Crafting a Baby Gift

As a gift for Baby T, my girl made him a tied fleece blanket. She picked a frog print and a lime green & blue leopard print for the back. I forgot to take a picture of the leopard print back. She's gotten really good at cutting and tying blankets by herself, though she did have some unwanted help. Chunky loved laying on the fleece as she worked.  I had to keep calling him away from the project. When it came time to take pictures he had to get into the picture too, after all he had a paw in it's making.

We wrapped the finished blanket in a bright green ribbon and attached a frog toy, then we delivered it to Baby T. He's so tiny, sweet and beautiful! We both enjoyed holding him while he slept. Now that we have a new baby in the family I think we'll have to find a few more baby crafts to try.

Zombie Sheep

I love sheep and I love zombies so why not create a zombie sheep? Well I did, in fact I created two. I'm participating in a swap over a Yarnigras' Swapper Spot. The theme is zombies in the nursery so I created a black sheep and rewrote the nursery rhyme Baa, Baa Black Sheep, zombie style.

Baa, Baa Zombie Sheep

Baa, baa black sheep covered in bites and wool,

Zombies came to feast upon him until they were full.

Awaking as a member of the unliving dead,

He craves the delicious treat that’s enclosed inside your head.

Now baad, baad zombie sheep is prowling through the night

Feasting on brains and entrails, what a scary sight!

I'm not great with writing poetry, but I did enjoy making the black sheep for my partner, Chris. I tried a different method for making these zombie wounds. I layered felted wool under the top piece then cut away the top to create wounds in their skin. I created a short little zombie wound tutorial that you can see here.  You never know when the desire to create a zombie wound might strike you.  :)

After I finished the zombie sheep for Chris I decided to experiment some more with wound making. I did get a little carried away creating wounds on my white zombie sheep. He's got a lot of wounds but I was having such a good time experimenting that I couldn't stop myself. This is hilarious to me since, in my real life I can't stand anything that cuts flesh.  I scream when I get a paper cut and can't watch violent movies. Instead to relax I create zombie dolls with flesh wounds, very ironic!

May the Force Be With You

Over spring vacation my husband and my daughter watched all six Star Wars movies together.  My daughter loved them, so she decided to craft up a bit of Star Wars fun.  She gathered up some fabric scraps, polyfil, paint and sharpies and set to work.  Honestly, sometimes I'm amazed at how creative she can be! I had a mom that would sew and do crafts with me but I know I wasn't that creative when I was her age.  I've been crafting with her for years but now at the age of ten she's able to create things mostly on her own. She has a vision and the know how to do it. For this project the only thing I did was assist with the sewing machine, she did the rest.

She created a collection of Star Wars characters by sewing fabric then painting it with acrylic paint.  She did a fabulous job!  Here's the rubble during the creation process.

This is Yoda.

This is one of General Grievous' droids and c3po.

Here's the whole Star Wars gang together. May the force be with you!

Number Ten is Here

Welcome to Baby T! 

 We're so excited that the baby is finally here! He arrived on May 2nd and weighted in at 7 lbs 10 oz. Both the baby and my sister are doing well. 

Baby T is the 10th child on my side of the family so he's coming into a big family that will love and adore him. As a matter of fact, we all showed up at the hospital yesterday to meet him. He's beautiful! My girl was the first of the cousins to hold him.  She is totally enamored with him and keeps asking when she can hold him again. She's working on a present for him so I'll post pictures when she's finished.

Here's Aunt Jill holding the new baby. Sorry Aunt Jenn, but I got to hold him first. :)  Poor Aunt Jenn was stuck in traffic for an hour and a half so I got to the hospital first. My husband texted her this picture with the caption "I win."

I went to my sister's house the other day to help finish the baby's room. She bought these wall stickers on Etsy and wanted help to put them up. It took us a few hours but we got them up and the room looks great. We finished just in time because she went into labor the next day.  

Remember the little elephant I made?  Look he's on the shelf in the baby's room. He looks so cute there.

One Sick Puppy

 Last Wednesday morning I went to get Chunk out of his crate and found that he had been sick in the night. This has never happened before, however Chunky had run off the night before and was missing for ten minutes so I assumed he ate something he shouldn't.  I made him rice for breakfast and went off to work.  Turns out he wouldn't eat the rice and continued to get sick through out the day.  By late Wednesday night he wasn't even keeping water down.  I brought him to the the vet where they started him on an iv and took x-rays. Unfortunately Chunk has been know to be the type of dog that will eat anything. Really, we've caught him with fabric, Legos, paperclips, coins, buttons, stuffing from toys and more. The x-rays weren't definitive so the vets ran other tests to figure out what was wrong with him. He started to respond to the medicines so we thought he'd be coming home when he took turn for the worse. In the end he had to have abdominal surgery on Monday.

This is what the vet found in his intestines . . . a mini beanie baby aardvark toy with the end of the tail ripped open and no beans or stuffing in it.  He had swallowed the fabric skin whole! No wonder he was so sick.  Needless to say while Chunky was still on his extended vet stay we cleaned out his toys and got rid of all  his little babies and fabric toys.

Chunky came home on Tuesday afternoon and seems to be feeling a little better everyday.  Last night he was zooming around the house and wanted to play fetch with me, a sure sign he's feeling better. It's kind of funny but when he's sick his tail uncurls, that's a sure sign that something is wrong because normally his tail is curled up tight. Thankfully he's back to having a curly tail again so he's feeling better. It's nice to have him home.  We missed him while he was gone. Right now he's asleep between my feet snoring softly as I type, it's a good sound to hear again.

I'd like to say he's learned his lesson regarding eating foreign objects but in his first day home he tried to eat two fabric scraps, a band aid and a button.  Oh Chunky, let's not do that again!!

A Creation and a Zombie

I've been on a softie/plushie making kick.  I always loved stuffed animals as a kid. I guess I still do, only now I like to make my own. After making the elephant for my sister's shower I decided to make another one for someone at work who just had their first grandchild. This time I used fleece for the body. Note to self don't use fleece next time it's too stretchy, cotton fabrics work much better. 

After I finished the elephant I decided to make a zombie.  When I make a zombie, I usually have some kind of plan in mind that I sketch out. This time I decided to try something different, I had no vision of what I was going to create, I just built it as I went along.  I made this zombie using pieces of two recycled sweaters and pieces of two wool coats. I stitched on his wounds, then painted his wounds with acrylic paint to make him look bloodier.  I added mismatched button eyes and even added yarn hair this time.  I actually crocheted his intestines, which is impressive since I'm not very good with a crochet hook. He's sitting on the bookshelf next to the other zombies awaiting the arrival of a new zombie in the coming months. I've been anxiously awaiting the opening of signs ups for a zombie doll swap over at Yarnigras Swapper Spot.  The theme is zombies in the nursery. You know it's going to be good!

Speaking of zombies last week was the 10th anniversary of the release of Shaun of the Dead. Even ten years later it's one of my favorites!  Watching Shaun of the Dead all those years ago  is what actually sparked my love of zombies. I still love funny zombie movies that aren't super scary. Below is a list of my favorite zombie movies.

1. Shaun of the Dead
2. Zombieland
3. Warm Bodies
4. Cockneys vs. Zombies
5. I am Legend ( I consider this a zombie movie - warning: it is a little scary.)

If you're a zombie fan and haven't seen one of these go immediately and watch it now. You'll thank me later.

Chunk in Lego Land

This is Chunk, our silly little black pug. Chunk is goofy, sweet, wild, obnoxious(at times,) a good companion and is always standing underfoot. He just wants to be everywhere we are. He snores like a chainsaw, snorts like a pig and makes us laugh with his silly antics.  He will eat anything! Even now at almost three years old he still eats things he shouldn't.  One of his favorite things is eating Legos. If there is a Lego on the floor he'll chew it.

My daughter has lots of Legos and enjoys putting together Lego sets as well as just creating on her own.  She made this Lego Land sign. Usually Chunk gets sent out of the room during Lego time, but . . .

 Chunky didn't want to miss out on a trip to Lego Land so here he is posing with the sign. Thankfully he prefers individual Lego pieces instead of chunks of Legos so the sign survived his trip into Lego Land.