Lately, I’ve been experimenting with flowers. You know – all those free patterns on the World Wide Web? Here are a few pictures of Experimentation Round One. Enjoy. 🙂
The beauty of a rose…
Flower Power…
Birthday’s are kind of an annual thing. I mean, they come around – ON THE SAME DAY – every year.
But of course, not everyone has the same birthday. And when your annual-celebration-day comes around, it’s a bid deal. A very big deal. And you want cake. LOTS of cake.
Not just ANY cake, mind you, but a delicious, beautiful, outstanding custom-made, high-dollar birthday cake with your name written all over it.
Well maybe that’s a bit dramatic. A simple cake at your local Wal-Mart gets chosen on many of these occasions for your day-of-birth. (They are quite good and serve their purpose well.)
Sometimes it’s nice, however, to pick a cake that reflects you or what you love. Or have a home-made cake made especially for you.
My little cousin Riley was no exception. It should come as no surprise that upon being asked what she wanted for her 4th birthday, she replied, “I want a birthday cake!”
You simply can’t have a birthday without a birthday cake. Duh.
So after much deliberation and many choices before her,(everything from Kai-lan to Micky Mouse Clubhouse), Riley made her decision. Scooby Doo. The cake must be Scooby Doo.
So the fun begins….
“First, you must mix.”
Then, you must prepare for the baking.
And this is the result of awesome baking skills…
BUT WAIT!!!
…
…
You simply can’t cook without music.
And fondant is a great option for amazing birthday cakes. Mary was put in charge of the fondant. So of course it was awesome.
What’s a cake without icing?
And more music….
…
Put it all together, AND…
…
What’s New, Scooby Doo?
And Voila!!!
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The ‘Best Friend’ owls are here – Just in time for Valentine’s Day. 🙂 Just wanted to share a few pictures with you guys. Hope you enjoy!
And here I have the ‘I ❤ U’ owl amid the Best Friend family. I thought it fit in nice for photos.
And here’s the ‘I ❤ U’ with my pop heart!
(I love my pop heart, I just haven’t figured out what I want to do with it yet…)
You can always check them out on my Etsy shop!
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I’m so happy to finally present the newest additions to my owl family. The Valentine owls.
Aren’t they cute?!?! So excited that I finally have a “Holiday” owl to offer everyone. I’d say it’s a good thing I got started on them. After all, Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my little owls. Which is your favorite color?
Any other messages (very short ones) that you would like to see on their ‘Valentine?’
I have a few different ones in mind… they should be finished up by next weekend. And who knows? If I like your suggestions you may just see a whole bunch of new ones.
Be sure to check back in to see them!
By the way, if you’d like to have one of these owls for yourself or a friend, check them out in my Etsy shop!
P.S. While your in the mood of love, enjoy Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare. (This is an absolute favorite of mine.)
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
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I was reading in the back of my newest magazine: “Crochet Today!” – and found some interesting facts in the crochet community. Things that you wouldn’t typically hear about.
“Like what?” You may ask.
Well, did you know that the first known ‘filet’ crochet patterns were printed in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1597? That is over 4oo years ago. WOW. Now, of course, ‘plain’ crochet patterns didn’t appear until 1824 in the Dutch magazine, Pénélopé. That’s quite a large time gap… you have to wonder what these people were doing with their hooks during all this time…
You may have heard of the term ‘Irish Lace’. This was crocheting taken to the ‘next level’. By making excessively small stitches with very thin thread it produced very intricate and beautiful designs. Irish Lace was invented during the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). Many of those in poverty were able to learn this craft and earn income for their families. The first book of Irish Lace was published in 1846. The lace became very popular in Europe and America.
All this happened a very long time ago. You would think that people would have run out of ideas by now. However; they haven’t. In fact, crocheting is becoming much more popular and even breaking records in today’s society. Yes, breaking records. Example?
“427 – The most people to crochet at one time in one place. Organised by The National Needle Arts Association, the event took place at a New York Mets baseball game in 2010.”
” 30 – (The number of ) Minutes it took American designer Lisa Gentry to crochet 5,113 stitches, winning her the Guinness World Record for Fastest Crocheter in 2005.”
“80 – The Length in MILES of the Guinness World Record-breaking longest crochet chain, hand-chained by France’s Anne Vanier-Drussel in 2009.”
So there are a few things here for you to ponder on. Don’t ever feel bad if you are the only one crocheting at a sports game. And if a ‘chain’ stitch is the only thing you can crochet (you would be AMAZED at how many people know how to do ONLY the chain stitch), you can always head for the 81 mile mark. And be proud if 5,113 stitches is your total for the whole year. After all, we all have to start somewhere.
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Well Christmas is past… New Year’s has, too. Wow. That all went by very quickly.
I hope everyone had as good of a holiday season as I did. It was stressful and absolutely crazy. And worth every minute of it.
I haven’t had the time to post much of anything since life got so hectic. However, I did manage to snap a few pictures. Here is my own creation: A Panda Bear hat. I thought it turned out right cute. And the recipient was quite pleased. 😀
I wonder what a little owl would look like if he was dressed as a panda bear?? hmmm… This is possibly worth considering…
Posted in Hats | 2 Comments »
Ok – SO. I had decided I was not going to blog tonight. Nope. I had too much to read and crochet to be spending my time on the internet. But of course I had to check Facebook one last time… and one thing led to another…. well you know how that goes.
ANYWAY… I found a crocheted project by an unknown-to-me-yet-awesome person that I just MUST share. Most would call this a ‘geeky’ hat, but after doing the whole ‘Doctor Who’ bit myself, I figured this project would go with the flow. Personally I *love* it.
Oh yes – you love it too, don’t you? An AHmazing Avatar – the last airbender – Earflap hat. The best Avatar headgear I’ve seen since that kid at walmart who had a blue arrow crayon-ed on his head. So, have YOU ever had a urg to dress up as Aang? Here is your chance! You can get this superb hat here: Aang Earflap Hat From Avatar The Last Airbender
Of course, you can always go to Ms VanCamp’s website: www.cutiehats.com
That way, you can have a fun time seeing all of her other great hats! Unfortunately, (of course) It seems to late to order for Christmas. BUT there is always a reason to give gifts. Not just the holidays. And some of us have birthdays not long after Christmas… hint hint. 😉
Hope this has made some Avatar fan out there happy!
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A while back I was asked if I could do a custom order for an owl. This said owl was to be dressed as the character from “Doctor Who” , called the 11th Doctor. Of course, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t know what ‘Doctor Who’ was, but I did know that it sounded interesting. Challenging. And now, I am excessively happy to announce… that after many nights of thought, a shopping trip, words with my needle, much thought, (did I mention that?)and 3 episodes later – It is finished.
Isn’t he a cutie?!?!?! Here is a picture of him with the ‘real’ 11th Doctor Who.
And again with the Fezz…
According to Wikipedia, Doctor Who is “… a centuries-old alien, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who travels in time and space in his TARDIS, frequently with companions. When the Doctor is critically injured, he can regenerate his body but in doing so gains a new physical appearance and with it, a distinct new personality. Smith portrays the eleventh such incarnation, a quick-tempered but compassionate man whose youthful appearance is at odds with his more discerning and world-weary temperament.”
I’ve only seen three episodes, (ahhh, sweet research), so I won’t pretend to be an avid fan or follower. What I did find rather interesting is his mode of time-travel transportation – a police box. London 1960’s style. VERY cool. I have to admit, after creating this owl I had an EXTREME desire to crochet him a little police box. I mean, how cool would that be?!?
I do have an issue with the reincarnation bit. It just makes little sense – he’s the same person, but then again, he’s not. It’s still him, but, completely different – even personality wise. I mean why re-incarnate at all? Why not just… you know… live forever? Oh well, I suppose there are some answers in the world of make-believe that we will never understand. 😉
* Fellow Crocheters – If you have ever crocheted a little ‘Doctor Who’ yourself or any of his ‘companions’ I would love to see! Please leave a link to your creation in the comments box!
*Everyone else – if you have an idea for another ‘character’ owl I’d love to hear your thoughts. This is the start of something beauutiful.
And don’t forget ya’ll can check out my other owls in My Etsy Shop. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by!
Posted in My Creations | Tagged Amigurumi owl, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Eleventh Doctor, Time Lord | 5 Comments »
As I thought about what I should post tonight, I just couldn’t resist sharing my newest owl hat with you all.
It’s an earflap hat, crocheted with two strands of acrylic yarn. (yes, nice and thick!) It’s made for a little girl, between the ages of 2-4. One thing I love about this hat is the eyes. All of mine in the past have been with ‘open’ eyes and eyebrows. I just love how this one looks so peaceful and asleep. 🙂
This pattern is somewhat my own – kinda. I was able to find an earflap pattern that I really liked, and downsized it a bit to fit younger kids. Then all that is left is to come up with the face!
A little advice, if you don’t already have an owl earflap hat pattern, don’t go through the cost of buying one. It’s REALLY NOT HARD to do. First thing, find an earflap hat that you like. There are TONS of free patterns on the internet, or you could find one in a crocheting magazine. It can be a little bit of work trying to find the ‘perfect’ one, but it can be done. Then crochet two circles for eyes – however large or small you want them. You can have different colored eyes, with or without pupils. You can add an eyebrow. Or just sew on some eyelashes like this one has. The beak is just a triangle, and the ‘ears’ are just strands of yarn tied to the top. If you know how to a braid – voila!
Google ‘owl hats’ and get ideas. Find out what kind of look you like the best. And get to creating.
P.S. – I do have one owl hat still available in my Etsy shop: An Orange Owl Earflap Hat, Adult Size
(Remember, I can’t guarantee any hats ready for Christmas if not ordered by December 15th!!)
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l 
Have you started your wrapping all those presents yet? You know, the ones in the closet, under the bed, or at ‘the North Pole’? If you have – what are you doing with all the small scrap pieces of wrapping paper?
Hopefully you aren’t throwing it away. Because we have something very cute, simple, and downright fun to do with it!
What you need:
– Scrap pieces of wrapping paper
– Scissors
– Glue (we used stick glue)
– Construction Paper (or some card-stock)
– Tape
– Pens or Pencils
And that’s it! These supplies are pretty common and should be found laying around the house. Easy Peasy.
We then cut our paper into rectangles. About 2″ by 4″. Of course, you can do any size you want. Now for the fun part:
Cut your wrapping paper into strips. You are going to want it to be about as wide as your card is. Then cut the strip to about 3″ long. (This is going to be the start of your Christmas tree. You will start at the base and work your way up.)
After your strip is cut, roll it around your pen/pencil.
Apply just a little bit of tape to keep it together.
Now just slide it off your pen and make a whole bunch! These are you ‘branches’, so your going to want to trim them so each branch will be slightly shorter than the last.
Now just glue them to your paper! 😀
Ta da! You can add little stars at the top if you’d like. If you have some brown paper, you can make a little trunk for the bottom of the tree as well. This is a really great craft for kids. My 3 yr old brother decided not to help us, but my 5 yr old sister (Emma) did hers almost all by herself! (Her’s is the one on the red paper, on the right. 🙂
I found this on Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/pin/182818066093211950/
(C’mon, gotta love Pinterest.)
This was made with Christmas paper, but when I went to Michael’s and looks at the pretty packs for $19.95 I was like… ehhhh. I can do something a bit different. This picture shows it with buttons, which I really like, but didn’t have any handy. Just use your imagination!
Most importantly, we all had a lot of fun together. Now we are just waiting for mom to wrap more presents so we can have more paper to work with. 😉
Happy Crafting!
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