Angry Bird Family Portraits...

Amigurumi Angry Bird Family Portrait (so far, anyway...)

Soooo.... I took my husband's challenge to heart, and we are now well on our way to having a full family of Angry Birds.  Really?  Really.  No patterns, of course, just kinda making them up as I go along, trial-and-error-oh-no-that-didn't-work-AH-Yes!-THIS-works sort of a thing...

Red Bird?  Check. 

Yellow Bird?  Check.

Blue Bird(s)?  Check. 

Bomb, Egg-Bomb & My favorite, the Boomerang-ing Toucan are next on the list.  Followed by some nasty big and lil' piggies in various stages of destruction and bruising, of course. 

And, oh...  Bluebird looks a little lumpy for a REASON... He has ALL THREE teeny-tiny Baby Blue Birds inside of him (see pics below)! 

Check and MATE, my friends. HaHaHaHaHa!

The Yellow Angry Bird

Yellow Bird is Pretty Angry, I'd say... I had never crocheted a pyramid before, and I think I tried four different ways before I was finally happy.  Of course, my son has commandeered the mis-starts for lobbing at his legos/hex-bugs/little sister. They fly around the house on a regular basis...

I was particularly proud of the way I was able to crochet his belly as part of the body, instead of making it separately and just stitching it on at the end.  Most of the Angry Bird Amigurumis I've seen are done that way, and personally, I think it looks better as an all-in-one deal.  Just an opinion.

I tried crocheting the black head-feathers and tail-feathers in a thousand different ways, before I finally remembered to keep it simple and just let the yarn speak for itself.  A few strands of yarn with simple knot at the base... trim to various lengths of dissarray, et voila!  And you're done, Pumpkin!

The Red Angry Bird

The red bird I've posted before, but he wanted some new pictures done... I was all to happy to oblige.  Here he is.  He was my first, and I've done some good work on the beak design since then, but whatevah.  A big schnozz just makes him appropriately angrier. 

 

The Blue Bird is sorta lumpy looking for good reason...



NOW! 

On to the BLUE Bird! 

Trust me...

This is cool...

(And I KNOW it's cool, because even my impossible-to-impress-husband told me that it rocks, so there.)



Open the drawstring underneath...




And find the TINY Blue Birdies!

 


Oh.. they are TINY...  Crocheted with a 1.65mm needle. The
yarn is the same medium-weight acrylic as the larger (momma?)
bird, but I pulled a single strand free from the length that I
needed for each bird.  Whoo-eee-momma!

 


Blue Angry Bird Amigurumi Family Portrait.

 





















That's all for now... I'll keep working on Bomber, White Egg-Bomber and Crazy Toucan.  "Wrrrraackk!"

The One for Frances

"If I send you a rock, will you make a sweater for it?"
--A Sweet Little Girl

"No worries, darling, I have plenty!  This one is for YOU."
--Me

(It's on its way...)

Angry Bird Amigurumi

Angry, Angry Birds have invaded my house...  And now, all four of us are constantly fighting over the iPad.  It's kinda funny and kinda sad all at the same time.  But, since I've already played all the levels (to the best of my knowledge, anyway), I made this. 

Next up, I think the triangular one.  Although, M has challenged me to make a Light Blue One that explodes somehow into three smaller ones.... Yeah. I'll get right on that.  And speaking of... do these things have names?  Or, am I just to continue calling them, "The Red One" and "That One Shaped Like a Triangle"?

He is SO Angry....

Candy Tin to Crocheted Treasure Box... With BONUS Super-Snarky Tutorial!

My husband always slips a particular brand of tinned candy into my Christmas Stocking.  I like sweet little tins as much as I like the candy that comes in them, so of course, I'm loathe to throw them away.  This year, the empty tin just happened to be sitting next to what my husband calls "the nest"-- my ridiculously large jumble of yarn, hooks, needles and in-process knitting and crochet projects that sits on the table nearest to my end of the couch.  I generally try to clean it up when we have company, but if we're really good friends, well... you've seen it in all it's glory.  And, yeah... Yikes.

So... I'm watching TV, and as usual, need to do something with my hands (which goes a long way toward explaining how my "nest" got there to begin with).  The tin looking so lonely and empty now... so I fixed it up with a bit of crochet and some hot glue. 

The end result now belongs to my 8-year old, who has already filled it with petit objets d'boy.  Fabulous.

Pretty Simple to do, actually.  I debated about whether or not I'd even write a how-to, but, what the heck.  Husband is upstairs in bed with a cold, kids are strangely occupied, so.... Here goes.

Wonder where a California kid got a 5 Pence?

Note that these directions fit *my* tin.. you may need to add or subtract rows for yours... Gauge is unimportant, just keep checking your growing crochet circle against the tin, and when your circle and the tin are the same diameter, you are ready to stop adding stitches and just single crochet in each stitch until the side is covered. Oh yeah... I used a size "E" hook.

Empty the tin FIRST, Flower.  That's the yummy bit.

  

Make TWO (one for the top, and one for the bottom, Sweetie):

Begin: Chain 2.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook. Sl st in first sc, to join. (6 sc)
Rnd 2: ch 1, 2 sc in ea sc around. Sl st in first sc, to join. (12 sc)
Rnd 3: ch 1, (sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc) around. Sl st in first sc, to join. (18 sc)
Rnd 4: ch 1, (sc in ea of next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around. Sl st in first sc, to join. (24 sc)
Rnd 5: ch 1, (sc in ea of next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around. Sl st in first sc, to join. (30 sc)

Rnd 6:  ch 1, (sc in ea of next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc) around. Sl st in first sc, to join. (36 sc)

Rnd 7 & 8:  ch1, sc around. Sl st in first sc, to join. (36 sc)



Should look something like this when you're finished.
You may notice that I actually used two different colors on the top.
You get two extra-snarky points for being observant.



Of course, the next step involves the craftiest of crafting implements, and my personal fave... the hot glue gun. 

Plug it in.  Remember to leave some sort of offering to the Glue Gun Gods, or you KNOW you will burn your fingers.  That's the way it goes.  Don't ask questions.  My glue gun likes a piece of brie left on the counter.

Have a cup of tea/coffee/Amaretto Sour while you wait for the glue gun to warm up.



Note that the top piece covers the entire side of the tin, but that the
bottom piece leaves the ridge/lip open so that it will close.  Kinda important. 



Squirt a little hot glue on top of the tin and center your crochet piece to fit.  Uh.... it should go without saying that your crochet piece should fit the top of the tin pretty well. The bottom, too, for that matter. You *could* drape your crochet over the tin, and lift up an edge, and glue very carefully in that manner... but you know... it's stretchy.  It'll be fine.  Fine, I say.

Glue about an inch or so at a time around the edge, checking to be sure that you line up your crochet edge to the bottom of the tin lid.  Don't overlap it, or it won't close in the end, Monkey Bits! See the Red piece, below.

Repeat the gluing process for the bottom half of the tin, BEING SURE to leave the "lip" free of crochet so that it will close.  I'm talking to YOU, Monkey Bits!  See the Blue piece, below.



And you're DONE!  Unless, of course, you need to clean off those stringly bits of extra glue gun plastic-y mess.  Do that. 

Give it to YOUR eight-year-old and prepare to be stunned and amazed by the things he pulls out of his pants pockets and drops in his new treasure box!

Or... I suppose you could keep it for yourself you selfish, selfish thing.

Hey! That's a FAIRY! Not a Pebble!

Uh... no.  Not a pebble.  On the other hand, since Miss Fairy and the Alien amigurumis are but two of the things that have been KEEPING me from the Curious Pebble Project (not to mention Making Christmas Happen), I figured I might as well blog about them.  Besides.  They are seriously too cute not to share with the (insert sarcasm here...) utter scads of followers that I have. 

Meet Miss Fairy.  She was kinda-sorta-supposeta be modeled after a Certain Fairy that three year old girls are fond of...



I ask you... What's not to love????  Look at those 'lil fairy ears!



As it turns out, though, the three year old for whom Miss Fairy was intended, and who LOVES that Certain Fairy, does NOT love this one.  Alas.  Sigh.  Of course.  Should have known.

In fact, her immediate reaction on Christmas Morning was (and I quote), "I Don't Like Her. No."

It's easy to say that next time I won't spend spend HOURS creating something out of thin air... But I will.  I know I will.  In fact, I've made dolls for Miss Thing before... The first time, I begged my mother to scan and email a 1970's pattern for a doll that MY mother made for ME.  I sewed and made the tiniest stitches I've ever made.... and.... She didn't like it.  That doll is currently collecting dust on the top shelf of the three-year-old's bookcase as I type.  Maybe someday....

But, I'm hoping that SOMEONE out there will appreciate Miss Fairy.  Right?  Yeah?  Maybe?

  

Wings made of Stainless Steel TIG Welding Wire (Hey... it's what I had... ), and free-form crocheted.  I'm kinda proud f them....



I even made her some bobble-stitch knees and elbows...

The GOOD news is that Alien (who has yet to be named, but I'm sure my 8 year-old will come up with something either completely bizarre and made up, or ridiculously mundane and simple, like, "Green" or "Alien"), was loved immediately and declared the awesomest thing.  So, Phew.  Score one for Mommy.  And, the kid has good taste - I kinda like him as well: 



Pipe Cleaners on the inside of the eye stems make for really googly Alien fun.



Hey!  There's an Alien in my bed!!!


Regardless of whether or not they are loved by their intended child... Miss Fairy and Alien seem to like each other and are currently hanging out on the piano singing Christmas Carols. 

Oh... why not?


(Admittedly, the Alien plays piano a little better than she does, but don't tell her I said that.)