Friday, June 21, 2013

2013 Independence Day Contest Entry #2

Another fantastic lady - Martha Shaw has worked up the Diamond Infant Dress  and has completed this darling set using Baby Rosey Ballet Slippers pattern by The Lovely Crow


Too cute!!!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

2013 Independence Day Contest Entry #1

Kendra McGill is a fantastic crocheter and always has such fun photos of her work.  It doesn't hurt that she has an adorable model either!

She used my Stars & Stripes Sundress and matched it up with the Vintage Star Baby Bonnet by Crochet by Jennifer


I'm loving the entries I'm seeing!  More to come :)

Entries are due by June 25th

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Auction for Colorado Fire Families

My friend Angela is one of the many who have been impacted by the Colorado Fires. I offered to help her by holding an auction on my Face Book page.  Many other businesses have generously donated and I'm hoping to get as much help for her as possible.  This is what she has to say:  

Colorado has several devastating fires burning and there are many displaced families and families that have lost their homes. The best way I know to help is to have an auction with all monies collected going directly to help the families that fell victims to these fires. We have 6 responding agencies to the fires at present. They are: The American Red Cross, Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, Discover Goodwill Southern and Western Colorado, Humane Society of Pikes Peak Region, Mercy's Gate, and The Salvation Army. You will be allowed to designate where you want your auction money to go, if there is no choice then the monies will be sent to The American Red Cross and Humane Society of Pikes Peak Region. All records of this action will be made public so everyone will see where the monies are going. Auctionis open now through July 3, 2013. No Bids will be accepted after the end date. All auction items should be paid no later than 10 days after auction closes. Unclaimed auction items will be offered to the next highest bidder. Thank You for your support in our efforts to help the victims of the Colorado Fires. I will be happy to answer any and all question you may have. Please feel free to email me at coloradofireauction@gmail.com. Direct donations can be sent through paypal to the same email address.

Here is a link to the Auction Album

I would love to see this be a huge help for those involved.  If you can, please take a moment to look through the donations and help her out.  If you would be willing to donate something, please let me know.

Thanks for your support
Kate 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Seeing Stars & Stripes

I am so excited to share with you the photos that I received from Nicole Nelson Photography.  It's always fun to see how others display my items.  I am not at all good at setting things up for photos and am so happy that Nicole is willing to help me out!  She did a fantastic job and it was hard to choose which photos to use to promote my newest design.  I couldn't narrow it down to just one.  Luckily, I use several different sites to sell my patterns, so I used a different one on each site...lol (that's one way of getting around choosing).

Announcing the release of my "Stars & Stripes Infant Sundress"  This pattern is on sale for it's release through the end of the week for $2.99.  Here are the links to the listings: Stars & Stripes pattern on Craftsy Stars & Stripes pattern on Ravelry





The toddler and child sizes for this pattern are being tested now and both should be released by the end of the month.  This was such a fun pattern to do and looks so cute on little babies.  I can't wait to make one for each of my toddlers to wear around.  Welcome to summer my Friends!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Independence Day Contest

Have you started your Independence Day set for our contest yet?

I'm starting to see photos of dress sets for this contest and am so excited!  Very cute and creative options.  I cant wait to start posting photos.

This is another example of what I'm looking for.  This is my Diamond baby dress that I made with a pair of sandals. The sandal pattern was in a book that my grandma gave me but I didn't completely like it, so I made some adjustments. 


To enter, all you have to do is make one of my dresses and an accessory to make a baby set. Email a photo to craftingfriends4you@yahoo.com by June 25th.  Entries will be judged by an independent group and the winner announced on July 1st.  Winner will receive their choice of $25 Etsy gift card to be used in any shop which accepts them, or $25 to spend in any shop on Ravelry, or a $25 Michaels gift card.

The more participation I see, the more prizes I will add :)  Please help spread the word so we can make this a huge success.

Thanks
Kate


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Independence Day Contest 2013

Since I have had the opportunity to work with some other designers and come up with some cute baby sets, I thought it would be fun to have a few contests throughout the year using not only my patterns, but patterns by other designers to make the perfect Holiday baby sets.

This will be the first contest and hopefully there will be enough participation to make it fun and enable us to have more.

Rules:
1. Make one of my dresses in colors and/or using embellishments that would be perfect for the 4th of July holiday. All of my patterns can be found here: Crafting Friends Pattern Store

2. Also, make an item to go with the dress to make it a set.  The 2nd item could be a hat/bonnet, baby shoes/sandals, a blanket....Just something  extra that would help make photos or the gift more fun. Links to matching patterns are posted below. You do not have to stick to this list, it is there to show the options.

3. You agree to give Crafting Friends permission to use the photos entered. It would be fun to have the dresses modeled, but is not required. If a model is used, please make sure I have permission to also use the photos on my blog, FB page, or other sites I sell patterns on.

4. Photos must be emailed to me at craftingfriends4you@yahoo.com by the 22nd of June in order to be entered. Please make sure your name and the name of the patterns/designer you used for your project are listed so I can give credit to those designers also.

5. I will add all photos on the blog and also share them on my Face Book page for 1 week to give everyone time to see them. Each project will be numbered and then voted for by an independent group. Winner will be announced on July 1st.

6. Winner will receive their choice of $25 Etsy Gift Certificate (can be used in any Etsy shop which accepts them) OR $25 Gift card to Michaels OR I will buy $25 worth of patterns on Ravelry for you.  Winner will only have 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen.

Here are links to the other patterns that match some of my dress patterns











Monday, May 20, 2013

New Arrival and a crazy life

It's been a while since I've posted.  There has been so much going on this last month with my family and I don't seem to have time to get what I would like done. Slowly, things are getting back to normal and I will try and post more often. 

We welcomed our 4th little girl into our family on April 15th.  Kensley Lenora is a beautiful healthy baby and we are very blessed to have her in our lives. The labor and delivery went well and she came fast. What was unexpected was the issues that I had after they took me to my room.  Luckily, I was in a good hospital with a fantastic doctor and wonderful nurses that were quick to take care of me.  I ended up staying an extra night so they could keep an eye on me.
The not so fabulous part of staying that extra night was that my oldest daughter was in a car accident that night and was not wearing her seatbelt.  She hit her head on the windshield and ended up in the back seat of the car she was in. While I was in the hospital with the baby, she was in another hospital's ER 30 miles away.  Luckily, she was able to walk away with just bruises on her knees and a very sore head. 
She was definitely watched over that night. Lots of prayers were said for us that week and I am so blessed to have an amazing family and wonderful neighbors who jumped in to help us out.

With a new baby, and watching my 3yr old nephew during the week along with my 3 & 4 yr olds, I'm a little slower at designing. I do have a new dress which will be released next week. This was inspired by the Ashlee Cloche & the vintage-star-baby-bonnet patterns by Crochet by Jennifer.

Right now, it will be relesaed in infant sizes. Toddler and /child sizes will follow :)



Monday, April 8, 2013

Pattern Test for Crochet by Jennifer

Hello everyone.  I hope you all have had a good start to the week.  Still no baby yet :(  We thought we were going to have it late Friday night, but weren't that lucky.  So to keep myself busy (on top of taking care of the toddlers)  I was able to do a little bit of yardwork before the storms rolled in.  I have also had the chance to test a pattern for another designer  Crochet by Jennifer .  She has some really cute designs and I'm hoping to work with her on some baby sets.  I have worked with 5-6 other designers in the past where I have designed a dress to match their hat - or, they have designed something that matches one of my dresses.  It is so much fun!

I am not a fan of taking photos of myself, but needed to get some to show the results of the pattern test.  This is the Ainsley Slouchy that Jennifer designed and the pattern is available here: Ainsley Hat on Ravelry.  It works up quickly, is easy to follow and has many sizes to choose from. 

 I also tested the Toddler size for her and had Brooklynn model for me.  I love this little girl! 


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Ready for Summer?

The weather has started to change in my area :)  It's exciting to see all the flowers blooming.  Though we are still getting some nice little rainstorms (which we need), the days are getting warmer.  I can't wait to get out my patio furniture, clean out the pond and waterfall and relax outside with a new baby enjoying a little crochet work and the girls playing. 

With the warmer weather soon upon us, many crocheters are starting to work up some lighter patterns.  My Princess Britt patterns are a big hit and I can't wait to see what colors everyone chooses to use!  I also have the Swirly Whirly Sundress patterns that are perfect for summer.  I've decided to offer a sale for the set of patterns.  Through April 11th, you can get both Swirly Whirly patterns which will include instructions for sizes Newborn to Childs 8 for $5.50 along with a diaper cover pattern for infants.  Basically, it's a buy 1 get 1 free deal - you can't beat that!

Here is the link to the patterns on Craftsy: Swirly Whirly Pattern Pack on Craftsy

It's also available on Ravelry: Crafting Friends on Ravelry  You will just need to add both patterns to your cart and the discount will automatically be given at checkout.






Also, the month of April is Autism Awareness month.  A friend of mine has compiled some items and crochet patterns that can be purchased with part of the proceeds going to this cause.  If you have a moment, please check out her album and let her know I sent you. Autism Awareness by Yarning for More

Have a beautiful spring weekend my friends!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

1st Professional Photos

I am thrilled that I finally found a local photographer to work with on taking photos of my designs.  I wish I had photos of my things done from day 1 - but I'm not looking back.  These photos are amazing and really show off the Butterfly Garden Overlay and Afghan. 

If you have a minute, stop by Nicole Nelson Photography and check out her work. 

I can't wait to add these photos to my new patterns.  Both the Afghan and the Overlay should be released by Saturday.  I will have them on sale individually and as a set and will share the link as soon as it is up and running. 

Happy Easter Weekend my friends!