Knitting in Style

So today was a Sunday, and that means it is basketball day.

Odz had her 5th game today for the Pinay Ballers League in front of Arellano University, Legarda, Maynila. Now I have NEVER been a fan of basketball but I AM a fan of her, so I support her and enjoy watching her smile (note smile instead of play, giggles giggles).

 I take every opportunity it takes to finish orders and have some yarn time. So eventually when I get bored this is what I look like at basketball games:

Yes, I do whip out a ball of yarn and knitting needles!

but hey, let's admit, I do Knit in Style ^^

Special thanks to:

Guess for my glasses

Forever 21 for my dress

Tomato Time for my watch

and how could I forget, SUSAN BATES for my gold needles (hooray hooray!)

Headbands

So I have been working on quite a bit headbands lately. 

As you can see, my sister couldn't even resist touching them!:)

These were really fun because I loved taking pictures with them also.

Above, is the Large bow headband, inspired by this picture one costumer sent me:

I don't know what source she got it from though. Anywho, I really loved the design and it turned out to become a big hit on my page.

The really cool thing with headbands it, you can put anything on it! This is one crazy design (below) of a watermelon headband. lol

seconds after posting this on facebook i got another request for a cherry and strawberry one. Oh the things people ask me to do. giggles giggles :)

Well, it seems understandable since the people ordering these crazy headbands are (like me) proud child therapists. With all her experience being around me and my friends, my girlfriend believes that ABA therapists are genuinely crazy. what a generalization ;p

One of my favorite designs though is this headband that my boss asked me to make for one of his clients

This rainbow headband gives off this retro feel which everyone loves (no denying it)! haha

I love the things I do. More power threadheads!

Crocheted How to Train Your Dragon inspired bonnet

 

My workmate had a baby shower last weekend and this was my gift for her and her little bundle of joy to be. 

Since How to Train Your Dragon 2 is such a craze now-a-days (although I haven't got the time to watch it yet) the whole idea seemed genius! plus, she said she liked Toothless. haha

I made her a crocheted viking helmet and a matching Toothless bonnet for the baby and attached a card saying:

"Good Luck in Training your Dragon"

The whole project took approximately 3 hours (both bonnets included) and easy-medium difficulty (depending on how crafty you want to get on the viking helmet)

Crocheted Minnie Mouse Costume

I love Disney.

This is why this project was one of my favorites! and everything about completing the costume made me smile and made me feel magical :)

 yeah, i have made minnie mouse bonnets before but this one was different because i went all the way.

It was my first time to make a skirt like this, and i was pleased to find out i did it in one try with no pattern. i even made the shoes differently than usual to be more accurate to minnie's. 

here is the whole outfit:)

I'll post a picture of the baby when she comes.

sooo egzoited!!

I am planning something wonderful for this years anniversary of my business Knits and Knots ( Sugarcoated heartbeats )! Help me by sending your awesome designs original or inspired, crocheted or knitted, head wear to underwear and everything in between! open for anyone and everyone 

The past three years have been so amazing and I have learned so much through my business. It is true when people say that you will always be happy when you know that you love what you are doing. I was blessed with the gift of meeting new people and gaining amazing friends. Above all, the greatest perk that my business has provided me with a chance to spend great moments with these people through my creations.

You are my inspiration :) now its your turn to provide me with a glimpse of yours. :)

create/discover & send your inspirations to me and be a part of another year filled with dreams come true

- Abigail Marie Ellazar (a.k.a AME)

Adorable Owl Shoes

This design is the first in preparation for another bulk order for one of my lovely college classmates when I took up extra units in SPED. :) I was so thrilled when she thought of me to make the tokens for her baby shower, and I must admit, these are such adorable tokens! now who wouldn't want a little pair of these for display or for their little ones?:)

The shoe and owl part of the shoe is crocheted. A plain crocheted shoe in light brown and then I crocheted an owl and sewed it on the face of the shoe. The white part of the eyes were also crocheted and sewn on the owl. As for the pupils and the beak, I cut those out with felt cloth and glue gunned them on.

Another order for a milestone celebration. I love sharing a part in these kinds of occasions. Plus, the pictures are oh so so so adorable when mommies send them to me!:)

Crocheted Yoda Hat

'cause the nerd life is always more fun :D

So this one was for my very good friend since High school miss Joan Marron :)

I must admit, i had a difficult time trying to figure out how to sew on the ears cause they are so damn big! haha

this was a really simple project and i totally loved taking pictures for this one.

til next time! Ciao!

note: yes, that is a bottle of bubbles :DD

Lady Bug Costume

How adorable is this?:)

Lady Bug Dress with matching bonnet and shoes!

This was the first dress I ever made. I tried to cancel the order and told the costumer that I couldn't make dresses and I did not know how. But she insisted and said she knows I can. When I finished the order I was overwhelmed with joy! I couldn't believe that I made something soooo wonderful. There are countless times that I surprise myself with the things I make, but this was very very different. This taught me to never underestimate myself.

Pushing yourself to the limits and trying knew things can never hurt you.

The mom sent me a picture of her baby wearing the costume after a few days. I was so happy that it fit! haha but most of all, I was surprised to see that the costume she was wearing was for her first birthday party which had a lady bug theme. The costume was the cherry on top, I am glad I was a part of this little angels first birthday :)

Happy Birthday Baby Zsofia :)

Camera Lens Accessories

So this order was for one of my photographer friends. It was such a fun and fast project. 

I hope this will be a big hit for my sales since its soooo adorable!:)

Monkey Business!

I have no idea why, but monkeys have been a big hit lately. These are some designs and orders I have finished so far 2014. Making these monkey bonnets are not as difficult as it may seem. It is actually pretty simple.

Be creative and daring in styling your monkey. Monkeys are made to be colorful and lively! You can never go wrong in  being spontaneous, plus, it would look nice in any way :)

Colors should compliment each other, it would be good to have them come together in one area. like the stings here.

Crocheted Baskets

 This is a crocheted basket made with a size I or 5.5mm hook and thick (not so soft) yarn. I used this kind of yarn particularly so the basket will stand by itself.

these baskets are absolutely adorable and can be placed anywhere and serve and function around the household. in the picture above the basket stand at a rough 2.5 - 3 inches and approximately 6inches in diameter. A sort of nest like appearance, perfect for sewing materials or crochet hooks :)

At the side are full sized baskets which stands around 6-7 inches. Just imagine the things you can put in here!

No more buying expensive bins and baskets in the store :)

Crocheted Bunny Set

So I just finished making this set for one of my friends. She said it was freezing in their neck of the woods so needed something to warm her up. Given the circumstances of the weather this year, I feel like it is an awesome opportunity for my business! :)

DIY: Fabric Flower Headband

Fabric Flower Headband:)

To make this adorable headband you will need:

1/4 yard Fabric (in complimenting colors plus white)

1/2 inch width garter

Ruler

Sewing Machine

Needle and Thread

Iron

Procedure

Step 1: cut your fabric in 3x3 squares per color

Step 2: with your white fabric, create strip (one and a half inch in width and around 12 inches long). iron this in half to make sure it is in place.

Step 3: Sew the white band you ironed to create a flat tube, open on both sides. the turn inside out, iron it flat again.

Step 4: cut 5inches of your garter and insert in both ends of the tube, leaving 4 inches in between.

Step 5: Sew the garter and the ends.

Step 6: sew a zigzag stitch around the ends of the squares that you cut in step one. This is to make sure the ends of the squares wont unravel. Do this individually.

Step 7: Fold the square in a paper fan like manner. Take your needle and thread and pull it through the middle of the folds. Fasten this onto the white headband strip.

Step 8: Repeat step 7 with all squares. make sure to space them nicely on the headband.

Step 9: All done!

My Experience with Shipping

When handling a small business, we, entrepreneurs would do anything to gain profit and audience. That is the truth (deny it if you want) haha. But it is true, it is, in fact the most we could do to establish our name. and indeed, I experienced it as well. When I was still finishing my masters in Baguio City, I would ship orders (not like a whole bunch) to different places in the country. Manila, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Sur, etc. This experience is such a rush! It feels like your name is spreading and motivates you even more! Well it felt like that for me. :) Well, I never have had a main source of shipping. I would do whatever was most convenient. Sometime through buses, sometimes through LBC.

Unfortunately there is a downfall to this high. once I sent an order, I would often feel like I spent more than I gained! Especially in the Philippines, shipping is never cheap.

Now that I have ventured to a new place for a better career, I have left my main population of customers in Baguio City that sustains my small business. That means that my problems with  shipment doubled (facepalm). It is still difficult at times, especially for rushed orders that must be sent individually. However here are some things that I did to lessen the throbbing vain is my head:

1. Ask your customers. Ask them when do they need it done and if it is rushed ask them if they are willing to pay for the shipment fee. If not, find a way to meet halfway, anyways it is always your call on what orders you will accept. Also, ask them how they prefer to claim their order. Surprisingly, there are customers who know cheaper ways of transferring or are willing to go the extra mile to claim their orders.
2. Name your price. You must always remember to keep yourself in mind. If you feel like your products are poorly priced, do not be afraid to bump it up a little. Make sure that your time, materials, and other circumstances are covered. In my case, I increased the prices of my products since I am far away from the source of my materials, my time is very precious now since I am working, and shipping is very hard.
3. Find someone who can help you and set cut off dates. In this case you hold all orders for a one time shipment. This is the best way to make most of your profit. In my case I send 2-3 orders at one time to my sister's boyfriend in Baguio or one of my friends and they deliver my orders for me. 

Little Toes

One of my most popular attractions on my online shop in Facebook, Sugarcoated Heartbeats (now Knits and Knot but name cannot be changed on Facebook), are these adorable boots for the little ones. I make these in all different sizes and colors. Usually, the new mommies around go crazy for these!

These boots basically fit perfectly since the cuff part of the ankle is a wrap-around secured with the buttons. A pair roughly takes an hour (0-3 months) to an hour and a half.

Method: Crochet.

Here is a picture one of the mothers who ordered sent me. :) simply adoooorable! 

Knits and Knots

So I recently changed the name of my business on Facebook to Knits and Knots, but unfortunately Facebook won't let page names be changed if it has reached and audience of 200 plus. So for now I made this cover photo advertising my new name.

I need to seriously develop my page, update albums, boost posts etc. but I have no idea where to start so.. haha But anywho, I am so happy with the improvements so far. I finalized gift bags and cards. Everything looks so good. But my favorite improvement are the labels. :) Here's a sample :))

AME are my initials. :) So I also made these labels. The process was very very simple. just print the design on paper, put double sided tape where the print is, place a ribbon, run through the printer again and viola!

Winnie the Pooh Bonnet and Booties

Pooh Bear Set

This is something i whipped up this morning. The whole set took 100grams of yarn (yellow) and just a small amount of red and black.

Time Keepers

I have been indoors a lot lately (i think the only time I got to go out and have fun was when I went to go swimming  during Surf break and when we went to watch BREAKING DAWN). So what is this secret life of this Grad student and keeps her indoors? Well check it out!

Bulk Orders!! =)

this is what kept me busy during the sem break and Surfing break. well not only these, i did do a couple of bonnets and beanies for single orders. the above is a bulk order which was shipped to manila via my sister ;p i do not know what going on in these kids heads but one thing is for sure, they like odd designs on their head. or maybe it was just because Halloween was around the corner.hmmm

So when November hit, i got back to Baguio City and had to start another bulk order. This i enjoyed very much. The customer was located somewhere in Nueva Ecija and i just shipped it to her yesterday. i had some labels done but i couldn't get a picture of it in time since sewed them on at the cafe outside of LBC before i shipped it. haha her order came in three parts:

for adults

for kids

and bags (hobo bags to be exact)

the adults shoes took some time. whereas i was able to finish the kid shoes in less than two days. well, that's it. With almost a month indoors, i am happy to say that this was probably the most productive month yet. =) cheers!

In A Years Time

so i haven't posted in a very very long time. I thought i should bring my blogs back to life, starting with this one. =) my last post was sometime last year talking about a book i got in a books sale by reader's digest. Now, many books later and a few well polished and practiced skills, i proudly present my online business: SUGARCOATED HEARTBEATS

this is the poster for the business

im really thinking hard about changing the name to "The Knot Shop" but i don't think i'm ready for the change and confusion among my costumers since it is still building up. So how did this start? It all started when people started asking me to make things for them, at the time i didnt think of making a business of it! after some time more and more orders came and at the same time i came across some gorgeous designs i wanted to try out but had no use for. So i began making different things then posted it. thus came the business. during the start of the business gathering customers and finding the right crowd was pretty difficult. it took some time. However, the wait was well worth it because now i have a steady (not like super many!) customer population and orders come to me, i dont look for them. 

The most exciting part about the birth of my business was when people i didnt even know started to compliment and like my page on facebook. this gave me a distinct sense of accomplishment in what i was doing. It is all about believeing in your business, your abilities, and being patient for your dreams to bloom <3 p="p">

ADD: Sugarcoated Heartbeats on facebook now =)

order to appreciate

COMPLETE GUIDE TO NEEDLEWORK
by the makers of Reader's Digest

when nicky saw this she said

"omg this is like your bible"

Before my baby had to leave and go home to Tarlac i felt like my world was going to end. (yeahyeah i know kinda exaggerating but yeah it did feel like that ^^) so what she did was surprise me by getting me this book. the day before she gave it to me, she came with me to the bookstore and i totally fell in love with the book. the next day she provoked a fight and made me walk out. after a while she texted and showed up with the book. =)


She wrote this on the first page (love, i'm gonna miss you. sorry about a while ago. i love you so much, don't miss me so much)... and she let me know that she got it for me for two reasons:

1. because she knew i wanted it badly
and
2. so i had something to keep me busy while she was gone.
and oh, yeah because she loves me (but that's a given^^)

the day she had to go i was such a mess. frowning all over the place, sooo sad. then i took a shower. when i got out of the shower i went to the book again and opened it. there again on the first page my baby left another message. (don't be sad... this is just for you -referring to the heart) and just like that, i was okay. =)

the book contains tutorials, techniques, tips, and everything you need to know about needlework. it cover various ranges of projects from lace making to quilting. the book is, no doubt, a complete guide. that is why i fell in love with it in the first place. =)

nicky was right, truly a thread head's bible

<3<3<3


thank you baby.