D.I.Y Crochet Plant Hanger

 Lately I have been obsessed with the DIY hanging planters on pinterest,but I wanted to do something a bit different using crochet.These planters might look a bit difficult to make if you are just starting to crochet (like me), but the steps are pretty easy and repetitive.

Sadly if you look at the pictures, the plant hangers I made are plantless because I don't really own any small plants, but they would be perfect and adorable with cute little succulents.

I was even considering buying some artichokes in place of succulents, but then decided "maybe not"

Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this DIY tutorial!

I used shower curtain hangers to hang these up, this goes to prove you never know what might come in handy.

Here are the materials you will be needing to make this project:

1. yarn 
2. crochet needle, the size I used was 3.75mm. 
3. small terracotta pot/ any size planter as long as your yarn is strong enough to support its weight
4. Plastic- like from a zip-lock bag*
5.  Plant*

*only if you are planning to hang a real plant, which I kind of expected to happen considering this is a planter and all.

Step1: Create a circle with that fits the base of your planter . If you already know how, you can skip reading the following instructions.
1. Create a magic hoop and chain 6 single crochets. Connect with a slip knot.
2. Create one chain stitch and crochet 2 single crochets in each knot. There should be a total of 12 stitches now. Connect with a slip knot.
3.Create one chain stitch and add 2 single crochets every other stitch.
   (pattern should be 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2 for a total of 18 stiches) Connect with a slip knot
4.Create one chain stitch. Add 2 single crochets to every 2 stiches.
   (Pattern should be 1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1... for a total of 24 stitches) Connect with a slip knot.

Just in case my instructions made no sense, I attached a video to tutorial on make a circle. (Warning it's kind of boring, but I did my best to find a short informative video)

 

Step 2. Continue with only one single crochet in each previous stitch to create a dome/ basket like shape. 

Step3: Crochet and fit onto your pot and add an extra single crochet stitch to accommodate with the shape of the planter. 

Continue doing this until you can hold the planter snug.

Make sure it fits perfectly!And don't take out your crochet hook just yet.

Step 4: Chain stitch 80 stitches. 

Step 5: Connect your long chain 1/3 along the circumference of the top of the plant hanger by creating a a few slipknots for security and then trim off the yarn. An easy way to find 1/3 the circumference is just couting how many stitches there are on the last crochet layer you made and dividing the number by 3.

Step 6: At another 1/3 of the plant hanger, tie a knot and create a slip knot. Chain 40 chain stiches.

Step 7: Tie the 40 chain stitch chain to 1/2 of the 80 stitch chain so that they meet right at the middle. Create a loop at the top for hanging.

This is how it should look: sad and deflated, but trust me when you stick in your cute planter and plant and hang it up, it will look amazing.

**IMPORTANT!!! for if you will be adding a plant.

Step 8: Use plastic to line the crocheted planter, creating a barrier from any water and dirt spillage when caring for your plant.

I personally think that multi-colored yarn would look cuter which is why I chose to make the green and orange multicolored plant hangers. If you’re more into minimalism, I would suggest a plain white for a more chic look. If you’re more into the bohemian style of things, cream would definitely give it a nice macramé feel. If you just have random single colored yarn, you could layer with different colors and create a colorblock effect, or just have a single bright color like hot pink to create a bold statement.

These last two pictures were just me experimenting with photo editing and fonts.Just felt like sharing.

Hope you guys enjoyed and got inspired in some way!

~Angela 

Fall Lookbook 2014 // RadFoxes X The Crafteen Mastermind (Part 2)

It's that time of year again; when summer and autumn clash and outfits must merge to create the perfect transitional look.

 

Hello dear friends of the internet,

This will be my first fashion lookbook post which is super exciting because I love wearing clothes (who doesn't) and will be able to share some of my style. This would not have been possible without the collaboration of Sena, a long time friend who is also a blogger and founder of Rad Foxes. She writes about her passions and enjoys sharing her great music tastes to anyone who is willing to lend an ear, or eyes (to read her blog). You should definitely check out her blog for more on music and her creative volcano of thoughts.

We went out to shoot for these pictures on a sizzling hot September evening, and shot 6 summer to fall transitional outfits. I was the "model" and all the photo credits goes to Radfoxes who also edited and helped style the looks. It was really fun shooting, but kind of awkward beacause...well I'll spare you the details but I was kind of changing in public. Some of the looks that seem more suitable for summer can easily be changed into the perfect fall outfit by adding some layers of cardigans and cute jackets, as well as a pair of tights.

This is part 2 of the look book so if you want to see part 1, go to Radfox's blog to find it. We have 3 looks on each blog so be sure to see all 6!

Anyways enough with the chit chat, lets get to the fashion!

Rubber Souls

 

 

Beatles Shirt- Thrifted

Skort- Thrifted (kind of, I got these handed down from my aunt)

Boots- Jcpenny

Roaming in Rompers

 

 

Romper- T.J.Maxx

Denim jacket- Thrifted

Sandals- Payless

 

 Subtly Rebellious Teenager

 

 

 

Dress- Thrifted

Necklaces- Unknown

Cardigan-Thrifted

Boots-Fredmeyer

 

 

 

Stylist  - Angela & Sena
Model  - Angela
Photographer/Editor - Sena

 

FOR PART 2 HEAD OVER TO RADFOXES. and click on this link

 I hope you enjoyed this lookbook and got a little inspiration for your autumn wardrobe. Please feel free to leave us any comments! We'd love to read what you have to say. Also let us know if you would want to see more lookbooks in the future. 

Hope you guys enjoyed these looks!
XOXO
~Angela

Crafternoon# 9: D.I.Y Crocheted Bear iPad Case

These days I have been pretty obsessed with crocheting and have made various projects to share with you guys.

With the help of the morning sun, this became my best picture.

Need a new iPad case but don't want to empty your wallet? Then you've come to the right place!  ( I sound like an infomercial)

Instead of buying a new case you can easily make your own.There are many other iPad/kindle/random technology case D.I.Y's out there, but today I will be showing you how I made a crocheted bear iPad case. This craft does not require expert crocheting skills, just some basic crochet language knowledge. It will take some time to make so you will also need patience, to avoid being too bored I made this while watching a few episodes of my favorite TV show Modern family. With that we can get started, hope you guys enjoy!

The first step in making anything is getting the materials; you will need

•  a crochet needle 
•  lots of brown yarn. (You can use any color you want to make a majestic rainbow colored bear even)
• 2 buttons
• felt
• sharpie
• needle and thread

Start by chain stitching the length of your iPad/ kindle/ whatever thing you want. Then add 6-8 extra chain stitches at the end. (This is necessary to create a flap for keeping the case closed later on)

Next single crochet until it looks like the picture below. Yes I admit those were some terrible instructions, so I added a crochet guide after these two pictures. 

This is my first time writing a crochet pattern so please be understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.

To make the crochet bear ears, it is basically like crocheting a circle without connecting the ends.

1.chain 6 stitches. 

2. make 2 single crochets in each chain stitch for a total of 12 single crochets.

3. In every other stitch, make 2 single crochets, for the other stitches make only one stitch.(1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2,1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2) For a total of 18 single crochets.

4. repeat steps 1-3 so that you end up with 2 ears.

Next make sure your iPad can fit into your case.

Take your ears and sew onto the outer edges of the closed flap.

This is what the front should look like. Pretty plain right? If you like it like this and are satisfied with the results, you can leave it at that, or you can continue and add a cute face.

Cut out an oval piece of felt and use a sharpie to draw the bear's nose and mouth.

Use your needle and thread to sew the nose and mouth onto the bear's face.

Yup now the project is complete. You can shove in your iPad and show off to your friends.

This picture looks super edited, but it's not, I just forgot to turn of the flash in my camera. Sorry about that

Hope you guys enjoyed.

~Angela

Grow Your Own Mints

Why would anyone want to grow their own mints? Well maybe you enjoy gardening, want to add a little more zazz to some of your generic meals. 

The mints I'm using are chocolate mints, in case you were wondering. I obtained these mints from my aunt who has a decent vegetable garden in her backyard including this unique mint herb.

The steps to growing your own mints is rather simple really. take some existing stems of some mint (any kind works) and stick them in a glass jar of water. After a week you will see some tiny white roots growing from the bottom of your stems. 

By now you are ready to plant your mints in the soil.

This is day 1 so far.

Update:
It's been about a week and as you can see, the little white roots can be seen coming out from the ends as I previously mentioned. I know it's kind of hard to see, but zooming in works so...
I'll try to get some better shots tomorrow at noon when it's brighter outside.

As you can see I went a little bit overboard in regards to snapping a few photos.