Pay it forward, part deux

 Today my second pay it forward gift was delivered to Lisa Kemp, the sister of my sister-in-law Shannon. Lisa is a fun girl and crafty in her own right. She doesn't need any knit items, so I pondered for days about what to make for her. Then I came across a fun idea that I wanted to try: Instagram magnets.
Here's how I made them!

1: In Photoshop, I resized 9 photos to 3x3 inches & 300 resolution. I made a blank page that was 12x12 and put all the photos on it.

2: Sent to Costco for printing. Cheap!

3. Cut apart photos.

4. Sticky magnet sheets! What a great idea! These were 4x6. Had I realized that, I probably would have made my photos 2x2 instead, to fit more on a sheet.

 5. Trim off excess magnet.

 6. Admire your handiwork so far!

 7.Apply Mod-Podge dimensional adhesive slowly over the top. This was what they had at Michael's. You can use any type of dimensional adhesive.

 8. Allow lots of time to dry. Like 4 hours. Try not to let any bubbles form. This is harder than you would think. I had tons of bubbles.

 9. This is what they look like when they are dry.

10. Super awesome!

pay it forward, creatively!

I signed up again this year to do a creative pay it forward, where you make and send a little something to 5 people, and then those people are supposed to do the same thing, It's a nice way to brighten someone's day, and you feel really good in the process!

This  year's recipients are Jan Connair, Lisa Kemp, Cari Brennaman, Regan McDonald, Stacey Bogert, Jen Brecht, & Jennifer Hignite. Yes, I realize this is 7 people. I have a hard time saying no :)

I sent out my first 2 packages. This is the first!

Topiary beanie from weekend hats

for Jan Connair.

I love the lace motif on this hat, and it is gathered in the back so that it slouches just perfectly on your head. I overdyed the yarn, to make the pattern stand out more. The yarn took the dye oddly, so it's greener in some places, and there is a purple tinge in there as well. WTF? I used a dark teal dye, and am baffled as to why it came out unevenly.

The hat looks a different color in all 4 photos. Sigh. The last is the closest representation of what it really looks like.

It's a beautiful hat, but next time I won't screw around with the color. Kind of bummed me out.

Anyway, it's done and in Jan's hands!