A musical giraffe & two love birds

During the last months I was asked by several people to make something for a special event. I felt quite honored, being commissioned by these friends to add a creative touch to their upcoming memorable happenings!

The musical giraffe

Let's start with the giraffe. This one was made for my colleague Nicolle, who got pregnant at the end of 2012. Not long after she announced it at work, she asked me if I could make something to put a little music box in. Well, sure...I told her it depended a bit on what she wanted. Not being sure yet, we went from stars and clouds to ducks. I directed her to Pinterest, not knowing that the overwhelming amount of baby-related inspiration this place contains would only make her choice more difficult. But finally a decision was made: a crocheted giraffe it would be!

I told Nicolle to pick a pattern she liked from Etsy (I might be crafty, but designing my own giraffe crochet pattern is a step too far), she came back with Daveydreamer's 'Girard the Giraffe'. Cute huh? (I also really love the undersea patterns in this shop by the way! Just look at that squid, the clam, the walrus...and the wanatee! I don't even know what a wanatee is, but it totally rocks big time!). During a free hour at work I dragged a big-bellied Nicolle to the yarn shop, so she could choose the colors for this creature. We assumed the pattern would be for quite a small giraffe (most amigurumi's are tiny), so we decided to go for a thicker, bulkier yarn. The giraffe had to hold the music box in his belly in the end, so a teeny tiny animal would not work! But, as it turned out...we shouldn't have done this. Just look at the picture above, the giraffe became gigantic! This might be my own fault though...I probably skipped some information on the pattern about the size and such, you know, the boring stuff...oops!

The baby was born a month early (first time in my life I actually felt pressured by a newborn...I wasn't nearly finished yet!). Of course Roos (which is Dutch for 'rose') was a very small baby in the beginning, and as I said, my giraffe became a giant. Nicolle thought he was becoming adorable, but I had my doubts. What about Roos? Imaging being a tiny baby, lying in your carrier, sucking your pacifier...just generally chilling out for a bit. Suddenly someone puts a life-sized giraffe (a giráffe, for heavens sake!) on your lap, freakishly wobbling it's head from side to side, pushing its face in yours while talking 'baby' ("oooh gutchee gutchee!"). All I can say is: I just hope this child won't have a life long phobia of giraffes.

The giraffe took me quite some hours, I even worked on it in the car on our way to the Ardennes for our climbing weekends (remember?). I had some trouble with keeping the neck up (the head is quite heavy), so I shoved some thin iron wires in it. Roos' parents might have to remove those if she ever overcomes her trauma and ends up wanting to play with her giraffe. For the rest the pattern was super clear and easy to follow. The music box easily fitted in the giraffe's belly. After putting it in, I just kept on decreasing to close the body, until nothing more than a miniature hole was left, where the drawstring of the music box went out. I loved the song it played by the way! I must admit I regularly pulled the cord during my crochet hours...it's not one of those standard baby tunes. I hope Roos will grow to love it as well!

Last week I finally found a chance to actually visit Roos and her parents and to hand over their gift. It was awesome to see how happy they were with the giraffe and how much they liked how it turned out. Roos had already grown a bit (which might come in handy, regarding the phobia thing...she's slightly bigger than our long necked friend now) and seemed like a healthy and happy baby. I hope the lullabying giraffe will guide her into many hours of quiet and peaceful sleep (so her parents will get some rest as well ;))!

Hmm...still a bit phobic?

Two love birds

Now on to the other project: two love birds (or robins, more precisely)! These were made for Marijke, one of my very best friends. Thinking about it, I actually believe it's already more than 7 years ago when we first met as two shy and vulnerable young ladies on a new journey. We clung on to each other to find some comfort, understanding and humor during that particular overwhelming time in our lives. And we sticked together! Not so shy and vulnerable anymore (I believe we actually grew some balls :P), but still finding comfort in understanding the other so well and having minds that function scarily alike. With Marijke I only need a couple of words and she will get exactly how I feel. With others, even thousands of words are still not sufficient to explain what's going on inside our sensitive silly brains...so you can imagine how precious this friendship is to me!

Marijke got married to Lennard last summer. She fell in love with this awesome (I don't even know him that well, but everyone who makes Marijke thát happy is awesome) young lad a while ago, and it wasn't long before they decided this was for real and they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. So why wait then? It might seem quick for outsiders, but I happen to totally trust their decision on this one. Some things are just right and carry blessings from above. 

Not long after this decision Marijke asked me if I could crochet something that could work as a cake topper. To me this sounded like the perfect chance to actually give them something meaningful. A bought gift just seemed too easy for such a good friend. A crochet project would require hours of work, some real effort and dedication...which they totally deserve!

At first we brainstormed about a tiny wedding couple (a small bride and groom), but this is quite difficult to crochet (though it can be done!). Marijke really loves birds, especially the small domestic ones...so we decided that 'love birds' would be a way better idea! Those could also function as a nice decoration piece áfter the wedding (while a wedding pair might be a bit too...well...wedding-ish to put on the shelf). Marijke picked MysteriousCats' robin pattern on Etsy (this lady has a lot of other cute patterns as well! But what the héck is that horror postcard of a vampire cat doing in her shop?!), which I made twice. I added the hat, bow, hearts and rings (those are not part of the pattern) and searched for the perfect branch to put them on (which was a bit more difficult than I thought...next time get married in autumn, okay guys?). 

Marijke loved how her caketopper turned out, and it fitted perfectly well on their pie (which looks soooo yummie by the way!). She and Lennard married in a wonderful kind of circus tent with old wooden wainscots and mirrors and such...beyond awesome! Look at what a pretty couple they make together, and how lovely they look in their dress and suit. There was a beautiful wedding service (with quite some tears), campfires, an instax photo boot and lots of other cool stuff. Oh, and did I mention that Marijke promised Lennard in her vows that she will make him homemade apple pie évery weekend? Crazy, and so sweet! 

Right now they're already married for a couple of months. They expanded their little family with Ted, a tiny plushy rabbit that Lennard bought as a gift for Marijke. Trying to find their way into living together as a couple, they make an awesome pair. I love how Marijke explained it to me: "We're actually just two little kids, pretending to maintain a household..." hahaha! Humor and a lot of mutual love will get them through. I know the birdies are standing on the ledge in their bedroom, which makes me feel very honored. I really wish them a lifelong happy and healthy marriage...may they always stay 'apple pie-eating love robins'!

I love how it looks like the groom birdie is actually whispering
something to his bride in this pic :)