Giveaway Day!

[Update: this giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to Thriftaholic, the winner!]

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

It's Giveaway Day here at cadamsCREATIONS!  For those of you just visiting for the first time, welcome!

My little blog is where I share my fun creations: soft toys, bags, photo props, embroidery, applique, kids clothes, and other things that I dream up along the way.  I'd love for you to follow along and comment if you are inspired.

On to the giveaway!  One lucky commenter is going to win a unique, handmade, felted wool hedgehog!  But which one???

Will it be Snoot, with his adorable expression...

...and heart tattoo?

Will it be Sniffles, with sprigs of hedgie spikes sticking out through her buttons?

(All of my hedgies are about 90% hand-sewn)

Or will it be Stella, with her quiet, reserved manner and monochromatic color scheme?

(she's got a quirky little heart tattoo, as well!)

Tell you what.  I'm going to let the winner decide!  And just in case you'd rather make your own felted wool hedgie than win one, visit this post for a free tutorial and pattern!

HOW TO WIN:
Up for grabs: One unique handmade hedgehog (cadamsCREATIONS original).
How to enter:  Tell me, in the comment section below, where you're from and if you have any faith-based or cultural traditions in your family (I love hearing about other cultures and no, your comment does not have to be about Christmas).
Who can enter:  Anyone - anywhere in the world!
Giveaway Details (per Sew Mama Sew rules):  Comments will close on Friday December 16, 2011 at 5pm PST and winner will be announced by Sunday December 18th via email (and this post will be updated as well), so make sure to leave me your email address.
(Special thanks to Sew Mama Sew for hosting this Giveaway Day!)

Please note: You do not have to follow my blog to win this giveaway.  I encourage you, however, to look around and if you like what you see, do follow.  I love to give inspiration where I can.

Thanks all, and let the commenting begin!
  :) Caren

Meet My New Hedgies!

Last week I joined a link party over at Love Affair with My Brother and I received quite a few comments (and several new followers - thanks, Sunni!).  I have been making my own soft toy patterns for about a year now and have had many requests, but never for the patterns themselves.  So now, by special request, I have drafted up a hedgehog pattern, and made a few hedgies for today's show & tell.

Source

In my quest to draft a hedgie pattern I have been scouring the internet for photos.  I love this little one.

Source

Or how about this one with the cute flower?  Lookie! - you can actually see her legs!

This is more typical of what I have seen.  Just a big ball of spines with a nose (and ears and eyes, if you look closely).  So that was where I started.  And without further ado, let me introduce you to my newest creations!

(Oh, and per special request, I'll be sharing my pattern and tutorial with you all in an upcoming post!)

Before I post the tutorial, however, I'd like to introduce you to my little family of felted wool hedgies.  First up is Snoot, who may look like a traditionally colored hedgie, but his "spines" are really navy blue and deep maroon.  I didn't happen to have any brown wool today, so I used what I had in the house already.  

And here is Sniffles.  Her spines are made from a 70% wool, 30% polyester ribbed sweater.  I wasn't sure how the ribbing would work and then I made her using my tutorial and she looked like an armadillo! 

See what I mean?  Anyway, I figured I wouldn't have to actually MAKE spines, I'd just have to give the SUGGESTION of spines.  So here's how I did that:

Just a bit of embroidery floss makes for an interesting addition to both the look and texture of this girlie.

And last but not least is Stella.  She's a "sophisticated" hedgie, subdued in both color and personality.  But she's sweet none the less.  I decided to go with embroidery floss for the eyes - 12 strand French knots.  Let me say that I was more than a bit nervous about that, but I took courage and pressed on.

Are you still with me?  OK.  I told you I'd be sharing my pattern and tutorial, and I promise you won't have to wait long (my next post, in fact!).  And yes, my crafty followers, it is absolutely free!  But before I go, can I share just a few more fun photos?  Because I took a gazillion and no one around here really cares about seeing them.  So if you are interested, here's just a few more!

A heart.  'Cause I love my followers!  :) Caren