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Don’t Get Too Cozy Now

By Christina Lee| August 6th, 2018|Crocheting, Handmade, Yarn Addict|

I just learned how to crochet the star stitch pattern and recently made a few dish towels for the kitchen. They turned out pretty well, so I thought I’d continue to ride that wave and make some coffee cozies to get an early start on holiday crafts. Typically, I follow a new pattern to the T, however I thought I’d get a little creative after mastering the star stitch.

When making coffee cozies for a mug or a recyclable cup, it’s good to make sure they’re snug so they don’t slip off, especially if your cup doesn’t have any handles. Obviously you’ll notice many mugs slim down in size the further down you go. I wish that were true for the female anatomy! So instead of ending the row with a half double crochet, you can end with a single crochet and the bottom part of your coffee cozy will decrease in size.

Once you size the sleeve to the mug of your choice, there are several ways you can finish off the cozy. One easy way is to crochet both ends together and circle the edges with one round of single crochet to even out the shape. Another way that’s super easy, but just a tad bit fancier is sewing on a button and creating a loop (using chains) that either goes through or above the handle. This requires some measuring and a few attempts to size the loop so that it hugs the button snugly.

Making coffee cozies are quick crochet projects that you can do in one sitting and it’s easy to get carried away with the small details. It’s likely you’ll end up making more than just one — especially if your friends catch a glimpse of these. They also make good Christmas presents. To go the extra mile, consider topping it off with hot cocoa and chocolate dipped spoons, or a few bags of your favorite loose leaf tea and maybe even some honey. Your friends and family are going to love you!

Star Stitch Crocheted Dish Towels

By Christina Lee| July 22nd, 2018|Crocheting, DIY Home, Handmade, Yarn Addict|

If these star stitched crocheted dish towels don’t motivate you to clean then I don’t know what will. Hopefully Spring cleaning wasn’t the last time you touched a dish towel. If it is, then you and your dish towels are long overdue for a kitchen scrub down. Inspired by a new crochet pattern I learned from YouTube, I decided to add a little splash of color into my kitchen. Summer shades of green, yellow and blue make the kitchen pop in a sea of brown cabinets, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. The star stitch pattern itself is an easy pattern to learn. It’s repeatable and it takes two rows to complete the star configuration, so you can swap out different colors of yarn pretty fluidly in between rows. It might seem intimidating at first if you’re not used to creating multiple loops in one stitch, but if you can get a few of these under your belt and you know how to do a half double crochet, then this is a great pattern to use to make dish towels. It’s a beautiful stitch and it creates a thick, plushy texture that’s good for scrubbing counter tops or wiping down a glass of spilled milk. And adding that hook in the upper corner makes it convenient to hang in your kitchen cabinet.

Mosaic Bowl

By Christina Lee| April 22nd, 2018|DIY Home, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Mosaic Art, Oh My Crafts!|

In addition to learning and acquiring new hobbies, this year will also be about finishing my projects — all of my projects. I started this mosaic bowl over a year ago when I first got introduced to mosaic art and glass cutting at the Alameda Art Lab. I got a fair amount of practice for both cutting and catching flying pieces of glass through the air since I completed a few mosaic art projects — a turtle, a rock and a heart. I decided to take on this mosaic bowl, and just as I was about halfway through it, I ran out of steam. I left the the bowl with JaYing and she said she’d hold on to it until I decided to come back and finish it.

Well a year later, I came back. I was wondering if the bowl was still there… and it was! It was just sitting there in the corner. Other students came and went, and she did mention that someone had offered to finish it I never came back, but luckily, it was still exactly how I had left it. Shards of yellow, purple, pink and brown glass were still plated though I had to pick up a few more slabs from the color bin. I started out with mirrored glass encircling the “eye” of the bowl and lined it with gold and yellow, which really made the rich sea of purple and brown pop. I have to admit, it was hard to distinguish the dark browns from the dark reds, so I “snuck” in a few shards of deep red. You could only tell when you hold it up to the light. I think it gives it character! I also decided to leave room for shades of brown and pearl to contrast against the pink and pearl, and to complement the eye. With those last few pieces, it’s time to grout and let it sit.

With my sister’s birthday coming up in the next month, I decided this would be the perfect gift for her apartment. She’s a fan of purple and I’d like to give her a place to leave her keys, drop in a few coins and leave her knick knacks. I can’t wait to see how she receives it!

Knitting on the Go

By Christina Lee| March 3rd, 2018|Handmade, Knitting, Work Hard. Play Hard. Knit Harder., Yarn Addict|

I’m due for another business trip and that means over 24 hours of travel (15 hours of flying on one airline, a layover and 4 hours on another). With all this time on the plane, what am I going to do with myself? It looks like I am going to have ample time to get cozy, watch a couple of movies and begin my knitting marathon. Lucky for me, there is no shortage of yarn in my closet from all my trips to Michaels!

Most of the patterns that I’ve knitted in the past couple of months have been over ten lines long with lots of counting and tallying. The patterns themselves aren’t challenging, but there’s as lot to keep track of and count. This time around, I decided to go with the “Eyelet Ribbed” pattern, which is only six lines and more manageable for traveling. If you can knit, purl, yarn over and purl two together, then it’s relatively easy. I like this pattern because it’s simple, doesn’t have too much counting and you end up with these beautiful column ridges at every other stitch along with these cute little peepholes. I also think this pattern goes well this spring colored yarn.

Well, off to my next flight!

Father’s Day BLT Sandwich for Dad

By Christina Lee| June 18th, 2017|Amigurumi, Crocheting, Handmade, Holiday Fun, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

For years, I’ve been racking my mind coming up ways to say thank you to dad, and show my love and appreciation. Well after gifting him razors, ties, shoes and other miscellaneous gadgets, my most successful gifts on top of a heartfelt thanks has always been food, the key to my dad’s heart. Whether it’s going out to lunch in Sausalito, picking up a gourmet burger, whipping up something from Food Network or just having a backyard barbecue, sharing a meal and bonding over food has always brought us closer together (Cooper included!).

While I have found a way to make my Dad happy, these meals do not come without consequence. Enter Mom with the warning label that we shouldn’t be eating this or that, and we should all be on a diet even on holidays (!)

Well this time around, Mom and Dad both have nothing to complain about with this BLT sandwich. The bacon, lettuce and tomato all come prepared with zero calories.

Post Father’s Day Update:
By the way, Susanna and I did take our dad out for no guilt burgers and sandwiches.

Happy Father’s Day to you, Dad and all the fathers out there!

Rainbow Rose Vegetable Tart for Mom

By Christina Lee| May 14th, 2017|Handmade, Holiday Fun, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen|

Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful Mom and all the loving moms out there!! On this special day, we’re celebrating in style with my Mom’s favorite meal, brunch. Aside from the classic omelette, turkey sausage and peanut butter toast, I wanted to come up with something unique, something special. Lucky for me, my mornings spent watching and bookmarking videos from Facebook finally came in handy as I was scouring the Internet for ideas on how to make brunch a little warmer and more spring-like. Thanks Food Network for the creative inspiration behind this Rainbow Rose Veggie Tart. It took me exactly one minute (maybe two!) and a trip to the grocery store to create this masterpiece.

The recipe calls for two eggs; Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper for the creamy filling. Then for the rose buds, you can choose from an assortment of spring vegetables from the grocery store. I went ahead with yellow squash, zucchini, rainbow carrots and a tomato for the centerpiece. And last but not least, a pie crust in the frozen aisle, unless you want to make it yourself. I’m a fan of Sara Lee’s ‘semi-homemade,’ so I was completely fine with the frozen pie crust. You’ll need a sharp peeler to remove the outer skin and peel through the layers of vegetables, and then you’re set for the fun part of rolling this thinly sliced vegetables into rose buds.

Before you pop this tart into the oven, you’ll want to sweep olive oil along the edges of each rose bud, so it will turn crispy brown. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and bake it for 50 minutes and then you’ve got yourself this lovely Rainbow Rose Veggie Tart. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t wait to try this with eggplant the next time around.

Happiness is a Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

By Christina Lee| April 11th, 2017|Crocheting, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Yarn Addict|

As the saying goes, “Happiness is a cup of coffee and a good book” and now, I won’t dare get a cup of coffee without dressing it up with these cozies. These stylish companions for your morning cup of joe will not only keep your coffee warm and help you save the environment by steering clear of the cardboard sleeves, but it will make other people envy your super cute, stylin’ coffee cup.

Did I mention that these crocheted coffee cozies are a new addition to my website? I’m thrilled to finally be featuring them online. They are fun and easy to make in one sitting. If you know how to single crochet in the round, then you’re golden. And if you’re new to crocheting, this is one of those ‘feel good’ projects you can complete in a timely manner, put a bow tie around and gift it to a friend or keep it for yourself.

Once you finish crocheting in the round, you can swing by Michael’s or Jo-Ann Fabrics to pick up some of these cute buttons and put the finishing touches on your coffee cozy.

Rediscovering Old Hobbies: Pendant Making

By Christina Lee| June 5th, 2016|Handmade, Jewelry Making|

It’s easy to go weeks without cleaning my apartment, but when I do, it’s usually fulfilling and an immediate sense of relief. This time around, it was an added bonus to find all the supplies I purchased from Craft Fantastic, a craft supply company specializing in photo jewelry components to create necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Even after a year or so, the Glaze and Glue is still in its liquid form and I’ve got a handful of decorative art paper, glass cabochons (aka jeweler’s glass) and vintage pendant trays. You know what that means… it’s time to get this jewelry factory up and running again. I plan on making a couple of these charming necklaces to go with a few other gifts that are just about ready to be sealed with a beautiful bow.

Isn’t this red canary sitting perched up in this antique birdcage a beauty? Well, I thought so too and this sweet, simple yet sentimental necklace also makes a very stylish and fashionable statement.

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