Crocheted Chains and/or Braclets Options

This was recently a special order I shipped to a woman who has 8 year old twins with special needs. When she had seen the 100s Day Chain (previous post) that I had done, she asked me to create some with button closures for her daughter that could be used as occupational therapy. I created 10 of the blue and white. These I did with a wider width. I have 10 of the multicolor. These are a bit longer and slimmer, and then I have five each of the green and brown and the pink an black. The response I got upon receipt of these was "oh my goodness they couldn't be more perfect!!! Thank you so very much. You are very talented!!"

Post by Emalie Alexander Creations.

Networking Challenges

With my home-based craft business, I'm trying to branch out and network. So, I've linked my Facebook, to this blog, to adding a twitter account. After all this time, I'm still learning my way around his site, and I'm very very new to Twitter. So, if you come across this blog, and you use Twitter, I would love for you to consider following me @emaliealexander. Search for me on Facebook at Emalie Alexander Creations.

While I used to have an Etsy shop I hadn't yet specialized my skills to a skill set that works well for interest in Etsy buyers. Trying to get fans on Etsy was hard work, so I shut down my shop and took some time to start honing down my skills into mostly crochet with some sewing and other things on the side. I've put a few of my items into a first time very small craft show, and did much better than I expected. I am considering opening a brand new Etsy shop. I probably should do that before my Facebook/Blog/Twitter name gets taken on Etsy.

I recently did a whole make-over. I changed my name from Big Bang Momma Crafts (being a huge Big Bang Theory fan and a mother, I loved that name, but decided a need a brand name a little more professional) to Emalie Alexander Creations. I've been working at updating my sites to offer more information for potential buyers or just interested lookers.

At this stage in my endeavor, I'm trying to build an audience, a fan base, people who will support me, help me succeed, and branch out past my "1st degree" of contacts. This means, currently I mostly am working on custom orders. I post pictures of things I've made, or what I can make, and then people ask me to make something for them based on what they've seen. I don't really have things "listed" on Facebook. I understand. It can be a scary place to shop. This is another reason I am considering a new Etsy shop. I want people to be interested, and pleased with my inventory. I want to get my name out there. I want people to take me seriously. I want people to be happy with my product. And, ideally like any entrepreneur, I'd love for my hobby to turn a little profit. This helps supportthe addiction and I can craft for a wider audience than just gifts for people near and dear to me.

If you come across this post, and are willing to help me network, especially on Twitter or Facebook, I'd be so happy, and I would most definitely reciprocate.

https://www.facebook.com/EmalieAlexander

Sweet Little Bear

This is the first of four custom order bears. He measures about 6" tall and mostly follows a free Lion's Brand pattern. Come find him, and other crafty things at my Facebook Craft page. Search: Big Bang Momma Crafts. Thanks, and have a great day!

Pink Beaded Fingerless GloveI

I recently made some simple teal fingerless gloves (my first pair, actually) for a friend of mine who lives a few states over from me.  I followed the pattern, tested it on me, took measurements and pictures, and sent the first one on it's way to her. It fit, so I sent it's pair.  What does that have to do with this?  Let me tell you.

She asked me if I could alter the pattern to make a pair that would fit her seven year old daughter. A girlie pair. Possibly with a beaded trim.  Of course I obliged.  And, the love you see here is what I came up with.

Luckily I have an 8 year old daughter who is a bit on the small side, so she got to be my lucky model for trying on sake. And try on she did! 

I looked at lots of beads, but I needed a bead that would work with the width of the yarn.  A Bernat baby weight yarn, by the way.  I ended up settling on pony beads because, really, she's 7, and seven year old like pony beads.  They're fun.

I decided not to put them exactly on the wrist border for a couple of reasons. 1) safety.  They are less likely to fall off, rip off, etc. 2.) Sturdiness. I just felt the beads would be sturdier this way.  We all know that 7 year old's really know how to play!

I decided I would also give the fingertips something pretty to look at, so I added shells around the edging there.  So pretty.

For crochet lovers: This is just done is simple double crochets. Repeating rows until I got it as wide as I needed it. This is about 14 rows.

100s Day Crochet Chain

I was looking around Pinterest for teacher's gifts  one day, and came across the idea to crochet a paper chain.  Say what? I know, amazing idea! So, I took it one step further, and instead of an end of the year gift, I decided to make a 100s day chain for my son's Kindergarten teacher.  I wanted it to be something she could use for several units. So, I made sure that each color had at least 10.  They use 10-frames in math for counting.  I also wanted the colors of the rainbow, so that she could use this for working on colors.

10-red
10-orange
10-yellow
10-green
10-blue
10-purple

That's only 6, so I added

10-black
10-white

which gave me 20 left over to get to 100. Those are the multicolor.

I used sticky back velcro to attach them.  For sturdiness, I used mostly Red Heart yarn and cotton yarn.  As in any paper chain, the vary a bit in length and width.
You can also find this post on the Facebook page./br>

Post by Big Bang Momma Crafts.

Perler Bead Inchies!

Inchies can be easier, or tougher, to make than one thinks!  There are so many ways to make inchies (1"x1" square pieces of art). I've mostly stayed with the general theme of paper crafted ones, but for my recent Inchie Swap on Craftster.org, I went out of the norm and created for each of my four partners perler bead inchies.  FYI, a perler bead inchie is made by 5x5 beads squared.  Of course, you can group these into bigger groups (just leave a bead spot separation) to make a larger picture.  3 out of 4 of my partners have received, so I'm going to go ahead and post these on here.  I apologize for sideways pictures.  Also, I found most, if not all, of these designs while searching online, and I just separated them into groups of 5x5 beads leaving a space between the groups.

Theme: black cats:

Theme: Harry Potter (Hogwarts crest):

What a difference they are separated vs together!

 

Here's this one put together so you can see it better.

 

Theme: Spring (Hummingbird)

And, the last set is secret until my final partner receives. It had a long way to travel, so hopefully it finds her safe and sound and soon!

Thanks for looking!

Queen Sized Striped Blanket!

Towards the end of last year I made a blanket with the same design and similar colors. That one was a Christmas gift. My husband and I loved it so much that we decided I must make another one.

So, we changed to brown from gray, and kept the other colors the same.  We went from Super Bulky to Lion's Brand Jiffy Bulky yarn. I used about 20 skeins! It measures about 100"x100". For reference, a quick search on Google shows that a queen blanket measures 90"x90".  I was getting pretty quick (when I didn't have to pull out a row or two for not finishing my "v" stitch) that I was getting about 7 rows completed in about 2 hours, or about a row every 20-30 min or so.

So....it repeats 7 rows blue, 3 rows white, 4 rows brown, 3 rows white, 7 rows blue....... all "v" stitch.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the lighting. When I use flash in my room, it distorts the color. When I turn the flash off, then the pictures are dark. I really need to learn the setting on my dslr to help combat that.

Close up:

 Thanks for looking!

The Northern Lights in Perler Beads

I've recently been playing with perler beads with my 8 year old daughter, and I've been wanting to make something that was Northern Lights. So...I thought, why not perler bead Northern Lights and  winter cabin?  This is my first attempt at free-handing and I've only made possibly a handful of these before. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

This is actually the back side. I'm still getting the hang of fusing them together, and I like how this side turned out better.

The books I've read in 2013.

These are the books (and novellas) I've read in 2013. And, when I wasn't reading, I was crafting. I also completed 4 crocheted blankets, and one super involved embroidered then quilted blanket. 2013 has been a busy year. My go to authors are Allison Brennan, Lisa Gardner, Karen Rose, and Chelsea Cain (she's amazing!) but I found that Liane Moriarty is a good author to read if you like Jodi Picoult type stories.

Have a wonderful new year!

1. ) Infection: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse by Sean Schubert (this is actually my    husband's old soccer coach)

2) Containment: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse by Sean Schubert

3) Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

4) Stalked by Allison Breannan

5) Kill You Twice by Chelsea Cain

6) Did You Miss Me? by Karen Rose

7) Reckless by Allison Brennan

8) Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner

9) Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

10) Killing Justice by Allison Brennan

11) Stolen by Allison Brennan

12) The BFG by Roald Dahl (read with my 7 year old daughter)

13) Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain

14) Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

15) You Don't Want To Know by Lisa Jackson

16) The Princess of Coldwater Flats by Nancy Bush

17) Maggie's Man by Lisa Gardner writing as Alicia Scott

18) Night Road by Kristin Hannah

19) My Two Moms by Zach Wahls

20) Broken Silence by Karen Rose

21) Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah

22) Cold Snap by Allison Brennan

23) Crash and Burn by Allison Brennan and Laura Griffin

24) Silent Echo by J.R. Rain

25) The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

26) I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

27) Too Close: The Beauty in Between by Lilliana Anderson

28) What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

29) 36 Hours by Allison Brennan

30) The Perfect Family by Kathryn Shay

Secret Service CIA Snowman and Totoro

I have been very lax about updating my blog. I have a facebook Craft page I'm using much more regularly--Big Bang Momma Crafts where you have the opportunity to buy my crafts.

Anyway, today I decided to play with my small supply of polymer clay, and created these little guys. Since I don't have orange, and the black on white was looking a little spy-ish to me, I decided to deck out my snowman as a secret service CIA agent with a badge and scarf. He needed a buddy, so I put together a mini Totoro to hang out with him.

Thanks for looking!

Christmas in July bag

I have become obsessed  with making bags. I made this one with some fabric I found at a yard sale.

Christmas in July, anyone?

You can check out and "like" this, and many other crafts on my Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/BigBangMommaCrafts