30 Day Crochet Challenge- Day 1

Day 1: What was your first finished project?

When I was wanting to learn to crochet, I was left without a teacher. My Nana, who taught me to latch hook, tin punch, and candle wick, did not know how. My mom didn't know how. I was left to find a way of teaching myself.

Luckily, libraries exist.

In my high school library, I found Get Hooked:Simple Steps to Crochet Cool Stuff. It's geared toward the teen girl crowd, but I found it pretty helpful.

 It's the typical first projects type book. There's scarves, belts, small flowers, etc. There's a pretty cool skirt pattern in there.

I settled on doing a face scrubber pattern. It was basically a large circle of single crochet with a small loop for hanging. I did it in a pretty dark green that was not inspiring to face washing. It disappeared pretty quickly and I settled into doing more 3D type crochet.

Maria del Rosas (Maria of Roses)

As you will see with my projects, I like to work with a variety of colors. This is no different when it comes to the skin of my dolls. We are not all white so why are our toys? I think that it's important that children have options when it comes to choosing  their friends, and there's not many options when the shelves are lined with white figures.

I try to add this variety a lot in my store so it's not overloaded by white dolls. Children deserve to have dolls that reflect themselves, their culture, and their interests.

A recent addition to my store is Maria. She is modeled after a little girl I know and her Hispanic heritage.

The white dress is based off the designs of Costa Rican dresses. The shoes are your typical 'Mary Janes.' She is wearing a green and red belt around her middle and a headband of red flowers. Her hair has been parted and braided, with her bangs cut to run horizontally.

She is approx. 16 in and is currently available for $15 here.  Maria is very friendly and a real sweet girl.

Magical Elephant!

I'm in love with this pattern by Pierrot Yarns! The instructions are in Japanese, but come with charts so the anyone can crochet this adorable elephant. If you click the link, you can see one of my elephants featured!

Crochet charts were new to me when I stumbled across this pattern and I had no clue how to work them! If you're lost as well, here's a good tutorial.

I have crocheted this pattern once or twice.....

And now THRICE!

It's just a really cute outcome and I can't (won't) stop!

 

This little guy is currently in my store, waiting to bring his magic into your home!

He stands at about 7 1/2 inches, with hat. The hat is light pink and removable, revealing a little yellow chick that is attached to his head. He is also wearing white magic gloves and a lime green bow tie. The rose is not included. His eyes, as well as his feathered friend's eyes, are sewn on securely.

$12 for this Magical Elephant. Punch in 'NUBLU14' at check out for 10% off your purchase.

Happy crafting!
Bertie

WIP Calorie Free Ice Cream!

Since I'm trying to start up my Etsy shop again for the summer, I was casting about for some ideas. Came across a list I made a while back. So many ideas I never got around to!

One of the ideas I had was to make a huge ice cream plush. Last night, I made the cone!

Really digging how it came out. I'm altering the pattern I found here to get the cone shaped right. I'm going to need to cut out a circle of cardboard to make the base more sturdy. Not sure how to keep the entire cone in shape, at the moment though....hmmm......

I think it may come out strawberry! Not sure though. I have a lot of 'flavors' in the 'fridge'.

Lola Sweet Lola

 This doll is called Lola, after a doll I made for a friend's daughter. She fell in love with her and I thought this was something all young girls should have.

Lola is a rambunctious young girl who likes to go on adventures and act on her own ideas. Shortly before this photo shoot she chose to cut her hair. Her beautiful curls!! As any mother would, I gave her a good scolding, but really what could I do? The photographer was ready to go and as we all know hair takes a very long time to grow. I refuse to tell her, but it's pretty cute and gives her more of a childish charm. 

So on that day she was joined by her friend, Mia. They spent the day playing as the photographer took picture after picture. It was difficult to get many action shots, but you know how kids are. All over the place at the speed of light. I think the two had fun. There was a lovely tea party and outdoor time. They even read a book. :) Well Mia read most of the book to Lola, she's still learning, before Lola went scrambling off.

Photos:

Mia and Lola posing for the camera. 

Lola LOVES tea parties, especially when there's cake involved.

A smile between friends.

Sugar is the best ingredient of life!

 "Oh would you like a spot of tea, dear?"

"Let me help you with that, Miss Lola!"

"Oh that rascally cat with a hat!"

Lola is as cute as can be!She's very cuddly and can be anybody you want. I do take custom orders if you would like her to have a different look for your child.

Standing, she is 15". She comes with the outfit shown. The dress is removable.

The model shown is wearing a pink dress with  high grey boots. My Lola loves her grey boots! They are part of her legs and so cannot be removed. You can request shorter boots or even bare or stocking feet. My Lola was also made with a white undershirt on since she doesn't like the sun to get too much of her skin. She burns easily.

She is made in a smoke-free, but pet friendly environment. The yarn is worsted weight Red Heart Supersaver brand. The eyes are 5/8", smooth black buttons and securely sewn on. Her mouth was embroidered on.

She should be fine in a washer on the Easy/Delicate cycle, but I recommend spot cleaning when possible. Also lets be careful when drying, air drying is probably your safest bet.

When ordering please remember it may take up to a week for me to make your doll and ship it out. Also you must pay me through my Paypal during that time or else it will take longer for me to send it to you. I do not ship unless I have confirmation on payment. My shipping days are Wednesday and Saturday when possible.

I reserve the right to use pictures of your finished dolls in the future for advertising purposes.

If you want a 'hand-written' note from Lola to the recipient, I will gladly include one free of charge. Simply supply the name, age, and message. Age will only be used to determine the style of the message. For example I may use crayon and lots of backwards letters for a five year old, but for a nine year old I may op for curly lettering and a colorful pen.

To purchase please click here.

Her hair is so unruly, especially after her round with  scissors!

She loves to smile.

If you have questions, email me at chloe.gardner78@gmail.com or post a question in the comments below.

Photographer credit goes to Christine Pritchett
Model credit goes to Mia

Impossible Astronaut Day

Greetings!

For all fans of BBC's Doctor Who, today is the third anniversary of the "Impossible Astronaut." Fans celebrate by making tally marks on their body to reenact key points of the episode.

But you can also celebrate with some Doctor Who crafting!

Make your own fez

Upgrade your pen into a Sonic Screwdriver

 

Cross-stitch a Dalek

Crochet an Ood Companion

Cut out your own TARDIS + Doctor

Make a cuddly Adipose

I hope ya'll get a chance to try one of these out! I'm stuck working on a paper today, so have fun in my place. Would love to see what everyone has!

Happy crafting,

Bertie

Crafting for a purpose

Crafters have a special talent. They have unique designs just itching to be released and loved- and a way to create them.

Sometimes we find ourselves looking at our yarn or fabric and have no one to make something for. Mom already has ten thousand afghans and your grandfather is so hard to make for. But what are we supposed to do with the energy that consumes us and the materials that threaten to bury us?

We craft for charity, of course.

Do you ever wonder why people love your homemade gifts? Hint: it’s because you took the time and effort to physically make something for them! The item shows the care you have for them. Even if it didn’t turn out that great. I bet your mom still has that first knobbly scarf you made her stashed away.

There are a lot of tragedies happening in the world around us. Millions are suffering from incurable diseases like cancer or HIV. Children go to bed hungry every night. Refugees are forced to leave home comforts behind. Sometimes it feels like there is not a lot we can do- most of us do not have the resources to feed every child or fund research. However, we do have our two hands and creativity. 

  

People love handmade gifts, especially in times of hardships. It can help brighten their day to know that someone took the time to make something specifically for them.

When I was starting in college, I joined the ladies at St. Luke’s a couple of times to help them make quilts. The quilts were either for church members or those in the Stephenville community that had been struck by illness or other obstacles. Everyone seemed to love their quilts because it came from a group with such kindness in their hearts to take the time to stitch up a quilt. No two quilts were the same either! It also felt really good to be involved in a project like that.

So what’s your poison? What are you good at? There’s a ton of charities that utilize different craft skills to send love to people in need.

Knit/Crochet:

Angels For Hope-  This organization send a free crocheted angel to anyone in need of hope. They also attach a brief message to remind the person that they are not alone and someone is looking after them. Their goal this year is to reach out to 86,500 lives!

Mother Bear Project- Mother Bear takes knit/crocheted bears made by volunteers to send to children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. According to the site, children with very little in the world are touched to receive a reminder that somebody does love them.

Sewing: 

Project Linus- This charity calls for those with a little bit of sewing knowledge to donate a homemade blanket to provide an ill or traumatized child with warmth, comfort, and security. They also accept crocheted/knitted afghans.

Quilts of Valor- This foundation relies on the help of quilters to help make quilts for returning American veterans. 

Much more than these can be found through Google. You can even look around your community to see if there is a need for your crafts. Consider donating preemie caps and baby blankets to the local hospital. See if the police/fire department has a need for teddy bears for children they encounter in their jobs. Opportunity can be right down the street!

 I hope you found this post inspiring! This summer, I will be making bears for the Mother Bear Project. What about you?

Happy crafting!

Bertie

Testing, testing....1.2.3

Hey everybody!

This is a start of a new challenge for myself. Well two new challenges for myself.

I want to keep a blog going for more than a day, so I will be committing myself to posting at least five times a week about something crafty.

Which leads to challenge number two- be more crafty. I need to get out of my semester slump and get my creative juices flowing again. I will be committing myself to a new project every one to two weeks, depending on what I'm working on. I just picked up a new cross stitch kit today so I'll be posting work in progress photos as I go. Hopefully it will be done in time for Mother's Day!

Wish me luck, followers!

Bertie