Alice is FINALLY finished!!

Months after tossing around ideas for what to do with the old cigar box that my dad sent me, it finally all came together as my tribute to Alice in Wonderland.

Alice has always been one of my favorite stories and once I had settled on that design idea it was easy - except for finding just the right illustrations for the outside of the box. I definitely wanted something edgier than the Disney version yet recognizable to everyone as Alice in Wonderland.

Fortunately, a recent version featuring artwork by Camille Rose Garcia just came out - and boy, is it ever awesome!! http://www.camillerosegarcia.com/

That artwork combined with some cool miniatures turned into a piece I'm quite pleased with and after much painting, cutting, gluing and arranging, my Alice treasure box is complete.


The top of the box.


The inside.


Detail of the key and bottle.


The door to Wonderland.


The outside - front.


I love the mad hatter!

Happily busy ...

Wow ... I haven't crocheted or worked on my Alice box in a couple days. I've really been focusing on going through drawers, my closet, and other crowded messy areas to de-clutter and clean. I've gotten a lot done - thrown stuff away and loaded up bags of clothes and shoes to donate.

Also had two photo shoots this week. (Yay!!) So I've been busy editing and getting the photos on a CD.

So all I have to show right now is this baby turtle that I did a couple nights ago. He's now hanging in Jeremy's truck cause he loves turtles. I want to make more and a momma too.



Planning to start a new crocheted toy this weekend. So many ideas ... so much yarn ... and yeah, I've even got some time!!

All this housework, where's the time for crafts?

Jeremy and I are certainly blessed. Not only do we have a wide variety of interests and hobbies, we have a lot of stuff to do it all with. And because our work space is our living space, it can be a challenge to keep order. (This is why I watch Hoarders on TV every chance I get. It keeps me in check.)

Today I spent some time moving some stuff around and getting rid of some stuff. I like my stuff but times change and sometimes you just have to let go. Unburden yourself and make room for new adventures. I try to sort through different areas (drawers, closets) on a regular basis and discard things that are no longer of use. Trash, donate, recycle, whatever it takes. Less stuff means less to clean and frees me up for big creative ideas.

The pets take a lot of time too. They sure do poop a lot ... not that I would want to not have them. They certainly make life interesting. And I have found that if I do not meet their needs quickly enough they will take matters into their own ... um, paws.

I woke up to this a couple weeks ago ... that day I went out and got a child lock for the pantry. I raised two children and I never needed a lock ... Mr. Merlin and his sidekick Black Cat, AKA Bad Kitty are not nearly as well mannered.

So after much cleaning, sorting, vacuuming and pet habitat cleaning, my living space is neat and clean. Tonight I will work on my afghan and watch Lost. Tomorrow I will take some photos of my recent work to post and start a new doll. I have a pattern for a baby and one for a football player. not sure which one I want to do first!

In the meantime, some more photos of my projects.

A pug I made for Jeremy:


My first choker:


The chokers waiting to be finished:


My first baby booties. Converse style. These were a real challenge to make.


A goth doll that I made. (With the cigar box that became my Alice in Wonderland box and Roscoe, tarantula supermodel.


That's all for now ... going to kick back with some double crochet, American Idol and Lost.

All these crafts, where's the time for blogging?

I've felt a little tired and sluggish these past couple days ... did some work on my afghan, worked on my Alice box, made my first crocheted baby rattle ... not exactly huge accomplishments but still keeping at it.

I'm taking today off. (Off the crafting train, as I have no "office job" to escape from.) Sometimes it's nice to not have to think about all the projects I have going on and want to either finish or start.

I'm meeting my honey for dinner so I'm going to go visit a yarn store that's down that way. It's Yarn Lady on Lake Forest Drive down in Laguna, for all you south Orange County people. They have all kinds of yarn you can't find at store like Michaels or JoAnn's. Most of it is a little pricey for me but it's still free to look at it and get inspired!!

Then I'm going to walk around The Spectrum and look for summer clothes for our upcoming trip to Vegas! We are only going for two days and I don't really need anything but again, it's fun to look. And as long as I stay out of book stores I probably won't even be tempted to spend any money ... (not to mention I'm reasonably broke ...) but who needs clothes when there is yarn and books and craft supplies to be had?

My afghan currently: All the squares are put together and I am going around it with all the colors. The granny squares were cool to make and I tried to do a lot of different stitches and techniques but I really like to just double crochet. So that's what is going around it. It's going to be a perfect size to cover up while I watch TV on cool nights ... not that we get many of those in Southern California.


My Siamese kitty baby rattle. Using safety parts so babies can actually play with it. This was pretty quick to make up even though I always have trouble with getting the ears to match. And I've been told this looks like everything from a mouse to a dog so if you don't see a cat don't feel bad. It's not just you.

So many crafts ... so little time.

Well, I'm so excited ... my miniatures for my Alice box arrived today. Of course I dropped everything to start working on it ... I think it's going to be amazing!!

I also managed to finish another choker - 2 down, three more to go. If they all turn out well and/or sell I might make some others.

I've also done a bit of work on my afghan so I feel like I'm staying on track. I had an idea for some baby rattles for a friend so I might need to start work on those tomorrow as I am going to see her (to photograph her baby) on Sunday. They are small and quick so it should only take a day or two.

Going to take some photos of my progress on my afghan tomorrow. Below are a few photos from the very beginning.


The yarn.


A few of my early squares.


The 12-inch center square.

The workshop

The corner of my living room were I keep my supplies and do my magic!

Sometimes you have to quit while you are ahead ...

As I said in yesterday's post, I wanted to finish the hat I was working on. Well, it is more-or-less hat-shaped and it does go on my head, however, unless I meet Frankenstein or someone with a huge lumpy head, it's probably not going to be of much use.

I have a problem with hats for some reason. Whenever I try to follow a pattern, it either comes out too big or too small. Mostly too big - like the yarn grows as I'm working with it. And it doesn't matter if I am knitting or crocheting. Even if my gauge swatch meets the guidelines ... and it certainly didn't help that I started with a pattern and added my own flair to it. I guess this is something I will keep working on.

I think the next hats I will try will be baby hats. It seems like it would be easier to see where I am going wrong with those.

I don't know how it is that the little amigurumi dolls are so easy for me but simple shapes elude me ...

I'm also wondering about a business license and insurance. We have both for our photography business but that wouldn't cover selling crafts. At least I don't think it would. That's something I'll have to look into this week. Because what if someone strangles themselves with a scarf they bought from me? You'd think it wouldn't happen but you never know with people these days.

My next project is to finish the lap afghan I'm working on. It's nearly done but I keep putting it aside to work on hats and smaller projects. It's starting to bug me and I really need to use up some yarn ... I have no place for it all. Also this week I want to finish putting together my last four chokers. Everything is ready except the final assembly.

If I can have both of those done by the end of the week I will be happy. I've ordered the last supplies I need for my Alice in Wonderland fantasy box and I would like to get started on that by early next week!!

Today: a walk, pet care and clean-up, and hopefully my handsome and talented hubby will do some more work on my koi tattoo!

Yarn and beads and sewing machine ... oh my!

So here I am ... hot glue gun and knitting needles in hand, ready to take over the crafting world.

My etsy store is up and running, and thanks to craigslist I have collected such a stash of supplies, trinkets and goodies that I've had to give some of it away lest I be buried in a pile of yarn, fabric, lace and ribbon deeper than I could ever craft my way out of.

Now what?

Well, I've been doing a lot of crocheting. Some knitting and sewing. Made some jewelry. Have plans and ideas for dozens more projects.

But what to do with it all?

Sell it seems to be a good answer. People have responded positively to my creations and extra money is always a good thing.

With my hubby's support and encouragement (he made my logo too!) I started an etsy shop. Might post some things on ebay. Beyond that, I really don't have any idea.

Do you have any idea how many people are making and selling crafts? And some of them are making incredibly beautiful arts and crafts. How do I start out, get noticed, not to mention just stay motivated to keep going. (I have yarn everywhere and hot glue suck to my fingernails!!)

And how do I keep up a blog too? How do I make it interesting, besides my sparkling wit and charm? I suppose I'll figure it out as I go along and hopefully keep it interesting for everyone.

In the meantime, I'm reading a good book to get me started - "The Handmade Marketplace" by Kari Chapin. I reccomend it to other crafters out there looking for ways to display and sell your work. I also reccomend checking out craigslist for crafty freebies.

My goals for today:
* Finish the strange-looking hat I started. (My own design - it's ... interesting. Or just weird.)
*Check out the web site for our local county fair to see options for entering crafts.
*Come up with a cool tagline or signout for this blog ... just cause I think that would be cool.