Braids and Poms

I am back in the pompom mode. Not sure why, but every so often my addiction to pompoms sneaks back in and I find myself attaching these fluffy little balls to everything. Tying them to braids of the same color is easy. The ends of the braids get swallowed up by the pom...but different colors are harder.
Here is what I do:

First I lay the braid on top of the pompom. I use the yarn I tied around the pompom and tie it securely around the braid.

I fold the ends of the BRAID back towards the braid.

Wrap the yarn tail around the ends of the braid (which you folded back in the previous step). This will seem a little awkward, but take a deep breath..YOU are the boss, not the pompom. Grab an unsuspecting innocent bystander to hold back those little annoying pompom strands if you can. Makes it easier and prevents throwing the hat across the room.

Keep wrapping...wrapping...wrapping. Pulling the yarn snug. Then use a yarn needle to pull the tail through the part you wrapped. Notice all those little yarn tails sticking out the bottom. We will cut those off silly. Of course you wont leave them. Hint: do NOT use a plastic yarn needle for this step or your super hero strength will make it snap when you pull it through the wrappage (yes, yes I DO make up my own words).

And viola! I trimmed those little yarn tails (that were from the braid ends and sticking beyond the white/wrapped part). Use a SHARP pair of scissors to trim your pom if necessary. 

It's AUTUMN!

Good morning wonderful snappians! I hope you had a wonderful weekend...our first weekend of FALL!!! YAY. it's finally here. Guess what that means? we are officially in GO mode for the Christmas season (Christmas Eve is 3 months from today, btw). Have you started decorating for Halloween? My mom's house, like always, is AMAZING!
If you haven't started an advent calendar, now is the time. I have been working on mine and have some cute pix to share this week to help get everyone excited about making one.
LOTS of new patterns from now til Thanksgiving, plus some fun contests along the way too. Some are fun seasonal ones, others are great year round. I have really tried to keep gifts and shops in mind with this latest batch.
Mr. Chesh' review column will start THIS WEEK, just in time for the holiday gift giving. Thanks to everyone who offered their opinions. He has asked if he can give away some of the products (I think he is trying to bribe people to read the posts). Watch for his big debut on Saturday...and give him some praise so he doesn't feel bad. He will be home by Halloween so this first column he is sending by email. His host family, The Pereiras, have been great to keep him for the summer. He has visited so many great places and I am jealous.

Snappy Stuff to keep in mind:

• Current Contest entries due 9/30/12. We are doing this one a little differently. ALL entries will be entered for prizes, not just the top votes. Plus, it is being held on a contest site. Check out the info.
• Beanies for Bravery project is in need of hats for soldiers. I will be shipping them from now til end of March. If you have a family member serving in the United States military overseas (preferably army because I am aware of their guidelines) and would like hats sent to his unit, please send me an email.
• Birthdays: yes, I had great hopes of sending pattern coupons on people's birthdays...but had 2139 people sign up. We are still looking into ways to send something automatically starting January 1. For now, please send me an email during the week of your birthday and let me know which pattern you would like.

Have a wonderful Monday!  How about starting it off with some wonderful blueberry muffins? They have always been my favorite. Which recipe do I use most? the kind where the blueberries come in the can are delightful. Yes, more expensive, but definitely worth the splurge! For those who actually bake, give this one a try and let me know what you think. They look wonderful.

New season...time to update pix

I receive A LOT of wonderful pictures from snappy customers. I LOVE them all. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a great place to showcase all of them....until now.
With the move to Ravelry, a new chapter begins and so does a new opportunity to share all of these amazing pictures. By uploading pix to ravelry and linking them to my patterns you not only help my patterns and others interested in making the design, but also yourself. I get a lot of requests for finished items and I will start sending them to look at pix on my listings. This is a way to promote your shop.
To encourage people, I will be randomly choosing pix from ravelry to receive free patterns. I dont know how often or which day of the week/month i will be doing this.
One more thing...I also will be showcasing patterns on my blog and would like to include pix of variations and color changes. In the past i have tried to figure out a fair way to offer free advertising to my wonderful customers and I think this will be a great way. If you are interested in having your pix featured they must be made "per pattern", meaning as the pattern is written, with minor changes. Please email these pix, along with a link to your fb page or shop to snappytotspix@gmail.com
There is no guarantee your pix will be used. IF they are you/your shop will be listed as the picture source.
Please DO NOT send pix to this address you would like uploaded to Ravelry. You will need to upload those yourself. For help questions with doing this please send an email to heidi@snappy-tots.com.
I know many of you have already sent me pix. If you would like them featured PLEASE resend them to the address above (i am sorry to ask this of you). I will have someone else helping with these pix and they will only have access to that email address. Also, this address is ONLY FOR PICTURE SUBMISSION. These will NOT be replied to so please continue to send all other emails to the regular snappy tots email.
Thank you for your interest!

Ravelry Tips

After trying several online shop sites and receiving TONS of requests to be on Ravelry I made the leap. A few are new to the site and might have some questions. Our snappy friend, Donna McGonigal offers some great tips:

Click on the patterns tab, type in anything you can think of that you want to make. Once you search you'll usually see a bunch of different patterns, choose one that you like, then click projects under that specific pattern. That will show you what others have done with that project. If you decide to make it, your photo will end up under the their projects tab too when you're finished. If you want to queue it, it will save it for you so you can make it whenever you're ready and not have to search for it again.  If you're looking for something very specific you can use the column on the left to narrow it down.  For example: search baby hat.  Then click the following boxes: yes, under has photo. crochet. free.  That should give you an idea.

 

Ready to "hook it" or "cast on" or "start project" a project in your queue?  Press that button.  Then click edit project details (upper right).  Update your status (change this to finished when you're done, this is what will post your project under the pattern), select the date you started and update the completed date when you're done.  Add info about the project in the middle: name it or use same name on pattern, you can write who you made it for, click plus button on needle/hook size to state which size you used and add the yarn(s) you used.  Notes are very helpful, you can type things you would want to remember here, like pattern changes.  A problem with the pattern.  Things you did different or things you liked or didn't like about the pattern.  Remind yourself of something you'd like to do next time.  You can add photos all along the way.  You can show progress or just upload a photo of the finished project.  I also like to add photos of people with their gift if I made it for someone.

 

If you really like one person's project under a pattern you can add it to your faves.  This can remind you of a certain why you'd like to change the pattern when you make it or give you color ideas or  you might just like the pattern but not want to make it so no need to add it to your queue.

 

The my notebook tab will bring all of your personal stuff up.  Projects will be all of your finished and unfinished work.  Stash is if you'd like to document/keep track of all the yarn you have.  queue are projects you'd like to do in the future. favorites are patterns/projects you love. friends is where you can find your friends needles and hooks same idea as stash. library you can add all the books you own in here.  library is to store downloaded patterns.

 

Once you have friends, click on the friends tab. You can click on project (upper right) when you're under a friend's profile and you'll see all the projects they've made. Then you can click on queued and see all the ones they want to make.  A lot of times our friends have the interests and they might have found a pattern you love too so it's fun to see what they've been looking at.

September Contest

Each month I post a new contest for snappy friends to show off their creativity for a chance to win free patterns.
Since we are nearing the end of the month already I have decided to do this "contest" a little differently.

FURBALLS ARE MULTIPLYING! 

Did you ever see the Star trek episode, "Trouble with Tribbles"? When Furbys first came out they reminded me of these multiplying furballs.
This month lets make our own mound of fluff.

For fun I have asked Tera from Trifles N Treasures to join in our fun with her new Fuzzby pattern.

Here is the info:
ALL entries MUST be based off of the patterns Furballs, by Snappy Tots or Fuzzby by Trifles N Treasures. Both patterns are on sale today, 9/20/12 so pick them up and save!
Make a hat, purse, stuffie or any other creation. Patterns can be combined too.
Things to add: ANY snappy pattern pieces, felt, buttons, ribbon, ANY commercially made item.
Pick a theme (halloween, princess, snowball, etc), or make as shown. Either way EVERYONE has a chance to win.

Please provide a really fun picture of your furballs. You spend a lot of time planning and creating your little guy...put the time into a photo too.

EVERY entry will have the chance to win a free pattern from Snappy Tots AND Trifles N Treasures.. Entries will be judged on such categories as scariest, funniest, most creative and more.

HOW TO ENTER: We are going to try something new this time. ALL entries need to be uploaded to a CONTEST SITE. They will not show up for voting until Sept 30. I hope this will be a fun new way to do contests. 

So...join the fun and get your entry in by SEPTEMBER 30, 11:59 mt.

Heading home

It's been a great weekend and very sad to see it come to an end. As we start for home I am thankful for the time we have been able to spend in such a beautiful place.
Bags are packed (of course mine are all pink.. Large duffle is all yarn!), spent one last time climbing on the rocks outside the cabin (brookie LOVES Hayden! They are great pals.), checked under the beds for belongings and now it'a back to Utah. Even saw horses on the road as we left. Not quite as exciting as moose would have been, but totally Utah.
We love this place!
It's always fun to get out and see what's popular in other places. Saw a lot of animal hats in the park on all ages, both boys and girls! I hope this trend continues for a long time because I love seeing them. On this trip I have also found a need for two new items which are now in the works!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week. We are finishing our vacation cheering for the broncos tonight!

Day two in heaven

Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery and some of my favorite people to share it with. Heading in to the park for another great adventure. Today we are headed to the northeast gate. It is our favorite part of the park.
We started off the day with wild life right by our cabin. A not-so-rare species, sporting a giant earring.
Hoping to see buffalo in the morning mist and a moose today. Hayden and Brandon wanted to see and hear elk bugling and got their wish yesterday.
As always, starting the morning with a cup of joe (never understood why it would be called "joe"..sounds cannibalistic to me). Notice my cute pink cup, wrapped in another wonderful cozy from my friend Jackie of Hats and more by Jackie.

Snappy coffee and snooty yarn

Our first day on our trip is off to an awesome start! Coffee in west Yellowstone and I even remembered to pack my snappy coffee cozy because they don't have the little cardboard thingies here. HUGE thank you to Jackie Benjamin from Hats and more by Jackie for making it for me!
Then I ran in to this little shop which has snooty yarn in the back to take a picture to share with everyone. While I was there I overheard the two clerks talking about how the one lives in northern Utah...in my town!! I peaked around the corner to find a familiar face. How fun! Now we are entering the park through the west gate. Hoping to find lots of animals today. Chat with you soon. P.s. notice the cool buffalo in the bottom left of the yarn picture. Buffalo and yarn together...wonderful.

We are off to Yellowstone

GOOD......MORNING....SNAPPYLAND! Yay, its finally friday! which is always a great thing but even better since we leave for Yellowstone this afternoon. I say "we" because of course you are going with me. Now, on our trip I do ask that you do NOT try to pet any animals, no yarn bombing their antlers, watch for moose (we rarely see those and it is always on my list of top priorities to find one), and my husband adds "keep your hands and head in the car at all times".
The truck leaves at approximately 3pm mt so make sure you have your yarn supplies packed (yes, scissors are allowed) and NO COFFEE on the way because the truck will not be making many pit stops.
This evening we will be headed to the cabin, unpack and then hopefully roast marshmallows around the fire pit. There is a hot tub, but swimsuits must be worn at all times! I know how you crazy ladies can get! You will want to get to bed early so we can be in the park (through West Yellowstone) by 8am. Have to see those buffalos in the morning mist...MY FAVORITE!

 

picture taken on our last trip by one of our friends.

I have some last minute things to do, then as soon as Hayden is out of Kindergarten we will be off!
My "plan" is to empty my inbox on the road trip...this depends on internet service and a cooperating computer.
I hope you will enjoy our trip. We LOVE taking pix and I will post them here (or on facebook if the little blogger ap on my phone doesn't work).
~Heidi
P.S. My husband has asked me to add....there really is not room in the truck for any extra people and inviting the entire snappy tots family to go along on our trip is, in reality (a boring place to live), an invitation to share with me through this blog (yes, he can be a little "black and white" in his thinking...but we love Mr. Snappy).

On the road with Snappy Tots

Its almost that time of year again...when we are lucky enough to go spend a few days in one of the most beautiful places. My hubby and I argue which is actually the most beautiful...I say it is the oregon coast...he says it is Yellowstone. We try to go at least twice a year, usually with some pretty amazing friends. This time it will be me, my hubby and our youngest. Our daughter is the lucky bear finder of the family, but has college and work. We will miss her, along with our son who is in N.C.

While we are there we try to wave to our family and friends back home by visiting one of the webcams in the park. How cool is this? I love looking at them. If we make it to one of them this year I will post on the wall so you can wave back =0)

I hope everyone will have a wonderful weekend. I will be posting pix throughout our trip so you can share in the beautiful scenery.

Happy Crochet Day

Let's celebrate Crochet Day with a giveaway. Enter below for a chance to win free patterns.
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Snappy Tots' Boutique

After LOTS of requests, here it is: Snappy Tots' Boutique, a place to find the newest designs.
Soon it will be the holiday season and time for family pix. Why not wear fun stocking caps?!
My annual Snappy Stocking Cap Sale starts today. All summer I make these hats in a variety of sizes and sell them each fall. This year I have set up a shop which includes these hats plus will have various ready to ship items.
Grab them while you can because they are a GREAT price and always go quickly. I am not taking custom orders at this time. Also, please be aware, I do not offer refunds or exchanges on these hats. I have found people use them for photo props and then want to return them.

Manah Manah

I get a lot of requests for characters. Some are easy....and some....are not. A rare few take on a personality after they are made. When Mr. Chesh joined our snappy family over a year ago the mischievious behavior started almost from the start. Disappearing for days at a time, stealing my yarn balls, getting jealous of other characters I made. He has been traveling the U.S. for several months and while he was gone I made one of my favorite characters of all time. He actually has been hanging around my house since last spring. I have been trying to decide how to release him so his founding fathers will not be upset. I have been working on a blue and lime green version, but he just had to make his debut as himself.

 

I LOVE how he turned out and yes, he IS a hat. I will be releasing the pattern today, 9/11/12. In a week his alter ego (in blue) will take his place. 

Enter for a chance to win this brand new pattern. This giveaway will close in a few hours and the winner announced today.

As always, thank you for supporting my craziness.

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Thank you for brightening my life.

Each and every day I am extremely thankful for the wonderful friends I have made over the past year. Snappy Tots' creative group has touched my life and brought a very bright ray of sunshine into my family's life.
Over the past few months we have searched for ways to make Snappy Tots as snappy as possible, changing email providers, trying new shops and forming snappyland (a facebook group) as a help and support line.
As a thank you for all you do, I am giving away an Ott Lite. I LOVE these and there has been lots of chatter in our group about how wonderful they are. Please enter below for a chance to win. This is open to everyone. Winner will be posted Monday, 9/10/12.
Thank you for all you do to brighten my life and the lives of so many others.

• Collapsible shade and arm for compact design and portability
• Cord storage reel and clip for easy storage with extra outlet on the base for your tools
• Removable trays for easy clean-up and organization
• Complete detail and color accuracy
• Reduces glare and eyestrain
• Includes energy efficient 13wHD tube - rated to last up to 10,000 hours
• $79.00 Value

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