Adelynn's Necklace

I helped my sister make this necklace! It has a rose button (because her middle name/nickname is Rose), a Miraculous Medal, a key (which is actually mine but she insisted on using. Apparently it is magical and can unlock any door or treasure chest), and two pink beads (because pink is her favorite color). The pink leaf at the bottom is just because its pink.

She wanted to put so many things on it... :) I kept it down to five, any more would be far too busy.

My First Crocheted Cardigan!

Okay, so her clothes don't match it. :) I just had her slip it on for a picture! Its also two sizes too big (the pattern didn't come smaller)

THIS IS MY FIRST EVER PIECE OF CROCHETED CLOTHING!!! And, for once in my life, I followed the pattern exactly. It is called Behop Cardi and can be found for free on Ravelry and Lion's Yarn.

I had some confusion about the gauge (it accidentally gave two numbers!), and had made a good part of it with the wrong gauge. Rather than frog (tear out) that strip, I gave it to Addie as a lacy purple scarf.

The pattern called for stitch markers, I didn't know what they were but after reading the pattern a bit I realized that it means things stuck in the yarn to mark stitches. I just used safety pins. :)

Overall, this went fairly well! Being a beginner, self-taught-by-web-browsing crocheter, I had some problems getting the hang of it. Considering I had troubles crocheting a straight line just a few months ago, I am quite proud. :) It only took four or five hours! And that is while reading/watching TV.

No buttons yet! :)

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Found this lying around; thought I'd share. Not sure what this craft is called, I strung beads onto two crisscrossing strings. Made it way back in second grade.

Fun and Useful Pens

What you will need:
A Bic pen, or similar pen with a removable ink/tip. Do not use a hard plastic one; it combusts
Sculpey clay
Clay tools (toothpick, hands, etc)
Oven

What you do:
Remove the ink/nib from the pen. You don't want that exploding in the oven!
Decorate your pen with sculpey clay
Make a "holder." Use the pen to shape it, but make the whole extra-big, twice the size as needed.
Bake according to clay instructions
Cool
Put some unbaked clay into the "holder's" hole. That will let the pen stay put much better.
Insert the ink again
Use until your ink runs out; pull out ink and put more in!

These pens are remarkably sturdy. I've made around ten of them; the three above are the ones I haven't given away. The pen on the far left was my first ever. I made it five years ago, and its still holding up. It has a slight crack because I put a chair leg ontop of it one time, but still works. The middle was about three years ago, and I just made the right one a few months ago. Its much prettier than the picture makes it look.

Hermione Granger's Wand

There is something about reading a detail-abounding book that makes you want to go and make all those neat gizmos and gadgets and whatnot. Also, watching the movies for the millionth time lets you notice the little prop details.

I've already posted instructions on a light-up wand. But for a more movie-accurate, lighter, and much easier wand, I suggest this method.

First, take a sheet of computer paper and lightly coat with Elmer's glue. Roll the paper diagonally as tightly as you can. Allow to dry.
Next, trim the ends with scissors. For wands like Hermione's, that have carved detail,  use a glue gun to glue on the design.
Then, paint with acryclic paints. If you glued a design, you may or may not want to paint the design in a lighter/darker shade.