Knit And Crochet Design Week: Day One Sketches!!

I was on twitter, when I stumbled upon a tweet about "knit and crochet design week" , That caught my attention, I clicked the link. Stacey Trock(the awesome designer behind Fresh Stitches) is hosting a week long blog extravaganza (sorry couldn't think of a better word) all about the process of designing a knit or crochet object( I think that was a run on sentence...)! It sounded super fun, so now I'm in! Check out the rules and technical stuff here.Also be sure to browse the comments to see what all the other designers are making!! There's some pretty cute stuff in there! :)

Day one is all about starting out, sketching! I <3 sketching, especially when I have an idea I just can't visualize. When you have it right in front of you on paper, it's so much easier to create!A panda popped into my head when I pulled out one of my many sketchbooks, so that's what I started drawing.

The first couple looked more like mice then pandas! But I kept working at it and finally came up with something I liked. :)

Since I have a scanner now, my pictures and sketches look 100% nicer!

I liked the style of this one:short body, long limbs. Long limbed plushies strike me as "trendy" for some reason, and I like that ;)

But this isn't really a finished product...I needed to elaborate. I jotted down another sketch and scanned it into photoshop. This baby needs some color (cracks knuckles).

When I was drawing, I thought this would be a classic black-and-white panda bear. But that's just boring right? How bout' blue for a change? I dropped the eyebrows in the first sketch. They make panda look a little bit like an old fashioned thread crochet bear. Not saying that's a bad thing...without the eyebrows he looks a little blank...eyebrows or no eyebrows...what do you think?

And what's trendier than a pair of cute shoes? I wonder if it's possible to give panda heels?...That's an idea.....

 

 One thing I love about Photoshop is the ability to easily modify colors. This first sketch is the original, a rough pencil, and colored pencil over it. These next two are simply altered by adjusting the colors on photoshop. Simple, right? I'm still not entirely sure what color I want, (Oh the agony of difficult decisions!!!) I'm also not sure whether it should be a boy or a girl.......

I added the eyebrows to these.

      If I make panda a girl, I can give her a cute dress, and maybe use the high-heels idea! :D
I like the way this one looks, maybe I could use varying shades of pink and purple. In fact, I think I know just the yarn for this job!

                                           Hopefully I'll post more tomorrow! See ya soon!!

                                                             hugs n' kisses -Brea

A Tragedy + Cute New Amigurumi

I'm sorry everyone ^_^;  I would have posted sooner, but a horrible tragedy has befallen me ( ok maybe that's a little dramatic..). Bet you can't guess....I LOST MY FLASH DRIVE!!! How am I supposed to upload pictures without the use of a flash drive!! But oh well....my dad said he'd give me a new one ;) Until then however, You will just have to do with these pics I pulled off of my Etsy listings. I had wip pics and more (I was gearing up for a long post) But for now this is it.

Here is the finished blue anime doll.She is a mermaid named Veera. I made her differently than I usually make mermaids. I added the tail after making the body instead of working it in. I slip stitched into the bottom half, and worked on both sides to make the opening,then I gradually decreased and added the fin. The difference is that now she can bend at the waist! I had some wip pics of the tails workings, but I don't have them anymore... :(

I sorta got the name from the designer Veera Wang lol XD I love her shoes :)

 Also, I made some new capsule pets! Chipper the bird, and Toki the cat!As you can see, I've been putting those beads to good use. :)

 Oh did I tell you about the Etsy team? No? Well there is a team on Etsy called Just Plush, and I was made first, an admin to the facebook page, and then a leader of the etsy team!! I know It's probably a little silly to be excited about it, but it makes me happy anyway. >v<   The team is doing a pattern trade soon, and I will probably be trading one of my amigurumi patterns with another members. Then we will compare work! Sounds fun right? If you are a plush maker on Etsy, you should apply for the team! here is a link : right here!


I said goodbye to Mimi and Sweeta today, they are off to a loving new home! I also made a custom order ninja, for another wonderful customer!

Bye-bye Mimi

You too Sweeta! I'll miss you!

I am working on a new bearling right now! I'm also thinking about making a mini capsule pet ninja, that would be neat....

Another Mini Capsule Pet Amigurumi: Isabel The Octopus!

A new Mini Capsule Pet: Isabel the purple octopus!! I even had a purple capsule to put her in :)
This is my first project using the glass beads I told you about. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and hope to use a lot more of these beads on dolls in the future! (after all I have, like, a billion of them)

 Sometimes it's kind of frustrating crocheting so many tiny parts, but it's worth it in the end! However, I always seem to have to shove in the last leg among the seven. I need to learn to space them more evenly!

I  needle-felted Isabel's mouth

 Here is something different. I have only ever posted one of my drawings on my blog, but I want to start posting more! This is a little girl I drew in 2010, and only recently came across in my shelf. She was inspired by Mei from My Neighbor Totoro (one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films). This was the first drawing I inked using a calligraphy dip pen.

Commisioned Mini Doll!

 A couple days ago I got a special order for a 2 1/2" doll!It was really fun to make because I could use up some of the really fine yarn that looks pretty, but is rather impractical.

I was happy when I was told to give the doll red hair. :) I happen to love red haired dolls! ;)

I really want to give her a name!! But alas... I have no right to bestow a name upon a custom order....

the eyes look big because she's so small, they're actually about 9mm...or maybe smaller?

As it turns out, this was a doll FOR a doll! My customer said that she wanted a little toy for a small ball-jointed doll. I've seen these little dolls on the internet (blythe, pullip,dollfie...) I'd love to get one, but I guess they are for SERIOUS collectors. Which means way outta my price range lol. I'll just have to make do with creating my own :)I bet it will be adorable to see her sweet little doll holding mine X) I'm working on another one right now,I think she'll have black hair (which I also happen to love) look for some pics of her soon!

Free Amigurumi Pattern: Kawaii Bearlings!!

Yay! A new free pattern! These are the bearlings, Pirate bears trusty crew! This is a great project to use up little bits of scrap yarn and little beads and buttons, plus they are fun to customize, because each is so unique!

Here is a link to the PDF file: Here



I have so much scrap yarn, you will probably see more of these little guys in the future :)

I gave them names too!

Bot

cocoa

mimi

sweeta

Hope you love these little dudes as much as I do! Hey! If you use this pattern, I would LOVE to see pictures of your bearlings! You can find a link to my e-mail address on my profile, I might just feature your bearling on my blog!!

Pirate Bear!!

 Ahoy matey!! Behold! Pirate Bear! Scourge of the seven, adorable, seas!! Pirate Bear,along with his trusty crew, the bearlings, is ready for a high seas adventure! lol I copied that from my etsy listing :) The bearlings have yet to be created, but When I do make them, I will probably make the pattern free!!

Don't you love his peg leg?  ^_^

I'm pretty sure pirate bear has an arch enemy as well....hmmmm I'll have to think about that ;)
The pattern for pirate bear is available for 1.50 on ravelry here . The doll is in my Etsy store :)

I used two pieces of felt for the eye patch

Look forward to the bearling pattern soon! (or as soon as I get around to it )

My Very First Pattern and My Very First Giveaway!!!

I just published my first pattern for sale on ravelry!!! I published my pattern for the little baby bats!

Here is a link to the sale page. Here  To celebrate my very first sellable pattern, I'm going to have a giveaway!! I will be giving out 1 free copy of the pdf pattern! :)  Here are the rules

1. You must follow my blog to enter.

2.you must leave a comment stating your name, and your e-mail address

(if you don't leave your e-mail address, I can't send you the pattern)

and that's pretty much it lol! XD  I'll pick the winner randomly on the 31st!

Have fun everybody!!

Don't you want a friend that's a little....batty..?

A Sad Tale To Tell....

 This is a story about a little purple bunny. A long time ago he was slowly and unskillfully created by a young girl who was new to the art of amigurumi. When he was finally completed, the little bunny was sure he would be loved forever by his creator. She did love him, in fact she thought he was adorable. However, as her crocheting skills improved, the girl realized that her little purple bunny was not very well made at all. So, after trying, and failing to brush bunny to make his fur thicker ( which resulted in 50% of bunny's insides being pulled through the large holes in his body) bunny was tossed aside, where he sat in the cold and dark for a very, very, long time. One day, the girl was rearranging the furniture in her room, when she found bunny shoved in the corner, coated in dust,with a large hole in his side. Poor bunny, he had been lonely for so long, but now he had finally, finally, been found. The girl thought the pitiful little doll was so funny that she had to take a picture to show the world how awful her dolls used to look. After the picture was taken, bunny was  unceremoniously tossed into a green garbage bag, never to be seen again........


Here are the pics of the monkeys I had to make........

I know a lot of people post work-in-progress pics on wednesday,so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm working on this little fox dude right now :) He's currently leg-less. I do like him, and hope to maybe
(that's a big maybe!!) debut him as my first sell-able pattern.........

Shy Little Milo

I LOVE this doll. My mom thinks she looks like something from The Corpse Bride (my big bro agrees) but I still love her!

I Don't know why, but I Imagine Milo being very shy and quiet. I actually think she would look really good with tiny glasses(maybe because of her freakishly large eyes), but she has no ears so she couldn't hold them up....  I started making Milo using Beth Webber's free spirit amigurumi pattern (If You haven't heard of her blog, by hook by hand, you HAVE to check it out, it's on my blogroll on the left) but then I just kinda branched off and started doing my own thing. I crocheted her little dress, then took a little piece of sheer plaid scarf and made her a shawl. She's kind of a mix between old-fashioned, and new-fangled! I like dolls like that! :D

Her hair was really fun to make! (I love doll hair!)
 and I actually gave this doll eyebrows! I think that's a first for me...

Patch The Pirate Bag

I'm really sorry everyone! I haven't posted in months, I feel really bad about it! Our new school year started last week. I'm a junior now! :D I've been really lazy about my crafting this summer....surprisingly, starting school back has actually given me new inspiration! I have already made about five things this week! For now I guess I'll show off one of the (few) things I did make during summer break.

Patch and company

 Meet patch the pirate bag and his crew! I posted a while back about a monster bag I made for myself. Since then I have started making simple drawstring bags and adding monstery details.for Patch,(the bag with the eye patch of course) I needle felted his eye patch and mouth! Needle felting is so much more convenient then sewing for small details!

Patch

Patch is  my favorite, but he's a close second to zombie guy (betcha can't guess which one that is) Patch, zombie, and the nameless red bag with vertical eyes (who I find extremely creepy) are shoulder bags. The smaller burgundy and ice blue monsters are dice bags. The pink monster is a change purse.

Zombie Guy

I've had crafters block these last few months,however, I went to my cousin's (owlette's) house today,and she supplied me with a ton of very unique buttons that could certainly be used for doll eyes! (and some that look suspiciously like fingernails, don't ask)
Now I have new supplies and inspiration! My creative juices are really flowing! Expect to hear from me again soon!

Oh! and before I forget, I've updated my Etsy store! FREE SHIPPING IN THE US ON EVERYTHING!!!! Check it out!