Category: Blog

The Craft Yarn Council sent me some photos from their adorable lemonade booth at the Craft and Hobby Association Show in January, where they had a bunch of crocheted lemons on display to promote the stress-busting benefits of crocheting and knitting. If you recall, last year, I created a lemon stress-ball pattern (when life gives you lemons… crochet one!) for the CYC and National Stress Awareness Month (April), and it’s really fun to see where these lemons are going! The CYC conducted a Big Apple Lemon Drive, calling on guilds and groups to donate their time to make as many lemons as possible, and on tax day, the Craft Yarn Council plans to hand out thousands of knitted and crocheted lemon stress balls with a message about the stress-reducing benefits of these crafts to taxpayers on the busy streets of New York City. I hope there are lots and lots of photos of this!!! I wonder what people will think? You can also participate on a local level by crocheting or knitting your own lemon stress-balls and passing them out to people you know! Creativebug just launched a #make2share challenge to encourage people to hand-make gifts and pay them forward! I will definitely participate and am thinking of something new and fun to share :).

Manda was rustling around in the cabinets last night and said, “I’M GONNA BAKE A CAKE.” We had all the cake fixin’s from when I was GOING to bake her a cake for her birthday in January, but she ended up staying up really late the night before or something, and I didn’t have a chance to surprise her. I guess we ended up surprising ourselves with this frosting beast we ended up with! I was responsible for the extra artistic pink blobs all around the edge. Then we wondered what to do with the rest of the pink frosting. I told her to draw something in the middle, like a heart, or write a word. She ended up writing RAD. So I hope y’all have a RAD WEEKEND. I’m taking Manda to her first ballet (Swan Lake) on Saturday night, which is her birthday present from me. What should we wear?!

Sometimes I forget that not all of you guys follow my Instagram. I do sometimes show WIPs that I’m working on that I don’t blog here, and sometimes I talk about stuff that I don’t blog here. It’s not a choice that I make on purpose, but sometimes I feel it’s redundant to use the same photos and talk about the same stuff everywhere. But this means some of you guys miss out! So, unless you guys leave me a bunch of comments that tell me you follow me on Instagram and there’s no need to double up on info… I will try to make more of an effort to do Instagram round-ups here, or to at least take one of my IG photos and expand on it a little more here. I did notice that some of you wanted to see more about my crochet/design process on the blog, so I’ll try to work on that more! But today’s blog is not about crocheting. It’s about Bibi. I wanted to talk about what’s happening with Bibi in case any other doggiemamas out there end up going through the same thing. Bibi is half Shar Pei and half Basset Hound, so she is prone to all sorts of skin/ear/eye/yeast issues which we have dealt with throughout the years. She was basically not meant to be on this Earth, but we are glad she is here! She will sometimes get a random lump or bump under the skin, which the vets usually feel is a fatty deposit. However, a few months ago, I noticed a lump on her skin, near one of her ….  uhh, mammaries… teets …doggyboobies… I don’t know what I should call it! It was just on top of the skin, looking like a clump of lumps, and it seemed to be itchy, and would get irritated when she licked it. After watching it for a month, I took her to the vet. Because it seemed itchy, she gave me a spray and said to spray it regularly to see if it helped. Yes, it did help take down the redness, but the lump still remained. So we scheduled her to get it removed and tested, and at the same time, we removed one of her under-the-skin lumps which was probably fat. Bibi spent the next 2 weeks in a cone, which she is a trooper about, but really changes my daily schedule because she can’t fit through the dog door and shouldn’t be left on her own to run around the yard like a maniac. I knew the news was not good when I called in for results, and the person answering the phone said, “Yes, the results are in… and… I’ll have the doctor call you back.” I was in the car at the time, driving myself home from a dental appointment. When the vet called me back, she told me it was not good news and that Bibi had a stage 3 mast cell tumor (which […]

TGIF!!!!! Were any of y’all TGIF fans back in the day on TV… Full House… Just the 10 of Us… Perfect Strangers … Family Matters. I was SOOOO all over all of that! I had no social life and just had Friday night TV and homework. THE BEST, RIGHT?! Well in case you missed it… Netflix is bringing you FULLER HOUSE!!! And grown-up Kimmy Gibbler is totally sporting a bacon and egg scarf in the trailer! I wasn’t contacted specifically for the show, so at first I didn’t want to say it was one of mine. It could have been one of the “inspired by Twinkie Chan” items on Etsy. But the costume designer let me know on Facebook that it was indeed a scarf from my Etsy shop, and I was super duper thrilled! I can’t wait to see the episodes go live on Netflix next Friday, Feb. 26th!

Soooooo I know Valentine’s Day is only 2 days away, and you probably have all your projects and presents sorted, but I figured I would blog a quick round-up of my patterns for people like me who are super last-minute on the gift-giving (my Mom’s birthday dinner is Monday and I still have no idea what I’m doing for her..!). Heart-Shaped Pillow (which I also turned into Ricardio the Heart Guy) – includes video tutorial Conversation Heart Garland – the video post is here Sparkly Heart Lollipop Necklace – can also be stuffed and turned into tiny pastel plush hearts This set of Valentine’s Day sugar cookies is for sale in my Etsy shop, but the heart cookie is free at Michaels.com. I had really wanted to prep a heart-shaped donut for you guys, but I have a deadline I’m writing for, and I don’t think I’ll make it!!! Heart-shaped donuts are great for any occasion, though, so it’s still high on my list :).

I’ll be taking over Creativebug’s Instagram tomorrow, Friday February 12! Follow along and see some of my snaps throughout the day. You can also ask me questions about crocheting or running a shop or staying motivated or my favorite snacks or whatever you might be wondering! See you there!

I am a huge fan of Valentine’s Day decor. If every article of my clothing could have conversation hearts all over it, I would be a happy gal. I was super excited when Treetopia asked if I wanted to join their #xoTreetopia Valentine’s Day Blog Hop and Giveaway. On Monday the blog hop started with Jennifer Perkins, then Tuesday with Jaderbomb (looks like we both did glue gun hearts with different materials!), then Wednesday with Cathie Filian, then ME today, and then Flamingo Toes on Friday! Visit everyone to check out their super cool Valentine’s Day decoration ideas and don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win some Treetopia decorations of your own. You can also hop over to the Treetopia blog to check out some Q&A’s with all of us regarding the importance of the little things in decorating and the little things in relationships. Here’s mine!

If you are a subscriber of Yarn Crush, then you might have already received your January yarn box, filled with 5 yummy candy-colored mini-skeins, a knit pattern by Spilly Jane, and a crochet pattern from me! They’re Pretty Parfait Fingerless Mitts! I think the pattern is a fun one for intermediate beginners, because you can practice working some basic texture stitches like the puff stitch, working in back loops only, front post stitches, and alternating tall stitches with short stitches. I don’t normally work with sportweight yarn in my patterns, so if that’s your thang, you’re gonna be stoked. (Yarn Crush’s photo of the whole box put together… so cute and bright!)  We got to help pick the colorway for these mini skeins of merino yarn, and I really love how yummy and candylicious this allowed the mitts to look. (Yarn photo from Yarn Crush.) I was going to call these something like Birthday Cake Fingerless Mitts, but my buddy Candace saw them and said they looked like parfaits, and that seemed to make more sense to me. Here’s a fun random fact: while I was shooting these photos in my bedroom, the smoke alarm went off because Manda burned some of her hair off with a hair-dryer and a round brush with a metal core. Be careful with those round brushes, folks. Don’t daydream and blow-dry. I had a lot of weird “hands around face” photos, so here is the least weird one! Glove Modeling is probably not in my job search for 2016. If you love what you see, you should check out Yarn Crush! Most of these January boxes have already gone out, but she may have a few extra boxes left. Don’t be shy about emailing Yarn Crush if you’re interested! New yarnies and patterns every month, for knitters and crocheters. New subscribers will get a free notions pouch filled with goodies (like mini skeins, patterns, and tools) all worth about $20 just for signing up for a 3-12 month prepaid plan. This gets shipped out shortly after signing up. Anyone who would rather go month-to-month instead of prepaid can use the coupon code HELLO to get 15% off their first month. Thanks so much to Yarn Crush for inviting me to design for the January box! I might be designing for another Yarn Crush box in the summertime, so stay tuned! If you’re like, “I already have some really cute sock weight yarn, and I would really just like the pattern itself,” well we got you covered, too. The pattern is for sale on Ravelry.com! It’s my first time putting a pattern for sale on Ravelry, and honestly, there have been a few kinks. Specifically, my PayPal was not talking to my Ravelry, so when I received a payment, Ravelry didn’t know to send the pattern info to people. THE WORST, RIGHT!? I’ve been talking to Ravelry, though, and trying to figure out the issue. It looks good on my end now (before, I was noting zero sales on […]

Final voting is open for the 2015 Super Cute Kawaii awards! Click here to check out the finalists and get the link  to the voting form! I’m kinda surprised I’m in the mix again, because I feel like I dropped the ball a little on crocheting/blogging while I was writing my book for most of the year, but I do appreciate all the support and hope to bust out a kabillion cute things in 2016! 😀 I’m off to vote for some favorites and friends!

I posted one of these photos on my Instagram but thought I’d stick em on my blog, too! I was scrolling through the activity feed on IG a few weeks ago and ran into a picture of a girl and boy in these super funny sunglasses. I didn’t really know how to search for that specific pair online (“cute sunglasses,” “kawaii sunglasses,” “anime sunglasses”), and then I discovered that you can print your own novelty sunglasses on Zazzle.com. There are already a bunch of styles available for purchase, but I still didn’t run into the ones that I wanted. So, I loaded up Photoshop and drew my own pair. I kinda love them! (But I wouldn’t, like, drive a car in them….) If you guys end up printing your own glasses, you gotta show me! They cost me about $11 to print before shipping, and I could see these being a fun party favor! P.S. I’ve been sick the past week or two PLUS I’ve been completing my 2015 bookkeeping to prep for tax stuff, so I have been taking a bit of a crochet break. BUT, I do plan to film a crochet tutorial for YouTube really super duper soon! I promise! I’ll just edit out my coughing! 😛

(This post contains some affiliate links.) When it comes to makeup/beauty stuff, I’m usually the one asking the questions, so I don’t really post about that much here. HOWEVER, as every winter approaches, I find the skin on my face getting dryer and dryer, and in my search to find something to soothe my freaked-out skin, I thought I would share some discoveries with you guys. To start, I have always had really oily skin, oftentimes prone to breakouts, which I could stave off with regular exfoliation. For most of my 20s, I didn’t even moisturize most of my face, just some dryer areas like around my mouth or on my eyelids. As I got a bit older, my skin started to change a little and I was also worried about skin care for wrinkles, so I started lightly moisturizing every day and night. I still am prone to regular oiliness, and I blot my face like a mofo, but it’s like I have a dry, flakey base with oil on top. Really awesome, right? It sounds like dehydrated skin to me, but my face reacts poorly to things like hyaluronic acid, so I’m always trying to find ways to feed my skin without boosting the oil. I know there are also things you can eat, like fish, nuts, avocados, flax, supplements, etc. that can help your skin, and I could probably do more of that as well. For the past few years, I’ve been a Kiehl’s girl as far as moisturizers, but this winter, it wasn’t enough. I explored the world of OILS. I’ve found that any oil alone is not enough to moisturize me overnight. I apply the oil first, and then I put on my moisturizer. I’ve tried Algenist Anti-Aging Repairing Oil, Josie Maran Light Argan Oil, jojoba oil, maracuja oil… there are tons and more. What I was looking for was something that would keep my nose and forehead from flaking during the day. I also tried using different oils for day and night, but day-time oil application usually leaves me a little too oily. Here’s my current skincare regimen which I’m pretty happy with. Morning: Wash with Algenist Gentle Rejuvenating Cleanser. I super love this cleanser! One tube lasts forever, because a tiny drop goes a long way. The longer you massage it into your skin, the more moisturized you get. Manda has super sensitive skin, and she likes it, too. (I don’t tone because I’m lazy and have never found one that has blown me away.) Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer – this has been my go-to forever. I can use it day and night during the summer, but I need something heavier at night during the winter. I use a La Roche-Posay sunscreen in SPF 40, but it seems to be hard to find at the moment. You can check out their other sunscreens here. Mine has an oil-absorbant quality which I like a lot. Night: Wash with Neutrogena Oil-Free Deep Clean Cream Cleanser. I’ve just been using this […]

I’m excited to launch our first blog sponsor giveaway of the year! I’m so sorry it’s a day late. I’ve been under the weather and doing everything in super slow motion :-o. Thank you so much to my wonderful and generous blog sponsors for these super fun prizes. ONE winner will receive:

I have a fun surprise for you! I’m going to be a guest on Creativebug.com’s livestream tomorrow, Thursday, January 14, at 4pm PST.  We’re going to be chatting about our New Years resolutions and also doing a fun(ny) and creative drawing exercise! Come see me draw some weird stuff ! The Facebook event is here, and the actual YouTube link we’ll be streaming at is here. See you then!

I cannot stop obsessing over Amuse’s Tsuchineko plush kitties! They’re legs and feets are supposedly tucked underneath them so that they look like little loaves! They’ve been around for a while and are not like the new-new thing, but every time I see them in Japantown, I’m so tempted to take one home! They all have their own names, and they come in all different sizes. Here’s me with sleepy Chabuchi! I might not have the strength to leave her at the store if I see her again. NormaLynn aka the Crochet Cake Sachet gal snapped this a few weeks ago! (p.s. you should check out her Etsy shop, filled with yummy crochet patterns.) They also come in super jumbo size, which you can get on OtakuMode! (p.s. thanks to SuperGood for showing me OtakuMode! Now I have another website to salivate over! If you sign up for an account using my invite link, you’ll get $5 to shop and so will I!) IS IT MY BIRTHDAY YET? Not until August… I was thinking of maybe trying to crochet one. I don’t think that the yarn will have the same squishy soft effect, though. I remember when I was obsessed with Pound Puppies, Manda’s grandma was like “I can just crochet one for you,” but it totes was not the same!

Super Cute Kawaii – your daily dose of handmade cuteness and Japanese kawaii – has opened nominations for their 2015 SCK Awards! Click on over to their website to learn more! Last year, I was so super duper honored and surprised to win as favorite blogger and to receive 2nd favorite maker as well as kawaii person!  Here’s an interview with me after learning I had won! I had no idea the awards were even happening and was really amazed about and thankful for everyone who voted for me. I feel like I kinda slacked off a bit on the blogging and the making and the kawaii-being this year while working on my book, so I can’t wait to see who y’all nominate and vote for for 2015 :).

I realized I never actually showed you guys the cover of my book coming out in the spring! I mentioned it on Twitter and kinda mentioned it on Facebook, but here it is! It’s available for pre-order, too! You can already find it on Amazon.com (affiliate link), BarnesAndNoble.com, and IndieBound.com. (Possibly other major book retailers that I’ve forgotten, as well!) I really can’t wait to show you more of the book as we get closer to its publication date. Thanks for your patience on Book #2. I kinda can’t believe it took me 6 years to put out a second book, but I’m so glad that I did!

So I wrote a blog entry on the night of the 30th that I later thought was too much of a bummer. I have my moments when I like to be super honest on my blog, because, we’re all real people going through actual real things, and I think it’s good to talk about that sometimes, too, and not just post crochet things or cute stuff I want to buy. I’d seen something that made me sad, and I just got to thinking about the whole year and the new year and sort of threw it all up over my WordPress. But I didn’t post it. I think maybe I just wrote it for me, and that’s ok, too. 2015 was kind of a weird year. I was single for the first time in a million years. My best friend moved in with me. I wrote a book. I thought about changing careers. Half the time I thought I was really brave in 2015, and half the time I thought I was in hiding. Hiding in my book especially, and making it my #1 excuse to not do anything else. I have to remind myself to be proud of the stuff that I accomplished, and not berate myself for the stuff I feel like I have yet to. I hope that in 2016 I can be brave. That I can be open to new things and be okay with change. Fear is such a weird thing. Okay, this is gonna sound really lame, and I am not an inspo-graphic person, but this quote from “After Earth” always struck a chord with me: I wrote a resume for the first time in 20 years. I sent it somewhere. We’ll see if anything happens. I took some out-of-character leaps to find my lobster (did you ever watch Friends?!), and we’ll see if anything happens there, too. I don’t like making New Years Resolutions, cuz I mostly feel like they can be empty promises and kind of pointless, but I just always hope that I’m doing things that bring me joy and that hopefully also bring joy to the people around me. So let’s do that. P.S. Here’s a silly photo so that this blog entry isn’t too heavy. I found a picture of a poodle and thought: I WANT TO BE THAT POODLE. So I made myself some hair danglies and called it a success. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen it, but if you don’t follow me there, here’s all my poodle glory. Thank you for following me on my adventures. It means a lot to me, and I hope you all are healthy and happy :).

In the spirit of Christmas Eve, I’m posting my crochet pattern for my Christmas Pickles! I really wanted to do a YouTube video for these, but I just don’t have time to do it before Christmas. Like, I could shoot it and everything, but the editing process takes forever! If you guys still want a video after the holidays, I’ll add one! There are a few different versions of the significance of the Christmas Pickle. Feel free to Wiki it. It appears people think the tradition came from Germany, but it really might be a mid-Western thing. The first child who finds the pickle in the tree on Christmas morning gets an extra present. OR, the first person to unpack the pickle while decorating the tree gets an extra present. OR, while we were in Seattle, someone told one more possibility, which I don’t remember. Pretty much: make up whatever you want, and create your own traditions! I’m not a super-fast crocheter (I don’t like to feel like I’m in a rush … I like to enjoy the process!) and I can finish a pickle in 30-45 minutes.  I like using this sparkly green worsted weight yarn, but you can use whatever green yarn you like. The pickle is basically just a log with a curve in it. We create this curve by putting shorter stitches in one section of the pickle. The bumps are created by randomly swapping out a single crochet with a triple crochet. It’s really easy! I think they look funny with eyes, but that is also entirely up to you. Let’s get started!

My parents’ longtime friend Auntie Mary asked if I could make a cozy for her Kleenex hand towels. This was months ago, but I got really busy writing my book, among other things, and didn’t have much time to spare. I don’t know that I can complete her cozy by Christmas Day when I’m going to see her… but I at least decided to sketch out some colors tonight and thought I’d share that process. Here’s what the hand towel box looks like: It super obviously looks like a house to me. She has some prints in this bathroom that I believe are of flowers (although it’s been so long I can’t really remember now… doh!), and I remember some burgundy and green in her color scheme. I decided to go with sort of an English-cottage-theme with tiny flowers all over. We’ll see how it plays out! (Sorry my sketching skills aren’t great. I pretty much just try to dash these off for shapes and colors and not to impress anyone with my artistic ability!)

AHH sorry it’s been a million years since I’ve blogged! I went to Seattle with Manda for Urban Craft Uprising, and then 2 days of manic work later, I went to Disneyland with my pal Courtney of Iggy Starpup. Here’s a snap of my promo art on a billboard!! SO COOL RIGHT!??! I didn’t get to see the billboard in person, since we didn’t have time to drive around looking for it, so I’m glad I at least get to see this one snap from the UCU Instagram! Seattle was pretty amazing. I got to see old friends and meet new ones. Manda and I flew in on Friday, picked up our rental car, and went straight to the venue to set up for preview night.   When I travel for shows, I try to keep all my show stuff in 2 suitcases, so my set-up is pretty basic. I didn’t have time to plan out what the table would look like or where everything would go. All I knew is that I would have my trusty risers, my cake stand, a lil Christmas tree, and a checkered cloth. Everything else just sort of fell into place.

I am going crazy getting ready for Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle this weekend! The show is Saturday and Sunday, but if you want to attend the preview night on Friday, you need to buy tickets ASAP! SEE YOU THERE!!!!! xo

I’m so thrilled to work with Kawaii Box again to bring you guys a new giveaway! Kawaii Box is a super cute monthly subscription box filled with 10-12 hand-picked items from Japan and Korea, ranging from plushies to pouches to stationery to pens to candy to nail stickers and so much more. Shipping is free worldwide, and subscriptions start at $17.30/month. This is a great box to share with friends! It’s jam packed with goodies! Manda’s already been eyeing some of my items…. Let’s take a look at the November box!

Remember those lil shrimps I crocheted about a month ago? Now I get to tell you what they are for: Australian brand Eat Me Do’s Hardcore Prawn collection! It already looks so fun, and I am dying to see what Part 2 is! I made all the shrimpies myself, so there is a very limited quantity available. Grab some goodies now before they’re gone! (I’m told they are already very nearly gone anyway!) Here’s me with one up to my ear while I was showing her the size before I shipped them. It was really fun to work on these lil dudes. Do you think you would like to see more tiny crocheted doodads as earrings or pendants from me?

So we went to Target to just pick up some laundry detergent, and we ended up finding ourselves inside this ugly Christmas sweater for two. Someone on my Instagram feed said, “I was stocking these sweaters at my Target store and wondering who would end up in them. Now I know.” If you are looking to stay warm this holiday season, invest in one of these. IT GOT SO HOT IN THERE. ABORT MISSION. Target also has a blue colorway. I didn’t find the Target sweaters online to link you guys, so you’re just gonna have to go in the store and take some funny photos, too! I found a few links for you guys (here and here), but I’ve never bought from these stores and just Googled them. The one at Target was $30something dollars to give you an idea of the price range!