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Here is an easy way to help kids in foster care!
For each blog post shared, Bloggin' Mamas is donating a toy to a foster child. 
Click below for more info about how you can help waiting child in your area.


Today, 402,000 children are in the foster care system in the United States. Nearly 102,000 children (under 18 years of age) waiting for adoption. During this holiday season, there's an extra push to help them find homes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AdoptUSKids and the Ad Council recently unveiled a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to continue to encourage the adoption of children from foster care with an emphasis on the importance of keeping siblings together. Check out this PSA video from the Ad Council: Since the launch of the campaign in 2004, more than 22,000 children who were once photo-listed on the AdoptUSKids website are now with their adoptive families, and over 35,000 families have registered to adopt through AdoptUSKids. Many times, there are siblings listed. Approximately 23% of children and youth actively photolisted on the AdoptUSKids website and waiting for placement in adoptive homes were registered with one or more siblings. Sibling relationships are often the longest-lasting relationships for children in foster care. For more information about adoption, or about becoming an adoptive parent to a child from foster care, please visit www.AdoptUSKids.org or  Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I am donating this space towards sharing this message. Bloggin' Mamas and Element Associates will be donating a toy to a foster child in exchange for my post, in support of AdoptUSKids.

Celebrate! Free crochet pattern: princess headband

My newest hobby is crochet. I started learning to crochet at the end of December, about 6 months ago. I taught myself the basic stitches by watching YouTube videos, believe it or not. My daughter started practicing too, and she can do a really great chain stitch :) She sometimes manages to make things like bookmarks and bracelets.

Today we were celebrating the birthday of one of her dear friends. I love giving handmade gifts, but I had this particular friend with me most of the week, and didn't have to time to create or buy anything without her seeing it. I checked around a little bit on my favorite crochet site, www.ravelry.com, but didn't see anything particularly fast and easy. So I made up my own pattern. (Isn't that usually why patterns are made up?)

Here's the cupcake decorating station.
Her mom made special gluten-free cupcakes.

And here are the kids' party favors: They got to decorate their own flip flops! They turned out really cute!

And here's is my Princess Headband pattern, free for your personal use and enjoyment.
Use any ww yarn and size G hook. This size fits teens-adults.
Adjust the beginning chain length, if needed, for a different size, such as for a smaller child.

Terms used:
ss - slip stitch
sc- single crochet
sk- skip a stitch
dc- double crochet
trc- triple crochet
dc4tog- double crochet 4 stitches together. Do this as if you were decreasing by one stitch, but instead of one, pick up 4 dc stitches. Yarn over, and pull through all stitches on your hook. There, you've done it. It's not hard, it just looks a little odd at first.

R1: ch93.  turn.
R2: Beginning in 2nd ch from hook, sc in 30 sts. ch2, sk2, 5dc in next st. (sk3, 5dc) repeat six times. Then ch2, sk2, sc. Turn.
R3: ch5, sc in 2nd dc, dc4tog. (ch2, sk3, dc4tog) rep. 6 times. TRC in 1st ch. of previous row. Turn.
R4: (ch5, sk3, sc) rep. 3 times. Then ch12, sk3, sc. Again, (ch5, sk3, sc) 3 times. (Note: You will sc into the first "ch5" of the previous row, Row 3. Hope that helps.) Continue by ss into the next 6 sts. sc in ea. st across. ss to join, making sure your chain isn't twisted. Fasten off, weave in ends. All done! :)

Total working time: 10-15 minutes.
This is a sweet little headband for dress-up, birthdays, a quick "get-better-soon" gift, or "just because." You could also add small beads or use metallic thread for some extra glitter and sparkle. Have fun. Happy crocheting...

NOTE--
+Please keep in mind that although this is a free pattern, I would appreciate if you didn't sell the pattern OR the finished product. If you like it and want to use it, that's great! But please give me credit if you do. A linkback or a comment would be much appreciated. Thanks.+