"Gorjuss" Stamped Cards

I was recently gifted a delightful set of rubber stamps from the Gorjuss range - I love them! The set included several variations of this lovely girl, as well as some little nature stamps which I will share with you soon!

I knew I wanted to add some colour to the images, but didn't have time to be creating detailed painting, so just swiped some watercolour paints across the white card before stamping! I really love the effect, it almost makes the image feel ghostly... Is she a floating zombie girl?!

I layered the stamped images on some other coloured cards - I recently received some lovely new colours from my Dad, including some slightly sparkly corrugated grey - beautiful! I added mini gems for a bit of sparkle in the hair. I got this set for Christmas from CCrafts, eight little corked glass jars, each with a different colour and shape gem in. They are great for adding some sparkle whilst still fitting through the post!

I ended up making quite a few of these cards, as it is a busy time of year! And I look forward to experimenting further with the others in the set.

Crochet Cross

I innocently thought that a lacy style cross, in a thin wool and with a small hook, would be quick and easy to crochet. Erm, not the way I went about it!

I started with this pattern. I proceeded to get very confused, so moved up to a larger hook and DK to work it out. I *did* work it out, but it was very time consuming, and I didn't have the patience for it! So I looked into some more crochet cross patterns, and came across this. Was this my first attempt at this pattern? Nuh-uh. My original attempt at this pattern came out much bigger than I had hoped for (bearing in mind I was hoping the cross could be used as a bookmark), so after some fiddling I adjusted the pattern slightly. I based this on the Pattern 2 (and don't do what I did and start reading one pattern in one translation and then suddenly find you've scrolled and are now following a different pattern half way through!) Anyway, in the end I did fewer repeats on each arm, and also used double crochet throughout (yarn over once, whichever country that is!) I then used the second new edging as the basis, but on a smaller basis, maybe sc, dc, sc repeat? I just kept scaling stitches down, basically.

And so ends a useless ramble. I loosely stitched it to some card and packaged it up in some clear wrap, lovely little gift :)

Crochet Unicorn

I have a friend who loves unicorns - well, who doesn't?! - and I knew I wanted to crochet her a unicorn with a multi coloured mane. I looked through lots of patterns before settling on Hermione the unicorn.

What I liked about the pattern: I've never added limbs as I've crocheted before, so that was a good new experience which I will apply again. I like the frills around the feet, and the method for attaching the mane and tail. I also like the surface crochet details and I learnt to make french knots!

She looks cute with a lot of character, and the colours I selected work.

What I disliked about the pattern... Because you add the limbs as you go, it doesn't allow for working out the best possible positioning in terms of giving the unicorn character. The limbs are not where I would like them to be, nor is the horn. The head shape also came out a bit different for me, possibly for this reason. I also had to be very careful with the surface crochet detail to avoid the horn looking like a party hat!

I do love the rainbow mane and tail though. I added in lots of colours, and some sparkly thread, and teased is slightly with a fine tooth comb. It's so fluffy and just what I wanted.

I surrounded the eyes with felt as suggested, but the eyes themselves are buttons rather than safety eyes. I pulled the thread taught to help create more facial shape. Even with safety eyes I can't imagine this toy being suitable for a young child because of how the mane and tail are hooked in, but I'm no expert!

I added the nostrils in a pale wool for defininition without them overpowering, and a small smile.

I also made a Certificate of Authenticity to prove that s/he is a true unicorn. Obviously.

Crochet Bunny Rabbit Snuggy

Remember my elephant snuggy? Well they may be my new go-to baby gifts... I love that I get to combine the fiddlyness of some amigurumi with the simpleness of putting together a granny square! This was another one that I needed to be gender neutral, and I think the brown balances the purple out nicely.

This bunny was made from a bit of a pattern pick and mix...! I used the same pattern I used for the elephant snuggie for the granny square, the head and the arms. For the ears, I began with this pattern, worked up to row 7. On rows 8, 9 and 10 I decreased 2 stitches on each row (i.e. I decreased 18sc to 12sc over 3 rows). And then the last 4 rows were just 12sc.  There was a very specific rabbit-ear-look I wanted! S/he's super cute and I would have happily cuddled him/her myself!

Paper City [Made by Joel]

The website Made by Joel has a great collection of craft ideas for kids of different ages, including lots of free printables. When I saw some of these printable images I knew they would a great Birthday present for my 6 year old nephew - a quiet time colouring activity but with the goal that they'd make a great background for his trains and cars!

I combined the following printables to make a complete set for him to enjoy: Paper City & People, Vehicles, Helicopter and Landing Pad and Road Trip. I cut them all out and gathered them together in a box I decorated so that all he has to do is colour and play!

If you have children in your life (or like me just enjoy colouring!) I really recommend you check out Made by Joel's website :)