Rockin' Baby Shower

Yesterday, I had the joy of hosting a not-so-traditional baby shower! The mom-to-be didn't want anything pastel or 'babyish'. To reflect the personality of the parents, we decided on a Rock Themed Baby Shower. It was so much fun to plan, and we scoured the internet for ideas! I'm never one to go over the top, so we kept things pretty simple. The mom-to-be was happy, so that's all that matters, right? :)

 These were the invites her talented husband created for her. It pays to have husbands who are graphic designers!

The colors chosen were pink, black and white. The plates and napkins came from Hobby Lobby, and I am ever thankful for their 40% off coupons!

 I wish I could take credit for making this! The other host of the shower used a lady who is making her wedding cake. Here are some ideas we got from our Google searches: Idea 1, Idea 2, Idea 3

Naturally, we had to use rock candy for party favors! Most candy stores will sell it by the pound. We thought about using rock candy on a stick, but the cost is a little more. I also found that it's hard to find enough pink at one place. My awesome hubby is also a graphic designer, and he used the invites to make the cards for the top! A little double-sided, clear scrapbook adhesive worked great for sealing!

This cheese and crackers tray was so fun! I bought a mini star cookie cutter at Hobby Lobby and some cheddar and pepper jack cheese. This took a little longer to do than I thought. The cheese tends to break apart easily! It was still fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

I got this cute idea from a Made By You Monday link up! For some reason, I didn't save the link. So if you know which one I'm talking about, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due! She didn't use ultrasound pics, but I thought this would be darling for a table decoration!

These were going to be hanging ball decorations, but I couldn't make them quite full enough. Since I was out of tissue paper, I decided making them into large paper flowers! I also tucked in small gifts for baby. Gift 1, Gift 2

Made By You

The past few weeks have been crazy busy with making things for my new etsy shop! I just LOVE to crochet! However, that means that some of my other favorite things, like scrapbooking, have taken a backseat lately. My hands and wrists are crying out for me to let up, but I just can't seem to make myself stop! As soon as I'm halfway through one project, I start getting ideas for another one! I wish I had 10 more arms to get everything, but doesn't every mom have that same desire? Oh well!

Here is one of my most recent projects:

Linked to: Skip to My Lou

SippyCupTrails

I am super excited about my new etsy shop! I've been wanting to post about it for the last week, but I wanted to wait until I was able to list a few things. Check it out! More things are coming soon!!!

Newest Project

It's been so long since I've posted anything, I almost don't know where to start! One reason it's taken me so long is because our computer has crashed, and we've had trouble getting my Canon to load pics onto my husband's laptop. We 'think' the problem has been fixed, so we'll see! I'll start my 'comeback' post by sharing one of my newest projects.

I completed this project in February and gave it as a baby gift for a sweet friend of mine. I think it's perfect for a spring baby! The yarn I used was Vanna's Choice Baby and the pattern for the blanket was found at Lion Brand Yarn.

Sweetheart Clips!

As you can see from my post on Monday, I made a couple of heart hair clips. Well...I got a little carried away. ;) Once I find something that is cute and easy to make, I usually make quite a few! All of the patterns I used are free, and I will post them for those of you who like to craft and crochet. Enjoy!

Fabric Flowers  

Crochet Flowers 

Crochet Hearts

Here are some cute, little hearts I'm thinking about making into some hairclips and selling for Valentine's Day. They take no time at all, and they are so cute! Here's the free pattern: Planet M Files. For more Valentine's Day ideas, visit Skip To My Lou!

GONE!

Well, I was going to post pictures of the things I had been working on, but silly me decided to sell them before I took pictures! Let me explain what I've been trying to do....I've been attempting to crochet a bunch of goodies (dishcloths, bibs, toys, blankets, etc.) to either set up at craft fairs next year or set up an etsy store. I had been working really hard on getting some cute bundles of dishcloths/washcloths fixed up before I moved on to the baby stuff. :) I had about 10 bundles (30 cloths) that I had made, and was going to buy a plastic storage container to keep them. On Wednesday, 2 minutes before I walk out the door to a meeting, I decided to load them up in a basket to take with me. I thought that maybe the ladies I work with in Grade School would look at them, and maybe I might even sell a couple. Well....they were all gone in less than 2 minutes...GONE. Not that I'm complaining!!! That IS why I took them up there. :) So now I am working on more cute bundles of dishcloths/washcloths. This time they're Christmas themed. We'll see how it goes!

Another great plus to selling them is that I was able to buy Caedmon's birthday present for next month. It made me feel so good as a mommy to be able to do that for him by selling things that I had made. I felt so fulfilled. :) I've seen a couple of different websites who also make and sell these adorable dishcloths, so here's a picture of mine... :)



And here's a picture of little man's birthday present I was able to buy from the profits...

Still here!!!

I promise that I have not dropped off the face of the Earth or become lost somewhere. :) Ok, maybe I have become lost in skeins upon skeins of yarn! I have been having a blast the last few weeks crocheting some goodies! I finally finished up a present, and my brain is overflowing with ideas of things I want to make. Unfortunately, it's a time consuming process, and I can only get so much done in a day! Anyway, just letting you know I'm still here, and I'll post pics here soon! We'll have to see about doing a giveaway soon! :) (Myra, I might need your help with this!)

RAWR!!!

So here are some pics of the completed dinosaur costume project. I was able to fit all of the pieces (except the feet) on the hoodie, so it was easy to undress my little man. I was going to put "RAWR!" over the number on the hoodie, but I never got around to it. This was so much fun to make, and I'm already getting ideas for next year's costume!

TODAY...

I love using my first Today... button, so I thought I'd make another one! :) Today I Made....a sweater for my little man! It was actually in progress for about a week, and I finished up this afternoon! This is the first article of clothing that I've crocheted (other than bibs), so I was pretty pleased with it. Of course it has its imperfections, but I'm hoping no one can tell by looking at the pictures. :) Unfortunately, I should have made it a size larger, because it turned out a little snug. Oh well, at least I can add it to Caedmon's memory box!

Dinosaur Costume!!!

Ok, so here are the pictures of the dinosaur costume I've been working on. I have all of the pieces. Now, I just need a hoodie and pants to stitch the spikes onto. I am so excited to have this much done! I will definitely post pictures when it is completed. To explain the pictures: The tail is pretty obvious :); there are two large spikes and four medium spikes; the feet fit on top of the shoe and tie around the ankle. I can't wait to see this on my little man when I'm done. I had to come up with the patterns on my own, so I will post those if anyone is interested in them.

Spikes:
Large: 15 sc across, 14 rows of 15 sc, finish off with border
Medium: 12 sc across, 11 rows of 12 sc, finish off with border
Small: 9 sc across, 8 rows of 9 sc, finish off with border

Fold diagonally and stitch together

You can do as many as you need depending on the child's size. I used 1 large and 2 medium for the hood. 1 large and 2 medium for the back. 1 large, 1 medium, and 1 small for the tail. The finishing spike for the tail is an odd shaped triangle that went wrong. :) haha!

Tail:
Chain 4 then join together to form a ring. Sc in each st and increase by one at the end of the round. Continue to sc in each st and increase by one at the end of each round until your tail grows to the length and width you desire. My son is almost 2 years old, and I stopped when I reached a round with 40 sts.
It was easier for me to sew on the spikes before I stuffed the tail. I only slightly stuffed mine so that it wasn't too bulky. I then stitched together the end of the tail. I have yet to stitch the tail onto the pants, so we'll see how that goes! :)

Feet:
Beginning row and second row are 15 sts across. Decrease by one at the beginning and end of the next row so that you have 13 sts. Sc all the way across in the 4th row. Decrease by one at the beginning and end of the 5th row ending with 11 sts. Crochet 9 more rows of 11 sts or until you reach your desired length. My son wears a size 6 toddler shoe, so I made mine to fit him.

For the strings and border: Chain 30 stitches for one string, then begin crocheting down the wrong side of the foot piece, around the toe area, then back up the other side. When you reach the end, chain 30 for the other string then finish off.

Toes/Claws: I made 6 small triangles for the claws. Beginning row has 5 sts across, chain one then decrease at the beginning and end of each row until you until you end with a row of 1 stitch. I completed all six in about 30 minutes, so they take hardly no time at all!

COST: I did all of this with two skeins of the Sugar n' Creme cotton yarn at less than $2 a roll. This took me about a week to complete with lots of breaks due to chasing around a toddler. :)

If you have any questions about the patterns, just let me know! Enjoy!

Well, it looks like it's been a week since I've last posted anything, but there's really not anything noteworthy to write about. :) We've been busy this week with promotion in the grade school ministry, and my wonderful husband has been so kind and patient in helping me with the kids' worship. Thank you, sweetie! :) I'm also getting things ready for the PreK class I'll be teaching starting next week! Wow! It's almost September! During my spare time, I've been looking for deals on fall/winter clothing for my little man and attempting to make a dinosaur costume. :) I'm done with the tail, and I'm still working on the spikes for the rest of the costume. Now all I need to find is an inexpensive hoodie and pants to complete this project. I'll post pictures and patterns later for anyone interested. I had a hard time finding a crochet pattern for the tail, so I made one up! :) Hope everyone has a great week!