Crochet Chihuahua!

It was my friend's birthday last week she loves chihuahuas! So I decided to crochet her one as a present, and here is the end result:

I found the pattern via Ravelry (link to pattern) and I was slightly horrified to discover that the pattern was just a chart! The whole thing was made more intimidating by the fact there was no key to go with the pattern! As I've done a lot of amigurumi, I managed to work it out with little to no problems :)

So yes, this little guy doesn't have a name yet, as far as I know, but I will keep you posted on it! She really liked her presents though :D

Pattern Herd: Lego

The boy and I went to see The Lego Movie on Saturday night and fell in love with it! Everything is awesome... So yes, time for a Lego-themed pattern herd I think!

1) WyldStyle Hat

This amazing hat is by Kim Jones from Not So Knotty. It's such a cool hat and I love her character! This pattern is $3.99 USD and is available on Ravelry.

2) Lego-Inspired Backpack

An amazing pattern by Moogly for this gorgeous Lego-look backpack! Any guy or gal would love to have this. You could even use their favourite colour! This pattern is available for free on Moogly's website.

3) Lego Wallet/Pencil Case

This lovely pattern is by Liat Cohen. I love this pattern! I'm tempted to make one for the boyfriend as a birthday present :D It's the perfect place to keep your stationery :) This pattern is a free Ravelry download.

4) Lego Man Mittens

These amazing mittens are a knitting pattern by Carissa Browning. These are incredible!! Everyone should have Lego hands sometime in their life! This is a free Ravelry download.

5) Lego Block Blanket

Eva Ferrebee has been kind enough to share this pattern for a lovely blanket! Much like with the backpack, you could change the colours to suit the recipient! It's so cool :D This pattern is available for free on allfreecrochet.com.

6) Lego Minifigure

Look at this happy chappy :) Trish Hicks has designed this little cutie! I love his hands and his face is just adorable! Ah so happy :D This pattern is available for free on Colorado Homefronts on Blogspot.

7) Lego Brick Scarf

Oh wow! I think I have found my next project :) Deborah Birchall of FitzBirch Crafts designed this pattern when she mentioned that she'd seen a crocheted Lego brick pattern to her sons! The pattern is available for free on her blog.

8) Lego Brick Doorstep

This knitted doorstep is a pattern by Lizzyastro and makes very good use of a brick and Cola bottle caps! I'm impressed with the inventiveness :) This pattern is available for free on Instructables.

9) Lego Block Scarf

Another scarf option for you all! This time it's by Samantha Marsalla. It's a scarf for toddlers too, but you could very easily make your own and add more blocks :) The pattern is available for free as a Ravelry download.

10) Lego Face Square

Glamour4You has designed this little guy's face on a square. It will accompany a Lego brick blanket perfectly!  This pattern is $1.00 USD and available on Ravelry.

My First Giveaway!

I reached 150 "likes" on my facebook page!! I like to celebrate things, and I get very excited about things like this, so I have decided to host a giveaway. There's 3 prizes up for grabs, so there's an even better chance of winning!

First prize is this gorgeous bunting necklace!

Second prize is this cute bow necklace

Third prize is this beautiful woven friendship bracelet!

Like the prizes? Head on over to my Facebook page to be in with a chance of winning!! https://www.facebook.com/TheCornerofCraft

Exploring Etsy: Space!!

Ah I love space! I think it's fascinating and my little brain can never quite believe how big space actually is! I felt a little scared while watching Gravity; the sheer expanse of blackness!!

So yes, I felt inspired to do a space themed EE :D

1) Star and Rocket Necklace

This gorgeous piece is by the very-talented "whatanovelidea" on Etsy! This piece is made from acrylic and silver plated chain. It's so unusual and gorgeous! This piece is £19.72 and can be found here.

2) Galaxy Space Dress

I love this dress. It's so unusual, but cute too. It's by FashionableGeeky247, who makes a range of nerdy dresses. Definitely geek chic! It's a halterneck dress too so the straps can be adjusted to suit you. This dress is a steal at only £36.98 and can be found here.

3) Hubble Lollipops

Time for something a little unconventional now. Here at The C of C, we like different! These lollies are by "designerlollipop" and are completely edible! They may taste like candyfloss, but they look like they have their own little galaxy within each lolly! These lollies are £9.24 for 6 and can be found here.

4) Space Mobile Crochet Pattern

I think that this would look right at home in any nursery and is guaranteed to brighten up the room! This pattern is by oneandtwocompany. It only costs £3.39 to buy this pattern and it can be found here.


5) Astronaut Brooch

This brooch is amazing! Made by using shrink plastic, the image was designed by createdbyHannah, who also makes amazing tote bags and greetings cards! She has just released a space range; perfect timing for this EE! This gorgeous brooch is only £7.00 and can be found here.

6) Space Sloth Embroidered Patch/Brooch

HOW CUTE??? Look at this little guy's happy face :) He's adorable and looks so ready to go to space! This gorgeous brooch is free machine embroidered by LeighLaLovesYou. This lovely lady has mad skills! This brooch is only £12.00 and can be found here.

7) Galaxy Space Earrings

These earrings are amazing. I love the look of these! Made using sterling silver findings and chain, these high-quality earrings are going to spice up any outfit! These earrings are by JerseyMaid, cost £52.45 and can be found here.

8) Outer Space Sweatshirt

I love this jumper, I think it may be because of the planets' happy little faces :D This jumper is by emandsprout and is a lightweight sweatshirt. This shop stocks a lot of cute sweatshirts :) It costs £16.04 and can be found here.

9) Galaxy Space Wine Bottle Topper

I very rarely do this, but this is another product from JerseyMaids! I love how unusual it is :) You can even choose the cosmic setting of your choice to be in the stopper :) This costs £19.75 and can be found here.

10) Star Wars Hand Painted Shoes

I can't have a space-themed EE without a bit of Star Wars! These amazing hand-painted shoes are by FanX and are made to order, so you can get your size! You can even get different characters painted on if you like. These shoes are only £24.68 and can be found here.

My Crafting Inspiration: Twinkie Chan

I thought it might be nice for those interested to see who inspires me when it comes to crafting! There are so many people who do, so expect to see a few blog posts!

The first post in this series is about the amazingly colourful Twinkie Chan! If you're about in the crochet world, I'm sure you know who this lovely lady is! Her tagline is "Eat your cake, and wear it too!", which just sums up her work perfectly. She is based in San Francisco and crochets lovely food-related items that are just too cute to eat! She is extremely well known for her scarves that are made up of crochet cupcakes and other delicious-looking food items.

When I first discovered her, I read through every single page on her blog and became increasingly inspired to start my own business! Twinkie Chan is one of the ladies who is fortunate enough to make a living off out of making and creating things; I'm so jealous! I guess I just need to stick at it.. :) Not only are there many pictures of inspiration on her blog, you also get a sneak-peek into her life and the behind-the-scenes of it all, including her adorable dogs and amazing craft room!! She is even generous enough to share the odd pattern for free on her blog :)

Enough of the chatter and onto the pictures! All of the photos are from Twinkie Chan's blog.

Free pattern available here.

Isn't she adorable??

Even if you don't like crochet, I thoroughly recommend Twinkie Chan's blog and website! It's guaranteed to make you happy (and maybe slightly peckish...)

Visit her blog: http://blog.twinkiechan.com/

Check out her Etsy! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twinkiechan

Or treat yourself to her amazing book, full of cute patterns! http://www.yummyyouclothing.com/twinkie-chan-s-crochet-goodies-for-fashion-foodies-book

Who's your crafting inspiration?

About Valentine's Day

So some of you may hate it, some may love it and some may even be indifferent, but like it or not, Valentine's Day is here. I've never been one to "celebrate" V-Day as I believe that if you're with someone, you should show that you love them every day, not just save it for a special occasion!

Valentine's day, as I'm sure some of you know, is named after a Christian martyr, St. Valentine, and dates back to the 5th Century.

Legend has it that St Valentine of Rome was imprisoned for conducting weddings for soldiers who were, for some reason, forbidden to marry, and ministering to Christians, who were persecuted at that time. Apparently he healed the daughter of his jailer during his time in prison. Some say that he wrote a letter to her before his execution and signed it "Your Valentine", as a final goodbye. :(

The day was first linked with love in the Middle Ages, by Geoffrey Chaucer. It was during this time that the tradition of love and all its hype flourished. But we can blame the people of the 18th Century for the gift-giving element of it as by this time, it had grown into an event where people showed their love by giving gifts and cards. These cards were originally handmade, hand written cards that had a lot more of a significant meaning than the shop bought ones now!

Image by SewnNatural on Etsy

Getting Brave with Brick Stitch

As you may have read in a previous post, I've just started to bead weave. I'm nowhere near spectacular enough to make all kinds of extravagant pieces, but I have learnt how to do different things!

 My latest endeavour with brick stitch, which is all I can manage at the moment regarding bead weaving, is making cute candy/sweet pendants or charms!! Check out the array that I have created:

And then I started to make bow necklaces too :D

This is actually a violet colour but my camera hates purple...

These items are now available in my Etsy shop!! Link here.

Let me know what you think of the new photographing technique btw! Thought I'd try something different :)

How I Use My Sewing Box - Bead Weaving

I was given a sewing box from my boyfriend's mum for Christmas as she knows that I love to create and make things. Although I have recently purchased a sewing machine and am readily awaiting its arrival, I don't usually do an awful lot of sewing. I am one of these people who hate to see Christmas presents, or gifts of any kind, go unused. I don't mind if they're forgotten about after a couple of months, but at least show willing but using it!

I was given this gorgeous Cath Kidston sewing box:

I love the brightness and the print is lovely :) The contrast of red and light blue also makes me happy! Now onto the amazing insides.

Look at that lovely blue spotty lining! Anyway, you can see that each section in the top part has its own job. And yes, I am using a duster instead of a bead mat... My bad!

So this part has all my Miyuki Delica beads in! I know that if I get many more, I won't be able to store them in this section! Just above it, I store my tape measure and any pieces that are still WIPs. As well as my 4mm jump rings.

My tools are stored in the longer section of the top. You may notice tweezers! I use them to hold the jump ring as I use my chain nose pliers in my other hand to twist them open :) They're not for emergency eyebrow moments!!

I keep my needles in the pin cushion part, as you'd expect...

Finally the bottom part, after taking the upper tray out of the box. This is where I keep all my chain, my extra jump rings and my clasps. I also keep my travel sewing kit in there too, just in case I may need it :)

How do you store your craft supplies? I'd love to hear from you!

New Storage Space?

So my boyfriend and our housemate were starting to get annoyed with my yarn being everywhere, even if it was only in "Craft Corner", which was a small space between the arm of the sofa and the wall. I had no storage there, just an Asda bag with my yarn in!

So our housemate had a new cello delivered! It's very swanky and electric :) Anyway, it arrived in a massive box, that my boyfriend decided was good enough to play in:

If you follow me on Instagram (@TheCornerofCraft) then you would have already seen this photo.

We won't discuss the onesie... let's just leave it be. Yes. Anyway, after he was done with the box, and while I was at work on Saturday, he decided to fashion some shelves out of the box to store my yarn in! Ah we're such a creative couple. And lo, the makeshift shelving unit was born:

The top shelf is storing my current WIPs, like gloves, my crochet mood blanket. The middle and bottom shelves are for storing my yarn stash! It looks so small when it's crammed into shelves! I guess we're just too cheap to buy actual shelves... Or too thrifty!

Let me know if you have any makeshift storage ideas that you use!

Crochet Mood Blanket 2014: January

So I decided that a weekly update of my blanket would get very repetitive, very quickly. I thought it would be much better to write a monthly update of my blanket was a lot more manageable and maybe a more-pleasant read.

I thought I was going to struggle a lot more with making one square a day than I actually did! Yes, sometimes I was up to a week behind, but I was soon able to catch up on the squares I'd missed. Because I was sometimes making 6 or 7 squares in bulk, this means the "mood" aspect of the blanket no longer exists. You knew I wasn't assigning set colours to moods as I was stash-busting, but before I was finding a colour from my stash that reflected my mood. Now I'm just going randomly with whatever colours I feel like. I love how it's turning out!

I have had a couple of annoying squares! Because I am stash-busting, I have found myself running out of yarn to close to the end of a square! I've had to do a bit of "creative" patching... These squares just have more character... *cough*

This square is my favourite so far. The yarn I used for the middle of the square was such a small amount, I found yarns in my stash that I matched to the colours in the centre :)

I'm using Attic24's "join as you go" technique and I'm so glad I am! I can't imagine making all these squares and have to sew them together individually! It would definitely put me off making the blanket! Here are some lovely pictures to show you how January looked! I don't think it had hit me how large this blanket was going to be! It's going to be massive; I'm so excited!! :D