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Knitley Road: Knitted coffee cup cozies

I’ve knit these up in the past and made coffee-themed gift cards for the Latte Love gift sets for A Paper Buffet, and I’ll likely end up selling these in both stores this upcoming Christmas. Coffee cozies are eco-friendly  (no need for a double-cup) and a great way to keep your hands from burning on your hot beverages.

I want Knitley Road items to stand out from other knit items available on Etsy, so I doubled up the yarn and played with colour for these knit coffee cup sleeves/cozies/whatever we call them now.

This super girly bubble-gum pink knit coffee sleeve was knit with two shades of pink. I knit it in the round for a seamless sleeve and choose a ribbed stitch to keep it stretchy so it can accommodate different sized cups. I personally prefer this side of the pattern, which is technically the ‘wrong’ side, but I love all the waves the purl stitch makes. 

 

Here’s the “right” side:

I weaved the ends in carefully along the bound off edge, so you really can reverse this and use both sides.

 

 

The next one might be my favourite, I mixed teal and orange; I’m really loving this colour combo!

I used the same pattern and again I really prefer this side but again, the cozy is reversible.

The cozies are knit with acrylic yarn making them easy to toss in the washing machine- though I’d recommend putting it in a small mesh laundry bag or hand wash them.

 

 

 

 

These cozies are available here at Knitley Road on Etsy.

Happy Wednesday!

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Introducing Knitley Road

Hello friends, I’d like to share with you the reason why I’ve been away from blogging for so long…I’ve opened up a new shop for my knitted creations.

Introducing Knitley Road!  I’ve got a small number of items in the shop now and I’m working on creating more.  I’m also trying to find a balance between knitting and playing with paper.  Knitting takes much longer!

My vision for Knitley Road is accessories such as scarves, purses, brooches, mitts and a few other things I have in mind.  I’m also going to feature some amazing yarn to make my creations; quite a bit of it has been imported from Italy and it’s just amazing!

Each day this week I’ll feature a set of items in the shop and over time, I’ll be sharing my WIP (work-in-progress) here on the blog.  Knitley Road does have it’s own Facebook page, but the blog will be shared between A Paper Buffet and Knitley Road.

First up, are some knit flower brooches.  These are made from 100% Egyptian cotton made in Italy, and is super soft.  I bought a few balls in different colours to try them out, I usually don’t knit with cotton.  But this knits up really well, and I have some ideas for new patterns and projects using this yarn.

 

Here’s the denim blue flower.  I’ve knit each layer and then chosen a small rhinestone button for the centre

(click the picture to be taken to the link in the shop)

 

 

 

 

Here’s the grey flower, it’s like a dark slate grey.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a soft lilac flower, featuring a pearl and rhinestone button in the centre. I think I’m going to take some new pictures of this one, it was hard to photograph that day.

 

 

 

 

 

Each of these brooches look really great on a coat, scarf or even your favourite purse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And all brooches have a locking bar pin on the back that’s been sewn onto a small small felt backing so it’s nice and secure.

Each brooch ships in a small gift box, so it’s perfect for gift giving.

 

You can shop these knit flower brooches here.

 

Happy Tuesday!

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Parliament

Not the political kind. The ‘group of owl’ kind. 

Before Christmas, one of the people I follow on Twitter posted a picture of an owl she had sewn as a Christmas gift.  Immediately I declared myself a seamstress and decided to make a few for my friends’ little ones (which is why I couldn’t share before Christmas. As for why I couldn’t share until the end of March…I have no excuse).

The tutorial is from Hammer and Thread and is very easy to follow.  I used some left over fabric I found from my last “I declare myself a seamstress” adventure and got to work.





I think the eyes are what secure these owls as totally adorable. Wouldn't you agree? I made three owls in total; once you start, it’s really hard to stop!

I have a tiny sewing machine, (that will be upgraded very very soon) that I bought with the intention of sewing on my cards. It doesn't actually sew through paper. It can, however, help out in small projects like this.

The hardest part about making the owl is the tail, but other than that the pattern comes together quite quickly. 

The owls were a big success, and my Godson has already declared that the purple owl made for his baby sister is now his.  I guess that means once I get the new sewing machine, I’ll be making at least one more owl ;)

Happy Sewing!

Technorati Tags: Hammer and Thread,stuffed toy,owl toy,sewing,DIY

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Interview with the Western Gazette

Have you wondered how A Paper Buffet came to be?

Check out my interview with the Western Ontario newspaper The Gazette, you’ll find out how my business started, and a few of my thoughts about online business in general.  The article is on page 4.

I’m off to enjoy the lovely sunshine and summer-like weather we’re having here, but I’ve got lots of new things planned, and some exciting announcements too!

 

Happy Friday!!

 

Stephanie

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Quick and Easy Granola Bites

While I’m lucky enough to work from home, I am out and about in meetings and I usually have a granola bar or sliced apples in my bag for a snack.  Granola bars are not cheap and I realized I was spending between $4 –$5 each week for a box of 6 granola bars.  So when I came upon this recipe for granola bars via Twitter and thought I’d give it a try.

For the first batch, I used the chocolate chips as called for, but couldn’t find peanut butter chips so those were left out.  They were very good, but very sweet, so I cut the bars into small squares and ate them in the evening to curb my sweet tooth.  When it came to making a second batch, it was after Ash Wednesday and since I have given up sugar for Lent, I needed to modify the recipe again.

So here we go; here’s your list of ingredients for the base of the granola bites:

•  

      Coconut oil 1/3 of a cup  (I still had some left over from my Coconut Sugar scrub)

      Peanut Butter 1/2 cup

      Honey 1/3 cup

      Old fashioned oats  1 1/2 cup  (I found my bites to be a bit sticky, I’ll add another 1/4 cup oats in the next batch)

Since I’m not eating sugar, I had to come up with something else to put in the granola bites.  Most people would automatically think of raisins (but I don’t like them).  I had originally thought of some dried fruit, but I wasn’t happy with the selection at my grocery store.  Truth is, you can add anything you want to these little bites.  I decided to go with chopped dates and slivered almonds.  I added 1/2 cup of almonds and 1/3 cup of chopped dates.

 

So here’s what you do, it’s super quick easy!

 

Melt your coconut oil, peanut butter and honey in a small pot over medium heat.  Once they’re all melted, add in your oats, and your fruit. 

***If you are using chocolate, your chocolate is going to melt if you add it now.  If you want the chips to keep their shape, don’t add them yet.  Once your oat/honey/oil/pb mixture is combined, you’ll have to let it cool for about 10 minutes, then add your chocolate chips.

 

I lined a small casserole dish with parchment paper and poured it in. 

If you’re making bars, you would want to use a larger dish; the bites can be fat and square.

Put it into the fridge to set- mine set in about 30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once set, I just pulled the parchment paper out of my dish and set on my cutting board to cut the bites.

 

 

 

These guys are pretty delicious!  Just two little bites are a great snack for me in between meals, which means they are much more cost effective than buying the bars.  I also know exactly what went into these bites which is also a bonus. I got about 16 good size squares from this recipe.  I keep them in a sealed container in the fridge, but they’d also be fine at room temperature.

 

Now, before I get a whack of comments, yes, I’m aware that peanut butter does have sugar in it.  I had just bought a brand new jar prior to giving up sugar and I just couldn’t justify buying natural peanut butter which is double the price.  On my peanut butter, sugar is the 6th ingredient out of 8, so while it’s in there, it could be worse.

 

You can do so much with this base- swap out the peanut butter for almond butter, add cranberries and walnuts, or if you like them, raisins.

What will you add to your granola bites?

Buon Appetite!

S

Technorati Tags: Granola bites,recipes,granola snacks,homemade granola bites

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40 days without sugar begins now.

I’m giving up sugar for Lent. 

There. I said it.

It’s public and out for all of the internets to see.
I’m accountable now.

I was browsing the Etsy forums and someone mentioned they were giving up browsing the forums for Lent. The poster commented that she will be more focused on working on her shop, be more productive, and hopefully more successful.  I started thinking about what I should give for Lent.

I have lapsed in the past few years and haven’t given anything up in a while. When we were kids, it was most often chocolate, or potato chips. One year it was gum.
 
I remember the year I tried to give up liver.


Ma said that wasn’t the point and I had to pick something I actually liked.
I also remember the year I gave up coffee…let’s not go there.

I decided when I was eating the mini-baking chocolate peanut butter cups that I needed to give up sugar.
I crave something sweet after dinner, almost every night. I don’t know where this came from, because we were never a dessert-every-night-after-dinner family.

I know exactly where it came from.
Me.


Here are my rules for the next 40 days:

• No refined sugar; white, brown, raw or otherwise
• No chocolate, cookies, pie or candy
• No ice cream (sorry D)
• No pop (not even diet)

Honey and Agave syrup are acceptable as is Splenda in my coffee
Naturally occurring sugar i.e. fruits are acceptable

I’m doing this for me. To bring back my focus, take control of my health and show my strength. 
Lent is about many things, and I don’t necessarily believe it has to be entirely religious.  I can choose to give up something at any time, for any duration. 
I’m choosing to start today because I want to.  I have a start date, and an end date- Easter Sunday.

I also am curious to see what other benefits I will get out of this.  I expect to have more energy, be clear headed and hopefully lose a few un-healthy pounds.

I just looked at my list of rules and realized that I should clarify: I don’t have a completely unhealthy diet.  I don’t eat pie or ice cream on a daily basis (but I’d love to).  But the chocolate chips in the granola bars, a cookie here and there…it’s adding up.

So here we go.
40 days without sugar begins now.

Technorati Tags: Lent,40 days,sugar

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