Crocheted beaver hat

This past weekend I finished a year-long adventure that was called Wood Badge.  For those that might not be familiar with this course, it is an adult leadership course through Boy Scouts of America.  My course was two 3-day weekends of camping and hands-on instruction in a small group called a patrol.  For me this was the Beaver Patrol.  Then I had to put this knowledge into practice and complete my ticket (five Scouting goals).

The reward for completing the process is a neckerchief scarf and leather woggle (neckerchief slide),  and two little wooden beads on a leather thong, in addition to the experience and prestige.

The other ladies that completed the course with me both had hats to represent their respective patrols.  So, I set out to figure out how to create a beaver hat.  After some looking, I found a pattern.  However, being the frugal person that I am, I didn't want to pay for something that I could probably figure out on my own.  I kept searching and hopped onto the Repeat Crafter Me site since I knew she had several free hat patterns there.  A combination of a few patterns and some free-handed elements and I have my own beaver hat:

My hat used the basic hat instructions from this Sock Monkey Hat pattern and crocheted in a spiral rather than joining each round.  The ears are from the same pattern, but I folded them in half to create a smaller, 3-D looking ear.  I wanted a little bit of a feminine touch, so I used the bow pattern from this Penguin Hat to make the purple bow.  The other facial elements were my own creation for the muzzle, nose and teeth.  The eyes are black buttons sewn onto white felt circles.  The whiskers were just sewn on with black yarn.

I made my own pattern for the tail.  I'm not sure I like it, but it works for the general idea.  I think it's a little short.  I might try to change that at some point.

What do you think, is making beaver hats my calling in life?

Budding photographer

Over the weekend we learned that Princess has quite an artistic eye when it comes to photography.  She got hold of the camera and was snapping some photos after my Woodbadge beading ceremony.  While you might look at a photo like this and think it's a person hiding behind a water bottle, consider that the human subject is nicely centered, in focus and pretty good proportions. (Even if she is hiding.)  Most of the person photos Little Miss Sunshine snapped were at awkward side angles or done in such a way to leave the subjects headless or with floating heads.

Here's another example of an odd photo -- a purple water bottle in the middle of a grassy patch.  But, where do you  focus as you look at the picture?  The bright water bottle right in the middle.  I say, for a 6-year-old, it's not a bad color contrast and good centering.

I bet you've never thought to take a picture of pink, have you?  This was an extreme close up of the storage bag from a camp chair.

At first glance this is just a dandelion.  However, as I looked at it more, I realized the artistic quality of the dandelion head being right in the center and focused as opposed to the blurred grass in the background.  It may not be the best angle for the flower head, but again, this was taken completely independently by a six-year-old.

This photo I love.  It was probably a random snap as the sun was going down, but I really like the brilliant sun causing the rest of the image to be in shadow.  I was surprised by the composition of the trees on the sides and the open space in the middle.  I definitely don't think I could have created something like this even if I'd tried.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a great photographer.  I do my best to capture my subjects, but I will not be going pro any time soon.  Maybe I should start hiring Princess.  What do you think?

Pin-spired hair - Game of Thrones styles

I was excited when I saw this week's challenge for Make-up Monday at Agape Love Designs.  The challenge is to recreate a look, mani/pedi, or hair style that you found on or pinned to Pinterest.

The Artist has quite a collection of hairstyle pins.  Over the past several weeks we've given a couple of them a try.  This pin and this pin to video tutorials were the winners for our attempts.

The first style is a Daenerys-inspired braided style.  I'll admit, I know nothing about Game of Thrones or any of the characters, so I have no idea how realistic this style might be, but it did turn out pretty cute.

I was a little nervous for the waterfall braid section, but all in all it wasn't too bad to do.  My spacing needs a little bit of help, but I'm sure that probably comes with practice.

The second style is for Arya Stark.  (Sorry for a less-than stellar photo, it was the best we ended up with.) 

This style is a double braid bun.  Wrap the braids around each other and pin in place.  Both of the pins above ^^ link to great video tutorials that move step-by-step at an easy-to-follow pace.

Special thanks to The Artist for encouraging me to play with her hair and to Maria and Andrea for hosting a great Makeup Monday challenge.  Maybe I'll try some pin-spired looks for me next.

April Blog Angel reveal

This past month I was a blog angel, spreading cheer through comments.  The blog I chose this time was Simply Smiling . . . Everyday!

I really like helping small bloggers through the Blog Angel program.  I know how much comments mean to me, so I like spreading the comment love to other blogs.  Here's a few of my favorite posts you should go check out:
This adorable thumbprint frog tote
Fun rainbow cupcakes
Sunset inspiration

If you'd like to be a Blog Angel, signups for the next round open May 15 for June.  Visit Craftbotic to get the details.  Rosie really wants to get more than 30 people involved for the next round.  It doesn't have to be anything big or spectacular, just commenting on posts works.  It really doesn't take much time and you just might find a new blog or two that you enjoy.  Maybe I'll be your Blog Angel next.