Candy and turtles

You know what is awsome? Looking back at all your previous creations and seeing the progress that you have made. I think I have gotten so much better at designing my amigurumis then what I was before. Granted, I am no Ana Paula Rimoli yet, but still, I am very proud of myself.

This past week, I had decided to design two very small items, and they actually turned out pretty cute.
The first I designed was candy. I had just gotten my braces off, and found that I missed having hard candy the most, so I made me some. :)

They were actually really simple to make, I ended up using the Caron Simply Soft yarn, and that made the candy have a cute 'shine' to it. I also added some bows to the ends to give it them that extra touch they needed.

I made the green candy first, but I didn't really like how the wrapper ends had turned out (you can see more photos of my candies on my Flickr account), and so I did a different version with the white. I am planning to make a whole bunch of these and fill up a candy dish with them. I think that would make a cute little center piece for a table. Don't you think?

Finally, last night, I decided to make another turtle. I think that out of all the turtles I have created, this one is my favorite.

I was really lucky to have the butterfly applique that is on her body. I had found 3 them floating around in our craft shed, and so I decided to use one on her. Unfortunatly, I don't think they sell these anymore, or if they do... I wouldn't know where... my mom apparently got them when I was in Pre-school.

Teddy Bear Connection

I have found out today that taking my clients to the mall is not a good thing to do. They spazz out!
It would have been nice if when we got there, the Teddy Bear Connection Store was a bit more organized. I understand that it is a small space, but they expected my clients to sit down and color while three went up at a time to make their Teddy Bears. This would have worked all nice and well if it were a normal group of kids... but we don't have a normal group of kids. The next thing we know, one kid is throwing a tantrum, another is throwing a crayon box, while another is slapping another client.
Needless to say, that trip wore all us staff members out... maybe a little too much! As I have also found out today, driving with a tired person is also like driving with a drunk person. I cannot tell you how many times we swerved off the rode. I was so thankful that we arived safe and sound, back at the community center.
Anyways, on a sad note, tomarrow is one of our staff member's last day at work. She is going to be moving to Colorado. :(
We are all going to miss her a lot. She is the one to takes care of one of our clients in a wheel chair, and she is so patient with him and so compassionate, that it is going to be hard to fill in her place when she leaves. I really wish she didn't have to leave, but that isn't my say, now is it?
I have decided, however, that since she is leaving, I shall make her a goodbye present, and so I made her a cute yellow and orange teddybear.

I had a lot of fun making this little gal, and I really like the colors. I found the pattern in my Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Amigurumi book, and was actually suprised that it came out as well as it did. (my last couple of amigurumis that I tried from that book, I didn't quite like how they turned out)

Anyways, I did add the two bows on the ears as an extra little something, and I have to say, I am glad that I did. They really made the bear extra cute. :)

I am actually thinking of making some more of these cute little gals for my aunts. One of them is comeing down to visit soon, and I think this would make a cute little present for her... that is if I don't find something cuter before she visits. :D

Foxy

I finally got around to taking pictures of the fox I finished the other day. At first, I was a little aprehensive on how he would turn out, but after I was finshed with him, I thought he looked rather cute. I did learn a lesson with him though.I learned not to sew up the bottom half before you sew on the top half. It makes life so much easier when you sew the top half together first, sew that onto the bottom half, and then sew everything else onto the bottom half (i.e. arms, legs, and tummy patch) I found that if you did this the opposite way, you would most likly get a lopsided head. Not a good thing, especially if you are a perfectionist like I am!

Anyways, here are the pictures that I took of this guy, and remember, you can find the pattern to this little guy here.

Skidoosh!

What is a Skidoosh? Well, if you don't know, then that means you have yet to see the movie Kung Fu Panda. This was a hillarious movie that I highly recomend anyone to see. Not only is it funny, but it also is an all star cast. Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolee (did I spell that right?) Jackie Chan, and Lucy Liu.

Of course, the best line in the entire movie is Skidoosh. But you have to see it in order to get that.

Anyways, watch the movie... you will be glad you did... trust me on that one. *nods*

Bring on the Bling Babeh!!!

Alright, I couldn't help but post this, I just found this Oober cute pair of Earings up on Etsy!
Aren't they adorable?

I have this really cute blue top that they would go perfectly with, and the good things is these babies are only 16 bucks! Whoo!

Anyways, if you would like to see more of these gorgeous earings, (and even some bracelets and necklaces) the head on down to R. F. Jewelry and Crafts at Etsy.
Man they are so cute!!

Butterflys, owls, cactuses, turtles, and lions... boy have I been busy!!!

Last weekened I managed to hit up some craft stores that I normally wouldn't be able to go to because they aren't available where I live. Anyways, I mangaged to get my hands on the popular book: Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. I cannot tell you how excited I was when I got this book. I have had my eyes on it since like forever, but none of the bookstores in my town carry it.
When I got home, I couldn't decide what to make first. I was like a kid in a candy store. Interestingly enough, I ended up making a butterfly that was in the other book I picked up (Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Amigurumi).
The butterfly was actually a pain in the bum to make. He looked really cute in the pictures, but when I made him, he just looked weird. Here is a picture of him:

What I didn't like about him was his arms and legs. Yes, he did have legs, but I ended up taking them off because they made him look really weird. I did however keep the arms on, but I still don't know if I quite like those.

I used a yarn that I got for 50% off at Jo-Annes for the wings. The yarn was ok to work with, but the instructions for the wings were pretty vague, I am actually suprised that they even turned out.

So, after I finished to butterfly, I decided to work on something from my Amigurumi World book. Of course, before I knew it, I had 3 things done, and it only took me 1 and a half days to do them! Here is a picture:

My favorite is the cactus. She took me the longest to make, but she turned out really cute. I especially like her little flower that she is sporting at the top of her head. :) Of course, my mom, when she saw the cactus said that she needed some spikes and such, and then proceded to try and put toothpicks into it. I put a stop to that right away!

After I had made these cute little creations, I decided to try out Ana's Tiny Amigurumi section of the book. I thought that the turtle was really cute and since I had some down time while babysitting for my friend, I decided to make that.

He turned out cute enough, but I am not quite happy with it. It seems as if something is missing, but I don't know what. Maybe his head is too big, or his shell too long... whatever it is, its just bugging the crud out of me. *sighs*

Lastly, I decided to make a lion for my friend. I have will give it to her tonight, when we go out to see Kung Fu Panda (which I heard is a very funny movie, and I can't wait!). It was her birthday a while back, and I decided this would be a really cute gift for her.

I thought that this one turned out really really cute, and I am almost sad to see him go. I will definatly have to make another one of him. :)

Well, that is just about all for now. :) I am off to go see Kung Fu Panda! Whoo!

A Mouse!

I started today in a very big crafty mood. I wanted to try my hand on sewing, and so I found this really cute pattern on the internet for a lamb. What I found out was I spoot at hand sewing.. and following pattern directions. Needless to say, I ended up giving my project up and looking for something else, something that I knew I could do. :)

It was then that I came across a pattern for a Hello Kitty. I have always thought that Hello Kitties were extremely cute, and so I decided to give it a try. (You can find the pattern here: http://arminas-aminals.blogspot.com/2008/03/ami-hello-kitty.html )

I am having no luck what-so-ever with any of my crafts today. My kittie did not even turn out to be a kittie... it turned out to be a mouse. *sniffle* Regardless, however, I Think that my mouse did turn out pretty cute.

I did do a couple of alterations though (which may be the reason why it isn't the kitty that it was supposed to be) I made the dress have ruffles at the end (which made it look more like a dress) and I did a different type of bow then what the directions used. (I couldn't follow those directions for some strange reason).

So this is my mouse... and even though she isn't a kitty, I still think she is pretty cute. :)

Beware... BEWARE! Pink elephants on Parade!

Yesturday, at about nine o'clock at night, I got into another one of my strange amigurumi moods. I happened across a cute elephant pattern at Lionbrand.com, and decided to try her out.
This is how it turned out:

I ended up doing a couple of alterations to the pattern though. First of all, I didn't like how the trunk just kinda stuck straight out, so I ended up sewing that downwards. I also decided to add the black flower to the elephant. Also, as you can tell in the next picture, I ended up putting a tail on her.

I couldn't beleive that lionbrand didn't put a tail on their elephant. To me, it adds that finishing touch that it needed.

Overall, I am very happy with how my elephant turned out. I was a bit apprehensive at first because she is bigger then what I am used to making, but I got over that pretty quick. This one I am not going to give away. She has earned her place with some of my other stuffed animals and creations on my bed. :)

I scream, You scream, We all scream for Ice Cream!!!

I am in an ice cream mood today. I have this huge craving to go get something from Cold Stone Creamery. Like maybe Cake Batter with Cookie Dough... Yummm....
Anyways, in light of my Ice-cream mood, I have made me an Amigurumi Ice Cream.

I really like how this one came out. At first, I didn't think it was going to look all that cute, but then after I started to sew it all together, it really started to take on a cute personality. Unfortunatly, I am not going to keep this one, I have to give it away for that secret santa thing that we are doing in girls youth. See, one girl didn't show up at the last meeting, and I don't want her to feel left out when she doesn't get anything, and so, I made her this. I thought it was fitting because I used to have her in my nursery, and she 'baked' me some ice cream.

Well, it is off to work for me now! Whoo! :P

Monkeying around.

Wow... sorry I haven't been on recently. I have had a lot of stuff going on. I am back on now, with another Amigurumi!
For Girls youth, We have this secret santa thing going on, the rules are:

1. You cannot buy the person you get a present
2. You must get that person something that has meaning to you.
3. You must get that person something that has meaning to them.

At first, this was a little hard for me to do. I mean, I knew I wanted to crochet something, but I didn't know what. I have like no idea what this person's favorite anything is, whether it be color, food, or animal. And so, I took to the internet (as I usually do) to find inspiration. What I found was a monkey. Someone had crocheted this Oober cute monkey that I knew the person I got for the secret santa would probably adore. The only problem was, this person did not post a pattern for this monkey.
That was ok though. I had a great deal of fun making up the pattern as I went, and well, now I am quite proud of how my monkey turned out! Here is a picture of this cheeky little thing:

Jenny has deamed the name of my monkey to be Tootles. She said that Toodles would much rather prefer to be with her then with me or Sara. Oh well. :P She is just going to have to suffer. But I don't know, maybe I will be nice and make her a monkey as well. Depends on my moods. Though I need to go out and by some more buttons for eyes. This little bugger just used my last two. That is ok though, cause it gives me an excuse to go to the craft section in Wal-mart. :D

Beary Cute Birthday Present

Tomarrow is one of my co-worker's birthday, and so I decided to suprise her with a cute amigurumi.
I decided to go with the simple bear design for her, and I have to say, this one turned out really cute.

The only thing I really hated about making this bear was using the fun fur. Who ever named it fun fur was seriously deranged. That stuff is not fun to work with. Even though it did make the Bear Oober cute.

I was in such a hurry to get to work though, that I had to pay my sister to take the pictures of the bear... and this is what I get:

Yah... I should have known never to trust her with my camera. *sigh* Oh well.

But, my co-worker did like the bear, she thought he was really cute. :) I too am very proud of it. (this is, by the way, another Cindy Origional, I am getting really good at these!)

Bubba the Panda

I was again struck with the urge to make something last night. You know, I think the hardest part of making something is trying to find out what you are going to make. I mean.... there is a ton of stuff out there to choose from! I tell you this though, Google is your best friend when trying to find inspiration. As I was sifting through various photos of different things, I found this cute little dude:

I thought she was absolutly adorable. The blog that this picture is from was actually a series of pictures of this panda from birth to 3 months (if you would like to see, check out Spluch).

I didn't have trouble this time picking out the colors for my panda bear, for all I needed was white and black, and luckily, I had both. What I did have problems with though, was my Koda Bear constantly messing with my yarn.

Other then Koda keeping my yarn captive, I didn't really run into any problems creating my Panda.

I didn't really like how the face turned out. I should have embroidered it, but I was too lazy last night to do it. Oh well. Anyways, that is Bubba the Panda. Another Cindy Origional.

Rosie the Hedgehog

So, today, after math class, I got into my usual amigurumi making mood. The only problem with my mood was I didn't know what to make. I went over to my favorite site that has a bajillion links to patterns for Amigurumi and other things, but nothing really struck my fancy.

As I was going through the endless patterns that were posted, I thought to myself, why can't I make my own amigurumi? I mean, how hard can that be? Turns out... it ain't that hard at all! But I am getting ahead of myself. I then turned to the image section of Google, and found this adorable picture of a hedgehog:

Isn't he adorable? I thought so, and so I decided that he would be my inspiration. Now, the next problem I ran into was my color choice of my yarn. I am only using my scrap yarn, and lets face it, I don't have that great a selection of colors for my scrap yarn, and so I picked the closest colors I could for my Hedghog, which were, unfortunatly yellow for the body, and a dark brown for the spiky fur. I wish I had a peppery kind of yarn for the fur, but that is ok.

Now, where to start? I decided to start with the nose, which was a pain in the butt! It was so tiny! It was, however, worth the pain, and I soon was finished with the nose, and then the entire body. What I didn't know what to do was with the fur. I thought at first to latch hook it on, but I learned my lesson with a snowman to never do that (don't ask), and so, I went sniffing around for other ideas. What I found was what another person did for their hedgehog. They had made two pompom's and sewed them onto the body (check out Warmfuzzies blog for the picture and the pattern for their hedgehog). This was a fantastic idea! And so, two pompoms later, I came out with Rosie, my cute little hedgehog:

She is really cute isn't she? I really am quite proud of her, She is of course a Cindy Origional, which by the way, there will be more Cindy origionals coming along in the near future. These guys are way more fun to make then following a pattern!

Love Languages

Tonight, at girls youth, we went over the five love languages.
I thought this was a very interesting topic as it not only let me get to know a bit about me, but also about some of the girls in Youth. I found out that my love languages are tied between Words of Affirmation and Gifts.
Find out yours by taking this test:

For more information on Love Languages, please check out the book 'The Five Love Languages' by Gary Chapman.
(Please pick only one for each question)

1. I like to receive notes of affirmation A
I like to be huged E

2. I like one-to-one time. B
I feel loved when someone gives practical help to me. D

3. I like it when I get gifts C
I like taking long walks with someone B

4. I feel loved when I get help D
I fell loved when I'm touched E

5. I feel loved when I receive an embrace. E
I feel loved when I receive a gift. C

6. I like to go places with someone. B
I like to hold hands E

7. Visible symbols of love(gifts) are very important to me. C
I feel loved when I am affirmed A

8. I like to sit close. E
I like to be told I am attractive A

9. I like to spend time with someone. B
I like to receive little gifts. C

10. Words of acceptance are important to me. A
I know I am loved when I receive help. D

11. I like to be with someone when I do things. B
I like to recieve kind words. A

12. What someone does affects me more than what he or she says. D
I feel whole when I am hugged E

13. I value praise and try to avoid criticism A
Several small gifts mean more to me than one large gift C

14. I feel close while talking or doing something with someone B
I feel closer to someone when he or she touches me often. E

15. I like to be complimented for my achievements. A
I feel loved when someone does things for me that he/she doesn't enjoy. D

16. I like to be touched when someone walks by. E
I like to be listened to sypmathetically. B

17 I feel loved when someone helps me with my chores. D
I really enjoy receiving gifts C

18 I like to be complimented on my appearance A
I feel loved when someone takes time to understand my feelings B

19 I feel loved when I am being touched. E
Acts of service make me feel loved D

20. I appreciate the many things someone does for me. D
I like receiving homemade gifts C

21. I really enjoy getting undivided attention. B
I realy enjoy someone doing some act of service for me. D

22. I feel loved when my birthday is celebrated with a gift. C
I feel loved when my birthday is celebrated with meaningful words. A

23. I know someone is thinking of me when he or she gives me a gift. C
I feel loved when I get help with chores. D

24. I appreciate it when someone listens patiently to me. B
I appreciate it when someone remembers special days with a gift. C

25. I like to know someone cares enough to help with my daily tasks. D
I enjoy extended trips with someone. B

26. An unexpected kiss on the cheek makes me feel loved. E
Getting an unexpected gift for no special occasion excites me. C

27. I like to be told that I am appreciated A
I like to be looked at when I am talking to someone. B

28. Gifts are always special to me. C
I feel good when I am being touched E

29. I feel loved when Someone enthusiastically does a task I have requested. D
I feel loved when someone tells me how much he appreciates me. A

30. I need to be touched every day. E
I need words of affirmation daily. A


Total:A____ B_____ C______ D_______ E______


A= Words of Affirmation
B= Quality Time
C=Gifts
D= Acts of service
E= Physical touch.


Your highest score shows your main love language. The next hightest score is the next important thing to you.

Mall Rats, and fish, and Carnies oh my!

Yesturday was a very eventful day, and I am almost dissapointed at myself for not thinking to bring a camera along with me... almost.

My day started out by going to hang out with Jenn while her husband went to a Nascar thingy-ma-bob up in Pheonix. Poor Jenn was stuck all alone with both Millie and Melani all by herself, so I decided to keep her company. Besides that, Jenn had made an appointment that day for getting her hair done and needed someone to keep an eye on the monkies while she got it done.
Jenns hair appointment was at the mall, and so, while she was doing that (and consequently Jenny getting her eyebrows done as well) Millie, Melani, and I went over to the kiddie play area to wait for them. Jenn's appointment took Waay longer then what was expected, so I ended up staying in the kiddy play area for about an hour before we got bored of it, and so off we went to poke around the stores. Of course, one should know not to leave me alone with two little girls in a mall... I end up buying them things. I bought both Melani and Millie cute plastic Tiaras. They looked absolutly adorable in them, and so I couldn't resist. Jenn claims that I spoil the kids.. but oh well.

So finally, after the mall we all decided to go to the cove and swim for a little while. That was Oober loads of fun.. Millie was a joy to go swimming with. We raced down the tube slides... unfortunatly, one was longer then the other, so I kept on loosing to her.
Melani was a bit scared of the water at first, but after we went into the warm pool, she was fine, and even flirted with the life guard.

When we were leaving the Cove, we decided to check out the carnival that was in the park. It was ok... full of Oober expensive things, which of course Millie wanted to do. We didn't go on any rides, but we did end up letting Millie make a sand creation at one of the booths (believe it or not, that was the least expensive thing for us to do!)

To end our day, we all went back to Jenn's house and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Amigurumi Crazy!!!

I have officially gone amigurumi crazy. In the past three days, I have made three other Amigurumi animals/fungi. I can't stop myself! This is like some crazy addiction that I can't controll. I find that in my spare time I am looking on the internet for new Amigurumi patterns and ideas!
Anyways, would you like to see what I made this week so far? Of course you do! So, here they are!

Aren't they adorable?

Youth Campout

So, I went with my Youth Group to go camping this weekened. For the most part it was a very fun campout, we got to play an Italian ball game (I can't remember what it was called) and we got to hang out at the hot tub. Also, I got to snap this really cool picture:

For the other part however, I think I could have strangled a couple of the boys that went. They had absolutly no common sense what-so-ever. All they wanted to do was to jump off of things and do flips in the air. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that boys will be boys, but when they do these things off of a fishing dock where other people are fishing, that gets me angry, and when they stack up two picnic tables to do flips off of, that also gets me angry. Grr. I don't know, maybe I am just being a stickler or something. *sigh*

Look what I found?

I have decided to steal my sister's camera and to take her photo's captive. What I found was a forgotten peice of Amigurumi that I forgot I had made! Oh the luck!
And so, for your viewing pleasure, I have decided to post the picture.

Cute isn't it? If you wish to make a cute egg yourself, you can get the pattern Here

along with many other cute amigurumi dolls.

Smell the New!!

Mmmm... do you smell that? Nothing beats the smell of a new blog.
Hi! I am Cindy, a college student and a crafter. I love animals... especially birds, and I have no life. And so... I have decided to make a blog! Whoo!
My current obsession in my crafting life is to make Amigurumi dolls. I absolutly love them, and they are fast and easy to make (which is good considering I have no attention span).
I have so far made 4 amigurumi dolls, 1 from a pattern at Lionbrand, and the other three I completly made up myself... cindy origionals if it were. Unfortunatly, 1 of my origionals got ruined from moving a bed, the other I gave away, and the third is currently residing in my sister's bedroom and I am too lazy to take a picture of it. I do however have a picture of the doll I made from Lionbrand.

He is rather cute isn't he? I actually ended up giving this to one of the girls at my church. She absolutly adored it. (and who wouldn't absolutly adore it?!)

Anyways, I think that is just about it for my first post in my first ever blog. Whoo! I feel accomplished already!