Rainbows and Sunshine!

Getting the chance to design children's hats on of my most favorite things about my job. Receiving the idea from their Momma or straight from the child, then trying to capture exactly what they've got in mind, is beyond rewarding. Thought I would share a couple designs that are fresh off my hook for two very sweet kiddos.

This first design really came off my hook so very well, I just sat down with my yarn and began crocheting. Completely worry free with how it was going to turn out, and this is what I got. It came out exactly how I thought it would in my mind and has so much character just as the little boy who will be wearing it! This design brought back sooooo many childhood memories and brings a smile to my face every time I see it!

This rainbow set is for a little girl's birthday and I was delighted to design it. The colors really worked nicely together and showcased the "rainbow" theme that the Momma was looking for. I'm typically not a scarf making kind of person but this one was actually okay, I'm thinking it is because of the color change for every row. The Cloud accents were something that came to me when the scarf was completed and I was thinking about putting a fringe detail on the ends. Well instead of fringe these adorable fluffy clouds came off my hook so very easily. Just love how this design came through and check back later for the matching flower clip and button bracelets!

Hope you enjoyed checking out my latest designs, feel free to check me out on facebook at Custom Designs by Nicole or if you have any questions please feel free to email me at customdesignsbynicole@gmail.com

With a Hook and a Prayer, crocheting with Love from Me to You.

Blessings,

Nicole

Plastic and Yarn Easter Egg Wreath

Our "quick" family trip to the Hobby Lobby today for a Yarn RUN, turned into a "walk around the entire store and see what is new trip". Well Easter is what caught my kiddos attention. As we walked down the abundant aisles of decorations they kept complementing on all of the pretty wreaths and pointing out the differently colored eggs. Which sparked my creative juices, and so we decided to make our own wreath! Below are the pictures of the fun process!

All of our supplies:

Pastel colored yarn from my yarn stash.

Plastic Easter Eggs Medium and Small Sized.

And some wire from the hardware store.

Closer shot of the yarn that will be used to cover the eggs to add depth of texture to the wreath.

Bend the wire into a circle the size you prefer, yes you could just buy a preformed basic wreath but I like to be able to choose what size I want(and it is cheaper). Make sure to make more than one circle so that you are reinforcing the wreath and it will be stronger. Thanks to the hubster for bending and cutting the wire :)

Covering the form with the pink yarn gave me a good surface to be able to glue upon. I did this part hastily just because I knew you would see very little of it.

We put little dabs of hot glue on both ends of the plastic egg then covered it with the yarn in random pattern, finally gluing the loose end.

We glued the eggs on in a random pattern alternating between the plastic and the yarn covered eggs and varying in sizes with eggs. All I used to attach the eggs was hot glue and I would place the glue where ever the eggs would be touching  on the form or the other eggs. I found tightly holding the eggs as I glued and blowing on them made a tighter fit.

Top view of the previous picture.

Our finished product, a Plastic and Yarn Easter Egg Wreath :)

We did a ribbon bow hanger attached to the form so that it can hang nicely on our front door.

This was a random but fun project to do with our kiddos. I just made up the steps as I went figuring out what worked and what didn't. Laughing and enjoying the time with my kiddos. It really sparked creativity in all of our imaginations and we've thought of even more ways to use all of this yarn in our stash. So check back later to see what we come up with.

Many Blessings!!

Pearsall Family

Sweet Little Dolly

Getting to make this hat was a real joy for me, it was super fun to design something after a little girl's very favorite toy. As you can see this design has a little of everything with it there are different stitches used, my favorite being the curly stitch for the hair. Hand stitching with the mouth and for the eye lashes. Button eyes to give this dolly the same look as the toy and button accents for the hair accessories. Crocheted accents for the cheeks, heart ponytail holders, and bows. This hat seemed to go together fairly quick and I'd say it was because it was such a delight to work on it for such a sweet little girl. Getting the opportunity to bless others with my artwork is my absolute favorite thing about my "job".

A better picture of the curly piggy tails with the hair accessories that I made. The heart ponytail holders are sewn in place but the button bows are actually made so they can be place anywhere in the hair.

I am looking forward to seeing the sweet little girl wearing this design. My own little girl Bella has requested one of her own, so this Dolly has become quite a hit. I look forward to doing different variations of this Dolly.

With a Hook and a Prayer, crocheting with Love from Me to You.

Blessings,

Nicole

P.S. If you'd like to follow more of my designs check me out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Custom-Designs-by-Nicole/183442988356370

P.S.S. If you just LOVE pinterest I also manage a CDbyN board there too where neat photos are uploaded http://pinterest.com/Hooknprayer/cdbyn-with-a-hook-and-a-prayer/

P.S.S.S The best way to reach is me is via email customdesignsbynicole@gmail.com

Monkey-ing Around

Over the last few months one of my biggest requests has been my Sock Monkey Design. So I thought I would share some photos of the different ones I have done, they can be done in any color combination that the client would like.

Browns and Blue

 Green, Red and Orange

 These next ones seemed to be a very popular color combo

Light Gray, White, Pink, and Lime Green

 This one was done after a child's favorite stuffed animal which I thought was really fun!

 This little guy is my very first Sock Monkey and one of my all time FAVORITE color combos!

 Love this Sweet Pink and Purple one!

 Dark Browns and Blue

 Simply Pink and Purple

 Browns and Red Reminds me of my favorite Coffee shop :)

Then there is my one and only "Regular" Monkey Hat!



Each of these designs are my own creation and each have their own personalities. As you can see even though I made them they all have their own look and differ slightly in their own ways. My "job" is a real blessing and allows me to share my gift with the world all while meeting and working with some of the most inspiring people. So with a Hook and a Prayer, crocheting with Love from Me to You.

Here and there!

Just thought that I would share a few photos of my latest designs, some of my favorites that I've done recently. As you all know all of my designs are my own, I do not use a pattern and just create with my yarn what I see in my head. Most of my business is done by custom ordering though I do get a little freestyle time worked in too. So check out these latest Custom Design's by Nicole!

First up is this adorable Zebra, these colors together look just gorgeous and the random stripe pattern really bring out the character in this hat!

Baby Blue Bird is another of my designs that I just fell in love with, his simple colors really bring this design together. I love the button and crochet eyes!

The Angel Cocoon is another of my designs that really give those newborn photos an even more precious look.

I made it so that the Angel pieces are detachable for added versatility with this design. On the wing is the baby's name!

This is one of my more popular designs with is a long tail Elf hat, again I used the random stripe pattern with color and stitch to give this hat it's own unique look. It comes with a flower clip for the newborn hat and one for big sister too!

The Brimmed hat in bulky yarn with the girly skull has it's own flare, my favorite part is the handstitching!

This is one of my newer designs an Earwarmer that has button closure for that custom fit. It is accented with Antique buttons to give it a vintage feel!

.(this design is available for purchase for $10+shipping, email me at customdesignsbynicole@gmail.com)

This is my latest design a Coffee Mug Sweater, again the handstitching really gives this design the added character I was looking for. There is a button closure on this design also for added versatility.

If you are interested in following more of my designs check me out on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Custom-Designs-by-Nicole/183442988356370

If you like to get on my order list please email me at customdesignsbynicole@gmail.com :)

With a hook and a prayer, crochet with love from me to you!

Blessings,

Nicole