Crochet Soccer Ball Tutorial

July 7, 2014
In: Crochet
Crochet Soccer Ball Tutorial | Oomanoot #free #tutorial #crochet #WorldCup #soccer #football

I spent a long time deciding what the title of this post should be. My family comes from the US, so in my American-English I should call this type of ball a soccer ball. But in Israel the sport is called football (translated into kadur-regel which means foot-ball), while the transliterated word “football” is reserved for American football. And calling it a Truncated Icosahedron, well – nobody would get that at all. I’m not even sure how to pronounce that second word.

I decided on soccer ball.

I don’t know if you’ve been following the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but in our house it’s the only thing happening. The TV has been taken over by the men of the house (one of them barely 7 years old) and I have retreated to a distant couch and sit on my own crocheting. Boo-hoo. Hopefully a crochet soccer ball will get me some attention around here!

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Crochet Ice Cream – With No Calories!

June 3, 2014
In: Crochet
Crochet Ice Cream – With No Calories! #free #crochet #tutorial #icecream

It’s not quite officially summer, but the weather is hot and sunny, and ice cream has become one of the major food groups in our home. However, one can’t eat ice cream all day every day, as much as one may like to – so some crochet ice cream (with no calories) is in order.

They don’t require much yarn, so you can make a few in your favorite flavors. They can be used in a play kitchen, or string a few together as a summer party decoration. Or you could let your kids leave them lying on the floor around the house. That’s also an option.

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The Easy-Peasy Light & Breezy Skirt

May 11, 2014
In: Sewing
The Easy-Peasy Light & Breezy Skirt | Oomanoot #free #sewing #tutorial #skirt

We didn’t have much of a winter this year at all. It was warm-ish during all the months which should have been cold, but the second spring arrived it became scorching hot (and then it rained for a couple of days). Weird weather is upon us. In any case, it is clear that it’s time for some summer clothes. I must admit that I don’t usually sew clothes for my kids, because it’s a lot of effort for something I can buy easily and cheaply in a store, but this skirt is so easy and I got to use such fun fabrics (I mean, dancing ballerina monkeys? What could possibly be better than that?). It was totally worth the effort.

The Easy-Peasy Light & Breezy Skirt | Oomanoot #free #sewing #tutorial #skirt read more →

Home Improvement: Living Room Final Touches

May 7, 2014
In: Home Decor
OMG, I can’t believe it’s been a month since I last wrote. We had two holidays and I’ve been doing so much around the house that I guess I was all about the doing and I totally forgot about the writing. I have a few things to share, but I’m in the mood for a light post today, so I’ll share a few decor touches I recently added to our home.

The first thing I added is a gallery wall of family photos. These are the first pictures I’ve printed in the past 6 years or so. 6 years! I’m thinking of starting a project of organizing the photos into digital pages and getting them printed. Maybe if I put in half an hour a day I’ll be able to get it done in a… year? or two?

Home Improvement: Gallery Wall | Oomanoot

(Sorry about the blurry pictures, I have a “thing” about posting family pictures on the blog)

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Spring Crafts: Crochet Flower & Ladybug

April 7, 2014
In: Crochet
Spring Crafts: Crochet Flower & Lady Bug | Oomanoot #free #tutorial #crochet #flower #ladybug

Suddenly, spring has sprung all around us. Butterflies and ladybugs and an occasional mosquito(yes! already!) and beautiful flowers are everywhere. Last week we took a walk and I was taking photos of everything and I just felt so inspired to create… I got home and started crocheting pretty much immedietly. My daughter took one look at the result and said: “Hey! that’s the flower and ladybug we saw at the park!”. And she was exactly right, as you can see.

Spring Crafts: Crochet Flower & Lady Bug | Oomanoot #free #tutorial #crochet #flower #ladybug

This is a quick and easy project, just right for spring! It can be used on a hair clip or as an applique or I dunno, just to look at and be happy. So let’s get started…

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The Good Enough Decorator

April 1, 2014
In: Home Decor
Fake Fabric Trees @ The Good Enough Decorator | Oomanoot

Have you ever noticed that when you are given an object as a gift, you are far less critical of it’s actual qualities? That dress that doesn’t fit perfectly but you still wear… The scarf that’s not exactly right for your complexion but you use anyway… The serving bowl that doesn’t match anything you have, but is out on the table every week…

I think there’s something about the fact that you already have something that gives it a special feel, especially if it has the added value of being a gift. At least for me, when I’m at the store, whether I’m trying on clothes or trying to find accessories for my home, I am always far more critical of whatever-it-is I’m trying to buy. I am constantly asking myself: Do I really need this? Is it exactly right?

Sometimes this is a good thing, because I can sincerely say I do not have a lot of junk and that most of my clothes fit and are flattering to my figure. However, sometimes this means that I lived in my last apartment for 6 years or so without a single piece of art I bought myself. Though there were two prints hanging on the walls I had been given as a gift (see? I told you so).

This time, I decided on a new strategy: I would be the good enough decorator. In other words, I would not wait until I found the perfect piece that I absolutely love (never ever gonna happen), I would just buy things that were good enough, not perfect. And if I decide later on that they’re wrong – replace them.

So I did.

The Best Pink Horse Ever  @ The Good Enough Decorator | Oomanoot read more →

Rainbow Pillow Covers: Sewing Tutorial

March 19, 2014
In: Sewing
Rainbow Pillow Covers: Sewing Tutorial | Oomanoot #rainbow #sewing #tutorial #free

[I was given a discount for the fabrics used in this post from Fat Quarter Shop, however all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.]

I managed to surprise myself and finish the pillow covers for our family room makeover in just under two weeks. And it wasn’t the only project on my plate (or actually, my desk). I’m actually getting better at planning my sewing projects in a way that they actually get done. I used to wait until I knew I had a couple of free days to start and finish a sewing project, but I’ve realized that I can’t wait for vacation (or sick days, for that matter) if I want to get anything done. This time I split the project into several tasks (cutting, pressing, sewing etc.) and did each one on a separate night. I didn’t try to push the work too late (sleep is important!), and I got it all done in about 4 nights, without exausting myself entirely. I think that this worked well and I will continue working in the same way in the future. [Just a small pat on the back for me. Yey me!]

I decided to make the pillow covers using hook & loop tape (e.g. Velcro) closure for two reasons: 1 – I had a whole lot of it and 2 – I didn’t want to mess with the long zippers I would need for the floor pillows. I though about decorative buttons, but my experience with other pillow covers I made with buttons is that they don’t hold up very well under the wear and tear of children pulling at them. I have an excellent tip for sewing hook & loop tape later, so read on…

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Slipcover 101: Sewing Tutorial

March 6, 2014
In: Sewing
Slipcover 101: Sewing Tutorial | Oomanoot #sewing #free #tutorial #slipcover #upholstery

Ta-daaa! The first step of our family room makeover is done! And it “only” took me two weeks of getting in 15 minutes of pinning in here, and 10 minutes of sewing in there… Oh well, that’s how sewing projects happen in this house. V e r y    s l o w l y .

This is actually not the first time I’ve made a slipcover for this couch. I will not share the pictures of the old cover, because I find them embarrassing… What was I thinking when I chose that pattern? Ugh. Anyway, I have learned from experience, and this time went much smoother. Much less argggg on the way and much more being happy with the result.

Upholstery projects can be quite intimidating, but a slipcover is a good place to start, and I have some tips for you from my (sometimes bitter) experience.

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Crochet Ripple Hat & Blanket Baby Gift

February 20, 2014
In: Crochet
Crochet Ripple Hat & Blanket Baby Gift | Oomanoot #hat #blanket #crochet #tutorial #free #baby

Oooooh, aren’t babies the best? Not only are they the sweetest cutest things on earth, they are the best excuse for making hand made gifts. In this case, my new born niece got a strawberry-banana-marshmallow colored hat and matching blanket. Well, technically she only got the hat because the blanket is not quite done, but she’ll get it soon, I promise.

The hat is a pattern I used before for my winter hats this year, but I finally got around to writing it up and posting it, so here goes!

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DIY Silver Rubber Ducky

January 29, 2014
In: Home Decor
DIY Silver Rubber Ducky | Oomanoot

I’ve mentioned before that we moved about 6 months ago, and we’ve been a bit stuck home-decor-wise. Every little thing that needs to be done (not to mention the big stuff…) takes forever to get around to.

In this case, I was inspired by these DIY gold pears shown by Elisheva on Hook ‘n’ Loop Design’s blog. The idea of taking a cheap item and covering it with gold (or in my case – silver) struck me as genius, and I had to try it myself.

Our bathrooms actually got quite a bit of my attention, we have mirrors, towels and I even got some greenery as decoration (ahhhmmm, plastic. Don’t tell any one…). However, I’ve always liked rubber ducks and I just had  to buy a few and try it. So I did.

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