Oh My Crafts! Archives - Page 3 of 6

The Gift-Making Holiday Rush

By Christina Lee| December 3rd, 2018|Craft Day, Crocheting, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

Well, I thought I’d get ahead of the gift-making ‘holiday rush’ when I packed several skeins of yarn and my crochet hook, and took it halfway around the world with me during the Fall season. However, when the skeins of yarn were still intact in my suitcase on my way home, I knew I was in trouble and I was in for a rude awakening during the holiday season.

Despite a busy work and travel schedule, I was able to come up with a few projects that would be creative and fun, doable in a short timeframe, and make warm and “cozy” Christmas gifts. One trip to Michaels left me grabbing skeins of yarn left and right. Since I had recently made a couple of hand towels, I stuck with yarn that was 100% cotton for its durability and absorbance. Plus, I kind of like the organic look and feel of the blue gradient and olive green blend.

Over on the left, I decided to go with the classic double crochet and on the right, I went with the Moss Stitch. While both make for great patterns, I’m going to have to say that I prefer the moss stitch because of its tension and density. The double crochet pattern is a bit too springy and I may just need to throw it into the wash, so that it shrinks down in size. Either way, they are both made with 100% love and they’re ready to be wrapped well before Christmas.

It’s Turkey Time!

By Christina Lee| November 22nd, 2018|Holiday Fun, In the Kitchen, Oh My Crafts!|

Happy Thanksgiving!! It’s turkey time over at the Lee household and we’re not holding back. This year, we’ve got multiple chefs in the kitchen and we were able to whip up three turkeys. That’s correct, I said three turkeys! And since everyone’s been on a diet all year round, it’s now time to unbuckle those belt buckles and dig in.

For starters, we began with a vegetable turkey platter. You can’t just fill up on cheese and crackers. Well, yes you technically can, but you’ve got to get your veggies in and what better way than to dive right into this vegetable turkey platter. It’s festive, fun and has every color of the rainbow. Left untouched, it will only remain a centerpiece… which for the most part, it did throughout the evening.

If the vegetable turkey itself wasn’t enough to take center stage on the dining table, then we also built this gingerbread turkey. I know, I know, cookie decorating fun doesn’t begin until Christmas, but we just can’t wait! You can pick up a gingerbread turkey-in-a-box at your local Trader Joe’s. It comes with all the gingerbread turkey parts and icing, sprinkles and candy — everything you need to make this little guy stand on his own two feet. Now, it’s not easy, so you might want to consider enlisting the help of your nieces and nephews. Learn from the pros. That’s typically how it’s done.

For the grand finale, feast your eyes on this guy. He steals the show not just because he’s the main course, but my dad made him. Years ago, my dad retired from making the Thanksgiving turkey and since then, things just weren’t the same…. or to be brutally honest, didn’t taste as good. It just may not have been made with the right amount of love. But of course, there is much to be thankful for and I’m just lucky to be surrounded by my friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Gobble, gobble.

Craft Day: All About Finishing

By Christina Lee| September 22nd, 2018|Craft Day, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Knitting, Oh My Crafts!, Work Hard. Play Hard. Knit Harder., Yarn Addict|

Today’s Craft Day is all about finishing! Over the last couple of month, I’ve accumulated enough crafting supplies to last me another decade or so. I’ve got skeins of yarn pouring out of boxes, knitting needles of every size and stitch markers between the couch cushions. With all those supplies, it’s hard not to start a new project. In fact, I think I’ve started more projects than I can even count on my two hands and I don’t think I’ve finished even one. Yikes, it’s time to get cracking… starting with picking up this baby.

Sadly, I started this cable knitted scarf in January 2017 and made some good progress as I was learning a new technique. For some reason, this fell by the wayside, and sat and sat, season after season. That reason was probably because it required a fair amount of concentration to relearn how to cable knit, lots of counting and the ability to use a separate hook to do the cable knitting — all of which detracted from the usual knitting and wine drinking regimen on the couch. At least I’m being honest, right?

Nonetheless, I’m glad I picked this project back up. It’s amazing how a cable knitted pattern produces such a rich, woven texture. Paired with a thick wool-like yarn and bright colors, the braided ropes really pop. All it takes is a little bit of patience and some practice. Want to learn how to cable knit? Here is a step-by-step tutorial with visuals on how to knit a cable.

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!

Adding Marker Drawing to the Mix

By Christina Lee| February 9th, 2018|Daily Sketch, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Marker Drawing, Oh My Crafts!|

What can I say?! I’m on a roll with these new hobbies. And to that I say, keep them coming!

I’ve had a handful of these Copic markers in the storage bin along with some dual tip markers that I recently bought, but never got around to using… until about now. I never really knew what to do with them and more or less, I didn’t have a need. But I got inspired to dig out these supplies along with a sketchbook that sat on the shelf collecting dust. I’ve been curious about marker drawing for sometime, especially when I learned about my cousin’s passion for industrial design and his years at Art Center. That was decades ago, but it was always in the back of my mind hoping that some day I’d taking a drawing class and learn how to use them. That time didn’t come soon enough and I never got around to signing up for a class.

Lucky for me, there’s YouTube and you can watch a video and learn anytime, anywhere. With my first search for “Marker Drawing Tutorial,” I came across Lindsay Weirich’s (aka The Frugal Crafter) Blue Jay in Markers Sketching Tutorial. She seemed friendly, inviting and her tutorial seemed doable. It was only ten minutes and I could very well end up with something that looked like a blue jay. I followed the tutorial step by step, scratching my marker across my sketchbook. Blues, grays, browns and some blending with that magic marker. A squiggle over here and a scratch over there. It actually started looking like a blue jay. I was impressed and thanks to a successful first run with these markers, I foresee many more of these marker drawing sessions in the near future.

Celebrating 20 Years: I Conquered Scrapbook Expo

By Christina Lee| July 29th, 2017|Craft Day, Learning from the best, Oh My Crafts!, Painting|

I didn’t strike the gong this time around, but I should have because I conquered Scrapbook Expo 2017! I’ve been going with Susanna to Scrapbook Expo for years, more years than I can even count. It must be somewhere in the high single digits if not early double digits. This time around, Susanna and I are celebrating the 20th Anniversary with Keely and her ten year old daughters, so we reserved a table of five. Now it’s time to get our free scrapbook packets and our totes, and off to the expo we go. I guarantee that none of us will come back empty-handed.

While everyone is in a scrapbook frenzy and off to the expo for some shopping, I am holding down the fort. And since I had just gotten back from my trip to Belgium and Holland, I couldn’t help but find a way to relive those iconic scenes from The Netherlands. Cruising up and down the beautifully laced canals, enjoying Dutch cheese, meeting my business partner and admiring the architecture was mesmerizing. As I flip through the photos and memories, I am inspired more than ever to pick up my paint brush, dust off the palette and paint this picturesque view.

So it seems like the gang is not yet ready to begin scrapbooking, so I’ll need to go out for some extra reinforcement. Ample text and photo messages suggest I should go directly to the back of the expo to the Kreative Kreations booth where I can join the others in picking up a new hobby and pouring endless hours into adhering a gazillion diamond dots onto a sticky canvas. Well, Kreative Kreations, I’m sold and can’t wait to begin working on Van Gogh’s “Cafe at Night. “

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!

That Time I Fought Cooper for the Chair and He Won

By Christina Lee| May 28th, 2017|Knitting, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

Whether we’re on vacation or at home, Cooper and I both have eyes for that chair. Yes, the chair that has a floor lamp perfectly positioned behind it, curtains drawn to block the sun and a balcony overlooking the beach. He’s got good taste (which he probably gets from Mom) and a stubborn determination to ‘share’ if he can’t have that entire seat to himself. Lucky for him, this chair can conveniently seat two — a girl and her ‘crazy’ dog.

Well now that we’re cozy, I finally get to pick up those knitting needles and work on my first knitted blanket. Thus far, I’ve crocheted two blankets and I thought it’d be neat to knit one this time around. Don’t let the rounded knitting needles deceive you. While I had cast on over 220 stitches onto rounded knitting needles that span 36 inches, what appears to be this miniature chevron bundle will soon be a full-sized throw that’s cozy and warm for your couch or bed. I’ve got a long way to go, so I’ll be zigzagging my way across this row with this medium gray yarn, while enjoying the view and working in a few belly rubs.

This is vacation. This is love.

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