Birthday Amigurumi

Happy St.Patrick's Day! Sorry that I haven't updated these sooner. A lot has been going on lately and I finally have the time to write about it. I've actually made a couple of things lately that were presents for some people that I knew. It's time to write about them!

This is a bear that I made for a friend in the ward named Keziah. (She'll be a roommate next year!) She invited me to her birthday party on Feb. 25th but I unfortunately had to use that time to prepare for Crop Because You Care the next day. I decided to make her this as to apologize in a way. I also wrote a hand note. Thankfully I was able to give both of them to her in person. She really seemed to enjoy the gift.

This amigurumi xenomorph was for Danny. His birthday was on the 1st and last year I guessed on what he liked by making him an amigurumi Cthulu. I was trying to discuss what could be more epic than that but he wasn't sure. Luckily, I knew that he's a HUGE Alien fan. I decided to work on a xenomorph. He's always said that he's wanted a pet one; well, now he can... sort of. He seemed to really enjoy it. He did tell me that it blew the cthulu out of the water. Mission accomplished! =D

Disney Vacation Countdown

Production Update: It's going well--- we have 30 Days until the performance date and I'm really excited! In the meantime...

My family just recently booked our first big family vacation to Walt Disneyworld! We're really excited and to help the days pass, I decided to make a countdown. I found a couple really cute ones in the blogging world, but none really fit want I wanted to do. Mostly, I wanted to make it generic (used for Disneyworld, land, and maybe Cruise..one day) and I wanted it to be reusable.

Enter my Silhouette.

How did I make this?

Supplies:

• cutting machine or scissors
• black, red, and yellow cardstock
• permanent marker
• yarn
• tape
• adhesive
• spare container-- I used a Crystal Light container (love those things)

The Process:

1. I googled Mouse Ears, used the Trace feature and began cutting ears out... a lot of ears... 70 to be exact. If you don't have a cutting machine, you can always use a Mickey Mouse cookie-cutter or print them on cardstock, etc.
2. NOTE: My last 10 ears, and the multiples of 10 (20, 30, etc.) are bigger than the rest of the numbers. I had 16 big ears and 54 little ears; that's if your countdown starts at 70 because your family is just as impatient as mine.
3. For the title, I used my Walt Disney font and set the word 'countdown' along the bottom edge of a circle. Then I cut it out. And glued it to a couple other sheets of cardstock. Remember to watch for the little pieces.
4. To assemble. I taped 10 ears each on a strings of yarn. Then I tape those strings underneath the sign. (Don't forget to write the numbers on the ears before taping them to the string). Eventually, I'll laminate them all, but I'm kind of in the middle of direction a rather large production... I had to be efficient... next vacation.
5. Each day, my son and I cut off a Mickey Ears for the day. If the Mickey Ears for the day happen to be BIG ears, then he also gets to pick an activity out of the Mickey Jar. (to assemble that I used an old Crystal Light container and extra ears from my cutting madness).
6. I printed activities out on red and yellow cardstocks. Here's what we'll do by the end of the countdown: Disney-Themed Dinner, Create our "Must-Do" List, Postcard People List (who we'll buy and send postcards to), Mickey Ear Day (wear Mickey Ears all day), Disney Movie Night, Disney Music Marathon, Wear Disney Jammies, Have Mickey Pancakes, Make Family Shirts, Make Number Tattoos for kiddos (temp tatts to put on their arms in case they get lost), Color Disney Pictures, Bounce Around like Tigger, Disney Crafts (great ideas HERE), Get/make an autograph book, Read Disney Stories, Hide the Mickey game (kind of like hot 'n cold), Pack Bags and Carry-ons!

We're really excited to go on our vacation and this countdown makes it just a little bit more Magical!