I received this Little Experience craft kit the other week and if an 8 year old can tackle this, then I knew that this had all the makings of a project, which I could enjoyably polish off in an evening. So, after cranking up the pod and selecting bulletproof by La Roux, I settled down for a spot of craft yoga.
Read on after the jump for the instructions
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Smidge is a wonderful online blog that features the creators of handmade arts and crafts, as well as their works. Its author, Kat, strives to showcase unique and extraordinary handmade works to give exposure to talented individuals. It is also a great place for social networking and inspiration. The underlying theme is to support independent artists and their passion for craft.
Every week, Kat features a new theme; this week's theme is Handmade Toys Week. As consumers become increasingly dissatisfied with mass produced toys due to the numerous recalls from China, handmade toys are a safe and wonderful alternative. Some of the features (as pictured) include: paper doll kits, a giant messy mat, three bears fabric playhouse set, and a superhero cape.
Something else that might spark your interest - Kat also has handmade promotional giveaways for joining her mailing list. Definitely a great blog to check out!
Altered Clothing: Hip Fixes and Transformations with a Needle and Thread is a book about, as the title reveals, altering your clothing to make each piece more hip. While what's hip is rather subjective, there's a lot of really cute stuff to be found on the pages of this book.
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Owly is a blog I very much enjoy reading. Mia writes about crafts she's designed and is working on, and other people's patterns, and offers all sorts of interesting commentary. Her main topics are various sorts of crochet including amigurumi. She makes charming dolls like the one pictured here, and shares her pattern-making process. It's very interesting to read about what's involved in designing and creating these appealing toys. She recently posted an excellent tutorial that describes in great detail how to effectively make hair on amigurumi.
Check out the archives on the Owly blog for information and inspiration. Mia also sells her patterns at her Etsy shop.
Another inspirational blog by a very talented lady called Maritza Soto. Soto Softies is a blog which showcases the wonderful, and wacky creations that Maritza says are 'the cast of characters for the movie going on in her head'. The thing I find most amazing is that she only started sewing last year, so this gives me hope that all my current efforts are not in vain! Maritza's trademark softie is the 'mini-manti' - a praying mantis which is much more huggable than it's real life counterpart. Her use of vibrant vintage fabrics makes her creations even more delightful, as they take on a life of their own.
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SRK CoolSpun Cotton is a beautiful worsted weight yarn. It's a very soft 100% cotton made by Kertzer, a North American company. It comes in 50 g (1.75 oz) skein that is 79 metres (86 yards) in length, and is machine washable.
I went into a local yarn shop to buy the Lily Sugar & Cream yarn that they usually stock, when I happened upon the CoolSpun kept in the same section. What a delight! Comparable in price (Canadian $2.50/50 g for CoolSpun, and $3.20/70 g for Sugar & Cream) the two yarns are very different in quality. While Sugar & Cream tends to split and tear during use, and has a slightly coarse texture, CoolSpun is a smooth and soft and lovely to use. It doesn't split at all and handles very well, standing up nicely to unravelling and reusing. Pictured here is the ecru and light blue yarn that I bought for making dolls and baby toys.
Available in 30 solids and ombrés, the yarn is excellent for crocheting and knitting washcloths, small toys, and any project that calls for craft cotton.
Cutesypoo is Jocelan Thiessen, a Vancouver crafter who is best known for her charming egg tart plushies, shown at left. She hand makes these soft toy versions of the popular Chinese pastry, and sells them on her Etsy shop. She makes other cute crafts too, including stuffed felt bunnies and skunks, a line of buttons, and a sheet of Chinese bakery stickers. She's very into the kawaii aesthetic, as you can see from the adorable characters she makes.
You can see more photos of Jocelan's work on her Flickr page. She also sells her bunnies over on Betty Joy.
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