Author: TwinkieChan

I’m excited to show you my final Critter of the Month class on Creativebug.com! It’s an adorable and abominable snowman! Wanna see the sketch I made before crocheting him? He actually went through a few iterations before his final form :P. There are two little things about this class that I think are kinda cool. 1) You will learn how to give your monster a mouth that is actually concave so that you can put stuff in it! 2) He comes with a little crocheted Santa Hat that you could actually crochet for tiny ornaments or gift-toppers. Click on over to Creativebug to take the class!! I am dying to see all your monsters, so if you end up making one, please do tag me on social media!

If you’re an SF local, you should pop over to Imagiknit to pick up some yarn and check out my cute lil pop-up shop which we dubbed Seasons Eatings! I turned some of my crocheted bento buddies into ornaments, but if you happen to pick one up at the shop, you can always cut the hanging loop and turn these items into pins, hair clips, or keychains! I turned a bear-burger into a tree-topper with a simple alligator clip! You can also purchase some of my sticker sheets and fully-assembled bento boxes now at Imagiknit. I had a lot of fun putting Seasons Eatings together, and I hope you guys like it!

The #YarnHeroes has its own site now, YarnHeroes.com! Check it out! I think it’s pretty cool if will be year-round movement! Here’s a link to my original post about the Yarn Heroes and our mission to help you crochet for charity. You can also find my pattern for Candy Cane Wristwarmers. Below you’ll find a pattern for some cute and easy puffy crocheted bows that you can turn into hair accessories, corsages, belts, Christmas tree decorations, wreath decorations, shoe clips, purse-pins, pretty much anything and everything! I originally designed these bows to make shoe clips for a Bee and Puppycat outfit, but they are really great for holidaytimes, too. You can create a cute embellishment for a wide range of your charitable crocheting, and you can also make the bows themselves for charities such as BowDazzling. So far, Bow Dazzling has delivered over 29,000 bows and headbands to children’s hospitals. Pretty amazing! AND NOW: Giveaway info! Lion Brand will send TWO winners each 2 balls of yarn of your choice (PLUS a pack of Lion Brand BonBons) to make your own pair of Candy Cane Wristwarmers and a bow or two. I made my wristwarmers with Kitchen Cotton in Bubblegum and Hot Pepper, but each winner can choose whatever Lion Brand yarn and colors you like. I think Vanna’s Choice would also be perfect! My green bow is made with Bonbons, and the white one is Vanna’s Glamour. To enter to win, simply comment my blog with one of your own Yarn Hero moments, whether it was someone who was a Yarn Hero to you, or a charitable cause you crafted for, or what future Yarn Hero plans you might be cooking up! You have one week until Wednesday, December 7th at midnight PST. Please note that this giveaway is open only to USA/Canada, and you must be 18 or over to enter. I will choose the winners randomly with Random.org. Please only one entry per person. Also at the Yarn Heroes website, you’ll find information about a $250 yarn giveaway happening this month. AAAAND don’t forget, while shopping at LionBrand.com, you can use code YARNHEROES16 for $5 off any order that’s over $20 or more for your charitable crafting, only until December 15. AAAAAND, don’t forget to check out the blogs of the other 14 Yarn Heroes for their free patterns, plus some of them are hosting giveaways of their own! [Moogly] [Mama In A Stitch] [All About Ami] [One Dog Woof] [Sewrella] [Delia Creates] [Underground Crafter] [Sh*t That I Knit] [Kristy Glass] [Two of Wands] [Make & Do Crew] [A Crocheted Simplicity] [Little Red Window]  [B-Hooked Crochet] Tag photos of your charitable crocheting/knitting with #YarnHeroes so we can see all your awesome work! Now, onto some cute bows! Cute Puffy Bow Crochet Pattern!

Treetopia assembled a super cool Design Council for their Christmas in All Shapes and Sizes campaign, and I am so honored to be a part of it! We got to decorate a Treetopia tree of our choice (sponsored) and then answer the question, ““What unique family tradition inspired your Christmas tree’s theme?” I have sort of a roundabout answer to this, as my Christmas tree is really about starting to create new traditions in my own home, rather than representing unique traditions from my family. After moving out of my family’s house, I didn’t have my own tree for a very long time. I was kind of afraid to start gathering my own set of ornaments when I was basically moving to a new apartment every year. When I finally got around to buying my own (faux) tree a few years ago, I decided that I wanted to only buy handmade or vintage decorations, and this is what I’m showing here for the Christmas in All Shapes and Sizes campaign. I like putting new spins on classic Christmas traditions, such as stringing popcorn into garlands and finding the Christmas pickle. My popcorn and pickles are crocheted! And since I just love food-themed decor in general, I have a lot fun, kitschy cupcakes in my tree, too.  I admit that I broke a little on the handmade/vintage mission when I hung some cute keychains I purchased while in Tokyo in October, but “re-purposing” might still be on theme! My personal mission as a crafter has always been to add more fun and color to my life and the world around me, and my candy-coated lavender tree definitely fits the bill! Let’s take a closer look! My older tree is pink, which I have a vintage red tree-skirt for. But I’m one of those people who doesn’t like mixing purple and red, so I threw down this vintage flower-loom afghan! I love anything that screams technicolorgranny! Ok, I broke my handmade/vintage rule a bit here with these Treetopia Artisan’s Glass Egg ornaments, but I think that gifted ornaments can count, too :P. I liked these lil guys because they reminded me of ornaments from my tree growing up. I probably accidentally smashed a few… and in grand tradition, I actually already dropped one of these Glass Eggs on the wood floor… shhhhH!!! I can have nice things!!! I really love ornaments that have a little tiny story on them, like these two lil smooching deer!!! I am also in desperate need of an amazing tree-topper. I have gone years without one, and I want the best one! I actually have a few more kitschy cupcake ornaments on the way, being handmade as we speak! My current fave shop for this kind of decoration is 12LegsCuriosities on Etsy. Please check out the other Design Council Bloggers’ trees and their holiday family traditions on the Treetopia blog! Two trees/bloggers per day have been going up this whole week. BUT WAIT. THERE’S MORE. Treetopia is giving us the opportunity to give one lucky winner a […]

My friends at Creativebug have an amazing Black Friday sale starting TODAY through November 28! If you’ve ever been curious about taking any classes (including mine!) on Creativebug, this is the time to try it! New members get a 3-month subscription for just $1, and you get access to hundreds of fun and informative video classes spanning a broad range of art, craft, and DIY. No special code needed, just click on any images or links on this post, and you’ll be taken to a page with the offer. Here is a lil taste of some of my other classes! PLUS, I have a new Critter of the Month crochet class launching in December, and… it’s pretty awesome.

Hello! So…! The app that I used to run my blog ads, PassionFruitAds, seems to have gone belly-up sooner than they had announced… the website suddenly no longer exists, their Twitter has been suspended, and they owe a bunch of bloggers (including me) a bunch of money. I’m still hosting a giveaway even though you can’t see any ads running in my sidebar at the moment, but I hope to figure out a new blog ad situation in the new year. I have been thinking about some changes, but we’ll see how everything shakes out when I am able to devote more time to it! I really love how colorful this giveaway is. It’s right up my alley! One lucky winner will receive:

I know this is super last-minute, but I’ve been juggling quite a few things! The Yummy You! website has been in dire need of a re-build (long story), but I wanted to make the turkey hats available to you ASAP! I also discounted them! I will also ship them via Priority Mail within the U.S.! Can’t wait to see you guys in them! (p.s. crochet pattern coming very ver soon…also possibly a video tutorial…!)

I have a cute little pattern available now in Issue 51 of Simply Crochet magazine! It’s a  cupcake pencil topper, and it’s perfect for a stocking-stuffer or a “just thinking of you.” I don’t usually crochet tiny things, so this is probably the smallest cupcake I’ve ever worked on. I hope to see some of your cupcake pencil toppers out there!! It’s a great stash-buster and so adorably sweet!

This holiday season, Lion Brand Yarn and an awesome team of crochet/knit/yarn bloggers are combining their super powers to form the Yarn Heroes and encourage all of you to craft for your favorite charitable causes! My Yarn Hero name is Captain Candy! I use my crochet powers to bring sweetness, color, and light to the world. As you may know, I have my Tissue Box Bakery site with free patterns and a small shop to help benefit one of my local charities called Food Runners. For this Yarn Heroes campaign, LB is helping me introduce you guys to two more amazing organizations: Mittens for Detroit and Bow Dazzling. LB challenged the Yarn Heroes to create fun super-hero outfits and characters using fairly basic patterns to share with all of you, so that you can create your very own super-hero characters and also use the patterns to help out your favorite charities. People have asked me for the Candy Cane Wrist Warmer pattern for years, and I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to give it to you. There are so many deliciously cute color combos you could use and so much warmth and color you could spread to your friends, family, and hopefully a cause such as Mittens for Detroit. Don’t forget to tag #YarnHeroes on your social media if you make my project or any charitable project for the season. AAALLLLSOOOOOOOO, Lion Brand is offering $5 off every purchase at or above $20 of yarn for your charitable projects using the code YARNHEROES2016 in their online store from November 15 – December 15. Show me photos of your Candy Cane Wrist Warmers, and I’ll make a blog post with a cool collage! Coming soon: I’ll post some cute patterns for crocheted bows AAAAANNNNDDDDD………….. LB and I are teaming up to bring you a cool giveaway. Stay tuned! EDIT: Here’s the link to the crocheted bows pattern and giveaway! Pattern for wrist warmers below!

Burger Scarf crochet pattern is now FreeFor24Hrs until I put it in my Etsy shop for sale! Again, I like to offer some patterns free for 24 hours to say thank you to those of you who support me on my blog and on social media :). Click here to get the PDF! Edit: Burger Scarf crochet pattern is now listed in my Etsy shop :). P.S. I am always open to feedback about my patterns. For instance, I have been keeping the resolution on the photos fairly low in order to keep the files small, but do you prefer higher quality photos and a larger file? Let me know!

Hi!!!! Quick hello from Japan before I go to sleep! We were in Tokyo for 1 week. We went to Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Sea (amazing!), Harajuku, Akihabara, and we lived in an AirBnb in Shibuya. This is a photo that Courtney took of me at a Baskin Robbins near Tokyo Tower. I’m really pumped because I bought a bunch of ice cream plush there that you can’t find in the states (you can see them behind me on the left side of the photo). Also I’m drinking a matcha ice cream shake, and I am craycray for matcha. We’re in Kyoto now, and today we walked in the rain around Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Golden Pavilion. I’ve been fighting a cold for the past few days, and today when we were ascending the stairs at the shrine, it got really rainy and MISTY and I could feel all that moisture in my lungs and had to tap out. A friend on Instagram suggested I buy a vitamin C lemon water, and I found it at 7-11 and am chugging it. I’m hoping I will wake up feeling amazing and not like complete garbage! I’m getting a lot of inspiration for cute crochet projects here! In the meantime, don’t forget that my cute kitty class is now live on Creativebug, and is perfectly just in time for Halloween ;).

Hi Gang! It’s blog sponsor giveaway time! Thank you so much to my wonderful sponsors for their cute prizes! ONE lucky winner will receive:

I’m excited to tell you that I’m teaching at  Craftcation: Business + Makers Conference next Spring 2017! Craftcation is an annual four-day event featuring industry professionals leading attendees in hands-on DIY workshops and creative business classes. I’ll be teaching 2 beginner crochet classes and possibly sitting on a panel or two (TBA!). Have you ever thought to yourself… I’d love to take a vacation while making things with awesome people. I have a great idea for a business that I want to turn into my full-time job but I don’t know where to start. I have a successful business and I’m ready to take it to the next level but I’m not sure how. I want to make meaningful connections with people in my field but I don’t have the time or opportunity to make it happen. Craftcation is the place where you can make it happen! Let’s craft party! If you’re a maker, blogger or creative business owner,  join me for four inspiring days that you’ll never forget. Craftcation has over 80 hands-on workshops and business classes so whether you’re coming to craft, grow your business or a little bit of both, there’s lots of making, meeting and learning in store for you. Craftcation takes place April 27-30, 2017, in the beach town of Ventura, California, (about an hour north of Los Angeles). Craftcation utilizes Ventura’s historic downtown buildings and businesses as well as the beach for special events like networking meet & greets, cocktail socials, a pop-up shop, opening celebration, yoga, as well as food and art tours. Registration opens 10.13.16 and the first 50 people to register get $50 off! I’ll see you there!

Halloween crocheters: I have a new Creativebug class for you! Crochet a black cat with me as part of Creativebug’s Critter of the Month series! You’ll learn how to work in the round using basic stitches, whipstitch everything together, and most importantly, embroider the cute lil face! This black cat is perfect for Halloween décor – or switch up the yarn colors and make it look just like your favorite kitty!  Now you can have your familiar with you wherever you go…. Can’t wait to see all your new crocheted friends!

I Love Yarn Day is on October 15th! Whether people prefer to knit it, crochet it, spin it, weave it or bomb it, the goal is for every yarn-crafter to share their know-how and love of yarn with someone new on October 15th. Throughout the month, we can work on helping a friend with a new skill and project, and then on October 15th, it’s time to share photos! Here are some other ways you can get involved including some giveaways, contests, and a scavenger hunt with some pretty cool prizes! There will also be a virtual “yarn bomb” on Facebook! You can use the hashtags #iloveyarnday and #stitchitforward so we can all motivate each other and see each other’s projects and posts! Also here are I Love Yarn Day’s social media links so you can follow along! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest    

My crocheted tomato class is now live on Creativebug.com! You can switch up the colors for heirloom tomatoes AND also use orange for baby pumpkins!! I am going to do the latter for a liveshoot next week and post some photos later :).

My watermelon wedge crochet class is now live on Creativebug! Have you been joining the crochet-along? Don’t forget to tag me on social media so I can see your projects! 🙂

Happy Friday! My eggplant crochet class is now live on Creativebug! You can also use this pattern to make a big juicy pear! Just use the stem and leaf from the apple class!

Southern California friends: mark your calendars! On Saturday, October 1st, I’ll be in L.A. signing books at The Knitting Tree. It’s their grand re-opening in their new location (1031 W. Manchester Blvd, #3, Inglewood, CA 90301), and some of my work will also be exhibited in their Branch Gallery along with works by Mochimochiland and Ben Cuevas. Check out the Facebook event for details and to RSVP! I’ll be hanging out at the gallery all day from 11am-7pm!

My crochet apple class is live today on Creativebug! Do they look good enough to eat? I might have tried to eat one on camera…. 😛 Remember, you can use code LION to get a free month of Creativebug classes!

The fruits and veggies just don’t stop! My radish class is now live on Creativebug!

My September blog sponsor giveaway has launched! Thank you so much for my blog sponsors for providing such amazing prizes :). ONE lucky winner will receive:

My potato video went live today on Creativebug.com! Go check it out! If you’re new to Creativebug, you can sign up using code LION for a free month! 🙂

Exciting news! I have a new class launching today on Creativebug.com. It’s called the “Eat Your Fruits and Veggies Crochet-Along,” a 9-project crochet class chockfull of Vitamin Yarn, and a new fruit or veggie project is rolling out every Friday and Monday until October 7th. ALSO, Creativebug teamed up with Lion Brand Yarn for my class. If you sign up for Creativebug.com using the promo code LION, you get 1 month free to check out all the hundreds of amazing Creativebug classes PLUS you’ll be sent info on how to get 15% off at LionBrand.com for all your yarny needs, all until September 26th. Pretty cool, right? I can’t wait to see all your beautiful projects! Please tag me if you post any photos on social media. I’d love to share the fruits of your labor!!!! (Sorry, had to…)