PONY (pizza princess) PARTY: the final three

So, as I should have anticipated, the last three ponies were a mad dash rush. School seems to be pouring out homework and exams and papers and certification exams... so I was crocheting around all of that while trying to remember important things like bath time, dinner time, laundry time, and snuggle time. Being a mom is tough! Being a school attending mom of two who is working on her teaching certification and with a compulsion to crochet awesome gifts (and blog about it!) makes for one extremely busy schedule.  So, I'll apologize for my lack of blogging/FB updating/emailing lately. I also can't express how much your well wishes on FB as I was taking the ginormous tests for my teaching certification meant to me. You helped me pass! Really!

Now on to the moment I've been promising.... PONY PARTY EXTRAVAGANZA!

To read about Pony Party Part 1: Rainbow Dash, click here.
To read about Pony Party Part 2: Fluttershy, click here.
To read about Pony Party Part 3, AppleJack, click here.

Pony number four was Twilight Sparkle. This was no regular Twilight Sparkle, she had to be an alicorn. For you non-MLP people (is it alright if I come stay with you for awhile?) that means a pony who is both pegasus and unicorn. It's a big deal. There was much screaming and joy jumping at my house when Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn.

Cute, right? You can't see her wings very well in this picture, but I promise you, they were much appreciated by Lilster.

Pinkie Pie fought me. Every. step. of. the. way. First, the original colors of yarn were not quite right. Found and bought new yarn, didn't realize the weight was off. So Pinkie's a bit smaller than the others. She also looked like a deer without hair. Not even kidding a little bit. I had lost my camera right before I finished Twilight, so I couldn't take any pictures. At least I know I can crochet Bambi if need be.

Despite the Pinkie drama, she turned out to be so sweet and cuddly. Her hair is so much twirly fun!

I need to pause and set the stage here for a moment...Picture this....

It's the night before Lily's birthday party, which was actually the day before her birthday. Constant questions all day long had made their way out of my extremely excited daughter. The one that caused my heart to pound with anxiousness was, "Mom, can you give me your present at my party?" This meant that Pinkie and Rarity had to be completed in less than 24 hours. Less than 24 hours....

I stayed up really late, finished Pinkie, woke up, headed to the local cafe to sit and crochet Rarity.

If you look closely, you'll see Rarity is missing something. Can you tell what it is? Hmm?

If you guessed ears, you'd be right on the money. I was crocheting right up until 11:30 at which point I had to rush home, wrap without getting caught, and away we went to the museum/pizza/squeal-fest that was my daughter's birthday (more on that in another post!) and it wasn't until I was wrapping her that I started using words I don't allow my daughters to use as I realized Rarity was actually incomplete.

Oh well!

Lily L-O-V-E-D these. Best birthday present ever. She won't put them down. I have even had to stop her from taking them to school where they would be confiscated. She picks one each night to sleep with. She talks about how I need to make their cutie marks and their elements of friendship. Oh, and could I please, please please crochet Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and Dr. Whooves and Shining Armor and......

Long, long story short: I'm pretty much the best mom ever. I can drag out this gift forever as I am virtually unlimited in the number of ponies I could make. I'm also exhausted. :) 

Pattern info: visit acrylicsheep on Etsy or Ravelry for the pattern I used to make all of these delightful ponies!

I have linked this post to: Hooking on Hump Day and Craft Frenzy Friday!

PONY PARTY 3: AppleJack and Bronies!

To read PONY PARTY part 1: Rainbow Dash, click here.
To read PONY PARTY part 2: Fluttershy, click here.

I think I fell off the world. Ugg. Right straight into homework hell. If you don't know what homework hell is....can I come live with you? I have been doing ecology studies, statistical analysis, spanish for hours, coming up with exciting lesson plans, writing partially ranty history papers about colonialism.... whew. I'm ready for a break. Good thing I get one in about 8 weeks! (college student problems....)

To add a bit more stress, I'm sick. Not quite "OMG! I'm DYYYIINNNNGGG!" sick, but pretty close. So forgive me for taking too long on doing the big reveal on AppleJack. I'll catch up! I've got to finish a pony this weekend to stay on schedule. I can do this!

Remember how I told you there are MLP fans called Bronies? Well, Now I can say that I know they are really real. There is a Brony club on my college campus. Haha. I was at a school club function today and was amused by the several guys I saw sporting pony shirts. After a time, it was explained to me. Apparently, they just took donations of MLP merchandise and toys to give to kids in need. Cute right?

They have posters all over campus and I had to snap a picture as proof that they exist!

Anyway, I am thinking after I get through all of Lily's ponies, I may make a few to contribute to their next toy drive.

This week's pony is Applejack. She turned out adorably. I love her hat. I nearly forgot her tail ribbon, but my dear, sweet, darling husband reminded me. I told him I didn't think that was correct and he had to start an episode to show me otherwise. Haha, he watches too much of that show with us girls. The poor guy.

I attempted to be artistic here and put a picture of an apple with AppleJack. I'm not sure it worked like I saw it in my head, but whatever. She is so cute! I would have liked to get her freckles on her face, but it was not working out. I will probably try again because it's bugging me.

AppleJack marks the halfway point. I have Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle left to go. I'm really trying to talk myself out of also throwing Princess Celestia in there... because I have to sleep at some point. I'm a sucker for crochet, as you know, and I have started taking a few Christmas orders here and there... which tickles me to no end. People are starting to pay me for what I would do for fun! 

Lily's party is in full on planning mode. She wants a princess pony pizza party. Say that fast. What exactly that is has yet to be determined, but I'm assuming it means costumes and MLP at Lily's favorite pizza joint. I'm hoping to find someone local who can make her cake. I think it would be adorable to have a pony cake too!

Wish me healthy thoughts, luck, and no homework for the next couple weeks, okay? That way I can CROCHET ALL THE THINGS.

I've linked this post to: Hooking on Hump Day Inspiration Gallery The Weekly Creative Look What I Made Whatever Goes Wednesday.

PONY PARTY Part 2: Fluttershy

To read PONY PARTY Part 1: Rainbow Dash, go here.

There ain't no party like a pony party..... 

I have about five million pictures of horses and ponies on my camera right now. There was a TON of horses at the fair. (I'll post my annual fair report in a day or two.) So the pony party has moved beyond crochet! On a semi-related note, I am pretty sure I could train a mini horse to be my next dog. I would never need to mow my back yard. I could take it on  walks and put it in sweet little outfits... ahhhhhhh. Dreams.

Aren't merry-go-rounds so pretty? I love the details and the slightly terrifying faces on the horses. They're not as cute as this week's pony for Lily's birthday project extravaganza though!!!

Here's Fluttershy!

She's so soft and the colors, though not my usual bright favorites, turned out fantastically. 

If you remember, I'm using the pattern from AcrylicSheep on etsy. She's got some great pony creations on her ravelry. I also found out that she has all the cutie mark patterns for FREE. I was really impressed because they were so simple. Time is of the essence with this project so I'll have to save all the cutie marks until the end. I just think the ponies look incomplete without them! That is also the kind of detail Lily will notice.

I was planning on finishing Pinkie after Rainbow Dash, but I got my hands on the yellow yarn first. I crocheted all the smaller pieces first and the head and body later. It made things go quickly. My biggest problem is convincing myself not to rush through. Two done, four go!

I still say Lily is going to be extremely spoiled, don't you agree?


I shared this post at Hooking on Hump Day!

PONY PARTY Part 1: Rainbow Dash

Look what I got in the mail yesterday.

A WHOLE BOX OF YARN! 

Aren't the colors pretty? A little scattered, I'll admit, but that's because I'm working on my latest project.

Lily's birthday is a little over a month away. She'll be 9 years old. 9 YEARS OLD. Every year I do this. I wonder how the heck she's grown so fast. Then I cry about it a little.  

Lily l-o-v-e-s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. We watch it all the time. We have conversations about the "mane six" characters. My husband can quote the characters. I'll admit, I am a bit of a pony geek too, it was one of my favorites when I was little. 

I had the idea brewing to make her the ponies as a birthday gift, but had no idea how to pull it off. So I did a bit of searching and found out that MLP crochet is actually a pretty popular activity. Who knew? There are some gorgeous patterns and plushies out there. I bought a few because they were so cute. (I don't normally buy patterns, but the madness overtook me.)

AcrylicSheep on etsy had the pattern that I decided to actually use. Look at her adorable ponies!!!! 

Find this picture and the pattern here.

They're small enough to realistically do all six and the pattern gives you instructions for all the pony accessories! I may have become a pattern-buying convert. I'm so excited! With my first week of school out of the way and homework already piling up, I need quick and easy. This fits the bill without sacrificing cuteness or the end product. I love that I can do any pony from the show with this pattern. I may have to add in one or two extra if I have time. Lily would die if I could pull off some of the other characters like Princess Celestia or Princess Cadence. (For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I apologize. I guess I should have put up geek warning sign at the top of this post.)

I've started on Rainbow Dash first. She's one of my favorites. 

The pattern was very easy to follow. Since this is my first attempt at amigurumi, I'm extremely pleased with how little Dash turned out. 

I'll post each pony as I complete them so be prepared to see lots of pony pictures over the next month. Next, I think I'm going to work on Pinkie Pie. 

Did you know that there is enough guy fans of this show that they have their own "BRONY" convention? Isn't that kind of awesome and goofy at the same time? Girl fans go by Pegasisters. The things people come up with these days! Very clever...I do love wordplay.

What do you think? BEST PRESENT EVER, or what? My kids are so lucky to have me as a mom. Hehe. It's a good thing I'm pretty humble about it.  *wink wink*

I have shared this post with Hooking on Hump Day Show and Tell Saturday Frugal Friday and Overflowing with Creativity!