Another word about photographing amigurumi...

When photographing amigurumis, I think it's important to make sure your background enhances your ami and lets the true colors stand out. In the first two photos with the blue and orange background, the colors don't look right. The blue against the blue doesn't work well and the orange makes the brown ears and limbs looks orange-tinted.
In this case of my bear amigurumi, the white was the best background.
Also, don't forget to use the Macro feature on your camera (it's the little flower symbol) and take your photos on a nice day outside. Too much or too little sun is bad. I can't give any tips on photographing inside because I don't have proper lighting.

Bad background colors (and unedited):



Good background color (and edited):



I just use iPhoto on my Mac to edit my photos. (I just switched Macs so I wish I could have shown the before pictures of the white background, but since it's a new Mac, I was not able to revert the photo to its original state). Anyways, I just use the "Enhance Photo" option (not always though, sometimes it's too much) as well as the "Effects" and manual "Adjust" features.

You don't want to change the colors, but you want them to be bright and true to the original quality. I am still working on perfecting my photography skills with amigurumi, but I think what I'm doing is pretty good!

Dewei the Panda!

This is Dewei! The origin of his name is Chinese and it means "of great principle." I thought it was a very fitting name for a panda because they just look so wise beautiful to me. Dewei does a bit of silliness to him though--he's got his own personality!!! He is available for purchase at my etsy shop.

Here's his story: "You can almost always find Dewei among the bamboo! He’s quite a serious little fellow, taking his time with every thought and action but he has proved to be a very wise and philosophical one indeed."

My boyfriend's mom has a bamboo plant and they even have bamboo growing in their yard in one area! At first, Dewei's photo shoot was with the bamboo plants outside. It was tough to get there because of the other shrubbery around the bamboo. The time of the day, wasn't the best so I was not too pleased with the results. A few days later, I saw the small bamboo plant and used that for my photo shoot with a green solid background. (This photo was taken by my boyfriend, Taylor. Thanks!)


Speaking of backgrounds, I use scrapbook paper for most of my amigurumi backgrounds. I prop up 12X12 scrapbook paper booklet against a seat outside, position my amigurumi in different ways and take A LOT of photos. Having a lot of photos at different angles ensures you get great shots! Then I upload them onto my computer and edit--I usually use iPhoto because I don't have Photoshop, but I have used Piknik and am going to look into Gimp.


I know my photos are not the greatest, but I'm learning and I think they get better each time! Do you have any tips or techniques? I'd love to hear!

Looking for a Home!

Haruko the Hare, Tomomi the Bear and Zeki the Bear are all looking for a home! To learn more about them, visit my etsy shop. Visit my Flickr account to see more pictures and descriptions of their personalities!


They are each handmade with love by me! I used Sensations Angel Hair yarn, Caron Simply Soft yarn and Patons Divine yarn.--my absolute three favorite yarns!!! I love the look and feel of them all.


A great thing about these little guys is that their personalities come to life as they are being created. I love that they are each different in their own way even though they are from the same family. One thing they all have in common is totally their cuteness factor making them great little pals!


I did say that I was going to work on new patterns and they are coming....I just need the time! I have a busy weekend in store so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to accomplish. The photos are an important element in my patterns but they can also be difficult to take. It's good to have an extra pair of hands sometimes so I'll ask my boyfriend to take pictures while I hold a pose with the yarn and hook (just a close-up of my hands and project!). Plus you need good lighting and now that Spring and has sprung I should be good to go!!! I'll give it two weeks...now that Ive written it I am obligated to really get going!!!!

See? I really am busy.

Whenever I get the chance--which is most days after work and every Saturday and Sunday--I am crocheting little bear and bunny dudes. They are made from a simple pattern I made up, but they all having something different about them allowing them to have their own personalities. For the most part, their heads are all the same size, but their facial expression, arms, legs, ears, tails and sometimes body are changed just slightly to fit the type of character they are crocheted into being.


Most of these little guys will be put up for sale in my etsy shop. Some are gifts for friends and family.

I am also working on a new pattern set called "Best Pals: Amigurumi Patterns!" The Best Pals patterns will consist of simple patterns to create bears, bunnies, puppies, kitties and more--it's still a huge work in progress. Now that the weather is nicer, I can take photos to add to my patterns. I am still working on creating one more Dream Demon but I ran out of the black fuzzy yarn and I want them to be consistent! I need to make another trip to the craft store yet again...

I am also thinking up more Patapon items, one of which will be a free pattern. I won't say what it is yet, but it will be something to compliment your coffee table nicely.

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

Kawaii Bear - Doh!

Doh! Bear
I love the simplicity of amigurumi. It is a Japanese art of crocheting or knitting animals and personified objects, and we all know anything Japanese is super kawaii!!!! I've noticed sometimes when I'm crocheting animals I tend to make them in a realistic way or a just a typical stuffed animal style. I really wanted to make something that was truly a kawaii amigurumi. I gave this bear a large head, cute lil arms, and an expression that says "doh!" >.<


Doh! Bear is a very basic little guy. I used Sensations Angel Hair Yarn in Turquoise (SKU# 07796154, Color # 645). The funny thing is, I first bought this yarn several months ago at Joann Fabrics. I had made a blue bunny for my sister and still had leftover yarn so I began my bear. Then, I found out I definitely didn't have enough to finish his body. So, I went back to Joann's and picked up the only Turquoise yarn by Sensations they had--looked just like I had remembered. When I returned home and began crocheting the body I realized the yarns were actually slightly different. The overall color is a bit darker and there is a small, thin, fuzzy string that runs with the main yarn that in my previous yarn is a light color (almost white-ish-blue-ish) and the thin string with this new yarn is a turquoise color! I always keep the labels for the yarn and they are the same color name, color number, so I knew they were supposed to be the same. THEN, I looked up the yarn to link to on this blog and all the photos for their Turquoise yarn looks like it has a purplish tint to it!

Finally, my boyfriend pointed out the Lot #. It also says right on the label to make sure you buy yarns from the same lot to keep continuity in the color of your projects! Lol!

Makes me feel just like my little bear! Doh! >.<