3 Cheers for Craft Month!

I have a love/hate relationship with March. On the one hand, it's National Craft Month, and I always stretch myself to create something new. This year I've invented a new hairstyle, made my own plarn and crocheted a bag out of it, and converted an old dress into a skirt. On the other hand, it's March Madness, so I kind of lose my husband for four weeks unless I find ways to slip basketball terms into daily conversation. "Honey, I'm feeling upset. Like, Missouri vs. Norfolk St. upset." "Would you mind doing a slam dunk in my book by taking out the trash?" "Wow, Duke really stinks today. Kind of like your son's diaper. Would you change it?" I think if I didn't have Craft Month to distract me it would be a lot worse, but I have to say each year we learn to compromise a little better. I watch a couple more games and he watches a couple fewer. Not to mention he's learned to "ooh" and "ahh" over each of my new crafts, which I so appreciate.

Here's your turn to "ohh" and "ahh" over my awesome crafts. And even cooler, I'm going to share with you how to do each of them. Now there's a real slam dunk to cheer about!

Hairstyle: The Basket-weave Bun

Step 1. Put hair into a ponytail. You can put the ponytail as high or as low as you wish, depending on where you want the bun on your head to be. I've tried low and mid-high. Both work just fine.

Step 2. Do a five-strand braid. I learned how to do it with this video. It only took me a couple tries til I had it down, and surprisingly it's easier for me to do if I'm NOT looking in the mirror. Just a tip.

Step 3. Fold hair into a bun shape, leaving a small lip over the top to hide the elastic from the original ponytail.     

Step 4. Secure with bobby pins, and add flowers/accessories as desired. Voila!










Crocheting with Plarn (plastic-yarn)

Step 1. Make plarn. You need a lot more grocery bags than you think. I separated my bags by color and brand so I could keep a somewhat uniform look with the plarn. Here's the link I used to learn how to make my own. It's pretty easy. And don't get upset if the strands break when you loop them together. Just tie up the broken strands and move on. This stuff doesn't need to be perfect to still work and look awesome.

Step 2. There are lots of free patterns online for making plarn bags, but I really wanted to make my own. I wanted it to feel 100% made by me, yarn included. So if you feel comfortable enough in your crocheting skills  to freestyle, go for it. It's really rewarding. If you want to stick to a pattern, here's a site that has all their patterns for free.

Step 3. Revel in your awesomeness that you just made a great beach/pool tote out of recycled bags. And not only did you make the bag, but the yarn, too! It's a totally different experience to feel like you started from scratch. A bit like making your own cake without using a mix, especially if you came up with the pattern yourself!



Dress Convert to Skirt
Step 1: Take an old dress that you're either bored with, or in my case your chest area doesn't fit back into post-baby, such as this.

Yes, this is me nearly 4 years ago. I was so tiny and never fully appreciated it. Alas...

Step 2: Cut off bust of dress with sewing scissors. If you're lucky, the dress you chose has an empire waist, which means the hem is practically done already.

Step 3. Hem the top of the "skirt" and add elastic if necessary, or fold down and sew leftover fabric to the empire hem.

Step 4. Add adorable belt and top of choice, and you have a darling skirt for Spring!
















So despite the Madness, or just being plain mad when your only time together is spent watching a team you've neither heard nor care about, get over it by starting up a new project, while every so often looking at the screen and saying, "Get the rebound!!!" Works for me, anyway.