Harts and Crafts Blog | Creative Jubilee

Little red rose

By Christina Lee| July 11th, 2020|Craft Day, Craft Paper Scissors, Creative Inspiration, Oh My Crafts!|

Handmade, homegrown or store bought? You tell me.

With my mom’s retirement and the pandemic keeping us mostly confined to our homes, we all have to find ways to motivate ourselves, cheer each other up and lift our spirits. For me, I tend to lose myself in yarn projects, soap-making and other DIY home decor projects. Since the SIP, I’ve made my first pair of slipper socks, explored punch needle embroidery and now, I’m crocheting a scrap blanket. I love that you can do so much with just one hook and a ball of yarn.

For my mom, she never really took much interest in these hobbies or any others. She just admired them from the sidelines and encouraged me to do what I love. It was only until she cleaned the garage and found stacks of paper and excess supplies that my sister and I left behind that she found her passion.

It started with one petal, then two petals and three, and then it transformed into this paper rose. In making this rose, my mom found a hobby, something that she’s passionate and proud of. Something that makes her smile. Something that brings her to life.

My mom found herself.

Perfume-scented flower soaps

By Christina Lee| June 28th, 2020|Handmade, Homemade Soap|

It’s seventy-five and sunny and these flowers are in full bloom!

In looking for more ways to make hand-washing a bit more enjoyable, I decided to make these perfume-scented flower soaps. Given that we all wash our hands more frequently and take extra precautionary measures to rid ourselves of those pesky germs, why not do it in style?!

It starts with finding a soap mold that will make your soap feel like the centerpiece of your bathroom. I found these flower soap molds online and love that they accentuate every beautiful feature of a flower from the pollen-filled center to the delicate flower petals to the luscious leaves. And because we’re washing our hands more often, you’ll want to choose a base that not only lathers but moisturizes and smooths your skin. Shea butter does all of the above and is naturally a good choice. It also has anti-inflammatory and healing properties that condition, soothe and tone your skin.

You can buy a block of shea butter and melt and pour as your please. Then you’re off to the fun part: colors and scent. Neutrals and earth tones go well in just about any bathroom. And because summer reminds me of jasmine, gardenia and lilac, it was only natural to add a few extra droplets of those essential oils.

Colorful crochet panels

By Christina Lee| June 8th, 2020|Crocheting, Yarn Addict|

If you thought color swatches were only for bedroom and living room walls, you’re wrong. These colorful crochet panels are going to be for my scrap blanket. With three months of shelter in place orders, we all have some extra time on our hands. And with all the non-essential stores still closed, it was about time for me to make use of all the yarn I had stocked up on over the years.

Though I wouldn’t consider myself a hoarder, I have accumulated skeins of yarn left in the closet, unused and without a project assigned to it. I also have many balls of yarn that were partially used, half used and three quarters of the way used. And when you have a big melting pot of yarn of various colors, textures and lengths, it’s only fitting to get a little creative and make yourself a scrap blanket.

The goal is to create at least one color swatch a day. With all this added time, it shouldn’t be that hard to commit. In fact, I think I’ll finish this blanket in record timing!

Eight tomatoes and 14 hours later

By Christina Lee| May 31st, 2020|In the Kitchen|

With strict social distancing rules and grocers limiting the number of people in their stores, you’ll notice that a trip to your local grocery store is no longer a quick 10 to 15 minute outing. Brace yourself for long lines in and out of the store, and new one way aisles which can quickly double the time spent — especially if you head there during “rush hour.” Make sure to plan ahead and make a shopping list if you haven’t already done that. Chances are you’ll want to stock up and make one big trip to the store instead of several small ones.

One of the items on the menu this week is homemade tomato chips. They make a great addition to salads or if you’re like me, you can just munch on them as a healthy, afternoon snack. Making my way down the vegetable aisle, I got a haul of organic tomatoes. I grabbed as many round, plump juicy tomatoes as I could without breaking the plastic bag.

I sliced them and lay them flat on the dehydrator. Tomatoes are one of the vegetables that don’t really need any additional seasoning since it has a good balance of natural sweet and savory flavors. And the rich, red color makes it look so vibrant and fresh.

And 14 hours later, we have two mason jars of tomato chips from eight tomatoes!

No ‘one sockiatus’ over here

By Christina Lee| May 10th, 2020|Crocheting, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

I remember attempting to knit a pair of socks in my earlier years of knitting, but didn’t quite make it that far. We knitters and crocheters often start off with scarves and usually make a fair amount of them, until we aspire to do something more with the ball of yarn and knitting/crochet needles. Oftentimes, circular knitting/crocheting can be intimidating but once you take a class, follow a YouTube video or learn to read a pattern, you are soon exposed to a brand new world — a world of making your own clothes!

I’ve been wanting to revisit sock making, but always found it tricky wrapping my fingers in such thin yarn. Coming across this YouTube video on Crochet Ballet Slippers by Heart Hook Home, I got inspired to make these Sunday Ballet Slippers using worsted weight yarn size 4. Author Ashlea Konecny provides both a step-by-step video and written instructions for those who are visual learners like myself.

The best part is, you can make these slippers in a single afternoon. As long as you can make a magic ring, single crochet and slip stitch, you are good to go. But watch out for the notion of “One Sockiatus,” the idea of knitting or crocheting one sock and thinking you’re done with the project when you’ve still got another pair to make. It can offset your progress leaving your feet bare if you end up coming down with that syndrome.

Lucky for me, I was just too darn excited to finish the project!

Gorgeous sunset, ain’t it?

By Christina Lee| April 26th, 2020|DIY Home, Handmade, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

The sun is shining, the weather is warm and the yarn box is overflowing. With the days growing longer and the shelter-in-place order extended, many of us have a lot more time on our hands. For craft enthusiasts such as myself, that means catching up on hobbies and dusting off the shiny new punch needle that I just got last month.

Inspired by the East Bay sunset, I found skeins of cotton candy pink, sunset yellow, aquamarine and capri blue yarn that would make for beautiful skies and lush green mountains.

Weaving together the colors came naturally. The warm pink, ivory and yellow pair well with the tranquil blue, gray and navy — each bringing their own ray of sunshine and a burst of colorful personality.

These timeless projects bring such joy in times of uncertainty and unease. What are you doing to keep your head up and your spirits high?

One Line a Day Journal

By Christina Lee| April 16th, 2020|Creative Inspiration, Humbling Hobbies and Habits|

One line a day, that’s all it really takes, right? With the new year and the new decade, I decided to have another go at the One Line a Day Journal. The last time I did this (a few years back), I successfully committed to it for four years (at the end of each week or month) and then called it quits. I. Was. So. Close. But as the saying goes, “It’s going to be different this time around.”

Little did I know when I started this journal (in February!) that we were about to undergo a global health crisis — a pandemic — and the world was going to change forever.

It’s now been about five weeks of self-isolation and quarantine. With non-essential shops and businesses still closed, schools moving to online learning, park and recreation operations shut down, many of us have found some creative ways to cope with the situation and remain balanced. Sometimes it’s easy to keep your spirits up by finding various ways to brew a cup of coffee and move yourself from the bedroom to the living room. Other times, you trip over your laundry basket or a ball of yarn in the hallway. Some days you decide to be super productive and clean the bedroom, vacuum the floors, scrub the bathtub and bleach the tiles. Other days, you just want to throw in the towel, like on the couch, eat a tub of ice cream and watch bad tv. However you deal with this new normal, remember to always get up and try.

Every day can be a new high or a new low. You decide. For those of us who are lucky enough to be bored, go find yourself a new hobby. Make a digital photo album of that trip you took last year. Borrow a book from your local e-library. Get a little more creative cooking that next meal of yours. Do something.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we can look at tomorrow with hope for brighter and more colorful days ahead.

Stay home. Stay safe. Stay well.

Homemade Dog Cookies

By Christina Lee| April 11th, 2020|In the Kitchen|

Happy National Pet Day from Cooper Crazy Lee! I am so grateful for having a best friend and roommate who never argues, sleeps when I want to sleep, eats when I want to eat, exercises when I want to exercise, and just does everything I want to do. It’s amazing how these animals love you unconditionally and blindly follow you on any adventure — except when they hear the words B-A-T-H, B-R-U-S-H Y-O-U-R T-E-E-T-H or V-E-T. Then the paws firmly plant themselves in the carpet and they back pedal looking for a place to hide.

These past few weeks have been especially trying for most of us. But thanks to Cooper, we still manage to get out of the apartment about three times a day. We go for long walks, climb stairs, go for a jog along the marina and play ball. To be honest, I can’t think of a single furry little friend who opposes the new normal and the new work from home policy.

Today, we’re celebrating National Pet day by making peanut butter and banana dog cookies. Yum! You can find the recipe for PetSmart’s Peanut Butter & Cereal Dog Treats.

Ingredients

1 cup of flour
½ cup of vegetable oil
¼ peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 cups of honey nuts toasted oats

And, since I have a hard time following recipes, I added in one banana (!)

Mix up the ingredients and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes and you’ve got yourself a batch of freshly baked peanut butter and banana dog cookies. Mom tested, dog approved.

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