Lily Pad, Butterfly and May Blossom Necklace Pattern - Thumbelina Collection {Summer}

 

 

 

 

It took me a while to make the continuation of my Thumbelina collection, but since summer's end is not due for a couple of weeks' time, I didn't hurry to publish this pattern.

This necklace pattern was inspired by the summer of the story. It takes as a focal point Thumbelina's escape from the obnoxious toad on a lily pad, pulled away by a butterfly and I also added a May blossom flower which is actually the name Thumbelina is given when she meets the fairy prince.

For those of you who have missed the idea behind this project, here's the summary: The Thumbelina Collection is composed of 12 crochet pendant patterns - 3 for each season and each featuring a different design and carrying its own part of the story.

Check out the first three patterns here.

Buy the lily pad necklace pattern here.

Oya Inspired Necklace

 

 

Starting from yesterday the weather suddenly changed. It has been raining constantly ever since, fluttering  away all my fantasies of the Indian summer lingering for many days ahead and us going on trips and having picnics. And let me tell you, I wasn't prepared for the gloomy, sad scenery greeting me every time I look through the window.

But bad weather has never kept me away from my work and I have the sunshine right here on my work table.

That sunshine is my oya necklace. Not the first one to be made, but the first to be finished. I didn't stick to using the traditional oya needle or method to make it and I don't think I ever will. I used embroidery floss for the flowers instead of my beloved cotton yarn to make them smaller in size and I think they turned out nicely. The necklace foundation was first envisioned to be a lariat, a nice and skinny thing to have wrapped around the neck, but I couldn't find the right size of yarn / thread so I changed the design and turned it into a necklace.  

If you missed my oya inspiration and story you can read it here.

Adding a Bohemian Touch to Your Home - DIY Tutorials & Ideas

 

 

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Adding a bohemian touch to your home doesn't have to cost you a fortune. On the contrary, you can add that inviting, free - spirited feel with several frugal and easy to do  / find projects and things. For this post I focused on the major elements that will turn your place a bohemian haven in no time.

Pillows

 

 

Pillows immediately transform the looks of your place. They add warmth and coziness to the space and create pleasant and attractive visual appearance.

 

 

 

 

You can sew some interesting ones like these two from the Sewing Rabbit. Or add trims and edgings to existing ones to freshen up their looks.

 

 

 

Use vintage linen / tea towels for a quick wrap up of old throw pillows or bolsters. Another great idea is to find vintage rugs or kilims and turn them into pillowcases.

 

 

 

 

Use these throw and bolster pillow tutorials if you want to make them from scratch.

 

 

Rugs and Kilims

 

 

 

 

Vintage and shabby kilims give a true character to your room. They do not have to match the pillows but having something in common with them will make a unified and polished composition.

 

Instead of buying them which could be pricey, you can always thrift them or make some yourself.

 

 

 

Sara Plath shares how to make this eye-catching woven, pom pom rug here.

 

 

 

Old t-shirts can serve well as the rug making material.

 

 

 

Margaret worked magic by stitching two kilims together.

 

 

 

Turn a straw mat into a kilim following these instructions.

 

Coffee tables

 

 

 

 

Made out of wood slices, pallets or drift wood, coffee tables can give an original and unique touch to your bohemian home.

 

Coffee Table Wood Slab

 

 

 

 

Pallet Table

 

 

 

 

A trunk into a table

 

 



 Additionally to these I wanted to include several boho tutorials I find very interesting like this Beaded Boho Mirror

This amazing Boho Fringe Chandelier

 

 

These recycled jars, puff paint and gems to make beautiful boho lanterns for your home.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post. There would be other boho - related posts soon.

Wall Art / Message Board DIY

 

 

 

Welcome to a new DIY idea I am sure you are going to love.

 

You are looking at our newest wall art / message board!

This is a corner of our room where our bookcase resides and the space above it is reserved for my icon which you can see here, but I like to move things around so in the several weeks or months (who knows) ahead, this is going to be the place for our cork board. It first started as a wall art idea but we loved how it looked with notes on it and left it like that.

 

So, to make this easy project you need just 2 things: cork hot pads and fabric. Ikea has them in a set of threes and they are quite inexpensive so if you want to make this massive, there's your bargain.

 

 

 

 

I used 5 pads and fabric in blue shades. This is also the perfect project if you have gorgeous fabric (scraps) you want to display and beautify your wall.

 

So, cut a larger round piece than the cork pad and glue it behind / staple it, cut a smaller round piece of the same fabric or felt and cover the back with it. And that's it.

 

 

Place them in any fashion you like it - I almost always want to have things a bit off - so this is neither horizontally nor vertically straight ;)

 

 

 

I can imagine a whole wall covered with these pads. I kind of like that idea,  but I am afraid it would be too much for my wall. Since this is the room where I work the most, I need quietness and this would be too distracting - 'crowded' and 'noisy' for me.

 

Would love to hear what you think about this project!

 





 

Insta Feel: Crochet Inspiration

c_flintholm

Happy Monday all!
I haven't posted my instagram favorites for a long time, although you can find me there almost every day. I do try to post regularly but refrain from being too pushy, except when I am abroad - then I go crazy :)

What I am also crazy about when crochet is in question? Well, if I have to narrow the list down, that would be granny squares and crochet flowers. I follow many, many incredibly talented people and selecting just a few was very difficult. But I reckon there would be other inspirational posts like this in the future.

My recommendation for instagrammers whose accounts are pure enjoyment: @c_flintholm, @crochetgirl99, @sehersaris and @nesimerciger.

crochetgirl99

sehersaris

 

nesimerciger

 

Summer Roses Necklace Pattern

 

 

 

 

 

The design of this necklace is inspired by the life-infusing summer. There is nothing as refreshing, enchanting and inspiring for the senses as being in a summer garden filled with roses. I hope this necklace captures the essence of such instants.

The pattern is for sale here and here.
 

 

 

 

Bohemian Bottlebrush Bracelets Pattern

 

 

 

 

 

When we visited Barcelona this past spring, I saw a bottlebrush for the first time and was quite taken by it to be honest! Nature never ceases to amaze me with its magnificence.

 

These bracelets were inspired by the bottlebrush and I've got the tutorial / pattern for you ready.

 

 

Tutorial:

For the bracelets I used sport yarn and 1.9 mm hook. And a bead for closure.

 

 

Row 1: {Leave a long tail} Chain 5 and sl in the 1st ch. You'll make a picot. Repeat this until you achieve the circumference of your wrist.

 

 

 

When you achieve the desired length, take a button or a bead (whatever you plan to use for closure) chain a certain amount of chains. Try to see if the bead fits. If not - chain some more. If it does, sl st at the beginning of that chain to make the loop or closure.

 

 



Row 2: repeat pattern for row 1. When you make the picot, sl st it in the space of the picot below, then ch 5 again and make another picot and repeat as before.



 

You end this row with a sl st. Leave a long tail again, as you did at the beginning which you will use to secure the bead with.

 

 

 

Adding the spikes

 

 

The spikes make all the difference. They shouldn't be too long (the bracelet would look grotesque) nor too short (the spikes will tie off). I made them 2 cm / 0.8" long.

 

Cut contrasting yarn (a bit longish) and double it. Insert the hook between the first and second picot and yarn over, pulling the yarn up.

 

 

 

Make a loop and pull the ends through it. Pull to tighten it.

 

Next, trim it (to 2 cm / 0.8"). Repeat this for all in- between picot spaces on both sides.  And your bracelet is done. Neat and easy, don't you agree?

 

 

 

 

Hope you liked this! I'd love to hear what you think!

 

DIY Idea - Decorate Your Spartan Sandals

 

 

 

 



The Bohemian Summer continues with an easy DIY idea.
Pom-pom and tassel embellished sandals were immensely fashionable this summer, so Eva bought these lovely Spartan sandals with the idea to add them a bit of color.

We decided to use only pom-poms and tassels although various types of pendants and charms can be added as well.

To make the pom-poms I used this method but instead of the whole hand I used only my index finger  and here's a tutorial for the Tassels.

This is our color selection and placement of the pom-poms.

 

We didn't glue the pom-poms on. Eva plans on wearing the sandals for years to come, so we reasoned if they come out of style and she doesn't feel like wearing them like this, she would be able to  take everything off.  So instead of gluing, we sewed them together as shown on the picture below.

How to sew them together: Thread a sewing needle with a doubled thread, start from the first/ red pom-pom and sew upwards to the last one, then change directions and sew downwards. When you come to the first pair, that is the orange in the picture, sew through the pink too, then back at the orange one. Repeat this for the second pair (the yellow and the green one) and finish where you started. After I finished sewing the pom-poms I secured the whole piece onto the sandals by tying it in several places underneath.

 

The tassels are an easy job- you just need adequate jump rings.

 

We hope you like how we made them!