FREE HAT CONTEST!

Hey all!  The holidays are coming and I have a contest going on my facebook page for a free hat!  Just go to the contest photo album, share the photo and then comment letting me know you shared! :)

You must be a fan of the page to win! :)
http://www.facebook.com/#!/thezanyzebraboutique

UPDATES

Hey everyone.  Sorry I've been awol!  I've been super busy with my etsy shop! yay! And I've been planning a special little boy I know's 2nd birthday!  I can't believe he is already two!

My sweet boy and his cheese face! :)

I thought I went all out for his first birthday but I have gone crazy this year! :) We are doing a pirate themed pool party! Soo much fun and so much you can do for it! :) I plan on doing a post after the party with different ideas and cheap diy alternatives to store bought items!
Here is a sneak peak of one way we saved some $.  We made our own invitations! :)  My wonderful sister did them on Microsoft Publisher and then I printed them at Staples.

So today I'm actually all caught up and I was in the mood to create something of my own!  I saw these cupcake hats on another website and fell in love!  They are so cute! But I couldn't find a pattern that I just loved so I'm trying to make one from scratch...eh..eh...get it...from scratch. ;)  Making patterns for larger items scares me so I'm a little iffy about it but this one is coming along ok...I'm going to work on the ratio of cake to frosting a little bit and then share with y'all when I finish! :)

Also make sure and tell all the Daddys, Stepdads, Granddads, Uncles...etc Happy Father's Day!  The good ones are real life super heros! :)

Pretty Petals

Hey everyone.  I have been meaning to get this blog posted for a while now but have been swamped with Etsy orders! :) I first want to start off with showing you all a new crochet gadget I found at Hobby Lobby.

The picture is a little blurry but it is a crochet needle that lights up! WHAT! I know that was my reaction too.  Its the small things...
It has a clear plastic needle with an LED light inside that you can turn off and on. 

I tried it on a few projects I had going and I don't think its something for everyday use but it was great on black and dark colored yarns that can be hard to see the individual stitches.  The plastic needle just doesn't allow yarn to slide along it like the metal ones do.  I also like the thick grip for the handle end. Definitely something I am going to keep in my most used sizes for projects that require darker yarns. 

Also I am doing my first GIVE-AWAY! Whoop! At the end of this post I will give instructions on how to enter to win one of these light up needles in the size of your choice! :) 

Now onto the flower pattern...

Several of you have requested my pattern for the flower I use on my barefoot sandals so here it is. :) 
To begin this pattern is a pretty loose pattern...You can make changes to it easily to make it fit your own crochet swag. :)  If you are making these for the barefoot sandals I reccoment using an F size hook.  I used an I hook for this blog because it was easier to get pics with the bigger stitches.  This pattern can be done in pretty much any size so play around with different gauges. :)

First off I start with a magic circle or magic loop(whichever you prefer to call it).  Again this is a loose pattern so if you don't prefer the magic loop beginning you can just chian 3-4 stiches and slip stitch to first to form a loop.  If you aren't familiar with the magic loop I reccomend "You-Tubing" it.  I frequently change pattern to begin with the magic circle because its so simple and fast.

SC into loop.

Ch 2 and SC into loop again.  Repeat that four more times.  Then Ch 2 and slip stitch to first SC. You should have 5 Ch 2 spaces.  This will make a five petal flower.  If you want more petals repeat until you have the number of ch 2 spaces you would like for your flower. For this example I am doing a five petal flower.

* The single crochets will be your base stitches. This will become important later on.

SS. Ch 1. HDC. DC. HDC. SS into first Ch 2 space.  This will create the first petal.

   Repeat that in each Ch 2 space around the flower.

Now you can finish off here and have a single layer flower.  Or to add layers continue with the following instructions.

Fold down first petal and SC around first base stitch.

You will now be working behind the petals you just created. 

Ch 3  and SC around next base stitch.  Repeat this around and SS to first SC.

SS. Ch 1. HDC. 2 DC. HDC. SS into first Ch 3 space.

Repeat that in each Ch 3 space creating a second layer of petals for your flower.

I finish here and use these on my barefoot sandals.  But you can keep going with the layers of petals.  Just increase each ch space by 1 ch and add an extra DC to the petals. These flowers are great for hats, headbands, shoes, hair clips....etc.

And now for the give away.  I love hearing about other projects everyone loves to make.  Leave a comment with your favorite thing to crochet or if you are a novice let me know what you dream of making! :) The contest with end and winner will be announced next Friday the 20th at 8:00 p.m.

UPDATE! The random number generator picked the fifth comment.  Congratulation to Jameelah!

Simple-Sew Barefoot Sandals and Flower Tutorial

With warmer weather fast approaching the barefoot sandals are all the rage.  And with this style I think they would be just as darlin' over a pair of tights so they could carry on into winter too.  These are so simple and inexpensive to make. The fold over elastic I found at Joann's for around 2.50/yd and the fabric I found in the remnants pile for a dollar. :)
Let's get started.

You will need: 1/2" Fold Over Elastic
                         Scissors
                         Thread
                         Fabric for flower
                         Measuring Tape
                         Fabric or Hot Glue(not pictured)

First you will need measure around the foot and then measure around the ankle also.  Subract 1.5 to 2 inches to allow for stretch. Then add those two number together.  I actually took one of my son's shoes from when he was younger and took measurements from it. Around the foot was 7" and around the ankle was 7" also. After subtracting 2" from both they were each 5".  Now add 5" and 5" to equal 10".  This is the length you will cut your elastic. Cut two pieces...one for each foot.

 
Next take one of the pieces of elastic and fold it in half.  Hold it with your thumb and index finger at the bend....

 Make sure you are looking at the shiny or pretty side if your elastic has one.
Then take the bottom of the front piece and fold it up to the left forming a loop.

Now do the same to the top piece of the elastic but fold it to the right.  If you go the same way on both folds your shoe will end up a little lop-sided and off center.  It should form a figure-8 type shape.



I pin mine in place to hold its shape because the elastic can be a little slippery.  Repeat on the other piece of elastic.

At this point you have a few options...Since it is just a small portion to sew you could hand sew it.  You can use fabric glue and make this a completely no-sew project or use a machine.  I machine sewed mine together using a zig-zag stich to hold the two ends together.  If you are using a machine you can also overlap the ends a little bit and sew them together with a straight stitch.



And that's all there is for the body of the sandal.  Soo simple.  It took me less than 20 minutes to complete both of them. :) From here you can add whatever ...fabric flowers, lace doileys, some fun costume broaches....etc.

I added a fabric flower to mine.  These are very simple to make also.  Cutting the fabric and glueing it can get a little tedious but its always fun to add your own personal touch to something instead of some mass produced store bought items. :)

To take some of the tedium out of cutting the fabric this is what I do.  Take a strip of fabric and lay it out.  Mine is about 4" wide and the length of the fabric. 

Then fold it up about 3".



Fold it again...



Keep folding the fabric up until you reach the end of it.  Then along the fold cut out a half circle...This will form several circles of fabric.

Then turn the fabric around and cut another half circle along the opposite side's fold.

Your circles don't have to be perfect so don't freak out if they are a little funky. Now take one circle and fold it in half.

Then fold the sides up....

You will need a small piece of felt to glue these on.  Take your felt and dab a small bead of glue on.



Press your fabric petal down on the glue.  Make sure you glue it with the folded side facing down. Dab another bead of glue next to the fabric petal you just glued. Fold another piece of fabric and press it down on glue.  You want the petal to over lap each other a little bit.

Continue around gluing petals down around the felt.

I glued a rhinestone in the middle to add a little bling and to cover up some excess glue from the petals. :) Now you can glue the flower to your barefoot sandals.



And VOILA...

If you have any questions please let me know.  I will also be selling these in my etsy store. :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ashleysharp

Basketball Blankie

So I always see football and baseball inspired crafts on pinterest and craft blogs but very few basketball things, and being a basketball girl myself I decided to come up with a pattern to make a basketball blanket.
Its very simple...it took me about two hours to complete but that time estimate includes refilling sippy cups, changing diapers, and wiping noses...:) So I'm sure it can be done in about an hour.

You will need: 1 yd of  Orange Fabric.  You can use anything.  I actually prefer the dotted minky because I think the dots make the blanket look like the texture of an actual ball but Joann's had this soft and plush on sale so I went with it.
                         1 yd of cordinating fabric.  I found a cute flannel basketball fabric, but you can use anything for this side also.
                         1/8 yd of black fleece.
                         Rotary cutter, scissors, cooridinating thread, 6 sheets of paper, sharpie, a piece of yarn and tape.

First to make a circle pattern tape pieces of paper together in two rows of three. 

Next you want to cut your string or yarn.  You want to cut the yarn half of the size you want the blanket to be.  I wanted mine to be around 38" so I used a string that was 19" long.  I then tied it to a sharpie.

Now take the end of the string that isn't tied to sharpie and place it at the bottom left corner of the papers you taped together and stretch the sharpie end straight above the bottom piece.

Then holding the bottom part in place take the sharpie and go downward making an arch.

And it should look like this.

No just cut it out and you have your pattern. :)

Now you can cut our your fabric.  Take your fabric and lay it out then fold it in half long ways.

Then fold in half the other way so that you have two folded sides.

Line up the folds with your pattern.

Now take your rotary cutter and cut fabric.  Then repeat with the other fabric.

Next you will need to cut black strips of fleece to make the lines on the basketball.  Again depending on how big you make your blanket will determine how long you will need to cut the fleece.  You want them to be about 1.5" wide and a few inches longer than the blanket.  I laid mine out and played with the placement first.

Once you get it just right pin in place and sew the strips on. 

And don't be jealous of my dinosaur of a sewing machine...ha! She was my grandmother's machine and has been great to learn on. :) After watching the Superbowl halftime show this year I named her Madonna because she is 50 plus years and still rocks! :)

Here she is in all her glory :)

Now back to the blanket.  Once you have sewn on all the strips, lay it out pretty side facing up.  Then lay second fabric on top pretty side facing down.  So right sides should be facing each other.

 Pin in place and sew together using a 1/4" seam.  When you are sewing the two pieces together stop several inches from completely sewing all the way around so you will have a place to turn the blanket right side out.  After you turn it right side out sew that hole together.

And ta-da...