MOVING!!!!

Hey everyone! I want to tell you all that I'm moving my blog to be a better fit than the 'octopusgardenart'. For the whole explanation visit and FOLLOW the new blog: http://HeySharkyDesigns.blogspot.com This blog will be moved over, all posts etc.... and this one will be deleted in a few months. Thank you so much for understanding and making the switch!

Church / Activity Bag

Buying bags and clothes and shoes and..and...and.. for kids gets pretty pricey so we try to either get things on sale, or make them! This church bags been in the works since we found out I was pregnant with our first.. and he's turning 3 at the end of this month.... so I think it wad about time that I made it. It took a few weeks of working on it a little each day and now? It's done! [OK mostly done.. I still want to add a few things to it, but it's ready to use, and Xander has been BEGGING me to let him use it since I finished sewing it a few weeks ago.

Sew.

Embellish.

look at it.

Embellish some more.

Paint.

Cut.

OK.. USE!!!

Take back..

Embellish some more.

Take pics..

Give back to the kid to use..[and add some more things later..]

The bag is a simple messenger-style bag, Made from old jeans -with felt as the stabilizer in the bottom of the bag. the 'back pocket' has the LDS San Diego Temple on it, and is actually a double pocket! [Sorry the pic of the book and tag in the pockets isn't very good to show it off]

I used my Silhouette Machine to die cut the words, Angel Moroni, and LDS San Diego Temple. Xander helped me paint his bag- and did a very good job too! I was impressed. He also was the one who picked out the graphics and ribbon colors. Here he is below modeling it for me. He kept posing and moving into different places to make sure I got the right picture.. Ah! that's MY BOY! I'm glad at the ripe old age of [almost] 3, he has it down! Everything I used, I had on hand. So it didn't cost me anything. [but in all fairness, some of the supplies DID cost me, but a while ago and I have no clue how much. The jeans were free.]

We loaded it with lots of goodies to keep him busy [and quiet].. oh! and learning.. during first hour of church.

*3 board books about Nephi, tithing, and Moroni

*Noah's Ark Magnetic animals

*Remember Jesus activity wheel

*Photo album

*Green folder- holds blank paper and church color/activity pages

*'B' mini page pad- blank paper for him to draw on

*Activity carrying case- [not pictured]- holds crayons, snacks, pens and misc items

Altered Photo Album

I've had this idea for a long time but haven't done anything with it. I finally made a small one for Xander's Church Bag- and I LOVE IT!!! I filled it with pictures of family, Jesus and other church pics. Soon I'll add little 4X6 cards of letters to him or little things about him. It's great way to keep him engaged in gospel-centered activities while in church [not to mention quiet during first hour!] He really LOVES looking through the pictures of our family and points out who is in the Gospel pics. Since I'm amking a few of these, I thought I'd get a head start on Sebastian's photobook for church, I know he'll be using it before we know it!

Next is to make a few for gifts and put them in my gift box so we can be prepared for birthdays, just because and Christmas! <----I'm getting a head start on Christmas this year! and yes, you may call me neurotic ad crazy.. but making/buying the presents throughout the year spreads out the money and lets us ENJOY the holidays!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I used my Sillohette to cut out the CTR and Mod Podged the paper and symbols to the front and back. Then I picked out a few pictures of our family, pass-along cards from church, and a few cards from a picture pack I purchased from Deseret Book.

Front:

Back:

A few pages from inside:

crafty, crafty.

So i've been crafting like a mad woman [still] - gearing up for... CHRISTMAS 2011!!! Hahaha i know you all think i'm either a bit nuts or extremely brilliant. i prefer the latter.... this is my thinking on it all.. we have almost 50 gifts to give and that doesn't include the secret gifts we doorbell ditch and some other little goodies we make for friends. if you ONLY spent $10.00 a piece on each gift that's OVER $500!!!!! I can't afford that all at once and things are always so tight after Christmas that it [almost] makes me regret some of my purchases. So this year, we will be better than last! We can spread out $500 throughout the year so.....My hubby has already purchased a few gifts for people and i've already made stuff. also with birthdays, special occasions, babies born etc throughout the year we thought it would be prudent to be prepared.

Since i've been making things this year i've really slacked off on taking pics.. sooooo i'll go ahead and take a mass amount of pics and post them very soon!

Things I'm working on:
baby quilt
crocheted handbags and accessories
church/activity bag for our sons
a few dresses for me
hats to match
a skirt for my BFF
oh, and some play food and fort for the boys

am i too busy? naw! i'm also planning 2 weddings, 2 parties and just got hired as a xc coach at my alma mater. awesome.

happy crafting!

New books!

I ordered some instructional crochet books online and they came this week!! I have had my nose stuck in them and I can't wait to dive into some projects!! I started a purse but it did look like it was turning out right, so I took it out.. twice. and then a third time.. then proceeded to start another purse pattern. I'll go back and try that one later :)
I did find so many cute socks that I'd loooooove to make... too bad they are knitted. I started off knitting when I was 8 but haven't done it in years. I'm thinking that I'll pick it back up though [I have all the needle sizes so why not?] just so I can make these cool socks.

2011

Happy new year and I'm back [ok.. still] crafting! I've spent countless hours ogling over projects other bloggers have done, how nice their pages look, and how many followers they have! Thank you to my 3 [loyal] followers. Is there anything you'd like to see me make? a tutorial on anything I've done so far? Anyone who comments will be put into a drawing for something cool. what? yeah, I have no clue yet, but I'll be doing the drawing in mid-February.... so lets do this, you win.. you pick what I make and send you :)

week thirty-six

For my last hurrah...

I made another Frog hat.. I know you all have seen it before, but I made it for one of my friends that I haven't seen since I graduated High School. It was such an awesome day to go to her baby shower and catch up. I had to leave early though so I could make it for another [family] event so after we returned home, got the kids to bed my sweet hubby told me to go back and hang out... we talked [ate more of the yummy cake] until almost 4 am... ? or was it only 2 or 3? I can't seem to remember. Time flies.

See you all next year, where I'm sure I'll come up with some other crazy idea for a challenge for myself.

week 36:complete

#projects: 1

weeks to go: DONE!!!!

cumulative project count:63

week thirty-five

THE RUSH FOR CHRISTMAS!!!
Sooooo.... all of the projects that were started weeks ago.. and some this week... are FINALLY FINISHED! whew!



So here they are:




A crocheted hat with brim for one of my older sisters. She loves hats and accessories so it was kinda an easy thing more me to make with her in mind. I know I made them from Christmas colors and she wont be able to wear it for too long this year, but next year and so on, she'll already have a hat! :) I originally was making her a hand bag, and it would have totally ROCKED!! but my 2 year old son decided to abscond with the main element [of which] the whole design was hinged on... so the hat was a last ditch effort to have a present [not an IOU ] to give to my sister.




My oldest niece likes scarves but is really a picky kind of girl. I spent hours searching for a fabric that would be perfect.... I found this flowy sheer animal print and knew right away that it was the one! I made a flower clip with beads in the center to either use in her hair or to clip onto the scarf as an accent. love it!



For a cousin [on my hubby's side] who is 12 and I'm not sure I could make anything that he is really that impressed with. But thought that a hat would be a nice warm fuzzy gift :) I made it out our fleece and added a little bit of detail to [an otherwise] boring hat.




My cousin [who I don't see very often] loves skulls and crossbones and motorcycle stuff. I saw this fleece and knew it was for him. I made him a beanie that would be warm :) his mom tried to steal it from him, as did almost everyone else at the party. I think it was a hit!



A fluffy, warm scarf for my aunt who lives in London. I have to admit though, I did not make this scarf. My hubby did!!! what a man! I was so stressed [and trying to "enjoy" the holidays] and he offered to help in any way he possibly could. Normally I asked him to play with the kids.. [a real chore, right? esp since he loves to play with them] Then I asked him to make a few things, this being one of them. I would have asked him to help with more things [making that is..] but I seem to be such a control freak when it comes to handmade gifts that I couldn't [or really didn't want to] find things for him to help with. Yeah, looks like I just gotta let go sometimes!





This small neck cowl is for one of my hubby's cousins. She live in Utah, bbrrrr, so instead of a scarf, I thought a cowl would be very appropriate and lovely. I almost kept it for myself!!


Now for the project [of which I am supremely excited about and just love love love!] I made this for my hubby's cousin's wife.. I wanted to make something classy for her and I don't know her very well [even though I helped hubby's cousin "get the girl" ] and this is what I came up with. I used left over satin [from my Christmas dress, which is going to end up a valentines day dress or mother's day or Easter..... sad, i know but somethings just get pushed of..ya know?!] and I hand painted the bird on in white, hand-sewed the glass seed beads and added my Hey Sharky! label on the bottom back corner. I hope she loves it [half] as much as I do!
{*update- she didn't show up at Christmas too bad. :( so this is her present for next year if she shows up, if not it's going to her mom-in-law !}

Last, but certainly not least.... A dress for my cousin's kid. I thought I took some other pics of this dress right after I made it, but can't seem to find them. So [for now] this is what ya git. He doesn't know the first thing about girly stuff, so I made this cute dress, with a girly skull and crossbones in the bottom corner. He loved it and I'm sure she did too :)







I made a few more gifts, a scrapbooked DVD case set with 1,000s of photos on cd for my sister in law....a BBQ set for the father in law, apron and all ......and a few more things that in the rush of things I thought I took pictures, but apparently did not. Or I just lost them.. or.. or.. or..

What an exhausting week this has been. But also so rewarding! I'm glad to be done with the sweatshop, but sad that Christmas is over and I didn't celebrate it as I really wanted to. This year was better than last, and next will surely be better as well. {esp since I am already starting on projects to put in the gift bin for next year!! Call me crazy but I love making our gifts {its not really about saving money because most of the time I don't.. it's about the from the heart touch that a homemade gift brings}



Happy crafting! And see YOU next year!

week 35: complete
# projects: 11
weeks to go: 1
cumulative project count: 62

week thirty-four

Sweater- turned-hat

So with Christmas knocking on my door, and projects STILL not finished..... I needed soemthing for our niece. She is a true girlie girl and I wanted to make her a cute [soft] beenie with a brim. I cut up one of my sweaters that i have only worn a few times.. and turned it into a hat. I am very pleased with the result.

I really thought I made more than just this hat, maybe they were all just IN THE WORKS and not really done.. time to CRAM for the next weeks!!!!

week 34: complete

# of projects: 1

weeks to go: 2

cumulative project count: 52

week thirty-three

The mad rush to get all the Christmas presents done!!! I seriously thought we had more than half our list left, when in reality we had WAY LESS!!! So yeah for us! I did put my hubby to work making a few of the presents and he did an awesome job. I don't think I will be adding them to my total because - well- let's be honest.. I didn't make them so it doesn't count. the projects in this entry are going to my husband's sister and her family. we hope they love them because we spent a lot of time thinking of what to do and coming up with [what we think] are the perfect gifts. :)

For their daughter: a headband, crocheted with a flower and a head/ear warmer with pom poms. These are such a cute accessory! So many of my friends have them for their daughters, I just couldn't leave our niece out!! [a special thanks to my son who modeled the headband/ear warmer for me.. he had a fun time doing it and was such a great model]

For their son Jr. I made a travel mat for him to play and store his cars. Xander wanted it so badly and I promised that I'd make one for him after Christmas. He helped me pain the "beep" . It was nice to include him in the making of the presents.

For his sister I made a beanie with a brim. I absolutely love this yarn! She's not very girlie so I left off my usual details of a flower or buttons. Simple and sweet.

For my sis-in-law's hubby: a basic beanie. Again I LOVE this yarn!

week 33: complete

# projects:4

weeks to go: 3

cumulative project count: 51

week thirty-two

OK so i don't know how to count.....

there were 36 weeks when i started this challenge.. and so that would put me ending on 31 December 2010. So instead of going back through all my posts and changing them [very time consuming, and who really has the time?] I'm starting from this one and correcting them.. after-all, i only have a few weeks left.. I CAN SEE THE FINISH LINE!!

This week I made a sock monkey hat for a friend. She wanted to give ti to her granddaughter so I added a bow. I know you are probably thinking you have seen this one before... but is as a different version of it and its what I did this week :)

week 32: complete

# projects: 1

weeks to go: 4

cumulative project count: 47

week thirty-one

This week I focused on my photography skills. And yes, I am in need of some assistance... can anyone show me how to use my camera? The booklet it came with didn't explain anything! Oh well, it looks like trial and error is going to be my teacher.



This weekend we were able to go camping in the Anza-Borego Desert. IT WAS COLD!! Oh my gosh! We woke up one morning to the baby wipes being a solid ice brick! By the time I got up and out of bed it was close to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Whew!



We took many hikes while out there and I [of course] took a gazillion photos. I love being out in nature and capturing it on film is the best thing ! I love looking at the pictures I took later and not only remembering the amazing time I had but admiring the amazing beauty that is around us.



If you are an avid hiker you will be familiar with the subject of this week's blog entry. It is a trail marker. In some regions, piles of rocks are called "ducks" or "duckies". These are typically smaller cairns, so named because they would typically have a "beak" pointing the way of the path. An expression "to rocks don't make a duck" reminds hikers that just one rock resting upon another could be an accident or nature rather than an intentional trail marker.



I have seen so many of the cairns throughout my hiking/backpacking/rock climbing adventures. The sight of these, no matter how big or small, are a source of comfort for me. I'm not sure why except I know that I'm on the right path and I have nothing to worry about. Whenever we're out hiking I always look for them and if it is a hike we've done before I look for familiar cairns- especially the ones I have either started or added to. It's really fun to see new ones and be welcomed back by old friends.

If you haven't seen one, added to one, or started one..... go out on a hike! Your body and mind will thank you!



week 31: complete
# projects: 1
weeks to go: 5
cumulative project count: 46

week thirty

Harry Potter Scarf & Head Band

A friend of mine was attending the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1". {whew!} So she asked me to make her a scarf for the occasion. I took to it right away {of course after an intense shopping trip to Micheal's - in which i had to avoid purchasing everything on sale! It did take me longer than anticipated [bummer because I wanted to get something else done too....] But it turned out very well and I even made her a head band.. every girl needs a head band to accessorize!

week 30: complete
# projects: 1
weeks to go:6
cumulative project count: 45

week twenty-nine

Sock Monkey Hat for Xander & a new born Santa Hat

This week I finished Xander's Sock Monkey Hat to match his Sock Monkey. We were supposed to make a run to Home Depot... but xander INSISTED that I finish his hat. Now normally I don't give into the whims.. or demands of a 2 year old.. but let's be honest, I wanted to show off what I had been working soo hard on this week. And wouldn't ya know it.......... people noticed it!! I even got a few orders for one! It pays to have your kids advertise for you, right?! I was just too pleased with how it came out. Xander even let me photograph him. Most times he's up for pictures of Xander... but lately who knows.. the changing times of a 2 year old....

This time HE reminded ME that I had to take pictures.. apparently I've been making a lot of things and photographing them- I usually ask for his help so the process goes faster [instead of trying to keep him away]. This "photo session" was a blast! Xander is such a silly and inventive kid! love it!!

{I asked him to show me his hat and this is what I got}

{I have no clue what he was doing here, but kept moving his has back and forth like this LOL!}

{This is his "show me your smile!"}

Cameron also phoned me this week while at work an had an order for me. It was a RUSH order and had to be done within a few days.... so I JUMPED on it! I have a few other orders that I was working on so I really felt the pressure to crank this out and get it delivered. [esp since this week was his last at work until after the new year!]

A co-worker wanted a Santa Hat as a gift for a newborn baby. I single crocheted it and {MAN}! that took a long time! half doubles for me next time! Here is the little hat:

week 29: complete

# projects: 2

weeks to go: 3

cumulative project count: 44

Hey Sharky! on etsy

So I finally have my etsy shop open. I did have another shop, under a different name but then recently decided to switch my brand logo, which was LONG over-due and when you change a name etc you can't do it on etsy so i had to open a new shop. Gesh! But well worth it. I've been crocheting like a mad woman so it's nice to be posting my stuff!! Please go and check it out!! TELL A FRIEND!! Thank you so much!!

http://www.etsy.com/people/HeySharky

week twenty-eight

More crochet hats!!! A friend of mine asked if I wanted to make and display some of my hat sin her cradt booth at a craft fair. So I got to work! I even added them to my etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeySharky?ref=pr_profile

Here's what I came up with this week:

Scarlet:

Blanco

Monkey business:

week 28: complete

# projects: 3

weeks to go: 4

cumulative project count: 41

week twenty-seven

This week I really wanted to have some props to have our newborn wear at his first photoshoot :) Since it was close to Halloween, I made a pumpkin hat. I also made a froggie hat. I also saw this beautiful flower and just HAD to make it! I don't remember where I saw it, but now its mine!! so excited!!

week 27: complete

# projects: 3

weeks to go: 5

cumulative project count: 39

week twenty-six

My sister wanted to get the perfect messenger bag but couldn't find one in the stores.. the solution?? I'll make one for her! It is custom made to fit her specifications, I made the pattern and concept. The decorations etc were my creations too! I'm so excited that it turned out so well and she loves it!! Put it to good use Siri!

emblishments

side details on pockets

fully functional zipper

lots of pockets including a cellphone pocket and key clip
large back pocket

I can't wait to make one for myself and for anyone else who wants one!!

week 26: complete

# projects: 1

weeks to go: 6

cumulative project count:36