitch Headband

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 5

It is Day 5 and for today's project I made a headband or ear warmer. Quicker than making a whole hat but still great for staying warm in winter weather, this makes a great stocking stuffer. 

Crocheted Hair Bows

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 4

It is Day 4 of the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers, and today's project is for the little girls in your life. This is another really quick project that is great for using up scraps of yarn.

Crocheted Chapstick Holders

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 3

It is the third day of the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers, and today's project is one of the quickest and easiest of all. If you missed the first 2 days you can find them here: DAY 1 Crocheted Cowl, DAY 2 Face Scrubbies.

Crocheted Cotton Face Scrubbies

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 2

It is the second day of the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers, 12 days where I will be sharing a new free crochet pattern every day for a small project that will fit in a stocking. The project for Day 2 is a set of puff stitch face scrubbies. If you missed Day 1 yesterday you can find the Quick & Easy Cowl HERE.

Quick and Easy Crocheted Cowl

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12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers

DAY 1

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you may have seen me post about the 12 Days of Crocheted Stocking Stuffers Series that I have planned. Starting today, Dec 1, I will be posting one new free crochet pattern each day for the next 12 days. 

Crocheted Jute Ornaments

A few days ago I shared an ornament that I had originally shared on Craftaholics Anonymous a few years ago and never shared here on my blog. These ornaments I am sharing today are another of those projects.

Merry Christmas Candy Favor Bags

Coloring Book Gift with Tags

-Books provided for review by Leisure Arts, all ideas and opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links-

Coloring books are fun for everyone, kids and adults, and they can make fun gifts for all ages and any occasion. I was recently sent a few coloring books and I thought it would be fun to put them together as little gifts.

Geeky Mini Christmas Tree

My husband likes to put up a small Christmas tree on his desk at work. Last year we got him a small (18") tree for his desk, but we didn't have any small ornaments to decorate it. This year I decided we needed to do something about that.

Bead Stitch Hat Video Tutorial

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I have a couple of videos on YouTube showing how to do some of the stitches used in the Bead Stitch Hat and Cowl, but I have been getting a lot of requests to show how to make the video from start to finish.

Easy Embroidered Felt Snowflake Ornaments

A few years ago when I first started my blog I spent a year as a contributor on Craftaholics Anonymous. Each month I would share a new pattern or tutorial there and usually I would share it on my blog a few weeks later. Some of them I never shared here, either it was past the season or I just never got around to it. I decided it was about time to share them, especially a couple that were Christmas patterns.

Art Kit Gift Ideas for Kids

-Product for this post provided by Darice, this post contains affiliate links.-

Do you have little artist in your life? I have a few kids that really enjoy drawing. It has been something my youngest daughter has been really into lately. Like I mentioned in my Craft Kit post, we decided this year that we really wanted to try to give the kids gift that would encourage creativity and help them develop talents that they have. Knowing how much she enjoys art we thought an art kit would be the perfect gift.

Beginner Craft Kit Gift Idea

-Product for this post provided by Darice, this post contains affiliate links-

My girls love to make things and be creative. As we were thinking about Christmas gifts this year we decided that we really wanted to focus on gifts that would allow our kids to be creative and develop their own talents, rather than just more toys to add to the toys we already have.

Easy Fleece Christmas Tree Skirt

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This year got a new Christmas tree and set it up early. We don't usually set it up before Thanksgiving but my excuse was it would be good to have up as I work on Christmas blog projects, but really I am just excited for Christmas. We still haven't gotten around to decorating it though, despite the kids begging me everyday to pull out the box of ornaments.

Over 25 DIY Advent Calendars (plus one to buy)

-Product for this post provided by LEGO-

Over the past couple of weeks I have shared a few Advent Calendars and Christmas Countdowns. I really love them, I think they are so fun to lead up to Christmas. Whether it means getting a treat, doing an activity or service, hanging an ornament, or just erasing one number and writing a new one. I love making my own countdowns but there are some pretty fun ones to buy too. This year my kids are really excited about the LEGO City Advent Calendar that LEGO sent us.

Christmas of Kindness Advent

I have shared a couple of Christmas countdown/advent ideas and I wanted to share one more idea today. One thing that can be really hard at Christmas time, especially for kids, is to avoid getting so caught up in presents and what you want to get for Christmas. It is so easy for it to become all about the gifts and less about the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Candy Bottles

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As I was thinking about Christmas craft projects and ideas a couple of weeks ago I sat down and looked through some of my craft supplies to get some inspiration Sometimes looking through materials and supplies will spark an idea. It is one of my favorite ways to get project inspiration. Sometimes it will be a specific item that will give me an idea, sometimes the color of something, a material, or a combination of those. Sometimes when I feel like I have no creative ideas I like to go wander through a craft store and I am bound to find inspiration as I walk through the aisles.

Nativity Countdown to Christmas Chalkboard

A couple of days ago I shared a Countdown to Christmas chalkboard. I found several designs already made in Design Space and I chose one to put on my chalkboard. This design, that I am sharing today, is one that I came up with myself rather than one of the pre-designed options.

Las Flores Crocheted Cowl

 -Fairmount Fibers, North American Distributor of Manos del Uruguay yarns provided me with the yarn for this project.-

I recently had the opportunity to get my hands on some yarn that I was really excited to be a able to work with, and today I am going to share what I made. The yarn is from Manos del Uruguay, and I was really excited when they offered me some yarn for review, I have wanted to try their yarn ever since I heard of them.

Buffalo Check Believe Sign

A couple of months ago I ordered some red and black buffalo check vinyl from Cricut, thinking that it would be fun for Christmas projects. I am starting to work on more Christmas crafts and finally had the chance to pull it out and use it on something.

Be Grateful T-Shirt Design

Every November I start to think a lot about gratitude and all of the things I have to be grateful for. I know I am not the only one who feels this way since that is also when all of the gratitude posts start popping up on Facebook and Instagram.

Countdown to Christmas Chalkboard

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I have shared a few Christmas crafts over the past couple of weeks but now that Halloween is past I am ready to really start with the Christmas crafting. Don't worry, there with be some Thanksgiving projects mixed in as well as some non-holiday posts, but get ready for lots of Christmas ideas over the next several weeks.

Easy Tote Bags with Cricut Iron On Designs

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One of my favorite things when I need a quick project is to make something with iron on. I love to crochet, and I really enjoy sewing and painting and other crafts. But all of those things take time. Sometimes it feels really good to make something that you can make start to finish in only a few minutes. T-shirts and tote bags with iron on designs added to them are so quick and easy to make and there are so many ways you can use them. I make them for my kids, myself, gifts, holidays, and more.

Toddler Size Crocheted Monkey Hat

My 2 year old has recently discovered Curious George and now he loves monkeys. I thought it would be fun to make him a little monkey hat to wear as the weather is getting cooler.

Trick or Treat Bags for Non-Verbal Kids

I have 2 kids that don't talk at all. There are a lot of reasons why kids who are old enough that people assume they can talk don't, in my case my children are Deaf. They have no other disabilities or delays, even their language and communication skills are at or above age level, they just don't talk. They communicate through American Sign Language or when needed they can communicate through writing, or at least my oldest son can, my younger daughter is still kind of young for that. Another Deaf daughter both speaks and signs.

ASL Christmas Crafts

-This post sponsored by Cricut-

About a month ago I shared a collection of t-shirts that I made that had words fingerspelled in American Sign Language. I shared a little bit about how we use ASL in our home as 3 of our 6 kids are deaf. I was kind of surprised by the numbers people who commented on how excited they were by the designs because they too were deaf, or someone in their family was, or a close friend, or they were an interpreter, or someone in their family was, or they had some other personal connection to sign language. It was really fun to find that connection and community. But even if you don't have as personal of a connection to ASL it is still a neat language to learn and you never know when you may be able to use it.

Fabric Covered Cork Board with Felt Flower

-Products used in this project provided by Darice, Cricut, and Plaid-

Do you ever have projects that you start and then set aside and it takes months before you actually get around to finishing the project? Then when you finally get around to finishing the end project is completely different than the idea you actually started with? This project is one of those for me, but now that I have actually finished it I really like the way it turned out.

Trick or Treat Iron On Bag

Every year I try to make trick or treat bags for my kids, sometimes I make them to coordinate in some way with their costumes, and other times they are more traditional Halloween designs. I have shared some of them here one the years.

Easy Ribbed Crocheted Pumpkin Video Tutorial

After sharing the written pattern for the Easy Ribbed Crocheted Pumpkin I decided to put together a quick video tutorial showing step by step how to make it. I thought that it was an easy enough pattern that it wouldn't be too hard to put together a step by step video tutorial showing exactly how I made it.

Easy Ribbed Crocheted Pumpkin

I have shared a few crocheted pumpkin patterns in the past, but I had another style of pumpkin that I wanted to try so now I have another pumpkin pattern to share.

Welcome Fall Banner

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The welcome sign that I have had hanging on my door was starting to seem a little too spring or summery now that the weather is turning colder, the leaves are starting to fall, and it actually feels like fall is here.

Child Size Bead Stitch Hats

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

Last winter I posted a hat pattern, the Bead Stitch Hat, along with a matching cowl. It has since become one of my most popular patterns. I have had a few questions about how to adapt the pattern to make it a child size, the original pattern was only written in adult size. So, over the last little while I have been working on a toddler and child size version of the hat and now it is ready to share.

Be-YOU-tiful T-Shirt

I recently had a friend ask me to make some iron on decals for t-shirts and I figured if I was going make them anyway, I might as well share them here in case anyone else would like them.

Cricut Maker vs. Explore Air 2: All About the Adaptive Tool System

-This post sponsored by Cricut, may contain affiliate links-

I love using my Cricut, I had the Explore Air 2 before getting a Maker about a year ago. One of the questions I have heard a lot both in person and online is people wondering if the Maker is worth it, or how to know which machine to choose. The truth is they are both great machines, which one is right for you really depends on how you plan to use your Cricut. Today I am going to share a bit about why I love the Maker and share a project that I made that uses all of the tools currently available for the Maker's adaptive tool system.

16 Halloween Crochet Projects: Costumes, Decor, and More

I have shared a lot of Halloween crochet projects over the time I have had my blog and I thought it would be nice to put them all in one place so they would be easy to find. I have a variety of different types of projects, everything from stuffed ghosts and witches to candy bowls and hats for costumes and more. So grab some yarn and a hook and pick a project!

Post Stitch Baby Pumpkin Hat

Yesterday I shared the Jack-o'-lantern onesie that I made and mentioned that combined with a little pumpkin hat it would make a cute Halloween costume. Today I am sharing the pattern for the hat that I showed in the pictures.

Jack O' Lantern Baby Bodysuit

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I shared a baby set a couple weeks ago that was made with a navy bodysuit, it came in a pack with a few other colors including an orange one. I knew right away that I wanted to use it to make a Halloween themed onesie. I thought about a cute Halloween saying or something but ended up deciding to just make a basic Jack-o'-lantern face.

October Quote Canvas

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October is probably my favorite month of the year. It happens to be my birthday month but that isn't the only reason I love it. First of all, I love the fall. It is my favorite season. I love the cooler weather, the changing colors of the leaves, and I love the fact that it is the beginning of the holiday season. I love the excitement of Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus it is crochet season, time to make warm, cozy hats and scarves for everyone.