Bella Dia

Lucky Shamrock Pins

I saw this great tutorial for crocheted shamrock's on
Everything Etsy and as soon as I saw it I wanted to start
making them! Ten quickly became twenty, thirty, forty, then I
thought why not make a hundred? They work up really fast,
weaving in the ends took longer than making the shamrocks.
I'm giving them to the local senior center and Meals On
Wheels program (along with a box of safety pins) so they
can be worn for luck on St. Patrick's Day. 

Modern Crochet "Doily"

I really don't know what to call this and though "doily" probably
comes the closest to what it is I really don't like to call it that,
"modern doily" sounds better. Anyway, it's something to go on
the table under a vase or plate or just to look pretty. I made up
the design as I went along. The trick to doing a circular design
is that you always have to be aware of the increase so it will
continue to lay flat. I did a few spike stitches which are always
fun, and finished with several rounds of single crochet
because I love the texture it creates. 


I like how the turquoise rows together look like an arrow pointing
to the center. It reminds me a bit of an Aztec sun motif. 

Egg Carton Wreath Inspiration & Tutorial

I made this egg carton wreath for a tutorial on The Crafty Crow
but thought I would share a link here too. It's one of those crafts
that adults can enjoy just as much as kids and maybe even a
little bit more. The egg cartons take some time to cut up so I do
that on a separate occasion - like while watching The Walking Dead -
and then the rest of the project goes a lot faster. I took my  
inspiration from this vintage plate that I love. I only have this one
piece but I always hope to find more on one of my thrift shop visits. 

Round Crocheted Placemats

I recently organized my yarn stash and in an effort to use
some of it up, I started crocheting these round placemats.
There's no rhyme or reason to my color choices, I'm just
choosing colors that I like together. I want to have a whole
stack so everyone can pick their favorite. The yarns are all
acrylic so they'll be easy to throw in the wash and I also
won't freak if food gets on them. I think they look pretty
on my newly painted table also. The double crochet ones 
work up pretty fast but the single crochet seems to take 
forever and are harder to keep flat the further out you get. 
I was also thinking that a whole blanket of large, squared 
off circles would look pretty cool too. Check out what I've
been pinning to my crochet Pinterest boards if you
want to see what is inspiring me lately. 

Have You Tried Fermenting Vegetables?

My diet has slowly changed in the last five years or so. Vegetarian, to gluten-free, to grain-free, to paleo. The changes, though difficult, have been worth it because I feel so much better, no more little aches and pains, and I've naturally lost weight. Another big bonus is that I rarely have migraines now! I also attribute that to supplementing with magnesium. (I have gone from 2+ migraines a month to maybe one a year!) Anyway, I started reading about how good fermented foods are for you and then took a couple of local classes to get the gist of how to do it. I started with this first batch that contains red and green cabbage, carrots, and garlic. Isn't the color gorgeous?! The taste is more like a pickle, which I prefer, over the typical taste of fermented vegetables. 

This video was helpful in understanding the basics and how simple it can be. I also found this site has a lot of info and if you subscribe to their newsletter then you can get their free ebooks and the one about fermenting was really helpful. They also carry water kefir grains and that's the next thing I want to try.

If you have any experience with fermented foods I'd love to hear about it!