Well, so much for the advent calendar :P

I did make a present for my sister, though. The pattern is from this Japanese craft book. The patch is from ferdinand. The fabric is an old dress (previously seen as a Blythe dress). The straps are the ties from the dress. The lining is an animal print I got in a swap. The pearl snap I managed to shatter while mounting it. Next time I’ll put a towel or something under it. It actually looks kind of cool, though, so I left it that way.

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I made this kanzashi tsumami pin for my friend. I used the instructions from Oh Bara this time. I like them better than the Craftster tutorial I used last time. I also continued my hot glue kick, which worked ok. I think next time I will sew them together and then hot glue them. The petals are a bit uneven. I made the two individual flowers thinking I would give them to two people, but then I thought they looked pretty good together and glued them both on a backing with a pin. I’m pretty happy with it. The fabric is kimono silk from not-sure-where.

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Advent day 17: straw again.

Yeah, I’m cheating here; I don’t really have straw twice in the advent calendar. The Bad Bad Kitten completely destroyed the last star I made, and I need a topper for the tree. This is another design from the same kit, which is just hot-gluing pieces of straw to a wooden bead. I’d forgotten how much fun hot glue is.

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Advent day 13: Blythe

Margeaux needed a Christmas dress. This is from Puchimadam‘s lined party dress pattern. I added a collar, rickrack trim, bead buttons, and pompom trim. I’m super happy with the collar. Now all I have to do is figure out sleeves….

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Advent day 11: crochet

I’ve done enough amigurumi now to make up stuff. I did most of this snowman on the train ride from Boston yesterday. He’s about 2 inches tall, done with crochet thread.

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A bunch of yetis are going to new homes tomorrow. I only have 5 left, so if you want one, email me quick!

FYI, advent’s taking a break in favor of trying to get two papers submitted by the end of the week. Maybe I’ll catch up after they’re sent out.

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advent day 4: straw

I bought a Martha straw ornament-making kit off eBay a while back, but never got around to making one. This is my first and maybe also my last. Such A Pain To Make. I don’t know how anyone with larger fingers than mine would make this thing. It’s pretty, though, isn’t it? It’ll be the star on the top of the tree this year.

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Advent 3: gocco

I’ve been wanting to do a thick felt ornament for a couple of years now, after getting a lovely felt snowflake tied to a package from Anthropologie. I also experimented with gocco printing on felt a while back, too. Then I bought this wonderful ornament from wonderland Q, and I knew I had to do it. I’ve got yeti on the brain lately, and yetis seem suitably winter-related, right? Unfortunately, I can’t draw a yeti, so I traced an image from this guy’s gallery. I emailed him a few days ago asking for permission, but I haven’t gotten a reply yet. Hopefully he doesn’t mind.

I have been unable to find a supplier for thick felt (anybody know of a place? I desperately need some for a different project), so I fused together 3 layers of wool blend felt to get the thickness and body. Even though it’s pretty think, my fabric shears had no problem with it. The hanger is just rayon embroidery thread. I like the rayon thread because it’s shiny.

Various pieces of gocco advice: Burning masters from tracing paper doesn’t work. The paper bubbled, leaving unburned pock marks. It’s easier if you print on a single layer of felt, then fuse extra layers to it. Felt likes to stick to the screen, and the single layers peeled off with less smudging than the triples. I used the ink for paper for this because I didn’t have any blue fabric ink, plus I made my Xmas cards with the same design. Worked fine. Finally, sad news that Riso is going to stop making goccos! And they only have enough supplies for 3 more years! One more thing to add to my Christmas list.

So, I got a little carried away making these. The craft room is currently hosting a veritable army of yetis. I’m swapping one for this awesome tiny sweater made by Wise Craft, and I think I’ll send another one to wonderland Q since her ornament inspired me to make these. A few are going in lieu of cards to various people. And of course I’ll keep some for myself. I think that leaves about 20 unaccounted for. So, if you’d like to trade for one, send me an email: craftlog [at] huangfamily [dot] com I’m game for pretty much anything: ornaments, buttons, trims, craft supplies, whatever.

No more yetis, they’re all spoken for. Thanks!

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Advent day 2: garland

I got these little santa dolls at a handcraft store in New Mexico a couple of years ago. They remind me of the worry dolls I had when I was little. Every year I forget I have them only to rediscover them after Christmas. Not this year! I strung them up with beads to make this garland. It’s only about 2 feet long, not because I ran out of santas, but because I ran out of beads. I still have maybe 75 santas left. Next year I think I’ll use them for cards (you will just have to wait a couple more days to see what I’m doing this year).

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First thing from the advent calendar: buttons.

The new issue of Martha Stewart Kids has some really sweet button ornaments. I threaded buttons of different sizes over a thin pipe cleaner to make this snowman. Most of the buttons are vintage from my grandmas and great aunts, I think. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough browns to make a reindeer pal for him.

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