Finger puppet buddies!

For our latest AuralArtists challenge, me and my chicks are making puppets. I completed the challenge by crocheting finger puppets!

From left to right: me, Mom, Julie, Jeanne

I really enjoyed the challenge because it involved making something completely different than the hats, headbands, scarves, and other accessories that I'm used to. It requires a bit of dexterity!

Here's how to make a finger-sized puppet base to which you can add details to your heart's content.

What you need:
-Size F-5 hook
-Whatever yarn you have around - I used regular US worsted weight stuff. This is a great project to do if you want to use up leftover yarn balls.
-Scissors

How to do it:
Row 1: Ch 10. Measure around your finger to see if it reaches. My fingers are a pretty small, so you may want to ch up to 15. Join together when you've reached a good length.
Row 2: Ch 1. Sc off the chs in a circle, as many sts as you chained (so for me, 10). Join.
Repeat Rows 3-9
Rows 10-11: Sc 1, red 1 (x5 for me)
    in other words, sc in hole 1, skip hole 2, sc in hole 3, sc in hole 4, skip hole 5, sc in hole 6...
Row 12: Join every second st using a sl st until closed. Finish off.

Hopefully those directions are clear enough. Comment if you have questions, or if a video would be helpful, I can try to make one of those as well! Have fun!

You'll notice that the octopus on the left is different than the others. I learned to make small octopi a while ago, and I adapted the pattern in this tutorial to make it a small finger puppet! Unfortunately, making eight legs made it too big for a finger - so this little gal only has five legs.

Okay, that's it for now! :)

Rosette Headband

Yes, I know, ANOTHER headband!

Believe it or not, this project has actually been on my Works-In-Progress list since last winter. I wanted to figure out how to make the base, and when I did, I didn't know how to decorate it to make it look finished.

Then I found this rosette pattern and thought that it was adorable! Finally I figured out how to finish the headband.

I love crossing projects off of my list!

Man, I love making stuff

I was asked to make a super special custom hat for an anniversary gift!

The recipient is a big League of Legends fan, so the hat was supposed to look like Recon Teemo here:

Cute fella, huh? This is what I came up with:

(Click for full-size image)

I call it a SUCCESS! :D

G.Pinks Finds: VoNiVo

G.Pinks is acclimating to her new Oregon home quite well!

This morning we took a walk together, and look what we found:

This quick & easy geocache was found by the nearby creek in what looked like a birdhouse! The metal roof protects the cache from the rain. G.Pinks settled right in.

Do you like treasure hunts and adventuring? Try Geocaching!

A for Awesome!

Finally - time to talk about a craft project!

My friend Andie recently moved into a new apartment. I wanted to give her a small housewarming gift to commemorate the occasion!

I saw a tutorial for crayon monograms on Pinterest and thought they were super cute. Since my friend is a very bright & shiny person, I thought that she would enjoy something like this!

The project itself took about an hour to complete and I think it's a fun activity for beginner and expert crafters alike. If you have an occasion, try it out!

J&L Adventure 2: Bald Hill

Lindsey and I went on another adventure to see the best of Corvallis! Today she took me hiking on Bald Hill.

It took us about 25 minutes to bike to the hill and about 35 or 40 to reach the top on foot. This is what we encountered when we made it to the top:

A beautiful view of the valley area!

There was a second viewing point, too. The area was covered with grainy plants and Queen Anne's Lace.

The hike itself was beautiful. The trail was small because the vegetation was so thick. Even the trees were covered in plants!

Lindsey and I made a couple friends on the way back down. First, a banana slug on the trail...

Thanks for this photo, Lindsey!

...and a swallowtail butterfly in the bushes!

Do you have a bit of time next weekend? Perhaps go for a short hike to see what you can see!

Family Vacation Time!!!

Last week I went to visit my parents in northern Idaho. My sisters coordinated their trips so we would all be there at the same time!

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

Mom and I explored Downtown Coeur d'Alene with our GeoFriends, G.Pinks and G.Twigs. We found a Geocache together!

We had a picnic that included homemade pie for dessert! The pie with the stars was strawberry-rhubarb, and the one that says 19 is Cherry + Blueberry. My favorite pie for my 19th birthday!

Me, my mom, and my sisters all did each others' henna tattoos...

...and temporarily dyed our hair purple!

I had such a fun and memorable trip! I sure love hanging with my family. :)

Chompin' on Cherry Cobbler

My awesome friend Amanda sent me a note on Facebook saying,

"So, I have this GIANT cherry tree in my backyard, that's just now starting to get ripe, so in like a week, I'll have a lot of cherries ready for picking... I thought you might like to know :)"

And she wasn't kidding!!

She invited me over to pick as many as I wanted, and for payment, I would bake her something with those cherries.

About 10 cups (!!!) of cherries later, I was in business to make some fresh cherry cobbler!

I read somewhere that one can pit cherries with a straw, but it ended up being too time-consuming. I love cherries anyway, so I decided to get a new cherry pitter to make the process easier. And boy, was it! I highly recommend it to those with cherry frustrations.

I used AllRecipes.com to find a good recipe for fresh cherry cobbler. 

It came out looking caramel-y and delicious! It was very well enjoyed by everyone who ate it, too.