Stitch Amigurumi Crochet Stuffed Toy

After my son received an amigurumi Stitch toy a few years ago from a hospital volunteer, I was fascinated by the art of crocheting stuffed toys.  But I never knew how to read a crochet pattern, so my fascination with amigurumi just stopped at admiration from afar.  Fast forward to 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, and at the urging of a friend to learn how to crochet, I decided to pick up the craft. So off we went to the craft store, purchased supplies, and found patterns online.

Luckily I found the exact same Stitch pattern on Ravelry that was used to make my son’s original Stitch toy.

By watching YouTube videos and doing research on the Internet, I taught myself how to crochet and how to read crochet patterns.  

Yes, my first newbie crochet project was an amigurumi doll. Go big or go home, I guess.  Making it was definitely challenging. I must have pulled out my crochet stitches and restarted the project a dozen times before I finally got the hang of it.  Then when I was making the part for the body, I was afraid I‘d run out of that yarn color, so I made tighter stitches resulting in a much smaller body than intended.  Finally, assembling it by hand sewing it together was also challenging. I found that proper placement of the parts, especially the facial features, was crucial to making it look like Stitch instead of a bunny.  I had to cut out my hand sewing a few times before I was satisfied with the outcome. 

Without further ado, let me introduce you to Stitch, my very first crochet amigurumi doll.  

And here is Stitch (right) sitting next to the original Stitch (left) that he received years ago from a hospital volunteer. My son says he likes them both. But after my Stitch was created, he’s affectionately renamed the original Stitch to “Bunny Stitch.” So I think he really likes mine better 😉.

Thrifted & Upcycled Dr. Facilier and Mama Odie Costumes for the Oogie Boogie Bash

When my kid asked me “Mama, can you make me a Dr. Facilier costume for Halloween?”, how could I refuse? Since I wanted it to be a group costume, that left me with the options of dressing up (1) in a princess gown, (2) as a frog, (3) as an alligator, (4) as a mosquito, or (5) as Mama Odie. I chose to channel Mama Odie.

Here’s our finished costumes which we wore at the Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure. 

We received so many compliments from other guests and cast members. Random strangers asked to take photos with us. One cast member even told me “I love your costume! We never see Mama Odie around here!”  It was especially fun to interact with the Dr. Facilier character at his interactive treat trail. 

To make Dr. Facilier’s hat, I upcycled a ribbon from a box of chocolates, paper cut into a skull and crossbones, a feather from my stash, and a hat from my stash.

To make Dr. Facilier’s cane, I upcycled a thrifted foam stress ball from Savers, hollowed it out, shoved it onto a $5 cane from Party City, and painted it with purple & glow-in-the-dark fabric paint.

To make Dr. Facilier’s necklace, I sculpted paper maché teeth out of paper that was originally destined for the recycling bin, painted them white, and strung them onto cord from my stash.

To make Dr. Facilier’s tail coat tuxedo jacket, I thrifted an adult blazer from Goodwill, seam ripped off the sleeves, took in the sides, shortened the front half but left the back intact to make the coattails, shortened the sleeves at the shoulder seam, and reattached the sleeves.

Dr. Facilier’s pants were thrifted a school uniform pants. The shoes were originally brown but I painted them black with fabric paint.

Mama Odie’s dress was made from 3 thrifted T-shirts (1 to make the bodice of the dress, 1 to make the skirt of the dress, and 1 to make the cape of the dress). The outer part of the turban is a thrifted pashmina from Savers, and the tichel shaper underneath the turban is some fabric from my stash. The bib necklace and earrings are thrifted. The sunglasses are prescription. The bangle bracelet & sapphire crystal ring are from my collection. The snake is from Party City.

Titanic Fish Extender

I just got back from a Disney Cruise and wanted to share how I decorated my Fish Extender. I hope it made all those who passed by it smile.

For more information on how I created this Fish Extender and links to a FREE pattern and tutorial, please check out my blog post.

DIY Disney: Donald Duck Luggage

Here is proof that I don’t need to buy expensive luggage to have Disney luggage. I just finished using fabricpaint to Disneyfy an old suitcase of mine today.  I bought it 8 years ago but it’s still in great condition. Now it’s ready to hand down to my son who recently outgrew his smaller Disney “kiddie” suitcases, loves the color blue, and loves watch Duck Tales. Whoo-Hoo!

Here is what I started with.


First I had to decide on a design. I decided upon design “A” because the large area of white in design “B” would probably get dirty immediately.  Which design would you have chosen?



I taped up the borders with masking tape, and then started painting.



Here is the final product. My son is very happy with his “new” big boy suitcase.

DIY Minnie Mouse luggage

I have coveted a red suitcase for the past 8+ years because it’s eye-catching, feminine, and it’s one of my favorite colors. But I never got one because my current blue set from Revo is still in great condition, and because when I purchased it on sale at Macy’s 7 years ago, there were ZERO red ones on sale. But now that my son has outgrown his kiddie luggage, he wants my blue 20” suitcase.  So I guess it’s time to buy myself a new 20” suitcase!

The one that caught my eye is the polka dotted Minnie Mouse 21” suitcase from American Tourister, but it retails for $99.95 on ShopDisney.com and $220 on Macys.com, and ranges between $79-$139 on Amazon.com.

However Macys.com has a 20” soft-sided spinner by Revo that retails for $160 but is currently 50% off ($80), AND with an additional 20% off coupon it’s just $64 with free shipping!  Every little bit of savings counts, so I jumped on that deal and purchased it this afternoon.  And since I love to DIY things, it gives me an opportunity to have fun custom decorating my new suitcase.

And with just a little bit of white fabric paint and Cricut-made stencils, my plan is to turn that plain red suitcase into a Minnie Mouse suitcase that rocks the dots.  Below is a digital rendering of what I plan to make.  I'll post an updated photo of the finished product.