"365 Blanket" Crochet-A-Long

2014 is fast approaching, and I think this year I want a big project (not that I don't have enough big projects going on).  I find myself taking on many jobs as of late, and I love them all!

In the past few months I have made a couple of blankets and I'm working on a very special one right now for my brother.  I haven't made a blanket for myself, though.  I love blankets, so it seems logical that I would have one that I make.

So, if you would like to join in, I'm going to host a crochet-a-long, where we'll be making a granny square each day (or week, if you don't want to do one every day) and then making a blanket from them.

So, basically, you pick the style of square you want to make (our more than one style of you want), as well as the number of squares, and we make a blanket.

We can check in once a week to see about our progress.  There isn't much structure, no real rules.  Just be creative.  Also, please link to your blog or Twitter or Instagram feeds so we can see how it's going (if you want to post to Instagram or Twitter, please use the hash tag {TCLcrochetalong}.

I'm excited to have you on this little adventure with me and I can't wait to see what we come up with.

So, join me on January 1, 2014 with your first square to kick off the new year with a year long crochet-a-long!

~Amanda ~

2014 Year Long Project

Perhaps I'm ambitious.  Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment.  Perhaps (and I believe this might be closer to the truth) I'm crazy.  I am about to embark on a year-long project (like I don't have enough going on)
See, I try to make every year different. I like to have a theme each year.  I come up with something that I want my year to reflect, and I try to live by that theme.
2013 is the year of adventure.  I wanted to do a bunch of fun stuff.  I wanted to have an epic year, really.   Well, it fell kind of short.  There wasn't much in the way of epic this year.
So next year I'm going to try a slightly different approach.  I don't want to have any high expectations any more. This one seems like it will be simple, although, if you know me then you know simple isn't always simple for me.  I inevitably make things difficult.
Well, for 2014 I'm going to create.  I'm going to crochet one granny square each day and put them all together to make a blanket.  Sounds pretty simple to me.  I'm going to pick a couple different colors every day so the color scheme won't be the same.

Like I said, it sounds pretty simple...  But things aren't always simple with me.  I'm pretty excited to see what I come up with.  I'll try to put together a post every week for the blog, but I'll post the new square every day on a Instagram (@amandaropp).  I'd love if you followed along!


See ya,
~Amanda~

Big Plans Until...

I had such big plans today.  I wanted to go to McDonald's and get a White Chocolate Mocha, then come home and work on some little Christmas bobbles to put in the shop.

Nope...

I don't know if any other crafters out there have run into this problem, but I sat down, picked up my hook and thread, and proceeded to screw up everything that I touched.  I looked at my loving husband and said "I just can't seem to get it right!"

His response?  "Then put it down."

So I did.  That's why I'm sitting here, blogging instead of crocheting the cutest little glittery thingys to hang on the tree or on the mantle, or to wear somehow.

Putting down the mess I was making did give me some time to think about what I wanted to accomplish with these little Christmas-y things.  It also gave me a moment to realize that I probably wouldn't get them done and in the shop in time to ship to someone to enjoy them for Christmas.

So, what's the plan?  I have a baby blanket that I need to get done in time for Christmas, and I promised my boys that I would crochet a Minecraft Creeper for them by Thanksgiving.  I'm also going to start thinking about getting some stuff made for spring.

I'm still taking special orders and maybe putting some scarves up in the shop, but it will give me some time to get things going for 2014.

I am also going to double down on my real estate career.  I want to rock it next year.  Shameless plug:  If anyone is looking for a Realtor in Georgia, contact me!

See ya later, guys!

~Amanda~

New Store!

I have some exciting news.  I just opened a new store! I had one on Etsy, but I wasn't thrilled with it, so I looked into Storenvy. I love that site!

Come check out my hand made goodies.  I also take custom orders for just about anything crocheted you could want!

http://heartshapedcloud.storenvy.com/

I'm also on Facebook. Just look up Heart Shaped Cloud.  It should take you right to me.

~Amanda ~

My Very First Crochet Pattern

If any of my dear readers know me very well, they know that I am addicted to Instagram (please feel free to follow me @amandaropp).  Recently I posted a picture of some of my little crochet goodies, and someone asked for the pattern.

Well, this little creation (pictured above) was purely accidental, so I had to remember what I did so I could write it down.

This isn't the best pattern ever written, but here goes:

Boot Cuffs
Measure your leg where the top of the boot will be.
Chain to that length
Join to first chain with a slip stitch
*Chain 2
Double crochet around, taking care to keep the chain from twisting.
Join to first dc with a slip stitch*
Continue from * until the cuff is 6 inches tall.

Scarf/Necklace
Make a chain to 60 inches
Connect to the first chain with a slip stitch
Chain 2
dc in each ch (Here is where mine messed up, I must have let the chain twist once or twice, because it ended up curling up on itself and making a tube.  If you want a tube, let the chain twist a couple of times during the first row, if you want one that lays more flat, try to keep it from twisting.  I'm going to say that results will vary.)
Connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch
*ch 2
dc into each stitch
connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch*
Repeat from * until it is the desired thickness.
Once the Scarf is completed, double it up and secure it together by wrapping yarn around it.   Attach flower, and add button to the center of the flower.

Flower
The flower is from the pattern Irish Rose Purse by Rise Pirrone.

Button (for the center of the flower)
I found the button here.

Sorry for all the links.  Those parts were not my patterns, therefore I can't take credit.

I hope this want to confusing.  As I said, this is my first pattern I have ever written.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this page, or you can find me on Instagram.

I hope to make more patterns, so if you like this, please let me know.  Give me a little confidence boost :)

~Amanda~

Identity Crisis

So, I think I'm in the midst of an identity crisis.  I want so badly to have one of those cute Etsy shops that actually has sales (mine, unfortunately, has been neglected, so I have views, but nothing new to offer the masses).  I crochet all the time.  That's what my little shop is centered around (Click here to check out my little shop).
Now for the crisis.  I am super busy!!  I have a new business (I am now a Realtor, yay!!  Check out my website here) that is super exciting, and takes up quite a bit of time, and I have my awesome family that takes up the rest.  I'm trying to make sense of this craziness, and I feel like taking my frustrations out on my blog.  I keep  thinking of changing the name, maybe trying something new, but I always come back to This Charmed Life.  I guess, mainly because my life is charmed.  I have a tremendous family, a great job, and a hobby that I'm trying to turn into a second (or third, depending on how you look at it) job.
So, all in all, this post has just brought it all full circle for me.  I will keep going with This Charmed Life, I will keep pursuing Hook, Loom, and Yarn, I will embrace all of the out of the box (I hate that term, by the way) thinking that I have to start doing.  I love my life, and I feel so much better, just having written this!
You're probably wondering why I even bothered to post this, since it made up my mind and I no longer feel like I'm having any issues.  It helps to talk it out.  Even if no one reads this, even if I think no one's listening.  I've spilled my guts, I've shown my vulnerable side, and guess what...
I LOVED IT!!!

Thank you for being there to listen to me rant and whine.  I'll pick myself up, dust off, and get back on track.  This is exactly what I needed!  Thank you.

~Amanda~

Hello, Friends!

Wow!  Has it really been almost 6 months since I posted last?  I had no idea!  Things have been kind of crazy around here, and I guess I just forgot.

So, what's been going on?  I'm glad you ask.

I took up running last October (I checked my previous posts, but didn't find anything about that.  Hmmm).  I have participated in two 5k's and a virtual 10k (which due to time constraints this year and lack of training, I completed in two different sessions).

I crochet now.  That's something that I picked up after our trip to Savannah.  I decided I wanted to crochet a hat.  I still haven't gotten to that hat, but I've made a cute purse, few cell phone cases, a case for my surface, and an iPad case.  I'll try to get the link on the blog as soon as I figure out how to make a button for it.

I opened my own Etsy shop.  I'm selling some of my little crocheted goodies.  Right now it only consists of the iPad case and a cell phone case, but I'm going to expand a little. 

I've also started real estate licensing courses.  Hopefully I'll be able to finish them by the end of the month. 

That's about the gist of it.  Of course, there are other things that have happened, but I think I'll save that for another time.

It was nice talking with you again!  I promise I won't let six months go by without another post!

~Amanda~

Domestic Diva and Hampering Home Have Teamed UP!

I missed out on the last blog hop. I honestly can't tell you what happened, I was just not on the ball this week, and not just in regards to the Let. It. Go. OBS, either. I haven't been able to get my kitchen cleaned up, my poor kids almost didn't have anything to wear to school because I forgot until 11:00 in the evening to wash their clothes. My laundry (as well as my husband's) had gone unwashed, as well.

I don't remember taking the week off, it still seems like I did something, but I can't for the life of me remember what I did (other than complain about the untidy house, and my lack of time to clean it).

My awesome husband saw that I was struggling, and he took matters into his own hands. While I was volunteering at my son's school one morning last week, my hubby cleaned the entire house. Now, what I want to know is, as a mom who stays at home constantly, how it takes me FOREVER to get the house cleaned, but it only took my husband a few hours. Hmmm.

This situation seemed to fit perfectly with chapters 5 & 6 of Let. It. Go. this week. I am weird when it comes to cleaning. I hate to do it (and, therefore don't do it often enough), but everything has to be done MY WAY. I won't let my husband do the dishes because he doesn't stack the dishwasher the way I do, my kids REFUSE to clean the toys off of their dressers, which makes their room look untidy, even if the rest of it is immaculate (don't look at my dresser, though. I'm more of a "do as I say, not as I do" person.

Well, I realized Friday, when I came home to a clean and vacuumed house, that maybe there is more than one way to clean a house. I just appreciated what my husband did. He alleviated so much stress!

Between my husband's actions and chapters 5 & 6, I realize:
a) I can stop putting all the stress on myself to be the perfect home maker, that I can deligate some of the work out to those who help make the mess.
b) There is more than one way to clean a house. Just because I do it one way, doesn't mean that it isn't right if done another way.
c) Be grateful for the help, don't criticize if it's not done exactly the way I would have done it.

I'm not sure under which topic this post would have fallen last week, but I think I may have combined two (which seem to go hand in hand): Domestic Diva and Hampering Home. These are two areas in which I definitely need to improve! Essentially, I have to get over myself!

~Amanda~

Prevail!

 

It's week two of the Let. It. Go. OBS, and I am loving every minute of it!

Recently, my husband and I have been working on a life change. A good one, but difficult at the same time. Everywhere we turned, for the past couple of months, nothing has worked out for us in this particular area. God seems to have closed all the doors in front of us.

Or, my way of looking at it, we just haven't gotten to the open door yet. I believe that in not allowing us to go forward with OUR plan, God is showing us that he has something better in store. It has become evident to me in the last few weeks that He is in charge, and I need to step back.  With him, we will prevail.

I can't say what is in store for us (He hasn't told me yet, although a hint would be pretty cool), but I am excited to find out.

~Amanda~

Let. It. Go. Week 2: Reflection Verses

Let. It. Go. Online Bible Study

Hello, my name is Amanda, and I'm a control freak.

I try to control every aspect of my life, to no avail. I realize that I don't actually have control, and I also realize that I don't need to control everything. I try, nonetheless.

This isn't news to me. I've known that I'm a control freak. I try to micro-manage everything! Let. It. Go., written by Karen Ehman, has put it in perspective for me, though.

I hope that by the end of this study, I will be able to step back and let God take control in my life. I already feel him working in my life, it just took this study to make me realize it...

In the past few weeks, things have happened that are beyond my control, that I thought were bad, bad, bad (shin splints, my refrigerator breaking, an illness that has sidelined my volunteer work at the school, among other things). Maybe those things haven't been bad, necessarily. Maybe those things have happened to let me know that I'm NOT in control, that God wants me to back off a little and let him handle it.

I'm ready to let go and give God back His job!

~Amanda~

So Many...

So many craft ideas, so little time! Oh, where do I start?!

I am a serious list maker. I think that to be productive today, I'm going to have to make a list of things I HAVE to do and things I WANT to do and cross them off as I go. It may take me a few days to complete both lists, but I'll have a starting place, at least.

Here's to being productive!

~Amanda~

Another One Bites The Dust!

Well, I am pretty pleased with myself. I got to knock another activity off of my bucket list. My awesome husband (B.) and I ran our first 5k last weekend. It was super! I will admit that I had to walk a little, but I ran most of it (I probably ran two and a half, maybe a little more). I just wasn't as ready as I wanted to be.

This time, my bucket list item was a success, unlike the trip to Savannah (long story short: I have always wanted to see Savannah at Christmastime. I have always loved Savannah and Tybee Island, and I could just picture big red bows, green garland, and lights strung from the trees in the squares. B. took me to St. Augustine, Florida just before Christmas, and we took a detour to Savannah on the way home. Disappointment. There were no big red bows, no lights hanging from the trees, no green garland draping the old buildings. Even Tybee was a letdown. What did I learn from this? Just because it's on the bucket list doesn't mean it'll be perfect).

That is one reason why I'm so excited that this one went so well. I'm addicted to running, now. I can't wait for my next run. My sister-in-law and I are running the Color Run. I've heard it's a blast (messy, but a blast)!

I've been lazy since the run on Sunday, though. It's been rainy and nasty and I've been so tired from waking up at 4:00 Sunday morning to make it to Atlanta for the run, then I stayed up until just after midnight watching movies (several times yesterday I looked at B. and told him I was just too old to be getting up early and staying up late. One or the other, but not both).

I'm praying the rain holds off today so I can get out and start training again. My next running goal is to run a half marathon next year. I wonder if I can convince my guy to run it with me. Hmmm.


See ya!
Amanda