Easy, Basic Tissue Cover

I don't care how pretty the tissue companies try to make them, tissue boxes are ugly. I wanted to make my own but I couldn't find a pattern for a cover I like. I like things with clean lines and not a lot of frills or lace so I decided to make my own pattern.

I made my cover for the taller square box of tissues. I crochet tightly so if you make this you might want to measure your cover against the box you are going to use it with to make sure you are getting the gauge right. I used acrylic worsted weight yarn and a J hook with a gauge of 15 chs in 4 inches and 20 rows in 4 inches.

Ch 20 join with a sl st to form a ring being careful not to twist the chain.
Rnd 1: ch *1 sc in the next 4 chs, 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from * three times, join with a sl st.
Rnd 2: ch 1 sc in the next 4 scs 3 sc in the next sc, *sc in the next 6 scs, 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from* twice join with sl st.
Rnd 3: ch 1 sc in the next 4 sc 3 sc in the next sc, *sc in the next 8 sc 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from* twice join with sl st.
Rnd 4: ch 1 sc in the next 5 sc 3 sc in the next sc, *sc in the next 10 sc 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from * twice join with sl st.
Rnd 5: ch 1 sc in the next 6 sc 3 sc in the next sc, * sc in the next 12 sc 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from * twice join with sl st
Rnd 6: ch 1 sc in the next 7 sc 3 sc in the next sc * sc in the next 14 sc 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from * twice join with sl st
Rnd 7: ch1 sc in the next 8 sc 3 sc in the next sc, * sc in the next 16 sc 3 sc in the next sc* repeat from * twice join with sl st
Rnd 8: ch 1 sc in the back loop only of each each sc around, join with sl st
Rnd 9-32 ch l sc in both loops of each sc around join with sl st. On the last row fasten off and weave in your ends.

Crocheted Coffee/Cocoa Mug Cozy for Iron Craft

Have you heard of Iron Craft yet? It is located at http://theironcraft.blogspot.com/ and it is pretty nifty. Basically the site organizers come up with a challenge every week and the crafty person comes up with a way to make the project uniquely theirs. This week was challenge 4, Get Cozy aka make a coffee cozy. The Man (aka my husband) drinks a lot of coffee and I've been meaning to make one of those for him for quite a while and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get it done. I don't like coffee but in the cold months I do tend to drink a good bit of cocoa so I figured I'd make one for myself as well. I crocheted them with coffee colored yarn for The Man and a pretty pink, gray and black striping yarn for my own (I added a little bling to mine.)

I looked for a crochet pattern to make one but most of them were textured or bumpy and seemed like they would make the cup a little cumbersome to hold. The last thing I want when I'm holding a cup of scalding hot liquid is a loose grip on it so I opted to make a rather plain pattern that would be a little easier to hold. I used worsted weight acrylic yarn (about 1.5 oz) an I hook and a button, if you are using a regular button with holes you will also need a sewing needle and enough thread to sew it on if you are using a shank button you need a 6 to 8 inch piece of dental floss. I crochet tightly so measure the pattern against your favorite mug as well as keeping up with gauge. My gauge comes out to be 16 chs in 4 inches and 12 rows of the pattern in 4 inches.


Ch 4 join with a sl st to make a ring.

Rnd 1 Ch 2 9 HDC in the ring join with a sl st in the top of ch 2
Rnd 2 Ch 2 HDC in the same stitch 2 HDC in each stitch around join with a sl st at the top of ch 2
Rnd 3 Ch 2 HDC in the next st, 2 HDC in the next st * 1 HDC in the next stitch 2 HDC in the next stitch * repeat from * around join with sl st in the top of Ch 2
Rnd 4 Ch 2 1 HDC in the next st 2 HDC net st * HDC in the next 2 sts 2 HDC in the next st* repeat from * around join with sl in the top of Ch 2
Rnd 5 Ch 2, 1 HDC in the back loop only of each st around join with sl st at the top of ch 2
Rnd 6 Ch 2, 1 HDC in both loops of each stitch around
Rnd 7 Ch2 HDC in the next 35 st Ch 1 turn
Rnd 8-16 1 HDC in the next 36 sts Ch 1 turn
Rnd 17 1 HDC in the next 36 sts Ch 12 turn
Rnd 18 HDC in the 6th chain from hook (button hole formed) HDC in the next 6 Chs, HDC in the next 33 sts (if you are using a shank button thread a piece of floss through the shank and use it to pull up a loop of yarn through the shank then put it on the hook then work it like a regular HDC if you aren't using a shank button then just make a regular HDC here) HDC in the next 2 more stitches, fasten off and weave in the ends.

If you find an error or something in the pattern you don't get leave a comment and I'll correct it or explain it.

Here are some pics to help understand how to add a shank button.

Put the floss through the shank.

Use the floss to pull the yarn through the shank.

Put the loop onto the hook and finish like a HDC.

DIY Gelatin and Pudding Cups

By a show of hands who likes Gelatin? Me too. What I don't like is paying three times more for prepackaged gelatin cups than you would for homemade ones. I know what you're thinking, prepackaged is fast, easy and convenient. Have you ever actually made gelatin from the package? It takes ten minutes prep work and 4 hours in the fridge. You can make a double batch on Sunday and have plenty for lunch throughout the week. You can do the same for pudding cups as well and they take even less time. So in case you haven't ever made gelatin from a package before I am going to show you how. 

You will need: gelatin of your choosing (I'm using lime) fruit of your choosing, drained (pineapple for me) 1 cup of boiling water and 1 cup of cold water, a large mixing bowl with a spout or preferably a large 4 cup measuring cup, 6 small 1/2 cup storage cups with lids (more on those in a bit) and a clear spot in the fridge for them to land.

First off you want to boil the water, if you don't want to stand around for hours waiting on it to boil I'd suggest using your very smallest pan to boil it in and use a lid. It takes me about seven minutes to boil water in my little four cup sauce pan. While the water is boiling set up your assembly line. Put out six of your cups, mine are made by the company with the happy name and they come in an eight pack for $2.50 but you might be able to find something similar at a dollar store in your area. Just make sure they have good tight lids.

Put about a tablespoon of your fruit in the bottom of each cup. By now your water should be almost boiling so you should do your prep for making the gelatin. Put the gelatin powder in the bottom of your bowl or cup then measure out your one cup of cold water. Once it reaches a boil measure out and pour your one cup of boiling water onto the gelatin mix. Stir it for two minutes to completely dissolve the gelatin mix then add the cold water and stir it to cool it down.

Now you need to pour the gelatin into each cup, being careful not to over fill them. The first time I did this I had five cups and wound up making a mess when I put the lids on, under filling is better than over filling. Now put the lids on the cups and stash them in the fridge for four hours.

For pudding you need two cups of cold milk and the package of instant pudding. Whisk them together for two minutes then pour them into each cup, you'll get four or five pudding cups. Fill them as much as you can so the lid sits right on top of the pudding, that will prevent a pudding skin. Stash them in the fridge for five minutes before you eat them.

My cost came out to be  about $.16 per cup which is a third of the cost of the prepackaged gelatin cups. $.34 cents might seem like nothing by itself but if you eat the prepackaged cups often you could save a lot of money. If you do one in a lunch every week day in a year you will save about $90. The pudding costs about $.17 and the savings you see will be very similar to the gelatin cups. 

So now that you know how easy it is give it a try. If you do try any combos of gelatin flavors and fruit leave me a comment to tell me what you did. You can also leave a comment if you have any questions about the process or any suggestions for future posts.  

Bloody hand window clings.

Every year the Dollar Tree has bloody hand print window clings that are really awesome. I usually buy them but they fall off of my windows several times before the holiday gets here. This year I wanted something that would stay so I mixed up some modge podge glass paint I learned to make from Gingerbread Snowflakes and made my own bloody hand prints.

You need about two table spoons of modge podge  about 30 drops of food coloring to get a good red. Mix it up well with a skewer or tooth pick, it will look pink.

Now go to the window you want to put the clings on. Dip your hand into the modge podge and get it good and covered. Now put your hand on the window in what ever way you want. You could smear it but it won't look as defined. 

You can also use the mix to put words on your windows. Just dip your finger into the paint and write what you want on the glass.

Ghoulish Garbage Bags

This weekend I saw some cute leaf bags printed with ghosts. I thought they were a neat alternative to the pumpkin leaf bags so I seriously considered buying them. The big problem was that they only came 2 to a bag for $1 and we have a ton of trees thus a ton of leaves. I just couldn't bring myself to pay a whole dollar for two cheap plastic bags. So I decided I would DIY some bags. 

I used basic plain white trash bags without the drawstring at the top and a king sized permanent marker. The cheaper the bag the better because the more expensive  textured bags would come out looking odd.

First unfold the bag and lay it flat with the open end facing you. The picture shows the bag open slightly but only to show that it is the open side.

Next fold up at least three inches from the bottom and tuck it under the bag. This is the portion of the bag that will be tied and anything drawn here would be lost.

Next you want to draw out your design. If you are going to draw the outlines and fill them in be sure to let the lines dry otherwise you will smear them. If you smear the ink you can wipe up your mistake if you act fast using a cleaning wipe.

The next step is to fill the bag with leaves until it is full and tie it off. You can use these guys as is or you can use them as toppers. You can also stack them to make tall ghosts or goblins. The best designs are going to be black and white unless you find colored king sized markers. If you do find them colored please drop me a line to let me know where so I can buy some for myself.

Bloody Welcome Mat

I recently saw a white bath mat with bloody foot prints all over it for eighteen dollars. Seriously its almost twenty bucks for what amounts to a ruined bath mat. After I picked my jaw up off of the floor I decided to do a welcome mat version of this on the cheap. 

I found a good plain ole welcome mat on clearance for $2 at the Dollar General and had some red paint on hand. I talked my husband into helping me because he has skinny feet that I thought would look better but you can easily do this on your own. It is as simple as stepping into a puddle of paint and then stepping onto the mat. 

I recommend doing this inside if its chilly. We did it outside which my husband griped about endlessly because it was freezing and he was barefoot and we had to clean his feet out there as well. You will need to have some way of cleaning your feet handy (lol) otherwise you'll be stuck with painted feet and no way to go anywhere until it dries.

Lumpy Primate Muffins

I really like ice cream and my favorite flavor is made by those guys from Vermont. This muffin recipe mimics that flavor. It is a banana muffin with walnuts and chocolate chips and it is awesome. I ate two of them fresh from the oven and then another one once they cooled. I think this is my favorite recipe so far. So enjoy it and drop me a line if you try it or any of my other recipes and let me know how you like them.

4 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 a cup of granulated sugar

5 tbsps of butter softened

1 egg lightly beaten

1 1/2 cup of flour

1 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (my oven runs a little hot so I usually back off from the heat. If your oven is a little cold you might wanna go for 375) grease 10 muffin cups or line them with paper. Mash the bananas really well with a fork. It should look almost like a peanut butter consistency. Thoroughly mix the banana mash, egg, butter and sugar. Mix it until it is really well combined. Next combine all of the dry ingredients together and mix them well. Add the dry to the wet and mix it just until it is combined. Toss in the chocolate chips and nuts and mix it just enough to get them incorporated. It makes a thick batter that is almost like a wet dough. Now put an even amount of the batter in the cups and bake for about 20 minutes. Baking time will vary but you will know it is done when you put a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Yields 10 muffins.