All posts by MikuMarmalade

Minamoto Sakura Watercolor Chibi Art

I’m on episode 11(latest as of writing this post) of Zombie Land Saga. This is fan art is one of the main characters, Minamoto Sakura.

This idol show is not your typical idol show(most of the idol anime puts me to sleep, the character designs are where my interest starts and ends)

It’s funny, it’s emotional, it’s controversial, it has poor CGI moments — oh wait that’s not a selling point… 💧

Anyway, I had this grandiose image of what I wanted to paint. Sakura in conflict with herself in a mirror. Her zombie self, depressed and giving up, and her idol self, who she wants to be.

Then I realized my skill level and generally being an employed citizen of the world let me know I ain’t got time for all of that. I finished this on a Sunday evening, so lighting is poor in some shots I grabbed.

What do you think? Lol, I’m not sure why I’m asking as no one visits or reads this website. But in case there is an out-liar…

Should you be a full time artist or do art on the side of a daytime job?

Opinion piece~ Yay

*Disclaimer: All info written is that of the opinion of the author and should not be taken as law, rules, even if I am a yarn goddess.

Ah, the dilemma of all artists. Do I make art my full-time job or do I go out and make money other ways and aim to create art for profit on the side?

For me, I do art on the side. I work full time in a call center and part-time in retail. I create art in my spare time, and if it’s something I feel is marketable I’ll list it on my online store.

I love this way of doing things. I used to put my all into creating art for a living. I didn’t do all that well back then. I rarely made sales, has it not been for having survivor benefits I’d not have the luxury to pursue being an artist.

I consume a lot of artist-related content on the internet. Most of the time when I come across this topic I see artists promoting the go full time, transition from a day job, follow your dreams(terrible advice by the way) route. Admittedly they’re biased because they are usually full-time artist themselves.

And I’m biased against the full-time artist. Not that I have anything against it, do you boo. If you’re doing well then go for it!

Here are a few things to consider when you’re an artsy type choosing which life to live.

  1. Do you value stability over creative freedom? Really take the time to think about it. Is the stress of possibly not affording rent because your art didn’t sell worth the time you have to create it?

  2. Are you in a position to pursue a career that may take years to get off the ground? Do you have a stash of money saved to cover expenses when not making money?

  3. Do you have the patience to grow an audience? Do you have an audience? Is part of that audience financially supporting you? Sure likes are fun and all but you can’t buy groceries with 1000 upvotes.

  4. Is what you make even profitable?

I struggled with the number 4 for much longer than I’d like to admit. You see, I do make nice things in my opinion. But not many people are willing to pay for said nice things.

At least not in my local area. As for online, well I lack an audience larger than a couple of friends, even though I have posted my art online for years.

I’m not complaining though. I’m grateful to be able to spend free time doing things that I enjoy like drawing and crocheting. 

How is RedBubble working for you?

It’s going well– wait something is off there.

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So I’m trying out the art marketplaces, Redbubble, Society 6, and maybe TeeSpring(haven’t tried it yet)

My thoughts so far?

Well, I’ve made sales on Redbubble!

Oh gosh, I can hear you now. No, no Lamborghini buying(I wouldn’t buy one if I could afford it. #frugal!!) I haven’t made enough for a Pumpkin Spice Latte technically(criminal, huh).

I just joined Society 6. So I’m not expecting sales from that yet.

That’s all for now.

If you want to check out my Redbubble or Society6, they are both in my shop tab!

またね！

Welcome blog post

Hi, I’m Aoi Homura. My hobbies are crocheting, drawing/painting, play video games(a huge Nintendo lover), and watching anime!

This website follows my artistic journey as well as offers my works for sale. I do this on the side, so there may be bouts of inactivity.

I cosplay from time to time, though it’s not too frequent as I crochet them.

I love crafting diy stuff and am a huge fan of lolita fashion.

 

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Miss a stitch, lose 1/2 a heart. Who cares when you’re this cute though![Lookbook]

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I have had an urge lately. i hadn’t crocheted anything since my plaid skirt. I was itching for some yarn and some project to do. I’m in the process of moving so my craft supplies are suffering alone in a storage unit. Except for my hoard of yarn… that’s at my bestie’s house. So I grabbed some to go. Then pink was used in excess. Because I’m a girly girl. #noshame

 

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My first time using acrylic paints on a t-shirt[Look Book]

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Watch the process of making tshirts below:

 

So I’m an avid watercolor fan. I hardly use other paint mediums because my love for watercolor is so high. This week I’ve been in a transitional period. I don’t have access to all of my art supplies so I bought some to use on the go. The project idea– make a art print shirt using acrylic paint instead of print services. Nothing wrong with print services, I just didn’t have much to do and the area where I am I have limited internet access. I’m really pleased with how this came out. She looks like a gal.

 

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[Fanart Friday’s] Lazy weekend Gaia avatars.

I’ve been rather bored in the transitional period of my life. I have my Mac and my touchscreen laptop with me with limited internet connection(only on my iPhone).

So I kill time listening to music or listening to YouTube videos and playing around with art programs. Open source softwares used include Gimp, FireAlpaca, and Sketchbook by Autodesk for scanning.

Air drop has never been more appreciated. I was able to download FireAlpaca on my iPhone, air drop it to my Mac, then transfer it to my windows machine using a thumb drive. Obviously this is a lot of extra steps that a home internet connection would remedy but I’m in a transitional period.

Enjoy~

The evolution of my amigurumi(and new doll introduction)

Oh hey there you. MikuSama here! Hope you’re having a bubbly day! My latest doll–er at least one of them, since I started another one– is Sakura! That pink hair screams a sakura blossom to me. Yes, she’s modeled heavily off of Kaname Madoka. I do intend to make her a magical transformation of Madoka.

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My doll evolution is in the video. Or you can gawk at how adorable Sakura is using my Macbook Pro for a couple of moments before going on your merry way!

Anywho, toodles~

My not-so-stellar experience selling crocheted stuff

Disclaimer: This blog post is not meant to dissuade or discourage anyone out there who sells their crochet work or dreams of doing so. If you find your efforts are paying off, by all means, go make a killing!! 

Hi. If you’ve spoken to me within that last couple of years, you’d know I’m very adamant about not trying to sell my crochet work. I’ve tried numerous routes in my arsenal to make money from my crochet talent in my later 20’s. Most efforts ended in complete failure or close to it.

A casual vlog of my discussion why I don’t sell my art(crochet)

I tried having an Etsy shop, I sank more money into maintaining it than selling; I tried selling at a Farmer’s Market twice, one person bought from me the first time and the second two people bought;  I tried my own website on various platforms, not once has a single transaction took place; I tried eBay, same experience as Etsy; I tried having a Facebook fan page,

barely anyone interacted with it; I tried handing out business cards, never heard back from anyone who took them.

Let’s just say my decision to be resistant to selling is backed up with a lot of experience. I personally hate getting the run around from people. Talk is cheap. I hate when someone says that they will buy something just to never buy it. It’s worse when it comes to commissions. My hopes get brought up just to be crushed. So I became a “selfish hooker”(one who crochets only for herself and occasionally loved ones during the holiday season.)

But one thing I had not tried, consignment. Scratch that, I did do a consignment before I had established my work’s worth. Needless to say, I was scammed. So I won’t consider that to be a failure.

🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨

There’s a place that I like to buy some of my skincare products. It’s a local shop near my house. I’m very much a “support local business” within reason. This is a black-owned business on top of that, so I feel a bit biased. But– I don’t believe in supporting a black-owned business simply because black people own it. If you have a good product that I want to buy, I’ll buy it. Supporting the black business is a bonus.

Anyway, minor tangent. The shop owner asked if I would crochet some pieces for his shop in February 2018.  I tend to wear my crochet stuff a lot in my free time.

At first, I was hesitant and resistant. Then a month later I decide to try it out.

 “Well, I won’t be involved in finding customers, dealing with the flakes, or the riding the roller coaster or hopes and dreams–crushed edition. I just make the stuff and if sells, cha-ching!”

Or so I thought. I was wrong. One day I was dropping off a few more crocheted pieces to the shop, Wednesday, March 21. The shop owner tells me about a lady who has the first top I made on hold. She’ll be back to purchase it on that Friday. That Friday comes and goes. The only money that I gain is a $5 bill I find in a parking lot by dumb-luck.

My thoughts so far are, consignment isn’t a stress-free way to go. It’s a stress-reduced option. I’m only giving this a trial run of 6 months.

Hope for the best, but fully expect the worst.

-MikuMarmalade

My motto when it comes to making money from my talent for crocheting.

But hey, I do hope things go well. If I 100% believed this was a waste of my time, I wouldn’t bother.

Update: April 14, 2018

One of the tops sold. It’s the same one the owner was speaking of. Although it sold a later period.

Trying a new medium—colored pencils!!!

Colored pencils. Great, portable, coloring tools. A bitch to always need to sharpen them. So colored pencils are “new” to me. I’ve used them in the past. Didn’t really care for them. “Ugh, you have to sharpen them all the time.” -Artist first world problems. The real bitch is when you sharpen them so much they become a nub. No one told me about this! *Cry*

 

Well anywho, that was then. 2018 me decides that I’m going to give into my impulses and buy a pack of Prismacolor premier colored pencils from Wally World. Because it’s common knowledge that all artists hoard art supplies, duh. Some end up getting good use. Others go into the abyss of good intentions. I’m looking at you, Tunisian crochet hook. RIP.

I also buy another sketchbook. Because clearly, one cannot have enough of those. In my defense, I did not have one with that paper or size. My gosh, you’d almost think I was bad with money. And you’d be wrong unless we’re talking about walking by a Teavana. I don’t why but every time I walk by Teavana I suddenly think I have $40 to drop on a pound of loose leaf tea. My wallet disagrees. My heart says who needs to pay bills? That’s what adults do –my gosh what tangent! This started out with colored pencils and somehow we’re talking about tea?!

(Psst.. this is how you know a fat girl is writing this blog)

 

So a few of my sketches were not worthy of an iPhone snap, so they exist in the real world space only. Then I draw this gem, heavily inspired and references from a fan service photobook of cute anime waifus from various anime shows. Mai-Hime, Mai-Otome, Shuffle, and others. An acquaintance of mines gave it to me for Christmas last year.

After drawing that, I was hooked. I thought to myself, this almost looks like an actual print. If not for the obvious sketchbook paper and some lineart errors, I’d say it was printed from the interwebs. Okay, ego you can leave. But seriously, I was uber proud of my work. The colors lay so smoothly and well. The nice thing is, colored pencils are portable! So I can color in class like the rebellious student that no one should aspire to be like! Kids, don’t draw in class. Not the place. (who am I kidding, I regularly crochet in class…)

A theme that I’m vaguely following is fan art. Purely stuff that I’m doing for the fun of drawing it. I do frequently draw original stuff. But I wanted to draw a bunch of Disney princess stuff for some reasons. Of course, there’s a twist. Disney chibis in school uniforms. Sounds fun.

Anyway, here’s a gallery of what I’ve produced so far:

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I should mention that my reference photos are included in the slideshow. It’s obvious which ones they are.

Moe Snow White is moe.

Orange Creamsicle Crochet Lolita Dress[Photo spread]

I just completed my latest lolita dress. I call it lolita because it’s the fashion type that I’m aiming for. Is it a perfect lolita? No, not by lolita standards(I’m not wearing bloomers. So scandalous!!!)

Then again, what lolita makes their dresses out of yarn? None? Okay, I thought so as well. I’m being a lolita in my own right. It’s fun to dress so brightly and girly.

Why would I crochet my dresses instead of buying them or sewing them? I’m a crochet addict and I don’t fancy my sewing machine enough.

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Waddle Doo and Waddle Dee accompanied me during this trip. I started out on my own, just going to take selfies with my phone. I don’t have a fancy camera. Welp. Then when I arrived at the fountain there were some passerby people who had cameras. They were awesome and gave me the honour of being their muse for the photography. If by any chance they stumble upon this and are reading,

“Ehmagawd, thank you so much! I cannot even begin to write in words how grateful I am to have my recent project snapped by such amazing photographers and equipment. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!”

I’m eagerly awaiting the email with the photos they took. I saw a preview of one of them and fangirled at how cute I looked. They were even nice to take some with my iPhone, allowing me to get additional angles. Since I don’t have an iPhone tripod, I was using the bushes and a timer to get shots. I was okay with that. But those photographers made my day! Along with petting a fluffy dog on my way home.

Seriously, they did a magnificent job and I can’t wait to upload the photos. Sooooo, you know when you get used to your own appearance how it doesn’t phase you? Then you step outside of yourself by seeing your own photo and think “Wow, I’m adorable.” Yeah, that was my reaction. It’s not that I don’t know I can be cute, I just tend to forget due to other life stuff, like playing Mario Kart and Kirby and reading yaoi.  Serious business, bro.

Of course, as usual, everything seen in these photos are freehanded. My dress, headband, armlets, Waddle Doo and Waddle Dee. I don’t intend on writing any patterns. I’m a busy college lady.

Topless Moe Harley Quinn[NSFW]

Yeah, no nips are showing.

There’s not too much to say about these except—- glarsh I love how it turned out!!

Well, aside from accidentally painting over over Harley’s hair on the side. When will I stop being so cheap and buy a bottle of.. well I can’t remember the name. It’s for watercolor to cover areas briefly. Too lazy to look it up.

😃

Watermelon Theme Crochet Dress [Photo Spread]

 

A watermelon theme dress is something I’ve wanted in my wardrobe for a while. So in line with utilizing my stash to create things, I made a watermelon themed dress. It turned out lovely if I do say so myself!

I made the hat ages ago. The hat needed a companion. Thus, the dress was born.

I had some photos taken by an amateur photographer. We visited the river walk in my town and she shot tons of great photos. I’ll add them whenever I get them. For now, iPhone photos will have to do.

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Suigentou (Rozen Maiden) Crochet doll[Photo Spread]

 

She’s gone through a lot of designs before finalization.

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Amigurumi Saitama and friends[Lookbook]

I think Saitama may be a ladies’ man. Watch out!! She’s more than willing to lead him sto tray from the hero realm– to the yarn store!!!!

I adore the details on him. It looks so spot on cartoon style!!

Saitama does not seem down with the whole friend selfie thing.

A family of Christmas gifts. 2016-2017

Bonus! Parody Poetry

Yarn anonymous

A parody of the 12 step program for Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous. This is in no way shape or form meant to demean the actual steps of the program. I stand neutral on it. I literally copied and pasted and edited some parts. Hopefully I’ll find it humorous later on if and when I look back at it. And in that rare case that someone else other than myself stumbles upon and reads this, well know it’s for fun.

1. We admitted we were powerless over yarn–that our yarn stash had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. It’s known as Pinterest. Great for organization boards.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our wallets over to the care of our local yarn shop as we understood the power of 50% off all yarn purchases.

4. Made a searching and fearless visual inventory of our stash. Turns out, there’s a lot of fiberfill and half done projects there.

5. Admitted to our dearest loved ones, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. The bank account is in the negative because the thrift store had a huge suitcase of yarn for $25. We know times are tough and payday is Friday. But how could we give that up?!

6. Were entirely ready to have red heart remove all these defects in yarn so no more will yarn vomit exist at the beginning of a skein!

7. Humbly asked some dude person to remove the necessity of weaving in tails.

8. Made a list of victims our creations had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Apparently, the cat is still holding a grudge on the yarn lion mane we made for him on Halloween. We’ll make the mane more majestic next year and we won’t take AS MANY pictures.

9. Made detachable manes to such cats wherever possible, except to that feisty one who killed our sofa leather. He will not be forgiven so easily.

10. Continued to take inventory of our stash and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. This time we told our loved ones of the trip the yarn store at dinner instead of a week later when asked how this $126 Michael’s craft supply bill on the bank statement happen.

11. Sought through meditation to improve our conscious contact with the blue skein of yarn we bought a year ago, as we understood our stash habits, praying only for knowledge of that we’d find it so we would have the power to carry out and complete that WIP.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we intend to share this message to other knitters and hookers and to practice these principles in our daily activities.

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Zephyr, the elf princess

Zephyr-sama! You shall be a great leader one day — stop teasing your brothers please!

Zephyr is a princess of an underworld. The species of ogres and elves is vast when it comes to appearances. Some will literally give you nightmares if you look at them(they kinda enjoy that ability though.) Others, like Zephyr, you can look at all day.

Zephyr is not only looks, she’s aiming to be a great queen who rules with an iron fist. Kindness and fairness is also of utmost importance for Zephyr-sama. Zephyr has a tendency to enjoy fighting and cooking. One she excels in and the other– well let’s say the residents of the castle has had better digestive days.

Zephyr is an OC(original character) of mines. There’s not much story. I just enjoy making illustrations of her.

She had a couple of different hairstyles.

Her skin is lighter because I don’t feel like mixing a proper brown at the cafe using pan watercolor. So yeah. She also has runes on her face. Definitely inspired by my recent Breath of the Wild game play on the Switch.

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[WIP]Crochet Lolita Dress+ Matching Doll~ Pt. 2

It’s always a perfect occasion to adorn yourself in yarn~

-MikuMarmalade

Zephyr(the giant amigurumi doll) and I visited my family on my holiday break. I recently completed my red crochet Lolita inspired dress and was eager to wear it out!

What do you do when you take photos in a dress with flair. You twirl and regret life decisions.

 

Even though it appears that I’m about to break out and dance, rest assured. This rhythm-less yarn addict is only here to twirl

 

After a twirling session, Zephyr and I tagged along with the fam to the mall. Inside of a department store, we checked out some makeup. We saw glittery matte lipstick!!! Wooo, unicorn makeup! So like a good trooper(or bored because the rest of the mall wouldn’t open for about an hour) I tried on various makeup stuff. The lipstick sounds good in theory but in practicality it’s not that great. Like removal is a bitch. I use coconut oil which is like the oxy-clean of makeup remover. Of course I use it at home, which isn’t helpful at a makeup counter in a department store. RIP, the many tissues and makeup remover used. Especially since it’s single use.

Also tried Fenty foundation. I actually loved it. Geez it’s so lightweight on your face but coverage is like amazing. I’d especially love it in the summer!!!

Zephyr sat happily and obediently while I struggled to look like I didn’t savagely eat a unicorn face first. An employee who was walking on the floor helping whoever needed it glanced over at Zephyr and was about to ask if she lost her parents.

Zephyr is a troll.

I left the store wearing black and pink. I didn’t take a photo until I got back to the house because I was having family time. It was fun.

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Crochet Link Hat(Zelda)+Pattern Link

So this past Wednesday I was taking my lunch break from school when one of the cafe workers in the coffee shop asked me how much I would charge to make her a Link hat. I told her I don’t sell or accept commissions. Then that was that. Or was it? I felt rather ambitious and wanted to take a break from my amigurumi projects. So I decided I’d whip one up for her by surprise.

 

The first draft came up horribly in my opinion. I had this weird beret/cone beanie hybrid. So I did the hardest thing a hooker does, I frogged it.

… My amigurumi dolls are implying that I’m wrong. The hardest thing for a hooker to do is not buy yarn when she has enough yarn.

Silly amigurumi dolls. One can never have enough yarn.

Anyway, so I completed it and took selfies in front of my building after taking out the trash and before headed back indoors.

I can’t wait to see a happy cafe worker.

So Homura, where’s the pattern link.

Crochet Link hat by Whistle and Ivy

I do not own nor make the pattern. I followed the rim part of the hat then in true MikuSama fashion, did my own thing because I don’t follow directions very well.

Kaname Madoka fanart and lingerie(NSFW)

Hey Homura!! So lately I’ve been on an ecchi, mildly lewd drawing spree. I know, I usually draw chibis. Change. It’s a beautiful, inevitable thing.

`

I don’t know why I keep drawing things late at night as I’m a morning bird. I draw it. It looks super flawless! Then the next morning my facial expression after seeing it looks something like this.

Like what the heck happened to the bottom left boob? It’s like sliced and missing. Yeah, that’s… uh… scary. Nightmare-ish.  Ha ha, let me stop. It’s not that bad.

Thankfully, that error was easy to fix digitally. I needed to add a line is all. I have fallen back in love with making digital art. Woot~

I still love watercolor, and cannot do digital art 100% digitally. In fact, all of my digital art over the past two years or so have bases in traditional art. I sketch it first, then scan it. It has gotten  HELLA easier to color scanned photos using Sketchbook Pro on iPad by Autodesk. I used to have to take a photo, transfer it to my computer, and edit it using Gimp to make it where I could color it using layers. Yeah, a very tedious process. Now all I have to do it take a picture of a sketch and Sketchbook will scan it AND give the option to make it transparent. Nice.

Sketchbook also has a feature that allows you to record your process. I’ve been using this feature for a bit to create speedart. The latest iOS 11 update has a built-in screen recording function. I may play around with that since the Sketchbook app only records the digital canvas itself, not any tools used.

So yeah, Homura. That’s all. I know I haven’t written to you in a minute and you missed hearing my lovely words. To be fair, AT&T had a network outage that lasted 2 weeks. Yeah, 2 weeks of limited internet. None of my devices could connect unless I was at school. You know how I am about work-life balance. I try not to mix the two.

AT&T should compensate me for that unfair treatment with a box of yarn. I would like yellow, white, royal blue, red, and black. Thanks. I know what you’re thinking, most people would like a discount on their bill. Well, I’ll have you know I’m not most people. I’m Aoi.

The curvaceous waifu Rem

Hi, Homura. I binged on Re:Zero the anime during my break off from college. First quarter completed with straight A’s. I’m proud of you, Homura! I loved Rem and decided I wanted art of her. So what better way to fulfil that desire art than to create art for her? So I drew her. Late in the evening. Close to my bedtime. I thought she looked slamming. Then in the morning, I noticed glaring issues with anatomy. “You’re a morning person, Homura. You can’t trust your own judgement at night.”

Anyway, I responded to myself “Homura, just accept the flaws in this piece. It’s neat anyway.” So I did. Here she is. I made her my wallpaper on my iPad. With this piece, I’ve gotten back into creating digital art. I had stopped for quite a long time. Only creating traditional pieces. 

Clearly, she wasn’t the only digital piece I enjoyed making.

Lately, I’ve had the desire to create some animated art. I haven’t  drawn animated art in probably half a decade or so.

Yeah, I know. What a neat way to spend your days off from school. Anyway, take care Homura and have a great week next week. Ace your quizzes next week and enjoy doing art~

A rad punk Miku look(watercolor painting)

You seem to replace your brain with your heart– oh wait… wrong singer. Miku is wearing a heart purse, it’s supposed to look semi-realistic but have an element of fantasy to it. That’s why on her shirt there’s no heart. We all know what’s inside of her purse as well– a wallet, cell phone, keys, yarn, leek flavoured bubble gum(wtf?), a crochet hook buried underneath a makeup travel bag, a water bottle, and a leek just in case someone decides to get smart with her. How does all that fit in her purse, you may be wondering? It’s the same logic as anime hair that defies gravity. I don’t know! Ask the animu gods!

Thankfully Miku is a master at travelling lightly, like moi. She refrained from carrying the kitchen sink in her purse.

Bonus Miku and Gumi art~

Toshiro Hitsugaya Amigurumi Plush

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Aaaw he is going to chop you up with his sword. He is very threatening. He is very dangerous.

–Because he’s so gosh darn cute. He thinks he’s gonna cut someone. In reality, he can’t harm a fly. You know, being made of yarn and having a plastic play sword isn’t effective for battle.

But he CAN steal hearts. Mwuhahahahaha!!!!

Originally made in December 2016.

MikuMarmalade ToysSee him and others in my Flickr album~

Jigoku Usagi(crossover art)

Another fan art crossover of Hell Girl(Jigoku Shoujo) and something else.

In this installment, it is Usagi Tsukino, better known as Sailor Moon.

I am liking this more than Jigoku Miku. Perhaps it’s the moon background.

Anywho, which crossover from Hell will I create next? Mwuhahahahaa– *chokes on leek*

The making of Amigurumi Kanna doll (Miss Koboyashi’s Dragon Maid)

So this needed to happen. I wanted to make a version of Kanna from Miss Koboyashi’s Dragon Maid(Psst you should totes watch it if you like anime and cute light hearted stuff).

At first I was going to use a cosplay wig for her hair. I bought a crappy quality wig at first from Amazon. It tangled in two seconds of movement. Detangling it was a bitch. It also shredded like crazy. Not ideal for taking your dolls out and about like I do often.

 

So I decided to make her hair yarn as well. It works much better.

I’m rewatching some of the series because I loved it that much. Kanna is so effin’ cute!!

 

Kanna is (mostly) done. I have to make her tail now. There she is sitting on a ledge at the bus station. She’s holding a Kirby plush I made.

 

Jigoku Miku(crossover art)

 

A grunge filter makes it look aged. Added creepy factor. 😈
I’m watching Jigoku Shoujo season 4 at the moment. I decided to draw Miku as Jigoku Shoujo.

It’s such a good show.

I’m really not accustomed to drawing my eyes in this style. It was a challenge which I can see rather clearly.

Still I love it. I was eager to use my new watercolor set as well. 🙂

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Amigurumi Artemis and Luna photo gallery

Everyone crocheter should crochet a cat. It’s like a right of passage. You crochet a granny square then a cat. Then you crochet a hoard of them and wonder what you’re doing with your life.

Introducing Luna and Artemis. Because of reasons. I gave them to my cousin for Christmas of 2016.

Freehand amigurumi cats.

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Behold– a cat girl!~

Because the world could always use another portrait of a cat girl.~

I love how I colored her in greyscale colours.

I’ve never done that before. If I ever wanted to not have colour I’d digitally take the color away, using a desaturation tool on a photo editing software.

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Fan Art Friday’s!!! Lucy Heartfilia Watercolor

So I’m boarding the transfer bus this fine Thursday morning to college. The usual. I bring my sketchbook with no prior plan on what to draw.

While I wait for the bus to leave the terminal I ponder on what I want to draw. I want to search the Pinterest machine to inspiration but my LTE/3G connection is shot at the terminal. So it’s back to good old fashioned brainstorming.

Yeah nothing. No plans or desires came to mind. So I just started doodling a body. Then I remembered the advice of how to draw: Step one: Using your pencil on the paper make some marks.

The idea to draw Lucy came about fifteen minutes later. Luckily I was away from the terminal and could go into the Pinterest machine to search for reference photos.

Moral of this blog post,

As it pertains to drawing, when in doubt– just draw oppai anything.

It’ll come to you. Maybe. Hopefully.

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Rainbow Knit Top

This is something I decided to knit at midnight Saturday morning at a friend’s house. Have you ever started a project and didn’t have a purpose for it at the beginning? Well that’s what happened with the purple bulky yarn and a set of circular needles.
Then I thought

I want a rainbow top. I need that. Let’s dooo eeeiiitt~

Official “Had Waffle” Expression

So there’s that. My lipstick wore off after waffles.

A bit of body posi, these photos are untouched and I’m am adoring my skin. Something I’m really grateful for(clear skin). I have my share of imperfections.
Anyways, super proud of this top. You go, me!!

WIP Wednesday

June 14, 2017

MikuMarmalade is obsessed with crocheting Tutu skirts. Even her 3DS has been neglected.

I totally have no regrets. Well, maybe just one. I went to the yarn aisle more times than planned and left with yarn. Oh well, I’m satisfied with the purchases. Here I am twirling around in my studio in the WIP. I am adding a row of black and then purple(because what rainbow doesn’t have her royal majesty color, purple?!). I’m debating on if I want to add suspenders or keep it as a basic skirt. Meh.

Avatar art, new markers, and May Sketchbook Tour 

Two avatar art portraits of Gaiaonline users. One my own, another a user from a forum. 

So I like to color. I have been coloring some older artwork that I drew a few years ago and kept in a sketchbook. I drew them on computer paper so I couldn’t use my extensive set of watercolor to color them and I’ve grown distant from my Crayola waterbased markers. I began using alcohol based markers in 2017. I’ve bought a flesh Copic marker, as well as a Prismacolor one. I fell in love with them. However, I don’t have the budget for Copic or Prismacolor markers as far as sets go. Each marker costs $7 or so. Coloring is a hobby, I’m not making a single dime from any of my artwork. So I don’t want to spend a lot of money on them for my own entertainment. So I did what any budget conscious artistic consumer would do–search for alternatives! Yay! I came across these Ohuhu markers on Amazon. A set of 40 costs a little over $20. So I said yes(or I bought them). I like them and have very few gripes with them. The Ohuhu markers lack the ability to layer shadows well for lighter colors. Copic and Prismacolor ones did better in comparison. I can, however, use a nearby shade for shadows, as seen on Yaten. I used a gray Sharpie on her hair. Blending also works okay.

Here’s a short video of selected artwork from the months of May and April of 2017.

I absolutely adore Mark, the Galaxy haired alien dude. Yeah, he’s a dude. I outlined him in purple instead of my usual black and love how it turned out.

Anyways, keep making awesome art and keep up the good work!! 

Crochet Jumper Skirt

The crochet jumper skirt is completed!!

This is my second super flared crochet jumper skirt with a tutu effect. My first is a my rabbit jumper skirt.

I underestimated just how much yarn this project would consume. The skirt, especially towards the edges(multi-color blue), used  up 6 skeins of yarn(each skein is 364 yards).

This isn’t difficult to make. In fact, I’d go on to say that it’s fairly straightforward. It’s beginner/intermediate level. All it is a several rows of single crochets for the waist band, then do a series of shell stitches. I alternate between two rows of shell stitches then four rows of singles(two rows of single before switching to a new color, in this case black) then back to the shell stitches. Rinse and repeat. As for suspenders, I made a square in single crochets and then made straps. That can be a bit more challenging for a beginner crocheter, as counting stitches is critical so the width remains consistent.

Hachune Miku grows up?! 

*Le gasp*
Such adorable is Hachune Miku. What if she had a manga face?!
Well it happened. Miku has manga eyes.

I have dabbled into using some new watercolor brushes. They hold water, which is great for travel.
Hint, hint, you should get some if you enjoy Watercolor or inking and don’t already own  a closet full of them.

Because everyone knows artists hoard art supplies. Wait, what? Only me? Those artist skeletons are unique to me.

Well then.

Lucoa fan art from Miss Koboyashi’s Dragon Maid 

I love this show. Kanna is my favorite of all of them. “Then why am I reading about Lucoa?” Because she’s my second favorite and drawing that “oppai” is fun.

Lucoa is equally as fun to watch on the screen. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend this show if you enjoy light hearted comedy with super natural elements. Take a break from all the massacres and deaths. Wait, it’s just me that binges of horror and action anime? Oh my bad.

Screen shots from iPad’s Crunchyroll app from my watch time.

Seriously, I’d want this as a wall poster.

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Crochet Minty Outfit of the Day

 

Her royal minty highness is here! She wants sushi!

…She always wants sushi.

This weekend was quite a good one, productivity wise. I completed the tutu suspender dress(I will publish photos later when I model it) made a new mint wig as seen above, and gave some much-needed attention to another dress I’m working on.

While I look so cute in this look I must reveal a juicy secret– my ears aren’t real!!!

*Le gasps*

Fake ears, I know. So scandalous. I bought these ears from an Etsy shop(she doesn’t sell ears at the time of writing this). A year ago I bought liquid latex from Amazon by the brand of Graftobian, that worked really well with my elf ears. When it ran out I considered an alternative in stores. I quickly realized liquid latex isn’t all the simple to find unless it’s Halloween. I did find some in Wally World(Wal-Mart) but I regret using it. It wasn’t as good as Graftobian’s version. The stickiness isn’t as strong and it dries more clumpy than the other one. This isn’t a problem if you’re wanting fake peeling skin effects but I was using it as adhesive.

Have I learned my lesson? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it liquid latex isn’t something I can cheap out on or use just any kind as adhesive.
Alright, I know the rest of the photos. Here ya go!

Chizuru wants cheese? If mice looked moe….

In fantasy land, because mice are not this cute in real life.

You’re baking a cheesecake and you leave your kitchen for a moment. When you return you find Chizuru here licking her fingers. There’s no evidence your pie was harmed. Do you give Chizuru cheese?

I’m currently working on amping my chibi painting moe factor. I am pleased with Chizuru.

What do you think of Chizuru or my painting overall? Feedback is appreciated but not required.

The Tama chan(Happy Fan art Friday)

Warning: Semi spoiler ahead after image itself. 


Reference photo




Fan art from series Magical Girl Raising Project. 


How would Tama look when she grew up if Swim Swim didn’t massacre her after finding out her true identity? She’s be a voluptuous shy grown Tama, still digging holes somewhere and hopefully avoiding Swim Swim.

The original watercolor painting will be available for purchase soon. My glossy sealer decided to run out today. How rude.

The final painting has a dark purple background, rather symbolic of the dark anime.

Thanks for stopping by~ See you next Tuesday for crochet related news!

The updating of Black Lady cosplay Pt 1

Happy Tuesday, readers and visitors. So once upon a time… I did a half hearted cosplay on Black Lady. I say half hearted because I was missing a few significant details. Earrings and wrong pink pigtails. Well I want to remake it to Black Lady perfection.
Here’s some of the updates:

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As you can see below, the pigtails match Chibi-Usa more than Black Lady. Hot Pink instead of light pink, meh. I don’t think shades of pink kills it necessarily. Length does though.

As you may or may not have noticed, I like wearing elf ears. In fact I tend to kill character cosplays by adding them to cosplay, regardless of whether or not the character is an elf.
I hope you have a terrific week! See you Friday for a fanart post.

Nemurin WatercolorFan Art

Fan Art Friday, y’all! Nemurin special!

Heads up, minor spoilers of the anime Magical Girl Project Raising in the blog post after the picture. So earlier this year I watched the anime Magical Girl Raising Project. I loved it. That means ah-bviously I must make fan art.

Okay, not really. I make fan art when I really love a character. How many fan art have I made of Sailor Moon when I almost despise Usagi wholly as a main character—but I love the color scheme on her outfits!!! That may explain the reason why I draw Sailor Scouts so often.

Back to the Nemurin. I liked her character. It was short lived. She is the first to die in the series. I already forgot what the details of how and why she died but it wasn’t a memorable as some of the others. I may make Snow White fan art. Fair warning, I kind of hated her. I hate her like I hate Madoka in Puella Magi Madoka Magica–love to hate their almost uselessness in the series but the end up being critical to the series. Bleh.

Anyway, have you seen this anime? Do you like it? Who is your favorite character(or characters)? Who is worst Kyuubey or Fav Fav? I think Fav is worst. His approach is more believable than and relateable, play a magical girl visual novel or game and chance becoming one in real life than his bunny-like counterpart he just comes to you and offers you a wish like a genie.

Yuri on Ice Amigurumi Art Dolls 

A request from my cousin. I watched a few episodes of this anime and dropped it. It wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not too big into sports anime.

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I watched it purely to learn a bit about the characters she requested.
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While these dolls are reserved, if you or someone you know is interested in owning a custom anime character crocheted doll, I can make them. They cost $75 each.

MerGirl Watercolor art(and shop relaunch)

Can you tell who this is inspired by?

Probably. Oh, I tried so hard to hide the fangirl.

Anyways…lately, I’ve been busy with updating and re-opening myself to artistic income. I’ve made some changes since my last artistic entrepreneurship. There are three major changes. One, I’m not using Etsy as a shop platform. Two, I’m not using Facebook as a social media platform*. Three, I’m selling artwork that I draw as prints on various things, like tanks and pillows. I’ll touch on what I think so far about the changes as well.

I have loved blogging on WordPress for a long time. A little while back, I looked into self-hosting I browsed a couple of recommended host plans(by some WordPress blog), all which were above my business budget. Then I found Siteground this month, which has a nice monthly trial(it’s paid), giving me a good amount of time to evaluate if this is a fit for me or not. So far I like it. It’s been a week, as of publishing. I’ve added a print service to my shop. This is completely new to my business model. I learned that there are additional steps involved that I did not anticipate for print services. Call me naive Nancy, but I thought I could just scan it and upload it to Printful. But lo and behold, I  need to use Gimp to scale the images to proper dpi(dot per inch) for better print quality. That takes time as my computer moves like molasses because it’s a dinosaur running Windows 10 I must be patient with my laptop because I also like playing games on it despite its age.  I’m getting used to it though.

Another change is that I won’t be using Facebook’s fan page function to share, promote, etc any of my work. That doesn’t mean others can’t share it on the platform. In fact, if a reader of mines is a Facebook user and finds my art intriguing or wants to tell others about it, I’d encourage he or her to share however he or she prefers to. On a personal level, I quit Facebook in October 2016(it’s April 2017 in case you missed the date of publishing). I briefly considered using the Fan page function during my change. However, I looked at how my page did back then. At the time of the last post before scheduled deletion, my page had 33 page likes. A small number, but the real pitiful number was the average engagement. An average of 3 people engaged with the stuff I shared, if the post got any engagement at all. I believe it’s better overall to have a page(or website) with 10 followers, all who love and engage with your from time to time, rather than to have a page with 579 followers with about 12 people engaging with your content. I am not 100% Facebook free, I am active on Instagram.

I mentioned that I’m no longer relying on Etsy to do shop stuff as well. Etsy did not work out for me or my business. For all of the time, money etc invested into an Etsy shop, I’d be better off building my own website. In July of 2016 through August 2016, I put my heart into my Etsy shop. I should mention that I had my Etsy shop from 2013-2014(I neglected it for self-care and paying attention to life stuff) and 2015-2016. I even used their mirror Etsy shop website builder, Pattern(note it isn’t your own website, it masquerades as one). I was paying $15 a month on top of listing fees. I loathe listing fees. They are absurd. I can’t think of any other online marketplace that I’ve tried out or have bought from(not sold on), eBay, Storenvy, Craiglist, even Facebook commerce, that charges you just to list products. Those 20 cents add up. I’m not saying this to say Etsy is horrible. It certainly has a place for people in the handmade business world. It’s just not a fit for me.

Time travel gif

So onto some futuristic stuff, yeah!!

Things to look forward to. Some former Etsy yarn based products, for example, Kirby gloves, as well as new additions.  The art prints is a new thing, as stated earlier.I’ll dig through some of my artwork, ones that I think looks nice I’ll add as a shop item. As well as new pieces, as I’m drawing painting things all the time. This process will be slow. I’m one gal working on all this admin stuff. If you’ve seen any of my art that isn’t in my shop that you’d like to see in my shop, leave a comment(some places on the web that my work may be spotted are my Deviantart page and via the online community mobile app Art Amino.)

Fun fact!! The title of this blog post was inspired by a song by Madonna called MerGirl. It’s on my favorite album, Ray of Light. Yay, useless inspirations…

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Mermaid Sailor Venus Watercolor 

Happy Tuesday! Mer-Minako  looks quite bubbly and happy~

I accidentally painted her hair too dark. She’s a dirty blonde instead of a sunshine yellow blonde.
What genius idea to add light brown as a shadow color.

Anyway, I’m pleased to announce that I will be re-opening my shop soon. I’ll be adding art prints for those who fancy my work.

 

There’s a T-shirt of

Crochet Gladiator Sandals

So on the world of Pinterest there’s a popular crochet project(I think, what even is popular?) that involves taking a pair of flip flops and crocheting something over them.

Look it up. Do eeeiiitt.   👀

So I figured after looking at an image of some finished flip flops I’d be able to freehand a pair.

I typically don’t follow patterns though I did need to refresh myself on the crocodile stitch(seriously, I was typing crochet scale stitch. Yup, apparent that I’ve been doing too much amigurumi.)

She was super happy with them. They’re my first pair of functional footwear that wasn’t just a cover over something else.

(See my Crochet Harley Quinn Wig blog post for pictures of crochet high heel covers)

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Mermaid Sailor Mercury Watercolor~

Bubbles, bubbles, lots of bubbles!! And Action!

A lot of my recent sailor mermaid paintings are inspired by a swimsuit I own from Hot Topic. It’s the Sailor Moon one.

In this installment, I tried painting hyper-realistic bubbles. I think I failed at it. However, I don’t think they ruin the picture. The picture isn’t realistic anyway.

As for the tail, I tried to paint reflective water. I think it came out correctly. However, as a means of coloring/filling in a tail, it kind of gives off a decorated appearance. Especially without any nearby references.

I made a poster of it using Wal-Mart print services and sent it to a friend(she paid for it). I was testing it out. She told me she was very happy with it and visitors love it when they see it.

This one I added bokeh effects to using an iOS app. I like additional sparkles.

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Sailor Saturn Chibi Watercolor

 

 

Dear mother of pearl! Oh hi there you. It dawned on me yesterday that I can’t find any of my larger point illustration pens in size .5 or .8. I can’t outline in 0.05 or less. So I thought, why not try outlining in the acrylic paint?

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Seems like something to try. Lo and behold, a bit of water and a size 4 paintbrush works wonders. I like the flow of the brush, slightly wet with water rather than it being purely saturated with acrylic paint.

 

Some watercolor has been added!

Hotaru is completed~ I must say this giddiness is more Chibi-usa than Hotaru but I like drawing characters out of character. Haha.

And lunatic charm cheeks~
So I may have gone a tad bit far with the blush. Oh well.

What happens when you cross Tomoe Mami with Hachune Miku? 

Did it need to happen? Yes, indeed it needed to happen. Why shouldn’t Hachune Miku experience being a magical girl?

…because it’s a trap? Because Kyuubey is a liar and a plague to humanity? Because Hachune Miku was in the middle of studying and can’t save the world?!?!?
Nonsense. Those are all excuses. This is what happens when you cross Tomoe Mami with Hachune Miku.

I shall call her Hachune Mami~

Hachune Mami was born from an neglected  amigurumi work in progress from 2016. When I decided to complete it in 2017 I thought I don’t need two exact same Tomoe Mami dolls. What if I made her a crossover?!? So I did.

Crochet Harley Quinn Wig (How-To)

Oh hey! Last year I cosplayed as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. This blog post is sharing the how to create a creative spin hair for a Harley Quinn cosplay– crochet the wig, similar to the cabbage patch wigs–but way cooler and dye the ends.

An unworn, undyed wig. This is my Miku one. For Harley, use a yellow or blonde yarn. Unless you’re going for a Miku Harley crossover~

Here’s to creating and experimenting with a unique spin on Harley’s twin tails:

Pro-Tip: Use diluted acrylic paint to dye acrylic yarn. The RIT dye doesn’t dye synthetic fibers like Red Heart Super Saver yarn. However if you use a natural fiber yarn you should be fine using RIT dyes.

For Halloween 2016, I crocheted a Suicide Squad Harley Quinn inspired look. I opted to make a skirt instead of the Daisy Duke shorts. I prefer wearing cutesy apparel rather than a sexy apparel. 

Crochet Ariel Birthday Cosplay/Cosbound


So this is a story all about how my life got– oh wait.

I decided to cosplay as Ariel on my 29th birthday. I am entirely convinced that I’m indeed a mermaid, well at least in swimming pools. Hurray for finding an exercise that is enjoyable that doesn’t feel like work. I had a few personal goals outside of cosplay that I wanted to experience. One, no social media for the day. I give myself a 90, I posted this pic at the end of the day on Instagram after dinner and lurked Reddit. However, throughout the day I spent it in the real world and with my dad. He bought me a watercolor set, paint brushes, and a toaster cell phone charm, all of which I picked out from Michaels.

Onto how the cosplay came to life! I was eyeballing this Cosplay fabric from Yaya-Han’s cosplay fabric line at Joann in January. I just had to have it. When February rolled in I bought a yard of it. During that time there was a coupon for it. A yard original costs around  $20. The coupon brought it down to $10.  Woot! I bought a skein of purple chunky yarn from Wally World and two skeins of Cherry Red by Red Heart Super Saver. Then I got to work on Miss Mannequin to create a seashell bralette right away.  The seashell bralette is freehanded. I broke down possible shapes that would create a seashell bra on Ariel and put it together in real life. The wig was easy breezy, I make them for myself very frequently. This is one of my longer ones. I messed up slightly on the bangs. Ariel has a side swept look, my bangs are in the middle. That’s so not Ariel, I know right?! Then again, Ariel doesn’t have elf ears either. 😎

The fabric experienced a different fate. I stored it away for a while and played video games until I felt like touching the fabric again, which was a convenient three days before my birthday. Possibly a procrastinator, I’ll let you be the judge of that. I decided an impromptu high low skirt when I took it out. It just “spoke” to me that way. Yeah, I know, fabric is inanimate and cannot speak. I broke out my sewing machine, who was happy to get some love, to sew a straight stitch down the middle front. You can see it if you look closely. On the brightest note, no sewing needles were sacrificed. As a self-taught seamstress, there have been numerous needles that had snapped because of various reasons. Wrong sewing thread, overestimating fabric capable…Surely I can sew this many layers of fabric without messing up the– gee willikers!” A funeral for machine needles is needed. Also known as throwing them in the trash. I have improved since said days. Mainly because I’m a cheapskate replacement needles costs money that I’d prefer not to have to spend because I keep massacring needles.< b>–twisted upside down. Okay, no Fresh Prince opening– especially since this is the end of a blog post! *Miku smacks me with a leek*

-Baka!

Until next time dear reader, I hope you have a wonderful day and unleash your inner merfolk!!! Because sparkles can be slightly overpowering here’s one shot without the sparkly goodness.

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Crochet Gingerbread Cupcake Jumper~

Oh gingerbread houses! They look sweet, tasty, and full of pre-diabetic fun! Don’t eat a gingerbread mansion and your blood glucose may survive…until pocky joins the mix. Every sweet tooth for himself!! Maybe… it’d be best to avoid eating all of the gingerbread homes. What about wearing a gingerbread dress in the form of a suspender minidress?

….Do you dream of wearing a a gingerbread house themed garment? Then you should make one, silly rabbit.

Trix are for kids. 

Crochet Gingerbread DressMy Miku Plush thinks I’m not alone in my food wearing dreams.

Secret Cross Crochet Fringed Scarf/Shawl(pattern and story)

A challenge awaits thee! You have $15 to spend on yarn to make a hat and scarf. She wants it huge! Time for a trip to the yarn store! Yay!

I see a skein of yarn for $9.99.  It is a single one pound skein. I buy that and one skein of chunky black yarn for a beret. My total was around $15. The challenge begins. My client wants a long scarf that doubles as a shawl. Ah ha! I shall make a scarf that’s 90 inches long and 26 inches wide.

Crochet Scarf by mikumarmaladeThis is the final result. I already had some black yarn in my stash to make the fringe.

Crafting 101: Always have a stash. This scarf was crochet freestyle by MikuMarmalade~

Secret Cross Scarf Crochet ChartIf you make this using this chart, take a picture of it and share it with me on Instagram using @MikuMarmalade.

Happy Crafting!

Crochet Pikachu Hoodie 

Greetings! Here’s to my Crochet Pikachu Hoodie!
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There’s no pattern in particular for the hood, tail, or. However, there is a shrug video tutorial that I used as a base which is useful for creating the bodice.

Video is for shrug here.

After creating the shrug I added onto the base. I made the hood, ears, and tail.

I altered the stitch type for it. I didn’t want the hoodie to be lacy. So I alternated between single crochets and half double crochets.

Crochet Rosalina Cosplay 

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I just realized on March 19th 2017 that the story of my Rosalina cosplay isn’t on my blog. I know. What am I doing with my life? Please note this blog post  is written two years after its creation. It’s not new, but my blog is kind of new. So work dated as far back as 2014 may pop up.
So in October of 2015, a local comic book store was holding a Halloween costume contest. I decided to enter and make my costume. Conveniently in the same month. Because waiting until the last minute is the best way to execute plans(not).

Anyway, I had just gotten obsessed with Rosalina in Smash and decided to be her.

Here’s the result of my cosplay. A Luma handbag work in progress.

I did win first place for the adult prizes! I won a fancy deck of cards. Sadly I don’t get much use out of them. My amigurumi pals don’t seem too keen on playing Gin Rummy or Blackjack. 😋My face looks weird because suddenly I indulged in daydreaming about sushi. Totally legit. I also got some professional photos taken from a local photo business at the time. I do believe in supporting small businesses whenever possible. Diversify shopping needs.