Trim the Tree with Fish?

Looking for an adorable and unique Christmas decoration? Well, look no further! Holly the Holiday Jellyfish will look simply stunning hanging from your Christmas tree this year!



Holly is versatile though and would look great hanging from your car's rear view mirror, a door knob on your dresser or pantry, hanging out next to the mistletoe or anywhere else you need a little holiday cuteness!

Don't want a Christmas themed jellyfish? Have no fear! I can create a custom jellyfish in any color of the rainbow! Just send me a convo in Etsy and let me know what you are looking for!

New Dishcloths!

Need to spruce up your kitchen? Tired of that stinky, grimy sponge? Want something that is durable and colorful? Check out my 100% cotton reusable dishcloths!



They measure 4.5 inches wide and 3 inches tall - about the size as your typical kitchen sponge.



These are machine washable and will last forever! Get that stinky sponge out of your kitchen and stop throwing money away.



Don't see a set that matches your kitchen? Convo me in Etsy and I'll make you a custom set!

Team Tuesday - Beachchik Designs

Welcome to week five of the EtsyNJ Team Tuesday Blog Hop! This week, I'd like to feature Beachchik Designs where you will find unique wedding, engagement, bridal shower, anniversary gifts, custom tote bags, beach house decor, coasters, wall art and more! I have marked quite a few items in her shop as favorites, two have been on my wish list for my little guy for quite some time now.

Birthday Boy Summer Shirt:


Guitar Tote for Rockin Kids:


After you visit Beachchik Designs, check out the rest of the great blogs participating in the EtsyNJ Blog Hop!!

Meet Leon

The newest bunny in the carrot patch is a sweet yellow and white little guy named Leon. He reminds me of a banana cream pie! But, we all know that bunnies don't eat bananas, they eat carrots and veggies and wiggle their cute little noses.



Leon is named after a very strong and powerful man (those who know me well, will likely guess where I came up with the name), but he is a real cutie and loves to snuggle and play bunny games.

Stop by and show some love to Leon, he'll be very pleased to have met you!

Do you know someone who loves snuggly little bunnies but doesn't quite care for the color yellow? No problem!! Simply send me a conversation in Etsy and let me know what colors you would like your bunny to be. Please allow 7-10 days from time of payment for your custom order to be shipped.

Why Does it Always Have to be Snakes?!?

... I hate snakes! OK, well, perhaps Indy wouldn't be scared of these snakes, simply because they are so gosh darn cute! Each snake measures roughly 14 - 15 inches long, depending on the type of yarn I use, and as always, the eyes are sewn on using coordinating yarn making them safe for even the tiniest reptile fan.

Currently, I have 3 colorful snakes available in my Etsy Shop - orange with white stripes, green with light green stripes and red, white and blue.


These little guys can be made in any color you can think of. If your reptile lover has a favorite color, let me know! I can whip one up for you - simply send me a conversation in Etsy or leave a comment here with a way for me to contact you.

Happy Shopping!
~Melissa~

Custom Order - Amigurumi Giraffe

As you know from my post a few days ago, I am in love with amigurumi. A friend of mine saw all the totally awesome little creatures I was making and asked if I had a pattern for a giraffe. I did not, but of course, I immediately started looking for one. I came across a few and one was just perfect. Here is the finished product - how cute is she?



I do not have any in my shop right now, but feel free to custom order one! You can contact me by sending me a conversation in Etsy or by leaving your email address in the comments here (don't worry, comments are moderated, so your address won't be published if you don't want it to be).

A Star Is Born - Custom Made Baby Blanket

I love making baby blankets and I love the star pattern and I love custom orders! So, when my sister asked me to make a star shaped baby blanket in girl colors, I of course said yes! Her friend is rather non-traditional, so we decided to spice it up a bit, while still keeping it baby-like. I LOVE the way it came out - hot pink, light pink and black stripes! Its just perfect.



The blue/green/yellow version of this blanket is still available in my Etsy shop. If you'd like this style in a different color palette, please feel free to send me a conversation in Etsy! I think the next time I try this style, I will make a grown-up sized blanket, how cool would that be?!?

Go Green - Bamboo Washcloths

I've been making washcloths, facial scrubbies and dish cloths from cotton yarn for quite some time now and in doing so encouraging people to go green by reducing their consumption of disposable products in favor of ones that can be reused over and over again. I recently discovered Bernat's natural bamboo yarn, its even more green than my normal cotton yarn as Bernat's website proclaims:

"A naturally eco-friendly fiber that requires no pesticides or fertilizers and is extremely replenishable... Strong as steel, but soft as silk when spun"

And silky soft it is!! It was heaven to crochet with, I was praying that the skein would never end! But, sadly it did... However, not before I created this fabulous set of three washcloths:



The bamboo yarn comes in 7 yummy colors. I personally can't wait to use the dill, its a gorgeous shade of pale green.

Due to the cost of the bamboo yarn, I sadly have to raise the prices of the bamboo washcloths in comparison to my cotton ones. Its a higher price for a smaller skein, hence more money to make less product. But they are luxuriously soft (and I am not exaggerating, folks, these things are seriously soft). At this time, I only have one set of washcloths in stock, but I am accepting custom orders - you can pick the color and whether you'd like washcloths, face scrubbies or a combination of the two. Take a look at Bernat's website for all of the available colors.

Go Green!
~Melissa~

New Blanket - Pretty Pastel Stripes

I finally listed a new blanket in my shop. I've been working on this blanket for a while and been thinking about making it for even longer than that! I started it in early December, but then put it aside to make Christmas gifts (that included 3 necklaces, 6 bracelets, 6 pairs of earrings and two scarves) and finally went back to it after the holidays were over.



I used my new favorite pattern and some soft light weight baby yarn from my stash. Including this blanket, I have made six blankets from this type of yarn and I love it! I made one for my son before he was born and made it big enough that he'll be able to use it for a very long time. It washes quite well, it even survived a few trips through the dryer (which I don't recommend, even though you can get away with it).

This blanket has stripes of varying thickness (its hard for this engineer to step away from structured patterns) using pale pink, mint green, light blue, lavendar and pale yellow. I simply LOVE the way it turned out and debated keeping it for myself, but we currently have five handmade blankets in my house and we are only three people!



So, now that you are in love with this blanket, mosy on over to my Etsy shop and check out the listing. And remember, I am accepting custom orders for blankets (price will vary depending on the size you'd like and the type of yarn you prefer).

Happy Shopping!
~Melissa~

PS - there is still time to enter for a chance to win a sampler set of my washcloths, dish cloths and facial scrubbies - click here to enter!

If I had $100 to spend on Etsy...

Oh the things I could buy on Etsy!! I was reading a blog post by Kitty's Heart of Nature and thought, what a great idea! What would I buy on Etsy if I had $100 in my PayPal account right now? I was able to narrow it down to four totally cool things.

First off, I need a good snack, I can never seem to find anything appealing to me in the supermarket. So, I totally need a batch of Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from JustBakin. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!


Secondly, I really need a good pair of warm gloves, but I have small hands, so I searched Etsy for a pair that would fit my short fingers and came across these custom made gloves by BugEater. I'm picturing my pair in chocolate brown!


I've been pining over sarahkincheloe's crochet hook organizers for a very long time now. So long that she's sold 3 or 4 and I've had to go back into her shop and heart another one. I REALLY want one of these, my hooks are all over the place.


Lastly, I would purchase this custom VOILA BUSINESS CARD HOLDER from yinsouciant. I love custom things and I'd love to have a handy little pouch to store my business cards in, you know, for those times when jewelry or crocheting comes up in conversation and I mention my shop and wish I could quickly whip out my card before the conversation turns to something else...yeah, that happens a lot to me.


All that and $2 to spare! Perhaps I could pick up a few PIF's! So, if anyone out there would like to make my window shopping dreams come true, please feel free to check out my Etsy shop - Made By Melissa and put a few bucks into my PayPal account!

What would YOU buy with $100 to spend on Etsy???

Baby Shower Blanket

A family friend just had a baby shower, she is due any day now and is expecting a boy. I had planned on making a blanket for the new little guy and a while back asked my mom if she could talk to her mom and find out what color scheme she was planning on for the baby's nursery. Would she prefer your typical pastel blue? Gender neutral green/yellow/white? Or bolder colors that the little guy would appreciate as he got older? Well, she found out all right, but she wasn't as tactful about it as I had assumed she would be. The conversation went something like this:

My mom: Melissa wants to make a blanket for the baby. What color should she make it?
Her mom: I don't know, let me ask. I know she registered for Nautica bedding, its dark blue and some other colors. I'll ask to make sure.
.... a few days go by ....
Her mom: She said navy blue and white
My mom: She asked her and she said navy blue and white.

What? She asked her? What the? Umm, hello, surprise???????? *sigh* Well, at least I know what colors she wants. I was tempted to add some red to it, but I couldn't find a good picture of the Nautica sheets on Babies R' Us. Then I thought that just plain old navy blue and white would be a little drab. I looked through my yarn stash for something that would compliment and found a nice yellow yarn - not too bright, but not pastel either. Perfect! I already knew what pattern I wanted to use, so now it was time to practice a bit and pick the right sized hook. I made a blanket using this pattern with baby weight yarn and used an E hook. So, I figured with worsted weight yarn that an H hook would be a good choice. I was wrong, it came out way too tight and wound up going all the way up to a J hook! The only good thing about using a hook that big is that the blanket worked up in no time!

Here's the finished blanket:


The shower was yesterday and I was really nervous about whether she'd like it or not, I mean after all, I added yellow and she never said anything about yellow.... I'm always nervous about giving my handmade things as gifts, but not so much when people buy them from my Etsy shop. You see, I figure, when they buy from me, they know what they are getting, they chose it!! I was sick with nerves when I made all 6 of my son's daycare teachers earrings and bracelets for Christmas!! Of course they loved them, but still... I know, I'm silly....

So, back to my story... she loved it! She even got a little choked up over it, but I attribute that more to hormones than the beauty of my work. I got tons of compliments on it and didn't realize how big I made it until I saw it draped over her 8 months pregnant belly! Yes, I got "oohs" and "wows" and "you made that?" and "how long did it take?" Of course, I didn't throw out my business card to everyone there, I figured that would be tacky. But, those who are that interested, would ask her mom who would ask my mom who would direct them to me.

Here's a close-up of it:


I simply LOVE this pattern. I love how on one side the yellow and white seem to pop out over the blue and on the other side the blue pops out over the yellow and white. This is the second of three items I made using this pattern. One is a pale purple baby blanket that is available in my shop and the other is a blue washcloth that I recently sold. I'll most definitely use this pattern again! I've been itching to made a grown-up sized throw blanket and I'm torn between using this pattern and a classic zig zag pattern like the one I used here.

So, do you have a baby shower to attend? Would you like to wow the mom-to-be with a one of a kind stunning baby blanket from Made By Melissa? You would? Fabulous! Check out this listing and you can select the colors and the pattern!! Or you can chose from blankets that I have already completed.

Yay for babies!!
~Melissa~