A "Something Special" Ami Bear, some Mother's Day Goodies, and Happy Mail

Aloha friends! What have you all been up to? As for me, I've just been crafting my behind off as usual.

In my ever expanding series of "Something Special" ami softies, I've created this sweet, little bear. I've named her "Posy" for obvious reasons -- the garland of flowers she wears around her head and the freshly plucked blossom in her hand. I crocheted her out of a new brand of lavender mohair yarn, which is wonderfully soft and full. Her smock dress is cut from embroidered pink cotton gauze and trimmed with white lace.

Here is the entire "Posy" set complete with mini portrait and drawstring bag.


And here are the Mother's Day goodies I've been working on. I thought My Happy Swirly Cupcakes and Bashful Blooming Cacti would make lovely gifts for mom so I decided to put a few more in my shop.

Please visit my shop if you are interested in any of these. I will be listing one or two of them daily starting tomorrow.

Oh, I wanted to show you some happy mail that just came in. These are a set of Clover crochet hooks all tucked into its own velcro closure cozy. I've been thinking that serious crocheting requires some serious tools and I've heard that the thick handles on these Clover hooks are more ergonomic and give you better control. I can't wait to try my new fancy-pants crochet hooks. I feel like I'm graduating from a student violin to a Stradivarius! :)

Before I go I must thank you for all your kind birthday wishes! I appreciate it so much! I'm also happy to announce that the winner of April's Reader Appreciation Giveaway is Little Brown Rabbit! I will get in touch with you soon!

Well, that's it for now! Best wishes to all! :)

Apple Cheeked Ami Bunnies, A Blythe Sale, MOO, and Let' Go Make History

Hello friends!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I imagine most of you are gearing up for the big night. So what manner of costume will you be roaming this ghoulishly dark night in?

As for my costume, I'm going as The Boring Crafty Girl Huddled in Her Room When She Should Really Be Socializing With Others. It's the same one I wore last year.

So here's what I've been up to:

I've finally finished this trio of Apple Cheeked Ami Bunnies.

Here they are wearing the other side of their reversible dresses

And a view of their fluffy pompom tails.

To those who may be interested, these three little bunnies will be listed in my shop this Sunday.

In other Etsy news, I would like to empty out my shop before it closes for the holidays. Therefore, I'm having a special on all Blythe dresses. They are now all 10% off and they'll still come with all these lovely freebies. Please take a peek! Perhaps you'll see something you like :)

Oh, I just received some very happy mail! My MOO MiniCards finally arrived all the way from England and I absolutely love how they came out. I'll be using these as promo cards for my shop. I must thank my fellow blogger, Berrysprite, for giving me the heads up on MOO -- Thank you, Berrysprite!:)

Now on a more serious note . . .

Lately, I've been glued to the news channels, watching poll after poll and listening to pundit after pundit. Tuesday is a big day for my country -- Election Day. They say that this election will be the most important in my lifetime. I'm thrilled at the opportunity to play even the most minute part in history. I'm dying for my voice to be heard. My fellow Americans, make sure your voices are heard, too.

Vote.

We Now Return You to Our Previously Scheduled Program . . .

When life karate chops you in the throat, there's nothing like good friends to help you breathe again. So I want to thank all of you for your kind comments in my last post. I appreciate all your thoughts and well wishes so much.

Now let's get back to the craft and cute, shall we? :)

I've been lucky enough to take part in two great swaps with pals Linda of The Adventures of Molli fame, and Milkberry.

Look at all of the goodies from Linda and Molli! There's three beautiful sun dress/ bead headband sets; a watermelon head Sonny Angel; a travel Re-Ment set with a little suitcase; and a teeny, tiny little bunny book just to name a few.

And what's in the mystery box with my name on it, you ask?

It's a lovely silver necklace with a topaz stone. I just adore how pretty, clean, and simple it is. It's perfect, Linda!

Here's Loovee wearing her favorite dress set from the swap. It's such a sweet, playful, little outfit, don't you think?

Thank you so much for another wonderful swap, Linda and Molli! Loovee and I are so overwhelmed with your generosity and kindness.

Now Milkberry and I had a very different kind of swap -- a super yummy-licious candy swap! Milkberry, who lives in Japan, came up with the genius idea to trade Japanese candy for American ones. Let the salivating begin!

My favorites by far are the flavored KitKats. In Japan, they do KitKats in the most wonderfully odd flavors. Milkberry sent over KitKats in tea, watermelon, and strawberry flavors. Yippee!

Thank you so much for swapping with me, Milkberry! I do hope you enjoy your American candies as much as I am enjoying mine.

So a couple of weeks ago I was kindly given the Brillante Weblog honor by fellow crafty bloggers, Ismoyo and Milkberry. I'm so tickled! Thanks so much, you two!

In return for accepting this honor, I now have the pleasure of awarding it to five other blogs that I enjoy visiting.

The Adventures of Molli -- Loovee highly recommends you take a peek at her best friend's blog. A must visit if you are a B-girl lover.

Berrysprite -- A kawaii and crafty blog by a fellow Hawaii resident. Check out her Etsy shop, too.

The Pigwidget Chronicles -- One of my new favorites.

Mushroommeadows -- I just adore her simple, yet super cute doodles.

In Company with Sparkles -- Such a sweet, little blog. I've been enjoying reading about her recent round the world adventures.

Now all of you above please pass this honor along to other blogs you admire!

Thank you all for visiting once again!

Happy Mail, Re-Ment, and Custom Orders

I would like to thank everyone that purchased and inquired about purchasing the items in my Etsy shop. I am so pleased that the things I create are met with such enthusiasm! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I have been busy with so much outgoing mail that it was nice to get some incoming mail for a change. I finally got to purchase some Louos Loves creations! I have been waiting forever to snag some of his stuff, but whenever I come up on one of his sales posts at TIB, everything has been sold out. Aren't these Louos Loves tees adorable? I love the prints and all the pink!



In more happy mail news, I finally received my Arte du Blythe fat book! Yippee! It definitely lived up to its name -- it is a very FAT book chock full of artfully adorned pages. Thank you to everyone who participated in this project and especially to Gina of Blythe-O-Mania Untamed for all her hard work to make it happen. It was so much fun!

My new obsession du jour are Re-Ment miniatures. I was so thrilled to discover that they sell them here in Hawaii. It is a blessing and a curse because now that I know they are in the vicinity I have the constant urge to pick up another box. And another. And another. 24 boxes so far and counting. Scary.

As for my Etsy shop, I am still working on the cupcakes, owls, and some new Blythe outfits, but my focus on them has taken a little detour as I accepted a few custom orders on my apron dress sets and my sundae hats. I've been a bit wary about taking custom orders in the past because of my willy-nilly nature. I've always been afraid that I would never finish them in a timely manner or that I would rush them out, and they would not be done as well as if I took my time. Thankfully, I finished the following apron dress set and sundae hats in relatively short order (for me, at least).

Thank you, Megumi!

Thank you, Alisa!

Thank you, Evelyn!

And thank you all for dropping by once again!

Easter Excitement

First off, I want to wish everyone a very belated Happy Easter! I had hoped to publish this post in a more timely manner and send my well wishes sooner, but I've been slow to emerge from my chocolate candy coma.

Loovee and Gachapin wanted to give you all a proper Easter greeting, too. Sweet little Loovee surprised Gachapin with an Easter gift -- a festive bunny bonnet . . . in pink, no less. Loovee thought he looked adorable. Gachapin thought . . . well, I think his face says it all.
A cute and crafty highlight of our Easter weekend was our wonderful swap with Linda, Molli, Zelda and Ramona. Look at all the beautifully wrapped packages!

Gachapin received a cute froggie toy and these yummy snacks. Just looking at this delicious cupcake made him forget all about the silly hat he was forced to wear that day.

Loovee was thrilled to receive these three beautiful babydoll dresses! She had the most difficult time choosing one to try on first because they were all so lovely.

Loovee also got this pretty Sew Pixie travel cozy so she can now travel safely and in style. Looks like I may have to get one for Gachapin, too.

Thank you so much Linda & girls for another fun swap! You gave us so many wonderful goodies and we appreciate it so much.
So now for some very exciting and surprising Easter news. Do you recall these little gals? Well, my little ami bunnies were voted the winner of the Billions of Bunnies category in the first annual Q.D. Patooties Easter Parade! I'm so tickled, you have no idea! Thank you so much to Lisa for putting this wonderful softie celebration together. Go and visit her Etsy shop to see some of her own amazingly adorable softies.

Well, that's all our Easter news. Once again, a belated Happy Easter to you all and thank you for visiting!

Cute Explosion!

Well, so much cuteness has been pouring in lately and I'm so excited to share it with all of you!
My newest cute obsession is TarePanda by San-X. How can you not fall in love with such a roly poly, lazy panda? Loovee, of course, is obsessed by association. She just adores her TarePanda shirt from Minikitty and her own mini panda plushie.

I am building up quite a collection of Japanese kewpies. I fell in love with Sonny Angel Kewpies on my trip to Japan. They are tiny PVC figures that wear the most adorable outfits from animal helmets to shirts with silly sayings. They come in blind boxes so you never know what you are getting until you open them. Each one is a cute surprise (and I was very surprised to find two completely nude ones)!
Most recently I've discovered Ecopit Kewpies. An Ecopit Kewpie is described as "The watcher of the earth and spreads the love, happiness, and energy, and the brightness in the world." This little guy is appropriately named Bumble and he is one in a series of Ecopit dolls from Japan. Read more about the Ecopit philosophy here. I purchased mine from the Valley of the Dolls, a great doll shop which also features Blythe and Pullip dolls.

After I received dear little Bumble I just had to go back and purchase another. Please welcome Pilote! I adore his little sprout head. His cap says, " I would do anything for your smile." So sweet!

Well, that's all the cuteness for now. 'Til next time!

In Need of a Blythe Intervention

Etsy and the TIB Forum's Clothes and Sundries section is a dangerous place for me. In the wee hours of the morning, when the rest of the world slumbers and the only light in my home is the glare of the monitor illuminating my eager face, I shop.

"I can't pass this up!" I tell myself. "Loovee absolutely NEEDS it!" I tell myself.

And so Loovee ends up with a cute new shirt all the way from Cris Shida in Japan.

A whopping influx of shoes.
This very elaborate Kenmore kitchen set, and Barbie dining table with matching chairs.
Some lovely kawaii fabric, which Loovee begs to be made into a dress soon.
Finally, to punctuate the ridiculousness of my problem, yet another Re-Ment dress form just because it was too good a deal to ignore.

Loovee is thrilled beyond words. My bank account -- not so much.

Well, I must run along now. I have some crochet dress sets to do and two swaps coming up, which I must prepare for. How exciting! Blythe stuff coming in the mail, which I needn't feel guilty about!

Cuteness, Critters, Crochet & World Peace!

Hello, friends! Once again, long time no post as things have been quite hectic around here so I shall make up for my absence by making this an extra lengthy one. Here's what's been happening since we spoke last:
These little critters are off to our dear friends, Linda, Molli, and Zelda. Goodbye Owl and Bunny! Have a safe trip to your wonderful, new home where I know you'll get lots and lots of love. Thank you, Molli, for adopting them! (Update: They arrived safely!)

I've been lucky enough to come into all manner of cuteness lately. Some adorable barrettes for Loovee, which include a set of pink Hello Kitty clips; a kawaii notebook with a sweet teddy bear softie on the cover; the teensiest bunny stickers; and the pièce de résistance -- the cutest Gachapin keychain ever!

These are the first commercially made Blythe outfits I've ever purchased -- Sugarmag and Par Avion. I prefer to make my own Blythe outfits or to get them from fellow crafty folks. I just appreciate the personal handiwork so much. However, Gina Garan had a great clearance sale at her TIB shop, so I decided to give it a go. The neat thing about ordering from her shop is she gives you a free signed Blythe postcard. Hooray for freebies!

Notice that there's not a single bit of pink or blue in it, which are Loovee's favorite colors. So who could this outfit possibly be for? Hmmmmm . . . . The plot thickens.

Although, I have crocheted a simple tank top for Loovee in the past, I've been apprehensive of crocheting a whole dress for her. The problem is every time I think "crochet doll dress" my head immediately gets filled with visions of those awful toilet paper cozy dolls my grandma used to have in her bathroom. You know those plastic lady dolls with their crochet dresses that discreetly hide a fresh roll of T.P. underneath their skirts. Thankfully, I came across some beautiful crochet dresses on Flickr that completely changed my mind and have obliterated my notion that crochet doll dress = a special kind of ugly.

Look at this lovely Blythe dress from Godesia. She has a great Etsy store that sells her crochet creations, too.

This sweet dress is by TeenyWeeny Designs and is for a Pocket Fairy doll. She also has an Etsy store. Love her Blythe hats!

This Blythe schoolgirl dress by Jojoling is incredible! Last I checked she still had a few at her Etsy shop.

I adore this mod Blythe minidress by Dolluxe. Her stuff sells out super fast at her Etsy shop so visit often if you want to snag one of her amazing pieces.

Anyway, I want to thank the above for inspiring me. Here is my very first crochet dolly dress! Not too bad, eh? It still needs a bit of tweaking, but overall I think it came out okay for my first try.

Notice the pretty heart barrette on Loovee's noggin? It came all the way from Holland from Tizzalicious. She makes the cutest accessories (for Blythe and people alike) in lots and lots of pink, which makes them all very painful for me to resist. She has a great Etsy shop and a blog dedicated to her craftiness, too. Thank you, Tizz!

Last, but not least I've been tagged by the talented Zari at justZHM to do a meme! How thrilling! I have never been tagged before. The theme for her meme is Love and Peace and that is her beautiful dove illustration above. It is a very timely subject for me as this summer my brother-in-law will be shipping off to Iraq. It is my hope that this new year brings less strife and more peace to our world.

Much aloha to you all!

Loovee Time and Some Random Crafting

Loovee has been suffering for some new clothes. The poor dear has only about 5 or 6 outfits to her name, which is a frightful shame. Her wee wardrobe has been giving her a bit of a complex after seeing this and this. However, I hope to change all that very soon by clocking in some much needed Loovee crafting time each week. This is what I've managed so far:

Quite awhile ago, I sketched this silly strawberry sundae hat for her.

And last night I finally finished crocheting it. I'm so happy with how it came out. I embroidered some pink, yellow, and white sprinkles on the hot fudge sauce, which gave it an even more yummy touch.

Thankfully, Loovee does not have to depend entirely on me or the kindness of her pal Molli to remain well clothed. Monica from Feltland custom made this beautiful dress for her in her favorite colors. Isn't it lovely? The knitting is just so unbelievably dainty and neat.

In random craftiness news, every year after Christmas I am left with a bunch of very sturdy and functional, yet hideous gift boxes. I love to use them to store my bits and bobs, but I cannot bear to look at them. This year I decided to do something about it.

Some glue and some pretty paper later and . . . voilà!

No more motley collection of boxes that assault your eyes! I actually went a bit crazy with this and discovered some ugly boxes from Christmas past to wrap. A crafter is always in need of more storage, right?

Oh, yes -- Happy 2008 to you all!