Christmas Crafts!

Whew… what a week. I almost forgot to post! Whoops. >_<

I think I got buzzed off brandy-filled chocolates. I couldn’t help it, they were dark chocolate! ( ; w ; )

Every year for Christmas, we make different types of sweets and give them out to friends and family. On Sunday, I made my specialty: marzipan shapes!

People really seem to look forward to these. They’re fun to make, but very time consuming and leave my shoulders sore from hunching over so long. Here are the shapes this year:

Clockwise from the yellow ones, this year’s recipients will get one of each: banana, strawberry, 1UP Mushroom, purple flower, blueberry, peach, cherries, bunch of grapes, candy cane.

The problem with marzipan is that it goes from soft and sticky to hard and crumbly in no time. I would mix colours and cross-contaminate them because some residue was left on my hands from other colours. Or I would return to a colour moments later, only to find out it was already hard and I had to knead it again. Sometimes I would snack on some of the marzipan, and it took a lot of willpower not to lick the butter knife after cutting the candy canes. (Bad habit that resulted from a childhood peanut butter craze) 2 hours and 2 sticky hands later, I was finished. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! I ate the remaining marzipan.

Sore neck/shoulders are a small price to pay

Cute little sweets make great gifts. Try them yourself! For inspiration, try looking up polymer clay tutorials. Instead of painting and sticking in a hanging loop, you’re going to make these to eat. Use your imagination; think of it as working with play dough!

*NOTE: Marzipan is made from almonds. Beware of giving these to people with nut allergies. I think you can also make sweeties with fondant, but am yet to try.

 

I haven’t planned any creative posts for next week, what with Christmas and New Year coming up. The blog will be back full swing in the new year, so party it up now and come back January 3 to read and relax! Who knows, maybe there WILL be a post next week. Or not. Hey, spontaneity is what makes life exciting!

Are you going to make anything this year? Do you also have a “snacking” habit while cooking? Comment below! And from all (one) of us here at Val’s Crafts, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2015!

Pika, so jolly~

Knitting Time

I’m in the middle of making Christmas presents, so this week’s post is a throwback to stuff I already made. If you’re reading this on December 20, this is not the new post for the week. I’m just insanely busy finishing presents and sweets for everyone. x_x

Oh yeah, I knit too.

These are called “Hugs ‘n Kisses with Love Handwarmers.” I found the pattern in a book called 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders. It’s a nifty little book to have around, in case you have a single ball of yarn and want to use it up. The handwarmers are pretty dirty, since they’ve been in my coat pocket since first year, 2010. I gave Suzie one to wear, and I wore the other. Our Graphic Design prof called us “the wonder twins” because everything we did was somehow connected. Of course, I’m dumb and wore the right hand warmer. While drawing, pencil lead rubbed off on it. Now I know how lefties feel. ;w; When Suzie met Rychu, I made him solid red gloves, like Ryu from Street Fighter.

I don’t think I should’ve made these striped… it made the garter stitch heart difficult to see. At least it made the Xs and Os stand out! 🙂

I recommend looking up this pattern. It’s actually quite easy to do, even if you’ve never worked with cables before. (It was my first time when I made this pattern) If you remove the XO motif and the garter stitch heart in the palm, it becomes a quick and easy standard hand warmer pattern. I also made a pair of black warmers with a Batman symbol, but I won’t post because I want them to be a surprise. You can start working on a pair in January, and have them ready by Friends’ Week! ^_^

Right: XO (hugs and kisses) cable stitching on the back of the hand. The heart is garter stitched into the palm.

 

About a year later, I made this dress. I remember trying to use the standard Super Saver yarn I now use for plushies. It turned out so stiff and heavy! >_< And so, I bought a big fat ball of baby sport yarn. This is a cute shade of blue. I like to pair it with dark blue leggings and sleeveless tops. Next, I want nice bright red yarn for a more “stylish” dress. Kind of like this, but maybe without the cowl neck. Or even this, but not so long.

 

And now, back to work on everything! If you don’t see a blog next week, consider the pattern links in this week’s blog as my Christmas presents to you. 😛

 

Hugs ‘n Kisses with Love Handwarmer pattern found in 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. (Click for Ravelry link)

Sweater Dress pattern found here, as a FREE DOWNLOAD! (Originally retrieved from bernat.com)

 

What should I knit next? Do you like to give knitted/crocheted gifts? Comment below!

Pika, so happy~

Pink Snorlax and Some Pointless Thoughts

Edit: Pink Snorlax is complete!

I made it sit upright, so it could be propped up like a teddy bear. It’s hard to tell from these pictures, but I also made the ears more prominent.

A family friend saw the Snorlax pillow plush, and decided she wanted one for a baby girl. Three days, and an eternity with the blow dryer later, I now have material for this week’s post. It’s not finished yet, but I think you can get the idea.

 Updated pic!

Remember the episode when Ash caught Snorlax, after it was eating all the grapefruits? I thought that was from the same episode with the pink Pokemon, but I’m clearly mashing the Orange Islands episodes together.

Image searches for a pink Snorlax didn’t help too much, except for pictures of fat people with the caption “A wild Snorlax appeared!” (Apparently in Internet Land, this picture is still fresh and new…) And so, pink Snorlax with white belly appeared. I considered using black on the soles of the feet, but switched back to darker pink, to keep it looking sweet and soft for a baby.

I debated whether or not to make the tummy separate and stitch it on. That’s what I did last time: I made the body with a big “tummy hole” in the middle, so that I could wash the pieces prior to stuffing. The yarn I use is very stiff, so it’s great for working. However it’s too rough for a baby’s delicate skin. I didn’t want to buy baby yarn because those yarns are very thin, and Snorlax would end up with too many odd holes where the stitches didn’t cover. And so when I finished working, I washed the pieces before stuffing and stitching them together. This makes the plushie turn out nice and soft, but it sure was a headache to dry. Here is the tutorial I found, describing how to wash the yarn. This would also be a great idea for wool yarn, which shrinks and distorts in the washing machine:

Ah, there is enough yarn left to make the hat and scarf! Hairless Jigglypuff hat was also requested.

I can’t believe it’s already December… we only have 3.5 weeks left of the year 2014. That means we have 3.5 weeks to make up our New Year’s resolutions. Looking at the two Snorlaxes together has given me one idea for a resolution. Obviously, it’s not a resolution to exercise and cut out junk food. XD

#selfie #besties #thisisnotinstagram #itsnoteventwitter #octothorpe

Updated Pic!

#selfie #besties #thisisnotinstagram #thisisnttwittereither #itsnotfacebookeither

This coming week is my last week of classes. I hope that means there will be more interesting posts this holiday season. This past week, I made a new friend. We’ll call him Nick. He’s got an army of pigs that do stuff. Nick is now Lila’s owner. The brownie below was delicious, albeit low on sugar. Oh sheep on the farm, that texture was heavenly.

The pigs are eating the brownie, while Shoonie watches.

Have you thought of your New Year’s resolutions? What other alternate colour Pokemon would you like to see? Comment below!

Pika, so happy~