Sesame Street Challenge? Bring It On!

2 weeks ago, a friend of mine challenged me to make Elmo. She said if I can make it, she wants to buy for her colleague, who is leaving the company soon...so, I said OK...let's give it a try...and since I'm making Elmo, she said if possible, make Cookie Monster as well as her colleague is a huge Elmo & Cookie Monster fan...

So, I started to experiment Cookie Monster...it took me about 2 hours to complete it...I used my son's plush Cookie as model...

This is the completed Cookie Monster...front & rear view...

I added a tiny lil' cookie for him...

Then I proceed to make Elmo, based on my son's plush Elmo...

Of course, since I'm into making cute keychain/charm, I make these 2 cuties into what I love...& tadaa...

Notice the alphabet D on Cookie Monster? That's the new owner's initial...I added a flower to the alphabet to make it cuter...and for Elmo, I added a yellow star...so we call him Lucky Elmo...

Lucky Elmo & Baby Cookie are about 4.5in tall & they sit on my palm just nice...

I packed Lucky Elmo & Baby Cookie in a see thru pouch...

Ok, now everybody says 'cheese'...

So how? Not too bad huh? My friends love it so much...LOL...wonder if she is going to give it to her colleague or she will keep it for herself!

Don't these coasters look yummylicious?

I love coasters, but I don't quite like making doilies as I think they are rather vintage & 'boring'...

So, I have started to experiment to come up with unique coasters...here's some that I've done & sold some...

1) Mocha & Oreo cookies coasters

Don't you just love em? Nothing beats a cuppa good coffee/tea with some delicious cookies...:)

Up-close...

2) Macarons Coasters

This is the second piece with different colors that I've made...the 1st color is in the following picture...

3) Swiss Roll Coasters

This is the 1st Pandan Swiss Roll I made last year...

This is what I made last week upon a customer's request to have a strawberry & chocolate Swiss roll...

And, a group photo for all 3 designs...

Don't you think these unique coasters will make your tea/coffee session more exciting? :)

I am so in love with these coasters that I plan to make more! :)

These cute foodie coasters will be made available for sale at my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/people/joeychin28

If you want to have it, do visit my shop yea!

Experimenting with Kokeshi Dolls

I have always wanted to make a Kokeshi doll...but don't dare to try it as I have no confident that it will work out the way I wanted...

oh, by the way...kokeshi means Japanese Doll & it originated from Northern Japan & it is made from wood...

So, 1 fine day last week, I started to experiment it. After about 3 hours of trial & error, this is what I get...

Then, I do another version...

Put it side by side...it looks like this:

Gotten some feedback from a lot of friends...the doll in pink looks a lil' eerie to me...LOL

So, I corrected my stitches on the following day to this & added the big eyes as my hubby said it will make it more kawaii...so I did! You know, all guys have this fantasy about super big eyes japanese girls...LOL

This corrected version looks a lot better than the old ones yea...

Just for your comparison between the 1st & corrected version:

Now that I have gotten the right stitches, I made another 2 designs of the dolls...

Next I am going to do 1 set with big eyes...LOL 

Things we can make using flowers...

Yesterday my eldest son told me that this Thursday, his school is having Teacher's Day celebration. As usual, he wants to give his teachers something...so I thought ok, why not? So, I asked him how many teachers & he replied 12... I was like WHAT? 12 presents in 1 day time??? Best when he told me he is going to prepare cards for the teachers as well. He said proudly that he had finished 1 card...in 1.5hrs time...so, I asked him how long does he think he will need to prepare the rest of the cards? After some quick calculation, he got panicked as he knew he is not going to be able to finish all the cards in time. So, I suggested that he does it on the computer instead...luckily, he managed to finish all the cards today before bedtime...then it is my turn to help him decorate it & print it out.

Sometimes, I wonder whether my kids are testing my 'super power' or they really think I am a Magician...I'm a handy crafter...all my masterpieces are handmade & it needs time...guess they won't understand it...lol

Anyway, with the limited time frame, I have to come out with 12 presents...in 1 day time...after some thinking, I've decided to try something new, with my newly found 'toy'...I bought some magnets last weekend, not knowing why but I just bought it...maybe the universe knows I will be needing this...LOL...and thank god for it too...otherwise, I won't be able to prepare 12 presents in 1 night!

Ok, this is what we made...

Isn't my son sweet? He personalised all the messages to his teachers...

Alright, time to eat my dinner, or more like supper since it is almost 1am now...and then, I'll be off to bed...nighty night!

Mom & Daughter Matching Bags

This is one of the very 1st bag that I've crocheted. Ordered by 1 of my dear friend...she wanted a matching Yellow bag for herself & her daughter but do not wish to buy those off the shelf as she wanted something unique...

So, I have crocheted this for her...glad that she loved it...

For mommy...the flower charm is removable & the yellow flower is removable too! This is to ensure the owner can redesign the bag according to her mood every time she uses the bag. Then, you can have 1 bag but few designs...cool, isn't it?

For daughter...the flower charm is removable as well.

It wasn't easy to come up with the design but I think I managed to get it done up to my expectation. Mind you, I'm a perfectionist...if things are not up to my expectation, i don't display or sell it...:)

Anyway, according to my dear friend, here's what she loved about her bag...this is attached to the zipper...it's my signature design...:)

And what she loved about her daughter's 1...the butterfly button 'flying' towards the flower charm...lol

After making her bag, the inspiration just flew in & I had to make a few more! I will share it out when it is done...:)

Bears friends forever!

Who wouldn't love a bear?

It started off with the bears I made for my eldest son, Constantine's friends as a graduation present (you may refer my post in year 2012). Then Christopher, my younger son wanted an Orange bear, so I made him 1. And then Constantine wanted a green bear of a bigger size. Seeing his brother got a bigger bear, Christopher wants another Orange bear of the same big size as the brother's.

After I completed the green bear & the orange bear, I started to crochet 2 bears for my girl, Annabelle (latest addition to the family). I chose Purple & Maroon. I also added bells in the bears.

Seeing the little sister got 2 bears, the boys also wanted 2 bears each. So, I have to make a brown bear for Constantine & blue bear for Christopher.

Then I continued to make 1 red bear & 1 peach bear for my cousins' daughter. 

So now, I have a group of bears in the house...each of them is about 13cm tall...

The bears are also available on FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Designed-With-Passion/172538912806601.

Don't you just love'em?