Free Printables: I Love You More Than Yarn Valentines Card

I have decided to try and make free printables a monthly thing. After all, I am obsessed with them and I love finding fun ones, so why shouldn't I offer some too? This month's freebie is coming at you a little early, but there's a good reason for that which I will explain later.

Happy February!! The month of looovveee. I'm not a big fan of the commercialism surrounding any holiday, so the amount of stuff I already see in the stores for Valentine's Day makes me a little grumpy. But still. I find it to be a fun, light-hearted, happy day amid some of the coldest months of the year. And there is nothing bad about sharing a little lovin' with those you hold dear.

This printable is a spin-off of a valentine's day card I made for Sailor while we were dating. He got a little laugh out of it, and said, "Oh, gee, thaanks. I was really worried," very sarcastically. Little did he understand (after only having been with me for a year) the full compliment of the sentiment I had expressed. I think he is FULLY aware now of my yarn nerdiness, so perhaps this year the card will mean a little more.

Especially considering he has lived with me and my yarn stash for closing in on two years now.

Find the Download Here!!

It prints on a full sheet of paper, so if you want smaller cards, you will have to resize it. It would also be super cute printed on kraft paper or glittery cardstock! Alas, I do not have either of those right now and I am too lazy to do what I normally do in want of kraft paper: cut up a paper grocery bag. But it looks cute on white still.

You could even make banners out of the card!! Too cute right? I love holidays and coordination and cute things.

Speaking of cute things....

Dat Bunny. Check out Tara Lea Photography here!

My sister, the very clever photographer, took some stinkin' cute pictures of Arlo while we were visiting family at Christmas. This is one of my favorites! He was so intrigued by his gift from my parent's dog, Roxy. Spoiler alert: It was a sweater. How cuuuttee is thaattt??

On to the last bit of business before I close out this post: the reason why the free printable for February is a few weeks early. There are some big changes going on here at the Carrot Cottage. Boxes are everywhere I look, and the sound of packing tape cannot be escaped. You know what that means...

We are moving!

I can't give all the details now, but I wanted to post a bit of a disclaimer as to why my posts are going to be pretty sporadic throughout the next two weeks. By February, we should be all settled in to our brand new (albeit still temporary) home. This is not a forever move, but rather a nine month to a year long move. After this...we will begin the adventure of looking for a house to own.

!!!!!!!

I am so excited. Baby Z is on the way, moving is underway, and I am currently in the way. -flees to dodge couches and boxes being moved-

Hopefully I'll sneak in a few more posts before we go, but do not be surprised if I suddenly become silent. This also means that Last in Line Shop on Etsy will be closed in a week or so until we get all set up in the new place.

Happy -early- Valentine's Day! Can't wait to get back in the swing of posting and show your our new home!

-Carolyn
Linkin' up at these fine sites!

Free Patterns: Nerd Crafts

I've been vowing to make more things for my own use for as long as I can remember. It is hard to dedicate a large amount of time on a project for myself. It feels selfish! Only certain projects can really stir up the desire to make something for myself. Usually those projects have a certain...geekiness to them.

Here we have a round-up of some free patterns for the crafty nerd in each of us. Perhaps you can convince yourself to whip up a little something for you if the project is delightfully nerdy. -winkwink-

Find the pattern here

I could not resist setting to work on this pattern as my first foray in knitting dishcloths. It is bigger on the inside, you know. (Hurhurhurrr) The chart is very easy to read, and it worked up quickly!! I made two of these cloths: one for me and one for my dear friend Becca. I have quite a bit of blue cotton yarn left from these projects, so there may be a few more in the future.

Side Note: Look at that spiffy coffee mug! The TARDIS disappears and reappears on the other side of the mug when it is filled with a hot beverage. Delightful!

Find the pattern here

 I know I wrote about this Direwolf Cowl before, but it deserves to be mentioned again. The pattern is written for double knitting, but I instead used it as a guide by which to stitch the direwolf onto the cowl afterwards. Very easy!!

Find the pattern here

This pattern marries two of my great loves: yarn crafts and patterns worn by characters on shows/movies I enjoy. This particular scarf is modeled after one worn by Luna Lovegood in the 7th Harry Potter movie. There are many versions of this scarf, but I like this pattern best. It is easy, beautiful, and fun. In fact, I was so fond of the finished product, I rewrote the pattern to make it an infinity scarf and made one for myself. You can expect to see it soon!!

Those are the patterns I have used so far. Here are some free nerdy patterns I want to make soon!

Amy Pond's Pandorica Opens Scarf

Vincent and Amy Pond Scarf

Harry Potter Bookscarves

A Practical Animal Cracker Hat

The Weasley Sweater

Bow Ties Are Cool Washcloth

Have you made any of these patterns? Do you have another favorite nerdy pattern?

Happy Thursday!
-Carolyn
Linkin' up at these fine sites!

Luna Lovegood Scarf: Free Pattern by Jen Valure on Ravlery

Aww, yeah. Luna as in Luna Lovegood, folks. I made this scarf for my Grandma for Christmas. Please note, she is not a Luna Lovegood fan, nor Harry Potter fan at all. The fact that this is an "accessory from a movie that some cool people figured out the pattern for" held no weight in my decision to make this pattern for her. Well, maybe it held a little weight, because it made me smile. But other than that, it was selected on a purely aesthetic basis.

That said, how beautiful is this scarf?? While anguishing over what to make my Grandmother for Christmas, I happened upon this lovely lil thang. I wanted to crochet her something that was not only beautiful, but also warm. I selected a lovely brushed wool for the scarf because it not only has a gorgeous fibery halo, but it is also oh-so cozy.

 The pattern, which can be found here, worked up really fast with stunning results. That is what makes me love crochet work. I've been cheating on it a lot as of late with it's two-needled cousin, and if felt really nice to pick up a hook again. The first love is always the deepest, right? Yeah?

The fibery halo I was talking about earlier. Mhhhhh. Wool.

I think I may even make myself one using this pattern. But perhaps as an infinity scarf? That could take some fiddling, but it'd be worth it.

Holla at me, Luna fans!!




Happy Friday home dogs!
-Carolyn


Pattern (c) Jen Valure

Linkin' up at these fine sites!

New Year, New Planner: Free Printables!!

January 2015 Edit: So glad these pages have been so popular! I've done some editing on them to make the planner even better for 2015. Due to the time I've spent on them, I've listed them for instant download on Etsy for a couple of bucks a piece. You can still score your own awesome planner for less than you'd spend at a big box store! Plus, you have the peace of mind that you are shopping small and supporting a nerdy artist. Thanks again for being so awesome!!

 I do not get excited about New Years basically at all. I am full of whimsy and fairytales about all sorts of things, but I just do not understand the whole obsession with celebrating New Years. Woot woot, the start of another cycle of the calender we adopted as a modern society! Cooooool. Though it's a nice beginning with which to measure change and new commitments, I see no reason to glorify a "new year" as the most important reason to go all "new year new life" and buy a ton of exercise equipment. New Years is a liiiieeee....any day can be the start of a new yeaaaarrrr. It's all about your attitude towards change, not the day of the year!!!! -slapped by everyone who loves new years-

THAT SAID. I find the new year to be a very important time of change for one thing: my planner. Time to get new calendars!! New planners!! And we all know how much I love calendars and planners and office supplies in general. (Hint: It's almost more than chocolate. Which I also love.)

Since I really started getting this blog in shape a few months ago, I started really heavily relying on the freebie planner my mama gave me for planning posts and whatnot. I was also using it to plan events, meals, craft projects, and (for a while) everything I ate. It got a little crowded! But seeing as I started really using it in like, November, I saw no reason to replace it before 2014 rolled into town.

 So, I started thinking about what I would look for in a planner because I knew that once I got into the office supply store, everything would leave my brain and I'd just grab the glittery one. I decided I needed to divide and conquer. I.e., get a planner for life in general, a planner for the blog, a planner for food.....maybe one for pregnancy?? Then I started thinking about THAT idea: What, I'm going to carry four or five planners? I have issues keeping track of two sets of keys. Five planners was not going to happen.

But how, oh how would I find a planner that fit all my needs? I have so many need, you know. I need separation of topics but in one book; lots of room to write but not just a blank book; and, oh yeah, it has to be cutely colored....but not SO MANY COLORS. I can't commit to an outfit for the whole day. How am I to be expected to commit to a very specific color scheme for 365 days?? What if I suddenly decide that fiesta flowers and pictures of crockpots is upsetting??? But...if it's all blank....will I be sad???

Clearly, I was not over thinking the planner thing at alllll. Sarcasm, my dear friends.

Eventually, the stress of thinking about planners made my go troll Pinterest for ideas. I love free printables, so I thought that perhaps there may be a solution to my woes and sadness. First world problems, my dear friends.

 I found a lot of really fantastic, creative, FREE planners available for download. I was so giddy, I could hardly contain myself. While looking about for the perfect one (or perfect several, since mixing and matching is totally legal), I decided on a couple that I loved. Of course that was not enough, so I supplimented some of the pages with my own derpy creations, which I'm going to share with yoooouuuuu!!! Because sharing is caring, and I want to save you the twitching I experienced while trying to find poifect things.

Enough words!! Onto my 2014 Planner!!

 I decided on half a sheet of normal, A4 computer paper for my planner's size. Easy to print, easy to design, easy to carry about in my purse.

Since I could not find a month page that I liked that printed two per A4 paper, I made my own! I went with a write-your-own-month-and-dates style, so I can use it next year if I want. I tell you, I was on my a-game.

 The first section of my planner is for general use: appointments, dates, due dates, birthdays, whatever. Each month starts with my month blank I designed, and is followed by weekly planner pages from JoyKanani.com. Her free printable weekly planner pages come in four colors!! I used the Seagreen for my general pages, and the blue for my blog pages. We'll get to that later.

 Find the free download here!!

 Onto the blog!! Everything is separated out by tabs I got at OfficeMax when I took my planner to be bound. I think the tabs were $3, and the binding/covers were $5. $8 for my perfect planner. Score!! At least, I think it is.

I am already putting this section to very good use! I plan about 2-3 weeks out for my posts, as you can see here. It makes writing so much easier!! I just check the planner, type up the post, and schedule it. If I'm all set to write one that is in three weeks, I write it whenever I have free time and schedule dat bad boy. Easy peasey.

 This section is a big one for me. With all my dietary specialness, I need to at least try to plan things a week in advance for what I'm going to eat. There's no "Oops, I don't have a dinner that's safe for me to eat at home, guess I'll go out" when you have such a restricted diet. Meal planning is my refuge, and my arch enemy. It can get a little overwhelming to figure out what to cook for me, when I know Mr. Sailor can eat whatever he wants. Blarg, another rant for another day. Onwards!!

 I loved the free menu planner from SweetBellaRoos, but it didn't fit the size of planner I wanted to make. So I edited it a bit to make it work for me. Love the design!! You can find the original for free download here!

 It doesn't have to be pretty, folks. Seriously, I scribble and scratch all over it. But it gets done!! Even though one night this week I was feeling so barfy that I abandoned the plan completely and ate cereal, at least there is food in the fridge that I can make that is safe for me to eat.

 This is also genius. Shopping list on the plan page! I just tote my planner into the store and I am set to go. No more reading my list and going, "What....did I need beans for? Musta been nothing..." and then not getting beans because I didn't have my meal plan with me to see I was going to make beans and rice tomorrow!! Dang it!! I would highly, highly recommend doing some meal planning if you haven't before. Get your life on track, yo!!

 The final section is another one that I designed!! Woohooo!!! I wanted a section of the planner to be dedicated to my crafty endeavors, but I didn't want a section for each individual craft. So I devised these pages to be opened enough to work for sewing, crocheting, knitting, whatever, but still structured enough to give me notes to reference back to if I want to remake the project. I seriously love these pages.

 The pages are blank on the back, allowing me more room to doodle and take notes if I need too. Sheer planner perfection right here, home dogs. I tell you what. Want one of your own? Find the download here.

 The cover is pretty plain, but my dear friend who lives overseas sent me some adorable stickers of some cute-tastic ponies I dreamed up a while ago. They went straight onto the white vinyl cover. BOOYAH. Personalized cover with art drawn by a friend. Awwwwww yeah.

Sweet babuuuu. Look at dat face!

Hngggg, sooo cuuuttteeee.

So, there you have it! My planner for 2014. Totally personalized, totally perfect, totally not pricey for all the perfection I required. I printed all the pages at home (so....our ink cartridge is low now. But it was over half gone before I started, so I can't take all the blame), sliced them in half with my handy dandy paper cutter, and stacked them up and trotted off to Office Max to bind 'em. It only took a few minutes! I added the tabs post-binding. Guh. I love this planner.

Project Notes Page Download

Month Page Download

Please leave a lovely comment if you use my printables!! Let me know how you like them or what you use them for!!

Happy New Planner!!
-Carolyn