Birthday Panda Scarf Handmade by Bunny

It's getting cool so is the perfect time to wear this awesome handmade birthday gift from my best Bunny, Rachel. :) Check out her awesome work!

Isn't it just adorable?!?!?! I love it so much! hehe She talks about it in her blog post. Wanna see what else she sent for my birthday? just click HERE. :)

I was also treated to a Backstreet Boys Concert from another friend. :) It was like a highschool reunion and a giant karaoke session. hehe

I have such great friends! Thank You!

Crochet Sunshine Scalloped Cowl

I just found out one of my best friend's favorite color to wear which made me run to my yarn stash and see how much of the color I had. Sadly, it was not a lot. Next, I went to my computer to look for patterns that do not take a lot of yarn. Of course I searched cowls. Here is what I found. :)

Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice
& Lion Brand Vanna's Glamor
(I held both yarns together and crochet with them both as one.)
Hook: 6 mm
Circumference: 20 in
Width: 4.5 in

Pattern: Scalloped Cowl by Lion Brand

(Stopped at row 3 for each side because I didn't have enough yarn.)

Finished 9-6-12

I promise you, in real life, the difference in yarns is not as noticeable. The Glamor just adds a little sparkle. :)

Lion Brand does this a lot, they post the same pattern but changed it a little for different yarns in their line with different thicknesses. Here is the same pattern but more foundation chains for a thinner yarn.

Anywho, this is going to be a birthday present for one of my best friends here in Cali. :) Her bday is still a month or two away but I wanted to try it out. hehe

Presents for a Beautiful Thailand Princess

My friend went to visit his fiance in the Philippines. So, I made him bring some presents for her from me. :) He is her Xmas present. hehe Sorry, but this will be a long post.

This is the bag that everything fit in. It is about the size of a piece of paper and 2 inches thick. It took almost 1/2 of his suitcase. Luckily, he is a guy and so didn't need to bring too much clothes with him and he is a super packer from years of experience in the Army. hehe The bag is from the dollar section of Michael's but is a very sturdy and cute little tote. I am sure she will find other uses for it. :)

She loves chocolates and her favorite brand is Ritter Sport. We have it here in Target so I got her some of those. Since she likes whole hazelnuts, I thought she would like to try Ferrero Rocher if she has not tried it before. The bear was just way too cute. :) It is made my Lindt. I love their chocolates with the smooth centers but I like the square ones not the round ones. Sadly, they stopped selling the square ones. These Belgian Chocolate thins are yummy. They have a little crunch to them and are thin enough so that you can eat 1-3 and it will satisfy a craving well enough. :)

On her Xmas list, she asked for creme eyeshadow. I did not know how hard it was to find and get over here. I mainly found creme eye liner but these were nice so I got some for her. I think Clinique had some eyeshadow creme pens but they were hard for me to use. I hope these work well for her. :)

These little bundles contain some cute hair clips. :) They needed to be wrapped simply so that they can fit into the tote bag or else I could not get everything in there. :)

Rose hair clips I crochet for her. Red, because it's one of her fav colors and blue because her working uniform is blue. Can you see the sparkilies? :)

Ribbon hair clip in her favorite colors, red and yellow. :)

The backs of the hair clips.

Queen Anne Lace Scarf finished!

And here is how I wrapped it. :)

Made a tube out of card stock. I was going to put it into an empty food container but I think it would make it harder to get it though the metal detectors in the airport.

I made rosettes from the wrapping paper I used to wrap the cylinder. These will close off the cylinder at both ends.

Then I accordion folded the scarf into the cylinder.

I added the rosette to the other end and tied it together with curling ribbon.

And that's it. It's a little hard to work with but it is really cute. I think of it as anther version of the Christmas cracker. The ends are a bit different because I had to fit it into the tote. :)

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Here are the last two gifts I made for her and put into the package. :)

Pink Side

3D beaded Cross Bookmark.

Red Side

Yep, it is double sided.:) I think you can see the lobster claw clasp. That will allow her to take the cross off the bookmark and use it as a pendant for a necklace.

Lastly, I made this bell bracelet. It was a last minute bout of inspiration. :) I had to figure out how to put bells onto a bracelet but I didn't want to do the old charm bracelet method or stringing them on because that would take too many. So, I wove a simple base and added the bells as adornments. I was going to use a blue base because that is the 3rd color in the triangle on the color wheel but I wasn't feeling it.

I added the cluster of bells in the center because I miss counted the spaces. hehe but I like it! Some times covering up a mistake makes it more special. :)

I hope my friends are having a great Xmas together! I miss them both and hope someday we can all celebrate the holiday together in person. :)

I hope all of you are having a great December filled with friends and family, lots of laughter and love, and plenty of crafting! :)

Note: I made and wrapped all of these in the first week of December but I have to wait till after she opens up her gifts to post this. :)

Last Curlicue scarf....maybe

Here is another curlicue scarf. I thought it would be cute to make one out of Vanna's Glamour yarn. I liked the juxtaposition of using an elegant yarn to make something so cute and casual. The body is made with the Onyx color and the edging is Platinum. The scarf was too long and it tested my patience. The curls are not so big because the yarn is thinner. If I ever make this scarf again, I might add another row to make it more full but then again, that would just add more work for me. :P

Finished Scarf

Curled up like a rose

 I was debating on whether or not to make a rose for it but I do not have the right pin back and the curls I think would obscure the rose a bit.

For Anne!

I captured Mickey!

Doesn't Mickey look so warm wrapped up in the scarf? :) I hope you have a special Mickey to wrap your scarf around, sadly I don't. :P 

I have not figured out how to wrap this up yet. And I have to send it in a package to Colorado. Hnmm...if I think of something cute, I'll post it. :)

Hope you are having a great Friday!

Cute Christmas Gift Wrapping

I love wrapping and unwrapping gifts. If I have the time and inspiration, I usually try to wrap gifts in unusual ways. I would just like to show you how I wrapped a few of the finished scarves I made this year. :)

Wrapping #1: Ring in the Season

Curlicue Scarf from a previous post

My friend loves green so I decided to keep with the green theme. I found this giant sparkily green bell ornament in the dollar section of Target. It was perfect. I first wrapped the scarf in green tissue paper.

Next, I stuffed the scarf into the bell. I love it when the gift wrap is a gift itself. :)

You can stuff anything soft into this bell. Some other ideas include, cute socks, jewelry in pouches, handmade hats, or even gift cards.

I wrapped that in pearlized cellophane and added some curling ribbon in green, of course. I like the pearlized cellophane because it hides the present a little longer and hides imperfections.

Lastly, add the gift tag. More on this tag later on in the post. :)

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Wrapping #2: Moose of My Heart

Red Sparkily Scarf from a previous post

I love my Eeyore model. He never moves and looks cute no matter what. :)

Micheal's Arts and Crafts sells these cute stuffed animal jars during the holidays. This year, I went a little late but they still had these cute moose jars. The jars are plastic, so they are safe for kids and shipping. The head and arms twist off with the top of the jar. I just added my scarf inside rolled up.

Cute smiling Moose

The jar or body of the moose is clear.

So, I added a strip of white card stock that has a silver glitter pattern to hide the contents.

Because there was a gap, I added a strip of red ribbon to hide it.

To finish the wrapping, I am going to wrap it in cellophane and add a curling ribbon bow just as I did above. Anything can be put inside. And there is a lot of room. For Easter, I bought a bunny one and stuffed it full with little cross stitch kits and supplies. Sadly, it was lost in the mail. You can also add yummy baked goods.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Tags: Handmade for Handmade gifts

This is the gift tag that I added to the green bell above.

I took a vertical business card template and personalized it. I was going to make it so that I could just print it double sided but they never line up for me. Therefore, I printed out the back and front separately, then glued or taped them together with a ribbon in the middle. I used plain white card stock found in office supply stores and cut out the cards using my paper cutter.

I was experimenting with color but decided to stick with a simple color scheme.

For my knitted and crochet scarves, I add this cute picture of a crochet octopus knitting. The front says "Handmade with Love. For...By..." The back of the tag is the fiber used and care or washing instructions. Yes, it does hint to the receiver as to what is inside but most people do not read the back and I don't mind the hint. :)

For my Mom's tag, I put in a loop instead of two ribbons that tie together. I will slide this onto the curling ribbon before I tie it close.

I am going to use these tags for my beading and jewelry gifting as well.. Instead of the Octopus, I think I will put a picture of a beaded panda. On the back, I think I will add my blog address. If I had an online store, that web address would be added as well. You can put how to care for the jewelry on the back. And if I make it for someone to give away, It would be simple to change the front to "For...and From....". I believe that all handmade items are made with some degree of love even if it is for mainstream brands.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

You had fun picking out or making their gift, why not have some fun with the wrapping as well. :)
I would love to have a wrapping party, anyone want in? :)

Starting another scarf - Queen Anne Lace

Queen Anne Lace Scarf

After finishing 3 scarves, I wanted to make something more intricate and delicate. This pattern is pretty easy once you realize what they mean by "Slip stitch in 1st free ch4 loop of adjoining motif". :) This pattern goes by pretty fast and I think it will end up being a 1 skein scarf as well. :) Because of the motif, it is a good scarf for California weather, where you don't really need a scarf. :) I think it will be pretty as an embellishment to a simple black or red dress. :) If you crochet a short length, you can add ribbon to the ends or elastic cording to make it into a cute headband.

The yarn is Lion Brand Yarn, Vanna's Glamour again but in a Topaz color. I hope you guys can see the sparkily metallic polyester threads in this picture. :)

Here is a close up of the repeating motif.

I am 1/3 done with it at this point. I work on it on and off when I have time. So, how do I make sure I don't lose stitches when I have to stop working on it?...

Panda's Tip of the Day!

I use binder rings. Most people use the metal version to hold flash cards together. Here I am lucky to have a plastic version that my cousin brought back from Taiwan years ago. The plastic version is easier to open and close. I also think that because there is no hinge, they are kinder to my yarn.

When you close the ring, your last stitch will go no where. :) 

I hope all of your Christmas shopping or present making is going well. :)
Don't give up!