Mr. Funky Super Crochet Hat

I have to admit, I can become pretty OCD, pretty quickly when it comes to craft supplies and books. Something in me tells me to buy...BUY! Perhaps it's not an OCD thing so much as shopaholicism, but either way, I had to force myself to stop buying so many craft books to fulfill my newest crafty cravings in the means of knitting & crochet (or anything I can do to make good use of my quickly growing yarn stash). Thank goodness Christmas was coming around the corner when I put myself on craft-supply-probation, so I took the opportunity to request craft books from friends and family. I ended up getting three of my fave choices, including the super cool, Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful, which is turning out to be my fave at the moment because of all the simple and short projects, including an adorable hat & scarf set.


What? You thought the book was only about Amigurumi characters? So did I, until I read through all the reviews. The reviews on Amazon are really great. People typically leave very valuable feedback, like "this book is great for beginners" or "this book is not great for beginners" (very important details for me right now). I always read the reviews before I buy a book - they're sometimes more useful than flipping through the book, yourself, in the book store.



As usual, I dove straight into a couple projects, including the aforementioned hat & scarf set. I'm making this set for myself, partly because I think it's adorable and partly because this will be my first crochet hat and if I make any mistakes, I'd rather keep them than pass them on in a gift. Yes, I'm a type-A perfectionist...not that a couple minor flubs here and there aren't likely to happen no matter how experienced I end up getting with this craft, but if any major disasters happened, I wanted to hold on to them and learn for when I make one as a gift.



So far, so good. I really like this pattern, actually. It's been pretty simple to follow - mostly SC and DC and a couple slip stiches here and there....oh, and of course some chains, but I've been moving along on this one pretty quickly. I like the hat so much, I even got some yarn in another colorway to make a second hat for a friend or loved one...or giveaway, time permitting. We'll see.

NOTE: First Mr. Funky book image by amazon.com

What's Up With That?

Call it luck or fate, but either way, I hardly ever win contests! What's up with that? I'm not sure why I don't seem to have the best fortune with winning stuff, but what I do know is that times are a-changing! I recently won a fabulous handmade Namesake from the talented crafter, Stephanie, over at Crafty Lolly. Isn't it beautiful?


Made with my favorite color, light turquoise (aka Robin's egg blue), this fabulous little stuffie also has flowers and buttons and other fun knick-knacks, including, my personal fave, a French spoon. I'm not sure if I've ever professed my love for French stuff on The Chic Life before, but basically, I went to France twice in high school on an exchange. I also minored in French in college...for fun. :) But, that's all another story for another day.



Today is about this fabulous Namesake! Here's a closer picture with more detail so you can take in the full awesomeness of it. Oh yea! Thanks for making this for me, Stephanie!

And speaking of contests and organizing, I've decided to have a couple giveaways, so stayed tuned for more info on that! I've got some great stuff to giveaway! :) Some handmade...some thrifted...all fab!

Crochet Crazy in the Hizzy

I've caught the crochet fever...and I've got it bad. I have several projects going on right now (even some knitting projects, but I guess that's another story). Luckily, I finished one of my crochet today...woohoo! Thank goodness because it's supposed to be a Christmas present for a friend. Good thing she hasn't called yet about exchanging gifts!


I've been working on this scarf in bits and pieces. I knew I wanted to crochet something for a friend, but I was completely distracted by a few knit/crochet books I got for Christmas when I couldn't resist starting some projects from my new books. Needless to say, I'm like that girl who is reading about five books at one time. I guess I just like to multi-task...I dunno? Either way, I've been spreading my free time working a round here, a row here on my various projects.



Lately, I've been working on making more "me time" so I can work on some of these "for fun" projects. I've been trying to spend a couple hours cleaning/organizing and making sure to take a break to do something I want...even if it's just working a couple rows for one of my crochet patterns. It's been fun though, tidying up, and then curling up on the couch with some yummy hot cocoa I got from a local semi-gourmet store. It's Ghiradelli Hazelnut Hot Cocoa...and it's tasty!



So, I've spent some time over the past couple days relaxing on my cozy couch, watching some craft TV (which I don't usually get to see b/c they always put the good shows on while I'm at work) and making hoop after hoop with single crochets and double crochets (and even some triple crochets here and there). Even Bailey wanted to get in on the crochet action.



And, just in case you didn't believe me that I actually finished a project, here's a shot of the final product along with another scarf in the same pattern and my butterfly scarf. I can't wait to finish some more projects so I can share them with you!

You Like Me...You Really Like Me!

We went back to my SO's hometown this past weekend to see his sister as we had to work the day after Christmas and she wasn't coming to town till later in the week. I, of course, wanted to be there to see her open the quilt I made for her daughter. All during last week I built myself up for the worst case scenario. Not everyone likes, wants, or appreciates handmade stuff quite like the many talented people on the craft blog scene. I tried to prepare myself prior to the weekend that they may just open the box and say, "Hey, it's a blanket. Thanks." (note there's not exclamation in that quote). I did keep hope that they would love it...especially since my SO's sister is such a sweet & caring person overall. All my worries disappeared the moment they opened the quilt. As you can tell from this photo, she liked it! Phew!


See how it's all laid out on the ground like that? She did it all by her wee-little self. She opened the box with her mom, took the quilt, and carefully spread it out on the ground, bit by bit. Then, she sat right in the middle of the quilt and touched the various fabric pieces. So cute!



Then, she laid down on it and rolled around. Thank goodness she liked it! I usually like to keep the "first" of things I make (first quilt, first crocheted scarf, etc), but sometimes the better event is when you can give something so special of yours to someone else special and hope they can appreciate it as much as you would. I think we're good to go here, folks!

Christmas-ing Around the South

It was Christmas-ing around the south for us this year as we visited both my parents and my SO's family for the holidays. We spent the weekend before Christmas with my family. My mom is a neonatal intensive care nurse, so she only gets every other Christmas off. I guess it works out well now that my SO and I are sharing the holidays between both our families. Only problem is, with so few days, you don't feel like you really get to spend good quality time with either family. Don't get me wrong, a couple days with each is precious time, but I love my long, lazy days hanging out with family and doing nothing but eating, resting, and whatever else I feel like. Maybe next year? Anywho, my parents loved their gifts - my mom loved the scarf I knit up for her! Yay!


At my family's house, we had a traditional turkey dinner, but with non-traditional table decor. Doesn't matter one bit to me...turquoise is my favorite color anyways!



Oh yea! Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, steamed veggies...yummy! We even had pumpkin pie and a delicious chocolate cake...mmm...



Last week, I was recounting all the Christmas presents I had hoped to make and came to the awful realization that I didn't have time to get them all done. EEK! I only had time to get a couple done. That was...I thought I had time to get a couple done, and then, the orders for D Celestine started pouring in out of no where! I had some online orders and even had a few custom orders to make with some local friends, which is always a blast, but no time for my homemade Christmas gifts. Luckily, I packed up my knitting supplies and all the yarns I had intended to use in my gifts and knitted up a storm all weekend, and Christmas Eve, and even Christmas Day to complete two (yes, two) more of those butterfly scarves. I finished the second one about an hour before we were supposed to head over to my SO's aunt's house for dinner. Did I mention I had offered to prepare a panettone bread pudding before we left? Phew! What a busy day Christmas was!? Everything came together in the end. The panettone bread pudding was very much enjoyed, and I gave the two butterfly scarves to my SO's two aunts and they LOVED them. Phew! My first major, handmade Christmas gifts were a hit! I've got to come up with something good for next year now!

I'm Loving This Quilt

Well, here it is...the day I thought would never get here. Mommy fiiiinally finished the pretty baby quilt and I have to say, I've thoroughly been enjoying it.


Wait...WHAT!? What do you mean I have to give it up?



Can't I keep it, mommy...pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? You wouldn't say no to a face like this, would you?



Oh fine! Just take it! You better have some good treats for me leftover in that stocking, though! I'm just sayin...

Christmas Tunes & Binding

So, tonight was another step towards completing the baby quilt - my first try at binding. I've been avoiding blankets and quilting for awhile now because...well, I've been afraid. Afraid of the quilting...and especially afraid of the binding. I'm one of those people who visualize everything in my head and I couldn't quite wrap my thoughts around how the binding was supposed to work. I. just. couldn't. imagine. how. it. worked. I've been putting off binding projects like a 10 page research paper for school, but tonight, I said, "No more excuses" and dove right in.

I have to admit, while sometimes tedious, and definitely hard work, I'm very much enjoying this project...even though it's starting to get kinda fugly. Not overally fugly, but if you look at it closely and pick out all my mistakes...or if you're a quilt connoisseur, you'd probably deem my quilt unworthy. I made loops in my stipling (which I read you aren't supposed to do b/c the stiches aren't supposed to cross), my squares don't line up right, and when I squared my quilt off, I realized it was lop-sided and had to trim longer pieces of some sides making the border uneven. But, hey, it's the imperfections that make it handmade and therefore special...right?

Anywho, tonight, I turned on the Christmas radio stations, googled some binding tutorials online and pinned and sewed and pinned and sewed till the binding was all the way around on one side. Tomorrow night, I plan to finish the quilt...yay! I can't wait! Now, I just need to get some good hot cocoa so I can really get in the spirit!

If You Can Read This...

I'm not sure if everyone out there is as random as me (probably not, as that would be pretty hard to do), but I was driving to work, half-asleep, without any caffeine in my system, and the most random memory popped into my head, seemingly from nowhere. I'm sure I must have heard something on the radio that triggered my memory, but who ever knows? Alls I know is I suddenly remembered being 8-ish. My friend Dee-Dee (such an 80's name, no?) snuck into her big sister's room to snoop around. I don't remember much, but I remember posters (probably New Kids on the Block and Cindy Lauper), perfume bottles, lip glosses, nail polishes, cassettes, pastels...and a collection of buttons. I remember reading one...the text was so small, it was hard to make out. I squinted to read it, but the words made out eventually but sloooowwwwwly. "Iffffff you can read thisssss....you're stannnnnnnding too damn close." Oh my goodness! I thought. That button is mean...yet strangely funny. I think I loved it instantly, even though I knew it was wrong. At 8-ish, you think "bad words" are so terrible, no? I wonder what that says about me, finding that button so fascinating at what seems like such a young age? I wonder why that memory popped out of the blue to give me a quick giggle on my way to work? Perhaps my brain was pissed off at me for staying up so late working on that silly baby quilt. Why, oh why, did I decide to do stipling for my first quilt?

I guess I like a good challenge...and "challenge" it was, indeed. I must have started and stopped a dozen times...breaking string, sewing over the extra edges of my backing, pinched fabric...you know...all the newbie mistakes. Can you tell from the photo that I didn't really know what I was doing? Either way, I really wanted to finish the stipling for this quilt and made myself stay up until it was done. Phew...done it is...but now I have to do quilt binding for the first time...yikes! Luckily, there are some good tutorials out there! Tonight was dedicated to Christmas shopping for the SO...maybe tomorrow night I'll finish the quilt? Wish me luck...I think I'm going to need it!

Cozy Crochet Scarf

I finally got to my most awesome Christmas gift from last year - the Cozy Crochet Kit...uh after a beginner crochet class at a local yarn shop. I think I could have taught myself, but:
1. The first crochet row was really messing me up - I couldn't figure out which loops to pull up!
2. Classes are more fun and you get to meet a lot of cool people. Like my teacher, who (whom?) I see every time I'm in the yarn shop and who always helps me so much for FREE...just because she's nice. Aww



This is the first crochet project I decided to tackle. It was a level 2, but I like a good challenge and I ended up really liking this scarf. I think I'm gonna make me a couple more...for Christmas gifts, of course.

Anywho, I highly recommend this kit to anyone just learning to crochet. I think I first fell in love with the name (how could a cozy crochet kit go wrong, right?) first, but the patterns inside are super fun. Especially this scarf! Can't wait to try some others out, though.

Knitting for Christmas

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was sick sick sick with food poisoning...ick! Today, I still feel very weak and I haven't been able to eat solid foods yet, but yesterday was just not pretty one bit! I faded in and out of sleep all day and just felt so...uncomfortable! I wanted to knit or crochet something b/c I find that so very relaxing and comforting, but it was all I could do yesterday to sit upright.

Anywho, on to happier things...like knitting!


I've been working on this simple stockinette scarf for awhile now, and finally finished it this past weekend.



I've seen people pin their knit items down, but I never knew why...until my stockinette stitched scarf started curling up and my friend at the yarn store told me to pin the scarf flat and spray it with water. I patiently waited all day for my scarf to dry and when I pulled it up...it curled right back. boo! I guess the trick only works when you work with natural materials, like wool or alpaca. Oh well, it's still pretty cute and will make a great Christmas gift...I hope!

I've got lots of other great knitting ideas for Christmas presents, but I suppose I'm really running out of time, aren't I? I need to get knitting!

Oh Where, Oh Where Can My Ornaments Be?

I am so disappointed with ornament options...why are there no light turquoise ornaments anywhere? WHY? I don't want light blue, I don't want bright turquoise...I want a light turquoise, almost "robin's egg blue" color ornament, in a simple, glass ball. Is that so much to ask for? Apparently, it is...because I haven't seen any anywhere! I guess I will continue to make my own in the meantime...they're super fun to create and craft, but would be much more enjoyable if there were only more hours in the day. I enjoy making my ornaments either way, but it would be so much more enjoyable to work on them without worrying about what I should work on...ah well...such is life, no?

Here are, I think, my fave ornaments so far - they are sparkly snowmen...although, perhaps the little flowers make them snow-women. snowomen? sno-women? I think you catch my drift (get it? drift? snow drift? yea...it's a knee slapper)


I actually came up with the idea to put the "carrot" nose on the pins...cute, no? I figured they would stay on better if I could attach them to the styrofoam bases with pins. I made the flowers and leaves with craft store felt.



Hey ladies! Ready to pretty up my tree?

...And the Winner of the Handmade Gift Tags Is...

..."Sarah and Jack" of Misadventures of Mama and Jack! She won the contest to get these festive gift tags I made a week-ish ago:

Congrats Sweetie (email me your shipping addy at shopaholicd at gmail dot com)! And thanks to everyone who played! I'm hoping to have one more giveaway before Christmas so stay tuned.

Happy holidays!

Glittering Bailey

I've had quite the glitter production going on on my dining room table lately. Good thing we don't usually eat on it! I've been creating all kinds of sparkly creations to hang on our Christmas tree, but I swear, it's like I'm not working hard enough or something. I feel like I've been crafting ornaments for hours and hours and I only have a few creations to show for it. Oh well, at least I've been having fun and I'll have custom-made ornaments when I'm done! Yay! But, seriously, I think Christmas just snuck up on me this year. It was like, one minute, it's spring and the next minute...it's Christmas! What the hay!? Anywhosier, here's my next batch of ready-to-hang ornaments, straight from the craft room dining room table:


I paired Martha Stewart glitter with red ribbon and added a little metal hoop on top



As you can imagine, with this much glittering going on, I've basically got glitter everywhere! Even on Bailey! Poor little guy. I accidentally sprinkled some on him when I was walking past him with some ornaments. Oopsie! Mommy will try to be more careful!

I'm Dreaming of a Sparkly Christmas

I've always loved sparkly things. I remember a kid's movie I fell in love with a looooong time ago, called, "The Secret of Nimh" (the book was waaaay better, and if I remember correctly, pretty deep for a kids' book). The movie had a goofy crow character who always said, "Oooh...a sparkly!" I say that sometimes when I see sparkly stuff...yea...it's silly, but I can't help it. I think my love for things that glitter helped influence me to start my jewelry business. At least, it helps influence the materials I select and the ones I put in my designs. I always like to add a little sparkle to each design. Anywho, with Christmas coming up and my nesting kicking in (and me finally having more space for decorations), it was a no-brainer that there would be a lot of glittering going on in my home. I've got quite a few things in the works, but glitters and glues and paints can take some time to dry, so here's the first set that's ready:

They're little embroidery hoops - I sparkled the edges in red (Garnet, if you want to get technical) Martha Stewart glitter and added some light turquoise fabric stretched across the hoops. Not quite the right fabric color, but it's really hard to find the kinds of Christmas colors I'm looking for. Oh well...I'll wait to see how they look in the tree with my other ornaments. I can switch the fabric out pretty easily later. Now, back to sparkling!

Don't forget to enter into the contest!

Gift Tag Giveaway

I've really been getting into making the smaller things in life extra-special, especially now that the holidays are here. I remember in college, if I had time to gift wrap (because I was an over-achieving workaholic with little time), I was usually throwing something in a decorative bag with tissue paper or throwing whatever holiday gift wrap was closest to me on any boxes I needed to wrap. Not that simple gift wrap doesn't say special...it just wasn't saying "special" for me. I've been getting into adding little details to my gift wrap and thinking through my gift wrap color themes and stuff, and one of the things I've been wanting to add to my packages are decorative gift tags. My family has always gotten those cutesy sticker tags with images of snowmen or Santa, but I've really been having fun creating gift tags for some recent swaps and want to make some for myself.

I made these gift tags yesterday with the traditional Christmas color scheme, but I'm not going for "traditional" with my Christmas color scheme. I'm going for traditional with a twist. Anywho, that means that I need to give these babies away. One set will be for a swap (those aren't pictured), one set will be for a Christmas gift, and one set will be given away to one of my dear readers (or guests).


I am giving away this set, with the glittery gift tags including: red rectangle on holiday print, red swirly circle on green striped print, a hand-drawn holly berry bit, off white rectangle on green print, hand drawn/glittered swirl on red swirl print with off white paper print, poinsettia on cream/red rectangles on holiday print



This set (with the Santa gift tag) will be showing up in someone's Christmas gift (only the first set pictured will be given away)

CONTEST INFO

Two Ways to Enter (and you can do both if you want to enter twice!):
1. Leave a comment on this post (only one comment per person, unless you do #2, too) and say which tag is your fave
2. Do a post about the contest on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your post (if you do a post about the contest, you may use the first image of the gift tags in your contest post)

All entries must be received by Friday night (12/7/07), as the winner will be selected Saturday morning.

Happy Contesting!

Happy Handmade Holidays

I know I mentioned wanted to make all my presents this year, but I've been getting into making my decorations, too. I've really been working on brainstorming the perfect color scheme and found some great inspiration in my Martha Stewart books...only problem is...where does she find all those amazing colors for such regular items as gift wrap, ribbon, etc. Thank goodness she opened her own aisle in Michael's so I can finally access some of her pretty colors in scrapbook paper and tissue paper colors! I think my fave color of her collection is her "Feldspar" - it's like a pale blue-green...not quite "robin's egg blue" - I think "Feldspar" has a bit more green to it...but any-hoosier.

I found these cute and cheap ornaments at Michael's the other day when I "went in for one thing." I'm sure you guys know how that goes. Anywho, I figured they'd be a simple project to paint up and sparkle up...and they were! The little crevices were a bit difficult, and you can see I painted the light turquoise color on the snowflakes a tad, but I figured they'd be covered with glitter. There were also a few black marks on some of the ornaments, but again, I figured they'd be covered with glitter, so who'd ever know...except you guys now.


Painting the background light turquoise



All done! The tops were painted white to accent the snowflakes and I added Martha's White Gold glitter to the tops.

Now I just need a tree!

Shabby Chic Gift Tags

I finally carved some time out of my evening to make time for a long-awaited project: handmade gift tags. Sure, I had laundry to do, clothes to fold, a dog to take care of (wait, I still did that one), emails to type, but I'm usually one who does what she feels she should do. Tonight, I decided to do what I want to do. I don't get these opportunities often (when what I have to do in a night absolutely must be done by the next day), but I think that helps me enjoy my time better when I finally have it.


After searching for nearly thirty minutes for a pad of Amy Butler scrapbook paper (which, of course, I didn't end up using), I set up our dining room table, sipped some chocolate soy milk and just crafted and crafted and crafted to my heart's content.



I used some random scrapbook paper, craft punches, ink pads, stamps, ribbon, and one of my new fave craft supplies - Martha Stewart glitter! It's fab - so delicate! I also got to try a new crafting trick - the inkpad edging effect that makes the paper looked aged. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and turned out great! Now I know why everyone does it so much!



Not sure if these would officially be considered "shabby chic", but I didn't know what else to call the gift tag style.

I had a great brainstorm today for a winter craft project, but as I've already been to Michael's nearly five times this month (and JoAnn's twice), I need to:
1. Use the craft supplies I already have
2. Stop spending too much money on craft supplies! I suppose I truly am a shopaholic

Butterfly Scarf in Green

I've decided to try to handmade all my presents this year. What else am I supposed to do with all of these gorgeous yarns, fabrics, and other crafy goodies, but make something that I can share with those I love? I think there's something extra special to handmade gifts...the heart that goes into each creation is something you can't buy with all the money in the world. Only problem is...I've distributed the link to this blog to nearly all my friends and family, so they'll be able to see their presents before they get them. Oopsie! My saving grace? The fact that they won't know which of the many creations are theirs until they open that box on Christmas Day.

Now that I've completed my first "butterfly" scarf project, I've decided to make more in the same style, but different colors, yarns, and textures. The yarn shop I've been frequenting (too much by the way) has these nifty grab bags in the front of the store, allowing me to afford all the yarns I've been collecting lately. Too bad they never put any of the oh-so-lovely alpaca or cashmerino yarns in those...I'm dying to work with that stuff, but I'm trying to buy yarns for gifts for others...not gifts for me. I think after the holidays are over, I'm going to head straight to the yarn store and get me some of the chunky alpaca yarn and some of the uber-cuddly cashmerino in black or off-white and make myself a shrug. I don't know how to make one, nor do I have any patterns, but with all the practice I'll get from these Christmas-gift-scarves, I should be able to figure it out. Yea baby!

Caterpillar to Butterfly

My little caterpillar has finally grown into a butterfly! Ok, not really, but wow! How satisfying is the completion of your first project in a new medium? After two beginner knitting classes, and many hours silently & happily knitting, I've got a beautiful scarf that I can actually use. I'm so excited!


It's funky and fun...but, mainly, I picked it out for it's casual style, so I could more esaily hide my mistakes...heehee



Even Bailey wanted to help me model my new scarf!

Quilt Kit - An Update

As you can imagine, I've been pretty swamped with potty training and house-breaking the puppy...uh...and I may have spent just an hour or so on play time...yea, there may have been an hour-ish spent on play time *hee hee*

But, I did manage to make some progress on the quilt kit.



I laid out all the pieces and figured out how I wanted them to look and I got all the squares sewed into rows.



Of course, by some sort of not-so-much-stroke-of-genius, I managed to sew the first two rows together upside down, which threw off my entire layout, so I had to re-arrange a bit...oopsie!

I'm also not sure on how to machine quilt this bad boy yet, either...I was thinking stich-in-the-ditch would be easy, but now I'm hearing I should just stitch some loose waves...I'm leaning towards the waves...especially since these squares aren't lining up the way I want them to. Not bad for my first try, though...I mean, so far, so good. Now, I just need to finish it up. Too bad I'm starting to get addicted to this.