Cabbage Patch Kid Inspired Crochet Hats

Light Brunette

Oh my goodness. It has been too long since I last posted. I promise I have a really good reason. My crochet Cabbage Patch Inspired crochet hats went internationally viral a few weeks ago from Etsy and Ravelry. It was totally unexpected! I had no idea they would ever get so much attention! It's just crazy. That's all I keep telling people when they ask me about it. Just crazy.  But it has been a really fun ride. (If you are interested in purchasing a hat or pattern, you can find links and info at the bottom of this entry).

First of all, I've got to thank the customer who took the photo of this little girl and sent it to me and allowed me to send it to all of the media that called me asking for photos to use in articles. No, she is not my daughter. She is the daughter of one of my customers, one whom I have never met. And as adorable as the little girl is in the photo (she IS sooooo cute), I am so dumb when it comes to marketing that when I used it on my listings in my Etsy shop and elsewhere I always put it as the last photo on the page as my "example" photo. It's been that way for months. But finally I saw that photo coming up on my Pinterest boards--not pinned from me, but that others had found the photo and pinned it to their boards, hence my photo showing up in my Pinterst feed!

Light Brunette

A few days after that happened I received a message from a reporter in the UK asking for an interview who had apparently found the photo of the little girl on Facebook and wanted to do a story. I was totally shocked! And on the weekend of June 18, the article was published online in The Daily Mail and in some of their other associated news sources. I had no idea what in the world was about to happen next, nor was I prepared for the overwhelming response from potential customers from all over the world who were asking for orders.

Light Brunette

After the Daily Mail article I received numerous calls and emails for interviews, from MSNBC  for NBC's Today Show's Parenting Blog, and ABC's Good Morning America/Yahoo News and many more! I did every interview I possibly could that week--but with the stress of all of the attention it was wearing on my pregnancy and I am so sorry for those people I had to turn down for an interview. I really did want to do an interview--but my little baby girl was wearing me down!


There were many other articles published even without an interview, and it was shocking to how far and quickly my quirky hats spread!  Some people raved about my hats, some thought they were creepy. Either way, I thought many of the articles were hilarious and I had so much fun finding, reading, and sharing them around. The Huffington Post, Perez Hilton, Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Houston Chronicle, to even this hilarious (and one of my faves) YouTube report from OneMinuteNews by Keri Lumm (so should I send a hat to Kim and Kanye, or even the Duchess and the Prince? Now THAT would be wild!)

One thing I do want to clarify after reading some mis-information published in a few of the articles is that to all of you other ladies that created their own versions of Cabbage Patch crochet hats before I did, some of the articles made it sound like I thought all of your hats were ugly or even one place considered them a "lesser effort". Those were their terms and not mine. I don't think for a second that your work is below par. In fact--yours looks like today's Cabbage Patch Kids. From all of the photos I've seen on Etsy and Pinterest the work you all are doing is of high quality and really is adorable!  I think it was the ABC News and Christian Post articles that demonstrated more clearly that I really did think everyone else's work was just the cutest thing! I simply set out to design a different hat that looked like the 80s version Cabbage Patch Kid dolls like I had as a kid. After shopping around recently trying to find CPK dolls still in stores, it's clear that the hats you all created look much more like today's CPK dolls. I guess my hats are the "retro" version? :)  I wish you all the best on the sales of your patterns and hats. I do not in any way want to detract from your work or business in your hats, and I'm very sorry if some of the things that came across in the articles hurt your feelings. It was certainly not my intention, nor my the way I felt about your work.  Keep doing what you love, my crochet sisters!

Bright Blonde

Red

Custom Made Hat Information
All hats are hand made.
Your choice of hair and ribbon colors.
Hair color: Light Brunette, Dark Brunette, Bright Blonde, Sandy Blonde, Red, Black
Ribbon colors: Over a dozen to choose from
0-12 Month Size  $30
13-24 Month Size $35
Child Size (Age 2 years+) $38
Teen & Adult Size $40
Want to make one yourself? Purchase the pattern at Etsy or on Ravelry for $5.99.

Glitter Wine Glasses

 Glitter Wine Glasses

The glitter wine glasses are back! Finally!

I first made a set of these from a pair of yard sale wine glasses. I posted them for sale in my Etsy shop last year and they were super popular among treasury lists. They finally sold in March, and I have no idea why it took me so long to make them again!  I just love the glitz.

Want to make a pair for yourself? It's easy! Find the glassware you want (I like to shop at Ross) and use Martha Stewart's Multi-Surface Glitter acrylic craft paint. The color Sunburst Gold has been my favorite so far. Then grab a brush and go to work! You can paint the base or the sides, or the stem...anything is possible! Once you've painted until your heart is content and the paint is dry then bake the glassware on a 175-200 degree oven (in a pan and on top of parchment paper) for 20-30 min. The bake time helps cure the glitter and the paint to the glass better in my opinion.

A few word of advice, though.

#1 The glitter density in this paint is very thin. It took many coats and I tried to keep the coats thick. It took half of a 2 oz bottle to make one pair of glasses. Make sure to let it dry completely between coats.

#2 Be sure not to let the paint touch any of the drinking areas (lip area, and especially not inside the glass). The paint is non-toxic but it's better to be safe than sorry.

#3 The color does change in the oven. I first tried making glasses using a beautiful midnight blue glitter paint. But after curing in the oven some of the blues changed into an irridescent green tint. It still looked pretty cool, but I really was hoping for the blue color to stay. I can imagine that with some experimentation with paints you could make some really cool looking glasses with variable irridescent colors! The paint bottle says that you can cure the paint by leaving it to dry for 21 days, but I'm not usually that patient and that is why the oven cure comes into play. If you want to be sure the color does not change then you might want to go this route instead.

#4 The paint bottle says that after curing 21 days (out of the oven) the paint is safe to put in the dishwasher on the top shelf only. I've not tried doing this, even after doing an oven cure on the paint like I mentioned above. I tell customers to hand wash the glasses. But if you're brave enough to go that route, you probably can!

Peter Pan Crochet Collar

Crochet Peter Pan Collar in Misty Taupe

Naturally Caron Spa yarn is one of my most favorite yarns. It is a bamboo blend yarn and everything I make with it is so soft, yet has a gorgeous sheen to it. All of my little projects end up looking polished when I work with it compared to other yarns I use.

Since I use it a lot, I always have scraps of it lying around. Gathering some inspiration from Pinterest and my border stitch books I decided to make a Peter Pan collar out of this beautiful Misty Taupe color.  I created this pattern from experimentation and random ideas I found in my crochet border books, but I never wrote my final pattern down.

I am so happy with the finished product! The color and the pattern really shaped this collar into something that looks like an heirloom piece.  It can be worn loosely or it can be sewn to the neck of another shirt, dress, or cardigan. Some people wear them much like a necklace. The button can be placed in the back and worn that way as well! So much versatility!

I have a lot more scraps of this yarn in other shades. Now the dilemma is if I should recreate this collar in other colors, or if I should create a different pattern for each color? Hmm.....

 

Crochet Chunky Bib Necklace

So I've finally figured out what to do with more of that cool remnant jersey knit yarn I bought on Etsy. I  crocheted it into a chunky bib necklace.  Check it out! I'm in LOVE with it!

Crochet Chunky Bib Necklace

It took me an evening to figure out just the right pattern to make it curve gracefully and lie flat.  After I finally crocheted the necklace I realized it needed something......more.  Something with pizazz. So I raided my tools and supplies. Eventually I made it into my husband's accessory drawer (which mostly consists of belt buckles, knives, and cuff links. I found this chain that he bought from the Inch of Gold table on our cruise several years ago. He had never worn it--not even once! So I snatched it and had some fun weaving and stitching it into my necklace. 

When I had finished I showed it to my husband, who had no idea that I had stolen his chain. When he finally figured it out, he wasn't upset (thankfully). I think he realized it looked cooler on the necklace than around his own neck!

So now I've got a little bit of chain left--I MUST attempt a bracelet with it! 

Hmmm. Now I want to make more of these.  Guess I'm off to shop for supplies!!

                                      

Glitter Wine Glasses

          Aren't these fabulous?

Last fall I decided to turn a pair boring wine glasses into a spectacular pair for special occasions. So, of course, I started out with looking for ideas on Pinterest. After looking a number of ideas and tutorials I finally decided to experiment on my own.

The hardest part was finding a set of glitter paints that were non-toxic, bake-able, and would not change color after being baked onto the glassware. I found after some experimentation that no matter what, the glitter would change color and tone during the baking process. But I lucked out with some gold paint that happened to change to a prettier color than the original color! (That's the trick of this project!) And even though I could find non-toxic glitter paints, they were still recommended not to be "food safe," which meant that I needed to keep the paint low enough to not  cross over the area of the glass people would touch with their mouths.

It took me a couple of days to apply the paint. It took nearly 10 coatings. And it was important to let each coat of paint dry completely before beginning the next coat.

The baking process was fairly easy. I put the glasses on a parchment lined sheet pan and baked them at 200 degrees, checking and rotating them them every 10-20 minutes until the paint was uniform in color and appeared to be adhered to the glass.  It is a smelly process and be prepared to air out your kitchen and oven after the process is over. You will not want that smell baked into what you are making for dinner!

I was very surprised that my glasses became super-popular on Etsy. I only sold one pair, but while it was listed it was featured in many, many treasuries and had thousands of views! I'm debating on making some more for the fall and re-listing them in my shop. However, with the pregnancy right now I'm not sure if I want to  be inhaling the paint fumes until after the baby arrives (and she is spending the afternoon with Grandmother and Granddaddy!). So perhaps I will wait until October....

Happy Crafting!

Cabbage Patch Crochet Hats for the Children's Hospital

Here is the photo from one of my customers on Etsy. She purchased my Cabbage Patch Kid Inspired Crochet Hat pattern and shared this photo with me and told me that she is making and sending more hats to her local children's hospital as gifts for the kids suffering from cancer. What an amazing story! I'm sure those kids are getting a kick out of her hats! What a wonderful demonstration of love. Thank you, Monacaom, for being such a blessing to those dear children! God bless!

Cabbage Patch Kid Inspired Crochet Hat pattern 

(Copyright 2013)

Fun Summer Scarves

Scarves are now fashionable for any time of year! Even the summer!

Recently I found a shop that was selling remnant jersey-knit fabric from a clothing manufacturer. The remnant fabric was sold in long, thin strips and was perfect to be considered like a bulky yarn. I was intrigued and started imagining all of creative possibilities!

When the yarn arrived I was so excited and got right to work. My first creations with these yarns are some light-weigh t-shirt scarves.

Nautical T-Shirt Infinity Scarf                Blue T-Shirt Infinity Scarf

Of course, I made one of each of these for myself. I've worn each of them several times this past week, and I get the most compliments on them! "What a cool scarf!" "You MADE that?" "Those would make really cool gifts for my friends!"

Hmm. But now I need some more ideas on what to make with them. I can crochet or knit with them, too. Maybe a beach bag? Maybe chunky bracelets?  I think I'll turn some of them into chunky knit cowls this fall, too! Any other ideas?

For My Baby Girl

I'm pregnant!  I know that may not be so exciting to everyone. But this is my first pregnancy, and my husband and I had a really tough time trying to start a family. After months of trials and heartbreak, God answered our prayers in January 2013. A few months later we found out we are having a girl!

I'm so excited! And she's already wrapped around my husband's, dad's, mom's, and my brother's finger.  So what was the first thing I did when I found out it was a girl? Decorate the nursery? Go by an adorable outfit? Pick out a name?  Nope.

I raided all of my cute baby girl things from my Etsy shop that I had posted for sale and put them in the nursery closet.  So I thought I'd kickstart my newest blog by showing off all of the items I've "stolen" from my Etsy shop for my baby girl.

                   

 The Angel Wings Pinafore by Maxine Gonser  

in Naturally Caron Spa "Black" and "Clay Pot" Yarns

 Frill Edged Cardigan by Nicki Trench

in Naturally Caron Spa "Stormy Blue" Yarn

Crochet Crown for Girls by Amanda Lillie (that's me!)

in Lion Brand Vanna's Glamour "Platinum" Yarn

A Pattern from Sweet Baby Dresses in Crochet by Lisa Naskrent

in Naturally Caron Spa "Greensleeves" and "Misty Taupe" Yarns

A Baby Girl bracelet I made using Swarovksi Crystals, seed beads, 

satin ribbons, and Sterling Silver settings.