More Washi!

Just wanted to share some more washi craft ideas:

 (glass candles; the labels from Yankee Candle and Bath & Body Works candles come off easily)

(washi is perfect for attaching Lego Gandalf to my monitor!)

 (a wooden letter C for my youngest son)

(a $1 picture frame transformed)

(a star-shaped chipboard box; patriotic and useful)

I also keep a washi board on Pinterest to stay inspired by other crafters. I pinned a 4th of July washi wreath the other day that I just might have to make this year!

Yarnbombing...It's a Fiber Art Thing

Have you heard of Yarnbombing? It's a form of street or public art where every day items (stop signs, meters, gates, fences, statues, etc.) are covered in knitted or crocheted pieces. I found these examples on the internet:

One day on Instagram, I noticed another user named @yarnbombs so I checked him out. I recommend you do the same -- the Yarn Bomber has a website -- and just reading about his previous yarn bombing installations and his future plans for a yarn bomb at Lizard's Mouth (no lie, that's the name!) made me want to contribute what little I could. So I dug around for a failed WIP (sadly there are many) and mailed it to him. You can see it and contributions from others around the world on Instagram (@yarnbombs) or on Pinterest (Yarn Bomber). If you'd like to contribute any kind of knitted or crocheted pieces, all of the links for the Yarn Bomber include an address to send contributions. And if you are in Santa Barbara, CA, the Yarn Bomber is also looking for local help for stitching together pieces and/or helping with the installation. Go on, make the world a beautiful yarn-y place!

PS I'm on Instagram too @lavenderlizard! There I share pictures of WIPs and other fun stuff!

The Addiction That is Pinterest

Pinterest. The reason I did not blog for 2 years.

Actually, I am pretty sure that is merely a coincidence. It is a fact though that in the last 2 years, I have been on Pinterest on nearly a daily basis. Why? It is an inspiring mix of food, crafts, ideas, locations, and products! And Benedict Cumberbatch! What's not to love?

I started with a couple of boards, one of which was simply called Yarn! I pinned and pinned like crazy, and then realized my Yarn! board was so big that I could never find anything. So I created sub-category boards:

Yarn! Accessories (hats, scarves, shawls, booties, slippers, jewelry)

Yarn! Afghans, Blankets, Throws

Yarn! Amigurumi (dolls, animals, any stuffed figures)

Yarn! Clothing (sweaters, tops)

Yarn! Housewares (pillows, rugs, baskets, kitchen items)

Yarn! Motifs, Embellishments, Appliques

Yarn! Purses, Totes, Bags

Yarn! Squares, Circles, Hexagons

Yarn! Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Stitches

Yarn! Wish List (yarns I covet. This is what happens when you resolve not to purchase more yarn -- you start pinning it instead!)

I also have a yarn-related board called Things I Make. Most of the items pinned there are available in my Etsy shop.

(I would love if you followed any one or all of my Pinterest boards! Right now I have more than 850 yarn-related pins and more coming. These are all my personal boards. I will be creating specific business boards for The Lavender Lizard real soon!)

Back to Benedict Cumberbatch....today marks the start of season 3 of Sherlock (in the US), the super-awesome British television show of a modern Sherlock Holmes. (If you are already a fan of Sherlock, you may have noticed my reference to the show in this blog's title.) To celebrate, we are having Super-Size Sherlock Sunday, and we will be re-watching last season's The Reichenbach Fall (from January 2012!) and then tuning into the new episode on PBS. So I'll wrap this up by saying 'why do the Brits take so long between television seasons? And why only three episodes?' Tally-ho!