Crafty Kristin

I definitely didn't get many "crafty" genes. Hilary has always been much more artistic and inclined to creativity than I am, but while I was out of work, I tried to push myself to be a little more creative and not get so bogged down in my usual "make a to do list then do it" mentality every day.

I have really enjoyed some of the projects that I have taken on... now, none have been extremely difficult, but given my perfectionist tendencies {which usually are the real deterrent to my craftiness} I am pleased with the projects, as well as my ability to be satisfied with them in their imperfect state.

Back in Home Ec class in 7th grade I learned how to crochet. The other day I realized that was over half of my lifetime ago, which really made me shudder. This was little 7th grade Kristin who learned to crochet and thought she was grown....

babies hilary, kristin, and sulley

Alright, alright. You can stop laughing now! A few years ago I decided to try to teach myself to crochet again and have really enjoyed the little projects I have worked on. I've finished a lot of scarves, several different styles of baby blankets, mug cozies, headbands, baby hats, and a couple stuffed animals. I'm very much guided by my feelings when it comes to this craft... if I'm not in the mood, I don't try to crochet because it can get very tedious and frustrating at times. Usually my projects will sit halfway finished in a basket for a while and then I'll hit a hot streak (or deadline) and work for hours on end to finish!

Here are a couple of my more recent projects:

magical... bowl turned into an urn turned into a kitty! sometimes it's hard to trust that the pattern will
end up like they say it will!

Captain Flint loved this pretty kitty, but she was meant to live with his Aunt Hil and guard her bedroom door

this pretty little girl is waiting for my little niece in her nursery! find the pattern here

I also decided to try my hand at painting and distressing mason jars. I really enjoyed this project because it was quick, had necessary breaks so I didn't burn myself out, and the progress happened quickly, which motivated me to keep going. I read a couple tutorials online to get a feel for a good process. Empty Classico jars and $1 bottles of craft store acrylic paint made for a very low-cost project overall!

After cleaning the labels off the jars, I painted them with three coats, allowing the paint to dry completely between coats. After a couple days of curing, I used sandpaper to distress the paint and sprayed them with a couple coats of matte spray sealer.

I originally wanted to use the jars as vases for fresh flowers, but worried the paint may not hold up well with multiple washings, so I decided they may be cute with a plant inside. I picked up some aquarium gravel, soil, and succulents, and Stephen planted these cute little guys for me! I love how they turned out and plan to make another little one for my desk at work!

I used my final distressed jar as a vase for these yarn pom pom flowers that I made and glued to twigs. They remind me of the flowers from the story Horton Hears a Who. The twigs I initially gathered had a lot of bark on them and didn't look very delicate, but then a tree with nice smooth bark at work lost several dainty limbs so I used those for the stems and they worked perfectly!

I also did another project with a jar that was quick and easy. I've had these colorful glass stones sitting around for a while and saw a cute idea for hot gluing them to a jar and using it as a little luminary. I used an old salsa jar for this one since the stickiness from the label didn't want to come off {aka, I was too lazy to scrub it off in order to paint it}. But it worked out nicely to give the glue some extra texture to stick to.

many thanks to my little helper for chasing the stones off the counter while I tried to glue...

That's all my projects for now! I hope they inspired you to try something new--I really enjoyed all of these and love seeing them around the house.

Don't worry, be crafty!

~ Buckwheat