It's Fairy Day!

Every fairy needs a house, and this one doubles as a teapot cozy!

I have a definite sweet spot in my heart for all things amigurumi (or kawaii softies, if you prefer), and one of my absolute favorites are fairies. International - yes, INTERnational - Fairy Day has been designated for June 24th this year. (Just FYI, the tooth fairy has her own days on February 28th and August 22nd. I don't know why she has two days, but maybe oral health needs the extra advertising!)

I took to Pinterest to find what fairies were available, and there were quite an assortment of delightful little cuties. The ones that are on my bucket list, though, are the ones from the Russian master class crochet. Of course, I would have to work my way up to that level! Perhaps I should start with some of the simpler ones....

Sweet Little Fairy by Fun and Fang; free pattern can be found here

Adorable Tinker Bell by JanaGeek

Who can resist Lucy the Fairy Mouse by LittleAquaGirl?

Unique Bella Fairy by Madelenon - she's waiting to make your wishes come true!

Sublime Fairy Elf by Alyona Dudakova; inspiration only, but you can visit here and here

Chrysanna the Albino Fairy by Epic Kawaii - make sure to check out this designer's other fairies!

 

Product Photography 101 (!%$#!?!)

In keeping with having products in my store to sell, I have just added another (and very colorful) item for sale - the Boucle Delight Cowl. I had originally made this as a scarf, but it ended up a little short, so i decided to convert it to a cowl. I know that I should have more summery items in the shop. I promise I will, but I'm still in the throws of reorganizing my bed/craft room, so when something pops up to add, I'm just going with it. In my world the months seem to fly by, so it'll be fall before I know it!

The biggest problem I've had with this cowl is the photography. I didn't use bright or neon yarn colors to make this, but in the photos the cowl really looks much brighter than it actually is. I tried taking a pic inside the house (thinking the sun was the culprit), but that didn't work either. The next photo is much closer to the real colors.

In articles about taking product pics, they tell you to use natural light (or "reveal" type light bulbs) as much as possible because this will show off the true color of the item. Obviously, direct sun doesn't always work. Since I don't have a room to set up for product photography or the money for a pro photographer, I just have to rely on photo editing programs to try to achieve the proper effect. Easier said than done!

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Arthur is Getting a Girlfriend!

I went online to find Arthur a girlfriend.

At first, the best I could find was Re-Ment posable skeletons. They are numbered so you can tell which one you're getting - #1 man I believe is the smallest at 3 1/4" tall, #2 is supposed to be a child, #3 is a man at 3 3/4", and #4 is a woman. A dog (1 1/2" tall & 2 1/4" long including tail) and a cat are also available.  (Note: the sizes listed on Amazon are wrong.) The thing that is so cool about them is that they are posable! Their jaws work too, and the humans come with an extra set of gripping hands. They said the #1 man can grip Lego swords, etc., but I haven't tried that out yet. The company has even made playsets for these skeletons! I did buy the #1, #3, a dog, and a Lego dragon sword. As long as the sword works out, my oldest is going to get the #1 man and a sword. The problem is that the humans are way too small for Arthur (he's about 12 inches).

 

 But - wait for it - this is the exciting news! When I went back online, I actually found the same skeleton as Arthur! I can't believe that after 20 years that he's still in production. My oldest accused me of being deceptive - he claims that I gave him Arthur a long time ago; I say I didn't. Now I can give him his own glow-in-the-dark friend! And what's really funny is after all this time the reviewers' complaint is the same I had - he falls apart too easily. Still haven't figured out how to fix that yet.

 Arthur is so happy. I gave him a red cushioned chair to sit on, which is much better than the cardboard box. He loves his new puppy and is accepting name suggestions. He is really enjoying his two new friends, even if they're quite a bit shorter than he is. I haven't told him about his new girlfriend yet, because I want that to be a surprise. The only thing left is to make an "upholstered" chair, or maybe loveseat, for the new couple. Clothes, too. Must get busy on that, pronto!