Look!!!

It Finally Snowed!!!!

I'm so excited! This the the first good snow we've had all winter and everyone is loving it! It snowed a little right after before and a few days after Christmas, but we ended up with another green Christmas.  Living in Michigan = snow all winter long so not having any is very sad. Snowmobiling is very popular and people come from many other states to ride our trails, for us it's another form of tourism.  And with the last two years being dry, it's really hurt  that industry. I personally love snowmobiling! It's so much fun!  I have yet to go ice fishing but it's on the list of things to do this winter as soon as there's enough ice on the lake :D 

Happy Winter Everyone! 

~Denae 

Forest Collection: The Owl

Hello! How are you? Warm, I hope!

It's so cold here! The last few days have hardly broke 25 degrees and it's very cold at night, 11 degrees. The sad part about it is we have no snow! :( It's very strange to live in Michigan and have no snow in January. It's such a bummer!

Anyhow, in an earlier post I wrote about my desire to create sets of animals that share a common theme. I'm still working on each of the themes, expanding as I go with every new addition. It's so fun to add an animal here or there, building up each "ecosystem," if you will.  When I was a young girl, my parents bought a subscription to Ranger Rick for me. I would wait every month for my new magazine then read the whole thing in one afternoon! This along with a plethora of National Geographic magazines helped to cultivate a love for nature and animals! 

So far I've called them collections with the Ocean Collection being the first.  It has octopus's, whales, narwhals, dolphin and a shark. The Arctic Collection has penguins, polar bears, and narwhals. The Forest Collection has a fox, a couple different bears, bats, a bunny, and a squirrel. 

Today, I'd like to feature the newest Forest Collection member, an owl.

Well, actually, three owls:

It's funny how inspiration strikes! You're working on something else and suddenly it hits full force! I had to stop and write the idea down before it was gone. My mind works like that. I have to write down or blurt out what suddenly hits me or I'll never remember it later! lol This inevidently always leads to the most random things popping out of my mouth, many times mid sentence! My poor husband! Anymore he just laughs and asks about it later. :D  All three are in the shop! 

I hope everyone has a lovely week! 

~Denae

Babies for Whale and Narwhal

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  I had a nice, relaxing one and Saturday was slightly cloudy which was perfect for picture taking.  First, I'd like to say a big "Thank you!" to all the people who visit and comment on my blog!! It brings a big smile to my face every time I read your comments! So, thank you, thank you!

Babies!

I've been busy working on my Ocean Collection and I'm eager to show you all my latest designs! 

The teal narwhal and blue whale had babies!!

Aren't they adorable?!? I stumbled across the idea by accident. I was running out of my white yarn I use for their bellies and only had enough for a tiny belly and I wondered if it was possible to make a smaller narwhal. Well, with a little fiddling and redoing, a little narwhal was born :] Soon after him, a little whale too! 

Over on the side, watching over all the baby hubbub, was this kindly dolphin. He's a bit shy but very friendly, he'd never hurt one of the babies! Gotta watch out for that shark though! 

If he had a baby, it'd be super cute! Maybe someday :]   In an earlier post I told you all that I was working on this dolphin design. I decided to try again and after a few adjustments to the nose and top fin design, voila! La duaphin! His new fin gave me a little trouble but overall, I really like how he turned out! He's perfect ♥

Both mom and baby sets are listed in my shop and I'm looking forward to making more mom and baby sets in the future; not only whales and narwhals but other creatures as well!  Along with the new babies and dolphin are many other whales and narwhals in new colors, check'um out! 

What's your favorite sea animal? Is there a sea creature that you'd like to see me design?

~Denae 

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone have a wonderful time during the holiday season! 

My husband and I took off about 10 days to spend time with family and do some much need relaxing :] We had a wonderful time, lots of laughs, great food, spending quality time with those we love most :]

The last weeks before and the week after I closed the shop was very busy. I had a few custom orders, a bunch of narwhals in high demand, and family gifts to whip up; all before the 21st! Eeep!

A kind lady contacted me through Facebook requesting catnip-filled cat toys for her kitties.  She gave me the liberty of designing them as I wished, so design I did! I had some different and new things I wanted to try and this was the perfect opportunity!

I loved how the fish, bumblebee and ladybug turned out, the frog needs a little work, he wasn't my favorite. That little blue guy in the background is a whale, nothing new there! :D  

For Christmas gifts to my sisters and mother-in-law, I made boot-cuffs. Have you ever heard of them? They go under fashion boots and give the look of legwarmers, they're pretty popular this year plus they are cute!!

I found a pattern for these from Vanessa at (crafting on a dime) and based the teal pair from it, then played around with different stitches combos.  If you'd like to try to make a pair of your own, here's the link:  http://seevanessacraft.com/2012/08/crafting-on-a-dime-diy-crochet-boot-cuff/

Vanessa made a very clear and lovely tutorial so it should be easy for a beginner to make their own. 

With this being my first Christmas, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't have my shop stocked as much as I would have liked, but I'll do better next year!  I'd love to get in a groove of preparing before each major holiday, I'd have to say that's my first New Years Resolution for my little shop!

*sigh* New Years Resolutions. Do you make them every year? I don't like to because I can never keep them! But goals are good for hobbies that happen to be business, so here's a list of some resolutions I'd like to accomplish this year: 

1.  Be prepared for the holidays

2.  Blog more frequently

3.  List a new design once a month

4.  Boost my shop's inventory to 50

5.  Create a business card design and get them printed! Start "branding"

6.  I'd like to do some giveaways (help! I'm not sure how to start this one!)

7.  Collaborate with other crafters,  Louise at http://loulovesthis.blogspot.com    has offered me this opportunity and I'm hopeing we can work out a plan soon.  I'd love to do something similar with another crafter. Be it amigurumi, plushies, dolls, etc. 

8.  Start running scheduled posts like Feature Fridays and What Caught my Eye Wednesdays

Last but certainly not least:

9.  Be true to myself - further develop my amigurumi and writing style

What are your goals for this year? 

If you have an Etsy shop or craft blog, are you making any specific goals? I'd love to hear your plans! 

Coming Soon:

Shop Update with two new animals to add to the collection!

Also, a shop update wouldn't be complete without a bunch of narwhals and whales! Stop by soon! 

~Denae