Tiny.Angry.Crafter

Things I've had my eye on

2012-02-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hey guys. It seems school is doing its 'Lets take over every aspect of Carla's life' thing already. I'll be scheduling things during the weekends, to make this a bit easier.

In the meantime, here are a few things I've had my eye on, from Modcloth.

This dress. I love sailor inspired outfits, and this one is just calling to me!!

I'd probably pair it with these tights, and these shoes.

And I might make this a regular thing, because I really enjoy looking at clothes. :)

Do any of you have any nifty things you've had your eyes on?

Take care

Tutorial: Felt Heart Garland

2012-02-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

Love it or hate it, Valentine's day is fast upon us. If you'd like to make something for that day, or something to add some cute to your room, look no further than this felt heart garland.

The items you'll need are:

Felt

Heart template (really simple to draw up)

Pins

Scissors

Embroidery floss

Thread

Sewing needle

Yarn needle

Stuffing (not pictured)

Directions:

1. Pin heart template to folded piece of felt, and cut it out.

2. Thread needle and sew the heart (I used the blanket stitch. A tutorial for that is on FutureGirl's blog)

3. When you get half way around your heart, stop sewing, and begin to stuff the heart.

4. Finish sewing, and make an extra stitch at the beginning of the heart.

5. Insert the needle at the top, and push through the bottom. Cut excess thread.

6. Repeat numbers 1-5 as needed.

After you make more hearts, you can string them together.

7. Thread a length of embroidery thread.

8. Pierce one side of the heart, and pull through.

9. Repeat as needed.

Enjoy your super adorable heart garland!

If you decide to make one (or many) send me a photo! And if you have any questions, ask here, or email me.

Take Care.

So, what were you up to?

2012-01-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we have such an interesting week, we want to share it with everyone! That's what I'll be doing today.

My past week was fun, crafty, and educational.

On the 20th, I went with my mother to the Birch Aquarium at UCSD. This will get it's own post soon enough, so I'll leave you with this clown fish.

Isn't it cute? It kept popping back into the anemone.

When we returned home, I felt like sewing, so I started on a re-style of this dress my grandma gifted to me.

I have a skirt for my sister, and the rest of the dress for myself. I just have to fit everything to us, and we can't seem to stay still long enough to pin things on one another.

On Saturday, I buckled down and started creating more things for the shop. I cut up some old scrap fabrics I had, and turned them into some pretty adorable bow brooches.

I also got a lot of knitting and crocheting done that day. Last proper free weekend before school started.

Got a good bit into the red beret on Sunday afternoon.

And I finished a hat commission from a friend.

Monday, school started on a very rainy day. I wish I took photos. Ah, infact, I have no interesting photos from this week, as school tends to suck me down this abyss of learning professors names, buying tons of supplies, and remembering where your classes are.

I'm hoping for a great semester this Spring. I have an entirely new attitude about everything, and so many people rooting for my succcess. Maybe one day, I'll go a little more into detail about my school things.

How were your past weeks? Any of you start back to school?

Take care!

Link Dump

2012-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some interesting links I came across this week!

Bianca showed off some awesome books she's made for her class.

Sarai talked about why she enjoys wearing red lipstick. (I should probably go and see what shades of lipstick look good on me.)

Solanah shared photos from a lovely outing she and fellow vintage enthusiasts had.

Kathy showed us some old Chicago infographs, which I found very awesome.

Beth showed off some amazing handbags. I've got my eye on that yellow and brown one.

Hope you discover some new interesting reads from this list! I'm writing up a longer post to have up sometime tomorrow, and another talking about the little outing my mother and I had last week!

Take care, and happy crafting

Mini Update

2012-01-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

I decided to pop in for a bit to leave you a mini update, so you know what's going on in my life. And by a mini update, I mean, what happened today. I'll have a bigger 'mini' update at the end of the week.

I started a hat over the weekend, and finished it up last night. When I returned from classes today, it finished blocking!

I can't wait to wear it. It was made from the extra wool I had from my mom's Meret, and the Borneo owls. And I constructed it by trial and error. I think I did a pretty good job, and it gave me confidence to work on a project for a later date.

After classes ended, I popped over to the art store and bought some colored pencils for my art course. I've used Prismacolors before, and I've always enjoyed their smoothness. It's gonna be hard to prevent me from using these to color non-school things, I can feel it.

And as I was waiting to pay for my items, I saw the most adorable earbuds.

I find matryoshka things to be very fascinating, so I yelped happily when I saw these, and immediately bought them. Which is good, because the other pair I've been using finally died in both sides.

I figured I'd start another hat to give my hands something to do during my school commute, so I started this on the ride there.

Lets see how long it takes to finish this one!

Take care, and happy crafting.

Link Dump

2012-01-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

I decided to leave you some links to some things that caught my interest this week. Maybe they'll be of some interest to you as well!

Next Tuesday (the 24th) Elycia and Chantilly will be hosting a craft night! I hope I can pop in and observe, and make that cute little camera plush! =D

Allison Kaye adopted a super adorable cat named Batman. I love cats, so I live vicariously through other cat owners. (if you have a cat, let me know so I can make annoying cute sounds!)

The lovely ladies at The Coletterie posted up a nifty tutorial for applique. I think I'll poke about and see if I have any large prints I can chop up!

And I sort of want this Modcloth dress. And by want it, I mean I want to make it.

I start school on Monday, and I keep hitting mini walls when it comes to writing up my lesson things! Maybe being back in the school setting will psych me back into a good writing groove. Hmm. Fingers crossed!!

Take care.

PS- I might make this a regular thing. What do you guys think?

Busy Weekend

2012-01-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get as many things done while I still have ample free time. Don't want to have that overworked feeling so early on in the semester!!

A friend asked me to make her a panda hat the other day, and this is how far I've gotten. I need to sew on the ears, and make the face! It's already super adorable, I love it.

I plan to do a bit of sewing later this evening, so I can deplete the growing stash of fabric scraps I have.

Can one call 5 rows of garter stitch a WIP? Well, I am. If I zone out on my netflix queue, I should finish this.

I'm still working on my organizational skills. So I'm figuring out how to plan blog posts. I've got some ideas for recurring things, such as Inspirational mosaics, work in progress days, and things that made me smile that week. Do any of you have any other ideas of things which can work?

Take care, and happy crafting.

Slowly, but surely.

2012-01-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

I'm still trying my best for figure how to go about these lessons. But I think I'm doing pretty good. I can reuse bits and pieces from my speech presentation to get this started.

Everything is there, I just have to work on the execution.

And I did it, I made resolutions for the year. I snagged an adorable printout from mygirlthursday and scribbled up things I plan to accomplish this year.

1. Increase my Self-Confidence.

I'm slowly getting better.

2. Apply to a craft fair.

It's something I've been wanting to do for a while. :3

3. Create more.

Just in general. Take a bit of time out, to make new lovely things.

4. Increase Social Media presence.

AKA, have not just my bffs following me on all social networks. (don't get me wrong, I love you guys, but I can text you all the upcoming info xD)

5. Smile more.

There's a reason for the 'angry' in Tiny.Angry.Crafter. I rarely smile, and I frown a lot. I need to work on the smiley part.

6. Work hard, and stay sane.

I work hard, but get burnt out so easily. Gotta work hard, and still have the drive to keep going.

If I keep at it, I'll have at least my intro for the knitting and crochet lessons up by the end of this weekend. So keep your fingers crossed, and feel free to yell at me on twitter to keep at it!

Take care, and happy crafting!

Guest Post- Rosey from Sushi Candy

2012-01-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Today's Guest Post comes from my friend Rosey. I met Rosey through the Ball Jointed Doll hobby, where she made beautifully intricate clothing for the dolls. I've come to adore every single one of her endeavors, and wondered how she'd get it all done, and today's post gives us a bit of insight into how. -Carla

Time and Creativity

Free time is precious for everyone. A myriad of commitments can suck it up: school, work, children, etc. When you do have a good chunk of free time, what do you do? Do you get overwhelmed because there are too many things you want to do and end up doing nothing? Do you get discouraged about starting that project knowing it may take weeks or months to even finish? Do you spend the entire time planning on what to do and end up accomplishing nothing?

I struggled with this issue once my baby girl was born. Free time used to be regular and normal and then it vanished. I had two choices: continue with the never ending funeral dirge for what I had lost, or deal with it. After indulging in an ostentatious funeral march and bouts of hysterical weeping and pining, I chose to deal with it. Being able to express myself creatively is tied to my personal happiness. I was miserable without it.

The solution revolves around changing your mentality.

Be realistic. It is rare for anyone to get more than a few hours of free time. With this in mind, choose a project and start it.

Having problems choosing what to do? Rank your options using two scales:

* excitement (how much does this project excite and motivate me?)
* happiness (how happy will I be doing it?)

Nothing else matters. Trust me.

I started embroidery because I can put it down and take it up whenever my baby slept. It was a perfect start and go project.

The best part for me is how relaxing I find embroidery. I have a background in hand sewing so the transition to this new hobby was seamless. My first piece took a month and a half to finish. I grew confident and began smaller pieces as gifts for friends and family. Tiny snippets of free time were used productively. Each piece took a month or so to finish. Patience is key.

Do you have a project now? Start it. No excuses. Time is ticking.

The worst excuse is "Why start when I know I'm not going to finish?" The answer is simple: if you never start anything, you're guaranteed to never finish. It's not a race to the finish line. Arts and crafting is all about the enjoyment of the process. The result is just icing on the cake.

Watch the clock. Is your free time up yet? It should go by quickly since you're enjoying what you're doing. Put the project away and remind yourself that you have something wonderful to work on the next time you have a free moment. In time, your project will be done.

Currently, I have two embroidery projects and a novel waiting for my free time. Who is waiting for you?

Guest Post- Alyssa from Alyoops!

2012-01-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Today, Alyssa from Aly-oops! is going to talk about the process of designing knit objects. I'm so excited to have this on my blog, as I adore Alyssa's designs every so much. I hope you enjoy this post, as much as I have.

-Carla

///

Designing Knit Objects

Hi everyone! In this guest post I’m going to detail out how I design and construct knit objects – these can be toys to play with or display, or just quirky random things.

The first step is to start with a vision. I spend a lot of time doodling at inappropriate times, so most of my dolls start out on pages of sketchbooks, notebooks, napkins, or any other surface, really. I like to keep a blotter page on my desk at work that I doodle on when on the phone. Whatever works for you! The important thing is that you need to have a good idea of what you want. Sure, changes are usually necessary, but the less of an idea that I have about something, the more likely I am to drop that project in exchange for something that has a stronger vision.

So, here we have a bit of a page COVERED with doodles. Any one of these can be a knit toy! Let’s start out with the big ole’ ballerina – She’s actually a character that’s been floating around my head for a while. I originally thought her up during the 30 Day Character Challenge that I tried (and failed) in November. Nina Ballerina!

So, now that we have our vision, the next step is to deconstruct it. Nina’s head and top bun are spheres; her body is kind of bell-shaped, with a tutu; her arms and legs are very thin, and end is big ole hands and feet. Hm, I know how to make all those shapes!

At the end of the day, knit toys are really just combinations of shapes! So, how are we going to combine these? I like to draw up a schematic – it’s my engineering background. The schematic breaks down the character into it’s basic shapes, and then I can start to form a game plan for how I’m going to make this lady. You can do this in your head when you get good enough!

First, I think I’m going to knit the head and body. Then, I’m going to pick up and knit each arm and leg. Then, I’ll pick up and knit stitches around the bottom edge of the body to make Nina’s tutu. Finally, I’ll do the embellishments – embroider the face, hair, and sew the knit top bun onto the top of her head.

Using this plan, I draw up my final schematic:

Notice that I have more than just the basic shapes! I’ve got directions for which way I’m going to knit (the arrows) and a symbol for sewing. I think the best way to combine the shapes for the head and the body would be to make two separate shapes, then sew them together. This sketch is easy for me to do – it only takes maybe ten minutes. The best part is, if I don’t want to make Nina right now, the sketch will stay in my notebook or I can upload it onto my laptop and it will live there until I feel like making her! I won’t have to re-invent the wheel from the original doodle.

So, how do you get good at doing this? Practice, of course! My best advice, though, is threefold:

1.) Knit A TON toys.

When I started knitting again in highschool, I knit toys almost exclusively, because they are so quick and rewarding! And my original designs were improved a hundredfold by knitting objects from designers, especially Hansi Singh. Doing these sometimes difficult projects allowed me to develop a feel for what does and doesn’t work. Should I make the project in one piece, or in separate pieces and sew them together? This isn’t a question about skill – the two finished projects will have different shapes! Have you every tried to make a cube in the round? Don’t get me started.

The second benefit of this is that you develop a repertoire of shapes. This is helpful because then you can do what I call “Frankensign” (frank-EN-zine) – splice two or three toy designs together to make something new. This is the easiest way to make toys – and you’ll see it on Ravelry forums when someone asks “How do I knit a (blank)?”

2.) Design, Design, Design.

Draw schematics. Doodle things. Recreate your favorite video game or TV show characters. Whatever! The point is, you don’t get experience unless you do it! You don’t HAVE to make every toy you draw up, in fact, I probably draw out thousand times more projects than I’ll ever have time for – but, you get a little rush when you finish thinking a design through. “Oh, yep, I could make one of those.”

3.) Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

This is important with everything, but it’s even more so with designing. Don’t just rip out your mistakes – keep them, if you have the room or the money. This might not make sense with a sweater or a pair of socks, but with a toy, you’ll never know if you will need that shape again! So, take good notes, make down what works – but also keep track of what doesn’t. It goes back to building that repertoire.

Anyway, those are my bits of advice for everyone! Thanks for reading!

Away for the weekend.

2012-01-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, sorry for the quick post, but I'll be off at a convention this weekend. But fret not, I have two lovely guest bloggers lined up in my absence.

I might post some photos from the convention when I get back. And if any blog readers will be at the LAX Marriot for AnimeLosAngeles, feel free to say Hey!

I'll leave you with this gorgeous leopard from the beautiful San Diego Zoo.

Take care, and happy crafting.

Swatches and plans

2012-01-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

Happy 2nd day of the New Year everyone!! I hope all of you had a lovely 1st!

Today I swatched a stitch that was just yelling to come from my needles.

I think the cables and eyelets look quite lovely together. I'm doing some figuring for what I want this to eventually become.

And a bit of a close up. I should probably block this, and pin it on my idea board.

I've been scribbling out how I'm going to go about my Knitting and Crochet lessons I announced on the last post.

I think I covered the basics, and I'll maybe add a few more and I think about it.

And I got to thinking about making mini monthly goals to set for myself.

Learn one new technique.
Draw more.
Take more photographs.
Make more shop inventory.
Sell at least 3 items.

Do any of you have any plans you set for yourself, either monthly or for the entire year?

Take care, and happy crafting.

Last post of 2011

2011-12-31T18:15:00.000-08:00

And with this last post, I decided to do a quick vlog!

Yay, you get to hear what I sound like now. (I'm usually not that nasally >_> )

Happy New Year from Carla on Vimeo.

Take Care, Happy Crafting, and Happy New Year!

And the winner is....

2011-12-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

After running the numbers(I didn't include the threaded comments!) in the Random Number Generator, the winner of the Wrist warmers, and octopus issss:

Congrats! =D I'll be sending you an email momentarily to get your address, so I can mail your wrist warmers and octopus!

Thanks to all of you who entered!

A call for guest bloggers!!

2011-12-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be away the first weekend of the New Year, and I'd like a couple of guest bloggers to ensure the place isn't completely dead.

I'd need a few before 1-5-12!

Shoot me an email if you are interested! =D Thank you in advance! <3

Time for a giveaway!!

2011-12-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

Now CLOSED!

Hello everybody! I hope you all had lovely holidays. Mine were very quiet, as I mostly spent the day with my younger sister, watching the Doctor Who marathon.

I wanted to do something really nice for all of you, so I decided to have a little giveaway! The two prizes? A pair of wristwarmers, and an octopus! Yes, you heard me, two prizes for one lucky winner! Keep your hands nice and toasty in the New Year, and have a little octopode friend to keep you company.

How to enter:
1.Leave a comment with your email address. Yes, as simple as that.

Additional Entries: (please leave additional comments with each entry)

1. Follow Tiny.Angry.Crafter on Bloglovin'
2. Follow me on Twitter [link on sidebar]
3. Become a fan on Facebook
4. Tweet about this giveaway (please include @tinyangrycrafts, so I can find it)

Additional Information:
The contest will end, and the winner will be announced December 31st at 5:00pm PST Good luck to everyone!

Gift's

2011-12-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Just wrapped up the gifts I made for my family. One is still blocking -gives it the side eye- I made all, but one gift, and I had fun wrapping them up =D

Hope everybody's holiday season is going well!

Bright Colors

2011-12-22T11:09:00.000-08:00

I've only just realized I haven't shared any Works in Progress with you all in a good while. Oops! I think I get into the rush of 'hurry and finish it, so someone can smile' I just don't think about taking time to show how everything goes together.

Well, I decided to do that today.

I'm making another quick gift project! =D And I'm using my favorite crochet pieces, granny squares.

I really like how the colors are nice and bright, looking at them make me smile so much.

I was originally quite skeptical as to how they'd look together, but I threw caution to the wind, and went with it. I love the combo!

Now I've got to make all the squares again. Yay! I really like making granny squares. In a future post, I'll show the squares I added to the 'collection' I started here.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

More cards, and dolly hats.

2011-12-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
A couple of days ago, I got one of those etsy tips emails, and something compelled me to check it out. I skimmed to the bottom, and saw 'The first x number of esty shop owners get free cards from Moo' I could resist. I got 50 cards, for the price of shipping. I got them in about three days.

I've already dispersed some to my family. My mom got the first 10 :3 My younger sister likes them a lot. "If someone sees these, they'll probably pick them up and say 'Oh, this person made em, Cool!' Then take it. Ya know?" Is what she told me, after taking a couple. I -might- do proper business with Moo one of these days. I like their cards a lot.

I also put an order for some free, for price of shipping Vistaprint cards on the same day, but I'm still waiting for them. When they come, they'll get a blog post.

There's still a bit of holiday gift making going on in my little workshop, and I've finished some to the point of being unable to take proper teaser photos. Oops! I'll show the gifts after they've gone to their recipients.

I've also been making some cute items for my Ball Joint Dolls again.

A panda hat

And, a frog hat!

Lucky for me, they're quick to make, so I'll totally be making more!

Are any of you still working on gifts?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

Music and Crafting

2011-12-13T14:08:00.001-08:00

Lately, I've been working up a storm. Working on gifts for family members, plotting out something new for the blog, dealing with school things, etc. And all the while I've been busy, my itunes has been playing quite a few songs in very heavy rotation.

So, I decided to share some of the music I listen to while I create.

Mumford and Sons

David Bowie

Andrew Bird

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMqsWc8muj8 (Muse disabled embedding )

Muse

What do you all listen to when you create things?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

PS- The new thing for the blog will be properly announced hopefully soon.

Can't stop pinning things!

2011-12-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

I've found yet another distraction for myself on the internet!

Pinterest.

Pinterest is an online pin-board where you can pin things that inspire you, outfits you covet, recipes you're just dying to try, anything! I joined in Mid-November, and I'm surprised I'm not pinning things every 5 seconds!

I really like it, and I was wondering if any of you are on it? Feel free to follow me!

Take Care, and Happy Crafting (and Pinning!)

Goals

2011-11-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

During my blog absence, I sat back and thought about some things I'd like to do with this blog, and my shop.

I flipped through my craft selling books, and just wrote down some of my goals.

And, if you can't read my handwriting, they are as follows, with an addition,

Be in a craft fair, or an Artist Alley.
Be featured in a craft magazine, or another craft blog.
Do some guest blogging spots.
Make tutorials.
Hit 100 fans on facebook.
Hit 50 sales on Etsy.
Interview bloggers/shop owners.
Be interviewed.
Hit 100 followers on twitter.

And the addition:

Be a more confident blogger.

My confidence wanes and waxes a lot, I'll get that 'Oh are people even reading/ do they even care' feeling all too much. But I'm slowly building it up. I have a lovely team of motivational friends keeping me going, so I'm sure I'll do great.

I'm even going to try one of the goals on my list in a few minutes! If I succeed, you guys will be the first to know.

Edit: Oh yeah, I installed Disqus, so I can actually reply to your comments! It's a bit difficult when someone comments, and I have no way of contacting them to reply, so this will help a lot!

Edit 2: I realized some of these are larger long term goals. I should probably make another blog list with smaller goals next time.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

Little Smiles

2011-11-29T10:24:00.000-08:00

During the weekend, I was working like a mad-woman to finish my wristwarmers. For a while, I'd just hear 'click-click-click-SIGH-...why is it dark outside?' and realize I worked a good bit of my day away. I'd look around at a few happy things that made me smile, and I decided to share them with you.

I had a commission to fill out, and two personal projects as well in the flurry of knitting. I decided to stack up the yarn cakes as a quick relaxing thing, and I really liked how the colors look.

I bought these embroidery threads a while ago to make something (which I unfortunately lost the doodle to), and just felt the urge to line them up.

Last X-mas, my dear friend Gabriel gifted me with this lovely Sooty Owl painting. I really adore it, and smile at it each time I sit at my computer and create. Owls are one of my favorite creatures (Dolphins are the other, you might be quizzed on this xD), and it was just so sweet to be presented with this lovingly painted Sooty. [G, I know you're reading this. Hi! Thanks again <3 ]

Anything make you smile lately?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

Cyber Monday!

2011-11-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, this little ship in the great sea of blogs should be back to normal on Tuesday!

But, I wanted to inform you all on a little Cyber Monday FREE SHIPPING special I'll be having in the shop.

I'll be restocking it, and everything in the shop will ship to you for the low low price of FREE on Monday.

So, from 12:15am PST to 11:45pm PST, everything in my shop will have free shipping!

Here's a little sneak peek of something I've been working on.

Guest Post- Rebecca from Ms.Stitcher

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today's guest blogger is Rebecca from Ms. Stitcher. She's a relatively new blogger, who posts up some very lovely crafts! I hope you enjoy her post.

-Carla

Fabulous Felt and Easy Peasy Pincushion

Hi, I am absolutely thrilled to be writing a guest post for Tiny Angry Crafter! I've been following for a while and when I saw the request for a guest blogger I jumped at the chance. I'm MsStitcher, from www.msstitcher.blogspot.com and have been blogging for about nine months now, about all sorts of different crafts that I do, and am learning to do.

So after emailing Carla a little bit, I thought that a good subject would be one of my favourite fabrics, which is felt.

The reason I love felt so much is because it is really easy to work with. So to demonstrate this I have made a tutorial for this cute little pincushion.

This is so easy to make, that it would be a really great beginner project. Also this is my first tutorial, so any feedback would be very welcome and I hope you find it useful and easy to follow.

Make a Pincushion in half an hour

You will need:

Scraps of felt, in a few different colours.
Scissors
Thread. (This will be seen, so choose a colour to match your felt)
A needle.
A small amount of stuffing, depending on how big you want your pincushion.

What to do:

Cut out two circles(1&2) from felt, the size that you want your pincushion to be. If you have templates then you could use them, or maybe draw around a mug or something. I cut my felt into squares the size I wanted and then rounded off the edges
Using different coloured felt, cut out a smaller circle(3), and then another one a little bit smaller than the last(4).
Using running stitch, stitch the smallest circle(4) onto the the medium circle(3) and then stitch that onto one of the bigger circles(1)or(2)
Tie a knot in some thread and begin stitching the two large circles(1)&(2) together about 5mm from the edges. Leave a gap big enough to be able to stuff, but do not tie off the thread yet. (I kept the needle threaded and pinned it onto the felt so that it wouldn't get in the way)
Stuff the pincushion
Gently pull the thread taut, to give a nice ruffled edge and finish stitching up the edge. An easy way to finish off on a piece like this is to tie a knot as close to the fabric as possible and then push the needle into the item, and out a little way off, making sure you hear the "pop" as the knot goes through. Then you can cut the thread as close as possible to the fabric knowing that it is secure. This then leaves no visible knots or loose ends.

This is quite a simple project, but obviously can be personalized in any way that you want to. Instead of doing smaller circles, you could do other shapes. Or you could add some beads or even a small embroidery on to the top if you wanted.

Thank You for reading, and Thank You to Carla for having me.

Guest Post- Bianca from Goodnight Little Spoon

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today, the lovely Bianca from GoodnightLittleSpoon will be guest blogging. I've been following Bianca's blogging adventures for a good while, and I just adore everything she posts. I hope you feel the same.

-Carla

Hi there, this is Bianca.

Carla asked me if I'd like to put together a guest post while she's away from her blog and I racked my brain for something crafty to share. Carla is kind of a crafting magician. She makes such wonderful things and is a very clever crafter. I have just finished up university for the year and while I've got lots of extra time on my hands, I've been lacking in inspiration. My remedy for this is that usually, if I put all my favourite crafting supplies in front of me, something craft eventuates. So, here is a list of my favourite crafting supplies. I find that simple materials are usually best.

What are your favourites?

x Bianca

Call for Guest Bloggers!

2011-10-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers! If any of you have wanted to a guest post on a blog, but were too afraid to ask, or missed the chance to do so on another blog, here's your chance!

Like I explained in my last post, life has been throwing wrenches in my plans, and I can't really keep up with general craftyness and bloggy-...ness. So I'll be needing a few guest bloggers.

There's no theme, you can post a DIY, talk about your pets, things that make you happy, a yummy recipe, whatever! Just send me an email via the contact page!

Hopefully, things will be well at the beginning of December.

Thank you all in advance!

Take care, and Happy Crafting.

Things have been a bit quiet

2011-10-21T17:41:00.001-07:00

And I apologize for that. Well, life got in the way, and I think it's a bit weird to apologize for the unexpected things life tends to throw at us.

Things have been a bit interesting here at Tiny Angry HQ, and I'm not sure when I'll get back to a regular blogging schedule. (and I was doing so good with the shoddy one I had)

Even my crafting schedule is a bit buggy, and things I intended to have out this month have been pushed back.

But I don't want my little spot on the net to be super quiet for extreme periods of time, so, I'd like to know if anyone would be interested in some guest blogging spots? I have no set theme for it, I'd like to see what you'd come up with. I know you bloggers are a talented bunch, and it'd be nice to see it on my blog.

So, if you're interested, drop me an email!

Here's to hoping stuff goes smoothly over here.

Take care, and happy crafting!

Moo cards!

2011-09-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was browsing on the internet, and saw that Moo.com was doing a 'free sample cards' thing, and I decided to jump on it.

Last Saturday, I received my sample cards, and let me take you through the fun opening process.

They come in such a nifty little box, here's the outside.

And the inside, which quite literally screams 'OPEN ME!'

And here are the cards I got samples of! If I ever order from them, I'll reshoot the photos, and not use the watermarked ones, and re-color them in photoshop a bit better, so they're not so dark. Or missing bits, like the octo-stack photo.

And the photo of my card holder with my card info on the back!

The cards themselves are a nice matte texture, and the photos look nice on them (well, the clearer, newer photos)

I might do proper business with moo sometime in the near future, but I wanted to share these with you all.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

What are you working on?

2011-09-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Just popping in to fling a couple of WIP's in your general directions.

First up, well, it doesn't look like much of anything. But they're two personal projects for some darling friends of mine. I think I'll paint the other hoop later on as well.

Next, what's a post by me without knitting?

I'm working on some Harry Potter WristWarmers for the shop, and I'm starting with Gryffindor. Not sure which house I'll work on next though. I guess which ever color of yarn comes out of the bag next.

And not so much a WIP, but rather a thing to reply to later this evening.

A lovely letter from Donovan from the Letter Writers Alliance. I really like her handwriting, it's so nice and flowy. Heh, I suppose that's another reason why I enjoy having pen-pals, seeing nice handwriting.

And seeing awesome stamps.

What about you all? Do any of you have some WIP's you're working on? Written any letters lately?

Take care, and happy crafting.

To get a letter, send a letter

2011-09-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hello readers! Miss me?
I finally was able to snag a working card reader!! I've all but bolted it to my camera.

In my blog absence, I've been crafting away at nice little things to show you all, slowly gathering things for the Sew-A-Long, and writing letters.

Today was a nice enough day to reply to a few over-due letters. Sunny, but cloudy out, and no black-outs.(yesterday, SD county was out of power from 3:40-about 9:50. I remained quite calm during the whole ordeal)

I really enjoy writing letters. I call it 'The cheapest way to travel'. It's a good way to make friends, and to learn about another place. I try to convince a lot of my friends to write to some one. Even if you can't think of anything, just send a letter. It'll put a smile on their face.

Or at least the envelope will.

Oh, notice the new layout? I wanted something simple and lovely. I still have to fix a few things here and there (links especially!) But I'm quite happy about it. I'm not html savvy, but I think I did pretty ok.
What do you think?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Circle Skirt Sew Along

2011-08-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I'm still lacking a camera card-reader. I should have a new one this weekend.
But I'm here to let you know I'm joining the Circle Skirt Sew Along on Casey's Elegant Musings.

This should be very fun, as I've never done anything of the sort. And I'm sure some of you would love to see my progress on this little project.

Here's the button which links back to everything tagged for the circle skirt along. It would be awesome if some of my other sewing followers would join in as well. =D

Take Care and Happy Crafting!!

My camera is calling to me

2011-08-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

I'm lacking my card reader, so no new posts until further notice =< (I might make a vlog soon, though)
I'm also going through something of a craft block, which is bothering me.

I might ask some people to guest blog for me if I feel the blog will be empty for a longer amount of time.

Thank you for understanding.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Summer Fun

2011-07-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Oh, it's end of the first full week of July. Yayy.

Things around the blog have been a bit quiet, as I've been working on things for San Diego Comic Con. All will be normal-ish after the con.

Now that's out of the way, have some things I've created.

On my last entry, I shared an amigurmi I was working on. I actually finished it the next day >_>

TaDa! A mermaid. She was super fun to work on, and I want to make more ; w;

And the back. I had the most fun with her hair. I single crocheted down the back of the head in two rows, then looped the hair in the SC's.

And because it's been so hot here in SoCal, I made a little something that makes me happy to have in person, and in plush form.

I sent my mom a picture of this via text message, and she replied 'Why are you sending me pictures of ice cream...Oh, this is crocheted!!! Ahhh cute!!!!' Ahah, I love my mommy.

And a detail shot. Good way to get rid of some of the beads I have, I think.

A while back, I joined GoodnightLittleSpoon's MixCD swap, and here are the two CD's I made before I send them off.

CD 1

CD 2
I hope both of my recipients enjoy their CD's :3

So, on Monday, it will be my birthday! =D Yayyy. I still have no clue what I'll be doing that day, though. I'll figure something, that probably might include going to as many 7/11's as I can to get two free slushees .

How have you all been? Create anything awesome?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

PS- you should follow me on twitter. Just Saying.

Works in progress

2011-06-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's officially summer now! I am excited. Did anyone do anything special yesterday?
I did garden work, and did a bit of crocheting and knitting.

When I first figured how to make granny squares, I found it very relaxing, and a good way to use up scraps. I picked up making more of them these past couple of days, while digging through small leftovers from past projects.

I'm not sure what I'll do with them once I get a sizable number. Maybe a purse? Maybe even a nice blanket once winter rolls around again.

I got a random idea at about 2 this morning to make an amigurumi. I doodled the design, and got to here.

I still need to work on it, and figure how I'll do a couple parts. I'll try to keep you updated.

Harry. Potter. Wristwarmers. Enough said. I'll be knitting these up all the rest of my summer, I think. xD All of the houses, both styles. Fun times man.

And finally, I set this out last night to work on, but got distracted with Game of Thrones.

More Deer Headbands! :3 I intend to have at least four before I put them in the shop.

And another WIP, this blog. It's a constant WIP, and I need more motivation to work on it. Hopefully it'll strike soon, and not at 4am when I should be asleep.

Do any of you have some awesome WIPs? How are your summers so far?

Take care, and, happy crafting.

Why do you blog??

2011-06-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

When browsing Alycia's blog, The Curious Pug, she posted a simple question, "Why do you blog?" I thought a good while about answering that question. I mused loudly to myself, I sat and stared at blank word documents, until I came up with a few simple answers which I will share with you.

-To have another creative outlet.
-To Share my thoughts and creations with people.
-To Connect with like-minded people out there.
-To keep track of inspiring things/posts/people.
-To remind myself I am good at what I can do.
-Because I can.

Simple as that.

How about you guys? Why do you blog?

I'll hopefully have some nice blog content next week, still in something of a creative funk, sadly.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

Special Delivery

2011-06-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I finished that Meret for my mom!
It felt lovely to the touch, and I had to resist putting it on and scampering about. Considering my mom requested this, and I listed her as a "customer", I wrapped the hat up all nice for her.

The finished hat

The handwritten care tag.

Business card, and a little notice card.

I would have photographed the wrapping process, but I was fumbling too much.

Tada! The finished product.

I hand delivered it to her, and she gave me the biggest hug, and put the hat on immediately. I'm so glad she loves it. I saw her yesterday, and she was wearing it with pride. Glad you love the hat, mommy!

In other news, I'm in a bit of a funk, and I hope to get out of it soon. I still need to fix up this blog some, and work on a few things for the etsy. I came across this nice Blog organizer on My Girl Thursday that I'll print out to at least be more organized here.

How are you all? Have any blog tips?

Take care, and happy crafting!

Gettin' Stitchy with it

2011-06-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers!
I felt my slowly growing collection of knitting and crochet related books was missing something. Something... important.

After a little over a year, I finally bought a stitch dictionary. This particular dictionary is pretty informative. I can't wait to start sampling some of the designs!

This Leafy Vine stitch would look nice on a hat, I think.

And Cables! Ahhh Cables! I'm invisioning so many sweaters and hats with cables on them! I suppose a 'how to design knitwear' book is in order for my next book purchase now, huh?

In WIP news, my mom asked me forever ago to make her a Meret in red. Now my semester is over, and I can finally spend long periods of time knitting, I've finally been able to oblige her.

Slowly but surely. She wants it extra slouchy, so I'll be making a third pattern repeat. I'm using Patons Wool for it, as per her request, and I'm loving the softness. If I have more, I'll probably make her a cowl or something and save it for the fall.

And because I needed to make a post office run today, I picked up some stamps!

; w; I'm such a fan-girl. Oh me and my love of classic films and their stars. I should have gotten the full 20 stamps, but I didn't realize I had extra cash until I got home. I might go and buy another book tomorrow >_> But yes, oogle my Gregory Peck stamps! Which might grace the letters of some lucky pen-pals soon.

Do any of you have any awesome WIPs? Do any of you have any favorite classic movie actors/actresses?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

PS- I'm thinking of making one of those Q&A Vlogs soon-ish, so be on the look out for that! :3

(Blog Title= Someone was playing Will Smith's "Gettin' Giggy wit it" in the background, soooo >__> )

Recommend some blogs to me!

2011-05-30T00:38:00.000-07:00

Please? I'm always on the look out for new blogs to read, so could you please tell me some of your favorites?

I'll hopefully have another post later today.

Take care, and happy crafting.

Oh yay, I got an award!!!!

2011-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

My school is out for the summer! I can breathe a huge sigh of relief now. This semester seemed more difficult than past ones, due to lots of outside stress, but I'm better about everything now. Especially since I won an award in my speech class!

The John F. Kennedy Speech Award!
This is rewarded to the best speaker in my speech class, and it's chilling out on my family's mantle. I broke down and cried when I received this bust on Thursday, and gave a happy speech, thanking my fellow classmates for letting me learn about them through their speeches, and thanking them for listening to me. It was quite a lovely experience. I've still got this surreal feeling about it. It was nice hearing 'Congratulations!' from everyone in class.

In crafty news, during my last school week, I picked up a copy of CrossStitcher magazine from Joanns. They only had copies from the Royal Wedding Celebration edition, so I grabbed it, unsure if/when they'd get more.
Why have I not discovered this magazine before? It has so many cute designs in it, and it came with a stitch kit for a pincushion, which I'm slowly working on. In my adventures in flipping through the magazine, I came across a section which taught you to dye your stitch fabric with teas, and had some cute tea cup charts.

No clue what I'll do with it, but I like tea, so it fits.

Are any of you out of school? What are your plans for the summer?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Oh you little Deer

2011-05-15T11:38:00.001-07:00

So, was the suspense enough for you?

Today I'll only have time for 'in-action' photos, as my card reader has walked away...yet again.

But, without further ado, I present to you

TA-DA! Little deer headband!

One evening, I was sketching a deer inspired outfit for one of my dolls, and I fell in love with the headband design.

I thought, Oh what the heck, I'll make myself one. I really like how it came out, and how it looks on me. Heh, what can I say, I like cute silly things. I've made two more, and I'm planning to have a few more after finals/my convention next weekend.

Also, pardon if you experience any hiccups. I got bored on Saturday and started fixing up the blog. I finally have an About Me page! When I'm not fretting over school work, I'll be fixing it up some more, and making it look pretty!

Are you doing any fixing up on your blogs?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Little Teaser pic

2011-05-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a teaser of something I've been working on.

I'm going to be making a few more, so stay tuned for that.

I've got final's next week, so hopefully by the end of that week (granted I don't get bored tonight) I'll have a nice header and some of those 'about me/favorite blogs/etc' tabs! Because, I don't know about you, but when I happen across a blog, first place I go is the 'about me' section.

I'm also going to try to make some blog buttons. Do any of you have blog buttons?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

Zoo Adventures

2011-05-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I decided to take a bit of 'me' time, and visit our fantastic zoo. It's one of my favorite places to go, and I decided to share a few photos with you. Maybe one day, I'll do a proper zoo 'tour' for you all.

Before getting to the zoo, I bussed over to Balboa Park and stopped at the rose garden for a bit. It was great to see all the beautiful flowers in bloom.

Here's a bit of the architecture of Balboa Park. I've forgotten which building this is, sadly. (shame on me)

One of the first sights you see upon entering the zoo, (Ack, sorry for not taking a picture of the 'World Famous sign' I was too busy skipping to the entrance)are the flamingos. Well, you usually smell them before anything else.

I finally got to see the baby hippo! Well, sort of. People kept crowding the glass, making it difficult, but, her mother was teaching her to swim, and it was the most adorable thing ever.

Skipping along some, to our Elephant exhibit. Which gives me some serious Jurassic Park vibes.

Every time my sister and I go to the exhibit, we hum the theme song. xD

Every time the lions are out, it's always difficult to get a good shot of them. Some lady kept her baby's stroller in the direct line of the lions sight, despite me saying 'excuse me' multiple times =\ Ah well, next time.

Hello there gorgeous male lion. With your fluffy mane. ; w;

Moving along in my adventure, I came across some Gerenuk practicing head-butting. I seriously stood and watched them for about 5 minutes.

Then the little DikDik wanted to get in on the action, and elicited a very loud 'AWWW' from me.

I took a few more photos, but as it was a very bright day, the sun washed them out. Time to read my camera manual...again.

Have any of you been to your local zoo lately?

Sorry for being quiet, Final's are slowly creeping up on me ><

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Supply Run

2011-04-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

So after class, I made a quick craft run. And by quick, I mean very quick. I surprised myself by not giving into seeing yarn on sale and buying it like it's the last thing on earth.

But it was a very small craft run. Only embroidery hoops, and floss.

The larger hoop I bought a while back, the two smaller ones are the ones I got today. I'm thinking of spray painting one, and turning whatever will be stitched into a lovely gift. (or ya know, keep it for myself. Teehee)

I spent a good bit staring down the floss. I wanted to get a lot of the blue, but the one I have was the only one in that color-way (which I've nicknamed Tardis Blue... -cough- Nerd? Who me?)

Last night I made another heart for my hearts cross-stitch, and I think it looks lovely with a 3rd heart. No clue what I'll do with it now. Maybe turn it into a bookmark?

And this little number is a test for something I'll be working on soon. The lettering is a tad wonky, but I like it. It's readable. :3

I think I'm going to try to bring my camera with me more. I'm smack dab in the middle of so many pretty things, and every other blog I'm reading is posting photos of flowers, and awesome things they encounter. I encounter awesome things on my walks, but I never have a camera on me. And I'm sure lots of you would love to see photos from Balboa Park, right?

Have any of you gone on supply runs lately? Or have you snapped any pretty pictures?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting!

Weekend Crafts

2011-04-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

My productivity level sort-of waved this week. It mostly went into various planning stages. But I have some lovely completed items I can show off to you!

Now a bit before my Spring Break started, I got my first request on etsy(to which I squee'd and flailed about happily). A sweet lady asked if I could make a tiny octopus for her boyfriend. I gleefully obliged.

It's a tiny 1.5x1.5 in.

It was hard to part with, but I made one for myself, and it somehow ended up with 9 tentacles. Heh.

Next on the list is a granny square.

I remember when I was younger, I'd watch my grandma make a huge blanket from just one granny square starter. I might sink into the 'Must make huge granny square blanket' mode once it starts to get cold again. But for now, I'll make random ones, in bright colors as a form of relaxation.

Cross-stitch is quickly becoming my new favorite thing.

I made the red heart last night when my sister was visiting. And the pink heart just today, in aprox. 40mins. I can't wait to figure more patterns to make. I've scribbled out one, and I'm itching to start stitching it up.

And last on the list, a hair bow!

I knitted this one up while visiting a friend a few days ago. I finished it on my train ride home, while sitting with a nice lady who was knitting up some socks. :3

My sister liked the bow, and remarked it looked like it should be a bow-tie. Now, us being the nerds we are giggled, and after she left, I snapped it around my neck.

I wear a bow-tie now, bow-ties are cool. -11th Doctor.

Knowing me, I might actually wear this as a bow-tie.

Now tomorrow, my blog will be 1 year old! Hurrah! Do I have any plans to have an epic blog post? Nope. But I will be plotting to re-design the blog. I have it sketched out, I just have to re-look at some photoshop tutorials, and take some photos.
I'm still planning the give-away, but it won't be for a while.

How are you all? Create anything awesome lately?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Carla Carla quite contrary...

2011-04-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Meh, doesn't have the same ring to it.
Hello lovely readers! How are you? I'm still in the planning stages of blog giveaways and other things (mostly school, and making costumes). It's my Spring Break, so I've decided to beautify things during my week of freedom.
One of the things I've been planning to beautify, and I'm finally getting to is the old rose bed in front of our house.

My grandparents cleaned it out a bit, but I've been in there cleaning out piles of dead grass, screeching at spiders and pincher bugs, and whining at my grandpa to help get the entangled mass of grass out of the rose bushes I want to keep.

I'm planning to turn it to a pretty flower bed to bring a bit of color to the front of our house.

I might use all of these. I might not due to spacing. But here is what you could see me 'Ooo-ing' and 'Ahh-ing' over in the next few weeks. I really want to see the Narcissus growing. :)

And because I couldn't find my old gardening gloves, I bought a new pair.

They've got hedgehogs! Aren't these the most adorable gardening gloves you've ever seen? I had to buy a children's pair, because the womens gloves fit me weird, and the mens gloves enveloped my hands to where it was quite comical.

Are any of you plotting to garden this spring? Or do you already have an established garden?

I'll be up at a friends for a couple days, and if I remember, I'll maybe make a blog post while up there. :3

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

2011-04-15T01:55:00.000-07:00

Spring Break has started.
I'll try to update this thing as much as I can.
Oh look, my blog-iversary is looming near. I'm planning a giveaway for it, but... Hmm. Ok I'll try to do a give away for it. Or after it. Hell I'll have a give away.

....So anyone who's done a successful blog giveaway wanna help me out? xD;

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

Where are they now?

2011-04-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

Hmm. Well I suppose we can talk about Hoot.
But there isn't much to talk about! After I finished him, I told my fellow owl loving friend about the adorable test-knit. She was starting her semester at Law school, and needed a lot of motivation and such. On our trip to the zoo, I presented him to her, and she happily flailed and squee'd about.
Then we both forgot we shoved him back in my purse. Oops.
But Hoot went to live with her, and he'll rotate from her bookshelf, to on her desk next to big heavy law books.

I think I'll make another one for my other owl loving friend. :3

Take Care and Happy Crafting.

PS- If you'd like to make a little Borneo owl, you can buy the pattern here. (Ravelry link) Borneo, a knit owl.

PPS- I'll have my entry for April 1st up either later this evening, or early on the 2nd.

Tidy mind, tidy stitches.

2011-03-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.

Well, I have a small room. So my stash lives in a plastic crate (I think it was used to hold peas), separated in various plastic bags. Yeah, as easy at that xD.

If there is something that is in use, I'll use my handy dandy Tardis knitting bag to hold it in. If the WIP is too large for that bag, I'll use another recyclable bag. If it's something super small and portable, I'll shove it in my purse and go.

I need to probably start using the stash pages on Rav. I started, then just gave up. So that can be a new plan to keep me organized a bit more.

(Oh in case anyone is wondering why there are no photos accompanying my posts. I...well. I've misplaced my camera's battery charger. And I haven't really been bothered to look for it. Thank goodness for the upcoming weekend! )

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Skill + 1UP

2011-03-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

Be warned, this is another wordy post xD;

Hmm This time last year, I was knitting things in the round inside out. Just beginning to learn to cable. Starting Intarsia. Crocheting amigurumi inside out.

Yeahhh.

Now I'm slowly getting better with things. I'm still figuring how to properly wrap my color changes with intarsia. I can crochet faster. I finally learned how to make Granny Squares, and many other things I've forgotten. But the one things I miss about the way I used to work, is I would finish things faster.
I took a peak at some of my old FO's on Ravelry, and I saw objects finished in about 3 days. While I was in school mind you! Some huge force and drive just pushed to to not stop until the object was finished. Now, not so much. I'll procrastinate on things for days/weeks/ or months at a time. Unless it's something small and compact(an amigurumi, or wrist warmers), it won't get much of my time. And that bothers me a bit.
But it could be I'm over-working myself with school, and a hobby, and I just need to slow down and take a breather.
I'm looking forward to learning new techniques this year.

Thanks for reading this quickly scribbled out mess. I might re-write it more eloquently later on.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

A Tale of Two Yarns

2011-03-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

Oh this Knit/Crochet Blog week will be FUN, I can feel it.

Now I've only worked with a few yarn types as when I go yarn shopping, I have a specific idea in mind. Good to have so I don't end up with an un-imaginable stash, I think. Haha!

The one type I use the most often is actually Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand. Yes, get your gasps out of the way, I use acrylic yarn. The reason I enjoy Vanna's is, it is a very soft yarn for what I use it for. Which are mostly amigurumi and small toys and accessories. I can use it for long periods of time without it making my hands ache, and it's just produces a soft object.
Now one for the first hats I decided to knit up with that yarn was a Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret. This was when I was just taking knitting on a regular basis seriously. Now don't get me wrong, it came out nice. but it just didn't have the same flow. I made the mistake of washing it, and it shrunk it a tad, so it doesn't fit right. I have yet to unravel it, but I'll get around to it.

The other type of yarn I've used was Patons Wool. The very first time I got to use it was to knit up Borneo for Alyoop's test knit. I was in love. I thought wool would be scratchy and unpleasant to work with, Oh boy, was I ever wrong. It was nice and soft, and sure I had to stop for a while to rest, but I had no discomfort from it! It produced a lovely product, which is what I'm looking for.
My mother has now asked me to make her a hat using some beautiful Red Patons wool. Her hat of choice is Meret, and she wants it extra slouchy. I can't wait for my break to start so I can make it for her.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to use other lovely yarns I've heard about. Alpaca has been one I've been wanting to try for a good while.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Quick post

2011-03-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

Hello all you lovely people who are here after stopping by Scuttlebutt's table at Anime Conji!
I had a fabulous time being a table minion for the weekend, and running about in costume.
If any of you emailed me, I'll check it tomorrow after school, as I have work to finish.

For my regular readers, if you could be so kind as to check out my darling friends webcomic, Mahou Shounen Fight It's pretty kickass. Its a magical girl parody...with boys! (if you're an anime/manga fan, I think you'd appreciate this a lot xD)

Alright, take care, and happy crafting!

Hello Hello!

2011-03-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hello all you lovely people! How are you today?

Today will be a text post, (I -might- do a normal post later in the evening/early tomorrow morning) I've got some questions for you!

I've been noticing a great number of new-comers to the blog, and me being the naturally curious being I am, I'd like to get to know some of you! And my regulars, feel free to fill this out as well!

Name-
Where are you from?-
Favorite ways to craft?-
How did you find my blog?-
What are you looking forward to seeing on this blog?-
Other interesting things about you-
////////
Here's mine:

Name- Carla
Where are you from?- Sunny SD
Favorite ways to craft?- Knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, painting, and many other ways.
How did you find my blog?- Hahaha, tis my blog.
What are you looking forward to seeing on this blog?- Me to stop being lazy and putting up tutorials, layout re-vamp, and more posts.
Other interesting things about you- I am actully a very shy person. I love to read, but thanks to school, I don't have enough time to loose myself in a good book. Reptiles make me super happy. As do owls ;w;. I say I'm boring, but my friends like to tell me otherwise.

If there are any other questions you'd like to ask me, feel free. I'll compile them and make an FAQ page!

Next Thursday for my speech class, I'll be talking about the resurgence of hand-crafts, or the 'Handmade revolution'! I'll divulge more after I give the speech.
Then later next month, we have to give a demonstrative speech, I'm going to demonstrate how to crochet! So hopefully that will go over well.

Oh, in regards to last week's entry, my odd sleep 'schedule' is due to stress and a mild bout of depression. Thank you all for your concern. <3!

Well, take care, and happy crating!

Tired, and teaching.

2011-03-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

I've been really tired lately. I'd wake up, shower and go about my day for an hour, then want to go to bed again shortly after. It sucks, and I hope it goes away soon.

But I've been a bit productive! On Wednesday, I spent a good bit of my after class time teaching a fellow student from my health class to knit and crochet! (Hi Sandra!) She quickly caught on crocheting, and as I had extra hooks, I gave her one, and a bit of yarn to practice. I can't wait until our next lesson. It's really great to show another person your craft. Such a happy feeling!

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to make my mom a little gift. She hasn't been feeling too well, so I wanted to brighten her day.

So I made her a red velvet cupcake amigurumi! Her favorite type of cake is red velvet, so I figured, why not give her one that can last a lot longer than a real one? :3

Sometime in the future, I'll be re-designing the blog layout. Might even draw up some cute headers or something. I've scribbled out ideas on scrap paper. I may share then soon.
I'm also planning a giveaway for the blog's 1st anniversary! Still not sure what to make the prize, but stay tuned! :3

Take care, and happy crafting!

Little bits of happy

2011-03-05T17:47:00.000-08:00

School is taking over everything, you guys!
But I'm doing good with small things to keep me happy, while I work on bigger projects.

For the longest time I wanted to cross-stitch, yet was intimidated by it. I mean, I can embroider fairly well, but cross-stitch seemed like a totally new territory. After hearing a bit of buzz from fellow crafters, I decided to dive in.

Yesterday I bought some 11 count Aida fabric, and scoured the internet for a simple pattern.

I came up with a simple heart using a pattern from about.com My grandma looked at it, and asked 'How long have you been doing this?' I replied "A few hours ago?"
I was linked to some videogame cross-stitch patterns, so I might try a few of those out! :3

Next on my small crafty agenda, a pink headband. Now I bet you're wondering, what's so special about a pink headband? Mine will have pompoms on it!

It'll be a shell stitch edged band, with pompoms on it. The idea came across thanks to my friends, and our obsessing over accessories on the internet.

Last bit of happy will be something that will expand my blogging again. The fun reason I started this blog in the first place. The Knitting and Crochet blog week!

(Photo by Eskimimi)

I wasn't successful in completing it last year, but I will try my darn-est for this year. So during that time, expect a full week of posts from me :3
If you have a knitting/crochet blog, and you'd like to participate, here's the link with the information. Knitting and Crochet Blog Week

Well I have some knitting to catch up on, as well as a Wolverine phone cozy to un-pick...again -sigh-

Take Care, and happy crafting.

More nerdy things.

2011-02-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

School still has a vice grip on important things in my life, so I'm doing good to get one crafty thing done a week.

This week, another nerdy cozy! =D

Dunananana, BATMAN! =D It was super fun to make this. Hand-sewing is very comforting for me. :3

Even though I don't own an iPhone, I felt like making a cozy for one. But lucky for me, I do own an iPod, which is the same size.

And detail shot.

I've got a few friends interested in other cozies, so that's exciting!

How are you all? Any new awesome things you've made as of late?

Take care, and happy crafting!

Nerdy card holders and hair bows

2011-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hello every one!
Not a whole lot of crafting done this week. But the bit I did get done was lovely.

As I've been self printing my own business cards, I realized I really need something to put them in that can keep them all in order and safe. I walked by my little pile of felt, and saw the black felt and yellow felt just chilling out together. An awesomely nerdy idea popped into my head.

Dun nanananana Business Card Holder!
Its a wee bit wonky, but I love it all the same. Now my business cards have a nice place to live in my bag, and I have something adorable to pull them out from!

Here's the back detail. I love edging things with blanket stitch now!

I was also able to pump out a hair bow. I half knitted this as I waited for class to start, and nobody in the room noticed. I suppose it helped I introduced myself as a very crafty person on the first day.

I love this blue, it's nice a bright color, and it just makes me happy!

And here are the rest of the hair bows I've made, and (re)listed in the shop.
Hair Bows!

How have you all been?
Oh! I've also been on the look out for new blogs, to read. What are some of your favorites?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Book and embroidery

2011-02-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

One day, I'll come up with good blog titles. One day.

On Saturday, I arrived home to a lovely package. It was the book I won from the contest on Knit Cast!

The prize was Mags Kandis' book, Gifted. It's really an adorable book, filled with loads of sweet gift ideas. All the ideas can be completed quickly, so they can be given to their intended recipients asap.

In addition to various knitting, crochet, and felting projects, there are also little recipes for some nice edible gifts as well.
I am very happy to have received this book. Thank you Marie.

In other crafty news, I finished the unicorn embroidery!

I really love it, and I'm now doodling out other little things to embroider next.

And a week or so ago, I finally broke down and crocheted up an amineko. It was a great way to use up the huge ball of black yarn I had sitting around, and the result is an adorable crocheted cat!

He doesn't have a name, but he's not as lazy as other amineko.

He prefers a good novel to a nap any day.

Now I'll be off to do homework, and write pen-pal letters.

Take care, and Happy crafting.

What's to come?

2011-01-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well school started up this week, so I'll be a bit wonky with my posting updates, but I'll try to at least have one post a week. I've got a full schedule for school this semester, so the little bits of craft time will be good for me.

The other day, I was over my moms house, and decided to embroider something adorable. I bought a couple of skeins of floss, decided to come up with this little cutie.

I'm working on the mane now, and looking for more yellow for the hoofs. I'm sure one of my friends is waiting for me a to make a Robot Unicorn embroidery, ahaha, we'll see.

One of the other things I'm working on, is super nerdy. I've been plotting and sketching out various superhero logos to use for different things. I'm just thinking of what to make first, and which hero.

I might pump out a Batman something and see who in my friends circle tries to battle for it xD; I'm sorta plotting to make a superhero scarf with as many hero logos as I can fit on it! That'll be a super nerdy endeavor, and I'd love to loose myself in making it. Or, I can just make superhero amigurumi. Hmm.

What are your crafting plans?

Take care, and happy crafting!

You know those days....

2011-01-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

When you somehow mess up your knitting by accidently increasing 3 new stitches....when you're supposed to be just doing straight knitting?

When you make your amigurumi's legs HUGE?

When you somehow magically make a Giant amineko?

When you can't do satin stitch to save you life?

Yeah, I'm having one of those days. I'll get my groove back!
Oh wait, school starts back next week. -panics-

I can take my small projects and work on em on break...that can work, right? >_>

I hope everyone else's crafty days are better than mine. <3

Take care, and happy crafting.

Staring at pretty things.

2011-01-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

On the 13th, I visited near-by Balboa Park to do some walking, and observing lovely things.

I did a good bit of walking, and stopped in a small garden, where it was obvious they were waiting till spring has sprung to pull out the larger flowers.

One of the reasons I adore Balboa Park so much, the architecture. As San Diego was host to the 1915 Panama Exposition, and the 1935 California Pacific Exposition, a great majority of the buildings used during that time are left over. Many converted to museums.

If any of you have a postcard from a friend in San Diego, chances are you have one of this beauty. It's the lovely Botanical Gardens! But sadly, it's closed on Thursdays, so next time I go, I'll get photos from the inside.

I even had some time to get some crocheting done while I waited for my grandma to pick me up. Quite a few tourists stopped and stared in wonder. One lady complemented me for taking up 'a forgotten art.' I told her I do it because I love to, and it makes me happy. That made her smile, and it made my afternoon.

Have any of you visted anywhere nice lately? Take any photos? =o

Take care, and Happy crafting!

Books

2011-01-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

This was going to be titled 'Oh no, you left her alone in a bookstore, with money?!' But that was too long.

A couple of hours ago, I felt it was a lovely day, and decided to venture downtown to the bookstore. I planned to just buy two semi-specific books; one on amigurumi, the other was to be a knitting stitch dictionary.
I returned home with one thing from my original plan, and two other books I bought on a whim.

-I bought The complete idiots guide to Amigurumi by June Gilbank (Planet June)
-The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin
-And a graph paper sketchbook.

I am happy with my purchases so-far, I'm just upset the store pretty much didn't have any variety of stitch dictionaries(meaning, they did, but they were in huge 50+$ compilation books with embroidery stitches and crochet stitches). Ah well, there are more bookstores to explore in the future :3

And when returning home, I found a lovely letter from a friend in the mailbox.

Man, I love sending and receiving mail ; w; It made me happy.

How is every one? Get any new books? Got any crafty book recommendations?

Take care, and Happy crafting!

PS- <3 I'm glad you guys like the lower eye placement on the octopus! I'll keep it in mind for the next ones I make!

Shop Update

2011-01-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

I listed three new octopod in the shop earlier today.

A sunny colored one (who to me, looks a bit sad. -shrug- maybe I lowered his eye placement some.)

The green one from last month.

A fabulous red one.

And an Octo-Stack... or Rasta Octpodes xD

Hopefully if the sunlight permits, and I'm free from back pain, I'll be sewing something, and documenting it. SO that should be fun. And I'll be trying to work on that Shrinky Dinks tutorial I promised a while back.

And tiny reminder, I made a Facebook Fanpage. Mostly out of boredom, I shouldn't be left around technology, Ahaha! I still have to figure how to make a little button for it to stick on the side of my page @.@; Feel free to 'like' Tiny.Angry.Crafts on Facebook :3

How are you all doing? What new crafty things do you have planned?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting

It is 2011

2011-01-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!
Did you have a lovely day? :3

This is going to be a short, photoless post from me, so if you're only here for pretty pictures, feel free to skip by.
But in 2010, I really grew as a crafter. I went from realizing I've been knitting 'incorrectly' for the past couple years, to quickly jumping into cables, lace patterns, amigurumi, etc. I started this lovely little blog, and have made some very kind acquaintances along the way. I've even set up an etsy shop and a facebook fanpage! Feel free to 'like' it. It is still in its setting-up stage, but hopefully soon, it will be awesome.

I hope 2011 will bring on more awesome crafting, meeting more nice bloggers, more sells in the shop, and many more!!

Happy New Year, everyone.
Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Days keep breezing by.

2010-12-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty busy as of late. Working on designs, making gifts for people, figuring upcoming travel plans, and figuring school schedules. Fun times, eh?

But none of you are here to read my complaints, just to see the pretty pictures :3

This baby was commissioned by a friend for an upcoming costume.

It will be about 3ft in length, and have tassels at the ends. Its been a stop and go process, as my shoulders have been aching as of late =<

Top Secret!

I think this will be the only progress I'll post of this baby. I need it done by new years xD. And so-far it doesn't resemble anything! ='D But I know when it's complete, my recipient will simply adore it :3 ya know, I hope :x

This nifty little number

Was made before I left for Vegas in late October, and during the entire trip, I didn't even wear it about. But its super warm, and comfy. :3

Of course I've been working on more of these cuties. I'll list him in my shop sometime this week.

And a little something for myself. Which will be put on hold, until after the holidays it seems. In a lame attempt to keep me from getting distracted xD;

How is everyone elses crafty to-do list? Mine is still a mile long, but I'm slowly working through it. Lucky for me, most of my gift recipients don't mind late gifts.

Hopefully tomorrow, I'll give sneak previews of other things I have been working on. (granted I'm not tired from being out and about...maybe I should say 'sometime this week!')

Take Care, and Happy Crafting!

Bears, stars and purses

2010-11-20T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today is a nice rainy day. Rainy days are perfect for crafting. Or in my case, waiting for the sun to peak through for 5 mins, and take pictures! xD;

I've made a few cute things as of late, such as;

This happy bear.

I made my sister a 'polar bear' as a just because gift. Welll, more I was working on it, and she claimed it as her own xD So I made myself a cute little brown bear.

I felt the urge to make a little clutch, 1. To have. and 2. for a costume I need to finish. (I've been so lazy on the sewing front as of late.) So I searched for a nice pattern to crochet, and discovered the Berry Sweet Clutch pattern.

Its done entirely in shell stitch, which is fun, and quite addicting! And the handle is an icord. I still need to find a nice button for it, and line it. But I love it, and my grandma finds it adorable.

When going through my 'I need to make ____' sketches, I was staring at stars I scribbled out. I did some simple math, and figured out a nice pattern :3

So I made a Paopu Fruit. If you're familiar with the Kingdom Hearts series, you know what this is.

Then after do a bit more math figuring, I made a Mario Star!

Which I made in about an hour while listening to soap operas at my mums house.

And finally, In not knitting or crochet news, I made some envelopes for pen-pals :3

I have some letters I need to reply to, but I've been sort of hit with a writers block. Which always confuses me, as I've got a prompt 'reply to the letter!' but sometimes it just doesn't work out. But making envelopes helps!

I hope you all are having lovely afternoons.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Lions and Fair Isle~

2010-11-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I'm back~ =D
Miss me? -listens to crickets chirp-....

Anywhozle, I've been working off an on with little things to fling on the blog, as well as being social, and wanting to rage over schooling situations.

But enough about that, you're all here to see the cute things I make xD.

This is Griever. I made him for my friend's Squall cosplay (from the video game Final Fantasy 8 to those unfamiliar)
He was fun to crochet up. I just went on with my own little 'pattern' I vaguely scribbled out on a business card. In a few hours, I was finished :3

He's so cute ;; and my friend has already expressed great joy about him. I can't wait till she gets him and takes pics :3

I've also been busy with a few other things. Making 'just because' gifts for my friends who've been super supportive of me. Hopefully, I'll photograph their gifts before I give them out. I think all of them are getting some sort of amigurumi xD!

And as the weather has been getting colder, I've been thinking of a new pair of wristwarmers to keep my hands warm. So I thought of a fair isle patterned pair.

Just a simple stranded pattern I might incorporate into the warmers. The colors blue and brown looks quite nice together, I think.

So how have you all been? Learn any new techniques? Do anything awesome?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

Pixie hats, and overcast days.

2010-10-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

I think I found something super quick and mindless to do when I'm chilling on a car ride >__>

So I made a few more Pixie hats for Cupcake yesterday, but it was super overcast, only a few photos came out nicely. I wanted to re-take more today, but it's overcast again. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE weather like this, but it makes photography more difficult than it should be.

I'm starting to secretly love the color orange on this doll...

And the side. I sewed some scrap felt for the face, and knitted a green i-cord for the stem. It's super super cute in person =3

Here is the pink one I knitted. It has a nice ribbed edge, and stockinette body.

And the others I've made. Three crocheted, and two knitted.
I've made one for my larger doll, Thalia. Now to make a couple more =3

And yesterday, I had a happy mail day!

From my friend The Missive Maven/Ilona
It's about the most adorable Halloween-y letter I've gotten :3

And the thing that made me go 'Awwww!!' aloud;

OWL STICKER!!! He goes 'Hooo' all super happy like!
Made my afternoon brighter.

And if any of you want to be contacts on Flickr (as I've gotten a new one, because I'm too lazy to invest in a spiffy account) my account is here. My Flickr photostream ( My old photostream )

Little bits of progress

2010-10-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been in strange craft ruts. Some days, I'll work on something, and others I'll stare at the WIP across the room. I'll look up some mindless crafts to do on raverly, or ask my friends for input.
I've been looking for inspirational photos of things to shove in my 'lovely things' folder, and came across Blythe dolls wearing these quirky little hats called 'Pixie Hats' (I want a Blythe, but interestingly enough, I can only stand them if they have bangs. Otherwise, they sorta freak me out.)

After staring at a few photos, I figured how to construct one, and I pulled out my test subject; my BJD, Cupcake. After an episode of Supernatural, I had one. A few episodes later, I had two more. I'm working on more, they're a super mindless thing to knit or crochet, and when I make them in more sizes, I might offer them in the shop for other BJD owners! /doll chick talk.

There are the three I have now(two orange, one rust). I should have better photos tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who offered input for the sock pattern I should try. I'm still trying to figure out a nice one for me.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting!

When you buy sock yarn

2010-10-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

You better make some cute socks.

On the 23rd of September, my mom and I decided to investigate a LYS(The Grove ). I've been wanting to make myself some socks for...some odd reason, and I picked out some needles, and a colorway I found myself oddly attracted to.

And after many hours or dawdling about and watching tv, I wound it up.

Since then, I've been looking for a nice sock pattern to knit up. Now, fellow knitters, what has been your favorite sock pattern to use, or one you really enjoy? Thank you in advance!

Hmm, what else has been up with me? Enjoying this rain we've been getting ; ; Its so comforting! I've been wanting to work on my cosplay costumes for upcoming conventions. I still have two WIP cosplays, but I've sort of lost my drive to complete them, which saddens me =<
But there is one in particular I want to start on ASAP so I don't get angry and give up half way through... or go insane while working on it last minute. -sigh-

How have you all been?

Happy Thursday

2010-09-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today has been a happy day for me xD
-I won the contest on KnitCast for Mags Kandis' book Gifted.
-Dear Alyoops plugged little Hoot on her blog. And squee'd over him xD Now to start on my Parliament of Owls! >3
-I got happy reply mail from Olivia

And IT RAINED TODAY! =D
It went from 104 on Monday. Gross mugginess/humidity on Tuesday and Wednesday, then rain, thunder and lightning today.

SoCal weather doesn't know what to do with itself xD;

I'll hopefully have photos of things tomorrow.

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

In which I test knit a pattern.

2010-09-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

In August, Alyoops asked if anyone would like to help test knit her adorable Borneo pattern.(ravelry link) Me, being a lover of owls, and slight challenges answered her call.

I finished him in 5 days. It was a fun learning experience in knitting this pattern, I learned how to pick up and knit with stitches and using a waste yarn. It made me extremely happy to know I was helping someone ensure their pattern was ready for use by everyone else out there in the world.

Isn't it adorable? ; ^;

I really enjoyed making the tail. But my favorite part was working on the wings =3

Now in the pattern, Alyoops mentions that these little guys love to perch, and perch he has!

'This is too low for me to keep watch!'

'Much better'

'...Was that a pigeon? HOOOO!'

After securing the perimeter of my front door, little Hoot decided to perch on my head. 'Much more comfy <3'

Thank you again, Alyoops! It was a lovely opportunity to knit up the pattern! I really enjoyed myself!!

Alyoops can be found on her knitting blog- Knit Me her general life blog- Alyoops and on ravelry. She's a very sweet person who loves knitting, but finds great joy in making knitted toys. You all should check her out if you already haven't.

Take care, and happy crafting.

Shrinky Dinks!

2010-09-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.
Last night a friend of mine invited me to a VIP shin-dig at a local science centre. It was nice to get out of the house and do something different. One of the things to do when everyone else was arriving, make shrinky dinks.

The Communicator badge and TARDIS were made at the event, and the heart was made at home =3
I scribbled out a tutorial, and will post it sometime next week. Hopefully tomorrow, I'll post up the test knit I did for Alyoops Which will mostly consist of squeeing and cooing over the object.

I believe I have rid myself of this funk. Who woulda thunk that something simple as scribbling on plastic and baking it would give me a creative kick in the pants?

Take care, and happy crafting

Still waiting for that groove to return

2010-09-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

So, while I wait.
Have a photo of this beautiful Owl.

His name is Ziggy, and he lives at the World Famous San Diego Zoo.

; ^; So pretty.

Take care, and happy crafting

One of those days

2010-08-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days for me. I'm sure you know the kind. Where you want to do a million and seven things at once, and when you sit and try, you get up and walk away?

I wanted to work on something for a friend, I get the material and sit in front of my sewing machine. I stared at the machine for a minute or two, and got up and walked off.
Then I wanted to knit. I started for a row, and quickly got bored.

I went for a walk and it changed nothing. So I sat and started IMing a friend, then got the sudden urge to embroider.

Mmmm chemical structures. Anyone wanna try to decipher my writing and guess what it is?

I hope my sewing and knitting groove come back, and soon. I've got things to do! Maybe I'll make an effort to go and venture about tomorrow, that should clear my head and put me in a better mood.

Take care, and happy crafting!

I bought things

2010-08-21T12:43:00.001-07:00

Brown felt for a dolls hair and plush éclairs. Pink+rainbow fabric, zipper and ribbon for a pencil roll and pouch for a friend. Snippy scissors. Embroidery thread and a hoop. Size 5 needles and Pattons Classic wool in Mixed dark grey for something I'll be test knitting.

Ok, So much grammar fail. Off to take a nap~

Take Care, and happy crafting!

In which she's making cake

2010-08-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

So I noticed I get easily distracted with my crafts. First I'll knit forever, then crochet, then sew. What's next on my agenda? Felt desserts.

I made this doughnut to pass the time yesterday. I woke not feeling too well, and contemplating an order for custom felt dolls for a good friend of mine, (I need to show you guys next time! =3 ) so I just pulled out some felt and started scribbling ideas. I now use it for a pinchusion.

This cake was the next thing I made. I had alot of fun doing so =3

It's so cute and yummy looking ; ;

I learned how to make French Knots for the seeds ; 3; (+1 technique!)

I'm already working on another cake. This time with the opposite colors of the first one.

(the happy embrodiery thread holder is from The wild olive's downloads )

Ok, I'm off to sew. I hope that was lovely eyecandy for you =3

Take Care, and happy crafting.

Tea and WIPs

2010-08-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

-sorry if this shows up twice...-

The other day, my mum bought me a shiny new teapot!! I decided to put it to good use this morning, so I brewed up some peppermint. Me being the clumsy creature I am, ends up burning my pinky and thumb of my left hand =<

So, as it hurts to close said hand, I've got some Aloe Vera on it, and typing quite quickly with my right hand =3

Last night/this morning, I was trying to figure what I should make. Something cute and something that could be made quickly. I asked on twitter , and steph suggested I make either a monkey or a kitty. I chose kitty, then mimi linked me to the Knitted Kitty (ravelry link) pattern.

Started casting on at 2am, got sleepy about 2 mins later xD;

A bit before I started the kitty, I figured as fall is approaching, I needed a new hat. I looked through the hat patterns on rav, and decided on the Meret =3

And earlier this week, I decided to make some little crochet hats for my Ball Jointed Doll, Cupcake.

Froggy!!

And a simple pink.

I might make a few more when my hand feels better, and I work the other things =3

Take care, and happy crafting!

Music

2010-08-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I've been busy with some amigurumi figuring...and being buried in the Ikea catalogue >_> So as I have no photos to show you, have some music I've been listening to a lot lately.

Crossfire by Brandon Flowers

First Sight by These United States

No Tomorrow by Orson

I hope you enjoy the music! What have you all been listening to as of late?

I'll hopefully have some crafty goodness for ya by the end of this week.

Take care, and happy crafting!

What are you working on?

2010-08-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hello readers, I'm a very curious person (can be read as NOSY), and I'd like to know what you all are currently working on.

I'm working on my sisters Elephante (yes, still) and another tea booklet. I'm also plotting out some more adorable things. =3

Looking at the Etsy Virtual Lab is inspiring.... when I can catch what is being said without the static =< But I'm learning alot, so that is a good thing.

How about you all, what you are up to?

Take Care, and Happy Crafting.

NARWHAL

2010-08-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

You guys, I modded This pattern a little bit, and came up with a Narwhal. I'm so stupidly excited over this, it's hilarious.

Narwhal by ~Lorthide on deviant ART

(that's my deviant art account, btw. I have some of my cosplay photos on there, in case any of you were interested in seeing them =3 )

Sewing things!

2010-08-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today was a sewing day for me, as I put all my guesstimated math knowledge and confusing sketches to the test. I emerged victorious, and with cute to show you all!
I also made myself a light box! =D
It would have been a better impulse 'Oooo must make now' thing to make when the sun was not in an awkward position in the sky, and when I don't have wider paper to use, but hey, I have a light box now!

I made tissue holders! I had my grandma in mind when making these, as no matter where I go, she's always shoving tissues in my purse or jacket pockets. It's rather cute >__> So I figured, why not make a cute holder for when I need a tissue?

I also saw some cute tea bag holders...somewhere on the nets(I should try to pay attention when surfing the net at like 3am >_> ) and figured, 'I like tea, I have lovely friends who send me tea...I should make one!'

So I did~ I got the pretty butterfly material from a friend who stayed with me during ComicCon, and I love it to bits. The gold is all shiny! =D Thanks again, Manin <3

Next up, we have a passport holder. Now my passport is just chilling in the safe, not being used (c'mon lottery, let me win you) So after some prodding from a friend, I decided to make it fancy and cute =3

So if I ever decide to leave the country, I can flash my passport with style...xD;

And lastly, I crocheted up some more adorable-ness.

Beecat goes 'meowBZZZ' A friend suggested I make this little pile of adorable. I found it kind of amusing, as I'm afraid of bees, but I took up the offer. The wing is a little off, but it's adorable all the same.

And I couldn't resist. While texting my lovely friend Dorian, and asking what I should make, the only response I got back was 'PAULLL!! With Spain's flagggg!!' So~~

Well, I'm off to rest and catch up with friends.
Take care all, and happy crafting!

So Uhh

2010-08-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

I finally caved.
I got a twitter

Yup. I was gonna see how long I held out, but I was bored.

Feel free to follow or whatever. I haven't a clue how this thing works, to be honest >___>

All you need is love

2010-07-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

I've had various songs from the Beatles stuck in my head for a bit today... -cough-

Today I ventured over to visit my mum and flail to her about my etsy shop, and such. She was such a darling, giving me ideas for little cute things to make, and how to price some items. She also told me she'd help promote my shop once I fling more items up, which is super sweet and adorable. (She's also reading this blog too, which makes me smile. HI MOMMY!! <3 Love ya)

On the crafty front, Octopi. They're sooo fun to make ;; To think I was just durping about one day and made myself an octopus! Now I can't stop >_>

This dapper octopus is a gift to a good friend. She's already given him a name, it's; Mr. Squiggles Remmington III
He was fun to make. With his little tophat, monocle and moustache ; 3;

This little pink one was the next to be made. I'm actually going to be selling it....after I figure a good way to mail it off... Same with Mr. Squiggles.... >___>

And this mustachioed little octopus will also be for sale =3

Octopi pile! ='D

And I decided to keep myself busy yesterday when looking for podcasts to listen to, by making a cake... thing? Sponge cake?

Saw a picture on a Japanese blog of a similar one, and of course I had to figure how to make my own. I have to stuff it, and sew it closed... somehow.

I have some more adorable ideas brewing, I just have to get started on em! I'll of course keep you lovely readers updated!!

Take care, and happy crafting.

Quick hello, then quick brb

2010-07-26T16:38:00.001-07:00

Hey all!
Comic Con was funnnn! ='D I greatly enjoyed myself. I got on my local news channel, news in Norway and News in Canada! (Canadian's and Norwegians, if you see a little angry looking girl in an Uhura costume on either Teletoon(with a Chekov and Scotty) or NTK, respectively, let me know XD; )

I'm still scribbling out plans for new things to make.

Annnnddd I set up an etsy! MY ETSY I also have a link for it up under the 'Find me on' list.
I'm still putting things up there now, but if you see anything you like, let me know! I'll have shop updates and such on here, cause it's my blog and because I can.

Alright, take care all!!

Happy crafting

Busy Busy

2010-07-19T16:01:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I sorta disappeared again >_> My birthday was ok, I'm still working on things for ComicCon (ugh it starts this wednesdayyyyy), and still doing crafty things.

I'm still working on the Elephante for my sister.

And still working on the Sackboy, but that one is being a bit difficult =< But I'm sure I'll have down time during SDCC to figure him out.

I've been doing alot of listening to Radio Dismuke it has music from the 1920's and 30's It makes working on my Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) costume more fun =3

A few days ago, I went to the thrift store to get a jacket, and my grandma and mum showed me some yarn and crochet needles .... needless to say, I jumped on the purchase. I think it was probably 10 in total (not sure, grandma bought it for me as a birthday present)

Well, laundry is done! Let me tend to that. I hope you all are having a great week.

Oh, you're making toys? :)

2010-07-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

Howdy all!

I've been keeping myself busy these past few days ~~also know as, oh, you're avoiding editing that huge backlog of photos eh?~~ and making cute little amigurumi!

First on the list is Elefante

Right now, it just looks like odd baby booties, and a triangle... I'm making this for my younger sister. Lucky for me, she loves elephants, and the color purple. Anything to kill that giant blob of Caron one pound. >_>

Next up, Octopi! =D

Aren't they adorable? I just started messing around and crocheting, and ended up with a blob. I closed it up, and thought 'Octopus! FIFA Octopus!' (as the orange one was the first to be made) Then I HDC'd some tentacles, and Tada!

This silver one is going to my friend, who after seeing Paulie, made sounds of adoration, and love.

My sister called him Paulie. She's sort of following the games, I'm not. All I know is Netherlands won a few days ago, and I found that out when friends and I went to eat, and saw to Dutch fellows in their orange shirts. xD;

Next up, is a SackBoy!

One of my friends messaged me on facebook, asking if I could possibly knit up a Sackboy. I said I probably could, and I could even crochet it. She mentions a friend would like one, and asked her if she could make it, but she can't knit/crochet (clearly, I must teach my friends >_> ) So I started to see what I could do.
I'm tinkering with my own 'pattern'. Why is pattern in quotes? I tend to do things by trial and error =3

Lastly on the 'Wow, you're seriously doing all of these at the same time, really? list, I've been making progress on my -semisekrit- amigurumi

Now to seam the back of the head, stuff, and complain as I figure everything else out.
Anyone wanna guess? XD

Well, tomorrow(July 11th) is my birthday. I'll be turning 21. I haven't a clue what I'll be doing. Maybe a zoo trip? Maybe I'll veg out at home, knitting, until someone gets me.

uhhh yeah

2010-07-07T00:29:00.001-07:00

Hey there you lot!

Just got back from a convention. Super tired. -Might- show off a few photos...or just link them. I dunno.

I need to make cute crafty things -flails- But first, sleep. /passes out for a week

Lazy Friday

2010-06-25T20:27:00.001-07:00

Today was a bit of a lazy day for me. I planned to sew, but my back hurt from yesterday, and I didn't feel like sewing alone today. =< So, I visited my mum, and made another pin =3

Hehe, it's a knitting pin! I was wayy too lazy to fill in the entire circle with green, but I like how it turned out =3

Next on the pin list is a Tea pin =3 After that... well I have to buy more pin backings ^^; But I scribbled out some ideas.

In the knitting world, I'm still working on my little secret amigurumi, but didn't take pictures of it. I'm also working on another 'Bloom Couture Knit Headband' in this lovely light blue yarn. I have another ball of it, and I have no idea what to make with it!

I'm thinking a hat maybe? Maybe another Star Crossed Slouchy Beret... -shrugs-

When taking these photos (in my room, as it's now dark outside, and the light in the living room is crap) I decided to get a few self-portraits of myself in one of my pink headbows. Oh yay, you finally get to see the grump-face behind this blog.

...What, you want me to look at the camera? Don't ya know all the cool kids don't look at cameras?!
Ok. Okay, FINE!

Heh. :3 ~~Finally found my Sonic Screwdriver Pen! Now to get the 11th Doctors @.@;~~

Take Care, and happy crafting.

Little bit of sewing

2010-06-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did a bit of ~~not cosplay~~ sewing. I made myself a pincushion, as I keep losing mine >_>. A cute little embroidered felt badge, and a zippered pouch.

My little pincushion. I made a doll dress with this material a while ago, and I was lucky to have some left over. It's so cute and useful, and will live in my sewing box from now on.

Now as someone who loves writing letters and having penpals, I figured I should make myself a little badge stating so. I should get back to replying to a few letters also >_>
My grandma taught me to embroider when I was about 6 or so. She taught me backstitch, and a few other stitches, but I never really did much with it. Now I'm reteaching myself, and will probably embroider lots of my things.

Ahhh, so many mistakes. But I love it all the same. =)

My zippered pouch. I found a few tutorials on how to make them, so I threw together a few, grabbed some scrap fabric, and I am proud of my result.

The lining is a simple orange, and the zipper is an old one that I've had since I started sewing, so I was glad to finally be able to give it a home on something.

I want to make more pouches, but with adorable Japanese fabric. I have to keep myself off etsy every day so I don't get the urge to buy some. >__> Maybe when I get money! xD

And dear readers, I'll try to make this little blog a bit more interesting, at some point this summer.

Tools of the trade+ a WIP

2010-06-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

So as I had a late start to my day, I've decided to share with you, my knitting bag(one of...a few) and roll. (because I clearly have nothing better to do)

The bag was a regular canvas bag from Walmart, that I got bored, and painted one day at 2am. Yes, I let my geek card show all the time xD;

My knitting roll. Quite a fun sew, and good fabric stash buster!

And open, displaying my small collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks. (I have two other circular needles, but they're in use, atm. And my other bamboo straights were hiding in a pair of boots when this photo was taken >_> )

And my WIP. I'm slowly scribbling a pattern together for a plush -insert secret here- It doesn't look like much now, but if I keep at it, and keep good notes, then hopefully it'll turn out awesome!

Also, hello watermarks! I water mark things on my dollsite and dA, so why not here?
And don't mind the layout changes. I'm seeing how long it'll take before I get sick of certain ones.

Take care, and happy knitting.

Whatcha up to now?

2010-06-18T15:35:00.001-07:00

Hey all! Here are a few things I've been working on these past few days.

I’m on a total Hanna Is Not A Boy’s Name kick right now, so I decided to make a little Conrad!Bat =3 I think he’s super adorable, and I need to make a Sassy!bat ASAP >3 (made using Luciana's Nice Bats! pattern

I made my BJD, Thalia a cute head-bow, for the sole purpose of seeing if I could make them on a small scale. I can =3 I'll need a fingering weight yarn for it to not look silly though.

I can for see lots of knitted strawberries littering my doll shelf in the near future... (made with Pezdiva's Knitted Strawberries

Anddd sometime in the near future, that will be a leg warmer. Yes I'm starting making myself a pair super early. And I need something to do to kill that GIANT skien of purple Caron. But it's mate will be red... eh whatever.

In not knitting news, I haven't touched my sewing machine in a month. I have a convention at the beginning of July; Anime Expo, and one at the end of July; San Diego ComicCon. -sigh- Knowing my luck, I'll get my sewing groove the night before I leave for AX... watch >__>

How about you all, what are you up to now?

Tagged?

2010-06-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well this is fun, I got tagged by Steph =3
The prompt is to post 10 things you don't know about me, but would like to know, then tag 10 other bloggers.... Ah this should be fun XD

1. I try to teach myself a new knitting technique every week. This week? Bobbles.
2. I was raised up a nerd. I watched Star Trek TOS+TNG, Doctor Who(Tom Baker is my first Doctor =3 ), and Star Wars when I was a little 'un.
3. I really love writing letters and having penpals.
4. I cosplay...alot. >_>
5. I love to go to museums and gardens. Balboa Park is my favorite place, as it has lots of both =3 (English fail, but I'm running on 1 hour of sleep.)
6. I taught myself to sew and to knit. My mother has a dressmakers+tailors degree, but never taught me sewing. I watched once(she was taking in a pair of my pants when I was 10), and went with trial and error at age 16.
7. Adorable plush things make me squee.
8. I collect Asian Ball Jointed Dolls.
9. I've been listening to TikTok by Ke$ha on loop....and I have no clue why.
10. I'm not a very interesting person.

Now for the fun part, tagging 10 other bloggers...
Piccino Luna, Alyoops, Bianca ...Uhhh, yeah I'll get back to this. If you want to do this, go for it!

I'll hopefully have some WIPs next week. Maybe a bit of sewing progress from my cosplay =D

What's on my needles?

2010-06-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all! School is finally out, and I am back from FanimeCon! Ya know what that means? ~~working on cosplay for Anime Expo and SDCC~~ More knitting!! =D

I was up at my usual...eh, 1am, looking on Raverly, and I came across an adorable new patterm from MondayMorningKnits(melissamonday on Raverly) It is the 'Bloom Couture Knit Headband' I instantly D'awwed over it, and started knitting a headband for my little sister.

I think she'll enjoy it, once I'm finished... granted I don't keep it for myself. It's too cute! ; ~;

I have a friend's Pullip coming to visit me soon, so I decided to take a stab at making a cute little beret, using the 'Écolière Beret' pattern from Parasoldoll (keyinherpocket on Raverly)

I've also been slowly working on a cosplay piece; Martha Jones' hat from the Doctor Who Episode, Human Nature. I'm sure when I finish it, I'll wear it pretty much everywhere XD

It looks like a purple pancake >__>

And finally, some FO's. I've been making these little knitted hair bows like crazy as of late.

They're so fun to knit, and people seem to enjoy them. I made one for my penpal Bianca, which She blogged about.
SO I think I'll go ahead and take commissions on them, and sell the two above. They will be $15 USD+shipping. Shoot me an email at okamishoujo[at]gmail[dot]com if you are interested.

Take care, and happy crafting!

-Carla

Oh school

2010-05-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

-dusts off this blog-
School is almost ending for me, and during the knitting-crochet blog week, my anthropology class got super intense.
Ah well I will completely participate in k-cbw next year!

I've been knitting quite a few little hairbows as of late, in my next post I'll show some of them off.

Day 2

2010-04-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

SO many people are joining in on this! It's so exciting and fun to read everyone's stories!

Well I'm the type of person who if I see something I want to do, and it probably won't take alot of time, I'll do it. (like with the Mini K-9 pattern ) When I see something that strikes my fancy, I'll stick it on my queue list, or bookmark the page. So-far, my queue has projects of the cute and nerdy variety(which will filled with more once school is over), but soon I hope to stick a nice cabled sweater on there. I LOVE knitting cables, so when ever I get around to finding that perfect pattern, and buying yarn... and getting the proper needles needed for gauge, I'll be delighted.

Day 1

2010-04-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Starting Out
How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

Well I started crocheting when I was about 7 years old. My grandmother was getting ready for a trip and was crocheting up some little brightly colored tags for her luggage. Now I've seen her crochet before, but I wanted to try my own, so I can put a colorful tag on my backpack for school. She showed me how to make chains, and that's all I wanted to do for the longest.

Knitting is something I taught myself. My great-great grandmother knitted ALOT. As a child I'd go over her house and play with all the needles of various sizes and 'knit like GrammaJean' which to a 4 year old was take two needles, and spin the yarn like spaghetti.

When I was 16, I was searching around on the internet, and discovered amigurumi. I wanted to make something adorable and simple, so I picked Nimoe's cupcake tutorial It took about a month, but I made a cupcake for my grandma.

Now it's not perfect, but I made it, and she loves it! I then decided to make scarves, then I stopped, to properly pick up knitting. I was looking around and discovered knittinghelp.com, the next day I went to Joann's, bought some white and black yarn, and a 'Teach Yourself Knitting' kit, then sat in front of the computer for a few hours learning the English Method. I produced some wonky knit stitches with varying tension, but I wasn't going to give up, I kept going... then I decided to try Continental. I was much faster with Continental style, and my stitches looked nicer, but still wonky. I'd take my knitting to school to knit during my second period science class(as I was pretty much the TA). The teachers were impressed, the fellow students would say things like 'Why are you doing that, you can buy a scarf at -insert chain store here-' or 'only grandmothers knit!' But did that stop me? ...A little. I would knit in private at school, but after graduating, I didn't care anymore and stopped for a while.

Last year, I was trying to knit my younger sister a scarf as a Christmas present in mid-December when I re-connected with one of my cosplay buddies. Come to find out, she knits as well, so we met up at a bookstore to pump out our gifts for friends. Now when we're together, we'll be working on various projects, and teaching each other new things.

First Post!

2010-04-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Decided to start up a crafting blog _{_{_{_{despite being a deliquient on my penpaling blog >__>}}}} Going to show progress and finished objects from various things I've knitted sewn and crocheted.

If I'm not entirely lazy, I'll be participating on this fun endeavor.
Knitting-Crochet Blog Week