Child-directed crafting

Johnny’s been sick and/or grumpy because of teething for the past few weeks, and sort of as a result we haven’t done a ton of organized crafting. Emma decided to solve the problem by coming up with some crafts of her own. Sunday she found this pattern and asked me to crochet this small orange ball for her. She was actually quite the taskmistress until I finished it. Yesterday during Johnny’s nap she asked for beads and pipe cleaners, which she used to make these:

I think they were originally supposed to be necklaces, but when she realized how small they were she decided to turn them into collars for her stuffed animals. Here is a picture of her hard at work:

I really enjoy seeing her come up with ideas of her own, especially when they are ideas that she can also execute on her own!

Happy Easter!

Made using a pattern from this book.

Mamafamilias’s crocheted finger puppets

I’ve had felt finger puppets on my “to do” list for a long time. Then I came across Mamafamilias’s Etsy shop and fell in love with her crocheted puppets. Mamafamilias very kindly emailed me the patterns for her finger puppets for free, and I finished my first one this morning. Here are a couple (unfortunately not very high-quality) pictures:

I didn’t have the right size of crochet hook, so the dimensions are a little off. I also left off the whiskers (because I didn’t think to leave room for them when I added the face) and didn’t get the ears quite right – these ears are more tiger-cub-like than adult-tiger-ish. I’m fine with that – I think baby tigers are cute – but it’s not true to the pattern I was sent.

Don’t crochet? Mamafamilias currently has tiger, pig, bunny, horse, rooster, chicken, and dog finger puppets up for sale in her Etsy shop. Her finger puppets cost between $2 and $4 apiece, and she also sells hats and stuffed turtles.

Blank Book and Another Monkey

I got some small stickers and sticker books as favors for Emma’s birthday party. The sticker books are just small sheets of waxy paper stapled together with a cute cover. I never would have considered them toys in their own right, but Emma has had a blast with Johnny’s sticker book. She spends hours “reading” it, pointing out illustrations and telling story after story. It just goes to show that you can never get too simple with toys.

Here is Emma, showing off her magical book:

And reading the book to her (newly finished this morning) amigurumi monkey. This monkey is much smaller than the other one, and so took less time to make. I also think it’s cuter – but I find that I always consider smaller cuter.

Here are both kids playing with their monkeys. I’m so glad I discovered this book of amigurumi patterns – these toys are cute, cuddly, and easy to make.

Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet

 

I should start by saying that I have very limited crochet skills. I’ve always stayed away from counted crochet because, while I may be good at math, I can’t count and crochet to save my life.

Then I came across Ana Paula Rimoli's Amigurumi World, and decided that the animals in it were cute enough to make counting stitches worth my while. I randomly picked the monkey, which turned out (I think) to be the biggest animal in the book – this guy is over 10 inches tall! I think I’ll stick with the smaller animals from here on out, but big was good in a way since I didn’t have any tiny details to worry about as I re-learned how to single crochet (for the umpteenth time). There are clear illustrations on how to make each stitch at the front of the book, and this guy required only basic stitches.

The book uses small buttons for eyes, but since my kids are still small I embroidered them on instead to eliminate any choking hazards.

Looks like I’ve acquired a new hobby :)