.: A Bright Kind Of Sparkle :.

New Blog!

2009-04-27T06:10:00.002+09:00

Hey guys! I was feeling kind of bound to knitting with this blog and so I decided to make a new one that would focus on all the different crafts I like doing :)

Thanx a bunch to everyone who has visited here! I promise the new blog will be even better <3

Visit me! :)

~ Holly

AMERICA!!!!!

2009-01-11T15:39:00.003+09:00

.... How I've missed you. x]

.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!/Happy Birthday To Me!?!

2008-12-25T19:54:00.000+09:00

Oh man. I am sooo old. I can't believe I'm 20. What is this nonsense?! O_o

Soooo to take my mind of this fact AND to post something Christmasy, here's a meme.... ;)

CHRISTMAS MEME:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper for Christmas!!! So much more fun, festive, and bright, specially for little kids. For baby showers/wedding showers/ etc... I feel no guilt using a bag. After all, the recipient can reuse. But for Christmas? NEVER! ... Ok... so maybe I did once or twice since I've run out of wrapping paper a few times *hangs head*. It makes me feel blah though, as I would much rather sit down and take an entire evening wrapping up gifts for everyone. Gets me into the Christmas moooood ^_^

2. Real tree or Artificial? I love the smell and feel of a real tree (long-needle, thankyouvermuch). Enough, even, to put up with the putting it on the roof of the car and the shedding, but I like the fact that a fake one doesn't die (obviously). I like to have the tree up several weeks before Christmas. That's no problem if you're using a fake tree, but come Christmas time a real one will start looking a bit dry around the edges. When I was little we always had a real tree, but then my parents got older and more sisters sprouted out of the ground and we got a dog that likes to eat any/all plant-life, so then we switched over to a fake one. It was acceptable, but nothing beats the Christmasy smell of a real tree. Well now that I'm married I can have whatever tree I want. HA! x]

3. When do you put up the tree? In a perfect world? The day after Thanxgiving. In a procrastinator's world? Two weeks before Christmas

4. When do you take the tree down? It varies. I like to keep it up as long as possible, but it still usually comes down a few days after Christmas *sniff*

5. Do you like Eggnog? Mmmmmm yummmm yeah xD

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I'm not actually sure. Since my birthday is on Christmas Eve, its hard to remember which were birthday gifts and which were for Christmas, but I remember I always especially liked the craft-type gifts ^_^. One that really sticks out in my mind was a kit my sister got me that taught me how to make a bowl out of long pine needles and raffia. It was pretty sweet xD. Very sturdy too. Its still in fabulous shape despite it being 12 years old :)

7. Hardest person to buy for? Hmmm. My brothers. Mainly because they always say that I don't have to get them anything, thus refusing to give me good ideas =P

8. Easiest person to buy for? Hmmm. Probably my sister Ivy (yeah yeah yeah "The Holly and the Ivy". I know I know lol). I'm closest in age to her so we're pretty close. I know just what she likes and such.....

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a cute little glass one, but its back in the states. Can't wait till I can set it up next Christmas ^_^

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I don't have much experience in this area since I never really needed to when I was a teenager. I could always just hitch a ride on my parents cards lol. Now that I'm married (and 20 years old *wince*) I'll probably get into the habit though. So to answer the question, I think I'd prefer regular mail over email :)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm. I dunno. I think I enjoyed all my gifts. When I was little my older sister would tease me and buy me underwear and then make me think that was all she got me. The main gift usually made up for the underwear though haha. Oh oh oh no wait I got one. When I was 16 or 17 I got a ridiculously ugly purse thingy. It. Was. Hideous. I even suspect the giver was being passive aggressive by giving it to me ;)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't know if I actually have a favorite. Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is an obvious favorite but I rarely watch it on Christmas. I usually watch it July or August when I'm needing a snow/Christmas fix lol. The movie I enjoy most on Christmas isn't even a Christmas movie. For some reason, Watching "Bringing Up Baby" with Cary Grant and Kathrine Hepburn on Christmas is my family's tradition. I don't know why and I don't even remember what started it, but its just what we've done ever since I was little lol ^_^

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? It varies, but I usually start seriously considering it around October. I like to give myself JUST enough time. A little less even, so I feel the Christmas gift buying rush. I like that feeling xD

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No. I probably have considered it but there really is entirely way too much risk involved =P lol

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Hmmm. I can't choose. I love my mom's brown sugar ham. I also really like hot chocolate and homemade toffee xD

16. Lights on the tree? Wait.... this is OPTIONAL to some people?!?! Of COURSE lights on a tree!!! O_____o

17. Favorite Christmas song? "Carol of the Bells", "Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas", "12 Days of Christmas", "The Little Drummer Boy", heh..... I think I just like Christmas songs in general lol. I have some techno Christmas stuff that's pretty sweet too =P haha

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both. It used to be "stay at home", but then I got married and moved away from my family. Now Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas to me unless I can spend the day with my family during the day and then relax alone with Brent with a hot drink while watching a movie before bed :]. This year the former was missing since we're in South Korea, but we'll be able to celebrate a belated Christmas with them when we move back to the States in just a few weeks!!! *mas minor panic attack about all the stuff that has to get done before then....*

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? I guess so? I was never really a Santa fanatic. In fact, I never believed in him. Even when I was really really little I would just kind of play along when people would be like "oooo what did Santa get you?". I dunno... My parents didn't force the whole Santa thing on me and I always thought it was kind of a silly thing to try to get your kids to believe anyways. Goodness, I sound like such a Scrooge lol

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? My family always opened gifts on Christmas Eve after supper. My birthday gifts were before, and Christmas gifts would come afterwards. I would always get to pick what we would have for Christmas Eve since it was my birthday and then we would have a big Christmas lunch the next day. Lots of cooking for my mom, but she always outdid herself :)

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The kind of people who try to squelch the good cheer because they don't believe in the Christian aspect of the holiday. I, myself, am a Christian, but I'm not a bigot. If a person doesn't believe in Jesus then that's their choice. I just don't like it when they feel like they have to scrooge it up. There is plenty for EVERYONE to enjoy during Christmas, whether you're a Christian or not!

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Ah I don't know. I really enjoy the sort of.... mismatched type tree. It makes it feel very personal and warm when each ornament has a memory attached to it. I don't know what Brent and I will start off with once we buy a full sized tree. Well whatever the case, snowflake/icicle ornaments are a must. Maybe I'll make my own :)

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Well I'm still looking forward to celebrating belated Christmas with my family in a few weeks, but Brent got me a wonderful gift. He took me to Seoul to shop in a cluster of MASSIVE 5-7 story buildings that were..... can you guess? FULL to the BRIM with wholesale craft stuff.We only had time to go through part of one building! Each floor was packed FULL of a different kind of craft. There was a knitting/crocheting floor, a beading floor, a sewing floor, etc. There were so many tiny shops on the yarn floor that some of the aisles were only about 2 feet wide in places! It was hot, it was crowded, and it was glorious. Bwahaha xD

24. Angel on the tree top or a star? Oh either is wonderful. I think I'll get our tree a star though. Growing up, my family had an angel, so I think I'll start a new tradition for Brent and I :)

25. Favorite Christmas dinner? Hmmm. I don't rightly know. Growing up each and every one was fantastic. I think some of my favorites were the glazed ham years. Mmmmm with mashed potatoes, stuffing, Mom's homemade cranberry sauce, chocolate cherry rum cake, homemade toffee, and all sorts of other stuff.... oh man *tummy grumbles*. I have the best of both worlds now because MY mom is a wonderful country-style homey-type cook and BRENT'S mom is a wonderful fancy/gormet-type cook. Heeeeheehee lucky me! xD lol

Tada! Nother meme down the hatchet! Now its off to get more stuff done! I'll hopefully post pictures of our trip to Seoul later today if my camera starts behaving again! Until then, and soz I don't have a pictureless post, here's some sparkley/wintery Eye Candy! :]

Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday xD

God bless,
              ,    ,
,  ,           |\_.'/
)`-'\__,    |\_/ .`(_
/ `.   (   _| . '_.-'`
'--. `'. '-(_)'  (
/.-. `(_)(_)`--'
`   \/ / . '-.
     '`)  :  (
      `-. ' .-'
         )'/
         `;

Stellated Truncated Icosahedrons & Excuses!

2008-12-20T11:41:00.007+09:00

.: EDIT :. So for the last several weeks I have been swamped with trying to get all my Christmas knitting done (not to mention getting prepared to move back to the States!). There will be much hullabaloo in post-form once I get myself together again, but unfortunately I don't exactly know when that will be. I will get in as many posts as I can done in the next couple months but I can't promise any regularity until the beginning of march, when we get settled into our new place. I meant to post this tutorial weeks ago! I am ashamed *hangs head*

So I hope that justifies my spastic posting with everyone! Lol :]

***************
Supplies:
Off-brand Post-it sized memo pad (you should be able to pick up a pad @ WalMart with about 300 or so sheets for under $3)

Bone Folder (optional)

Origami Board (optional)

Step 1: start out with a fresh sheet of paper.

Step 2: Now fold in half lengthwise, and crease with either the bone folder or your fingernail so its nice and exact. Then unfold again. This center line is merely going to be a guideline for the next two folds....

Step 3: Now fold the top half inward to meet the center crease. Then flip 180˚ and do the same fold with the other half

Step 4: Next unfold the paper and lay it flat. It should look like this, with creases where I've drawn the lines.

Step 5: Now take the top left corner and fold it down so it lays flush on the top-most crease. Then spin 180˚ and do the same with the opposite corner.

Step 6: This next fold is a little bit harder to explain. I drew a line on the top section showing WHERE to fold and the bottom section shows the COMPLETED fold

Step 7: Now take both outer fourths and fold them inwards. This shouldn't require any creasing at all because you're simply using the ones you had already established in step 3

Step 8: Next take the left bottom corner and bring it up so the left edge is flush with the top

... like this ^

Step 9: Then spin 180˚ again and do the same to the other side.

Step 10: Now take both triangles you just folded and tuck them into their corresponding inner flap

... This is what your piece should look like after step 10

Step 11: Flip over to the completely blank side

... and then flip again, 90˚, so it now lays vertically

Step 12: Next take the bottom point and fold it upwards so it touches the base point of the slant like so ^ (This will be simple to do because of how the insides are folded. You should be able to feel where the exact fold point it by how much "fight" the fold gives you)

Step 13: Flip and do the same to the other side

Step 14: Now take the piece and fold it down the middle...

... like so.

FINISHED! Your piece should now look like this! If not then that simply shows how bad my teaching skills are *sigh* :]

***************

I didn't even want to attempt to try to explain now to make the "peaks" through pictures so I recorded a video. I felt kind of rushed so I hope I explain everything clearly. If not, let me know through comments, and I'll record a new one :)

.*: THE END :*.

Just a quick sneak peek....

2008-12-02T00:32:00.003+09:00

... of something I'm working on.

Sorry this post is going to be pretty short. I just got a bunch of my supplies and I'm pretty busy! Also working on a special tutorial for whoever reads my blog :)

Thanksgiving was wonderful, btw! My exciting Thanksgiving story is that I had NEVER cooked any of the things I made and they still turned out! Seeee?

I also made layered jello and apple crisp, but I didn't get a picture of those. Too busy eating ;)

The weather here is pretty chilly but no snow. Apparently this area of Korea doesn't get much which saddens me. I'm glad we'll be back in the States before all the snow melts though! :)

In other news, I just got my Prismacolor pencils and stuff in the mail today! There were some packing issues but DickBlick.com has fantastic customer service. Its a fantastic site for one-stop online art supply shopping so I was really happy when I got such nice service also ^_^

Now to sharpen them all. This may take a while.... haha =P

Sometimes the internet is my BFF.

2008-11-24T22:14:00.012+09:00

I've started browsing through art/craft blogs again and its been pretty great. Although my Firefox probably doesn't agree, since whenever I find a link I think may be interesting I'll open it to a new tab. A couple hours of that equals several DOZEN tabs at LEAST. A lot of the links really didn't even have much to do with crafts haha. Just random crazy fun stuff xD.

What? What's that? You'd like me to share? Weeeeell, don't mind if Ah do :]

#1. Gaia Avatar Maker
I love these and this is the best one I've found. I messed around with it a bit and made a few element based/random characters :)

#2. Mammoth Crocs
I always promised myself I would never ever ever ever wear, much less BUY, these abominations to the shoe industry. I remember when they got popular, a friend insisted I try a pair on, so I kind of hid behind her as I slipped into them. Sure. Ok. Yeah they were comfortable, but they didn't come CLOSE to making up for their hideousness, in my opinion.

Mammoths have changed that for me completely. I tried some on while shoe shopping with Brent (isn't that crazy?! I married a man that's willing to go shoe shopping with me!!!) and oh my goodness..... the clouds parted and sun shone down upon me. They are STILL just as ugly as the original, but oh man.... The fleece lining is what sold me. *drools* Its like..... walking on a baby cloud. A baby cloud inside an already pretty comfy shoe haha. I say baby just because I assume baby ones are softer then adult clouds =P

Oh and just as a side note as I rant about Crocs.... when did they start making PRETTY shoes?! I DEMAND TO KNOOOOOW!!! I want the green ones xD

#3. JetPens.com
Little known fact about me is that I have a bazaar obsession with office supplies. Its not that I USE them a lot. I just like HAVING them. Funky desk organizers, pretty notebooks, calenders.... you name it. Ah but most of all.... Pens. I lovelovelove pens and I've discovered that the ones from Japan tend to be especially fantastic. This website has every kind of pen you can think of, INCLUDING sparkle gel pens that actually work and don't get clogged every other letter. Will wonders never cease to amaze me?! I didn't even know those existed! =P

#4. Simon's Cat
These made me literally LOL in delight. Absolutely adorable xD

#5. French Kitty Dolls
I never liked dolls a ton when I was little. I liked building houses for them out of random household items and making "outfits" for them out of my mom's sewing scraps, but I got tired of actually playing with them quickly. I might have been more interested if I had had these French Kitties though. I've never seen anything like them. They're so different and whimsical! I just couldn't help myself. After getting the ok from Brent.... I made my move! Ebay item..... SOOOOOLD!!! Bwa ha ha!

I'm planning on making and collecting clothes for it and then if I have a daughter one day, I'll give it to her and teach her to sew clothes for it too :)

I had done a little bit of research to see which one I wanted to get and I decided on the yellow tone one with the cheetah-type spots. I was REALLY happy when I found her on Ebay BNIB! Isn't she funky? xD

Well that's it for now! I'm sure there will be more entries like this with random stuff I've found online :)

Until then..... <3 HAPPY TUESDAY!!! <3

.: 11/22/08 :.

2008-11-22T21:50:00.004+09:00

Peekaboo! <3
This cute little ladybug peaks out of the grass in the park Brent and I walk past when we go to "town". The grass is dead and crispy now, but the ladybug is still adorable haha

On My Bedside Table:
Brent's comic books (its more of a bedside bookcase)
My iPod
"Doodle Stitching" by Aimee Ray
"Roverandom" by JRR Tolkien (One of the only Tolkien books I hadn't read)
A Water Bottle

Currently Used Computer Programs:
Firefox 3.0
Mail
Preview
iTunes
Adium
Skype

Newest/Latest Interests:
Embroidery
Whimsy Art
French Kitty Dolls (just bought one!! YAY! xD)
Prismacolor Colored Pencils

On My Mind:
My latest yarn order
Crime Shows (and how I'm starting to run out of ones I haven't seen *wah*)
What mittens I want to knit for myself this year
Whether or not I will eventually buy Adobe Illustrator :]
Why everyone's art seems to have their own personal "style" to it, but mine is all different :[

Learning:
... a couple new drawing techniques :]
... to cable without a cable needle o.o
... to accept that I enjoy doing too many different things to be able to focus on just one thing for lengthy amounts of time haha

Making:
A bazillion and one Christmas gifts
Winter gear for myself (if I have time after all the gifts, that is O_o)
Several new drawings in my quest to find my "art style"
Sandwiches for Brent haha :]

Looking Forward To:
Going errand running with Brent tomorrow
Moving back the the states where there is family, friends, the rest of my yarn stash, and readily available craft stores.... :]
The arrival of my new art supplies
The arrival of my French Kitty Doll
The arrival of the rest of my knitting supplies I need for Christmas gifts this year
Opening an Etsy Shop once I make enough stuff to fill it :)

Not Looking Forward To:
Moving back to the states where I will have to once again deal with various people I doooo not like (at least if they're being rude/stupid/hostile HERE, I don't know what they're saying lol)
Brent having to work 12 hour days again -.-
The weird feelings I'll have when I visit my parent's as a "visitor" for the first time in my life :[
Going into debt when Brent and I have to buy furniture and a car haha

Enjoying:
Having it be Brent's weekend
Day old garlic bread and apple cider. Rustic, I know, but still tasty tasty haha
Listening to Brent sleep

Amused By:
The super lame dramatic moments that CSI: Miami is chocked full of xD
All the people that have been complaining about the upcoming winter
Brent's random snores (just a couple every half hour or so)
My hypersensitive sense of taste and of smell and how they affect my life in weird ways

~~~~~

Stay tuned for our next episode: Fun Things I've Found Online Lately :]

Randomness....

2008-11-19T20:20:00.003+09:00

... is just how I roll these days.

Can't keep my mind focused on one thing for more then 15 minutes at a time. So there has been very little knitting progress done. Although its not TOTALLY my fault. Knitpicks has been super snail-like with their shipping lately, so technically I can't really knit anyways since I don't have the supplies I need yet lol.

Hmm. So yeah. Everything having to do with knitting is on hold until further notice =3

Other news is that yesterday I ordered a bunch of art supplies! I recently stumbled upon DickBlick and I am SO excited because I got a whole bunch of Prismacolor pencils for a really good price. I think I ended up saving about $75, including the special offer of $5something shipping and $5 off your order. Yaaaaay for saving moneeeey xD! Oh and I also bought some coloring books off Amazon haha. Don't judge me! They're the cool kind ;) haha. I've always loved the "adult" ones with the geometric abstract shapes and things, so I bought 3 different ones with snowflake, paisley, and kaleidoscope patterns. Coloring all the fine details is really relaxing and therapeutic to me but I can never find stores that carry the books, so I finally just buckled down and bought them online heehee. I'm kind of excited.... not gonna lie :]

Now for a quick note on the seasonal changes. So far I've really enjoyed fall here in Korea. There are daisies and ginkgo trees all over the place that are sooo pretty when they turn colors. They're pretty much naked now, but when Brent and I would go for walks a week or so ago, they would bathe the street in a pretty yellow glow. Very surreal :]

It didn't last long though. Brent called me from work yesterday to tell me that it was snowing outside! Craziness! It doesn't snow much here, so this was big news. I was feeling sick yesterday and I was too lazy and cold to get up to find my camera and take pictures of the first snow. I feel kind of bad now because when I peeked out of the window today, I didn't see anything. I don't think we even got ground cover *sniffle*. Ah well... Good ol Wisconsin is supposed to have record snow this winter so at least we'll get a taste of some of that action whilst visiting family before heading to Virginia :]

Hmm. Tomorrow I think I'll do another meme. I know I do alot of memes, but really... I do feel compelled to do more posts then I've been doing and memes are oh so conveniently everywhere just a-waitin for my pickin.... x]

But until then.... EYE CANDY!

Have a great day and stay warm! :]

A Knitter's Meme....

2008-11-10T05:45:00.004+09:00

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Its true. I am a bit of a snob. Not gonna lie. I love love love soft soft super soft yarn (silk, angora, merino, etc...) and USUALLY that means it comes with a super grande serving of PRICE. I avoid acrylic yarn like the plague and I only use red heart and lion brand for amigurumi (NO stretch what so ever = good yarn for toys). If a yarn is INSANELY dirt cheap (not on clearance. just.... naturally cheap) I have been known to breeze on by because of it. I am sure I have been missing out at times because of this fact too. I'm trying to do better about it *hangs head. I do so love my knitpicks though :)

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I don't spin (wah) but am planning on learning once I move back to the States. As for crocheting.... I've done that longer then I've knit, actually :)

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Pollen makes me sneeze and certain kinds of mold makes me nauseous. Also... bee stings get really fevered, raised, red, and itchy.

4. How long have you been knitting?
Since I was about 8 or 9

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yep. I have one on Wists.com :)

6. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Hmmm... for candles and stuff? I really like fall-type candle scents for some reason. like "apple cider" or "pumpkin spice".... yum ^_^. I like simple smells and I dislike scented things that smell nothing like what they claim. Take "watermelon" for example.....

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Preeeetty much lol

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Hmm. Well since I have limited resources here in Korea, I am sticking with knitting. Its nice and easy to buy stuff online for. Once I get back to the states though, I'll def pick up my sewing, book binding, painting, amigurumi, beading, clay, wire crafts, etc.... YAY! I am SORELY missing my other crafts O_O

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?
Doesn't everything play Mp3s these days? haha :) I like a lot of different music. Techno, oldies, rock, showtunes, opera, indie, vocal..... I'm not picky as long as its good and can still be considered "music". Although I have been known to like japanese pop, which a lot of people consider to be obnoxiously awful lol

10. What’s your favorite color? Or–do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can’t stand?
Purples, greens, and black. I like colors that remind me water, trees, or fruit lol. Not a fan at all of drab colors like "tan" or "beige". I'm not a fan of pastels either....

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Just Brent and I (yaaay ^_^). Technically no pets, but I do have a bunny back in the states my sisters are taking care of. Bunny will join us when we move back, perhaps along with my sister's cat (if Brent lets me heehee)

12. What are your life dreams?
Well I'm already married to my man :). Otherwise.... I don't know. I would really love to go to the Redwoods someday. Also New Zealand, and while I'm there I want to do the super geeky thing and visit the areas where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Don't hate on me ;) haha

13. What is/are your favorite yarns to knit with?
I love knitting with Crystal Palace's Merino 5 yarn! Noro Silk Garden is a favorite also, DESPITE the high maintenance washing instructions. I also really love "Swish" by knitpicks. It's the perfect yarn to knit winter gear for people who don't pay attention to washing instructions! *cough*myfamily*COUGH* ;)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not picky as far as FIBERS go, but I'm REALLY picky about the feel. If it doesn't feel good to me, I won't knit with it no matter HOW good it was rated.... =P

15. What is/are your current knitting obsessions?
Fingerless gloves, Mittens, Cowls, and Slouchy Hats :]

16. What is/are your favorite items to knit?
I really enjoy smaller projects that are easy to knit while watching TV, but not totally mindless....

17. What are you knitting right now?
Oh man... don't even make me list it all. I have so many projects right now, due to Christmas being right around the corner. AH! O_O

18. What do you think about ponchos?
They're now a thing of the past. With that said.... I'd still knit and wear one if I liked the pattern and if it was nice and comfy ^_^

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
It sort of depends on the projects, but I usually lean towards circs. I definitely have more circs then straights. The straights that I do have are either 10" or 12". I remember when I first learned to knit on huge colored aluminum needles that were about 14-16 inches long and anyone sitting next to me on the sofa risked being bonked in the face. Yay for learning to knit lol

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
My straights are bamboo. My circulars are the interchangeable nickel-plated. Tis how I like it.... :]

22. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself after I learned to crochet :)

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
hmmmmm...... a year or so? I would finish it but it's back home in the States :(

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Favorite animated character is a REALLY hard one. I suppose my favorite LATEST one is Wall-E lol. I like most animals, but favorites would be bunnies, otters, and squirrels ^_^

25. What is your favorite holiday?
I love love love the warn fuzzies, happiness, and good cheer of the entire Christmas season xD

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn, Quirky Asian Stuff, Swarovski Crystal Beads, Crafting Books, Sharpies, Colored Pencils, Purses..... Wow. no wonder my room was always such a mess lol

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None, actually. I know there's great ones out there, but I never actually took the time to subscribe lol. I've never been a fan of monthly payments.... :(

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Any books? Oh man.... There are SO many. I love books but I don't actually OWN that many. I really do love craft books, but one can only own so many haha. I also eventually want the "Redwall" series in it's entirety. I know they were written for tweens.... but I still think they provide a good read :)

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven’t bought for one reason or another??
Not really. There's a few SEWING patterns I want, But as far as knitting goes, I usually just...... uh oh. Ignore what I just said.... I forgot about the one knitting pattern I want that I don't have. The "Bobble Capelet" from the book, Tahiki Montana: Terra Collection. The thing is.... I absolutely hate it when a book has ONE pattern I like, and then the rest I... uh... don't. So yeah.... That's why I haven't bought it. True Story :(

30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like?
Hmmm I dunno. I wear about a size 8 in shoes & I have a pretty high arch though. I usually go barefoot or just wear normal cotton joe-boxer ankle socks from walmart, but I LIKE unique and colorful socks. Either knee socks or ankle socks. Never in between haha

*** THE END ***

Ps. I have decided to change a few of my winter projects (a shocker, I know lol). I'll write more on that once I recover from this meme (x_x) :)

Pps. OH! I forgot my other news! Brent bought me a JVC Everio camcorder as an early Christmas present! This means I can start doing VIDEO makeup tutorials on youtube now, instead of just slideshow ones. Makeup is my other hobby FTW :)

I'm not very good at maintaining blogs apparently... but look! FOs!

2008-11-07T05:37:00.003+09:00

I never have been and I can't promise I will either lol. A blog other people read makes me feel like all my posts need to be witty and thrilling and frankly... none of my entries thus far have met these standards. Not even the FIRST entry. How depressing X__X. I really need to be in a writing mood to write anything well worded and entertaining, but if I waited for those moments this blog would have month long gaps inbetween spasticly random entries. I will try my best to fill in those gaps with some mediocre update posts though ;)

In my defense, there hasn't been tons to write about this last week. I did finish a couple things tonight though! The flower scarfette AND my mom's mittens are both done! Well, the mittens are still blocking and waiting for me to embroider something on them but the scarf is completely blocked, dried, and finished! ^_^ Tada!

*** Excuse the pictures that look like they were taken in the 70's lol. Lighting not so great at 3 in the morning. Although I don't think the 70's print ironing board helps much lol :]

Not sure what I'm going to embroider on the mittens. Something simple and pretty :)

In other news.... that has nothing to directly do with knitting: Currently I've been watching Crossing Jordan and I'm seriously curious about something. That being the cliche taunt, "What are you chicken? ... *starts flapping arms and squawking*". I mean honestly.... who ACTUALLY does that?! Its ridiculous enough when grade school bullies in lame 80's movies do it, but the lame factor is multiplied by 1000 when its a full grown man. It sort of makes me want to find the guy who came up with it and stick a big post-it on his forehead that said "FAIL". Am I overreacting? ;)

But moving on. I have 6 balls of Merino 5 by Crystal Palace. 3 in Mer Du Sud (bright teal) and 3 in Jet Black. The question being.... What in the world do I do with these!? I think I mentioned before that I wanted to make make a piano scarf out of them but I'm having second thoughs. I may just stash it, but I almost feel the NEED to use it because its one of my favorite worsted merino yarns ever :]. I love love love it. It feels good and smells good and looks good *happily pokes it*. Ah well.... into the stash it goes.

^^^ Farewell for now, my old friend ^_^

That's about all that's been happening. My yarn ordering has been stalled due to me just not wanting to deal with all the yarn I need to buy, but thank GOODNESS for knitpicks. I am starting to truly discover the joys. I am so excited about their Swish yarn. Good colors, comes in many weights, and is OH so dang squishy! I, personally, think it should be called "Squish" lol. Oh and then there's the fact that its insanely cheap. YAY for obtaining good soft quality yarn withOUT breaking the bank! More on this after I'm actually done ordering :)

Now I must depart. Mister Husband will be home soon and I told him I'd make him burgers! :]

Happy "October 31st" Memories :]

2008-10-31T23:07:00.001+09:00

So I'm not an anti-Halloween radical. My parents always were and so we'd go to "fall family festivals" or "costume carnivals" at my church (haha). Instead of handing out candy, Halloween was always a night we would hole ourselves in the basement, turn the lights off so no one would think we were home, and watch old movies as a family. I never really minded this, since candy always was included, but looking back it was kind of perplexing to me. Because of the church/private friend parties we would go to, I never really desired to go trick or treating though (friends beat random strangers any day).

Ah how I love a nice private Halloween party (none this year though due to our international, away-from-good-friends status though *sniffle*), and the cute little kids dressed up as fairies or super heroes.

I have more of a problem with the disturbing aspect of Halloween. I saw a little kid (couldn't have been older then 7) dressed in a homemade, disturbingly real, disemboweled zombie costume once. I find that rather disturbing that someone would let their 7 yr old even KNOW about such things much less dress up as one. Much less MAKE the costume. Seriously.

.... but that's just me. Random memories. Random thoughts. :]

So onto the knitting. Unfortunately there will be no PICTURE of said knitting due to the fact that my camera is dead and local battery source was out of the kind I need *tear*. ALTHOUGH there is much to take pictures OF! Yay!

The mittens for my mom are all but done. I just need to figure out what to embroider on them. I'm also thinking about maybe buying her some super soft gloves to go under the mittens. *ducks all the rotten tomatoes and booing* I know I know!!! I feel absolutely terrible about not knitting them myself, ok?! But seriously. I have over a dozen knitting projects on my plate right now and that, with my stash being in storage back in the States, buying yarn for all these projects is getting priiiicey O_o. Also, Asia is really really talented at having alot of quality things for super cheap, ie. cashmere goodness, silken lovely. That's my story and I'm stickin with it! *feels as if she's justified self* ;)

... moving on now.

The flower shawl for my sister is blocked and just needs the button and flower sewn on, the briar bunny hat is done cept for the ears, AND I finally decided what I'm going to do for myself as soon as I wrestle the rest of these projects into submission.

I am also in the middle of ordering more yarn. First of all, you all should know exactly how I go about buying yarn online....

It all starts with tabs. Many many tabs. So many, in fact, that sometimes it makes my Firefox freeze up (I've been known to have over 25 tabs open in 1 window lol). I start off by opening Yarndex haha :]. Then I open the websites to all my favorite online yarn sources (ie. JimmyBeans, Knit Picks, Webs, etc...). Then I take my ravelry tab (which is always already open) and I find the links to all the patterns I have in mind and then I open all THOSE links. Then I leave them that way, pretty much lol. Usually for over a week, while the projects roll around in my brain absentmindedly. Then I slowly start adding things to my cart. All together it usually takes about 2 weeks of these goings on before I'm actually ready to order. This sounds ridiculous, I'm sure, but its really the only way I can ensure I won't forget anything (hate having to pay for shipping all over again. ugh.) *shrugs* :)

The point of all that was so you'd understand the full meaning of "I'm in the middle of ordering yarn".... haha :].

But anyways! Here are the projects I'm thinking about making for my winter gear this year:

Hat:
For this I am going to do the Not-So-Bulky Golden Compass Hood. What can I say? I love it. The little pixie point and the braided ropes give me warm warm fuzzies. Andrea's version is my favorite so far, I think ^_^ (picture used with permission)

My main issue is what yarn to use. I'm definite that I want a gradient striping yarn like the one used in the picture, but the main issue is finding a good one that's machine washable. I'm sorely temped to use Noro Silk Garden Bulky, but even after 13 years of doing yarn crafts, I'm still terrified of hand washing. The last time I tried it my project felted. It was.... terrible *curls up in fetal position and sucks thumb*

Also the fact that its a hat makes machine washing to be almost a must for me. I dunno... to me the fact that it goes on my head + the fact that it would be used all the time = machine washable yarn needed. *shrugs* :]

But anywho. Moving on....

Mittens:
Fiddlehead! What else! seriously.... how can anyone bypass this colossally amazing pattern? This one is going to be even trickier finding yarn for because it HAS to be machine wash. I can not STAND hand wash mittens. So I've been absentmindedly looking for a nice, hazy, machine wash sport-weight yarn. Any ideas? I feel like such a quirk case lol :]

Scarf:
Double Knit Honka Scarf. Since I don't know what "honka" is, I'm going to rename it "Whimsy" for my personal happiness. I already have the yarn for this project for once! lol I'm using my faaaavorite merino woll yarn ever. Crystal Palace Merino 5. I love love love this stuff. Its sooo soft and smells reeeally good (Am I the only one who smells their yarn?). What colors you ask? Black and teal, baby. I would actually prefer if the teal was multi-colored, but I already have solid teal so I'm gonna roll with it lol

Legwarmers:
I don't actually know if I'm going to get this far, but if I have time, I am totally going with the Mosey pattern from knitty. In my opinion this pattern is what legwarmers have needed to get them back in style for years now. I've always liked the idea and hated how they looked. I love this pattern though. Also nice and easy to find yarn for ^_^

Hmm... I think that's about it. I am anxiously awaiting pictures of my brother's kids in their costumes! Get this.... my 18th month old niece was a pumpkin fairy. How cute is THAT?! She is absolutely adorable naturally, but in a pumpkin fairy costume I'm pretty sure I may explode from the cuteness lol :]

Ps. I didn't actually get the chance to do anything for Halloween, so I decided to mess around and do another makeup tutorial for YouTube *shrugs*. That's what my profile picture is all about, for those wondering lol

Crossing Jordan Theme Song Plays

2008-10-26T23:22:00.003+09:00

... and by that I mean the one from the FIRST season. The awesome Riverdance-esque one. I was oh SO disappointed when the changed it :(

But I digress....

I have GOT to buckle down and get to picking things for Christmas presents lol. I'm knitting gifts for all females over the age of 16 and everyone under the age of 2. OTHER then the fact that my little sisters would rather have I'm only doing females in my family over the age of 16, otherwise I would be insane. Seriously.

Mom: Mittens. I'm following the "Chartres Mittens" pattern from Ravelry, minus the color work. My mom doesn't like it when her nails snag on the inside of fair isle, so I'm thinking of duplicate stitching something on the front. Maybe a snowflake? I dunno... hm. Also, since she's my mommy, I was thinking of maybe making her something else too. Maybe yet another cowl?

MIL: The Grassy Cowl. That one's pretty much in the bag! Yay! Just have to wait for my size 6's to get here ^_^

Sister #1: Mrs. Beeton from Knitty! I've been wanting to knit this pattern for a while now. Yay! ^_^

Sister #2: Flower Scarfette/Cowl. Basically done and done. Just have to sew on button and weave in ends :]

SIL #1: I swear this isn't dejavu, but I'm thinking of knitting her a cowl lol

SIL #2: Also the Mrs. Beeton pattern from Knitty. Probably gonna make an extra pair for myself too xD

Niece #5 (DD of SIL #1): Briar Bunny Hat. This hat is kind of a boring knit... but the result is oh so cute. Quite possibly the cutest baby hat I've ever seen. No joke....

New Baby Nephew (DS of Sister #1): Baby Moc-A-Soc pattern from Ravelry. So cute and warm x]

Well that's the plan so far. Lots to keep me busy. I'm working on my speed knitting but I'm still not very fast. Alas, I didn't think about working on my speed until now :[

I was considering making things for my little posse of 7-12 yr old sisters, but I'm pretty sure they would rather have some new fangled something-or-other. They keep requesting iPods. Apparently my new married status also means that I also have unlimited funding for random frivilous technology to bestow upon little monkeys *rolls eyes* ;)

With all this said.... I really miss SNOW!!! Good ol Wisconsin snow. 9 - 18 inches of snow. Even better, a blizzard. I love knitting during snowstorms =D

On that note, I shall leave thee. Sorry for this post being really unwitty, scatterbrained, and boring. Just felt the need to write out my thoughts and plans. Its one of those days..... *shrugs* :]

Ps. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention. I have no idea what to knit for my best friend. Any ideas? She is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult people to get something for on my Christmas present list. For ANY gift giving occation, really lol

fanfare plays in the streets

2008-10-22T02:44:00.005+09:00

So I finally started/started to finish more projects lol

First I had to restart the mittens I showed before, but THIS time I decided to use the Magic Loop technique. I found a really nice video tutorial on how to do it and it was surprisingly easy to pick up on. I really enjoy it. Its sweet sweet nice not having to juggle dpns. Brent prefers it also. He always looks at me with mock fear when I try on a half done mitten with the dnps still sticking out all over the place. Says it looks like something a ninja would wear haha ;)

^ I'm thinking of duplicate stitching a graphic to the front of the mitten to dress it up a bit. Anyone have any ideas? I was thinking maybe a snowflake... hmm.

Next project I've started is the "Grassy" cowl. This is the first lace project I've ever done and I must say I am SUPER happy with it ^_^. The "complicated" row is nice and easy to remember so this is a great pattern to knit while watching TV. UNFORTUNATELY this project is going to have to be out on hold for a while because while we were in Seoul, I had Brent hold my interchangeable needle case for a little bit and he managed to drop one of my size 6 tips and the screw caps and the cable lock. All in less then 3 minutes...... heh (he is so lucky I love him... lol). Soooo now I have to order another pair, which will probably take a couple weeks since knitpicks seems to be having slower shipping lately. Bahumbug.

^ Its kind of hard to tell, but there's hints of pink in the gray. It's actually quite pretty, be it very neutral :)

Next and oldest unfinished project I took on was this flower scarfette :). Not quite done yet though. Still have to block and sew the flower and button on. I really like how it turned out, even though the flower is kind of wonky. I think next time I'll subtrack 45 or so from the overall ending stitch count though. It turned out bit more... floofy then i wanted it too haha :]

*******

In other news..... EYE CANDY!!! :) brent and I went up to Seoul the other day to see a show but we got there a little bit early so we went next door to this wonderful little caffe/bakery called "Caffe Themselves". It was absolutely lovely. They had the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen! The pictures don't even do them justice, but I did try lol :)

The Puffin...

2008-10-18T08:39:00.003+09:00

So Brent had told me a little bit about the restaurant where we were going for our date. What he failed to mention was that it was going to be one of the most enjoyable eating experiences I've ever had. It was purely bliss.

First of all the set up of the place was fabulous. Each and every table was in it's own little "alcove" and each upstairs section had its own set of stairs. So adorable. Needless to say, we ate upstairs. It was SUPER cozy and wonderful! I'm short (5'0) so I didn't have any problem, but Brent could have touched his head to the ceiling if he stood up straight (he's 6'3) lol

Without further ado, here's a few pictures of the delectable food. If you want to know what everything was in detail then just click on the pictures and you should be directed to my flickr :)

Tasty!!! x]

Ps. Now off to restart those mittens! :]

Ho Hum Diddle Dum....

2008-10-17T12:14:00.003+09:00

Brent's off work today so we're pretty much just hanging around at home for now. Later we might go out to eat though. We've been wanting to try out a local restaurant called "Puffin". It's supposed to be pretty amazing lol. I'm not sure what they serve though.... hmmm lol

You'd thing there would be more ethnic Korean places around, but because of the military base everyone seems to cater towards Americans. There's a Teriyaki joint, Chinese, Thai, Italian, and pretty much whatever else you might fancy, plus the added bonus of everyone knowing at least enough English to understand your order. That last factoid is VERY important since, although I'm Korean-born, I was adopted and therefore do not know a word of Korean (except for "kam sa ham ni da", and going around thanking everyone all day, while polite, really gets me nowhere....)

As far as crafting goes, I'm kind of in a knitting stand-still right now after completely frogging mitten I was making for my mom (pity I hadn't found this article an hour sooner *exasperated sigh*). I was within 10 minutes of it being totally finished too! See? :(

^ As you can see, I wasnt paying attention (I think I need to cut back on the crime shows) and I placed the thumb opening 10 rows too high. Brilliant, Holly. Just brilliant....

^ I entitled the flickr picture "Right Before the Carnage...." =P *sighs*

So yeah. I really really hate frogging stuff (even just a mitten) so it was kind of hard for me to motivate myself to pick up the needles again to redo it lol. How did I manage you ask? Well my package from knitpicks making it's way to my door helped ALOT =D

^ My new and shiny set of interchangeable circulars!!! Yay!!! Now to tackle learning this "Magic Loop" nonsense everyone raves about ;)

^ And lots of random accessories (get to know me and one of the first things you learn is my intense LOVE for zee accessories haha =D)

I also bought the $20 binder thingy to go with the needles, but I must say that, while very attractive, I am SORELY disappointing! Its really.... STIFF! It's really difficult to unzip and the ziplock pockets inside are that way too! In fact, 5 of the 6 zip thingys broke off when i simply tried using them! Ugh... I have emailed knitpicks about this, but I don't really know what to expect. I've been having issues with my Harmony Woods too :(. The lacquer is starting to wear off after only 1 or 2 uses, and its getting difficult to knit smoothly (Does anyone know how to fix this? Like a polish of some sort or something?).

I always feel terrible emailing these companies about an issue. Its like basically saying "Hey your product leave something to be desired and you need to fix it right now" lol. I totally love knitpicks too! Ah well... even if they can't/won't so anything though, at least I've brought it to their attention... :/

I shall depart now, since this entry is a lot longer then I expected lol. After we go out to eat, I'll post a mini review! :)

Stay tuned for some eye candy!

Possibly My Favorite Meme...

2008-10-16T06:43:00.010+09:00

I'm not gonna lie. I really like filling out online personality tests/quizzes/etc...

I think they're a whole load of fun, so for this entry I'm going to redo one of the best ones (IMHO) I've found. It may be beneficial to some of you that like to read them and also to me since it should be interesting seeing how many of the answers changed since last time I took it (roughly 3 years ago).

Here's goes nothing x]

Rules: Open three windows. One with the list of questions, another open to Flickr and ready to do an image search, and a third to Big Huge Labs’ Mosaic Maker (create a mosaic 3x6). Answer the first question, put the main words of your answer in the search field on Flickr and choose one of the images from the first page to represent your answer. Click on the photo then copy and paste the url into the #1 spot on the Mosaic Maker. Do that for all the questions, then click create and post the results to your blog.

.*: MY RESULTS :*.

1. First name? Holly
2. Favorite food? eggrolls
3. Favorite drink? Milkis (korean drink)
4. Favorite color? purple is love <3
5. Favorite music genre? woohoo! techno/dance! ^_^
6. Favorite shoes? flip flops!!! xD
7. Favorite singer? Sarah Brightman! :]
8. Favorite hobby? Probably either knitting or baking but for the sake of this knitting-centered blog I'll say knitting haha
9. Dream vacation? New Zealand
10. Relationship status? Married <3
11. A nickname someone you love calls you? Panda
12. A song that makes you cry? nothing currently. "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge used to though lol
13. Your best friend's first name? Michelle
14. Dream car? Dodge Viper x]
15. Your current mood? excited! I really want to try out my new needles but I promised myself I'd finish these blog posts first AH!!! lol :3
16. What's the weather like? kinda chilly ^_^
17. One of your wish list items? Prismacolor 48pc Pencil Set xD
18. Last thing you watched on TV? Hmm... not sure lol. Most likely a crime show though haha :)

Well now wasn't that fuuuun?! lol :-D

Blogspot, My Old Friend! (Somewhat of an Intro)

2008-10-15T14:09:00.003+09:00

First of all, I probably shouldn't admit how LONG I agonized about a good name for this blog.....

But it had to be something that I will timelessly enjoy as well as something people won't inwardly groan and roll their eyes at when they read it lol. So there you have it. I mean, seriously.... who doesn't love bright sparkles.... x]

Its actually not even that fantastical haha. Just enough to keep me happy though, I think ;). But anyways... enough of me obsessing over my username haha....

This Blog is dedicated to my knitting. and sewing. and crocheting. and origami.... and whatever else I wanna put on here basically lol :]

You'll be able to experience all the RAW EMOTION of me tackling my projects! Lucky you! xD

With that note... I end here. I'll probably write a few more separate posts about randomness just to fill up the page and make everything feel a bit more lived in though haha :)

nothing worse then a sparse knitters blog *tear*

Now off to come up with an acceptable layout.... <3

.*: A Bright Kind Of Sparkle :*.