Wacky!

I was at the library last week to pick up a book, and on the display near the front door, I saw Wacky Baby Knits, by Alison Jenkins. Of course I had to grab it!

There are 20 patterns for babies, some more wacky than others. My favourites were the Cupcake Hat, Elvis Wig Hat, Winged Bootees, Monster Mittens and Bootees set, and the Cow Suit. The Aviator Hat was more elegant than wacky, but I also liked that one a lot, too.

I'm umming-and-aahing over whether to make the Cupcake Hat or the Aviator Hat first. The Cupcake Hat is more complicated, but the instructions for the Aviator Hat are more ambiguous. I find baby patterns to be a bit frustrating on the sizing. I know it's hard - babies grow so fast! - but it's still annoying. Most patterns I've come across have "0-3 months" as the smallest size. I only realised through trial and error (not knowing that much about babies until recently) that an item that will fit a 3-month-old will be far too big for a newborn. So when I give an item in that size to someone who's just had a baby, it's way too big and they can't use it yet. It's disappointing for me, and I'm sure it is for them as well, and I can never be sure if they actually use the item later on or if it gets lost among the piles and piles of stuff that new parents usually get given. That's nobody's fault! I'm just saying that the maximum satisfaction all around comes when you give something to a parent, and they can start using it straight away.

There are only a few baby items which don't need to be fitted. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of washcloths, bibs and blankets. I'm quite happy to make any of these (though blankets obviously take a long time); the only issue with them is the "it's too nice to use" factor. On the other hand, I'm really a process-oriented knitter. I like thinking of a design, figuring out how to do it, and then doing it. That's what give me a sense of satisfaction. Most of the scarves and headbands and etc I've made for myself, I never even wear. It's the process of making them that makes me happy. So the idea that something I've made might never get used, isn't really that upsetting to me as it might be for other people.

Anyway, I'm over-thinking again. I'm going to knuckle down now and decide which project to start first!

Many Projects

Hello! After a fairly long absence, about a month ago I started to become really motivated to craft again. This came about because of a couple of things: really cold weather, which makes me want to make scarves and hats and gloves! Two of my friends having babies, which makes me want to create little treasures! And just last weekend, a geek-themed trivia night, which put me back in touch with my geeky interests and made me want to start churning out Jane hats and Dr Who scarves!
In a word, I'm excited!

Today I'm just going to share a quick run-down of what I've been doing in the last month, so get ready for some photo-spam! Later on, there'll be more in-depth posts.

So the first thing I did was make these baby booties. This was about a month ago. S and B came over for a craft/card-playing afternoon. I decided to start some booties from the Quick and Easy Baby Knits book. It's a simple pattern and I thought I'd get a good way into it. In fact, I worked hard and I finished them in one afternoon! Yay me! I was able to give them to Ms E at her baby shower.

I also started a project that I'd been meaning to make for a couple of months - cat toys! They're semi-urgent because I want to make them for a friend as a thank-you gift for something that's rapidly moving further and further into the past! My plan is to make a set of 3 in simple shapes. I'm about half-way through the spherical one:

I've also been working a little bit on my rainbow-coloured afghan, which doesn't really have a name. I've nearly finished this section, and I think I only have about 2 or 3 to go. I'm very happy about that!

I have a few ideas in mind about other afghans I'd like to work on, so it'll be good to have that finished off so I can start one of those. Or, knowing myself, I'll just start one of them anyway!
I'm also coming along well with the Jane hat for Husband. I want to get both his and my hats finished before the charity Firefly screening, which is in about 6 weeks. I think I'm well on track for that (if I don't get distracted by other projects!). I altered the original pattern so it's more fitted. That means less stitches, which means finished quicker. Yay!

I'm still on a bit of a Hama bead kick, and a few weeks ago I made this little storage box. My perfume vials kept falling over all the time, and it was really annoying me. So I made a box to put them in!

I made it with a lip on the bottom edge for stability, and just the right size and height for all my mini perfumes. It also fits perfectly on my mirror base, just where I wanted it to go. The pattern was something I just made up. The polka dots are a little uneven, but I like it that way! I made each piece separately and glued them to the base with epoxy glue. I don't know if I would use this method again. I found the edges of the beads were a very small surface to glue together. It came out how I wanted it to, but I don't think it's very strong. It holds together fine for its purpose, but I wouldn't want to test its strength. There are a few other methods you can use to make a 3-D box; I'll try one of those next time. I'm pretty excited about this - being able to make little containers in just the right size and shape that you want them (not to mention colour!), instead of hunting around the shops for hours and usually not finding anything. I love Hama beads!

I'm so inspired at the moment! I even had a dream the other night about making an afghan. It was a 70s retro-ghan, made out of granny squares. Each square had an orange centre, a couple of rounds of brown, and then a couple of rounds of cream to lighten it up. I want to make it in real life! Though I don't have any orange or brown wool, funnily enough!

I'm just completely wired at the moment!

My First Cloth Mask!

As promised, here's a post about my first time using a cloth face mask. It's not a review, just a few comments about my experience with it. The mask I used was the Ffid Coenzyme Q10 Cloth Mask that I was given by my lovely friends who brought me some beauty products back from Japan. I used it one day last week when I was home sick and I thought I deserved a treat!

This is what the packaging looked like. I can't read Japanese text at all, but I've read enough beauty blogs to know in general how they work. I figured that 15-20 minutes would be a good time to keep it on my face.

I took the mask out of the packet and unfolded it. It was soaked realy well with serum, so much that it was practically dripping! I was very pleased with that. Applying the mask to my face with all the little shaping parts to it was more complicated than I thought it would be, but the persistence was worth it!
Now, I have to apologise in advance for this next picture! I was embarrassed about how I looked in the mask, plus the photos didn't turn out too well, so I decided to spruce them up a bit by making this collage:

One touch that I loved was that the mask had little flaps for the eyes which you flip up once you're ready to lie back and relax. I don't know if other eye masks have this, but I hope so! I used the time to listen to a guided relaxation MP3 on my iPod.
The serum was clear and had no smell. As I said before, the mask was soaked with it, so when I removed the mask, I rubbed it into my face and also my neck. In fact there was also plenty of serum left in the packet, so I squeezed it into a spare little pot I had, and applied it over the next few nights.

I have to say - I'm a cloth face mask convert! I love them! I want more!

Review: Crabtree and Evelyn Citron Honey and Coriander Body Scrub

ABOUT THE PRODUCT & BRAND
Crabtree & Evelyn was founded in 1972. The first part of the name comes from the Crabapple Tree, which is used in many health and beauty applications, and the second part from 17th-century naturalist John Evelyn. The Citron Honey and Coriander Body Scrub is part of a range of body products with a spicy lemon scent. It contains peach kernel, pumpkin, jojoba, and soybean oils, extracts of citrus, coriander, fig and apricot, and honey. Beads made of sunflower wax provide the exfoliating component. The product is free of artificial colour, phthalates, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate. Crabtree & Evelyn products are NOT tested on animals.
Source: Brand Homepage..

THE PRODUCT & ME
I bought the Citron Honey and Coriander Body Scrub from a local gift shop that was closing down. I can't remember exactly what I paid for it, but it was about half price. The RRP on the brand website is $30.00. Crabtree & Evelyn products are also available at brand stores and on their website.

PACKAGING
The Scrub came in a cardboard box, which made it seem more special. The design of the box and tube itself has a whimsical, old-fashioned feel with an illustration of a lemon. The tube stands upside down on its lid - I always prefer packaging like this, because the product naturally travels to the bottom and you can squeeze more out.

Straight from the tube.
APPEARANCE & PERFORMANCE
The Scrub is white in colour and has a very thick, creamy texture. I really loved the smell. It's a subtle creamy lemon with just a hint of spice. The smell lasts on my skin for hours, but it's not overpowering. The exfoliating beads are a little hard and people with sensitive skin might find them a bit scratchy, but I thought it was fine. The amount of beads compared to scrub is quite a lot, so there is an effective exfoliating result. My skin felt much smoother afterwards.
I tried this scrub both on dry skin and wet skin with different effects. On dry skin the scrub clings to the skin and there's a harsher scrubbing effect. On wet skin, the scrub disperses and the scrubbing effect is much gentler. I preferred using the scrub on dry skin personally, but you may prefer using it on wet skin if you have sensitive skin.

The exfoliating scrub. CONCLUSION

Pros:                             Cons:
delicious smell                  a little expensive
made skin feel very smooth       not widely available
pretty packaging

WOULD I GET AGAIN? Yes. Crabtree & Evelyn is a brand I wouldn't really have considered purchasing before, but I'm adding them to my list of "for a treat" brands now!

Review: W7 Trends Lipstick in Fuchsia

I'm a beginner at reviewing makeup products, and I don't wear lipstick very often, so I apologise if I left out any useful details. I've also never taken such a close-up photo of my lips before, and I had a bit of a freak-out session when I saw the pictures: do I really have that much upper-lip hair? Do I really have that many freckles on my lips??! I hesitated posting this for a couple of weeks because of it. But then I realised: nobody's perfect! So why not?? It also made me realise how little I actually look at my own face when I'm putting on my makeup in the morning. Food for thought. But in the meantime, here's my review:

THE PRODUCT & ME
W7 Trends is a bargain brand from the U.K. It recently appeared on shelves at Chemist Warehouse. The Lipstick comes in 20 shades that I could see in the display. My secret dream is to have a trashy pink lipstick, so when I saw the Fuchsia shade, I made a totally frivolous purchase. It cost $4.99.

PACKAGING
The Lipstick comes in a silver tube with a clear rounded lid. For a bargain bin cosmetic, this looks quite sleek and glamorous. The tube is quite short, so it would fit well in a makeup bag. It feels very light, however the lid snaps on firmly, so the lipstick would be well protected in your bag. The tip of the lipstick is stamped with the W7 logo, which I think is a cute, quirky touch.

Above: bare lips; below: with W7 Fuchsia Lipstick.
APPEARANCE & PERFORMANCE
As you can see, the Fuchsia Lipstick is very highly pigmented. The shade is a bright hot pink with just a hint of orange. It goes on shiny, but then dries to a semi-matte. My lips dried out a little, so anyone with dry lips might want to use a lip balm before applying. The texture isn't very creamy, but it isn't very hard either: I would say it's in-between. It has a light powdery smell which I found pleasant.
I checked the lipstick again after eating dinner, and it was mostly gone. There was only a slight pink stain remaining, and none of the semi-shine it originally had. So the W7 Lipstick is not the best when it comes to staying power.

Pros:                             Cons:
cheap.                            very little staying power.
highly pigmented.                 slightly drying.
nice-looking packaging.                         

WOULD I GET AGAIN? Yes, if I wanted to experiment with new shades of lipsticks without spending a lot of money.

Mini Review: Pola Kalahari Moisture Lotion

THE PRODUCT: Pola Kalahari Moisture Lotion comes from Japan. It contains makataan (watermelon). I received this sample sachet as a gift.

PROPERTIES & PERFORMANCE: The lotion is clear and very runny - it ran straight out as soon as I tore the sachet open. Some of it spilled on my camera! №❢ (Don't worry, it's OK.) I had to rub it in quickly before it went everywhere. That's why I don't have a 'before-blending' shot. Here it is half-blended into my arm:

The Kalahari Lotion is a very light gel; it absorbs very quickly and isn't greasy at all. It smells very faintly of fruity watermelon. It's a yummy smell, but it doesn't really linger. My arm felt noticeably soft afterwards.


GET AGAIN?: Yes! As long as the full size came in packaging that protected it from spilling.

Japanese Goodies!

I know it's not exactly craft-related, but I'm extremely excited to present to you today -

the extremely generous bundle of birthday gifts that my dear best friends S & B brought me back from Japan! I was just about beside myself by the time I finished opening every individually-wrapped gift. Even now, the next day, every time I think about them, I do a little leprechaun dance! Here they are:

This is what I received:
♥ Kitty cat tote bag
♥ Harajuku Girls magazine
♥ kawaii socks, 3 pairs
♥ bento box; food picks
♥ beauty products sample pack
♥ handmade stoneware chopsticks rest
♥ Minnie Mouse tophat hairclip
♥ wall-hanging cloth
♥ Fujichan notepads set
♥ washi oil blotting papers
♥ silicone drink bottle lid covers

Thank you S & B, you're amazing!!