A baby sweater and another pop up box card

Knitting baby or toddler items is such fun. They are cute and quick to complete. A friend is expecting her first granddaughter soon. I sent her daughter (already a mommy to two adorable boys) this sweater in a color that is similar to the deep pink they chose to use with white in the baby's room. I am sorry that the only photo I have is the one they took when they first opened it in their car on the way home from the post office. I know I took photos before I sent the sweater, but I can't locate them this morning.

Here are photos from the pattern magazine, the Spring 2014 issue of Creative Knitting:

          

I used Sirdar Baby Bamboo, a yarn that is 80% bamboo, 20% wool. The only thing I did differently was using a single button at the neck. The button I used had a daisy like flower in nearly the exact shade as the yarn. 

I'm still having fun making gift box cards. This is the card that accompanied the sweater.

A few of the stickers, such as the stork, were a bit heavy for a thin strip of cardstock to support them and have them stand up straight. I sandwiched an unused twist tie between two strips of paper and that worked beautifully! This is a fun way to use up odd stickers and embellishments.

The first card that I made in this fashion is here. The instructions and cutting dimensions from Split Coast Stampers are here. There are other variations online with slightly different dimensions. Search for Pop Up Card Boxes or similar phrases.

I may be late to the party among those who enjoy Sizzix brand Susan's Garden floral dies, but I think I'm going to be hooked. I bought one die set recently, unaware that a specific tool kit is a good idea for shaping the petals after they've been cut. Undaunted, I cut out petals from yellow card stock, used a stylus-like tool with a blunt end and a chop stick to shape them and this was my first attempt at a rose:

More petals could have/should have been used, but perhaps this is the last rose of summer....in March! With all the snow, ice and bitter temps (a wind chill of -22 degrees  this morning!)  any rose is a pleasure to see.

Stay warm. Stay happy. Keep crafting!