Author: TwinkieChan

If you liked what you saw in my Kawaii Box post…. you now have a chance to win a free box filled with next month’s goodies! What’s inside June’s box is a complete mystery!!! Maybe you’ll be the one to see what’s inside! If you missed my original post, I also just uploaded a video to YouTube, showing you what’s inside this month’s box. Enter to win with the Rafflecopter widget below! Good luck! And thanks to Kawaii Box for sponsoring this giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway

A lot of cute girls on Insta like TinyTangerines have been posting their adorable hula hooping videos lately! I would not have felt compelled to join this club, except my buddy from SuperGood also mentions hooping while watching tv, which seems to me a nice, mindless, easy way to sneak in a tiny bit of exercise without a lot of fuss (I don’t think I will try to learn tricks or fancy things). My buddy told me that hula hoops arrive in a somewhat surprising way, i.e. not in a shipping box, so I told her I would make a short vlog about getting, unwrapping, and using my hoop for the first time. Here’s the video! I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to use it aside from the 10 seconds I did in the video….but I have hope for me! 😛

Do you guys subscribe to any monthly goodie services? I’ve purchased Birchbox for my mom, and I currently subscribe to Graze cuz it’s snacks, and I know I’m gonna eat snacks! My buddies at Blippo.com now have a new, super cute, monthly subscription service called Kawaii Box! The service is $16.90 per month, and subscribers receive a box filled with hand-picked kawaii items from Japan and Korea. Boxes are shipped in the beginning of each month, and the shipping is absolutely free, anywhere on the planet! Each box includes 10-12 cute, original and licensed kawaii items. They asked if I would like to check out May’s box, and I said sure!

My little nephew turned 1! It’s weird to think he has been on this planet for a whole year already. I watched him eat his first taste of cake and frosting, and his reaction to the absolute wonder that is CUPCAKESSSSSSSSS was super sweet and funny. On his bday wishlist was a set of crocheted veggies. As a crocheter, my brain obviously told me to make these myself! Or at least something similar! A lot of the cotton yarn I was seeing was not super easy care (machine wash, but air dry), and I wanted the toys to be fully machine washable, so I used both Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice and Deborah Norvile’s Everyday Worsted. I test-washed them first by popping them into a delicate cycle with a low-tumble, and they came out just the same as they went in. I made a carrot, corn, eggplant, potato, mushroom, radish, and tomato. I think my favorite is the radish! Second favorite: potato! I packaged them in a cute little basket and wrapped it all up in clear cello, like an actual gift basket of food. I don’t know if he’ll actually play with them, but it was certainly a fun project! Hairy’s nephew really loved to play with fake food when he was younger, so maybe Ender will go through a fake food phase as well! I don’t know anything about babies, so I think these might be a bit big for him to hold (except by the greens/stems!), but I didn’t want to make them too small for fear him trying to eat any of it! Here’s a link to “crochet vegetable” on Etsy, and here is a link to “crochet vegetable pattern” on Etsy. People on Instagram asked me if I were selling these in my shop, but since so many on Etsy are doing it already, I feel like I should maybe step back on that one!    

It’s the 15th of the month, so it’s time to launch a new blog sponsor giveaway! Thanks so much to my generous sponsors for offering us these wonderful goodies! One lucky winner will receive:

Soooo we haven’t had a Y.A.P. Time (Yarn Appreciation Post) in, like, forever. I only ever made ONE. I’ll try not to go so long again! This Y.A.P. is brought to you today by our friends at Lion Brand Yarn, who so very generously sent me a beautiful box of new goodies! I have definitely wanted some time to play with Keppi ever since it came out. The color range is delicious and fun, and all the balls come with a pompom!! It’s been pretty hot this week, so the idea of playing with bulky yarns is kind of icky, but there are some new yarns and colorways in this package that are pretty irresistible if you want to start planning for Fall. My eye goes straight to the black and white skein of Country, which I’m not really familiar with, but I love how big and squishy it is! I vote we campaign for some pastel and candy colors for Country! Unique is another line I’ve never played with before, but is nice and chunky and comes in a range of painterly tweeds. There are a lot of yarns made by our favorite brands that sometimes don’t make it to the big box stores, so if you are a  yarn-lover, you should definitely check out yarn company websites, because they have a TON of yarn, and you can often purchase the yarn online! Wool-Ease Thick n Quick is definitely a favorite among a lot of Etsy sellers, and it looks like LB will be releasing some new colorways, like the grey and blue one pictured above. The written label says “Blue Jay 514,” which is not available on the LB site, yet, so we should all look out for some pretty new colorways for Thick n Quick! Have you ever worked with Hometown USA? It’s a bulky yarn that comes in a surprisingly wide range of colors now. In fact, I was a bit surprised at the range just now when I took a peek to find the link. Is it chunky enough to crochet an ottoman with!?? Maybe I’ll find out! In my photo, Hometown USA is the one with the hot pink and grey. I’m not sure which one of these I’ll use first, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted on any projects!

It. Was. HOT. TODAY!!! I know it gets way hotter in other cities, but this is pretty hot for us here at 90 degrees. Bibi was laid out on the floor, and when I touched her belly, it was super warm! The idea of getting dressed was a huge bummer, and I ended up throwing on this strange ensemble! Soup and Chips! Here’s the story behind the tunic top: It’s from Uniqlo maybe last year. I got the email for it, immediately went online to see it, and it was already sold out in my size. Hairy works somewhat close to the Uniqlo downtown, so I asked if he could pop in and see if they had one in the store. They had one more, and it was on the mannequin, and that’s what I’m wearing now! I don’t wear the tunic a lot, because I haven’t really figured it out. It seems kind of shapeless and weird to me without a belt, but I don’t own a belt that seems to make it look any better….! I need belt help! I’ve had the potato chip necklace for years. It’s by the wondermous Tatty Devine, and I think this style is so old that it’s no longer available, but there is a ton of other neato stuff on the website. I also bought one for Manda, which I think she never wears. I should auction that sucka off on eBay! RARE POTATO CHIPS. MY FAVORITE KIND! *** Soup yunic: Uniqlo, Chip necklace: Tatty Devine, Usamimi headbow: free with purchase from ModCloth, Belt: eBay, ankle socks: Sock Dreams, Shoes: The White Pepper

Last Christmas, Manda told me that she wanted to make her little sister something filled with inspirational messages, since lifting up our sisters and ladybuddies is always important! I had a bunch of mini toy capsules laying around (craft-hoarding has some real perks, like insta-make-a-project-for-a-present abilities) that I bought on Etsy a while ago (something like this), and I had been seeing TONS of DIY’s for faux gumball machines, so I decided to smash all these things together into one mega awesome present, and Manda totally loved the idea. We didn’t have time to get together to make this for Christmas, so we planned to make this for her sister’s birthday, which was last week.

I think some of y’all are thinking really far ahead for the holidays and already asking me to re-post the turkey tissue box cozy pattern :). I like your style! “In my family’s house, holiday time means Turkey Time! And you know me: I like my crochet decorations to be useful, so here is my pattern for a Turkey Tissue Box Cozy, complete with roasted veggie accents that you can turn into pins, hair clips, or magnets, plus a ruffled lettuce garnish that is actually a dish cloth. This tissue cozy will be a savory and festive accent for your home and is also a fantastic hostess gift!”

Here’s another crochet pattern I wrote for Michaels.com last year to promote their Loops & Threads line. The photo above shows yarns from KnitPicks (Brava worsted) because I think the colors are a bit brighter. But this pattern is really versatile, and any worsted weight yarn will do ya! I actually worked up a totally different jelly bean motif – worked in rows instead of rounds – a few weeks ago for a secret Yummy You! collab sample, so I may share that soon as well. (Is it weird to have two different patterns for jelly bean scarves? :P). “I recently polled my Twitter followers about what kind of crochet pattern they’d like to see for Easter. One gal said, “Something with jelly beans!” I loved this idea, so I designed this multicolored jelly bean scarf for you to wear on Easter egg hunts. Use the combination of worsted weight colors that remind you of your favorite jelly bean flavors. This pattern is the ultimate stash-buster—the more variety, the better!” New in: video tutorial on YouTube!  

Bread Loaf Letter-Organizer: That Thing You Never Knew You Needed…. Until NOW. I know this is late for Mother’s Day makers, but I couldn’t decide what to make my mom this year. I finally decided to attack this funny desk-top bread loaf last night! It’s a squishy adorable faux loaf to help you organize your mail, postcards, and stray pieces of paper. My video is more like a vlog than a tutorial, I think. I didn’t know how it would all turn out, and you can see me change my mind about certain things and try different methods for stuff. I hope it’s interesting and not frustrating :). In the end, I decided I would take this loaf apart, and use a styrofoam sheet in that center section, so that I can stab the wire arches through the crochet and into the styrofoam. This will aid not only in stability of the whole loaf, but also stability for the wires so that they’re not just swimming in Polyfil.  I would also use a stronger wire than jewelry wire, because jewelry wire is SO soft and malleable, but I need to do a bit more research on that. Without further ado… here is the free pattern (which I might keep tweaking later, who knows!).  

Last weekend, I met up with friends for brunch, and then we went to Japantown to shop and take photobooth pictures (and buy cupcakes!). At the New People building in JTown, I saw the most amazing varsity jacket with embroidery depicting tigers eating cheeseburgers. WHAT!! I was like, “WE ALL NEED TO BUY THIS JACKET.” Then, I looked at the price tag and said, “Okay, maybe we can all share one….” The brand was Aymmy in the Batty Girls. I’m completely in love with the whole spirit of the brand, based on a highschool girl named Aymmy who loves punk rock and zombie movies and either lives in the 50s or is obsessed with the 50s. I can’t read the Japanese on the site, so I don’t know the whole story, but they did translate it onto a piece of paper at the store, but I didn’t read the whole thing! They have a pop-up in the New People building, and you can see toooons of their products, from tshirts to jackets to cheerleader skirts to backpacks to rompers. So many goodies! Since the embroidered jacket was super out of my price range, I opted for the cheeseburger tshirt that I couldn’t stop thinking about. I probably could have left without buying anything, but then Mars grabbed the cheerleader skirt, and Steph grabbed the junk food romper, and I didn’t want to feel left out! I figured the shirt might not fit anyway, because Japanese clothes are small, and sometimes my arms don’t fit in the arm holes, but I guess it’s supposed to be a super loose-fit shirt, and my limbs fit in there just fine. SOLD! I paired my burger shirt with rolled up skinnies, sequins Converse, ruffle ankle socks, a high pony, and heart glasses. Super casual but super fun! I usually feel that skinny jeans and flat shoes make me feel squatty and chubby, but I think they just fit the theme too well! P.S. Stay tuned for my Mother’s Day present YouTube tutorial! The project is kinda out-there, but it’s what I’m actually making for my own mom :). Shirt: Aymmy in the Batty Girls, Jeans: Modcloth, Shoes: Converse (similar), Ankle socks: can’t remember, maybe F21 or ASOS?, Head Scarf: Modcloth, Burger scarf: made by me, Heart sunnies: eBay.  

I’ve been trying to think of a fun video tutorial to shoot for you guys for Mother’s Day presents, but in the mean time, check out these patterns from my archives! If you have any requests (I probably won’t do flowers/roses), leave a comment! I’ll probably start shooting a tutorial on Monday or Tuesday!) ****

  Hey, gang! Mark your calendars!!! I will be selling my goodies at Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco, July 19-20, 11am – 6pm, at the Fort Mason Festival Pavillion. I plan to bring old favorites as well as some new surprise ones! See you there!

I came down with a funny case of spring fever after I searched the Internet for “spring vegetables” and saw so many photos of cute asparagus. What results from being inspired by asparagus? A crocheted pen cozy, of course! I also made him a couple of crisp and crunchy friends. This vegetable medley works up quickly and is a fun way to celebrate nature’s bounty and the arrival of Spring. Make a bunch and place them in a lentil-filled mason jar for a uniquely homegrown, handmade gift! For those who don’t crochet, I also sell finished cozies in my Etsy shop!

I created this pattern for Michaels.com last year for a Mother’s Day promo. When I crochet gifts for my mom, I like to make cute things that she can use around the house. One of the first projects I ever made for her was a cake-themed tissue box cozy. So, this month, I had my mom in mind when I designed this crocheted chiffon cake with colorful strawberry, blueberry and kiwi topping. I remember eating delicious cakes just like it when I was little. I hope you have fun creating this yummy piece of my childhood memories. Consider making one as a gift to sweeten a special someone’s Mother’s Day!

There’s only one thing that comes to my mind when I think of college, new adventures, and dorm life: PIZZA. This crocheted pepperoni pizza garland is a colorful and festive dorm room decoration for walls, windows, or doorways, and it’s really easy to make as long or short as you want. I love garlands as a statement of celebration for every day. Give a home-away-from-home a bright, playful, and cozy touch with these tasty slices! (Obvs, I originally designed this pattern for Michaels.com as part of a back-to-school promo for Fall, and they asked me to create a project to decorate a new dorm room. But I think any pizza-lover of any age would get a good giggle out of this gift!)

The deliciously bright hues of Red Heart® Gumdrop™ yarn remind me of juicy rainbow sherbet, so I designed this sweet and funny crocheted pillow to add a summery pop of color to your couch, bed, or favorite easy chair. Use this pattern to make just one or two scoops instead of three. You’ll be constructing the pillow in two pieces – front and back – and sewing them together. Go crazy with your favorite colors and flavors!

Recently, Michaels.com added online shopping to their site, which is pretty cool! But it looks like a lot of their knit and crochet patterns disappeared. I have no idea what the future of those patterns is, but you guys have been asking me to post some of the projects you are in the middle of! So here is the Slushee Cup Drawstring Bag pattern. I also now sell the finished item in my Etsy shop for those who don’t crochet. Stay cool poolside with this crocheted Slushee Drawstring Bag! It’s just big enough for you to throw in your phone, keys, sunnies, lip balm, and a little cash, so you can keep a light load while catching some rays. I reused a takeout soup container to reinforce the inside of my project, but you can still use your Slushee without. You can customize your cup by choosing the word or phrase that you like best with felt cut-outs and fabric paint (I used a custom patch that I designed!). You can even add a real red straw accent!        

I have a tight deadline for another super secret project……. but I saw some reject bits and bobs and thought I would take a snap for the blog. Sometimes I get caught up in the “secretness” of things I’m working on, and then I feel like I have nothing to blog about, but a little vague peeksy won’t hurt! Once I grabbed these off the floor, I gave myself a giggle….

I’m so sorry the blog has been a bit quiet this past week. I’ve been making a lot of kitty donuts but also have been in kind of a funk.  Elysse planned a ladies-only hike around Lake Chabot in Castro Valley, and I thought that being outside sounded like a really good idea! Manda texted me a few days ago that she wanted to try doing one active thing once a week, so I encouraged her to go on the Lady Hike, too.  We all have a lot on our plates right now, and she kinda started to bail on the hike because of this, but in rare form, I sent an email saying that I hoped she would still go, because, we are always busy, and we always de-prioritize exercise/taking care of ourselves. Creating change in our lives is tough, so I hope that we can all support each other in it by pushing each other to do things out of the ordinary. I know that I always put exercise at the very bottom of my list, and then I don’t end up doing it, and then I feel unhealthy and lazy and lumpy and old, but it’s a hard cycle to get out of when you have a lot of other things going on. Luckily, we both made it out to the hike! Okay, I admit, that I didn’t tell Manda that this was a 9 mile hike. That is really a lot for people like us who NEVER exercise and lead very sedentary lives aside from walking Bibi & Bunny. I didn’t want to say anything about the hike that would dissuade her from going!  I’m a terrible friend! But Elysse said that an out-of-shape person could handle it, and that there weren’t too many inclines, so I figured that Manda would be fine, too. The weather was PERFECT (to me!), not too hot, but sunny and beautiful, with a crisp breeze to cool down the arm pit sweats. At about mile 7, Manda and I wanted to die. I felt sore in places I never felt sore before (MY BONES!??!). I could tell that there would be a point when my legs simply would stop moving because they felt like they weighed 80 billion pounds with cement shoes.  We kept talking about pizza and waffles and spaghetti. Elysse and her buddy Kristen (sp?) work out regularly, so they were flitting along like forest sprites while Manda and I were like “AREWETHEREYET AREWETHEREYET AREWETHEREYET.” I’m proud of us for going and surviving! Manda has some blisters, and the balls of my feet are puffy and sore, but I’m so happy Elysse organized this, and I hope there will be more in the future. We rewarded ourselves later with hot showers, Prosecco, and pasta in North Beach!

I have a lot of childhood Easter memories, but I don’t have a strong connection to Easter as an adult. The only real reason it’s on my radar still is because it’s Manda’s most favorite holiday of the year. We have both been really busy and stressed, so we kept it low key, and I suggested we have a picnic in the park with friends. For the picnic, I wanted to make kitty donuts, following the instructions from My Paper Crane. I have a mini donut maker that is basically like a waffle iron and makes very cakey donuts, so I decided to use that for my project. I kind of forgot HOW MINI the donuts really are, so my kitties turned into bunnies since the almond-ears were so big compared to the donuts. I used melted chocolate chips, but should have thinned them out with something, because my chocolate was rather thick and difficult to work with, leaving me with some really mutated bunnies. PLUS, I used a store-bought gel icing for the faces, and it was a HOT HOT MESS! WELL, whatever, IDGAF! Maybe I’ll try with regular-sized donuts next time!

I know it’s really last minute, but I made a video tutorial to go with my free pattern for the mini chocolate Easter bunny!

I know this is the same outfit I was wearing in my previous post, but I just wanted to highlight the outfit, because, I kinda like it a lot! The dress is from the Target Girls section, and I can barely squeak into it (there’s no zipper or closure, and barely room for boobs, so it’s good I don’t have any), but it’s the PERFECT shade of pink!!! I was experimenting with a pink donut and wondered what I wanted to make with it (piggies weren’t really calling to me), so I turned it into a Gloomy Bear donut. My necklace is by Fatally Feminine, who is also my collab partner on the Yummy You! marshmallow charm bracelet. Confession: I wasn’t wearing any shoes. Great outfit photo, right? But I was mostly focused on shooting some scarves and stuff for a magazine due out this summer. I hope you all have a great weekend! I think we are having a picnic on Sunday! Hmmm, what to wear!? Dress: Target girls, Gloomy Bear Donut: made by me, Hair bow: Miss Alphabet, Necklace: Fatally Feminine Designs