Consolidated Collection of my Cthulhu Crafts

Posted in Featured, Knit & Crochet , on May 9, 2011

I just realized this morning that over the past two years, I have designed a grand total of eight different Cthulhu creations. EIGHT! Most can be seen over in The Pink Toque Shop, but I thought it might be nice to feature all of the tentacled goodness together in one place to show just how much tentacles have taken over my brain and my crafting time. So here you have it, a special post featuring a consolidated collection of my Cthulhu crafts. Try saying THAT five times fast…

My Cthulhu Toque

The Cthulhu Toque
First up is my crochet Cthulhu Toque, which began to take shape in my mind in late 2008, but was not fully ready and released until spring of 2009. One of my favorite things to knit or crochet is hats, and after being inspired by a  Cthulhu amigurumi, I decided to test my pattern-making ability and design a toque with tentacles. After a couple attempts and sizing tests on my husband, I finally felt like I had come up with a design I was happy with, and my Cthulhu Toque was born. Back at the time, there were no crochet Cthulhu toques like it. There were fleece toques with tentacles or knitted beanies with a fair-isle Cthulhu pattern around the band or full-on crocheted Cthulhu face masks that covered the entire head and transformed the wearer into Cthulhu, but nothing quite like mine, with Cthulhu on top. It’s still my best seller, even seven new Cthulhu designs later! It’s made from soft, washable acrylic and features button eyes.

The Baby Cthulhu Toque
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I got a lot of requests for a baby and/or child version of the Cthulhu toque over the years. I finally put one together and released a Baby Cthulhu Toque, too. The model for my first trial run of the baby design was timed well with the birth of my nephew, who tried hard to fight the brain suckage. There’s not many things cuter than a baby wearing an evil toque. The baby version is also made from the same soft, washable acrylic, but I omit buttons for eyes and instead stitch on felt eyes for safety reasons.

Sock-Thulhus
Back before I learned to knit and crochet, I made a lot of plush creations. I spent nearly a year when I first moved to Canada waiting on immigration to give me a permanent resident card so that I was legal to work. During that year, I instead learned how to sew and bought a sewing machine to keep from going crazy. I made a lot of purses and plushies, including several sock monkeys. After my Cthulhu Toque took off, I sat down one day and drew up how I would make a Cthulhu “sock monkey” using some fuzzy chenille socks I had. The Sock-Thulhus that resulted were so adorable and popular, but I found it hard to find enough of the socks to keep up. I quickly sold the first set of Sock-Thulhus I made, and have yet to find a good way to keep a steady supply of “just the right socks” to continuously make more. Instead, I think I see me writing up the sewing pattern and instructions someday and offering that instead, much like I offer the Cthulhu Toque pattern for crocheters. That way those who use the pattern can make a Sock-Thulhu from whatever socks they want. One day I’ll get that pattern put together!

Cthulhu Soap
While most of my Cthulhu creations are crochet, I also have a geeky soap business called GEEKSOAP, and of course Cthulhu found his way into my soapmaking. While I had made a few bars of Batman soap which were technically the first bars of GEEKSOAP ever made, Cthulhu was what inspired GEEKSOAP to grow into a small business featuring a wide variety of geeky themed designs, and was the first set of soap I offered for sale under the GEEKSOAP name. In late 2009 on Etsy I released the first Cthulhu soap before I moved GEEKSOAP to its own storefront. When GEEKSOAP.net opened up separate from Etsy in early 2010, it came with a newly re-designed (and better) version of the Cthulhu soap.

Baththulhu Cthulhu Bath Mitt
Soap inspired my next Cthulhu-theme design, which is also sold over on GEEKSOAP.net – my Baththulhu Cthulhu Bath Mitt! I am so in love with the expression of this super soft, 100% cotton bath mitt creation. It pairs well with the soap, don’t you think? I wrote up the pattern and released the one and only Cthulhu bath mitt in mid 2010 and it has gone over really, really well! I currently make a right or left handed version in both one-size-fits-most and an extra long one. The tentacles are great for working up a good lather and acting as a loofah-like scrubbing surface.

Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf
Next on the list is a scarf design! Towards the end of 2010 came the Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf. I like how the faces at either end remind me of my Cthulhu toque; together the scarf and toque make a great matching set! The scarf runs approximately 63 inches long; that’s over 5 feet of pure awesome to wrap around your neck on a cold, winter’s day. Just like the toque, the scarf is made of a soft, washable acrylic. Like the little Cthulhu plush model in the photo? He was made by Ruth, and you know you want one!

Puppethulhu Cthulhu Puppet
In early 2011, a crafty friend of mine was expecting her first child and asked me if I would modify my bath mitt pattern to create a custom Cthulhu puppet for her to play with her baby. With a little work, I then released Puppethulhu, a crochet Cthulhu puppet. Similar to the bath mitt, and also made from soft cotton and featuring the bath mitt’s expression, the puppet features two “arms” instead of just the one thumb opening of a mitt so that the wearer can manipulate both arms like a puppet. She loved this so much and it went over so well when I shared it with the masses that I also made it available in my shop for others.

Cthulhu Bib
And speaking of babies, I am expecting MY first child in June 2011, and so I decided to whip up a crochet Cthulhu bib for my geekling this past weekend. While not the first Cthulhu bib in existence or anything, I wanted my bib to have the same look to it that would match the style of all of my previous crochet Cthulhu designs. I really love how it turned out! It took four (horrible) attempts to get the bib shape just how I pictured it with the telltale tentacles and wide-set eyes that I like to do. Every baby needs at least ONE evil bib, right? And those tentacles would be happy to catch any dropped food for you, too. The bib is also made from soft 100% cotton for easy washing, but I haven’t decided yet if I plan to sell the bibs individually over in the shop or if I should write up the pattern and offer that instead.

And there you have it! All eight of my crochet Cthulhu creations in one place, not including the two other ideas-in-progress I have been mulling over that I may or may not ever get around to finishing, especially now that there’s a geekling on the way! (And expect that the shop will be closed for awhile once June rolls around and the baby is born. More information on that a little closer to my due date…)

All of my Cthulhu goodies can be found at The Pink Toque Shop, with the exception of the Cthulhu Soap and Baththulhu Cthulhu Bath Mitt, which are over at my other shop, GEEKSOAP.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my collection of tentacled goodness! If you’re looking for even more Cthulhu cuteness, as I mentioned, you just have to go check out my friend Ruth’s plush Cthulhus over at CthulhuChick. She makes Cthulhu plushies with a lot of love, and as a personal owner of no less than three of Ruth’s Cthulhus that I keep in various places in my home, (including a baby one for my geekling in the nursery!) I can testify for their evil yet adorable awesomeness. You really do need one.

Need to contact me? Drop me a line! You can also fan The Pink Toque on Facebook or follow me on Twitter as @geeksoap or @ThePinkToque. Take care! :)


Buy a Soap, Save Boobies!

Posted in Featured, Miscellaneous, Soapmaking , on February 9, 2011

Back in December, my boss asked me about breast cancer awareness soap and whether I could make her some that she could order to give to the team members of their annual Race for the Cure team that supports her mom, Ginny. I found a suitable mold from my supplier and made a few bars as an example. The team’s motto became “Clean Up for a Cure” with soapy inspiration.

This week I registered to join Ginny’s Crew and help Clean Up for a Cure. Me and my 7 month pregnant belly will be proudly walking in the Komen Indy Race for the Cure in downtown Indianapolis on April 16, 2011. I’m doing all I can to help raise money for breast cancer research and education by inviting my friends and family to walk with us, and encouraging donations towards my personal sponsorship that goes towards the overall team goal for Ginny.

Want to Help?
Starting this week I’m making the breast cancer awareness soaps available for sale at geeksoap.net, and you can buy one (or more!) between now and April 15, 2011. Purchasing a bar is a 100% direct donation towards our team fundraising goal just in time for the Race for the Cure.

Follow our progress on my personal page at the Komen Indy Race for the Cure fundraising site.

When you add a Clean Up for a Cure soap to your cart, you have the option to make your donation anonymous OR you can choose to include your name with the donation. When these soaps are ordered, I will personally go and donate 100% of the soap purchase (all $10!) right to my Race for the Cure fundraising page, and either list your name as the donor (if specified) or list your donation anonymously – however you chose when checking out. And if you choose to have your name included, I will go by the default name on your Paypal account, though you can specify a Twitter handle or nickname in the notes to seller when checking out if you’d rather use that instead. You’ll be able to start seeing donor contributions listed on my Race for the Cure site within 24 hours of purchase.

The best part? 75% of the money raised stays in Indiana for breast cancer education and research. The other 25% goes towards national breast cancer research and advocacy. Which means 100% of your donations are helping to end breast cancer forever!

Please help me reach my personal goal, which helps Ginny’s Crew reach their team goal, which means more help in the battle against breast cancer. You can purchase a Clean Up for a Cure soap OR sponsor the team & I directly in the Race for the Cure this April if you’d like to specify a different amount. No donation amount is too small, and every penny counts! And if you’re local, why not register to come walk with us? We’d love to have you.

The Clean Up for a Cure soaps are made from 100% all natural, vegan friendly ingredients. They weigh roughly 5oz, and are approximately 3″ x 2.5″. Each bar of soap smells of soothing, comforting lavender.

Two Ways to Donate, Three Ways to Support!
Buy Clean Up for a Cure Soaps – 100% of the soap purchase price ($10/each) is immediately put towards my fundraising goal.

Sponsor me directly via my Race for the Cure fundraising page to specify a different donation dollar amount. Remember, no amount is too small, and every penny helps and is appreciated!

Register to participate (walk, run, or sleep!) in the Komen Indy Race for the Cure on April 16, 2011.

Thank You!
Thank you for supporting breast cancer research and our Clean Up for a Cure team – especially Ginny!


Introducing… G33Kmade!

Posted in Featured , on May 19, 2010

Wow. A lot has happened since my last post and there’s so much awesomeness and good stuff that it’s a little overwhelming.

Brace yourself.

Awhile ago, @KyleeLane and I had a vision. A dream. A great-minds-think-alike idea that we’ve set in motion to become something completely amazing. As geeky crafters, we were dreaming of a place where other geeky crafters could come together and be promoted and shared with the world. We wanted to showcase the crafty inspirations, history, and all of the things that go into creating something original by hand. A celebration of geeky craftiness and handmade for the greater geeky good. And G33Kmade was born.

What is G33Kmade? Well, without gushing too much, it’s a company. A community. A network. Even though Kylee and I are soapers, it’s not just about soap, we just happen to both make soap. G33Kmade showcases craft geekery and promotes it; pulling all of the epic geeky goodness together in one place so you can easily find whatever flavor of geek you’re looking for. Our thought on the matter is this:

Geek stuff because geek stuff is “cool” is merely demographically targeted marketing (e.g. “punk” after the 1980s), whereas *true* geeks want the people making the stuff to be as obsessed as they are about time travel, software libraries, or medieval Germanic Lit, or whatever. Once you compare even mediocre handmade things with mass produced, handmade always wins.

What’s exciting about G33Kmade is the potential to connect with so many other geeky crafters in one place. A community feeling. Imagine the huge HUGE amount of inspiration and coolness at your fingertips? Let’s say you’re a geeky crafter. You contribute by submitting yourself/your craft via our [Contact] page. We receive the submission and check it out and potentially get back to you for more info. We do a write up to post on G33Kmade and promote you – you’re featured on the front page, we spread the love on various social media outlets, and we help make sure that the world is made aware of how completely and totally awesome you are. GEEKS FTW!  Not only will the feature be great, but through G33Kmade you’ll have all kinds of access to other geeky crafters; you’ll be able to browse tutorials and get inspired by fellow crafy folk that think like you and enjoy some of the same things you do and put that love into their work just like you. But G33Kmade needs YOU to grow – to become this great, huge resource we need contributions and submissions from you. Check out our [Contact] page for more details. We want to hear from you, we really do! :)

But what if you’re not crafty? How will G33Kmade benefit you, you ask? Simple. Use G33Kmade to browse artists or crafts that you may not have otherwise stumbled upon on. Looking for the perfect geeky gift? Handmade is always better, and you’ll be able to sort through just about everything under the sun with a geek theme to fit any occasion or satisfy anyone’s geek tastes.

So it’s a positive thing for everyone involved, and that’s the major underlying feel: positivity! Spreading the love of geeky crafts and promoting artists and handmade. Sharing ideas, how-tos, projects, and inspiration. Providing a place to showcase all of this awesomeness together. If you’re a geek, you’ll love G33Kmade whether you make things or not, because seeing what others are doing out there and why is hugely fun and interesting. Did I mention inspiring?

See, now I’m gushing. I’m really passionate about G33Kmade and all it stands for. THIS is the way it’s supposed to be. It’s not about competition, it’s about supporting each others’ passions. I’m really excited to have found someone who holds the same values about handmade art, to spread the love instead of negativity, and roll all of that positive energy up into something that benefits everyone… and that’s Kylee. Even more fun and exciting is that G33Kmade will have an Exhibitor’s booth at Gen Con in Indianapolis this August to sell some handmade geek at the biggest 4 days in gaming. We’re also planning a G33Kmade Gen Con Tweet Up to accompany that – more info about that will be announced over at G33Kmade in the coming weeks.

So there’s LOTS going on around here. Besides all of this good stuff I’ve got orders up to my eyes and some really fun other crafty projects in progress. You should SEE this awesome custom order I just completed of Handheld Game Cartridge GEEKSOAP bars as wedding favors! Whew :) I have a week left of this school year, and then the summer off to focus hard on G33Kmade, prepping for Gen Con, and selling more and more GEEKSOAP! Next month is Lucas and I’s anniversary, and in keeping with the tradition, we’ll be staying in a bed & breakfast on the ocean… this time on the west coast in Vancouver, BC. We’re looking forward to a trip back to Canada and will be able to see a lot of Karpiuk family while we’re out that way. Score!

More soon – take care, and be sure to get on over and check out G33Kmade… keeping in mind it’s kinda in a “beta” mode as we roll things out, but at least you can get started and see where we’re going with it! :)


GEEKSOAP Sends a Geeky Message of Love

Posted in Featured, Soapmaking , on April 28, 2010

geek loveWho knew gaming could be so romantic? This story and custom order truly melted my heart. So geeky. So romantic. With the customer’s permission, I just had to share.

I enjoy doing gift sets and custom requests for orders, especially when the end result is being shipped to a friend or loved one. I take great pride in knowing that someone feels my handcrafted soap is worthy of a special gift for a special someone in their life. I really enjoy adding little handwritten personalized notes from the customer to gift orders and imagining the look on the recipient’s face when they open the box and see my soap. This week, I received an interesting custom order inquiry that would put a bar of my geeky soap in the middle of a budding romance between customer, Chris, and his girlfriend, Jordan.

Chris writes,
“I recently asked a girl out by inviting her over to play Bomberman 64 (she accepted!  that’s a keeper), and I think it would be funny to gift her with a bar of soap bearing that label.”

Super squee, right?! I found Chris’ request for a special bar of soap to represent how he asked his girlfriend out as a token of love hopelessly and completely romantic. How could I *not* complete this amazing request? (And seriously? Bomberman64? Awesome.) But that wasn’t all… Chris had a side-quest for me; he also wanted a sweet little personalization carved into the top of the cartridge to send a note to Jordan. (à la carving your name into a cartridge so you knew who it belonged to.) And a <3 heart emoticon soap to complete the package.

This was such a fun order of truly epic proportions, and it gives me warm fuzzies to know that my soap is going to be used to express some geeky love. I know that handmade gifts like this are the best kind of gift, and as a gamer girl, I would melt into a puddle at someone’s feet if were to receive such an epic gift to commemorate how my significant other asked me out. (Pssst, Jordan… this one’s a keeper!)

I only wish I could witness the look on Jordan’s face when she opens the package and receives her sentimental soap inside, complete with a notecard bearing a custom message from Chris. It makes me sigh one of those big happy lovey-dovey sighs just thinking about it!

Way to be awesome, Chris, and thank you for letting me play a small part in creating a romantic gifting opportunity for your girlfriend. Best wishes to you both! <3

A word about GEEKSOAP gift orders: Doing gift orders really makes me happy. Do let me know if your GEEKSOAP order is for a gift in the notes to seller upon checkout; I’d be happy to write a personalized message on a notecard to be inlcuded with the order absolutely free of charge. If there is anything I can do to help make your geeky handmade soap gift that much more special for your special someone, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’d love to help create a perfect geeky gifting experience for you! GEEKSOAP makes great birthday, wedding, or “just because” gifts for the geek(s) in your life. Let me help! – order your geeky soap at http://www.geeksoap.net :)


The Pink Toque & GEEKSOAP Featured!

Posted in Featured, Soapmaking , on March 12, 2010

Happy Friday! Just popping in to give a shout out to some websites that have featured The Pink Toque and/or GEEKSOAP specifically this week.

Firstly, I was interviewed in preparation for the Bloomington Handmade Market coming up on April 3. The BHM blog has been featuring one artist/vendor a day, and I was featured on Sunday, March 7. Be sure to check back often; they will be interviewing all 42 vendors to showcase the talent that they will have at the show. I’m totally excited!

Secondly, GeekCrafts.com featured GEEKSOAP earlier this week on March 9. GeekCrafts showcases geeky crafts from all over the world, and I feel honored to have been noticed and written about. The particular GEEKSOAP they chose to show off was the Operating System soap – Windows, Ubuntu (Linux), and Mac. Cool, huh? I’ve been trying to focus more on promoting GEEKSOAP, and this is one step in the right direction.

Speaking of GEEKSOAP (when am I NOT dreaming or thinking about GEEKSOAP lately?) there are some big changes coming soon. I’m currently experimenting with larger molds, which would produce bigger, more solid bars of soap that nearly double (and in some cases more than double) the weight in ounces of the current molds. Of course, the price would have to increase to accomodate this change, but some early experimentation has produced some really pleasing results. When I finish ironing out the details I may switch over completely. I’d like to wait until I “replace” all of the current soaps with the new models before I do the switch over on Etsy and change the prices so people can really see the difference, but I am looking forward to it and hope to get moving on that ASAP.  The designs inside the soaps will not change except to become a bit larger to fit better in their newer, larger soaps.

And there’s even more about GEEKSOAP that I’m looking forward to – some new designs coming soon… shhh! I’ll hopefully unveil them in the middle of next week, so stay tuned!


Sharon's Knitted Duck

Posted in Featured, Knit & Crochet, Sewing , on February 18, 2010
duck_by_sharon

Photo copyright to Sharon of Making Stuff http://shazronnie.blogspot.com/

Happy Thursday! It’s been a little quiet around here lately, but today I’ve got an adorable knitted duck to share with you. Behold! Sharon of Making Stuff (Aka Avoidance of Housework) has knitted this super sweet duck from my free Knitted Duck Plush pattern. [also on Ravelry]  Didn’t it turn out lovely? I heart Sharon and all of those who share pictures of what they’ve made from my patterns. It gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling inside!  Thanks, Sharon!

Speaking of Sharon’s blog, you just HAVE to check it out. All of her baking (wow, look at her blog banner… it looks good enough to lick the monitor screen!) looks so delicious. I love how beautiful her Battenburg turned out and I am definitely trying out her Fougasse recipe. Yum!  Plus… she has a PINK kitchen! It doesn’t get any better than that.

Thanks for making my day, Sharon! :)


I'm a Craftster Best of 2009 Winner!

Posted in Featured , on January 20, 2010

 
Craftster Best of 2009 Winner
I’m a Craftster Best of 2009 Winner!

Wow, I am so completely honored: I am a Craftster “Best of 2009” winner! Back in February 2009 I was featured on Craftster for my handpainted custom Mah’jong set that I made for Lucas. As amazing as that felt, I never dreamed it would also make a Best of 2009 winner list, too! I’m blushing and beaming all at the same time, if that’s possible. Thank you so much to those that made it happen.

To determine winners, Craftster picked the top 10 projects posted in each crafty category in 2009 that got the most replies and views and then whittled those 10 down to their favorite top 5. Each crafty category has 5 winners to represent the best of that category’s 2009 projects. Be sure to click the image above to see ALL of the absolutely fantastic winners in all of the Craftster crafty categories. You’ll find my Mah’jong set in the last category listed under Toys & Games.

Thanks for alerting me to this feature, Craftzine! :) I am so blessed.


A Little Scrapbooking

Posted in Featured, Scrapbooking , on August 29, 2009
Moving to Indiana

Moving to Indiana

*Gasp* I know, I’m scrapbooking again. Don’t worry — the schnauzer schweater is still a work in progress (and thanks to teaching 2nd grade, it gets forgotten from time to time, ha) and I’ll be knitting some more soon, but I thought a little trip down scrapbook lane would be nice so I could update my Family Life 2009 album a bit.

I gotta admit, I simply used some fabulous quick page designs by other digital scrapbooking artists and inserted my photos for the two latest pages, so I didn’t go overboard, but I did use My Memories Suite to create the pages, which always makes me happy. It’s seriously such fabulous software. Have you read my review of it? It’s been awhile since I’ve trumpeted from the roof tops how much I love this program. Want to know how to use quick page design layouts you download on the web within My Memories Suite? It’s super easy; check out my tutorial… My Memories Suite Tutorial 3: Using Quick Pages. It seriously felt so good to rev up My Memories Suite and add a few more pages tonight. I shouldn’t let it go so long between page creations :)

All You Need is Love

All You Need is Love

Anyway, first up was a page that pays homage to our epic journey driving from Calgary to Indiana last month when we moved back home. I used Little Boy Blue by Joanne Bain Designs. (Pictured above.) I really felt like the photo of Oliver and Winston peeking their heads out of the Neon with the UHAUL trailer behind captured the trip. The second page was a quick page called All You Need by Krystal Hartley. Because really, all you need is love, and I’m the luckiest girl in all the world to have the love of that handsome man right there in the photo. Aren’t we cute? ;)

Coming up soon is my sister-in-law’s baby shower that I’m hosting, and I’d love to turn the embellishment I created when designing the invitations into a digital scrapbook quick page layout or mini freebie set to give away. I just wish there was more time in the day! I’ve got two weeks to go, and I’ve still got to design and sew a diaper bag for her, too. A few weeks back we went shopping for fabric and she picked out some adorable quilted fabric and described the type of bag she’s looking for. Now it’s just a matter of sitting down and pulling it all together, which sounds easy but I swear time just seems to get by me. I’ll keep you posted and show off some pics as I get going on it.

So that’s it for now! To do list: work on and finish schnauzer sweater, make a little mini kit or quick page of the little boy car embellishment from the baby shower invites, and design and sew a diaper bag! No problem, right? ;) See you soon!

P.s. If you’d like to purchase My Memories Suite at 25% off of the original price, let me help you! And don’t forget to check out all of the My Memories Suite tutorials I’ve created to help you get the most out of the software.


Moving Yarn

Posted in Featured, Knit & Crochet , on July 24, 2009
Our moving sale on Saturday

Our moving sale on Saturday

So my writing has been a bit scarce lately but there have been some craftings going on in the background. First of all, the reason for being so busy lately is because Lucas, the boys (Oliver and Winston), and I are packing up and moving back to Indiana to be near family. I didn’t get the job that I went home and interviewed for last weekend, BUT there will be other job opportunities and I can’t very well take them or be available for them when I’m 2k miles away in Canada. I sure am going to miss Calgary; I love the Canadian Rockies and I love just about everything about this beautiful country I’ve called home for the past three years. However, I also love my family and want to be near them as my brother starts his family (my first nephew is due in October!) and as Lucas and I eventually start our own family. I wish I could somehow have all of the great stuff about Canada and my family in Indiana all at the same time in the same place, but alas… something’s gotta give.

working on a bib

working on a bib

So we’re moving back to the U.S. on Sunday, July 26. Over the weekend we had a huge yard sale to get rid of just about everything we own; we’re taking the minimalist approach for the move. We’re going to be pulling a 4’x8′ trailer and that’s it, so if it doesn’t fit in a box that fits into the trailer, it’s not going with us. Oliver has done the cross country trip before; he moved from Indiana to Canada with me three years ago. This will be a first for little Winston. While we sat out front for the yard sale Saturday I finished knitting the second Modern Cabled Baby Bib pattern by Andrea Pomerantz. They turned out lovely! They are 95% finished; the knitting and blocking is complete but I haven’t had the time yet to pick out some super cute baby boy buttons to use. I figure I’ll find some when we get settled back in Indiana.

superwash BFL fingering weight wool dyed "Lesley" by Lesleyluu

superwash BFL fingering weight wool dyed by Lesleyluu

A few weeks ago, user Lesleyluu on Ravelry had a contest to create a new yarn colorway. I suggested “Lesley” (as it’s my name, too, and we spell it the same!) and offered up my three favorite colors together: pink, mint green, and browns. Kind like spumoni ice cream from The Old Spaghetti Factory. Yum! The colors turned out soft and ice-creamy, and absolutely dreamy.  I didn’t win the first prize, but Lesleyluu did choose my colorway to make as a runner up, and I was then able to purchase “Lesley” from her Etsy Shop.  Yay! It arrived in the mail earlier this week and I was so ecstatic. It’s a gorgeous superwash fingering weight BFL wool, and my head is swimming with all of the knitting project possibilities for this lovely yarn.  Be sure to check out her other fabulous colorways on Etsy. And tell her “The other Lesley” sent you!

Anyway, as you can imagine I’ve been pretty busy lately. Tragedy has also struck my family and with the move and all of the tying up of loose ends here in Canada before we move back to the states, time has been short for projects. However, at the end of a long packing day I’ve found time to sneak in an hour or two of knitting. I’ve got some more burp cloths to make my sister-in-law for my future nephew in the Bernat handicrafter cotton color, “Hot Green.” Seriously, Hot Green? Have you ever heard of a more hideous (and perfect for baby spit up) color name? I can’t wait to make some appropriate spit up cloths from it! And you can be sure with 4 days of driving across the country in the car with my boys I’ll have plenty of little projects to work on and share once I’m back in the good ol’ Hoosier state. :)  I’ll do my best to keep up on Twitter during our moving and cross-country knitting adventures, but don’t panic if it takes me another week or two before I can update here properly again ;) Take care!


Craftster Feature and New Scrapbook Pages

Posted in Featured, Scrapbooking, Soapmaking , on July 7, 2009
You & Me Together by

You & Me Together by Shallya Kitby, using the kit Cherish for Love by Fanette

I am most honored to be notified that my DIY Batman Soap Tutorial was a Craftster-wide feature recently, AND was also chosen as a featured project for Quarter 2 of 2009 in the Bath & Beauty section.  WOW! I really appreciate all of the “this rocks!” votes I received on the tutorial and am glad it’s gone over so well :) Thanks everyone!

This weekend I got around to some much neglected digital scrapbooking. It feels like it’s been forever! Several months ago when I was doing more digi scrapping I had started stockpiling various quick pages that I’d found on DigiFree as I came across them daily.  I was just saving them for a rainy day I guess! The weather has definitely been rainy here in Calgary lately, and so on Sunday I went back through the folder and turned around 33 of those quick pages into new pages of my digital scrapbook.

Name by

Kissletoe by Cinnamon Designs

Firstly, I went back through photos I had on my hard drive, which took me all the way back to November. There were a couple of events in the fall and winter that needed to be scrapped, such as Lucas’ birthday party, outings with friends, and Christmas. I also realized that the more digital pages I had in a single scrapbook in My Memories Suite, the slower/longer it took for the program to load the scrapbook when I wanted to work on it. This makes sense since it had to render all of those thumbnail previews along the bottom, and the more elements and extras on a page to render, the longer that would take. Multiply that times 40 odd pages or so, and you can see where I’m coming from. To help with the clutter, I decided to sum up the end of 2008 by adding a few more pages to finish off the year, and then start a whole new, separate album for 2009. So now I have a Family Life 2008 album and I’ve started a Family Life 2009 album that will be ongoing for the rest of 2009.

Green Lagoon by

Green Lagoon by Miss Vivi

Family Life 2009 was a fun one to start on and where I had the most catch up to do, because we’re already just over halfway into the year and so much has happened in the first part of 2009! Really the pages just started flowing once I went back through the photos I had stored away in my Pictures directory. I had some great new photos of Oliver and Winston in their Flames gear to scrap and some Calgary Flames quick pages I had created myself last year to use with them. I had quite a few newer photos of Lucas and I together that were begging to be scrapped, and of course a LOT of photos from our recent anniversary trip to Nova Scotia. It was hard to narrow down all of the fantastic photos we’d taken to just a few digital scrapbook pages, but I managed!

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An Apple Day by MimiLou

Then I scrapped our recent family outdoor activity of choice: rollerblading! Lucas and I have been rollerblading fairly regularly for almost a year now, but just recently (like 2 weeks ago) we decided to start trying to rollerblade with Oliver and Winston, too. This has been ridiculously hilarious and A LOT of fun, and a great form of exercise for the whole family. Oliver could stand to lose a few pounds, tbh. But shhh, we don’t tell him he’s fat. (Ok we do, but it’s mostly hair, right?)

County Fair by

County Fair by GWTW

Then of course most recently, as in this past weekend, Lucas and I attended our first Calgary Stampede ever!  As I mentioned in my previous post, the Calgary Stampede comes to town for 10 days every July and turns the entire town into a rodeo.  Suddenly everyone here thinks they are a cowboy. To be honest, the Stampede was very much like the Indiana State Fair, just with a rodeo attached. It was great fun though, because it’s been years since I’ve been to a state fair of course.

All of this work to catch up my digital scrapbooks inspired me to create something of my own to share, and I played around with some new background papers and a couple of matchy-matchy elements to go with them. Nothing fancy, but I plan to give those away later this week, along with a quick page I made to go along with them. How exciting! Although knitting has dominated my crafting time for the most part the past several months, I don’t plan on letting my digital scrapbook get that far behind again, so hopefully that means more scrapping and more freebie goodies for you, too :)

In creating a 2009 album and leaving it open-ended to add on as life happens, I’ve started fast-forwarding in my mind to imagine what other upcoming pages I’ll need to scrap about. Most exciting is the next chapter in Lucas and I’s lives where we move back to Indiana and roadtrip with Oliver and Winston to get there, along with the birth of my first nephew coming up in October. The 2009 Family Life album sure will be a monumental one!