Saturday, June 6, 2009

House/ Dog & Cat Sitting

I've been off of crafting this entire week because I'm house sitting for friends of mine; Vlad (his real name is Vladimir... funny dog!) here has a strong attachment to people and he can't sleep home alone. He's really funny; he's a beagle mix and he's currently watching me type with one ear flipped up over his head- I don't think he's noticed yet :D I'm also watching two cats, Jan and Klaus. I've never had this many animals to watch before (lovebirds, fish and snails don't count... they're low maintenance!) It's actually kinda tiring. I can only imagine what kids are like!

Anyway, their house is super big, and there's nobody here; you would think I could craft like mad... I even brought all of my sewing supplies (along with research and school books) so that I could get some work done, but I just can't get into crafting here. I have been working on fabric though, so at least that's something. Here's just a little bit of Vlad to leave you with... I often lie like this myself, although I don't think I smile like this!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

June's feature amigurumi and free desktop calendar download!

Yay, I'm not too late this month (only three or so days... an improvement for my normal 5!) Here is June's free desktop calendar, available for download at my photobucket or flickr.

Featuring Baguette, the sweet Paris kitty! She's ready to eat bon-bons at the cafe decked out in her pretty skirt, classic pearls and jaunty beret; she and Monsieur penguin are ready for a wonderful day!

Baguette was named by my sister, and she actually took a while to make! She is the first of my eyes to feature handpainted eyes (I did them... I think they look cute!) She also features:
  • a tulle skirt sewn by hand-it was so hard to sew
  • a little crocheted beret
  • champagne colored pearls
  • three bon-bons in parchment paper (made from fimo, handpainted and glazed)
  • a polka-dotted felt placemat
  • and my personal favorite; a blue and white penguin, who is my first dual colored pom-pom.
I hope you like Baguette :D She'll be for sale in my etsy sometime this week or next.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Persepolis


Just saw Persepolis... it was awesome! I highly recommend it :)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

fun websites for photos

Just a quick post today; here are two really fun websites that I've seen on other blogs that allow you to do stuff to your photos; the first "oldifies"/ages your pictures. Click right here for the link!It's actually in Japanese, but it was pretty easy to figure out where to upload and what buttons to press. Here's my example:


A lion dance from Chinatown, Honolulu, HI 2008

The other website is one I'm sure you're going to have hours and hours of fun with: it's called tiltshiftmaker, and it allows you tilt shift your pictures (which will make it look like a toy model set. I personally love this type of photography! This website is awesome too; they have a flickr group where you can post your tilt-shifted pictures. Some advice; choose your pictures carefully; some will look better tilt shifted than others... I guess you should just experiment :) Have fun!
The Forbidden City, Beijing, China, from my trip to China in 2006
View of Xian streets from the City Gate; Xian, China from my trip in 2006

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Bear Lollipop Pattern- Edited!

--- I edited the written pattern to match the diagram; I've also added the Tips and Hints page: thanks Misty!

Yay
! Here it is guys: a free bearpop lollipop pattern which you may use to make your own bear lollipops. It is actually a PDF with more pages, including a Pattern Information page and a Tips and Hints page. I would be emailing these to people who purchase them from my etsy shop. But you guys can have them for freegan, 'cause I love you so much! I only ask that if you are going to make and sell these on the internet or at craft fairs that you credit me (berrysprite), and even better, tell them about my etsy/ blog... it would be kindly appreciated! You can also post your pictures to the berrysprite amigurumi flickr group, so we can see how lovely your pops are!

Because this is my first pattern, I would love some feedback; if you use the pattern could you please leave a comment (its tres important!) on one or all of these things? Thanks so much!
  1. pattern page- how does it look visually? Do you like the layout and the graphics, or do you think they are distracting (I tried to keep lots of colors off the page people would print out.
  2. actual pattern- Is it easy to understand? Is it similar to other patterns you've seen? Are there any mistakes or is it unclear in a certain part?
  3. Pattern abbreviations and diagrams: Are the abbreviations and diagrams easy to understand? Are they helpful?
  4. Any other comments would be extremely helpful!
Thanks so much again guys, and I hope you love the pattern! Just click on the pictures to enlarge and print or follow the written instructions!


Abbreviation Guide:
R#= Row Number
sc= single crochet stitch
slip/st= slip stitch
dec= decrease
ch=chain
st= stitch
♥---♥= set of stitches to repeat while crocheting in the round

Head:
Begin: Ch 2, sc 6 in the second st from the hook; join ends with a slip/st in the first sc (6 st)
R1: ♥ 2 sc in each stitch around♥ , Repeat ♥ 6 times. (12 st)
R2: ♥1 sc in next st, then 2 sc in next st♥, Repeat ♥ 6 times. (18 st)
R3- R5: sc all the way around (18 st)
R6: ♥sc 1, dec 1♥, repeat 6 times (12 st)
R7: ♥dec♥, repeat 6 times until closed

Ears: make 2.
Begin: Ch 2, sc 4 in the second st from the hook; join ends with a slip/st in the first sc (4 st)


♥ ♥ ♥ After crocheting all the pieces, stuff the head with polyfil; then you can sew the ears onto the bear head, and use a bead of hot glue at the opening of your crochet to put the stick in your pop. Add the facial features last; it'll be easier that way! Finally, top him off with a kawaii little ribbon that you tie before-hand and glue on. ♥ ♥ ♥

Diagram Abbreviations:
˄= increase
X= single stitch
˅= decrease
st= stitches


Pattern Diagram:
Head:
Begin: Ch 2, sc 6 in the second st from the hook; join ends with a slip/st in the first sc (6 st)
R1 ˄ ˄ ˄ ˄ ˄ ˄ (12 st)
R2 x ˄ x ˄ x ˄ x ˄ x ˄ x ˄ (18 st)
R3 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (18 st)
R4 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (18 st)
R5 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (18 st)
R6 x ˅ x ˅ x ˅ x ˅ x ˅ x ˅ (12 st)
R7 ˅ ˅ ˅ ˅ ˅ ˅ (6 st)

Ears: make 2.
Begin: Ch 2, sc 4 in second st from hook; join ends with a slip/st in the first sc (4 sc)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Winners!


Hee hee, you guys know me and my secret prizes! Besides announcing the winner of the seal plush, I would also like to announce another winner for a special pack of mamegoma seal buttons!

Thanks so much everybody for leaving a comment and for entering the giveaway... I hope you guys had as much fun as I did! And while not everyone can win a mamegoma seal plush, I will be posting a free crochet pattern on my blog around Sunday. Wanna know what it is? Here's a big hint... think of lollipops! It'll partially be a test of my pattern writing skill, especially since I will be switching my etsy shop berrysprite to exclusively be patterns while I'm in DC. However, it's mostly going to be a special thank you for everyone who hearts me, has visited, or who has commented ever. (I think of you guys as my web buddies!)

So without further ado my buddies, here are the grand prize winners of May's giveaway (picked by random number generator!

The winners are:
cuteboo- mamegoma seal plush!
joanna- mamegoma button pack!

Will the winners please email me their mailing addresses (to berrysprite@yahoo.com)? Thanks so much!

PS. I use inkscape to do the banners!
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