Christmas Craft Fever

I have been very busy lately making things for the Christmas Craft shows that are coming up.. The first show I'm doing is tomorrow. Here are some of the things that I am going to be selling

I made a candy cane snuggle pod. I think it would look so cute on a little one for Christmas.

I've been making tons of Crayon Rolls

My new favorite creation is these Tic Tac Toe games for kids....or for adults if they are bored too.

The games are enclosed in a plastic pocket, so everything is contained neatly, and you can take it along where ever you want.

All the pieces are hand stitched felt. The game board itself is felt as well so they stay where you put them. So fun, if I do say so myself. I will be selling the games for $15, so if you are interested in one for a Christmas gift or something just let me know. They are a little time consuming to make with all the hand stitching so the sooner the better :)

I have a good reason for not posting for more than a month now. *wink, wink* I am 17 weeks pregnant. Due the end of April. So that has put a little wrench in my energy and creativity levels. First trimester is out of the way and I'm feeling much better now, so hopefully I will be back to my regular crafty self.

Sew Happy and More!!

One of my cousins asked me to make her some crayon rolls for her nieces. So I pulled out my stuff and whipped these ones up. They are so fun, and have princess crayons too :)

This same cousin also happens to be pregnant, but not for much longer ;) So I made her one of my snuggle pods to swaddle her new little one in. Nothing could be better, they are so soft and totally washable.

I made two of the blue patterned crayon roll so I have an extra one that is for sale if anyone is interested. They are $10 ea. Send me an email if you are interested.

Little Hoot

I have a friend who likes owls. We were going to get together and so I thought I would make her a little something special. You see, she lives very far away, so I thought she would like a little owl to keep her company :) He was fairly easy to make and so cute if I say so myself.
After I made him however, my girls started asking me if I could make them all sorts of little animals. I can tell it's going to be a long summer. LOL

Long time comin'

I should be packing.....but I deemed it necessary to take a break :) I'm sorry that I've been neglecting to post anything as of late. Life has been way too busy. I promise to be much better after we've moved and settled in to the new house. Here are some of the items that I have completed in the last month or so. This is my nephew, isn't he just adorable. He loves to be snuggled in at night but always ends up kicking his blankets off. My sister asked if I could make him a snuggle pod so that he would stay warm and snuggled in at night. I thought it would be so fun to make one for him as he just turned 1. Seeing him in it made me giggle, i'm used to little babies being snuggled up in them. He thinks it's pretty cool and she says that he now stays snug and warm at night. I had fun playing with the stripes too.

I finally got around to making myself a pair of slippers. I decided to make them a mary-jane style with a strap. They turned out great I think and they keep my feet nice and warm. I may work on some kids sizes too, now to find cute buttons to go on the straps. :)

I've had these cute little buttons stashed away for so long now. I think they fit quite nicely with my new slippers, don't you think?

I had a gift certificate to amazon and I scored some very cool books. I Can't wait to plunge in and make some of the beautiful projects in them. Here's my take on the books, just so you know what to expect if you get them. We'll call it a book review.....lol.

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Bend the Rules Sewing (Amy Karol) - you can find her blog at http://angrychicken.typepad.com
If you are anything like me and you don't always follow all the instructions to the letter then this may be a good book for you. She gives you a brief rundown of sewing instuctions and tips which I thought was great. I learned a thing or two, who am I kidding I learned tons. The projects are fun, whimsical, and not too in depth. The patterns needed for the 30 projects are templates in the back of the book that you photocopy increasing the size of some. Generally though most projects are based on squares or rectangles that can just be measured and cut from the fabric.

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Seams to Me (Anna Maria Horner) - you can find Anna at http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com I love her fabrics and her playful nature. You will see this in her book. She gives you an in depth run through of all things sewing in the beginning. Which I thought was great, since I still consider myself a newborn to sewing. Her projects are fun, eye-catching, and stylish. I can't wait to make the Bo-Peep skirt for my girls, so cute, and the bags, Ohhhhh the bags (It's a fettish of mine, bags, purses and pouches, oh my) I'm just looking for the right fabric to make some of these. 24 patterns are all in an envelope pouch at the back, no copying and up-sizing, which is awesome.

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Amy Butler's Little Stiches for Little ones - You can find her at http://amybutlerdesign.com Who doesn't love Amy Butler's fabrics, I mean come one they are all the rage these days. So calming, beautiful, and elegant. Her book gets right in to the projects with a few tips here and there. The projects are perfect for those expecting a little one or if you have little ones underfoot. It gives you projects for everything you may want to have for your baby, yet stylishly done. She also rates the projects based on skill level. These handmade beauties will be cherished and passed down from generation to generation, i'm sure of it. 20 patterns are in a pocket on the front cover of the book, once again no re-sizing needed here.

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My dear husband surprised me one day and told me that I could finally purchase the camera I've been wanting for so long, pretty much since we got married 7.5 years ago. I now have the Nikon D90 in my possesion. It's awesome, I love it. I kinda felt guilty buying that much camera, but the thing that sealed the deal is that it will shoot HD quality video. The salesman said that they didn't have camcorders in stock that could compare to the quality this thing will do. I was beaming. We've been debating getting a new camcorder for a while now. We have the type that uses tapes, but I wanted to be able to put them on my computer. I still have some reading to do in the manual yet. I just discovered today however that the pictures it takes are of such a high quality it will take blogger forever to upload them :( Anyone have this problem and know how to solve it? I wanted to post a picture of our new house, but can't. I'm sure I can "dumb down" the quality a bit if I know that i'm not going to enlarge the picture or anything. Hmmmm just thinking outloud here. Anyone have any ideas?

Crocheted Valentine

Today I have a Valetine Project for you. I wanted to make my daughter a beanie cap with a brim. I think these are just adorable, and I have a little girl who loves all things pink. I made this last night while she was asleep so I didn't really get the size perfect. It's all good as far as i'm concerned though, because I wanted it to cover her ears, and it will fit her for years to come.
Top View

She isn't the most excited person when having her photo taken. She's always making crazy faces, so this is her "just hold still" face.

Side View

I was sick yesterday so as I was laying on the couch I made two of these to go in the girls hair for church. I attached it to one of those small goody snap clips. (Not sure what the correct name is lol) These are quick and so easy to make, and it uses up any leftover scrap yarn you may have lying around.

Snuggle Pod

I am going to be custom making these adorable little snuggle pods for those that may want one. They make a wonderful baby shower gift also. I make them with a super soft textured yarn that will surround your little bundle in warmth. I made this one for my nephew who is my cute little model. Most infants love to be snuggled up and this snuggle pod combined with the hat does just that. Send me an email, if you would like to order one. I am selling them at $30 for the set.
Here are the colors that I have on hand to choose from. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. They show a tad darker than actual life, number 11 is a really dark eggplant purple, but the rest are what you see.

Crocheted Cuteness

About a year ago I bought a book.... Amigurumi World. Seriously Cute Crochet I am finally getting around to making some of the items out of that book.

This cute little egg shell pattern is in the book and she has a little chick that you can crochet to go inside. The egg pattern I got from here I folded it up and stuffed it in the shell. My kids have been playing with this a ton. My daughter asked me if I was going to make a whole set of 12.....hmmmmm, we'll see about that lol. Eventually i'm sure I can make a whole set some with chicks inside some with little fried eggs.
This little cuppycake is a pattern out of the book as well. I love it. I made it to hold my sewing pins, because the little tomato one I had just didn't work that well (you know the one, i'm sure all those who sew have had one of these) This one works much better and it's ten times as cute.

I am having so much fun with these little projects, they are cute and don't take a lot of time to complete. I'm sure you will be seeing much more of these in the future.