Paying it Forward

Alright, as promised yesterday, I just spent about 3 hours posting stuff on Etsy!

You can go to my Pay it Forward section you can see everything that I've added. Here's a preview of a couple things!

Again, this isn't super cheap, but it's at least half price! AND, if you buy one item, another item's shipping is free! And if you don't have an Etsy shop, then there's no problem! You can Pay it Forward in other ways. :)
I've been busy making TONS of these! I didn't really know what to do with all of these amazing buttons that I have. But these were just tons of fun to make and I loved using all of my antique buttons.




And I was getting rid of some of my other stuff that I made forever ago and it's been sitting in a bag. I thought I would put them to good use and actually post them on my Etsy as Pay it Forward items as well. :)




And there you have it! Bracelets are $2 and hats, scarves and cowls are only $10! You really can't beat that price, right?!
I hope that everyone is having a great weekend! I'm pretty much snowed in.
Now go out and do something good for someone else! :)

Pay it Forward

A long time ago on Etsy, I discovered the pay it forward posts.
I told myself that when I got onto Etsy, I would also help out with this.

Have you seen them? They're really amazing. I plan on going tonight and buying some PIF's!

And, to celebrate my almost year on Etsy, and to help out with my PIF's, I will be basically having a huge destash sale. Look for a post tomorrow here to learn more about it!
I basically have A LOT of things that I've made and never used, so I plan on destashing all of that! This includes hats, cowls, ami's and some brand new vintage button bracelets that I've been making.
Basically, most people that post the Pay it Forwards make them the .20 that it is to list an item on Etsy. Mine won't be quite that cheap, but it will be A LOT less than what I would normally mark them.
This will all start tomorrow for a couple reasons.
#1. I want GOOD KARMA for my job hunting lately.
#2. I really want to get my stuff out there, and for other people to pay it forward!
#3. We've been getting a good amount of snow today (the first in weeks!) and so staying in and posting things on Etsy sounds like a great Sunday to me!

I'll talk to you all tomorrow!

More swap goods!

I LOVE meeting new crafters. I really do! I love it when someone contacts me, knows exactly what they want, and then I get a surprise in the mail. It's just awesome.
::hint::Stick around until the end of my post for a fun swapping opportunity!

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting someone on Craftster with the name of kuckyjune. She contacted me before the holidays and really wanted a swap. She knew EXACTLY what she wanted and even sent reference pictures. I was really excited to do it because really, I love a challenge! So I'm sure you remember seeing Cheech and Danny Trejo.
Well, to be honest, I was so caught up and excited about making them that I didn't really know what exactly to expect in return. I gave her my wists and my Etsy favorites to go off of, and I thought it would kind of give her an idea of the things I like. I had no idea it would be like this though! It's like she personally knows me! haha!
Yesterday, I got a box in the mail, and it was one of the best swap packages I've ever received. I can't even begin to explain how excited I was when I opened everything.
So, here we go!
First up, a TARDIS magnet!
LOOOOOOOVE this!!!


The next thing I opened? A Bride of Frankenstein necklace! What?! How amazing is that?!


And OMG, as if the last 2 things weren't awesome enough, check this out!!
I opened this and squealed. She does this AMAZING glass etching, and she made me a soap dispenser with a Jackalope on it!



And, we're still not done! She SPOILED me!
This is the first time she did screenprinting. I can't even describe how much I love this. I actually had to get it out of my room to take the pictures because I wore it all day yesterday. haha!
This is the front, bottom of the shirt. It's Bigfoot!!!

And the footprints continue on the back!!!


So, here's my opportunity for you!!!!
Since I LOVE meeting crafters, I thought I would put out an open invitation here on my blog to meet some new people and have some fun with crafts. All you have to do is email me at AmyLDice@yahoo.com with the title SWAP in the subject line. I want to swap with YOU! Here's the only catch, I won't swap for anything in my shop. But do you want an amigurumi? Do you have a challenge for another Mini that I can make?! Do you have another idea for a mounted head that I can make?! Let's swap!!!
So, I'm really looking forward to hearing from some fellow crafters for some swaps!!

Knitting

Have I told you lately how much I've been enjoying knitting lately?

I enjoy taking breaks from crocheting and being able to just enjoy knitting. I also love learning new things with knitting, since I really don't knit very often.
These hats were TONS of fun to make. I found the pattern here. I have had a bunch of this Thick and Quick yarn around, and this pattern really doesn't call for much. And not only is it really adorable, but it's thick and the band on it is so wide, so it really keeps you warm!




And after I made my first one in the tweed yarn, I had to make more. I really love this color! It's a really nice deep maroon.



If you knit, I really hope you try this pattern! Since the yarn is so thick, it works up really quick too!

An Award!

The other day, I was given an award! And it's not just any award, it's a Craftster Best of 2010 award!
I won it for my Lego Man.
And I can't even tell you how incredibly excited I was when I saw that THREE of my friends were right there with me!

Jackie was awarded it for knitting. You should definitely check it out, because she's an AMAZING knitter!
Lani won it for her Cheshire cat, which is also really awesome.
And Alexz made it for her wedding, which was the most crafty and awesome wedding!


I'm a Craftster Best of 2010 Winner!

And, this is just a little something that I'm working on lately. I'm really LOVING the mini's that I've been making. And so, here is mini Meat Loaf.
He's about 7 inches tall.





I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I will be working on more this week and hopefully post them shortly after!

SALE!

Remember that sale post?? I couldn't wait. haha!
And I've never used the coupon codes, so I am now!

From now until Sunday night, use coupon code YETI20 for 20% off your purchase!!!
And tell a friend!

Danny Trejo

This is another one of the super fun requests I got from someone.

All based off of this photo:


And here he is! He was a lot of fun to make. :)




Check out his muscles!


And, here's a couple things that I'm going to be working on coming up:
#1. I've been knitting like crazy lately! I've made a couple hats that I will be working on taking pictures of very soon. I need to have a good hair day to really do that. lol.

#2. I have a list of things that I will be making for swaps and requests and stuff. I'm starting to work on those now.

#3. I've been working hard lately at actually getting a job. As much as I would love for my Etsy store to really take off, it hasn't yet. But don't fret, because this doesn't mean that my store will close, it just means I'll be even busier than normal. :)

#4. I'm working on getting a sale going in my store VERY soon! Look for that update coming up.

#5. A giveaway is still in the works. I know I've talked about it before, but it's going to be a pretty huge giveaway, so it's taking me a while to really work on it.

I hope you check back soon and hopefully most of that list will be complete! haha!

Doctor Who?

I've been fairly busy lately.

Not only am I applying for jobs now here, but I'm also bogged down with a lot of to-do lists of things to make for people. I'm enjoying every second of it, but every once in a while I get slightly bored and decide that I need something to get me out of my funk.

This little guy did just that! We've been watching so much Doctor Who lately, and I've absolutely fallen in love with David Tennant. We've come to the end of his days as the doctor, and I've been having a hard time with it. I thought that this would be the perfect way to help me cope, and just maybe if I made something for myself, I could get the inspiration and the desire to make things for others. :)
It definitely did just that!
So, I would like to introduce, The Doctor.






Oh, and his eyeglasses are removable as well. :)



And his jacket is removable as well!



That's all for now. I have more celebrities that I'm finishing up now. And I've also been making tons of wearables as well that I will be taking pictures of! I'm in the process of making a hat right now for a friend. :)
Is anyone else making stuff to either get them out of a funk or something to just keep them warm?

New things!

Well, I have some new fun things to share with you.

First, did you happen to notice something new up on the right side of my blog? I made a button! Now, you can share my blog with anyone.
I spent a long time trying to figure it out, and I was VERY happy when I finally did. lol!





<br /><center><a href="http://craftingmachine.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k624/amylutter/DSC_0637.jpg"/></a></center><br />

And, in addition to this, I've also decided to change the name of my blog to The Mad Crafter since that's the name of my store as well.

And next, here's my newest project.
This was a custom request. It's Cheech! This is all based off of this photo:

And here he is!





That's all for now, and I hope to work on some more new things for the blog very soon.
Feel free to add my button anywhere, and I really hope you do! Thanks so much!!

Warm Up!

I know that I've been slacking on my blog. However, I haven't been slacking on projects!

Lately, with this SUPER chilly weather, I've been working on some things to really keep me warm. I definitely plan on making some more for friends too that live in cold climates.

When I was flying home, there was a girl on the plane that had this ADORABLE headband. I fell in love with it. Ever since then, I've seen the headbands EVERYWHERE.
This one is knitted from Lion Brand Thick and Quick. I learned a bunch of new things while making it, and I've been wearing it CONSTANTLY!



And this was REALLY fun, and as it turns out, I bought WAAAAAY too much yarn for it, so I know a few certain people that can expect a giant awesome cowl in the mail soon. haha


Well, I'm off to work on some more projects. Seth is traveling for work, and I plan on working A LOT today on a few custom items.
I hope everyone else is staying warm with fun homemade wearables!

Continuation of a Homemade Christmas

Just a couple things I forgot to put in my last post!
In case you can't tell, I was pretty spoiled this year for Christmas. :)

This isn't homemade, but it's from my favorite crafting site, Craftster!
They recently re-did their store, and included a lot of new things on Spreadshirt. I got the skull and crochet hooks, and I got the zip-up hoodie AND the matching sweat pants!


This is definitely my new favorite hoodie too. I pretty much just take it off to sleep. lol
If any of you out there are also big fans of Craftster, I would definitely recommend anything from their store. I own quite a few things, and they're all definitely worth it! You can find their Spreadshirt page here.

And I totally forgot to mention this as well the other day!
My great friend Jackie is an avid knitter. She hasn't been knitting all that long, but she's AMAZING. Well, after I found a pattern on Ravelry for some gloves I wanted, I immediately sent it over to her. I just don't trust myself as much with knitting something like that. Well, she made me one for Christmas!
Yes, that's right, just one. lol! She couldn't get the other one done in time.
Does anyone recognize where these gloves are from?

P.S. I'm actually wearing my hoodie in the picture.

CORALINE! They're the Coraline gloves! Isn't it awesome?! I am now impatiently waiting for the other one, and hopefully it will be here soon so I can use it in this weather. :)

A Homemade Christmas

As I'm sure you know, this year was a VERY homemade Christmas. It felt so good making so many gifts, saving money, and seeing how excited the kids got when opening their gifts. They were all appreciated, and really loved. It was a really great feeling.

I had decided to give my niece the Coraline doll I had made a long time ago. She's 3 and a half, and she absolutely LOVES Coraline! I was really surprised because I would think it was too scary for her, but she can't get enough of it. So, when I arrived in Florida, I put all of my stuff in my sister's guest room, and apparently left my suitcase open, with Coraline sitting right on top. She found her, told her mom how excited she was, so I had no choice but to just give it to her early. Her face just lit up when I handed it to her. Needless to say, she is a very well-loved Coraline doll. :)


And when she opened up the Mr. Hankey doll on Christmas morning, well, that was pretty much the highlight of my day. She opened it about halfway, saw what it was, and laughed for about 10 minutes straight.

And while I was hard at work, so was my mom! She had told me a while ago that she wanted to make Seth a "quillow", which is a quilt, that when folded up, turns into a pillow. Well, she wanted to make it Star Trek, but when she looked online for maybe sheets or something to make it out of, it was INCREDIBLY expensive. So when she was telling me about it, an idea struck! Seth got a shirt when we went to the Star Trek convention as our honeymoon. He finally settled on the shirt he wanted, but when he went back to get it, they didn't have his size, so he settled for a size smaller. When recently cleaning out his closet, he found the shirt, and gave it to me, very upset because he had maybe worn it once. So, it was my idea to send the shirt to my mom, for her to use on Seth's gift.
I was so excited while my mom was working on it, and her embroidery machine yet again saved the day and made something that was already great, even better. :)

And I knew Seth was getting one, but I never once thought that I would get one too!

I remember that a few years ago my mom bought this Wizard of Oz fabric. I was so excited when I saw how absolutely beautiful it was, and she told me that she was going to make me a quilt. Since then, I've really forgotten about it, and so when I opened up my own quillow, I was really shocked!
The back of it is all ruby slippers, and the other side is all scenes from the movie! Seriously, this is really the most beautiful fabric.



And, from my mother-in-law, I didn't get a handmade gift, but I got something that will help my crafts! She gave me a drop spindle and some wool so I can learn to spin my own yarn! I can't tell you how excited I am to try this out. I've NEVER done it before, but I'm SUPER excited to try!


And that's all for now. I'm going to get SUPER busy and making as many sonic screwdrivers as possible today! Wish me luck!!

Did anyone else have a handmade Christmas, either getting or giving?