Kooky craft projects alert! Don’t worry, y’all. I haven’t gone all batty, I swear! I want to share some goofy things I have been working on. Who knows might inspire some of you. At least, that is my hope.

Hooking It Up Crafts

I have been hooking like crazy for the last year, so crochet has been my thing. Along with work, learning and running a website, writing blog posts, learning how to market on social media, touristing, and spending time with family & friends. I like to stay busy, maybe too busy. It works for me most of the time.

Nightmare Before Christmas Update, Kind of?

On the crochet side of things, I have finally finished the Nightmare Before Christmas blanket. Arrrg, that thing was a lot of work! Still need to work up details for the giveaway. More to come on that front eventually.

Mermaid-ish Blanket

One of my nieces requested a blanket, so I did just that. I wanted to go for a dark mermaid-ish inspiration. I was watching a lot of pirate documentaries over the summer. I was missing the beaches in Oregon a bit. Blue is one of her favorite colors, I swear! This is what I came up with for her. Do you get the sea vibe? Maybe it was all in my head?

Octopus Amigurumi Craft

I wanted to try my hand at making some stuffed animals and things. I don’t think I have ever done this before, so what the heck, why not. Figured I would start simple and see if I liked it. Turns out it is really fun! I posted pictures on my personal page, and the next thing I knew, I was up to six requests from family and friends. Good thing these worked up quickly. A blue, aqua, pink, white, and lavender . . .

I first made the blue one, and I followed the pattern exactly. It is cute, but I thought it was missing the bottom of the jellyfish globe. I added a bit to the next one, green. I was now happy with the top part, but the bottom dangly parts needed something too. I wasn’t sure what, though. Then the light bulb went off. They were too similar; they were begging for a bit of wonkiness. In the final, I added some strands of yarn and changed the stitch patterns on the dangly bits.

I like to experiment and make things my own, and I like free patterns for experiments. However, if you would like the original pattern that I followed. Click on the hyperlink jellyfish pattern. The maker does a nice job of explaining things. Y’all don’t want to see my idea of a pattern, I am sure it would only make sense to me, and I would leave out steps here and there. It would be a mess.

Last Crochet Blankets Before Halloween

My granddaughter, Wednesday, has her birthday coming up on October 30th. That means her Halloween-obsessed grandma has to do something, right?

She caught me playing with some velvet thread, and the texture quickly became her thing. Serious question for y’all, have you ever tried to get a three-year-old to describe something? I tried, and I tried, but it didn’t work out. I had her play with some pens. Her scribbles became my inspiration. and now we have this. It should be done with the borders by her birthday.

And I will be doing another one for her little sister Agatha after. I wasn’t sure of a style, but with Miss Aggie not liking covers, I knew I had to do something that was breathable. But I didn’t want to make it all Halloween, so I Googled and debated while I finished up Wednesday’s blanket.

Then it came to me like an epiphany. Green and gray, since Agie is bubbly most of the time.

Crafty Cross Stitch

I aspired to work on some Krampus Christmas ornaments for the three kids’ families this fall. Life had other plans those are currently on the back burner for a while.

The oldest daughter told me she would like a “No spoons left, only knifes” to go with the one below for her new apartment kitchen.

We will get back to her request shortly. The one below I did a few years ago while I was living in Portland, Oregon. It is a hodge podge of multiple patterns with a touch of Grim Mama creativity in the mix. I believe the base pattern of “Don’t make me poison your food” was a freebie, and then I added the skull and cross bones. Next, I wanted to have a bit of a weird science feel, so I added the beaker and the flask. I outlined the letters with a metallic thread that didn’t appear well in the picture but does in real life. and the fumes were done with a satin and metallic floss mixture.

I found this wretched brass frame at a second-hand store and added the painted colors. Lastly, after finding the frame, I matted the cross stitch and did a wonky border. I think it came together nicely.

Back to the Knifes Over Spoons

Okay, no worries, was my response. Found a pattern and figured it would be done in no time. Actually, it was it just had a month-long break right before finishing. Life can keep its curve balls to itself.

As you can see from the pattern, this is actually very simplistic. Nothing too crazy. I am sure this would have looked just fine in her kitchen. I just can’t leave well enough alone, though. I felt it needed color. It turns out this kiddo agreed with my choices.

Nothing too fancy for the frame went with a matte black. The idea was to have the colors pop.

Grim Papa Did An Inktober

If you follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter you can see his warm up paintings. Some of them are pretty neat. He says I am bias though. Okay, maybe he is right.

What about you did you get any crafting or adventuring in over the summer and fall? We would love hear about your grim travels or crafts. Please share on any of our socials. Who knows you might inspire someone else.

Thanks for spending time with us today, hope you stay safe and have some fun until next check-in.