I Won a Book!

  Can you believe it? Crochet and Other Stuff had a giveaway on her blog and I actually won! It's a great book and has a lot of good info in it. So far I've only skimmed through it and tried a couple new stitches that I haven't seen before. I plan to sit down with it more this week.

Giveaway Alert!

   Do you have any photos you'd like to see blown up on canvas? Lamb at LambAround.blogspot.com is having a giveaway on her blog for a 16"x20" rolled photo canvas from Uprinting.com! Join in the giveaway and while you're there check out the rest of her blog!

Hooked

  What is it about crochet that's got us so hooked? Maybe it's the satisfaction of transforming a single strand of yarn into something beautiful, wearable, or useful. When I first learned how to crochet as a child from my mother, I couldn't see the potential that the yarn had. I thought my only option was to turn it into a boring doily. I didn't want to put in all that work for an unappreciated doily to be thrown to the side somewhere. If I only knew what I had given up so long ago, I could be an amazing crocheter with decades of practice under my belt. Well, you can't dwell on the "what ifs" because it will only drive you crazy, right?

   Even though I don't have years and years of experience I think I'm doing well in my crochetability. (I think I just made up a word, it has a nice ring to it.) I didn't get hooked when I first learned, but boy am I hooked now! I started when my youngest was born. I had to stay home with him for a while. I saw some videos on youtube and said hey, I can do that! So I did. I researched the internet and found craft blogs. I thought, I can do that too! And I did. I kept doing it and here I am. I even have a few patterns of my own. I hope to get better, design some more and get better at this blogging thing too.

   When did you get hooked?

image from http://www.crochetspot.com

Laila's Gift Update

Laila's Gift

  My husband's family is visiting this week and his niece's birthday is today! Happy Birthday Laila! My sister-in-law showed me a small notebook where Laila had drawn out some design sketches for clothes. They are pretty fabulous for a 7 year old! I decided to get her a real sketch book for more of her fashion designs. I found a basic sketch book at Michael's and planned to make it more girly and unique to match the birthday girl herself. I forgot to take a before picture, but it was just a basic plain black book. I got some pretty scrapbook paper and cut some fancy vinyl letters with my Cricut. I think fabric would've been better for the background, but this came out great too. The paper has great texture and is very colorful. I used ModPodge to glue it to the book. So here's what I came up with.

Front Cover

Back Cover

 

Inside cover

  

Another Show and Tell

I love when I get emails from people who've made beautiful things from my patterns! It makes me feel like my work is not in vain. Thanks so much! Here is another floppy sun hat made by Drea. She used 2 strands of Vanna's Glamour yarn. Doesn't she look fabulous? I love the way this yarn looks. Thanks for the pic Drea!

Camera Update

A couple posts ago I mentioned that I was getting myself a new camera. Well, I ended up getting the Sony A390 Digital SLR Camera from Amazon.

   I still have much to learn in my photography skills, so a review from me would not be much help to someone who knows what they're doing. I will say that I'm liking it so far. The only downside is that I want to get a new lens so I can zoom in from a farther distance. The camera came with a 18-55mm lens which is not much of a zoom. Lenses for these type of cameras are expensive! I think it will be worth it, once I can afford it..

   Here are a few pics from our 4th of July celebration in our neighborhood. Some of them came out blurry because I was either moving too much or I couldn't get the settings right for the night pictures.

Good action shot!

It's hard to get a good pic of five kids at once!

Giveaway Winner!

It's that time to announce the winner of my birthday giveaway! It's too bad I can't give everyone a prize. To choose the winner, I went to www.random.org. I input the number of comments, and the generator picked number 5. So the prize goes to Kadie! Congratulations!!  This is only my first giveaway, so you will have other chances to win something here on my blog. As always, thanks for visiting and come back soon!

New Camera

I decided to get myself a little something for my 32nd birthday. Wow, 32... Let's not dwell on that. Anyway, I want to order a new digital SLR camera!  I'm trying to look for a good buy, but I'm not too keen on all the tech specs. If anyone has any input about a really good model, please enlighten me. I was looking at the Canon Rebel XS, but someone said that it's an overpriced camera that's not any better than the one I have. Currently I have a 6 year old Panasonic Lumix. Not sure on the model (too lazy to look). I get these errors sometimes when I turn it on. It says to turn it back off and on again which almost never works so I get mad at it and hit it and that works. The abuse must stop. What about this one? It's a Sony Alpha A230Y. It looks like it could do some cool things and capture my crochet stitches in all it's beauty. Help...

image from amazon.com

Birthday Giveaway!

Today is officially the first day of summer!! Yay! Not only is it the first day of summer, but it is also my birthday! It falls right on the border of Gemini and Cancer, but I would say I'm more of a Gemini.

(Image from bombybo.com)

 For my birthday, I would love to have you celebrate with me, so I am having a giveaway for my followers. I will be giving away these lovely earrings and a matching cute crochet headband both handmade by yours truly!

All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and tell me what YOUR sign is in a comment below. Too easy! Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you. The giveaway will end next Tuesday on the 28th of June. I will announce the winner on Wednesday the 29th! Open to all who follow my blog, international included. Feel free to blog about my giveaway too!

Hand Painted Jeans

I have a pair of jeans that fit well, but I haven't worn them in a while because of a small stain. So I decided to give them new life and a makeover. I did a google search to get ideas on painting jeans. I found pretty cool designs and some videos with good tips on the subject. Unfortunately I didn't take a before pic or a during pic. Oops. But I do have a pic of the final outcome. Well, sorta final.

After I wash the jeans the black outline will be washed away. I used some images that I found online and traced them onto some tracing paper with a charcoal pencil. Then I rubbed the image onto the jeans and filled it in with gold acrylic paint. I used a medium that makes any acrylic paint into fabric paint. I turned the jeans inside out and heat set the paint with an iron. The videos with the tips can be found here.

Order Up

I've been working on an order for a customer and it's finally ready to be shipped out. She ordered a JamRock Rasta Hat and these three other hats. Thanks, K for your support! Hats and other accessories can be ordered in my online store, PerfectMix Creations.

Green Newsboy

All White Button Adorned

Yellow Soldier Cap

Show and Tell

Here are a few more pictures from people who have used my free patterns. My floppy sun hat seems to be the most popular. I love how you can take someone's pattern and make it in your own style. I think that's why I like crochet so much, it's so versatile.

Here is Heather's Floppy sun hat. It came out great!

And here is Elizabeth's Floppy sun hat. Elizabeth used a J hook, and a G hook for the brim. She used two strands, one size 10 thread and the other size 3 thread.

Beautiful job ladies! Thank you very much for the pictures!

An update

I've been neglecting my blog. Sometimes life gets in the way. So I just wanted to let you know that I will be back to my old self soon enough. I plan to get some more free patterns on here and some more show and tell of what people have made with my patterns. A big thank you to those who have been following my blog. You are a great motivator.

 

~Michelle

Wings for my Sackboy

  A friend of mine requested a purple Sackboy with wings. I tried to freestyle and make my own wings but I didn't like how they turned out. So I searched online to see if I could find a pattern to work off of. I found this dragon pattern. The dragon looks really cool, but for now I just made the wings. The free pattern can be found here. I also made a little halo that I forgot to take a picture of. It looked cute.

Made from my Free Pattern

  Here is a lovely hat made from my Floppy Sun Hat pattern. Jennifer used cotton yarn and added a scalloped edge to the brim.  I think it turned out great! Thanks for the pics, Jennifer! Your daughter is a doll, so adorable!

 If you made this hat or tried any of my other free patterns, send me pics! I'd love to see how yours came out. daperfectmix@gmail.com

Crochet Time

  It looks like I missed the last day of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. I actually did much better than I thought I would. I'll still do the last day's topic even though I'm two days late.

  The 7th day's topic says "Write about your typical crafting time."

 I don't think I have a typical time when I craft. I guess it's whenever I have a chance between a full time job, 3 kids, and a husband. At the moment, I'm still working on a blanket. I do that a little before I go to sleep, if I'm not completely pooped from the day. That project is next to the bed. I crochet on the bed since the panels are so big. I don't want it to drag on the floor. If I get home early enough, I try to sneak in some craft time right before the kids get home from school, as long as my 2 year old will let me. Sometimes he tries to help too. I don't watch TV too often, but when I do, I feel like I should be doing something, so I like to work on a project while watching a show or a movie, it makes the boring parts of the work go by faster. I have crocheted in the car. If the road is not too curvy, I can get a hat done or something, otherwise I have to keep looking up because I'll start to get car sick. Dr. appointments are good for bringing a project too, especially if the appointment is not for me. I would say I get most of my crafting done on the weekends if we're not doing anything special. Well, that wraps up Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.. for me anyway. At least I finished!

Something to Aspire to

   Today is day 6 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. Today's topic asks "is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant?"

    There is still much to learn in crochet. Like I said before, it will take years to master. Knitting is actually something I aspire to do some day. I've tried it, but for some reason it doesn't keep my interest long enough to make anything. One day I will knit something beautiful.

A Day in the Life of an Amigurumi

Zeke and the Sackboys, but he likes to call them "Hee Hees"