Baby steps

What a fun week I've had!! It was filled with cycling trips, shopping sprees and little celebrations (which included the most delicious pie EVER!! :)

And because I even went to the gym this week - and not just once, but TWICE!!! - I decided I deserved a little treat this weekend. 

Yes, dear friends: I was allowed to crochet :)

If you visited this blog before you might remember me mentioning the problems I've had with my neck/shoulders for about 1,5 years now. It has prevented me from crafting, and every time I try to make something I take it too far and end up having pain for weeks... 

But today I took baby steps, and made this :) 

It was soooo hard to stop!! I actually caved and made a second one... but I resisted the urge to make 15 more, so I guess that's progress :)

Plus: no pain!! Which means I can probably make some more this week! YAY!!!! :D

(...)

But not too much of course :S Baby steps. BABY STEPS...

The Art Swap Part 2: Hand Carved Stamp

Apart from the plushie I made for the art swap organized by Micki from The Secret Hermit, I wanted to make something a bit more personal.

I bought this lovely painting from Micki a few years ago, and I stil love it so much! It's standing on my nightstand, so I get to see it at the start and end of every day :) And because I love it so much, I decided to turn this painting...



... into a hand carved stamp!!



Pretty cute, eh? :) I'm pretty happy with the result!! Although I did leave out one little detail of the original painting for one very simple reason...



Carving FRECKLES is freakin' impossible.

:)

The Art Swap Part 1: A Happy Little Rainbow

When I first read Micki from The Secret Hermit was organizing an art swap I immediately wanted to join... and then I realized I'm not an artist :) Fortunately Micki didn't mind me joining the swap with my crafty stuff, so off I went making two things I thought she might appreciate: a plushie and a hand carved stamp :)

The plushie I designed myself - it's the first pattern I created with a result worth sharing here ;)

I already showed you the eyes...



... which turned into the little happy face...



... of a sweet little rainbow!! :)



Isn't it cute?? :) I really, really love this plushie - I had so much fun creating it and the very colorful end result makes me really happy! :)



The best part? Now that I have the pattern I can make as many as I want!! :) I also made a matching sun and a cloud which I might share soon. Something for the shop-to-be maybe?? ;)



Coming soon: The Art Swap Part 2: The hand carved stamp!!

Art Swap Sneak Peek :)

Oh Blogland... Shame on me!!! Due to lack of energy I haven't blogged in over a week... Forgive me! Since I'm not able to craft for a while I was too 'busy' hanging around my house watching tv-shows and browsing youtube!!...

To make it up to you: here's a little sneak peek of my contribution to the art swap I joined, organized by Micki from The Secret Hermit!!



I will reveal the end result this weekend :)

Now off I go, back to my laziness, without any feelings of guilt whatsoever. Because sometimes you need to work hard and do important stuff, and sometimes you just got to chill, sit back, and enjoy the hell out of it! ;)

A Little Monday Morning Rant

Okay, people. I've completely had it with this stupid neck/shoulder-problem of mine!!!!!!

As if having constant pain for almost a year now isn't bad enough, my neck is now officially standing between me and crafting.... Yes! You heard that right!!! I can't craft anymore without days and days of pain afterwards!!! :(

Seriously, neck.

HOW DARE YOU?!?!?!



Because of you and all the stupid pain you bring me, I'll probably be working on this little baby blanket for years and years, because I can only crochet 15 minutes a week, and the baby it's made for won't even be a baby anymore by the time I'm finished!!!

Darn you, neck!!

DARN YOU!!!!!!!!

(...)

Ah. Well. Okay... Guess I had to get that out of my system... ;)

Now let's continue the week without complaining, and focussing on the good stuff shall we? :) Have a good Monday everyone!!

Crochet Mania!!

Hey Blogland! See those pencils? I bought them for 60 cents at a local store, but it wasn't the pencils I was particularly interested in...



... it were the grips I really wanted!! :)



Put those grips on a crochet hook...



... and you suddenly become a lean mean crocheting machine!!! ;)



I finished three plushies these past few days, and my new ripple blanket is coming along great! No wonder my desk looks like a yarn bomb went off there... ;)

And what to do with all that yarny goodness, you ask? Well, let's just say I have a plan... which I will keep to myself just a little bit longer :) To be continued!!

Finished project: Destroyed Shirt Bunny :)

Q: What happens when your boyfriend leaves his favorite shirt on a chair that happens to lean against your pet rat cage, and then leaves for work?

A: Well, then the rats go to work as well, with a result looking something like this:



Yes, people. That IS a shirt with its sleeve gnawed off... :) On the bright side: my rats got a very comfortable bed made out of a sleeve, and I got myself some extra fabric!! ;)

And what to do with that extra fabric, you ask? Well, let me tell you: take a cute pattern...



... and make yourself a motherflippin' bunny!! :)



How adorable is that?!! :) Honestly, I think it's so cute...



... I might just start leaving some of J's other clothes next to the rat cage as well from now on - completely 'by accident' of course! ;)

Finished project: Pencil Case

Oh, how I love starting a new crafty project!! :) The process of choosing the right fabrics, prints and colors is almost rewarding enough in itself, isn't it? :)



I wanted to make the pencil case from Lisa Lam's the Bag Making Bible for quite a while now.



I love pretty lining, but I've never really used it before in any of my projects. So before I'm stepping up to making a bit more complicated bags, I thought I'd start with a pencil case ;)



I have to admit: I got a bit confused, so it took me two tries to get the lining on the INSIDE of the case ;) But here it is!!! :)



I really love it! The dots, the stripes, the soft colors and to top it off: the bright yellow zipper!! Perfect for pencils...


... or to keep my little crafty supplies in one place when I'm on the road!!! :)

DIY Gifts & Packaging Workshop

Yesterday I spent my Sunday afternoon at a workshop DIY Gifts & Packaging, organized by Elle Aime.

We made pretty boxes from scratch...



... including cute labels!



And we made pins - loads of them! :)



Unfortunately for me, I don't really have great pin-making skills (apparently ;), so out of the five or so I made, I only like these two that I made with fabric :)





And at the end of day we got a goodie bag!



Owww, you gotta love the goodie bags ;) This one was filled with pretty fabrics...



... and loads of others crafty goodness :)



And yes, that IS a pink, CHOCOLATE lollypop shaped like a button standing there on the left!!! :D And boy I wish it was standing on my desk right now, being all happy and cute!.....

But people, when it comes down to chocolate....



... I have no self-control. At all.

;)

Work In Progress: Another Blanket :)

My Kind of Kitty Cat :)

I CANNOT BELIEVE MY HOLIDAY IS OVER ALREADY!!! :( You would think three weeks would be enough chillin'... but it really, really, REALLY isn't...

So let's just look at the adorable, blue & yellow kitty cat I made the other day, to ease the pain a little ;)



It has dots. And a bell. And it's blue. And yellow.



Now, that's my kind of kitty cat ;) Want to make your own? You can find the adorable Poiny Kitty Pattern by Wee Wonderfuls right HERE!

Also: do you like the colorful frames I put my pictures in? I sure do :) I created them with a piece of scrapbooking software that will be the star of a wonderful GIVEAWAY next weekend!!! :) So be sure to check back! And have a wonderful week in the meantime!!

She makes it look so easy! ;)

Tadaaah: a very colourful harddisk cover :)

About a year ago my computer 'died' - twice. I did not have any backups, so I was VERY happy when it was revived by the computer-doctors on both occasions!! Flash forward to the present, and I have made backups of my files and photographs... on a four year old iPod I drag with me EVERYWHERE.........

Not good, you say? I completely agree...

So - finally! - I got myself some proper backup-equipment: a Western Digital portable harddrive!



Amazing to think this little device can store almost 500GB, isn't it?!!

Of course, considering this is now containing some Very Important Stuff, it needs to be properly protected.

So... TADAAAAAAAAH!!!



A very colourful, very cute, crocheted harddisk cover :)



I absolutely LOVE all the bright colours! 'Cause hey, when you almost need to wear sunglasses to look at it...



... you KNOW it's good, don't you? ;)

Etsy Favourites

Sometimes all you need...

... is a smiling whale :)

Mollie Makes

I am having the slowest start today... I can't stop yawning and I just want to curl up in a heap of blankets and sleep for 24 hours!!! :)

Fortunately there's this delightful add for new UK craft magazine Mollie Makes to keep me awake:



I'm loving this so much! :) I am seriously thinking of subscribing - the magazine looks so wonderful and inspiring!



Also, it makes me want to join a craft group! Why can't we have a Makery in my town?! Oh, wait. Let me rephrase that: in my COUNTRY!

(...)

That's it. I'm moving to Bath.

;)

5 things...

... I did on a lazy Sunday! :)

1. Eating raspberry yoghurt for breakfast



2. Practising my piano "skills" ;)



3. Reading...



4. ... and reading some more!



5. And last but not least...



... knitting more squares for my new blanket :)