Another Crochet Project: An Elephant & A Giraffe

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It's an elephant and a giraffe!  I think these guys turned out pretty nicely.  I really love these patterns, which can be found in Easy Crochet Critters.  I knew that I wanted to make one with mint green yarn and another one in pink.  I decided to avoid the whole "pink elephants on parade" referencing and make the giraffe pink.  

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Pattern notes: I used yarn from my stash with an F hook.  I opted to leave off eyes and just do a single color.

I love sharing my projects around the blogosphere.

I'm hosting a crochet pattern giveaway at this week's Yarn Fanatic Party!  There will be TEN lucky winners.  Below is just a sample of what you could win.  (Ends 4/26. US only.)

Teaching Time for Toddlers: Elephants

This is from our June zoo visit!

I have to admit, I changed today's topic last minute!  I actually have another post almost finished, but this morning just after Catherine got up she was playing with her Noah's Ark elephant and then she pointed to my crocheted elephant I decided to do an impromptu elephant day!

We always have magnets around!

The internet is such an amazing resource!  We looked online at pictures for almost an hour.  (I just did a basic image search--super simple!)  Some favorites included: a herd of elephants, another herd,  elephant reaching a tree branch, an elephant "hurrying", an elephant on a potty, a little girl with a baby elephant, and so many more!  This gave me a lot of time to talk about elephants--where they live, what they eat, what they do all day, etc.  Of course, we spent a lot of time pointing and talking about tails, tusks, and trunks! (How long can you talk about elephants on the spur of the moment?)

We colored this elephant coloring page. (More coloring pages can be found here, here, and here.)

What have you and your toddler(s) been doing?  Did you do anything new this week?  I'd love to read all about it!  Share anything toddler related here; it could be an activity, a craft, a learning experience, a field trip, potty training experience, tips for mom and dad, etc.  If it is in any way toddler related please link it up!  I've really appreciate if you'd link back to me somehow (text link or grab my button) but I won't hold it against you if you don't.  

This linky will be open all week.

Amigurumi (Crochet) Elephant

Have you heard of Amigurumi?  If you are a crocheter you probably have, and even if you aren't you might be familiar with these cute little animals.  

Amigurumi is the Japanese craft of crocheting (or knitting) little stuffed animals.  It's Japanese entomology is ami=crocheted or knitted and  nuigurumi=stuffed doll.  (Wiki has a good article about Amigurumi!)  Technically speaking, it mostly consists of single crochet stitched in the round.  

My wonderful husband gave me a book of Amigurumi patterns as a gift not too long ago.  So far my favorite thing that I've made is the Elephant.  He's just too cute!   

I really enjoyed this project.  The pattern was long, and I did find it easy to forget where I was--so stitch markers and a pencil are necessary!

I highly recommend Easy Crochet Critters!  The patterns are well written and easy to follow.  Any difficult or unusual stitches are clearly explained. 

I will be linking up at a variety of awesome link parties!  

I keep track of buttons on this page.  Here are the direct text links to this week's specific parties:

Inspire Me Monday, A Round Tuit, I Made it Monday, Crafttastic Monday Link Party, CraftOMatic Monday, What's in the Gunny Sack?, Make it Great Monday, Make it Yourself Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, Craft and Tell, Terrific Tuesdays, Tip Toe Thru Tuesday, Show Me What You Got, Handmade Tuesdays, One Project at a Time, TOO Cute Tuesday, Cowgirl Up, Will Craft for..., We Did It! Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, What We Wore Read and Made, Show & Share, Made by Me, The Creative Spark, Wow Me Wednesday, Time for a Party, Inspiring Creativity, Will See it Wednesday,  Whatever Goes Wednesday, It's a Party, Wow Us Wednesday, Let's Bloom, A Crafty Soiree, Show Off Your Stuff, Hookin Up With HoH, Creative Juice, Blog Link Party, Things I've Done, Catch a Glimpse, Chic and Crafty, Friday Favs Party, It's a Hodgepodge Friday, Flaunt it Friday, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Link Party, Shine on Fridays, I {heart} Fridays, Fridays Unfolded, Do Something Crafty, Friday Fun Party, Financial Friday, Live Love Laugh     

Check it out! 

Check it out!

Check it out!

Check it out!