dim sum for sale!

yay! sale! until 12/7, everything in the dim sum collection is 20% off! if you're really hungry... why not treat yourself to the whole set? :)

twilight madness

the twilight movie comes out tomorrow! i can't wait to see it :) the reviews have been a bit mixed... they said that fans of the series will be satisfied but it won't be anything life changing. and from what i can see, the special effects look kind of cheesy. but that doesn't keep me from dropping whatever i'm doing whenever a trailer comes on tv! i think i'm going to wait to watch it with some friends in chicago when i head home for thanksgiving. til then... twilight atcs!

treasury

yay! someone featured me in their etsy treasury! if you haven't already played with the treasury feature on etsy, do so right now! it's so addictive and etsyers always surprise me with their creativity and style. i'm uber flattered that DrunkenDolly featured my Toki the Snow Bunny in her pretty Walking in a Winter Wonderland treasury. thanks DrunkenDolly! :)

argh! flaked!

i was flaked on swap-bot! :( what a bummer. i'm still hoping that a package will pop up in my mailbox someday since the swapper until recently had a great track record and she's trying to make things right with all her missing swaps. okay happy thoughts! some of my favorite recent swaps. clockwise from top left: 1. cupcake ATC from hag53, 2. private ATC/matchbox swap with inoteboom, 3. private ATC swap with shandapanda, 4. handmade cupcake swap from boatingbelle i don't think i'll be doing any swaps until after the holidays. i missed the sign-up deadlines on all the ones that i wanted to do! which probably is a good thing since i don't have too much free time these days. i was hoping to stock up the shop with all sorts of fun things before november but september and october just flew by before i could catch my breath and here we are! i need to sit back and make an effort to enjoy each day instead of running through them.

catching up

ahhh finally had a weekend to just sit and melt into the couch. i haven't had much time to crochet these days but i was able to finish a special order and make a special edition toki for the shop! meet Toki the Snow Bunny! i found this great sparkly wool/acrylic blend yarn that i immediately knew would be perfect for a snowbunny. then i found the cutest snowflake buttons and it was a done deal. i love her so much that it was a struggle putting her up in the shop. i hope whoever adopts her will take good care of her! these kitties were a special etsy order :) i hope she likes them!

changes everywhere!

no one does fall like new england...


we went to walden pond last weekend to enjoy the perfect weather and to catch the last bit of this year's foliage. believe it or not, these pictures don't quite capture the beauty of walden pond! i could sit there all day... thoreau definitely had the right idea living in these woods.

it's an exciting night :) i'm glued to cnn right now. they're showing the party at grant park and it's making me so homesick! i voted this evening and didn't even have to wait! yay! but i didn't get a sticker which i'm really bummed about. i'm so excited to see what happens... and a little nervous. these next four years are going to be wild.

oh where oh where

oh my poor blog... i've neglected you so... i started my new job and it's keeping me pretty busy! but i'm enjoying it so it's all worth it :) though i do miss crafting... a lot :( i've been traveling here and there so even my weekends have been busy! here are a few things that i've squeezed in. my first attempt at inchies! so you would think that this would be easy because you don't have to put as much in there... these are hard!!! one inch doesn't give you too many options! these were swapped on swap-bot flower inchies. i know it's really plain but i thought the mushrooms turned out kinda cute :)

vampires

i started reading the twilight saga by stephanie meyer and now i'm hooked!!! i finished the first two books in three days. my dearest jenny was visiting boston this past weekend and all plans for the weekend were lost when we picked up these books. now i'm waiting for amazon to deliver the next two books and i could cry because they won't be here for about a week! and the movie is coming out in december! woohoo!!

bundrops (get it??)

my beloved cousin had a request for some bunnie gumdrop/mochi balls for her little niece.

rainbow bunnies! i called them bunnie balls at first but then that kind of weirded me out... so artie suggested "bundrops." hahah! get it? :) my cousin is an artist so i thought that her niece deserved bunnies in the proper ROYGBIV colors :) they have teeny tails!! i hope enki likes them :)

i'm going to have to take a little hiatus from crocheting too much... the fingers on my right hand were stiff the other day and it really freaked me out! i do stretches and what not but i guess they just need a little break. it should give me a chance to do some scrapbooking. my goal was to finish scrapbooking last year's asia trip, vegas, LA, chicago, and my friend's wedding before the end of the the summer... so far... i've finished vegas -_-'' which isn't even that big of a deal because it was the smallest album. i'm going to miss crafting like a maniac... i've taken a year off from working and now that i'll be working again i won't be able to craft all day long! which is sad because if possible i'm getting even more into it! i'm starting to discover all these new crafts and it's hard to not go wild :) luckily, it's supposed to rain all week so i'll have a good reason to stay inside with yarn and pretty papers.

florspace

i'm in love with florspace! i dream about her creations. you can tell even just by looking at the pictures that they're quality stuff :) aren't they beautiful?? i've had a thing for darumas since high school. i think they were a part of a project i had to do and they just stuck with me :) i'm hoping to save up so that i can snatch up one of those wallets someday! stop by her etsy shop and you'll fall in love too!

kawaii matchbox swap

i sent off my kawaii matchbox swap today! sent with a few extras too :) i hope my swap partner likes it... nervous!

scurrred

okay now i'm nervous! i started reading swap bot forums and apparently there are crazies out there who create accounts to STEAL from people! they join a swap and receive stuff but never send something out to their swap partner! and they just keep making new accounts. who DOES THAT?? :( online stuff makes me nervous... but i'm still going to try it out and hopefully won't get screwed over! on to happier things... like teeny mushrooms!

"hello!"

new addiction

so i've seen a few blogs that mention swapping and all the cute things that they get and finally found out what all that was about. swapbot is a place for people to connect to swap random things... anything from jars filled with misc. cute things to surprise packages filled with a favorite color to postcards to ATCs. i won't lie... i had no idea what an ATC was. ATC stands for "artist trading cards." they're cards the size of playing cards or baseball cards that can be decorated with whatever the artist wants. the backs are dated, signed, and titled and traded with other artists. i decided to give it a try and now i'm itching to collect random ephemera! ebay is suddenly an obsession... :P here are a few test ATC's that i made the other day... they're a little too scrapbook-y in my opinion but it's what i know! i can't wait to experiment some more!

i love cupcakes!!

Bakerella this is the most beautiful blog in the world! Bakerella is a genius. seriously, look at these bunnies... hysterical! i'm especially liking that little one peaking out from behind his mama. i just spent an embarassing amount of time looking through her blog archives :P this puts me in a baking mood... but it's super hot again in boston and i'm pretty sure that if i turn on the oven the building will melt.

hooker's block

oh no! i've hit a hooker's block! i'm working on a few projects but i can't seem to get them right. i just keep crocheting then taking everything apart. now i just have piles of yarn and random limbs everywhere. my sister got me ana paula's ami book for my birthday so maybe i'll just play with other people's patterns for awhile. i'm especially excited to make a pear... which is odd because i really don't like pears at all.

kappa!

i spent a day making and re-making his limbs then attaching and re-attaching them to his little body. i'm really picky about limb placement. and some how, even if i pin everything into place and then sew them on, sometimes they all end up crooked! oh well. at least he turned out just as i had hoped :) for those of you that don't know what a kappa is, here's a little introduction: kappa are water imps in japanese folklore. as you can tell from our little friend above, they're kind of a human/duck/frog/turtle thingy. the little crown on his head surrounds a water filled dent from which they get their strength. they also have a deep sense of etiquette so a sure fire way to defeat one is to bow and he will bow back spilling the water from his head. kappa love to eat children (!!!!) and cucumbers. ever play harvest moon? toss a cucumber into the pond and a kappa will appear and give you a gift :)

birds come from clouds

i love the way the cloud came out! i'm tempted to make puffy clouds to hang all over the place. it's just so squishy and nice to hold :) i like having an excuse to buy ribbon... you can't see it in this picture but the cloud hangs from the cutest bright blue polka dotted ribbon. it took forever to hand sew everything to the ribbons and each other... ack! but the end result was worth it :) it'll be in the shop soon!

melting...

holy heatwave! my favorite weather is about 60-70 degrees. once you hit 80, it's too hot for me... so 100 is simply madness! thankfully it's supposed to get cooler as the week goes on. poor waukegan... she must be so hot in her fur coat. lucky for her she's going through her yearly shed. but that leaves me to chase her around with a lint roller trying to catch it all before it flies all over the apartment.

"oh hi... can i come out now?" some shop news... pies and cakes! these two are in the shop. there are more on their way :)

lot o magnets!

magnet sets! a friend mentioned that she wanted some magnets so i made a whole bunch... extras will end up in the shop! hmmm... i think i'll make some new designs.

project michelle

okay so this post has nothing to do with crafting BUT it's UBER important :) Project Michelle's Website

26-year old Michelle Maykin was originally diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a cancer of the blood, on February 27, 2007. After undergoing 5 rounds of chemotherapy, Michelle reached a state of remission and slowly began to reclaim her life. She also dedicated herself to helping others by creating Project Michelle, a campaign focused on recruiting people to become potential bone marrow donors. In April of 2008, two months after returning to work, Michelle began to feel symptoms similar to those she had felt prior to her original diagnosis. Michelle's fears became true on May 7, 2008 when her oncologist confirmed that she had relapsed. She was also blindsided by the results of an MRI that revealed a mass on her brain.

For Michelle to be cured of her leukemia, her treatment plan will include even more intensive chemotherapy, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, Michelle does not currently have a bone marrow match and will not be able to undergo a transplant without one. Michelle is determined to win her battle with leukemia, but she now needs the generosity of others to succeed. Help Michelle fight this battle! She urgently needs your help. Please learn more about the process and register to be bone marrow donor. Your choice could save her life. Please PLEASE click on the link at the top to learn more about how to become a donor and about the need for a diverse donor base... it's super easy! Now you can do it at home with a kit... all you need to do is swab the inside of your cheek, seal the swab in the bags provided and presto! Send it off! Michelle needs a donor by June 21st (ack that's soon!) so get to it! There are so many others out there too waiting for their perfect match to come and save them... register! Be someone's knight in shining armor :)

i crack myself up :P

i received a special request from aselfportrait for some pork buns! i've been meaning to make them but i guess i just needed that extra little push to get going :) it took a few tries but i think i finally got it right! when i sat back and looked at them, i couldn't stop laughing! they're just too funny :) i hope you like them aselfportrait!

pretty fabrics!

they finally came!!! i've been eye-ing these japanese fabrics for a long time but had to wait until i had a sewing machine. aren't they beauuuutiful?!?! i ordered them from sweet flavor over on etsy... visit her shop!! on the schedule today... make new toki cafe cards, banners, labels 0_0 i kinda just threw something together for all the current stuff that i'm using but it's time that i make it a little nicer.

new toy NEW TOY!

artie got me a new toy as a congrats for my new job :D first on the list of things to do... make curtains for the bedroom, and hem a pile of pants :P and i've already splurged on some cute fabric that i've been eye-ing on etsy. woohoo!

good news, kind words, and a toki

i am the worst blogger in the world! i remember when i started my first blog, i had to stop myself from posting something every few hours. but then again that was during college when my life was a lot more entertaining :P i'm finally all moved into my new apartment and it's already got that nice cluttered-lived-in look to it :) and i found a job!!! i'll be an americorps vista in august. at times i think i'm a nutcase for taking this position because it means that i will be UBER broke for a year and i'm at a point in my life where i wanted to find a permanent position and save up for the future... but when i saw it, i immediately knew that it was the one. hooray! someone from etsy sent me the kindest message that totally made my day. it's good to know that there are still nice people out there :) how often do people take the time to send a completely unnecessary but sweet message to someone? i think i'll try to do it more often too. and danbyun pointed out that there are no tokis at the toki cafe so...

toki! and her carrot. yuuum... carrot! she's in my etsy store if you'd like one!

*punch**punch*

boxing gloves for mike! is this what boxing gloves look like?? i'm the last person who would know... oh how i love crafting :)

special order!

i love special requests :) these gumdrops were made for lianne, my first customer :D her sorority class is called the "gamma gumdrops" and for their anniversary, she asked me to make her sisters into gumdrops! each one was made in each girl's favorite color with their numbers on their backs. their sorority color is purple so i put a little purple flower on them to make them extra pretty :) the pictures are terrible but they're actually really cute!! mr & mrs goat! my beloved cousin heather asked me to turn her and her husband, scott, into little ami's. scott has orange hair and a goatee and heather loves bunnies and pink. i seriously couldn't stop laughing when i finished mr goat. his little goatee is just too funny!! i hope heather will like them ^_^

oscar the lion

Oscar the Lion meet oscar :) he's a vegetarian he lurves his veggies! artie makes fun of him because he has an unusually flat face...

food more food!

dim sum!!!

it is too much fun to make these. so far i've got shumai and egg custard tarts on the menu. i'm trying to think of more dishes that will translate well into yarn! on a side note... i want to say thanks to my friends/family for their overwhelming support and encouragement :) it really means a lot to me and i'm glad you think my stuff is cute :P everything from buying my stuff to showing my etsy to your friends... you're the best!!!

grand opening!

my etsy store is finally open for business!!! i only have a few listings up there for now just to test the waters a bit. well that and i'm trying to move, find a job, and be artie's secretary at the same time. let me know what you think!! here's a sample of what you'll find in my store...

sushi anyone?

tah dah! sushi platter! featuring egg, sweet shrimp, unagi, salmon (it's the biggest because it's artie's favorite ^^), hand roll and of course some ginger and a glob of wasabi. joody gave me a great idea for some new inspiration... cooking mama! my favorite video game ever!! expect more japanese inspired deliciousness coming soon!

yum food!

dango! i'm downloading hana yori dango 2 (the sequel to one of my favorite animes turned live action) and so i thought that i'd make some happy dango while i wait for it to finish :) i've seen a few amigurumi cakes/flans and thought i'd give it a try. tah dah! strawberry! ... yum...