Tag: sponsored

Ankit sent me some fun items to show you guys, and I kept waiting for the perfect lighting to take photos, but you know what? Sometimes you just gotta roll with what ya got! I live by the ocean, and the light is terrible in my house. It tends to be kinda gloomy around here, and this bums me out when it comes to taking photos of outfits or products. But to be honest, the items that Ankit sent me are perfect for staying in when it’s rainy and for creating a cozy, magical spot in your house. If you pop over to the Ankit store, you’ll notice they have a ton of fun goodies to accessorize your home, like mugs, string lights, throw pillows, the cutest contact lens cases, wall tapestries, and a heck of a lot more. They sent me some pretty floral headphones, a pink kitty coffee mug (currently sold out!), a gorgeous iridescent white sequin throw pillow, and some adorable kitty cat LED string lights! Did they totally know what my color scheme already was, because the random items they sent are so perfect for my bedroom! They are in the middle of a “12 Days of Christmas” promo, and every day there is a deep discount on a particular kind of item. So click over to Ankit and see what’s going on! (Thanks to Ankit for providing items for this post! I loved them, especially the kitty mug! Please note that these are indeed affiliate links, which means I earn a small percentage if you make a purchase from my blog.)

Oh Boy Love It! has been a sponsor of my blog for a few months, and I’m so happy to host a spotlight post and giveaway for them and maybe give you some fun ideas for a few holiday gifts! Find something to fall in LOVE with on OhBoyLoveIt.com! Visit them online (website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr) and find videos, games, handmade & digital items all made with LOVE and made for you to LOVE! Oh Boy Love It has two shops on Etsy: one with handmade Love (www.OhBoyLoveIt.etsy.com) full of stickers, cards, pins, and more, and the other with Instant Digital Downloads (www.OhBoyLoveItDigital.etsy.com) for all occasions. Please note that for shipping in the USA, the last day for regular post for orders to arrive in time for Christmas will be will be December 12, 2016, so get those orders in early! If you’ve already found Love and are going to tie the knot, check out their digital store for great Wedding Printables! Oh Boy Love It also Loves to give back. A portion of their profits go back to charity. Their favorites are water.org and KIVA! If Kawaii is your thing, come discover the Sprinkles ’n Ganache, Mini Petito, Shellbelles, Uniconrness & the Kokeshi Lovers!  From Mermaids, sushi, unicorns and so much more Oh Boy Love It’s got you covered! Find them on Youtube and subscribe to keep up with their latest videos. Also find great FREE games you can play online or download from the APP store (http://ohboyloveit.com/games/) to make you smile! The Kokeshi Love game is set for release early 2017! Oh Boy Love It has prepared a great Yarn Love Giveaway just for you including: Yarn Love reusable canvas bag Yarn Queen matching Sash & 2.25 inch Pin One 2.25 inch Yarnaholic Pin One 2.25 inch Yarn Love Mirror One Yarn Love Handmade card One set of six 1 inch Yarn Love pins To enter to win, just use the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway is open worldwide, for ages 18 & over, and will run for a week until next Wednesday night, December 14th, at midnight 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. Good luck! Please make sure my email address can get through your spam filters! I will only be contacting winners via email: twinkie@twinkiechan.com 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 got a really cute box of goodies to share with you guys from YumeTwins! YumeTwins is a new kawaii box released by TokyoTreat. Unlike other kawaii boxes, YumeTwins revolves around the “Yume Kawaii” culture, which is a combination of cuteness and fairytales with a touch of darkness. “Yume” itself means “dream,” so not only does Yume Kawaii center around cute styles, but it also has a magical dreamy feel to it. Yume Kawaii culture is currently extremely popular and trending in Japan. Also, with YumeTwins based in Japan, they have more variety in inventory and advantages to easily partner with big brands to provide authentic licensed merchandise for everyone.The YumeTwins box will feature exclusive items from famous Japanese brands such as Sanrio, Takara Tomy, Amuse, Re-Ment and many more. The Debut box included an exclusive 20th Anniversary Sailor Moon Plush and was HUGE hit. I was sent the July Sanrio All Stars box! There is a mini-magazine on top which lets you know the details about what’s inside the box, as well as information about the current month’s contest (to win more goodies!), and also some short articles about Japanese pop culture. Manda was checking out the pop culture pages and definitely felt like she learned something! And now let’s check out the cute goodies! The box included a Shinada Poodle Plush, Hello Kitty Randoseru Charm, Harajuku Kawaii Bracelet, My Melody Memo Pad, My Melody plush, Little Twin Stars socks (my fave!), My Melody Pouch, and a Harajuku Princess Tiara. Here‘s where you can check out all the pricing details. Plans start at $21.99/month + $6 shipping and can vary depending on how many months you commit to. All subscribers are also automatically entered to possibly win their special Yume Prize box. Check out all the stuff that was in the June Yume Prize! Dang! You can follow YumeBox on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Hope you had fun with this peek inside! I am going to have lot of fun spreading these items amongst my friends!

“I DO NOT DO BODY CON” is something I decided for myself when body con dresses seemed to be The Thing. My comfort zone is fit-n-flare, trapeze, and A-line. When Unique Vintage asked if I might want to help them promote a certain list of dresses from their site, I saw this hot pink polka dot dress and wondered, “CAN I WEAR THAT?!” Of course anyone can wear whatever the heck they want. I guess the real question was, “Would I feel COMFORTABLE in that?” It seemed like the perfect opportunity to take that plunge and squeeze myself into this 60s inspired wiggle dress. Why yes, yes I am wearing some Spanx underneath there. I don’t exercise, I don’t really watch what I eat, and I’m turning 40 tomorrow. SPANX PLEASE. Tbh, Spanx do help a little, but they are not a miracle. I still have a bit of a belly pooch, but I have organs in there, and also cookies, so, it’s just logical, and totally okay. Being okay with our bodies is always a weird battle, at least for me. We’re always our own worst critics. Especially with a big birthday coming up, I’m like… WHO AM I… WHAT AM I DOING… DEFINITELY NOT YOGA?… SHOULD I BE?! I should definitely use my gym membership more. I want to be able to run from the zombies when the apocalypse comes. I don’t want to be That Girl who trips on a root and dies within the first 5 minutes. I wanna be a survivor! Hopefully I won’t be wearing these particular shoes when that moment comes, but I sure do love these shoes a lot, and they are surprisingly comfortable, although the heel is pretty thin, and feels like it might snap off at any moment. You know, on a root. I also threw on one of my current favorite necklaces: a little donut gem with some girly girl pearls. I gotta be me. Have a great weekend everybody!!!!!!!! I have no idea what is in store for me and my big birthday. Manda planned everything, and it has been top secret. All I know is that a) she called a zoo and b) she asked if I had any banana-themed clothing……   <3 Outfit details: Dress – Unique Vintage (on sale!), Necklace – Fatally Feminine, Shoes – Amazon.com, Hair flower – Tarina Tarantino, Belt – some random other dress.  

Do you have your outfits planned for 4th of July weekend?? Stars and stripes are always a staple, but I also think that fun, summer-time themes, LIKE POPSICLES, are cool, too! This lil popsicle dress was sent to me by Unique Vintage. The brand is Sourpuss Clothing, and this is a size medium. I think I could have gone down to a size small, and I also think that this dress might be better suited for a gal with boobins. I’m a AA cup, so I don’t have a lot to fill any dress, but I could definitely see some loose cloth in the armpit area that I tried to pin down with my arms in these photos (and that I might try to talk Manda into tailoring for me)! Aside from some slight fit issues, this dress could not be more colorful or cute! Fit-n-flare is a definite favorite of mine, and I think it’s flattering on lots of different body types. Plus, it’s perfect for twirling. The print on this dress even inspired me to crochet a little bear-shaped frozen treat: a frozen banana dipped in chocolate (it’s white chocolate with blue coloring!) with some marshmallow and chocolate drop decorations to make his face. Pardon my un-polished finger nails. I decided to give them a little break. (Is that something we need to do? It seems like a good idea?!) I’m also a huge sucker for ric-rac, and the candy blue trim here does not disappoint! It’s on the back, too. And in case you crocheters were wondering, I’ll be posting the crochet pattern for the frozen banana bears hopefully tomorrow!! I have the pattern finished, but I need to make another bear so I can shoot some step-out photos. It’s actually a really quick and easy pattern. Just make sure you have a popsicle stick! ***** Dress: c/o Unique Vintage, Shoes: Iron Fist, Necklace: Athina LaBella Thanks, Unique Vintage, for sponsoring this post! Check out their other amazing dresses here!

Socksmith asked if I wanted to check out some donut socks, and OF COURSE I said yes, and seriously, I love them so much! These socks come in mint or black, and I requested mint to go with all my pastel clothes. At the time, I didn’t realize that Socksmith was a company local to me, not far in Santa Cruz. This also meant that my socks arrived super quickly! Instead of putting together an outfit with the socks (which I’ll probably do later anyway), I decided to try wearing them with different shoes. I immediately thought or clear jelly sandals to show off fun socks! But I also thought they would look sweet with a little white t-strap. If you know me at all, you know I’m usually in some sort of black stompy boot. Even with a darker outfit, these socks are still a fun wink of color. And these silver boots? Okay, I NEVER wear them, except for maybe an 80s costume night. Frankly, they are really uncomfortable, even though they are super amazing. But I like to whip them out at random fun times. Like donut sock times! And lastly, I just treated myself to these amazing pink poodle shoes. I think the donut socks and the poodle shoes were made for each other. As you can see in this last photo, the socks are a teeeeensy bit big on me (I’m a US 7 1/2), but I think that popping them in the wash will fix that right up. After poking around the Socksmith site a little, I realized I already have the macaroni and cheese socks. I also have my eye on the fawns, the soft serve, the watermelons, the gingerbread house, the roses, and the teddy bears. There’s both a women’s section and a men’s section, knee highs, over the knees, shorties, and more. You can shop online or find a store that sells them near you!   ***** Donut socks c/o Socksmith, Sparkle Jelly Shoes: eBay, White T-Straps: ModCloth from a few years ago, Black Boots: UNIF, Silver Booties: Irregular Choice from years ago, Pink Poodle Shoes: Irregular Choice.

One of my blog sponsors, Violette Loveace of Knit Kritters, contributed five knit patterns to the soon-to-be-released book “Knit Beanies: Easy to Make, Fun to Wear,” which you can pre-order on Amazon.com as well as in the Knit Kritters shop if you’d like a copy signed by Violette. You can also enter to win your own copy (plus a finished hat!) via the Rafflecopter widget below! I always feel like there is a big rift between crocheters vs. knitters, but when I was at Vogue Knitting Live, I discovered that there are a lot of you that can do both! (I can knit, but it takes so long and I’m not very good at it.) Whether you’re new to knitting or looking for an easy stash-busting project, you’ll find fun stitches and techniques to give your beanies terrific texture and fantastic flair. Projects include colorwork, ribs, cables, lace, and more, with hat styles for men, women, and kids. Other knit designers in the book are Jen Lucas, Megan Kreiner, Sheryl Thies, Amy Polcyn Niezur, Doreen L. Marquart, Jessica Anderson, Sharon E. Mooney, Shana Galbraith, and David Owen Hastings. Violette asked if I could shoot some of her finished hat designs from the book to show you guys, but I look really terrible in hats plus I just got my permanent eyeliner re-touched and look extra scary, so I borrowed the lovely Manda (and a CareBear backpack). This is the Curly-Q Beret on Manda and a Cat Hat on the CareBear. Manda then switched to adventure mode with the CareBear while wearing her own Cat Hat. This is the Alphie. This is the Parry. And this is the Big Needle Duo. Don’t forget, there are 15 more patterns in the book, organized by yarn weight, with lots of styles and shapes. It normally retails for $19.99, but you can enter to win one here PLUS a SURPRISE finished hat from one of  Violette’s patterns. ALSO if we hit 300 entries, we’ll be giving away another book and another surprise hat, and if we hit 500 entires, we’ll give away a total of 3 books and 3 hats! So keep spreading the word! Giveaway is open worldwide and will run until Tuesday, June 14th at midnight PDT. Winner must be 18 or over and must also respond to my email within 24 hours or I will choose a new winner. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter/Random.org. Please make sure that twinkie@twinkiechan.com will get through your spam filters. While Violette will pay for shipping your prize, you are responsible for any possible customs or duty charges. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. No giveaway accounts please! A giveaway account is a social media account that you use only to post about giveaways. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

When someone asks if they can send you a roller skating unicorn pin … YOU SAY YES. These amazing pins are by one of my faves, Ugly Baby. You might know her more for her shower art, which I have in my bathroom, but she has some other fun stuff in her shop like these guys! She sent me two pins – one for me, and one for a friend. But I sorta took them both… and used them as collar pins! If you want to pick up one of your own,  hit up Ugly Baby on Etsy! p.s. this dress if from Kee Boutique, and I don’t know if I got big or it got small, but now I can no longer zip it all the way up without feeling like a tightly stuffed gingham sausage.

I have a super cute new giveaway for you guys! One of the things I really like about this giveaway is the possibility that you will pass the prize onto someone else for a special occasion. Momiji dolls are message dolls. Not only are they colorful and adorable and come in all different designs and personalities, but they also have little slots on the bottom for a small slip of paper that you can write a special message on. Give a cute Momiji doll as a birthday present, anniversary present, thank-you present, wedding present, or just an everyday hey-I-like-you present. Each doll is packaged in a sturdy capsule box with his/her name and likes. Momiji also often works with other designers around the world to bring you special collaborations and limited editions. To be honest, I was really sad to miss out on the 2008 Yota Sampasneethumrong collab. I mean, really, I LOVE THESE SO MUCH. Actually, I blogged about them in 2012! Momiji sent me some cute dolls to show you guys. Here’s what the dolls look like when they arrive. From left to right, I got Snug Bug, BFF Dina, Thank You (I think we kinda look alike, don’t you?), and BFF Liona. #myfaceforscale Here’s a video of me unboxing them for the first time: TWO lucky winners will be able to select one core Momiji doll of their own (does not include limited edition and doll must be in stock at winners’ local hub). Simply use the Rafflecopter widget below for all your ways to enter. I’m also running a separate giveaway for one more doll on Instagram. Giveaway is open worldwide and will run until Wednesday, June 1st at midnight PDT. Winner must be 18 or over and must also respond to my email within 24 hours or I will choose a new winner. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter/Random.org. Please make sure that twinkie@twinkiechan.com will get through your spam filters. While Momiji will pay for shipping your prize, you are responsible for any possible customs or duty charges. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. No giveaway accounts please! A giveaway account is a social media account that you use only to post about giveaways. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh my gosh, I had more fun wearing this outfit than I thought I would! This adorable suspender skirt was sent to me by Unique Vintage for my Style Society posts. It is navy blue with white polka hearts. I know this would look so super cute with a great blouse, but I am somewhat lacking in the cute blouse department. The good news is that a cute t-shirt works just as well! I paired my Jitterbug Suspender Skirt with a Hello Kitty x Johnny Cupcakes shirt from a few years back plus some saddle shoes from Amazon that I just picked up for a Halloween costume one year. I still want to buy a higher quality pair at some point. The suspenders attach with white buttons and are also adjustable. There is a zipper in the back with a hook closure. I love the way this skirt nips your waist in. As a lady with short legs, I always kind of avoided skirts of this length. Somehow I feel like this is working, though!  When I was putting together this outfit in my head, I felt like I was conjuring a schoolgirl or someone about to meet a friend at a bookstore or library. As it turns out, I was just meeting myself. I guess that’s okay, too. Suspender Skirt: c/o Unique Vintage, Shirt: Johnny Cupcakes (no longer available), Necklace: YouMakeMe Design, Shoes: Amazon, Purse: Kling via ModCloth

I’m super excited that OttLite contacted me and offered to send me a new desk lamp to review AND giveaway! This is the LED Desk Lamp with Color Changing Tunnel and USB. I have an older model that was gifted to me years ago, but this new one has some really neat bells and whistles! I’d actually been using an old ugly black desk lamp from Target on my craft table. Back when my craft room was in my spare bedroom, and the walls were yellow, it was really hard for me to get enough light on my work to see true colors. I would complain that I couldn’t tell my yellow pompoms from my light green pompoms! Sorry ahead of time that these aren’t the most amazing and beautifully styled photos. My work table is pretty boring, but I wanted to show you where I’m actually using my light in real life. This is where I pack and ship orders, and also where I glue pompoms to stuff, hot glue things to other things, sew beads to hair pieces… all my non-crochet work. My OttLite makes an amazing difference, and I wouldn’t just say that! Since it’s LED, it’s energy efficient and will last a long time. At first I was a bit afraid that the lamp’s modern look would feel really strange in my space. When it arrived, I was like, this looks like an alien out of Prometheus. You know, the baby one that bashes in that one guy’s space helmet. But I think that the white color helps it feel more comfy, and now I love it. Actually, I kinda wanna glue tiny plastic figurines to the top of it, but we’ll see what happens. The neck of the lamp is really bendy. You can bend it forward and also bend it side to side. I also used it to light my hands in the YouTube tutorial I’m about to upload. BUT HERE’S THE REALLY NEAT PART. On the left side of the base is the power button and a button that says “M.” The M button controls the temperature of the light, so you can have really cool light, or a warmer light, or a mix of both. SO RAD. On the right side of the base are some arrow buttons. These control the strength of the light. There are 4 different strength settings. And that rainbow strip in the center? That controls the color-changing tunnel!!! IT’S CRAFTY PARTY TIME. You can slide your finger along the rainbow strip to choose one color of light, or, if you hold down the green power button, the colors will start to automatically cycle. (I have no idea why all my photos captured the purple cycle…!) There’s also a USB port in the back that I didn’t get a photo of but you can charge up your phone while you work and listen to some tunes! I made a dinky video to show you all of this in action. The giveaway winner will receive the […]

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!

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:

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

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

Cindy, from A Little Geeky, who is one of my blog sponsors this month, sent me this really cute cheeseburger apron to show you guys! She designed the yummy burger print and sewed up this lil half apron nice and sturdy. It has 3 big pockets, and as you can see, I can fit my iPad Mini in it to run my credit cards at craft fairs! I can also stick pens in there, or, you know, a real corn dog for when I get snacky. These are really handy for craft fair of flea market vendors, cuz table-space can be limited and get squishy, and you don’t have a lot of room to spread out all your doodads and gizmos! Now you can just have everything on you, and it’s super convenient! It ties in the back with grosgrain ribbon. I snapped a photo of that, but it turned out super blurry! Sorry!! We are currently offering a matryoshka apron in our August blog sponsor giveaway, but the apron also comes in lots of different prints, so you should check out her shop, too! (p.s. this sweatshirt is by Lazy Oaf from a few years ago. I don’t wear it because it makes me too hot, and it also fits me really weird ((why did I buy a small?!!??))  but I just can’t let go of it yet! It would be a pretty simple hoodie DIY tho, so, I should get on that…)

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!