9/27/2013

Steampunk and Cyberpunk Rings for Sale!

I've listed nearly 40 new rings in the shop! They're made from antique watch movements with adjustable brass bands, and they're all between five and seven dollars!

 The antique clockwork ones are called "Time Traveler's Rings" and are great for steampunk or everyday badassery.

I laso made a bunch of them from movements out of slightly more modern electric watches, which I'm calling "Locutus of Borg Rings". They remind me of my favorite sci-fi bad guys and would be perfect for a cosplay Borg outfit or just for fun. Most of these rings are great for guys or girls, so go check them out here.

9/26/2013

Steampunk fascinators are finally for sale!

Finally, after literally years of making these babies, I've listed six of them in the shop:

Made from vintage watch parts and other quirky findings, along with the prettiest of feathers, these fascinator headbands are so much fun to wear, whether it's with a pair of jeans or a party dress! Each one is unique, super comfy to wear, and only $35 each! Perfect timing for holiday parties, no? You can see more about them and purchase yours here.






9/20/2013

Fancy Friday 15 - Cuteness Recap.

Happy Fancy Friday! I've got company over to the house this week and getting fancy isn't really going to work today, so I thought I'd post some extra photos from Fancy Friday 12.

Johnny was also a bit fancier than usual and we had a lot of fun using the timer on the camera to snap some goofy pictures because the evening light was so lovely. This was actually the day he was taking me to Shabu-Shabu for dinner for my birthday.



What a bunch of goofballs! Anywho, I've got a totally awesome shoot planned for next week's post, so stay fancy!

9/19/2013

Shop Update: New Owl Pincushions!


A whole rainbow of new owl pincushions are for sale in the shop today! (I made a ton for the recent craft fair I sold at, more specifically I made one for each color of felt I ad on hand, and I couldn't resist the  fun conga line photo that has become my new blog banner. Such fun!)
Coming soon are steampunk rings, a couple new amigurumi pieces, and tiny taxidermy!
Also, I realized I miscalculated the cost of my enamel lockets and key necklaces so they're now about half the price that they were originally listed at, so if you've had your eye on one now's the time to get one!

9/18/2013

Pattern testers needed for my new knitting pattern!

Well guys, I did it! I learned how to knit in 2009 and since then it's been an interesting ride. I made my first knitted piece, a sweater, in one month for Me-Made-May. In between then and now I've made a few cute knitted pieces like these, and one sock (the second one is coming, I swear), and I've written one simple cowl pattern which I posted here for free. And now I've gotten confident enough with my knitting skills to create a little baby cardigan pattern!

This newborn-size sweater (With real vintage buttons!) is made from Madelinetosh's Tosh Merino Light in Badlands. It's a fingering-weight superwash yarn and I love it so much! Johnny got me a gift certificate to one of my favorite local yarn shops and he helped me pick this one out with our hypothetical someday baby in mind. He also helped me look for a pattern, but we couldn't find one that had all the elements we wanted. The vision was for this to look like a little old man's sweater. The rolled collar, raglan sleeves, and three buttons were key.

I decided it was high time that I tried to create a more complicated knitting pattern and I'm over the moon with how it turned out. I was inspired my many different sweaters I found online, but most were in a heavier yarn, so a lot of guesswork went into most of this. I'm hoping to sell this pattern in my etsy shop soon.

 But first I'm going to need a couple pattern testers! Yup, you can get a free copy of my rough draft of the pattern so long as you promise to give me feedback on my clarity and tell me about any mistakes you may find.


Just leave a comment on this post if you're interested and I'll choose a couple people this time next week! And thanks in advance for the help! Also, my Fancy Friday giveaway is running through the end of the month so be sure to go leave a comment there too!

9/17/2013

How Tuesday 46 - Pizza, necklaces, and zip pouches.

Happy How-Tuesday everyone! This week I've found a beautiful deep dish pizza recipe, an Anthropologie-inspired necklace how-to, and a sewing tutorial for a cute box pouch! Enjoy!

This beautiful pizza from the Minimalist Baker blog looks so delicious! I've never seen one made in a cast iron skillet and I can't wait to try it!

This necklace from Flamingo Toes is a perfect doppelganger for its high-fashion inspiration. Check out the tutorial, it's really easy!


9/16/2013

Art Beat Bazaar Recap!

Art Beat Bazaar was totally awesome! I think my booth display was cute, and it was filled out with an assortment of goods at lots of different price points, so I did really well! I debuted a couple new products to very positive reviews and made a ton of new owl pincushions to sell. I'll be doing a shop update this week with the new stuff so keep an eye out!

Johnny came with me and manned the booth while I was wandering around photographing everything like I do when I sell at this event (I'm the official photographer!). There's a ton of photos of the other vendors and the on-stage entertainment on my flickr set (scroll to the bottom of the set to see them).

Cori, one of the Art Beat organizers makes beautiful tile earrings and necklaces.

Katie makes adorable plushies, clothing, and accessories! (See the little ice cream cone in the lower right? Yeah, he had to come home with me!)




9/13/2013

Fancy Friday 14 - Boho Chic

Happy Fancy Friday! Sorry this post is later in the day than usual, but hey it's still Friday! Just a quick reminder that my giveaway is still running! I'm giving away a clip-in feather hair extension, all you have to do is go to Fancy Friday 13 and leave a comment!


Anywho, one of the readers suggested I do my interpretation of a boho look. For Fancy Friday #6 I did a nature-inspired look that was going that direction, and this look feels very similar to me (Aka comfy!). Hope you like it Karen!

The dress was originally from Anthropologie, but I got it and the great floral tights from a clothing swap with my friends. The little knit vest is from Old Navy.

For my makeup, I did the usual powder plus a more copper-toned blush. On my eyes I did only white eyeliner on the inner bottom rims and around the top lash line, plus  little flick at the outer edge and I blended the line out gently with a shadow brush. My lips are my favorite Revlon lip stain in "Honey". I let my hair dry naturally and scrunched it a little, then tucked the front pieces into a leather and elastic headband I picked up at Forever 21. The feather extension is similar to he one I'm having a giveaway for and came from the same batch!

I got this great leather and linen rope bracelet as a souvenir in Venice Beach a few years ago, and my boyfriend gave me the silver bee necklace.

These lovely yellow linen flats are from Urban Outfitters.

9/12/2013

Emo the Sad Amigurumi Sheep.

Meet Emo the sad sheep. No one really knows why he's sad. He has plenty of friends and a bitchin' sweater, plus all the tissues he could ever need. And yet there he is, always in a bad mood. Maybe he just needs a hug?

I love this little guy! I actually finished him quite a while ago but dragged my feet on his little tissue box, which is actually a box from a Japanese tissue-themed eraser (they make toilet paper ones too lol), that I filled with a folded up tissue instead. He didn't take a super long time to crochet, but seaming him together was a nightmare! He only sits about 5 inches tall, and I love the way his face is sculpted.

He's made from acrylic yarns, mostly good old Red Heart, plus some button eyes and a single glass teardrop. He's pretty true to the original from this Japanese craft book, ISBN4-309-26572-3:

See him hiding in the background on the upper right corner of the table? Poor Emo. Maybe he's sad because I want to sell him, but I know he'll go to a good home! He's going to be part of a big shop update happening all throughout next week. Tons of new owl pincushions, steampunk stuff, and new quirky goodies, plus Emo. If you end up falling for him and would like to call dibs, feel free to contact me on Etsy!

You can see more of my amigurumi exploits here, here, and here, and some more of my collection of Japanese craft books here, here, and here. Also, I've written a couple cute amigurumi patterns myself over the years, which you can find on my page of free crochet patterns.

9/10/2013

How-Tuesday 45 - Cakes, budgets, and tiny crochet!

Happy How-Tuesday! This week I found a great vertical layer cake tutorial, a whole site filled with budget-friendly goodies, and a sweet way to make a crochet scarf. I'd love it if you readers out there would send me some tutorials you're in love with, either via the comments here or e-mail them to me at ohthecuteness@hotmail.com. The more people participating, the more fun it will be, and feel free to post links to your own projects as well!

Firstly, I found this fantastic tutorial from the I Am Baker blog for creating vertical layers inside a cake in lieu of the traditional horizontal ones. How much fun would this be as a surprise?!


I stumbled upon a site called Budget 101 and kind of got lost in it for a long while. They have all kinds of DIY ideas, but the one I liked most was this huge page of mixes for all sorts of goodies that you can make in mason jars and give as gifts. Go check them out!

Lastly, I found this cute tiny squares scarf tutorial from Do You Mind if I Knit's blog. She has a quick pattern and a step-by-step version for beginners too! I know seaming this together would take a while, but I'm really tempted to make a baby blanket out of this...

9/09/2013

Moon and Stars Baby Pixie Bonnet, Made from a Free Pattern!

It's done yay! Johnny bought me this gorgeous Debbie bliss yarn from a local shop late last year and since it's a silk-alpaca blend and so incredibly soft I thought it would be fun to make something for the hypothetical future baby to stash in the hope chest.

Johnny helped me choose the pattern, which we found on Ravelry for free! It has 2 size choices, 3 months and 6 months, but mine came out a little bigger because the yarn I used was larger than the one called for in the pattern.

 I used a vintage white shell button for the neckband closure and embroidered the little stars on afterward.



We were inspired by this little beauty we saw on Pinterest, so I made the crocheted moon topper from this free pattern, also from Ravelry. I think I might make a smaller version of this in dark blue some time in the future as well, so once the someday baby grows out of it we'll have this one ^_~. Oh by the way there's a cute pic of one of my owl plushies modeling this on my Instagram.

*Also, don't forget to go enter my Fancy Friday feather hair extension giveaway!*

9/06/2013

Fancy Friday #13 - Win a feather hair extension!

Happy Fancy Friday everyone! This week I've got a lovely outfit to show you, but first, I'm having another giveaway! In the above photo you'll notice I'm wearing a lovely feather and chain clip-in hair extension. I came upon a huge bin of these for sale at a local flea market for $3. I cannot believe how many there were! So I brought them home, sorted them out, and decided to give away any doubles on some Fancy Fridays here and there. And wait till you see what I'm giving away in October!
Anywho, if you'd like to win the 12-inch nickel-free clip in extension pictured above (has red, black, turquoise, and purple feathers), then all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post giving me suggestions for things you'd like to see me try on Fancy Fridays, whether it's a link to a photo/tutorial, or just a style like "punk" for instance. Also if there's anything I've done for Fancy Friday that you'd like to see a tutorial for I'm open to all your suggestions! The giveaway's winner will be announced once there's at least 20 comments, so be sure to share this giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter so we have enough participants!
Now on to the fancy:

This skirt should look familiar to many of my long-time readers. I made it myself for Me-Made-May back in April of 2010. I never got to wear it during the challenge because I didn't have time to sew a shirt to go with it. But here she is! The fabric is all recycled off-cuts form a local dress designer, and the buttons and red velvet placket are vintage. I literally get stopped by strangers when I wear this outfit, so cool!

The shirt is from Target years ago, and is possibly the most flattering white button-down I've ever owned. I've noticed though that I never wear button-downs without rolling the sleeves up. Anyone else have this problem?

I adore wearing feathers in my hair. I had a real extension installed ages ago and I loved every second of it. I keep meaning to get another one but now that I have a surplus of really cool clip in ones I can change them to suit any outfit. The colors in this one matched the skirt, except for the purple, which became my inspiration for the eye makeup. 
I started with a chocolate brown all over the lid, added deep purple to the outer half and blended out and up into the crease, applied a shimmery gold on the inner corner and blended to the center, and topped it with some brown eyeliner and a little cream highlight under my brow. For my lips I used a bright orange Revlon lip stain.

The hair is pretty simple; I just took the front pieces and pinned them back with a couple butterfly clips, then topped those with this great wire framed bow clip I got from my friend at a clothing swap.

The bracelets are vintage costume jewelry, the ring is made form vintage buttons (from my friend's etsy shop), and the gold glasses necklace is from Forever 21.

And my lovely orange vintage-inspired kitten heels complete the outfit! Also seen here on FF #4!
Stay Fancy, and don't forget to leave me a comment to be entered in the contest!