Jenny Lou Creations: #handmadehappiness

Showing posts with label #handmadehappiness. Show all posts

Friday, April 10, 2015

What To Do With Your Leftover Easter Candy

I am so ready for summer! Summer means grilling out and s'mores! This Easter, when it was beautiful outside we grilled out and built up a fire. While I was grabbing some festive marshmallow peeps, I saw some mini Cadbury caramel eggs and realized I had the makings of an amazing s'more!

This is what we did. Get together some graham crackers, regular sized peeps (any kind will do) and some Easter chocolate eggs. We used the Mini Cadbury Caramels and small Resees Peanutbutter Eggs. You can use virtually any kind of your favorite chocolate from Easter, but I highly suggest going with a filled chocolate.

Get your sandwich parts ready on a plate first. The little peanut butter eggs were already flat, but I took a small, sharp knife and cut the caramel eggs in half so they would melt a little more evenly. If you have a big, chocolate bunny just chop a few pieces off to fit on the cracker.

Get ready to roast some peeps! You don't have to use a fire pit. Just keep your grill warm after you finish cooking lunch or dinner and use the hot coals to roast your marshmallows. Make sure you are very careful when roasting peeps. They are covered in hot sugar, and hot sugar can be dangerous. Be sure not to touch the peeps with your fingers!

Use the graham cracker to remove the hot marshmallow. Let the chocolate melt a little and enjoy!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Simple Crafts - Personalized Pencils

I stumbled upon these adorable personalized pencils the other day and knew I had to make some for my craft table! This simple craft will be a great way for your kiddo to keep track of his or her pencils at school too. Grab a pack of plain yellow pencils, or any pencils you want to cover up, some glue or modge podge, a brush and some scissors.

The first thing you've got to do is head over to The Girl Creative and print out the template for the pencils. The author, Jackie (a guest blogger I believe), designed these too cute covers just for back to school. Be sure to take a look around the blog for some other fun ideas and recipes.

Cut out your pencil covers using scissors or a craft knife. Hold one of the covers to one of your pencils to check the fit and trim the end to fit.

I used modge podge to attach my covers, but white glue or tacky glue should work too. Brush the back of one of the covers with your glue and then line up the edge with a pencil. This part is a little tricky...roll the pencil just a bit and make sure the edge of the paper is stuck down and straight. Finish rolling your pencil bit by bit, running a clean finger along the pencil as you go.

A few tips...I used modge podge and it dried fairly fast. Be sure to do one at a time. I used two pieces of paper for my workspace. One for applying the glue and one for rolling. Make sure you hands are clean and free of dry glue when you roll and don't rub too much. You probably want to start with un-sharpened pencils to make it easier to cut the strips for a nice even end. The only made in the USA pencils at the store were pre-sharpened, so that is what I went with. I'd also suggest looking for pencils with flat edges like the ones pictured.

Aren't they super cute? I'll be sharing more fun projects I find, including a very special teacher vase/container soon. Don't forget to leave a thank you on the original blog post for The Girl Creative! I'll be adding some ready to ship items to my shop today and tomorrow, including Back to School Owls so be sure to visit!

Monday, August 4, 2014

August Amigurumi of the Month

I'm sharing some big news today! In order to bring you some handmade happiness all year, Jenny Lou Creations is going to have start having a monthly theme. August is launching this fun, new adventure with Back to School. I've got lots of fun stuff planned for the blog including, fun & free patterns from around the web, new products only available in my etsy shop, and a limited release pattern from me tied into the monthly theme. You may have seen a glimpse of my Back To School Owl over on my facebook page. The pattern will be available this Thursday, August 7th in my shops and be sure to grab it quick as it will be going away at the end of the month to make way for the September release. This is a great surprise for kids going back to school, plus it will make great teacher and grad gifts later in the year! For my non-crochet customers I'll also be adding a very limited number of finished owls to my Etsy shop for the month of August.

Not only will there be a limited release pattern each month, but I'll be doing a giveaway tied to the amigurumi of the month too! Head over to my facebook page right now to enter to win the pattern for free OR this cute finished owl. (Finished item shipped to US addresses only please.) Be sure to share the giveaway post on facebook to earn an extra entry! Giveaway ends at midnight central time August 6th and winner will be announced with the release on Thursday morning.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Trolls Are Coming

I'm releasing my 16th pattern this Friday, August 1st! This is kind of a mega pattern full of trolls. You can mix and match heads, noses and ears (and colors!) to make your very own mountain troll clan. They go especially well with Snow Queens and Winter Princesses! *wink*

There are lots of decorating possibilities to make each one different. These will make lovely Christmas gifts for all those Frozen crazed kids out there. There is plenty of time to make up a few in time for the holidays.

If you aren't a crochet-er, there might be a few of these available in my shop later this fall. If you can't wait though, hurry over to my Facebook page and sign up for my giveaway. Ends the 31st at midnight...which means today is the last day! You can pick from a free copy of the pattern OR a finished troll.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Latest Projects

I have been super busy here! We adopted a sweet dog recently, made a few visits out of state and the husband and I have been canning and creating delicious goodies from fresh fruit. (I'm eating some freshly made peach salsa as I type. Yum!) I've been busy working on projects for my shop and for friends and family as well, so I'm about to share some of my latest stuff with you! If you follow me on facebook, you may have run across some of these already, but you never know with those new and always changing facebook rules.

I got a brand spanking new sewing machine for any early birthday gift! Unfortunately, I didn't get to use it until the week of my actual birthday. My first project was a super fun Captain America "summer costume" for my Godson to wear in the 4th of July parade. He had a blast all decked out in his outfit made out of a basic tee, a pair of pants hemmed into shorts, some felt and foam. You can see photos on my facebook page.

After that I got to work on my revers-able bucket bag. The pattern can be found in Lisa Lam's The Bag Making Bible" and you can visit her at U-Handbag. (Lisa's books and tutorials are amazing! Check her out if you are interested in learning to sew.) I had the fabric picked out for this awesome bag for over a month, but just couldn't get to it. I finally decided it was time to take a sewing day and went for it. Unfortunately I might have cut some of the trim incorrectly. This is not the first time I've done that either. Sigh. I finally finished it up and have been using it as my purse since. I have some fabric picked out for a couple more and will totally share when I get them finished. Next time, I'm thinking I'm going to attach a button on each side. The current one has 1 button that you move with a safety pin when you want to use the other side. I don't think I'd mind having a button on the inside too, instead of moving it.

I also released my first Little Superhero pattern. I had to tweak and re-tweak him a few times but I am so happy with the end result. The patter for Little Patriotic Hero is available on Etsy, Ravelry and Craftsy.

I am really enjoying toys and whimsical things, so I have decided to start selling 18" doll clothes in my shop. The first outfit available is a crocheted houndstooth outfit with hat. I actually won this pattern from A Crocheted Simplicity when it was released and I think I may pick up her other doll outfit. I love how it turned out and she always has excellent directions in her patterns. If you crochet and know someone with an American Girl or similar doll, this makes a great gift for the holidays! If not, you can order the outfit in my etsy store.

I finished up a few other things and have a couple Princess patterns on the way so check back soon, or follow me on facebook for more updates!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Handmade Happiness Roundup (Week 2)

Did you have a happy week? I've been busy working on orders and finishing up a pattern, but that stuff does make me happy! I'm hoping readers/fans/followers caught a couple of the #handmadehappiness posts, but just in case here is a recap!

Mother's Bird Nest Necklace (Sunday)
This adorable little necklace features eggs and a monogram for each child. This one was featured on Mother's Day. The tiny details just mesmerize me and I think these little children/grandchildren/family necklaces are too cute! Vist Uqfashion on Etsy for many personalized pretties!

Photo from Uqfashion

Rainbow Stickers (Monday)
There weather has been pretty gloomy lately. Nothing like a rainbow to brighten your day! You can stick there on anything to spread some cheer to yourself or someone you love. These sticks were sold by time I started this post so check out the shop for other fun stickers or ask for a custom order! Check out Joey Design on Etsy for more stickers.

Photo from JoeyDesign

Laser Cut Owl Pendant (Tuesday)

This one doesn't need much of an explanation. The cuteness of the owl says it all! Made out of maple wood. So cool and unique! Visit exdesigns on Etsy for more fun trinkets.

Photo from edxdesigns

Butcher Cuts Pig Cookie Cutter (Wednesday)

This cutter (and many others in this shop) is so clever! I'm not sure why you would ever need a cookie shaped like the butcher cuts of a pig but it is too awesome to pass up! Visit Printmeneer on Etsy for this and more unique cutters.

Photo from Printmeneer

Grad Cap Ring (Thursday)

Looking for a different gift for a grad this year? Check out this crazy awesome ring! There are lots of creative pieces in this shop. I am amazed by the talent. I especially love the Harry Potter glasses ring. Super cute and don't be surprised if those show up for handmade happiness one day. Check out thinkupjewel on Etsy for some super unique, special gifts.

Photo from thinkupjewel

Van Gogh & Dr Who Parody Poster (Friday)

My husband and I watched all the newer Dr Who episodes last year so I finally get what some of the inside jokes are about. These parody posters are too much fun! Visit ParodiesLost on Etsy to look at plenty more. Look for some Alice in Wonderland/Dr Who prints and a cool Star Wars parody.

Photo from ParodiesLost

Hopefully one of these made you smile this week! Follow me on facebook to keep up with the daily posts, or stop by the blog on Saturdays for the week's roundup.