CinderLisaDesign

Dusting Off for 2012!

2011-12-29T21:43:00.000-08:00

It's almost 2012, I've finally settled (after a whopping THREE moves in the past 18 months—or SIX moves in the past three years—all but one of those moves being across state lines, btw) and so I'm hoping to get back to blogging here.

And what better way to start off the year but by getting organized?! I've been having great success with these reusable pocket calendar covers this season, and I'll keep them up for all of January, just to make sure that people have a chance to pick them up when they want to.

Tropical Orange and Blue Batik Reusable Pocket Calendar Cover

Black and Orange Bamboo Reusable Pocket Calendar Cover

The biggest seller in my shop lately, though, has been my Pick-a-Prompts Journal Prompts!

Pick-a-Prompts - 200 Journal Prompts

Pick-a-Prompts are a .pdf of 200 journal prompts that you can cut up into strips and use for a journal jar to help you with your goal of journaling every day!

My own goals for 2012? Continue to diversify the products in my shop. I have some fun new ideas! How about you?

Methinks... & Links

2011-08-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies.

It's been a while since I've been here, I know. The fact is, I think I'm going to retire this blog. I worked hard on it, and it's done some good for me, but I just don't have the time for it. The shop keeps me busy enough, and my Big Girl Aspirations of being a writer keep me busy too.

So for now, here are the places where you can find me:

CinderLisaDesign - The shop of course is still and will continue to be updated. Available in the shop are a variety of things, but mainly softcover journals, coptic bound journals, miniature journals, and kooky spiral bound notebooks.

CinderLisaDesign on Facebook - Here is where you'll get all the latest news on my shop. Come follow me!

CinderLisa on Twitter - I try and keep up with my crafty Twitter. You can definitely find updates about the shop here. :)

CinderLisa on Ravelry - I'm a knitter, crocheter, and spinner, and I love it. It's my (somewhat) selfish craft. Come friend me. :)

Lisa Asanuma, Writer's Blog - This is my personal website and blog. Here is where you will find me at my most in-depth. I'll talk about Etsy here sometimes (it's a part of me, after all!) but this blog is devoted to my writing and reading, mainly.

Lisa Asanuma on Facebook - Here is where I check in with people from my writer's profile. Come friend me and find out about all my posts and free reads. :)

LisaAsanuma on Twitter - This is my Twitter for my writing profile. This is where you'll find me most often. A lot of commentary, a little snark. Mostly book love.

Fly Me Away on Tumblr - I LOVE Tumblr. Tumblr is my catch-all. I blog about my Etsy shop here, and there's a lot of love for books, fandom, food, bookbinding, knitting, crochet, yarn, pretty decor... and cupcakes. I reblog a lot of photos of cupcakes. <3

Tales From the Hollow Tree - I post free YA fiction stories here every other Friday, with my friend Isabelle Santiago filling the Fridays in-between. If you like a bit of fantasy, come read. Did I mention it's free? Follow the Hollow Tree on Facebook or Twitter, too.

Treasury!

2010-12-30T07:11:00.001-08:00

Okay, I've been absent from the blog for a while now... been too busy getting married (pics of some of the handmade goodies to come!) and branding my writing, but I wanted to come in and showcase a little treasury I made that I just love, love, love. :)

Levi's Traveling Journal Project

2010-09-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I got a very interesting email. A woman from a consultancy in London contacted me and seven other members of the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team asking if we'd be interested in participating in creating custom books for Levi Strauss & Co, for a project that revolving around inspiring young women who've proved themselves transcendent in some way—either changing their own lives or their communities.

The opportunity seemed almost too good to be true. Levi Strauss after all, is a household name. (Though jarringly many of the kids my age who I mentioned the project to didn't know who I was talking about, until I said, "You know, Levi's. The jeans company?") To get commission work at all is a special thing—well, for me, many of the other bookbinders on Etsy are more familiar with it!—but to be getting a commission for a big international project like this is mind-blowing. Many of us took the leap of faith, though, and decided to go through with the project.

So much about this project excited me. The company, the mission, the fact that it would mean stretching my boundaries and creating books that were larger than I was used to. It also thrilled me that the woman from the consultancy immediately turned to ETSY when Levi's told her what they wanted to do. She found the Bookbinding Team (we call ourselves BEST!) and gave the links to Levi Strauss, who then selected the shops they would like to participate.

I can't begin to tell you how flattered I was when my shop was selected to be one of the eight shops participating. Eight shops! Out of nearly 175 in the Bookbinding Team. I was amazed and humbled to be selected, as I know that many of the bookbinders on the team have not only been doing this a lot longer than I have, but also have been formerly educated in bookbinding, whereas my training has come from the University of Youtube, growing up in a quilting family, and a LOT of experimentation.

I was really excited about making these journals. They were to be at least 10" by 10", with 72 pages back and forth, but we were encouraged to do whatever we wanted to, creatively, and I couldn't have been happier with that.

My shop has two really distinct styles in it, and so I wanted the journals I made to reflect that. I work mainly with felted wool, either in a raw format, or quilted over in cotton fabric, so I decided that I would do my signature softcover binding in one of each formats for this project.

"Patchwork Mosaic"

The first journal I decided to do came together in a way that surprised me. I knew I wanted to do a sort of mosaic out of felt, but I was planning on piecing bits of felt together, Crazy Quilt style, and then cutting the result to fit the size I wanted. When I started cutting up pieces, though, and laying them down on the base I was planning on sewing them to later... I really liked how they looked simply laid out.

I ended up ditching the piecing idea altogether, and instead quilted the bits of felt down where they lay, giving the journal a very nice and unusual textile feel. The closure came together very naturally for me, and I love the way the raw wooden buttons look against the blues, greens and beige's of the mosaic work. This book feels very Oriental to me, which is also fitting, considering I'm half-Japanese!

"Coral Snake"

The second journal I made was a little more traditional by means of construction. I took several pieces of red and yellow fabric, laid them in stripes with thinner stripes of black fabric between them, and quilted the book together along the lines of the colored strips. The resulting look reminded me of the Coral Snake, so I named it accordingly.

The closure on this one took a lot of hunting through my button stash. I wanted five perfectly mismatched silver and silver-and-pearl buttons. Sure, I could have used five of the same button, but when I laid that out, I didn't enjoy it as much. It took some time, but I finally finally found five buttons that complemented each other, while still giving some variety. A crocheted string wraps around the buttons in a corset-like way, and there is a tiny crocheted star motif on the end of the wrap for a little fun.

These books, along with the others created for the project, are currently being sent throughout the world to be decorated and inscribed by creative young women who have made a difference. This is their opportunity to tell their own story in whatever way they so choose. Later a documentary will be produced to tell the story of the books, and they will be put on display in a gallery setting.

It's really an honor to have contributed to this project. I can't wait to hear back from Levi Strauss, and see what's become of the books I've sent them!

Bookbinding Team Swap!

2010-07-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm way late in posting about this, but I couldn't just NOT do it. Recently The Bookbinding Etsy Street Team, of which I am a more than proud member, did a book swap with a fabulous 21 artists participating. The book I got was from surfbunny, and it is just gorgeous.

The little blurb from the team blog is here:

This book from SurfBunny, aka Duane, is made entirely of handmade paper. The cover is mulberry paper with included skeletal leaves, and the pages are kozo with silk fibers. Duane shares some interesting history behind this style of binding. "The binding is a pamphlet stitch variation of the Japanese Daifuku Cho [trans. Great fortune notebook] book. This type of book was carried by merchants of the Edo period who used them as account books. The tassels were usually quite long and allowed the book to be tied into the merchants belt for security."

I thought the history was fascinating, and really exciting, considering the fact that I'm half Japanese.

The picture really makes the book look impossibly soft and beautiful, doesn't it? Well, it's softer and prettier in real life. I'm half-considering handing this around at my wedding as a guest book... but I don't know if I want to do that. The idea of lots of (not so careful) people handling it makes me nervous!

This is the book that I made for the swap:

I call it "Flashdance" and it was really just an excuse for me to play with my new sewing machine. I had a blast making this journal, and hope to make ones similar to it in the future. :) The inside is just as colorful as the outside, filled with lots of bright happy pages.

It went to PrairiePeasant, who makes some particularly lovely travel journals. She was kind enough to rave about it on her blog here. :)

And the Winner Is...

2010-05-27T09:23:00.001-07:00

Dovey!

Congrats! You get 15 mini party favor notebooks! Email me at CinderLisaDesign at gmail dot com with your address color preferences, if you have them.

Do Me a Favor? Contest!

2010-05-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've been absent a lot on here lately, and that's partially because a lot of big things are going on in my life right now... the biggest of which is—I'm engaged! :-D Haven't set a precise date yet, but I'm planning on June, 2011.

I've also introduced wedding and party favor sets into the shop, just recently. To help introduce this new section in my shop, (not to mention just celebrate in general!) I thought I'd hold a little contest!

So, if you want to win a set of 15 mini notebooks to use as wedding or party favors—or just for fun! Here is what you have to do:

Leave me a comment telling me one little aspect of what would make the perfect wedding for you. You can be as specific or generic as you like. For example, you can say "I want there to be lots of flowers," or you can write me a ten-page narrative detailing everything from the ceremony to the honeymoon—just don't expect me to read every sentence of it, necessarily.

You can gain one extra entry each for the following:
-follow this blog!
-follow my twitter
-become a fan of CinderLisaDesign on facebook
-tell me what is your favorite item in my shop, and why.
-link to this entry, wherever you want (each link is an entry!)

Please do me a favor and post a SEPARATE COMMENT for every qualifying thing you do. This way I can use a random number generator to select the winner.

Winner will receive a set of 15 2.25 by 3.25 inch notebooks, which will be randomly selected by me, unless you have a specific color spectrum request that I think I can match for you.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Coptic Crazy & BEST book swap!

2010-03-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

I spent the other day sewing up some mini coptic-bound notebooks, all bound for the shop! The more I play with coptic, the more I love it. Such a simple, quick way to bind something, and it never fails to look great!

This appeals to me especially because I'm always seeing things that make me think "Oooh! That would be a fun notebook!" In this picture alone you can see that, along with some fun scrapbook-paper-covered notebooks, there's also one with a Chocolate Frog Card cover of Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, and one made from a mini box of Corn Pops. I have to admit that I have a large pile of things just waiting to be turned into coptic notebooks, I just have to get to it!

Also, I recently participated in the Bookbinder's Etsy Street Team's tenth team swap - my first time getting to participate!

I made a forwards-backwards envelope book for the swap, and mailed it to anticovalore, who has a gorgeous, gorgeous shop herself.

This is my book that I made, above, and here below you can see the book that I recieved from kurberry:

I absolutely love it! The detail is lovely and the cover is so touchable... I can't quite explain it, but I'm a very tactile person, and I want to hold this book all the time!

Check out the Bookbinding Team blog for other books that were in the swap! They've all been fabulous so far!

All Shipping Costs donated straight to Red Cross!

2010-03-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

For the month of March, I will be donating all shipping costs from orders in my shop directly to the Red Cross, in hopes of sending a little bit of relief to Haiti and now Chile. Two such devastating events in such a short amount of time is just heartbreaking, and need for help and aid can't be higher. The news of the earthquake in Chile—a country where my brother spent two years as an LDS missionary, so I feel a special tie there—has really moved me to want to help, in whatever little way I can. I worry, too, that with all the donations that have been poured into Haitian Relief, that people are going to be reacting more slowly to this second, even more terrible disaster.

I decided then, to donate the shipping costs from purchases in my shop straight to the Red Cross. This is more than 10% cost in most places, as books are heavier and require more shipping than many items, but it's something I feel like I have to do—and I'm happy to!

CinderLisaDesign

Introducing! My new Spindle. <3

2009-11-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

The minute I saw this spindle, I went nutty over it. It's from Dragoncraft, and it's called Cinderella's Spindle—can you see why I had to have it? The pictures on the listing are much better, but basically it's a laceweight spindle with a clear resin whorl that has sparkly glitter all throughout it. It's kind of love!

I hadn't had it for more than an hour (probably much less, I don't quite remember now) before I was spinning up the yummy bit of fiber that the seller sent along with it, and after plying, this is what I ended up with:

Yummy, delicious little bit of yarn, probably my favorite that I've spun so far. Squishy and soft and lovely!

Some of the other stuff I've been up to, too... I spun these bluey-white-y singles ages ago.... but took my good own time plying it. Now that it's done, I couldn't love it more. It has blues and whites and purples and is very thick/thin... and really not long enough to do a thing with, but I don't care! I love it.

I think I've decided to call it "Glacier" or something along those lines. Definitely reminds me of a glacial field!

Now that I have a spindle at my disposal again (the one I learned on is still in California - don't ask me how, I don't want to talk about it. haha) I can't help but want to spin up everything in sight, and so I've grabbed at this Jela's Fiber that was sent to me a while ago...

I actually won this fiber from the PhatFiber blog! It's called Carnival Clouds, and is super white Superwash Merino with multicolored Angelina scattered all through it. My original plan was to spin it up as thin as possible and then ply it with something else, but the quarter of it I've done on the new spindle is so pretty I think I might (gasp!) leave it as a single.... and hope and pray that I've come far enough in spinning that it'll hold together. hahaha

It's really hard to show in a picture how pretty and soft this little skeinlet is. Only a quarter of the fiber, and it's spun up to 127+ yards of something between laceweight and light fingering. The Angelina just flickers all through it in red and blue and silver and purple and green and I love it! When I'm done with the rest of the fiber, I should have enough to knit maybe a small shawl with, and I am all kinds of delighted with that!

So that's where my spinning is right now. Ah, I love too many crafts.

Support Stacie "I'll be HomeMADE for Christmas" Auction!

2009-11-20T09:17:00.000-08:00

Forget Thanksgiving and Turkey - the thing to look out for this weekend is the Support Stacie "I'll be HomeMADE for Christmas" Auction November 28th & 29th.

You can read all about it here, but basically, there are going to be a TON of homemade yummies—everything from cookies to jewelry to scarves!—up for auction to help out with a wonderful cause. You can read all about who Stacie is and what her story is right here, but the gist of it is, she's a wife and a mother and a good friend of mine who's battling cancer, without the aid of healthcare. Support Stacie was formed to help take a little of the burden off of those sky-high medical bills.

And if you haven't guessed yet, I'm participating. Oh heck yes I am. I've donated a small handful of items. I would have liked to have done more, but life has its ways of intervening with our plans. Here's a look at what I've put up, though.

First up - a crocheted coffee cup cozy. Or whatever it is you drink (I certainly don't drink coffee!)

Secondly -

A set of confetti-cake heart ornaments. These were so fun to make! I'm also offering to make a pair for up to five people with a flat donation of $10 or more.

And yes, I donated a couple of journals. :)

The first is a teal-green with a corset-like closure and beige and blue pages, 220 back and forth.

The second one is navy and pink (and I mean PINK) and is hand-embroidered. This one has 360 pages, back and forth.

I'm also planning on donating 15% of the proceeds from my shop to Support Stacie from now until Christmas if "Support Stacie" is in the message to seller.

Head over and give a glance at all the auctions up, though! There are some great fandom ones, too, from action figures to Doctor Who-inspired jewelry! Lots and lots of scarves up for auction, too, so go homemade for Christmas!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-11-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, a lot has been going on in my life lately (big, sadly life-changing stuff) which is why I've been so neglecting this blog. Apologies! I've been taking some mental-health days, I guess you could say. I haven't stopped crafting, though! I'll show you some updates of what I've been doing in the next day or two. But first! Some picks. :)

You may not know this, but I am a giggler. This She's Crafty necklace by chocolateandsteel makes me giggle. And want to wear it. Sort of all the time. >.>

Next up is a lovely fiber batt called Dragon Fly (!) by TheCritterRanch.

Prettyful, isn't it? I love blues and greens, and sparkly fiber will ALWAYS catch my eye. TheCritterRanch is also a PhatFiber friend, so she's kind of awesome by definition. ;)

My last little pick this week is this Lavender Bag by freestylefibre.

So cute! I love to see upcycled-y little bits of fabric (especially fabric!) turned into something fabulous, and this definitely fits that description! She has a few of these different bags at her shop, plus some yummy yarn, too!

So that's it for this week - sorry so short, I'm still running in circles a little bit, but I promise to make a couple of real-ish posts this week. Keep an eye out for them! ;)

Wednesday Wants!

2009-10-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm going to be busy the next few weeks. Busy with a capital "B." This is mostly because I'm starting NanoWrimo in November (I'm tiemeinbows on that board, if you want to look me up!) and so I'm doing some extra work beforehand to not get too behind while I'm trudging over 1667 words a day!

But enough about me, let's get to some of the pretties I've been spotting on Etsy this week! My pics this week just happen to fall into two categories—bags and fiber. Why? I don't know. That's just the way I roll.

First up is ElephunksTrunk's Green Zippered Pouch:

I just.... luff this fabric. I'd go so far as to say I *heart* it. The polka dots inside are just twice the fun. I'm a sucker for things like this. I can't tell you how many coin purses I own...

Next we have the Waterway Wensleydale from glblf's shop.

I've never spun with Wensleydale before, but it just looks so soft I want to reach into my monitor and grab it up in handfulls of fluff. I love the blues and greens, too. Yum. Bookmarking that shop, for sure!

And okay... I have a weakness for SHINY, too.

Especially when the shiny is mixed in with super rich dark colors like this Kiss Kiss Bang Bang batt from CorgiHillFarm. Talk about lush. This batt is merino, silk and firestar, and just gorgeous in all it's purple-y plummy goodness!

Last up... what do you do when you've spun up all your pretty pretty fiber? Well then you use your yarn and you knit something with it, of course (or crochet... of course!). And what do you need when you're doing that? How about a nifty project bag from lewZILLA?

This is (if you couldn't guess) her Gryffindor Inspired Box Bag—and that right there is enough to make me squee like the fangirl I am. But look! Pretty fabric, and a tiny little pocket to hold your stitch markers, too! Lew has all kinds of other goodies, too, so be sure to check out her whole shop!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-10-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Firstly this week, I wanted to highlight TattooDreams' Area 51 UFO Alien Box. For those of you who have forgotten (or never knew in the first place) I was/am/will ever be a HUGE fan of the 1999 WB TV show Roswell, and so when I stumble on something like this, the silly fangirl in me gets a kick out of it.

Besides that, though, it's just a beautifully-put-together little box. She has a lot of gorgeous, less-silly boxes, also. This one makes me happy, though! The feet and the handle at top, perfect!

Next up we have Summer Glory Color-Changing Cotton from WollesYarnCreations:

So pretty! I want to jump into this yarn and splash around a bit, it'd be like diving into the sunset!

And not too far away on the color scheme:

Dreaming of Autumn sock yarn by Stricken Smitten. Talk about delicious-looking yarn. It looks good in a bowl—I want to drink it up. I am developing quite a fondness for sock yarn, despite my ongoing hesitation to commit to making a sock (even my Mingus project by Cookie A. is turning into wrist-warmers as we speak). I looooooove this pink. I want to marry it. Can't get enough of it.

And lastly, but certainly not leastly:

This is the Vampire Diary by repaper. Heeheehee. I haven't read the books, but I've been sucked into the TV show since it started (who could resist Ian Somerhalder back on TV?) and I just about flipped when I saw this book. It's repaper's entry into the Bookbindingteam's 2009 Halloween Challenge, and I think it's fantastic. You can find the other entries here. :)

Wow, long time, no blog.

2009-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Believe me, I know. I've disappeared off the face of the blogosphere for a little while. And why? Well mainly because my camera broke and thus I was depressed and unable to upload photos. This shouldn't have stopped my Wednesday Wants, but it did. Actually, embarrassingly, my laptop died for a while there, too. But now I am back to being technologically functional!

I've been busy this week doing updates on my shop, since finally getting my camera back (it took ages, unfortunately) I've been able to update some of the things I'd been working on in the meantime. Here's my favorite:

This is my White on Red Button Journal. I was sorting through my buttons a while back and decided I really needed to make a journal with an assortment of white and clear buttons on the cover, and voila! I machine-stitched two pieces of bright red felt together, but then I decided to do a hand sewn running stitch all the way around the edge, just to make it really POP. The funnest by far was sewing the buttons on, though. I basically just grabbed a handful, blind, and dropped them on the cover, not fixing their positions any more than to spread them out a bit and turn them upside up. It's a little bit of a departure from my usual style, but I love, love, love it!

Check out my other new listings at the shop!

I also wanted to share with you a sneak peek at one of the two journals I'll be donating to the "I'll be Homemade for Christmas!" Auction for Support Stacie in November.

I know that looks almost like it's black, but it's really a dark navy blue, and the pages and thread used for the embroidery are the exact same color of WOW PINK. I mean, this is seriously pink stuff. Not for the faint of heart. ;)

I'll be working up one more journal for the auction, and hopefully doing some knits, too. Gotta love homemade stuff being bid on for a great cause!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-08-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Well this past week has just slipped past me! I suppose that's what happens when you fill your days with book-writing and book-making and book-reading. Whew, that's a lot of bookish things! So my weekly fancy is going to be not bookish at all, really. I hope you don't mind. ;)

In fact, I'm going to be revisiting one of my favoritish, things quite a bit, and you all know that's fiber. ;)

Take this superwash Merino from KnitFitKnitter. Is that gorgeous, or what? It's called Twinkle, 220 yards worsted weight, and I just love it. Maybe it's just my old AP art history class (which was longer ago than I've realized!), but I look at this and all I see is Van Gogh. It's perfect, isn't it? Gorgeous stuff!

And talking about gorgeous...

I can't help but be stunned by this. It's wall art by box64studio, more specifically an 18x18 inch Paper Collage Floral Burst. I am amazed that people can make such gorgeous things out of paper. It seems like such a delicate thing, which I suppose is part of the very beauty of it. These floral bursts remind me of my mother's Hawaiian appliqué, which is something that I've always wanted to do myself. Beautiful stuff!

And then we have this:

Hee. Oh my goodness if this isn't one of the cutest little monster(pair!)s that I've ever seen. This is Daphne and Delilah the Mommy and Baby Monster. It's a pattern, to make your very own little set of monsters, and I can't get over how darling these little gals are. The listing shows the pattern done up in a few different colorways, so you can get an idea of what your monsters might turn out like, and all of them are adorable! This is from dangercraft's shop, and really all of her patterns and creatures are just fabulous.

My next pick for this week is from SunshineMaker, who is brand new to Etsy!

She's got lots of lovely fibery things, but this right here is her Purple Rain batt. 50 grams of gorgeous purple wooly goodness with just a hint of white viscose to make it pop! This makes me wish (not that I hadn't already!) that there had been room in the car for my spindle and fiber when I made the move... They'll get to me eventually, they're tucked up safely down in San Diego... but I see stuff like this and I want to spin NOW. Sigh.

And lastly...

YES PLEASE. As you can see, this is the Buy Handmade shirt from phippsart. What a great way to tell the world your opinion on hand-crafted, high-quality items, versus the dross that we see in department stores? I love everything about this shirt. The color, the style, all the detail!

It's in conjunction with The Handmade Movement, which, if you haven't checked them out, you really should! It's a fabulous blog that coordinates sneak attacks on various Etsy shops... meaning a shop can be "sponsored" by someone, and announced to at a specific time, and as many people as are willing go and purchase something from that shop! It's such a great way to promote Etsy artists, and I tip my hat to them!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-08-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been able to do a Wednesday Wants post, so I thought I'd get an extra long one ready for you today!

Firstly...

Can you say yum? These are Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies from DeepSouthBakery. Looking at this picture I can almost smell these cookies. They just look amazing, don't they? Classic, rich chocolate chips, and then that hint of citrus? And I don't know if you've picked up on this yet, but I'm all about the citrus. You want to find your way into my heart it's through that fabulous fruit family right there. These look simply divine!

And now for something slightly less edible, though no less yummy:

Here's playatlifefiberarts' Peck of Peppers Kettle-dyed yarn, recycled from a 100% Ecuadorian wool sweater. Such pretty colors! I think the title is just perfect, too, this does certainly look like a zesty little skein of yarn! Looks awfully soft, too, doesn't it? You bet it does.

Next we have something from joojoo, who has one of the cutest shops on Etsy.

This listing is entitled Darlings for your Terrarium. ! How adorable is that? These little polymer clay dears are ready to liven up anything you want to put them in, a terrarium, a water bowl, or as shown, a lovely little jar of salt. Look at those little grass spriglets! And the little green coconuts waiting to ripen on the palm. I love it. I just love it.

I can't quite let this go without one more cute item:

This Octopus Crochet Pattern from trulyoutrageous is just the cutest thing! It includes all three sizes, so you could make a whole little octopus family all for yourself! She has lots of other fun patterns too, so be sure to check them all out!

And lastly, a new little find of mine that is just darling:

This is the Green Weeds Blank Book from Sprouting Oxygen, and she has some other really beautiful books as well. (Actually, her whole shop is lovely!) The look of the wood is appealing on its own, but then the stamp she uses is just the perfect touch. She'll even add a button-enclosure to it for an extra fee, which I think is kinda neat. :)

So that's one more week of Wants. Why oh why must my eyes be so much bigger than my wallet? Well, to entertain all of you, of course. ;)

Change in the Wind!

2009-08-04T16:56:00.001-07:00

Actually, forget the wind. The change is here. It's run over me like a runaway cart, but the dust is starting to settle.

I am, as of nearly a week now, a California resident no longer. It's a sad thing for me, but at the same time, I can't complain about where I am now. Just to give you an idea of my surrounding area...

I took this picture while on a walk about a month ago when I was visiting here to prep for my move, and there are flowers like this all over. Some exquisite gardens. California has it's beauties, and many, many they may be, but neighborhoods full of roses? That's not one I'm familiar with!

The first few days of settling in were taken up by getting ready for and then participating in the Bookbinding Team's Summer BBQ Scavenger Hunt, which was a lot of fun! (The winner, btw, will be announced later on tonight, check the team blog.) It was a great experience for me, but it kept me so busy that I didn't even get a chance to update my blog to let you all know that I was back in business!

Still, I had a good weekend, sold a Twilight notebook, and premiered and sold my darling Emmeline:

This is Emmeline, a chunky little journal measuring 3.25 x 4.5 inches, and fixed up just so in her little button-snap sweater so that she'll keep your secrets and thoughts safe and sound—and she'll even hold your pen for you, too! This little Emmeline has already sold, but there are lots more, in lots of different colors, coming up!

Book Team Virtual BBQ Scavenger Hunt

2009-07-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still offline for a few more days, but when I reopen my Etsy shop August 1st, it'll be with a bang! Not only am I going to have a bunch of new items listed, I'll also be participating in a fantastic Summer Barbeque Scavenger Hunt hosted by the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team! Details at our team blog, or just look below:

Next weekend starting Saturday, August 1, through Monday, August 3, browse participating shops and locate hidden photos of items associated with the venerable tradition of the summer backyard barbecue. Not sure what that means? No worries! We'll provide a list of items so you'll know exactly what you're looking for. Find them all and enter to win a $30 gift certificate good at any participating shop. AND win bonus chances to win with each item purchased from participating shops during the hunt!

Come back next Friday, July 31, for a list of participating shops and complete details. Just follow the smoke!

Taking a Break!

2009-07-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Actually that might not be the correct word. I'm taking a trip, and then I'm taking a few days to finish packing up at home and check out the Comic Con before taking another trip to move up to Utah. I've set the shop to vacation mode, because I just won't be here to make deliveries, so if you want an email notification for when I'm back open, head over to Etsy and sign up for it!

I will be back open August 1st, Lord willing! I should be all settled in by then and I am certainly looking forward to that. Once I'm in Utah I'll be able to focus much more time and energy on my shop (and my writing!) so while the getting there is a bit stressful, really this is a good thing for all of us!

Be good while I'm gone!

~CinderLisa

Wednesday Wants!

2009-07-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

I know, a bit late (like really late!)... but I still wanted to get a post up this week. I'll keep it sort of short. Just oogling and fawning, you know. ;)

Firstly... sigh.

Isn't she pretty? It's not likely to happen anytime soon, but this Pods n Posies laptop case by janinekingdesigns is just to die for. And it would fit my baby, my 17" widescreen laptop. And somehow it looks a tad more professional than the Hello Kitty case I was previously looking for. (Not that I probably wouldn't still settle for Hello Kitty, if I could ever find one big enough, but that's another story.) All of Janine King's bags are gorgeous, her fabrics are impeccable, and of course all of that is reflected in her sales. She probably doesn't need this spotlight at all. But a want is a want. ;)

Secondly... hand dyed sock yarn. YUM.

This colorway is called Heirloom Tomatoes, which I love—I love fantastic colorway names. It's from lightbrownhare's shop, a fairly new seller on Etsy, but a perfect yarn dyer—I had a lot of trouble picking just one item from her shop that I wanted to spotlight, because all her colorways are really lovely and vibrant. In the end I picked this one because... well, maybe I shouldn't own to this, but I picked it because it reminded me of the Gryffindor Common Room in the Harry Potter films! hahaha And I've always wanted to be a Gryffindor, I admit.

My last find this week... well, "Heavenly" seems pretty apt.

These are haveitconfections' Heavenly Vanilla Marshmallows and Heavenly Vanilla Caramels. Again, it was hard picking something from her shop because everything looks so delicious. So I picked a mix of caramels and marshmallows! They really do look amazing. And, from the shop profile, you can see that this is a pretty awesome shop to patron! Not only do they support Kiva.org, a website supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries, but they're also super-green and use a portion of their sales to pay for trees to be planted! Very cool and very much what the handmade movement is and should be about! Not like you need an incentive like that, when they're goodies look as yummy as they do, but still. Awesome.

A nice surprise on a Saturday morning!

2009-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have a routine about where I go when I get online. Yahoo mail first, then Plurk, then Ravelry, then gmail, and then craftopolis and craftcult.com

When I got to the heartomatic this morning, I was surprised to see that my most recent listing wasn't there. Then I looked a few tabs over and:

The treasury my Bumblebee notebook was in made it to the front page! Of course I didn't wake up early enough to see it (sigh) but still, that was so exciting to see! My first front-page feature!

This is of course relisted. :)

Wednesday Wants!

2009-06-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

I can't help myself—this one's all fiber, folks! If I had the time I'd expand, do Wednesday Wants and Fiber Fridays... but sadly there's no way I could manage that, so you'll just have to suffer through it. :-P

Firstly....

This is the lovely Age of Wisdom Luxury Lace by theyarnside. These colors remind me of a cool autumn evening with falling leaves. And with a mix of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere, it'd be sure to keep you cozy, too. Think of the shawl you could make with this! I don't think I could resist doing some lacy, leafy pattern. Mmmm.

Next we have a bit of grunge! But grunge at its very prettiest.

This fantastic colorway is called Swamp Fairy, very appropriately. It is by the isajulfiber, who has really gorgeous things. I just love the playfulness of all these colors, mixed in with the bold black and white bits. I can just imagine the awesome funky yarn this would spin up into! I love it.

And then... sigh. Mulberry Silk Top in Evergreen, by chimera.

I admit, I have a thing for shiny. There's a reason why the first spinning fiber I bought was a smidge of soysilk at a ridiculous price. It was shiny. And soooo soft. Just look at all of these lovely, shiny greens! I've never spun silk before (haven't even touched my soysilk yet - I'm a bit afraid of it!) but it's supposed to spin like a dream. Maybe if I had the generous 4.6 ounces here, I wouldn't be as worried about messing a bit of it up. ;)

My last pick is... well really just a doozy.

Take a closer look at this picture. Don't just let your eyes glance over it, because you're bound to miss something if you do, and the listing really is for all of it. It's pumpkinhaus' One Gallon Top Whorl Spindle and Fiber Kit in Superman Ice Cream. So there's a spindle, 2.7 ounces of very Superman-y colored merino, a project bag, plus scraps, buttons and some pre-spun yarn to play with as you will! Pumpkinhaus is quite the spinner herself. I haven't really tried any artsy spins as of yet, but the idea does really intrigue me. Definitely an awesome kit for someone out there!

So there you are. That wasn't so bad, was it? ;)

Teams, treasuries, and a listing:

2009-06-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of updates, I've been out of town! And I have some really lovely pictures to share from my trip, but considering I'm about to fall asleep at any moment now, how about I just cut to the chase, hm?

Firstly - I'm joining a new Street Team! Holmstp on Etsy is starting an LDS Street team, and I'm looking forward to getting involved! I think the street teams are one of the best things to come from Ravelry. And speaking of BEST...!

I've gone and made another team treasury for the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team called Books Red, and you guessed it, it's full of all kinds of bright red books in some very different styles—personally I love them all! Though I have to admit, I think this mini leather book is my absolute favorite of the lot.

I'm also lucky to be featured in a treasury!

Take a glance at my new Pastel Pretties! I'm selling these as a set of three for $9.00, and they'll also be available for $3.50 each. They're really simple little notebooks, but I love them! They've got twelve sheets of paper—or twenty-four pages, both sides—made of post-consumer-used fibers, and tied together with coordinate DMC floss.

And right now you can see them in the lovely treasury FINESSE, made by paperinstyle. Thank you, paperinstyle!

Wednesday Wants tomorrow—have a good night! :)

YARTSY Wednesday Wants!

2009-06-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Yart Sale starts today on Etsy! Starts today and goes through the fourteenth. My shop is offering free shipping to US & Canada, plus reduced flat-rate shipping everywhere else!

In celebration of this awesome event, all of my picks for Wednesday Wants this week are YART deals!

First up I have one of ToilandTrouble's No Fuss Cowls:

I love this item. I've lately fallen in love with cowls in general, because they're a nice flashy accessory, but they don't hang down and get in your way the way scarfs might, and they're perfect for just-chilly-enough weather! The color in this one is just perfect to add a bit of zing to any outfit! She's got a whole section for the Yart Sale, and is offering a %15 refund of any of those purchases! Awesome? Methinks.

Second up is a shop I've been keeping my eye on a bit:

These gorgeous little Butterfly Booklets are from Shoebox21. She has a variety of beautiful items featuring fantastic handdrawn art. The whole shop is whimsical and pretty and fun. She too has a whole Yart Sale section with discounted wares, and she's offering free shipping on purchases over $15!

Lastly (but never leastly!) is the fantastic Ocean Flower Slouch Hat from the HookerNextDoor:

I love, love, love this hat. It's got such a great design that I'm sure it's eye-catching near or far. And this color is so great! This is flawless crochet, and I love, love love it! This and a few other fantastic things are up for free shipping for the Yart Sale!

Lots of other Yart Stuff can be found using the "Yart" tag, too! Or, look for "yartfreeship," for great shipping deals! And have fun Yarting! :)

I'm in a Treasury!

2009-06-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

That's my little Whitman's Sampler Chocolate Mini Notebook in a great Bookbinding Etsy Street Team treasury made by Büchertiger, showing off some of the color available in the handmade bookworld over on Etsy! Shop BEST by looking for the bookbindingteam tag!

Gearing up for the YARt Sale!

2009-06-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! To countdown to summer, Etsy is having its second annual unoffical YART sale (that's Yard + Art, get it?!) sponsored by the Etsy Supply Street Team. Lots of shops will be holding sales, putting up special items or, like me, offering free shipping!

So the 10th-14th of June, all items in my shop will have free shipping to US and Canada! Everything in the shop!

Caribbean Spritzer

2009-06-06T15:38:00.001-07:00

New journal! This is the Caribbean Spritzer, name suggested by my sister, who said it looked like a fruity tropical drink. Lots of cool Caribbean colors here, and there's a fun yellow polka dot lining inside. Very vacation-ready!

In other shop news, I'm on Facebook! Look up CinderLisaDesign!

Wednesday Wants - and Winners!

2009-06-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

First and foremost...

Congratulations to Luna (moonmandrake), Elizabeth (SheepShapeSpinning), Particles of Stone and lilm4105! You've won ad space through the end of July! Please email me your 125x125 pixel ads at CinderLisaDesign AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get them up as soon as they get to me!

Now... on to Wednesday Wants. =)

Firstly, a little something from PearTreeGallery:

This is called Peacock and Jazz, and oh do I love it! The aqua/peacock colors are pretty much my absolute favorite variety of colors. I actually wore a peacock-blue dress to my high school prom - which looked darn good up against my Japanese yellow undertones, thank you very much. I'd love to put a huge version of this painting up on a wall in my house. You know, that house I own in my head that has big white walls and enormous spaces. Yeah. That one. It would look really nice there.

And then I love this Lace Leaf Scarflette from kanokwalee.

Ah, crochet lace goodness in such pretty colors! This scarflette looks perfect for a summer evening downtown. I love it.

I must be partial to those colors at the moment, too, because my next want is this Seahorse pattern from tinyowlknits:

How adorable is that?! I wish I had time to do some charity knitting/crochet at the moment, because I'd be all over making these for hospital kids or something. Maybe in a few months...

And before you get overwhelmed by the bluescale -

This is the Autumn Sunset milk latte fiber over at feelingsheepish's shop. Spinning! With milk! How cool is that?! It looks sooooo ridiculously soft. And these colors are fantastic! So much pretty I kind of want to sit and look at it for an hour or so. Sadly I have other things to do today. Sigh. But I really can't wait to try out milk fiber. I've only just started hearing about it, but it's definitely started showing up in the Etsy world, and it looks pretty darn cool.

That's all I have to say about that. :) Until next week!

The Stone Soup Challenge

2009-06-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've just recently found out about the coolest community. You may have heard of this already. The Stone Soup Challenge is an idea Laura Bray of Katydid Designs dreamed up and put together. It's based on the old Grimm Fairy Tale about a man who came to a hunger-stricken village and offered to make stone soup - soon the various people added their various ingredients it became a stew that could feed them all.

The challenge is similar to this. Many of us crafters are trying to sell our wares online, especially now that fantastic venues like Etsy and ArtFire are available to us, but for the community to continue to expand and thrive, we have to support each other a little bit.

Laura has set up a place for people to pledge that they'll spend a certain amount of their crafting income (after expenses, of course!) on another artist, so that we can spread the soup around. And of course, the more that pitch in, the easier this is to do. So go on over and check it out, I highly encourage it! You don't have to promise to spend 50% or anything like that - no one expects that of you. But just help out someone else... and then maybe tell them about the Soup Stone Challenge, and maybe they'll help someone else out! Are you seeing how this works?

I love this idea! I mean admit it - don't you spend some of your income there anyhow? You might as well make it official. ;)

---

P.S. Last chance to enter the Ad Space contest! Two full months free of your 125x125 add right over to the left here... Go enter now!

Bliss is right!

2009-05-30T22:23:00.001-07:00

Meet my latest Etsy impulse buy:

My friend Bridget over at The Hooker Next Door made me aware of this little deal - a little sampler tin candle over at PŪRBLISS on Etsy. Nutty Caramel Bliss. I couldn't help myself, I snapped it up.

And then it came in the mail today and I'm so glad I did. Oh my goodness. I could smell the caramel yumminess through the envelope! And it was a heavy-duty envelope, too, not some sissy thing. Usually I save my candles in an unburned revered kind of way for a little while after I buy them because I'm just odd like that, but I lit this one almost as soon as it was dark for me to have a reason to. And again, I'm glad I did! This smell is heavenly. I feel like I'm cheating on a diet or something. Fantastic buy. Plus the candle looks great - which is always a bonus!

I hope I get a chance to try some of PŪRBLISS' other scents because quite a few of them look amazing. Lime Drop! Banana Bread! Plumeria! Sweet Melon!

Sigh.

And they're all Soy—that fantastic plant of my forefathers (okay, maybe only half of them). I highly recommend checking them out!

----

And don't forget, my ad space contest is still going on! If you're interested in winning a spot, check it out here.

Ad Space Contest - Fill me up!

2009-05-29T10:44:00.001-07:00

As you can see to the right here, this new layout of mine comes with built-in prime advertising spots. To get this kicked into gear, I am going to be holding a drawing for all four spots! Four people will win a spot for their 125x125 ad, absolutely free.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment, with some way to contact you. Follow the blog for an extra entry!

Winners will be announced in the next Wednesday Wants post - June 3rd.

And because tomorrow is my Etsyversary (my very first Etsy purchase was made one year ago tomorrow!) and because I want to wait until Wednesday to draw, but want my winners to get the full benefit of their win, the winning ads will be up throughout June AND July. That's very nearly two months of advertising, free.

(And if you're having trouble leaving a comment, click on the blog post title above).

Good luck, everybody!

Closed now, thank you!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-05-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

In an attempt at variety (I know I fail in this, apologies!) I'm going to steer clear of fiber artists this week. Not that I'm not tempted by lots of them... you know I am.

My first selection is just plain cute.

These are KBdesignCo's Chunky Toddler Crayons, basically melted down and reformed crayons that are big and easy to grasp by pudgy little toddler hands. I can't look at these things without imagining the cuteness that would accompany a kid plopped down on a big sheet of craft paper and actually playing with these... or maybe stuffing them in their mouths. Or both. Someday my kids will play with crayons like these.

And something a touch more sophisticated...

This CatNote book of Hattori's is just all kinds of lovely. This one picture doesn't do it justice, so go take a look at the others on the listing. I can't say much about this, because it really speaks for itself. If I had the money for this lovely I would snap it up in a heartbeat.

My last pick this week is a little bit sentimental for me. CherryBlossomCo was actually where I made my very first Etsy purchase, a year ago from Saturday, as a matter of fact. I didn't realize until just now that it's nearly my Etsyversary, but all the more fitting that I showcase C&B, now that I know that it is! I bought a Pomegranate and Rosemary lip balm, and it is fantastic stuff, keeps my lips nice and smooth. Starting to run low, too!

This is C&B's Grapefruit Shea Butter, as you can see. Grapefruit happens to be my favorite scent. Pretty much any citrus will do, but grapefruit is hands-down the winner, any day of the week. It's just such a light, happy smell, and the teensiest bit exotic. And, while this is starting to change, it's not exactly the easiest scent to come by when you're looking for bath products. It took me years to find a body splash. And here's 4 ounces of yummy grapefruit scent, full of body butter goodness. Definite want.

Quick fiber projects update!

2009-05-26T10:24:00.001-07:00

In the hectic world that is my life at the moment, crafting has been an escape to simplicity for me. So don't be expecting cables and lace here, darlings.

What's on my spindles:

The orange is merino, my first time spinning straight merino, and I'm loving it! Have to work this one off of the spindle so that I can get to the other half! The grey/beige is... well I'm not entirely sure what it is. A stickier stuff, part of a package RAK'ed to me by myrtili over at Ravelry. It makes for a very interesting yarn, and I'm finding that if I spin it, I sort of fall in love, no matter what it is - unless it makes my hands itch, which thankfully hasn't happened with anything yet!

I can't tell you how happy I am to know that I'm not flat-out allergic to all wool, just one or two little kinds. Lamb's Pride, for example. Definitely allergic to that one, unfortunately.

On the needles, I'm continuing on with my sock-yarn clap. Two skeins of Heritage Sock and I love it to bits.

Maybe I should have gone with something a little more neutral-ish, but this picture doesn't really do justice to the colors in this yarn, pinks and pinks, and a few peaches and a bright orange, and even a deep, nearly purplish maroon. I'm onto my second skein and haven't gotten sick of the yarn yet, so boo-yah! This project is perfect for any downtime - reading, watching TV or a movie, whatever. And, since the Clap is such a simple pattern, it's something I can easily pick up for a few stitches, then throw to the side if necessary. Because you'd better believe life has been cutting into my crafting time lately.

Speaking of... have to go get some stuff done! Happy Tuesday, all.

New Look!

2009-05-21T21:49:00.001-07:00

Well there we are!

If you've been clicking on this link and things have been looking a little off, apologies! As you can see, I've been revamping the whole blog. This is mainly because I put a new banner on my Etsy shop and I wanted to polish up the blog to make it match.

I love this layout. It's been a bit insane to work with, and still isn't entirely perfect, but other than the fact that my miniEtsy's stick out a bit, I do really like it.

Also, it comes with built-in adspace! So tomorrow, when I'm not so tired of looking at the computer, I'll figure out just what I want to do with that adspace - I'm considering doing a contest for it like Dip Your Toes is doing - at least for the first month. Interesting prospect, one I may not have thought of myself...

Many thanks to the gals on the Etsy forums who provided me with feedback and encouragement about the blog!

And now I really do have to get away from this computer screen. Goodnight, all!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-05-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

One true thing: I will never get tired of browsing Etsy. Even when I'm on the road, even when I'm having a truly bad day (I'm not, just saying!) I can enjoy a quick browse through Etsy. Here are a couple of things that I've run across lately.

I think this is such a clever idea. These little gems are SudsnSuch's Soap-To-Go. This is particularly appealing to me after being on the road so much these past few months, because while I don't quite consider myself a germaphobe, I do like to have my soap, and I have stopped in one too many rest stops along the side of the highway that were lacking in that particular area. Sigh.

This next one is something I found thanks to the PhatFibre blog, which you all should be watching already. Coolclimates was featured over there and so I went over and feel in love with this skein of yarn:

This skein is called Iceberg, made up of mostly wool, but with a little bit of mohair and all in shades of blue and white, thick and thin, which I can't help but love! It's on sale right now, too! Tempting stuff...

My final pick for this week was difficult for me to choose - because I love pretty much all of pixelpluspaper's stuff. But right now, I am really, really in love with book plates. That's how I found her, actually. I recently found and used up a little package of book plates that were given to me by my grandmother a few years ago. I'd been putting it off, maybe because I was afraid of the commitment it implied? But now that I'm giving away so many of my books, I want the ones I'm keeping with me to be MINE.

These are the Shoe-Lover Book Plates, but really all of her book plates are to die for. There's a Chocolate Lover's in the same style as this. I love the tiny (almost) at the end. Might as well add some personality to your books, eh? I think so.

Why hello, there!

2009-05-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Finally back home. I have actually, in point of fact, been back a couple of days, but with the move going on, it's been a bit difficult to get to the blog and update! I've got quite a bit to tell you, though!

Firstly, I got home to a really lovely surprise:

I featured copperpot in Wednesday Wants a couple of months ago, and she asked if she could sent me a bit of roving... things happened in between times that have made both her and my life hectic, to say the least—though with more profound impact on her life, definitely.

I had all but forgotten about this, due to the move, and the daily struggle to let go of some of my material possessions, but this was such a delight to come home to after two long weeks on the road, and it's helping me to let go of some of my own things and let them go out into the universe, hopefully making it to where they're needed.

But back to the roving:

Here's a lovely 5.5 ounces of a colorway called Remington - I was really just expecting a little bit of fluff to play with! This is extremely generous, and prettier than I can make the photo look. The colors are richer, with a bit of a purplish tint to the red - according to copperpot's profile, she includes a bit of purple in everything she does! I love that she has a trademark! I can't wait to spin this stuff up. Means I have to loosen up one of my spindles, first, though!

Something else I was finally able to do yesterday, was list this lovely little journal:

I call it the Posie Journal, made with mixed blank paper in all different colors, and embroidered on the cover in a sweet little Posie design. When you open the cover there's a fourth little posie waiting to surprise you! I think this is my favorite of the journals I've listed so far - though I've felt that way about each new one that I list!

That's all for me tonight! Hoping to get Wednesday Wants up tomorrow. Until then!

Just a little mention...

2009-05-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

The reason I haven't been updating is because I've been on the road (still!) and haven't had a chance to sit down for long enough - don't really have enough time now either, sadly, but I wanted to let you know why I've disappeared. I'm due home Thursday or Friday. Until then, have a wonderful week!

~Lisa

What I've been up to lately...

2009-05-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I want to mention that I'm being featured by The Speckled Pear! She features ten Etsy shops at the bottom of her blog every month, and I'm so thankful to her for adding me! Head on over and check out the other stores she has featured, too, they've got some fantastic stuff! She has her own Etsy shop, too, where she sells shop banners and avatar sets. She has some really adorable designs, so if you're looking to give your shop a little extra pizzazz, you might want to check her out!

TheSpeckledPear.etsy.com

In other news... I've been on a bit of a mini-vacation the past few days, and I'll write about that in my writer's blog in a little bit, but lookee at what was waiting for me when I got home:

This lovely lovely stuff is from WCMercantile on Etsy. More precisely, it's the Deep Sea Merino/Tencel mix. And if I had any excuse at the moment, I'd probably be spinning it up already. It is so soft and shiny! It feels like butter. But I think I'll wait to spin it until I'm done with my "practice" fibers—though to be honest, I almost am. :)

Here's a bit I spun up a while ago, but hadn't gotten around to taking a picture of:

Love the subtle greens and pinks here. This is just about forty yarns of super bulky yarn. I'm thinking perhaps it will become a cozy for my mp3 player?

And maybe this for my camera? (Since I got a new one for my birthday! One that actually can manage macro pictures. Woohoo! Thank you, brothers of mine.)

This green was made up on a longer version of my Bic-pen drop spindle. Really all I did here was also take out the stopper at the bottom of the pen and stick a smooth, size-fitting chopstick in the bottom. I'm delighted with the result!

See? Here it is with my other spindle, and a little bit of what I had spinning on there, icy blues and lavenders that unfortunately didn't photo very well. I'll take another picture once I've got it in a hank. Anyhow, that's what I've been up to, spinning wise.

Also, some shop news: I have a few listings ready to go up on Etsy, so I'll probably put one up today. I'll only have my sister's spiral-binding machine with me until the move (I'm heading to Bountiful, Utah, she and her binding machine are headed to the Galveston, Texas area) so I'm getting what use out of it as I can. That said, I don't really mind losing it, because not having it will encourage me to get more familiar with coptic binding and the like, which will be great for me!

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-04-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

Go! :)

Impatience is the mother of invention.

2009-04-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

All of this packing and organizing and giving stuff away for the move can, understandably, burn me out. So, when the chance presented itself to sit down and watch a couple Austen movies (I was burning them onto DVD for later... Persuasion and Emma—the Kate Beckinsale version) I really wanted to do some spinning. Sure I had my clapotis sitting there almost done with its first skein, but I hadn't done any spinning in ages (I still haven't posted pictures of my last) and that's what was calling to me.

But... well in all of this mess, I've momentarily misplaced my drop spindle. And even if I had found it, it still had the yarn of my previous attempt on it. And... well I've been curious about lighter-weight spindles, and still being in the experimentation phase (really, I think I always will be, if you know what I mean!) I was wondering about CD drop spindles. But I didn't want to have to go to the store and buy a wooden dowel or drill anything, quite honestly. Not because I don't know how to drill—my father refurbished houses when I grew up so I darn well do. I just wasn't in the mood to get so complicated.

And so, my new variation of the drop spindle was born!

Take all of this:

Go ahead and take the cap off of the pen and pull the ink tip out of the spout. Not the whole head of the pen, mind, just the little part directly connected to the ink shaft. Then take a pair of pliers (or maybe you can do this by hand, I couldn't.) and bend the inside of the lanyard hook out and straight out, bend it only at the bottom of the hook, don't bend the straight parts, or obviously the hook itself. This should give you something just awkward enough to be shoved into the pen shaft without wanting to budge once it's in there, like so:

Then, position the bottom rubber stopper (mine, I'll admit, came from a little set of eraser pencil grips) wherever you want, drop the CD down, and put the other one on top. And voila:

Here's a pic of my spindle along with the roving I was working with and the yarn I made from it. Quite fine stuff, actually! Not very good yarn, because I'm still new to this and I know I have a ton of weak spots in it, but the spindle worked well enough. It wasn't perfect, the grips are a little looser than I'd like, but that's mainly because I wanted it to be take-apart-able later. If you don't, of course you could glue the grips and CD into place. Either way, this isn't very fancy, but it's a very simple little spindle, popped together in a matter of minutes, made from stuff you probably have around the house anyhow. Enjoy!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-04-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Some weeks it takes some time to go through my favorites and find something that I really want to post about—that is not at all true this week!

Firstly, let's look at jesh's Pink Glow Drop Spindle. Is this lovely, or what? All of her spindles are lovely, really! I'm starting to think that maybe I've outgrown my run-of-the-mill starter spindle, and this is very, very tempting...

And what to spin on it, you ask? Well... step over here and take a gander at hobbledehoy's stuff!

Yummy, right?! This is her Lemon Zinger hand-carded batts. Gorgeous stuff! I've never spun from batts before, and would love to add that to my repertoir. These colors are just beautiful. Love that blend of oranges and yellows and greens.

And lastly, something that's as practical as it is beautiful:

This is one of lilypang's customizable laptop skins, this in particular is the Moonlight Owl. This is something I'm really looking forward to buying, just as soon as I make a sale that warrants it. I have a new laptop, and this is just what I need to keep my baby protected—and gorgeous, of course! I've seen a few at Fry's and Office Depot, of course, but I have an oddly-shaped laptop, and besides, what's the fun of that? lilypang's skins can be ordered to the size of your own laptop, and she even has matching skins for the hand-rest area! My only problem is deciding which skin I want, because all of them are utterly gorgeous. Go look for yourself!

New Journal!

2009-04-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

I love this journal. This is my new Black, White and Read Corset Journal, up on Etsy today. The overlap is at a slant and six buttons are laced together with a crocheted string as a closure. I see this and picture a pirate wench in a black corset with a lush red skirt below and a bit of blouse showing above.

The fabric I used inside actually has the wrongside of the fabric showing... I liked it much better than the right side! We found these little flat wooden beads in the house just a few days ago, as we've been cleaning things out for the move, and I already have so many things planned for them!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-04-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

I've been clicking "Refresh" a lot these past few days. I just can't help it the first days after I've listed something. But that doesn't mean that I've been keeping to my own shop all of this time. These are some of the things I've been falling in love with lately:

Gorgeous, are they not? This is the listing for one of immortallonging's Shakespeare Journals. (This one is Ophelia) It would do you good to read her profile page, because this woman comes with some very impressive accolades - her work is featured in some of the most prestigious theaters in the world, and these journals are available right at the Shakespeare's Globe shop - or here on Etsy! Her artwork is just beautiful, and really does give you the feel of the plays and characters she's portraying. Lovely stuff.

Next I have something that just makes my fingers itch to hold it:

This is GreenwoodFiberworks' Calypso Handpainted Merino Wool Roving. Look at all of those colors! This name definitely reflects the feel of the color palette. I love every single color here, they're so rich and warm! I think I would almost have trouble spinning this... I'd just want to admire it in the braid! ;)

And lastly... a true little indulgence.

Five Travel-Sized Scrubs from SpaGoddess. These just look decadent, don't they? There are eight kinds available that you can pick and choose to suit your own tastes, and besides being gorgeously packaged and such pretty colors, they have fantastic titles, too! And of course she's got a whole line of other products to compliment.

So yes, that's what's catching my eye this week on Etsy. Until next week's wishes!

Ally B's 200th Blog Post Contest

2009-04-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Going on right now! Her 200th post was yesterday, and to enter, all you need to do is go there and post a comment! She has a fabulous handmade notions wallet that she's made herself, and a skein of lovely Tofutsies yarn.

So on second thought—don't go enter. Because I want it! :-P

Shop update - and apologies!

2009-04-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

So long since I've posted. You've probably forgotten all about me!

I'm in the middle of a move, (or the beginning of the middle, more accurately!) so I've definitely gotten behind on blogging about my multiple crafting pursuits. I'm working on another Clapotis, since I've had issues with that pattern before, (that's frogged, btw, but this one is also pink... a more dynamic pink) and Patons SWS scarf which is currently unphotographed...

But the thing that I really came in to blog about is the new journals in my shop.

This packing has been wearing me down creatively, so I took some time the other day and spent most of a whole lovely day making these journals.

Firstly, we have one I call the Spring Fling:

I love these colors! This journal is so bright and happy, all the way around. Pink and orange on the outside, yellow on the inside cover, with yellow pages sprinkled through at random intervals. There's a whopping 110 pages (220 on both sides) in here, too. I figure if someone's going to buy a handmade journal, they'll want it to last a while, right?

And the other one I'm in love with just as much!

This is my Jade Dreams journal. There's 90 pages in this one (180 on both sides) and the fabric I've used here is a lovely Asian print with splotches of gold and green. I did something a little different with the binding and added some wooden and glass beads that I just love, and there's some pink pages scattered through this one.

I've really fallen in love with hand-bound books this past little while, it combines so many of my loves - sewing, books, journal-writing, and digging through fantastic fabrics, papers and buttons! I'm looking forward to doing a lot more of this in the future!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-02-25T14:26:00.000-08:00

I am all about the fiber this week. First and foremost - LEAH CLEARWATER.

This beyond-gorgeous yarn by Tricoterie is her Leah Clearwater Merino Tencel Sock Yarn. I know I may not be in the majority market here, but by the end of Breaking Dawn Leah was one of my absolute favorite characters in the Twilight series (beat out only by Jacob Black - and okay, probably tying with Alice and Jasper), so to find Leah yarn just about rocks my world. These colors are just perfect, too. Out of a lineup, I could have picked this yarn for Leah easily. It's gorgeous and lush, but definitely has a stormy dramatic feel to it. I love it.

Next up is the Mother Earth Merino Roving from copperpot. Actually I could have picked almost any of her rovings, since I've spent an inordinate amount of time staring at them after finding her the other day, but this one is calling to me at the moment.

Now that spinning has really caught my fancy, I can't help going and looking longingly at the many many Etsy roving dyers, and this sherbety blend just looks delicious, doesn't it? Can't fault Merino, now can we?

And speaking of great dye jobs...

This is Emerald Isle superwash yarn from kangaroodyer. Is that beautiful or what? It gives me an itch to watch The Wizard of Oz, actually. (That yellow's a little brick-road-y, isn't it?) For not being a sock knitter, I sure fall for sock-weight yarn rather easily. The colors in this is just gorgeous, gorgeous. I love the whole range.

Now I need a new project. I just finished a fairly large one that's a gift for a friend (still a surprise, so I won't say what just yet) and I'm kind of feeling those post cast-off blues. That accomplished feeling did not last as long as I was expecting. Sigh.

Spin me right round, baby, right round

2009-02-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick little post! That there are the first four attempts I've made at handspinning yarn, in order. The first is mega bulky and not very even at all. The second is thinner but still fairly bulky and a little uneven. The third I think is fairly even and fairly thin, making it to some 41 yards (yay!). The fourth is fairly the same, though the fiber is different—BFL, I believe, I've lost my little card with the notes on it!

I've finally gotten even spinning down—so of course then I wanted to see if I could do thick/thin! haha And so this was the result of that little inclination:

That's some true experimentation on my part... this was just a little tiny bit of fiber I had from my bag from DeeAnn a while back, and it only ended up as seven some yards, and while it's not quite what I was evisioning, I do kind of like how it turned out:

Now I just need to get brave and set some of these babies. And I suppose I should play with plying, too, though I really do like the look of singles. But I have lots of thread, too, so... Maybe I'll ply this yellow, see how it looks. I don't think this particular little skein could get worse. :-P

Bookmark Swap!

2009-02-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry for disappearing over the last couple of weeks. I had an unexpected business trip to Texas, and when I wasn't on the road I was in little hotels where the internet connections were precarious at best. Now I'm home, though, and to be honest I might still be a little hard to find on the internet because my younger brother is home from a two-year LDS mission in Santiago Chile! It's been fun having him around the house, though he keeps slipping into Spanish. Heehee.

In other news, I'm in a bookmark swap over at the 52 books in 52 Weeks group at Ravelry (a challenge I'm getting further and further behind in, by the way) and Anita (knittinggardener) sent me this lovely book strap that she hand loomed on her inch loom! Looming fascinates me, so I was very excited to get something so unique—plus I've been wanting a book strap for a while now! Regular bookmarks have a tendency to fall out—or maybe that's just in my cluttered purse?

I LOVE the knitting card, too, and she sent me a fat quarter, because she knows I'm from a quilting family, that was so sweet of her, and I love the fabric, too! Very fun. I'm a big fan of the polka dots!

Here's a closer look at the handmade glass beads on the tassle of the bookmark:

Lovely! I'm a big fan of beads, too, and these are so colorful and fun, and really the first homemade ones to come into my posession, so I love them. I hope my spoilee enjoys her package half as much. Thank you Anita! This was a great swap! :)

Shop VelvetHippo & Support Stacie!

2009-01-30T00:39:00.000-08:00

First I should tell you who Stacie is. Stacie is a very good friend of mine, a mother of three, funny as all get out, and a BIG Gilmore Girls fan—along with some other great fandoms (Roswell!). Stacie is also fighting breast cancer, and like many, has no health insurance. This economy is bad enough as it is, but that's just a heck of a lot to have to deal with—as the understatement to end all understatements.

Support Stacie was started by some of Stacie's closest internet friends, because we all know how close the internet has brought many of us. There have been a series of fundraisers to try and raise awareness about the mess that our healthcare system is, and help alleviate some of Stacie's financial burden, including fanfic auctions (bidding on an fic author's time, and getting a tailor-made fic!) and the upcoming Stars Hollow Meet & Greet.

And now, all through February, VelvetHippo on Etsy—someone who only heard of Stacie through a little post I made on Ravelry a while ago—is very generously offering to donate 25% of the proceeds from PINK items in her shop to Support Stacie. And on February 14th, it'll be ALL items in the shop! I am personally touched that she's offering to do this.

SO SHOP PINK!

Here's a look at some of the gorgeous stitch markers she has up:

A Dose of Pink Flamingo (clapotis set) - $13.50

Sweet Dreams - $9.00

Everybody needs a bit of pink for Valentine's Day anyhow, right? So remember, VelvetHippo @ Etsy, all through February! Get your PINK on, for a good cause!

First Attempts, Second Attempts!

2009-01-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

I got an itch to figure out something the other day, and I had the house all to myself, so I went on a bit of a crafting adventure.

Take this:

These are some scraps from a Lasagna Quilt I've been in the process of making for a while now (far too long, considering it's just a bunch of four-inch strips, but I have ADD). Messy, isn't it? But no real problem for Mr. Iron.

So I ironed my strips out and made them pretty. They're all Batiks in happy colors, so that wasn't hard.

Then came putting them together. Despite coming from a long line of quilters, it still takes me about half an hour fighting with my machine before it starts making sense to me, but ultimately I figured things out, and got this:

Have you guessed where this is going yet? No, I'm not making placemats - though that would be a cute idea, come to think of it! :-P

Flipped it over and added some felt for lining. Oh you can see it now, can't you? I didn't take a picture of my signatures, but here's what they look like sewn in:

Add a button or two to the outside, and a crocheted latch....

And tada! Isn't it lovely? It's not perfect, but it'll do for a first attempt at a hand-bound book, hm? Take a look at my binding, what do you think?

The little wooden beads are my favorite. I get the feeling this is the first of many, many hand-bound books I'll make.

And that's not all I've been up to lately. Here's my second attempt at handspun yarn, I call it Grape Juice!

12 little yards. I'm sure it's not the most impressive handspun you've ever seen, but it's mine and I'm still learning and having fun with it. I'd like to learn how to do something at least a little thinner than this, we'll see.

Valentine-y Contest!

2009-01-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Valentine's, Knithappens is having a fantastic contest on her blog, giving away all kinds of fantastic swag, from mmalabrigo and handknits, to sweet-tarts and a sweet card! So get your behind over there and enter, and don't forget to tell her CinderLisa sent you!

Wednesday Wants!

2009-01-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

Long time, no wants. Well, there have certainly been wants, but what with holidays, starting a new Writing Blog, and setting up an ongoing free read, not to mention another project I'm taking on with a friend of mine that's still a little hush-hush, I've been a little busy. But I was looking around Etsy the other day, and I can't not do a post today.

Firstly, I wanted to spotlight something by an Etsy seller that I've been eyeing, oh for months now. This is the Discover Journal, by the fantastic kreativlink:

I've had a long-distance (very long-distance, she's in Austria!) crush on kreativlink's stuff almost since I first joined Etsy. Actually the fact that I haven't featured her before confuses me, because she's one of the very first sellers that I favorited. I sort of want every journal she's ever made, and if I had the money I'd probably be a private kreativlink collector--I just think her stuff is that good. She makes journals out of fabric, leather, suede, hand paints several of them, and hand tears the pages, and each one is just exquisite. This one catches my eye because of the brilliant colors, I'm completely in love with it. I would be happy with any of her journals, though, I think she's a fantastic artisan.

Speaking of color...

Here's tlwoldc's lovely Strawberry Parfait Handspun yarn. This stuff looks perfectly edible, doesn't it? The description calls it a Valentine's Day yarn, and it sure looks like one! Just a little sparkly, and such a lovely mixture of colors!

And I don't usually find myself interested in the vanity knitting needles, but these are a definite exception:

These are OntheNeedle's Custom Yarn Embedded Jumbo Knitting Needles. Yarn! Inside the needles! I love it. They're so colorful and bright! Are we noticing a theme here? The sky outside is very gray at the moment, maybe that's why I'm so eager for color. They're a great big size 19, too, and I love me some chunky needles. =)

And to send off, a little bit of sweetness:

This decadent pic is an example of what comes in the Marshmallow Sample Packs currently available from sweetiepiesdelights, a surprise mixture of 12 homemade marshmallows (and maybe something else?) that you could get from this order. I've never had homemade marshmallows, but don't they look fantastic? Toasted coconut! Of course if you just want one specific kind, they do that, too! And really, all of their stuff looks fantastic!

Happy Innauguration week, everybody!

Twilight End Swap!

2008-12-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Well, my Twilight swap package took some time to get here, despite the best efforts of karenbennett, my lovely spoiler. She sent it to me via USPS, and then lo and behold, somehow they sent it BACK to her! So she was very kind to send it to me through UPS, and I got it today! And it was well worth the wait. =)

First, there was a sweet little card, which was definitely the "good kind of corny," like Karen was hoping--the inside read "If this brings a little smile, it will have served its porpoise." Hee.

And then were some yummy little mints and gums. All fruity wonderfulness, which I love.

Forgive my sad looking carpet... sigh.

Then there was a wonderful Twilight playlist just for me--I LOVE mixed CD's, and this one should be extra fun, because there's a "hidden meaning" to each of the songs, that I'm supposed to try and figure out. I can't wait to listen to it!

Though I think I can guess the one behind the first without listening to it. Hee. Here's the playlist... any guesses?

She also sent me a lovely cowl!

I've never had a real cowl before. I've made a scarflette or two that button together, but a cowl, never. And it's just perfect for California, just-cold-enough-to-need-something-to-keep-you-cozy kind of weather. I can't help but notice that it's also in nice warm, wolfy-ish colors. =)

And this last is proof that Karen definitely took a closer look at me and my interests:

This is just about the most fantastic calendar I've ever seen in my life. I'm a writer, and besides that, a BIG Literature and English geek, and learning about linguistics and entemology and all those wonderful things is just love to me. And this is about vanishing vocabulary! Something that I care about more than Karen could possibly have known.

I'll probably use the info from this calendar to supplement those don't-have-a-clue-what-to-write-about days in my new writer's blog, so it'll be awfully helpful, as well! I'm not going to touch it until January 1st, because I have odd obsessive-compulsive tendencies when it comes to looking ahead at things, but I'm very excited to get there!

This swap was through the Twilight Saga Fans over at Ravelry, a simply fantastic bunch of people, and one of the very first groups I've joined on Ravelry. It was called The End swap, and aimed to comfort us after the last book in the Twilight series (maybe ever, who knows about Midnight Sun now?) was published and done with, and this was such a fun swap! I'd been in one swap before that was okay, but ended up not very well in the long run. This one... every package I've seen has been fantastic, and again, Karen spoiled me in such a personalized way, that I can't help but be delighted with my own package!

THANK YOU so much, karenbennett! This has brightened up a slightly greying day exceedingly. =)

A hi and how are you.

2008-11-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still in Texas. I didn't end up bringing much with me, so far as yarny crafts go. All I brought was my Sunday Market Shawl in progress, which is close to being finished. I was going to bring Christmas knitting with me, but as the few things I have planned are amigurumi and have lots of colors, it just didn't play in the cards to bring so many different yarns with me.

On the one hand I'm eager to have this shawl done, because right now it's looking awful skinny, and while I know it'll open up nicely when it's done, I'm being impatient. I want to see it, now! But at the same time... I don't want to finish it. I'm enjoying working with the Ty Dy Sock yarn, and I'll be sad to be done with it.

As a pre-emptive step for when I do finish, though, I bought a skein of Caron Simply Soft Eco (made in part with recycled bottles!) in a very pretty blue from Wal-Mart the other day, and picked up a tiny pair of bamboo circulars for two dollars, as I guess they were on clearance. I don't know what I want to make with it, exactly. A hat, and maybe some fingerless gloves? Could I manage that with one skein of CSS? Ah, I still feel like a n00b sometimes.

Actually... it's a shame I got in in blue, when I could have gotten it in the perfect pink to make Rose Tyler's wristwarmers. Ah, I'm in trouble. Between Doctor Who and Harry Potter alone, there are enough fandom knits to entertain me for a lifetime, I think. (Because I'm slow).

So how is everyone else? How's life in the real world? I always feel like I'm outside of it, a bit, when I'm away from home.

One package in, one package out!

2008-10-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't gotten my Twilight End Swap package yet, that anticipation gets to last a little bit longer! But I did get a fantastic Random Act of Kindness package from FeelingTangerine! She promised me some odds and ends of roving that I could practice on, but I wasn't really expecting what I got!

Do you see how puffy that envelope is? I have to admit I hugged it a couple of times. haha Full of roving, and fibery stuff, it was nice and squishy. ;)

This is what was inside, along with a little notecard explaining what the different fibers were, so that I can get a feeling for how things are.

The highlight was some 4 ounces of yellowy-orangey-browny merino, which is just lovely! She said it reminded her of fall leaves, and they do! I don't get many orange leaves here in San Diego, but that doesn't stop me from loving them. :)

So I went to joyofspinning.com, and browsed around there and watched a few videos on youtube, and... well, I'm not very good so far. haha But at least what I've got looks something vaguely like yarn!

It's not thin or even, really at all, as of yet, but I'm working on it. And I will be working on it. :) I'm enjoying it a lot, even though I'm not doing perfectly right off the bat—but that's what this is for anyhow, practice! And practice I'm up for!

In other news, my Twilight Swap package that I'm sending out is packed and ready to go, which is good, because I'm headed out of town in a couple of days. Texas, here I come! Oh, and I've frogged my Sunday Market shawl, and recast-on, with size 10's. The fabric was just working up too solid. Now it's much more open and free-looking, I love it!

I also have a little RAK to send out myself... I love the RAK community on Ravelry, because there's always something you don't need (or even want, necessarily!) that might be very good for someone else, and the good karma is payment enough in return.

Until next time, lovelies,

~Lisa

Knitters, retreat!

2008-10-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

North, that is.

Being from Southern California, you don't see many yarn stores around here. In fact they're around just long enough for you to notice them—and then find out they've closed before you get to them. Go up north a bit, though, where the weather gets a wee bit colder, and knitting shops, you will find. So, my trip to Seattle, to help my sister out with her table at BrickCon, a LEGO fan convention, was pretty heavenly for me.

After a pretty serious yarn diet, wherein the bulk of what I bought (which wasn't much, at all) consisted of Wal-Mart buys for amigurumi gifts for friends (a few things I have to finish for Christmas, actually!) , walking into a real live yarn store for me was just... WOW.

Because scheduling was tight, I only ended up being able to go to two yarn stores during the trip. (We were going to go to a third, but alas, it turned out to have gone out of business.) But no matter! I felt pretty inundated with squee for what I was able to see.

My first stop was the Middleford Yarn & Stitchery Shoppe. Little hint—if you want a quick way into my heart, ye olde English tends to do the trick right quick.

There I bought a couple of skeins of Baby Bamboo in Raspberry, which you can see in the third picture, a something for my Twilight "The End" Swap Partner that will not be revealed, and this... just luxuriously luscious skein of Alyeska sock yarn.

I don't really have to tell you how amazing this skein of yarn is. You can pretty much feel it from the picture, can't you? But amazing, my friends, it is. There were a few colorways that I was hard-pressed not to bring along with me, but at this price, I could really only afford one. Okay, actually, I could really only afford half of one. But it became mysteriously connected to my hand, and thus I was obligated to buy it. ;)

The other shop I was able to find, right in Seattle itself (Middleford was on the way up!) was The Weaving Works, which I was pointed to by the lovely ladies on Ravelry. Among a couple of skeins of the new Ty-Dy sock yarn (one for me, and one my mother insisted on me making something from for her!) which you can also see in the third picture, I also bought something that, to me, is a bit Holy-Grail-ish.

Ah, Manos del Uruguay. Long have I ogled you from afar. I'm a fan of silk blends, one of my only "real" yarns used to date being Noro's Cash Iroha, but this, this is lovely.

AS IS MY NEW DROP SPINDLE!

You see it peeking out there, between my yarns. The Weaving Works not only had more yarn in one place than I've ever seen in my LIFE, but they also had a whole back corner full roving, and all kinds of spinning supplies! A little earlier in the trip I'd bought some bits of Soy Silk roving from a quilting shop, but I wasn't fully sure how I'd go about spinning it up. (I was thinking towards those clever dowel/CD spindles.) Here I was able to acquire a great beginner's spindle, though, with a leading line and everything, which will be great for me. And more amazingly, I've been promised some roving from a sweet RAKer on Ravelry, to test and get things figured out.

By the way... that post yesterday, about wanting to start a new Sunday market shawl?

Hopeless? Yes, that would be me. Here's that Ty-Dy sock yarn in action! From my test knits last night, this should end up being some sixteen inches wide at least after stitches are dropped, and looking at some of the other sock yarn SMSs on Ravelry, it will hopefully get to somewhere around six feet? Out of one skein of yarn? Why yes, I'll take that, thanks! =)

If you'll notice there's a few bits where a different color invades so they don't fade away entirely until the third or fourth row of something new... but I think the dropped stitches will hide the slight awkwardness of that. I'm doing 45 stitches, dropping every fourth stitch, rather than the called for 30, dropping every third, and it's on size 6 needles, since... well, since that's what I could find readily available. The yarn is tiny, yes, but also very light, and basically stockinette. I already have my TV knitting, but this'll be a great travel project—something I'll need, considering I'll be heading to Texas at the end of the month!

Can I just say?

2008-10-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

I have some catching up to do, especially concerning the marvelous stash enhancement my recent trip to Seattle garnered, but I'm falling asleep here and too lazy to get the memory card out of my camera, so I'll put that off for the moment, and just mention this:

I really want to make a second Sunday Market Shawl. I mean, desperately. In particular using some of the sock yarn from the aforementioned trip. I'm this close to casting on for it, even though I have a total of THREE gifts on the needles at the moment, two of which need to be finished A.S.A.P.

But man, I've been looking through the projects pages on Ravelry, and I really love this pattern beyond description. I might get kicked out of knitting for saying this, but I think I like it better than the Clap, honestly. The latter is more substantial, but can be a hit-or-miss on whether it ends up looking squidgy. The Sunday Market Shawl, though, looks stunning pretty much however the cards fall. The Clapotis may be addictive to knit, but this is addictive to look at, so I'll go for the latter, yes?

I love my first one, btw, which follows the pattern with the yarn recommendation and everything. Oooh, another reason for trying this pattern out—best bang for your buck. It doesn't take much yarn at all, and blocks out HUGE, by standard. ;)

I will be back with that update soon. Hope you all are doing well!

~Lisa

Wednesday Wants!

2008-09-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'd like to start out today with just one of the prettiest listings on Etsy that I've seen in pretty much all the time I've been browsing it. I've stopped and stared at this more than once.

This is Corpseknit's Burnt Rose shawl, and isn't it just ridiculously lovely? This picture in particular makes me sort of hunger for Renaissance paintings and Baroque music and period-literature and fine things of all sorts. The color of this wrap is just to die for, and the pattern is all elegance. I love it.

And since we're on the subject of amazing color, check out WhorledPeace's Hand Spun Overdyed Merino Yarn:

Look at that fantastic ORANGE! I want to swim in this orange, a bit. And you can't go wrong with merino, hm? I really do love the look of handspun, though I haven't had a chance to work with it much yet, and this looks so lovely and soft.

Speaking of soft... Well. A friend of mine is preggers, so out of curiosity I've been glancing around at baby things on Etsy lately, too, and I came across these ridiculously adorable things:

These are prettylittle's Classic Teddy Bear Felted Merino Ankle Booties. Oh. My. Heavens. I don't think I really need to say much. They've about killed me with cute, and judging by the notes on the listing, everyone else who's seen them agrees.

If you're looking for adult feet, however, I also came across these charming Vintage Peeptoe Shoes over at thevintagecloset.

The vintage market on Etsy is fabulous, and these little red shoes are no exception. I'm such a fan of peeptoe heels. And RED. So these'll get my vote pretty much any day. <3

Fandom + Crafts = Love

2008-09-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy week... somehow all my weeks seem to be crazy weeks. But it's been a fantastic one, too! All kinds of fandom/crafty goodness.

Over on my friend Majik's Fanfic forum, we just finished bidding on a fantastic Fanfic on Demand project, benefiting Support Stacie, a charity committed to raise awareness about cancer and the challenges faced by thousands of uninsured cancer patients. The idea was that, in exchange for a donation, one of your favorite fanfic authors would write a fanfic tailor-written for you. (None of the money was going to the fanfic authors, obviously, as that would be all kinds of illegal.) I bring this up because the winning donation for my fics also are getting fandom knits, from me, as a thank you to donating to a cause near and dear to me.

Stuff is also leaning towards fandom-ness over on Ravelry for me at the moment. I'm participating in the very first Harry Potter Knitting/Crocheting House Cup (Go Gryffindor!) AND in the The End swap over at the fantastic Twilight Saga Fans group, a fantastic swap designed to comfort each other now that Breaking Dawn is over and done. Something we'll all be needing that much more now that Midnight Sun has been put on indefinite hiatus. I'm one of the few who hasn't read the leaked manuscript as of yet—I still haven't read the first chapter Meyer posted on her website ages ago! I'm behind on the times....

But the point is, I got my swap partner info yesterday and I'm EXCITED! My recipient person seems very fun, and I can't wait to spoil her a bit! I haven't done a swap in a looong time, because I was badly matched up in my first one and have been hesitant since, but this one should be a lot of fun!

Wednesday Wants!

2008-09-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, I know, I've disappeared for some time. Had to recover after Breaking Dawn, you know? ;)

No, really... I've been out of town some, and been worked to death the rest of the time. My eyes are drooping at the moment, even though it's all of a quarter to ten, but I could not let another Wednesday pass without doing one of my favorite posts. So! Some things I've found around Etsy this week...

If you didn't know Fall was settling in, just take a look at this gorgeous Burning Sunset sock yarn by BlackTrillium.

Those reds, oranges and browns are just divine, and if you look at the listing there's some warm purples in there, too. And speaking of purple! (And yarn... what? Looking never hurt anybody...) here's knittindiva's Soulful colorway. Mmmm.

That right there, is begging to be a clapotis, or something of the like. (Or, you know... socks, I suppose.) Such. Pretty. Colors. And natural dyes, which is always a plus! Cochineal! Something I've loved since it was on my vocab list in the ninth grade.

And lastly, but not leastly (unless you're speaking in a strictly physical volume sense!) Meowstro's Handbound Miniature Book - Two Fish Talking.

You might have noticed that I have a bit of a weakness for miniatures? And maybe handbound books? Well, I've kinda got a thing for fishies, too. Goldfish in particular, and this is just the sweetest little thing. All three in one! Fantasmagorical. The bubbles are the perfect touch, I think. Especially in conjunction with the title. <3

Wednesday Wants!

2008-08-07T00:02:00.001-07:00

Okay, I'm a teensy bit post-midnight in posting this, but oh well.

Also I have some other cool news to share, also somewhat in relation to this topic, but that will wait for a bit.

Like many people, I've been drinking in Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn this week. Though unlike many, I'm still reading! Things have been busy. But I thought I'd bring you a Twilight-filled version of Wednesday Wants. It was bound to happen eventually. Here's a little jumble of some of the fantastic fandom crafts you can find on Etsy, all about our favorite girl-meets-vampire story.

First and foremost: your very own Edward Cullen! deadcraft's fantastic Edward Cullen Crochet Doll is so cute you'd let him bite you, wouldn't you? I bet he doesn't leave quite such a sting as the original, either. ;)

Look at that fantastic hair-shaping though! And the cravat (is that a cravat?). I love it.

The Twilight books themselves have also been well portrayed in the miniature genre. sophiesbeads' Custom Book Series Stitch Marker Set is a GREAT example of this:

(Though, to be honest, I kinda want her Harry Potter set more. And by kinda, I mean a LOT.)

Or, if you just want the miniature book itself (and okay, I don't have a miniature house, but if I did, all the miniature tenants would be Twilighters!) check out miniaturebookshelf24's Dollhouse Miniature Books Twilight Series Set:

But all that vampire stuff is good and well, what about the OTHER supernatural influence in the series? Personally, I'm a wolf girl myself. Cold and stony I could do without. But warm and solid? Yes, please!

So to represent on the pack side, I bring you the lovely, lovely wolf-inspired Unicorn yarn by Setembrina.

I love all the hues in this luscious yarn, and there's definitely something very earthy and vibrant about it, which is so much how the wolf boys always seem to me. I think this blend of colors represents them perfectly, and it kinda makes you want to knit socks for a wolf, doesn't it? Or maybe just for yourself, as you wouldn't want him to shred them to pieces while phasing.

So that's Wednesday Wants for this week! These have been a crazy couple of weeks (months, years?), but I'm back on track now, I think. As I said, news to share very soonly, I just need a link or two confirmed. Keep watch!

Adventures in Scrumbling! And other madness.

2008-07-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

No Wednesday Wants this week. *sigh* I even have some picks, but I really am just super busy and don't have time to post them.

What I will show you, is my first attempt at freeform crochet!

This was definitely an experiment all the way around. I learned some new crochet stitches for it, including the basic Tunisian knit stitch, which you can see in the upper left corner. Really I just wanted to see what I could get with some scraps I had, and fairly often I had to switch to something new when my scrap ran out!

In other news, calling all Harry Potter fans!

There's a new group on Ravelry called the HP Knitting/Crochet House Cup. Looks to be a TON of fun! Basically it's a big ole' competition, but you get to be sorted into houses and work together as a team, which sounds like a blast! Let 'em know CinderLisa sent you, maybe we could work together! You do have to be a member of Ravelry to play, though.

Now why am I in such a rush you ask? (Because I'm typing this all up as quickly as can be, though I guess reading you won't be able to tell, will you?!) Well, it's Comic Con this week. I'll be working at the Lego booth some of the days, so if you happen to be there, come on by! Otherwise I'll be fangirling around with my posse (heh, my brother and sister, more like) and having a ton of fun. Twilight! Harry Potter! And what I really want to get, a Common Cold:

I got a Bookworm and a Mad Cow Disease (he's cuter in person) last year, but this little guy was sold out, and I've always wanted him, so this year is it! I can't wait!

Gotta run now, though. Tomorrow the madness begins, and I've got stuff to do to get ready!

Headers...

2008-07-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Don't be surprised if my header changes around a bit in the next few days. I'm learning how to play with Brushes on PhotoShop (these current ones are thanks to sleepwalkerfish at deviantart) but I haven't really figured it all out yet (which is probably very obvious to the trained eye!)

But I'm always up for learning something new, yes? Yes.

Wednesday Wants!

2008-07-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

It was impossible to narrow myself to three today. Impossible. But I don't think I'll really get complaints about that, will I? ;)

Have you ever noticed on Etsy, that along with the showcase and the little self-refreshing Recently Listed Items, right at the very top under the headings, there's another random listing of four items
that also refreshes from time to time?

That's where I found shagpile's Alisandra.

This is a "Ladybug" Handbag, which is enough to catch my attention, and look at how pretty and soft-to-the-touch that fabric looks! I'm a tactilaholic—if it feels nice, or apparently even looks like it feels nice, then I'm a fan. The pretty blues and greens and swirly flowery patterns are lovely, and call me silly, but I think those two little, plain ole' purple buttons lined up just make this. She looks like she could hold anything you need and do it sturdily, too, which of course is always a plus. :)

And, because it's a constant temptation, some yarny goodness!

This is temptedyarn's Rusted Blonde Bad Grrl. Look at those rich colors, hm? I'm a sucker for bold colors, and these reds and oranges do the trick. I've got to say, I'm not a sock knitter as of yet. I'm a California girl, I just don't wear socks—I live in flip flops (and occasionally heels). So the idea of knitting something I'm not even going to wear is not so appealing to me.

But sock YARN. Now that's a different story. Sock yarn I fall in love with left and right. And who ever said you had to knit socks with sock yarn? There's always shawls, gauntlets, fingerless gloves... you know, something.

This next I found with Etsy's lovely Pounce mechanism, which shows you shops that either haven't sold yet, or have just made a sale (Etsy is SO cool. I can't stress this enough. It's almost as cool as Ravelry), and that's where I found this lovely little number:

This is appletreejewelry's Flashy Baby Blues necklace, which I think is just lovely. (I know, I know, I use that word a lot!) There's a lot of beauty in the simplicity of this piece, and the tiny, multi-hued stones all through the chain are what make this a definite keeper. For me, the simpler the better with jewelry, and this has a natural look to it that I would love to flash around myself, in fact.

And to end this week, something so tiny and sweet that I couldn't help falling for it. Meet sparklerama's Micro Mini Tiny Birdie:

So, thanks to an obscure reference to an even more obscure, off-the-wall YA book series that I love, I have a serious thing for cardinals. It doesn't make much sense to anyone but me, and it would take a long time to explain, so I won't bother. Besides, who cares? This little guy is the epitome of cute all on his own. I may also have a thing for almost anything miniature in nature—I'm half Japanese, it's in my blood to admire small, physically perfect things if that makes sense. And I'm a quilter, so anything hand-sewn of this kind of size? *whistles low* I'm impressed.

Stash Enhancement!

2008-07-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

No, not that stash. My problem really is that I have so many kinds of stashes. This weekend we had a quilt run down in our area (I'm not sure which one, because there are three or four in quick succession of one another) and I really, really was not going to buy any fabric.

Psh. Right. I saw this pair of peach and green fabrics and considering they were half off, I couldn't quite stop myself.

Score, though, I got a free pattern for making a purchase! =) This more than anything has me tempted to try my hand at hand-bound journals, a la the fantastic kreativlink on Etsy. Her stuff is awe-inspiring and completely temptation-worthy of a journal lover like myself.

Here's a random shot of some detail on the green. Aren't the colors simply lovely? I think if either the white or the darker green/peach detail was missing, I could have passed this up in a heartbeat, but with all these layers of color, I just couldn't resist.

Now onto the slightly less straightforward part. Actually making the darn things! Thanks to some amazing videos on youtube, though, I'm entirely confident that I can do either of the two common bookbinding stitches. Man, I love the information age!

Wednesday Wants!

2008-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Once again, here's a couple of things that have been catching my eye on Etsy this week:

Firstly, let's look at yearofthegoat's Handknit Lace Up Over the Shoe Legwear. These things are just luscious. Talk about high-class couture.

If the lovely color or the gorgeous pattern of the knitting itself doesn't grab you, the lace-up ribbon definitely will. These leg-warmers (if you can even call them something as commonplace as that!) are a thing of beauty.

And I appear to be in a mood for wearables, because my next pick is The Oceanographer dress by elfland.

This is a dress after my own heart. Simple, elegant, and a lovely aqua blue, with just a touch of asymmetry on the hem, and some very pretty accent lines. And to beat all, you can wear it backwards, too! And it looks beautiful either way. Go check out the listing page to see the rest of the pictures it's been listed with.

And I thought I'd round out this week with a guilty pleasure. I forget sometimes that edibles are available on Etsy, but there really are some lovely ones!

This is worthafortune's Mallow Pop, and as lovely as it looks on the outside, the inside sounds even better. Marshmallows, caramel, and chocolate, who could want more? I'm a sucker for caramel, I've got to say, and this is more than tempting, hm?

ETA: If you do stop by worthafortune's shop, btw, do me a favor and let her know who sent you. :)

I've turned into one of THOSE girls.

2008-07-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

Not that it's really much of a surprise. I've been a die-hard fangirl of various things (Roswell, Harry Potter, etc) since I was 14 or so. But I've finally taken the final step, and crafted something up purely for fannish reasons. I couldn't help myself today! I was reading, and I glanced over and saw these two yarns sitting together, one black and one a deep red. And I happen to be finishing off reading the Twilight series. And so, I snatched up both yarns in a frenzy, flipped through a crochet dictionary I have and found a stitch I thought looked interesting, then proceeded to fudge it so I could work it in two colors at once, the result being...

A neck ruffle! I probably could have gone on and turned it into a scarf, but something in it really wanted to just stay right close around my neck. There's a nice intimacy to it being there, and hey, maybe it could even protect against vampire bites, hm?

Okay, maybe not, but still. The kicker is that the colorway name of the black yarn is Edwardian. *sigh*

Something else I've been having fun with...

I love these sweet little flower brooches I've been working on. These two came to me in a kind of spur-of-the-moment idea. I have a little bag absolutely brim-full with DMC floss, of all hues and colors, and I was looking through it the other day, wondering what I could do with all those lovely shades, and before I even knew what I was up to I'd started working up one of these little flowers. I'm kind of in love with them, and there's so many possibilities! Both for making and for using, which I couldn't be happier with!

It's here!

2008-07-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

My Whorling Tides sample came in today! (See Wednesday Wants below!) Wow was that fast!

If I had any Photoshop skills at all (I need to learn some!) I would fix these up to try to show you the exact, amazing color. These close-ups are well, closer (ha!) but still not quite there.

See that shine? You wouldn't believe how soft it is. It really does feel like silk.

This yarn is so much prettier in person than I ever could have imagined! It's like a Spring day all spun up in a bit of shine, that's how happy this yarn is. Again, if you're looking for it, the Etsy listing is the Lime Tart bamboo at WhorlingTides.etsy.com.

Now I'm off to pet my new yarn a little bit more. Back soon! =)

Hey Americans!

2008-07-04T14:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Independence Day! Have a great holiday everybody, be safe and stay cool! =)

Whew - Kharma doesn't usually work that quick! Also, a story.

2008-07-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

You see the amazing yarn in my post below? That beautiful silk-shiny cascade of bamboo? Beth of WhorlingTides has offered to SPIN me some!

I have to admit I'm kind of beside myself! Pretty. Green. Handspun. Bamboo. Yarn. Probably any one of these qualifiers could bowl me over, but all of them wrapped up in one? I don't even know what to do with myself!

In other yarny happenings, I found something today that was both good and bad for me. This is kind of a long story, so sit tight, hm?

So, I went to school at UC Santa Barbara, and really the whole pretty half of my yarn collection (more like a quarter, if that, considering I had no money really) comes from an LYS up there (BB's Knits, now closed) and a very nice Craft shop (like a Michael's but locally-owned) that carried some surprisingly nice yarns. Because down here I really don't have an LYS available to me, at least not one that I've had the pleasure of visiting yet.

At the craft shop, and really the name of the shop was so generic that I don't even remember it, I bought eight pink skeins of Crystal Palace Bunny Hop, a nylon/angora blend that I was intending for the infamous Clapotis. But like so many, the idea of dropping stitches on purpose scared me a little, so I kept putting the project off, and putting it off and putting it off.

And then, back in October of last year, my family was in serious danger of being evacuated for the Southern California Witch Creek fire. I know several people who lost their homes and belongings in that fire, and afterwards we found out that the fire did indeed come within some five blocks of our home. But I knew that if we were going to be evacuated, I would need something to keep me good and busy, both to keep my nerves in order and to escape boredom, so I grabbed the Clapotis pattern, and three skeins of the Bunny Hop and put them in a bag with some needles as a ready-made project. I didn't want to bring all the skeins with me because... well let's say I was hoping that they'd be waiting for me at home.

Thankfully, we didn't end up having to evacuate at all. We'd gotten everything prepared, but were very blessed to be able to stay in our home and for a little while I forgot all about the Clapotis again. And then, in April I found the bag with my ready-made kit in it, and decided I was finally ready to take the project on, so I cast on, and things were going pretty well

See that pretty marbling? I even started dropping stitches:

But... then I ran out of the three skeins. And I couldn't find the other five! And for those of you who've knit a clapotis... it's not just a rumor that it's an addictive knit. You really want to get to that next point where you can drop stitches, it's very tempting... so to run out of yarn? It's kind of a tragedy. I looked all over for the yarn, too, but couldn't find it anywhere! My stash had, seemngly, swallowed it whole!

After a while, I have to admit that I was starting to wonder if I'd really only bought the three skeins in the first place, and was just imagining the other five.

But today I found a little tiny something that gives me reason to hope. Nothing very concrete, I'll admit. Not a receipt or an extra ball band or anything, even. Nothing that has anything to do with the Bunny Hop at all. But I found a tiny little piece of pink yarn that had been used to hold together a skein of some mystery wool/silk blend I'd bought around the same time, and I haven't seen that skein of yarn in just about as long as the missing Bunny Hop, so I'm thinking, hoping that they must be together. Somewhere.

The question now, of course, is where.

Wednesday Wants!

2008-07-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

Introducing Wednesday Wants, wherein I show you some of the gorgeous things on Etsy that have caught my eye this week. Some of them have been featured on the main page treasuries, some I've found simply by hopping through shops or the favorites of shops that manage to catch my eye. :)

We'll start this week with the GORGEOUS Perla Shawl by adorkable1.

I have such a thing for open lacy crochet. I really need to take a stab at it myself. This shawl is so pretty, and just the type of thing you might actually be able to get away with out here in Southern California, where unfortunately a lot of yarny items go unused and unappreciated for most of the year. I love it.

Of course, with the right yarns you could definitely knit something appropriate for California's summer sun, hm? Take a look at WhorlingTides' luscious Lime Tart bamboo yarn:

So green! Probably my absolute favorite shade of green. I have yet had the chance to knit with bamboo, though I was able to trade for a bit of SWTC bamboo on Ravelry a couple of months ago, but I do love, love, love the look and feel of it, and I can't wait to try it out for myself.

And for something just sweet and silly (and Etsy, I'm coming to realize, is the absolute best place in the world for sweet and silly!) I ran across plushoff's shop this morning, and her little critters are just absolutely adorable. The Black and White Bed Bug Buddies in particular caught my eye, just look at them!

They're so sweet! Man, if I had a little one I'd probably snap them up in a second. I can just imagine them being cuddled by some sleepy little darling. Not that they'd have to go to kids, of course! They looks so furry and soft and friendly... man, I'd love to see them sitting on my bed, waiting for me at the end of the day!

So that's just a taste of what's been tempting me on Etsy this week. I think three is a good number, but then again, I might not be able to restrict myself... I can find a dozen things I want every time I visit the site!

In other news, I'll be working to pretty this blog up a bit in the coming week. I've had some "real" work that I've been drowning in the past couple of days, which has put plans for the blog and the shop on hold for just the tiniest bit longer, but I should be done with the office project I'm working on in just a couple more days. I'm getting so impatient! But it's the family business, and family has to come first, right? Right.

x0x0,

~CinderLisa

Welcome!

2008-06-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hello world! Or should I say hello blogosphere? I'm starting this little blog up in anticipation of my Etsy shop, CinderLisaDesign. We're not live just yet, but oh am I excited! I've been working on some things so I can have a few different sorts of pieces available when I open shop.

What can you expect to see at CinderLisaDesign?

Knitted Art Shawls!
Neck and wrist-warmers!
Scarves? Why not!
Raw-edge fabric art—one thing I'm most looking forward to!
And hopefully soon, hand-bound journals! This is something I would love to learn how to do, and I'll be experimenting a bit. :)

I can't wait to go live, honestly. You have no idea. All my life I've had wonderful fabrics and things available to me and haven't had the time (due to school) to play with them to the full extent that I've wished, and that, really, is what I'm most looking forward to. I love Etsy, and I want to bring some quality work there. To become a part of that community, fully, as a seller as well as a buyer? Will be such an honor.

x0x0,

~CinderLisa