Friday Funnies ~ Naptime : Deconstructed

Happy Friday Everyone!

Yesterday, I told you how I have been dreaming of the beach!

So today, I thought I would demonstrate how I get to my dreamy place ~  in the wonderful world of Nod!

The first thing I do is find a nice comfy, warm place to curl up and relax.

Then you close your eyes... like this.

Are you doing it too? 

I cannot see you!

* Muffled sleepy pug voice*

Now... rest your head down and count from 8 backwards...

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz

*Melissa Whispering*

Thank you Archie for that very effective demonstration.

Night Night Sweetheart. :)

Have a wonderful & restful weekend everyone!

xoxoxo

M & A

Crochet Sand Dollar ~ Bring the Beach to You!

Happy Thursday Everyone!

It is me...

Archie!

I have been dreaming of the beach!

My momma tells me stories of the ocean and the sandy beaches that are warm and fun to build sand castles on!

We do not have an ocean or a beach here in Colorado, but my momma made me this crocheted Sand Dollar to bring the beach to us!

She got it in the same wonderful pack of Sea Urchin patterns from Etsy that we showed you last week.

Our sea creature and shell collection is growing!

I wonder if my momma will be able to crochet a whole ocean for us to swim in soon! :)

We will have another friend from the sea to introduce you to next week!

I am so excited for you to meet him! :)

Until then, we are building a habitat for him to enjoy!

Here is our Sand Dollar!

I think it is very beachy! :)

Are you planning any FUN vacations this year?

Please leave us a note and let us know!

We would love to hear all about it!

xoxoxo

R-Chee

Melissa Doodle ~ Play Today!

Happy Wednesday!

Archie and I are so excited to show you our latest doodle!

I think the Easter Bunny must have inspired us to find this hungry fellow waiting to released from his rainbow swirl background.

What FUN shapes will you discover in your doodle today?

Please leave us a note and let us know!

We would love to see!

xoxoxo

Melissa & R-Chee

Kitchen Crochet ~ New Bag Holder ~ Free pattern

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Archie and I are so excited to show you this new plastic bag holder we just made from this fabulous free pattern we found on The Mitten and Makings Blog.

It was so fast and FUN to make!

Archie and I used lots of small balls of yarn from my yarn stash to create this fun, colorful and functional work of art!

I even added the crochet tube at the top to cover the hook on the hanger.

Ta Da!

The bags hold a ton of stuff!

You could also use this bag to hold dog toys, poop bags & sweaters, leashes and collars for them. :)

I plan on making a few more for the laundry and sewing room. 

Please let me know if you make one too!

I would love to see!

xoxoxo

Melissa & Archie

New Yarn Painting ~ Pug in the Park

Happy Monday everyone!

I am so excited to show you my new yarn painting that I just finished!

Archie was sweet enough to be my model for this image.

I love painting with yarn!

Each piece of fiber builds on to the next to create a rich, textured painting that anyone can create!

You do not need to know how to draw, knit or crochet to make this fiber work painting come to life.

All you need is some glue, scissors, yarn and your favorite photo.

I have written a fun tutorial on creating a yarn painting for you to enjoy.

I snapped some photos for you to see this new painting spring to life.

I did the painting over several days to keep the whole process FUN and creative.

You can stop and start at any time in the process and pick up right where you left off feeling happy and refreshed.

Here is Archie getting filled in with each strand of yarn.

Always starting at the top of my image, I have filled in his head and blocked in some imortant lines in the body that I do not want to miss later.

I use worsted weight acrylic through most of it but do have some thinner weight wool fibers running it through it too.

Yarn painting is an excellent way to use up tiny balls of yarn that you have left over from other projects left in your stash.

Now Archie is all filled in and I have cut small white circles of craft felt to use as highlights in his eyes.

Here are close up shots of the shading I followed right from my photograph.

I decided to "transport" Archie from his rug in the original photo to a lush park by splitting the background with a blue sky and some green grass.

Ta Da!

Our new yarn painting is complete!

I had so much FUN creating it!

I have made signed prints and note cards available for you to enjoy in our Etsy Shop.

Please contact me anytime with any questions if you decide to make a yarn painting too.

Archie & I would also love to see and share what you create!

xoxoxo

Melissa & Archie

Friday Funnies ~ Archie the Easter Bunny!

Hoppy Friday Everyone!

It is me...

Archie!

I heard my momma say that the Easter Bunny is coming this weekend!

I am so excited that a GIANT bunny is coming to play with me!

I am busy cleaning up the sticks in the backyard so he will feel welcome and stay a long time!

Bunnies are my favorite playmates.

They sit in the grass and wait for me to come up and startle them.

Then they hop away & leave me a pile of presents that are deeeliousus ~

They look like little chocolate Easter eggs!

My momma always says "Ewwww Archie! Those are not snacks!"

But I disagree!  They are my favorite treat!

Here I am disagreeing! :)

Somehow I do not think my momma is convinced yet!

Happy Easter & Passover everyone!

What are your festive plans for the weekend?

Please leave me a note and tell me all about them!

I cannot wait to hear with my giant bunny ears!

xoxoxo

R-Chee

Moe's Crispy Bagel Recipe

Happy Thursday everyone!

It is me...

Cousin Moe!

I have a yummy recipe that I know you will love as much as I do!

Crispy Bagel Bites!

They are yummy and so easy to make!

I just taught Archie how to make them, and I wanted to share them with you too!

Crispy Bagel Bites

I N G R E D I E N T S:

1 tsp vegetable oil
½ cup wheat flour
2 ½ cup white flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ cup chopped spinach
½ cup chopped carrots
1 egg
¾ cup water

I N S T R U C T I O N S:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine wet and dry ingredients separately.
Then mix them together.
Knead by hand.
Form into 1 ½ - 2 inch ball shaped pieces.
Flatten and poke a hole in the center and shape into a bagel.
Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Let cool before serving.
Store in refrigerator or freeze to preserve.    

Recipe from www.all-natural-dog-treat.com

Archie loves them! 4 Paws Up!

 

Thank you so much Moe for sharing your favorite bagel recipe with us! 

I am going to see if I can get my momma and Auntie Melanie to make us smoked salmon smear to spread on top for breakfast on Sunday morning! :)

They are paw lickin' good! :)

xoxoxox

R-Chee

Melissa Doodles ~ Let Go & Have FUN!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I have been having so much FUN taking a few minutes to doodle everyday!

It is a freeing exercise that you can quickly do on the computer, in a journal or on a scrap piece of paper that will make you smile.

I never know what I will create!

I just put some colors down for a background and see what shapes appear that inspire me to sketch a form and bring it to life.

One of my favorite artists is Carla Sonheim. 

She has fabulous & inspiring books, tutorials, online classes and a blog where she shares her magic with us.

She teaches us how to just let go & have fun drawing and creating!

Many years ago, she inspired me to create a series of fun drawings I call Melissa Doodles.

I wrote a tutorial for you on how I make them so you can play too!  :)

I love the new things that appear when I make them and also the energy the daily doodling stirs up in my heart that grows and grows & moves me to make new art. :)

I just got this easy to use software called Sketchbook by Autodesk to create this new series of doodles that I am excited to share with you.

My latest one is above for you to enjoy!

Please email me if you make any too!

I would LOVE to post yours along with mine as we play and create together!

xoxoxo

Melissa & Archie

Hoppy Tuesday! Meet My New Pug Bunny Doll

Hi everyone!

Hoppy Tuesday!

It is me...

Archie!

I am so excited!

My momma just received our newest pug doll from our dear friend, Karen creator of Paddywak Pugs!

Meet our new Pug Bunny!

Isn't he just  fabulous?

Karen handmade him and painted every detail from his pug nose down to his toes!

He is perfect for me since I have so many bunny friends in my backyard!

As soon as she saw him, my momma purchased him for our collection!

We just love him!

Thank you Karen!

He arrived from their new home in Germany just in time to meet the Easter bunny!

What FUN things do you like to collect?

Please leave me a note and let me know.

I cannot wait to learn about all of your favorite things!

xoxoxoox

R-Chee

Crochet Sea Urchin

Happy Monday everyone!

Archie and I had the best time making this sea urchin this weekend!

Our dear friend Lynne who lives in England sent us this fabulous Snowdrops yarn that has all the little white bumps right in the yarn!

To make this wonderfully textured shell, all we had to do was follow this fun pattern we found on etsy!

I added a bit of embroidery after I crocheted it to add some shape and shadow.

R-Chee thinks both Whiskers and Seth will like having some crocheted shells in their new home! :)

We plan to make the sand dollar next!

I will show it to you as soon as it is done!

What FUN things do you have planned this week?

Please leave us a note and let us know!

We cannot wait to hear all about them!

xoxoxox

Melissa & Archie