Happy Halloween & Happy Birthday Drusilla

Today is Drusilla's fifth birthday! Happy Birthday baby girl. (I tried to get her to sit next to the pumpkin for the picture, but she didn't want any part of it.) 

It is a good thing Drusilla's birthday is on Halloween, since she is obsessed with the color black, and yellow which makes her the perfect Pittsburgh sports fan!

This time of the year I always try and stock up on black toys and put them away for the spring/summer. I went to the pet store the other day and was pretty shocked at the price of cat toys. Now granted, $5.00 isn't going to break me, but for a cat toy made of felt! That is when I figured I'd make my own.

So, in celebration of Drusilla's birthday, I made her a little black cat/monster toy. 

Here is the link to the tutorial if you'd like to make one for your own little one. 

And the winner is. . .

Mannequin!!!

Congrats to Mannequin! Please email me with your contact information so I can get your scarf and Mome Rath out to you. If I don't hear from by Monday night I'll choose another winner on Tuesday, since I'll be watching the Steelers/Redskins game on Monday night. Go Steelers!

If you didn't win but would like a Mome Rath of your own, check out my free crochet pattern. You can whip up one for yourself in no time.

Thanks for playing along. If you left your blog address, I'll be swinging by your blog over the next few weeks to check it out.

Hope you had fun and have a very Happy Halloween!!!

Bloggy Carnival Contest

I am so excited to be taking part in the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival contest again. I used to participate all the time with my old blog, Crafty Carolinagirl, but haven't had the opportunity yet with my new blog.

If you have never heard of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, well you just have to check it out. It is the biggest giveaway extravaganza ever! There were over 1,000 blogs participating last time around. I can't wait to see how many join in this time.

Okay enough with the talking, let's get to some giving!

Since it is starting to get a little chilly, at least where I am it is, I have decided to give away a hand crocheted scarf.

And just for fun, my little Mome Rath girl. She needs to find a good home!

Both the scarf and Mome Rath were hand crocheted, by me, using acrylic yarn. The scarf is soft and long and can be wrapped around your neck several times.

Now for the rules:

• To be entered into the giveaway, leave me a comment by 5:00 pm EST on October 30.
• If you take a peek at my items in my Etsy shop and leave a comment with your favorite item, you'll get a bonus entry.
  
• Giveaway is open to US and International bloggers and non-bloggers.
• Leave a link to your blog or a valid email address where I can contact you if you win.
• I will randomly draw a number on October 30 and post the winner on this blog and a link to the winner on the Bloggy Giveaways blog on Friday, October 31.
• The winner must reply to me via email or my blog within three days or a new winner will be chosen.
  

Thanks so much for entering and be sure to click the link below to enter all of the other awesome giveaways.

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

Halloween Present

The fifth day of Three Peas in a Pod's Fall Extravaganza focuses on "Halloween Present". Here are all of the Halloween projects I have worked on this month for Halloween!

1. Mummy Monkey, 2. Crocheted Candy, 3. I Got Rocks!, 4. Arsenic cup cozy, 5. Bookshelf w/ Nancy Drew bookcover, 6. Halloween Tea Cookie Set, 7. Black rose crocheted pin, 8. Pick Your Poison Tea Set, 9. "Something for your sweet tooth!"

I also made this simple Halloween lunch last Sunday. 

I had a pumpkin grilled cheese sandwich, beetles and maggots (black beans and rice), and a few black cat cookies. If you want to try the grilled cheese sandwich I suggest using older bread (it is harder and makes it easier to cut) or a really sharp knife (so watch the kids).

Happy Halloween!

Sweeeeeeet!

I'll be baking this whole weekend. No, not the good stuff, but felt and yarn sweets. I need to get some Etsy items ready for the holiday rush and figure this is the perfect weekend to do it. 

My "Heart Shaped Cookies" seem to be the big sellers in my shop. Of course, they are also the most time consuming of all of my cookies, but they are fun to make. 

Apparently, since they are such a big seller, another member of Etsy has made a set of her own after purchasing a set from me. Oooh! I am not happy about it, but according to Etsy we have to duke it out ourselves or get lawyers involved. I don't want to do that, so I have decided to keep an eye on her store. Any other of my items go in there and she'll have some explaining to do!

I'll be working on a couple of new fall related food items and some Christmas cookies too. I'm also planning on working on a pretty large and involved, but really cute shop item. I can't give away too much, but it is something the Queen of Hearts might like! 

I really hope to get it in the shop before Christmas, but we'll see how it goes. With my Christmas presents and all of my other crafts hanging in the balance who knows when I'll get this stuff done. Many of my handmade Christmas presents are listed under my "works in progress" button, so you can see I have a long way to go.

Also, next week starts the Bloggy Carnival Contest. I probably won't be posting much next week, but if I do look for the posts after Monday's giveaway post. I am going to keep my giveaway post at the top of the blog all week so people can find it.

Now, off to baking!

Is this my only fall craft?

I missed the last two days of Three Peas in a Pod's Fall Extravaganza, oops! Today's theme is fall crafts. 

Since this is primarily a craft blog, I figured I had something fall related that I had worked on in the past that I could share. After looking through all of my pictures and crafts, I realized I didn't. Apparently, I skip from Halloween to Christmas with no fall crafts. That is not cool. I'll try to change that next month and make a few fall related crafts.

In any case, I found a pillow I did a few years ago when I was a newbie to crafts. It was really easy to make, but please bear with me as these directions are from memory!

1. Cut two pieces of fall fabric 14 x 14 inches, a little heart out of fall fabric, and a black cat out of contrasting fabric. 

2. Hand stitch the black cat onto one piece of fall fabric, leaving about an inch and a half from right side and bottom of fabric.

3. Hand stitch heart and two button eyes on black cat.

4. Using a running stitch, hand stitch around the pillow starting below the black cat and leaving about an inch and a half of fabric around entire pillow. Stuff with polyfil as you work around the pillow.

That's it! You can really make this pillow with any fall item you'd like by replacing the black cat with a fall leaf or scarecrow. I have a little black cat, so that is why I chose the cat.

Black Rose Pin

I have been having so much fun making crocheted flowers lately that I knew I just had to make one for Halloween. I actually made this last Wednesday while watching Pushing Daisies. Maybe I should have made a daisy instead.

Anyway, here is my black rose pin with a skull and crossbones button.

The button I made with a button maker and some skull and crossbones fabric I got a few months ago. The fabric is going to be used as the lining in my poison tote bag, whenever I get around to making it, but it worked well for a button too.

This was my first time using a button maker and it wasn't as easy as I thought. It took me five tries to get the skull centered. Ugh! I guess I just need more practice, and that means more flowers!

NC Triangle Street Team Giveaway

The NC Triangle Street Team is hosting another awesome giveaway this week. This giveaway features prizes from Amyzo's Handmade by Amy shop, really cute stuff. Check out her shop and then leave a comment on the NC Triangle Street Team site to be entered!

We'll be hosting a giveaway every month, including a MegaGiveaway in December which I'll be participating in, so please check back regularly. It is going to be a lot of fun!

Release the Monkeys!

When I saw the Monkenottukhamun pattern from Q. D. Patooties on One Pretty Thing's Halloween Roundup, I just knew I had to make one.

I tweaked my mummy monkey a little so I could use items I already had. I made my monkey out of felt and then wrapped him in gauze. I then used some of my makeup to make him look a little dirty.

It was a super simple pattern, and the monkey is so cute! I might have to leave him up all year long.

Fall Extravaganza

I am joining in on the fun over at Three Peas in a Pod's Fall Extravaganza. Swing on by to join in too!

Today's theme is a recipe exchange, which is pretty funny since I am in the process of putting together a family cookbook. I am using Tastebook.com to help me organize everything. Hopefully, I will have it finished for Christmas presents this year.

Anyway, here is my Falltastic recipe!

Cranberry Nut Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with flour. Mix together the egg, oil, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack, and cool completely.

I Got Rocks!

This weekend I watched my all time favorite Halloween special, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

Poor Charlie Brown! He always gets the short end of the stick, doesn't he? It isn't any different in the Peanuts Halloween special either. 

I tried my hand at a little improvised ghost pattern. It didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned it, but it is close enough.

So this is one is for Charlie Brown, his ghost costume and his bag of rocks!

Don't forget to join Living Locurto's Halloween blog party!

Bloggy Carnival Contest coming soon!

Ooh, it is that time of the year again! The Bloggy Giveaway contest is coming up next week, October 27-31. Don't know what this is all about? Take a peek at last quarter's extravaganza!

Want a little hint as to what I am giving away??? Okay, one item you can wrap around your neck and the other one will make you feel like you're in Wonderland!

Check back on Monday, October 27 for the giveaway.

The New Kids were good to me!

A few weeks ago I posted a stitch marker tutorial featuring the New Kids on the Block. Well, my little tutorial was entered into the Instructables Craft Skills Contest and amazingly enough took second prize!

Whee! I really can't believe it, there were so many really great tutes, but the New Kids pulled through.

My prize. . . Lion Brand Yarn's Vintage Styles for Today.

This book features more than 50 vintage patterns to knit and crochet. Oh, boy! It looks like I will finally be learning how to crochet clothes. 

Red, White, and Blue Pillow

Last month, the McCain/Palin Ravelry group's members were asked to crochet/knit a couple of squares for a handmade afghan for Sarah Palin. I sent a Republican elephant and a red state of NC. 

Well, the response was so massive there were just too many squares for only one afghan. So, we are now sending three afghans (one for Sarah, Trig, and Bristol), four pillows, and several potholders. 

Check out the cute pillow that has my Republican elephant square on it:

Photo courtesy of KnittySuzie

I want one for myself!

Special thanks to the McCain/Palin group's, KnittySuzie, for blocking and knitting these all together for us. She did a fabulous job!

Join in the fun!

I was going to post another finished Halloween craft this week, but I think I'll hold off until next week. Living Locurto is having a Halloween blog party on her blog starting Sunday, October 19 and running through October 31. It looks like it will be a lot of fun and a great place to pick up some Halloween tips.

I'll be posting some of my Halloween crafts during the Halloween blog party, so be sure to stop by for some Halloween fun!

Building A Mystery

I still love to read Nancy Drew books. They are such a quick and enjoyable read, plus they always include a secret passageway and a hidden treasure. Who doesn't want to find a hidden treasure through a secret passageway?

One of my New Year's resolutions, yes I am already starting to think about them, is to start reading more. So to get me inspired I whipped up this super cute book cover to pay homage to my favorite super sleuth.

I crocheted a book cover over one of my Nancy Drew books and then cut a silhouette of Nancy out of felt for the cover. 

I think I am going to make some more covers for my other books, especially those old ones under the Nancy Drew book. They look pretty nasty! I think they each need a brand new crocheted cover, don't you?

I Want Candy

Some of Drusilla's favorite toys are in the shape of pieces of candy. Her favorite toy (a pink lame' Hershey kiss) is completely falling apart and disgusting. So, I figured I would make her a new toy for her birthday, which is Halloween.

I found this really cute pattern on Lion Brand.com for a piece of Halloween candy. I figured it would be perfect for Drusilla to pick up and take up and down the stairs with her. For some reason I thought it was a cat toy, but I quickly found out it isn't. It came out a tad bit bigger than I was expecting:

Yeah, there is no way Drusilla can pick this thing up and carry it around the house. I decided to use it as a decoration instead for my spider candy dish.

Look who I found with her paw in the candy dish. . .

I guess she does like the candy toy after all!

Featured on One Pretty Thing

My little Mome Rath pattern has been featured on the Daily DIY on One Pretty Thing, one of my new favorite blogs. 

Swing by and pick up some amazing fall decoration ideas and some really spooky Halloween craft projects. And don't forget to check out the Crafty Contests, my favorite section!

The first of many Halloween crafts

I designed and finished a ton of Halloween related crafts this weekend. I will be posting pics of them all week, but I'll start off with my second entry into Dabbled's Halloween contest:

 Arsenic cup cozy

I have a few other "poison" cup cozies in the works. I might put them in my shop or I might keep them for myself. I haven't decided yet.

The one thing I will make sure to do with the others is use darker thread. I could read the pink "Arsenic" fine, but it doesn't show up in the picture that well. Oh well, you craft and you learn!

Free Pattern: Mome Rath

I have finally gotten around to writing out a pattern for my little Mome Rath. When I worked on my first one I didn't really pay attention to what I was doing, so I had to make a second one in order for me to write the pattern. That's okay, I think my little guy needed a girlfriend anyway.

It is a super simple pattern, quick and easy enough for a beginner crocheter to make.

Abbreviations

ch = chain
dec = decrease
sc = single crochet (UK: dc double crochet)

As long as you know how to do the above crochet stitches, you will be fine! So here is the basic pattern:

Materials

US G-6 (4.0mm) crochet hook

Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Solids (acrylic) in two colors

Pipe cleaner

Black and white felt scraps for eyes

Embroidery thread

Mome Rath Body

Bend pipe cleaner in half.

Using color #1:

R1 - Ch 2, 6 sc in second chain from hook (do not join rounds)

R2 - 6 sc in each sc around

Place pipe cleaner in middle of crocheted piece.

R3 - *6 sc in each sc*, repeat until one side of bent pipe cleaner is covered by crochet rounds and you have reached the top of the point.

Change to color #2:

*R1 - *6 sc in each sc*, repeat until second side of bent pipe cleaner is completely covered.

Last row - *sc 1, dec 1*, repeat 2 times

Bind off, weave in loose ends.

Mome Rath Hair and Eyes

Cut 6-8 pieces of yarn (7 inches long each).

Tie each piece of yarn to the center of the point of the Mome Rath body.

Trim hair to appropriate height.

Cut two white ovals and two black circles out of felt scraps.

With embroidery thread, sew black circles to white ovals for your Mome Rath's eyes.

Sew one eye to each colored side of your Mome Rath, underneath the yarn hair.

Enjoy your new little friend!

I hope you enjoy the pattern. If you happen to make your own Mome Rath please send me a link to your little guy, or girl. I'd love to see them!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

© 2008-2009 Missie Zee

Please remember that items made using my patterns and tutorials are for personal use only and can not be sold for profit. Thanks!

. . . And the mome raths outgrabe (post from Crafts by Alice blog)

I thought I would share with you this post that I wrote a few months ago on my Crafts by Alice blog. It will give you a clue as to which pattern I will be posting on Monday!

I had a lot of fun working on several Alice in Wonderland themed items this past weekend. You'll be seeing some of them in the shop over the next several months, but a couple were made for my own enjoyment, like this guy:

Remember the Mome Raths from Alice in Wonderland? Or Lewis Carroll's poem, Jabberwocky?

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe."

Well, this is my version of the little creatures. I used this photo from the Disney movie as my inspiration:

He was really easy to make. I whipped him up in a little over an hour by crocheting his body, attaching left over yarn for his hair, and adding a couple felt eyes.

Be on the lookout for some more creatures from the Tulgey Wood, coming soon!

Puzzle: Movies & Songs - Answer Key

1. D
2. F
3. J
4. N
5. K
6. I
7. A
8. O
9. H
10. B
11. E
12. M
13. C
14. L
15. G

It Feels Like Fall

Fall is here and that means the Steelers blanket comes out of the closet and onto the bed. . .

and Drusilla's in seventh heaven! Funny, she always lays in the Steelers' circle.

Was I up for the challenge?

If you've read my blog before you know that I love Ravelry (the crochet and knitting site). It is so great to have a place where crocheters and knitters can chat about their WIPs, favorite patterns, and other favorite things. If you crochet or knit and haven't checked it out, please do. It is a lot of fun.

There are tons of groups to join, and I mean tons! I currently belong to eight, mostly crochet groups. I used to belong to over twenty, but it got to hard to keep track of them all. I'm much more comfortable with an even number of eight!

One of my new groups is Crime Show Knitters. What a fun group! We discuss our favorite crime shows and characters. Since crime shows are my favorite shows (NCIS, Psych, Burn Notice, Law & Order SVU. . .) this group is perfect for me.

Our group moderator has challenged the members of the group to crochet or knit something from a crime show. She gave us a choice of several characters and an item that might be used by that character. There were so many great ones to choose from (a pineapple for Shawn on Psych, a cloche hat for Nancy Drew, etc.), but, naturally, I chose something from NCIS.

My challenge was to crochet Abby a Caf-Pow cup cozy. Now that might sound pretty simple, but I actually had to make it look like Abby's Caf-Pow cup. Yikes!

This is what the Caf-Pow cup looks like on the show:

Photo courtesy of CBS

Not an easy pattern. So, after contemplating between a crocheted pattern or using felt, I opted for the latter.

Well here it is, my very first cup cozy, NCIS-style:

I couldn't get everything on the cozy, it just wasn't big enough, but I did fit the logo on, which I think is the most important part. I crocheted the cozy and then added the logo, which is made out of felt.

I am really pleased by how it turned out. I hope my Crime Show Knitters group will like it, I know little Abby does!

I've Got Mad Skills!

Well, I accomplished exactly what I wanted to (and more) with my blog. Woo Hoo!

Setting my blog up as three columns was actually pretty simple. I just followed Tips for New Bloggers' tutorial, which told me step by step how to do it.

I also went ahead and changed the look to Halloween. Next time, I think I'll make the banner a little smaller. This thing is a monster!

If you like the look and the elements, check out Sweet Shoppe Designs. That is where I picked up Ichabod's Ride design kit. I love Sleepy Hollow, so I had to pick this kit up. It is awesome and much scarier than a lot of the other Halloween digital scrapbooking kits. I love that!

Featured on Sweet Figments

My Halloween Tea Cookie Set was featured on Sweet Figments today, along with other really great orange themed crafts.  So cool!  

I love to see compilations of different craft mediums. Everyone is so talented! I especially love the hand painted items. I can't draw/paint to save my soul.

Another CbA Original

I finished another new item for my Crafts by Alice store:

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcake

Handmade using brown, white, and red acrylic yarn, this sweet crocheted treat is stuffed with polyfil and placed in a reusable Alice blue silicone cupcake cup. Cupcake measures approx. 3 inches wide and 3.5 inches high.

Another Crafts by Alice original design, I tried to come up with a really clever name, but decided to state the obvious.

I think I am going to start using acronyms for my stores, to save my fingers a little work. We'll say Crafts by Alice is (CbA) and World of My Own Designs is (Wofmod). I guess I should have picked one word names!

No Crocheting This Weekend

I am going to be putting down my hook for a couple of days to work on some digital scrapbooking and blog designing. I think I need to keep my PSP skills up. I don't want to forget all I've learned so far. I will also be trying my hand at something new that I know absolutely nothing about. . . web design. 

I really want to change the look of my blog starting with the layout. One thing I really miss about Typepad is their three column layout (I miss their pages too). I really dislike two columns, mostly because I hate scrolling up and down to see things. I guess I'm just lazy that way. Well, yesterday while I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs I happened upon How About Orange. Lo and behold there was a post there about making a three column blog on Blogger. Don't you just love when that happens? So, that is my goal this weekend. 

Once I accomplish my layout design I'd like to move on to other things, like organizing my items a little better or maybe adding a navigation bar. Okay, now I think I am pushing it. I'll just be happy with a new three column blog. 

So wish me luck, and be patient with me if things start to look a little funky around here. That will just be me using my mad web design skills, or lack there of!

I Deserve A Break Today

Whew! What a crazy couple of weeks. But after many long craft-filled days (and nights), the shops are finally back open. Hallelujah!!!

I still have several items that I'm working on that didn't make the deadline, but overall I am happy with the items I got finished. I am especially excited about my new tea party snack set.

I will be adding more themed tea party snack sets to the shop over the next couple of months, but this is my very first one, just in time for Halloween:

Pick Your Poison snack set

This limited edition Halloween snack set comes complete with a crocheted "Deadly Nightshade" poison berry tart, felt poison lollipop, felt poison tea bag, and crocheted black tea cup.  

I am working on one for Christmas next. I have been chosen by my NCTriangle Etsy team as one of five featured stores for a huge Christmas giveaway that will take place the first week of December on our blog.  I think I'll be giving away a Christmas snack set and maybe a few cookies too.

I was such the crocheting fool this past month that I finished a few items for my crochet shop too. I fell in love with this one:

I almost kept it for myself. Go Steelers!!! Thank you for that nail biting win on Monday night. Boy did we need that one!