Catching Up

Whew it's big a big crochet month. I *finally* finished all 12 Etsy orders a few days ago, and now I'm working on my sister in law's order of 5 beanies. I also have at least 3 more from 1 Etsy order...and she might add to that order. The beanies really don't take that long to make, it's just difficult to be able to crochet with a 5 month old who wants to be entertained by me all day :) I will probably end up going to my parents house on Saturday so they can babysit, and I can crochet and do laundry all day.

Craig got a promotion! The only problem is that promotion is like 2 hours away, which really isn't bad...but it's still far. At least it's way cheaper to live their, an apartment like ours here costs about $400 less!

Well Ethan is waking up now, but I'll post a few pictures of him in a Ninja Turtle beanie later :)

Cupcake Hat Picture

Here is a picture of Ethan modeling the cupcake hat, he's almost 5 months old already!






I'm a little behind on beanies right now, I sold a lot in August so I'm still trying to catch up. That and the fact that I got married and went on vacation! It was a small super casual wedding at a lake, but it was absolutely perfect. We had all family with a couple of friends, barbecue and a yummy cake.



As soon as I'm caught up in beanies, I will finish my Murloc and Batman beanie patterns...and hopefully finally get my old beer bottle patterns up! I would also love to have some finished amigurumi's for sale, like special rum bottles that are very decorated. More collectible, less toy.

Beach Bunny Designs was not what I had set out to name my business, it just kind of happened that way. I've been thinking of renaming it to something with "...stitches" in it. An example would be "Starfish Stitches" or something of that sort. We'll see, I'll keep thinking about it and see what I can come up with.

Sale at Beach Bunny Designs!

Just a quick update to let everyone know that all my patterns are on sale for $3.50 and it's buy 2 get one free!

My beanies are also on sale, $15 for adults, $10 for kids. You can get any size in these beanies, and if you dont see what size you want, contact or email me and I'll make you a custom listing.

-Ninja Turtle
-Spiderman
-Cupcake Hat
-Cupcake Beret
-Murloc (picture coming soon!)
-Batman (picture coming soon!)

Spiderman Beanie and Cupcake Beret

Finally things are calming down a bit! Ethan is amazing, even if he doesn't like to sleep! I actually have to face him away from the TV or he will just sit and watch it...he's only 11 weeks old, I dont want him to have a mushy brain already haha. I haven't been able to crochet much, in fact I have a few unfinished patterns because it's been a little crazy. I've also been doing some working out...again when Ethan lets me put him down heh, to try and lose the baby weight, I'm already down 36lbs! I gained around 50 lbs though....even though I was trying to be careful.

I have sold a few Ninja Turtle beanies and cupcake beret's, so that's been taking up my crochet time when I have a moment!

Here is an example of a cupcake beret I made:






I really really want to finish some World of Warcraft themed stuff since I'm going to Blizzcon in August. I'm thinking a Murloc beanie, quest (! and ? symbols) on beanies or skinny scarves, and maybe a 2D hearthstone that can be used for keychains/pendants.

Hopefully I'll be crafting more in the next couple months so I can update this more :)

Oh! Here is a Spiderman beanie in action on Ethan..

Baby Ethan is here!

Ahh I've been missing from blogging, but for a good reason, I had my baby! Ethan was born on April 7th (3 weeks early!) and was considered a preemie by 1 day since he was only 36.6 weeks. Actually he was more like a preemie by an hour and a half since he was born at 10:28pm. He was 6lbs 1oz, and 19 inches long.



He's pretty mellow, the hardest part is not sleeping! Luckily I don't work, and Craig just started a new job that is 4 hours a day for 2 weeks for training, so he can kind of ease into it.

I was making a baby cocoon for him but I never got to finish because he came to early, so hopefully I can work on it more soon...right now he just likes to sleep in my arms so much I don't have time to do much crafting! Not that I'm complaining though :)

Easter swap talk and embroidered cupcake

I'm in a spring Easter swap on Craftster, so I've been busy doing projects for that. I'm also planning on making another baby cocoon, maybe with cables this time! I've never crochet with cables before, but I love the look and have been watching Youtube videos on how to do them so we'll see how that works out. I've also just made some name letters to hang on the wall above Ethan's crib, all I need to do is varnish them and hang them up and I'll post a picture!

I'm going shopping today for some baby stuff and maybe another maternity dress...it's been so hot here (at least I have been!) that I've been living in sundresses haha.

Just so it's not a text only post, here is the cupcake I embroidered and attached to the pink baby cocoon :)

The color is a little off, but you get the idea.

Baby monster booties and hat

Here are two more projects that I made for the little baby girl....monster booties and a little hat!





I also added the adult version of the Ninja Turtle hat pattern to the newborn one...so when you buy it you get two patterns. I *still* am trying to get my shrug pattern together, it's an easy pattern...but I need pictures! :)

Spiderman Beanie

Eep, I was hoping to do a full post today...but I've been so busy! Hopefully in the next couple of days :)

Meanwhile, here is a pattern for sale on my Etsy shop for a baby Spiderman beanie!

Baby Ninja Turtle Beanie Pattern

Just a quick update to say I've added a pattern for a baby Ninja Turtle beanie in my shop! Bigger update tomorrow :)

Baby shower projects and crochet baby cocoon

I've been really lacking on the posts lately, but I've been busy! I had my baby shower last Saturday and I was working on projects for that. I made around 100 truffles as party favors, along with Sculpy peapod magnets! I also made a couple of sunflower arrangements, but I don't think we got pictures of them. Oops.

If you want to see pictures of the shower, my Dad has photos on his Flickr, not sure if you need to "friend" him or anything.

I made S'mores Truffles, which were definitely my favorite...they were so rich!



And here is an assembly line for the rest of the truffles, Lime Coconut, Mint Oreo and Strawberry Lemon Cake Balls.





Here are some of the Sculpy Pea Pod magnets...



It was so much fun! I feel very fortunate :)

A friend of ours is also having a baby girl (due today! Or yesterday, I forget hehe) so I wanted to make her one of those crochet papoose/cocoons...and here is what I came up with. It is cloudy outside so I couldn't get a great picture...hopefully I can get a better one later. EDIT: Here is a better one:



I don't have a baby yet to model, but here is a teddy bear.



It measures 17 1/2 inches long, and 11 1/2 inches wide. It super warm and fuzzy and was made with two strands of yarn. I'm also going to make a little felt cupcake applique and embroider her name on it...I have to finish it today so I can mail it out tomorrow!

I wrote up the pattern and am putting it up in my Etsy shop today if anyone is interested :)

Cupcake Hat Adult Sized

Here is another cupcake hat custom order I did...with little heart sprinkles! I love this color pink yarn...it looks like strawberry ice cream :)



I'm working on another shrug just to make sure the pattern adds up in all sizes, then I'll post pictures. I've also got a Spiderman beanie in the works, along with a little amigurumi beer. Sheesh I hate when I have to many projects going at once lol!

I think for Valentine's day we are going to see Friday the 13th (yuck) but Craig really wants to see it. I also was going to make Rachel Ray's Heart and Sole recipe for dinner...it looks easy and Craig loves artichokes. I don't really want to go out to dinner that night since usually things are packed, but we'll see.

Cupcake Hat - Glow in the dark!

I've been a little lack with posts, I know...but I've been busy filling orders and finishing up baby shower things! I also have finished a shrug pattern, but I just need to check to make sure all the stitches add up in the other sizes.

This cupcake hat was requested to have fluffy white frosting, a minty green base, button sprinkles and a cherry. She said it was going to be worn at raves....which made me remember the glow in the dark yarn I bought during Halloween!

I completely forgot to take a picture of it glowing in the dark before I sent it off though, I was in a hurry to mail it asap. I know these pictures aren't the greatest, but it's been raining so it was hard to get a nice clear shot.

Chicken Makhani

I just wanted to make a quick post to say that *everyone* needs to try this Slow-Cooker Chicken Makhani recipe! It's amaaaazing. We had it for dinner last night over brown rice.

I did do a few things differently. I started with all the wet ingredients in the crock pot, and added about half a cup heavy cream. Then I added all the spices in the wet ingredients so I could just mix the chicken in.

I also added a *lot* more garam marsala, cayenne, and curry powder. I didn't have any cardamom though, so I added a tsp cinnamon....and added in about a tsp salt.

It was so good already, that I just skipped adding the yogurt (even though I bought yogurt especially for it!) It was super flavorful and creamy, and was definitely not meant to be a healthy meal! But brown rice is healthy, right?

So glad we have left overs :)

I'm also going to do a test run on some truffles for the baby shower, and hopefully finish up my shrug pattern today.

My Etsy Purchases

I've mainly bought crochet patterns on Etsy, but I have a soft spot for earrings...and here are a few that I have bought :)

These are the first things I ever bought on Etsy, waaay back in 2006! They are just cute little starfish beads and pearls...but they are adorable. I dont think the seller is active anymore, but they are made by EclecticaFinch.



Here are two pairs I just received from Beaded Iris. I LOVE all her jewelry, I'd buy it all if I could! My favorite out of the two pairs are probably the one's with the palm fans and tiny bell flowers.



I've only participated in one Etsy Sneak Attack but here are the earrings I received. They are nice and casual and can go with anything :) They are made by Sandra and Dan.



These aren't earrings, but I desperately needed some stitch markers! So I went on a hunt to find super cute clay ones....and I found Kishcrafts! Now I don't have to use a safety pin as a stitch marker, it always ended up catching on my yarn.



I've also finished all 40 clay peapods for the baby shower, all they need are magnets on the back now. I'm also working on a new shrug pattern which should be done in the next few days! :)

Cupcake Beanie

I finally finished my cupcake beanie pattern! It took a little longer then I thought it would since it's crochet from the bottom up. Now that I've made one...it will be a breeze to make more. I want to make a blue one with a dark brown bottom...I think that would look cool. I wonder if Craig would let me put it on the baby haha. It's blue, that's a boy color :P





I was supposed to go to the store earlier to get the ingredients for truffles, but I spent way to long finishing this oops. I still have time, but I really wanted to start them earlier since you have to let them refrigerate for a few hours before you finish. I better be off then! :)

Crochet Valentine's and baby shower planning!

I play World of Warcraft. It's not a dirty little secret, I tell people honestly how I met Craig when they ask. I do sometimes get raised brows....but I don't care. I have fun, and it's cheap :)

Even when I play World of Warcraft I craft though, and it drives Craig insane haha. I made these this weekend when we were raiding.

This is not normally my style of crochet, but I saw the pattern in this issue (Jan/Feb '09) of Crochet Today and I fell in love. They are perfect to use as coasters, or to attach to cards as Valentine's. The only crochet thread I had on hand was a lot smaller then what the pattern wanted, but that's ok...it just means smaller coasters :) I made half of them with the edging, and half without; and I think I like it without better...you can see the hearts more. These were also super fast to crochet, maybe 20 minutes each? It was kind of hard to get a shot of the lacy detail, but I tried!



Here is a close up of one of the red ones:



The other day I went to Michaels in search of a flower arrangement for my baby shower. I'm looking to do something like this...but with sunflowers instead.



So I bought a fishbowl shaped vase (it was like $20 cheaper then the square...wtf?) and some of those green marbles in the floral section. The hardest part was the find the sunflowers! They had some, but they are giant....like I'm going to have to cut off 6 inches to a foot of stem off. They will work, but I was really looking for smaller bushels of sunflowers, so I could also put 1 in singular vases for other tables. I have until February 21st, so today I'm going to check out a local craft store to see what they have.

My plan is to also make 2 different types of truffles as favors. I cant decide which ones, but I do have recipe's for strawberry shortcake truffles and green tea truffles. I'm not 100% on the green tea truffles though because not everyone likes green tea....but my shower is peapod themed and I though they looked like little peas :) I could also do coconut lime truffles which look delicious AND green! I'll probably make a batch of each to try them out, then bring the rest to my parents house so I don't eat them all haha.

This site has boxes that hold 2 truffles for $0.54 each. Which is a great deal...but it was $18 shipping to ship 40 boxes and 1 package of candy cups to hold the truffles. $18!? Really!? They cannot be that heavy. So today I am going to check out a couple of places to see if it's any cheaper, or if it about equals the same between retail or shipping. They don't have green boxes, but they have Tiffany blue boxes which I think would look neat with either lime green or brown ribbons. I'm pretty sure that craft store I'm going to had boxes....and ahhh I just thought of something, Michaels just had a 20% off your entire purchase coupon, it probably would of been best to just buy a bunch of boxes there :( Oh well.

I was also thinking of crocheting little peapod magnets to go along with the favors, but I think I'll need about 40 (I'll have to check), so I'm not sure I want to crochet that much lol. I'll probably make 1 to see how long it takes though.

Pink Ninja Turtle Beanie

I just wanted to share a custom ordered Ninja Turtle beanie...a pink one! I really love the green and pink color combination, it reminds me of a watermelon. She needed it shipped ASAP since it was for a birthday present, so I only took a really quick picture....but I swear everything is nice and even on both sides :) I should of taken a picture of it on a balloon so you can see what it looks like on, but ahhh timing.



Tonight for dinner is pulled pork, I hope it turns out ok! I cannot imagine how these ingredients taste together, but we'll see....if it's gross we could always grill up some burgers haha.

Tea Embroidery and Strawberry Banana Muffins

Here is the tea embroidery that I mentioned on Twitter yesterday. I realize this is not a very good picture, but it took me forever to put in the frame last night....so I wasn't about to take it out and do it again :)

I just drew a mini version of my crochet tea set, and embroidered "Tea is Serenity" under it. I used all six strands of embroidery floss to try and make a nice thick outline, but I didn't realize that it doesn't work like that if you have a small image! Ah well, I know for next time :)



I also made some yummy strawberry banana muffins from The Crepes of Wrath! You have to try them, they are super easy and delicious. I think I slightly undercooked mine, but they still are fine.



I need to go run some errands, but when I get back I'm going to start on a cupcake beanie pattern for toddlers!

Oh! I forgot to post about these Blueberry Peach Sour Cream Muffins from Coconut&Lime. The recipe doesn't call for peaches, but I had some frozen ones that I thought would be good. I really liked these, the sour cream keeps them from being to sweet and the peaches were nice and soft. The batter is SUPER thick though, I thought for sure I did something wrong, but nope! They came out perfect.



I don't know why I make muffins every week, Craig might have one of them....then it's just me having one for breakfast. I need to start bringing stuff to my brother or something.

Please bare with me while I change layouts for Valentines Day :)

Edit:

After I spent all the time creating a layout, I find this one from thecutestblogontheblock.com that I like better. Ah well!

Shaman beer cozy and Etsy avatar

Today is Craig's 34th birthday! We aren't doing anything special yet....just in case he doesn't have a job come Saturday.

But of course I still had to make him something :) It's a beer/glass cozy of a Shaman (his World of Warcraft character) symbol. I wanted it to look a little rough around the edges...to help it look a little more masculine. Of course after uploaded this picture I see stray fuzzies haha.

I also have been working on a new avatar for my Etsy site, and so far I have this one....which I'm not entirely happy with. I tried shrinking down some of my ami's to place on it...but you have to shrink them down so low that you cant really tell what they are. I think I am either going to lighten the background, or just make a whole new one.



I'm also trying to work on a Valentine's theme for my blog...but making backgrounds has never been my strong point. I'll keep working on it though!

Teapot and Saucer

The ultrasound on Wednesday went great, they checked everything (for about an hour!) and the doctor came in and rechecked everything real quick, and said everything looked great! Yay!

I also finished a new pattern...a little teapot and saucer! I should of straightened the trim out more on the teapot before I took the picture though. Oops.

This is just a quick post because I have to run....but I couldn't wait to share it! :D