One Ball Waterfall Scarf

A few weeks ago, I picked up some lovely 'fancy yarn' from the middle aisles in Aldi, without really having a plan for it. I eventually decided it would make a cute scarf so had a quick browse on Pinterest (as you do...). I found a few I quite liked, although none of them were exactly what I was looking for, so I amalgamated a couple of the patterns to come up with my own.

These are really easy to make and only use most of one 50g (130m) ball of wool/yarn. The large crochet hook means they look lovely and lacy, but come together really quickly - easily doable in an afternoon, and ideal Christmas presents!

Pattern (I have used US crochet terms - UK crochet terms are in square brackets)

50g yarn (I used a cotton/acrylic mix)
10mm (P-size) crochet hook

Ch 100
Row 1: sc [dc] in the second ch from the hook (1 sc [dc] in each ch) to the end. ch 2 and turn
Row 2 - 5: (1 sc [dc] in each sc [dc]) to the end. ch 2 and turn
Row 6: (2 dc [tr] in each sc [dc]) to the end. ch 2 and turn
Row 7: (2 dc [tr] in each dc [tr]) to the end. Fasten off and weave in all yarn ends

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Having started crafting as a cardmaker, I now rarely make cards - if you receive one from me, you're privileged! However, I do try to find the time to make Christmas cards. There is rather a conveyor-belt process to making them - they're all the same but, after a bit of effort this week, they're made, ready to be written and posted.

The stamps are all from the Mistletoe collection acrylic stamps by Kaisercraft and, although it's not clear from the photo, I've used clear Wink of Stella on the trees to give them a lovely shimmer.

Happy Christmas!

Scrapbook a Selfie

Shimelle has started a new series of weekly challenges on her blog. This week's challenge is to scrapbook a selfie and, quite surprisingly, I did have a selfie to scrapbook! It's one that we took at Christmas using the tripod and timer on the camera, so it's a little more posed than you might expect. It's also scrapped with some more of our Christmas photos in a double-layout, mostly using the Simple Stories December Documented line which is a few years old now, and some of the 6 x 6 papers from Shimelle's Christmas Magic line (and, of course, her fab enamel holly).

The layout is much more sparkly in real life - the 'Be Merry' text and the tag on the opposite page are covered with clear Wink of Stella, and the stars are red glitter card.

When I'd finished the layout, I realised it had elements of the flipped-mirror design Noell Hyman showed in a recent Paperclipping member's video (if you're not already a member of Paperclipping, I'd definitely recommend it).