Simple Sweet Valentine Gift Bags

I made some valentine bags for my daughter's friends.

They are a wholesome, outdoorsy bunch so I wanted the bags to be simple and natural.

I am pleased with the results...

I wanted them each to be unique but I stuck to just a few punches and materials.

Changing the paper colors or adding a paper doily changes the look just enough...

A feather from the chickens is a great natural touch.

My nephew had this tree punch and I have been in love with it forever. 

When he moved, he gave it to me...

Thank you!

I love the heart arrow.

It starts with a twig and two punched hearts.

I punched the holes in the bag and slid the stick in place before splitting a real feather and gluing on the fletchings.

I love how it turned out.

This one is just a heart on a stick...

This one was a variation on the arrow but with a heart for fletchings this time.

The paper fletchings were easier to glue than the real feather.

I love the double twigs as a bag closure.

Even the back of this one is cool where the twigs cross.

Here is a heart rose...

A couple more of those tree punches....

These subtle shades are my favorite....

Last, but not least, there are the owls...

Each is slightly different.

The first one is this little guy where his beak is actually formed by trimming the bag.

I think he's my favorite.

I hope everyone likes their little treats...

Thanks for stopping by....

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Sweetheart Tiny Vial Necklaces

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Here is a sweet gift idea for your special someone.

Head to the craft store and buy a pack (or 2) of those little  mini glass vials.

Pick up a couple squares of Sculpey polymer clay too.

I like Sculpey the best because it is easy to work with.

Make tiny contents for your vials.

Here I made some tiny mushrooms with red and white Sculpey.

Bake them in the oven according to the package directions.

I have a toaster oven just for clay baking.

I keep it on our covered back porch to keep any fumes out of the house.

I added a bit of Spanish moss to the vial as well.

Use a piece of wire to push it down in there.

You can add a chain, silk strip, seam binding or satin cord for your necklace.

I use a bit of glue when I put the cork in.

A tiny piece of lace added gives it a sweet touch.

Hearts are easy to make.

Pinch off a little piece of clay.

Roll a small ball and then roll it into a point at one end.

Use a knife or a straight edge to put a small slit in the wider top.

Then gently roll each side to get the rounded tops.

I also made some tiny eggs.

I love nests and eggs.

To me, they symbolize life and family.

Add a little Spanish moss to these too.

These hearts look a little toasty.

Sometimes there are cooking/baking issues.

I like them though....

For that person who has been burned by love...

These are  easy and fun to make.

I love playing with polymer clay.

Takes me back to my childhood and playing with Play-Doh.

Thanks for stopping by...

Linking up with these great blogs...

Arm Knitting Infinity Scarves

Ok, so I have been known to get a bit obsessed when I learn to do something new.

I fall in love with the process or the finished product and go a little crazy for a while.

I must say...

Arm knitting recently became one of those obsessions.

Have you seen it?

They look wondrously complicated.

They are NOT....

I bought a scarf that I loved in December.

I had heard of arm knitting but had not seen it.

About a week after I bought it, I saw a cool wreath on Hometalk where she finger knitted to cover a wreath form....

While I was watching the video for the finger knitting, I noticed one in the side bar for arm knitting.

Which led to a new Pinterest board....

And two days of watching the videos.

And then a yarn run....

And then a night of trying it out.

I had trouble casting on for the longest time.

Then I made three the first night and ripped them all back out and started over.

So after 5 days I had no scarves.

The next night I made 3.

And so it began.

I love that you can really change the look by doubling/tripling the wraps.

As you can see here.

I like that people can wear them however it suits them best.

Long.

Or short and cozy.

I also love how using different yarns gives you an entirely different look.

These are all arm knitted using the same method.

I have big hands and wrists so my loops are big. 

I cannot make them small.

But I have seen others that are much smaller.

I do different lengths.

Sometimes this is on purpose.

Sometimes it is because that is how much yarn the skeins have.

I learned that 5 or 6 weight yarns work the best.

The yardage per skein varies so check that when you are buying your yarn.

For most, I double the yarn.

You can make a scarf with only one skein but you need to double it.

That seems like a lot of work to me, so I just buy doubles of each color/kind of yarn.

Makes the doubling easier.

I don't have to unwind the whole ball that way.

Lion brand has a great Wool-Ease Thick and Quick yarn that I learned on for these.

They have so many colors.

I love the cozy wool.

It is a blend so it is not scratchy.

There are also acrylic blends which are much softer.

And sometimes offer even more color choices.

Pattons also makes this neat Cobbles yarn.

I do not double this one. 

 It is so thick, you don't even need to.

Some of the yarns are mixed within the skein...

Love that!

I did mention the word obsessed, right?

I think you may be starting to see what I mean...

This next one was an experiment with some funky yarn remnants.

It is very quirky.

It reminds me of being stuck in a snow flurry...

I have kept a couple of different colors and styles for myself.

And I sold a couple dozen locally before Christmas.

I will be adding several of these to my Etsy shop soon.

I find it super relaxing and fun.

It is a great diet exercise.

While I am watching TV, my hands are busy so no mindless snacking....

I am off to make a few more colors...

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs...