Queen Annes Lace and an Angel Pinafore for Ruby

I haven't been as crafty as I have wanted to this week, as it has been a busy work week.  Hubby had a couple of eye appointments late in the week for some pre-glaucoma testing (all seems to be going well at this time).  Lastly, a dear friend from high school passed away suddenly after about a 6-month battle with leukemia, and we went to her viewing last night as well.  I just wanted to sit down and create something beautiful to send to her family today, and I knew I had to use one of the lovely Queen Anne's Lace from Imagine That.  Alicia just loved flowers, and this reminded me of the Remembrance card from the viewing as well.

I loved the look of this Queen Anne's Lace printed on kraft paper that Kris created last week and just had to copy her a little bit (hope you didn't mind Kris).  Hers is way more stunning with all of the blue.  I just used the blue to pop a little extra color to my shades of pink and green.  :)  I embossed the craft circle but then wanted a touch of white around the edge to pop it out more.  I used the gel pen to accent the edge as well as add a pop of dimension to the Queen Anne's Lace too.  Metallic prismacolor pencils on the butterfly didn't give enough sparkle, so I added some more with the spica gel pen too.

Maybe I was leaning towards pink and green a little bit this week too 

because I have been working on this sweet little angel pinafore dress 

for my friend Glennie's granddaughter, Ruby, 

this week and just have to get it to her soon,

as her mommy is due any day.  

I sure hope they like it.  :)  

The white and green are alpaca and alpaca blend respectively.

the pink and green at the top reminded me of a watermelon, 

and I was tempted to sew on some little black felt seeds, 

but I decided to keep it girly and not "fruity."  :)

Love and Hugs to you all,

Honey & Boo Flying by with a Birthday Wish

Can you tell I have been loving all of the digital images from Kris Breach at Imagine That?!  They are like a good bag of potato chips ... I can't pick just ONE.  lol :)  

Any of you who know me well know that teddy bears are just one of the things I collect (as well as angels, coins, stamps a long time ago) ... and this sweet Honey & Boo image is definitely a keeper!  It can be used for so many fun occasions too just like balloon bouquets for those you love.  I know quite a few little girls who would love this on their birthday cards this year, so I think I should make about 10 or so to keep in stock :)  

This weekend, I created this card by opening the image in Photoshop (PSE 6), sizing it so that it would fit on my 4.25 x 5.5 card with plenty of room, adjusted the sentiment so it was the right size too) and then printed it out.  All I had to do was trim it, layer it with some card stock, sponge the clouds with pearlescent sky blue, pop dot the image for dimension and add a pretty matching ribbon.  It couldn't get any simpler than that, right?!  :)  Kris' sentiments in the set are even perfect for the inside as well.

Stop on by Kris' store and check out all of the terrific images and sentiments she has at great prices!  She has a February release coming up soon, so you will want to keep an eye out for that, and you can always play along with her progressive challenges that are so much fun and can earn you FREE images!  They are found HERE (link also on my sidebar with the cute frog in the pocket).

I even got a chance to enter this in a few challenges:
Inky Impressions - Ribbon
Sister Act Card challenge - Anything Goes
Cards Galore Challenge #1 - Anything Goes
DigiStamps4Joy (S Africa) challenge - Add Real Ribbon
Cute Card Thursday challenge - So Sweet

Lastly, I did promise you all a photo of my completed throw for my love seat.  I just love the look of hearts, so I do "love" cuddling up in it on these cold evenings while I watch TV, read a book or crochet another fun project.  :)

Inky Hugs and Stay Warm my Friends,

Unbearably cold outside? Beary Cute Hats

Well, the weather outside is frightful, so staying inside and crocheting is much more delightful!

 :)  I think I am hooked (no pun intended) at making these cute little infant caps/beanies.  I have made a few owl hats, the sock monkey hat for Alyssa and now two of these cute bears.  These baby bear patterns were found at http://KnitProCro.com.  Deborah has this adorable baby bear hat pattern as well as a panda bear hat pattern that you may want to check out.

The one with the  brown nose is made with all alpaca yarn, so it is softer and doesn't hold its shape as well as the heavier weight yarn one with the black nose.  It will definitely be softer but still warm and snug.  The alpaca will stretch a little bit too, so although he is floppy when taking photos, 

I think it will be a lot more comfortable for baby.  :)

So, let me know what you think, and what are you busy making this time of year?!  I think I need to stay on top of the card and gift making this year so I don't get too far behind next Christmas.

Happy crafting! :)

Merry Christmas Post

Well, I finally got my to-do list completed yesterday, so today I am just adding a few goodies (cinnamon roasted almonds and pecans) to the kitchen yet because I have some time before I cook dinner this afternoon. :)  I also wanted to post these Christmas cards for you to see (and for me to remember in case I want to use the idea again for next year).  It seems I just can't stick with one style of card and keep mass producing it.  I guess I get a little bored with the same thing, so I ended up grabbing some BG Wassail papers and my baby Jesus stamp from the Nativity set from Paper Pretties to create some more :)  The gold pieces were thick recycled wrapping paper that I had kept for anniversary cards or wedding cards but thought they would look perfect with baby Jesus too!  There were a few wrinkles in them since they had previously been used to wrap presents, but one run through the Big Shot, and those wrinkles were gone.

There are still some ornaments left, and I decided to mix them up a little bit by paper piecing the red and green ones together and added some liquid pearls at the seams so they were not as noticeable since the paper is thicker card stock.  This one below is going to a lady who loves to quilt, so I added some stitching and lace to her card. :)

This one just oozes a country feel to me, and I love the look of the petals a plenty embossing on this striped paper from BasicGrey's Wassail pack.

This paper reminds me of quilted pieces too with the triangles fitted together.

Last but not least, I am creating a couple of these, and one of them went to sweet, little Alivia at our church.  She looked so dog-gone cute in it, and it matches her pretty pink coat beautifully. LOL  

"Owl" be home for Christmas?!

and made this one for my son's girlfriend because she loves Sock Monkeys :)  I think they are pretty cute if I do say so myself.

My friend, Kris, has been busy making some of these for her family, and I have to THANK her for sharing Sarah's blog with me.  The lovely Sarah has created these free patterns and is sharing them HERE.  They are fast Christmas gifts if you are still in need of a little something for someone special.

Merry Christmas to you all!  May you have a blessed Christmas holiday with your family and friends!

Crocheting and Crafting for Christmas

It's been a busy week, but I think I am just about done now and ready for Christmas (Thank Goodness, as it is only a few more days away).  I made this set below in red (Mommy and baby set) along with a few other crocheted hats thanks to some great patterns from Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me  (will show these once I have added a few finishing touches - buttons and braids).  I haven't crocheted this much since I was pregnant with Cody, but WOW how I have missed it.  It's so satisfying to start on something and an hour or two later they are completed or near completion.

I am also still finishing up my Christmas card list, and here are a few of those cards below. 

 Hope you have been able to get your cards, wrapping and gift creations/shopping completed too!

I do hope you all Have a Merry Christmas with family and friends!!

Sincerely,

Crocheting with alpaca yarn ...oh my

There have been some gifts being made around here lately but not a lot of Christmas cards.  I hope to get some house cleaning and decorating done tomorrow and then sit down and get the cards finished. I have a few ready to send out but not many.

Those of you who follow me on Facebook probably already heard this story, so you can tune out if it's a re-run :)  This cute little baby girl hat and bootie weren't quite finished the other night.  As you can see, the flower still needs a button on it, and the bootie isn't completed on the top (needs edging), but the issue was that I ran out of red yarn, so I tried my hand at dying just a little bit more to get the booties completed.  Here are the instructions if you are looking to dye some of your alpaca or wool (works for animal hair).

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html

Can you believe the color was Blastin' Berry Cherry, and it was a little bit lighter than the hat, so I tried again last night with Tropical Punch, which was just right.  :)  Not only does it look good, but it smells good too.

Hoping you all are getting your Christmas decorating and gift making done at your home.  My to-do list is a bit long, so I better get off here and get moving on them ...

Have a great day!

Hugs,
Kelly L