Love Inspires

Valentine's Day is approaching and I have been inspired to decorate and create for the upcoming occasion. Last year I crocheted a heart swag to adorn my hutch. This year I made two more to hang all the way around.

I purchased a sweet little decorative hand painted block set on etsy from SimpleBlockSayings. I thought it was simply perfect in every way.

The white tree I found at Hobby Lobby on sale for half off. I was sad to find that one of the bird's tails were broken and even more upset to find that it was the last one they had. But when they told me that they would give me another 20% off for the flaw, I knew I had to have it. I think it looks like a mommy bird perched on a tree with her baby bird. Perhaps she is teaching it how to fly. I have so many plans for this adorable little tree for every season. The little heart tree on the blocks inspired me to crochet the heart ornaments.
I am not the only one inspired by this fast approaching day of Love. Look at these beautiful treasuries that feature my Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue scarf and hat set.


You can view them both HERE and HERE.

Zella's love for Pandas and her pretty big blue eyes inspired me to create a new hat design.

The Pretty Little Panda hat was made with the softest fluffiest polyamide yarn and has long textured braids attached to it's earflaps for a touch of whimsy fun. Remember the Fluffy Little Owl hat I made recently? I really loved the design of that hat and so I gathered inspiration from it to create the Pretty Little Panda. You can find it in my Etsy store HERE. As I was making the eyes, I decided at the last minute that I wanted the panda to have blue eyes like Zella. Now that it is finished, I can't imagine it having any other color. I think Zella would agree too.

A New Year With a Pretty Blanket of Snow

We are still here and enjoying our first REAL snow of the new year this weekend. We woke up this morning to this beautiful view.

So I thought it was the perfect morning to make a fun little breakfast to go with the "snow theme".

Then it was time to get our layers of clothes on; coats, scarves, gloves, hats and boots, and head out into the snow to play. We noticed a little feathered friend must have paid us a visit on our front porch early this morning.

The snow wasn't ideal for making a snowman or having a snowball fight but it was great for snow angels and sledding.

Christmas = Peace, Love, and Joy

What a wonderful, yet relaxing celebration it was. Christmas Eve day was our busiest day. We visited my beautiful in laws at noon that day, and we had such a wonderful time. It was a bit hectic, but a blissful hectic with 8 little cousins running around ranging from ages 2 to 11. We enjoyed a turkey feast and then the opening of gifts shortly after. Dessert followed after that for those who still had room in their bellies for more. Grandma Karen (my mother in law) found them the most unique gifts. All of the older children were given marionettes that bared an uncanny resemblance to each cousin.


Everyone absolutely adored these! The 2 youngest girls were given sweet little doll houses that you could tell were going to be treasured for many years to come.

This year we found an equally unique and special gift to give to my beautiful mother-in-law. I shopped online at The Vintage Pearl and found the most perfect necklace for her.

It is called the layered circle of love and was hand stamped with all 8 of her grand children's names.
Later on Christmas Eve, we enjoyed dinner at my parents' home. Soon after we gathered around their beautiful tree to open gifts.

The girls were delighted (which may be an understatement) to open their gifts and find new lalaloopsy dolls to add to their collection.


The girls and I had made special Christmas ornaments for everyone this year. It has become somewhat of a tradition for us actually. Last year we made snowman ornaments made from infant socks, and this year we made cinnamon cookie cut out ornaments along with feather filled clear glass ball ornaments.

They turned out quite lovely I think.
We then had to hurry home so that we could set out snickerdoodles and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer and then it was off to bed. On our way home, we admired all of the beautiful Christmas light decorations.

Then 8 a.m. on the dot Christmas morning we were awakened by a very excited Xiera announcing that Santa had come! We rushed trudged sleepily into the living room to see what the jolly old elf had brought.

I believe there were two little girls who made it to Santa's Nice List this year!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and has a wonderful and safe New Year's this weekend.

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

Our tree is up...

And decorated with our favorite treasured ornaments.

The stockings are all hung and we have a new little friend who came to visit us from the North Pole.

Her name is Holly and she is such a sweet yet mischievous little elf. She has been very busy popping up in different places in our home every morning. She is Santa's spy and she leaves us every night to tell Santa Claus if the girls were being naughty or nice.

The girls simply adore her as do I! :)
Last week Xiera and Zella took another art class making Christmas ornaments. They made many different kinds. They made puzzle piece wreathes, stamped Christmas cards, gingerbread people, and glitter ornament balls.

I am finishing up the last of my custom Christmas orders this evening and mailing them out in the morning. I am really cutting too close this year. Note to self: **Remember to switch your Etsy store to vacation mode right after black Friday to ensure all orders will get out in time for Christmas.** I have come to realize that people do not read the BOLD notice at the top of my store stating that I am no longer taking Christmas orders after December 2nd. I have pulled many late nighters because of this but even with the lack of sleep that I have had, I still have been very pleased with a few custom orders I have created.
One of my favorites was this custom stocking hat I made. It is reversed in color compared to my original Holly Jolly Elf hat and features a holly leaf and berries on the front cuff band with a red pom pom ball dangling from the end instead of a bell.


It turned out VERY cute I think!

Spending A Little Time With Santa

Christmas is once again rapidly approaching us. Of course our weather isn't exactly as expected; 65 degrees in Ohio at the end of November. Not that I am complaining in the least. It is really nice to not have to wear a bulky coat everywhere.
We kept with tradition and visited Santa Claus at the community center. The girls dressed in their beautiful gingerbread girl dresses for the occasion. Their adorable dresses were made by Mandy of Gooseberry Lane Originals. I am making a pair of leg warmers to match these dresses. I unfortunately did not have enough time to finish them before visiting Santa but plan to have them finished before the girls have their Christmas portraits done. Karen of Layla*and*Stitch made their long sleeved peasant shirts they are wearing underneath their dresses. So cute!

There is something almost magical when walking into the center and hearing the orchestra playing Christmas songs and seeing their gorgeous Christmas tree all lit up and decorated to perfection.

The girls' eyes widened with excitement and their smiles expanded from ear to ear!

They brought along their American Girl dolls this year and I wished I would have had dresses made to match for their dolls. I will have to make a mental blog note and do that next year. Build A Bear Clothes do work great for American Girl dolls though. That is what we did for Xiera's doll so she could have her doll dressed for the occasion.
Santa arrived on his sleigh on wheels and you could hear the squeals of excitement come from every child there. While waiting in line to get balloon art from the talented balloon lady, the girls snuck onto the sleigh to take it for a "pretend" spin.

Finally after a long wait in line while filling up on chocolate chip cookies and dancing to Christmas music, the girls were next to have their balloons made. Most children had crazy elf hats, candy canes, snowmen, and reindeer made.

Xiera's request was so sweet that it made my heart smile. She had asked for a baby Jesus. I am so happy and proud that my girls remember the true meaning of Christmas. It isn't about the presents, the decorations, the lights, or Santa. It is about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The talented balloon lady didn't hesitate, and began whipping up a baby Jesus balloon for her.

and then she made another for Zella. :)

Soon after, the girls finally had their visit with the Jolly Old Elf himself, Mr. Claus. Xiera shared her list with him which included a few of her favorites that she would like to have this year; A Figit Friend named Willa, A Penbo Penguin, Laguna Blue Monster High Doll, and a few Lalaloopsy dolls; Rosy Bumps and Bruises, Suzette La Sweete, and Holly Sleighbells.

Then it was Zella's turn.

Zella didn't have a list but had only one special request; The Monster High Doll, Abbey Bominable. Santa reminded them to be good little girls and he would do his best to make their Christmas a happy one this year. :)

Last Minute Accessory...

Zella had picture day at Pre-Kindergarten today and I had her outfit all clean, pressed and ready to wear last night when I started thinking about what I was going to do with her hair. Should I put it up? Should I keep it down and curl it? Do I even have any cute hair accessories to match? After some thought, I decided I was going to part her hair in the middle and clip the front sides back, but I had a small dilemma....I needed clippies to match the pretty pink and blue plaid K.C. Parker skirt and sweater set I had planned for her to wear. I then looked through my yarn and got an idea for a cute and quick pair of flower hair clippies.

I think they complete the outfit, don't you? I am looking forward to seeing her adorable pictures and class picture with all of her little friends.

My Fingers and Hook have been busy....

I have been very busy this week with custom orders. My beloved customers have such great taste. The first hat I made was a floral cloche hat very similar to my Isn't She Lovely Cloche design except it was done in more vibrant and fun colors.

The next custom hat I made was for a very special little customer I hold dear to my heart...my lovely daughter Xiera of course. ;) She requested a Lalaloopsy crochet hat made with her favorite Lalaloopsy character, Pillow Featherbed. Remember her Halloween costume?

How could I tell those beautiful big brown eyes no? Xiera actually helped me with the design of this hat. I made the hat to resemble Pillow Featherbed's actual pajamas. I used raspberry and light pink and trimmed it with a whip stitch using orange and white. As I was designing Pillow's hair, Xiera told me that Pillow's hair needed to be twisted and then proceeded to show me how it had to be done. I have to admit, my vision was completely different than hers, but I adore the final result. Her twisting method was brilliant!!

My final custom, which I actually just finished this afternoon, turned out better than I could have ever imagined. My sweet friend Bekah had asked me to make a special owl hat for her adorable daughter Shelby. It needed to be bright, fun, fluffy, and wonderful....

I LOVE all of the textures this hat has to offer and the colors are so vibrant! This hat just screams, "FUN!" It is the softest hat too. I used Yarn Bee's Cameo Bulky in Pink Pearl mixed with I Love Cotton yarn in pink.

I think the dramatic eyes with those eyelashes MAKE this hat. I know Zella loves it!

I plan on listing all three of these hats in my Etsy store early next week as customs so stay tuned.