Flamingo Shlamingo!

This bright pink peeper is a hair clip. Find him at Happy Hair Day

Who says flamingos get all the glory? I think there are tons of other pink birds out there that need their own spotlight. Bright and vibrant and totally crocheted!

Hit the jump to give those long-legged show-stealers a run for their money!

Make Like a Crocheter and Leaf!

Gotta love that green! These leaves are from Studio Karma Pattern

My favorite part of April is all the plants greening up after the long winter! I also think leaves make an excellent accent to floral crochet projects. A simple little touch of green can really add polish and contrast to your flowers!

Hit the jump for some leafy goodness

Tutorial Tuesday-on-a-Saturday: Pack it up!

All the materials you need to pack your furry crochet friends!

 Recently I was faced with a conundrum: how to ship the Grim Reaper! He was snapped up from my Etsy store this week and I was totally unsure how to pack him up. Usually I ship my amigurumi and other crochet projects in padded envelopes since stuffed projects tend to stand up pretty well in them and they are relatively inexpensive to ship compared to boxes. But the Grim Reaper has a scythe made of Sculpey and I was afraid that it would break in the mail.

But I had a flash of inspiration: Mailing tube! Just cut it down to fit your project and send it off in safety (without upping your shipping cost!).

Hit the jump for detailed instructions

Crochet Party!

I got my friends together and infected them with
amigurumi addiction!

I like to spread my crochet obsession to others. What could make me happier than having more people with which to trade tips, tricks, and inspiration? Thus, I developed a little crochet kit for beginning crocheters to learn amigurumi. Last Sunday, me and a couple of my friends took it for a test drive.

My good friend Misha co-hosted and cooked up a ton of Southern food and tasty drinks. I brought crochet kits to make a little amigurumi lion named Leandro. We had a range of crochet experience and abilities among the guests, but everyone went home with a partially-complete lion and a smile on their face!

Each kit had everything you need to make Leandro!

Look at the joy crocheting brings!

My co-host, Misha (a.k.a. @sexytoothfixer)

Bwah-ha-ha now they're all addicted!

I hope to sell the kits some day online with a detailed guide so more people can learn. Stay tuned!

Apology-Pig-of-the-Week

This felted cutie comes to us from Mini Feet

Ok, my week got away from me again. I swear it won't happen again! Please take this piglet as a token of my apology. May the smile on your face erase your week of bloglessness.

And now for another weekend post-splosion!

April Showers

Nothing like a hot cup o' joe on a rainy day.
Keep it warm at The Cozy Project

I never really got that old nursery rhyme--"rain, rain go away." I love the rain! May flowers might be easier to find in the crochet world, but I think the April showers deserve a little love too. 

Purely fun to fully functional, there's a storm brewing after the jump!

How to Knit in Five Easy Steps

Learn about the "Zen of Knitting" over at PsychCentral

Step 1: Pick out some absolutely adorable knitting needles.

Step 2: Knitting is really just two stitches--knit and purl--which are the opposite of one another, like integrals and derivatives in calculus. So to start out we're going to multiply X by the power of your yarn. Got it? Good.

Step 3: Now we're going to learn to "cast on." Make some loopy bits around your needle.

Step 4: Next we will learn to cable. This requires another needle and three or four more pairs of hands.

Step 5: Knit, purl, knit, knit, purl... oh you get the idea. Now cast off!

APRIL FOOLS!

I have absolutely no idea how to knit.

If you're still stuck on Step 1 like me, hit the jump for some undeniably awesome knitting needles.