Sunday, July 29, 2012

Jellyfish Amigurumi

One of my friends tried to raise jellyfish but failed twice. So, I decided to make him one that wouldn't be fragile and would love him forever. :)


This was my inspiration. All About Ami posted about making a jellyfish. Luckily, my friend, Rachel, bought me the book that the pattern was in as a gift, Amigurumi Toy Box by Ana Paula Rimoli. :) As usual though, I couldn't stick to the original pattern and had to change it up a little. :)


Here is my little jellyfish friend, G Jr. :)




I plan on packing him in a white frosted plastic take out box with some water and sea monkeys to munch on during his trip. :) Update: Want to see how I actually packaged him up? Check this post out. :)


I hope my friend, G, likes his new pet. :)


Materials:
Caron Simply Soft Yarn in Soft Blue
Crochet Hook size 3.75mm
12mm size safety eyes
Black embroidery floss
Nylon line for the hanger

My changes to the original pattern:
I deleted rows 16-18 in his body to make him less like a cone.
I also made his wave skirt a little more bubbly. :)

Friday, July 20, 2012

WOW Long time...

I am sorry guys...I have been really in a crafter's block this month. And this post is not about crafting either...hehe I don't usually talk about my life but I am going to share this time a little. :) 

Warning: Lots of pics...a very long post...sorry :)

I was able to take a trip down to Mobile, Alabama. I haven't been there in 15 years!! It was great and a little strange to be back seeing all these people grown up. I left when I was in High School. No one changed one bit. hehe


I had a stop over at Charlotte, NC and they had rocking chars in the airport! Now, I knew I was in the South! :) hehe


We flew to Atlanta, Georgia. I was sad that I was not able to see Georgia at all. I was there on some personal family business.


Comfort Suites had a waffle maker and I had to take pics of my perfectly made waffles. I think they are so cute!!.

Since I had some time and haven't been there in 15 yrs, we drove the 5 hrs to Mobile, Alabama! My first night, we went to Biloxi, Mississippi for the seafood buffet in one of the casinos. Sadly, we did not win any money. :p But there were this really cute Panda penny slots. I couldn't sneak in a shot. :p

The next day I met up with the friend I have known the longest, Rachel from The Wondering Bunny. That was surreal because I usually see her when she comes to Cali and I drive but this time she drove and we were in Al. hehe I got to meet her friends Kristina and Bonnie. We originally were going to eat at the Waffle House because I remember it from my childhood but I saw this and was like Yes, that! hehe


My favorite thing their is their Sweet Tea, Lemonaid, and Chicken and Dumplings. Yum!!

We went to Hobby Lobby just to check it out. I think I might like it a little better than Michaels..shhh...I wish we had one in Cali.

Brave Movie

We then went to see Brave. That movie is great!!! Pixar really made a beautiful short film called La Luna in the begining of the film. It was so very sweet. :) The movie made me laugh the whole way through until the end when I cried because it was just so touching. There is something at then end of the credits. :) I want to get it when it comes out on DVD.

After the movie, we wanted to talk some more but there were no boba places to grab a snack and drink to talk so Bonnie, who didn't eat with us choose Chick Fa Lay. I had to share a yummy sundae with my friend, Rachel. I love their lemonaid, tea, and fries. hehe

That night, another friend took me out to a hooka bar.



They smoked and said it did nothing to them. It is as bad a cigarettes. The food was good though. :)

The next day, we went to New Orleans!!! It's only a 2 hour drive. OMG....so cool to be there! Our first stop was the French Market.




The Beignets were so yummy! I had to control myself. They are much better than the ones in Downtown Disney. The coffee was good sweetened with powdered sugar even though it was hot and humid. You should get some ice and make Iced coffee. :) This place is really popular. You should get a table and just do table service. The take out line was really long.



Apparently there are these very cute dog sculptures around the town to help raise money for the Humane Society. I want to do something similar but with Pandas! hehe

We took a trolly, a bus, and another trolly around town. It was fun and a lot cooler. It's only $3 for the whole day for both the tolley and the buses so I think you should get a pass to save your feet. :)




The trolley gave us a great tour of St. Charles street aka Garden Walk. At the end of the line is this cute little cafe that my mom's friend goes to every time she is in New Orleans besides Cafe Du Monde and the casino.



I do have to say that the tiramisu was gross. Everything else was yummy. :)




I walked around Riverwalk while the ladies gambled. Note: my mom won $100 at the dollar slots, whohoo!  I was not going to spend my first time in New Orleans in a casino. :) They have this cute display of different local legends. hehe

Burbon street in the safe daylight.
I was here when I was a kid because my dad dragged my mom and little be down this street at night. I just remember being confused as to why my dad wanted to go there and what was in the clubs. hehe




But there is this one street that had a cute pharmacy museum but it was closed. 



And this cute tiny loom store that makes these rugs had 6 cats inside! hehe They are very fluffy kitties too. hehe


The last day there, I met up with the last set of friends. These people I haven't seen in 15 years! It was great getting to know them all over again. Not much has changed but everything had. She has 2 babies and is getting married to her second husband. Wow. hehe


She took me to this cute antique store where her mom has a booth. My friend, Rachel, who loves antiques had never been before even though she lives so close. I bought her the flower pin there. :) Everything was so inexpensive! OMG...antique stores in Cali are so much more expensive.


She had bunnies when I knew her 15 years ago and she still has cute bunnies. The black one came to the fence to get some attention. She also has chickens, 2 dogs, and a kitten. :)





Her mom also has this cute pecan store which she runs out of her home. She also makes the most amazing scented candles.

That reminds me that I was craving boiled peanuts but didn't have time to get some or go back to see my old middle school which apparently has been changed to a Boys and Girls club. I might try to make boiled peanuts at home. I don't know why but I really like it much better than the roasted stuff. :p


My mom's friend's son's pitbull. hehe One of two pitbulls. A friend said that Ireland bans them and actually put a sweet one down because it was illegal to have them. I hope they changed their laws to allow the poor doggies to be deported next time. These pitbulls in Bama are so huge but cute. The black one wanted to be in every picture that we took as a group. hehe


This is what I want every restaurant to say! hehe I am so picky when it comes to my food. My friend Rachel laughs at me about it but her friend Kristina is just like me! hehe My last meal there was with Rachel at this burger joint. It was yummy, and did make everything exactly the way I liked it except that they didn't tell me it was going to be lettuce. :p They have these yummy shakes where you can mix flavors too! I had a hazelnut, irish cream, and chocolate shake which was really good. :)


We drove back to Georgia to finish up the family business. I was sad that I was not able to see the pandas at the zoo but I got a very cute stuffed panda and a keychain at the airport. :)

Hopefully after I unpack, I will be able to do some crafting. :)

Missing you all in Bama!!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July

Do you know what to day's day is? That is the question all men hate to hear from women. This time, they should know, it's the Fourth of July aka Independence Day! Time for family and friends gathering around BBQ food to watch pretty and sparily lights in the sky. 

The only thing my family does on the Fourth of July is to try and watch fireworks. I also like to use it as an excuse to craft, bead, crochet, or cook something with the American flag on it. I also do this on Flag day and Veterans day. :) (there are more free beading and cooking inspiration in those 2 links)

fourth-of-july-monkey-amigurumi-8

This very cute Fourth of July monkey doesn't come with a free pattern but is great inspiration. :)


For a cute fast and easy little gift, here is a free pattern for a crochet flag key ring.

Fourth of July Scarf

And even though it has been really hot lately, in California, the evenings still get kinda cool so here is a free pattern for a pretty Red, White, and Blue scarf.

Wishing you all a great July 4th! Have fun, eat great food, and laugh a lot!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Chocolate Cupcake Bear Amigurumi

I haven't blogged in a while because I had a bout of Crafter's Block. Nothing has been inspiring me. I tried to get back into beading by making a simple strung bracelet but it did not work. I didn't like it so I never finished it. 

I have 3 friends birthdays all with in 3 weeks including my mom's birthday so, I have been scrambling for gifts. Which got me crafting again. :) Necessity is the mother of invention, and apparently inspiration.

Let me give you a little background. I have some fun fur that I was going to use in a scarf. I like the brown and blue color combination but the brown of the fun fur was just the wrong shade. Because it was very hard to see the stitches underneath all the fur, I haven't crochet with it either. I was going to knit with it but I don't have the right size. So, it just sat there.


My friend, who I made this for, is named Xera. All her sister's names also starts with an X. So, this little guy's name is Xavier. :) Xera loves chocolate and loves cupcakes. In past birthdays, I have baked her a giant cupcake and a bunch of regular sized ones. Bought her a tote for chocolate lovers and a t-shirt with a cute cupcake design.


She loved all my past gifts but I couldn't think of something to buy that wouldn't be a repeat and she would like. So, instead of something practical, I made a Chocolate Cupcake Bear Ami! 

Since the Graduation Cupcake bear I made for another friend was so quick and easy, I decided to make another one. :) This time, I didn't use the same pattern. I used a smaller bear head pattern because I was lazy. :p I did use the cherry pattern from the original cupcake bear pattern. The pattern is from All About Ami which is also a wonderful blog, check it out!

I also added the fun fur but I combined it with regular yarn to it made things easier to see and crochet.


I just held both yarns together and crochet them like they were one strand. The fur likes to lay on one side more than the other with this technique. I choose the right side out for the head and the wrong side out for the ears to make them fuzzier.


Here he is in progress. He reminds me of an Ewok at this stage. hehe


Yep, he needed a hair cut. I think I might trim him a little more to make him look more like a bear but I don't know yet. :)


I don't think you can see it too well but I did embroider a little smile on him. The fur just kinda covers it up. :) 


Yarn: Lion Brand Fun Fur in Chocolate &
Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Chocolate
Crochet hook: 4.25mm
Stuffing: polyfill and polypellets

I adjusted the ears from All About Ami's cupcake bear pattern a little to make them bigger.
R1: magic circle, 6 sc (6 sts)
R2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sts)
R3: *Sc 1, 2 sc in next sc* rep 6 times (18 sts)
R4: (drop fun fur and use Vanna's choice yarn only) *sc 1, dec* around

For the cupcake bottom, I didn't use a liner this time. I didn't want to go searching for pretty brown liners just for one ami. Plus, most grocery stores don't have them, they have the Al or pastel ones. I couldn't wait for an online order either. So I used the bottom of my egg tart pattern (6 chains instead of 4) and I think the ribbing looks good.

What do you guys think? He's a little dark but I think he's really cute because he's so fuzzy and he looks so yummy! :) I hope you like it Xera!