Author: TwinkieChan

When I saw a photo of the Truly Dress by Wax Poetic Clothing on Instagram, I KNEW IT HAD TO BE MINE. It has all the components of the perfect dress: pinks, flowers, swiss dots, baby ruffles … even the adorable rose buttons. I was absolutely floored when Johanna, the creator and designer of Wax Poetic, offered to send me a package. I immediately blew up my girlfriends’ phones with photos of the dress because I was so astounded, amazed, and grateful! When the dress arrived, it was just as perfect in person as it was online. It fit like a glove (I’m wearing a size small) and is extremely comfortable. The attention to detail is out of this world. Wax Poetic is made in the U.S.A., and Johanna is also the designer of another company (not sure if she wants me to reveal that!), but I’m so super duper extremely supportive of her personal passion project! I paired it with some Betsey Johnson heels I wore to my brother’s wedding a million years ago, a sweet cookie necklace, and a cute milkshake bag that I believe I bought on ModCloth. I’m ready for a tea party with some girlfriends or a cute dinner date! Who’s taking me out?! She sent me another dress, too, which I will show you guys really soon! ***** Dress: c/o Wax Poetic Clothing, Necklace: Fatally Feminine Designs, Shoes: Betsey Johnson from a million years ago, Bag: ModCloth (but I don’t think it’s available there anymore. The brand is Nila Anthony. ), Hair flower: Tarina Tarantino

How was your weekend? I worked/crocheted for the most part (on some new patterns for video tutorials that I will be shooting in a studio for a website… more details soon…) and I also went to Elysse’s house to do some Fall baking with her and her buddy Ashley. They have a blog and YouTube channel called The Vegan Sweet Beat about vegan candy if you want to check that out! Obvs, they are both vegan, and I am more of a guilty omnivore with veggie/vegan curiosity, so all the things we made were veganized. I arrived late (I hate being late but am always late! Is there always-late rehab!?) and the ladies were cutting sugar cookies. The big project of the day was this Peanut, Caramel, and Chocolate Tart from Martha Stewart, aka, SNICKERS HEAVEN. Due to various reasons, Elysse “miniaturized, veganized, and Fall-ized” the recipe (Fall-ized = pumpkin-ized = we put pumpkin in the caramel). We had a little issue with the caramel. You’re supposed to start with sugar and water and then heat it until it becomes melty and “medium amber.” BUT, the water just boiled out of our mixture, and we were left with DRY SUGAR AGAIN.  Which smelled like burnt hair!! Then the gals decided to just throw the rest of the caramel ingredients in there (coconut cream, pumpkin), and it took 20-30 minutes on the stove of stirring, but we eventually got something caramel-ish. While I think our mini-tarts (set in cupcake tins) ended up squishier than Martha’s, they still tasted really good! The rest of our creative efforts went into decorating sugar cookies, which, for me, became an exercise in accepting that my cookies were going to look like a 5-year-old decorated them. I was not making friends with the Ziplock-piping-bag, so I gave up on that real quick. R.I.P. indeed! Ashley and Elysse, on the other hand, were piping pros. Here are Ashley’s cookies: And here are some of Elysse’s. I like all of our takes on decorating the kitty cookies. Do you know where atoms come from? Cat butts. LE DOYYYY. I will conclude this entry with some of my jack-o-lantern cookies. I told Gregg that the first one was him, because he’s always so cheery. The second one might eat you before you eat him. Do you guys have Halloween/costume plans? I usually don’t, because I’m generally overwhelmed with work and creatively spent. HOWEVER, I promised one of my favorite websites that I’d create a Halloween-inspired crochet pattern and also submit a photo of me in costume…so… I’m gonna try to bust that out in the next few days, too!! So much to do!! OK BYE.

I Love Yarn Day 2015 is Saturday, October 17! I Love Yarn Day is all about spreading the good feeling people get from yarn and yarn-related crafts. The #stitchitforward campaign encourages all of us to share our love for fiber and the fiber arts, teach someone a new skill, and/or share new techniques and patterns with each other. ILYD is running two fun contests RIGHT NOW. One is a photo contest on Instagram, and the other is a video contest where you make a video about how much you love yarn. Click over to the ILYD website for all the details and prizes! Here are some other ways you can participate: 1. Visit ILYD on Social Media: Check out the ILYD Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest pages to join in the official countdown to ILYD and find ideas for how to #stitchitforward including fun ways to celebrate yarn, tips for teaching others how to knit and crochet, free patterns, giveaways and more. 2. Create a unique pattern that is ideal for teaching a child, friend, or family member how to knit or crochet. Capture photos of you teaching your yarn craft as you “stitch it forward” and share your love of knitting/crochet with the people you love. Be sure to post this on your blog and social media using the hashtags #stitchitforward and #ILYD2015 3. Share a story on your blog about how you learned to knit/crochet. Who taught you? How old were you? What was your first project? Encourage your audiences to share their stories, too. I might post a video for fun with my yarn stash and a story about who taught me to crochet … but I’m afraid that if my next YouTube video isn’t a tutorial, the people will revolt!

Since I was obsessed with finishing my crochet book, my blog-life sort of took a back seat. I never showed you guys some snippets from my birthday back in August! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw most of these already, but I figured I’d write a good ol’ blog entry for them. First up, my brother and I usually have a shared bbq at my parents’ house, since he’s a late-July baby and I’m an early-August baby. Guapo visited from San Diego for the weekend and also hooked us up with a giant chocolate donut from Bob’s.

I have been fiddling around in the kitchen a bit lately… mostly for shortcuts to feeding my sweet tooth. On a related but kinda gross note, I have a few cans of pumpkin because Bunny  had some intense tummy issues last week (oh how many loads of laundry I did and oh how much paper towel I went through…) so I have 2 cans of pumpkin puree left. (Pumpkin is good for doggies with upset tummies.) ANYWAY, I wanted to try a microwave pumpkin pie recipe. I used this one. Sorry I forgot to take a photo of it. I made another quickie Instagram movie instead.   A video posted by Twinkie Chan (@twinkiechan) on Sep 23, 2015 at 11:07pm PDT   The recipe did say this fell somewhere between a pie and a cake… and I can’t say I was a superfan of the texture. I MAY have over-microwaved it, so it might be my fault, but I did see a few different recipes with different variations, so I will definitely try out some others. My pie was missing that smooth, creamy, custard-like texture, so I wonder if that can still be achieved in the microwave with other recipes. I still have tons of pumpkin left, so … more pumpkin parties for me!!! (These are all pumpkin parties for one, because  Manda hates pumpkin.)

A video posted by Twinkie Chan (@twinkiechan) on Sep 21, 2015 at 11:47pm PDT So we’ve been wondering for a while about oven s’mores, since we don’t have a fire pit or such like. We finally procured graham crackers the other night (we already had mini marshmallows and chocolate chips), but nobody seemed that pumped about giving the oven s’mores a try! I decided to just do it by myself tonight, and I posted that quick lil video on Instagram. There was a bit too much chocolate for me, and I’d probably leave off one graham cracker and do open-faced, but overall, I would call this an IDGAF Kitchen success! Basically you just set the oven to 400 degrees and leave the s’mores in there for what I read was 3-5 minutes, but mine needed longer, and then I got impatient, so I cranked that ish to 425 and the marshmallows started browning right away. Just keep an eye on it. You can’t really mess this up! I’m curious about whether using regular marshmallows cut in half would change the texture…. like more goo and less crunch. This definitely merits a second attempt and further taste-testing. This would be perfect for a low-key get together when you need a quick dessert for everybody. You can also dump the chocolate and marshmallows in  a baking dish and get everything nice and melty and brown on top, and then use graham crackers to dip into your s’more goo! Exsqueeze me, I’m going to get marshmallow-wasted now.

The crowdfunding campaign for my dress collab with Betabrand is now live! The earlier you buy, the more you can save. The 30% off slots are already taken, so grab one of those 20% off ones while you still can! The print came out super cute. It will be a fun surprise for people who see you, cuz once they get up close, they’ll see that the things on your dress are actually crocheted!! I think it’s a really neat way to celebrate and wear our craft!  

When I started drawing and selling patches in my shop, I didn’t think anyone would really want one. I think the COOL patch and the lemon/tart patch have been the most popular (and like NOBODY wants a patch with grapes on it).  Anyway, a few months ago, a gal named Iris Nectar contacted me and asked if I’d want to contribute a patch to her touring show, Feminist Fiber Art, and I said sure! She was collecting patches to put on vests for the band Feral Jenny that would be opening the show. I sent her some Yummy You! pinbacks, and those made it on there, too. You can read more about the show and see more pics at her website. I really want that butter patch!

Hellooo!! It’s blog sponsor giveaway time! Thanks always to my wonderful sponsors for contributing! ONE lucky winner will receive:

Ya might run into me in another craft mag this month: Simply Crochet Issue 35! A couple crocheters and I weigh in on the wonder that is foodie crochet!

I’ve been dying to tell you guys about this pattern for the longest time, and now it is finally out! In the September special food issue of Homespun Magazine, you can find a crochet pattern for a Hot Dog Scarf by me! They specifically asked for this project, and I whipped it up just for them. The bonus is that the pattern is great for beginners! If you are in Australia, you’ll be able to find the magazine at major retailers, but if you’re not, you can always download it digitally to your phone or device! Just hit up this link for info! (LINK. GET IT!?? HOT DOGS.) While scanning in the pages, I flipped through the issue, and there are so many fun projects inside. Homespun is really an awesome craft magazine!

I know I’m like a giveaway-machine right now. Fall must be the season for it! Grab yer PSL (or in my case a matcha latte) and check out this fun giveaway I’m doing with KiguKawaii! They are based in my motherland: Hong Kong! One winner will receive a cute new bag of your choice plus a copy of my first crochet book to put in it! My book is essentially sold-out and out-of-print, and I only have a handful of copies left! If I could choose a bag, I would pick this toasty guy! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Giveaway is open worldwide, for ages 18 & over, and will run for one week, ending next Tuesday night, September 15, 2015, at 6:00 pm Hong Kong Time (UTC +8). Winner will be chosen by KiguKawaii. No purchase necessary. Any customs or duty will still be your responsibility. a Rafflecopter giveaway

I opened my August Yarn Crush box! Did any of you guys pick one up? Don’t forget that starting in October, Yarn Crush will have both knit and crochet patterns, so we can all play along! Here’s what was inside the inaugural box:

Yes, it has happened. It’s true. I finished writing it. I finished shooting and editing and uploading all the photos. All the samples have been sent to the tech editor. THE BOOK IS DONE. Obviously, there will be edits, and I still have to work on this big marketing questionnaire for the marketing team, but I am so relieved to finally deliver the manuscript. I was way overdue on my contractual deadline, and I felt really guilty and stressed out about it. It was my own fault, and I underestimated the time I would need to write it. I remembered how quickly I was able to bust out all those patterns for Michaels.com, but I didn’t think about the toll it would take on me to do 20 projects all at once rather than 12 projects scattered throughout the year. I got kinda bummed out and measured my self-worth against how long the book was taking me to write, but I also knew that with each project, the wait was worth it. Everything came out sooooo cute. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen quite a few sneaks of some of the projects. I am SO proud of the patterns in this book, and I hope you love them just as much as I do. Now I’m trying to talk myself out of buying a “You’re a freaking badass” present, like this totally amazing gumball machine purse from Betsey Johnson!!! SHOULD I!??! AHHHH. I tend to impulse-buy novelty purses and then never use them…. BUT GUMBALLS!!!!!! I also finished all my 2014 bookkeeping in 3 days, right after delivering my book, and I drove all my paperwork to the accountant this afternoon. What will I even do with my life now??!?! Oh yeah. Actually finish re-arranging the new craft room, re-open my Etsy shop, keep making YouTube tutorials, and whatever cool stuff life throws my way. At least I can hang out with friends more without a cloud over my head. Elysse and I went to see The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and it was super cool. I hope you guys have a great weekend!!! xo Oh. P.S.!! In case I hadn’t mentioned it, the book is potentially coming out April 2016.  Since I delivered the book late, I’m not sure if the publishing date has been pushed or not, so I will keep you updated as I find out. Don’t worry, though. I have a LOT of fun patterns up my sleeve to tide you over! Am also talking to a certain craft website about shooting a few video tutorials in an actual studio!

I’m so excited to share Mimibun‘s adorable cupcake flats with you! And you can enter to win a custom pair of your very own! I felt like a magical sprinkle pixie running around in these flats, and they kinda fit perfectly  amongst the pastels in my bedroom. I couldn’t take a full outfit photo with them yet because… I got permanent eyeliner tattooed on my face last weekend, and I’m still healing and can’t really wear any other makeup, and I feel super haggard and 8 million years old! But I can’t wait to put something fun together with these cuties! I also have to show you this doodle of me and some of my closest friends that Mimi posted! 😛 Enter to win your own custom pair of cupcake flats! You can choose the shoe color, frosting color, and sprinkles colors! Just follow the Rafflecopter widget below! Giveaway is open worldwide, for ages 18 & over, and will run for one week, ending next Wednesday night, September 2, 2015, at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter/Random.org, and winner must reply to my email within 24 hours or I will randomly choose a new winner. No purchase necessary. If you live outside of the United States, please note that while my blog sponsors will cover the cost of the item and the shipping, any customs or duty will still be your responsibility. P.S.  NO giveaway accounts will be chosen as a winner.  A giveaway account is a social media account that you use exclusively for posting about giveaways. P.P.S. The ONLY way I will be contacting winners is via email, so please make sure my email address, twinkie at twinkiechan.com, can get through your spam filters. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hellooo!! It’s blog sponsor giveaway time! Sorry this is a day late! I was at a wedding all day yesterday and came home exhausted! Thanks always to my wonderful sponsors for contributing to this giveaway. ONE LUCKY WINNER will receive:

My buddy Stewie is a co-founder of International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club, and starting tomorrow, August 13, until Tuesday, August 18, IGGPP will be running its 2nd annual online summer camp! She asked if I would film a how-to-crochet video for camp, and I said sure! But guess what: I have never actually attempted to teach a beginner’s crochet class before, like the actual basics of crochet. So, I have no idea if I’ll do a good job or not, especially while trying to keep the video from being 3 hours long! My video goes live on Saturday, and I’ll be taking over the IGGPPCamp Twitter on Sunday (time TBA) to field some crochet questions from campers! The beginner project we’ll be making is a cozy camp cowl!   It is unfortunately too late now to register for a troop, but everyone can still join in on the activities! Here’s the FAQ page which directs you where to go! Don’t miss out on the fun!! I have a fun sorta-summer-camp themed project I have planned for my own YouTube channel….. I am a mere few days from being done with my book, and then it’s video-tutorial city! (p.s. I wonder what was happening in this screencap…. Tune in on Saturday to find out!)

It was my birthday today! I’m 39! Yikes! To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to show you guys an unboxing of Japan Candy Box, a monthly subscription service from your friends at Blippo.com and Kawaii Box, filled with Japanese snacks! Japan Candy Box is also giving a free box away to one of my lucky readers! Japan Candy Box is $19.90 per month, and slightly less if you sign up for a 6-month or 12-month plan. Each box will contain 8-10 treats, both savory and sweet! PLUS, shipping is free, all over the world! I have to say, I’m personally pretty excited about subscription boxes that you can EAT! Let’s check out what’s inside! I taste moooost of the items in my video.  If you like what you see, please enter to win your own box with the Rafflecopter widget below! Giveaway is open worldwide, for ages 18 & over, and will run for 21 days, until next Thursday night, August 27th, at 11:59pm PDT. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter/Random.org. Winner must respond to my email within 24 hours or a new winner will be drawn. No purchase necessary. If you live outside of the United States, please note that while my blog sponsors will cover the cost of the item and the shipping, any customs or duty will still be your responsibility. Good luck! P.S. Please make sure my email address can get through your spam filters! I will only be contacting winners via email. twinkie@twinkiechan.com   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Did you see my giveaway for a free Yarn Crush box a few days ago? We got over 1,000 entries, so we are drawing TWO winners! That’s two times the chance to win! Also, I edited my original blog post to let you guys know that starting in October, Yarn Crush will be including crochet patterns, too! Great news! So don’t forget to click back to my giveaway post to see all the Yarn Crush details and enter to win! <3

Yarny-peeps! I have something fun to giveaway just for you! I’m excited to help announce Yarn Crush, delicious yarn delivered monthly! You can choose between a monthly or bi-monthly subscription, and each box comes with at least one or two full-size skeins of yarn, a KNITTING pattern for a small-to-medium-sized project designed specifically for that month’s yarn, and all the notions – like beads or buttons – needed to complete that project. Currently, the Yarn Crush box will only include a knitting pattern, but Yarn Crush will also be posting fun crochet patterns on their blog each month that would work with that month’s featured yarn.  If you have interest in finding a printed crochet pattern in your Yarn Crush box in the future, just give them a holler! EDIT: Crochet patterns will be added to the October boxes! The retail value of each box will usually be over $50.00 and is always guaranteed to be higher than the subscription price, which is $32.99 plus shipping. Yarn Crush will be sourcing beautiful high-quality yarns that they think you’ll fall in love with, from indie dyers, small businesses, and more well-known yarn brands, offering them to you at up to 30% retail, delivered right to your door! Yarn Crush is brand-spanking new, and the inaugural boxes are shipping in mid-August! The images above are to give you an idea of the type and quality of yarn and patterns you’ll be receiving. The actual yarn is still a surprise. The woman behind Yarn Crush is a knitting designer and graphic designer, so you know that each box will be curated with yarny-love and a keen eye! Enter our giveaway to win yourself a free Yarn Crush box and be one of the first to try out this subscription service.  I can’t wait to see it, too! If you decide to subscribe, your first box always ships free! EDIT! Since we reached over 1,000 entries, we will give drawing TWO WINNERS! YAY! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below for all of your chances to win! Giveaway is open worldwide, for ages 18 & over, and will run for a week until next Saturday night, August 1st, at 11:59pm PDT. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter/Random.org, and winner must reply to my email within 24 hours, or I will randomly choose a new winner. No purchase necessary. Good luck! P.S. Please make sure my email address can get through your spam filters! I will only be contacting winners via email. twinkie@twinkiechan.com P.P.S. NO giveaway accounts! Thank you! A giveaway account is a social media account that you use solely for giveaways.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

I follow EatMeDo on Instagram and keep seeing all these adorable photos from her new “Tea Party” collection that are too cute not to share! Here are a few snaps I nabbed from her lookbook! If you want to see more, check out her website!

It’s the 15th of the month (okay, it’s technically the 16th now but I haven’t gone to bed yet!) which means my July blog sponsor giveaway is launching! Let’s check out the TEN cool prizes from my amazing sponsors that ONE LUCKY WINNER will receive! 1.  A Frida skull brooch from Jubly-Umph‘s new collection ‘Creepy Girl Gang’ which launched this week! 2. A set of 3 Flying Unicorn Necklaces from A Little Geeky! 3. A set of 3 fun greeting cards and a set of 6 Real Job magnets from Nellie Le! She is also giving my readers (you guys!) 20% off all orders with code: TCJULY20. 4. A gift card for any one free shirt or tank top from Pete Ellison’s shop, shipping included! Pete is an artist/designer/DJ creating a small line of screen printed Kawaii-Rave-Punk fashions out of his kitchen in Portland, OR. Made with healthy doses of love and enthusiasm, these threads are super cute, super bright, and super soft. He is currently taking pre-orders for two new tank tops! 5. An adorable dino cross stitch brooch from Glamasaurus! You guys also get 10% off your order on glamasaurus.etsy.com with the code TWINKIE. 6. A $15 gift certificate to shop at HappyKawaiiSupplies! 7. A Crazy Cat Lady patch from Miss Ella! 8. A $20 gift certificate to shop in Knit Kritters. Knit Kritters will be vending at Bronycon August 7-9 in Baltimore! 9. An adorable “See No Diet, Hear No Diet, Speak No Diet” Cupcake Apron from Stitchez A La Mode! 10. To celebrate her annual $10 off tutu sale, The Geek Garden is giving away one custom made Juicy cherry tutu skirt!  If you can’t wait to win one here, go to the shop until July 24th to grab a steal! (Cue ancient photos of moi!) Just use the Rafflecopter widget below for all of your chances to win! Giveaway is open worldwide, for ages 18 & over, and will run for a week until next Wednesdsay night, July 22nd, at midnight PDT. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter/Random.org, and winner must reply to my email within 24 hours, or I will randomly choose a new winner. No purchase necessary. Good luck! P.S. Please make sure my email address can get through your spam filters! I will only be contacting winners via email. twinkie@twinkiechan.com P.P.S. NO giveaway accounts! Thank you! A giveaway account is a social media account that you use solely for giveaways. a Rafflecopter giveaway

A couple months ago, I felt super stoked about successfully going through the huge rigmarole of obtaining tickets to San Diego Comic Con. Manda and I decided to also go to Disneyland on the way down. I am still in the final throes of book-writing and really shouldn’t have gone anywhere except the yarn store, but….I could not say no to this trip!

I’m really excited to share this news with you guys! You can help vote a dress into production that has an all-over print based on my crochet goodies! 18 weeks ago (thanks, Instagram!) I posted this photo of some crocheted fruits and veggies I made for a mysterious collaboration. Now you get to see what these are for! Betabrand, a San Francisco-based company, collaborates with its customers on a designer, model, and investor level, creating a community and a brand all at the same time. Have you heard of the dress pant yoga pants and the dress pant sweatpants? That’s Betabrand. They asked if I wanted to collaborate on something fun, and I said, of course! They felt that something fruit and veggie themed would appeal to both of our customers, and then they whipped up these dress designs!   There’s a 2-step process for making designs come to life at Betabrand. 1) The design needs to get enough votes to go to sample-making and crowd-funding. 2) The design needs to get funded to get produced. I am currently in Phase 1, so if you could hop on over to Betabrand and vote, that would be super duper awesome! Also, if you have feedback, like “I like the one on the right, but in black,” or, “I like the top part of the white one but the bottom part of the black one,” please do leave that feedback at the Betabrand website, since we’re interested in what everyone thinks!