an amigurumi christmas

This year, I decided to crochet some amigurumi for my co-workers.  Want to take a peek?

A narwhal for my good friend - she already named him Nathaniel! :)

A sweet cupcake for my sweet-loving friend.

A Christmas pickle for someone silly... If you don't know the story of good luck associated with Christmas pickle ornaments, you should read about it!  I love this one's little face and think that's what make him so him haha.

A coffee cup for my boss... I heard blue was her favorite color.

A sweet penguin for the mommy-to-be... I was also inspired to make her a little something for Baby S. (That we just found out will be a girl!  And she's due just a few days past my own b-day... Here's hoping we might share a b-day heehee.)....

A sweet little baby bear hat for Baby S.!  I could not get over how cute and small this turned out.  I thought about adding a pink bow but Matt and I agreed it looked too cluttered/heavy so I left it off.  I heard the mommy-to-be loved this hat so much that it almost made her cry - oops!

I'm glad everyone loved their gifts and it made me especially happy because I love making people smile.  There's nothing like making and giving a special handmade item! 

Patterns from Ana Paula Rimoli's amigurumi books, Pickle ornament by Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches, and the newborn teddy hat pattern courtesy of All About Ami's tumblr.

december cheer

Happy December!  Where did this year go?  I can't believe it's already December...seems like just yesterday we were gearing up for Fall.  Today I heard on the radio that there's only 20-some odd days left of this year and we'll be in 2012 soon.  Crazy!  

How adorable are these advent calendars?  Every year I check out the adorable holiday items at Trader Joe's and buy Advent calendars for us to go through during December.  Typically, they only sell one type of Advent calendar and lately, it's been the print on the left.  But, this year, they've decided to do 3 different prints!  I couldn't get over just how cute the polar bears are, and check out those squirrels popping out of the snow with their wide eyes, so precious!  I got our calendars a few days late this year so we'll have a few days of chocolate to catch up on, oops.  Oh well!  Nom nom nom.  Trader Joe's has some fun things this year, but I was in a rush so I didn't get a chance to check out everything thoroughly.  But there were a ton of different cookies, candies, gingerbread, chocolate, peppermint...everything holiday sounding and tasting was accounted for - yum!  I even scored a four-flavor popcorn tin featuring those same adorable polar bears ice skating and fishing.  Couldn't resist!

Are you ready for the holidays?  We started our Christmas shopping this past weekend, but I still feel horribly behind.  I've been ordering a lot of things online since we'll be spending Christmas with Matt's parents and my parents obviously live far away so it's just easier to have things shipped.  There have also been some great deals online these days, too.  Sure beats fighting the crowds at the stores sometimes.  I'm still pretty far behind and clueless about some gifts to get, which stinks because usually I'm on top of things and have ideas starting as far back as in the Fall.  I have no idea what happened to me this year.  Definitely will be brainstorming during the week.  Matt and I might brave the stores again this weekend to continue with our shopping.  We're also planning to go to Disneyland on Sunday.  I've been wanting to go during the holidays to check out the decorations and enjoy the holiday magic and festivities (same thoughts for going to the San Diego Zoo as well for Jungle Bells).  Sunday also happens to be our 5-year anniversary...can you believe it??  I sure can't!  It'll be nice to celebrate with Mickey and friends ;)

I love this time of year and the holiday season!

2011 photo yearbook project day #6

It's almost Friday!!  My sister came back from her holiday break so I spent a lot of time on the road driving to and from work, the airport, and home.  405 freeway, you are the bane of my existence.  But I got to finally get my Christmas goodies AND some bonus surprises, like Malnati's pizza (which I have been craving, especially since I read an article just yesterday about The Lou and the new Chicago Classic and bam, some pieces showed up inside my sister's luggage, yum!) and Christmas cookies.  Hehehe, belly so full.

I also got other goodies, like this adorable backpack by Paperchase:

Funny, but I actually saw this a few weeks ago and almost bought it myself (but Matt stopped me because he said it was too small).  Good thing I didn't buy it because my mommy bought it for me instead!  I love it.  I love Paperchase stuff, they always have such cute prints.  It was a funny holiday season because my mom and I had the exact line of thinking for every gift.  Go figure!  Great minds think alike, I guess.

hello 2011!

Hello world!  I feel like I've been MIA from my blog for a long time, even if it's just been a few weeks.  Now it's mere moments away from being 2011 (a whole new year!) and I feel like I need to catch up on what's been going on in the last bits of 2010.

Things have really been topsy turvy lately.  I went from beginning to plan my new study schedule for the February Bar exam to go along with my crafting and Etsy-ing to interviewing for and getting a new job!  That came out of nowhere, for real.  So, that's where I've been the past few weeks, just adjusting to a lot of new things.  It's been challenging and stressful and frustrating at times, but it's good, too, and good to be earning my own money again.  We really needed it!  Although it's been a lot to take in, I'm going to look at it as another challenge and go into it with a fresh attitude and mindset for 2011.  Some day I'll look back on this day and think about how silly I was for feeling so overwhelmed.  It's just adjusting and becoming comfortable - I just wish it'd feel natural already, but looking back at my first job out of college, I remember feeling the same way.  So I'll try to work on some patience and keep an open mind.

Even in these few weeks, besides the job, a lot of fun stuff has been happening.  My sister bought her Disneyland annual pass and we went twice in the span of 4 days (and even survived a rainy night the second time).  After she flew home, Matt and I spent a lovely Christmas at his parents' house with family and friends.  It's always good laughs and craziness and this time was no different, especially when we encountered an interesting character at the bar on Christmas Eve that became completely smitten with Matt's mom's friend.  Yikes.  Definitely a story to remember.  And we got to meet up with some of Matt's dear friends and it turned out to be a lot of fun catching up.  

I got some lovely things for Christmas but I think I've gotten to the point where it's more about the time and festivities than it is about the gifts.  I didn't get anything major but it was cute to receive thoughtful little things, like handmade crochet takochu from my sister, a Smashbox makeup kit from Santa, a super cute monkey plush, a yoshi plush, and cute keychain and coin purse from Matt's grandma.  Now that I'm making my own money again, I can't wait to start paying off some of my debts that have accumulated.  Also, my goal (hopefully soon) is to buy my first DLSR camera.  I'd love to improve on my Etsy shop photos and also, I'd like to be able to take some nice photos just for myself.  Maybe for art around the house or just as inspiration for crafts.  My sister just bought her first one so I'm waiting to see/hear if it's great and hopefully I can pool some money together from my Christmas money and save some from my job and get one soon, too.

I've decided that this year, I will do the yearlong photo-a-day project.  I learned about this too late last year to do it so I've been waiting for the start to the new year to get it going.  I'm planning on taking a photo a day for the entire year, to keep a photo 'scrapbook' if you will of things that happened each day.  I'm sure some days won't be as interesting but I think it's a fun challenge and to look back on 365 days' worth of photos might be pretty cool.  I haven't decided if I'll post the photos on my blog or my tumblr, but I might do it on both.  Just a short entry each day.  I'm reluctant to go through the hassle of creating another blog and have yet another thing to maintain when I already have trouble with the ones I have now so I'll just keep it simple.  I'm excited and I hope you will be, too!

I'm not one for big new year's resolutions but I think I have some goals for the new year.  They're just general ones but I think they're good to keep in mind.  Like I already said, I'm looking forward to a fresh start and having more patience with things.  And I'm hoping to find a nice balance between work, studying and play so I can succeed at everything.  I miss crafting and wish I could expand on my Etsy shop.  I also want to make sure I sketch and write and take more photos...I have so many cool crafty mediums and this blog and a tumblr that need more attention and a lot more re-focusing and re-design.  I want to make 2011 great and am looking forward to a lot of great changes and growth.  I'm not sure where 2010 went but I'm sorta glad it's over because it was rough at times, but I hope 2011 has a lot of great things in store.  I'm ready!

Photo yearbook day 1 is coming up soon! :)

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Yesterday I took a trip to Michaels, which is always oh-so fun but oh-so deadly!  I was feeling down in the dumps but once I got there and saw all of the Christmas decorations up, I was psyched!

There's something therapeutic for me to go to Michaels (or any craft store) and just wander the aisles, lost in my thoughts and looking at all the crafty items surrounding me.  Christmas is my favorite time of year and I love the decorations, the magical feeling...yes!  There was so much to look at, I was in major crafty and idea overload.

I did go into Michaels with some specific ideas in mind (and a coupon, woohoo).  I've been thinking about ornaments a lot lately (fueled probably by the purchase of some super cute alpaca yarn sock monkeys, a wire reindeer, and a polar bear from Crate & Barrel) and have been wanting to make some of my own.  I collected pom poms, jingle bells, felt...and I was thrilled to see a ton of Christmas ribbons at 50% off!  I probably spent 20 minutes just combing those spools, looking for some fabulous finds.  Needless to say, I went a little crazy but I got a lot for what I spent.

I started making ornaments tonight and it's been so much fun!  I love reindeers a lot (I think they're my favorite motif for Christmas), so I sketched out this interpretation of Rudolph and cut him out of felt, accenting him with a red pom pom nose and a jingle bell.  It took a while to make him because of all the little pieces and the hand sewing, but I love him to pieces!  He's a little lopsided because I put the ribbon in the wrong place, so I think I might use that as an excuse to keep him for myself :P  Onto the tree he goes, hehe.  I can't wait to make more ornament friends!

I really need to finish up some ornaments and then take a bunch of photos so I can make my first Etsy listings.  I'm a little nervous to open shop, but also excited.  Gotta get a move on it!