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