Friday, October 28, 2011

Happy Halloween from Busy Mom Designs



Busy Mom Designs is a one-mama operation!

I am Tricia, busy mom to 4 little ones, but I still somehow find lots of time to crochet (often in the wee hours of the night) and love to design patterns for all levels of expertise.

In under 2 years, since my first pattern was published, thousands of Busy Mom Designs patterns have been sold worldwide via Etsy and several other resources (ArtFire, Ravelry, Annies Attic, Lulu, etc.).

Patterns are easy to read and understand and are always fun to work up!

I am always happy to help if ever you should have a question about any of my patterns (or crocheting in general) and will do my best to work with you to help you make the perfect creation!

CROCHET PATTERN - The Elegance Headband - All sizes included - Beginner - PDF 301


CROCHET PATTERN - Simple Pumpkin Appliqué - Motif - Embellishment - Great for any Autumn or Halloween Project - PDF 206



I noticed this pattern on Tricia's site and knew I had to try to make it. Being a very beginner at crochet, I felt the fear and did it anyway. Take a look at my progress!

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A visit to Busy Mom's website was
very worthwhile...on the pattern, she gives the link
to how to make the magic circle to make sure you get a perfect
little circle in the center that slides closed every time.

Step 12b


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I did it!

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And around we go! Time to form the pumpkin.

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Wow! It is starting to look pumpkiny!

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Making the stem...

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Done! 
We have a baby pumpkin!
Off I go to make some more!

If you would like the chance to win this really great pattern, fill out the giveaway form. Make sure you thank Tricia for being a part of our Halloween fun!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Treasure Hunt Tuesdays: Crankbunny

Paper Puppet Doll Mermaid Fish Lady

Funky mermaid!



Super cool greeting cards, popups, calendars and more. Check out the original art of Crankbunny. I fell in love with the mermaid fish lady first thing! Head over to their Etsy site for even more gorgeous art!

magic perpetual calendar 2011 to 2030


How cool is that?!?

Fish Head Popup Card


Fun!

purple zebra orchid flower pop up card


Gorgeous!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Treasure Hunt Tuesday: Blackberry Designs

Alice in Wonderland, Drink Me, Vintage Inspired Charm Bracelet, Round Charms




If you are looking for some quality costume jewelry, take a look at Blackberry Designs. I found her shop while I was hunting for some Halloween bling and was super impressed by the quality of her work, the variety of the pieces featured and the sheer loveliness of the bracelets (and other items) she has featured. 

Gypsy Fortune Teller, Vintage Inspired Charm Bracelet


Harry Potter Inspired, Vintage Inspired Charm Bracelet




Treasures from the Sea, Mermaid, Vintage Inspired Charm Bracelet


The Black Cauldron, Witches, Halloween, Vintage Inspired Charm Bracelet


Which one is your favorite?

Pop over to Blackberry Designs 
and tell her which one you like the best.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

New on the Nook...Daughter of Smoke and Bone




Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.


In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.


And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.


Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.


When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Reading Now: The Countess by Rebecca Johns



Was the “Blood Countess” history’s first and perhaps worst female serial killer? Or did her accusers create a violent fiction in order to remove this beautiful, intelligent, ambitious foe from the male-dominated world of Hungarian politics?
 
In 1611, Countess Erzsébet Báthory, a powerful Hungarian noblewoman, stood helpless as masons walled her inside her castle tower, dooming her to spend her final years in solitary confinement. Her crime—the gruesome murders of dozens of female servants, mostly young girls tortured to death for displeasing their ruthless mistress. Her opponents painted her as a bloodthirsty škrata—a witch—a portrayal that would expand to grotesque proportions through the centuries.

In this riveting dramatization of Erzsébet Báthory’s life, the countess tells her story in her own words, writing to her only son—a final reckoning from his mother in an attempt to reveal the truth behind her downfall. Countess Báthory describes her upbringing in one of the most powerful noble houses in Hungary, recounting in loving detail her devotion to her parents and siblings as well as the heartbreak of losing her father at a young age. She soon discovers the price of being a woman in sixteenth-century Hungary as her mother arranges her marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy, a union made with the cold calculation of a financial transaction. Young Erzsébet knows she has no choice but to accept this marriage even as she laments its loveless nature and ultimately turns to the illicit affections of another man.
Seemingly resigned to a marriage of convenience and a life of surreptitious pleasure, the countess surprises even herself as she ignites a marital spark with Ferenc through the most unromantic of acts: the violent punishment of an insolent female servant. The event shows Ferenc that his wife is no trophy but a strong, determined woman more than capable of managing their vast estates during Ferenc’s extensive military campaigns against the Turks. Her naked assertion of power accomplishes what her famed beauty could not: capturing the love of her husband.
The countess embraces this new role of loving wife and mother, doing everything she can to expand her husband’s power and secure her family’s future. But a darker side surfaces as Countess Báthory’s demand for virtue, obedience, and, above all, respect from her servants takes a sinister turn. What emerges is not only a disturbing, unflinching portrait of the deeds that gave Báthory the moniker “Blood Countess,” but an intimate look at the woman who became a monster.

Goodreads

I am reading this now and I can't put it down. Stay tuned for a giveaway and an interview with the author coming up later in the month in the 10 Days of Halloween event at On the Broomstick and Zombie Girl Shambling.



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Dreaming of autumn...

The weather has finally turned from a steamy 100 degrees to a cool, crisp fall evening. I am gathering up some new books to keep me company as I climb into bed for the night. The new Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry is excellent. I also just downloaded Daughter of Smoke and Bone onto my Nook. Life is good.

What are you reading this fine autumn evening?