Baby Beach Hat–Giveaway!

So, one of our newest hats is the Beach Ball Hat, and I love it. Well, I love beach balls. I also love anything that can be worn by either baby without someone making a comment as to whether or not it’s appropriate for that child’s gender. But, I know sometimes girls want their pink and boys want… Well, boys don’t really care what we put on them, do they?

 

My original inspiration was a traditional mutl-color ball from the garage. It looks much like this… only not so shiny, clean and new. Imagine this one, after sitting in the garage for 3 years!

 

My point? Oh right! I’ve been toying with the idea of two toned beach ball hats. Also, I’ve been wanting to do another giveaway (I’m nice like that, please don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise ). So, I thought, I’d let you guys tell me what colors you’d like to see on a beach ball hat and the winner will get one in their chosen color! (And of course the colors will be tallied and at least the top two will be made and listed…) Now, I’m sure ya’ll know this by now, BUT… if the color you just love the most doesn’t end up getting listed you can still order it! Just send me a note and we’ll make it happen!

 

I’ve been toying with:

• Red, Blue, Yellow and White (another traditional look)
• Red and White (maybe the “true” traditional beach ball, just not what was in my garage)
• Lime Green and White
• Hot Pink and White
• Orange and White

 

Now, it’s your turn! Either vote for a color combo above OR make one up. To vote leave a comment on this post. If Blogger is not being nice to you, there will be a place for comments on Facebook, too. Leave your comment by Sunday 10pm and the winner will be announced on Monday.

The Summer Collection

These crochet baby hats are all designed to be worn in the sun! Whether you're headed to the beach or pool, or just spending the afternoon at the park, it's important to remember to cover baby's sensitive skin. All  of these summer hats are designed to protect the top of baby's head, her face and the back of his neck. Because these baby sun hats are 100% cotton they are very breathable and cool.

 

Baby Sun Hat – Yellow	Baby Sun Hat – Purple
Baby Beach Ball Hat – Multi	Baby Bucket Hat – Denim

 

Of course, summer wouldn’t be summer without sandals! Well, barefoot sandals, to be exact.

Baby Barefoot Sandals – Red, White and Blue	Baby Barefoot Sandals – Red

Project Starter

How do you guys feel about starting new projects?

 

It’s awesome, right? The thrill of endless possibilities ahead and charting your course for how to get there! No, not everyone feels that way?

 

Where is this coming from?

 

Well, we’ve been having some talks around here about priorities, because I LOVE to start projects. But, have a bad habit of biting off maybe a little more than I can chew. So it’s time to let go of some things that aren’t lighting the fire anymore to make time for the projects that are important to me and my family, and maybe a new project or two. We’ll see.

 

What does that mean for Baby Hooked Boutique? It means I’m going to have more time to devote to new designs and pattern writing! One thing that occurs to me is that I mostly work in small pieces because I love the instant gratification. I super love being able to go from original idea to finished good in the course of a day or two (you would believe how many times I ripped out that beach ball hat). Since new ideas and patterns are important to me, I’m re-prioritizing to make sure they get worked on most days. Yay!

 

And in non-business news, it means the kids are going to get some more projects, too! Another thing that both Gar and I feel is missing from our daily priorities is more planned projects with the kiddies. The boys say they want to learn French! I was thinking something more like make a planned craft once a week. French crafts?

Washable Swiffer Covers Floor Cleaner

Ever since I created my washable Swiffer Covers my floors have been cleaner than ever before the babies started eating solid foods. But, honestly, I have never been super happy with how my laminate floors look after being mopped. I’ve tried lots of different commercial cleaners, plain water, water and vinegar and Swiffer Wet Cloths. They’ve all done varying degrees of OK, and required different levels of elbow grease, but none of them left me thinking “damn, that’s a clean floor.” Let’s face it, after you spend the time mopping, you want to be impressed by your floors.

 

Today, I was impressed with my floors…

 

Wanna know what I used? You know you do…

 

I used this cleaner, with a damp washable Swiffer Cover.

Homemade Laminate Floor Cleaner:

• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Cup White Vinegar (mine was infused with orange…)
• 1 Cup Rubbing Alcohol
• 1/4 tsp Dawn (the plain old blue kind)

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle, shake it up to disburse everything evenly.

 

Just mist your floor, let it sit for a minute on the sticky spots (please tell me I’m not the only person with sticky spots…) then go over it with the Swiffer. Easy peasy and cheeeeeeeap!

 

My vinegar was infused with orange because 1) I hate throwing away citrus peels, I always feel like I should be able to do “something” with them and 2) orange oil is an awesome cleaner. Also “infused with” sounds really fancy, but really… I just put the peels from a couple of oranges in a glass jar (it used to contain salsa, if you must know) and covered them with white vinegar. Then, let it sit for a couple of weeks (or months…).

 

Baby Hooked Boutique specializes in hand crafted crochet baby hats, featuring the Boobie Beanie and Crochet Crown! Our baby beanies and hats are terrific for keeping little heads warm, and are perfect baby photo props, too.

Free Pattern: Baby Barefoot Sandals

Hiya! So, I spent this morning lounging in the sun working on a new idea. Barefoot. Sandals.

Now, I can't take credit for the concept. I've seen them around for a while, and when I searched on Etsy and Google, there were others there already. But... my nieces feet needed jewelry and it was a fun break. I came up with about six different designs this afternoon (poor Sissy doesn't have a matching pair, yet...), but I thought I'd share the most basic one with you!

Mind you this is sized for a toddlers foot (she wears a size six, but they also worked for my son who wears an 8). My niece (20 months) wore them for a couple of hours. My son ripped them off immediately. Technically, he told me to rip them off immediately. But, he also doesn't like the little piggy game, so... yeah, I didn't figure he'd want something hooked around his toe.

Baby Barefoot Sandals - FREE PATTERN
with worsted weight yarn and a G hook (I used Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Purple and Hot Green)

Chain 10
Join with sl st to first ch (makes a little toe sized loop)

Body:
Round 1: Ch1, 2sc in the loop, ch1, turn
Round 2: 2sc in ea sc across (4sc), ch1, turn
Round 3: 2sc in first st, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in last st (6sc), ch1 turn
Round 4: Sc in ea st across (6sc), ch1

Edging:
sc down the side of the sandal (4sc)
10 sc in toe loop
sc up the other side of the sandal (4sc)

Ankle Strap:
ch 25, skip 6sc, join with sl st to the ch1 space from the end of round 4

Cut yarn, weave in ends.

Repeat for the other foot.

Easy, peasy.

Will get some photo's posted on Monday when my model comes back :)

Pictures Under the Sun by Rachelle (Dayton, OH)

When Rachelle from Pictures Under the Sun by Rachelle first contacted me about making some props for an upcoming photo shoot, I was thrilled. My son is a toddler now, and honestly, most of the photo prop demand is for girlie hats and headbands. Which is fine… but, I like making boy baby hats, too!

So, rather than pull something out of stock for Rachelle, I made these (which I haven’t listed, yet!).

What a handsome little man! I can’t wait for his next photo shoot!

Patriotic Collection

Summer is the perfect time to break out the Red, White and Blue! These items are perfect for The 4th of July or any day.

July 4th Baby Hat