Cheap, Quick and Easy Layered Summer Dessert

 

Happy Independence Day!! Let's celebrate the day (or any day) with this cheap, super quick and super duper easy layered dessert!!

I came up with this idea on my way to a family get-together. I had not felt well, so I didn't feel up to making a complicated dessert. We stopped at our local grocery store to pick up a pre-made dessert, when what to my wondering eye did appear???? But shiny red strawberries, hanging out beside an angel food cake my dear!! "AHA!!" I did squeal, and the idea formed in my head... with other ingredients too.... blueberries and Cool Whip!

Since we were going to a family gathering where several have trouble with their sugar, I chose a sugar-free angel food cake and sugar free Cool Whip. I also bought an adorable strawberry slicer and off we went! I borrowed a bowl and assembled it in very little time.

You can either prepare the cake pieces and slice the strawberries ahead of time... or.... make it as you go. That is usually what I do. 

This is so easy....

Grab a big bowl. A trifle or glass bowl would be perfect to showcase this beauty. But, alas, I got rid of mine while decluttering.

Ingredients:

1 Angel Food Cake

1 lb strawberries, rinsed and fairly dry

1 cup blueberries (optional) rinsed and fairly dry

1 tub Cool Whip

Pinch cake into bite sized pieces. Cover with a layer of Cool Whip and then berries. Repeat this until you use up your ingredients. Make the top pretty!!

Let your dessert chill for maximum flavor... the longer the better!

Enjoy!!!

Patriotic Shelf Sitter: My first crochet pattern is up for purchase!

This has been an exciting week!! After a very long pattern writing process and an ordeal to reopen my Etsy  and Ravelry shops, I have put up my first listing.... my crochet pattern for this little fella!! He is a Patriotic Shelf Sitter.

I first saw the idea for a shelf sitter in a crochet doll group I am in. Someone had modified one of the doll patterns to have longer legs and arms and be able to sit on the edge of a shelf. I loved the idea! And soon I was off on an adventure of my own to also modify the dolls into adorable little decorations. After making several, ideas were bombarding my mind of how to streamline my own pattern that I could adapt into different characters for different holidays. I had a certain idea for how I wanted the hands and feet to look. So I began my journey with a bunny. 

Pattern available on THIS previous post.

I love to decorate for holidays. I decorate my home and my office cubicle. These shelf sitters are perfect for decorating. After making the bunny, I wanted something for the 4th of July. At first, I was going to make good ole' Uncle Sam, but then I was seeing a lot of vintage Independence Day art on Pinterest and this little fella came into being. 

Can't you just picture him sitting in a little wagon on the side of the street, waving his little flag as the parade goes through town? That is totally what I see.

This patten is fairly easy. If you are a beginner, I do have a link to helpful YouTube videos included in the pattern. It also works up quickly, so you still have time to whip one up before the holiday!

Pattern is available in My Etsy Shop and My Ravelry Store.

My First Memorial Doll

A “Memorial Doll”, “Memory Doll”, or “Mourning Doll” is a wonderful way to help a person cope with the loss of someone dear to them. This idea has been around for a long time. In the Victorian era, Mourning Dolls were wax dolls made in the child’s likeness, with their own hair and clothing. These dolls were displayed during the child’s wake and then laid on top of the grave. It is even documented that sometimes the dolls were taken home, put in the crib and cared for just as a living child. They were made as a coping mechanism to help with grief.

Sometimes, a memory doll is not made for someone who has passed, but as more of a keepsake. Special clothing is used to dress or re-make an outfit for the doll.

In 2021, I had set up a booth at a local festival called Ozark Memories Day. After that I was contacted by one of the ladies on the planning committee and was asked to make a doll of her Mom. What an honor! The customer sent me quite a few photos to get an idea of who her Mom was. She told me she loved to wear her “Signature Blue” outfit. As I studied the photos, I knew the perfect shaped doll would be the Weebee Nelly Doll. I did struggle with the hair a bit. As you can see, her hair had a lot of volume and it was hard to mimic that. You can see the details on the outfit… jewels and glitter glue!! At first I was going to try to reproduce it with embroidery, but decided to use a scrapbook glitter glue called “Stickles”. It was perfect!

I was pleased with how she turned out although the whole process was stressful. I didn’t want the recipient to open the gift and think it was just “a doll”. I hoped that I captured the Mom’s personality and outfit enough that the recognition would be immediate. And…. it was! The customer was so kind to send me a video of the recipient opening it as well as a text she had sent to her sister with a photo. They both knew. She told me there were lots of tears that day as they shared memories. There were also lots of tears the day she picked the doll up. She cried… I cried…. It was so good.

I love the idea of these memorial dolls. Sometimes you just need something to hug. I know that personally, I like to take out my Daddy’s shirt and just hold it in a hug sometimes. It’s comforting and feels like a little part of him is there.

This once-in-a-lifetime custom order was such an honor to be trusted with.  And it was such a beautiful story I just had to share.

 

Crochet Lop Eared Bunny Shelf-Sitter Free Pattern

Update 4/24/2024: 

This pattern has been revised and published on my new blog:

thewhimzb.com

I am beyond excited to release my very first crochet pattern! These adorable shelf-sitters are perfect as a spring decoration. They would also look adorable in a baby nursery. 

These little bunnies are fairly easy to make. 

Skill level is advanced beginner.

For helpful videos, check out this YouTube playlist.

This pattern cannot be sold or reproduced by any means. Selling finished items is

permitted. Please give credit for the pattern to The WhimZ B.

Questions? Email me:thewhimzb@gmail.com.

Be sure to tag me on social media with photos of your

finished projects!

Facebook: TheWhimZB

Instagram: @thewhimzb

Pinterest: @whimzb

Supplies: Hook: F (3.75mm) Yarn: 4-Medium weight in main body color (your choice) and pink (nose)     (I used Crafter’s Secret {white} and I Love This Yarn {gray} , both from     Hobby Lobby.) Poly-fil Plastic canvas Poly Pellets (optional) Baby sock, stocking, or scrap fabric to put the poly pellets in. Plastic safety eyes, 12mm or 10mm Yarn needle Stitch Marker Optional: black crochet thread for eyebrows, lashes and mouth

Terms: MR: Magic Ring INC: Increase SC: single crochet DEC: decrease (I use the invisible decrease)

Pattern is worked in rounds, with no joins.

Be sure to use a stitch marker and counter to keep up with your rounds.

Body is constructed with minimal sewing.

Arms: (make 2) R1: MR 6 SC (6) R2: INC around (12) R3-5: SC around (12) R6: *SC x 4, DEC* around (10) R7: SC around (10) R8: *SC x 3, DEC* around (8)     Stuff hands only. Do not overstuff. R9-15: SC around (8)     Pinch together and SC across (4) Tie off.

Legs: (make 2) R1: MR 6 SC (6) R2: INC around (12) R3: *SC, INC* around (18) R4-6: SC around (18) R7: *4SC, DEC* around (15) R8: *3SC, DEC* around (12) R9: 2SC, DEC* around (9)     Stuff feet only. Do not overstuff. R10-24: SC around (9)     Pinch together and SC across (4) Tie off.

Body:

R1: MR 10 SC (10)
R2: *SC, INC* around (15)
R3: *SCx2, INC* around (20)
R4: *SCx3, INC* around (25)
R5: *SCx4, INC* around (30)
R6: SC around in the back loop (30)
R7: SCx8, SCx4 (crocheting on leg), SCx6,
      SCx4 (crocheting on leg), SCx8 (30)
R8-10: SC around (30)
    Cut a circle out of your plastic canvas to fit in the base
     of the bunny and lay inside.
R11: *SCx8, DEC* around (27)
R12: SC around (27)
    Fill a sock or stocking with Poly Pellets
    (enough to fill the bottom of base).
    Tie off and stuff inside the base, making sure your knot
    is on the top, OR just stuff with Poly-fil.
    Stuff the rest of the body with Poly-fil as you go.
R13: *SCx7, DEC* around (24)
R14: SC around (24)
R15: *SCx2*, DEC* around (18)
R16: SC around (18)
R17: *SC, DEC* around (12)
R18: SC around, crocheting on arms as you go, so they
will hang on each side, right behind the legs. (12)
R19: SC around (12)

Head: R20: INC around (24) R21: *SC x 3, INC* around (30) R22: *INC, SC x4* around (36) R23-30: SC around (36)     Add eyes between R25-R26, 5 stitches apart R31: *SC x4, DEC* around (30) R32: *DEC, SC x3* around (24) R33: *SC x2, DEC* around (18) R34: *DEC, SC* around (12) R35: DEC around. (6)     Make sure to stuff the head firmly, but do not overstuff.     Cut a tail and weave through front loops. Pull tight to close. Tie off.     Use pink yarn to stitch on nose.     Optional:     Stitch on eyelashes and eyebrows and/or a little smile.

Tail: R1: MR, 6SC (6) R2: INC around (12) R3: *SC1, INC* around (18) R4: SC around (18) R5: *SC 1, DEC* around (12)     Stuff. Cut yarn length. Use a needle to weave in and out around the     opening and pull closed. Sew onto the back of the bunny where the     bottom of the tail is even with the base of the bunny.

Ears: (make 2)

R1: MR 6SC (6) R2: INC around (12) R3: *SC, INC* around (18) R4: SC around (18) R5: *SC x2, INC* around (24) R6-10: SC around (24) R11: *SC x6*, DEC* around (21) R12-13: SC around (21) R14: *SC x5, DEC* around (18) R15-16: SC around (18) R17: SC x4, DEC around (15) R18-19: SC around (15) R20: SC x3, DEC around (12) R21-29: SC around (12) R30: Pinch together and SC across (6)

    

Place where the ears will hang against the side of the legs.

    Leave a long tail and sew onto sides of the head on the 3rd or 4th row from the top center.

My first pattern!

 

I am beyond excited to have completed writing my first crochet pattern!! I have found my favorite thing to crochet is amigurumi. That is a strange word! What is amigurumi?

 

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures.

Amigurumi includes dolls and animals, gnomes and monsters, and all fun things to create!! My amigurumi passion began with dolls.  The more dolls I made, the more my creative side wanted to make them into other things such as Shelf-Sitters.  Here are some examples: 

I had an idea to write up a basic pattern that could be modified into other characters. I wanted the clothing to be part of the body, instead of separate; like I made the scarecrow above. So, I began creating,

First, I had to create the base pattern. That entailed a lot of crochet, ripping it out, re-doing it, repeating it until I got it right, and then writing it down. It took awhile, but I am happy with the result. 

I chose a bunny for the first one, because I had a goal to complete it by Easter and because I LOVE bunnies! I like the ears on the bunny above, but I love lop-eared bunnies more. Don't you? 

Thanks for stopping by!

What have I been up to?

 You may or may not have noticed that I have not posted any new projects in A .. WHILE. It's not that I haven't been working on anything. I have been working on something NEW. I am attempting to WRITE UP a couple of patterns!! And I am finding out that is very hard work. I have been working on a simple body pattern for crochet dolls that can be adapted into different animals. I have also been working on a self-sitter pattern that can also be adapted into different characters. I have just about completed the shelf-sitter and will be ready to publish it in the next few months (I hope!). If you or someone you know crochets amigurumi and would like to be a pattern tester, please let me know! I will be looking for some very soon. 

Along with these two things, I have still been working on my lap blanket. I am on the border now, so it won't be much longer. 

During this time of year, my inflammation flares up, so there are a lot of days that I can't crochet. And that makes me so very sad. Crochet is my outlet. It helps me to calm stress and anxiety. If you don't crochet, maybe you should give it a try!! There are so many videos out there on YouTube now to help you learn. 

How about a sneak peek of one of my current projects?

Super Easy Burp Cloth DIY

 

I have been making these super easy burp cloths for years to give as gifts. I actually have several different ways I make them, and all of them are well liked by the Mommies I have gifted them to. While making some for the grand-baby, I came up with my final, easiest, pattern. And, this method can be used for several variations of burp cloths. Before I get to it, I would like to share the evolution of how I got here.

As a former home daycare owner, I know the value of a good burp cloth. I would get so frustrated with the thin ones that are available now. They weren't big enough or thick enough, so you wound up with spit-up everywhere. I decided to come up with a better idea. When I ran out of burp cloths, I would start pulling out dish towels to use. Now they worked well! But dish cloths are not cute baby themed. I wanted to create some that were not only cute, but fairly cheap to make. For the first ones I made, I bought the cute bandanas from Hobby Lobby. These are less than $1 and super cute!! But... very thin. I thought of the dish cloths and found a super thin white towel at Walmart for very cheap. I simply cut the bandana in 1/2. Then cut a matching piece of the towel. I sewed them, right sides together and turned them right-side out. Then I sewed a narrow top stitch around, closing the hole. Some of these I left as is, and some I crocheted a border around. (I was going to share a photo with you, but I couldn't find one.)

These were super cute, and worked very well. But I did tire of working with a terry towel. When it is cut, it leaves little terry-babies EVERYWHERE!!! 

So then I started experiencing with flannel. At the time, most flannel was pretty thick. I could use it for the front and the back. As the years have went on, flannel has gotten thinner. So there is a need for batting of some sort with thin flannel. 

I still love to work with flannel the best, but sometimes, I want to work with a cute cotton fabric print that I find. I found this print in a "fat quarter" at Walmart and it was perfect for my grand-baby's woodland animal theme. I knew I would have to use a towel with this because it is so thin.

Using "Fat Quarters" for burp cloths are perfect, because you can cut one in half and have both sides to make one burp cloth. I used a thin towel for batting and sandwiched it between the two halves of the fat quarter. They turned out adorable, but like I said, I don't like those terry-babies!!!  I made 2 from this fabric. They are SUPER THICK!

I didn't want to make any more of these... so I decided to use some flannel I had ordered from JoAnn's Fabric last year. Since I ordered it, I couldn't see it. Turns out, it is pretty thin. I have a old flannel sheet that has gotten thin in places that I was going to throw it away. I'm glad I didn't!! It made the perfect batting. I made 4 burp cloths with this flannel. 

You can use the measurements of this pattern to make the different versions of burp cloths I mentioned.  

Supplies:

1 Fat Quarter or cut 2 pieces of fabric 18"x10"

Thin flannel for batting (if main flannel is thin)

Thread

Cutting tool

Straight Edge

Pre-wash, dry and iron all fabrics. Lay fat quarter out and cut in half so that you will have 2 pieces of 18 x 10. I forgot to take a photo of the fabric I was using at this stage. Here is the cotton fabric:

(This is the Fat Quarter laid out.)

(Use a straight edge to cut the fabric right down the middle.)

Before you put the pieces together, you need to mark your lines. First, make your rounded corners. You can use anything to mark this, such as a plate. I used a fabric marker that washes out.

Then you will need to mark your quilting lines. I have a handy ruler that I used. Find the center of each end, then using a straight edge, draw a line right down the middle. Then move your straight edge over 2 in. and make another line. Repeat one more time, then do 2 lines on the opposite side of the center.

Next, layer the fabrics. If you are using thick flannel, simply layer wrong sides together. If you are needing a batting for thin fabric, just put the cut piece of batting between the two.

Now you need to pin the fabrics together. Start in the middle and pin between markings. Smooth the fabric from the middle to the outside, and pin again between the middle and the edge. Repeat for the other side.

Working from the center and going out, sew down each marking. I like to use my "walking foot" for this if I have a batting. It helps the fabrics not to pucker. Also, by starting with the quilting lines, you will avoid "puckers" at the bottom of the burp cloth! I found this out the hard way.

Remove pins. Now you will sew all the way around your burp cloth. Do not leave an opening. I used a 5/8" seam, but you can use whatever you are comfortable with. You will need at least a 1/2" edge all the way around. Be sure to use your curved lines on the corners as your guide when going around those.

When finished, trim those corners. Now for the fun part.. ok, maybe not so fun. Using your sharpest scissors, snip all the way around the burp cloth. Mine were about 1cm apart. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO CUT THROUGH YOUR SEAM, OR YOU WILL NEED TO RE-SEW IT!!

When finished, you will need to wash and dry the burp rags to fray those edges. This is where it gets UGLY. Sometimes, you need to do this step twice. Don't freak out when you get them out of the washer!!! There will be tiny threads EVERYWHERE. (You may need to wipe down the inside of your washer and will definitely need to clean your lint catcher in the dryer when you're finished!!) Also... don't freak out when you take them out of the dryer either!!

OMGoodness!!! Don't freak!!

 

I know, it looks like an epic fail, but I promise it's not!!! I took these bad boys outside and beat them against the fence and my son's bicycle for a little bit. Then I took my hand and closed it over the edge, then ran my hand all around the edge of each burp rag to help "pull" those tiny threads on out. I used a lint roller to remove what was left. I also ironed them (after I took this photo.. oops!).

Pretty easy!!! If you want a more polished look, follow this same pattern except you will stack your fabrics right-sides together, and the batting piece on top. Then you will sew around the edge 1st, leaving an opening to turn. Trim edges, turn inside out, and iron. Sew a narrow top-stitch around the edge, closing up the opening as you go. You will sew down each of the quilting lines last, going between the top-stitching. I honestly like this look better. But I needed fast and easy!! 

Here are all the ones I made in a comparison photo. The pink ones have NO batting. They are made with thick flannel.  The Mountain flannel fabric was thin, so it has the thin flannel batting. The woodland cotton print has the terry towel as a batting.

I hope you will try these out!! They work up pretty quick and as I said before, they make a wonderful gift. If you have any questions about this pattern, please shoot me an email: thewhimzb@gmail.com or comment on this post. I will be more than happy to help you out!!