Scrap-Along: Meet My Scrappy Ball Monster!

With all my moving and whatnot lately, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make my entry for the FreshStitches Scrap-Along; happily I had just enough time this weekend and was able to whip this guy out :)

I used the Ball Monster pattern from the Design Your Own Monster class on Craftsy. This class is really great and it Stacey shows you how to make different shapes in order to help you design your own. This is the first pattern in the class which is just meant to be a super simple basic pattern, and even though I've made lots of animals before, I'm a sucker for doing everything in chronological order. I thought the scrap-along would be the perfect opportunity to make him up :)

I did alter the pattern a bit. His arms are a little shorter than called for - I just thought this length looked friendlier. His eyes are actually some eyes that I messed up when making François the Lobster; I put the pupil pieces on the top when they should have gone on the side. By the time i realized my mistake, I had already fastened the pupils on so there was no going back. I didn't want to waste them, so I've held onto them all this time. They are a bit buggier than the pattern calls for, but I think they look cute :) I also added the hair on a whim - the yellow was a small scrap and I just wanted to get it used. The mouth was a happy accident - I couldn't get the embroidery to go straight, so I just kept filling it in to smooth the stitches out and I really like how it came out. Funny thing is his eyes and mouth combo remind me of Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, lol.

Even though this guy is made with scraps, my ocd kicked in and I had to at least make it evenly striped. Also, I was picky with my colors I used - I wanted it to be kind of cohesive. I have plenty of other scraps, but they would have thrown off the coloring. I have to say though, I love that this is made from bits and pieces. The red, gray and rainbow were from 3 headbands that ended up being too small for my sister, so I frogged them just to use here. Everything else was left over from other animals and projects I had made.

Even though using miscellaneous colors isn't my typical thing, I am really happy with this guy. Also, my nephew really loves this bright color combination and he has been enjoying chewing on him, so he definitely approves :) I'm glad I got to participate in the crochet-along and get pushed out of my usual comfort zone! If you want to make a scrappy animal, the crochet along is going on until April 17th, so you still have time! Go here for more info.