The Crochet Families Newest Editions

My daughter has been begging me to make her a crochet doll for quite awhile. One problem...I could not find a pattern that I liked and did not have the time/desire to create one of my own. Then I came accross this one (http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-Amigurumi/Cute-Crochet-Doll/ct/1) and with a few modifications it was perfect.

Ta-Da!

I changed the face a bit... added ears and a nose. My daughter wanted button eyes, so I used the solid ones as (I can't explain it) the ones with the cross stitching kinda freak me out when they are used for eyes!

Here is the back of the hair. I cut A LOT of 12" strands of yarn, then starting at the crown, and using my crochet hook, I attached them (following the round) with a slip knot.

 Right near the completion of the first doll (for my daughter), problem number two arose... my son did not want to leave it alone. He kept sneaking it away from my daughter and carrying it around the house saying, "Baby!" Whenever she got near him (in an attempt to get it back) he would holler "No! Mine!" So... here we go again with the modifications. Issue number one with doll number two was the hair... solution=eyelash yarn.

He turned out really cute! I decided against using buttons for the dolls eys n this one as the first thing my littlee guy tried to do was pull the button eyes off of his sister's doll...so I got out the felt and got to work!  I am really proud of the way he turned out! I also used felt for the mouth as I wanted a more boyish looking mouth.

 Apparently felt is rather addictive...I just had to make a felt aplique for the little crochet 'T-shirt'. What better than a car for my little boy who loves little cars! After I completed it I realized I would soon be investing in more felt for more apliques for my crochet works in the future!

 I just had to share a close-up of his little shoes! So adorable!

Here is my little guy holding his baby! He is giving him a hug. So cute!

 My little girl loves hers too! She was snuggling with it in my chair while watching Curious George.

A Little Family Time

For Memorial weekend we went on a mini vacation to visit my husband's grandmother Joyce (so the kiddos great-grandmother). It is just over a four hour drive, which just happens to be close to the limit that the kids can handle without lots of whining and craziness!  Of corse we went to the park that is near her house...

Pete giving baby Tony a ride in the swing.

Pete and Tony at the top of the 'scary slide' (well, scary for Mommy anyway)!

Pete and Sami at the top of the slide.

 Sami showing some 'big boys', who showed up at the park, how it is done.

 Pete taking Tony to the top of the slide on one of many trips. :)

Big smiles all the way down!

 Tony strutting his stuff under the slide.

Sami standing on the bottom of the little slide.

 A little rest and relaxation in Grandma's kitchen. Sami helped me make a delicious dinner. She loves to make the cresant rolls!

All in all a wonderful trip! We will definately be visiting again soon!

A New Recipe and It's a Keeper!

While looking through an old copy of Reader's Diagest, I came accross a recipe for single-serve mac and cheese. We had tried the store bought kind before, but felt it fell a little short of desirability. So...we tried this! It really is quite an easy recipe.

Combine 1/2 cup pasta, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave on high in two minute intervals, stirring between each, until pasta is al dente, 6 to 8 minutes. (Add 2 Tbs. water, if needed, to fully cook pasta.)

Stir in 1/4 cup of milk and...

1/2 cup of shredded cheese (they recommend cheddar, we used itallian blend and colby). Stir.

Microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until...

the cheese melts into a rich sauce.

Serve...

My daughter liked it so much she did not even want to look up at the camera!

 When I asked my son if it was yummy, he made kissy face at me!

Needless to say, we will be making this recipe again!

Spring Time Fun and Crafting

So, my feet have been waiting and waiting and waiting for warm weather to come our way and now that it is here... LET THE FLIP FLOP WEARING BEGIN!!!

I could not find a pair of black flip flops that I loved, so I modified a pair to suit me!

 Nothing like a little bling to take boring to beautiful! The best part is I did this for about $3! How fabulous is that?!

 I also completed another bag bag, this one is for a friend/co-worker. Isn't it lovely! The pattern was a bit of a pain to figure out, but once I had it down, it went pretty smoothly. I actually frogged this project three times before I settled on a design I liked! The best part is that she loves it!

 Here is the majority of my fabric stash that I have collected so far... isn't it lovely!

What would a spring post be without some Easter pics? Here is my lovely daughter collecting eggs.

My adorable son finding an egg in the flower pot.

 Who says the fun has to be over just because the eggs are empty? Tony dumped the empty plastic eggs all over the living room floor and ran circles around them with Sami!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Poncho Progress

I am really getting excited now! I have gotten some more progress done on my poncho! That is no easy feat considering that the children are not fans of me sitting down to anything for more than a few minutes! Crazy as it sounds, I feel a bit sad when I think that the day will come when they DO NOT want my attention all the time. I really think one has to be a bit crazy to be a mother anyway!

So.....with out any further addu.....here are my poncho progress pics. With a little help of course!

Here is Tony giving me his 'I'm not really in the way, am I Mama?' face.



 Take two and a mischievous little grin to boot!

Not one to be left out, Sami had to get in on the photo action...literally!

Here is the side view of the poncho...kid free, well almost! LOL

Finally! My model got into her 'costume' and is so happy to show off my poncho progress with a flair that is all Sami! "Mama, I put my arms up just for you!" Of course, little man thinks she is silly too!

Sami told me she really wanted to get in on the photo action because "I dressed myself in the dress from my BEST friend Autumn and I want her to see it!" Kashi, you will have to show her.

CAL Poncho Progress with lemondedesucrette

So...I started my first CAL!

It is with http://www.lemondedesucrette.com/ and I am so excited!

I worked on it a bit today...guilty pleasure as I should have been doing something else at the time, but even I cannot focus on the mundane all the time! I really love the colors.

Here is what I have completed so far....

 Another picture, this one with it laid out 'flat'!

 My little lady got so excited about this project she started begging me for it! I explained that I am planning on making one for her when I finish mine. She was SO happy. She decided she should model mine. Although it is way too big for her, it looks so cute!

 Of corse my little man is not one to be left out! He started hamming it up for a picture too! Don't you just love the chocolate on his face...he has a bit of a Kit Kat addiction!

The Bag Bag (no, that is not a typo)

While surfing my facebook page awhile back, I came accross this youtube tutorial from Bobwilson123 http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bobwilson123-Youtube-Crochet-Channel/145759165474278. She has inspired my creations on more than one occasion.

Here is the Bag Bag I made after watching her Bag Bag video.

This first picture is of the completed Bag Bag empty.

I made this Bag Bag in my school colors and placed it in the bathroom off of my clasroom so that we would have continuous access to plastic bags (in case of accidents).

 This is what it looks like stuffed with plastic grocery bags.

So excited about how well this turned out.

On another note, I have been busy trying to brush up on my sewing skills. I bought a new book...

I love this book. It is easy to follow and has a lot of really cute patterns in it. Plus, for someone just beginning, like me, the projects are rather inexpensive. The perfect way to practice!

My bestie (or perhaps ex-bestie?) was going to help me figure out the whole sewing with a pattern thing, but I have not been able to get ahold of her for a LONG while...no idea what is going on there. Anyway, I think this book will help. I am very excited about it! I have been looking through it for the last couple of weeks and marking my favorites. Plus, I have been scoping out the local fabric stores and working up a supply of one yard swatches! I have a lot of neet fabric and my sewing machine is out and ready to go! Wish me luck...