Finishing Off Friday - an Elephant and Yoda

Before I share my projects, I have to share this photo. Wednesday marked 6 years since my sister passed on from this world. My brother-in-law has been faithful to take a dozen roses to my sister every year on certain dates. When my husband, sons, mom and I arrived at the cemetery Wednesday night, her dozen roses were sitting on top of the tombstone. My niece took a balloon to her mom that said, "Miss You".

Don't cry for us. Just pray that God continues to comfort our family and the two precious kids she left behind.

Happy Independence Day with a Dose of Crochet

Yesterday was Independence Day in the U.S. I started off my day by testing the Addison Headband pattern for the amazing Calleigh's Clips and Crochet Creations. I made the headband in red, white and blue and wore it to the parade.

June Wrap-up

I finished several projects during the month of June. There's something for Duck Dynasty fans, Tinkerbell fans, monster lovers, hunters and children of the 80s. 

I had to bump the Cabbage Patch Kids hat to the front. Aren't these the sweetest things? I have two hats ready-to-ship in newborn/0-3 month sizes. These are $30 for newborn and range in price up to $40 for adult size. Contact me if you are interested in ordering or follow my Etsy shop, because I plan on listing the two I have already finished if no one claims them soon. 

One of the three Cabbage Patch Kids hats I made in June.

 Next up is this Tinkerbell-inspired doll using the A Doll Like Me e-book containing 4 doll patterns from FreshStitches. She turned out exactly as I planned, though I must admit that I spent 3 hours (at least) just trying to get her lips right. I finally glued on some lips and moved on. Do you know a little girl who would love her? She is $75.00 and is still waiting to find a new home.

Princess Ballerina

I love monsters. I LOVE monsters! Love, love, love them! And, I just recently realized how much cuter they are in tiny size. Look how tiny this gal is! She is wearing the Monopoly hat game piece. It fits her perfectly and just shows how teeny tiny she really is.

Ro the Tiny Monster

And, here she is with her mom who is also quite small with her beautiful flower eyes.

Tiny Toothie & Tiny Ro

And, now we get into the things for the Duck Dynasty fans.

I improvised this little camouflage deer hat.

 

Deer Camo Beanie

This awesome pattern for Drake the Mallard Duck is from the amazingly talented, HollieJolly Designs. I think Duck Dynasty fans will love this guy!

Drake the Mallard Duck

And, last, but not least, a customer requested something with a Cincinnati Reds theme. there are links below the picture where you can find the patterns for these items. I improvised the "C" for Cincinnati and cut it out of felt and sewed it on. It's a true baseball cap with the little hole in the back. And it comes with a crisp pair of white baseball shorts. I cannot wait for this baby to arrive so I can see him wearing this outfit. I might faint when I see the photo.

Baseball Cap and Baseball Pants

What I Learned this month

I learned a fancy new stitch called The Loop Stitch. It's used in the Cabbage Patch Kids wigs and is securely attaches the loops so they will not come out.

And, I got lots of practice working with felt and attaching it to my pieces. This came from the eyes/lips of the Tinkerbell-inspired doll and the Cincinnati Reds hat.

Plans for next month

I have all of my projects queued in Ravelry and I plan on working through all of the patterns I purchased by the end of the year. I have 6 months to do it, so that averages out to about 7.2 projects per month! Wish me luck!

I am continuing the yarn stash project where I focus on using up yarn from my stash. It's amazing just how much yarn I have and how much of it was bought without a purpose. For the projects featured in this post, I purchased only one new skein of yarn (yellow) to finish off the pig tails on the Cabbage Patch hats.

Introducing....BERT-MERN

BatBaby hat and Mask being modeled by Miss Peach, my 3 year old's Build-a-Bear Monkey.

I have made several cape sets designed by the uber talented Calleigh's Clips and Crochet Creations, but I have to say that this Bat Baby set may be very high on my list of favorites from her! I tend to stay away from licensed/trademarked characters unless someone asks, which was the case here. A friend asked if I could make anything Superhero and I was immediately drawn to BatMan. 

BatMan is a registered logo and this cape is really for a Batbaby and not 100% batman. The actual logo is not included in the pattern as that would be a violation. It's easy enough to consult with Google and trace, draw or free-stitch your own batman symbol onto the patch.

Isn't this cape set just the cutest thing? It looks even more awesome being modeled by Miss Peach, my three year old's reward for using the potty!!!

Want to make your own superhero without buying a pattern? Check out CCCC's free cape & mask pattern!

Textured Mini-Blanket Free Pattern

I barely used any of the textured fuzzy/furry yarn to create the hat above. It left me with nearly an entire skein. I am harnessing my yarn stash and created a challenge box with some of my more unique yarns. This was certainly a challenge yarn and it made it into the challenge box.

I took the leftover ball of yarn and created a Textured Mini Blanket and sent it to Farren Carlson Photography this week as a "Thank you" gift. She has given me lots of amazing photos and has been a faithful customer. I hope she likes the mini-blanket and can use it soon.

Textured Mini-Blanket

Supplies

Size "N" Crochet hook

Soft Illusion Super Bulky Yarn in Camoflauge

Pattern

Ch 27. DC in 2nd ch from hook and each stitch across, ch 1, turn. (25)

Row 2 through end: DC in each st across until piece reaches desired length.

I  made mine into a square approx. 15" x 15". 

Gauge is not important on this project, just make sure that you get a nice-looking fabric.

Join the Yarn Stash Project!

If you are a fiber addict and need some help, you are not alone! Don't let those in denial keep you from becoming free from the tangled web known as your stash. Get help today!

• Join the Yarn Stash Project
• Join the Ravelry Team for encouragement
• Instagram your destash using hashtags #YarnHoarderPrevention or #YarnStashProject2013
• Follow me on Instagram - username: niccupp

Christmas Ball Ornament Hanger Crochet Tutorial

Supplies (for Ornament Topper Only):
Approx. 10 yards of Loops & Threads Impeccable Glitter Yarn in Gray
Size "H" Crochet Hook

Simple Headband Flowers - Pintastic Tuesday 07

I have so much fun browsing Pinterest and drawing inspiration from what others have done. Seriously, is there anything better than Pinterest to actually make me want to clean my house and have fun doing it?

This week's crafty inspiration was originally pinned on my Hair Clips / Headbands board.

The Project:

Source: Pinterest | Original Source: iCandy Handmade

I love, love, love to make photography props and all things baby! I don't have a baby girl of my very own. As much as I would love to have another baby, my love says we are done. So, I have two boys at home and I'm the only lady in the house. So, if I can't have any more babies of my own, then I can at least make beautiful things for babies and live vicariously through my little prop shop, right?

Pintastic Tuesday 02

Welcome back for Pintastic Tuesday #2! Here's the plan for Tuesdays! We (yes, you can do it, too) find ideas on pinterest, make it, cook it, try it, etc. and share the results. Was it easy/difficult? Was it pintastic or pindrastic? Trust me! I have had a pin-drastic failures.

The Project: Thing 1 & Thing 2 Hats

Source: Pinterest | Original Source: Micah Makes "Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss"

The Story:

I have wanted to make Thing 1 & Thing 2 hats forever! I kept telling photographer friends to let me know if they ever get a newborn session for twins. Photographers: if you have a newborn twin session coming up, message me with details (expected delivery date and gender) at niccupp [at] gmail [dot] com.

Last week, the idea finally struck me...my best friend has 3-year old twins. Duh! I can make the hats for them! How many of us have older kids that feel left out when a new baby is born and all the attention is on the precious baby as the older kid slips to the background?

I set to work right away and stayed up past midnight working my fingers to the wire and got up the next day and finished the hats. Their baby cousin was born while I was working on the hats. I wanted to make something special for the older cousins. I didn't want to leave anyone out, so I made a long-tail hat for baby cousin in Seussical inspired colors.

I messaged my friend with the idea and she loved it. Plus, I've got to say, she has some gorgeous kids and she is a talented photographer! The photos below are used with permission from Massa Photography (no link, sorry).

Pintastic Results:

And...drum roll please....meet their new baby cousin. Everyone is smiling.

Have you made anything fun from Pinterest this week? Join in and spread the fun by leaving your link below! NOTE: The text you type in "Your Name" will display representing your link. It says a comment is required. You aren't required to comment on this post, but please comment on at least one blog post you visit.

Professional Photos - Nest Egg

I love these nest eggs! There are a few photography props that I would love to see with a baby. If you are a photographer and you have a photo shoot with a newborn coming up in the next month, please contact me and I would like to work out a deal on a couple of items. You can contact me by leaving a comment below or by using the contact form on Facebook.*photos by Thomasina McGowan of McGowan Designs. Please do not steal these photos or claim them as your own.




The pattern is by the great Neanners Shop. I adore her craftiness and all of her designs are awesome!

Dreams Do Come True

Forever, I have wanted to sell items I have created. Over the last few weeks, a photographer friend inspired me to step out and make my dream a reality. In the past week, I have completed five baby hats...four successful baby hats and one that I must not have done something right.

The Munchkin Hat

A huge thank you to Neanner's Shop for the amazing Munchkin Hat Pattern. I have completed several of these hats in the last few weeks. My favorites are made with Caron Simply Soft and Eco yarn. The first one was Simply Soft Black and Eco Dusty Rose. The second hat was black and Simply Soft Watermelon.

I am thrilled with the results and I hope you love them, too! There is a black and white version with different sized stripe (no pics yet). I stepped into the fall colors on a few hats. The first one was a color explosion of every fall color imaginable. The second fall hat was inspired by the color of candy corn.