Creating A Simpler Life Blog

Why I Love My Salt Lamp

5/13/2017

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was my salt lamp. It's a gift that will literally keep on giving all year long! Yeah, I know that sounds corny but it's so true.

Here's why I love my salt lamp:

Perfect amount of light for any room at night (like a nightlight but better).
The light is a very relaxing warm glowing color. It's very soothing at the end of a stress filled day.
Contributes negative ions (small amounts) that can help to balance out the positive ions generated by electronics.
Helps to clean the dust and allergens from the air when the salt crystals absorb the microscopic water molecules carrying them. Only pure water evaporates back into the air leaving the particulate matter behind. It's sort of like the distillation process.

There may not be a lot of scientifically backed evidence that salt lamps actually clean the air or provide enough negative ions to make a difference, but I still think they are worth it!

Why? Because there is scientific proof that negative ions are beneficial to us. We also know for a fact that salt absorbs moisture, so if the lamp does even a little of these beneficial things, why not have one? Especially because the smaller the home and/or room the lamp is in, the greater it's potential beneficial effect! Common sense. So simple.

Oh yeah, and the simple warm glow of the lamp makes me feel better!

Get a salt lamp today and see if it makes you feel better!
If you already have one,
I would love to hear what your thoughts are :-)
Sincerely,

Sources:
http://www.projectwellnessnow.com/can-himalayan-lamps-make-you-healthier/
http://www.criticalcactus.com/himalayan-pink-salt-lamp-health-benefits/

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Crochet Elephant Lovey

5/7/2017

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We have previously shared our FREE Elephant Lovey pattern and it has been one of our most pinned pins on Pinterest! We continue to use the same basic pattern but we are sharing it again because we have changed up the blanket a little! T's the same ole' head, ears, and arms, with two new and different blanket options! I don't know which one I love more!

Supplies Needed:

*Qty. 3 - 2.5 oz. skeins of gray Lily Sugar'n Cream 100% cotton 4 ply yarn
*Qty. 1 - 2.5 oz. skeins of black or coral (or any color of choice) Lily Sugar'n Cream 100% cotton 4 ply yarn
Black Yarn, any type (for eyes)
Crochet Hook size 7 (4.5 mm)
Cotton or Poly Stuffing for head, eyes, and arms
Yarn Needle

*Best price I can find for the Sugar'n Cream yarn is $1.99 for a 2.5 oz skein at Michaels Craft Stores. Even better if you print out and use their coupons each week - I print two coupons and bring my husband (They almost always have a 40% or 50% off one regular priced item!).

Picture of our Original elephant Lovey is a link to the FREE pattern!

Make the Head and Nose:
(I strongly suggest reading all the directions first and then watching the video tutorial if this is your first time making a ball shape).
YOU WILL BE MAKING THE NOSE FIRST:

Round 1: Start with a magic circle with 6 single crochets.
Round 2: 2 sc stitches in each stitch around.
Round 3: do 1 sc in each stitch around.
Rounds 4-9: continue 1 sc in each stitch around - you should start to see the nose forming. You can choose to make the nose longer or shorter by adding more or less rows. PLACE MARKER HERE.
Round 10: At this point you will start to make the head. Do one single crochet in the next two stitches, then two single crochets in the third, then one sc in each of the next two, then 2 sc in the next one. Repeat pattern around until you are in line with the marker.
Round 11: 3 sc, then two sc in one, 3 sc, then two sc in one (repeat around to marker).
Rounds 12-16: Basically with each round, you will increase the the number of single crochets in each stitch by one, then do two in one stitch, then repeat the same number of sc again. You can continue the pattern by adding rounds and increasing the sc by one each time until the bottom of the head is the size that you want. By the 16th round you should be doing 8 sc in a row, then 2 sc in one stitch and repeating that pattern all the way around to the marker.
Rounds 17-21: single crochet in each stitch around without increasing.
Round 22 to end: Start decreasing by one for each round as follows: sc 8 stitches, then do a double decrease stitch (see video) and continue around to marker, next round do 7 sc., then a double decrease stitch and continue pattern around to marker. You will then do a round of 6 sc 1 dd, then a round of 5 sc 1 dd, and 4 etc. Before you finish be sure to fill it with stuffing. Lastly, using the yarn needle, thread the yarn around the remaining hole and pull tightly closed. Leave a long tail hanging when you knot off.

Make the Ears:
The ears are worked from the outside of the ear toward the head in sort of a double layer that will be sewn together at the end....look at the picture to get a better idea if you do not understand. If you still need help check out the Elephant Ear Crochet Tutorial Video I made on You Tube. It's not the best but hopefully it will help!

Chain 21 (this was updated on 8/17 from 20 to 21 chains!)
Round 1: sc into 19th stitch and all the way around on both the top and bottom of the chains. Add one extra stitch at each end for a total of 42 single crochets.
Rounds 2-5: sc in each stitch decreasing twice on each side. It doesn't matter where on each side you do the decrease, but it is best if they are separated by a few stitches.
Bend into ear shape and use yarn to sew closed and sew onto head using a yarn needle.

This was my first time making a crochet video so it's not the best but I tried!

Sew on Eyes:

Using black yarn and the yarn needle, double the yarn and embroider eyes on using two stitches each.

Make the Arms (optional):

Round 1: make a magic circle and sc 6 stitches into it.
Round 2: do two single crochets in each stitch around (you could place a marker here if necessary)
Rounds 3 - 10: do one single crochet in each stitch around.
Finish with a slip knot and cut the hanging string so there is approximately 12 inches attached to the arm.
At this point stuff the arm with stuffing.
Make a second arm.
Thread the 12 hanging inches of yarn through the yarn needle and use it to sew each arm onto the head. Check out this video tutorial on how to sew the arms closed and sew them on.

Make the Blanket:
This is a basic granny square blanket. If my directions are confusing, check out this granny square video tutorial.

The final blanket is approximately 18" x 18".

Chain 5 and connect to create a loop.
Row 1: chain 3 and double crochet 2 stitches repeating this 3 more times. Connect into the loop created by the first (original) stitch around.
Row 2: chain 4 and skip the tops of the three dc (double crochet) to dc into the corner space created by the 3 single chain stitches. Double crochet 3 total stitches into that space, chain 1, then double crochet 3 more stitches into the same corner space, chain 1 and dc 3 stitches into the next corner space, chain 3, and dc 3 more times into the same corner. Continue around the same, but on the last corner, do 3 dc, 3 chains, and then only two dc (the original 4 chains will count as the last dc) and then slip stitch to connect to original 4 chains. NOTE: every other row will begin and end this way.
Row 3: chain 3 then dc two more times into space, chain 1, then do 3 dc in the corner, chain 3, then 3 dc into same corner, chain 1, 3 dc in space, chain 1, then 3 dc in corner, chain 3, then 3 more dc in same corner and continue around the same. Chain one after last corner and use a slip stitch to connect to original 3 chains. NOTE: every other row will begin and end this way.
Rows 4 - 12: (change the color any time you choose)continue repeating rows 2 and 3. Remember, all corners get 3 dc, 3 c, and 3 dc. Straight runs only get 1 c in between the 3 dc's. If you are going to switch colors, slip stitch and knot off.

Edge of the Blanket:

For the Gray and Black: Three rows of sc in black, gray, then black.
For the Gray and Coral: One row of sc in gray, then one row of picot stitch around.

Adorable!

Finishing:

Sew head onto the center of the blanket.
Finish by using yarn needle to weave in all loose ends.
Lovey blanket can be washed and dried on delicate cycle!

More FREE Lovey Blanket Patterns!
Click on each picture - they are links to patterns :-)

Little Lamb

"Monster"

Duck

Old Fashioned Bear

Camo Bear

Check out the our other FREE crochet patterns here!

Also check out the many crochet project patterns on our Pinterest Boards Crochet ONLY and Crochet for the Kids!

Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,

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Alternative Chair Rail - Simple Crochet!

5/1/2017

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Our new chairs were ruining the walls behind them. We have a very small eating area and it was inevitable that the chairs would hit the walls no matter how careful we were. Since it is such a small and awkward area we knew it would take some effort and expense to actually put up nice matching wood chair rails so we needed something else that would work almost as good in the mean time. Hence my crochet chair rail alternative!

It is simply a crochet piece that is sewn directly onto the upper part of the chair back. Of course this won't work for all chairs, there has to be a way to secure it. For my chairs pictured I simply used the same yarn with a needle and sewed them right onto the chair. Super simple and they are working out great! Goal of protecting walls achieved :-)

Supplies:

Any color yarn to match your interior - I used cotton in the color 'Jute'
4.5 mm crochet hook
Yarn needle
Scissors

Directions:

Chain 26.
Row 1: Single crochet in second chain from hook and all the way across. Total 25 sc.
Row 2: chain 1 and turn. Single crochet 25 across.
Rows 3 - 20: repeat row 2. Finish with slip stitch and knot leaving a long tail.

Finishing:

Insert the end of the long tail into the yarn needle. Wrap the crochet piece around the back of the chair and then sew the two end together using an overhand stitch. Weave loose ends and snip. If done correctly you should not even be able to find where it was sewn together. If you can see it, no worries, just move it to the bottom!

Close up view!

Super simple and serves it's purpose well.
I also really like the way they look!
Please follow us on social media!
Sincerely,

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Why I Love My Salt Lamp

Crochet Elephant Lovey

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