DIY Pink Yarn Bow w/video walk-through

I filmed, edited, and posted a video about the products I have used up. I didn't like it. When I made it, I made it because I thought people expected that kind of video. It was wrong of me and set me off balance. I knew I wasn't taking my YouTube channel in the direction I felt comfortable. I'm not a beauty expert or "beauty guru" by any means. So, I sat down and made of list of things I am an expert in. Two things were at the top. Lipstick and Crochet. The only beauty videos that will ever be on my channel will be about lipstick, that's okay. My YouTube channel is for me and my family and if others like to watch it, that is great too!

Sorry about that long intro! I just want to be clear that anything I post on my channel is there because I want it to be. I do this for fun! These are things I love. There has to be someone out there who loves lipstick AND crochet right? Or at least someone who loves lipstick and wants to LEARN a craft. That works for everyone.

Here is the video walk-through of the DIY PINK YARN BOW (this is crochet... I'll teach you!)

Don't worry! This tutorial walks you through not only how to make it but how to buy your supplies.

SUPPLIES
Scissors
A Tapestry Yarn Needle (not sharp)
A crochet hook that fits your yarn
Yarn (Size 4 Worsted Weight)

1. Buying your yarn! Go to a Walmart or craft store and find the yarn section. Then look at the label. They all have something like this on them. On the far left you can see the little yarn picture with a number FOUR in the middle? That is where you look for the number. They ALL have something like this. This is the size you'll need. There will be a wide variety 1-6. You'll notice right away #1 is TINY thin yarn and #6 is HUGE THICK yarn. We want a #4. Honestly though if you want a smaller yarn it will still WORK. It will just be a MUCH smaller bow.

2. To chose your crochet hook you'll need to look at this same label. The second square over says the knitting needle you'll need for that yarn. The third over has a picture of a crochet hook (a stick with a hook at the end) and it says the SIZE you'll need. For this yarn label it says I need a size I or 9. Here is my I-9 in the picture below. See it says US I9 then the mm that makes it an I-9. Easy as pie. You can buy a SINGLE crochet hook for $1 something or a pack of them.. it doesn't matter. They are super inexpensive like these! Make sure the pack you're buying has the size your yarn needs.

Before I go on let me explain the crochet hook sizes. Just like yarn is a 1 for small and a 6 for large.. crochet hooks get smaller the closer to a size A you get and larger the closer to a size Z you get. You need a specific size hook for each size of yarn because the hook at the END needs to be big enough to HOOK your yarn. If you have a size F crochet hook (small) and try to use it on a size 6 (large) yarn... the yarn will SLIP off. Not saying it can't be DONE! As far as I'm concerned even if you your yarn SAYS it needs a size I... you can use a size H and J just as well. The difference is literally millimeters. That being said if you DO chose to use something smaller the piece you are making will also be smaller. See the example below.

Now I don't remember if I used a different crochet hook on the one above. The hook I used for the one below was an I-9. I also held my yarn SUPER loose while making the below one because I made it on camera LOOKING through my camera so I could see what I was doing. That is why in the video I'm a little STABBY with the crochet hook. Ha ha. The results are the same though. This is the kind of difference you'd have using the wrong crochet hook. It isn't the end of the world.

3. Here is the VIDEO! Follow along!

If you already know how to crochet here is the pattern for this bow

CROCHET PATTERN
1. Begin with a magic circle with a LONG tail (1ft)
2. Chain 2, work 6 triple crochet into the circle, ch 3. sl st into your circle.
3. Repeat step 2.
Pull your beginning tail to tighten your circle and close the hole. Wrap that tail around the middle of your bow to hide this hole. Sew in ends.

If you do make this bow make sure and sent me a picture below in the comments, on instagram, or in the youtube comments! I'd love to see your creations!

Thank you so much for following along!

Super Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

It's almost JULY! That means Picnics, BBQ's, Baby Showers and Weddings, right?!?!?

I'm booked for one picnic and two baby showers already. Plus, east coast vacay in July. I have mixed feelings about the trip. A little anxiety that I think everyone has before flying. Airport/Plane/Packing/etc...

I'm taking the summer off from school (mainly because there aren't any classes offered for my degree.. lol)

Both of the baby showers I'm going to are "potluck" style. I need things to BRING! This is the dish I decided to bring to the first! I always bring sweets to potluck events.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

This looks super easy and I already have all the ingredients.

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:
1. Bring the sugar and the milk to a boil.

2. Boil them for 2 1/2 minutes, then remove from the heat. (Make sure not to overcook. If its turned brown you've cooked it too long!)

3. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla.
4. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper (I'm using a 8x11 because..I can't find my 8x8 lol), grease it with butter, or use a cooking spray like I did.

5. Pour the mixture in quickly! Don't over-stir like I did. Just stir until its creamy and pour it in.

6. Pat into the corners.

Let set for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator. Once set cut them into 1 inch squares. This will make approx. 16 pieces. (Unless your me.. in which case you chop indiscriminately and end up with a weird collection of choppy pieces)

And you're done! Stay tuned for the next treat I'll be making.

Here is one of the gifts we chose!

Adorable, right? We chose this as a gift but I also made two customized gifts for them which will be in the next blog!

Couldn't help adding a picture of it wrapped up. Isn't this wrapping paper ADORABLE? Ahhh. The mother-to-be loves owls too.

Thank you so much for following along!

Monogram Tree Topper Tutorial

I didn't want a star on our tree this year. I wanted a GIANT glitter "G" in honor of our first Christmas as the new mini Gross (our last name) family.

I got the idea from Brooklyn Limestone blog! I just used paint instead of glitter/glue. I found this to be a lot easier and less messy. The bottle of loose glitter was $3 more than the washable paint I purchased. Plus I don't have any spray adhesive... or even Elmer's glue laying around so I would have had to buy some of that as well. I think a did a pretty good job of macgyvering it!

Supplies
Tape (had it)  
Printer Paper (had it)
Printer  (had it)
Scissors (had it)
Newspaper (had it)
Flour (had it)
Water (had it)
Primer or white Paint (I had both of these.)
Tiny Foam brush ($0.40 at Michael's)
Glittery Paint ($4 at Michael's Art Minds Washable Paint in Gold 16 fl oz/473 ml)

1. Print out two of the same letter (size font 250+). Mine is in "Harrington" font (I'm obsessed with this font)

2. Cut them out. (I wouldn't choose something SUPER curlicue. Even what I chose was a pain)

3. Tape them together to make it 3D using paper leftovers. You'll use a lot of tape. This will take time.

4. Tear your newspaper into strips/pieces. Then get out a bowl

5. Mix up the paste you need. Use equal parts flour and water. (I used 1/2cup flour and 1/2cup water. I had tons left over so... use half that amount and you will still have leftovers. I promise.)

6. Dip those pieces in your flour water... flowater.. watour? The sticky mix! Okay don't DIP them per se. Just get enough on your fingers to coat the piece and try and get the rest off and back into the bowl. Just enough to make the paper wet! If you have globbulars of flowater on the pieces it will dry lumpy!

7. COVER your letter! Do so until it is covered with ONE layer. Let it dry. This will take a day... or three depending on how warm/dry/airy your house is. Just test it. It MUST be dry. (It took me TWO days..to be rock hard) This doesn't mean that the letter is indestructible! I tore mine after trying to tear it off the tree. Its still just paper! I had to super glue mine back together.

8. Create a hole in the bottom for the top if your tree! We have a fake tree so the top of my tree has lots of needles. It fit perfectly.

9. After it is all dry and sturdy (don't toss it around like a crazy person. You'll have to super glue it back together like I did. For some reason I thought I had made it out of steel) I got my supplies together for part two. The "G", Primer, Washable Gold Glitter paint, and a foam brush.

10. I actually ran out of spray primer part way through and used white acrylic pain I had laying around to finish covering all the crazy newspaper pictures.

11. This part is important so pay attention. Get the primer spray and white acrylic paint ALL over everything. I promise nothing will work out if you don't.

12. I did ONE coat with this paint and it BARELY showed glitter.

13. See. Its like NEON yellow. So I skipped doing it painter style and globbed it on.

14. I just poured a huge glob onto my brush and SLATHERED the stuff on.

15. It dries really fast. So I just globbed it on one side and let it dry. Turned it over and globbed it on and let it dry. Etc.... it took two days. I like it. No glitter mess. No fuss. No bowl of glitter that I have to pour back into a glitter receptacle... I don't waste. Plus it was dark and glittery.

16. TA DAAAAAAAA! Perfection.

Click HERE to see my WHOLE tree with the glitter "G" on it! In a post about how to take a picture of your finished Christmas tree with a point and shoot camera!

A Very Merry Holiday to you and yours! Thank you so much for following along.