Exterminating Bunnies

Last post of the year, yeah!

Now, I'm no Whovian, but I've got plenty of friends who are. This was made as a gift, since awesome not so useful things rank higher than practical things on his gift receiving scale.

Merry Christmas! 2012

Dororo

Two months ago I was commissioned to make a Dororo of Sgt. Frog / Keroro Gunso amigurumi as a birthday present. The yarn took a while to arrive and I had another commission to do. After that, Dororo kind of became an on and off project since the deadline for him was about mid December, and he was finished earlier this month. It was a long and rather difficult experience.

Blindman's Buff

I wrote a visual analysis paper on Jean-Honore Fragonard's Blindman's Buff for my art history class and had to include either a research paper or a creative project to accompany the analysis. Of course, anything to avoid writing another paper. Instead, I chose the simplest thing I could think of, just recreate the painting in another medium.
Watch the day progress as I work on the project.

Meowboard

I recently acquired a long frame that I intend to use for future artist alleys. I've seen lots of people use fancy frames to display jewelry and they look so nice. I figure this would be idea for showing off my stuff too since it elevates the product and puts it in view. Let's be real, my table set up was terrible. Hopefully this will be more attention grabbing.

Palm Sized Fluttershy

I took a break while crocheting to crochet. Made this while waiting for a customer to approve of my progress on her Dororo amigurumi. Now that I finally have yellow I can make other animals [like birds!]. I could have been a bit more creative though.

Kawaii to Kowai

To get out of doing a Flash animation for my artist and computer class, I said I knew how to use it [which i sort of do...]. In place of Flash, I had to learn Dreamweaver, which I still barely know how to use. I learned enough to put a 4 page website together though! If I actually had it available online I'd link it. I can however share the artwork I drew up for it!

The teacup above was really just a last minute picture I put together since I didn't know what to put on the main page and needed to fill space...That's why it's so sloppy and generic.

Collars and Sparkles

After a sudden urge to crochet a collar without a pattern, I did it. I did however have to look up how to do ribbed stitching with crochet. Just crochet in the back loops. I'm sure I looked this up before, but at least now I know for sure.

Made the above collar in one night, around 6 hours maybe? I don't know. It's still not done, I don't have buttons for it. My boyfriend did wear it at the Haunted Chessboard party, and it was held together with two flowers on a wire. It needs 4 buttons though...I don't know what I was thinking.

Crafty Package Time!

Let's make Crafty Package Time a thing. Kind of like Happy Package Time [even though that isn't a thing here either...], but with craft specific packages. So...mostly yarn. It won't be a regular thing of course, because I can't afford to go buying a bunch of craft stuff all the time, but every once and a while a big package post might show up. And I'm making a tag for it. YEP.

The giant package! Bow for size reference.

Black and White Crowns

X

The making of another crown. This is the same process I went through my white crown from earlier this month. Since I forgot to take pictures of the progress, I made sure to get some of this one. It really isn't much though. Suppose I could have at least taken a materials shot...

Sweets Bear

This was an experimental bear.

I wanted to have another go at making a sweets styled animal, like the cherry choco bunny. A bear though to spice things up and because it would take less time to make the ears. Instead of a regular colored bear with just chocolate sauce and a cherry on top, I took a different approach and had the bear coated in another flavoring.

White Queen's Crown part 1

I'm sorry that it takes so long for me to post! I wish I was more crafty, but I'm always too tired after school to do most creative things. It's hard to find motivation. And now that I finally have it, I'm starting to slowly lose it. Come sooner winter, so that I'll have more free time.

This year, the San Diego Lolita group is hosting a Halloween event called Haunted Chessboard where, of course, chess is the theme. Which is quite perfect for me really since I own an all white dress and all I need to do is accessorize it all chess-like. My boyfriend will be attending too, so we're going as a pair of opposite pieces, the White Queen and the Black King. Mostly because I don't own any full black lolita dresses/skirts/jsks, and he doesn't own much white. Since birthdays, holidays, and events cost money, I made it a personal goal to spend as little to no money at all on making the accessories and props.

As you can tell, this post is about my main accessory, the crown.

Redheart

Yes, another pony. This time, Nurse Redheart without cutiemark and hat. She will have a hat made though, I just don't feel the need to make it right away. Again though, making use of what colors I have. I asked the local fan group what they would rather see, Nurse Redheart or Vinyl Scratch [DJ P0N-3] and you can see who one.

MY PIE~! Soarin' Pony Chibi

Since my last pony crochet creations were more blobby-cuteness than actual pony, it seemed time to take a different approach. Still cute and chubby, but much more recognizably pony. This is the first of hopefully many.

I spent a while trying to decide which pony to make, since I didn't want to make a random one or use inaccurate colors. I don't remember why I settled on Soarin' since after doing some research last night I found a few other ponies I could have done. Not that it really matters, I think of the options I did find, I think I probably would have picked him anyway.

Fluff and Fluff

About a week ago I found yarn for sale at WalMart [half price!] and I just HAD to buy them! I got four skeins, two white, one pink, and one blue/white mix. The first thing I made with it was a sheep! How could I not? And it's way more easier to work with than the other fluffy yarn since it's a different kind of fluffy.

Forest Spirits

Kodama. Or mushroom.
This is mostly a picture post.

Luna Bowtique Review

I recently bought a pair of bows from Luna Bowtique. It was a "spend X amount, get a bow free" sort of thing. I do like getting things free, so I kind of jumped on it impulsively. So impulsively actually that I didn't even check out the whole store! I'm still new to Storenvy, so I didn't notice the categories at the top...
I'm still happy with the two bows I did pick though!

Cake and Fluffy Phonestraps

What do people even do with amigurumi and plushie cakes anyway? I mean, sure it's cute and all...but it really only exists for display purposes. And hats. Little cake hats. Those are cute.

Ghibli Straps

I've been making a lot of wrist-strap styled phone straps lately. They just look so nice. And are kind of practical. This is the latest addition to the Ghibli strap collection!

Noh-Face, Soot Sprites, Totoro! What?

This actually came up because my camera sucks and the flash goes crazy sometimes...

And this was taken at 2PM. Looks cool though, right?

Like the title says, all those things are in this post! I'm going to a one-day event called Giga-Con 2012 to sell, hangout, and do some crappy closet cosplay. I think it'll be fun. After Anime Conji, I decided I wanted to try to appeal more to the crowd since I didn't really make a lot of anime-related stuff last time. I'm not really up to date with what's popular, but everyone loves Studio Ghibli! Or at least, everyone loves Miyazaki, can't go wrong with him.

Painting Rift

A screenshot from the online game RIFT. I used it as a base for a small painting. I couldn't find my tiny canvases, so I resorted to hot gluing three rectangles of fabric onto three postcard type fliers I got at previous conventions. A little tacky from the back, but it served its purpose!
I wish I had smaller brushes when I started working. Best I had was a size 0, which was a little messed up too. Used simple craft acrylic paint, the kind found in Wal*Mart in the small bottles. Again, nothing special, but got the job done.

Frog and Friends

This is a frog. Does it look like a frog? It doesn't look like a frog. It looks kind of like a Matryoshka doll, in shape anyway. Kind of. The blue pins are there to mark where the eyes are going. It's a little silly looking.

Flutterbunny

Little bunny tails? Maybe.

Pastel Straps

I made this rabbit head with the intention of making a mini scarf, even finished the scarf part and made one leg. Then I got over it, leaving me with a head, a leg that I may have already lost, and a 'scarf' body. Because I really liked the phone strap made for the giveaway and wanted to make more. Cute AND practical.

Marshmallow Pair

Continuing from the last Pony marshmallow post! Here is the pair together, unicorn mare and pegasus stallion. Not that you can really tell the difference between mare and stallion. Except, I think I make stallions 2 rows longer. I can't remember...

June Giveaway Winners

Hey hey hey! All right, June Giveaway is over! I think it had a pretty good turnout, with 49 entries! There were 51 comments all together, but some didn't follow the rules - not putting name/nickname, email, hero/derby/drag/whatever name in the first comment or putting multiple entries into one comment. Since they had to be in separate comments, they only counted as one. Sorry to those this happened to...

But lets move on!

Pony Marshmallow

As you may remember my first pony marshmallow, it was cute, squishy, and fits in a mug. Although, I guess I don't have mug pictures here. Another post then. I got commissioned to make two, a unicorn and a pegasus. I bought more yarn and eyes, but the eyes aren't here yet! I did have one pair left though, so I did get to make one of them.

Kohiru

This is Kohiru. She belongs to Milk Tea. She's a Busou Shinki Light Armor Kohiru, whatever that means. She's just Kohiru. I made the little bag a while ago and didn't know what to do with it. Perfect size for her.

Strawberries and Granny Squares

Nothing too new here. Just more strawberries again, but now with leaves and stem attached. I did make another strawberry, not part of the 10 set, since I couldn't remember how I made the others. This one's a little different, as it as a narrower tip. Made it into a brooch/pin and stuck a little flower on since it looked a little plain without it.

Mushroom Necklace

I wanted to title this post "The Mushroom of course!" but I've already used it for another mushroom related post...
Originally this was going to be part of the June Giveaway in the classic prize pack as a phone strap. I clearly decided against it, as it looked much too white and too plain, and I was already using enough of the white crochet thread in each prize pack. It could probably stand alone as a random amigurumi in a bunch, as decoration, or even a pincushion. You can make anything into a pincushion. But I'd probably lose it if I left it alone, it's too big to be a on a bracelet, and it would be a waste to make it a pin. All that's left is a necklace.

Big Macintosh Marshmallow

Of all my yarn colors the only pony, or should I say, stallion, I could make was Big Macintosh. And I did. Marshmallow shaped! He's very squishy and could fill a mug. I should take a picture of that later. A mug of Big Mac!

Strawberry Bunches

For a special order I've made a few strawberries. I still have more to make too. 10 all together. I wasn't sure if they needed to all be the same size or what, but after seeing that they were going to be for a hat and a cardigan and whatever else, I thought to do different sizes. I'm really glad Diana asked, since it forced me to buy green yarn. And maybe she could take some fancy pictures of all the other things I've made that are now hers [action shots? this blog and the facebook page need more worn photos...]

International Lolita Day Summer '12

 "Fortune Cookie" tea.

No craft post today, sorry. Instead, enjoy some delicious food photos!

Classic/Mori Prize Progress

Finally finished up the classic prize pack for the June Giveaway. Instead of the usual lace or even adding a ruffle to the bow, I made my own. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what kind to make, like flowers or cherries, but I couldn't seem to get it down or it was just to big. Instead I altered a design I saw and simplified it, making it smaller and easier to manage.

June Giveaway

Yes indeedy, it's Chasing the Frill's first Blog Giveaway!

In this giveaway, there are three prizes! One sweet/cute themed pack, one classy/mori themed pack, and one gothic/punk themed pack. This means three winners! And it'll run all through June!

Stitched

I have all these safety eyes that I'm doing nothing with. I don't make enough amigurumi with faces/eyes. Since I bought the tiny 5mm [i think...i tossed out the packaging] eyes for my own experimentation, I thought to use them with the thin crochet thread since it would also be more to scale. The eyes were so big and bug eyed in comparison to the size of the head to me, so I added some stitching details to make it more...odd? I can't think of the right word.

Petticoat Parade part four

Highschool Creme! Wearing some kind of either gathered maxi-length dress or a short fringed dress. I haven't decided. Either way, she's definitely the talk of the halls, and not exactly in a good way. I've personally never experienced anything like this growing up, but I do hear talk about other students staring and stuff from friends who attended different schools. In this case, Creme went to one of those schools.

Tea Staining and Japanese Patterns

In pursuit of expanding my crochet ability, I've started trying to learn how to read Japanese patterns. Instead of written out patterns like [ 1sc, 1st inc, dc 5 times in same st...ect], they're more visual and rely on knowing symbols. I don't have them all memorized yet, but I think I know the basic ones down enough to make simple things, like this triple tiered flower.

Petticoat Parade part three

The two pages from inbetween the two from last post! These two were also very similar because the subject was about Creme in her dream dress [Angelic Pretty's Twinkle Mermaid] and having a moment where she felt magical.

Petticoat Parade part two

Part two of Petticoat Parade, including another two pages, but this time not quite in order. Two pages have a similar look to them, with a character giving an example of something, hence the opposing placement of them with their respective subject behind them. There are two pages between them.

Petticoat Parade part one

Character design and style. Creme on the left, Poppy on the right. 

I wrote a script in my Creative Writing class titled Petticoat Parade. It's very short [2 pages], about two lolitas, one a seasoned veteran [Creme - inspired the lovely Christine] and the other new [Poppy]. Poppy returns after her first day out in full lolita fashion. She gets made fun of and says she's given up. Creme steps in and tells her about how wonderful it is to feel pretty after getting past the initial negative reactions. She talks about her dream dress, wearing vintage in school, and how it doesn't matter what people think.

Blooming Tea

I got this tea for Christmas and so far have only had one. The other day I decided to try another! It was lovely to watch, but I don't think I care too much for the flavor. It's very savory, so I tried to tone it down with milk and sugar. I'm going to assume the rest will taste similar, but at least they're all different blooms. Video at the end of the post.

Asian Cultural Festival

We had an awesome banner!

I attended Asian Cultural Festival on Saturday, representing lolita fashion in general and San Diego Lolitas, my local group. I didn't really have much details on what was going on, I just knew we had a booth and table space...so I kind of went into it a little blindly. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had a legit booth and banner! I haven't been regularly attending meet ups, so I didn't know we were an organization, haha. It's pretty damn cool though.

The water dragon mascot is so cute!

Pink Macaron

I made a macaron the other day, and I think it looks quite cute. The rhinestones however are really crappy because I pried them off an old craft, thus tearing off the silver backing. I had to use hot glue to stick to the remaining silver to get it off so I could put a new coat on the back. Of course, my paint supply is limited because I have no idea where they are...so I just used pink puff paint. Got the job done.

"Lace" Bow Pattern

I've decided to add pages. They've actually been up for about a week now, but the content is a little sparse. I know people like free patterns, because I certainly do, so here's another! Please do not claim the pattern as yours or post it somewhere else [unless you make major changes/rewrite parts, but at least mention that you got it from me first]. Also, please credit me if you use it. You're welcome to do whatever you want with the finished product [sell it, give it away, whatever]. If you take pictures and share it with me I'll feature it in a post [including your website if you'd like me to.]

Lacey Bow

Crochet thread~~~~ I love it. I like being able to make delicate things like this!

White is a safe color

White is a safe color. Why? Because it's white, you can pretty much make anything with white. And you can color it afterward if needed. White is my default color for experimenting with patterns because I know that in the end, if the pattern turns out well, it'll also look nice in white too! I don't really like buying specific colors unless I purpose in mind for them, or else they just sit in my stash.

Oh Little Nemo, I want to go there too.