Tunisian Crochet ~ New Lion Doll

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I am so excited to show you my new lion doll I just finished!

It is the newest free-form Tunisian Crochet doll in my collection.

I just love how he turned out!

I never know what will appear when I start. :)

I think he is adorable from the top of his head down to his little toes!

Ta Da!

His expression just cracks me up.

It has so much personality!

He looks like he is trying to look tough on the outside, but is really a softie on the inside.

He is just like the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of OZ! :)

To create it, I hand embroidered his face and his unique glass eyes are from Germany.

They are the same ones I have been using for all of my other dolls I have made recently. :)

The head and body are made in Tunisian Simple Crochet Stitch and are like one long scarf that I folded in half and stuffed.

To form the ears, I pinched and sewed the corners of his head.

... and to form the mane, I wove in some pom pom Pomp-a-Doodle yarn from Red Heart.

His arms, feet and tail were made free-hand with single crochet and bobble stitches. 

How FUN!

Now he is spending his days enjoying the sunshine with his new friends!

What FUN things are you creating?

Please leave me a note and let me know!

I would love to see and hear all about it!

xoxoxoox

Melissa & R-Chee

Batik Class 101 ~ My New Creation ~ A Puggy Bullwinkle Pillow!

Happy Monday everyone!

I am so excited to show you the Batik Fabric squares Melanie I learned how to make through Boulder Valley Schools ~ Life Long Learning.

Fiber Artist,Lea McComas, spent the day teaching us how to make Batiks with non-toxic, water soluble dyes and resist to avoid all of the mess and wax traditionally used to create them!

We have never made them before and always wanted to ~ so Melanie and I signed up right away and had so much FUN!

I cannot wait to show you what we made!

Ta Da!

Here is Melanie's finished square and pillow!

I LOVE the designs and colors she used!!!

I created this very puggy Bull doodle that I just love!

We sketched some ideas on paper first and this one just appeared.

I immediately knew this was the one I wanted to paint and transferred the image to my cotton fabric square.

The next step was to squeeze on the Gutta resist to all the areas that I wanted to stay white.

After the Gutta resist dried, all we had to do was paint in the areas with our water soluble dyes.

When I got home, I threw my square in the washer set on cold with a mild detergent and washed out the Gutta.

Unlike wax, the Gutta is easy to work with, mess free and completely washes out so the fabric is soft again instead of being left stiff by the wax residue.

After it came out of the dryer, I hand-colored in the black eyes with a sharpie marker. :)

I decided I wanted to turn my square into a pillow so I pulled out a pillow sham that I had in my linen closet just waiting for the perfect project to use it for!

I ironed my Batik and then pinned and machine sewed it to the front of the sham.

Then to finish it ...

I hand-sewed an orange pom pom trim border around the edges to hide any crooked edges. :)

Ta Da!

I just love how it turned out!

Melanie and I are going to make squares together at our sister's Art Retreat weekend we have planned in June!

We have them all drawn out and ready to paint with our dyes!

I cannot wait for us to spend the whole weekend together in the mountains making lots of FUN things!

Of course, I will show you everything we create!

What FUN things do you have planned this Summer?

Please leave us a note and let us know!

We cannot wait to hear all about them!

xoxox

Melissa & R-Chee

Friday Funnies ~ Meet Malto Archie the Pasta Pug

Happy Friday everyone!

It is me...

R-Chee!

Yippppeee!

It is a holiday weekend and boy, is my dad ever having a FUN holiday this year!

Guess where he is taking lots of photos in a workshop?

I'll give you a hint...

They have lots of yummy foods there like...

Pasta, Pizza and Gelato!

You guessed it!

Italy!

I pulled out some spaghetti to eat this weekend!

Momma is not much of a BBQ expert, but I know she can boil water! ;)

Here are some amazing photos he took and shared with us from his first stop in Florence!

He even met a pug named Pinky who is also visiting Italy from Greece!

Isn't that FUN?

I think I will take a nap and dream about Florence and the Tuscan treats and countryside villages my dad is touring right now!

We will have lots of photos to show you when he gets home on Tuesday!

What FUN plans do you have for the weekend?

Please leave us a note and let us know!

We cannot wait to hear all about them!

xoxoxo

R-Chee

Pug Notes' Quarterly Newsletter ~ Summer 2013

Happy Tuesday everyone!

R-Chee & I are so excited to let you know that...

The Pug Notes Newsletter ~ Summer 2013 is now online for your reading pleasure!

It is jam packed with fun news, photos, events, recipes, customer photos and more!

The lunch bell is ringing in R-Chee's Test Kitchen!

He made you a batch of his favorite summer time recipe...

SpEGGtacular Avocado Egg Salad !

He cannot wait to eat his on his NEW Pet Bowl Mats that catch all his food & water spills as he gulps his down!

Come and meet Tweedles from OR & dozens of gorgeous puggies from all over the world in the Meet The Pugs section!

...and take some vacation time for yourself by learning how to make your very own Colorful Fabric Blooms with a Fun & Easy Summer Time Craft Project!

Scarlet is catching up on writing notes to friends on her new Pug Notes' Note Cards!

Come and see all 4 of the New Pug Designs I just created to put on all of our products!

This is only a preview of what you will find. :)

The complete Summer 2013 Newsletter is available here for you to enjoy so please click through when you have time.

If you would like a copy of the Newsletter to be emailed to you every quarter, please just email me anytime or sign up in the green outlined box at the top left corner of the blog. :)

I would also love to feature your pugs and recipes in the upcoming newsletters so please send them anytime you want to!

xoxoxox

Melissa & Archie

Gilbert's Summer RV ~ Crochet Hut #3

Happy Monday everyone!

It is me...

Gilbert!

I am reporting to you today from my new Summer bright orange Recreational Vehicle or RV for short... like me... SHORT!

I can snuggle in while mom carries me from room to room with her!

See...

I am mobile instead of snuggling in my cage and I do not even fall out!

Who could with all of this fluff to hang onto?

Here is what it looks like from the front...

... and here is the bottom!

It is just like my aqua snuggle hut and Ollie's red one, but this one is mobile for summer time FUN!

What FUN things do you have planned for this Summer?

Please leave me a note and let me know!

I cannot wait to hear all about them!

xoxoxo

Gilbert

Friday Funnies ~ I just have one question...

When is lunch served today?

It looks like these guys have been waiting for a long time! :)

Actually, my momma is busy in the kitchen today making us all something special to enjoy!

She said the recipe is for the Summer 2013 Newslettter that will be released soon!

If you would like a copy of the Newsletter to be emailed to you every quarter, please just email me anytime or sign up in the green outlined box at the top left corner of the blog. :)

We would also love to feature your pugs and recipes in the upcoming newsletters so please send them anytime you want to!

I am my momma's official taste tester, and I am ready to put in a full day of work today!

Have a super day and weekend everyone!

xoxoxox

R-Chee

Meet The 1st Artist to ever Inspire Me!

Glass on Porcelain Pottery ~ circa 1980

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I have a very special post to share with you today!

I want to introduce you to the 1st artist to ever inspire me...

My Grandma, Stella Cole.

She loved to make gorgeous pottery like the piece above.

I am so blessed to have this piece.

She also liked to weave and made these gorgeous pieces below...

Wool Weaving ~ circa 1979

Wool Pillows ~ circa 1979

Grandma always shared her love of life, art and family with Melanie and me.

She had a special way of loving you that made you feel how much she adored you and that has carried me with a warm hug my whole life by just thinking about her.

Grandma was the most special and talented person I have ever met, and I am so grateful for everything she taught me...

• To love unconditionally
• To create what you love and love what you create
• To cherish those around you 
• and to laugh with and hug the ones you love everyday!

xoxoxoxo

Melissa