(note)books

I love to write and I love crafts and DIY projects. So last December I started to snailmail.

"What's that?" I can almost hear you ask. Well, in short it is sending real mail to friends or people you'd like to be penpals with. But it isn't just about the letter itself. It is also about decorating your envelope and sending some extra's in the envelope, for instance small craftprojects, some craft material or stationery. It's all up to you.

I've made some small craft projects lately which I've send to my snailfriends. Here are some examples. I've created them all with (washi)tape, cardboard, wrappingpaper and glue or double sided adhesive tape and decorated them with nice pictures, stickers, buttons and so on. You can actually use anything you like.










If you'd wish to see tutorials of similar projects, just click here Linda made some nice photo tutorials. The description is in Dutch but I believe the photos speak for themselves.

If you'd like to become one of my (foreign) snailmailfriends, just leave a message here. I'd like to have some snailmailfriends from abroad.

Crochet Rose

I love to crochet, but not difficult patterns. So I tried to find an easy pattern for making a rose. Well, I found one. It was in Dutch, so I'll try to translate it in to English (both US and UK terms).

What can you use the roses for? Well, big ones can be sewn unto a cushion, smaller ones can be used onto hairclips or crochet hats. Or just use them for home decoration purposes.

What do you need? Well first of all a crochet hook (any size you like), yarn (any kind and any thickness you like, but make sure it fits with your crochet hook), scissors and a needle.



Pattern:

ch. 72 and leave about 30cm of yarn in the beginning.

row 1:
ch. 4 (counts as a Treble Crochet (UK) / Double Crochet (US) in 4th ch. from hook, ch. 2, TC (UK) / DC (US) in the same ch.,
*ch. 1, TC/DC in 2nd ch. ch. 2, TC/DC in same ch.*
repeat text between * *
Now you get some kind of V-shape and a square which repeats itself.

row 2:
At the end of the row you turn and ch. 3, 1 TC/DC in the V-shape of the last row, ch. 2, 2 TC/DC in the same V-shape.
*in the next V-shape 2 TC/DC, ch. 2, 2 TC/DC*,
repeat text between * *

row 3:
TC/DC in first space, 6 TC/DC in the space between the 2 chains from row 2,
* 7 TC/DC in the next space between the 2 chains from row 2*
repeat text between * *

NOTE: You can also use a different colour yarn for row 3, which makes the rose even more special.

Fasten off.

Roll your crochet into a flower, with the 30cm yarn of the beginning in the middle. It’s easier to roll the flower around of your fingers. With the needle and the 30cm yarn you sew the flower together.

For a photo tutorial, click here It’s the same pattern, but only in Dutch.

I've made this rose in many colours and many sizes. My first one was the big pink one on the picture. It wasn't meant to be that big though, but I didn't quite think of the right size hook and yarn. But even though it wasn't suppose to be like this, I really love it. I find it one of the nicest I've made.

If I have made any mistake in translating this pattern, please let me know, so I can adjust the text.