I've been slow to update my shop lately so I'm thrilled to finally have these new editions soon to be listed:
Some Itty Bitty Ami Bears sitting in their origami gift bags . . .
And a trio of Bashful Blooming Cacti. Each cactus will now come with an instructional "How to Care for . . . " hang tag. It's an idea that I've been mulling over for ages and I've finally gotten around to doing it.
The tags read --Caring for your Bashful Blooming Cactus:
1. Situate in a calm, peaceful place away from loud noises and crowds.
2. Encourage it to bloom without being too pushy.
3. Never put your cactus on the spot -- i.e., ask it to sing or if it knows any good jokes.
4. Finally, nurture your cactus by complimenting it everyday.
I'm excited by how the tags turned out! :)
This Christmas I'm attempting to apply the "use what you have" concept to my gift giving. As a platinum card carrying member of the hopelessly craft obsessed, I've amassed a mountain of fabrics, ribbon, yarn, and other supplies over the years. This Christmas is the perfect time for me to use some of my stock and make room for more. I'm being very strict about my "use what you have" philosophy. I won't run out to purchase something else in order to finish a project. Not even small supplies like thread. If I don't have what I need on hand, I'm going to have to improvise. This may not bode well for the friends and family that I will be creating gifts for. However, I am vowing to do my very best not to construct any Franken-presents out of random objects lying about like pipe cleaners, buttons, and toilet paper. I will strive to make things as cute and pretty as possible with what is readily available.
Here is my first "use what you have" Christmas gift project. It's what I came up with after finding way too many balls of red and green yarn in my stash.
I know, I know . . . they're just potholders, but they're cherry potholders so that's sort of cute, right? But then I discovered some cherry print fabric so I plan to make a whole cherry themed kitchen set. This project is still in the beginning stages so I have hopes that it will blossom into something more impressive than it seems. We'll see, I guess. Stay tuned . . .Finally, the winner of the Kawaii Kitty for last month's Reader Appreciation giveaway is . . . Sew Very Carrie! Thank you for all your support Carrie! I'll contact you soon! :)








It wasn't the easiest thing, but I managed alright, I think. :)
Well, they're nowhere as nice as my former MOO cards, but I think they came out alright just the same, and they were fun to design and a lot less pricey. Here's a tip if you are going to try these at home: The cards I purchased came in perforated sheets. I recommend not tearing them apart. Instead, hold a ruler along the perforated edge and use an
Lastly, I've been woefully horrid at keeping up with my monthly giveaway, haven't I? I really am trying. It's just been so difficult to keep up with my blogging lately. I'll definitely try to pick up the pace from now on. Anyway, I have two Reader Appreciation
Yep, it's my trusty ol' Happy Swirly Cupcakes. If you've been keeping abreast of my blog posts you'll notice that I've been making mini versions of my usual amigurumi. I just love jamming a whole lotta cute into a small package. It's like concentrated cuteness! :) I suppose it was only a matter of time until my big cupcakes got the shrinking treatment, too.
Please meet the Mini Cupcake Cuties! Each mini cupcake stands 3 inches tall from base to frosted tip. I really love the concept of cute meets function in my Happy Swirly Cupcakes and I wanted to keep true to that with these little fellows. Therefore, I made little blank sign boards on which short messages can be written. I think these mini cupcakes make the perfect surprise "for-no-reason-at-all-I-just-wanted-to-tell-you-I'm-thinking-about-you" present. :)
Here's a shot of one of my big cupcakes next to it's baby sibling.
And another comparison shot of the cupcake tops. Although I love the look of the swirly frosted, berry tops on the bigger cupcakes, I've been dying to make some frosted sprinkle cupcakes for the longest time, and so I've done on the smaller counterparts.
Here are a pair of Bashful Blooming Cacti.
And a plush Apple Cheek Ami Bear and Bunny duo.
Finally, I made this sweet Itty Bitty Ami Bear twosome.
I thought I'd throw in a random shot of the big ami bear next to the mini one. I just wanted to take a photo for comparison, but it gave me the idea of doing a set -- like a little bear holding her little toy bear. Maybe that will be my next project! :)
Now before I leave . . . this month's Reader Appreciation Giveway are these two adorable Japanese fabric iron-ons. Isn't that blue elephant sweet? Apply them to your tote bag or backpack for instant cuteness! As always I will pick someone at random from the comment pool of this post.
I made them in a bunch of different colors as you can see. They'll be listed in my shop shortly, if anyone is interested.
Do you remember these? I haven't made my Sundae Berets in quite awhile. I used to make them with nuts scattered all over the hot fudge sauce, but this time I decided to do them up with colored sprinkles. I saw something on Food Network about how sprinkles were one of the most popular toppings for ice cream, and I was instantly inspired.
Here's one of my B-gals wearing one. I'll be putting a bunch of these in my shop, too.
Since the vog (a.k.a The Vile Cloud of Crafting Doom) lifted, I've finally got myself into a nice crafting schedule again. This week it's been nothing but Itty Bitty Amigurumis. Between the crocheting and the origami, I find it a nice all around soothing craft.
As you can see, I've added some bears to my Itty Bitty repertoire. I experimented a bit with the muzzle -- I did an embroidered nose much like my bigger bears, but then I also tried out a black bead nose. I'm not sure which one I like better. What do you all think? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Here's a better look of them all decked out in their crochet dresses.
Please meet Pecan! How adorable is he sitting on a stump with his little elephant push toy?