What I Have Pinned Lately #8

 

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To end the year, here's my last post of the what I have pinned lately series, something that I am excited to continue in the new year too. When planning this post, I actually had an idea of sharing my wish list for 2018 of things that I would really like to try my hand at.

 

One of those would be to try work on some crochet clothing items - something extraordinary and crazy like the tunic/dress (?) above. Sweet heavens, I died when I saw those sleeves!!

 

Next, and this I have already started with baby steps and that is design and crochet (perhaps also sew) baby and kids clothes.

 

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Soak my hands in more DIY projects, experiment with some new fonts and make our lunch menus more exciting :)

 

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How about you? Any exciting things you'd like to try in the new year?

 

The Best of The Little Treasures in 2017

Another wonderful year spent blogging, sharing, inspiring and seeking inspiration is about to end. 

Being persistent in our quest for a richer and more beautiful  handmade lifestyle, we've managed to accomplish our goals and made successful discoveries in terms of what direction we desire our blog to continue existing and head forward.

Assessing the pulse of our readership, here are the most interesting highlights of 2017 that had several thousands of views:

Although published in the last quarter of 2017, the Boho Scarf and the Jhumka Earrings proved to be quite successful.

The Bohemian Pom Poms sparkled an immense interest as did the Bra Wire Necklaces.

The Butterfly pattern attracted lots of views, closely followed by the Crochet Earrings pattern.

My Dragon Scarf was a hit too.

We don't usually include posts of round ups on the blog in the best of edition, especially if those do not include our own ideas and projects, but the Knitting & Crochet Shawl Roundup of free patterns literally burst the ceiling with  whopping  47000 views!

More best ofs:

The Best of 2016

Best of 2015

Best of 2014

Best of 2013

Best of 2012

Best of 2011

Hygge - or the Philosophy of Appreciating Simple Life

 

 

 

I love hygge. I am living it, embracing it, breathing it with my soul, eyes and lungs open. To be honest, we have lived our lives following the hygge philosophy blissfully unaware there was such a  term into existence. But the Danish philosophy has taken over the world this past year and flipped it around.  

 

 

 

Hygge is a tricky word to define, it's a feeling, an experience, a sensation. If you ask Wiki, it will tell you that hygge is a word used to denote coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and content. It means creating a warm atmosphere, enjoying the simple things, taking life slowly, one step at a time, appreciating it with every single tread.

 

The year is at its end and we vowed to try being and living hyggier in the new year. It is not a resolution, but sheer determination. Are you into hygge?

 

 

All images taken from Pinterest via the hygge search

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!

May it be a blessed one!

Crochet Bohemian Star Garland - free pattern

 

 

 

Welcome to an insanely easy and immensely lovely crochet star tutorial!

 

Again for this I used Nako's Vals sport yarn and a 1.9 mm hook.

 

Pattern:

 

 

Chain 5 and join to make a ring.

 

Rnd1: sc4 and sl st in the 1st st to make the 5th.

Rnd2: Ch3 and in the same st make dc2. Ch 3 and dc3 in the next st. Repeat this for all other stitches. Sl st in first ch/dc to finish round.

 

Rnd3: sl st in the next 2 st (2dc in rnd below) to get to the space between the fans/dcs and in the space sc1, hdc1, dc1, ch3, dc1 hdc1, sc1. sl st in the next 2 st and repeat the filling pattern. Repeat all to make a full round.
Rnd4: when you make the final point of the star ch 4 and in the space of the next star-point sc1, hdc1, dc2, ch3, dc2, hdc1, sc1, ch3 and sl st in between the two points. Ch4 and repeat the top filling pattern. Sl st between last and first point when the round is done. And that is it!

 

 

It is a kind of combination of rustic and bohemian due to the added cones. Next I would love to try this pattern with a chunky yarn just to see the effect it will create. Hope you make some for yourself.

 

 

Bird Wreath Ornament DIY

 

 

 

Every year we try to make some homemade ornaments, so this year was no exception.

After seeing a similar bird wreath ornament, ridiculously expensive, I decided to use our supplies and make one, considerably cheaper.

 

Supplies:

• Memory wire
• Faux pine garland
• Small Styrofoam (or other ) birds
• Ribbon

I couldn't find mini wreaths to buy, so I used memory wire instead. It bends and twists extremely easily and to shape it well I used a cup.

 

Wrapped faux pine garland around it as well as a sateen ribbon. I glued the birdies at the center and applied some white tempera to get a snowy look.

We also made one inspired by Anthropologie, but later about that...

Create a Scandinavian Christmas

Via Pinterest

We continue our Christmas decorating series with the inevitable, eye-catching Scandinavian Christmas that has risen in popularity in the last years.

It has many common traits with the traditional and rustic decorating mainly due to Scandinavians preserving ages long traditions where the emphasis is on the homemade. A Scandinavian Christmas if filled with color, mainly red and white with traditional patterns.

Via Target

Read the rest here.

It Feels Like Christmas -insta feel

 

 

Left to right: Olga Valeska think.make.share khanova_ann windmilldreams czekoladautkane hello_worldpics  preppykitchen marie_manongau paintandhaven lakkerstuff amazing_shots small_moments_of_happiness

Homemade Christmas Treats

 

 

I am resharing two amazing, palate tickling recipes for homemade Christmas treats. If you were wondering what treats to make to surprise your friends and family for Christmas, think no longer for Boyana's has just offered a fantastic solution.

 

 

Hot Chocolate on a stick

  for 10 chocolate cubes

• 200 g chocolate (i use dark, but also milk chocolate can be used)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 5 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
• 10 ice-cream or lollipop sticks

 
Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat, add the cocoa and sugar and stir until everything is equally incorporated. If it’s too thick, put the saucepan back over the hot water and continue stirring. Be careful not to let any water come in the chocolate, because it will seize-up.
When everything is mixed well you’ll have a thick, but still pourable mixture. Pour it in the ice cube tray, put a stick in the middle of every cube and leave at room temperature to harden. When the cubes are completely cooled and hardened, remove them from the ice cube tray and keep at room temperature in a air-tight container.
When you want a cup of hot chocolate, just dip the cube in a cup of hot milk and stir until it is dissolved.
You can add spices like cinnamon or cloves to the mixture or even a pinch of hot paprika for a Mexican hot chocolate.

 

 

QUINCE IN SYRUP

for a 400 ml jar:

• 1 large quince
• 300 ml water
• 125 g brown sugar
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• a few strips of lemon zest
• 4 – 5 slices of fresh ginger
• 2 tea bags black tea (I used earl grey)

Peel and core the quince and cut it into thin slices. Put it in a pot with everything else, except the tea bags and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a bare simmer. Add the tea bags and and let steep for 5 minutes, then remove them.
Cook the quince on low for 20 minutes, covered and then 10 more minutes uncovered, or until the slices are tender but don’t fall apart and the syrup has thickened a little. Remove the lemon zest and ginger slices.
Pour the quince slices and the syrup into a clean jar, close the lid, gently tap on the counter to release air bubbles and leave to cool to room temperature. Store in the fridge for a few weeks.

Recipes and images courtesy of Sitno Seckano.

4 Cute Christmas Crochet Ornaments - free patterns

 

 

Wow! There are so many adorable Christmas ornaments  shared on the Internet it is a wonder how I get some work done at all. I am constantly distracted by these cuties popping up in my feed.

 

 

What I chose for today:

 

1. Mittens

 

2. Holiday Deer

 

3. Mr. & Mrs. Claus

 

4. Trees & Kobold.

 

 

Happy weekend!

Rustic Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas

In line with our Rustic Christmas Decorating we chose some fresh ideas how to use gifts of nature to wrap your gifts for Christmas.

The winter red berry bush  or mistletoe is an effective detail to add as a décor that will make gifts pop, especially if used on brown or white paper and tied with twine.  

 

Pinecones are the natural first choice and they have literally flooded the internet. Personally, I never grow tired of them and always mind to have a fresh supply, so our trips in the woods always end up with heavy loads of pinecones.

Here are some fabulous ideas how to use them:

 

 

 

Recycled paper with some greenery and "woodsy & leafy" things always catch attention and subtly point out conscious consumption and respect of nature.

 

 

All relevant links of images can be found on my board here