Great Things-Mamachee Crochet Patterns & Giveaway! ENDED

We hope that you are enjoying our new series of "Great Things."  Today we have another amazing store to share with you:  Mamachee Crochet Patterns.  Tara Murray is the face behind Mamachee Crochet Patterns and she is one talented lady!  She has a successful etsy shop and blog called Easy Makes me happy.

Tara opened her etsy store in October of 2008 with these things in mind: "My dream is to be able to stay home all day with my husband and kids, working together as a family. With the help from etsy and you lovely buyers on etsy, this may be able to come true for me....and I am so thankful!"

I hope that her dream is coming true.  It sure looks like she is quite successful!  She's made over 4000 sales with 100% positive feedback!  She also has a thriving blog that offers many free crochet patterns, tutorials and other crafts.  Check it out here!

My two favorite patterns that I ordered from Tara are the Headband, flower and bow pattern and the Warm Winter Booties. I've made my sweet Anna a flower in almost every color.  I get compliments on those everytime we are out.  We recently had professional pictures of Anna and these headbands made the pictures even more precious.

 Here is a closeup one with full flower showing!

We actually got the this last picture in black and white with the flower being the only thing in color.  It was beautiful!  I really feel the headband and flower just made her pictures extra special.

Mamachee patterns are well written and very easy to understand, even for the beginner crocheter.  What is even better is Tara is more than willing to help you if you have questions or struggles.  She also has deals when you buy more patterns.

Here are some items that are on my list to buy:

Buccaneer Booties

Elizabeth Headwrap

Flower Shower

Oma House Slippers (for adults!)

One of the neatest items on her blog is a measurements guide to help you make your own creations.  This is definitely at the top of my list!

Okay, enough of my love for Mamachee!  I want you to share in the love.  Tara has been nice enough to do a giveaway for all our fabulous readers!  How does FIVE free patterns to a lucky winner sound?  I think that is awesome!  For those of you wanting to learn to crochet, this is a great way to start off with some fantastic patterns.

Here is how you enter to win the 5 free crochet patterns:


*Leave a separate comment for each entry*

1. Mandatory entry:  Like Our Seven Dwarfs on Facebook or tell us you already do.  (leave a comment too).
2.  Visit Mamachee on etsy and tell us at least one pattern you would choose.
3.  Subscribe to Our Seven Dwarfs by email.
4.  Follow Our Seven Dwarfs via Google Friend Connect (click follow on sidebar).
5.  While visiting Our Seven Dwarfs on Facebook, click share by any of the postings for the Mamachee Giveaway.  *Once you click share, a new window will pop up, click on the lock button and choose everyone, then click share again.  This will make your post show up on our Facebook and Mamachee's Facebook.  This entry will not be counted unless it shows up on our page.   Then leave a comment here for your entry.*  Easier than it sounds.

That is 5 chances to win 5 free patterns!  Remember, you don't have to do all 5 entries, but it sure would make us happy and increase your chances.  Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry! The giveaway closes at 11:59 pm (EST) on Saturday, March 26th. We'll announce the winner on Sunday, March 27th.

Good luck to you all! 

Learn to Crochet!

As you may know, I love to crochet.  I've been crocheting for about 12 years.  I've known all the stitches, but just over the last couple of years, I learned to truly read a pattern.  Wow, my world has been opened up since then.  There are so many cute things you can make by learning to read a pattern.  There is so much more to crocheting than the old Granny Square (which is even coming back in popularity)!

I want to help all of you who might have an interest in learning to crochet.  Crocheting is different from knitting.  Unfortunately, some knitters bad mouth crocheting and vice versa.  I don't know why.  I prefer to crochet as you get a product much faster and the supplies are less expensive.  I know how to knit and I like the look of knitting, but I don't have the patience to spend the extra hours it takes.  Knitting uses two long needles, whereas crocheting uses one crochet hook.

Before, you get started, you 'll need supplies (not many though).

Supplies needed:

• Crochet Hooks:  You can get a set of hooks size D through K for about $13 (or less).  See here.  These are the most popular hooks that you will need.  I typically use the H hook and I hook the most so I have multiple of those as I always keep one with the project I am working on, but you don't need multiples.

• Yarn Needle (for weaving in ends of yarn)
• Scissors

• Yarn of choice (see label on yarn for appropriate hook size).  My favorite is "I love this yarn" from Hobby Lobby.  It is super soft and easy to work with.  Caron Simply Soft is another great choice.

• Stitch marker (either a piece of yarn, paper clip or actual stitch marker)  You need this if you are working in the round (like making a hat) to know where a new round starts.

There are many resources to learn to crochet.  You can borrow books from the library, view videos online and see pictorial step-by-steps on many website. I don't suggest buying books online until you've had a chance to really look over it in person.  You can crochet right or left-handed so make sure to find the tutorials that best suit you needs.

Here is a list of helpful how to sites:
Lionbrand yarn: video tutorials and illustrated steps
Bernat Yarn:  pdf illustrated steps to print
You tube:  tons of videos!
Find more by just searching "how to crochet"

Pattern resources:
See the ones I have on the blog here
Lionbrand yarn:  tons of free patterns
Crochet Pattern Central
Coats and Clark
Bernat Yarn
Etsy:  Crochet Patterns for purchase
Find more by searching, "Crochet patterns"

If you begin to crochet, I highly suggest you start by making some swatches or even a washcloth in a particular stitch.  This will help you master the stitch before you combine it with other stitches.  There are 5 basic stitches:  slip stitch (sl st), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc) and triple crochet (tc).  These are very simple stitches.  Once you have the stitches down you can conquer just about any pattern!

I hope you find this brief overview and resource list helpful!  Are there specific items you would like me to give you more information on?  Just leave me a comment and I will write up future posts on the topic!

Oh, and check out the next post, it is a giveaway for 5 free patterns!  What a wonderful way to start crocheting!

Happy Crocheting! 

The Vintage Pearl Giveaway Winner Is.....

Once again, we'd love to thank The Vintage Pearl for a wonderful giveaway.  I know that we've got big wish lists now!

Congratulations to the winner!

And the winner is....

84. christine detlefsen said...

I would use the certificate for the "all around my faith" necklace with my kids names on it for their grandma. She does so much for them and she would LOVE it!

March 14, 2011 9:08 PM

Congratulations, Christine and Christine's mom!  Christine, email us to claim your prize! We can't wait to see pictures of your finished product!

The All Around My Faith, Necklace

Crocheted Baby Slippers & A Chunky Women's Cloche

Over the last couple of days, I have been one busy crocheter.  I love to crochet as it allows me to sit and relax, but still get something accomplished.  After all, I can't just relax, I must be checking things off my to do list!

The first project that I have been working on are these cute baby slippers.

A friend of mine saw the other pair that I had made Anna (look here) and wanted to order two pairs for a baby shower she was attending soon.  I love making cute things and getting paid for it too!  That's a win-win and the hubby doesn't complain either.  (Little does he know that I will spend that money on more crafts, haha!).

My friend looked over all the colors of potential yarns and liked an Old Rose and a Sage.  She wanted one mostly pink with some green and the other mostly green with a little pink for two twin girls.  I love the color combination and how they turned out. (Both of these projects used the "I love this yarn" from Hobby Lobby.  It is my favorite yarn as you get a great amount and it is super soft.)

The pattern that I used for this slipper is called the Ava Slipper and it is by Mandy Sybrowsky of LittleBirdieSecrets.com.  You can purchase the pattern here.  Her directions are for a slipper of all one color.  I followed her directions through Row 3 for the sole, then I switched to my shoe color.  When I got to Row 8, I switched back to my sole color and did a SC (Single Crochet) around instead of a slip stitch.  Otherwise, I followed her exact pattern.

These first three pictures are of the mostly green slipper.

These next few pictures are of the mostly pink slipper.

I hope that she likes them and that her friend likes the gift for her twin girls.  I think I will be whipping up a few extra pairs for Anna in the two-tone combination.  I think that makes them look a bit more like real shoes.

*****

The other item that I worked on was a woman's cloche. The pattern is the Lizzy Cloche and is also by Mandy Sybrowsky of LittleBirdieSecrets.com  You can purchase the pattern here.

I have been wanting to make this cloche for awhile.  The winner of our 100 Blog Followers Giveaway, Stacy, requested an adult cloche in gray with a black flower.  This gave me the perfect excuse to try it out!

I have to be honest, I never follow a pattern exactly as I should.  I always find yarn that I want to use that doesn't match what the pattern creator suggests.  I wanted to use my "I love this Yarn" from Hobby lobby (super soft) and it wasn't the chunky yarn that I was supposed to use.  Therefore,  I had my patience tested at least five times. Yep, I was almost finished and tore it out FIVE times!  Ugh!  We all have craft fails once in awhile!

I was smart enough to start with two strands of this yarn (which made it chunky) and the correct size crochet hook.  I quickly figured out that my gauge was off.  I was supposed to be about 3/4 inch per row, but I was 1/2 an inch.  I made it just as the directions called for the first time (except for yarn) and ended up with a child's size hat (I noted for future creations).  Then I did a few more increase rows and ended up with a cloche for the biggest head know to man.  I tried to shrink the increase rows down a couple and that still didn't work.  Finally, on my fifth attempt, I just added a few standard rows and I hit the jackpot!  Now, I can make this cloche again in the future and not be frustrated by my inability to use the same yarns!

I think it turned out really nice!  I may have to make myself one for next winter.  I hope that Stacy will be happy with it!

Next week, I will be sharing some resources on how to learn to crochet.  Crocheting is very easy to learn.  My Mom even learned to do it!  (I love you Mom!) She wasn't willing to learn if it was going to be too complicated.

I know how to both knit and crochet.  I like knitting, but the supplies can be expensive and it takes a long time to get to your finished product.  Crocheting on the other hand is a very quick process.  The tools are dirt cheap too.  You can get one of every hook for about $20 total.  Then your yarn is only other cost.  Okay, enough on that.  Be on the lookout for those resources next week and think about taking up crocheting!

Don't forget that today is the last day to enter to win a $50 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl!  Go enter here!



We are linking up this project to all these wonderful parties.  Go visit them for more great ideas!

Baked Spaghetti Carbonara

This is another yummy recipe that I wanted to share.  It has been a long time since I've had this, but I remembered it fondly.  I had some bacon that I needed to use up and I had just made Shannon's Potato Salad, so I needed something different.  The recipe came to mind and I knew it would be a good one to share with you all.  If you can't tell, most of my favorite recipes aren't the healthiest!  They sure are good though!  People wouldn't call me the "Little Paula Deen," if it weren't for these recipes.

Baked Spaghetti Carbonara

½ lb. bacon

12 oz. spaghetti

3 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup plus 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (separated)

½ tsp black pepper

Bread Crumbs

2 Tbsp melted butter

Cook bacon.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook pasta.  In large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, ½ parmesan cheese and pepper.  Add pasta and bacon.  Turn into greased 8 x 12 inch pan.  Top with bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.  Drizzle with butter.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes, covered with foil.

Great Things-The Vintage Pearl-A GREAT GIVEAWAY-CLOSED

We are so excited to bring you the first installment of our Great Things series.  Our goal is to share, with you, things we find AMAZING!  These are things that we think you will find Wonderful too.  We are beginning, with a truly great thing: The Vintage Pearl.

I (Shannon) discovered the Vintage Pearl on another website when they were doing a giveaway.  They sent us to their site and asked us to find one thing we'd like to win.  Are you kidding me?  One thing!  I'm the queen of personalized everything, especially when it comes to my daughters' unique names.  I couldn't narrow it down to just one thing and before long, I had a Christmas list!

So far, I've purchased the following things from The Vintage Pearl:

1. pearl drop earrings 

2. a cupped square with love necklace for my daughter's second birthday

3. a flower and a circle necklace for my friend, Amy

4. a simple "i love you" will do necklace for me

5. an eclectic charm bracelet for my mom, and

6. a chunky daisy cuff bracelet for me.

I have been so happy with these items and have a lengthy list of things I can't wait to order.

Every item I ordered is absolutely beautiful.  The customer service, at The Vintage Pearl is equally as wonderful.  When I placed my first order, I was ordering Christmas gifts and they had a special.  The pearl drop earrings were free if you entered the code.  Well, I was so excited ordering, I forgot to enter the code.  I wrote customer service an email, asking them for another chance.  They promptly replied, "No problem, we'll add the earrings to your order." They did!  Yeah!

When my bracelets came in, one was miss-sized.  I contacted the company, and they said all I had to do was send it back and they'd fix it and return my postage expenses.  Well, as soon as they received the package, they returned all of my postage expenses (including the box I bought to send it in) and had my bracelet fixed and sent back to me immediately.

When I was ordering my daughter's necklace, I was cutting it mighty close as far as getting the item ordered in time to arrive by her birthday.  They have a "rush" charge if you need things immediately, but since I was within a couple of days of the date, I was hoping to avoid the charge.  I contacted customer service.  The person I talked to was wonderful and assured me the necklace would be sent in time. It was and Mariella LOVES her little necklace.

So, you see, not only are their products amazing, but so is their staff.  So amazing in fact, that they are giving away a $50 gift certificate to one of our subscribers!  YEAH!!!  You just don't know how happy this makes us!  One of our followers is going to win a beautiful, personalized, piece of jewelry. 

Now, we know you are eager to enter.  Here's what you need to do:

*Leave a comment below for EACH entry!*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

1. Like Our Seven Dwarfs on Facebook (MANDATORY entry).
2. Visit http://www.thevintagepearl.com/ and tell us what you'd buy with the $50 gift certificate.
3.  Like The Vintage Pearl on Facebook and tell us you do.
4.  Follow Our Seven Dwarfs by email or RSS feed.  Don't forget to leave a comment telling us you do.
5.  Follow Our Seven Dwarfs via Google Friend Connect (click follow on sidebar).
6.  Share this giveaway as your Facebook status.  Make sure to include @Our Seven Dwarfs and @The Vintage Pearl in your message to be counted!

That's a total of 6 comments you can leave!  6 chances for you to win!  Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry!  Good luck to you all!  The giveaway closes at 11:59 pm (EST) on Saturday, March 19th. We'll announce the winner on Sunday, March 20th.

Cute Couple Mugs Tutorial

I have a friend who is getting married soon and I wanted to make her some unique and personalized gifts.  I've had wedding ideas on the brain for months.  Over the next couple of months, I'll share all the things I am making the wedding couple.

Tonight I made these cute couple mugs.

The other day, I was browsing at the Dollar Tree and came across two nice mugs.  Since they were plain white, I knew I could do something with vinyl on them.

Everyone has a favorite mug.  I decided to make a mug for each person so they will always know which mug is theirs.  Mustaches and lips are popular these days so I used those and added the Mrs. & Mrs.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the design.  Then I used the transfer tape to grab the vinyl and adhered it on to the mugs.

The vinyl I used is removable so these mugs need to be hand-washed.  I think they turned out nice.  I hope her and her husband enjoy them.

Next time you see a plain dish, cup or decorative item, get creative and personalize it.  You will have a unique item that you can't buy in stores!



We are linking up this project to all these wonderful parties.  Go visit them for more great ideas!

A "Lighter" Meal Idea-Sweet and Sour Chicken, Brown Rice, Sugar Snap Peas, and Yogurt Parfaits

Being expected to come up with tasty, healthy, meals my family will eat, seven days a week, is a chore!



Keeping It Simple posts a great recipe each Thursday. This week, they posted Sweet and Sour Chicken. http://craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/2011/03/tasty-thursday-sweet-n-sour-chicken-and.html

Well, because I try to keep things healthy, I made one simple change to her recipe.  It was wonderful!  Here it is!

Sweet and Sour Chicken served with Brown Rice, Sugar Snap Peas, and Yogurt Parfaits.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
http://craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/2011/03/tasty-thursday-sweet-n-sour-chicken-and.html
 *Instead of chicken nuggets, I used chicken tenderloins.  Here are the additional ingredients you'll need.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenderloins, cut into chunks

1 green pepper sliced

1 clove of garlic

salt

pepper

Do this step first:

1) Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet.  Heat it on medium high. In the meantime, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.  Using a garlic press, press a fresh clove of garlic into the chicken.  Sprinkle it with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Add to the hot oil.  Cook through.

 

Then, proceed with "Keeping it Simple's" delicious recipe!

Serve over brown rice.

A Great Side is Steamed Sugar Snap Peas. I bought a box of frozen, Green Giant ones.  They are easy, healthy, and really good.

Yogurt Parfaits

I used:

1 small container of Chobani Lemon Yogurt

1 small container of Chobani Mango Yogurt

blueberries

sliced strawberries

light whipped cream

I layered the ingredients and squirted some whipped cream on top.  Easy, healthy, and oh so good!