Adult Merit Badge

For RenStar For the Adult Merit Badge Swap on Craftster WOOT!

The swap was fun, as we got to think of 5 different adult merit badges achievements our partners would choose to craft from.

Above you will find the Merit Badge for:

Kept a Poker Face in front of Idocy

Didn't Swear at Idiots

These totally resonated with me!

First Foray into Stamp Making!

I'm finally participating in a Craftster Swap after a 2 year hiatus!
And of course it had to be a Harry Potter Swap...
Specifically, Back to Hogwarts Round 7 (insert link)

I've decided to try making a Stamp for all of my partner's most important Owl Post Letters.

The first thing I had to do was think of a design, I used my Hand Drawn app (link) and came up with this:

Can I just say how much fun that app is? It's so easy to use and I've gotten quite silly with it. Perhaps one day a blog post might happen all about that. But lets just get through this post first, huh?

What a neat way of transferring a pattern on the stamp pad?!!! 

Pencil Transfer, who knew? But this was a mess up as I don't know how mirror images work.

Sheesh.

Above is my first attempt at the pencil transfer, and me (not understanding how mirroring works) thought it was incorrect and tried again.

(But really it WAS correct and I'm an idiot!)

Sheesh.

Here's how far I got when I realized my mistake...

So it turns out I need to do that whole thing over again...Live and learn and laugh it off!

Morgan got to learn how to carve too by practicing on my mess up!

She needed a bandaid...

I ended up doing it correctly the next time, and it turned out pretty darn cool!

I'd totally try stamp making again!

Amyrlin Seat Cowl

"She comes; she comes! The Watcher of the Seals, the Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat. Attend you all, for she comes!"

Made for Melissa in the 2015 Knit Nite Xmas Swap. Inspiration: Wheel of Time Amyrlin Seat Stole.

Simple crochet, from yarn I already had. All 7 Ajahs represented!

The Wheel of Time of course is a book series by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death before the last couple of books). Melissa is a fan, and she digs sassy, take charge women like Siuan Sanche...therefore needs a stole/cowl that kings bow before!

The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the third age by some, an Age yet to come, an age long pass, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Perler Flux Capacitor

It's what makes Time Travel Possible!

My kids and I love the Perler Beads! I can't wait until they get old enough to run the iron themselves, so I can be surprised at what crazy things their little brains come up with.

What I ESPECIALLY love about Perler Beads is they lend toward 8-16 bit animation beautifully.

It really calls to the 80s kid in me...PS I was born in the mid 70s......totally my era! 

TOTALLY!

HA!

I didn't even plan that!

Home Alone Hoopla

KEVIN!!!!!!

I stitched this "little" doozy for my good friend Melissa waaaaay back in 2015 for the last Coffee Hag Knit Nite Xmas Swap.

Melissa has a soft spot in her heart for Home Alone, so I couldn't resist.

This was crazy fun for me, and it's still one of my all time fave hooplas!

Game of Thrones Wall Art

I'm not really one for the medium of Acrylic Paint...

But when IsikkahJai requested some Wall Art

for the GOT Swap, I though I'd give gradation a whirl. 

There's a spot in the yellow I could live without...

But the phrase is one from the Dothraki Book of Endearments.

Ok...

There's no such book,

it wouldn't be more than a pamphlet. 

Maybe, an index card.

The Dothraki are a hard people.

As and Extra I gave my partner a little jar for her Dragonglass!

(I'd bought little Obsidian Stones)

The label says

"Use in case of...Others"

Unfortunately, the glass jar broke en route.

At least the Dragonglass is made of stronger stuff!

GOT Dragonscale Gloves!

Does the  Mother of Dragons get cold?

Probably not cold enough for full on mittens,

but sometimes her wrist may get a bit chilly...

(And if what I hope happens in the future, she'll be

flying those Dragons to the Wall and it's crazy cold up there!)

Here are some Fingerless Gloves based on her Dragon Rhaegal.

Behold, the Glory that is Rhaegal!

The Details:

I hooked these up for my partner in the Game of Thrones Swap, IsikkahJai.

The pattern was kind of whipped up by me after a LOT of

trial and error.

I didn't write it down...

I think I was just happy to have them done.

(I kept on getting the thumb on the wrong side)

All yarn is from my stash. 

I think the Green is DK weight?

The use of the Crocodile Stitch was what cinched this 

as a definite make after learning it for the Pixie Hat I'd just made. 

For the Bronze Scale effect:

I had some ribbon-ish novelty "yarn" and I just

weaved it through the Crocodile Stitch rows at their base.

I like the effect of them just peeking through.

Just for cuteness sake, 

here are the Dragons as little babies.

Awwwwww!

(Until she utters...Dracarys.)

Pixie Hat!

This Enchanting Hat was made for the Enchanted Forest/Woodland Swap!

Ha!

I'm the Enchantress for making such wordplay!

This was my first foray into the Crocheted Crocodile Stitch.

I love it, it was challenging but with a nice payoff.

The Details:

This was knit off of Pia Thadani's Crocodile Pixie Hat Pattern.

I found it free over on Ravelry.

Here's the link: Crocodile Pixie Hat

One note about the pattern.

I found it to run small...So be warned, true believer!

Otherwise, it was well written, easy to follow.

The yarn was a Rowan Baby Wool+Mohair I found in my stash.

I remember when I first started knitting I'd made a shrug out of

the green stuff. Well...this particular shrug was never really worn

so I frogged it and kept the yarn for a special purpose.

I'm sorry to not have an "action" shot.

The Pixies were quite evasive that day. 

Arya Scoffs at the Hound Mug!

Oh my poor, misunderstood Hound. 

He can be such a downer sometimes,

But you would be too if so many plans didn't go your way!

I crafted this Mug up for IsilkkahJai in the Game of Thrones Swap

IsikkahJai stated this scene as one of her favorites. 

Warning: possible SPOILERS in the next paragraph 

if you haven't watched the show or read the books. 

When Sandor and Arya reach The Vale so he can ransom

Her to her Aunt Lysa, they find Lysa "not at home". 

Sandor's shoulders slump and Arya practically cackles!

She just laughs, and laughs and laughs some more. 

What's so delightfully disconcerting 

is the release she and the audience get from the laughing. 

Arya's been leading a pretty serious, hard life for a bit and

It almost seems strange to see a smile on her,

but....

every Direwolf has its Day! 

I have my own love for The Hound...

we haven't seen the last of him yet!

Foxy Sharpie Mug!

Insert catcall here!

So foxy!

This saucy mug was made for Jillybeans 

in the Enchanted Forest/Woodland Swap.

Details:

Good old Oil Based Sharpies again...

But lately I've been Stamping my letters.

I've used the ink that came with the stamps,

but I think I need to let the stamp in dry completely

before going over with

the Sharpie.

I believe the ink and Sharpie may have melded making for 

a 2-toned effect.

I was fine with it here...I think it gives some depth.

But, I don't think it would be appropriate in every case.

Speaking of appropriate...

The Majestik Moose Hoopla!

I stitched this up for Jillybeans in

The Enchanted Woodland Swap on Craftster.

A moose once bit my sister...No realli!

She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink"... We apologise for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have been sacked. Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretti nasti... 

We apologise again for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked. 

The details:

I got the pattern for this at Andrea Zuill's Blog

Here's the link: BadBirds: Free Patterns Archive

On her amazing Blog she also has embroidery patterns for purchase!

Such cool stuff, I strongly suggest you check it out!

Crochet Hoop of Sunshiny Goodness!

With the abundance of Snow piled on us today

I thought a Sunshine Crochet Hoop 

would be in order!

This was a little "extra" for SonjaBoo in the

Box Full of Sunshine swap.

I just took a Thrift Store Hoop and some

yellow Stash Yarn and crocheted around it.

Sure, it was a bit awkward at times 

(the hoop was one of those old metal ones)

but I enjoyed using something

for a totally different purpose than what it was intended for.

So while I'm flabbergasted by the amount of snow 

outside my window and long for the sun...

I wouldn't want all this white stuff to melt.

First of all, the inevitable flooding would reek havok!

Second of all it's Thanksgiving!

I should be able to put up with the snow until at least Jan 1st.

Then Snow better beat it.

Snow and I are not friends after Christmas.

You know nothing...Snow!

Watson Wedding Tea Wallet!

A Tea Wallet can save your life.

But it takes John Watson to save your life.

Hence...

I'm calling this the John Watson/Mary Morstan Wedding Tea Wallet!

As those who know me, 

and those who read this blog have probably 

caught on to, I have an obsession with BBC Sherlock.

(Stick with me here... I'm going to make the naming of my tea wallet reference work)

In the 3rd series/2nd episode our lovely John Watson weds Mary Morstan.

The venue for the wedding is GORGEOUS! 

All in pale yellows.

In Sherlock's Best Man speech,

 (watch this please, it's nothing short of amazing and takes most of the episode :) )

he centers around the theme of 

"Sherlock solves the crime, but John saves the life".

Tea on the go has saved me many times.

As a recent-ish devotee to tea, I'm still super particular 

about which ones I like.

It's great to just reach into my purse and have my favorites

at hand rather than force down a blend I'm not familiar with.

Also, I've cut caffeine out completely (whew!)

so to have a tea I like and be decaf just "available" at a

moments notice is the best!

So, this yellow hued Tea Wallet I dedicate to that most epic of Best Man Speeches.

(I still tear up when I watch it, and I watch it a LOT!)

The details:

I stitched this up originally for SonjaBoo in the Box of Sunshine Swap.

I had enough fabric to make a twin for myself (YAY!).

The tutorial was found at Handmade Therapy: (Here's the link it's GREAT!)

Just for giggles, I'll include another favorite part of mine in his speech:

Finn and Jake Clock of Mathmatical Awesomeness!

I have always wanted to "alter" a clock...

Just to see if I could.

I made this for GrindHouseHussy19 in the Frozen Swap as an "extra".

We had so many of the same fandomish loves

we'd agreed to do some Frozen goodies 

and also branch out for a few more items.

The details:

This was a $5 Target Clock.

Removing the clock mechanism was relatively easy

needing only a screwdriver (not sonic) and some sass.

The front glass...

not so much.

I cracked it with the removal effort!

I went ahead anyway and painted the original clockface with 

Land of Ooo Sky Blue.

Or, it resembles Finn's shirt color closely too,

think what you will.

Then, lining up the original clockface center hole

with the Finn/Jake image 

I reattatched the clockwork.

I made sure to insert some batteries to make

absolutely sure

the clock hands worked as they should.

I watched it for about 1/2 a day.

Not the whole time,

that would be crazy.

I love crafting, but I don't think I 

could watch just one clock for that long.

Elsa Ami!

Let it Go!

This was hooked up for Grindhousehussy19 in the last Frozen Swap on Craftster.

Elsa is such a favorite,

Halloween became a big game of "How many Elsa Costumes did you see?"!

I think I counted a good 20.

I adapted Sahrit Freud-Weinstein's 

Merida Amigurumi princess doll crochet pattern on Ravelry

(Find the amazing pattern here)

to Elsa's look.

Her Cape is just a simple Granny Square in sparkly silver stash yarn

turned on its point and sewn on.

But wow, did I get super carried away with her hair!

I just kept adding and adding and then, 

when done,

I realized I needed to use some serious magic 

to braid the mane of icy wonder.

Enter my fantastic friend of Winter, Melissa!

It was a tough braid to achieve with all

my different length strands going on.

So a big Thank You to Melissa!

You're worth melting for!

Basket full of Brighten Your Day!

Last January, 

(I told you I had a huge backlog of posts)

I got partnered up with the Amazing SonjaBoo 

in the Box of Sunshine Swap. 

She needed a fabric basket and I couldn't NOT make her one!

The Box of Sunshine Swap was so much fun.

It was way deep in winter and the rules were simple...

You could fill up a box with anything the color Yellow or Orange.

A box of cheerfulness.

What a great idea, I hope there's another one this year!

The tutorial is from Leslie's Art and Sew.

(Fabric Basket Tutorial)

I have sewn this particular basket several times.

I give a lot of credit for that to Leslie's great tute.

I came to know her as Leslieshappyheart, through her organizing Craftster Swaps.

She and her friend (Susanab) would coorganize the most 

positive, and creative idea cultivating swaps.

For the most part, they would offer an idea (and 

even a pattern or link for a tutorial) and the participants 

would go off their partner's tastes and everyone would

essentially craft the same item but every one was totally unique. 

They were the ones who introduced me to Ninnys.

Please check out the Ninny Tutorial over at Revoluzzza: Revoluzzza Blog 

I certainly attribute my sewing skills beyond pillows to them.

They haven't organized a swap for a long time and I miss them.

On Partner Day Susanab would post a scrolling text about dancing, 

calling it her "partner dance".

So, I want to thank them for their providing a 

super positive place on Craftster and how they attracted

many possible people.

I think it takes someone special to do something like that.

Whovian Hidden Book of Mystery!

This is a "Secret Compartment" Book

I crafted up such a long time ago for

Grindhousehussy19 as an extra in the Frozen Swap.

I had been saving this Thrift Store Find of a book

for the perfect Whovian.

It even had a wonderful Tardis color to it!

So I went for the zen approach to cutting out the rectangle below 

as it can get real tedious...real fast.

Little Tip: 

If you take the thinnest bit and drill the 4 corners,

it makes for cleaner cutting.

Geez, looking at this pic, my straight edges are not so straight.

Oh well, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey right?

I also slippped her some Whovian Bottlecap Magnets.

Dimensional Magic rules!

And a big Thank You to Shannon 

who gave me some bottlecaps to craft up!

Allons-y!

Anna and Elsa Pillowcases!

These Frozen Pillowcases were created for

GrindHouseHussy in the recent Frozen Swap on Craftster!

                              

The Images are taken from the back of a Limited Edition 

Elsa and Anna Doll Set box.

   

I didn't use a stencil, just the old trick of printing out the image

and tracing the outline onto my fabric.

To color in, I used a gel fabric marker to get nice sharp lines.

The back fabric on both is this mint green winter scene I had in my stash!

I had such fun with the Frozen Swap.

So many ideas were whirring around in my head!

Prayer Flags Round 4

Prayer Flag Swap: Round 4!

I love this swap in particular as it's a really quick project with

great impact.

We choose what meaningful phrases

we like and our swap partner choose one to craft up

in the general size of 8x5 inches.

(Initial cutting of fabric is 11x5 to allow for a foldover for hanging)

These flags were destined for Alwaysinmyroom.

                                  

Little did I know how much they might mean to her as

after I mailed them...

her aging mother died.

This being the week of Mother's Day too.

First flag was Trust.

                                     

I went for an "ocean at night" vibe

thinking how much sailors had to trust the stars to 

lead them on.

                             

The blue eyelet lace for water was taken from scraps.

I"d disassembled a thrift store dress (that didn't fit)

for a belly dancing skirt and held on to every little piece

left over because I love the color. 

Then we have Strength.

The tree here is pretty self explanatory...

Just by happenstance purple, orange, and green was my 

partner's favorite color combination.

Sometimes things happen they way they were meant to.

                                        

I did hand applique for everything in both flags.

For some reason, I didn't want to be stuck behind my sewing machine.

I'm glad I wasn't as, I feel, it makes the flags more personal.

For all the Motherless Daughters out there,

myself included in that group,

I think these flags are for you.