Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I first would like to wish you all a safe and happy evening. Whether you're going around the neighborhood or to a Trunk or Treat, I hope you all have a great night. I will be taking only my son out trick or treating tonight. My junior in high school wants to go around the neighborhood with her friends.... sigh. She's getting so big. My freshman has a volleyball game tonight. Why the schools scheduled a volleyball game tonight baffles me. So, my husband and I will only have our little kindergartener with us. He won't mind too much since we will be going to his best friends house to hang out and trick or treat around their neighborhood.

Ok, back to the reason for this post.

A couple of weeks ago I received a message from a customer asking if I could make her a Cabbage Patch hat. A Cabbage Patch hat? I had no idea how she wanted me to make this so, she sent me a pic of a little baby in a box that was made to look like the box an actual Cabbage Patch doll came in. Came in? Comes in? Do they still sell them?? I don't think I have seen any since I was a little girl. Well, she just sent me a picture today of her little girl in her costume with the hat I made her.

She looks just like the dolls doesn't she? Awesome job to her mom, Rena Camargo!

My first afghan...

A few WEEKS ago, March 24th to be exact, I received another special request for a chevron blanket. I never made a blanket before so I thought, why not? A bit of back and forth conversation about size and color and I was off! This baby is 72" long and 50" wide. I just finished last night but I only worked on it off and on, here and there. I think it's GORGEOUS and is VERY warm. One of the benefits about working on a blanket is you can use it to cover your legs when you're cold. ;-)

I need to hurry up and get this mailed off cause my mom is trying to keep it. :-)

Special thanks to Kat for the request!

Bumble Bee's and Flower

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from one of my customers requesting a hat that she had pictured in her head. She drew me a little drawing of what she was thinking of. I wish I could share it with you but I wouldn't want to embarrass her since she was even a little embarrassed to even send it to me. It was a cute little drawing of a hat with little flowers and little bees buzzing around. After a few emails back and forth, we decided what the hat should look like.

Then, I let the magic of my hands and brain start creating.

 

When she had showed me her drawing with bee's, I immediately thought of these button bee's I had seen at the craft store. I told her about them to be as detailed as the buttons would have been. So I made tiny little crochet bee's which I think are too cute!

 

I sent her a picture of the final product and she responded with this, "Ha! It's so cute!!" 

When she came to pick it up she said, "Oh, it's even cuter in person! I know what my baby is wearing in her newborn pictures!"

I love to see reactions like that. :-)

Special thank you to Melanie!

Pikachu Hat

I got a message from an old school mate just the other day. She told me she made a trip to San Francisco where her husband had seen a Pikachu hat that he wanted to buy. She convinced him not to buy it and then came home and wrote me a message asking if I could do it. I looked online everywhere but could not find an acceptable Pikachu pattern that I would want representing me. I admit, I started to panic a little. I searched and searched and came upon this cool looking Pikachu made by Sasophie here. I tried contacting her to see if she might have a pattern for it. She didn't. :-( So I went along and made my own. :-)

 

My inspiration was of course Sasophia's pics. I think she did an awesome job as well. 

Oh! And special thank you to Leslie for not buying the Pikachu you saw in the store and buying it handmade from me. :-)

Baptism Booties

A couple of days ago, I was browsing Pinterest like I do EVERY night. I seem to be most creative at night while lying in bed and can't actually get up and do the ideas I think of. :-/ Anyway, I was browsing pins of my friends when I came across this caption...

"Gorgeous baby booties. DREA... please make these for my niece's baby blessing next month!!!"

"Drea" is my nickname. Short for Andrea. In case anyone cares. ;-)

Of course the gears in my brain started spinning. I had a new challenge.

After a bit of thinking, a couple of trial tests, and a trip to the store.... 

the challenge was complete.

 

Baptism Booties. I think these came out absolutely gorgeously! I am very happy with the outcome. The only bad thing is the availability of the buttons. I make things when ordered so I don't keep a big stock of supplies. Even if I wanted to, there's not a lot of inventory at the store. As a result of this, the buttons will very upon availability.

Special thanks to Maele for having enough confidence in me to get this project done. :-)

No Sew Fleece Blanket

My latest obsession has been making the "No Sew Fleece Blanket" seen all over Pinterest. I had first seen these blankets at one of my daughter's volleyball games. A couple of her teammates had them. Being the hands on creative person I am, I knew I could make one of these blankets as soon as I seen it. The idea had been in my mind for a couple of weeks and I also seen a pin on Pinterest about making one. I had clicked it and gave it a quick skim. I mistakenly did not pin it. Oops.

A few days later, I made a trip to Joann's craft store with my mom to buy some yarn. I thought I'd take a look around in the fabric section. There it was. THE volleyball pattern I had seen my daughter's teammates with. 

Challenge accepted. 

I came home and whipped it up in about an hour. I was so excited about it that I forgot to take pictures. Good thing I have TWO daughter's cause I went back a few days later to make another blanket for my oldest.

Here's what I did-

I bought1 1 1/2 yards each of a fleece pattern and a coordinating color and a nifty new pair of fabric scissors.

Next, I laid both colors one on top of the other and cut off any excess fabric and the border.

I then found the center of a side and made about a 4 inch slit.

Then, I started making about 1 inch wide cuts down the whole left side of the slit. I've seen some people using rulers to make more uniformed cuts but if you want to live dangerously like me, just eyeball it. That's what I did. 

When I got to the corner, I cut off about 3 little flaps making a square of empty space.

Finally, I just began tying knots all the way across to the middle.

Continue cutting and tying the other half of the side and all around the blanket and you're done!

SUPER EASY!

Here's a pic of the first blanket I made with the volleyball pattern.

Have fun and don't be afraid to try it! :-)

R2D2 Hat

A long time ago, in a glaxay far, far away......

I received an email from a wonderful customer requesting a new hat that I have not made before, R2D2. She sent me a picture of what she wanted but asked if I could make it in a newborn size. After looking online at many ideas, I finished it.

I wonder what super cool baby she wants this for? I'll have to ask her. :-)

Don't forget to like me on facebook, Nicole Ann Designz

Big thanks to Lauren for making this special request. :-)

Crochet Owl Tissue Box Cover

About 1 month ago, a friend from High School pinned something on Pinterest (of course) with the caption, "Owl Tissue Box Cover. Andrea... I NEED this!!!! :) -Kat". She's one of the few people I talk to regularly on Facebook. Awesome mother and woman she is. Quick shout out to Kat King! Listen to her beautiful voice here and go like her fan page here. Okay, back to the topic at hand. I saw the post and immediately HAD to do it because 1- she asked and 2- it was so stinking cute!

Here is my version:

 

I got the original idea from Our Seven Dwarfs blog,  here. :-)

Turned out great and now my bathroom is more colorful and fun. Be sure to like me on Facebook, HERE if you'd like to order one of these cuties and to stay updated.

Big thanks to Kat for "NEEDING" this cover. ;-)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

A few months ago I came across a pin for "Homemade Laundry Detergent" on Pinterest. I thought about doing it so I pinned it and then like many other pins, I forgot about it..... until a few days ago.  We were running low on laundry detergent and I had told my husband about the pin I seen and how I wanted to try it.

He laughed.

Well, that's all I needed to get the fire lit under my butt! I was now determined. A strange coincidence was that I was looking on Facebook and my sister had a post of how she just made homemade laundry detergent! This was just meant to be.

The very next day, after dropping my son off at school, I made a trip to Target. I found everything but Zote soap and Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. I sent a text to my sister asking where she found her stuff. Walmart. Ugh! She said she found everything but Borax so, I bought that from Target and traveled over to Walmart and picked up everything left on my list.

This is what you need:

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (This is optional but was highly recommended)

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (I chose to do pink for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels Naptha)

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle (You could also get two 2 lb box, I couldn’t find the larger 4lb box when we went)

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- Found in the detergent aisle (This is 100% optional)

 

The hardest and most time consuming part of this recipe is grating the Zote Soap. If you're lucky enough to have a food proccessor... USE IT! Otherwise, like me, you will have to grate it by hand. Use the fine side (the side you would use to grate garlic or ginger).

 

Pretty huh? It smells really good and made me even more excited I was doing this. After I was done with that, I went on a search for a large bucket. I knew my husband had one somewhere in the garage. I moved a few boxes and tools and VOILA! I found it!

 

The instructions say to pour all ingredients in a layering matter. So I did. Mix it along the way cause once everything is in, it's hard to get the stuff on the bottom. Perhaps if I had a top, I could have rolled the bucket around to mix everything together but, I didn't. I used a large serving spoon to mix. 

 

As you can see, this makes A LOT.  Now for the best part…you only need 1-2 Tablespoons per load depending on the size. Yup, that's right! 1-2 Tablespoons per load. Another good thing is that if you decided to use the Purex Crystals in your batch, you can scoop the detergent right into your bottle and use the cap as your measuring spoon. There are 3 lines on the side of the cap and the middle one is approximately 2 Tablespoons. The only thing I don't like about this idea is that the Zote Soap shavings kind of get in the way of the spout when pouring. I think I will plan on buying one of those really big glass jars to put everything in (also seen on Pinterest).

That's it! You're finished. It smells WONDERFUL. I put the remaining detergent in my laundry room which is right next to my garage entrance. Every time I walk in from the garage, I take a deep breath and smile. Mission accomplished.

Here is the link to the original directions that I followed:
http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent/

Baby Boy Blanket

An old friend of mine is having a baby shower soon and I wanted to do something special. What's more special than something handmade? Nothing! I had never made a blanket before and my husband went to play basketball with some friends so, I had some free time to give it a try. The majority of my yarn colors are in shades of blue. Why? I have no idea. I had never noticed until I decided to make this blanket.

I think it came out so nice. The blue's match perfectly with the brown. It took me about 3 day's to finish. I worked on it off and on when I wasn't busy with being a mommy. I can't wait for the baby shower! :-)

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Baby boy "Sailor Shoes"

One of the most popular things I sell are the baby shoes. They are small, cute, and irresistible. Women fuss over them when I'm at craft fairs and can't believe that I can make them. They make me smile and wish that I knew how to crochet when my kids were little enough to wear them.... sigh. Okay, enough reminiscing. Back to the shoes. I was thinking about a new style to add to the shoe collection. These are the baby  boy "Sailor Shoes".

 

I decided to use a brown color cause they reminded me of the loafer shoes that men wear. I can make these in 0-6 months and 6-12 months and also in other colors.

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Hat for my husband

My husband has been bugging me for months to make him a hat. It's not that I didn't want to make him one, it's that I couldn't think of a good enough design for him. He's kind of picky. ;-) I wanted something better than a plain one colored hat even though that's probably what he would wear the most. I guess I was over thinking it, which I don't think is such a bad thing because that's when creativity can be at it's best. I think.

This is what came of it. I like the warm colors, the way it fits, the different sizes of the stripes, how it keeps my head warm... wait... who was I making this for again?

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Bearded Man in Adult

Along with the Minnie Mouse Diaper set, I was asked about the famous "Bearded Man Hat". I don't know if you have seen these but they are hilarious and quite popular. I have made one but only in a child's size cause I figured not too many adults would want something like that..... WRONG. I've had a few requests but, with the winter season, I was so busy that I could not get around to making it. Now that Christmas is over and I had another request for it, I decided to get it done.

***I had a request for a different colored hat. (below)***

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Minnie Mouse Diaper Cover Set

This week I had another special request for a Minnie Mouse diaper cover set. I had never done one of these before but after a little research on the internet, I decided to take the challenge. What gave me the final push was a post on Facebook of a lady selling what I thought was the perfect hot pink color for the set. 

This is how it turned out - 

 

Rather cute if I do say so myself. I can't wait to see how this looks on the baby!

Big thanks to Suzan for making this request. :-)

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Minnie Mouse ver.2

I received a text this weekend from one of my wonderful customers asking if I could make her a hat that she had pictured in her head. She sent me two examples of the hat and told me each part that she wanted to use and what she wanted changed. After MANY texts, confusion, and laughter of trying to understand what she wanted, we came up with this...

This is the version of Minnie Mouse that she had pictured in her head. Another example of how customer's input and ideas help me make my business better everyday. Thank you Johanna! :-)

The Lorax

I saw this pic on..... I'll give you one guess..... PINTEREST, of course! I pinned to my "Crochet Ideas" board. It's an open board that I let my friends and family pin things to, to help me get ideas. Thank you friends! Someone had pinned this pic and right away, I was in love. So, last night, I thought I'd give it a go.

Here's my try at it. -

I think he came out rather cute if I do say so myself. :-) If you're interested in buying one, send me an email to NicoleAnnDesignz@gmail.com. $15 for kids and $18 for teens/adults.

Dirty Makeup Brushes

I saw this post on Pinterest the other day about how to clean your makeup brushes. I know many people have probably pinned it as well and let it slip their minds. Well, NOT ME! I wanted to try it. I love trying things on Pinterest. I get A LOT of idea's from there. Who doesn't now a days? :-)

Lets get started shall we?

I first gathered all my makeup brushes together and took a nice pic for you all to see how dirty they were. To be honest, I don't even know when the last time I cleaned my brushes was so, you can just imagine how dirty they were.

Next, I got all the ingredients together to make the concoction.
1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon of Dawn BLUE liquid dish soap. I know there are many dish soaps out there but, for some reason, Dawn BLUE liquid dish soap is the one I see most recommended for cleaning things. I guess it's just awesome?

Give it a little swirl to mix it all up.

I then dipped and swirled each brush one by one into the cleaner and rinsed them off with warm water.
Finally, I squeezed as much water out as I could, reshaped them, and laid them out to dry.

This is what the cleaner looked like after.

Eeewww! Chocolate milk anyone? lol! The first brush I laid down, I had smelled first. I read that this was suppose to make your brushes smell good as well. Even with the vinegar, the brush did smell pleasant. You're suppose to let the brushes dry overnight so don't do this right before you're planning to put makeup on. I will let you all know tomorrow how they turned out. Finger's crossed. :-)

NEXT DAY-

Brushes feel super soft. Just like new. The only thing is I still smell the vinegar a tad bit but, it doesn't bother me.

Minnie Mouse in Pink

I received an email a couple of days ago requesting for me to do a Minnie Mouse hat in pink. I usually do her in red being that is the traditional way. Anyway, I was excited to do it. I like getting requests for other colors/styles. People's input on things help me build my business and make it even better. :-)

Here is a pic of the final product. I am really pleased at how it came out. I love the contrast of the soft pink with the hard black and I added this to my hats available to buy.