My mom is coming in from FL today then we are out of town for a couple of weeks so I’ll be taking a little bloggin break.  Stay tuned in April as we feature some new bentos, recipes, bento gear and even some new amigurumi I’ve been working on!

Hope everyone has a great rest of March and see you all in April !!

It’s freaking cold here… like seriously, ridiculously cold!  Since winter has hit I’ve become somewhat of a scarf addict.  (I got three for Christmas.. what does that tell you!?)

A while ago I tried to make my own.  I crocheted it just really practicing different stitches and trying to come up with something that wasn’t completely disgusting.  This was the end result.

It’s ok, not horrible but not brilliant either.

Anyway, today while scoping out Joann Fabrics for something new to do I picked up a knit loom kit.  I also grabbed some chenille yarn they had on sale and decided to give it a go as soon as I got home.  Here’s the work so far.  It’s not hard but it is definitely a time eater.  I might be done by spring I’m guessing! 

I also picked up some Sculpey Polymer Clay and acrylic paints.  Not sure what I’m going to do with them yet.  I’ve been scanning the internet to get some ideas.  I wanna make a Domo keychain so that’s a start.  I’ll post when I’m done… that is if I don’t burn them all when I bake them, yes I’m good at that!

Well my back left me outta commission for a good week but I’ve still been busy crafting up some goodies.

My niece’s 2nd birthday is coming up in February and she loves horses so I decided I was going to make her a barnyard with an amigurumi horse, cow, chick, pig and lamb/sheep.  The horse came out really cute but the other animals weren’t really matching the look I was going for.  So I decided I’m going to scrap that idea and just do her a few different horses in different colors.  This girl is no fool either… she likes the real looking things, not the pink and purple fluffy stuff.  So boo for me I had to make it in boring brown.  Here’s the first one.  The pattern is from djonesgirlz Esty.com shop. Her’s was much more fluffy and bigger, but she used thicker yarn than me.  I was going to try a different type of yarn, but I kinda like him small like this.  Perfect for a 2 year old’s little hands too!

Next is The pig and lamb I tried to make to go with the initial barnyard scene.  Don’t like them together as a set, but separate they are really cute!  The pig is my own creation and the lamb is a pattern from the book Tiny Yarn Animals: Amigurumi Friends to Make and Enjoy – Tamie Snow.

Next is a cupcake and mug from the book Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet – Ana Paula Rimoli. I love these and they were so quick and easy to make!!

And finally I just did this one last night and I have to say it’s my favorite by far!  She turned out just about the size of a credit card and I think she’s brilliant.  This is another pattern from the book Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet – Ana Paula Rimoli.

My collection is growing.  Here’s the ami clan so far to date.  Many, many more to follow.  It’s addicting!  PS… I didn’t make Domo.  He was a christmas pressie from Pete,  lol.   But maybe one day I will make one!!

In between my obsession with Little Big Planet (usually when Pete pries the controller from my grubbie little fingers) I managed to squeeze in this little cutie!  This is Otis the Octopus… yes I’ve even gone as far as to name them, but we’ll keep that between us.

I’m also attempting to make my own Sackboy – only managed the head so far and I’m not super happy with it so might not finish this one and start again… thought I’d post anyway.

And lastly… a random pic of Pete’s sackboy while he was playing… he hasn’t even changed yet!  GAWD!  Mine is much more flashy atm (Pink Jumpsuit, money sign necklace, and baseball cap.. yea that’s how we roll.. jealous?  lolol)

So last night hubby asked me to make him a Strongbad  lol  For those of you who don’t know who he is check out the HomeStar Runner website. 

Since he is a contractor and is never at one place at one time I decided to try to create a keychain he can pop on his laptop bag instead of something to put on a desk or monitor… so with no pattern what so ever I gave it a try and here’s the result.  A nice little surprise for him today when he got home… gawd I’m so nice I can’t even stand it sometimes!

New amigurumi I’ve been working on the last couple of days.

This will be #3 and I’m totally “hooked”!

Think Jake might be a little jealous though! 

Just popped out and picked up two new books… plan on starting a new one tonite or tomorrow – so stay put, I know you are as excited as I am!

Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet - Ana Paula Rimoli

Tiny Yarn Animals: Amigurumi Friends to Make and Enjoy - Tamie Snow

Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More! by Christen Haden

The third is another on my list… need to order, everyone is out of it!  Maybe cuz it looks like pure awesomeness?

???????

I’m a complete book nut so you’ll be seeing me act insane about a buncha books… that’s for another time though

So when my mom came down to visit she brought this catalog that had Mommy Bracelets in it.  She said that it would be a good gift for my sister for her birthday.  I agreed, they were really cute and would be something she could have forever.  I went online to order one and stopped dead in my tracks when I seen this little bracelet was going to cost me $135.00!  Really?  Seriously?  So I did more research, grabbed a book on jewelry making at Michael’s, ordered the beads I needed on ArtBeads.com (which is an awesome website, no minimums and free & quick shipping!) and made this bad boy.  Took me about 2 hours in the end, the worst part being the clasps and the crimp beads, what a pain!  The cost was around $35.00 not including a few tools I needed to get started.

It’s all 925 sterling silver and has 2 pearl and 2 amethyst Swarovski crystals on each strand.

Her birthday is next month and I think she’ll be happy and quite impressed by this… who would have known I could be so dang crafty!

I love penguins.  I’ve had a love for them since I was about 8 years old.  Started off as one stuffed animal my mom bought me when we were at SeaWorld and ended into a massive collection that’s all packed away in the attic.  So when I seen this pattern I knew I had to try it!

This cutie is a pattern from the Lion Brand web site.  Amigurumi Penguin You do have to sign up for an account there, but it was worth it for the patterns they have.  This is my second Amigurumi and I do have to say I think I’m getting pretty good at it.  I used a bigger needle (G) then the pattern said to use only because I feel more comfortable with that one, less fraying for me for some reason.  Made him in one night sitting in front of the TV.  Probably will start another one today, it keeps me outta trouble at least!

So my new recent obsession is Amigurumi.  (From Wikipedia’s mouth = Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures.)

I only knew how to crochet a chain, something that my mom taught me to do when I was a kid to keep me entertained and quiet.  I went out and picked up some yarn and a crochet needle, tuned into YouTube and dove in trying to figure out what the heck to do to make these afreakingdorable ‘lil babies.  I spent most of the day doing the stiches, ripping it up, stiches again, ripping it up, swearing, ciggy breaks, fingers hurting, then finally getting it and thinking this is frickin’ easy!  It’s not perfect by any means but it does somewhat resemble an animal so I was massively happy.  So I now introduce to you my first ever amigurumi whatchamacallit (supposed to be a bear, but I’m thinking no – not even remotely a bear!  had to give him a felt scarf so he didn’t look completely like a dumbass!  LOL)  Stay tuned for more unfortunate little animals that will made to not look anything like what they should!  Including but not excluding:  a penguin, a baby chick, a bunny…