Finished projects.... so far....

So, as I said in an earlier post.... I. AM. BUSY.

Not complaining.... on the contrary, I like to be busy with hat business at this time of year.... the little extra cash flow certainly helps out....

Anyhow, here's a peak at some of the great hats my lovely friends have ordered for their lucky littles....

I have to say, my very, very favourite this year, is the newborn stocking cap.  Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?  I can't wait to see it on a fresh new baby.... I'm thinking to make a few more and list them in the shop, but doing a brown/pink and brown/blue combo....

AND!  I found this sweet little 'very hungry caterpillar' knitted infant photo set that I'm going to give a go in crochet when I've finished my Christmas orders.... cute, don't ya think?  This one is available from Sweet Love Creates for $110. (WOW!  maybe I should up my prices if people are paying those kind of prices, just kidding!)....

Have a good one people  ;)

Hat season is here....

With the cool weather upon us, I'm thinking HATS!  

And as luck would have it, so are my customers!

Just a quick reminder that I am taking orders for 3 monkeys inc Skull and Crossbones hats.... Check out my Etsy  to see what colours we have to offer; and please keep in mind, you're not limited to the colours in the shop, there are several other colours to choose from, I've just shown the most popular choices....

I can also bring your ideas to life!  Give me a sketch, idea, description - of what you have in mind and we'll talk about what I can do.

If you're thinking of ordering, and you know me personally, please feel free to contact me outside of my Etsy shop - all other orders will be gladly filled through the shop!  Looking forward to a great HAT season!

Beautiful pictures courtesy of Stephanie Eidt Photography... Not only is she an amazing photographer; but, she's a pretty great person to hang around!  Be sure to check her out!

Have a great day everyone  ;)

KCWC spring 2011 and a teeny-tiny giveaway....

It's that time again! Elsie Marley is hosting Kids Clothes Week Challenge again and I've joined in!




Call me crazy.... for those of you who know me, you know that my May is JAM-PACKED with fundraisers, a baby shower, a mom-to-mom sale, mother's day.... and everything else under the sun! But here I am, committing to something else, taking on a new challenge, cramming another task into my over-stuffed daytimer.... I dunno, I think since the nicer weather is coming, and I had such a bumper fall/winter with my skull and crossbones hats, I've been feeling a little idle. I'm needing to get these hands a craftin' again....

So, here's where you come in, dear readers.... I have TONS of scraps of material.... I'm thinking of skirts for the girl-varieties, and shorts for the boy-kinds.... if I have just 2 of you who would be willing to put in a request, then I HAVE to follow through with this challenge.... what'dya say, any takers???

If you live close by, I can drop off or you can pick-up; if you are far-far-away, then you'll just have to pay for shipping costs.... sound fair? Yeah, I thought it did too :)

The colours and styles will be at my discretion.... not because I'm on a power-trip or anything like that; but, because I know what material I have.... I promise I will make your little someone something super cute (jeune fille) or way cool (jeune homme).... how's my french Crystal???

Aaaanyway, I look forward to your requests.... and please, don't hesitate to make your request.... chances are, I'll be getting to these items a little before Kids Clothes Week just for scheduling purposes (but mostly to keep my sanity before Crazy-May)....

I'm also open to and welcoming any encouragement from the peanut gallery. I'm gonna need it to keep on track next month :/

AND! Tonight is Amazing Race night, I'm a happy camper :D (see, that's me smilin'), and the only other show that gets me that happy is Golden Girls; ahh Betty White, she's so funny :D (again, me smilin').... I must sign off and get to tidying so the babes and I can cheer on our respective Amazing Race teams.... have a good one folks ;)

The Life of a Hockey Family....

So, the blog post heading should say it all.... It's tournament weekend; and it's an away tournament; and it's a very, very, very snowy weekend; and it's a Daddy work weekend.... ugghh! And I know I say it time and time again; but, FRIENDS... they really do come through for you, EVERY. TIME.

Special, special thanks to SHERRY for taking my little ham-hock on Friday for hockey practice; and BIG thanks to JACQUIE for enduring a FULL day; that's 12-1/2 hours of full-on Hamdom, on Saturday for Day 1 of the tourney.... You ladies are somethin' else! I OWE you both a Brown Dog visit... looking forward to showing my appreciation :D

Today for Tourney Day 2 (technically 3, but we didn't play the 1st).... Hammy's coming along.... I've packed TONS of snacks; TONS of toys; and TONS and TONS of patience for Mommy.... It'll all be good; I'll survive.... I'm hoping the new venue will peak her interest and she'll be able to sit still for more than 10 minutes of the game.

Aaaaanyway, I have managed to do some crafty things of late.... mostly filling hat orders, which I am totally ecstatic about.... and I did make up these nifty little package inserts to go with my orders....


And two weeks ago, I took a trip to my local consignment shop and picked up a bunch of things for $1 each.... I'm thinking re-purposing/re-fashioning/de- and re-constructing.... will show you later what I've done with what I've found....

That's it from me for now.... Have a lovely Sunday everyone ;)

Busy times....

It seems like I've transformed from just Plain Old Mom to Hockey Mom in the past 2 weeks.... It feels like all we've been doing is eating, sleeping, dreaming hockey.... It's a good thing we love it like we do....

Aaanyway, all of the crafting I had promised myself that I'd be doing after the new year has not materialized; not one bit. And now this week, I am extremely happy to report that I've been requested to fill an order for 5 skull and crossbones hats.... that makes a total of 7 hats that I need to complete within the next 2 weeks!!!! YAY!!!! I'm always open to new business :)

So, for the next couple of weeks, my hands will be busy.... happily busy :)

Have a great day everyone ;)

I'm stoked....

After months of trying to be seen... TA-DA!!!!!

I was featured in an Etsy treasury! Check me out here!

This is the item featured...


my beautiful boy wearing one of my hats, photographed by a fantastic girl, Stephanie... check out her work here!

Hard work paying off... check....

Have a fabulous night all! :D

Out of the hat....

The Crochet Skull and Crossbones Hat Giveaway is officially CLOSED....

And by random drawing........

With help from a pretty little red haired monkey who wouldn't sleep in even though she stayed up until 11:30pm.... arrrgggg :(

Thee-ee winner issss........Input fireworks here.....


DONNA, who said her favourite winter memory was "...when I got back home to Colorado. It doesn't snow in California..."

Congratulations Donna! I will be getting in touch with you today!

Thanks to everyone else for entering this fun little giveaway! And if you didn't win, but would still like to order a hat, custom orders can be made through my Etsy shop, 3 monkeys inc; or if you know me, just call, e-mail, yell from your front door... you get the point....

And a special thanks to everyone who takes the time and interest to read along... I really appreciate all of you!

Happy, Happy 2011 everyone ;)

New year's eve.... last chance for the giveaway....

Here we are, the last day of 2010... for me it's been filled with family, friends, happiness, sadness, hope, challenge, and everything in between.... All in all, it's been a pretty quiet year for me, and that's just the way I like it....

First off, my family and I were so excited to be able to watch the 2010 Winter Olympics together, and super-duper excited that they were being hosted by our own home country! We were so proud of our Canadian athletes and their efforts.... win or lose, it didn't matter... we loved every. single. minute. But, also have to say, Sidney Crosby's winning goal in over time to take the gold from the U.S. team was over-the-top!


I started my little 3 monkeys inc Etsy shop, which I have great hopes for in 2011.... I sold several hats before Christmas just by word of mouth, and found they are being very well received....


3 monkeys inc is also now on facebook.... social networking seems to be a great way to drum up business.... and now forces me to be even more of a multi-tasker....

Babies have grown inches and inches over the past year, and I'm sure by the end of next year, I'll be dwarfed by at least one of them... and he'll only be verging 9 years old... and I am left with the same question; why do they grow up so fast? Of everything in my life... this is the one of the things I think I can handle the least...


I committed in September 2010, to walk a 2-day, 60km journey in September 2011 to benefit women's cancer research.... This is a very personal thing for me, as my friend Becky has been battling breast cancer for what seems like eternity.... What do you do for a friend who is going down such a tough road? You stand by her, you hold her hand, you wipe her tears (and your own), you just be a friend.... and still, as friends we are left with a feeling that we need to do something.... I know what I'm feeling is nothing compared to what she is feeling; but, by doing this walk with my 3 lovely teammates, I feel like I'm helping in some small way.... We can beat this.... I know we can....


My family has suffered the loss of some family members, seen some born, enjoyed hearing news of weddings to come, graduations, new jobs, the list goes on and on... not unlike any of your families, I'm sure....

More than ever, my year was filled my little family; Craig, Liam, Marek and Camryn, without you, I would be nothing.... and my best girls; Tasha, Sherry, Becky, Kim, Lindsay, Crystal, Jamie, Nicole, Jane, Jayne, Rebecca, Stephanie... and all of the new friends I have met along the way; you ladies along with my little family, have stretched my heart to the limit, and when I feel I couldn't be loved anymore, you all stretch it just a little more.... Family and friends... that's how my 2010 can be summed up... could anything be better than that?

Best wishes to you all, for a Healthy, Happy and Love-filled 2011 ;)

Don't forget: The GIVEAWAY ends tonight at midnight!
photos courtesy of Getty Images, Stephanie Eidt Photography, and Me!

GIVEAWAY.... just a reminder....

Lets keep the Christmas giving going! Just a little reminder to enter my skull and crossbones hat giveaway.... it will be closing on December 31st at 11:59 p.m.... don't miss out.


To enter, become a follower of 3 monkeys inc blog and leave a comment on the original giveaway post, here....

Good luck everyone and have a great day ;)

photo courtesy of Stephanie Eidt Photography.... check her out!

GIVEAWAY TIME.... CLOSED

4 more sleeps til the big man comes!!!!

And in the spirit of the season, I'll be giving away one of these babies....


Ok, so not really the babies.... they're all mine and I'm not willing to give them up for anything ;)

Instead, one lucky winner will receive one hand-crocheted skull and crossbones hat made especially for you or a little monkey in your life...


Made from soft and chunky acrylic yarn in my smoke free home.... The giveaway will be open to all 3 monkeys inc readers.... just become a follower, if you're not already, and leave a comment telling me your favourite winter activity or memory, old or new.... and of course, leave me your e-mail address if I don't know it already....


The giveaway will be open until December 31st at 11:59pm.... I'll post the giveaway winner January 1, 2011!

My favourite winter memory, you ask???? Well, it was made just last night.... we packed up a cooler full of snacks and egg nog, loaded the monkeys into the family bus and took an hours' drive to Niagara Falls.... When we arrived, we bundled the kids up in their snowsuits.... although, it was such a mild night, it wasn't totally necessary; but they had fun rolling in the snow anyway.... we walked through the Christmas light display, looked at the Falls, ventured up Clifton Hill and back down again... snapped lots of pictures here, there and everywhere, then piled back into the van and headed for Dufferin Islands where we ended our night with a picnic on a snow covered table that Mr. Monkey had to scrape off with our windshield scraper.... it was one of the best family adventures we've had.... These are my favourite kind of memories, and they make my heart burst with pride and love for my little family....

Good luck with the giveaway everyone.... and I hope your holiday season is full of the things that memories are made of.... have a fantastic day all ;) xo

photos courtesy of Stephanie Eidt Photography.... check her out!

3 monkeys inc is now on facebook... become a fan!

And don't forget to check out what's in my Etsy shop!

Needed a break....

Yesterday, I delivered an order of 5 skull and crossbones hats to a friend, Christmas presents I believe.... and I still have one more order to fill by the end of the week, this one for 7 hats!!!... no biggie, though; 2 are complete, 4 just need the tags and skulls sewn on, and then just to start and finish an adult version....

I've had a great little boom in business just before Christmas, and I'm loving it! But, making that many hats gets a little mindless at times. So after I delivered the order yesterday, I came home and started a little project for myself.... yes, myself! Something just to break up my time between orders. Nothing major that would involve great amounts of time; but, something that is cute, and fast and something I need....


A bath scrubbie (is there a theme beginning here on the blog people???).... I found the tutorial here, and can I just say, this is one of the easiest projects I have ever worked on.... and for a project that is so easy, it looks so, ummm, not easy. The tutorial uses cotton yarn; but I fear that with a scrubbie that big, the cotton yarn would just need a little too much care for my liking.... I opted for a super soft, light-weight acrylic.... just something I had on hand that hasn't really suited any other project.... I'll let you know how it works out....

Bu-ut.... from the picture, you can see that it is not complete.... the reason, and it's a good one, is because while crocheting said scrubbie, I realized that my time would be best spent trying to fill my last order... So, being the self-disciplining person I am, I returned to my order with renewed hat-loving energy and was able to whip up 2 in no time.... Sometimes that's all we need.... a few steps back just to gain a little perspective....

Have a great day friends ;)