DIY BRIDEMAID AND MAID OF HONOR GIFTS

Baby Cat kept her bridesmaid gifts a secret until now to avoid spoiling any surprises before the wedding. Now that the wedding and honeymoon are long over, there is no reason not to share them!

Baby Cat knit these little purses for each bridesmaid to keep her wedding-day essentials in. They are the wedding colors, of course!

A silky royal blue lining complements the shiny silver yarn!

Baby Cat picked up these gorgeous blue glass bottles as potential gifts last summer. 

Aren't they the perfect color?

These cute labels from collage made the perfect nametags for everyone.

Using Illustrator, Baby Cat designed custom nametages for each bridesmaid (and one bridesman, Baby Brother Cat, who also received one of the Tuxedo gift bags!)

After filling each bottle with yummy lavender bath beads and attaching the nametags with a jewelry chain and a "made with love" charm, voila! They are done! 

Baby Cat also made this magical faery dust necklace for her maid of honor. Wonderful bridesmaids deserve special handmade gifts!

-Baby Cat

HATS FOR ALL!

Back in May or June, Baby Brother Cat asked Baby Cat if she had time to make him a hat. Baby Cat could make no promises before graduation and the wedding, but after that, of course! Baby Brother described the kind of hat he wanted and the kind of yarn, and Baby Cat found the yarn and wrote a pattern that was just right (after 1 do-over). Here is the result!

If you like Baby Brother's hat, you can buy the pattern at our Etsy shop or at Baby Cat's Ravelry shop.

Now Husband Cat saw Baby Cat working on the hat and asked to put in a request for a hat of his own. He didn't have a specific style or yarn in mind, so he and Baby Cat searched Ravelry until they found this pattern, called "David's Hat", which was available for free on Ravelry.

The patterned band around the hat was fun to knit and adds a nice decorative effect to the hat.

While looking for a hat for Husband Cat,  Baby Cat became enthralled with this adorable Elf Hat pattern, which she adapted slightly to make this Flower Faery hat. Now we will both stay warm and look super-cute as the cooler weather moves in!

 

-Baby Cat

EASY DIY TUXEDO GIFT BAGS

Baby Cat thinks sees no reason why gifts for the guys in a wedding party can't be as cute and creative as the ones for the girls. That's why she was so excited to learn how to make these adorable tuxedo gift bags! This photo tutorial is an adaptation of a tutorial I found by Nashville Wraps. You can click here to see there original tutorial.

For my version, see below!

You will need:

-Paper in white or the color of your groomsmen's shirts, if different (I made one in white and one in    navy blue, the tutorial I adapted recommended white pearl stripe paper, which looks great but I couldn't find any for my own project)
-1/2'' ribbon in black or color to contrast shirt, about 12" per bag (depending on the size of the bag)
-1/4'' diameter brads, buttons, or beads in black or color to match shirt (I used black brads)
-Paper gift bags- one for each tuxedo you want to make
 *note: If you can find black gift bags you will save yourself a few steps. If not, you will also need:
-Black acrylic craft paint (I used Martha Stewart's Multi-Surface Satin)
-A paint brush
-Newspaper to protect your work surface from paint

Let's get started!

Step 1: Paint the Bags (those of you lucky enough to find black bags, skip this step)
        Cover your work surface with newspaper, pop your bags open so that they stand up on their own.

Next spread a light layer of paint all over the outside of the bag and the top of edge of the inside.

        Wait for the paint to dry (about 1 hr) and add extra coats as needed. You don't have to paint the bottom of the bag, but if you would like to, wait until the other paint is dry so it won't smudge when you lay the bag on its side to paint the bottom.

Step 2: Put on a shirt!
      Cut an isoceles triangle out of your shirt paper. When placed on the bag with the point facing down, and short edge lined up with the top of the bag, you should have about 1'' of bag left on either side of the triangle and two inches at the bottom.

Glue the triangle in place.

Step 3: Bow Tie!
     Cut at 6'' length of ribbon and make it into a circle, overlapping ends by 1/4'' and glue. Put a spot of glue in the inside center of the loop and press together to make two loops.
     Cut a 2 1/4'' length of ribbon and wrap it around the center of the double-loop bow. Overlap the ends in the back and glue.

     Cut a length of ribbon as long as the entire width of the front of the bag and glue it across the bag, about 1'' from the top. Glue the bow tie to the center of this ribbon.

Step 4: Buttons
     Glue 4 of your buttons to the center front of the "shirt" equidistant from one another. If you are using brads, break the bendable part or cut it with a wire cutter to keep it from showing or getting in the way when you glue the round part to to the shirt.

Step 5: Fill it up!
     Fill the bag with gifts for your groomsman, best man, dad, groom, or any other guy who plays a special role on your wedding day! Then later it with black and white (or shirt color) tissue paper to finish!

Disclaimer: The actual contents and recipients of these giftbags, as well as Baby Cat's DIY bridesmaid gifts, will not be posted until Baby Cat and Fiancé Cat's Wedding day, lest someone in the wedding party accidentally glimpse something that they shouldn't and spoil the surprise. Sorry, the same goes for Baby Cat's handmade wedding dress.

LET'S TRADE!

What do you get when a knitter/crocheter and a miniaturist are friends? The recipe for a great trade, of course!

Baby Cat has been knitting tiny sweaters for Jennifer of Plush Pussycat's adorable critters in exchange for some cute miniature furniture for Baby Cat's dollhouse!

Jennifer found all of the patterns and yarn, then Baby Cat turned them into sweaters! Jennifer also designed the backgrounds and took the pictures of the little kitty, Grandma Bear, and Strawberry Shortcake and her friend in their sweaters.

This is the first tiny sweater pattern baby cat made, on the tiniest needles she and Jennifer could find, 1.0mm! Jennifer designed the lovely background for this photo she took of this little kitty wearing her sweater! This is the child size sweater.

And here is Grandma Bear wearing the grown-up size of the same sweater.

Baby Cat also made these two sweaters for Strawberry Shortcake and Orange Blossom using slightly larger (but still tiny) needles. 

Here is another cute sweater pattern. The only problem is, there is no opening in the back so this bunny has to be careful not to hurt his ears taking it on and off! This picture was taken inside the sewing room of Baby Cat's dollhouse.

In exchange for the sweaters, Baby Cat got several very nice pieces of furniture for her dollhouse! She loves this old-fashioned kitchen set:

Kitchen cabinets with a little flour mill inside.

An old-fashioned ice box.

This sink is similar to the one Baby Cat and Fiancé Cat have in their house.

And this desk and cabinet:

And this cute little end table and quilt or towel rack:

Right now Baby Cat is working on some tiny crochet dresses for the Calico Critters, as well as some more sweaters! Stay tuned to see them, and more dollhouse furniture!

-Baby Cat

A BEAUTIFUL GIFT FROM FUTUREMOM CAT

Baby Cat's Futuremom (also known as FiancéCat's mom and Maureen Cat) has been working on a very special wedding gift for Baby Cat!

Baby Cat received this gorgeous hand-crocheted keepsake purse from Futuremom Cat this past weekend! The cream-colored yarn that Futuremom used matches the beautiful stole that Momma Cat made for Baby Cat, so they will go perfectly together! A brooch fit for a princess, and stunning beaded details in Baby Cat and Fiancé Cat's wedding colors (blue and silver, if we haven't already mentioned it) make this wonderful gift even more special.

Baby Cat found another lovely surprise inside the purse, this sweet handkerchief with delicate blue lace around the edges, the perfect "something blue."

Futuremom Cat even took great care in wrapping the gift. Baby Cat loves the sparkly blue fabric she used, and the pretty white and silver box!

Thank you for the amazing gift, Futuremom!

Love,

Baby Cat

A NEW SHIRT FOR FIANCE CAT!

The holidays were a very busy, but fun, time for the Cat family! Baby Cat only had time to make a couple of Christmas presents this year. One was this shirt for Fiancé Cat, doesn't it look cute on him? 

The hardest part were the buttonholes, which Baby Cat practiced many times on scrap fabric before they looked good enough to sew into the shirt. Baby Cat thought zippers were difficult to sew, but buttonholes just might be worse!

Baby and Fiancé Cat's Christmas Tree

Stay tuned for Baby Brother Cat's present, which will hopefully be done while it is still winter...

The Making of Queen Lorena

I am so happy with how Queen Lorena turned out. It was so much fun to do all the facial sculpting I had never tried before, like the eyelids and chin (yes, it's weird to knit a chin for a doll, but I swear she needed it). I definitely want to experiment more with these kinds of facial details in the future.

The Queen with her eyelids, eyelashes, brows, nose, mouth, and ears,  but something is missing...

With a chin and, hair, and powder blush to make her cheeks rosy!

The Queen is entirely hand-knit on double-pointed needles, which is not nearly as scary as it sounds. Her eyes are the childproof "animal eyes" that anchor in the back, so I had to plan ahead on her face a little bit. Usually I wait until the very end to worry about the face, but maybe having to think about it early helped me work out the other details in my head sooner than I would have otherwise.

Her costume was also a ton of fun to make, I love making mixed media clothes for dolls!

Her underclothes and bodice are all knit as part of the doll body.

Her skirt and collar are made from this purple batik fabric, and her brooch is crocheted wire with a bead. Here tiara is knit wire and beads.

Here arms and legs have pipe cleaner "bones" like most of my dolls, so that they can hold a pose.

It was very important for the Queen to have exactly the right yarn for her hair, so I went down the street to my local yarn shop, Soft Horizons Fibre,



Soft Horizons Fibre yarn shop (isn't it cute?) I love the house as much as the yarn!

to find something extra special. I ended up with this gorgeous black and silver mohair, which I attached to her head with the latch hook method. It was so pretty, I just had to leave it super long!

I plan to type up Queen Lorena's pattern and have it for sale on the Etsy shop soon, so keep an eye out if you would like to knit a Queen Lorena doll of your very own!

-Baby Cat

Sock Monsters Galore!

Remember these two cuties from the art auction a couple of weeks ago? Well, someone bought them! I got slightly more than the minimum asking price but now I'm wondering if I should have charged more. I am still learning how to price things so that I get a fair price but people will still pay what I am asking. It is tricky.

Sock Monster Couple

Anyway, they now have two friends that are up on Etsy! This is Freddy, he has a compass for an eye and a milk carton cap to protect him from the elements, so he is always prepared for an adventure! Here we see him relaxing after a long day of exploring.

And this is Paige. Paige is super excited because she is trying on prom dresses and just found the perfect one! (She loves ribbons, as you can see.) 

If you want to see Paige and Freddy in my Etsy shop, you can access it by clicking on their icons in the right sidebar. Stay tuned for more dolls, including my special surprise doll for the county fair!

-Baby Cat

Flower Barrettes for Spring

Last week, Hirons was out of headbands! For those of you who don't know, Hirons is a local Eugene pharmacy that sells anything you could possibly want. The first time I ever went there, it was to get cold medicine and I left with a random assortment of makeup and Hello Kitty stuff, but no medicine! Now it's where I get my headbands, but this time they didn't have any, so I thought I would try barrettes instead. I made one with pink flowers, one with blue flowers, and one with a red butterfly (also from Hirons).

 

Pink acrylic flowers on vintage pink lace 

Practicing my smile like Momma Cat asked.

Blue acrylic flowers on vintage pink lace 

Still practicing...

Red plastic "gemstone" butterfly of vintage pink lace

...too sleepy to smile

As usual, these will all be appearing on Etsy one by one over the next few days. I will also have more things made from Hirons treasures to show you soon.

Hirons is a magical place!

-Baby Cat