Adventures in Sports Photography

I definitely don't claim to be a photographer by any means but I do enjoy taking pictures. So when I realized our local youth sports photographer wasn't doing soccer this year I was on a mission. The only digital camera I own is a basic point and shoot. It's perfect for most things that I take pictures of but not for soccer. Thanks to my fantastic best friend KnitVicious she let me borrow her camera. And I don't think they turned out that bad. Thank goodness for the cropping tool in Photoshop. Now if I only I had a camera of my own...

Banner Numero Dos

Well here it is in all of it's glory...banner #2! And now I'm done. I think it turned out pretty cute. It matches their socks which are white with green and pink polka dots. Why are they called polka dots? Just wonderin'. It was actually quite fun and I am proud of them. Plus it doesn't hurt that right now my kids think I'm super talented and ultra cool. Believe me I'm loving that because I know it won't be long before they realize I'm not cool and that I'm just Mom.

D'yer Banner Maker

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.... So being the "crafty" and suddenly super involved Mom that I am I opened my big mouth and offered to make the team banners for the girls' soccer teams this year. It actually has been quite fun but I of course keep thinking of more things to put on the banner. The thing that you can't quite see in the picture is that it sparkles. I hand glued several sequins onto the seaweed and glittered up the coral and shells. I think I sparkle now. So here is my first one and when the second one is done I shall post a picture of it too.
You don't have to go oh, oh, oh, oh...

Monsters, Pigs and Bunnies Oh My!

Clo has a birthday party coming up and since we decided it would be just a few friends over for a sleepover I figured I could hand make a couple of their party favors rather than buy some crap at the Dollar Store. We decided that since we will be watching College Road Trip I would crochet some pigs. If you have seen previews for the film you will understand the connection. Luckily I had plenty of Red Heart Super Saver acrylic so I didn't even have to buy yarn.
Of course on our journey to find patterns for things to crochet Clo stumbled upon this item and really wanted one. Well I have plenty of Fun Fur from years gone by so I thought why not. Well let me tell you why not.. Fun Fur and crochet don't mix. But I made it about half the size it was supposed to be and made the back with another label less yarn that I've had forever. The result is Clo's new monster named Violet.
I also remembered that my little sister's birthday is coming up so I thought she should have something too. And yes she is literally my little sister, she is only turning 10. I found this unbelievably adorable bunny in a dress and knew it was for her. It's going to be hard to keep her out of my garden until M's party.
So to say the least I have embraced crochet as a summer fling. I'm sure I'll be knitting again soon, Lils really wants a cadet cap so if there are any suggestions for a pattern I would love it.

I LOVE Pirates!!!

So when I realized that Bean was having a pirate birthday I knew I had to make this little pirate for her. Of course the pattern was a boy pattern but that was an easy fix.

I think I may have to make several more now though. Clo and Lils each want one and I think Bean's mom may have been a little more excited about her than Bean.

Bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs...

Yesterday was so much fun!! Chloe was in a school production called Goin' Buggy. It's a really cute musical about bugs' rights. So her teacher asked me if I would do the makeup, OF COURSE I WOULD!! After my stupid job lay off I've been a little bitter towards the whole makeup industry and don't get me wrong I still am but doing makeup again was so much fun. I planned for a couple of weeks designed and tested looks on my kids. I think Chloe had glitter in her eyebrows that she couldn't get out no matter how many showers she took. But it all came together yesterday with some fantastic help from KnitVicious and my friend Allison. My fireflies glowed in the dark, my ladybugs were sassy, rocker bugs were rockin', honeybees were sweet and butterflies were pretty. I think it was a success and we did it all in a little over an hour. And we touched up in 1/2 hour. When we got home last night I was so tired but then I picked up the program and whose name was in it... MINE!! Yippee!!

Allergy Free Flowers

So I know that Mother's Day has come and gone but this was my idea for gifts this year. Being unemployed slightly limits my options. So I went into my stash and found some great yarns to make some cute flower pins. My daughters of course were very excited about them and I was let's say less excited. Well Mother's Day came and of course my grandma liked hers, my mom asked what it was and my mother in law wasn't there to get hers. So I'm thinking maybe the handmade gifts are a bit lost on my family. It's not like this is something that my grandmother taught me. I learned it for fun and they still think it's weird that I do it. I come from a multi-generational California family and they believe in real estate and surfing. Maybe a little gardening too but I guess it depends what you're growing.

Wristbands, Oh the Wristbands

I thought it would be "fun" to knit up some wristbands for my daughters' softball teams. Oh How "fun" it was. There are 13 players per team, 2 teams; you do the math. And yes I made enough for all of them plus a couple extra. It's a cute pattern though: Band Cuffs by Star Athena. And I had all yarn I needed except the maroon. For the maroon and white I did substitute TLC Essentials and Red Heart Super Saver because I couldn't find a maroon cotton. Let's just hope the players like them.
But now nothing is inspiring me to knit. I need a project. Any suggestions?

Yummy Cupcakes

Okay so I know that cupcakes are the big thing right now and I do love a good cupcake so if you are in the area and want a great cupcake that is extra super duper cute plus super friendly service you have to go to Icing on The 'Cup'Cake in Rocklin. I dragged my bestest friend KnitVicious there today and we both got the same 3 cupcakes: The Chocolate (which is a chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting), The Pinkalicious (a chocolate cupcake with pink vanilla buttercream frosting) and a Red Velvet (a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting). I can't wait to eat them. While we were there I sampled the Chai cupcake which was a spicey cupcake with a chai spiced cream cheese frosting-Yummy!!! So please if you are in the area support your local cupcake bakery and enjoy!!
Icing on the Cupcake 5065 Pacific St. Rocklin, Ca. 916.315.9500

An Afternoon of Applique and Iron-On

While browsing through JoAnn the other day I came across these super cute patches and iron-ons to jazz up my daughter's jeans and t-shirts. So since it's crappy and rainy outside this is how I spent a small part of my afternoon. Since I had coffee this afternoon I have also done several loads of laundry, dishes, knit a large portion of a sweater and cut and colored my hair. And it's early still...

Knit for Me?

So I got a few replies to my last entry wondering what I knit for myself. Well the answer is absolutely nothing. I will admit that I don't much knit for me. I either haven't had luck with fit or I just don't finish the items because it seems so much more gratifying to knit for others. I know, I know, get over it already right? Well at least someone knits for me. My most fabulous friend KnitVicious knit me up these great glovelettes with the most wonderful yarn (and she gave me what was left so I could attempt socks or glovelettes...look out size 2 needles here I come). I must say she knows me all too well and when I said I didn't want to see another pair of fingerless gloves I only meant on needles. And don't miss the other fantastic item she got for me, my very own coffee sleeve, which doubles as a wrist cuff when not on my coffee and came with a matching little wrislet bag to carry my necessities. With a friend like her who needs to knit for themselves.