“D” is for Donut

Or is it doughnut?

Mini donut key chains, crochet and finally done! Tons of pictures at my flickr site if you want to see more/close-ups.

Still Plugging Away

Yesterday:

I’m still working on these Love Letters (see previous post).  Just a quick picture before I head out to work.  Each one will have a different sentiment on the envelope front.

 

 

Today, do-over!

I’m really getting concerned that I won’t finish these soon.  My plan was to have them done a week ago!

Still sewing, stitching and inserts to be made.  I think I’ll be up all night working on this.  I’m actually looking forward to it!

L.L.I.P.

(Love Letters In Progress)

I’m trying to focus on finishing these while I’m snowed in.  More pictures, hopefully, tomorrow!  And, there’s an unfinished project (scroll to end of post) that keeps nagging me, in the back of my mind.  One of these days, it will be done!

Geekery Fave – E.T. Shop of the Week

My favorite pick from the Etsy Twitter team’s shop of the week, Paw & Claw Designs:

I’m sitting here, sighing, as I remember playing Dungeons & Dragons.  Not only is this necklace charming, (I love the glowy look if the die), it’s really nostalgic.  I’d love to wear this and catch the eye of someone who knows exactly what it is, while at the same time just wearing a beautiful piece.

Which one is your favorite?

Notes from the twitter team site: “Paw and Claw Designs’ Special for this week: Use the coupon code "Twitter” in "Notes to Seller" for an upgrade to free gift wrapping with every order.  Order and shipping deadlines for Valentine’s Day: Domestic - February 6th; International - January 31st”

Don’t think I can write a haiku (see bottom of this post) right now… but wanted to say again to my blog readers that being a member of the Etsy Twitter Team, we’re having this shop of the week event and we’re all promoting each other… but I feel like I have to be sincere about it and truly feature what I like.  So, that’s why you’ll see my favorites from each shop on a weekly basis, not just mindlessly promoting. 

Inspiration Grows

It’s the name of the newest fabric cuff bracelet I’ve listed in my etsy shop, but it’s also the way I work on most of my art.

When I picked up this scrap of lace from a basket I got at an antique store, I really didn’t know what to do with it.  I started by stitching it to the green linen that I had prepared and began making the rambling stitches around the edges and side.  The lace looked so perfect.  I couldn’t possibly get my stitching to be as regular and neat, so I didn’t try hard to.  When I got to the other side, I didn’t know what to do… so I looked and looked at the piece until I noticed the undulating vine.  Wala!  

Sometimes if I look at something long enough, a design will grow out of the pattern.  Other times, I need to go exercise, take a walk or distance myself from a project for a while to let an idea develop.

It was a little tricky to get the thin vine stitched on (I’m still working on my embroidery skills), and the little tiny leaves to mimic the empty spaces from the lace, but I am so pleased with the end result. 

It’s a super-soft linen cuff that I hope someone will enjoy as much as I did making it. 

How does inspiration for projects come to you?  Do you plan things out ahead of time, or just sit down and let things flow?

Rodeo Knitting Pattern

A while back – I posted about the creative use of some of the ribbon I sell in my etsy shop.  Here’s the original post - http://tamdoll.blogspot.com/2008/11/brilliant-idea.html.  Dark Matter Knits used some horses ribbon on the inside of the button placket, to keep it from stretching out of shape.  Now she has the pattern available for this adorable knitted sweater – click the picture to go right to it.

When Pigs Fly - E.T. Shop of the Week

Oh, they do!  Over here at the Etsy Twitter Team’s shop of the week – Flying Zoo Toys -

This one’s my favorite:

Which is yours?

Update - “Everything in Flying Zoo Toys is 15% off for this week. A refund will be issued through PayPal after completion of your purchase. Take advantage of this offer!”

Update 1/21 – Being a member of the Etsy Twitter Team, we’re having this shop of the week event this year.  To participate we’re all going to promote each other… but I feel like I have to be sincere about it and truly feature what I like.  So, that’s why you’ll see my favorites from each shop on a weekly basis, not just mindlessly promoting.  And maybe a poem, or a haiku.  How’s this?

unique and whimsy
are the toys at flying zoo
fantasy decor

Velvety Goodness

These cuffs feel so decadent on your wrist with their velvet backing. It can now be found, (sale priced!) at my etsy shop.

"C" is for cuff, letter of the week... I missed "B" because I didn't get the bag I was making completed.

Monkey, Bread

(In case you’ve found this post looking for a recipe, see this book.)

The bread came out delicious.  I really wasn’t expecting it to be so good.  This is all that’s left… will have to make more very soon.

Drumroll please….  Welcome Alpha, with her new red beret:

Original post is here.

Cute retro picture courtesy of Poladroid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures and don’t mind the link-fest.

CPSIA Reaches Far

Back in December, I blogged about “Saving Handmade” -




Well, it seems it’s farther reaching than I had thought before. The latest information I’m getting is that even libraries won’t be able to lend out children’s books. This is getting ridiculous. I am not exaggerating – see this.

On a much smaller scale, it looks there are a few items in my etsy shop that I’m discounting and hoping to sell before I have to pull them out on February 10th -

I will post again later today with a bread & monkey update. No, not monkey bread… Read past posts if you’re confused! You can also sign up for instant blog updates delivered to your email address so you always know what’s going on here – see the top of my blog page for the subscription form. Or if you’re reading this as a feed, click here.

Fresh Baked

Can you smell it?  Just came out of the oven.  I love the smell of freshly baked bread, used to make a couple of loaves a week & haven’t done more than pizza dough in a long while.  I am a little discouraged though.  Just like my crafting, I don’t follow recipes exactly… I like to play with them a little bit.  I definitely added waaaay too much flour when mixing this one and it got very dense.  I let it do it’s 2nd rising in the fridge overnight, which I hope helps.  I’m going to have patience and wait until this evening, until it’s fully cooled, then I’ll slice it and check the inside.  It’s risen and looks good, so there’s hope that it’s not a dense mush in the middle.

So, what did I do with it?  Besides add too much flour?  I started with this recipe and added some wheat germ, a bit less butter than called for and some ground flax seed.  (Fantastic blog to subscribe to, by the way….)  Which is where things went wrong – instead of compensating for the extra ingredients, I didn’t modify the amount of flour I was adding.  And it’s very dry in the house right now.  Actually, I didn’t do this carefully at all, just threw everything into the bowl without much precision.  So, I have nobody to blame but myself.  Crossing my fingers until later….

Something New

I just wanted to have a “hub” online where people could type “tamdoll” and still find my blog or my shop.  (And because someone already owns the .com version).  On twitter I direct people here, to the blog, because it’s more dynamic – haven’t updated my shop in a while.  What do you think? Does it look good on your browser?  I had some issues to start with when it would overflow on laptop screens, but now I think it’s “ok”. 

Adventures in Crochet

Oooh, sounds exciting, eh?  Well, learning to crochet in 2008 was a good idea, I plan on taking it a step further this year.

Inspiration: My crazy yarn stash.  (Some of it’s on my ravelry page if you really want to look.)

Creations: Here I have two very different projects, with my own twists:

Last fall, I won a prize over at the CraftLeftovers website.  An awesome, inspiring website & great shop, too (click the picture to go there)!  So… I started working on the headband project and crocheted it way too small…. The unruly-ness of big loopy stitches terrified me.  So, now I have a headband that goes around half a head.  What to do?  Today I’m going to pick up stitches on one end and finish it off with the knit instructions that also came in her kit.  No…. that isn’t how she says to do it…. but improvising is my *specialty*.  (Maybe “making lemonade out of lemons” should be my crafting motto.)  I’ll add buttons and blog the finished project as soon as I can.

Next, here you have a scrumble.  I’m pretty sure that’s what these freeform creations are called.  I loved the combo of yarns… but not sure yet exactly what’s going to come of it.  The whole thing so far is about 5” long.  It was really hard for me to let go and just make something without directions.  I started off with the motif in the center and then just added what I felt like from there (thanks for the suggestion from the freeform group on ravelry).  I’ll probably end up making it part of a handbag at some point – let’s see what I can do with it next.  Either I’ll pick up and add right to it or I’ll make some more pieces and combine them together at the end. 

I’ve added the book, “Freeform Knitting & Crochet” by Jenny Dowde to my Amazon Associates store if you’d like to check it out (it’s on page 2).

Now I feel like I have some direction, getting some unfinished projects out of the way and making room for new ones.  Yay!

A is for…. Help me pick a name!

Inspiration:

I was over at Craftside and decided to play along with the first 26 weeks of 2009 alphabet theme.

Creation:

Crocheted monkey pattern, copyright ChimuChimu:

*Just* finished and not waiting for daylight to take a picture.  I used stash yarn, acrylic and wools and changed the pattern to be a little smaller than it was designed to be – I thought these bulky yarns would make a huge creature.  Right now this one is about 9” tall sitting up there at the top of my desk (I’ll take a less cluttered picture sometime soon). 

So, what name to give?  I’m thinking something unisex so I can figure out later how I’m going to dress it!  And … going with the “A” category.  So, here’s my narrowed down choices – I’d love to hear what you suggest (leave a comment here please). 

Adair, Adrian, Alpha, August, Avery

What shall it be? 

More Handmade Gifts

Here's another picture of things that I forgot to blog about; made this great List Taker - I definitely need to make one for myself - would be much more classy than all the post-it notes I have stuck to my purse every day.

I got this fantastic pattern from jcasa on Etsy and the directions were super easy to follow.  I would recommend her shop if you want to make one of your own!

Check out that great lining fabric - words of wisdom that I could certainly use myself! I used a pillow-case for the pocket - I wanted something less distracting for the bottom half since there was so much going on and that's what I had in my stash.

Starting off 2009

You're expecting a craft post here, right? Something inspiring and encouraging.... but it's not happening just yet. Instead, I had to post about Baskin-Robbins®, offering healthy choices & Dairy Free Ice Cream!!! Of course the gift certificate offered to blog about it motivated me, but seriously - I am so excited. Being lactose intolerant, I've suffered through numerous evenings, either denying myself or indulging in ice cream (and the unpleasant consequences) & that's why this is such good news -

Here's a quote of what's going on from www.twittermoms.com -

"To kick-off the season of making New Year's resolutions, Baskin-Robbins®, America's favorite neighborhood ice cream shop, is ringing in the New Year with the introduction of BRight Choices treats. BRight Choices are better-for-you light ice cream options including fat free, dairy free, no sugar added and light ice cream offerings. BRight Choices flavors have all the great taste and quality customers expect from Baskin-Robbins but with less guilt. It's a great option for moms looking for a healthier option while out with their kids.
To celebrate the launch of BRight Choices, Baskin-Robbins is celebrating the bright choices customers make each day with BRight Choices Day on Jan. 15, 2009. On BRight Choices Day, participating Baskin-Robbins shops nationwide will offer a free BRight Choices scoop to any customer with proof of a gym membership. BRight Choices flavors are indicated by a pink star decal. "

Yay! Go forth & enjoy!

The World Wide Web

Horse Tote Wool & Cotton
Originally uploaded by tamdolloriginal

The Internet is a wonderful thing.  This tote was seen over at my flickr site & then featured at The Purse Project Blog. I'm so excited!
And... fyi... it's on sale at my etsy shop!