Quick and easy project with an adorable outcome. Enjoy! :)

Materials

• crochet hook + yarn 
• 2 beads 
• 2 buttons 
• 2 earring hooks 
• 2 eyepins 
• round nose pliers 

Easter Crochet Chick Egg Cosy

A few weeks back, I was walking past a flee market store (there are a lot of them here in Vienna) and I saw a really cute Easter crochet chick egg cosy. I wanted to buy it but the store was closed, and when I came back a week later it was already sold. So I decided I make one myself. I browsed the net for some patterns but none of them looked quite like the one I saw in the store. So I decided to design a pattern myself :)

You can either download the pattern as PDF or just look at it here on my blog. Happy crocheting :)

EASTER CROCHET CHICK EGG COSY FREE CROCHET PATTERN PDF

Materials

• 3.5 mm (US: E) crochet hook
• Yarn weight: Worsted weight yarn (I used King Cotton from Gründl)
• Yarn colors: Green, Yellow, Pink, Dark red
• Black beads for eyes
• Red felt for beak
• Yarn needle

Light Summer Hat with a Flower

This summer hat has a special meaning for me, because it was the first custom made crochet project that I made. It was for my little niece, who was 3 months old then.
The pattern is actually 2 year old, so you might already know it from my ravelry page. However I decided to post all my patterns as blog posts as well, because it got kind of confusing, what is on ravelry and what is here :)
As always, you can either download the pattern as pdf or just read it here on my blog. So here we go...

LIGHT SUMMER HAT WITH FLOWER CROCHET PATTERN PDF

Materials

• Crochet hook 3.5 mm (US: E)
• Yarn weight sport / 5 ply (12 wpi) (I used SMC Catania Solids, 100% cotton)
• Yarn colors A: natural white, B : light brown
• Yarn needle

Sizes

• 3-6 months, circumference: 38-42cm (15”-16.5”), height: 16cm (6.5”)
• 6-12 months, circumference: 43-47cm (17”-18.5”), height: 18cm (7”)
• toddler, circumference: 46-49cm (16.5”-18.5”), height: 20cm (8”)

Easy Crochet Doll Outfit {universal size pattern}

Elise received a new doll from her grandma that was dressed in cute pink pajamas. She wanted to take her out to play with her at the playground, but insisted that she needs to be dressed properly. Firstly, that she wouldn't be cold outside, and secondly, one shouldn't go out in their pajamas :) 

So I was up for a quick crochet project from left-over yarn. For such small things as doll outfits, I prefer gradient wool. It's the perfect way how to add many colors without having to switch yarn and it also allows minor imperfections :)

EASY CROCHET DOLL OUTFIT CROCHET PATTERN PDF
EASY CROCHET DOLL OUTFIT CROCHET SCHEMES PDF

The doll outfit consist of a beanie, a one-piece and two slippers. The pattern describes the outfit exactly as I did it and also includes tips how to adjust the sizes for your doll. So for reference, our doll was 30cm tall (12”). You can find the pattern below or you can also download it as .pdf

Materials
- crochet hook 5.5mm / US size: I 

- bulky yarn (7 wpi):  Perla by Four Seasons Gründl, 100% Polyester

- 2 or 3 button

- yarn needle

Spring up your home by upcycling

It's the beginning of March and all I see around are willow catkins. Flower shops are full of them and even grocery stores have put buckets full of them near the check out counters. Usually they sell a bundle of six thick birches that are about one meter long and full of catkins for 3€ (4$). Since I wanted only few short thin birches, I cut them off from the willow in the inner courtyard of our building, Then I just took an old olive glass jar and a colored straw ribbon with a flower wire  and our new spring home decoration was done :)

Materials

• four thin willow birches 
• old glass jar (thin and high)
• straw ribbon with flower wire (when you get a bouquet and it's time to dry it up or throw it away, don't forget to scavenge all the good parts like ribbons and flower wire)

Funky Flower Crochet Pattern

There are never enough crochet appliques. And the only thing that is more fun than crocheting them, is designing them :) I was in the mood for an elaborate layered flower and this is the result. When finished, the flower is approximately 7cm / 3" in diameter.

FUNKY FLOWER FREE CROCHET PATTERN PDF

MATERIALS

• 3.5 mm crochet hook (US: E)
• Sport / 5 ply (12 wpi) yarn in 3 colors (I Catania Solids from Schachenmayr in dark yellow, light green and light purple)
• Yarn needle

Hand-drawn Happy Birthday Card {free printable} + Corel Draw Tutorial

It's the birthday season in our family again: we have nine celebrations from beginning of February till the middle of April. So it's the perfect opportunity to let my creativity go wild and draw & design new birthday cards :) This one was for my dad, so I kept it neat and simple.

You can print out one (or more :) yourself, and even color it, if you wish to make ti more lively.

Happy Birthday Card PDF A5 {free printable}

Materials
- printer
- A5 paper (best is a thick paper that holds shape when folded in the middle)
- Happy Birthday Card free pdf printable

Printing Tip
When printing the Birthday card, make sure your printer scaling is set to "None" and not to "Fit to printer margins". This way the text will be nicely centered.

Little Crochet Owl

I stumbled across this amazingly great pattern for a little crochet owl. It's really easy and quick, you just need to use the right method for switching colors in the row. If you are not so quite sure about that, I suggest you watch this straight forward video..

Pattern recommendation:

1. Use the right method for switching colors in the row (video)
2. I used a bulky pure acrylic yarn and 6 mm crochet hook (US: J) - the finished size of the owl is 13 cm (5"). Elise loves to play with it :)
3. It's much easier to sew on the eyes, beak and wings before the body is stuffed and finished.

• Crochet the eyes and the wings
• Crochet the body only until Round 19. 
• Now sew on the eyes and wings and embroider the beak (or sew it on if you are making it from felt)
• Finish Round 19 and 20 and stuff the owl along

Happy crocheting :)

No-Weaving-in-Ends Crochet Flower Headband

I love custom made crochet accessories. When I bought this little dress for my nieces second birthday, I knew I was going to crochet her a cute headband to go with it. I even had the matching yarn colors because I bought a huge stash of King Cotton yarn from Gründl last year. It is a blend of 55% acrylic and 45% Egyptian cotton, which makes it perfect for accessories, bags and toys. The recommended needle size is 6 mm-7 mm (US: J-K) but I always use a 5.5 mm hook (US: I or 9) so the finished product holds its shape nicely. By the way, I am in no way affiliated to Gründl, I just really like they yarn :)

The best part about this headband is the fact, there there are no ends that you will need to weave in. The secret is in leaving long tails, which you will use to create the braided headband itself after the flower is finished.

Side note: If you are working on a project where weaving in the ends is necessary, I recommend the Magic Knot 

MATERIALS:

• DK or Worsted weight yarn in 3 colors, I used King Cotton from Gründl in black, orange and pink  (I use this Ravelry Standard Yarn Weight Table and the Wraps Per Incht (WPI) method to determine the weight of my yarn)
• 5.5 mm (US size: I or 9) crochet hook
• Yarn needle
• Colored bead, minimum of 0.9 mm (0.35") in diameter 
• Depending on the bead hole size, you will either only need your yarn needle, but if it's too small you will need a standard thread needle (+thread) or you can just use a hot glue gun.

Five Minutes Valentine's Gift - Fuzzy Hama Heart

So Valentine's Day is coming.. To be completely honest, I am not a huge fan, but some subtle decorations are really OK ;) And this year, it took me only a couple of minutes, a really fun and easy DIY project.

Materials:

• Hama beads 
• Fuzzy wire 
• Scissors

Materials Note: I got my Hama beads at IKEA. I saw them while walking through the kids section, with no project in mind I grabbed one box since it was so cheap and I just though they might come in handy sometimes :) As for the fuzzy wire, you can get it at your local craft store or online, just Google it. I used a 50cm / 20" wire for the big heart and a 25cm / 10" one for the small heart. Just a small hint: the larger the heart, the weaker is its structure. 

4 simple steps

1. Take your fuzzy wire and fold it in the middle, pressing it hard to create the pointy bottom of the heart.
2. Pull the hama beads on each half of the wire, leaving a small gap between them. (The fuzzy wire will stop them from shifting around too much)
3. Leave the last 1.5 cm / 0.5" of the wire without beads
4. Now open the wire to create a blunt V-shape. Take the ends and curve them inward to create a heart shape. Twist the ends together tightly to hold the heart shape in place.

You can place them almost anywhere you want, I decided to put mine on our pin board :)

Simple Happy Birthday Garland {free printable}

Actually, I did this project exactly one year ago. I was at my parents house because it was my fathers birthday. Everybody was out, and Elise (then only 9 months old) was sleeping so I decided to decorate the dinning room as a surprise. I figured that a printable garland would be quick and easy, so I started browsing the internet. Unfortunately, I didn't find a garland that was conservative enough (to fit the style of my parents house), so I had to design my own. Since I didn't have my laptop with me, I used the house PC and did a quick job using only Photofiltre (free image retouching program). It wasn't completely perfect, but it still turned out quite nicely :)

So a year later, I stumbled upon this picture in my phone, and decided to upgrade the design for a free printable for everyone :)

Note: The approximate length of the garland, from H to Y (including a gap between the words but without decorative pieces) is 1.8 meters (70 inches)

Happy Birthday Garland Free Printable

idea ivana free printable - Happy Birthday Garland, black

idea ivana free printable - Happy Birthday Garland, blue

idea ivana free printable - Happy Birthday Garland, pink

Swimming noodle pony

So, after a week of not doing any crafts, because I had to study for my exams, I was in the mood to make one quick little DIY project. I stumbled upon this great idea to make swimming noodle ponies. It took me only about 30 minutes and here is the result. I followed the tutorial from this blog adding couple of my own tweaks.