Lost Mitten

Question Mark Keepsake Box…with a new twist! July 23, 2008

Hello!
I have been very busy lately coming up with brand new ideas for my shop, which I will be posting over the next few days!  The first brand new original item that I have created is made from Perler Beads, and is a new take on my Question Mark Keepsake Box … this time with a new twist!

And here it is!  The Question Mark Keepsake Box with Interchangeable Powerups!

This keepsake box comes with interchangeable power-ups to attach to the top of the box! Each power-up can stick inside the top of the box lid - there is a Red Mushroom, a Green 1UP Mushroom, a Fire Flower, a Coin, and an Invincibility Star. You can display the box normally without the power-ups with the question mark to the front, or flip the box around to the side where it looks like Mario has already hit the block, and place a power-up in the top of the lid! This is a versatile keepsake box with six different looks in total!

As for the box itself, it is made to look like a Question Mark Block from the Super Mario games for the Nintendo.  It has a lid on the top that has two layers - the second layer allows the lid to fit snugly on top of the box.  You can keep anything inside this box (it would be great for your gold coins!)  and it would look great on any desk, shelf, bedroom, office, you name it!

I hope you enjoy my newest geeky creation!  I’ll be posting more very soon, too!

Kawaii Pinback Buttons Galore! June 24, 2008

I’ve gone button crazy! 

After coming across some brand new Japanese papers, I went a little crazy and made a whole bunch of new pinback buttons!  These are all 1″ pinback buttons - and they are all up for sale in the Lost Mitten Etsy Shop!  Mostly all of the sets have 4 buttons to a set and are $3.00 per set.

Most of the new buttons are kawaii Japanese designs - like a little black cat who loves socks, some super cute zoo animals, smiling and winking mushrooms, and of course the Monokuro Boo black and white pigs that I love!  I also made some new buttons from recycled comics that have witty phrases on them, and some new anime / manga buttons made from recycled Japanese manga.

If you’d like to take a look, I have the buttons categorized into a few different sections in my shop:  Kawaii Cute Buttons, Chiyogami/Washi Paper Buttons (made from authentic Japanese paper!), and Video Game / Geek Buttons.  Button lovers unite!

New Nintendo DS Lite Cases! May 27, 2008

Hi everyone! I’ve made two more Nintendo DS cases - made to fit a Nintendo DS Lite video gaming portable system. They can also fit a variety of other things since it is a zippered knit pouch - your camera, iPod, cell phone, make-up, or anything else you would like to organize or transport around with you!

The first case that I made is made from green Merino wool - the lining is super cute and has little pigs! The fabric is straight from a fabric shop in Kyoto, Japan.

The case is knit by hand and the fabric lining, as well as the zipper, are all sewed by hand. On the front of the green case, there is a cute 1″ pinback button attached, featuring a cat jumping into the air, like a Jack-in-the-Box (a cat in the box?)

The green knit case is available for purchase in my Etsy shop for $15.00.

The next case, also available in my Etsy shop, is made with a beautiful shade of green-gray wool, 100% Merino wool. It has slight hints of gold and blue in the sunlight - a great natural earthy tone called “Treebark Mix” by the company. Similar to the other cases that I create, there is a Japanese fabric used on the inside featuring swimming turtles on navy blue. The fabric and the zipper are sewed by hand.

There is a kawaii button on the front as well, a smiling pink tofu Super cute!

The green-gray knit case is available for purchase in my Etsy Shop, also for $15.

Nintendo Needlepoint Fridge Magnets

I’ve created some brand new items for my Etsy shop! These are all completely handmade, fully hand stitched, needlepoint fridge magnets! I have brought back my Tetris fridge magnets (which were featured in the wonderful Craft: magazine online blog a while back!) and added some new ones to my shop as well, including a Mario set, a Bubble Bobble set, and a Pacman set!

The Mario fridge magnets feature a question mark block, a red mushroom, a green 1up mushroom, a fire flower, a star, and a gold coin - all in fridge magnet form!

The Pacman fridge magnets are a set of six needlepoint magnets: Pacman, Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde (the four ghosts), and the dark blue ghost that Pacman can eat.

The Bubble Bobble / Bust a Move fridge magnets are also a set of six, that feature four of the enemies (including the super scary invincible white ghost that comes to get you after a certain amount of time…if you played Bubble Bobble as a child, I’m sure you were pretty scared of him, too!), and the two dragon heroes (Bub and Bob).

All of the fridge magnets are completely stitched by hand and the back of the character is covered completely with felt to hide all of the stitches. Attached to the felt is a sturdy magnet, allowing you to use these on your fridge, your locker, or anywhere magnetic!

I hope you enjoyed viewing these as much as I enjoyed making them! More to come in the works…or if you have any requests, I can pretty much make any video game character, and I’m always happy to take custom orders!

Video Game Pen Holders April 4, 2008

I just wanted to write about a couple of new items in my Etsy shop - these fun, super geeky pen holders for your desk or office! I currently have two different ones in my shop - one is a Mario themed pen holder with Mario, along with various power-ups (mushroom, Fire Flower, invincibility star), and one is Pac-man themed with Pacman and the ghosts.

These containers are pretty versatile and can also be used to hold pretty much anything - another great use is as a toothbrush holder! Since they are constructed from Perler beads, the small holes allow for adequate drainage so they would function well as a toothbrush holder.

Hope you enjoy my newest creations!

Etsy Find: Goomba Tote Bag February 14, 2008

Not long after finding the pattern for this fun Goomba hat, another Goomba geeky craft emerges - this great little tote bag! The Etsy user and nerdy crafter, CraftNerd (what a fitting name!), has made this colourful retro crocheted bag with one of my favourite classic enemies, a Goomba from Super Mario Bros. 1 for the NES. A completely functional bag or purse to keep all of your goodies inside, and a fantastic way to show your love for classic video games.

While you’re at it, be sure to check out the rest of CraftNerd’s Etsy shop for some wonderful handmade finds!

Ultimate Mario-Themed Birthday Party February 12, 2008

This kid has some of the coolest parents ever - a video game themed birthday party! This party has everything - starting with the Mario-themed invitations (on cards shaped like red power-up mushrooms), the Kirby pinata, the elaborate Super Mario cupcake display, various characters, Nintendo goodies for the kids, and much more! Not only are most of the decorations and treats all handmade, but everything is super creative and detailed, for one of the best parties ever! I would have loved to have had a party like this when I was a kid…actually, scratch that - I’d love to have a party like this now!

To check out all of the photos, including even more decorations and goodies, you can view the entire set on SGA Creative’s Flickr page.

Pattern: Knit Goomba Hat

This talented knitter, and author of FadeCrazy’s blog has been awesome enough to post her altered pattern to make this super cute Goomba knit hat! It is a modified version of a knit beanie hat, with a goomba face stitched to the front of it. With this hat, you will surely be the envy of all of your nerdy friends.

Link: Goomba Hat Pattern, based on Mark Thrailkill’s London Beanie Hat.

Refurbished Mario Table February 6, 2008

Kotaku.com reader, Aaron, sent in this picture of an awesome Mario tabletop that he created. Using an old table that his grandfather made that had a stain on the top and bathroom tiles, he put the Mario mosaic design on top of the table. Not only is this a functional piece of furniture, but a little work of art! I’d love to have a table like this at my place!

<Via Kotaku>

I Have Returned…

Hi everyone! After a little bit of a hiatus (a couple of months, I think?), I’m back! I didn’t really go anywhere…I’ve still been busy crafting and creating things for my Etsy shop, but I have completely neglected this blog! So, I will hopefully be updating this a little more frequently since I do have lots of interesting and fun things to write about - definitely not a shortage of craftiness across the web, that is for certain.

Another new crafty thing that I tried is painting ceramics! I went with a few friends to a little independently-owned pottery shop where you get to paint some pre-made pieces of pottery. Once you’re doing painting, they get fired up in the kiln and you can pick them up after a few days. I’m going to be picking up my second creation on Thursday so I’ll take some pics and post them once I have them! It is a pretty quick and easy craft that anyone can do - it isn’t that tricky since you’re not actually creating the pottery yourself, so I recommend checking it out if you have a similar store in your area!