My most favorite thing to do during the Summer is lay on the hammock, listen to the birds and read a good book.  I've read many different genres of books, but always seem to gravitate towards the classics.  My "Top Ten" book list is forever growing!  However, I always pester people about reading this particular group of books.  So, without further ado, Pixxie Sparkle's Infamous Book List:

1. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

2. 1984 by George Orwell

3. Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoyevsky

4. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

5. A Gentleman of Leisure by P.G. Wodehouse

6. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

8. German Boy: A Child in War by Wolfgang Samuel

9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
(I'm currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring)

There you have it!  Leave me a comment of your favorite books, or what you're reading right now!

Introducing Pixxie Sparkle Shoppe!

Rosaries, baby booties and hats are always items I frequently get asked to make.  I thought it would be much easier to set up a little shoppe on my blog!  What I'm going to do is make a button on the right side of my blog that will refer to this page where I will be selling these goodies.  That way, if you're not interested in reading the rest of my blog, you don't have to sort through all my posts! I'm going to be updating this page, so when something is sold, I will take that picture down so someone else won't try to purchase that particular item.  You can email me at kk62994@hotmail.com and put "Pixxie Sparkle Shoppe" in the Subject Line if you would like to receive an email every time I add a new item to the shoppe.  If you're not completely tickled pink with the current items I have, you might be with the ones I will post! 
You can click any of the pictures below for a detailed image!

This beautiful rosary is made with transparent and blue glass beads.  The center piece and crucifix are silver.  This traditional rosary is the perfect gift for a new baby boy or girl or a young man or lady making their First Communion or Confirmation.  Comes packaged in a matching organza bag.
$25.00 - shipping included in the U.S.

This rosary is made with baby blue glass beads for the Aves and sparkly transparent beads for the Paters.  The crucifix and center piece are silver.   This rosary would make a lovely gift for a Sacrament or daily use.  The soft blue can be for a boy, girl, or woman.  Comes with a matching organza bag.  $25.00 - shipping included within the U.S.

This Rainbow Rosary is full of pretty colors!  The Ave beads are blue, purple, transparent, green and pink glass while the Pater beads are square green glass.  The crucifix and center piece are silver in color.   This rosary is ideal for the young and young at heart!  Comes with a matching organza bag. $25.00 - shipping included in the U.S.

Keep a baby boy's feet snuggly warm in these adorable crocheted booties (0 months).  They are made with acrylic cream colored yarn and soft, dark blue wool yarn.  The wooden buttons fasten on the side.  Hand-wash only. $10.00 - Shipping included within the U.S.

This adorable set of crocheted booties (0 months) are perfect for a baby girl.  They are made with cream colored acrylic yarn and dark purple wool yarn.  The pearl buttons fasten in the center.  Hand-wash only. $10.00 shipping included within the U.S.

 Keep baby's head warm in this cute knit hat (0 months) made from rosy pink acrylic yarn, with a matching pom-pom of cream and pink.  Hand-wash only to preserve pom-pom.  $10.00 shipping included within the U.S. Kitty seen in background not included. ;)

If you're interested in purchasing any of these items, or have any questions, please e-mail me at kk62994@hotmail.com.

Happy Shopping!

What I've Been Doing...

Hello, Dear Bloggers...  Throughout the Christmas season I kept telling myself I would post something on my poor, neglected blog!  But with knitting/crocheting gifts, shopping, baking cookies, and finishing school, I haven't had a chance! 
A few Christmas presents I made I didn't get a chance to take a picture of, because as soon as they were off the needle, I wrapped them so I could check that off my list!  The presents that didn't get a picture were: four knitted scarves, and a pair of those warm crocheted slippers (see first blog post) for my mom, made out of pink and purple yarn, because she's quite sassy. 

Here's a pair of mittens I made for my brother's fiance.  I searched the internet for the longest time (about twenty minutes, but when you're itching to start a new project, that short time can feel like an eternity) for a plain and simple mitten pattern.  I could NOT find one!  So, I made my own...  I'll give the free pattern out eventually once I have more blog followers.  Yes, yes, I am holding my pattern ransom until I get more followers!  Also, the mittens are, in fact, purple... my devilish camera insists on morphing colors...

This purse in the above photo is another pattern I came up with that I will be holding for ransom ;).  After seeing this lady walking in the store a while ago who had this purse (well, pretty darn close to it), I HAD to have it!  I Google searched every possibly granny-square messenger bag word variation, but couldn't find anything close to it!  This one was a bit harder for me to come up with, as I'm a fairly new crocheter.  However, I like how it came out and I'm almost positive the pattern is error-free!  I ended up giving this to my younger sister for Christmas, as she loved it just as much as I did.  I plan on making myself one that's a bit bigger so I can fit all my stuff!
I think those are most of the projects I've made in the past few months.  If I find any stragglers that I forgot to mention, I'll be sure to post!

On a noncrafty related note, this is what happened over Christmas! 

My dad got my mom a puppy!  He's adorable!  Only three pounds!  His name is Oliver.. yes, Oliver.  The name fits him perfectly in an odd way.  My baby, Ginger, is completely irritated with the whole ordeal, and doesn't seem to realize why we're making such a fuss over him!  Needless to say, when we leave the house, we make sure Oliver is safe in a Ginger-proof room....
Happy crafting!

Crochet Me a Doll...Finish!

Every year for Christmas our family draws a name out of a hat and the name that you draw is the person you're supposed to make a special gift for.  Well, one year I made a doll for one of my sisters, another year I made another doll for my other sister, and this year I was lucky enough to pull my sister's name who hasn't gotten a homemade doll from me yet.  I only have three sisters, so this is the last doll I will be making.. well, for Christmas anyway ;).      I was browsing the internet and this is what I came across!  I was so excited to try out this pattern!  It was so easy to follow and I learned a few new stitches!  I had to make a few adjustments in the feet and hands, but otherwise, the pattern was lovely!  This is my finished doll:   

I'm quite surprised that I was able to complete this without my sister finding out... well, my basket fell over and an arm rolled out, but besides the suspicious look, I don't think it occurred to her that that arm was going to be part of her Christmas present *phew*! 
     It's chilly in New England today!  Off to make a cup of peppermint green tea (my favorite!) and pop in a movie.... and, of course, crochet.  But that goes without saying, doesn't it?

Snuggly Tootsies!

This is my very first blog post!  So please, bare with me...  I made this blog so I can share some of my knitting and crocheting experiences, as well as a bit about my life.  I'm a very seasoned reader of blogs, just not a writer.  I woke up the other morning with this idea of starting one of my own!  I'm not sure why this hasn't crossed my mind before... Well, here goes!
     When I was in the store a few weeks ago I heard CHRISTMAS music playing... I did the "uh-oh" look at my mom and knew I better get going on my Christmas presents.  So between school work, I've been very busy crocheting, which is a new found love of mine=].  Here's why I'm addicted to crocheting at the moment: it works up quicker than knitting, if you make a mistake it seems like they're all easily fixable, it's portable and if you're sitting next to someone, you're not constantly jabbing them with your needles!
   I found this fantastic tutorial and was able to make these without a problem!  When I called my mom over to show her the darling slipper pattern, I found that she printed the same tutorial earlier that morning! Ha!  I guess it is true; great minds think alike! ;)  Here's a picture of my finished pair:

 So first I would like to just say that no, there is no fire in the fireplace... but because I want my picture to be blogtastic, I took it in front of the fireplace anyway... +1blogging point for me, right!?  I also made the straps a bit too big, so I just twisted them.  Voila!  They fit perfectly!  Well, the oven just went off which means a deliciously warm lemon meringue pie just came out of the oven!  Mmm...