cashmere amigurumi mushroom house

omG is this the coolest amigurumi mushroom house ever? it was made (clearly with love) by arkansas crafter sandy meeks, aka etsy seller meekssandygirl, and it is spectacular.

bonus: it’s made of cashmere.

i am so packing my bags and moving to mushroomland.

see more of it here and see sandy’s shop there.

via craft

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nicole gastonguay crochet works

(ed. note: welcome first-time readers! if you enjoy this article about nicole, please click on the other categories to the left to enjoy even more posts about other talented artists and designers. better yet, feel free to be impulsive and click on subscribe to the right, and i will bring the good stuff to you instead! thank you for visiting!)

this is going around the intertube but i don’t care, i must write about it. i love this awesome crochet work from new york graphic designer and crafter extraordinaire nicole gastonguay. this is yarn freestyling at its best people - nicole doesn’t use patterns for her creations!

i love the cannoli and the shape of the mashed potatoes.

see her flickr stream for more neatly finished hilarity.

via craft

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aze textile designs

do you think the dinner table ever feels lonely in this age of fast moving lifestyles, only used for holidays and special occasions? sprucing it up with this clever messy tablecloth from poland’s aze designs might make it feel like a more important part of the family. the folks at aze strive to create modern home designs that embrace and incorporate old world traditional techniques, like embroidery and weaving.

and just in case your bed feels lonely, here are some rem bed linens along the same premise:

oh! and i like their funky cotton rugs too!

select pieces from aze are available at zoom zoom, but i don’t have a clue if they ship overseas or not (sorry no polish language!). best move? aze’s website.

via betterlivingthroughdesign

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recycled pop top handbags

when jimmy buffett blew out his flip flop and stepped on a pop top, i bet it never dawned on him to make a purse out of it.

look at these lacy modern handbags made of recycled aluminum soda can tabs. lined with nylon, they are painstakingly pieced together with crochet techniques by cia do lacre and as panteras do lacre, two brazilian craft cooperatives, which are located in economically depressed areas near brasilia. they are distributed by san francisco’s escama studio.

they remind me of those bendy pop top necklaces and bracelets i made a million years ago, back when the tabs came off the cans completely. except these are much more sophisticated.

the cooperatives help each female artist on staff build business knowledge, self esteem and craftmaking skills. each bag is signed by the artist.

see their website for more info and a nifty tutorial. belts and jewelry coming soon!

you can also purchase the bags at zanadia.

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hangin’ with my gnomies (vases)

look at at these awesome vases from the jackrabbit, aka new york artist christine domanic. she has taken beer bottles and placed them inside a hand crocheted slip, which is printed in your choice of 5 fabulous gnomes.

i also love her mushroom pin cushions/soft sculptures.

christine is heavy into thrifting, recycling, crocheting, sewing, garbage night and handlebar moustaches. she makes personal and home accessories, and she also likes hanging out in the library. 

a stop at her etsy shop is very worthwhile – if only to see her wiener bench!

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joy ang art (colorful, magnificent)

i just came across the greatest katamari interpretation ever. it’s a pencil cover, from canadian artist joy ang:

as it turns out, yarn isn’t the only medium joy employs. she is also a fantastic illustrator.

joy uses a variety of traditional and mixed media to achieve her ultimate goal: to stir the emotions of the people who view it.

she admires subtlety and believes that as much can be said through it as exaggeration.

i love her interpretation of the chinese zodiac!

she is currently on exhibit here.
for more about joy, click here.
to purchase her prints, click here.

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