Think Happy!

It's been a poopy couple of days for me.  Yesterday not only did a friend's mother succumb to cancer, but another friend told me her mother was just diagnosed with cancer and that it is inoperable.  One year ago today, arguably one of the best women I  have ever had the privilege of knowing and honor of being loved by passed away.  The disease she had beaten MULTIPLE TIMES finally claimed her.  Today is also my father in law's birthday, so I'm trying to think happy thoughts.  I am trying hard to use her memories to make me smile and use them on a daily basis to make me a better person.  With a heavy heart, I started to seek out pictures that would put a little warmth back in it.  I hope you feel a little happy after looking at them too!

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Live your life and

Enjoy your day!

Kelly's shower

I went to a baby shower this weekend.  The Momma is expecting a little girl.  How adorable!  What do you get a little girl?  I have 2 very boyish boys.  We don't have many girly things in my house because I AM NOT GIRLY!  It's a personality flaw ;-)  Because of this quirk of mine, I do not like when people default to all things pink.  Pink PiNk pINk PinK pinK PiNK PINNNNNKKK!!!!  Arghhh!  Sometimes it's enough to make my head explode!  However, I found these adorable slippers at one of my favorite blogs and definitely my favorite pattern shop!  Yup, you guessed it Mamachee!  They were really quick and easy to work up and how cute?!?  (not a drop of pink either might I add!) 

Now, I did have to give in a little on this one.  Here is another pattern by Mamachee.  This one has been a huge hit among my kids as well as several unnamed adults!  I altered the original pattern to make it look like an owl.  I think the results turned out well!  You can't see all of what I did, so let me sum up.  I crocheted circles to put around the safety eyes.  I turned the wings from being horizontally straight to being diagonally vertical.  I sewed a chain onto the face for the "eyebrows" and I cinched each side of the head individually and sewed it stiff to create "ears".  I can't wait to try this again!

I was also put in charge of fruit skewers.  I wanted to use watermelon, but it's definitely the wrong season for that.  Instead, I cut up mangoes and strawberries, balled cantaloupe and bought some grapes.  When I went to put the skewers together {AGH} I forgot to stick on the grapes.  (And I was wondering why I hadn't made as many skewers as I had planned on)  Quick revamp and violá!  Put the grapes IN BETWEEN the skewers-nice!  I swear, that's how I wanted it to look anyway ;-)  I used a platter that had a little dip in the center so I could put some cranberries in and a tealight in the center. 

Viking helmet hat

A viking hat?!?!  You have to be kidding me!  This has been, by far, the biggest hit in my crocheting arsenal!  The pattern is absolutely awesome!  I stumbled upon this hat by accident while looking at a blog that I love to frequent.  You want to talk about talented!  The woman who keeps this blog writes amazing patterns.  She seems like one of the happiest people in the world and as her blog title states, "EASY makes [her] happy!"  I was a little intimidated at first, but I bit the bullet and purchased the pattern.  It is so much easier than it looks.  The hat looks great by itself, without the horns attached to it.  I love it so much that I decided to incorporate it into a Halloween costume this year, and I will be making ones for the rest of our family for our annual Christmas card!  Seriously, you can't go wrong with a viking hat (or one of Mamachee's patterns either!)

Yummies to try

So I found some new recipes and boy was I impressed.  The first two that I tried were these.                 Steak tips with Peppered Mushroom Sauce

Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce

The blog is called Elizabeth's Edible Experience.  She is from Louisiana and boy does she have some great comfort food recipes.  You should definitely check her out; you won't be sorry!

Beth's Hat

 My goofy model!

So I made this hat for a friend's mom.  I purchased it here.  I fell in love with the cables.  It was a really fun hat to make.  I had a problem with the pattern, which is why it looks a little "candy cane" twisted.  However, I think I know how to fix it for next time.  And yes, there will be a next time because I LOVE THIS HAT!!!

Butterfly Cupcakes

This was my first time making these beautiful cupcakes. I sure did learn a lot about candy melts and the whole process in general! They are almost too pretty to eat....ALMOST!!!

Sam's hat

Cloche hat

Visor beanie

So, I attempted a brimmed hat for my sister's boyfriend. I started off with a brimmed cloche (I know, not manly, but it's what my sister picked out) because it looked like it was a good, easy pattern to go with (this pattern is not my own, it purchased it from Mamachee on Etsy, but I can't link to it at the moment). Well, my husband (and various other men) decided that it was too girly to give to him. Then, I tried another pattern I found, only to find that the pattern wasn't written out well enough and after I frogged it 3 times, I decided to try another pattern. This pattern is the one I decided to go with. In the end, it turned out too big for his head and I am going to wind up remaking it, but the hat looks great!

Super Mario 1up Hat

This is a thank you hat. A guy I know through my sister helped me out BIG TIME on my Father's Day creation for my husband this year. I bribed him with a hat! I had made him a pumpkin hat before and told him he could have THIS GREEN HAT. While he liked that hat, I showed him some other patterns. He asked if I could combine a couple of patterns to come up with this idea (Mario hat combined with Plain Slouch hat). This hat was really exciting to work on. I learned lots of new things about hat making and charts, I also applied some of the knowledge he imparted upon me as I used PhotoShop to play with the color scheme! For a first attempt at using a chart and having to combine multiple patterns, I think it came out pretty well.

Oma Slippers

I have made several of these slippers so far. They are surprisingly sturdy and extremely comfortable. You can purchase the pattern here from Mamachee on Etsy. How fun are these?

Headbands aplenty

Here are some pictures (yes, one modeled by my son) of some headbands that I have been making. Cute, huh?

Time to catch up!

I've been a busy lady making tons of things. I have not one, but TWO sleeping babies, so I am going to try and post as much as I can! Hope you enjoy!

Done Dragon

Here is what this guy looks like completed; now he just needs a name!

Dragon Whelp update

Here are the updated pictures of the little guy. Zane is so excited! I need to make the wings and sew on the spines and then he'll be done. It wasn't as hard as I thought and it didn't take as long as I expected!