Cupcake Baby Hat

My cupcake baby hat is finally available in my Crafterella Cupcake shop!!!I am so excited that it’s finally finished! AND, just for you guys, I’m having a special promotion from now until February 11th., enter the coupon code BLOGFRIENDS and receive a 20% discount in my Crafterella Cupcake store.

Friday Favorites

Here are some of my latest favorites from Etsy.

Row 1: Paper envelope system – JennsWay, Red birdie mini print – britsketch, Felt pinwheel cupcake toppers – knockknocking, Milkweed pod print – amberalexander

Row 2: Rose quartz heart donut – laveobeads, Hope sacred heart vessel – parrishrelics, Caterpillar and black cat print – crankycats, Orange Crush – TangBaby

Row 3: Cake mail, mailed for you – TangBaby, Row counter bracelet – jeanettejed, Chiffon Peignoir – BoudoirBarbie, Home sweet home block print – 1canoe2

Row 4: 1967 news in megalopolis vintage book journal – renovatedbooks, Cat bobbin 31 – alleluja, Cottontail rabbit needle felting kit – fancytiger, Solicitors will be eaten metal garden stake - zedszombieranch

Friday Favorites

Letterpress Art Print – tagteamtompkins

Altered Art Charm Bracelet – lululovesorcreate

Primitive Double Door Drawer Cupboard Cabinet – redroosterbab

Dahlia Dress, custom sized – missbrache

The Illness Apprentice II  print – TheBlackSpotBooks

Angel Ring – SeldaOkutan

Custom String Theory Rainbow Apron Dress – gbellasmom

Robot Zipper Pulls – zipit

Birdhouse Primitive Saltbox Birdhouse – DoorCountryWoodworks

Snooky and Pooky – ElizabethFrank

Parts and Pieces no. 7 red – sushipotparts

Fork Bracelet with Moonstone – celtsmith

Have a super crafty weekend!!!

Friday Favorites

Time for another edition of Friday favorites!

Twisty costume horns – che4u

Creepy pin backs – ticklebuttons

Ceramic owl and owlet - claylicious

Rabbit art – Precious – amberalexander

Bam comic headband – janinebasil

Black cicada pin – MadArtjewelry

Wine and dine Giclee Print – JennSki

Skeleton suit art paperdoll – woolandwater

Siamese twins print – meluseena

Miniature kokeshi – efiwarsh

Peacock cuff bracelet – urbanrose

Black onyx necklace – anakim

Have a super crafty weekend!!!

Sew What’s New?

Once again I have bought a new pattern that I have been working on obsessively for the last week and a half.  It’s an amigurumi sewing machine and it’s pink!  I bought the pattern from Skymagenta on etsy.  It seemed like it took forever, but I think that it’s because it used four ply yarn (baby or sock yarn) and a tiny hook.  There were also a lot of pieces that needed to be sew together (I hate that part).  I made it for the craft room, but Little Miss has been eying it, it may be a special toy that only get to be played with when mommy really needs to get something done.I really think it came out cute, but boy are my hands sore, I don’t know if I’ll be making anything else on this pattern, she does have a really cute pattern for sushi that I might have to try.

Have a super crafty weekend!

Friday Favorites

Here are some more of my favorite things from Etsy.  Listed left to right, and top to bottom.

Paper Plane Wall Graphic – michellechristina

Primitive Halloween Cabinet Card – gfxgirl

Baucis Print – lisachow

Hollow Book Cash Safe – pommesfrites

Needle Felted Nursing Mama Egg – asherjasper

Mini Goals Clockboard – MaryKateMcDevitt

Vintage Style Dressmaking/Sewing Greeting Card – craftypagan

Gothic Heart Tags with Lace – craftypagan

Secret Identity Bracelet – sisicata

Bobbin Gals – mqsquare

Owl Antiqued Silver Pendant – Steinvika

Diary Deco Stamps Set – nothingelegant

Have a super crafty weekend!

Testing for a Handmade Christmas

I have mentioned before that I like to test things out before I really make them and today I have been testing a felt cupcake pattern from buggabugs.etsy.com. This pattern is really adorable and features the base cupcake pattern and six icing choices. Little Miss is getting a play kitchen for Christmas this year and since that used up the majority of my shopping budget I decided to make some accessories to go with it and what better than felt cupcakes!

What I want to make is two sets of cupcakes, six chocolate and six white and I want the icing on each set to match. Today I made samples of the cupcakes and the icings that I thought I would like.

I really like the two on the top right, the one on the bottom left is okay, but no quite what I was looking for. This pattern really has a lot of detail and an excellent level of realism for felt food. The cupcakes even have removable “papers”.

I am really glad that I decided to give this pattern a test run first, I really learned a lot and I think that the finished cupcakes will be fabulous!

What I learned:

Purchase felt by the yard instead of by the rectangle, it will eliminate the need to sew some seams in the frosting.

Sewing a round bottom onto straight sides using a 1/8” sew allowance on a sewing machine is really hard for me and I will be happier with the results if I hand sew the bottom on.

Don't forget to buy matching thread.

The pattern is perfectly sized to fit in a real cupcake tin.

Hand sewing takes time, but the finished results are worth it.

This pattern was definitely worth the investment, it is well written and has a lot of photos to walk you through all the different steps. I would have to say that almost anyone should be able to make these cupcakes, although it may be time consuming for someone with less experience. Be aware that hand sewing is required for finishing the frosting. The level of detail in this pattern really makes these little cupcakes realistic and I am excited to try another pattern from this designer. This pattern is for personal use only, but I imagine that I will be making this for gifts for years to come. The designer has a large variety of food and toy patterns available, you really should check it out.

Now all I need is some more felt and a couple of cupcake tins from the dollar store and I’ll have another package to wrap up. Don’t worry, I’ll share pictures when I’m finished.

Friday Favorites

I feel a Halloween vibe here.

From Left to Right, top to bottom:

Creature of the Swamp Mask – SkinzNhydez

Molotov Velvet Heart Eye Patch – gothfoxdesigns

Skeleton Peg Doll – QuirkyK

Halloween Creature Set (beads) – flamingheart921

CaPTureD Bat Boy Assemblage Jar – cedarjunction

Vintage Altered Halloween Collage on Canvas – QueenBe

Vampire Fangs – JL67

Evening Web Etsy Shop Set – bearcengic

Cottage Witch Oils your Choice - Vermorlian

Nothing Crafty to Report

Hi everyone, just thought I would take a moment and let everyone know that I have nothing crafty to report.  This week our new house is being weatherized (Yay!), but it is absolute chaos here and there is no crafting taking place.  Our new home will be toasty warm this winter, but I have no projects to share.  This is my living room and dining room:You’ll notice that everything is pulled out from the walls and heaped up everywhere.  That table on the bottom right, (there’s a table under that basket) is where I normally do my crafting.

They have drilled holes in all the outer walls and blown in insulation made from recycled newspapers.

The holes are being patched and I will be retouching the paint in Little Miss’s room, I’m glad I haven’t gotten around to doing more painting.

They’ll be back again tomorrow fixing windows, putting in a new front door and adding some more insulation to our basement.  I’m hoping to have the house back to somewhat normal by next Monday.

The only semi-crafty thing I can report is that my Instant Cemetery was included in another Storque article, Yay again!!!

I’ll be back next week and back to being crafty and I’ll be securely insulated!!! 

Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous plants have always reminded me of Halloween and I have had a Venus fly trap before and it is really fascinating!  I found these kits at Hobby Lobby.

I just had to have it!  I bought an apothecary type jar for mine to grow in because I wanted something nicer than the plastic dome the kit came with.  There are seeds for Venus fly traps, pitcher plants, sundew plants, cobra plants, and trumpet plants.  Part of the seeds can be planted right away and part of the seed have to go through “Stratification” in the fridge.  I have planted the first batch of seeds and the rest are in the fridge for the next six weeks.  I guess I won’t have a flourishing carnivorous garden this year, buy next year it will be awesome!  The Dune Craft Company makes several different plant kits, if this one grows well I will be trying a few more, they have some really interesting ones.

Speaking of creepy plants, you may remember the Poison Tree Ornament that I made last year and finally this year they are available in my etsy store, get them now, only three available!!!

Busy Busy

You may be wondering what happened to me last week, it seems as if I almost disappeared, but I assure you, I am still here.  Last week was super exiting for me, my instant cemetery was featured in the Storque (etsy’s blog) and as the main picture of the article!

There was a wonderful flood of sales and convos and it has been very exciting.  I have been busy cutting out tombstones and deco-podging cans and going to the post office.

I am almost caught up, I’m just waiting for more supplies, they’ll be here tomorrow along with some new fun stuff to try.

I have fabric prewashing now and I am hoping to craft up some household stuff this week and I am also expecting a new crafting book to review and oodles of other things, so I’ll see you later this week!

Always Exciting

I still get super excited to be on the front page of etsy, its only happened a few times and last night after or LNKHandmade crafty meeting I came home to a huge jump in views and hearts.  I dashed over to craftcult and find this:

The front page and the Halloween gift guide!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so excited, front page exposure is better than almost any advertising that you can buy and it’s free!  I’m off to cut out some more cemeteries and maybe list a few new Halloween items.

Etsy Halloween Gift Guide

It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, well at least I have, the Halloween gift guide! There is a lot of really great stuff this year, so go check it out.  I am also excited to report that my Instant Cemetery is featured in the guide this year, Yay!!!

Knitting, Knitting, All Day Long

I bought Rebecca Danger’s pattern for Daphne and Delilah and have not been able to put it down.  I have not knitted a stuffed animal of any sort, so this was really a new experience.  I definitely need to practice my seaming/attaching techniques. 

The pattern was nicely written and easy to follow.  It was almost entirely knitting in the round, so lots and lots of knit stitches.  My monsters are a bit um…quirkier, yeah quirkier, than hers, but I like them that way ;).  I seem to have made everything a bit lopsided, but they are monsters, it just adds to their charm, right?

This pattern is sooooo adorable, I will definitely be making more!  BTW leave me a comment if you have any tips for sewing up stuffies, I could use the help!

Friday Favorites

Here are a few of my latest favorite things (I know you guys are sick of seeing Chica Bag stuff, so this will be something fresh)!

As always, from left to right and top to bottom:

1.  Day of the Dead Wedding Cake Topper – morbidcreations

2.  Pirate Vixen Corset – damselinthisdress

3.  Recycled T-shirt Rug – talkingsquid

4.  Minature 3D Mermaid Art in Vintage Compact – decorating4…you

5.  Miniature Clay Houses, Urban - thesistersstudio

6.  Sexy Science Fiction Girl Pouch – HautTotes

7.  Beer Box Book – repaper

8.  Enchanted Cat Bookplates – steelgoddess

9.  Daphne and Delilah Monster Knitting Pattern – dangercrafts

Thrifty Thursday

Do you ever need a little gift as a personal pick me up or a little present for a friend, then I’ve found what you need!  Everything is $5.00 or less (plus shipping) available now on Etsy.

(As always, from left to right, top to bottom)

1. “Magic” hair fork – $4.00 by undeadmushroom12

2. Custom Perfume Sample - $5.00 by sweetanthem

3. Raygun Print - $3.80 by monstergallery

4. Bombshells not Bombs Postcard - $2.00 by susanhall

5. Tibet Necklace - $5.00 by WhirlingRainbow

6. Twinkle Twinkle Wall Decal - $5.00 stakersensations

It’s Time for Friday Favorites

Here are my newest favorites, it’s Friday, do some window shopping!From left to right, top to bottom.

Bright Pink Lotus, set of two – FancifulForm

Jeepers Peepers Eyeball Clip – LadySpleen

Mini Top Hat – beccamari

25 Mini Felt Flowers – kutz

Black Polka Dots Childs Tea Set – KymminNC

Medical ID Bracelet with Semi-Precious Beads – TFDMedID

Tutorial – Faux Lampwork Beads – Eugena777

What’s Your Word Custom Pouch – zJayne

Eco Chic Funky Flower Brooch from recycled metal - wearwolf

A Few More Favorites

I love browsing the front page and random categories on etsy.com, I always seem to find several things I would love to have.
From left to right:
Verdigris Spring Fling Capelet from KerreraSkye
Only Bad Witches are Ugly...Wizard of Oz Sign from CountryWorkshop
Leather Utility Belts That Actually Look Good from justintime67
Yarn Exhibitionist Kit from Emilybug

A Week of Giveaways - Who likes Free Stuff???

The Etsy Lincoln Handmade Team will be hosting a week of give aways March 16th. - 21st., so here's the chance for you to get some handmade goodies. Check out our Team Blog for info about our members and quick links to all their blogs(to see what they're giving away and to enter their contests).

The featured team members are (just click to see our stores):

craftyconservative

Kundi Creative

Chimera Crochet

refibered

LynetteFast

and Me :)

Good luck everyone!

Favorites

I often see things that I would love to have on etsy, here are a few of them - please feel free to buy any of the for me :).
Row 1 (from left to right)
Snag free stitch markers -from jeanettejed, whose store features lots of different knitting accessories
Custom yarn embedded knitting needles - from OnTheNeedle, whose store features resin knitting needles and hair sticks
Ceramic dolls face ring - from MIXKO whose shop features felt and ceramic rings, necklaces, lampshades and handbags

Row 2
Long tray of pots - from JMNPOTTERY whose shop features wall decor, pots, bowls, jewelry, teapots, mugs, and lots of unique pieces
Healing blue - from stonesofhealing whose shop features nursing pendants, necklaces, earring, bracelets, jewelry for the whole family and child safe toys and jewelry.
Sleep mask Breakfast at Tiffany's - from lovelyart whose shop features a variety of sleep masks and jewelry

Row 3
Unfinished wood matchbox niche with viking wings - from TerraMaya whose shop features blank shrines, art shrines, jewelry, bags, and decor
Angel statue acrylic painting - from ebm126 whose shop features paintings, mixed media, and collage
Lucky at cards - from craftyhag whose shop features prints, ACEOs, drawings, paintings, and stained glass