More of Cutesy the Elf 2021

Cutesy with Boogs in 2011 and Cutesy with Boogs in 2021

Cutesy is having fun sneaking around the house each night. Here are his latest elf antics:

Cutesy must have gotten confused, he brought a haunted house instead of a gingerbread house.

Cutesy knows that Boogs has enjoyed watching Seinfeld. Kramer's beach scented cologne is one of Boogs' favorite episodes.

So, Cutesy brought Boogs some Salt Air Scented soap.

The soap came from World Market and was originally labeled "for the workaholic", Cutesy changed its name to "The Beach by Cosmo Kramer".

Cutesy found all of our old holiday books and made himself a reading corner.

Cutesy and the Potato Head family were playing a holiday game this morning.

I guess Cutesy was tired this day, he was just chilling on the tree.

Cutesy showed up with a Christmas movie emoji game. Some of these movie titles were really difficult to figure out. Cutesy found the print out HERE.

Cutesy dug deep into our old craft cabinet and found our Perler beads. He left an elf template for Boogs to create. Cutesy found the template HERE.

Awww... Cutesy found a new hedgehog shirt for Boogs. The hedgehog on the shirt looks almost like our hedgehog, Nebraska. It has a little bit darker coloring.

We think Nebraska is the most adorable hedgehog in the world!

Cutesy was hiding with a little package of Christmas cookies this morning. He is sitting inside the game Boogs made his dad for Christmas when he was in 5th grade.

These Flamingo Flingers were a ton of fun.

We set up targets around the house and played with them for days!

Cutesy was hiding with a Christmas puzzle sheet this morning.

Cutesy looked so cute and innocent holding a little wooden box for Boogs.

Uh-ho! It was a tricky spider box. There was a free donut voucher under the spider. Boogs jumped a teeny tiny bit when he opened it.

Cutesy was lying in wait with a whole bunch of new Nerf ammo and a little elf friend this morning. 

Eventually, Boogs used some of the ammo to take out the little elf and Cutesy so he could declare himself winner of this battle.

Cutesy decided to get even by blocking Boogs in his room with a giant tree-ish balloon sculpture. Cutesy knows that you can use a low temp hot glue gun on ballons without fear of them popping or melting.

Cutesy looked pretty pleased with himself this morning.

We sure are enjoying our Cutesy the Elf visits this year. What have your elves been up to lately?

Only 6 more wake-ups until Cutesy heads back to the North Pole.

If you want to see over 200 other visits from Cutesy, you can find them on his Pinterest board HERE.

Cutesy the Elf Returns 2021

 Cutesy the Elf has returned for his 11th year with our family. Boogs let me know that Cutesy is a family tradition and should not be abandoned. Boogs is now 15-years-old. We are happy to have Cutesy back for another year.

Cutesy returned by bringing breakfast.

Cutesy brought a page in French for Boogs to translate. Boogs is in French class in high school.

We found Cutesy playing a holiday game with the Potato Head family.

Cutesy was a little confused this morning. He brought a haunted house kit instead of the usual gingerbread house he brings each year.

Who knew Cutesy was such an artist. He showed up with a teeny 2.5 inch canvas painting of a snowman and a tree. He brought two blank canvases for Boogs to use

So far, we have enjoyed Cutesy's visit this year. He hasn't gotten up to too much mischief. 

If you want to see over 200 other visits from Cutesy, you can find them on his Pinterest board HERE.

Crocheting Cactus Families and Farm Animals

 I had a request to make a cactus family for a baby shower. I used several cactus patterns from the book Whimsical Stitches by Lauren Espy.

I made a daddy saguaro cactus, a baby barrel cactus, and a mommy prickly pear cactus. After looking at the little grouping, I decided it needed a little color. I added a cactus bloom to the mommy cactus. Now, it is finished.

A friend saw the picture of the cactus family and asked if I could make one for her family. She wanted all of the cactus in one pot. I didn't want to go out and buy a terra cotta pot, so I crocheted one. Her cactus family has two cactus kids.

Another friend asked for a hen & chick and a pig. The pig pattern is adapted from the Whimsical Stitches book.  The chicken pattern is from Amigurumi Space.

I could not understand why she laughed so hard when I delivered her farm animals. It turns out she wanted the succulent plant called a hen and chick.

Ooops! I have four crochet projects I am currently working on. It may be a while before I attempt to make this plant.

My mother-in-law has asked for three crochet dogs. I have just about finished the first of the three. I still need to add the eyes. It is going to be for a toddler, so I need to crochet the eyes instead of using plastic ones. I am still trying to decide if I want the dog to be awake or sleeping. I found the pattern on Ravelry. It is called The Dreaming Beagle Oskar by Marivan Crochet.

One of my unfinished projects is this elf doll. I love the way the head turned out! I found the pattern by Julie on  Heart & Sew.

I finished the body and legs but really did not like the way they looked. I am going to find a different body pattern for this head. I am not in a hurry because I have until Christmas to finish it. This was the first time I have tried to make curly hair. I think it looks so cute.

What is on your hooks or needles?

Custom Crochet Horse

I love to crochet. I started crocheting in February and started selling pieces by April. Recently, a friend asked if I could crochet a horse doll to match a picture of her friend's horse. I didn't know if I could do it, but I gave it a try. 

The picture I was given.

I searched for horse patterns and found this one on the Free Amigurumi Blog. 

It looked pretty close to the picture I was sent, so I decided to use it. I changed the pattern on the face to match the picture better. 

I tried to make the far back leg pattern match.

Overall, I think it turned out pretty close to the picture.

After I finished it, I realized it was missing something.

I added a blue saddle blanket to complete the look. The saddle, saddle blanket, and the bridle can all be removed. The neck is not quite as stiff as I would have liked, but I did not want to use any wire inside because this horse is being given as a baby shower gift.

What do you think? Is is a close match?  

Crochet Freediver

 I showed my friend the scuba diver I crocheted and she loved it. 

She insisted that I make one for her daughter who is a freediver. She kept saying, "I commission you to make one for me." It was funny. She did not stop saying that until I told her I would try to make one. She asked me to change the hair and eye color to brown, to make the wetsuit black, and to make the accessories turquoise. She also said to make sure it had big lips. As a freediver, the doll would not need a scuba tank and vest but would need a snorkel. 

It was soooo much easier to make this doll the second time. I felt like I knew what I was doing. Luckily, I had saved my handwritten notes (on this pattern from AmiLovesGurumi) showing how I'd changed the first scuba diver from the pattern of a frog to the pattern of a human head. I think the freediver has a much better nose than the first one.

I really struggled with how to make a snorkel. I could not find a pattern for it and was unsure how to crochet the mouthpiece. I remade the mouthpiece twice and the snorkel tube four times before I felt like it look correct. 

After finally figuring out the snorkel, I felt like the doll was missing something. I whipped up a little weight belt for it and it completed the look. The weight belt can be unbuttoned and removed. The little gray weights can also be removed from the belt. I left the hair long and untrimmed so my friend could cut it to match the length of her daughter's hair. I really like the way it turned out. I bought about $10 worth of supplies to make it. Now, I just have to decide how much to charge for the doll. 

I had a different friend request a beagle to give as a baby shower gift. 

I found three amazingly adorable beagle patterns and had to buy all three. (One, Two, Three) All three patterns were less than $15 and I know I will be making and eventually selling all three. When I showed them to her, my friend chose the first little puppy. She asked me to add pads to the bottom of his paws. I chose to make them pink. I think they make this puppy look even more adorable.

It is so hard for me to figure out how much to charge for these creations. If I didn't have to support my crafting habit / budget, I would give them all away for free. 

I am currently looking for some cute Christmas patterns to make and sell at craft shows in the late Fall. What amigurumi Christmas items do you think people would want to purchase?