Green Eggs and Ham tutorial

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

This simple green eggs and ham felt food tutorial will let you celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday 365 days a year!

Do you like

green eggs and ham?

I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

I do not like

green eggs and ham.

Materials
Felt: white, light green, dark green
Embroidery thread: white, light green, dark green
Embroidery needle
Polyfil


Directions
1. Cut felt food pieces (2 dark green ovals, 1 light green oval, 2 small light green circles, 1 small white circle, 4 white egg shapes).

2. Place pieces on top of each other, making 2 green eggs and 1 slice of green ham.

3. Sew green yolk onto one piece of white egg, using a running stitch. Stuff yolk before sewing shut. Repeat for second egg.

4. Sew two pieces of white eggs together, using a running stitch. I did not stuff the white part of the egg, but you can if you'd like your egg to be fluffy. Repeat for second egg.

5. Sew white circle onto left hand side of light green oval, using running stitch. Sew light green oval onto one dark green oval, using running stitch.

6. Sew ham slice onto second dark green oval, using a blanket stitch. Stuff ham slice before seeing shut.

7. Enjoy your very own plate of green eggs and ham!

Don't have time to make your own set of green eggs and ham? You can pick up a handmade set by visiting my Etsy shop.

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© 2014 Melissa/This Girl Creates

Please remember that items made using my patterns and tutorials are for personal use only and can not be sold for profit. Thanks!

Tutorial - hook size stitch markers

I came up with this project after realizing I had made a giant mistake with one of my crochet projects. After completing my fifth granny square for my afghan, several weeks after completing my first square, I realized that I had used the wrong hook. 

Oops! 

I knew I had to make a change in the way that I store my projects, especially if I am going to put them to the side for several weeks. So, I came up with a simple solution: hook size stitch markers. I thought I'd make a quick tutorial to show ya'll how I made them. They really are super simple!

Materials/Tools:

needle-nose pliers

wire cutter

round plastic alphabet beads

assorted colored beads

head pins or eye pins (eye pins have a little circle on the end)

S-hooks

Directions:

1. Slide one colored bead, an alphabet bead, and a second colored bead onto a head pin or eye pin. I used head pins for my stitch markers.

Cut the head pin, leaving about a half an inch at the top.

2. Using your needle-nose pliers, bend the top of the head pin to form a hook.

3. Slide the hook through the circle on the end of the S-hook.

4. Using your needle-nose pliers, squeeze the hook together, completely closing the hook and securing it onto the S-hook.

That is it! You are now ready to attach your hook size stitch marker to your project.

You can also make yourself some with numbers to keep track of what row you are on.

Or make words by using the entire length of the head or eye pin.

There you have it! Super simple, but also very useful.

Don't have enough time to make these stitch markers yourself? I will be adding have added a few sets of both letters and numbers to my Etsy shop. You can pick up a set of 10 (E, F, G, H, I, J, K, N, P, Q) or (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) for $8.00! Pretty sweet deal. :)

Crochet Sushi Roll Tutorial

I wanted to keep this project super simple, so everyone can give crochet a try! So, I came up with a basic beginner tutorial for a crocheted sushi roll.

The only stitch you will need to know is the single crochet (sc), which is the most basic crochet stitch. There are many places to learn how to single crochet, but I learned by watching the knit witch on YouTube. Lion Brand Yarn has helpful crochet lessons as well.

Here are the materials you will need :
US G-6 (4.0 mm) crochet hook
black, white, and red yarn
black embroidery thread
embroidery needle

Abbreviations: ch = chain; sc = single crochet; st = stitch

Using black yarn, ch 11.

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across (sc 10).

Row 2-22: ch.1, sc in each st.

Fasten off

Using white yarn, ch 11.

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across (sc 10).

Row 2-20: ch 1, sc in each st.

Fasten off

Using red yarn, ch. 11.

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across (sc 10).

Row 2-5: ch 1, sc in each st.

Fasten off

Roll red crocheted piece into a tube.

Roll white crocheted piece around red piece.

Roll black crocheted piece around white piece.

Using embroidery thread, sew black piece together.

Now you have your very own crocheted sushi roll! Enjoy!!!

Copyright © 2011-2013 Melissa/This Girl Creates. 
All rights reserved. No part of this pattern may be reproduced in any form. 
The written instructions, photograph, design, and pattern are intended for personal, non-commercial use only.

Football cookies and goodie bags

This weekend started the NFL playoffs. And although my team isn't in it this year, boo to the Steelers, I'm still watching some of the games and definitely rooting for anyone who is playing the Ravens. :)

A few years ago I took part in my first fantasy football league. For fun, I made my group some football cookies and goodie bags. I thought this would be a good week to share the tutorials with you. 

I got the idea for the goodie bag, here. I know it looks nothing like my bag, but that is what inspired it. I just tweaked it a lot to fit in with the whole football theme! Plus, they were super simple to make.

Football Goodie Bags

Materials:
Green lunch or goodie bags
White scraps of paper
White paint pen
White ribbon
Foam football shapes or footballs cut out of brown paper
Hole punch
Glue

Instructions:
1. Cut two strips of white paper and glue them onto the front of the bag, leaving some room at the top for the ribbon.
2. Mark the yards along the top of the bag with the paint pen. It isn't accurate, but that is okay. :)
3. Draw the football laces on the foam football with the paint pen and glue to the front of the bag.
4. Stuff your bag full of goodies!
5. Hold the bag closed. Punch two holes in the top of the bag and thread the ribbon through. Tie a bow.
See! Super simple!!!

Each goodie bag also included a football shaped cookie and some other chocolatey goodness. When I came across some super cute football cookies on Pillsbury.com, I just knew these were the perfect cookies.

Football Cookies via Pillsbury

Ingredients:
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1 container (1 lb) chocolate creamy ready-to-spread frosting
White decorating gel

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
2. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. With floured fingers, shape each dough slice to form football. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. Spread frosting over cookies. With white decorating gel, draw laces on each football.

They were super easy to make, but the decorating was not so easy. I used Wilton's fondant icing writer and it got clogged about every three cookies. It was okay though, because the entire time I was decorating them I was laughing thinking of Ace Ventura and Ray Finkle. . . "Laces Out"!

The girls on my fantasy football league really enjoyed them. I hope you will too!