Friendly Lion

I've been trying to get into my crafty zone for a few weeks and for one reason or another, it hasn't happened. In the meantime, I've been working on a crocheted lion off and on. I finally finished him (her?)last night and thought I'd share. This is the lion I started before Christmas and quickly realized he/she was too big to finish in time to give to Amy's teacher.

 See that mane? That's the part that I've been working on off and on. The rest of it was done, but the thought of having to do what needed to be done to make that mane kept putting me off.

 I had a couple of rows done, but the remaining space looked so big!

 Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and just git 'r done.

 YAY!

I used a mulit-colored yarn for the mane, called melonberry, and would crochet a chain of 10 and make the stitch, then another chain of 10 and so and so on.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are having a great weekend. Amy's basketball team just played and won their first game of this session. They looked and played great! Yay!

Lily, The Christmas Elf...

Hello again! 

My second post for today...I'm on a roll. LOL

You may remember the ornaments I made last week to give to our friends who are moving soon.

If you clicked over to the Lily Sugar 'n Cream site, you might have seen the other pattern that arrived in my inbox. And if you saw it, you might have wondered if I was going to make it. Well, wonder no more, for I did indeed make Lily, The Christmas Elf. 

Enjoy...

I followed the pattern throughout the project, except for the hair. I added the bangs, using the same technique as for the hair. I think it looks a tad more "natural" (as if yarn hair can ever look natural). And I didn't even attempt to put the hair up into ponytails. Not that it was suggested, I just remembered the futzing I did for Lily Witch around Halloween.

I love the addition of the jingle bells. hee, hee.

There are a lot of fun details on this project, I think.

She's ready to join her spool elf friends, I think.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Only 3 more sleeps until Christmas. Wheeee...

Deck The Rails With Crocheted Balls and Snowflakes...

Fa la la la...la la la la!

Sorry, just couldn't resist!

Guess who is pretty much d o n e and ready for Christmas?

That would be me.

Yay!

Well, except for the baking (which we'll do today or tomorrow depending)

and the gift card I have to buy because someone (not me) forgot to make a phone call to check on any gift ideas until I asked (again) last night.

I'm usually a last minute Lucy when it comes to wrapping gifts. I have visions of dolled up fancy wrapped gifts, but the reality is, the people in my house don't care about that, so they remain just visions in my head. I bit the bullet the other night and wrapped up a storm. 

I had to wait until my bedtime to even start because Jessica, who has only lost two teeth so far, has one loose tooth right now and it had been bugging her all day. She consistently refused ibuprofen the entire day (she kept saying it hurt) until well after she went to bed, when she came out and said she couldn't sleep because it hurt. THEN she said okay to ibuprofen. I tried sending her to bed then, but she wanted to "watch a show" with Daddy (kid's show-her delay tactic). After that, I had to wait to be sure she was really asleep, you know? I almost nixed even trying to wrap, but decided to throw caution to the wind and get ready a little bit early. LOL Got those done. I had a few more gifts tucked here and there that I didn't get to. So yesterday, while the girls were playing with a neighbor friend at his house, I took a chance that they wouldn't come home for awhile and finished the rest off. What a relief!

So, with gifts and Christmas cards sent off, presents wrapped and most everything done, I had some time to finish off a project I've been working on in fits and spurts for a couple of weeks now.

I totally copied it.

From a garland I saw at Joann's.

The garland was $20 full price.

I could have gotten it for half off.

But even $10 seemed too much to pay for something I could make myself.

So, I took a few notes and studied it real well and

came up with this.

And now I know why it was $20 in the store.

It was a lot of work and tweaking to get it finished.

The crochet part was easy.

The put together part took more time and patience than I anticipated.

But, I like it.

It's too short to put on the tree (guess I should have made it longer) and too heavy to put on the mantel, too light in color to hang on a curtain. So, the porch it is. I like how it nestles in the garland.

Let Christmas come...I'm pretty much ready!

Hope you are too, or are enjoying the getting ready for it part.

Been A Busy Elf...

Lest you think I dropped off the face of the planet after that string of posting last week to almost none this week, I thought I'd pop in and say a quick hello. I also thought I'd share part of the reason I've been so quiet.

Our swim buddy friends, Heidi, Ray (well, I don't know him as well), Annabelle and Ryan are moving to Oregon right after Christmas. Sniff, sniff. (I'll be good Heidi) While I'm completely excited for them and this new opportunity, selfishly, I wish they'd stay in Colorado for they are a wonderful family and so much fun to spend time with. Since life moves forward, whether you want it to or not, we had a fun playdate yesterday to spend some final time together. I think I talked Heidi's ear off. She's such a good listener. *Ü* You know this means I had to get a little gift together, right? Wanna see? I couldn't post this any earlier because Heidi would look, even if I told her not to. LOL

The patterns for these adorable ornaments arrived in my inbox a few days ago and I couldn't resist making them up for Annabelle and Ryan. The pattern is from the Lily website. They are kind of big for ornaments, I think, but Heidi told me since they are moving right after Christmas the house isn't being decorated, so these will add a little festive atmosphere. Yay!

And for Heidi

I crocheted her a bead necklace. Those colors reminded me of Heidi and I had a wonderful time crocheting and remembering all the fun times we've had together.

I have a mile long list of things left to do, so I'd best get to them. I hope to post again soon.

Wish Amy luck this evening as her choir has a performance scheduled outside in a local shopping center. Last night would have been ideal weather for the event. Today, there is a storm slated to move in and bring the white stuff. We're hoping it holds off until much later this evening. 

Until next time, thanks so much for stopping by!

I do so appreciate your visits and wonderful encouraging comments.

*Ü*

Got To Create Today...Finally!

It's been two weeks since I've been able to wander into my craft space and I'm excited to be able to share these projects with you today.

Well, what do you know? Another Christmas Tree! LOL I actually finished crocheting this a couple of weeks ago and it's been sitting on my end table waiting for me to find something to decorate it. The pattern for this neat tree is from Amy Gaines and you can find it here. I enjoyed crocheting the tree, I just wasn't thrilled about putting felt circles on it. I found these miniature lights on sale at Joann's as well as the star. The star had a wire attached in a spiral so you could use it as a tree topper. The wire spiral didn't look right, so I pulled it out and just hot glued the star to the top of the tree. The tree skirt is attached, so it's all one piece. I really like those tiny lights. *Ü*

These little elves are sure making me smile and giggle. I'm so happy at how they turned out!

The idea for these isn't mine. I saw it in the 2010 Gooseberry Patch Christmas book several weeks ago. I saw the book at Joann's and was thumbing through it trying to decide if it needed to jump in my basket. Overall, I didn't think so as I've picked up two older versions of Gooseberry Patch holiday books at the thrift store,  but when I saw these guys, I made sure to soak in all the details for recreating later. I've been itching to work on them since before Thanksgiving!

In case it's not obvious in the photo, I used wooden thread spools found at Joann's. I picked up some large wooden balls at Michaels (on a different shopping trip) and the rest of the items I had. That's scrapbook paper around the body and a heart punch for feet. I used DMC floss for the hair and green felt, red fleece and green burlap for the hats. They are completely finagled. I just cut a square, heated up the glue gun and winged it to get the square cut down for the shape I wanted.  I liked the idea of ribbon scarves and pom poms on the end of the pipe cleaners. Those sort of "finish" the arms for me (that idea is all mine). I used a micro pen for the eyes and mouth and pink chalk for the cheeks. 

Another project that's kept me busy is this:

What is it, you might be wondering.

Maybe this photo of my cheesy model will make it clear

I originally saw the idea here on MaryJanes and Galoshes and fell in love with the idea.( That blog is pretty awesome, too, I must add. I love that Taylor is taking up crochet! She's shares oodles of great ideas, too. Be sure to take a few minutes to look around).

I'm making the cowls for the girls' teachers. How funny that Amy's top coordinates with her teacher's gift. LOL

You can find the pattern at The Plum Giraffe and it's very reasonably priced too. The pattern is very easy to pick up and it works up pretty quickly. I'm now working on the second one in a dark olive green for Jessica's teacher. 

I was so bummed when my creative time ended today, it flew by. I have more ideas I want to work on. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back at it. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope your week is happily busy and productive.

Awwwwww....

Just snapped these photos of Jessica reading out loud to Grandpa...so sweet!

They need to be edited a bit, but just couldn't resist capturing the moment.

Dad and I have been having fun during the day doing some shopping while the girls are in school. Yesterday we also stopped at Gunther Toody's for lunch. After Steve gets home from work tonight, we'll be heading out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Yum!

While the girls were entertaining Grandpa yesterday afternoon, I popped onto the computer to catch up on emails. I started chatting with my good friend Erin and got her advice on something I wanted to do.

This past weekend I found the most beautiful cardigan/sweater that I will give to my friend Kelly for Christmas. 

The detail in the sleeve and at the bottom of the piece thrills me to pieces.

I also picked up a sleeveless top to go with it.

It's hard to see, but there is a striped texture in the black sweater. 

So, I wanted to add to this ensemble by making a necklace. But I couldn't figure out what to do. So, I asked Erin, who has made some really pretty jewelry, what she thought. She immediately came up with beaded crochet, but not the ropes that I have done before. She crochets with beads and wire! She referred me to her blog here and to Auntie's Beads for the how to video. She's so right, it was easy peasy to do! Thanks Erin.

Here's the result of my efforts (after a quick trip to Joann's this morning with my dad)

I still need to add the clasp/closure but I think this goes well with the set.

Thanks again for the inspiration, Erin!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope your week is going well.

*Ü*

One Gift Done...

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you've had a wonderful day with your loved ones and didn't eat so much that you are uncomfortable. Ours was quiet, but nice. The turkey was yummy and the girls are healthy and happy. There's not much more that one can ask for. *Ü*

As my title indicates, I can check off one gift as being done for this holiday season. I have a mom friend whom I hang out with after school (not Susi) who really likes to wear newsboy style caps. I thought it might be fun to make one for her as I really enjoy her company while our kids are playing for a bit before heading home. I tried making a freebie pattern and got it done to the brim part and thought it looked a bit small. I had Jessica try to put it on and it didn't even fit her eight year old head, so I knew it wouldn't fit my friend(kind of frustrating when you know your gauge is right, but it was free, so I can't really complain too much). I decided to go ahead and buy the pattern I had been eyeing for a few days. It's on Ravelry and you need to be a member to access it (although it's free to register). It's called Swirls Cap created by Sophia Kessinger (if you decide to take a peek on Ravelry you can look it up by that information).
Here's how it turned out:

I'm a little worried this one might be a teensy bit big (although it fits my head comfortably, if a bit floppy). If it is, I can always make her another one and adjust the size. This worked up really quickly as it is double crochets (my favorite crochet stitch). The pattern didn't call for a button on the flower, but I thought it would look neat with one. I found the vintage button in my stash and am really pleased with how it looks.

As this Thanksgiving comes to a close, I'd like to thank you all for your visits and comments. I truly appreciate  your time and generosity. If I've managed to make you smile, I'm thrilled. I hope the rest of your holiday weekend is wonderful!

Birthday Gifts for a Friend...

Okay, since the party is in just a few hours, I can pretty safely share these projects without the recipient (Hi Becky) seeing them. If I had posted earlier and said, don't look, I'm pretty confident she'd go ahead and look! When I said I was busy earlier, with not much to show for it, these are the reasons why.

Becky is a big fan of owls and, even before I asked her for ideas for a birthday gift she might like, I already had a plan in mind. She just confirmed what I was already thinking. Don't you love it when that happens?

Since I'm currently having a love fest with my Cricut I looked for owl images and wasn't disappointed. This owl is from the Cindy Loo cartridge.

Not much to explain as it is pretty straightforward. The only thing I might change, if I could, is the background paper. Unfortunately, I didn't have any other paper that would work well. 

I loved this foil accented paper in the Amber Autumn stack.

I'm really pleased with the end result of this little project.

*Ü*

Here is another owl, a squishier kind.

His name is Rupert.

(or whatever name Becky decides)

 The pictures don't really do him justice.

He is rather cute, dare I say a smidge elegant, in real life.

That's a really royal looking purple yarn. And a bit of dark green and tan.

What I really liked about this pattern is its unique design.

I hadn't done an amigurumi piece using double crochets before.

 And the "ears" are adorable!

I found the pattern here on Etsy. 

If the link doesn't work, type in Rupert the Owl and the listing will show up.

He came out larger than the sample shows, mostly likely because I used worsted weight yarn, and possibly, a larger crochet hook. That just means there's more to love, right?

I also asked Becky what ideas she had for her daughter, Julia, whose party we are attending.

Julia loves Hello Kitty.

Well, kitties of any persuasion, but Hello Kitty in particular.

So, I looked for a kitty image to use in my Cricut.

The one I found is not quite there, but close enough,  think.

Somehow, I don't think Julia will object.

And I lucked out when I searched for Hello Kitty crochet patterns. I found one here, that turned into this:

Bumblebee Hello Kitty!

 Complete with wings!

Isn't she a cutie bee?

The blogger translated the pattern from a Japanese one. She did okay, but hadn't tested it before posting. Luckily for me, I have enough crochet experience under my belt that I was able to adjust for a few errors in the translation. 

And, the pattern called for a crocheted ladybug, which I made, 

But the consensus was it was too big!

I had a some ladybug buttons in my stash that I was able to use instead.

I didn't realize when I started that Hello Kitty has a yellow nose. I thought it was black. But, thankfully I learned the real nose color before I used that color. LOL I'm hoping Julia will be happy with her kitty.

So, this is what I was busy with earlier this week!

Amy's team won their game today...yay!

Hope your weekend is going well.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

More Fall Stuff...

Just a smidge more...I'm pretty much done now. (I think) LOL

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on crocheting simple granny squares in a multi-color fall yarn and a medium green yarn for this throw I wanted to drape on the bench you see as you walk into our house. I finished up the project yesterday. Yay! The pictures aren't very good at all as the colors are kind of dark and my camera must not like the darker colors. But I'll share them anyway.

That pumpkin you see is the one Jessica grew this year. Amy's is a bit larger and sitting on the floor for the moment. The pattern I used is from Fave Crafts and I modified the design simply by making fewer squares. I also joined the squares using a slip stitch because I didn't like how the whip stitch looked at all. Granny squares are fun to crochet because the stitches are double crochets and I love the groove I get into doing those. 

I had to post about these cute little teeny tiny pumpkins I found at Michaels a week ago. They came in a cylinder and they are called pods. I've never seen anything like them before and using a 50% off coupon meant I couldn't pass them up. I love how they look in my hurricane (?) lamps.

 There were enough to fill in the mason jar I had in the glass container I keep on the counter (and one other little glass container I have on the book shelf, but you get the idea so I didn't take a picture of that, aren't you glad?

Plus, I get to show what bits I added to my counter this year. Those acrylic gems are pumpkin shape and I found them at the Dollar Tree. I bought two packages. And I was thrilled at how the colored spanish moss filled in the jar with the pumpkins I got last year. I was on the hunt for Brach's butterscotch drops, but haven't found them, so I settled for Walmart's brand. It looks ho-hum, but for a dollar, I can't complain too much, now can I? LOL

Here's a close up of those funky pumpkins. 

And finally, another nod to Halloween. This I made last night while watching tv.

I left it where I put in on the couch so Jessica would find it this morning. She's been the one who has really clamored for Halloween decorations this year.  She loves it! It's all crochet and the spider needs some googly eyes, but seriously, I had it done in about 20 minutes, give or take.

The patterns is from Lily. I think you have to be a member (free) to get to the patterns though. It was part of a wreath they created, with mini pumpkins and witches...hmmmmmm....

Thanks so much for stopping by and for your wonderful comments about my exploration of tatting. You sure know how to make a gal feel good.

Have a great day!

*Ü*