Craftside

Introducing our newest Amineko to the Craftside family - plus, our Book & Yarn Holiday Giveaway ends today!

Let me introduce Nip, who, as you can see, is just as big a fan of reading books as I am. Nip's mom Deborah when not keeping all the schedules up to date back at the home office is crocheting up cute Aminekos using the patterns in the book Hello My Name is Amineko as her guide. Deborah says Nip will soon have some friends to get into mischief with as Aminekos tend to do!

If you are like Nip and like to read and haven't entered our spectacular Craftside Book & Yarn Holiday Giveaway then be sure to pop on over to this Craftside post and get yourself in the running. (Today is the last day!)

It looks like Nip shares in the love of a good scratching post as any good kitty does.

When not getting into mischief he can be a good boy and pose for a photo op.

I can tell you from personal experience crocheting Aminekos can get a bit addictive. My two Aminekos, Jane Doe and Rorschach, had to get in on the photo I took of my crocheted Christmas tree skirt I just finished. Looking to make a few for yourself? Then grab a copy of Hello My Name is Amineko:

Hello My Name is Amineko

by

Nekoyama

 Hello My Name is Amineko follows the journey of Amineko the Crochet Cat and his crocheted friends as they eat, sleep, and have lots of fun and adventures. The book comes with complete step-by-step photography and instructions for creating an Amineko of your very own and personalizing this cute cat with different facial expressions, clothing, and even bedding. Hundreds of color photographs tell the adorable tales, and mischief, that Amineko and his friends find themselves in, with complete instructions for knitting adventures of your own.

Born in Tokyo 1967, Nekoyama has been a life-long lover of cats. Cats and their endearing mischief have never failed to cheer her up. She created her first Amineko by accident and has never looked back. Today, she and her husband are the proud parents of many Aminekos. Nekoyama’s first book, A Day In the Life of Amineko, was published in Japan in 2005.

Etsy Craft Night at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles and crafty links

Rorschach and Jane Doe Amineko (just to the right of my friend Susan in the light blue in the center of the photo) and I -- along with tons of crafty peeps -- converged on The Craft and Folk Art Museum for a fun night of making Duct Tape beads that we used to make bracelets and key chains hosted by Etsy. After a fun bit of crafting, a walk around the museum was in order. There were some really interesting exhibits, including an interactive one where you were invited to write a message on a strip of paper and include it in one of two sculptures organically growing with each person's addition. Very cool.

I added a strip of paper with a quote a Facebook friend shared the other day on her wall: "Remind yourself. Nobody built like you, you design yourself." -Jay-Z

I hope you got to get a bit of crafting in this weekend. If not (or even if you did!), here are some ideas you might like to try this week:

Regarding Design
A Q & A with Jay Calderin, author of Fashion Design Essentials.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi explores how to combine soy silk fusion with other backgrounds!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Come along for a virtual visit to Caracas, Venezuela, where artist Patty Sucre decoupages and sells beautifully-crafted trays, boxes and other wooden items. Que maravillosos!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
I share my experimentation with fabric circle pom poms and paint stick stamping, two of the techniques in the book Sharing Stitches.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Connie's free Musical Notes Collection will be the perfect pattern to use for a project to give to a musically-inclined person.

About Family Crafts
Drop by and participate in the current make-it-over craft challenge. What can you create using duct tape?

Aileen's Musings
Heads up all you Steampunk art lovers out there: Aileen is celebrating her husband's art being published in the 1000 Steampunk Creations book that was just released! Stop by and find all the ways you can enter.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Here is a great tip for adding embellishments to summer t-shirts.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Listen up to Tammy's recent interview on FaveCrafts Radio.

Oh and if you just need to crochet up your own Amineko crafting companion, grab yourself a copy of:

 Hello My Name is Amineko

by

Nekoyama

Hello My Name is Amineko follows the journey of Amineko the Crochet Cat and his crocheted friends as they eat, sleep, and have lots of fun and adventures. The book comes with complete step-by-step photography and instructions for creating an Amineko of your very own and personalizing this cute cat with different facial expressions, clothing, and even bedding. Hundreds of color photographs tell the adorable tales, and mischief, that Amineko and his friends find themselves in, with complete instructions for knitting adventures of your own.

Born in Tokyo 1967, Nekoyama has been a life-long lover of cats. Cats and their endearing mischief have never failed to cheer her up. She created her first Amineko by accident and has never looked back. Today, she and her husband are the proud parents of many Aminekos. Nekoyama’s first book, A Day In the Life of Amineko, was published in Japan in 2005.

 

How to crochet Easter Bunny ears for your Amineko and Hello My Name is Amineko Giveaway

Ahhh what Rorschach does for Jane Doe is truly what any cat does for the ones they love. Jane loves Easter and bunnies so she decided to dress her pal Roy up and then have him pose with the little crocheted Easter eggs. Want to make a cute Amineko to have fun posing and photographing? You can get yourself in the running for a free copy of Hello My Name is Amineko by leaving a comment in today's post or adding a link to your blog (using the Linky feature) by Midnight ET on Wednesday, April 13th, 2011. To learn how to make some crocheted bunny ears, read on!

This is not an exact science pattern; it is more or less a guide.

Materials

• Pink yarn
• White fuzzy yarn
• Crochet hook about size H (or to go with the size yarn you are using)
• Pin back
• Hot glue

Crochet Easter Bunny Ear pattern for your Amineko

For the inside pink area of the bunny ears:

• Chain about 12 stitches
• Turn and single crochet back
• Chain 1
• Turn and single crochet back
• Cut the end and pull through the last loop to secure

For the white part of the bunny ear, basically do the same thing only start by chaining 14 or so to make a slightly larger piece.

To join the pink ear part to the white ear part, hold the two together and single crochet around the parameter going through both the pink and white pieces.

Then, to assemble, I hot-glued the two ears onto a pin back and added a chain of the fuzzy yarn to make a bow under the chin of the amineko.

Want to get started now on super-fun Amineko making? Then grab a copy of Hello My Name is Amineko:

 Hello My Name is Amineko

by

Nekoyama

Hello My Name is Amineko follows the journey of Amineko the Crochet Cat and his crocheted friends as they eat, sleep, and have lots of fun and adventures. The book comes with complete step-by-step photography and instructions for creating an Amineko of your very own and personalizing this cute cat with different facial expressions, clothing, and even bedding. Hundreds of color photographs tell the adorable tales, and mischief, that Amineko and his friends find themselves in, with complete instructions for knitting adventures of your own.

Born in Tokyo 1967, Nekoyama has been a life-long lover of cats. Cats and their endearing mischief have never failed to cheer her up. She created her first Amineko by accident and has never looked back. Today, she and her husband are the proud parents of many Aminekos. Nekoyama’s first book, A Day In the Life of Amineko, was published in Japan in 2005.

One more cool Amineko contest to tell you about: if you are in Australia, check out this Lincraft Contest!

And to be entered for a chance at a free copy of Hello My Name is Amineko, add a link or comment here:

Make Something Every Day 356 Merit Badge Giveaway and scout sash Amineko pattern

Once a Girl Scout, now a Craft Scout! You too can earn a merit badge! The first 25 people to make something every day for 365 days can get one of these spiffy Nerd Merit Badges! Details here. Check out some of the entries over at the Make Something 365 Blog.

As you can see, my Craft Scout sash was pretty darn full so I thought I would make a Craft Scout sash for Jane Doe Amineko. And since this merit badge is Velcro backed, a recycled wool felted sweater would be the perfect material since Velcro sticks great to it.

Here is how I made my Amineko doll size scout sash.

I sketched out a pattern (below) that fit on Jane. She doesn't have shoulders really so it took a few tries but was pretty easy.

Then I laid the pattern on the folded side seam of the recycled wool felted sweater and cut it out. Roy supervised.

The sash seemed a bit wide so I trimmed it a bit but still kept it wide enough to fit the 365 merit badge.

I folded it right side in and fit it to Jane again. Then all that was left to do was a quick line of stitching to attach the front and back at the bottom side seam.

Here is the doll scout sash pattern I used.

Check out this cool video of Skull a Day, 365 skulls in 1 minute:

 More about the books:

365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life!

By

Noah Scalin

The concept of Noah Scalin’s "365 method" is simple but inspired: Choose a theme or medium, then make something every day for a year. Noah made 365 skull-themed projects... now he invites you to choose your obsession and get creative! The book offers 365 project prompts to kick start your creativity, plus plenty of room for journaling, sketching, and jotting down ideas. Learn how to choose your subject and document your work, and see examples from other artists and crafters who took the 365 challenge. In addition, master new techniques to incorporate into your projects, including quilling, clay-making, paper pop-up engineering, and more. Share your progress with other 365-ers at www.MakeSomething365.com. With 365: A Daily Creativity Journal you’ll get charged up, get messy, and get inspired, and you’ll see how making something every day can change your creative process—and change your life forever!

In 2007, artist Noah Scalin came up with an ingenious idea: he cut a skull out of orange paper and posted it on his blog with the note, “I’m making a skull image every day for a year.” His year-long art project became an award-winning internet sensation that resulted in the book Skulls, as well as landing him in the New York Times and on the Martha Stewart Show. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

www.noahscalin.com

www.skulladay.blogspot.com

 Hello My Name is Amineko

 by

Nekoyama

Hello My Name is Amineko follows the journey of Amineko the Crochet Cat and his crocheted friends as they eat, sleep, and have lots of fun and adventures. The book comes with complete step-by-step photography and instructions for creating an Amineko of your very own and personalizing this cute cat with different facial expressions, clothing, and even bedding. Hundreds of color photographs tell the adorable tales, and mischief, that Amineko and his friends find themselves in, with complete instructions for knitting adventures of your own.

Born in Tokyo 1967, Nekoyama has been a life-long lover of cats. Cats and their endearing mischief have never failed to cheer her up. She created her first Amineko by accident and has never looked back. Today, she and her husband are the proud parents of many Aminekos. Nekoyama’s first book, A Day In the Life of Amineko, was published in Japan in 2005.

Rorschach Amineko meets his tattoo twin Suede from Project Runway in the Simplicity booth and his Australian buddies from Lincraft

Be prepared today for too much Amineko cuteness! First up Rorschach Amineko got a chance to meet Suede from Project Runway at the Simplicity booth at this past week's big Craft and Hobby Association industry trade show. As it turns out, they both have cute heart tattoos on their arms! Suede has a line of patterns that sound just fabulous to work with as they range in style to suit your personal fashion sense. Check out a video where Suede talks about them over at the Craft Test Dummies blog.

But wait, if that cuteness wasn't enough, our wonderful friend from down under, Sean at Lincraft Australia, sent in photos of the antics Banjo, Marmalade and Mischief Amineko have been up to!

This is Banjo and Marmalade Amineko from Lincraft Australia.

 
Banjo and Marmalade taking a "cat nap" at the office.

Banjo fancies himself as an MD one day.

Meditation leads to enlightenment.

No one pulls the wool over Mischief's eyes.

Mischief dreams of a blues brother.

Mischief loves to Tweet.

I don't know which is more fun, crocheting Aminekos or posing them for fun photos. If you think both sound like a good time, grab yourself a copy of Hello My Name is Amineko and start having your own fun!

 Hello My Name is Amineko

by

Nekoyama

Hello My Name is Amineko follows the journey of Amineko the Crochet Cat and his crocheted friends as they eat, sleep, and have lots of fun and adventures. The book comes with complete step-by-step photography and instructions for creating an Amineko of your very own and personalizing this cute cat with different facial expressions, clothing, and even bedding. Hundreds of color photographs tell the adorable tales, and mischief, that Amineko and his friends find themselves in, with complete instructions for knitting adventures of your own.

Born in Tokyo 1967, Nekoyama has been a life-long lover of cats. Cats and their endearing mischief have never failed to cheer her up. She created her first Amineko by accident and has never looked back. Today, she and her husband are the proud parents of many Aminekos. Nekoyama’s first book, A Day In the Life of Amineko, was published in Japan in 2005. 

And it's Monday so I have some links to some cool crafts for you with all this cuteness!

Cross Stitch at About.com
Looking for charts for holiday and special days for February? Connie has just what you need in her February Stitching Ideas with charts for Valentine's, Candlemas, Chinese New Year, Hari-Kuyou and more.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Here's a peek behind the scenes as The Artful Crafter debuts on Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski.

Mixed Media Artist
See what you can make with some super-easy reverse applique quilt squares!

About Family Crafts
Check out what item is chosen for this week's spotlight craft and play along.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen is participating in One World One Heart again and offers you a chance to win a door prize if you leave a comment.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi showcases the fabulous paper dress from DCWV at CHA.

Crafty Princess Diaries
The paper was flying as a college craft club discovered the fun you can have with paper crafts and making Valentine's Day cards.