Freebie Friday: Elsa of Arendale

Who doesn't love Frozen? I loved the song even before I watched the movie (thank you , spoiler ex co-workers) and while I love all my animation movies this was probably one of best and possibly all time favourite. I love the ever optimistic and happy Anna but I felt that we can all relate to Elsa who goes through various stages of fear an uncertainty and ...shame of what you were born with. The journey to finding ourselves and to self love is a hard one, one most of us struggle with.

I found a pattern of Elsa unlike any other - it flip/transforms between the two Elsa. She called it "transformable Elsa" which is essentially a topsy-turvy doll.
The instructions are in Spanish and I found it to be a little bit difficult to understand at times but, not impossible to follow. I am going to see if I can clean it up so I can share it one day but don't quote me on that yet :) Head's up: its a lot more work than you think it may be.

The hair was the most challenging part for me but it worked out pretty darn well, and now that I've done it once, I will surely be able to face it again. It wasn't as tedious or hard as I thought it was going to be. In fact, dare I say I enjoyed making this doll?

As the doll was intended for a little girl, I didn't end up putting in the embroidery detail as instructions and the original doll had, but I will make one available on my Etsy soon with the completed details :)

This Elsa is SO CUTE.
perfect for a little girl... I want to make this doll one of these days possibly for a little girl :D I love the details of the facial features.
 I just don't know if I  can survive making something so large...and so much hair to stitch......O...ammm...geeee .... I do feel better better about attaching hair but I am not sure if I can deal with this much hair. Not to mention the embroidered eyes!!! omg what  will I do with that? how LONG will I procrastinate before I give this doll eyes?! (I still have a doll that is bald due to my "fear" of hair attachments). Having said that, I also like a challenge so it will probably remain in my bucket list lol.



Anyhow that is all for this weeek, hope you like and keep on hookin' :)
Love always,
Shines.

Freebie Friday:Hello Kitty

This past week I made Hello Kitty for a 2 year old girl.
Hello Kitty is infamous - I personally have never been a fan - I never really understood why it was so famous. It didn't seem all that cute to me and it was just too "girly" for me, lol. HONESTLY I don't know why it's not ever appealed to me.

Anyhow. I made one and it turned out pretty darn cute and it is a perfect size (it measures about 9.5") for a little girl to carry it around.
I seem to have a serious problem following instructions to a tee so I was pretty BENT on following this pattern to a tee. HOWEVER, I don't think I'm not meant to follow patterns because my friend wanted the kitty to wear its original yellow and blue out fit ....which is cute.

I really like the group of primary colors together - its so bright and cheery <3 Of course, the pattern I had on hand and meant to use was Ballerina Hello Kitty ... with the cutest tutu and ballet shoes and the frilly skirt which just swallowed me whole in it's cuteness. I was even going to make the legs separate, even though that's not really my thing. But since I was going to have to make modifications (I couldn't find a patter that fit the pictured - although google found me one now that I've improvised one) I decided to join the legs as well. I was reallllllllllllllly not sure about the embroidering of the facial features - that wasn't really really something I was used to. I drew the shape and tried it a few different times in different ways but the easiest way was the best way.

Either way, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.!
That's all for the week - keep on hookin'

Love always,
Shines.

Freebie Friday: It`s starting feel like XMAS

Okay. The holidays are upon us. Let the panicking, running around like a headless chicken ensue. Thankfully (?!) I haven't any blood family to go insane with -and my chosen family tend to be fairly mellow and we celebrate after the chaos is done so I have time to make a little something for them.
Another set of really quick and cute patterns by talented and generous people online - a must try!

I have NO idea where some of the patterns came from - unfortunately - so I can't give credit to them. I had saved them and now I don't know where they came from. If you know where they came from , please let me know.
Santa ornament - this is so cute. you can turn him into a little chocolate (Ferrero Roche) cover or stuff'em to turn him into an ornament. I really like the loop stitch deal, it really adds to the cute factor!
Santa hat - perfect for all your amigurumi dolls to get in the holiday spirit
Gingerbread man - well. he's alays appropriate lol
Xmas tree 1 - what will we do without the tree?
Xmas tree 2 - just another version
fancy xmas tree - this uses my new favourite, scale/scallop stitch. Its a project of love.
Rudolph - this guy is so cute.
teddy ornaments - by the infamous Stephanie from All about Ami . these are so perfect for gifts. She has so many adorable patterns available online.

I'm still debating on what to post next week :S new years stuff or winter animals... :S oh well, stay tuned I guess ;) Keep on Hookin' till next time!

Love Always,
Shines.

Freebie Friday: snowman season

Well I didn't forget about the post... I even wrote half of it but the drama from my life is continuing on and I had some "emergency" orders to fulfill - which caused a bit of delay BUT! here it is now :D

This month is a super busy holiday month - and I actually thought it would be fun to share some Xmas related crochet patterns :) Most of the patterns will be ornamental but I will try to find some dolls to share along the way.  I just really love making little ornament pieces to add to tags of gift bags - to me, they are the PERFECT personalized, final touch every gift to your loved one needs :)

This week , we had our first "real snowfall" - where it felt like the holidays. We actually had snow fall sometime in October (can you believe that!? OCTOBER!!! but then it rained until today) but it didn't feel like snow. I really LOVE snow - its white and pretty and fluffy and you can make things with it. I am just not a fan of the cold it brings along - I wish we can have sunshine warmth and the snow at the same time but you know, can't have everything can we? lol

Anyway, in the spirit of the first snow fall which brings possibilities of snow angels and snowman making - I thought I'd share a few snow people patterns today. I have made some of these... and they make GREAT finishing touches to gifts that they can hang on the tree. Some I haven't - but I plan to:) These are quick , easy and super cute to make!

By Repeat Crafter Me

This is a cute pattern by Repeat Crafter Me.  He is probably my FAVORITE snow buddy to attach to gif tbags.


 This fella is a great little gift I think particularly appropriate for secret Santa sort of thing , or  for a little child. You can download the pdf of this pattern here

Teeny Tiny snowmen

Mini Snow men

This colorful for Teeny Tiny  pattern is probably one I use most...it uses up all my scrap yarn.

I would also say the same for the Mini snowmen pattern by `Dapper toad`( I love this name, its sooo funny to me and classy lol).


I did have some pre-made ones available on my little Etsy shop for purchase but they have all gone to a better home, of course if you want some made you can always get in touch with me via email and I will whip something up for you.

Next week - I`ll share some of the Santas and Xmas tree patterns to mark the holiday season :D
That`s all for the day :) keep hookin` , till next time!

Love always,
Shines

freebie Friday : Baymaxed

I feel pretty unqualified to profess any kinda love towards this character as I have not seen the movie. NO, I HAVEN'T. Which is particularly bad in my case because I absolutely ADORE animation films... but its been a while since I made my way into the theatre or back to the tele. Having said that I love the design of this character (round and fluffy is awesome) , and the trailers and bits I've seen I absolutely loved.

The first one I made - I have NO idea where I got the pattern from - and I guess I didn't think to bookmark it - but I almost think I tried to modify pattern by Krawa - I didn't like the gray details or the way he was sitting - although now, I think it so cute and  I do want to try the original pattern LOL.
I wanted it to have a little heart and point at the person as if to say , " I heart you" (yes super cheese I I know). I feel like the arms are ridiculously too long but I am super happy about the thumb turning out the way it did. It is going to make a great bag chain <3



 I had saved the larger Baymax by Nerdy Knots to make AFTER I watched the movie but, ended up making him for an order. I wasn't really sure I would like it at all but there really is something so nice and comforting about a doll with a plushy, squeezable tummy <3

I had to THINK a little bit as I made this one because I wanted one with joined legs vs. pieced legs as in the pattern.  I THINK it turned out OK but I am convinced that once I WATCH the movie, I will like it much much more. I totally made the fingers then decided to not attach them...and I am not sure if I like it better this way, but the fingers seemed so necessary to me( then again, I haven't seen one close up that had fingers so I'm not qualified to judge)?

I wasn't really sure what sort of pose to give this fella - I'm not a big fan of making dolls that have its arms at the side because well, that's really not natural at all~!
I was trying to figure out what pose to put him in and it finally hit me like a good cup of coffee or Advil - it was a Monday when I made him and well, maybe he'll be a Monday Baymax that is always ready to give you a giant hug whenever you need it? lol I like this thought and posed him as such.

Anyway that is all for today folks, 'till next time.

Love always,
Shines.

Freebie Friday: keeping it warm

So last weekend I made my first fingerless gloves...which I think was just about the most perfect timing because this past week is definitely calling for some fingerless gloves as Old Man Winter is starting to wake up very slowly T_T. It really isn't fair. We were at a decent weather - 16c -so that I can continue my denial of oncoming winter season and sport a nice windbreaker and hoodie with a light scarf.  Then, Santa Claus parade happened and suddenly the temperature sank into minus without warning; and not slowly edge into it, but really sank its teeth into it and started the week off from -10c. URGH so rude and inconsiderate. Thankfully, my fingerless gloves were keeping my little hands toasty.

This pattern is super simple - I got brave and tried to modify it because certain parts didn't make sense but take it from me, the pattern is well written and worth following exactly.  The original is made with multi-colored yarn and I had thought it was just a regular crocheted look -but its got the "vertical knitted" look (as I call it) that you get from BLO stitches (which I love) and you can see it when you use a single colored yarn.

This ruffled edged glove  pattern by Diva Stitches is super easy to follow and only requires one skein (actually I think 1/2 makes a pair).  She's got some really cute earring designs that I definitely will be trying out when sunshine season approaches. Most of her projects are one skein or less which is right up my alley so I will definitely be coming back to her site for more!

Remember that ridiculously teeny weeny baby- size teapot?
Well. it posed more challenges than I thought it would. First it didn't have a little topper on its lid which made some designs a little more challenging to make for it as it used the little topper as a stopper. My "client" was adamant about simplicity - and we had such a different definition of simplicity (I was thinking rose topped cozy and she was thinking drawstring bag with next to no embellishments and single color at most).

We finally narrowed it down to a scalloped cozy or a raspberry cozy - I really liked the raspberry (two colors and who doesn't love puffy stitches) and she was really keen on the scallop finish.  I think the universe feel that she should get the design that she wants because the raspberry design was nowhere to be found but I had a wonderful design in my stash of scallop/scale stitch tea cozy by Corchetroo .

THIS stitch is really FUN but confusing in the beginning and I did have to reference a few Youtube videos. This tutorial by Moogly (photo and video) was what I found to be most helpful.

 here is what mine looks like - it took about 1/2 a skein. It is by far the cutest thing I made, I totally see myself doing this stitch for everything now lol!!

But the pot measures about 4.5" and the cosy is only 5.5"x 5.5" .....its like my teapot gave birth to it. Loook at how small it iscompared to my giant tea mug!!! ridiculous. But absolutely adorable to just look at! my customer was also super happy with the result so, that was a plus as well.




Hope you like - 'till next time,

Love always,
Shines

Freebie Friday: Totoros

One of my favourite animation studios would be Ghilbi studio - and though many will favor Totoro from that studio as one of the best, I personally love Ponyo...this isn't saying that I don't like Totoro, I just think Ponyo is super cute and it being a different version of the Little Mermaid rates it higher in favor for me. Maybe its because Ponyo was the first movie I saw and first love is hard to replace.  HAVING SAID THAT , I could never pick a favourite from that studio...it definitely makes some adorable movies that grabs your heart strings like a new born baby.

ANYWAYS.
I only watched Totoro for the first time sometime late 2013(yeah I know its pretty bad) and of course fell immediately in love with these imaginary creatures. That CAT bus?! OMG. and the kid?! urgh! so cute....so of course I was on a mission to expose everyone who didn't know anything about the studio to its awesomeness. Last November sometime, a dear friend of mine was "force exposed" to Totoro and fell madly in love and demanded that I crochet her a little Totoro for "forcing" Totoro on her and to improve my crochet skills. I had some gray and pink and red yarn left over from a failed cat cave endeavor (my cats didn't grasp the concept) and thought why not?
As you can see, Totoro doesn't look great in pink and googly eyes are just not becoming...but it is recognizibly Totoro and the recipient was thrilled so that worked out. :D

Since then , I have collected many Totoro patterns, made freely available by generosity of very talented people. There are tons more but here are some of my favorite patterns.  I've tried most and the large set of 3 I am currently in the process of THINKING about attempt again as the first turned into a dud :S and you know that thing about first impressions? its true, I love this pattern to pieces but I have yet gotten over the initial fail (he has tiny lazy eyes and his fluffy belly is not even and, oh the list goes on...!  maybe 2016 will be better time for this, now that I have a few more projects under my belt...I tried to make this after only making a couple of projects and I had no idea that not all yarns were created equal).
 This is the only picture of the previously mentioned failure. Even so, look how FLIPPING ADORABLE it is!!!I still can't get over how PERFECT this looks with the teeny white one sitting on the leaf on the giant one...<3
I think its such a GREAT design  that captures the "details" of each creatures so well - and I really will try it again. The lady who came up with this (Lucy Ravenscar) also has a free patterns section filled with cute little designs, generously shared on her blog here.
2016, LESSSSSS DOOOOO DIIIIISSS!!!!!

This EASY BREEZY & super adorable Totoro is what I should have started with...but I didn't. This is shared by Mei at Amigurumei. She has a growing list of Free patterns on her blog as well, and they are really easy breezy. I made a Molang and Purin not long after and it turned out just ADORABLE...apparently, they're bunnies... ?






Laast but not least.... this fabulous pattern set from Sharon Ojala. I love this Cat bus... its the nicest one (in my humble opinion) out there so far and it LOOKS simple to do. LOVE it more because Totoro and the gang doesn't fit in it :D
I DID attempt the Blue Totoro shown here, but I don't seem to have a picture to share - and it really shouldn't be shared.... I was JUST trying to see if I can make this - so I used what I had which was gray and PINK with googly eyes. Which turned out rather hideous but, the pattern is super easy to follow. There is also a Grey Totoro I haven't tried, but its supposed to be smaller than the blue one(because after my attempt at the blue one, my ego exploded and I went charging headlong in to making the giant set by Lucy - so the failure with that set was a good wake up call in some ways ,lol deflated my ego quite a bit).

Well that's all folks! I hope you do give it a go and let me know how it goes! till next time,

Happy hookin'!!!!