Oh the Cuteness!

I know there's a lot of people out there that don't really like Valentine's Day for one reason or another. I, however, am not one of those people. I'll take any excuse to do something special, especially if it's for someone I love. When I was a kid I tended to make valentines for my classmates instead of buying the fold-and-tear variety, and it's a tradition that's carried over to my adult life: I'm knitting a little something special for Johnny this year. (Don't worry, he knows!) He found this fantastic cowl, made buy Susk and Banoo , on my Pinterest and asked me if I would make it for him. The moment I said yes he emailed me the link and bought the same yarn that was used for the one above! (Which, by the way, is Rowan Cocoon in Mountain . She used only 2 skeins and it looks like I'm going to need 3 to finish to the proper dimensions.)  I can't help but swoon for a man that buys yarn and looks up his own patterns! Susk and Banoo...

I had a wonderful opportunity before the holiday rush hit to help  my friend Ivy, who works as a sales rep for Robert Kaufman Fabrics  (among others), with a new little trade show in San Francisco.  I've mentioned her before on here,  as the lovely lady who brings  dead stock fabric swatches for quilting  to my stitch & bitch group to give away. (Thanks Ivy!)  I think I've mentioned on here that someday I'd like to open a little brick and mortar shop to sell fabric, craft supplies, and handmade gifts, and getting to go to some trade shows in the industry has been so fun!  This was the first-ever DG Expo , and the response was so great that they are planning one for the east coast coming up and will definitely do the event annually here in the Bay Area. It wasn't s super huge event, but it was aimed at smaller independent manufacturers of fabric goods, and it was so fun to meet all the local designers who came to our booth. And here'...

Big news! All of the fascinators pictured above have been picked up for sale by JorCal Hat Company in lovely Willow Glen, CA , a beautiful little piece of San Jose. The owner of JorCal, Michele, is a lovely lady, and I am so happy and grateful that she wanted to carry my fascinator headbands. As you know, each one is one of a kind, so once it's gone it's gone. That being said, if you're in the area I highly recommend the entire main drag of Willow Glen for its restaurants and shopping, and JorCal in particular for their amazing fascinator selection ^_~.  But if you're not local, I have some  other models for sale in my etsy shop , and the one above on the top left is the last of the batch I haven't listed or sold because it is decidedly Christmas-y, though one of my top favorites. If you're interested in purchasing that one or having me make you a custom fascinator please feel free to email me at ohthecuteness@hotmail.com, otherwise I'll just save i...

Hello everyone, it's time for my first project of the new year! A little tutorial on how to convert a vintage tin dollhouse into a rotating caddy that hides your printer and printing supplies! I've always wanted one of these dollhouses, ever since I saw them in antique shops with my mom as a kid. Now when I see them in antique shops they're always over $40 and never in the greatest shape. Well my friends, the dollhouse gods smiled on me in the new year, as I found this little 1970's beauty at the Depot for Creative Reuse in Oakland for about $20! And it had a ton of the original furniture with it too! It's missing its door and its chimney, but I'm sure I can make some suitable replacements out of cardstock someday. She's got one gash on the edge of the roof, and was absolutely filthy when I brought her home, but a little elbow grease made her shine. I took a look in my office and decided that if it was going to live there, it would have to se...

Surprise! My long-time internet friend, fellow crafter, and writer of the wonderful craft blog Mama G's is giving away one of my Anatomical Heart Surprise Balls for Valentine's Day! Go to her website and leave a comment to enter , and while you're there check out all the wonderful free patterns and tutorials she has. The contest will run for one week, so don't miss out! Although, of course, if you need some insurance there are some left in the shop too!

Check out what I just listed in the shop! Pretty cool right?! I'm incredibly excited about these Valentine's Day anatomical heart surprise balls I made! They're made from about 64 feet of heavy German crepe paper streamers, which I cut by hand and wrapped around seven little toys:  How cool would it be to get one of these from your love on Valentine's day?! You unravel it like a ball of yarn and at the end of every color of streamer out pops a prize! Can you believe that only one dot of glue holds the whole thing together? So cool! I've been having a blast picking out all the little toys for each different kind of ball, and I tried to choose vintage-inspired prizes that I enjoyed as a kid (And, honestly, I still enjoy them now!). I've gotten some surprise balls in the past that didn't have very good prizes inside, like paper fortunes or candy, so I wanted to make sure mine were top-notch! If you check out the listing on Etsy , I ha...