Knock Off Striped Hat

Knock Off Striped Hat

I have been in hiding lately…not for any other reason other than the fact that I have been super busy! I made this about a month ago but still wanted to share it with you all! I am kind of in love with it!

A friend showed me this picture from the Kate Spade website and asked me if I could make it. I hadn’t ever done a striped hat before to this level, but was definitely up for the challenge. I headed out to the store, picture in hand, and picked out the yarn colors. I told her that I wasn’t going to knit it because I don’t have the patience for that right now, but I would crochet it.

The first time I was doing it, I was cutting off some of the tails and I clipped right through the hat….MAJOR FAIL! I was so upset! But, back at it I went! The final product is exactly what she wanted and she loved it so I was super happy.

The one major thing I learned after many tries (and I mean MANY) was how to fix the bottom rim of the hat so that when it is folded up it doesn’t look like a different stitch. Instead of crocheting in the round (meaning switching the colors and continuing working counter-clockwise), I would switch colors and turn. This made it so that the stitches looked the same both on the outside and inside of the hat. It worked perfectly!!

Let me know what you think!:) I would love to hear your thoughts.

Fantabulous Friday #40

Fantabulous Friday

Happy Friday!! Welcome to Fantabulous Friday #40! It has been another busy week. We skipped last week with the holiday but we are back at it!! I know you all have been making some amazing Christmas crafts and recipes and I cannot wait to see them all!!

This weekend is the 25th Annual Morrison Christmas Walk where the businesses in town decorate their windows and the community comes together to watch the parade and see Santa:) I am so excited this year to be participating in the festivities with my newly “acquired” business!! I will have pics up on Monday showing off my windows that I have been working on for a while now!

I have decided to show off the featured posts on my Facebook Page throughout the day! If you are not following me on Facebook, you can do that here and then you can see if you were featured from last week and then of course grab a button here!!

What amazing projects have you been working on this week?? Link them up!!

Make sure you don’t miss anything!

Fantabulous Friday #37

Fantabulous Friday

Happy Friday!! Welcome to Fantabulous Friday #37! I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!! Ours was great! Busy and for the first time we had Halloween with family and got to Trick Or Treat at houses of our family, so that was a lot of fun! It’s crazy the things you don’t realize you are missing. Let’s get on with the party!

I have decided to show off the featured posts on my Facebook Page throughout the day! If you are not following me on Facebook, you can do that here and then you can see if you were featured from last week and then of course grab a button here!!

And, the most viewed link last week was…..

Emily @ Naptime Creations showed off her super cute Super Boys Costume she made! How adorable!!

What amazing projects have you been working on this week?? Link them up!!

Make sure you don’t miss anything!

Fantabulous Friday #23

Fantabulous Friday

Happy Friday!! Welcome to Fantabulous Friday #23. We made it back to the good ole USA on Sunday night and it has been fantastic! I am so happy to be reunited with my stores….and family and friends! There has been some serious shopping happening! I got to go to the mall with my favorite shopping buddy in the whole world on Tuesday and it was AMAZING! I have also had my fair share of food since Monday morning! It’s crazy the things you miss!!

If you haven’t entered the Getting Better With Age GIVEAWAY going on now with myself and Delilah from Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama, you totally should! One winner takes all and the prizes are ridiculous! I would freak if I won!!

**Reminder: Myself, Earning My Cape and My Merry Messy Life are hosting A Crafter’s Dream Giveaway in late August. If you are interested in signing up, click here for more details!

I have decided to continue to show off the featured posts on my Facebook Pagethroughout the day! If you are not following me on Facebook, you can do that here and then you can see if you were featured from last week!!

However…the MOST VIEWED last week was the Summer Salad from Diane @ Mamal Diane!

What amazing projects have you been working on this week?? Link them up!!

Make sure you don’t miss anything!

Princess Birthday Party

Princess Birthday Party

The day was finally here this past Sunday! Miss M celebrated her 6th Birthday in style!! Thanks to Pinterest and a lot of missed sleep, the party came together perfectly. My friend Amy helped me set up and I seriously could not have done it without her. The princess birthday party was perfect!!

The food table was set with the girls’ party hats that I made with cups and lemonade. Each cup had a chalkboard vinyl cutout with their name on it.

 

This was the Arts and Crafts table. Each bag was an individual art kit for the children. The kit contained a dowel rod that was painted either pink or purple, a pre-cut star and a piece of chiffon for the wand. Then there was also a pre-cut crown for the girls to decorate with adhesive backed jewels. In the center of the table was an art box with glitter glues and markers to accessorize to their beautiful crowns and wands. Below you can see the crowns and adhesive back jewels that were in each kit.

Miss M showing off her hat and wand that she made:) She is such a sassy 6-year-old!!

Another angle of the eating table. The pink lemonade in the middle was perfect and went with the theme of pink  and princessy! The girls even decorated their party hats with some of the jewels left from their wands and crowns.

I just love these party hats. I found the template to make them here and they were so easy.

These cake pops were amazing! The girls (and parents) absolutely loved them!!

What’s a party without some cookies! And of course, iced with the pink and purple frosting to go with the theme:)

Using my crown cookie cutter, I made some turkey and cheese, and ham and cheese sandwiches to eat before eating up all the sugary goodness!!

Princessy cupcakes with crown liners and crown accessories on top. All done with my Silhouette Cameo;). I absolutely love that thing!

Again, using the Silhouette Cameo, I made a Happy Birthday bunting banner in the shape of crowns to go with the whole princessy theme!

And of course, the beautiful birthday girl! She had such an incredible time. I had made the pettiskirt last week and posted about that here, and then decorated the tank top and made a headband to match. Strangely enough, it was kind of chilly here in Germany, so she had to wear a cardigan for the first half because she was “a bit cold” 🙂

All in all, it was a great time, the girls had a blast, dancing to Justin Bieber..(that might have been my idea…) and everyone was full of sugar by the time they had to go home.

I will be posting more from this in the weeks to come on how each thing was done so make sure you stop back by for more! Thanks for stopping by!!;)

Fantabulous Friday #18

Fantabulous Friday

**There are 2 giveaways open for UPrinting Business Cards and a JUNE GROUP GIVEAWAYwith my amazing sponsors!! Have you entered yet??**

Happy Friday!! Welcome to Fantabulous Friday #18. I hope you all had a great week!!

In case you missed it, this week I shared:

Lauren at Tutus and Tea Parties joined me for Part 3 of “Hookin’…the legal way” where she shared some great videos on changing colors and finishing off your crochet projects! Her videos are fantastic and easy to follow!

We got to know Diane at Mamal Diane a little better with a Sponsor Spotlight. She is super incredible!!

On Father’s Day, I shared a little painting project that Miss M and I made for Daddy;) He loved it!!

I introduced you all to the amazing SWAP sponsors joining me here this month. If you are interested in sponsoring Little Becky Homecky, you can click here. My rates are extremely reasonable and I love helping you!!

And finally, because I am slightly obsessed with crocheting (Hence the Hookin’…the legal way!! series), I shared an infant crochet hat with a bow that is super adorable!!:) One of my followers (Mrs White from Little Homemade Housewife)made it the day I posted it and sent me a picture on Twitter..talk about an awesome moment!! There is no better feeling in the world!! 🙂 She really made my day!

Before we get started with the party, I want to share with you some of my favorites from last week:

Karyn @ Pint Sized Baker shared How to Make Watermelon Cake Pops! Are those not the cutest thing ever!?!

Rose @ A Rosie Sweet Home showed how she Spray Painted her shoes! These look absolutely amazing! I have a couple pairs I am dying to try this on!! Love it!

Bonnie @ Simply This and That shared her Boredom Box! This is not only one of the cutest boxes I have ever seen, but also a great idea!!

And, the most viewed link last week was…..

Delilah @ Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama shared her recipe for Creamy Coconut Rum Cake. Delish!!!

What amazing projects have you been working on this week?? Link them up!!

Make sure you don’t miss anything!

Hookin’…the legal way! Part 2

Welcome!! I am so excited you are joining us for the second part of Hookin’…the legal way! If you missed part 1 of the series, click HERE.  Today, we have Sara from My Merry Messy Life showing us how to increase and decrease stitches.

These amazing shops are sponsoring Hookin’…the legal way. Check out their Etsy shops (Living In Amethyst and Two Girls Patterns) for some seriously amazing patterns and make sure to check back at the end where one lucky reader will be winning patterns from their shops! I know right!? I made this skirt and these slippers using these ladies’ patterns! So cute!!

Take it away, Sara!!:)

Hi there! I’m Sara and today I’m visiting you from over at My Merry Messy Life where I share my own free crochet patterns and share my passion for green living, motherhood, and children. The lovely Katie, your blogstress (I just made up a word!), has graciously asked me to write about increasing and decreasing in crochet today!

Increasing the Round
First, let’s start with increasing. This is a crochet technique that is used to make the width of your project wider. A project is made longer by adding more rows, but it is made wider by adding increasing stitches. An increasing stitch is simply two of the same stitch in one space. So, for example, I have chosen to use working in the round (see my post on that here) as my example for you, because it is one of the most common projects in which there are increasing stitches. Working in the round is one of the most important techniques to master in crochet as you can make hats, flowers, dolls, clothes and more. See my website for lots of hat and flower patterns!

Photo #1 – Chain 3, slip stitch to form a ring. Chain 2, 11 double crochet in the ring (for a total of 12 double crochet)

Photo #2 – This is an increasing round where we work 2 double crochet stitches into each space.

Photo #3 – Shows the completed round 2 which is an increasing round.

Photo #4 – This is another increasing round, but different from round 2. Chain 2, double crochet in the same space (so it looks like 2 double crochets have been worked). Now work just 1 double crochet in the next stitch. 2 double crochets in the next. 1 in the next. Repeat the 2, 1 pattern all the way around.

Photo #5 – Shows the almost finished round 3.

If you continued this circle, you would typically add one increasing stitch (2 of the same stitch, in this case, a double crochet) one time less each round. So, round 4 would be: 2 DC, 1DC, 1DC. Round 5: 2 DC, 1DC, 1DC, 1DC

Single Crochet Decrease

Now let’s move on to decreasing. Decreasing is important to learn in order to make things like ear flaps on a winter hat and clothing. There are different techniques for both single, half double and double crochet, and I have a photo tutorial for each of them for you! In each example, we’re going to make a triangle together. So, come follow along!

Photo #1 – Chain 12. In the 2nd chain from the hook, work a single crochet. Work 1 single crochet in each stitch all the way down.
Row 2 – Chain 1. (We’re going to begin a decreasing stitch. You’re going to start the single crochet but not complete it the same way.) So, insert your hook into the first space and pull up a loop. There should be two loops on your hook

Photos #2 to #3 – Leave the two loops on the hook and insert the hook into the next space and pull up a loop. There are now 3 loops on your hook.

Photo #4 – Yarn over, and pull through the first two loops. There are two loops remaining.

Photo #5 – Yarn over, and pull through the last two loops. Finished! See how there is only one space now for two stitches?

If you continue, the rest of row 2 will be to single crochet in the next 6 stitches, then work another decrease in the last two. (8 total stitches)

Row 3: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work a single crochet in the next 4 stitches, then work a decrease with the last two stitches. (6 total stitches)

Row 4: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work 1 single crochet in the next stitch, work a decrease in the last two stitches. (4 total stitches)

Row 5: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work 1 single crochet in the last stitch. (2 total stitches)

Row 6: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the last 2 stitches to complete!

Half Double Crochet Decrease

Photo #1 – Chain 12. In the 2nd chain from the hook, work a half double crochet. Work 1 half double crochet in each stitch all the way down. (10 half double crochet total)
Row 2 – Chain 1. (We’re going to begin a decreasing stitch. You’re going to start the half double crochet but not complete it the same way.) So, yarn over and insert your hook into the first space and pull up a loop. There should be 3 loops on your hook

Photo #2 – Leave the 3 loops on the hook, yarn over and insert the hook into the next space.

Photo #3 –  Now pull up a loop. There are now 5 loops on the hook.

Photo #4 – Yarn over, and pull through the first 3 loops. There are 3 loops remaining.

Photo #5 – Yarn over, and pull through the last 3 loops.

If you continue, the rest of row 2 will be to half double crochet in the next 6 stitches, then work another decrease in the last two. (8 total stitches)

Row 3: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work a half double crochet in the next 4 stitches, then work a decrease with the last two stitches. (6 total stitches)

Row 4: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work 1 half double crochet in the next stitch, work a decrease in the last two stitches. (4 total stitches)

Row 5: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work 1 half double crochet in the last stitch. (2 total stitches)

Row 6: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the last 2 stitches to complete!

Double Crochet Decrease

Photo #1 – Chain 13. In the 3rd chain from the hook, work a double crochet. Work 1 double crochet in each stitch all the way down. (10 double crochet total)

Row 2 – Chain 2. (We’re going to begin a decreasing stitch. You’re going to start the double crochet but not complete it the same way.) So, yarn over and insert your hook into the first space and pull up a loop. There should be 3 loops on your hook

Photo #2 – Yarn over and pull that loop through the 3 loops. There are now two loops remaining.

Photo #3 –  Yarn over, and insert the hook into the next space and pull up a loop. There are now 4 loops on the hook.

Photo #4 – Yarn over, and pull through the first 2 loops. There are 3 loops remaining.

Photo #5 – Yarn over, and pull through the last 3 loops.

If you continue, the rest of row 2 will be to double crochet in the next 6 stitches, then work another decrease in the last two. (8 total stitches)

Row 3: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work a double crochet in the next 4 stitches, then work a decrease with the last two stitches. (6 total stitches)

Row 4: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work 1 double in the next stitch, work a decrease in the last two stitches. (4 total stitches)

Row 5: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the next 2 stitches, work 1 double crochet in the last stitch. (2 total stitches)
Row 6: Chain 1. Work a decrease in the last 2 stitches to complete!

Merry Crocheting!

 Be sure to stop back next week where Lauren from Tutus and Tea Parties will show us how to change colors and finish off a project.

Free Printable Blog Planner

Free Printable Blog Planner

I have been working on this for what feels like forever, tweaking and re-tweaking it to make sure it fits my needs as a blogger. I found so many printables out there, but they were always missing something. I am incredibly Type A and it’s really annoying;). OCD at it’s best! But, I have finally created a Blog Planner where everything I need is in one place and it makes sense in my head…which makes me happy:)

The Chevron Background was found here. There are so many other colors if you want to use some;)

1. Blogger Expense Tracker

I use this sheet to track the incoming money from sponsored posts and Ads and the money I pay out each month for sponsoring other blogs or giveaway items and their costs.

2. To-Do List

I made this a little while back to keep track of the different projects I have going on. Typically the 3 categories I have are sewing, crochet, and other…but right now that “other” is wedding projects for a friend that is getting married this fall.

3. Monthly Calendar

This is pretty self-explanatory.

4.& 5. Weekly Calendars

Each day has a section for the title of the post, the notes for that post, and keywords to use. In the same area, I have “Sponsor’s posts” so that I can keep track of the lovely ladies I have on my blog that are sponsoring me. If they have something going on that day, I write it down so that I can Tweet about it or post it to Facebook to promote them. On the far right, there are boxes for “Drafted”, “Scheduled”, and “Posted” to keep track of the status of each post. Also, below that is an area to check off if it has been posted to Twitter, Facebook and Google +. (Super anal right?… I can’t help it!)

6. Sponsor Information

I use this sheet to keep track of the sponsors at Little Becky Homecky. This includes the ad size, the name of the person and blog, their twitter handle, email, and what they are doing as part of their sponsor package (i.e. Guest Posting, Sponsor Spotlight, Group Spotlight, Giveaway, etc.) Then there is a column labeled “Mentions” where I write in how many are included in their price and then an area to tally up the mentions for both Facebook and Twitter.

7. Who I’m Sponsoring

I use this sheet to track who I am sponsoring. Not everyone uses Passionfruit Ads and so I like to have all the information in one area. Here I write down the name, how much I paid (or enter Swap if that is the case), whether or not I am doing a giveaway and the item, and what to expect. In the “What to expect” section, I write down what is included in the price that I purchased so that if it gets to be the end of the month and I have not been contacted when I am supposed to be doing a Guest Post as part of my sponsorship, I can be sure to contact them.

8. Giveaway Information

This one is also pretty self-explanatory, but it keeps things organized for me so that I don’t get too carried away with what giveaways I am participating in;)

9. Monthly Stats Tracker

Finally, we have the Stats Tracker. I keep track per week, and then also monthly. The information for the Pageviews and Unique Visitors comes from Google Analytics. Then, the other information is taken from each of my Social Media sites and totaled at the end of the row. I find this to be important for updating my Sponsor page to show those interested in sponsoring what my stats are so that they can determine if Little Becky Homecky is a good fit for them to reach their target audience.

I am so excited to be sharing this with you because it has made my life so much easier! I printed out the pages, added dividers and a cover, and took them to be bound at a local print shop. I could not be happier.

Click on the links below for each page to download and print.
Blogger Expense Tracker

To-Do List

Monthly Calendar

Week (Sun-Wed)

Week (Thurs-Sat)

Sponsor Information

Who I’m Sponsoring

Giveaway Information

Monthly Stats Tracker

**Additionally, I have included the following link which is a PDF of the documents all-in-one for each month. It is set up to be printed dual sided (duplex) so you will have to print out the file 12 times (one for each month:))

Full Monthly Blog Planner

Let me know what you think! I hope you find it useful!!

**These Free Printables are for personal use only. Please do  not replicate them and sell them. Thank you.**

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Crochet Chevron Afghan

Crochet Chevron Afghan

 

I have gotten several emails that people weren’t finding the patterns so I pasted it below with my changes.

Row 1: With white, ch 183. (To make bigger work in multiples of 14)
Row 2:Dc in second st from hook, * Dc in each of next 14 ch, 3 dc in next ch, dc in each of next 14 ch, sk 1 ch, repeat from * across, ending with the sk 1 st, dc in last st, ch 2, turn.
Row 3: Working in back lp of sts Throughout, dc in first dc, sk 1 dc, * dc in each of next 14 dcs, 3 dc in next dc, dc in each of next 14 sts, sk 2 sts, repeat from * across, ending last repeat with sk 1 st, dc in last st, ch 2, turn.

Repeat row 3 throughout, working 8 more rows white, 10 rows of next color, 10 rows next color, 10 rows starting color, 10 rows second color, etc

Have you ever started a project and then once you realize how much time it is really going to take, you kind of wish you wouldn’t have??? That was totally how I felt with this crocheted chevron afghan. While I love it, and I am glad I completed it, it will be a LONG time before I do another!! I found a pattern for this on Pinterest and had to make it! I loved the colors she used, but I wanted to use the grey instead of the red since I am on a grey and yellow kick right now;) There are a few mistakes, but I am totally over it. I was not about to rip it out and start over! It’s only for us so I am fine with it.

My grandmother would be so proud of me!! She used to make these all the time for family members, and I do not have a clue why anyone would do more than one ever in their life time:) They take forever!! Definitely worth it, but wow! Maybe IF I do another, I will do it in the winter time because having this heavy blanket on me while completing each row is very warm!! The hubs loves it and used it last night and it covers him up (he’s 6’2″) so that’s probably why it took so long. I wanted to be sure that it would fit on him because all of our blankets only go so far on him and it’s a bit annoying because then he hoards all of the blankets!! 🙂

What do you think? You like??

Tank Top Dress

Tank Top Dress

I made this cute tank top dress last week and I absolutely love it! I found the tutorial here on Pinterest and I had to make my own. I love finding useful projects on Pinterest and trying them out! It makes me so happy when they work out! She used elastic thread in her tutorial, but I tried it using regular elastic as the waistband. I felt like it would hold up better and It fits more snug. I really love this dress!! The tank top was one that I had lying around that was a bit to short..I’m a long tank top kind of girl;). I then found this adorable polka dot fabric at a local fabric store and I really like how they look together!

I cannot wait for summer now so that I can wear it more often!

Let me know what you think!