Craft Accessories: Pin cushions

Even though crocheters generally don't use this stuff, most of us have our hands in a variety of different craft areas, such as sewing. So I figured, why not. This segment was mostly inspired by Secretlifeofabionerd's video on her personal channel on youtube. She talked about her pincushions. While I don't really have anything really classy or fun to show you of my own, I will be making some soon to sell now that I have gotten the urge to make them. Etsians really know how to spark a creative spirit in me. I'll show pictures of a few pincushions and such, then I will list links for honorable mentions.

I love nature. Hands down. Also, I love the fact that the mushrooms look like they are from Super Mario.

Tree stump

I love whimsical little fairy things. Not the Disney Tinkerbell kind of fairy, but rather the old school fantasy type. Such as the fairies in Fairytale: A true story.
Gray mushroom

I love the detailed bead and embroidery worked onto this one. You can tell the creator spent some time on this one.

Pink beaded pincushion 

The mixed media on this purple cushion catches the eye of anyone who sees it. It is a pretty feminine piece that any little girl would cherish in her sewing box.
Purple pincushion

This little guy is easily mistaken as an ordinary stuffed animal, which you could honestly use him for anyways. But, I think he'd be a much more charming companion to hold my pins and needles, sitting beside me when I while away my time working on my small projects.

Mr. Elephant

Don't you find this sweet little tarts to be delicious looking? They are also so easy to make, seeing as how there are so many tutorials posted on youtube as to how to make them. I would like to say that, if you feel that it takes too much time or effort to spend on making these, it would be nice if you would support the handmade community this season. Because many of us other crafters cannot.
Mini tarts

Who wouldn't love having this little guy stowed away in their crafting corner? Once you get him all filled up with pins, just imagine how much more handsome he would be! Such a cutey.

Porcupine

This looks like a fantasy come true. They also come in all other sorts of colors. I guess it's supposed to look like a castle on top of a cupcake. All I saw though was the castle part, at first. Oops!
Castle

Finally, there is this little embroidered ring. I love the colors, textures and the fact that it is easy to use. No more of that having to cover my wrist up with sleeves when using that harsh wrist pincushion.

pastel ring

Honorable mentions:
Chickens
Mannequins
White mushroom
Owls
Christmas deer
Vintage mannequin
Antique pincushion
Fox-y puncushion
Your grandma's style

De Colores!
Kay

Craft accessories: Stitch markers

I saw this article today and it inspired me to write a bit about crochet accessories. 

Crochet Spot crochet accessories

I've been wanting to write about this for a while now, but didn't know what exactly to do until today, so here we are!

First off I want to list some of the accessories that I like or think would be especially useful.

Stitch markers:

I love leaves, so this was an easy choice.

Maple Leaf markers

Like most crafters, I have a thing for buttons. I think these would be really cool with some antique post buttons. :) 

Button stitch markers

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I'm a Pikachu fan. Hehehe!
Pikachu!

Owls are really interesting looking creatures to me and seem to be very popular in the past few years.

Great owl family

Everyone I have met that has also heard of the game 'Angry Birds' loves it. But, I just love the comical characters. Haha!

Angry Birdies!

Who doesn't love brain slugs?
Brain Slugs

These have some of my favorite colors together and it has owls. :)

Purple owls

Macarons are just the epitome of cute to me. I love the look of those dainty little treats.

Macarons

Lord of the rings was a very popular series when I was in middle school and the fantasy was quite entertaining to me.

Lord of the rings

I love strawberries. I love the flavor, smell, and look of them. They are just an appealing fruit overall.

Strawberry cupcakes

Sushi is so vibrant. It all looks so delicious too. Too bad I can't stand the taste of it. :/
Sushi

I have been mesmerized by this little stuffed creature since 'Mr. Magorium's wonder emporium' showed this little guy. He broke my heart and won me over in the show. :)
Sock monkey

I love intricate looking metal work. That's why I'm always found wearing metal jewelry that is so intricately made rather than having jewelry with a lot of stones and such.
metal beads

Who doesn't love Mario? I mean seriously. He's one of the most memorable and adaptable characters in video gaming, as of yet.

Pirahana plants

When I saw these, I didn't realize they were supposed to be World of Warcraft themed. I'm just in love with anything that looks fantasy like. Such as traditional fantasy, when vampires wouldn't go out during the day because they would die or be weakened.

I'll talk more about the accessories in my next article. For now, I will bid thee farewell.

De Colores,

Kay

Wow.

Not really related at all to my blog... but I'm just amazed. Too amazed for words to describe.

Alex Queral's phonebook art

White Christmas Drawing! -Closed!-

I'm going to be sending out a shoe box filled with random crafting goodies. If you wanna get in on this, here are the rules.

1. You will need to send me a message including your name, age, gender, and address. This is so I can send it to the right person and send the right kind of items to the said winner. I'm sure men don't want to get earrings or bridal themed items. XD
2. You must live in the U.S. This is just because this is my first giveaway. Maybe in the future, I will open it up to anyone.
3. You must EMAIL me by December 1st, 2011 at 11:59 pm. Any entries sent in after that will not be included.
4. You have to tell me a bit about yourself. Things you like such as colors, textures, or tv shows. Something to give me an idea about what I should send in your box.
5. To enter, you DO NOT have to pay any money whatsoever. I'm just doing this to brighten up someones holiday. :)
6. Rules subject to change as I see fit at any time.

Email to send your information to will be: craftyoridango@hotmail.com

The random drawing generator I will be using is this....http://www.random.org/lists/

What I've been making in the past year...

I have definitely veered from my plan for this year. I wanted to and still plan on making the furabura zodiac animals. But so that you can see a small portion of what I've been spending my time on making, you'll maybe forgive me for not following through on it as of yet.

First, I want to show you what I've made with my new wood burning tool. It's not a very good quality of a tool, but with patience, perseverance, and burnt fingers; this is what I've accomplished.

I crocheted a tiny rooster door hanger when I stumbled upon a picture of one on either ravelry or google. It was a very simple pattern, (which I didn't read or even look at... >.> ) and only took about 3 minutes to make, since I was watching a Korean show at the time.

Since I've had these two yarns that I despise for over a year now and because I absolutely hate the look of them, I decided to use them to make potholders. Ugly, circular, 2 sided (tan) and (blue striped white yarn) potholders.

I made this doily by accident. I was wanting to make a really feminine looking, slouchy beanie. (Or is it called a tam? I'm not really sure.) I was just wanting a light one that I could wear on chilly summer nights. But as I kept trying to make the decreases so that it would start to form into the hat shape, the less pretty it looked. So I tossed out that idea and just snipped and hid my ends. And funny thing is, everyone loves the look of it. Even the teenage boys I hang out with on Monday nights. I was a bit surprised by that.

Since my pretty silky pillow sham and comforter, which I adore, are falling apart and the trim was ripped halfway off, thanks to my class ring getting caught on it, I decided to upcycle the trim that I snipped off the rest of the way to make a lovely fabric flower brooch/pin. I love it and it looks a lot better in person than in the pictures.

Because I had always heard of people finishing small projects on their way to work, I decided that I would try to do something like that, just between classes and appointments. Needless to say, this thing took forever to finish. It did turn out somewhat pretty but honestly, I don't know who in their right mind would do this on a daily basis. Not me, for sure.

I always make little flowers and yoyos out of the small scraps from my crafts. I've started a organizer full of these little beauties so that whenever I need something to finish a project off, it's already there and has been saved from filling a landfill to make something the world even more beautiful.

I have wanted to make one of these for the longest time, but never had the right type of yarn. Its called a tawashi. Its used in kitchens usually to scrub dishes and counters. If I understand correctly, it is also more environmentally friendly. I've also heard that it works better than sponges and dishcloths because it needs less water, less soap if any at all, and less elbow grease to do any job. I was sold. Lets just hope that these things I've heard were right. 

Here is another doily I made, which I started yesterday and finished today. It is by far the smallest thread I have ever worked with but also the best quality, in my opinion, because I didn't have to ever worry about it felting or unraveling while I was in the middle of making this thing. Plus, I love the striping. Its in kiddy crayon box colors. Its really cool.

So that's it for the time being. Are you ready to forgive me yet?

De Colores.

Kay