Monday, March 31, 2014

Monday Morning Makes : Slow Progress

I love amigurumi crochet. But I have to admit, it has it's tedious moments.

Little stitches. Little parts. Little creations.

I love the results, but the process itself can be frustrating at times. And slow.

With that in mind, I'll say that the past week has been spend organizing a fairly large custom order. Lots of bunnies!  And, in my sorta wonky wisdom, I decided to work on bunny parts in spurts.

So I finished a bunch of ears.



And arms! Arms that I didn't get a picture of.  You'll have to trust me there.

Next comes feet.

Yes, I have lots of parts on the table. And it's been slow moving.  But by the end of this week, they'll all be joined together to make actual bunnies. And by next Monday, I should have lots of wonderful progress pictures!

But for this week...well, I have ears.

*shrugs*

Happy Monday!


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Friday, March 28, 2014

Thank You.

For the 'likes'. 

For the follows.

For the comments.

For the encouragement.

For the purchases and orders.

For the interest in what I create.

For keeping me busy.

To all of my friends - old and new -



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Monday, March 24, 2014

Monday Morning Makes: A Bunny Army

If I had to pick one thing I loved to crochet above all else, it would be a blanket.

The bigger, the better.

But these projects - big, comfy, colorful blankets and throws - take considerable time to create. And usually require the weaving in of many ends.  There are times when I get discouraged with the slow moving nature of an afghan. The repetitive stitches. The lack of progress.

So every once in a while, I like to indulge in mini-projects. Coasters, cup cozies, hanging do-dads, amigurumi...anything cute and quick really helps soothe the 'instant-gratification crafter' in me.

This past week has been pretty wrapped up in bunnies. And daydreaming. And maybe playing Farmville on Facebook. But I digress. Back to the bunnies...

I'm working on an army.



I kid you not. An army! An army of adorable bunnies to storm your homes and fill your nooks and crannies with happy Easter-y, bunny-ish bits of springtime. 

Did that make any sense? *scratches head*



It seems like I always have another bunny on my crochet hook these days. I've been having fun making them. So much fun coordinating yarns with fabrics. Maybe too much fun?

And maybe because I was having too much fun with fabric, someone requested a different kind of bunny...a striped guy in gorgeous springtime rainbow colors.

But wait. No fabric?

It was something that had actually been suggested to me prior to this particular request, but I wasn't sure it would work.  So I pushed that idea aside... But then it DID work. And now I'm obsessed.

Striped bunnies for all! (Errr, you do want a striped bunny, don't you?)



Too. Much. Fun.

Now I'm off to work on some boy bunnies. I have way too much pink and girly in the shop, at the moment.  Bring on the blue! (And green. And brown. And maybe grey?)

The very best part of all these bunnies? It's creating tons of scrap yarn. Perfect for my next granny square blankie! (Must. Make. More. Blankets.)


Happy Monday!

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Friday, March 21, 2014

#happyhandmade : Picks of Week 56

Another week of handcrafted goodies!

Be sure to head on over to Daft Crafts to check it out yourself...but in the meantime, here are my favorites from this week...

** Blushing Blooms Purse - Zeeuh**


** Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do Wooden Sign - Be You Not Them **


** Fuzzy Bunny Pigtail Hair Clip Set - Violet's Buds **

There ya go. Enjoy! And happy shopping ;)

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happy Throw = Finished!

Do you ever have trouble sleeping?

I don't. Like, ever.

So imagine my surprise when I found myself awake in the wee small hours of the morning.

I should probably mention that no one in my house has been sleeping much lately. I like to call it the Great Toddler Sleep Strike - 2 little kids, one early bird and one night owl, both refusing to sleep.  So we've had a very tired week 'round here...

But when everyone was finally settled last night, I found myself wide awake.

Insomnia - even if just for a little while - is an incredibly uneasy feeling. I don't like it.

The time wasn't wasted, though. Nope, not at all. I had ends to weave in...


And finally, at about 2 am, I had a finished blanket!


This wasn't a really long project. If it wasn't for my kids who never sleep, I probably would have been done a week ago. But I went through spurts with this blanket where I loved it and then spurts where I flat out hated it.


In the end, I totally appreciate (what I consider to be) the uniqueness of it. I've seen similar patterns out there, but nothing quite like this one. In a world of ripples and granny squares, I like seeing something a bit different.


I love the color combination. It's something I would not normally put together, but I'm glad that it's so bright and airy. And I really love the pop of grey. It seems to balance it.


There's something about those scallops. They're so happy! I totally enjoyed watching them come together throughout the pattern.

I'd like to try this again in blocks of color. Maybe varying shades of blue? Or purple?


So many ideas...what colors would you pick?

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Monday, March 17, 2014

Monday Morning Makes : Flitting Around

So, I'm looking at my beloved 'makes' from the past week and I've got to tell you, it's a short pile.

Some weeks are full of finished projects. And other weeks are really just filled with me flitting from WIP to WIP...

Like my Happy Throw, for example. I'm sooooo close to being done. So. Darn. Close.


Then I have to tackle those ends. OH, THOSE ENDS!

And bunnies? Oh, don't get me started on those bunnies. *squinty face*

I ran out of safety eyes. And fabric. And everyone wants a blue bunny...but do you know how many shades of blue yarn I have stashed? Which one is the right one? Ah! I don't know!


So yeah, add 'bunny parts in varying shades of blue' to my WIP list.

But I can't say that this past week was a complete crafty wash. Nope. Because a few things did get done. Like this bear.



Actually, he was finished a few months ago.

I'm not sure why he's been hanging around... But he was FINALLY listed and is so ready to hang around someone else's house. You can find him here.

And in a rare moment of quiet - while my little daredevil was napping and his older sister was playing at grandma's house - I decided to pull out some goodies for a sort of spring craft fashion show. (Only minus the fashion, with a few extra cushions.)



And HEY! I even remembered to add a watermark. Can you spot it??

Here's hoping that this week results in more finished projects. Because, let me tell you, I have a whole bunch of new projects I'm itching to tackle...

Happy Monday!


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Thursday, March 13, 2014

#happyhandmade : Picks of Week 55

Have you ever visited Daft Crafts?  No?!  You're missing out!

It's a great site for craft sellers, craft makers and those who just love to buy handmade.  Every week, a bunch of really talented guys & gals share links to their handmade goodies.  And you, of course, get to admire. And shop. You should definitely shop ;)

Want to see my favorites from this week?

** Monster Plush - Furry Green and Blue Stuffed Toy - Wonky Critters **


** Greeting Card - Bunny Lover - Scrawny Girl **


** Oh, the Places You'll Go - Nursery Art - Bugaboo Bear Designs **

So there ya go, 3 of my favorites this week. I have to say, it's kinda hard to narrow it down to 3. There are so many amazing artists out there! Don't believe me? Go check it out yourself :) 

Visit Daft Crafts! Be sure to follow each week for more amazing creations...

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Monday Morning Makes : Indulging in Spring

Are you a fan of yellow?



I'll admit, I'm normally not. But lately?  Lately I've been pretty into it.

Maybe it's because this winter has been so long. And cold. And snowy. Ugh. I'm craving any little bits of Spring that I can get my greedy hands on. And yellow is as Spring of a color as you can get, right? Right.

Hell, I've even gone as far as spring cleaning in an attempt to conjure warmer temperatures and sunshine!  Granted, I only got as far as organizing a few bags of yarn, but...still progress, I think.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So, I was sitting up with a cup of tea, flipping through pages on Ravelry in the wee small hours of the morning a few days back when I stumbled upon a gem. The Happy Throw.

*** Now, now, now. Let me back up the truck for a second and let you in on a little secret. I'm obsessed with blankets. I know, I know...most of my blog is filled with little projects...bunnies, coasters, yadda yadda.  But my heart belongs to the afghan. I collect them. I crochet them. I ADORE a good blanket.  You're getting a gift from me? Chances are, it's a blanket. You're looking to buy me a gift? Really, I'm that easy to please! ***

I started with a few Spring-y colors. And while the pattern seemed tricky on paper, it's pretty easy breezy to work up once I started putting hook to yarn.



And then I sat back and looked at my beloved Spring-y colors and thought: Well, that's kind of BORING.  So I added a couple more...



Better?? I think so. Grey makes everything better, doesn't it? *smile and nod*

It's a work in progress, for sure. And when I started, I wasn't sure I was going to love it. But I'm finding that I'm going crazy with the need to add more rows and I'm loving it more and more.  What started out as a little side project has become my newest obsession.

Which is unfortunate for those bunnies I was supposed to be working on this week.

Happy Monday!

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Friday, March 7, 2014

TGIF and a Little Birdy Blue Giveaway

So, you wanna hear something?

I'm happy that it's Friday.  I mean, ridiculously happy. Crazy happy.

As happy as this little bunny, as a matter fact.


It was a rough week. What started out as productive took a downturn somewhere around Wednesday and, well, I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say - TGIF!

Yes, Friday. Oh, happy day :)

And it also helps that the sun is shining and the air is so much less frigid than it was a few days back.  Happy, happy...

And speaking of happy...Little Birdy Blue was featured this morning on a really cool blog! The crafty community is awesome and supportive and while I knew that the feature was coming, it really brightened my day to see it. I'll admit, I got the feels over here...

Wanna check it out? Be sure you do!  Because then, you can also enter to win a super cute little bunny. And really, who doesn't want to win a super cute little bunny?


See how cute he is??  And he's saying...

'Click here to win me! Click here to win me!'


And again, a big thanks to Ashley for organizing all the Little Birdy Blue love ♥  Be sure you bookmark Little Stitches by Ashley Nicole.  And me, bookmark me too, k?

Have a great weekend!

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Monday, March 3, 2014

Monday Morning Makes

Hey! Hey! Hey! It's Monday!

Which normally isn't all too exciting 'round here, if I'm going to be honest.

But the sun is shining. And if I ignore the bitter cold, I could almost feel a little bit of spring in the warm glow of the sun.

(Tell me, Midwesterners...is that a stretch? Yeah? Thought so. *sigh*)

Well anyway, THIS Monday is a happy one because THIS Monday is turning out to be a productive one! Doesn't happen too often. And I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, ya know?

So yeah. Progress!!



And in case you don't follow along on my Facebook page (where have you been?!), this particular brand of progress will result in a little pink version of this...



So Happy Monday! Run free, drink tea and get some stuff done ;)

(And really, why aren't you following me on Facebook? Get on that, crafty peeps!)

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