Sunflowers/Daisies

I love these flowers. They can be sunflowers or daisies, depending on the thread you use. And they're super simple. Use 2 colors.

With color 1, chain 5, slip stitch in first chain to form circle. Chain 3. Work 15 double crochet in circle. Slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3. Fasten off.

Join color 2 in any dc. Chain 1. Work petals around as follows:

Single crochet in dc below. Chain 10.

Last petal - slip stitch in first sc. Fasten off.

Engagement Page

I finally got my "engagement" page done. I don't think it needs any journaling. Everything kind of speaks for itself. I love the black and white look, but really wanted the hearts to pop, representing the vibrancy and boldness and the true color of our love. I love this page.

The flower is made from used dryer sheets, sprayed with my own custom-blended perfect pearl mist, with lace and 2 paper flowers. The dryer sheet was cut in strips, colored, the edges stickled, and then pleated onto a Gluber (I love glubers).

The hearts were cut from chipboard with my cricut, then simply covered with pink and Christmas red stickles. The red heart is adhered directly to the page, the pink heart is pop-dotted.

The letters are chipboard letters I bought at work. I painted them white with my Adironack paint dabber, then stamped random flourishes all over with black archival ink. I then stickled the edges with silver stickles and adhered them flat.

The rhinestone flourish is part of a prima set I got at work.

Large flower

Here are the directions for the larger 6-petal flower. Adorable with a button in the middle.

Chain 4, slip stitch in first chain to form circle. Chain 5. In circle, work (double crochet, chain 2) 5 times. Slip stitch in third chain of starting chain. You should have 6 "loops" in your starting circle.

Work 6 petals as follows:

Chain 2. In chain 2 space below, work 4 double crochet, chain 2, single crochet in double crochet below.

On last petal, finish with chain 2, slip stitch in first single crochet. Fasten off.

Medium 5-petal flower

So here are the crochet directions for another flower. This one is a little larger than the small one, so you get a matching set.

Chain 5, slip stitch in first chain  to form circle. Chain 1. Work 20 single crochet in circle. Slip stitch in first sc.

Work 5 petals as follows:

Chain 3, (2 double crochet in next SC) two times. Chain 3, sc in next sc.

On last petal, chain 3, slip stitch in first SC. Fasten off.

Crochet Flowers

Ok, so I'm noticing more and more crochet flowers for sale in the Scrap world. And they're CRAZY expensive. So I'm gonna post directions for my friends to make their own. If you crochet, here are the directions for the smallest 5-petal flower:

Chain 5; slip stitch in first chain to form circle.

Work 5 petals in circle as follows:

Chain 2, 3 double crochet, ch 2, slip stitch in circle.

Fasten off.

20 days & counting

Well, we're down to the wire now. Bryan & I leave for Reno in 16 days for his annual National Bowling Tournament. His best friend Dennis and his wife, my friend, Patty, are going with us. Bryan's parents are also going. Dennis & Bryan's Dad are bowling with him. His sister is flying out on Monday. We get married on Tuesday, while we're there. A sweet little wedding chapel called The Antique Angel. We're getting married in a gazebo by the river. That's June 7, 2011. 20 days from now. So excited. It took me so long to find the man who satisfies my EVERY need - physical, emotional, intellectual. All my life I dreamed of what I wanted in a man. My last 2 husbands were "settle" marriages. They were what was available. This time, it's for real. He meets everything on my "checklist". I'm so happy and excited. True likes him. That's a good thing. Heather's on the fence, but that's cuz I'm not as close to home for her. Mom didn't kill him at Christmas and actually said he's ok. Those are really the only people I care about liking, or at least, accepting him. 20 days. And I don't have my wedding clothes picked out yet. Well, I picked them out, but when I ordered them, they were out of stock. Gonna try again.