Ever since I designed my African Violet pattern in 2009, I’ve been steadily building my collection of crocheted plants in crocheted pots. I love how they look realistic, but not in a tacky plastic-faux-plant way – they’re obviously handcrafted.

Whenever I give a crocheted plant as a gift, it’s always really well received. And they’re so much more convenient than real plants:

• They’re always in bloom
• They don’t need sunlight
• You don’t even need to remember to water them!

Now, word of my crochet pot plants has spread beyond the crochet world and my designs have started a trend in home decorating circles. In the past couple of months Homemaker (UK) and MiCasa (Spain) have included some of my crocheted plant designs in their home dec suggestions:

If you’ve ever admired my plant patterns but wondered how well they’d work for decorating your home or office, giving as a gift, or to sell online or at craft fairs, you no longer have to take my word for it!

The masses have spoken, and crocheted plants are officially on-trend and in demand – and that’s good news for everyone 🙂

So, how about picking up a plant pattern or two and getting in on the trend?!

Today I’m excited to present a new pattern collection featuring some of the world’s cutest little mouse-like animals: Mini Mammals! Although you may not have heard of all of them before, you won’t be able to resist their big-eyed cuteness…

L-R: a long-nosed Sengi, a jumping Jerboa, and an adorable pet Mouse

And when I say mini, I really do mean mini: they’re only about 4″ (10cm) long, excluding tails.

I have small hands – they really are tiny…

Meet the Mini Mammals!

Sengi:

• Sengi are also known as elephant shrews (but they aren’t shrews).
• They look like long-nosed mice, but they aren’t even rodents – in fact, sengi are more closely related to aardvarks!
• Sengi are the world’s fastest small mammals. They make a network of tiny trails throughout their territory so they can run fast and escape from predators.
• They live throughout Africa, eat insects, and hibernate every night to conserve energy.

Jerboa:

• Jerboa live in the deserts of Asia and north Africa.
• They are nocturnal rodents who mostly eat seeds and plants.
• They move by hopping on their long back legs, using their long tails for balance, like a kangaroo!
• There are over 30 species of jerboa. (I made the Long-Eared Jerboa for my pattern, because it’s extra cute, but you can easily make a different type of jerboa by substituting the Mouse or Sengi ears!)

Mouse:

• Mice are small, primarily nocturnal rodents who eat mostly seeds and grains.
• They are among the most common and numerous animals in the world, and are found in almost every country.
• A female house mouse can give birth to up to 150 babies per year!
• A group of mice is known as a mischief 😉

Links to Buy & Launch Discount

This pattern collection includes all three Mini Mammals at a bargain price. Although I always offer discounts for shopping directly from PlanetJune, for this week only, you can take advantage of my additional 10% discount by entering code TINY at checkout by Monday, 20th February 2017.

Buy the Mini Mammals pattern here in my shop. Or, if you’re not ready to buy just yet, please heart or queue it on Ravelry so you don’t forget about it:

I hope you’ll agree that these are among my cutest designs to date! Although I love them all, I’m especially happy with the way the long-eared Jerboa sits up – he just has so much personality, don’t you think?

2016 was a year of amazing travel experiences for me. Within two months, we had two completely different and equally wondrous wildlife experiences on literally opposite sides of the world, and I wanted to commemorate our adventures, so I chose one of my favourite photos from each trip, and had them professionally printed onto canvas.

A baby zebra travelling in a family herd at the Kruger Park, South Africa, and a green sea turtle emerging from the breakers on Oahu, Hawaii.

As it proved very difficult to capture good photos of the canvases, here are my source photos so you can imagine how great the canvases look in person, hanging on my walls. Click to enlarge:

I’ve never done anything like this before, and I had no idea how they’d turn out, but my canvases look like professional photo artwork!

Every time I look around my living room, I’m reminded of the natural wonders we’ve seen, and it’s even more special knowing that it’s my own photography on display.

Having canvases printed with photos of your treasured memories creates unique, personalised home décor. It’s much more interesting than just hanging a framed photo, and you can get huge canvases that make a real impact on the wall.

If you’d like to get special photo memories printed onto canvas, many photographic shops now offer this service, so you can probably find a shop that’s local to you. The prices seem to be fairly reasonable, especially if you look out for special offers. (Make sure you get the protective UV-resistant coating – sometimes this may cost extra – so your canvases don’t fade.)

My canvases are A2 size (roughly 42cm x 60cm; 16inches x 23inches), which I thought would be huge, but my walls are large and empty and I sometimes wish I’d had them printed at twice the size. Big and bold is the way to go. I’ll know for next time – and I’m sure there will be a next time…