LLovely Llama +a New Lens

A friend of mine really likes llamas, so I decided to surprise her on her birthday with this crocheted llama

It was a good pattern, lots of little parts though. I think if I were to design it, I'd probably try and do more of a one piece design as sewing legs and ears and heads and a neck is a wee bit hard - plus I never seem to get them as symmetrical as I would like. Do you ever experience that?

But this pattern did include the making of eyebrows/eyelids - which I absolutely love. And want to incorporate in more of my future patterns!! Heck, I may even go back to add some to any that are laying around! Love them!

One other thing .. ( I sound like Columbo -for those of us old enough to remember) - didn't my photos turn out pretty good?  There is no retouching here - just some cropping. And, I even turned down the resolution just to make it load faster on this site. This is because  I finally got a new wide angle lens to replace the one I broke last year. With the help of a $100 Visa Christmas present and that fact that Jp went to the store and bought it for me. I would never have spend that much on myself, so I am very very happy that he made the executive decision for me! It is a very good lens.

He also bought me a bluetooth selfie stick to take pictures with my phone. You might see more of me than you want to  from now on! LOL!!

The Underside of a Dog

This is what it looks like when Eco is standing on a platform of playground equipment and I am below her:

Good thing she doesn't drool!!

At the end of the day

Here's a photo of my garden taken at dusk - kinda cozy isn't it? 

Little Snowman Hat

One of my customers just sent me the finished portrait of her sweet baby with my snowman tophat - it turned out very good don't you think?

I'm thrilled to pieces to be able to see one of my items "out there" in the world - just wait, my friends, one day I'll have something in a TV show or movie!!!

How to be photogenic

December means lots of different things for people - but for most people, no matter what religion, or country of origin it means get togethers. And with get togethers there is usually someone with a camera, especially now when the majority of us carry a cell phone that comes equipped with a camera. So, to better prepare yourself for all those bright flashes - you must read this article on how to be photogenic, and learn about a technique called 'squinching'.You'll thank me for it I'm sure.

Baby Snowmen are very popular!

A customer contacted me to make get my little snowman top hat with a red bow and a scarf as she wanted to recreate this photo: 

Today she sent me this photo (sorry I can't make it bigger than this) 

These little baby snowman hats are very popular, I think I've made about 6 of them so far, in different colours. I just shipped another one off today.

Lovely Photography

Here's a lovely photography collection by a photographer who's been taking photos of her grandma and her "odd eyed" cat for the past 13 years. The images show the complex bond between human and cat in a wonderfully poetic manner - enjoy.

Camera Ouch

While taking some photos outside, I had my camera hanging around my neck, mid photo my prop started to fall, so I reached forward so it wouldn't break, and although I thought I was mindful about my camera, I was not -

I broke the lens. Now it won't focus. This really, really sucks.

Anyone got $100 they're not doing anything with? 

Bunny Sling

Isn't this sweet? 

A local photographer asked me to make her a 'stork pouch' for baby portraits - she wanted a loop at the top so she could hang it from an old branch or fence. Before she put an actual baby in it, she took these lovely pictures with her pet rabbit.

Lovely Baby Portrait

My little blue baby baseball hat was used in a portrait recently, isn't this lovely?

I love the complimentary yellows with the blue. 

Happy Easter Weekend

If you've got some time to stroll through the interwebs, check out this photo collection  - Creepiest Easter Bunny photos, but don't blame me if you get nightmares....

The Joy of Instagramming

Okay, another video for you to enjoy this weekend:

Looking for a Little Mermaid

I just finished this little mermaid set which includes the tail, shell bra and starfish headband - now I just need a little mermaid to bring it to life!

The whole set

Closer view of the tail

Fin Detail

You need to see it in person because I think the yarn is absolutely perfect - it's a smooth strand, not really twisted, giving it a soft underwater effect and the blue/green transition is lovely. I just need to get some photographers to see it. And so making the items is only 1/2 of the work, the other half is the marketing and emailing it to potential buyers and getting exposure. And it really is about 1/2 the job.

Oh and if you're interested in making one for yourself, pattern credit goes to: www.BizeeB.etsy.com

It's a Bust

Remember when I was rushing to put together my collection for a photographer to pick out her fall photo props? (See this  post) I brought over 17 items and even had a baby to put them on and do a little modelling and there were about 5-7 items that she oohed and aahed  over and I thought things were good. Then she asked if I could leave them with her because her photographer friend was coming over the next day. "Mmm, okay" I said reluctantly thinking I could possibly get more sales. 

Nope. Didn't happen. When I  stopped by on Sunday to pick them up, she handed the bag back to me and only bought the pumpkin hat. It seems her friend must have talked her out of the other ones she liked.

So much for "raining & pouring"

Some Finished Projects

I switched it up a bit and made some baby headbands for the shop:

This one is my absolute favorite! Skunk or Kitty Ears. Do you know any newborns who would like an easy Halloween costume?

These don't have to be just for photography props, they can be worn anytime! Why not? 

Babies have personalities too, no? 

 I wonder if I can get them to stay on Eco's head? Would it be wrong for dogs to wear headbands? 

Two weeks ago Eco and I walked by a care facility which had some people sitting outside. A woman came over to us and asked to pet Eco  - which she did, and Eco exuberantly accepted all her attention with a wagging tail and attempts to lick her face.

Well it just so happened that we ended up walking by that building again this weekend but this time there were about 20 people all sitting outside - well wouldn't you know it, little Eco scanned the crowd and picked out that lady again who immediately called out "Hi Eco" and then came over to pet her again. Wow, pretty impressive that the woman remembered Eco's name a week later, and pretty impressive that Eco remembered her. Maybe I should reconsider getting her into some service work training - even though she's so very excitable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I made these two little top hats this past weekend for baby or pet portraits:

One for boys:

and one for girls: 

Maybe even a cute prop for New Year's pictures? 

Panda Baby

I couldn't resist making this adorable panda hat for babies for the next newborn photoshoot:

I think it's adorable.

My brother's going to get mad at me for saying this (too negative, he says) but I never like putting on ears or other parts like this as  I never seem to get them straight no matter how hard I try, but I think I finally got this one  - I only had to pick and resew an eye patch once, and remake the nose (it wasn't salvageable after I tried to unpick it). Now I can't wait to see it on a little baby's head!

And, if you'd like to see how to do it yourself, or compare what it should look like, then head on over the to the designer's blog KnitProCro (I just love that name!)

Finished piece is for sale in my Etsy shop, see sidebar at right for link and photo.

Advanced Style

This is awesome. This is a fashion blog featuring fashionable "older" ladies. It's nice to see them knock the fashion world out of the park, and it's nice to see fashion on ordinary people - not just on the runway or in a magazine and it's a nice break from seeing all the 20-something Kardashian/Snooky/fill-in-the-blank perfect little hot bodies running around town.

The bio on his blog states: My name is Ari Seth Cohen. I roam the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age

If you'd like to see some real fashion, then check out this blog: Advanced Style. And tell me what you think!

Mares Eat Oats, and Does Eat Oats* and Little Lamb Hats for Baby

We didn't have many family obligations this Easter weekend, but even though we had an extra day, I still didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I did finish a couple of the baby photography prop hats that I'm going to be putting in an Etsy store soon.

First up - a little lamb bonnet: 

Then there is this bee hat  - which needs a ribbon in it and I'm working on making a matching diaper cover. I think it will be adorable! 

How about a Hershey's Kiss? 

And then finally a baseball hat - which I'm still deciding how I'll embellish - maybe some letters?  

I need a baby model! It's not so much fun when they're not on a little head are they?

~~~~~

I also finished this scarf (I think I started it a year ago - scarves should not take a year to complete should they?) - Eco modeled this one for me:

**do you remember this song?

More Props for the Shop

I've been busy knitting and crocheting this weekend making some more baby photo props, here are two elfin hats :

I'm not entirely happy with these. I think I need to go back and practice changing colours in the round in crochet, so I consider them prototypes for now. ( see my last post, I did much better with the knitted one didn't I?) Also, I'm not sure if the stronger colours or the softer colours will look better in a baby photograph. The lavender one was made with a white sparkly yarn but it seems to look grey in the photo which I don't really like.  More research to be done!

I also made this bunny hat, which I'd also like to remake, perhaps with longer, better shaped ears:

I hate to a be Debby Downer, but I think they need to be near perfect if they are  going to be showcased next to someone's precious little newborn. I have lots more ideas of things to try - the only things slowing me down is my day job and my carpal tunnel, both a wee bit hard to ignore.

*********

It's been quiet around here since Jp had laser eye surgery earlier last week - this time he's not healing as fast and has also experienced some pain. Basically I just leave him alone because he's a wee bit grump (typical sick male, right ladies?). I did learn something though, this morning I asked him if he wanted breakfast and he said he didn't so I made myself some toast and eggs and then returned to the bedroom where I put my plate on my side of the bed, I then returned to the kitchen to put some things away and then went back to the bedroom to eat my breakfast in the comfort of the bed. But when I returned, the plate was empty and guess who was licking his lips? Gee it's not the dog I have to worry about, it's the husband!!!