CHUBBY ANIMAL PARTY

Greetings, fellow humans!

Emboldened by my pattern-free squid creation, I have made two (but similar) chubby animals without a pattern! They are based, in part, on animals that B's made in the past, so I can't take all the credit. Also, she helped me with the faces, since I am still not-good at those.

HOWEVER!

LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE THING. I am occasionally very happy with how things turn out. Now is one of those times. His mouth was originally a little (very) crooked, so now he has a permanent frown. Also, I liked the way the squid tentacles turned out unstuffed, so his arms and legs are unstuffed. B made fun of it, saying his arms were like fettuccine, but I still like it. He is doing the wave in this picture.

"HELLO I AM ON SOME WOOD."

Anyway, I also made a bunny that I am also pleased with. Their bodies are both fairly pear-shaped, which I really like, but it makes their necks a bit floppy. Maybe I'll make the neck a bit bigger next time.

I'm not really sure what to say here. Here is a bunny near an acorn squash plant. I stuffed her arms and legs at B's suggestion/mockery, and they are slightly shorter than the bear's. Other than that, the patterns are (fairly) identical. I am pleased with this bunny as well.

BEST MUSHROOM FRIENDS.

-K.

 

It's about time for another post. (Featuring Hine)

I've been meaning to do two blog posts recently; One of all the random things I've been making for myself, and one for my current secret project.

For the random things, however, I have to actually take photos of them.... I've been super busy lately, so that just hasn't been happening.

For the secret project, I wanted to work on it a bit more before blogging about it. But again! I've been so busy doing other things, I haven't had time to work on that project.

I will get around to both of those posts eventually. But for now, I just want to talk about some random things.

Last weekend was K's mum's birthday, so we were gone all weekend. I crocheted her a violet flower brooch for part of her present from a DROPS pattern. I suffered from K-syndrome, however, and forgot to take any photos of it, so I will have to post photos of it later. I made it purple, and put a yellow felt backing on it for the pin to attach to. I also sewed one small pearl in the middle, where all the petals meet. I was actually pretty happy with how it turned out, and might have to make one for myself! (Though, I don't really want to sell them. I like presents for people being one-of-a-kinds)

Lately, I've been enamoured with Hine's photostream on Flickr. Her needle felting is just.. amazing! And she is amazingly creative.. The things she makes are just SO CUTE.  I've never needle felted, myself, but I've always wanted to. It's a bit intimidating because of the skill you need. But Hine gets all of her felt so smooth and beautiful looking! She's definitely very inspiring. My favourite felt creation of hers so far is her ectoplasm.

She is also a little bit obsessed with squids. I can get behind that! They are so cute! Maybe K's squid can be friends with her little felt ones?

She also sews things, like camera and cell phone cases. The best part is, she makes them look like different cameras and phones. If I had the money, I would definitely buy one! (They're a bit expensive, but definitely worth is for something so cute and meticulously hand sewn).

That's all for now. More random things to come!

-B

The Etsy is brimming!

We finally updated our Etsy! No more emptiness and tumbleweeds.

We have also added Etsy-mini to our sidebar so you can get to the shop easier! AdBlock blocks it, so if it's not showing up for you, that may be why. Still, you can get to our shop through the Cutieshack profile.

We've added lots to the shop, more than ever before! Zoidberg, baby cthulu, and much much more, including this little guy inspired by Takochu and Berrysprite!

Berrysprite has a very cute free pattern and tutorial for making little takochu. While my pattern is definitely very inspired by hers, I tried to come up with my own, with my own unique "tentacles" that allow me to fit all 8 in while keeping it cute and small! I can't seem to get their mouths as cute as her takochu mouths are, but maybe it's better that there are differences?

Everyone should check out Berrysprite's blog! It's very cute, and she is a super talented and inspiring person!

And while you're clicking links, why not hop over to the shop for a little look? :D

-B.

B's Grypcon wrap-up.... 4 months late

So.... Gryphcon was quite a while ago...
But I would still like to make a wrap up post, because it was fun and I have photos!
It was just a two-day thing. Things I made didn't really sell much, but K's things sold a whole lot. I think he was pretty happy; it was a big turn around from Con-G 2011, our first time selling anything anywhere.
The things I did manage to sell were a takochu keychain, a brain slug (whose pattern I made up right there, on the spot, at Gryphcon! I forgot to take a photo of mine, but you can see a photo of one that K made from my pattern in his wrap-up), and a commissioned black bunny (that I also forgot to take photos of!).

I forgot to take a photo of my first takochu, so the photo I have is from after I sold him.
I made another takochu afterwards, and he will be up for sale tomorrow in the shop, along with other things I made for gryphcon, like.... a baby cthulu!...
a chubby Zoidberg and a tiger!... and K's mushrooms! We will put old stuff in the shop as well. Maybe with some shiny new photos? Look forward to it! Here's a photo of our last-minute sort-of-ghetto table setup before I go: Bye for now! Check the shop tomorrow for cute things you can exchange currency for! Or check out our Flickr for more photos from Gryphcon!

-B


P.S. Here's a peek at a side-project of mine... Can you guess what it is?

Long time no see!

Hello! This update has been a long time coming, but alas, I have been super busy. I've actually been working on the redesign of the blog since around March, but I just kept being too busy to finish it; final exams, starting my summer job, moving into a new house... But! It's finished now! And I am so happy with the frustration-fuelled results! I haven't updated in ages because of the redesign. I wanted it done before I put anything up in the shop or updated the blog. But because that took me forever, it's been a looong time since I last updated, and the Etsy shop is very, very empty. While I'm keeping this update short, I have many things in my pocket to blog about. For now, my next update will be my account of Gryphcon, since K already gave his. After that, I will tell you guys about my current secret project.... I hope you're looking forward to it all :D For now, here's a sneak peek at my gryphcon photos:

I've uploaded the rest of them onto Flickr if you feel like looking at them before I update again. That's all for now! -B (I wanted to match K :D )

SQUID! - My first pattern-free creation.

Hi folks!

I know it's been a while. I don't really have an excuse. I have, however, spent the last little while working on a gift for a friend of mine. She's having a baby, so I wanted to crochet it something cute. Her baby shower was last Saturday, so I gave her the squid I made.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I may have attached the tentacles a bit irregularly, but I think it looks good. I also think that I under-stuffed the body. I guess the stuffing won't show through the yarn now. My friend really enjoyed it, as did the strangers at the baby shower. Someone approached me about making a cuttlefish. I'll be starting that after I finish my current one, a green bear. Expect photos.

<3K.

Late Gryphcon Wrap-Up

Hi folks!

We've been a bit busy recently with trying to find a house for the new year, and distracted by life in general, so this update comes a bit late.

Last weekend was Gryphcon, a local traditional gaming convention. There were board games and tabletop games (Pathfinder, D&D, etc.), as well as a place for the two of us to sell things along side other folks. There was only one other person selling handmade things; another represented a gaming shop, and someone else was there trying to promote their card game or something. All of them were nice. Gryphcon isn't really a place where people go with the intent to buy things (unless it's another game or book or something), but it was a good time. There were a lot of people happy that we were there. I spend the week or two leading up to it making a few things to sell there. Photo time!

This is a rainbow of Mario Bros. mushrooms that I made. The first is the normal one, followed by the Giant Mushroom, 1Up Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, and Poison Mushroom. My favourite is the angry eyebrows on the poison one.

These Creeper head charms were made at the same time that my larger Creeper was made. I have cell phone straps and keyrings that I attached so that people could put them on their phone/keys/etc. They turned out a but chubbier than I would have liked, but I still like them.

This brain slug and its smaller sibling (now sold) were made while we were sitting at the convention. They are loosely modelled after the ones from Futurama, which I love. I had purchased green yarn to make the 1Up mushrooms, and couldn't think of anything else to make with them. This was my idea, but Nekoyumi's pattern.

This frog was made with that same green yarn on the final day of the convention. I liked the charms that Nekoyumi had made, and wanted to make something small and cute too. I like its eyes a lot.

So that's the post-con wrap-up. Nekoyumi should be posting some pictures from it soon, since I didn't bring my camera. D: