About me

This picture of me was made by Ella de Boer of Creatie in Beeld Fotografie.

Hi, great that you stopped by.

I'm Claudia Bierau, the designer behind CB's Creations. I am married and have 2 adult sons.

Just like you, I like to be creative. I mean creative in the broadest sense of the word. You probably don't limit yourself to 1 creative activity, but because you are here to take a look at my website, I know that we share a great passion: Crochet!

In addition to crocheting, I like a lot of other creative activities. Lately I like to pimp utensils for my home, such as giving a nice vase a great concrete or rusty look. I also enjoy Sudoku and Tectonics and I love numbers and lists. An ideal combination for calculating and writing out crochet patterns!

A saying that probably applies to you as much as it does to me is the following:

"Creative people don't have a mess, creative people have ideas lying around everywhere!"

Not that it's really a mess everywhere, but that you can see that you are creating something new, or that there are multiple projects in sight! You have to be able to change in between projects, right?!

The start of CB's Creations

As a little girl, I learned to crochet from my grandmother and her neighbour. So basically I've been crocheting my whole life and looking back I always adjust something in a pattern. But I always crocheted someone else's patterns. I started searching for something new, something different.

Years ago I also sculpted with clay a lot, especially making faces appeals to me very much. When you sculpt, you build up the face in parts, the eyes, the nose, the cheeks and the chin. At a certain point I tried to apply these modelling techniques in my crochet work. That's how Franklin Forge was born, my very first amigurumi creation and the start of CB's Creations. From the making of this somewhat older tough man, this steampunk elf, I really started writing everything down. Franklin Forge even has his own page.

In the meantime I have built up a nice collection of designs and not only elves, but also many animals and other fantasy creations with many details. I have written a number of blogs about where I get my inspiration from, read it here 👉 Inspiration

Amigurumi as a cuddly toy and decoration!

Amigurumi is Japanese and literally means crocheted or knitted toy. My animal patterns are all suitable as cuddly toys, but the other designs are different from the average cuddly toys for small children and babies. In addition to regularly using crafting techniques in my crochet, I also make a frame to put in the body of a creation. As a result, you get completely different creations that are not always suitable as toys but more for decoration. Amigurumi's, with a twist!

I think it's really great to see that you also can enjoy crocheting my, not everyday, patterns. The patterns are clearly constructed, well described and provided with clear photos. Whether you have just mastered the basic stitches as a beginner crocheter or if you are more experienced. If you know how to make a Magic Ring, a Single Crochet, a Slip Stitch and a Chain, then you can crochet all these fantastic creations yourself.

If you can't quite figure it out, I am always ready with advice to give you your own creation that you can be proud of! Just send me a message. I also love pictures!! Every time I see a picture of a creation that you have crocheted with one of my patterns, I do a little happy dance!

Fiona: 'Wonderful whimsical patterns. True genius when it comes to amigurumi!'

Fun facts

* I can't walk past a ball of fluffy yarn or I have to touch it. I am a collector of fluffy yarn: it is so soft!

* In the evening before going to bed, relaxing with a good book. I love reading, especially Scandinavian thrillers, the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley and the books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon are my favorite.

* Beach and Sea. I grew up in Den Helder (The Netherlands) and I love the beach, it doesn't matter what season. Taking a nice walk on the beach in the autumn, get sandblasted and then drink a hot chocolate? Wait for me, I will join you! Unfortunately, I’m not living closely to the beach anymore, so at least once a year I have to see, smell and feel the beach and sea!

I have published my own Amigurumi Crochet Bookazine: On the Coast (Aan de Kust), with you guessed it, creations that have something to do with the beach and the sea. It’s a Dutch only Bookazine in printed form.

* Watching series and preferably binge-watching. Costume dramas, thrillers and of course the Scandinavian series have my preference. And if I’m crocheting when I watch a series? Then it can happen that I watch the series again!