Elegant & Chic ~ The Charm of a Lady

 

“Elegance to me is, at its core, about warmth and consideration for the feelings of others. A truly elegant woman never fails to lift the spirits of other people, never fails to blow a guest away with her hospitality, and never misses a chance to brighten up someone’s day with her smile.”  ~  Nina Pundarik-Dossin of The Proper Lady in an interview with The Glamorous Housewife.

When I read this interview with Nina on The Glamorous Housewife, I thought that it was a perfect summary of how I think a lady should act. And then I thought, “But there’s a little something missing.”  I wanted to add that, for me, I think that a lady is also temperate, gentle and kind in spirit, always considerate of those around her.  This way, not only does she brighten up the room with her smile and inner beauty, but with her consideration of other's needs.  This is central to her charm.

To me, Grace Kelly was charm personified.  While I don’t know much about Mrs. Kelly’s personal life and actions, I do know that while she not only appeared to be the epitome of classical beauty and timeless elegance, she also was said to be charming, kind and and just as lovely in person as she is in her pictures.  A real princess in every sense of the word.
 

I don't consider myself to be a 'real' lady yet, but I thought I would share with you all the hope that I have ~  that one day I will somehow become a lady.  While others may or may not agree on the importance of this personal choice, I think it is something that every woman should consider.  What does a lady look like to you?  What kind of woman or lady are you aspiring to become? 

As women, we have much power to influence the lives of those close to us.  Don’t under estimate the extent of your power.  You may not ever become a household name like Grace Kelly, but you might just become the living example that helps to show others what a lady truly looks like. 

It was said of Grace that she brought “a soft warm light” into other people’s lives.  What a wonderful legacy to leave behind ~

“I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own.”  ~ James Stewart

So what is your legacy going to be?

xox,

bonita

Quick Share ~ In Search of Charm

This lovely little snippet of the book “In Search of Charm” by Mary Young comes from Shona of In the Heyday and I wanted to share it because I apparently need lessons on how to take my coat off elegantly!

 Do you know how to take off a coat with elegance?

With Spring finally sprung here in the UK I've turned back to our "in search of charm" book for the advice of Mary Young for how to elegantly take our coats off…

xox,

bonita

How to ~ Crochet your own amigurumi strawberry charm

Greetings one and all!  I hope your week has been good so far.  Mine has been good and filled to the brim with cute things.  I thought I would share one of them with you in my third tutorial.  {You can find the other two tutorials by clicking on the “tutorial” category at the bottom of this post or in the label  cloud on the left hand side of this blog}.

Note:  When writing this tutorial I actually figured out that it is pretty advanced ~ you have to be a serious crafter to tackle this one I think, because it is quite tricky.  Although the techniques are easy, the process of putting them all together maybe daunting for a beginner DYI or crocheter.

I have put in some beginner crochet tutorial videos, so that if anyone would just like to learn those methods and leave it at that ~ you can do that too.

I hope that everyone, no matter your previous knowledge, will get something out of this. 

Firstly, gather your materials ~

You will need:

~  Green felt at least 1 inch square

~  2 ply red yarn/cotton wool  or to make a large one 4 ply red yarn/cotton wool

~  1.75mm crochet hook  or  2.50mm hook

~  Black flat back pearls or safety eyes 4mm in diameter or chosen size

~  Green thread,  white thread and a needle

~  Scissors and super glue

~  Acrylic stuffing ~ a ball the size of your thumb! 

Have you guess what we are making yet?    Tada!! 

      

Cute as a button and smaller than said article strawberry amigurumi charms to hang off your phone, keys, handbag, etc.

If you do not know how to crochet, please do not worry.  I have posted some excellent instructions below on the stitch that you will need.  That’s right, ONE stitch.  And it is the most basic crochet stitch.  It does not get much simpler than this.  There are three techniques used in combination with the one stitch to make this little guy, but they are really easy to learn too.

If you already know how to crochet, skip this part and the bit that has the abbreviations and go straight on.

Crochet things you will need to know:

~  Single crochet stitch

~  The magic loop/circle technique

~  Decreasing and increasing techniques

~  Crochet abbreviations

Starting with the magic loop ~ do not worry if you can not see what the instructor does at first because they play it back in slow motion.

How to do a single crochet stitch.    Abbreviation:   single crochet  =  SC

Next ~ how to increase.  The pattern will say something like 2 sc into 1 stitch.    Abbreviation:  stitch  = st

And lastly ~ how to decrease.  The instructions in the pattern for decrease will simply say decrease 1, sc 1, decrease 1, etc.   Abbreviation:  decrease  = dec. 

Crochet Abbreviations Used in this Pattern:

stitch  =  st

single crochet  =  sc

decrease  =  dec

*  =  repeat

x 3  =  three times, etc. 

♥  ~ Strawberry amigurumi pattern ~ ♥

Step 1:   Make a magic loop with four sc st.

Step 2:  sc 1, 2 sc into 1 st, sc 1, 2 sc into 1 st, sc 1, * x  3, or until you have 16 st in total

Step 3:  sc around {16 st}, * x 1   

Note:  If you have safety eyes, now is the time to put them one.  We are working from the bottom of the amigurumi to the top, so do not forget to take that into account.

Step 4:  Dec 1, sc 2,    *  until you have 12 st

Step 5:  Dec 1, sc 1, * until you have 6 st

Step 6:  Dec 1 until you have 4 st

Step 7:  Without wrapping any yarn around the crochet hook pull the first loop on your crochet hook through the second one {this is a slip stitch}.    Cut your working yarn into a long tail, thread it through the single loop and pull tight. 

Step 8:  Take the tail and thread your needle with it.  Now push the needle through the closest crochet stitch and back through the next, effectively weaving the tail around the tiny hole left.  Once you have woven it through five stitches it is time to stuff.

Step 9:  Take your stuffing and stuff your amigurumi!  You will probably need to use a thin stick to help with this ~ a bamboo skewer or the end of your crochet hook.

Step 10:  Yank that tail hard to close the hole {as small as it is we still want it closed}.  Now with the needle thread the tail through the top of the amigurumi and back through the bottom.  Leave only a tiny bit of the end to poke through the bottom as the rest will make the loop to hang your strawberry from.  Tie a knot then poke the remainder of the tail in.

Step 11:  Cut three leaves out of your green felt and attach them to the top of the strawberry around the base of the loop with your green thread.

Step 12:  Glue the eyes on.   {If you have safety eye skip this step}

Step 13:  Thread your needle with the white thread and sew little seeds all over the amigurumi by stitching a few stitches close together for each seed.

Step 14:  Enjoy your strawberry amigurumi!!!  ^w^

~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~

I hope this tutorial was easy to understand.  If you have any question or problems please let me know.  I am thinking about doing a video, so if you do want to see that let me know and I’ll do a Crochet your own strawberry amigurumi charm Part II in video!

xox,

bonita

Takochu Amigurumi ~ Take Two!

So I finished my takochu amigurumi, but then I had an idea.  I want to see if I could adapt the pattern and make a takochu small enough to hang from my mobile phone.  And I could!  I an now the proud owner of the cutest mobile phone charm ~ Bubble.

Here she is!

   

She turned out just the right size and it wasn’t that hard to rework the pattern so that her body would be shaped the way I wanted it to be ~ which was smaller than what the original pattern called for.

 

 

I know I have already shown you pictures of the other takochu I did, but I did not show all of the family as it ended up ~ all polished and decorated.  So I hope I do not bore you, but here are more takochu family shots.  These are the last of the takochu amigurumi I promise!

~ ♥   Left to Right: Big Brother, Happy Lucky, Sailor Boy, Lilly Sister and Baby  ♥  ~

 

 

 

I am so please with how they all came out ~ particularly as it was my first ever go at amigurumi.  I have done quite a bit of crochet before I tried these however, and I think that really helped.   Oo, and I made up a pattern for Baby’s pacifier!   Isn’t it so cute?    =3= ~♥

On a final note, amigurumi is a really easy hobby to learn and I would totally encourage you to go out there and try it yourself.  It is so much fun!

xox,

b.

Scrummyland Giveaway!

I am featuring my first giveaway ~ it’s not my giveaway so if you want to enter please go to Super Cute Kawaii! and comment there.  Best of luck everyone!  >w<

~*~ ♥ ~*~ ♥ ~*~

Mes amis! I returnez from my travellings and bring for you ze contest most marvelleux! Truly, Le Bun is ze best at finding for you ze kawaii prizes, non? Zis week, I speak to mes amis at Chicki and they give to me ze wonderful jewellery et accessories from ze Scrummyland range. Zut alors, but they look good enough for ze eating. But non, they are for the wearing and tres jolie they are too.

Ze grande prize is above with les cute necklaces, badges, stickers, mirror and hair flower.

Plus, deux runners-up will each be winning une kawaii parfait necklace.

Please to read on for ze full instructions on how to entrez. I wish you bonne chance! Au revoir mes cheres!

* * *

There are two ways to enter:

1. Visit the Scrummyland ranges at Chicki and Shana Logic then come back here and leave a comment telling us about your favourite Scrummyland item.

2. Join the Super Cute Kawaii Facebook page and post your favourite Scrummyland product on the Scrummyland discussion thread.

You’ll also get an extra entry if you post about the contest on Facebook, your blog, or Twitter. Just leave the link/s here or on Facebook.

Contest is open internationally and closes at 12pm BST on Monday 9th August. Winners will be picked randomly. One entry per person per site. Good luck!

~*~ ♥ ~*~ ♥ ~*~

Do not forget this giveaway is on Super Cute Kawaii!  & I hope you enjoy it.   I never win so I thought that I would share it and maybe one of you will be luckier than me!  

xox,

b.