Last Craftster Squares

I recevied my last set of squares from the Craftster Granny Swap I did. I know it seems like it was the longest swap ever! There was a big mix up in the partnering and one of my partners sent to someone else by accident! Luckily an awesome lady in the swap decided to angel for me (Angel on Craftster means that when someone in a swap does not Receive, another person either participating in the swap or outside of the swap but a Craftster member steps up and crafts for the person who did not receive.) I got these beauts just before I went on vacay. I love the color combinations and sort have a sense of relief now that this swap is over. It was kind of poorly organized (which I hate to say but it really was) and some people didn't participate on the boards as much as I would have thought they would so it was kind of a let down. I think from now on I will stick with the swaps over there that are just one on one partners, maybe two at the most.




Have a crafty day darlings!

More Craftster Grannies Received

I received some more lovely squares from another Craftster partner. She lives in Canada and right in the midst of the swap the Canadian post went on a strike. I can't even imagine not getting mail everyday! I'd die without my Netflix. I wonder what happens as far as people's bills, if they can't pay something online what would they do?! Personally I can't pay my rent online so I guess I would have to drive a few towns over to my landlord to give her a check, man what a hassle! I'm glad that the postal workers in Canada are back at it and I got my squares!

Here they are, the turqoise yarn is my favorite!



Have a great weekend everyone!

The Ninni I Sent

As I mentioned yesterday, I was in a swap on Craftster using the Monster Ninni pattern from Revoluzzza.

My partner has received so I can show you what I sent her!
One thing my partner listed on her questionairre was that she likes the color combo pink & brown so I just ran with that. I found the pink fabric first and it was exactly what I was looking for. Some of the other swappers went all different directions with the Ninnis they made, I stuck pretty close to the original I think.


The Ninnis are kind of small as you can see so after I finished him I decided he needed a little friend. This little guy is also a magnet!


I hope my partner enjoys these two as much as I enjoyed making them!


This pattern was super easy and after seeing the swap gallery, it's clear the possibilites are endless!

More Grannies Received

I receieved more Granny Squares from my Craftster swap partners!!

These ones are from my partner, Indiecraft. I love the colors she chose and look how amazing that spiral one is!! I can't even fathom how to make that one, I love it!



I should have had these squares a week earlier but my mailman is such a douche sometimes. I was checking my Delivery Confirmation number and it said that they couldn't leave my package because it needed a signature. Which I instantly thought was weird because you don't need signatures with Delivery Confirmations. So I get home and there isn't even a notice or anything saying that they made an attempt. The next day they left a notice, same thing about a signature required was marked. So I go on USPS to the redelivery thing and tell them that I will never be home when they deliver so I will have to wait and pick it up on Saturday. In the meantime I had another package delivered with a DC and they left it at my door, no problem. Friday I get home and there are my squares from Indiecraft sitting at my door with a print out of the notice saying I would pick them up Saturday?! WTF?! I swear I must have multiple mail men because some of them have no problem leaving the packages that don't fit in my small ass mailbox at the door and others do. It's really irritating actually. Anyway on to the next set of squares I received.

The next bunch came from Koalascout. The rainbow yarn is so pretty and she even spoiled me with a 7th square! The best thing is that she reused a pringles container to wrap my squares in, so awesome!!




I am so happy I joined this swap and said that I didn't have any color preferences. I'm getting all different kinds of great colors!

My Ninni!

I participated in another swap over on Craftster that just finished up. This swap was to use the Monster Ninni pattern from Revoluzzza and customize it for your partner. I thought the Ninni was so cute as soon as I saw him! Normally I'm not one for super cute but these little guys were just too adorable to pass up! Plus I think one would be pretty awesome on my desk at work.
EDIT: He is now in his new home on my work desk =D

My partner made me SUCH an awesome Ninni! I fell in love with him the moment I opened the package. He's a bat and I'm sure you all know how much I love bats!!



AND what I didn't even notice at first is that on the back she stiched my favorite quote!!!! It is glow in the dark thread and even though when it glows it is totally visible, it would not photograph AT ALL!


She totally spoiled with me with some extra goodies too. Ribbon with adorable owls, two owl charms, these clear stamps (now I have the perfect excuse to buy ink!) and she made me a shrinky dink with the image that my favorite quote is from, a sketch by Francisco Goya. In her note she said she wanted to make this a bookmark for me and that it didn't come out how she planned. I really like it though and I think I am going to stick a magnet on the back of it and use it that way.



I am so happy I decided to join this swap and feel so spoiled by my partner. I am so in love with this little bat ninni, I just hope she likes what I made for her!

Granny Swap

Sorry I've been absent this past week. My allergies have really had me down for the count. I went to an allergist Thursday and got some new meds and I'm already feeling MUCH better.
Anyway...back to the craftyness!!

As I've mentioned, I was in a swap for granny squares over on Craftster. I made 30 squares total, 5 partners got 6 each. I was pretty lucky to have 2 partners who listed specific colors that both included blues, purples and greens and 3 other partners without any color preferences. I looove the jewel toned yarns, so scrumptious!! It was so perfect to find a "dusty" version of each color too. All this yarn is Vanna's Choice and I got most of it with awesome coupons for Joann's, always a plus!

Here's a group shot with all the like squares in stacks. These squares are bigger than the ones I have been making myself. Mine are about 5 inches but these bad boys are 7 inches!


Here are all 30 spread out on my dressers. I love seeing them all together, these colors make me so happy.


You know I couldn't resist some close ups of these lovelies!




I can't wait to get the rest of my squares from my partners and share them with you all. My plan at the moment is to sew all 30 that I get from my partners into a lapghan for work. Once I have them who knows what ideas I might get though!

I hope everyone had a great week, I have lots of blog reading to catch up on. I'm going floating down the Lehigh River today, wwaaahhooo!! Hope you all have a great weekend too!

Craftster Swap Squares Received!

I received my first 6 squares in the Granny Square Craftster swap yesterday! They are a lovely mint green and white. It looks like maybe the squares weren't the full 7 inches so she had to quick add two more sides. I kind of like them this way, I'm not a big fan of symmetry.



Such a good start to this swap! I can't wait to show you guys the sqaures I made for my partners but I'm going to wait until they receive.

Have a good day friends!

Cross Stitch Surprise Received!

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was awesome, Jeremy took me for Hibachi and to see 'Insidious' on Saturday night. That movie scared the ever loving crap out of me, I screamed out loud multiple times!!

Also, before we left I checked my mail and had this wonderful package waiting for me! I am so, so thrilled with this whole Swap-Bot experience. I will most definitely be doing it again!
So...like I mentioned before, this swap was a surprise and totally up to the sender so she picked these ideas from what I put in my profile. She went with the Halloween theme.
This first one is so adorable! I couldn't get them to show up in the picture but there are tiny red beads for eyes on the spider!!


These stacked pumpkins are so adorable!


Last but not least, she sent me an extra!! A crow perched on a sheep and it is my absolute favorite! All the designs the stitches make are awesome!!


I am so happy that these two fit perfectly in some of the frames I picked up at the VNA sale last weekend!! I am going to pick up a tiny embroidery hoop for the ghost.


My partner completely spoiled me and I am now officially in love with Swap-Bot!


In other swap news, I am more than half way done with my Craftster granny square swap which I am super happy about. I tend to leave things to the last minute but I started these squares right away. I think I'll even be sending fairly early, woot!
Have a great Monday my dears!

Cross Stitch Surprise

Hi Friends!

I feel like I have been so busy the last 2 weeks! I had to take my licensing class (during work, thank goodness) and then study so I could pass my test Tuesday, WOOT!
I had signed up for my first Swap-Bot swap last month and I sent out Monday. The swap was only for 2 small cross stitched pieces both for the same partner but are a surprise and totally up to the sender! This was slightly stressful for me because "What if my partnter doesn't like it?!" And I mean there's no theme or guideline or anything, it just had to be no smaller than approx. 2.5 X 3.5cm and no larger than 3.5 X 5.5cm and no frames or attaching it to anything.
I must have read my partners profile a dozen times before I decided what I would stich for her. First off she said one of her favorite colors is lime green. In one of my cross stitch books, there is a pattern that the author found on a dress in Palestine. I really liked it so I changed the colors but made sure lime green was in there. Then I decided on a monogram...because who doesn't love a monogram?! I love this pattern I found with the leaves. It totally reminds me of the big letters in the beinning of a fairy tale book!


I also didn't realize til yesterday that the partner I send to is not the partner sending to me! I'm so used to Craftster where you and your partner craft for each other. I like this way too though because it's a chance to meet even more people!

I've also been crocheting like a mad woman! I have to make 30 granny squares, 6 squares for 5 different partners as part of the Ga Ga for Granny Squares Craftster swap. These squares are 7 inches which is bigger than the ones I've been making myself. I love watching the giant stack of these ones building up! So far I have 10 done and 5 more are half way finished. I don't have to send out until June 6th but at this rate, I think I'll be ready to send much sooner!

I hope that you are all having a lovely day!

Craftster Made My Day

So I was having a particularly crummy morning, nothing important...just work related stuff annoying me. I decided to go check Craftster because let's face it, nothing cheers me up like swooning over a fellow crafters work.
There are 3 boards I always check, in this order...
Crochet
Needlework
Clothing

I click on Crochet and what do I see?!



The Owl I made for Shannon is a Hot New Project in the Crochet board!! I've said it before and I will say it again, I love Craftster. I discovered it over 4 years ago and it has completely changed my life. The community of Craftster is amazing, so positive and inspiring. I owe all my crafting abilites, obsession, inspiration and love to Craftster.
There is nothing in the world quite like being recognized at doing something well as the recognition coming from those you admire.

Thank you Craftster for making my day better!

Craftster AGAIN?!

OMG I seriously feel so special!!

So I go on Craftster tonight to see if anyone responded to my new bat dolls (yes, I'm a comment whore) and I scroll down the home page to check out the special features. I see there's one called "Ridin' Crafty Bicycle Crafts". I clicked on it because I have a bunch of friends who all love bikes and I thought there might be something awesome in there to send them a link to...
and what do I see second to last but the bicycle I made the seat cover for on Jason's Marilyn Bike!!!

Here's the link to it in the special section as well as all the other rad bikes!!
"Ridin' Crafty Bicycle Crafts"

It really is a very awesome feeling to have people who you admire also admire your work. It's so gratifying and humbling.
I have been crafting pretty much my whole life. I discovered Craftster back in 2007 and it got me back into crafting after a bit of a hiatus and turned it into an obsession. It honestly has changed my life in a wonderful way. I can't thank Leah for starting it, all the wonderful people who now run the site and of course the amazing crafters who post their own projects and comment on mine enough. It's such a wonderful, positive community. In such a negative world, ESPECIALLY on the internet, it's a sort of haven for me.
I know I'm not the only Craftster who feels this way!!
Thank you Craftster!!

Personal Swap Part Deux

So a couple weeks ago I sent out this little panda for my swap partner's niece. This morning I woke up to a package at my door!
(long story short, my downstairs neighbor and I share a mailbox, he has the key so I have to wait to get my mail til the morning even when I can see it in the box the night before, it's torture!)
I quick opened it up before running to work and was SO happy that I even brought it with me because I wanted to look at everything some more!

The swap was initially just for this sweet, sweet needlebook! I am madly in love with it and can't believe Deb even included some needles!! I have a few embroidery and cross stitch projects in the works that I am definitely going to whip out and finish just to get some use out of my new needlebook!



I don't know why this picture keeps uploading longways when I took it and it's saved fatways!!!



She sent a little late (which I could care less about since I am perpetually late with and to everything in life) and to make up for it she made me these amazing Owl earrings and necklace!!!
(Sorry about the glare, the glaze on them keeps causing a glare with the flash but if I take a picture without the flash, they're too dark)



I literally squeeled out loud when I opened the needlebook and found them inside. The detail is amazing and the colors are so vibrant! Sadly I won't be able to wear the earrings because my ears are stretched BUT I will be rocking this necklace regularly. My sister LOVES little animal earrings. She has racoons, bats and lobsters right now. I showed them to her at work today and when I said "It sucks that I can't wear these tiny little owl earrings..." I watched the light bulb go off in her head and then she practically screamed "CAN I HAVE THEM?!" And when I told her of course, she said "YES!! Now I have 4 pairs of tiny animal earrings!!!" Can you tell we're related?!
This was the first personal swap I've done on Craftster although I've done a few organized ones. This was such an awesome experience that I will definitely be taking part in more personal swaps in the future.
Thank you CraftyDebs!!

Personal Swap

So as I've said before, I love craftster!
I saw this adorable needlebook that CraftyDebs made. I complimented her on it and she offered to make me one!! I asked her what she wanted me to make her in return and since she is such an awesome Aunt...she asked me to crochet a panda bear for her niece. I haven't crocheted in what feels like FOREVERRR!! But, I found this adorable free pattern online and got to work.
I really do like crocheting but I hate sewing all the pieces together!! I had to take this little guys legs off and resew them twice because he kept falling foward, arrgg!!
I popped him in the mail Saturday and got into the weirdest conversation about Flashlights with the guy behind the counter, haha!!
Crocheting this little guy has got me in the mood to crochet some more, I think I want to make a jellyfish for my bathroom.

Craftster #2

OMG!! Now Jessie's birthday shoes have been moved from the "Hot New Projects" to the "Featured Projects". I feel EVEN MORE special!!

Every two weeks they pick the favorite 15 projects that Craftster readers have voted for with the “This Rocks!” button. Here are their latest picks which were lovingly and painstakingly chosen (so many amazing projects to choose from!), this time by jungrrl. We hope you enjoy them!

Craftster!

So most people who know me, know that I am obsessed with this website, Craftster.org
I have been lurking around and posting my crafts in their forums since 2007 and it has definitely played a major role in the crafting part of my life.
Well for the first time in the 3 years of projects I have posted on their site, I had a project featured in the "Hot New Projects from All Categories" section.
They were Jessie's bloody shoes!!

Craftster

I feel so special, when I logged in this morning, there was a picture on the front page, woot!!!