The Baby Blanket is done!!

I set about to make this baby blanket for one of DH's expecting co-workers ages ago: and was actually off to a great start. I got three quarters of the way done in two days and then just ran out of knitting-steam. Somehow it took me another two or three weeks to finish knitting, another 2 weeks to block it, and now, a month after blocking, I've just finally made the card with care instructions (no fancy labels for me) and wrapped it up. Good grief!

Well, I think she'll like it just the same. I used a pattern from one of the S'n'B books, this one I think. It's so easy, I don't even use the pattern anymore, but it is beautiful in it's simplicity. Also it's very masculine for a knitted blanket and well suited to bold colors. It's definitely my go-to for handmade baby gifts.

This picture shows the pattern well...

But the color of the yarn is much accurate in this one.

Congratulations Maureen on the birth of little Charlie!!

Mother's Day

I finally got our Mother's Day cards and gifts taken care of! Whew! I always put these things off until the last minute but this year with the baby coming, I can't be sure that last minute will even be an option. I thing the wrapping turned out nice (except that I ran out of double sided tape though so you can see the scotch tape on the sides - I'm OCD about that). Of course it turned out nice! I reused the wrapping from the package I received from Kimberly in the Pink and Green Swap! Let's call it my late contribution to Earth Day.

I am messing about with my camera some more, and I like how I was able to get the back to fade out in this picture using the lowest aperture. I can't believe how amazing our camera is - what a great investment!

I also (almost) finished the cards for my mom and my mother-in-law. I used this great message gift box tutorial (and free template download!) created by Cathe Holden and hosted by Amy at Living Locurto. As you can see there are two different template themes...this manila one:

And this Victorian/Shabby Chic style:

Now all I have to do is sit down with hubby and write "reasons I love you" on the little cards to stuff in the boxes. That's the easy part! The template download for each style includes at elast one card (sized about 2x3 inches) but instead of using it as a template to cut out more, I used these lined notes from A Print A Day.

Surprise your hubby!

Looking through iPhoto again, I found these pictures of the little treats I sent with my hubs' lunch on Valentine's Day this year. I highly recommend this for your kids or spouse. It wasn't that hard and he felt pretty special - and he is!!

I was trying to think of cute little things I could do for him everyday for the 14 days before V-Day (I got the idea from the Mahaney's Blog, Girl Talk) but so many of my ideas involved candy and other sweets and I didn't want to be a stumbling block on his road to eating healthfully.

So I pulled out my food dehydrator (I have a Nesco and it's just great - worth every penny) and sliced some apples. Then I cut the slices into heart shapes before placing them on the dehydrator trays. I just placed the other bits (left over from cutting out the hearts) alongside the hearts and took them out sooner (smaller pieces dry faster) and have been using them for baked goods where they don't have to look pretty.

I placed several dried apple hearts in a plastic baggie meant for homemade candy or favors (you can find them in the candy/baking isle at Michael's Arts and Crafts) and I tied up the baggies with ribbon, placing each one inside a tiny paper bag I made using Martha Stewart's instructions and template. The exact patterns are no longer available, but these are almost the same. The whole project took awhile, but these are the types of little projects you can work on a bit at a time over a week or so and then dole them out to your loved ones throughout the month or season to show them you love and think about them while they're away at work or school. Looking back it was well worth the effort!