Learning How to Crochet!

www.freshstitches.com

Hey everyone Leah here again (Sorry I failed majorly in the whole keeping in touch department...) But while I was working on my newest crochet project I couldn't help but remember when I was learning how to crochet. I tried to make my boyfriend Joseph an afghan... And well... lets just say with the way it ended crocheting left a nasty taste in my mouth. My yarn got knotted up, I was gaining and losing stitches, my tension was all over the place, and on top of that the family kitten wouldn't leave the yarn alone!

www.knitsnbits4u.etsy.com

But I'm here to say it's really not that hard, once I got the right teacher and was taught how to read the patterns, and started off with a much smaller project (a scarf that Joseph loves!) It was addicting, extremely easy, and I just HAD to make more and more and more and more until Joseph finally suggested that I open a shop and sell them (this is where Etsy came into Courtney and my lives)!

So all of this came into mind while I was working on my new cardigan...

Snow

You may have noticed an appalling lack of posts as of late. That is partly due to busy days. However, I am now blaming the weather. Those of us living in the Natural State have beensnowed in since Tuesday (I'm thankful that my area has power). I'd like to share more with you, but I don't have any time because I have to get home before Round 2 of the winter weather begins. (In case you didn't already know, you just read a post by Courtney)
Walking in a winter wonderland

Scarf Pictures

Let's try this picture thing again, shall we?
Hurray! Here is the fabric before I used it:

Now, here is the finished product:

Courtney's Completed Pinterest Project

Hi, everyone! This morning I remembered that I was supposed to have my Pinterest project completed today and post it. A while back I had found instructions for making an infinity scarf and I repinned it. Recently I found a fabric remnant at the fabric store and knew exactly what I wanted to use it for. The piece measured about 64" long (that's my height, ha ha) and 24" wide.

Unfortunately, I'm having a computer or internet problem today and it's not letting me upload the pictures. Sorry to delay it, but I'll post the pictures tomorrow. Do not despair! That just means you'll get to hear from me again! :D
I'm so glad it got cold! I'm sorry for those of you who don't like the cold weather (ahem, SDH). There are many things in our shop that will keep you warm in this weather. :)

A Discovery

It's Courtney again. I interrupt your day to bring you the news of SALTINE TOFFEE. I just made SALTINE TOFFEE. Everyone that tasted the SALTINE TOFFEE loved it. I even loved it and I don't always love chocolate. THIS STUFF IS DELICOUS, PEOPLE! DELICOUS!

The recipe:

• 37 saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups (12 oz package) chocolate chips
• 1 ounce white baking chocolate
• 1 teaspoon shortening

Pinterest Project

Tomorrow is the first Friday of the month. That means.....Courtney's Pinterest project! However, I won't post it until next week because of the sale that I am attending Saturday. I will tell you that I'm making an inifnity scarf. They are my new fascination.

I told you a couple weeks ago some things that I would be working on. I mentioned a tablecloth, but I didn't get to finish it before Thanksgiving like I had wanted to. I mentioned Charlie Brown, but I didn't get to make the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving cupcakes like I had planned. The third thing I mentioned was sugar. For Saturday's sale, I made sugar scrubs in several different scents. The scrubs that do not sell will probably go on Etsy. That means you lucky people will get a chance to purchase my absolutely scrumptious scrubs. :)
I made peppermint, gingerbread cookie, Oatmeal cookie, Vanilla Sugar and Coconut, plus a couple seasonal scents.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and hopefully I'll be back on Monday with my project.

November Foodie Penpals Reveal Day

Hello! It's time again for another Foodie Penpals Reveal!
This month's box was sent to me from Lailah at inmybox.wordpress.com. She sent me a wonderful box of goodies, mostly things that were local for her.

Look at all this wonderful stuff! The box contained:

Thanksgiving

I know this is a day early...

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Leah's Pinterest Project... Pearl and Ribbon Bracelet

Hey guys, Leah here again! Sorry  I've been so distant lately... I know I know, I really should write more often. I'm trying to get into the swing of blogging at least twice a week. But as we all know new habits can be a bit difficult to make!

Okay so I have this new Pinterest Project to share with you, and trust me you're not going to want to miss this! How does a delightfully beautiful bracelet using ONLY ribbon, beads, thread, and a needle sound? Oh and for those of us who are constantly watching our budgets... for a package of 66 beads was $2.25, the spool of ribbon $1.19 and the thread was also $1.19... my bracelets used 10 beads.. (so it can make just over 6 bracelets without buying any new supplies... so one bracelet amounts to costing you 77 cents!! Yes you heard me right! Less than one dollar per bracelet!! Too good to be true? Not any more!

First we cut a bit of ribbon, you want to cut it about twice the amount that you'd need to wrap it around your wrist. Making sure that you leave a few inches at the end to tie with a bow thread the first bead on. I used glass pearls to add an elegant look to this charming bracelet!

String on a pearl to your thread and weave it through the ribbon to add the bit of a poof next to each pearl! Secure it with a bow around your wrist, and VA-LA! You've got your beautiful hand made Pearl and Ribbon bracelet!

Simply tie with a bow

Now this Pearl and Ribbon bracelet is absolutely perfect for a gift from Bride to Bridesmaids, or friends that have helped with your big day! This is also the perfect project for young children who are learning how to sew or other such crafts! When I made mine my friend's young child was working on one with me, and she thoroughly enjoyed making her bracelet, wearing and showing it off! Her's came out exactly as mine came out too! I was very impressed As to how easy it was for her to catch on!

So there we go! The perfect handmade gift that takes about 15 minutes or less! And if you're like me, I prefer making gifts rather than buying... purely because they're so much more personal. (Oh and if you're worrying about the ribbon fraying just dab a little clear nail polish on the ends, and it'll look brand new even after much loving!)

Craft Projects

Courtney, here.
I've been trying to post regularly on here, even when I don't have much to say ha ha. I have a mid-December sale to attend and I'll be making several things to take, so you'll hear less of me until then. There will be a lot of parents of younger children in attendance, so I'm making many crocheted flower headbands. I'm also making body scrubs to sell. I hope you all will bear with my reduced posting these next few weeks. :)

Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK! I can't wait!

Courtney's Pinterest Project

It's the second Friday of the month, which means.....my Pinterest project is here!
I searched and searched and searched for a craft project that I could do, but I couldn't find anything quick or easy enough, or that I had the materials for. So, I picked a recipe. (Then, today, I end up going to two craft stores. Go figure.)

I chose....PUMPKIN BROWN BUTTER CUPCAKES. These things were so delicious. I don't even like frosting, but I was eating it every chance I got.

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1-2/3 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 c. canned pumpkin puree

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. unsalted butter

2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. milk

ground cinnamon, to taste (I added this part)

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 325°F.  Spray regular-sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.  For the cupcakes, melt butter in medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown.  Skim foam from top and remove from heat.  Transfer to bowl, leaving any burnt sediment behind.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, light brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and brown butter.

3. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and whisk together until combined.

4. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling just about 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in pan for a couple of minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

5. For frosting, melt butter in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until nut-brown in color (about 10 minutes). Pour butter into bowl, leaving any burnt sediment behind.

6. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk and stir until smooth. Add the desired amount of cinnamon. (I added probably 2 teaspoons.)

7. Dip tops of cupcakes into frosting and place on wire rack to let frosting set.

Recipe from http://lifessimplemeasures.blogspot.com/2011/10/pumpkin-brown-butter-cupcakes.html.

Look at these beautiful, scrumptious things. Like I said, I added cinnamon to the frosting. Next time I make them (oh, yes, there will be many more times!) I will not frost them as much. Several people said that they were too sweet. I doubled the batch and got 3 dozen, but I was using two muffin pans that were a little different in size.

If any of you are wondering where Leah is, she said she's too busy right now to post. I can understand that!
I hope all of you readers are doing well. Thanksgiving is two weeks from today. I AM SO EXCITED! Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have several different things to share with you, things that I'm working on. I'll give you some hints: Charlie Brown. Tablecloth. Sugar. That's all the clues for now. ;)

Foodie Penpal Reveal Day!

Courtney, here. It is time for my first Foodie Penpal Reveal Day! What is this, you may ask?

Foodie Penpal is a program that takes place each month on theleangreenbean.com.

Here’s a detailed explanation of the program:
-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

Sounds fun, doesn't it? I was so excited to join this past month. Here's the contents of my wonderful box, sent to me by Alexis of lexslifeasanewwife.blogspot.com.

Sick Days and Project Delays

I, Courtney, have been sick all week. I'm starting to get better, thankfully. However, this means that I was not able to my Pinterest Project. I'll try to get my project done next week, which means that you all should make plans to stop by here next Friday to see what I come up with! Have a good weekend :).

Courtney's Trip to the Ozarks

Hi, everyone!
I just got back from a trip to the Ozark mountains. Not much compares to the colors that can be seen this time of year in northern Arkansas! Here are just a few of the trees that I saw..

Leah's Floral Cap

Hi guys Leah here again and I wanted to share with you a sneak peak of my latest Etsy listing! This beautiful flower hat won't get listed until I'm able to get some better pictures (hopefully this will be no later than the end of the month!) And was a lot of fun to make, I especially enjoyed adding my own twists and turns off of the pattern that inspired this hat! I have a little confession for you all... I will start off following a pattern and then change the stitches around, add or subtract rows, or add embellishments to make it my own!

Leah's Pinterest Project - Decorated Mugs

Hi everyone, Leah here and this is my first post so I hope it goes well. :-) I was searching Pinterest for my next delicious recipe, clothing that I might "need", or perhaps a new project to learn. And I couldn't believe what I found, there's these mugs... and literally all you need is a stoneware mug, sharpies, and a working oven. You decorate your plain stoneware mugs with the sharpies and put them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. When done you have dishwasher safe, designer mugs! Brilliant right? Well I thought it had to be too good to be true so I gave it a try myself! 

First Post!

Hello, World! Welcome to our blog! We are Leah and Courtney and we own the business knitsnbits4u.etsy.com. Please join us on our blogging adventure as we share about the crafts and recipes we enjoy doing, as well as other things in our lives.

We hope to have Pinterest projects twice a month. The first Friday of each month will feature Courtney's project, while the third Friday of each month will have Leah's project. We'll post the materials needed, if you'd like to do the project, too. We'll also post our pictures of the completed project.


That's all for now, but please come back!
Leah and Courtney