Free Flower Fairy Pattern

This week I am going to share a pattern by one of my favorite amigurumi designers, Mia Zamora-Johnson. She's got a few free patterns, but it is rare that one is a doll she has designed. Mia's dolls are some of the cutest I've seen. Anne Geddes fans will love them! She's got regular dolls, character dolls, dolls dressed as fruit/veggies, dolls dressed as flowers, and dolls dressed as animals.

This week's pattern is for a flower fairy, and she is so cute! Mia's instructions are always very clear and easy to follow. She even gives you tips on how to embroider the hair, which is very helpful and not all that common. I haven't made a flower fairy yet, but below is a picture from the pattern.

Pattern (c) Mia Zamora-Johnson
Photo (c) Brandy Fortune

Get the free pattern here.

New Custom Orders

I'm back in action! Well, I always have been working on orders, but we are expanding the one building at my day job and relocating most of our 450 employees and I have been enlisted to help facilitate the relocations. Unfortunately, this leaves very little time for blogging. I usually get Mondays blogged due to the weekend, but even this week that got overlooked.

Anyway, I did some rearranging of my schedule and pushed the Train Gift Set to the end of this month and worked on the First Grandson Set and Penguin Plush first. I did this because work has been crazy and these two orders had hard due dates, whereas the other was a request from a friend for no particular date.

So, the Penguin Plush is finished and posted for the buyer. He turned out pretty cute. I was a little sad that the girl it was for didn't want any different colors (she looked at her aunt like she was crazy when asked what color her penguin should be...obviously its black! oh little girls...), but he is still adorable.

The First Grandson Set is also finished and posted. I happened to work with the buyer and have already given it to her due to her daughter being induced Monday night! (Her due date was September 16th). I finished up adding the name to the blanket Monday night and brought it in Tuesday to show the buyer and verify that she was happy with it, and she just popped over to give me the news so I gave it to her. That was very lucky timing!

Tonight I will get moving on the Train Gift Set. It will consist of a conductor style hat, train plush, and train blanket. This is a mock-up from the chart I improvised for the blanket, and the plush will look like the engine from the blanket. I'm very excited to get going on it n_n

NEXT WEEK be prepared for another baby hat and some peeks at a few other projects. My friend's son turns 2 next month and his party is Curious George themed, so I wanted to make him a Curious George and maybe a sweater or yellow hat. I also need to start designing my items for Three Strikes for Sean. If you have suggestions please comment; I am aiming for 4 pairs of footwear (2 for girls and 2 for boys).

AFTER ALL OF THAT I will be getting back to designing items for the shop: customizeable roller skate booties, Minion hats and outfits, an Eve cocoon, and a Wall-E plush just to name a few. Remember I will fulfill any request and I love general suggestions for my shop. I want to make the items you want to buy, so your opinions are very important to me.

See you Friday with a new free pattern!

Bento for Lunch

I guess I will follow the trend. I promise it's Random Monday, not Health Food Monday, but these just seem to be what I am thinking about lately. It's probably all this getting serious about being fit. Although...if this trend keeps up maybe I should dedicate a day to health & fitness. What do you think?

So...bento. What is it? In the simplest of terms, bento is a packed lunch. A bit more specifically, bento is a Japanese style of packed lunches. In Japan there are convenience store, or pre-packed, bento as well as homemade. Bento actually has a rather elaborate history, and today it is a rather common sight in the Japanese schools.

Bento wrapped in furoshiki

Bento in drawstring bag

The reason I like bento so much (aside of my infatuation with the Japanese culture--blame that on my best friend in grade school having moved here from Japan and me being immersed in the culture at her house n_~), is the portion control. My favorite bento box is two tiers, measuring 3.3 inches l x 4.3 inches w x 3.5 inches h. I know this sounds very small, and indeed it looks very small, but you would be surprised how much food you can actually fit into it!

My favorite bento!

A better view of both tiers

The top tier of the bento holds 1 cup, and the bottom tier holds 1.5 cups. I find that either tier is plenty big enough to hold a decent sized side salad. I know it sounds and will look small, but if you were to take the salad out of the tier and put it onto a salad plate you would be quite pleased with the result. I often stick with the smaller tier and put salad dressing in a small 1 Tbsp container, which is just enough.

Salad in bento tier

Same salad on salad plate (on top of dinner plate for reference)

The other tier is actually large enough to hold a small sandwich and a few grapes or cherries. You could also fit a wrap, an egg and veggies, humus with veggies and crackers, pasta, etc. The options are endless. And you don't have to stick with a salad. I've done a meat in the small tier with side veggies in the large tier (usually my packing of leftovers). You could also go a more traditional route in which the small tier holds rice and the large tier holds sides (stir fry, meat, veggies, eggs, etc).

L: egg, cucumbers with hummus R: wrap, and cheese wheel	The same lunch on a dinner plate. Perfect portion size :)
L: egg, strawberries, cheese & crackers R: salad & dressing cup	L: pork & veggie stirfry R: rice & soy sauce

Bento is just breaking into the non-western world, so sometimes it is hard to find "traditional" bento boxes. My favorite place to buy online is Bento USA. They have great prices and pretty fast shipping. You will also get an idea of the fun accessories that exist for bento (as moms may make character, picture, or other themed bento for their children--they get pretty elaborate!). Another good place to find some neat, although a bit pricey, bento is JBox.

If you are interested in bento, don't feel like you need to buy a special box! There are plenty of alternatives like your normal Tupperware. There is a really neat Tupperware like set that you may want to look into called Easy Lunch Boxes. It really doesn't matter what you use, and you don't have to make it cute. Just be aware of your portion sizes--smaller containers aid in this.

Another thing is variety. I've heard it said that Japanese mothers want their children's lunches to be colorful (no I don't know how accurate this is, sorry). This actually isn't a bad plan. Color means fruits and veggies, it means variety of foods, it means not everything is a starch. Variety, particularly of healthy options, is also another thing to be aware off. I find the smaller boxes help with this as well. You are trying to make your lunch colorful, so you don't pack as much of one thing (specifically starches & proteins).

Do you bento? What are your tips and tricks? Any favorite sellers, items, or accessories? What about food choices or recipes? Share them in the comments!

Busy Busy

Well guys...things are crazy busy over here this week. I am still working on 3 custom orders, and I am helping my boyfriend clean and pack because he is moving 3 hours away to go back to school and finish his degree. At my day job, we are into the final stretch of an expansion and relocating employees so I am being pulled from reception to assist with that, which is severely cutting into my knitting and computer time sadly.

Next week I start classes as well! Although one is online and the other only meets one night a week. My boss is only thinking he needs my help Monday & Tuesday too, so hopefully I can give you a better Shop Info post than this.

There probably won't be a Free Pattern Friday post this week either, unless I run across something on my brief stints on Facebook and then it will be a super short post. Monday's post will still happen because I was on a roll with ideas and pre-scheduled a bunch of them. I am hoping when things dies down I can get a bunch of Shop Info and Free Pattern Friday posts scheduled too n_n

Thanks for your patience and see you next week!

Cucumber Melon Smoothies

Yes, I have become slightly obsessed with smoothies. As I mentioned before, I am just not a breakfast person so these are a great compromise for me getting something in my stomach to kick start my metabolism first thing in the morning. Yes you can just search the internet, and I often do, but I like to record my favorites. I also see that a lot of recipes make large smoothies, and I am aiming at a 12-16 oz serving size. Plus I love stuff I can prep in advance to save time later (especially when I am still waking up!). Hopefully you find my sharing this with you helpful n_n

Shopping List: 1 honeydew melon 1 english cucumber 1 bunch mint lime juice honey

Per packet: 1/2 c honeydew 1/4 c cucumber 6 mint leaves 1 Tbsp lime juice 1/2 Tbsp honey

This resulted in 8 packets. I split the cucumber and melon into eighths, but the amounts per packet were pretty spot on. The only thing I had leftovers of was the mint--I used a little over half. Depending on the size lime juice and honey you buy, you will probably have leftovers of these as well. I just used honey I had on hand, and bought one of those little bulb bottles of lime juice which didn't have much left when I was done.

Even though this is more of a delicately flavored smoothie, I included the flax and almond butter anyway. You could taste the almond butter, but it was subtle enough to not ruin the flavor of the smoothie. This is also probably one of the most refreshing smoothies I have made! It is great for sipping on while chilling on the porch on a warm summer day. I feel like this well become more of a snack than a breakfast for me n_~

I definitely prefer sandwich bags. My packets are at most 2 cups of fruit and greens, but I like the extra room because I can lay the bags flat and the fruits and greens can spread out and don't make huge clumps when they freeze (which works much better in the blender).

I have also found I need to upgrade blenders. I was using my mom's GE 12 oz single serving blender, but I find I need a little more room to get all the frozen fruit to blend nicely (I particularly had problems with the Tropical Green smoothie). So I have invested (kind of..it was only $14) in the Hamilton Beach single serve blender which holds about 16 oz and gives that extra room I need for blending.

Now that I've bombarded you with a month of smoothies, what are your favorites? Do you eat them for breakfast, snacks, or other meal replacements? What about those of you who are lactose-intolerant, gluten free, or vegan? Share your favorites and suggestions in the comments!

Free Calcifer Pattern

Let's keep the theme going n_n This week's free pattern is for an amigurumi (crochet plush) Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle which is another anime film by Studio Ghibli. This film is one of my favorites, both by Studio Ghibli and in general. It is based off the book with the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, which I also recommend.

Calcifer is a fire demon. His anime version is rather cute and tiny, but his book counterpart is less corporeal and definitely more demonic. In both versions his character is great and easy to become a fan of.

I originally came across this pattern when looking for all kinds of anime plush, hoping to use it for a swap. I held off though until I joined a Studio Ghibli swap this past winter and I made a Calcifer for my partner.

If you think he is cute, check out djonesgirl's pattern. It is pretty easy so not a bad choice for a beginner.

I also recommend you check out the movie and book n_n

Help Me Choose Charity Items

About 3 weeks ago I mentioned on my Facebook and Google pages that I had been asked to donate some items to a local charity called Three Strikes for Sean. I'll copy the brief description here for your reference:

Sean is a 7 year old boy suffering from many medical conditions including seizures, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, hearing loss and a condition called Chromosome 18q deletion. The fundraiser is being sponsored by Ready Set Ride Therapeutic Recreation Facility where the young boy takes weekly equine therapy. Funds collected will allow the family to continue with doctor visits, treatments, and therapies. A portion of the funds will also go to Ready Set Ride.

I had been contacted specifically for my infant footwear. The kind woman reaching out to me said she really liked my booties and sandals and thought they would be a big hit for their raffle and/or giveaways as there will be many parents present, a quite a few with babies. I asked if she was looking for anything in particular and she gave me some fairly broad parameters: I know sports team stuff is always popular for boys or pink/purple stuff for girls. 

So now I am reaching out to you all and asking if you have any suggestions. I am currently playing around with the the idea of making more soccer cleats and Chicago Bears booties to appeal to the parents of boys, and I am thinking a pair of Mary Janes (pink or lavender...I haven't decided yet) and possibly a pair of sandals (no idea which style or colors yet!) to appeal to the parents of girls.

What do you think: Yay or Nay? Should I nix the sandals? Maybe you think a pair of Chucks should make the cut? Do you have any other suggestions for recreations or original ideas?

Please post your suggestions in the comments n_n



Donations don't need to be received until October 1, but I am trying to brain storm now so that once I get all my orders due in September finished I can dive right in!

Pickles & Pizza

This will be a week of cooking, baking, and experimenting with food it seems...

This weekend I decided to make pickles. I had trouble finding appropriate cucumbers so I went with English (ended up using 1.5 per recipe). I also cut down the water in the dill recipe to 2 c and added 2 c to the bread and butter recipe to get each recipe to fit nicely in 1 qt jars (this also resulted in just 1/2 an onion in the bread and butter recipe).

Dill Pickles
I made these for my brother as they are the only kind of pickles he likes. They were a success but he did say they have their own flavor (he was comparing them to my buddy's mom's recipe...I may have to ask her what she did n_~)

Bread and Butter Pickles

These were good but missing something...perhaps not enough sugar (I did 1/2 c not 3/4 c). Another possibility is the wrong vinegar and sugar as I've seen other recipes using apple cider vinegar and brown sugar or a combo of those with white and white. The only spice I might be missing is cloves it seems. I'll just have to tweak things next time around I think

Saturday evening after preparing the pickles, I went to Angelo Caputo's in search of delicious Italian meats and walked out with a half pound of prosciutto and a half pound of hot sopressata. They were delicious and the boyfriend and I ate them with buttered croissants, but now we have a ton of leftover meat. The obvious solution was to make a white pizza.

We were going to make our own thin crust, but when we got to my buddy's house we discovered he didn't even have flour let alone the other ingredients. So instead we settled for Trader Joe's pizza dough. We also picked up Trader Joe's garlic olive oil. The pizza turned out very well and we still have left over meat and cheese so there may be a repeat later this week.

Tonight I will be making sun pork and later this week I will make my kebabs and grilled asparagus again (they are pretty basic; I just let the meat marinade in this spice rub for 24 hours then coat the kebabs with Open Pit before grilling, the asparagus just gets a slather of olive oil and fresh minced garlic with a dash of salt).

My mom and I also found some new recipes to try: zucchini chips (a FB recipe, although my last two FB recipes made a delicious dinner), parmesan kale chips, zucchini muffins, and cucumber salsa.

Nekobasu Pattern

Well my sister is settling in at her new home in Japan very well and got to enjoy a beach festival this past weekend with some of her associates. In honor of her new adventure, I thought we could keep in theme with anime patterns. This pattern is for the cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro (doubly appropriate as my sister lives in Miyazaki-ken, and Hayao Miyazaki is the director of My Neighbor Totoro and other Studio Ghibli films...Miyazai-ken and Miyazaki-san are unrelated however lol).

Now, if you are not familiar wit My Neighbor Totoro or Studio Ghibli, allow me to educate you. Studio Ghibli is an animation film studio in Japan and they create some of the best anime I've seen and some of the more popular titles in the United States*. The artwork is beautiful and very recognizable. They also frequently team up with composer Joe Hisaishi for equally beautiful soundtracks. Many of the animated films are based on legends, and a few of the more recent ones are based on books (e.g. Howl's Moving Castle and Arriety/The Borrowers). The stories are uplifting and perfect for children and adults to enjoy.

Now, as for the movie My Neighbor Totoro...This is such a sweet fantasy movie. Two young girls and their father move to the country side to be close to their mother who is in the hospital for a long-term illness. They end up living in an old house and soon encounter the friendly forest spirits, Totoro being one of them. One day the younger sister goes missing and Totoro helps the older sister find her. Then he brings them to see how their mother is doing via the nekobasu.

Now that I have strayed slightly from the original purpose of this post, I suppose it is only fair I provide you with that pattern link n_~ Sojala over at Amigurumi Freely has designed a wonderful nekobasu. The pattern is a bit complicated as you will be making many parts and some plastic canvas is needed to retain the shape. However, I totally think he is worth the work and I plan to make one in the future, complete with Totoro and Mei to sit inside n_n

(c) sojala www.amigurumitogo.com

Click the image above for the link to the pattern.

*Studio Ghibli also had a hand in the PS3 video game Ni No Kuni. Level-5 teamed up with Studio Ghibli who provided the animation and Joe Hisaishi who provided the music. It is a beautiful game and a wonderful JRPG with great mechanics.