Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Sharo Edit

Evening everyone! Hope you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas Eve.

We just finished dinner and are going to head to the front room to wrap our Christmas presents and watch a movie together.

I noticed an error on Row 7 of the pattern, so I fixed it and re-uploaded the pattern. Please download the newest version of the pattern.

Night all! <3

Video Tutorial ~ OMGee!!

Ok, here it is.

It only took me since 10am this morning, but here are a few videos for your enjoyment(?).

First an intro:



Secondly the tutorial (spazz attack incoming):



There you go! I'm going to go hide under a rock for a bit.

Makeup Monday v6

It's been a while hasn't it? Months it feels like. Well here's a Makeup Monday idea for you to use for a pretty holiday look.



The lighting wasn't great so bare with me ok? Thanks!


With a sparkly tan eyeshadow (A) cover your lids. Then take a dark olive green (B) and go from the outer corner of your lid to part way in, making the line smaller as you go. Take a sparkly black (C) and line your eyes lightly. Add mascara a little sparkly brown neutral blush and you're good to go!

Oh yeah, make sure you blend the edges of the green so they don't look sharp. You want a pretty, wispy sort of color.

Have a great weekend everyone! <3

Christmas Decorating!

It happens every year when we get out the Christmas decorations~ Rinoa wants to eat, sit on, or make love to our decorations. Pure precious hilarity. I bought her a cute red collar so she was very festive in her craziness.

Rinoa's silliness was so awesome I had to record it:



Isn't she such a goofball?



She wants to sniff and rub on everything.

While we were putting up our decorations, we watched Home Alone on Blu-Ray. Such a good movie!!




Also, I'll take this opportunity (since I can't hide it any longer due to that video) that I have done makeup tutorials on Youtube.

Totally. They were all done a year ago or so, so they're kinda old, but feel free to check them out and see how much of a raging dork I am in real life!

But PLEASE don't judge me by the screen shot pics of the videos, Youtube knows how to only give unflattering choices.

I hope everyone is having an excellent Saturday! Once my friends show up we're going to go out to dinner, then come back to the store and have a Minecraft LAN party. And probably work on another cowl. I'm unstoppable!

Cold Hands Warm Heart Swap 2011

One of my most favorite things about online communities is their love for swaps. Swaps for holidays, swaps with themes, or swaps just for fun~ they are glorious and heart warming. Doing a swap with someone or a group of people is a great way to make friends, get your craft on, and spoil someone with goodies.

When I saw that Illy and Sandy were doing a swap I was so excited to join! It's theme was Cold Hands Warm Hearts. What a great idea for the winter time!!

I was paired up with Liana from Just Us Folk and we had a fun time getting to know each other, emailing and Twittering at each other, and making a packages of awesome surprises for each other.

Yesterday we both received our packages and I just love my package. LOVE it!


Liana sent me gorgeous white fuzzy gloves with interchangeable bows! OMGee they are beautiful and so so so warm. My package also contained her favorite book Blue Highways: A Journey Into America, Cinnamon Dolche coffee mix, apple cider, chai tea, and Werther's candies.

The thought of curling up on the couch with a blanket, cup of my new coffee, and reading my new book just sounds divine! Liana said that book was her favorite, so I look forward to reading it. *^_^*

The cold was nipping at my face this morning, but my hands had never been warmer or so cozy than in my new gloves.

Thank you Liana! You're so sweet!

New Pattern Alert ~ Mini Sunbow

Hey everyone! The holiday spirit has been so inspiring this year! Being surrounded by so many pretty things, happy people, and festive crafts has been so fun!!

While I really should be finishing up my Cold Hands Warm Hearts package (no worries Liana, your package is going out tomorrow), I wanted to throw this pattern up asap.

Well, it's not so "asap" as I intended- owning a store got in my way. :D

Without further adieu, here is the Mini Sunbow!



Talk about instant gratification! This baby takes me 12 minutes to make, start to finish.

The pattern is available on the [Pattern Page], or over on [Ravelry].

Enjoy!!

Ami Cowl

Add some spice and a flirty touch to a traditional piece with this broken rib cowl.



This cowl features one of my all time favorite stitch patterns. It's just gorgeous!



If you are looking for a great quick knit for the holiday season, I recommend this project. It practically knits itself.

Download the pattern on the [pattern page] or on [Ravelry].

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!

In the spirit of giving

I want to give thanks to the people in my live who have made a big impact. They all deserve their own blog posts because they are so wonderful.

Aaron- the best husband and bestest best friend a woman could ever hope for. Thank you for all the hugs, kisses, head pats, shoulder rubs, shoulders to cry on, hands to high five, ears to listen~ everything. My love, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO, AND HAVE GIVEN ME. It is precious.

My parents- I am so blessed for being raised the way I was, and I want to raise my children the same way as a testament to that. Thank you so much for being there for me (and us), supporting our decision to start a business, and helping us make it a reality, thank you for everything!

My sisters- I love you. We are all completely different women, but I love that we can sit around a table at Denny's and laugh and have fun. I want to become closer and better friends with you in the future.

My cat, Rinoa- You have been a great sport and irreplaceable part of my life. Outside of my family and Aaron, you have been apart of my life the longest. I want to keep you forever.

Meredith from One Sheepish Girl- your creativity, humbleness, and sheer sweetness is infectious. Your blog has made more of an impact on me than any other. You are so talented and so nice~ I strive to be more like you. I am so happy we have been able to chat on Twitter and on Instagram!

Joy the Baker- your sense of humor is incredible and inspiring. I wish I had half of yours~ you are so clever and funny, and you make the most AMAZING food ever. When I tell Aaron about your blog posts, I can sometimes make it sound like I'm talking about a real life friend. xD

Illy from Much Love, Illy- You were the tipping point in my blogging adventures. Thanks to you I have reached out to other bloggers and become friends with them, and become more involved in the blogging-sphere. I feel happy and accomplished because of this.

Hannah from A Cup of Subtle Tea- We have laughed, giggled, joked, and cheered with each other so much over the last few weeks. Your new friendship is exciting and a true blessing. I look forward to doing more of all this in the future! String Cheese Super Heroes GO!

Anna from Owls and Lace- You are so sweet!! I love that we have an imaginary pet owl we share custody with. Martin and his blue bow tie couldn't have better owners. *^_^*

Sandy from the Nerdy Nook- You were one of the first blogs I started following on Google and every day I look forward to reading your blog posts. We share a passion for Japanese fashion (and the language in general I think?) so I am excited to have someone in my life who understands it's awesomeness!

To all the everyone else out there- thank you for sharing your creativity and kindness. I feel like I'm an sponge and I want to soak everything and everyone in all at once!

On a smaller side note I am thankful for my store, my wrists healing so I can knit and craft again, I'm thankful for Girls' Generation releasing their firs English single, and my new found love of Brussels sprouts. Actually there are many more things I am thankful for but Aaron and our friends are calling at me from the frontroom to join them in playing LittleBigPlanet, so that's all for now.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
<3

Turning a frown upside down

Let's say you wake up and have a fine morning getting ready and out the door. Then you go to the pharmacy for your once-every-three-months refill, and the gal at the counter who is a few years younger than you ignores you, then when you tell her you no longer have health insurance she looks at you like you "WTF? You know this is $95, right?". Then you get to the store and realize you left the keys to the register at home. It's just one of those mornings right?

Nope.

When I was walking from my car back to the store, with the proper keys in hand, I told myself I was not going to let these things determine the outcome of my day. Sure, I would have totally preferred to not be talked down to by the pharmacy gal. Sure, it would have been awesome to not have to drive home and back to the store. But the day was still young and I knew I could rise above the irritants and have a great day.

So you know what I did? I made funny faces in the camera to help get our my frustration.


(There may or may not have been "grrrr!" noises being made while these pictures were being taken.)

We all have moments (or days) where things aren't going great, they are stressful, or just plain blah. In the spirit of my day, I was thinking I would share my thoughts on how to make these things better. I am by no means an expert at life, but I am very confident in the ways that make, and keep, me happy.

1. Smile. At everything and everyone. Smiles are contagious. Someone just might smile back. That's a nice feeling right?

2. Have a mini dance party. Put on your favorite happy, upbeat music and get into the rhythm. Give yourself 10 minutes to have the best dance party ever. Getting your mind off whatever and into the music, as well as getting your body moving, will help the bad feelings turn into good.

3. SING! Whether it's in the car, your bedroom or the shower- belt it! Pick happy, upbeat songs that you feel good singing. Use your diaphragm. Use up all that negative energy to sing those happy words.

4. Do something really nice. Call up your sister who's away for college and tell her you miss her. Move the shopping cart that's dangerously close to that car to the cart rack. Compliment someone on their awesome winter shoes. Leave a comment on everyone's blog you you follow or blog hop to.

5. Go get yourself your favorite treat. The sort of treat that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Is it a box of Gobstoppers? A homemade peppermint mocha? A Starbucks Cake Pop? Go get it. Fend off the bad feelings with something that makes you feel GOOD.

These things may be small, cheesy, and/or silly, but it's the little things in life. They all add up. So take advantage of them and use them to make your day a positive one.

Cake Batter Eye Shadow ~ Makeup Monday v5

Sounds glorious doesn't it?! I could hardly believe it myself when I first saw it, but that's exactly what I thought of when I saw this shade. Mark by Avon seems to consistently release new eye shadow colors that get me excited.

It's real name is Sugar Sugar and was a limited edition shadow (which Mark does a lot >.>), and it's one I have been wearing almost every day since I got it.

Today was a plain and simple sort of make up day, but that's not to say it's boring. Nope.




One reason why this is not boring is because I used TWO blushes- one highlighter and one pink color- each in different places on my cheeks for a bright and cheery look.


Grab a shimmery white or cream color and apply to your cheek bones. Then with a super light pink, apply just on the apples of your cheeks.

This picture ended up a bit darker than I would have liked... the "cake batter" color is a light pink/tan mixture.

Put a cake batter color across your eyelids (just the eyelids, not straying into the crease too much). Then use a super dark gray or black to the outer half of your eyeline. Going from wide to narrow as you go inward. (like like that little drawing I attempted) Add eyeliner (if you want a more defined look) and mascara.

Yay for simple but pretty looks!

By the way, do I explain these tutorials well enough? Is my wording ok? Sometimes I feel like it's hard to write in words as opposed to SHOWING how it's done. Because if it would be easier to understand my blabbering (cuz sometimes it is blabbering xD) I could always do videos instead. They have happened before. I'm not ready to share that secret with everyone just yet though. Sometimes I can't fathom my raging dorkiness, hehe!

Hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their weekend! [waves]

P.S. Are any of my blogging friends on Google+? I do quite a bit of random posting of silliness on there and would love to connect with people on it.

New Pattern Alert ~ Sunbow

I came up with this design while I was watching Iron Man 2 with my husband. All four of these bows where made and in my hair by the end of the movie.

All four of them. At the same time.

My husband thought it was cute.



It is called Sunbow because I thought it totally brought a little sunshine to my outfit and day despite the untimely cloudy skies we are having right now (apparently we skipped fall here and went straight to winter).

You can find the pattern on the pattern page, and on Ravelry.

This is a great knitting project for knitters of all skill levels. It requires the most basic knitting knowledge: casting on, the knit stitch, and binding off. Brighten up your day with a Sunbow in you hair. If you make one post a link to it, I would love to see it!

New new!

Yesterday I found a few flaws with my blog I couldn't fix, so I decided to change it up. This is a big change from my old one, but I like it.

To spice things up a bit more for the fun of it, I decided to release another cowl pattern. This is the Alena cowl:



The name came from one of the gal characters from the PS3 game Uncharted. The Alena is the game is spunky, fun, and her own woman- characteristics I admire very much. While I was designing this cowl, I could picture her wearing a cowl like this. Hence the name.

The pattern can be downloaded here >> Download or on the Pattern page up top.

P.S. I added a blog button on the side bar, feel free to take it. *^________^*

Monday Inspiration

I ♥ lists. Making them, reading other people's... they are just great.

Krysten posted a list of things that made her happy this week and Erin reposted a picture she found of "how to have a better day". This inspired me to make one of my own.

.:=:. Things That Make Me Smile .:=:.
~sunshine
~Aaron's smile and laughs
~big bows (like the one I'm rocking today)
~happy, upbeat music
~yummy snacks
~nice people


As my friend JenJen says: "It's the little things in life." She sure is right. There may be tons of stuff going on in the world, but a sweet smile or a kind word from someone can just brighten up the day.

Hopefully you are having an excellent Monday! ♥

Kaede Pattern Now Available

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are having an excellent Sunday.

Today I am happy to say both Kaede patterns are now available for download! Check them out down here or up on the Pattern page.



Kaede Cowl PDF file download

. : . : . . : . : . . : . : .





Kaede Chunky Cowl PDF download


*cheers!*

P.S. If you notice any problems with these please don't hesitate in letting me know.

Sneak Peek ~ Kaede Cowl #2

Here is the original Kaede Cowl made with normal/worsted weight yarn. It has been raining here for the last few days, but the sun sneaked out for a few minutes so we could take pictures. Hope you like them!


This afternoon I re-drafted the pattern, so that should be following here pretty soon!

*Blahsobusyblah*

Sorry for the quietness over here... we extended the store hours and there just hasn't been time in my 11 hour days to blog.

Totally sucks.

I am about 30 minutes from finishing a second Kaede Cowl, a white one made with worsted weight yarn, which I would love to post pictures of. Then once I finish that, I can post the pattern for both of the cowls.

That will be lovely! I can't wait to post it.

Anyways,that's that. Gotta get back to the grindstone. *waves*

Tuesday Blues ~ Makeup Monday v3

By "blues" I don't mean anything bummer-tastic. My hot desert sun has taken the day off and a whole sky full of clouds have taken over. Not that I mind too much- a break from 98* weather is fine by me.

The pretty tones of the sky today inspired me to do another tutorial- blue and silver lined eyes:


With a slanted edge eyeliner brush, line the outer half of the upper lash line with a dark navy blue, starting fairly thick and then making it thinner as you go across. Then lightly lined the outer third of the lower lash line.

With a different brush, line the inside half of the upper lash line and the rest of your bottom lash line with a bright silver. Make sure to do your inner corner to give the appearance of brighter and bigger eyes.

For a slightly more dramatic effect, add a brown eyeliner to the outer third of your upper lash line. Add mascara and waalah!


If you don't have a slanted edge eyeliner brush, I highly recommend getting one. It creats a crisp, straight line with no fuss. This brush is really the only one I could give a hoot about.

I got mine in a little kit of multiple brushes at Fred Meyer for $10. You can also get them at Walgreen and/or Rite-Aid for about the same price. Sephora also has some nice ones starting at $8.

Do you have a favorite brush or makeup accessory like that?

Hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday!

Fabulous Friday v1 ~ Makeup Monday v2

Today is nothing short of fabulous.

Waking up happy is such a glorious feeling! But that's what happens when I wake up in Aaron's arms. :3 I felt rested, ready to start fresh, and eager to take on today.

Despite the fact that today's forecast calls for a high of 90*, I wanted to wear my boots and a cute cardi. I was determined. Besides... we keep the store at a crisp temp so I need a sweater when I'm here anyways.

sweater - Target
top - Forever 21
extra long tank - Ebay
necklace - Fred Meyer
shorts - Fred Meyer
boots - Cutesy Shoes


Such a roll was had this morning, I even took pictures for an eyeshadow tutorial:


For this look, I put a light pink (A) across my lids, in the corner creases put a fairly dark smoky gray (B), and then used a sparkly silver (C) to blend to the colors together. Lined my eyes with a dark gray pencil, and added mascara.

This took me three minutes and I was out the door. Time has been flying by so quickly, who wants to spend time on tedious make up? I sure don't.

Hope everyone else is having a wonderful day! Do you have any fun plans for this weekend?

Comments are being lame- again

//EDIT #2// Alright, so it looks like all browsers but Firefox are good with comments. Looking into how to fix it.

//EDIT// Took out a bunch of code I didn't like. . . Hoping that did the trick. x^^x

I LOVE this layout, and I am not ready to give up on it just yet. Today I am going to try and recode this bad boy. I think I can do it.

The template is backed up just in case I mess things up.

Fingers crossed! x^-^x

Silly RINOA Kitty Cat!

I have been snapping a bunch of pictures of my cat, Rinoa, lately and thought I would share them.

She get embarrassed easily, likes to be fawned over from a far, most of the time doesn't like to snuggle, loves all my guy friends (to the point that she ignores me when we have friends over), but after everyone's gone she'll lay down against my legs to let me know she loves me.

She is my official overseer of all things crafty- she like to sit/lay down someplace where she has a good vantage point to watch me.

She's good sport with my goofy playing and snuggling with her.

She turns nine next month.

My friends say she has a "kit-ler stache" but let's me honest, it's only half. xD









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