Super Woman!

At least I feel like Super Woman. Or, perhaps it's just the massive amount of coffee and the long walk I took this morning. Either way, it's a good feeling. :)

So, here's what I've been getting into lately. First, I'm SUPER proud of my new found gardening. I've never been much of a gardener, so the fact that I have even sprouts is amazing.



And that is my tomato plant. Look how awesome it's growing!!

And this is all the herbs. I'm so excited about the chives, because I have an amazing recipe for chicken croissants, and it involves lots of chives. It'll be nice to actually make them with my homegrown chives. :)

This is my new Nessie. I'm not totally in love with her at all. I did write down the pattern as I made her, but I definitely will be making some changes. I personally don't know if I can make a Nessie as nice as the pattern I bought from Ravelry, but we'll see.


And, this is what I'm working on today: Medium Sized Bigfoots! I'm making 1 for a gift(I think...not quite sure yet), 1 for my store, and 1 for myself!
I found this new yarn to use for the medium sized creatures. I really love it. It's Loops & Threads, which is a Michael's exclusive. And the yarn is called Charisma. It's SOOOO soft, and really nice to work with. If anyone's looking into purchasing one of my creatures, I would definitely suggest getting one of the medium ones. I'm also looking into getting some brighter colors of the yarn to make some medium sized dinosaurs.


So, I've been an Etsy addict lately. I've purchased quite a few things from there this past week. In my adventures of searching Etsy, I've found some necklaces that I've been really wanting. It's an octopus necklace that looks like this.
However, I couldn't quite rationalize the money, so I thought, I'll go to Michael's and look and see if they have a pendant like that to make one myself. Well, I couldn't find it, so I'll probably go ahead and purchase one. But, I did find these! I thought they were pretty awesome finds, plus, they were on clearance!





And last, but certainly not least, I found these!
My Michael's is re-doing most of their yarn section. I got really excited about it, because they now carry Stitch Nation yarn, along with a few others that they've never carried before. I thought the last time I was there it was all done, but it's not! They still have TONS more that they're doing. I can't wait to see it when it's all done!

I think these will be great for Christmas presents and stuff. :)
And I think that's all for today. I currently have an Au Jus Roast going in the Crock-pot, and today we'll be doing all the fun food shopping that I didn't get done during the week. :)

Project for ME!!!

I think I may be addicted to this now. Now only did this take less than 1 skein of yarn, but it was SUCH a quick easy project. I will most definitely be making more of these!
I used Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe yarn in gray.




It feels good to finish a project for myself. :)
Now, I have to make a birthday gift for someone, and then have to find some ideas of what to make for Father's Day. Any ideas?

Custom Cthulhu

I made this by request from Alexz. She requested a Cthulhu and sent me a picture of a crocheted one, but I suppose I ran with the idea. lol. After looking at the AMAZING tote bag she gave me, it's definitely based more off of her Cthulhu.





I posted pictures of this on Facebook, but the pictures weren't very true to the colors, so these are definitely better pictures.
Now, I feel like I don't have much to work on! lol. I still have to make another large yeti for a friend, but I don't have the yarn right now. And I'm also working on my own pattern for a Nessie, since the one I have now is someone's pattern. That way I can sell them too. :)

And today I also got this in the mail. I ordered these for Seth. He loves them!! He even brought them to work to show everyone at work. haha! And of course they will be on display in our house right next to our Tribbles and our photo with William Shatner. :)

I need a vacation...

Thank god Seth has a 3 day weekend coming up. Hopefully I can relax too!

I've been crazy busy. Yesterday I sent out 3 packages or requests from people and store orders. And the requests keep coming. I don't mind, really. It's something to keep me busy. I just feel like I've been crocheting non-stop for the past week. lol.

So, this is the worst part. I didn't take many pictures of the stuff I sent out. I know, I'm a terrible person. However, this is what I have so far.
First, Seth's sister requested I make a mobile for her friend that's having a baby. The nursery is being done in a sea-life theme, so she just wanted me to do all different sea creatures. I found this free pattern on Ravelry for a lobster, and I LOVE it. How cute is this little guy?!



And after I was done at that package, I packed it all up without taking anymore pictures than just that. I know, I'm so stupid.
So then, I put together a HUGE package for my friend Jackie. Jackie recently went to an AMAZING yarn store in NYC, and she got me tons of yarn. As a thank you, she requested a few Crobots. Well, I made a few, and of course only took a picture of one. She has seen this one, so it's ok to post here anyway. The others she hasn't seen, and the others are probably my favorites too. lol.
This, is BabyBot.



And this is something that Jackie has been requesting for a while. Her sister is in dental school, so she requested a tooth. I bought a pattern off of Etsy for a tooth pillow, but left the pillow part out. I made a large one and then a small one that can easily be transformed into a magnet, keychain, hairclip or brooch. lol. I was so happy with how they turned out!!



And, now I'm still busy working on stuff. I have a Cthulhu about 3/4 of the way done, and then I'll just have to put him together and send him off to Alexz. I'm making him from my own pattern, so I"m super excited about him. I think he might be hard to give up though! haha

Not a bad weekend at all. :)

It's beautiful out today. I mean, when I say beautiful, I mean, a little under 60 degrees, sun shining, beautiful. We drove today for a while. It was nice just to enjoy the weather, and makes me wish I had a convertible. We stopped at the park to pick some lilacs. Seriously, they're EVERYWHERE here. I'm so excited, because I know as soon as these die, I can just go get more. They're already my new air freshener.



Yesterday we drove down to Helena to visit some friends. It was rainy and gross pretty much all day, including the whole ride there and back. We left to go a bit earlier and went to a thrift store. I got quite a few things of fun fabric, and a really fun dress. I'll try and get pictures of the dress later. It's strapless, but I'm going to add some thin straps at some point. The best part about the dress is that it's brand new, still has the tag on it from Target. haha. So I'm pretty excited about it. However, my big find was this, my hand egg beater. For some reason, I've been looking for a fun vintage one for a while. I just hate getting out the electric hand mixer every time I need to beat something. So, I'm really excited about it. :)



And, there's a bit more in my shop. I've made multi colored yetis, and another medium yeti. So, you should go check them out!!

Become a Fan!!

I finally broke down and created a Mad Crafter Facebook profile. So, go become a fan!! The link is on the right, under favorite websites. :)
On there, I'll post when I update my blog and my Etsy shop. It'll also be nice to get some new ideas and stuff from friends. :)

Box O' Yeti Heads

So, I've been away the past few days. Few exciting things happening.

First of all, I got a wonderful email on Etsy the other day from a local news reporter. She explained that when she talks to people around town, she's shocked at how few people know about Etsy. So, she wants to do an interview with me on my Etsy store!! It's a small town, so it's not like it's going to be tons of publicity, but it'll still be nice just to get the word out. I'm hoping some of the local boutiques see it and maybe want to buy some of my stuff. :)

And, this is what I've been working on lately, yetis. I'm doing all different colors, and I"m making another medium one. My other medium yeti sold the day I put it up in my shop, so I thought I would put another one in to see how it goes. And by the way, he's SUPER SOFT.



So, that's all for now. I'm looking into maybe going to my friend Donna's again for another crafting week next week, but we'll see. Hopefully I can, because there's TONS of sewing I would like to do, and it's nice to sit down with someone that can really show me what to do. I'm hoping to make some clothes and possibly a few summer skirts. Tomorrow we're going down to Helena to visit some friends, and we're going to check out a thrift store while we're there. It's a really awesome thrift store with some awesome vintage stuff, and I"m hoping to find some great vintage fabric to turn into a skirt. :)

Someone Help Me!

I can't stop crocheting!

Seriously.

Today I added 2 more things to my shop. I think I may need a support group. Anyone know of a good one?
I added a little dinosaur and a medium sized yeti. Now, you can buy a small, medium or large yeti, depending on what you're looking to spend. To be honest, I think I might like the medium one the best. Plus, the yarn he's made out of is super soft, so he's nice to cuddle with. :)
Onto the pictures!



I really like his expression, he looks very contemplative. :)


And here's a shot of all 3 of the yetis.



Today it's beautiful outside. It's even getting cooler? Yes, weird, I know. It's the joys of Montana! haha. We put in our A/C unit the other day because it was getting so warm out, into the 80's. This morning I had to turn it off to defrost it, and so I opened some windows. In the process, I felt a wonderful breeze to prove how beautiful it is outside.
And now, I'm off to make some more colorful yetis. I'm getting all kinds of fun ideas with them now. :)

New Things up in the Shop!

God, I've been crazy crocheting lately!

After winding up all my yarn, I sat and looked through it all, to really see what I can do with it. I've decided that stashbuster jellyfish is a great idea. I also decided that I'm going to put at least 3 items up every week in my shop. Honestly, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to keep up with that, but I'm really going to try. I've already met my quota for this week!

In addition to the big yeti, I'm also branching out. Who said yetis can only be blue and white?! So, I made a pink yeti. I think she's adorable!! I'm definitely going to make multi colored yetis. Until then, the pink one is up for sale. :)



I've also made a stashbusting jellyfish. A while back I tried unraveling sweaters to use the yarn. Well, honestly, it was more like Seth unraveling the sweaters. haha. I can't even describe how much he absolutely HATED it. So, I had this yarn, that is a constant reminder of everything terrible dealing with this yarn. lol. So, I decided to turn it into a jellyfish. Now, I have no more purple yarn. :) He's also for sale in my shop!



Now, I'm off to make a medium sized yeti. I have never used this yarn before for this, so we'll see how he turns out!!

New Item

I put my big yeti up in the store today. I made 1 for my friend, then started to make the other one to put in the store. I FINALLY got around to finishing it last night, so he's in the store now.

GET HIM WHILE HE'S HOT!!

Another Relaxing Weekend.

It's been my first official weekend back in Montana. We spent it relaxing and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather. It's been in the 70's and breezy. I can feel that very soon we'll have to put in the A/C unit, but until then we're just going to enjoy this.

Yesterday I got a package in the mail from my good friend, Jackie. She recently taught herself to knit. I don't think she's done many projects, but the few she sent me are AMAZING!!! I LOVE them so much. First, is this cowl. I absolutely love the colors, and everything about it. It's so incredibly soft.





The cowl was a bit of a surprise, but I knew she was working on a felted tote bag. It's cabled, which I won't even begin to attempt with knitting! Not only is this really nicely done, but it's HUGE. And I really love the inside fabric too. All in all, it's a really great tote bag!





We also spent quite a bit of time in thrift stores. On our way there, we caught a rummage sale. It was about 1:15 when we got there, and at 1:00, everything was half off. So, we decided to wander around. Seth found this and of course, had to have it. I'm wondering if maybe I can put fur on him to make him look like Bigfoot? lol
However, I do think he's fun, so I'm allowing him to stay in the house for now. haha




Then, I happened to come across this wonderful purse. It didn't have a price on it, but it's a Dooney and Bourke. So, I took it to the register, where they informed me that if they don't have a price, then they're $1, and since it's half off, it's 50 cents. So, I got a beautiful suede Dooney and Bourke for 50 cents. haha.




Then, at another thrift store, I found this wonderful coffee mug. For some reason, I've been fascinated by odd coffee mugs, so of course this one was perfect for me. Seth and I have been definitely fascinated with everything that is West related. :)



That's all for now. Today I'm planning on finishing my big yeti so that I can put him in the shop. Have a good rest of your weekend!

So much to tell you!

I've been fairly busy lately with life. It's exhausting. However, it's good things.

First, my big yeti that I finished yesterday. it was requested by a friend, and I'm almost done with another one so I can put it on my Etsy shop. He stands about 9 inches tall.



When I was in Florida, I stayed a lot of time with my vegan sister. She had the coolest thing in the world: sprouts, that you grow in just days in a mason jar. So, I got a couple mason jars, a few different things of seeds, and now, I've almost got sprouts. I started these on Monday, and this is how far they've gotten. It's pretty exciting to me. :)



And now, the thing that still has me smiling. I decided to finally email Lego about my giant Lego man. So, here's the conversation. This is my original email to them:

This email is for a few reasons, so I'll start out with the main one. :)
First and foremost, my husband has forever loved Lego, as most of the world has. He grew up playing everything Lego related. When we first started dating, we would stay up very late nights to play Lego Star Wars on the Xbox, and we've owned every Lego Xbox game since. We're currently counting down to the Harry Potter game. :)
I crochet. I'm unemployed and have found plenty of time to perfect my skill. I now proudly own a shop on Etsy.com and work on a lot of commission pieces.
Now, I'm sure you're wondering why you're reading about my hobbies. lol. About a year ago, my husband made a request. He wanted me to crochet him a GIANT Lego man. So, I got started. I put it away in the closet for quite sometime, but recently, I finished him. He stands 35 inches tall. You can find pictures of him here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=344706.0
Now, the point of this email. :) Of course, I really just truly wanted to brag, and wanted to show the Lego company how much you affect children of all ages, including my 24-year-old husband. :)
Secondly, I have received many requests from people for the pattern of my Lego man. I did write down the pattern as I made him, however, I know that all companies rightfully have copyright laws. If I can't sell it or anything, I'm perfectly fine with it, but I thought I should email and ask first, and I thought the best way to go about it was to just email you and find out directly from the source.
Thank you so much for reading through my email, and for the amazing inspiration you give people everyday!

Then, a little later last night, I got this email back from Lego. I'm sure you'll be able to see why I've been smiling since I read it last night. :)

Dear Amy

Thank you for your interest in LEGO® brand toys. We are always delighted to hear from a loyal LEGO enthusiast.

First of all, that is SO AWESOME!! Within minutes of receiving this email, the majority of the office was crowded around my computer amazed, Consumer Service reps like myself, Managers, everyone! This is such a fantastic project!

I have forwarded your email around the office to people that I know will love it, and passed it on to our legal department to let you know exactly what you can, and cannot do with the Minifigure name/likeness.

Thank you VERY much for sending that email, it is fantastic!!

Jacob
LEGO Direct Consumer Services

So, that's all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Busy day!

I've been a yarn winding fool today. I don't have much more to do, then I can begin organizing everything into my closet.

Between doing housework, I took constant breaks to make this guy and finish him up to be sent off. It feels really good though to finally get some new work posted. :)
Alexz requested I make a fireman yeti for her brother, who's a firefighter. I must admit that I've never seen a fireman yeti, and so I was a bit iffy as to how he would turn out. Now that he's complete, it's actually going to be VERY hard to say goodbye to him, because I think he came out really cute!!






As you can see, he comes complete with his fireman's hat, hose, and his very own fire to put out. :)

EDIT:

I found this in Florida. I will be searching Hallmarks around here to find it. However, I think it might even be cheaper if I get it on Ebay. I'm particularly posting this for Alexz, because I think she might want to add it to her birthday wishlist. :)
Alexz: If you want, you can go to Ebay and type in "Jim Shore Disney Jack" and it'll come up. However, I recommend looking into all the other Jim shore Disney creations as well, because they're all really fun.

Hopefully getting some new work up soon...

So, I want to start this post out by stating congratulations to everyone that won the Instructables contest. I, sadly, was not one of them. My Lego man was entered into it, and I was a bit disappointed that it didn't win. :(

On another note, this is what I've been doing all day, winding yarn.



I even have a little bag of yarn with some of the small balls that you just can't do anything with. Any suggestions for that? Should I just go for it and throw it away, or should I try and swap them, or should I try and use them for something?

I'm in the middle of a yeti for Alexz(yes, ANOTHER one! haha!) and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do some parts, but I'll definitely figure it out. I like a good challenge!!
Hopefully I'll get some new work up here though, and hopefully use up some of that yarn that I've been winding. I LOVE MY YARN WINDER!!!

Today I'm a sad Amy...

I just got an email from Instructables, stating that my Lego didn't win the contest. I must admit, I'm really upset about it. :(

However, you can check out the winners here.

Back from Vacation!

I'm home. It was sad saying goodbye, but it's wonderful to be back with my hubby. :)

Coming up, I have some work to do, including a special request for a special yeti. I'm really excited to get them started! But, I thought I would share some of the packages I came home to. As if it wasn't wonderful enough to see my hubby today, these just finished off my amazing day!

First up, QUATCHI!!!!



Next up, my amazing package from Love & a Sandwich! It's my custom made sasquatch, along with my newborn monster to match!! He's named the freckled-butted Sasquatch. lol





That's all for now. I will be out tomorrow to shop for some more yarn for my new yeti, and will hopefully be able to post some new projects. :)