Pretty in Pink

Hi there,

Just popping in to share what I've made this week. It's been a while since I've made something sweet and pink for a little girl and since the T-strap shoes have been well-received, I'm 're-visiting' them. As always, I never make 2 identical items (unless on request), this pair is the first T-strap shoes in this shade of pink with these particular flower wood buttons.

Don't you love these wooden buttons with an 'antique' stain effect?

As usual, the signature sole in contrast colour.

Have a great week ahead preparing for the holiday season!
Serena

Quick Photo Frame

Hi there! Popping in to share a quick piece I made (with lots of 'help' from the stash Serena picked up in Bangkok :) in between a weekend filled with lots of family time, cosy meals, movie-going and exercise.

Have a good week ahead!

Sheon

A Flowery Note(book)

Helloo there!
Serena popped into Bangkok some weeks ago and, at my request, scoured the maze-like aisles of Chatuchak market to bring back these, at a fraction of the price I would have to pay here!

Finally found time to play with some... and now they happily sit atop this:

I sure was glad for the crafty break I took amidst busy days at work! 

Have you let the artist in you out lately?

sheon

Rosary Roses

Hi there,

A dear friend of our, S, was inspired by Kimberlee of 'Pondered in My Heart' which describes the creative use of crochet roses to teach little girls to pray the rosary. S thought crochet flowers would make a great birthday gift for a little Catholic girl and hopes that the little one's parents would use them to teach their little girl to pray the rosary.

Here are the custom-order flowers, 10 red & 1 white, made in a large size using double strand of acrylic yarn, so small little hands may grasp them easily.

Meanwhile, have a blessed weekend!

Serena


Upsized Crochet .. again

Hi there,

I've been experimenting with upsizing again....at E's suggestion....

Here's the result...upsizing the small flowers in fine crochet thread with 1mm beads to these large flowers with 6mm beads...

Here's a crochet tip for crocheting with double strands of yarn...you don't have to buy 2 skeins -- just take one end out from the inner core of the skein, and the other end from the outer edge of the skein....saves you having to buy 2 skeins if you just needed one!

Have fun experimenting! Here's to a great week ahead!

Serena

Upsizing Crochet

Hi there,

It's been a busy year so far (yes! it's barely begun!)....

It was great to hear from E who ordered some crochet flowers done in fine cotton thread (like those in this blog post). She loved the little flowers and suggested that they be made in a much larger size.

For those of us who love craft, I'm sure you'd agree that 'upsizing'requires a different approach in each craft genre. For crochet, simply 'multiplying' the 'numbers' in the crochet pattern won't do the trick. One might need to re-write a pattern just to get it in a larger size. Thankfully,  there's also an easier way:

The wonderful thing about crochet is that if you just change the yarn type and crochet hook size, you can 'upsize' or 'downsize' any pattern you like! (Much easier than re-writing the pattern!)


I did some 'trial runs' and thought I'd share with you the results of my 'experiments':

The SAME yarn type and pattern was used for all 3 flowers. A 2.5 mm crochet hook gave the smallest flower. Changing the hook size to 4.0 mm resulted in the larger red flower. To really upsize without changing yarn type, just crochet with 2 strands of the yarn at the same time using a larger sized hook (eg. 5.5 mm) -- that gave the purple large flower.

Have fun experimenting!

Serena

T-straps

Hi there!

C's a darling little girl who's fast growing up and is a bundle of energy. Her mum 's request for crochet shoes which will 'stay on' led to these....and C's mum is pleased to report that they do 'stay on'!

I made another 2 pairs for the Etsy shop. Grab them while you can!


T-strap booties in lilac cotton!

button hole clasp with leaf accent to compliment the flower button

contrast sole in 'Fair Isle' patterned yarn

T-strap shoes in aqua cotton yarn

painted flower wooden button in 'antique stain'

Have a great weekend!

 

Serena

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Hi there,

How's your week been?
For those of us who have daughters, do you like to wear matching outfits? I know some friends who even share their wardrobe with their teenagers. Even the stars seem to like matching their outfits to their daughter's.

(picture from www.lilsugar.com)

For those of us who do not have the 'figure of the stars' to carry off the 'matching clothing', perhaps carrying matching bags might do the trick. I must admit I was thinking of myself when I designed these bags...one for mom, one for little princess. (I didn't think I would want to dress like my 'princess'.)

For Little Princess

For Mom

Mummy D, who is going to be carrying these bags with her little girl, is now expecting another princess and wanted something matching for princess number 2. I was glad to be able to make a matching pair of booties for the newborn princess. Here they are:

I'm glad mummy D likes them. Can't wait to see how all look together... : )

Till the next time,

Serena

Live full the life you have imagined

This week, I had the pleasure of filling a customised card order - a retirement gift.
While retirement may mean the end of a long and fulfilling career, it is also the beginning of a new way of life, and along with this, there are many potentially exciting discoveries waiting to be made.
Many previously postponed trips or activities that were deemed to be too time-consuming can at last be undertaken; one can spend long stretches of time with old friends and loved ones without being bound by the constraints of a workday.

Perhaps in a way the card's sentiment is also a reflection of how our busyness at work (or is it our mindset?) stops us from living the life we envision? When we are busy meeting our responsibilities at work, home or school, how close are we to living the life we aspire for ourselves?
Do we feel constrained by what we spend a big part of our day doing and using the lack of time or energy as excuses, put our hobbies, relationships and passions on the backburner?
Maybe when work winds down, when we save enough money to leave the job or... when we retire? Then there'll be opportunities to do what we've always wanted - pick up that hobby, climb the mountain, travel round the world...

Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project suggests that when a person is truly passionate about his work, he will gladly spend not just his actual working hours, but also his moments of leisure thinking about it or pursuing activities related to it. How many of us truly experience this luxurious state? Instead, do we spend a large part of our lives working at a job that no longer excites us but are too scared to move on because of the financial security it offers?

Some, like this couple, Betsy and Warren, have transformed their lives to pursue their passion of travel while others, like Courtney, is a 'retiree' from the corporate world who advocates living a life of minimalism filled definite purpose.

Whatever your approach (or your job), let us start living the way we imagine today and not wait till tomorrow, next year or till the day of retirement.

Sheon

The Fair Isle

Hi there,

'Fair Isle' is a tiny island north of Scoland after which a traditional knitting technique is named. This technique produces beautiful patterns such as these:

image from crochetknitting.net

This pretty coloured baby yarn from Sirdar is coloured to produce "an incredible Fair Isle colour effect". Now who could resist?




This yarn was used for the insoles of these white shoes (crocheted from a nylon/acrylic blend), fit for a little princess.

The double-soled shoes measure 3.75" x 2".

The flower petals unclasp from the white flower button...

Hope you like them!

Serena

A Custom Fit for a Princess

Hi there!

How have you been? Hope February's been great for you so far...

It's always been a real pleasure to be able to make something for babies. So when sis-in-law requested a custom order for a pair of baby booties to go with one of the headbands in the shop, I was excited. As usual, the creative juices started flowing and wouldn't let me re-hash one of the old designs...so it was back to the drawing board...and here's the result...



The booties were supposed to go with this headband...

The 'fuzzy' looking yarn (interestingly called 'SOOKY') from the headband was also used for the bootie sole. Despite the 'fuzzy' look, it is amazingly soft to the touch, as verified by the 'face test'.
-- this involves putting the yarn to your face, literally! (read about this some time ago in a crochet book). My daughter gave it the thumbs up after I 'put it to her face' : ))

Despite the nature of crochet products giving the booties some stretch, I 'concealed' an opening in the flower decoration ....

here you can see one of the flowers 'unbuttoned'

A regular cake box was modified to contain a 'window' for final packaging of the 2 items...

What do you think? If you have ideas about packaging booties and such, I would sure love to hear them.

Serena

New Ideas for A New Year

Hi there!

Happy 2012! How's your 2012 been so far? Mine started with a cough that kept me awake at night...must have overdone the 'feasting' in the festive season....and before we know it, it'll be another 'feasting' season in 3 weeks -- Chinese New Year!

I was looking at all the Chinese-styled apparel in the stores (which incidentally are predominantly red or 'reddish') and thinking about what I could make to go with them....here's one...

Each of these flowers have been crocheted with 24 1 mm wide beads for that added sparkle.

Here's my dear girl with them....

Continuing with the Oriental theme....how about these for the baby princess?

Baby booties in Cream and Pink Nylon/Acrylic blend yarn. Booties measure 3.75" x 2" and double-layered soles give extra comfort. Coral Chinese knot adds the perfect touch.

The hair-clip I made for my niece (earlier post) inspired more.....

Each flower measures about 5.5 cm across.

I love these hair-clips as you can't see the clip when you wear it! Each is one-of-a-kind...there's only ONE each.

Serena

Christmas is a time for giving...

Hi there!

Hope you had and are still having a wonderful Christmas with family and friends..

One of the main reasons I love Christmas is the gift-giving....such a great opportunity to put a smile on someone's face and to show you care...

As promised, here's the 'reveal' of the Christmas gifts mentioned in my previous post:

Rings for dear gal-friends..
(To those of you who received one, apologies if by the time it comes round to you, the choice of colours is limited ; ) )

I modified a 'tea gift-box' to contain the rings...

And... that 'green furry thingy' is actually a little vest requested by my dear niece...who specified style, length etc...she sure has her own style even at the tender age of 5 years : )
[These lovely photos are courtesy of my dear sis-in-law....thanks!]

The pink flower is actually a hair-clip ...which doubles as a brooch..

What about all the others who 'don't wear rings'....? Well, here's the product of the 'frantic baking'...

Are you looking forward to more feasting? I am.... : )

Serena

Folded Fabric Flowers

Hi there!

I've recently been fiddling around with folded fabric pieces..yes...I've stumbled upon this amazing Japanese technique of making fabric flowers...

The flowers are commonly called 'Kanzashi' flowers although the word actual refers to the traditional Japanese hair ornaments...

There are many great videos such as here and here...have a look if you're keen to try it yourself!

Okay..I know some of you are thinking: I'm NOT into making the stuff...so what did you come up with?

Crocheted baby headband in 2 different yarn types.
Each flower measure 4.5 cm wide.

Yep...these flowers are one of the sooo.. many possibilities. Of course, there HAS to be some crochet in it...so I crocheted a center instead of the commonly-used button. The material is beautiful white duchess satin.
Ok...so it's pink(previous post on this)...obviously not for my young lady but a sweet darling baby girl.

In fact, I got so carried away that I made more....

Each flower measures 6.5 cm wide.

Each flower measure 4.5 cm wide.

These flowers will be put in the shop. Let me know what YOU would like to do with these flowers. Put them on a hair-clip, headband, hair-tie...as a brooch....

I also managed to make something for MYSELF. After all this while, I've been making stuff for other people and this is the FIRST thing I've been able to keep for myself.



Nope..it's not for sale. Anyway, there's no more of the same fabric. : )

Have a great weekend!
Serena

A Tale of Two 'Elasticities'

Hi again!

It's so encouraging to realise that some of you who are reading this might be half-way across the world... :)

On one of my usual forays to Chinatown few weeks ago, I came across a pretty pink elastic that was so soft, yet had just the right stretch without being too tight...(perhaps some of you might be thinking: "Elastic??'...). Yep...elastic...but this is pretty elastic, not boring white and stiff ones that we usually use in our gathered pyjamas pants...

As you can see, even mama kangaroo agrees that the pink one is nicer..

I bought up all the stock that 'aunty' had left in her shop....

Now the first thing that came into my mind when I saw it was: "BABY".

Here's what I used that pretty soft, pink elastic for:

Each band has a length of 14" and stretches to 17". The elastic is double-stitched at the joint. The crocheted flower and beads/button are all sewn to the band and positioned such that there is a flat seam on the side which rests on baby's head.

It's such a pity my princess is too 'overgrown' to model these headbands....can't wait to see them on a cute little princess...

I enjoyed making them so much that I made 6!

An alternative headband would be a completely crocheted one. The ribbed stitching [crochet tip: achieve this by using just the back loops only] give good elasticity to the band without being overly tight -- important for baby! As usual, I like the idea of having options, so these have 'changeable flowers'.

Each band comes with 6 flowers in 2 sizes.

Hope you like them!

Serena