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!

Last Minute Valentine Decor

So much for my 'I'll blog more crafts this year' resolution, I know. However, I have a decent excuse. At the beginning of the year, I was asked to be the director of a musical drama put on by my {church} called {Savior of the World}. That's pretty much been taking all of my extra time and will be until April. Which is great/challenging/daunting all at the same time because it's a play about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Wish me luck!

Since I have a pretty big addiction to crafting, I couldn't help myself for Valentine's Day. I wanted to have something up---so I needed it to be easy, fast, and cute. Last year a wreath tutorial from {The Idea Room} was huge around the blogging world. So huge I couldn't find a heart-shaped wreath until April. I bought one and it sat in my office until a few days ago when I have it some HEART!

I took the tutorial from TIR and {Little Birdie Secrets} and made them into something different and more my style.

My Notes:

• I used 1/2 yard duck cloth, 3/4 yard of v-day fabric, and 2 fat quarters of a coordinating fabric. I cut them into 3 by 3 inch squares.
• I used the straight pin-technique from TIR because the glue just wasn't working for me.
• It took one evening to do, the next morning I used a scrap felt piece, some ribbon, and my glue gun to give it a place to hang.

I also made a table runner, inspired by the other ones I made from {THIS} tutorial. I think I'm going to go through all the holidays and make one for each--- including my normal decor. Notice my SOTW stuff spread all over the table... like I said... my life until April. :)

Happy V-Day everyone!

Random Nag Facts

So, since I'm getting back into the blogging swing of things, I thought it would be a good idea to join Amy at {The Idea Room} and her {Getting to Know You Party}. So, here's a few tidbits about me.

**I'm the oldest of four kids all born within five years. Shocker, right? It's not like you knew about Megan? :) We grew up all over the place because of the military, our Dad going to school and job transfers. The six of us (including our parents) are pretty close because we always lived so far away from extended family. We have a great time together and I know I'm insanely lucky to be a big sister to three awesome, intelligent and down-to-earth people. I'm proud to be their sister.

**The blog name comes from nicknames Meg and I gave each other growing up. Meg is as stubborn as they come and I have a tendency to push things over and over again. With these personality traits, we then saw {A League of Their Own} with Geena Davis and Tom Hanks. The sisters in the movie call each other 'Mule' and 'nag' and when we saw that we started to laugh because that's totally us--- except for the whole professional baseball, WWII thing.

**I am a serious sports fanatic. I've played basketball since third grade and I will never get tired of the swish noise from a made shot. After all the moving around, we ended up in St. Louis during my high school years and, as a result, I LOVE the St. Louis Cardinals. To the point that when my husband and I were dating I had to take him to a game in order to see if he'd at least tolerate it... just my luck it ended up being a pitcher's duel.**Also in high school, I caught the theatre bug. My best friend convinced me to try out for a couple of plays and I loved it. As a result, in college I minored in Theatre Studies with an emphasis in Theatre Education. I still get goosebumps when I go to the theatre. This picture is Ash & I as {The Call sisters} in our last play Senior year. It wasn't too hard for us to do. :)
**I majored in Elementary Education. I was able to teach pre-kindergarten for a year before I had my son---also known as my little knight.

**Speaking of the previously-mentioned best friend, she is one of the few people in the world that knows the whole me and still loves me anyway. It's nice to have a relationship like that, outside of your family. Even though she's really family--but that's the next fact. We went to school together, got married a year apart, and even had our first kiddos 3 months apart. She read a lot and you can check her out at: {Ashwey Reads A Lot}. (see, I wasn't kidding).

**I also love to read, but I don't read nearly as much as Ash. I don't think anyone can. My favorites include: Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments series, Hunger Games trilogy, Artemis Fowl and Twilight.

**While at Brigham Young University (where we went to school), Ash introduced me to this crazy guy that I can never stop thinking about, luckily, he's my husband. The two of them are actually second cousins once-removed and didn't meet until a few months before she introduced the two of us. We've been together for almost SEVEN years (what the what!) and he's seriously fantastic. I got lucky enough to find a guy that never really got into sports, so I was able to teach him all I know. And, in return, he's able to show me how the world really functions (he's a mechanical engineer).

**I love chocolate and peanut butter. best. duo. ever. (Besides the two goofs in the above picture)

**I'm a member of {The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints}. I have come to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind. With His help, we can all live forever with Him, our Heavenly Parents, and our families. How sweet is that?

**My husband and I have two kiddos, a boy and girl, exactly 18 months apart. They are so intense right now, especially since our Princess is now a toddler. I love the new things Knight says to me each day and I'm so excited to see them grow.

**I'm a closet Titanic collector and enthusiast. It all started with a book report in the third grade (a lot happened then) and I get irked when people think it's because of the James Cameron movie.

**I love to create. But isn't that why my sister and I have this blog?

Recommitting because....

Santa listened....
I got a Silhouette.

Thankfully, Megan's been more than willing to show off her amazing creations. I feel like such a slacker... but just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been crafting.

I even made myself a huge list of things to do before Christmas and... guess what... I completed the whole thing.

So--- in other words--- have a few things to post about. If there are still faithful readers out there... stay tuned...

Christmas Presents

Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can now post pictures of the items I made as gifts. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm also glad that they liked them so much! It was also an interesting experience since I had to make two gifts of the gifts completely before leaving for break. The other one I had to have the body ready to finish when I got home. Boy, did my fingers hurt.

This gift was for my Mother. She mentioned something to me some day that she would like crocheted chilies. I guess she forgot because she was completely surprised. It now hangs on the shelves in the living room.

To be honest, I've always wanted to make something KC Chiefs related for my Dad. I was always worried though because they weren't doing so hot in the past. I figured he would say something like, 'Oh, this is cool. Too bad they suck.' I'm glad they're doing well. A part of me wishes that I had the time to do in single crochet stitches instead of double. Oh well. He still liked it.

My siblings and I would love to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles together when we were younger. We even had one of them as a 'pseudo name' since there was four of us and them. My older brother was Raphael; and he has continued to be his favorite of the four since. I really like how he turned out. I may have to make the other three. ;)

Christmas Tree Star Topper Pattern

Christmas Tree Star Topper Pattern

Size G Hook (4.25 mm)
1 skein Red Hart Super Saver or worsted weight yarn
Polyfil Stuffing
Pipe Cleaners (for the stand)

Abbreviations:
sc - single crochet
st - stitch
tog - together
dec - decrease

Main Part (make 2):
*MAR* (magic adjustable ring)
Rnd 1: 6 sc into ring (6)
Rnd 2: 2 sc into every st (12)
Rnd 3: *1 sc for 1 st, 2 sc into next stitch* (18)
Rnd 4: *1 sc for 2 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (24)
Rnd 5: *1 sc for 3 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (30)
Rnd 6: *1 sc for 4 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (36)
Rnd 7: *1 sc for 5 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (42)
Rnd 8: *1 sc for 6 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (48)
Rnd 9: *1 sc for 7 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (54)
Rnd 10: *1 sc for 2 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (60)
**END (Cut the first one ONLY.)

Points of Star (5 total):
*Take both circles that you've made. Put the wrong sides together.
Rnd 1: 12 sc one one circle, 12 sc on the other circle (24)
Rnd 2 - 3: 1 sc around (24)
Rnd 4: *1 sc for 1 st, 2 st tog (dec)* (16)
Rnd 5 - 7: 1 sc around (16)
Rnd 8: 2 st tog around (8)
Rnd 9: 1 sc (8)
**END. Weave in end to point.

This should make a star that is approximately 5" tall. This hasn't been tested except for me making my own as I went along. If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll get back to you a.s.a.p. You can make this for personal use only. Thank you!