Crochet Wayuu-Inspired Backpack

For the past year or so I've been getting really into crochet. Frankly, it's basically a straight-up addiction at this point. The feel of the yarn, all the pretty colors, watching a project turn from a ball of string into something useful... I just can't seem to get enough of it. You should see the stash of yarn I've built up. I'd be ashamed of myself if I hadn't gotten it all on sale.

My favorite things to crochet right now are bags. There are so many different styles to play with and I just love making something practical. I was super flattered that the hubs's cousin liked a backpack I whipped up a while back and asked me to make one for her, so I took the opportunity to try my hand at making one inspired by the Wayuu Mochila bags I've been seeing all over Pinterest. And here she is in all her glory:

I couldn't find a pattern in the style I wanted, so I had to take matters into my own hands. Yep, I'm officially confident enough that I'm starting to create my own designs. It's definitely not perfect (don't count those stitches in my rounds), but it works, and it's pretty cute if I do say so myself!

Using Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn and a 5mm hook, I started with an oval base made with 2 strands of yarn, which turned out nice and sturdy and stiff enough to hold its shape when the bag is full.  If not exactly symmetrical, it's at least functional!

After that I built up the sides working with all four strands of colors carried along in each round of tapestry crochet. I drew up the pattern on graph paper; it was actually easier than I thought and took less time than scouring Pinterest for a cute design with the right amount of stitches.

Finally I added the drawstrings, created the flap in a half-round (which I sewed on), and crocheted on the straps. Easy peasy! Now that I've finished this one for hubs's cousin, I'm tempted to make one for myself too. Maybe after Christmas!

Easy Activity Advent Calendar

**********UPDATE!**********

Check out photos below for our in-progress calendar. After we started doing our activities, we happened to buy a new printer, so I got the idea to replace each card with a photo of what we did that day. Now we don't have blank spaces on the "tree," we can keep our cute decoration up all season, and we have our memories of this Christmas already saved and printed up.

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I know it's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but with two little kids who are already STOKED about Santa's impending visit I wanted to get a jump on things this year... for once!  And what better way to do that (and to keep the excitement fresh for weeks) than to make an advent calendar?  Sure I could buy an advent calendar, but since we just finished the last of the Halloween candy I was loathe to bring more sweets into the house, and there's no way I was going to get one full of little tchotchkes that will end up all over the floor.  Instead, I opted for an activity-based calendar, full of brilliant Christmassy fun.

I have a history of getting in over my head when DIY inspiration strikes, but these days life is too busy for any intense, time-consuming projects.  So this time I vowed to keep it simple.  Even so, this project took some time to plan and execute, so I'm thrilled I didn't end up having to make envelopes out of scrapbook paper like I thought I was going to.  Bonus!  This is a great project for kids to help with, which saves times and ensures the envelopes don't end up too matchy-matchy.

THE SUPPLIES

(Not shown - Optional 5 year old washi-tape-applicator.)

Set of 25 red 3.75x5" blank note cards with envelopes: $5 at Michael's

Variety of holiday washi tape: 6 for $2 at Michael's

Metallic gold Sharpie paint pen that I've had forever (probably available at Michael's)

(You'll also want something to write with for inside the cards.) (Might I suggest shopping at Michael's?)

Okay I think you get the basic idea.  Write the activity in the card (I also illustrated (poorly) each one so my non-reading kids could see what they were about).  Put it in the envelope.  Number and decorate. Hang, admire, and open.

I haven't put mine up yet, but am planning to either tape the cards directly to the wall or hang them from twine (yes I got it at Michael's, gosh!) on November 30th.  We will open #25 first (25 days until Christmas) and end on #1 on Christmas Eve.  Hence, start date is 11/30, not 12/1.

THE LOGISTICS

While this advent calendar is indeed a very simple concept, there is a good amount of logistical planning that goes into it.  

Important: Plan your activities in advance.  Keep a calendar that contains each activity and its date for reference so you know what's coming up.  (Pro tip: I wrote my advent countdown numbers on the calendar too because I'm easily confused and needed an idiot-proof way to match the dates to the envelopes as I was assembling.)

First write the date-specific stuff on the calendar that you're already thinking about doing.  For example, we're going to a tree-lighting ceremony one day and a light parade on another.  I made each of these an advent activity and made sure to put them in the envelope that corresponded to the day they take place.

Next, think of 20-something more fun and interesting things that are Christmas/winter-themed that you know your kids and spouse will enjoy.  JOKES!  Get on Pinterest and look at a few lists of such things that other people have already thought of and take what you like until you have 25 things to do.  Mine is below to get you started.

Go to a tree lighting ceremony

Buy and decorate a Christmas tree

Make ornaments

Make hot cocoa

Make gingerbread houses ($10 at Michael's!)

Have a Christmas music dance party

Paint Christmas art

Go Christmas shopping together (kids can buy gifts for each other/parents/whomever)

Do a candy cane hunt

Make paper snowflakes

Make Christmas slime

Paint pottery

Make reindeer food

Read Christmas books

See a light parade

Make Christmas cards

Have family game night

Write letters to Santa

Visit Santa

Watch the Polar Express

Make fake snow

Bake Christmas cookies

Go on a Christmas light scavenger hunt

Make snowman pancakes for dinner

Open 1 present (on Christmas Eve)

I went through my list and added each item to the paper calendar first so that I could see how each week would look with our regular schedules, with a combination of big and small activities, and with a nice variety of activities mixed in.

Once your cards are filled out and envelopes are numbered DO NOT seal the envelopes!!  These are what we call "best laid plans."  Do not tempt fate.  Be flexible and leave those envelopes openable in case you need to switch some activities around or cancel something.

And that's it.  Hang the cards as you see fit, and have a fun advent!

Here's our in-progress advent calendar:

I just tied some Christmas twine to command hooks stuck on the door and taped the cards (and photos) right onto the twine.  Max decorated a star in preschool so I added it to the top.  It has held up well and looks super cute!

My life in May

Well I sure have let almost half a year go by since my last post. I swear it doesn't feel like it's been that long, but looking back a lot has happened...

Most major news - The Hubs lost his job at the bank RIGHT before Christmas. How's that for gratitude for his 10 years of indentured servitude? It was pretty rough for several weeks there but we made it through. He is now back in the shipping industry managing the pre-load sort (i.e. working at 0'dark:30), making a bunch more money, and generally being a whole lot happier, if a little more tired, than he ever was at the bank. I'm happy. He's happy. Life is good. And he got to tell a bunch of his former coworkers, as he was getting off work at noon one day and making a stop at the bank, how much happier he is since he left! So that was a nice little perk.

As for me, I'm still working for my dad and things are going pretty well. I've been working a few hours a day, 3 days a week, and actually earning a regular paycheck! It's nice to have that extra income and help build my dad's company, which will be mine when he retires one day. I do marketing, research, packaging, office work, grunt work, you name it. But I'm learning every part of the business and it's actually kind of fun. Hopefully all our hard work brings in a bunch of new business soon!

Cadence just turned 5 a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe it. She is turning into such a big girl with such a huge personality. I don't know where she comes up with half the things that come out of her mouth, or where she got all this confidence, but it's pretty cool to watch. She's losing her first tooth right now, just a tad ahead of schedule thanks to the noggin of a 2 year old friend of the family. But according to the dentist she probably would have started losing teeth in the next 6 months anyway judging by how close her permanent teeth are to erupting and the fact that her front baby teeth have like zero roots left. Unfortunately the 2 teeth adjacent to that one wiggly front top tooth are also a tiny bit wiggly so I'm predicting a jack-o-lantern smile before Halloween! My poor cute girl! LOL Well, awkward years build character I always say. 

Max is doing great, he'll be 2 in July but insists that he is already 2. And judging by his attitude he might as well already be in the throes of the terrible twos. He is a champion tantrum-thrower, complete with dramatically falling to the floor whenever I tell him "no." Oh and he tells ME no 10 times more often than I say it to him. It's a great time. But man he is so snuggly and sweet when he's not throwing a fit. What they say about little boys loving their moms is totally true in his case, so the trade off could be worse! He will be starting preschool in the fall, and if Cadence wasn't almost guaranteed to be going to PM kindergarten I could actually get a few hours to myself a couple of days a week, but I think that's unlikely to happen. Still I think Cadence will like having some one-on-one time with mom on the mornings that Max is in school (and I will too!).

My HS class is having our...gulp...20th reunion in 3 weeks and I managed to get myself roped into being on the planning committee. This is what happens when you try to be polite and half-heartedly offer to help, BTW. Now I'm in charge of finances, WEE. But, I do like planning parties and I'm glad it's happening. We had a small class of about 120 students so everyone knows each other, but we've never had a reunion before. There have been one or two prior attempts that fizzled out, but I think now that it's been 20 freaking years more people are interested and motivated to attend. We'll see. About half of the planning committee doesn't seem to want to do anything useful and I feel like we are WAY behind. So we'll see if it actually ends up happening! 

Tomorrow is Hubs' and my 11th wedding anniversary and we're taking the afternoon to go to a nice lunch and do some local wine tasting. Haven't done that in ages and I love me some wine! I'm excited to have an adult day while someone else is responsible for my kids! Then Sunday is our annual Mothers Day pool party with Hubs's family. Should be fun even though it's not going to be very warm out, lots of food and more wine and all the cousins running around wild... Hopefully this weekend will be mellow and a lot less traumatic than last weekend with the whole bumped tooth fiasco.