Knitting is the new Nintendo

There's not much more to say!

Instead of making my own 'how to' I've attached the video that I used to learn. It's 10 min, but thorough.

The {Arm Knit} Infinity Scarf
Supplies:
-2 balls of super bulky yarn  - I use Wool-Ease Thick & Quick that has 92yd/84m and it is enough that it wraps around loosely 2x or snugly 3x
-scissors

Directions:
-It's the exact same as knitting with needles, just imagine your arms are the needles!
-Double up the yarn and knit together one strand from each ball
-Cast on 12 stitches
-Knit until you've got about 2m of yarn left, cast off, and hand stitch it together.

Watch this video!


Just in time for a lovely crisp autumn! Happy knitting :)

It's like a teeny tiny stocking :)

Happy knitting!

One of the latest knitting projects that I attempted was a simple seed stitch cowl. Perfect for a beginner knitter!

Supplies
Needles: 12 US
Yarn: Loops & Threads Cozy Wool (Bulky) in 2 colours
Tapestry needle
Final Size: variable

Abbreviations
CO: cast on
K: knit
P: purl

Pattern
-CO 25 stitches (you can make it as tall or short as you want but it needs to be an odd number)
-Row 1: K1, P1, repeat to end
-Repeat row 1 for 65 rows or cowl is desired length (essentially measure to fit around your neck comfortably without being to tight or too saggy)
-Bind off
-Use the tapestry needle to sew the ends together. (It does not have to be neat)
-Thread tapestry needle with two strands of the other colour yarn. Along the seam from top to bottom, make large Xs, (about 1x1 inches).  



Please note: This tutorial is for personal use only. I originally found a picture of this cowl online though no pattern was available so I created my own. For the original picture click here. Please do not reproduce this to sell or pretend that you made any of it, please give proper credit when featuring elsewhere. Thank you!

3 Tier Diaper Cake

Supplies:
1 package (84) of size 1 baby diapers
1 round base (I found a cardboard cake base at the dollar store)
1 small package of multi-sized elastic bands
1 paper towel roll
A hot glue gun
2-3 rolls of ribbon
3-6 baby items to decorate (baby utensils, socks, pacifier, hair brush and comb, hair bow, etc.)


Directions:
1) There are two methods to assemble the diapers to create the cake tiers, I used both. The first way is to roll each individual diaper. I did this for the base and top tier. For the base layer I used an elastic to hold them in threes around the paper towel roll, and I did enough to cover the entire cardboard base. The second way is to stagger layer them one on top of each other (does that make sense? see the picture below if you're not sure.) Once you've got the entire layer done you'll use 1 or 2 very large elastics to hold it all together.
As you can see above I didn't start with the paper towel roll in the middle, but I realized part way through assembly that it would be extremely beneficial to keeping the 3 tiers together!

2) Once you have the cake built, it's time to jazz it up! Use the ribbon to conceal the elastics. (It also helped cover the faint blue bears on the diapers in the middle row!) Use the hot glue gun to keep the ribbon in place.

3) And now the best part! Decorate with all the baby items you collected. There should be space enough that they rest easily on the different levels of each tier. I used a hair clip as the bow at the top and I didn't glue the items to the cake because when stationary, they seem to stay just fine.

This cake was obviously for a baby girl, but I've seen some just as cute for baby boys, plus you could just as easily create a gender neutral cake if the sex is unknown at the time you're making it. Just let your imagination go!

Recently my lovely friend and her husband had a baby girl! What an exciting time for them (though not without any hardships - that's another story)! I had the pleasure of first being asked to help plan their gender reveal party and most recently the baby shower! I love this kind of stuff - 'showering' people with love, ya know! ;) So this post is dedicated to the basics and ideas of how to throw a successful baby shower!

The basics of any party in my mind are three things: decorations, games/activities, and food. Let's break it down!

Decorations
I am not the most visually capable decorator so I rely heavily on the ideas of others... yay Pinterest! But it doesn't take too much to create a nicely decorated space. The basics are obviously streamers and balloons, easy and simple. You can really make some nice accents with streamers that are unique to the usual.

try to ignore what's outside the window...

I also was able to find some banners and specific baby shower decor at the dollar store, didn't use all of it, but it could be a one-stop-shop for the person who doesn't want to do too much 'DIY'!

The idea I will take credit for :) is the framed quotes. I'm not a graphic designer, but I love to play around and make some fun posters (though I'm limited to Microsoft Word I think they still turned out nice). I looked up some relevant quotes and bible verses online and then printed them as pictures and framed them. Placing them around the room for the shower was cute! And it gave mommy some extras to take home for the nursery! I will work on providing the printouts for these soon!



The must have decor piece at a baby shower these days is a diaper cake. So that I went to the internet for a tutorial and ideas. It was quite simple and fun to put together! Stay tunes for more on this later!


Games/Activities
The mommy is not too much of a games person so I didn't want to overwhelm the shower with game after game. I wanted the feel to be relaxed and a fun time to mingle and see the new baby and just spoil the new parents. Thus I only planed two simple games to do as a group and two activities that could be done while people mingled.

The two games were The Price is Right: Baby Style and What's in Your Purse. Both ideas I snagged from Pinterest :) The first has everyone guessing the actual retail price of typical baby items like bottles, diapers, baby food etc. and the second is un-baby related, but just for women to see if what they have stashed in their purse can win them a prize!


That said, I did have a few prizes for the winners of each game. Nothing extravagant (some colourful socks, bath salts, lip balm, and notepad), but it's always nice to have some treats for the guests as well.

The two activities were Make Mom Laugh and Wishes for Baby. I loved both of these because it meant that Mommy and Daddy would have some fun things to bring home and laugh at/cherish later. Again, both ideas from Pinterest! The idea behind the first is for people to write fun notes on diapers so that when changing the diaper there is a little something to laugh about despite the current situation! The second is a print out for each party attendee to fill out with wishes for the new baby to read when she grows up :) I will work on providing the printouts soon as well!


Food
I have to admit I had nothing to do with the food at this party as it was collaborative effort! And unfortunately though large and has the word 'cake' in it, the diaper cake was not edible haha! Here my co-hostesses had some crunchy nachos, a sweet fruit platter, scrumptious cupcakes, a delicious lemon cake, and a refreshing pink lemonade!


That's it, it's as simple as that! I hope that you found as much inspiration on this page as I had as much fun doing all of this! Now go and plan that party and have fun!