12/23/2013

Merry Christmas! A cozy little Christmas home tour for you all!

Hi everyone! Well, once again the holiday season has thoroughly kicked my butt, but this year I kicked some right back! I know I haven't updated the blog in a good while except to advertise sales and such (Although if you follow my instagram @ohthecuteness then you've seen what I've been up to!), but I have some fun new tutorials and crochet patterns coming up in the new year! Also all of the craft fairs I did this year went so well that I didn't have much left over to list online, which totally blew me away! As soon as Halloween rolled around Johnny and I were so consumed by decorating that I didn't get to post anything, and as soon as Halloween came down Christmas went up, and by then I was consumed with making things for the holiday fairs as well as family functions. I've really been enjoying the lull for the past week and found time to take some nice photos of the house all decked out for Christmas. I think I might keep the photos of Halloween till next year, what do you guys think? Anywho, happy holidays, and you can see the entire set of photos on my flickr set.

Here's the dining room! There's a sideboard full of elves to the left and a mini tree with bubble lights to the right, which you can see on flickr.


I'm obsessed with tiny houses all year round, so I love getting to display them at Christmas!

And here's the big tree, It's 10 ft tall!Johnny said his family always put stuffed animals on the stairs, so we did it this year. And the popcorn garland on the tree is from last year's little tree at my old apartment; it held up great just stored in a plastic bag! To the left there's a giant plaster snowman and a Santa to the right shown on my flickr.

Johnny's mom gave him a big collection of these little poseable elves, so we decided to hide them around the house doing various things. This guy's my favorite, he just looks like something right out of a Wes Andersen movie!

I also totally love this guy hanging from our garland. Amazing what a little fishing line can do. There's more of them hiding around, and you can see the photos of them on the flickr set.

And here's our little tree in the family room, it's my favorite! I put all my handmade ornaments on it, whether they were made by me, mom, or my friends, and johnny put his keepsake ones on too. We love sitting on the couch with a fire going while watching Christmas movies!

Here's the view from the back of our tree into the sitting room. The giant sleigh & deer were a gift from Johnny's parents & they light up and move! To the right is our china hutch which we filled with a slew of Christmas collectibles, which you an see on the flickr set too. Hope you enjoyed the tour, and Merry Christmas!

12/09/2013

Ladie's Night in Downtown Campbell! Free girly goodies, spa treatments, and local vendors!

I'll be selling my wares this coming Wednesday at 6:00 at the first ever Ladie's Night in downtown Campbell! It's at my chiropractor's office and it sounds like it will be a lot of fun, with lots of free girly goodies including free champagne, mimosas, sweet treats, hand massages, mini facials, and even bang trims (which I desperately need at the moment actually lol)! So if you happen to be a south bay local and can attend, or know someone who can, please stop by and help make this event a success! Click on the flyer below to be taken to the Eventbrite page to RSVP, or just feel free to stop by the night of!


12/02/2013

Happy Cyber Monday! This is the last day of my 20% off sale, so be sure to stop by the shop!


Everyone has till midnight tonight to get 20% off their entire order, including sale items!

Just go to http://ohthecuteness.etsy.com and use the code SALETIME at checkout!

11/30/2013

Happy Small Business Saturday! My 20% off sale continues until Cyber Monday at Midnight!


Just a reminder for everyone that today is Small Business Saturday! Please help support independent artists and shops so they can keep doing what they love!

My 20% off sale will be going on through Midnight on Cyber Monday, and remember the discount also applies to all of the owl plushies and owl pincushions that have already been marked down!

Head on over to http://ohthecuteness.etsy.com and use the code SALETIME to get your discount!

11/28/2013

Big sale starts at midnight! Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday too! 20% off everything in my etsy shop!


I'm having a big sale this weekend, starting at midnight  tonight and ending Monday at midnight!

Go to http://ohthecuteness.etsy.com and
use the code SALETIME to get 20% off everything in my etsy shop, including all of the already-discounted owls!

Happy Thanksgiving!


9/27/2013

Steampunk and Cyberpunk Rings for Sale!

I've listed nearly 40 new rings in the shop! They're made from antique watch movements with adjustable brass bands, and they're all between five and seven dollars!

 The antique clockwork ones are called "Time Traveler's Rings" and are great for steampunk or everyday badassery.

I laso made a bunch of them from movements out of slightly more modern electric watches, which I'm calling "Locutus of Borg Rings". They remind me of my favorite sci-fi bad guys and would be perfect for a cosplay Borg outfit or just for fun. Most of these rings are great for guys or girls, so go check them out here.

9/26/2013

Steampunk fascinators are finally for sale!

Finally, after literally years of making these babies, I've listed six of them in the shop:

Made from vintage watch parts and other quirky findings, along with the prettiest of feathers, these fascinator headbands are so much fun to wear, whether it's with a pair of jeans or a party dress! Each one is unique, super comfy to wear, and only $35 each! Perfect timing for holiday parties, no? You can see more about them and purchase yours here.






9/20/2013

Fancy Friday 15 - Cuteness Recap.

Happy Fancy Friday! I've got company over to the house this week and getting fancy isn't really going to work today, so I thought I'd post some extra photos from Fancy Friday 12.

Johnny was also a bit fancier than usual and we had a lot of fun using the timer on the camera to snap some goofy pictures because the evening light was so lovely. This was actually the day he was taking me to Shabu-Shabu for dinner for my birthday.



What a bunch of goofballs! Anywho, I've got a totally awesome shoot planned for next week's post, so stay fancy!

9/19/2013

Shop Update: New Owl Pincushions!


A whole rainbow of new owl pincushions are for sale in the shop today! (I made a ton for the recent craft fair I sold at, more specifically I made one for each color of felt I ad on hand, and I couldn't resist the  fun conga line photo that has become my new blog banner. Such fun!)
Coming soon are steampunk rings, a couple new amigurumi pieces, and tiny taxidermy!
Also, I realized I miscalculated the cost of my enamel lockets and key necklaces so they're now about half the price that they were originally listed at, so if you've had your eye on one now's the time to get one!

9/18/2013

Pattern testers needed for my new knitting pattern!

Well guys, I did it! I learned how to knit in 2009 and since then it's been an interesting ride. I made my first knitted piece, a sweater, in one month for Me-Made-May. In between then and now I've made a few cute knitted pieces like these, and one sock (the second one is coming, I swear), and I've written one simple cowl pattern which I posted here for free. And now I've gotten confident enough with my knitting skills to create a little baby cardigan pattern!

This newborn-size sweater (With real vintage buttons!) is made from Madelinetosh's Tosh Merino Light in Badlands. It's a fingering-weight superwash yarn and I love it so much! Johnny got me a gift certificate to one of my favorite local yarn shops and he helped me pick this one out with our hypothetical someday baby in mind. He also helped me look for a pattern, but we couldn't find one that had all the elements we wanted. The vision was for this to look like a little old man's sweater. The rolled collar, raglan sleeves, and three buttons were key.

I decided it was high time that I tried to create a more complicated knitting pattern and I'm over the moon with how it turned out. I was inspired my many different sweaters I found online, but most were in a heavier yarn, so a lot of guesswork went into most of this. I'm hoping to sell this pattern in my etsy shop soon.

 But first I'm going to need a couple pattern testers! Yup, you can get a free copy of my rough draft of the pattern so long as you promise to give me feedback on my clarity and tell me about any mistakes you may find.


Just leave a comment on this post if you're interested and I'll choose a couple people this time next week! And thanks in advance for the help! Also, my Fancy Friday giveaway is running through the end of the month so be sure to go leave a comment there too!

9/17/2013

How Tuesday 46 - Pizza, necklaces, and zip pouches.

Happy How-Tuesday everyone! This week I've found a beautiful deep dish pizza recipe, an Anthropologie-inspired necklace how-to, and a sewing tutorial for a cute box pouch! Enjoy!

This beautiful pizza from the Minimalist Baker blog looks so delicious! I've never seen one made in a cast iron skillet and I can't wait to try it!

This necklace from Flamingo Toes is a perfect doppelganger for its high-fashion inspiration. Check out the tutorial, it's really easy!


9/16/2013

Art Beat Bazaar Recap!

Art Beat Bazaar was totally awesome! I think my booth display was cute, and it was filled out with an assortment of goods at lots of different price points, so I did really well! I debuted a couple new products to very positive reviews and made a ton of new owl pincushions to sell. I'll be doing a shop update this week with the new stuff so keep an eye out!

Johnny came with me and manned the booth while I was wandering around photographing everything like I do when I sell at this event (I'm the official photographer!). There's a ton of photos of the other vendors and the on-stage entertainment on my flickr set (scroll to the bottom of the set to see them).

Cori, one of the Art Beat organizers makes beautiful tile earrings and necklaces.

Katie makes adorable plushies, clothing, and accessories! (See the little ice cream cone in the lower right? Yeah, he had to come home with me!)




9/13/2013

Fancy Friday 14 - Boho Chic

Happy Fancy Friday! Sorry this post is later in the day than usual, but hey it's still Friday! Just a quick reminder that my giveaway is still running! I'm giving away a clip-in feather hair extension, all you have to do is go to Fancy Friday 13 and leave a comment!


Anywho, one of the readers suggested I do my interpretation of a boho look. For Fancy Friday #6 I did a nature-inspired look that was going that direction, and this look feels very similar to me (Aka comfy!). Hope you like it Karen!

The dress was originally from Anthropologie, but I got it and the great floral tights from a clothing swap with my friends. The little knit vest is from Old Navy.

For my makeup, I did the usual powder plus a more copper-toned blush. On my eyes I did only white eyeliner on the inner bottom rims and around the top lash line, plus  little flick at the outer edge and I blended the line out gently with a shadow brush. My lips are my favorite Revlon lip stain in "Honey". I let my hair dry naturally and scrunched it a little, then tucked the front pieces into a leather and elastic headband I picked up at Forever 21. The feather extension is similar to he one I'm having a giveaway for and came from the same batch!

I got this great leather and linen rope bracelet as a souvenir in Venice Beach a few years ago, and my boyfriend gave me the silver bee necklace.

These lovely yellow linen flats are from Urban Outfitters.

9/12/2013

Emo the Sad Amigurumi Sheep.

Meet Emo the sad sheep. No one really knows why he's sad. He has plenty of friends and a bitchin' sweater, plus all the tissues he could ever need. And yet there he is, always in a bad mood. Maybe he just needs a hug?

I love this little guy! I actually finished him quite a while ago but dragged my feet on his little tissue box, which is actually a box from a Japanese tissue-themed eraser (they make toilet paper ones too lol), that I filled with a folded up tissue instead. He didn't take a super long time to crochet, but seaming him together was a nightmare! He only sits about 5 inches tall, and I love the way his face is sculpted.

He's made from acrylic yarns, mostly good old Red Heart, plus some button eyes and a single glass teardrop. He's pretty true to the original from this Japanese craft book, ISBN4-309-26572-3:

See him hiding in the background on the upper right corner of the table? Poor Emo. Maybe he's sad because I want to sell him, but I know he'll go to a good home! He's going to be part of a big shop update happening all throughout next week. Tons of new owl pincushions, steampunk stuff, and new quirky goodies, plus Emo. If you end up falling for him and would like to call dibs, feel free to contact me on Etsy!

You can see more of my amigurumi exploits here, here, and here, and some more of my collection of Japanese craft books here, here, and here. Also, I've written a couple cute amigurumi patterns myself over the years, which you can find on my page of free crochet patterns.

9/10/2013

How-Tuesday 45 - Cakes, budgets, and tiny crochet!

Happy How-Tuesday! This week I found a great vertical layer cake tutorial, a whole site filled with budget-friendly goodies, and a sweet way to make a crochet scarf. I'd love it if you readers out there would send me some tutorials you're in love with, either via the comments here or e-mail them to me at ohthecuteness@hotmail.com. The more people participating, the more fun it will be, and feel free to post links to your own projects as well!

Firstly, I found this fantastic tutorial from the I Am Baker blog for creating vertical layers inside a cake in lieu of the traditional horizontal ones. How much fun would this be as a surprise?!


I stumbled upon a site called Budget 101 and kind of got lost in it for a long while. They have all kinds of DIY ideas, but the one I liked most was this huge page of mixes for all sorts of goodies that you can make in mason jars and give as gifts. Go check them out!

Lastly, I found this cute tiny squares scarf tutorial from Do You Mind if I Knit's blog. She has a quick pattern and a step-by-step version for beginners too! I know seaming this together would take a while, but I'm really tempted to make a baby blanket out of this...