Yuck - I went to the mall

I braved the crowds and found time to put off the inevitable at this time of year. Yes, I wish I could have pledged to buy handmade but I need to be realistic. I am in South Florida, mecca of "shiny and new". Some friends are getting handmade (by myself and others), but others are getting store bought/mail ordered.

I left myself less time to shop, arriving later than I expected, so I have to go again.

Every time my son needs new sneakers are asks for the exact same ones that he wore out/out grew, they are discontinued and I now have to take him shopping to try on sneakers. eek.

Anthropologie opened up at our local mall last month. I do like the store but I get the feeling that it is so mass produced masquerading as indie/handmade. Example: Flower necklaces made out of the cute vintage plastic flowers (are theirs vintage?) like the ones I use for my bracelets. Only they had a rack with 15 identical necklaces. hmmm. In their case of more unique jewelry they had a few bracelets like the ones I have using vintage findings and pieces of jewelry mixed with new. Lots of people create similar things. But for sale at $298.00?!?! I did pick up a hostess gift for a neighbor.

I still need a birthday gift for my step-father-in-law who is turning 80.

I also need to add some photos to my posts. How about this:

via cute overload. I love this site. I have it sent to my phone so I can amuse myself with cutie photos in carpool line.

Smart Cars

How cute are these?


We snapped photos of these smart cars all over Italy last year. They are now in the USA and were set up in a display outside our local mall for curious folks to check 'em out and drive them around the parking lot. I would save a bundle on gas but don't think I'd fit the cello inside.

Too Cute

During my typical blog-surfing procrastination time, I am often lured to Cute Overload. Being a pet lover I love seeing the cutesy little bunnies and puppies. This weekend they had the funniest cartoon animation video listed under "Caturday" of a cat trying to wake up it's owner. Check it out if you like the animal stuff. Here's my cute:

My Vacation Craft Project

I have been wanting to know how to crochet cute little amigurumi critters for quite some time. Which is why I learned to crochet in the first place. I collect Japanese craft books that I can't read but love the pictures. I lurk and read lots of crafty blogs and have even purchased a few owls from artistic crochet masters. What I like about crochet is that it is forgiving - if you make a mistake or don't like how it is looking you just pull the stitches out!

I found a fabulous little book called Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful. The directions and diagrams seemed easy to follow so I attempted my first cute creature.

Voila! My version of the featured hamster pattern - french beret and all! I took my crochet hook, pattern, and a ball of yarn on the plane to the Northeast. A great craft to pass the time on the constantly delayed flights!