Instant Gratification I-Cord Necklace

Mother’s day is tomorrow, and I’m dreadfully poor.  Thankfully, I found some lovely metallic gold yarn that I had laying around and decided to whip up a little something.

this is the completed necklace

Materials:

• one skein Adrienne Vittadini Francesca in Gold (please note that this yarn is now discontinued, but can be found in some places online — substitute any DK or light worsted weight yarn of your choice) (please note that you don’t need a whole skein for this — one skein will make quite a few necklaces)
• two double-pointed needles (size 6)
• two stitch markers
• a tapestry needle

Gauge:  the gauge here is not really important

To make the necklace:

CO 4 sts.  Knit 1 row. When finishing the row DO NOT TURN the work.  Slide the stitches back to the other side of the double-pointed needle and knit the next row, always working on the Right Side.  Continue doing this until the I-Cord measures 32″.  Cut the yarn leaving a long tail. Thread the tail in the tapestry needle and weave through the remaining stitches.  Pull to gather the stitches and fasted securely.

Measure 8″ from each end and place markers.  Use the tails at the end to sew the ends of the I-cord to the places that the markers are.  You should have two loops at the end of the cord.  Weave in ends and cut off the remainder of the tail.  Wear as shown above.

measure 8" from each end and place markers

Saving Money

Anyone who knows me can tell you that one of the things that is most difficult for me to do is save money.  I’m not a crazy crazy spender where I get myself into trouble or anything with my spending, but I do it enough that I’m a paycheck to paycheck person.  As I mentioned in my last post I joined AVON as an eRepresentative and saved a good deal of money on my makeup.  My very first order arrived today and I decided to crunch the numbers and see how much money I actually saved by switching over my makeup regimen.

Here’s what I got from AVON with the prices as listed in the brochure:
Foundation: $7.99
Pressed Powder: $7.99
Concealer Stick:  $3.99
Primer: $6.99
Cream Blush Stick: $5.99
Eyeliner:  $1.99
Eye Makeup Remover: $1.99

So I spent a total of $36.93 (plus, since I’m a rep, I get 40% of that back)…now check out how much I would spend for the same makeup regimen at Bare Minerals (where I used to get my makeup):
Foundation:  $28
Concealer:  $18
Mineral Veil (what the pressed powder is now used for):  $19
Primer:  $21
Eyeliner:  $14
Bronzer (they gave me that instead of blush):  $18

Plus in order to apply the Bare Minerals makeup you need brushes, so add:
Concealer Brush:  $20
Foundation Brush: $28
Blush Brush: $18

So the total I would pay at Bare Minerals is $181.  So by switching to AVON I saved myself $144.07. 

This is a step in the right direction — hopefully I won’t spend all of this extra money on yarn!

One of the tools I use to help save money is Mint.com, which enables me to make budgets and track my spending over the course of the month.  It also lets you see how much debt you have proportionate to your income, and alerts you when you spend more than what you had budgeted for in a certain category.

Yay Saving!!!!

Update and Exciting News

Hi all,

I have finally emerged from underneath my rock and I’m glad to be back!  My semester is officially halfway over now, and I’m using what’s left of my spring break to delve back into my knitting and crocheting.  This post is just to share with you what’s been going on the past couple of months as well as to let you know what’s coming up in the very near future!

1.  I have written my very first tutorial!  Due to the huge response to my painted earflap hat, I have written a tutorial for anyone who wants to know how to make the stencil for it and how to paint the hat.  It’s really easy, and quite a bit of fun, and I welcome any comments and suggestions either on this blog, on ravelry, or via e-mail.  I had a request for tutorials on trimmings for my cloches, and those will be up ASAP.

2.  Anyone who works retail (unfortunately, like me) knows that after the holiday season business is slow, hours get cut, and money in general becomes rather tight.  To bring in extra income, I have joined Avon as a representative.  Honestly, I didn’t know much about them until I talked to the DM, and I didn’t know that they support campaigns to fight breast cancer and end domestic violence.  This really hits close to home for me since my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor and my mom was a victim of domestic violence.  I just submitted my first order yesterday, and I actually ordered some things for myself.  I got primer, foundation, pressed powder, concealer, blush, eyeliner, and eye makeup remover, and all together I paid around $35!  I was pretty excited since for my previous makeup regimen, I paid $13 for eyeliner and $30 for primer (that’s already over what I spent for everything I got from Avon, and that’s not even counting the actual makeup!) – so this is definitely a much better value.  If you would like to check out the great stuff at Avon, please visit my e-representative site here.

3.  My ETSY website should be back up by the end of this week!  I am re-opening with my new black and white hat collection, and will gradually be adding new collections as I make them.  Everything in my store will be 20% off.  The sale price will be posted as the purchase price, with the original price in the description.  I know a lot of sellers will charge the full price and then refund the 20% in paypal, but I’m not that technologically advanced, so I will be posting the sale price to make things easier for everyone.  In addition to the hats I normally sell on ETSY, I hope to eventually have on some jewelry, bridal items, and some knit clothes as well.  I know most of you that read this blog are crafters yourselves, but please, refer your friends over to my store — it is most appreciated!

4.  I am trying my hand at gardening!  (I have NEVER done this before).  I ordered tons of seeds, and hopefully will have a fruitful balcony garden underway in the near future.  If it’s successful, I might be blogging about that as well.

TTFN!!!