New Crochet Toys for Christmas and a Pattern for New Year!

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! As the decorations come down, here is a cute new face to keep things cheerful: 

Baby Cat made this bunny out of super-soft Bella Chenille. There are no words to describe how amazingly soft this chenille is! Let's just say it makes an already adorable bunny extra cuddle-worthy.   His eyes are child-safe "animal eyes" so a baby cannot pull them out to choke on them. If you would like to make one of these cuties yourself, the pattern is now available on Etsy and Ravelry. The chunky yarn makes it very quick to crochet. Baby Cat might just make one in every color!

And speaking of cute:

Momma Cat loves Toothless from the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" so Baby Cat made him for her for Christmas! The pattern was free from Nichole's Nerdy Knots.

And Baby Brother Cat got a Baby Groot plant from Guardians of the Galaxy, designed by Kamila Krawka Krawczyk.

The last crocheted toy of the season was for a friend who loves dala horses. This pattern is by A la Sascha.

That's it for the holidays! Last year was super busy due to Momma Cat working more, Baby Cat's college graduation, and Baby Cat and Husband Cat getting married last summer and then moving to a different state just last month. This year we plan to have even more cute projects and original patterns to share! 

-Baby Cat

Happy New Year! Check out these cute miniature houses!

Happy New Year! Here is my Christmas project, finally completed. I got the pattern for this crochet gingerbread house a couple of years ago from my grandma. I did all of the crocheting a long time ago but didn't completely finish putting it together. This year, I decided to finally finish it and turn it into a cute centerpiece instead of a bunch of little crocheted pieces taking up space in Momma Cat's house.

Front View

The crocheted walls and roof of the house have a backing of plastic canvas to stiffen them. Even so, the house was pretty wobbly once I sewed it all together. I consulted my favorite engineer, who suggested making a structural frame out of wire hangers to strengthen the walls against wobbling. I bent a few wire hangers and sewed them along the edges and corners of the inside of the house, and it worked very well!

Side View

The base is a foam disk that I crocheted around with white sparkly yarn. Then I sewed the house and all of the little candy decorations to the base. The little peppermints are my favorite, but the gumdrops, lollipops, and gingerbread men were all fun too!

Back View

The smoke billowing from the chimney is just some polyester stuffing I arranged to give it  a cozy feel, along with the warm glow from the yellow crocheted windows.

Side View

And now, for my next house project...

I bought this beautiful dollhouse kit from my friend Jennifer of plushpussycat.com. If you haven't seen Jennifer's blog she makes amazing dollhouses, miniatures, and adorable needle-felted animals! She even gave me a bag full of wonderful miniature treasures to put in my house when it is done. 

I have heard that when making a dollhouse it is best to do the painting and wallpaper before you put the house together. For me, the wall finishes are among the hardest decisions to make because they have such a huge impact on the overall look of the house, even after the rest of the design work is done. For this reason I might have to do a lot of thinking and looking at different color combinations before this house will be finished. Right now, I am thinking of trying to make the exterior look like stone. I am going to research this and see if it looks like something I can do. 

I can't wait to see what my finished house will look like and who will live in it. I guess I better get to work!

-Baby Cat