Entry tags:
No tie, no clip, no pins hairdo!
So I stumble upon this link from buzzfeed while browsing around on the internet. One of the hairdo comes from this site.
The updo requires no specific hair accessories, so, without further ado, I tried it with my hair.. The first couple of tries ends up with my hair getting undone just seconds after. I think this happens primarily because my hair is very thin, not long enough (my hair is only a little after my shoulder), and not as greasy. I needs either greasier, or thicker hair. At the end of the video, she gives a tips on how to put a pencil to secure her hair. I tried the pencil version, and it works very well.
I increased the picture brigthness by a lot so my hair strand can be seen. Right now, it's about 1 hour+ after the hairdo and its stil very secure in place!
The updo requires no specific hair accessories, so, without further ado, I tried it with my hair.. The first couple of tries ends up with my hair getting undone just seconds after. I think this happens primarily because my hair is very thin, not long enough (my hair is only a little after my shoulder), and not as greasy. I needs either greasier, or thicker hair. At the end of the video, she gives a tips on how to put a pencil to secure her hair. I tried the pencil version, and it works very well.
I increased the picture brigthness by a lot so my hair strand can be seen. Right now, it's about 1 hour+ after the hairdo and its stil very secure in place!
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Crocheted Slippers
It's been hazy the past few weeks, which means that there are nothing much to do in town. But, I got to go outside town and buy some new, thicker yarns. The yarn sold at my town are so thin that it takes extensive amount of time to make bigger project.
I made two types of slipper based on following videos
I made the square-into-slipper version first. It is so easy to make and it only needs basic stitches to do. The rest is all about assembling it. The end result of mine is as follows:
First of all, I can't believe how easy and quick it was! Also, the end result is aesthetically pleasing, it really looks like a slipper when worn. The only downside of this pattern is that, it slipped out so easily, especially from the back. I feel like adding some strips at the front to hold it in place, and add more levels at the back to secure its position on my feet. I don't know what went wrong, maybe it's simply because I did not make it long enough? I ran out of yarn about 2 rows to the end of the second piece, so I unraveled 1 row of the first piece and crocheted it into the second. Anyway, I still want to improve this one.
The second slipper is more elaborate, but easier to wear! The starting point was confusing to me. This comes from someone whose always confuses when creating rounds, so do not take it too seriously.. What made it confusing to me is that I have to make two pieces of it, so It needs to be counted more carefully. If I only need to make one piece, I might just skip and add here and there. Here's hows my slipper looks like:
As displayed on the picture, I tweak some of the pattern because I only have a few yarns. First, I made the slipper higher. Instead of crocheting until the end of my fingers, I add one more round after to make it more secure. Second, I did not make the mary jane strips, simply because I ran out of yarn. The leftover are so~ short that It cannot even be made into one strip. And the last, I added a lining with smaller yarn. The lining works to fasten off and also tidy up the slipper edges. I now use this slipper daily because my house is full of dusts from haze.
I made two types of slipper based on following videos
I made the square-into-slipper version first. It is so easy to make and it only needs basic stitches to do. The rest is all about assembling it. The end result of mine is as follows:
First of all, I can't believe how easy and quick it was! Also, the end result is aesthetically pleasing, it really looks like a slipper when worn. The only downside of this pattern is that, it slipped out so easily, especially from the back. I feel like adding some strips at the front to hold it in place, and add more levels at the back to secure its position on my feet. I don't know what went wrong, maybe it's simply because I did not make it long enough? I ran out of yarn about 2 rows to the end of the second piece, so I unraveled 1 row of the first piece and crocheted it into the second. Anyway, I still want to improve this one.
The second slipper is more elaborate, but easier to wear! The starting point was confusing to me. This comes from someone whose always confuses when creating rounds, so do not take it too seriously.. What made it confusing to me is that I have to make two pieces of it, so It needs to be counted more carefully. If I only need to make one piece, I might just skip and add here and there. Here's hows my slipper looks like:
As displayed on the picture, I tweak some of the pattern because I only have a few yarns. First, I made the slipper higher. Instead of crocheting until the end of my fingers, I add one more round after to make it more secure. Second, I did not make the mary jane strips, simply because I ran out of yarn. The leftover are so~ short that It cannot even be made into one strip. And the last, I added a lining with smaller yarn. The lining works to fasten off and also tidy up the slipper edges. I now use this slipper daily because my house is full of dusts from haze.
Entry tags:
Crocheted Pouch
I have two balls of yarn that should have been a scarf, but as it goes, I think I need more ball of yarn for the scarf, and it was quite expensive for me to buy another. So, I changed the project to this tutorial. I did not make the whole reindeer, I just made the main pouch pattern.
and when opened, it looks like this :
It took both yarn balls with only a little yarn left. So this is quite expensive pouch! haha. The yarn is around $2 each, which make it $4, added with button, the whole project cost is about $4.15. For comparison, plastic pouch with the same size is only around $2 at the nearest mall.
Also, it turns out, using a cheap crochet hook will hurt you. As my first hook is not big enough for the yarn, so I bought another hook. According to the store that sells it, it was the correct size hook, just with less nice finish. To compare the price, the nice, golden hook that I already have is about $4-5, while the cheap one is $0.30. I thought it will be okay since I will only use it for the yarn that I bought and no other. Turns out, when I use it, the hook is way to small for the yarn. Also, it has a flat surface in the middle of the hook that is kind of sharp. At the end of the project, my point finger is really red and feels burn :(
and when opened, it looks like this :
It took both yarn balls with only a little yarn left. So this is quite expensive pouch! haha. The yarn is around $2 each, which make it $4, added with button, the whole project cost is about $4.15. For comparison, plastic pouch with the same size is only around $2 at the nearest mall.
Also, it turns out, using a cheap crochet hook will hurt you. As my first hook is not big enough for the yarn, so I bought another hook. According to the store that sells it, it was the correct size hook, just with less nice finish. To compare the price, the nice, golden hook that I already have is about $4-5, while the cheap one is $0.30. I thought it will be okay since I will only use it for the yarn that I bought and no other. Turns out, when I use it, the hook is way to small for the yarn. Also, it has a flat surface in the middle of the hook that is kind of sharp. At the end of the project, my point finger is really red and feels burn :(
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Crocheted Phone Pouch - 2
So, It seems like my iPhone battery is really dead. Like, really dead. So I (we) decided to buy a new one. It's not as luxurious as iPhone, but it packs a punch! It does not have plenty of internal memory and RAM, but it has 5MP FF camera on the front, and 8MP AF camera on the back. That for around $150 is a good buy I think.
As the phone is a collaboration between local telecom provider and HiSense, the choice for cellphone case is very limited, so I decided to just crochet one on my own. I browse pictures on google image and found this cute and simple crochet phone case.
*pinterest is not really nice isn't it? They don't let me have a quick tour on people pin without signing in, which I won't.
unfortunately, the site doesn't have any pattern, so I looked up for any site that provides the basic pattern, which I found here, and then created 2 half circles for the bunny/bear ears. For the eyes, I found a very cheap beads on Gramedia bookstore. It is quite small, but it has quite big hole that a crochet needle can easily go through it. So, after all the attachments, my phone case looks like this.
I wore the phone case for 3-4 days, and then I found this easy bow project. I happened to have this small ball of yarn that I bought on a whim. It is sold mainly for kids' school craft project. The yarn breaks off easily and I don't know what to do with it. Looking at the pattern tutorial here remind me that I can use that yarn. So, I made the bow and attach it to my phone case with a glue. I think the final version is so cute! xD
*please ignore the different shade of pinks, I took the photos on different place with different lighting
I think it's not bad. Even I, a beginner and very clumsy human being can do this, although the result is not as tight and tidy as the commercial one.
As the phone is a collaboration between local telecom provider and HiSense, the choice for cellphone case is very limited, so I decided to just crochet one on my own. I browse pictures on google image and found this cute and simple crochet phone case.
*pinterest is not really nice isn't it? They don't let me have a quick tour on people pin without signing in, which I won't.
unfortunately, the site doesn't have any pattern, so I looked up for any site that provides the basic pattern, which I found here, and then created 2 half circles for the bunny/bear ears. For the eyes, I found a very cheap beads on Gramedia bookstore. It is quite small, but it has quite big hole that a crochet needle can easily go through it. So, after all the attachments, my phone case looks like this.
I wore the phone case for 3-4 days, and then I found this easy bow project. I happened to have this small ball of yarn that I bought on a whim. It is sold mainly for kids' school craft project. The yarn breaks off easily and I don't know what to do with it. Looking at the pattern tutorial here remind me that I can use that yarn. So, I made the bow and attach it to my phone case with a glue. I think the final version is so cute! xD
*please ignore the different shade of pinks, I took the photos on different place with different lighting
I think it's not bad. Even I, a beginner and very clumsy human being can do this, although the result is not as tight and tidy as the commercial one.
Entry tags:
Crocheted Teddy Bead Head
Found the tutorial from Little Yarn Friends
It is not a tutorial in entirety. It actually a free pattern page, but there are pictures on how to assemble the Teddy Bear. I think it's very beginner friendly, as you only need to know how to make a magic ring and single crochet to follow the pattern. Assembling it could be quite a trouble though. I am not a very neat person, and it translates into my works. So, the free sewing parts is a big big mess to me.
Here is how my teddy bear looks:
As seen on the picture,the nose is really really messy lol. The right eyes is also quite slanted, but since I finished it in the middle of the night, I called it done. To me, the pattern is relatively easy compared to beginner amigurumi tutorial, and its end result is more satisfying. You are guaranteed to have cute teddy bear like product with this tutorial.
It is not a tutorial in entirety. It actually a free pattern page, but there are pictures on how to assemble the Teddy Bear. I think it's very beginner friendly, as you only need to know how to make a magic ring and single crochet to follow the pattern. Assembling it could be quite a trouble though. I am not a very neat person, and it translates into my works. So, the free sewing parts is a big big mess to me.
Here is how my teddy bear looks:
As seen on the picture,the nose is really really messy lol. The right eyes is also quite slanted, but since I finished it in the middle of the night, I called it done. To me, the pattern is relatively easy compared to beginner amigurumi tutorial, and its end result is more satisfying. You are guaranteed to have cute teddy bear like product with this tutorial.
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Gyeran Jjim
My iPhone died and so I lost my main camera T-T
I don't know if it's real or not, but I think iPhone camera has this awesome abilty in enhancing pictures. The result is so vibrant that even when I change to other phone for office needs, I still carry my iPhone to take pictures.
anyway, I made the gyeran jjim for several times now, and I think I'm getting better at it.
The result's visual is increasingly better, although I don't use soy sauce, simply because I'm too lazy to get it from the grocery store. Still, according to my husband, it has similar taste to its counterpart in South Korea x)
I don't know if it's real or not, but I think iPhone camera has this awesome abilty in enhancing pictures. The result is so vibrant that even when I change to other phone for office needs, I still carry my iPhone to take pictures.
anyway, I made the gyeran jjim for several times now, and I think I'm getting better at it.
The result's visual is increasingly better, although I don't use soy sauce, simply because I'm too lazy to get it from the grocery store. Still, according to my husband, it has similar taste to its counterpart in South Korea x)
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Whale Amigurumi
Actually, the video is Narwhal amigurumi tutorial, but I was too lazy to create small and complicated parts, so I decided to only try out the main body part, which ends up becoming a whale.
It only took a short time to make it (without the many complicated parts), and the tutorial is easy to follow even if you're a beginner. It even has some tips that I can use for future references. But, it being a short tutorial does not mean guaranteed success. Mine looks pretty sketchy(?)
Maybe it is because of the yarn color or incomplete body parts but it ends up looking like a green tadpole T______T
Also, because I wasn't fully concentrating on crocheting the amigurumi, I think I missed some stitches. One thing I learn in crocheting amigurumi, it requires a lot of concentration. This project's biggest perimeter is only 18 stitches and I already messed up. Actually, I learn crochet in order to be able to make amigurumis. Guess there are a lot lot more to learn....
It only took a short time to make it (without the many complicated parts), and the tutorial is easy to follow even if you're a beginner. It even has some tips that I can use for future references. But, it being a short tutorial does not mean guaranteed success. Mine looks pretty sketchy(?)
Maybe it is because of the yarn color or incomplete body parts but it ends up looking like a green tadpole T______T
Also, because I wasn't fully concentrating on crocheting the amigurumi, I think I missed some stitches. One thing I learn in crocheting amigurumi, it requires a lot of concentration. This project's biggest perimeter is only 18 stitches and I already messed up. Actually, I learn crochet in order to be able to make amigurumis. Guess there are a lot lot more to learn....
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Crocheted Phone Pouch
I wanted bigger project that I can carry everyday, so I look for crochet phone pouch on the youtube. Few videos watched, and I decided to challenge the following:
It is not an absolute beginner video, but it is not that hard to do after few crochet projects (in my case, flowers and coasters). The pattern is very simple, and the result is solid. I think it is very cute, because it uses drawstring to hold the pouch together. The ond in the video uses bigger yarn than the one I have. After my first pouch:
I decided to make second one for my bluetooth mouse and it's charging cable. The previous yarn is the one I bought on the hand crafter, while the following is the one I bought on local craft supplies store.
I think the second project looks better because I already found a pace to make every crochet, so there are less bulging part than the first project I did.
It is not an absolute beginner video, but it is not that hard to do after few crochet projects (in my case, flowers and coasters). The pattern is very simple, and the result is solid. I think it is very cute, because it uses drawstring to hold the pouch together. The ond in the video uses bigger yarn than the one I have. After my first pouch:
I decided to make second one for my bluetooth mouse and it's charging cable. The previous yarn is the one I bought on the hand crafter, while the following is the one I bought on local craft supplies store.
I think the second project looks better because I already found a pace to make every crochet, so there are less bulging part than the first project I did.
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Crocheted Coaster
After endlessly trying to find a new hobby aside of my Arashi and T-Max obsession, I found crochet video is relaxing, so I decided to buy some crochet suppy online at the handcrafter. Only later to find out that there is a hand craft supply store in my town, and it has a very comprehensive collection. Their yarn collection is limited though, only size 5 and 6 yarns.
For my first project, I just choose youtube top search result and came up with this:
This is an absolute beginner video. You will be guided to make your first slip knot, single crochet, and double crochet (or double and treble, based on your term preference). I like the tutorial so much! It has a usable result, and it does not take long to actually finish the project. In my experience, I need about 15 minutes to finish my first coaster. My result looks like this:
I used the same kind of crochet pen(?) and yarn size as the video. As it looks, it is not as tight as the coaster in the review. I don't know what's wrong, maybe different type of yarn, or maybe I simply did not hold it tight enough. Also, the coaster is big! it's about 13-14 cm in diameter. Because of the "loose" result, it does not create a flat surface, so, if I put smaller glass, about the size of the 2nd circle, it might spill just after a few nudge.
For my first project, I just choose youtube top search result and came up with this:
This is an absolute beginner video. You will be guided to make your first slip knot, single crochet, and double crochet (or double and treble, based on your term preference). I like the tutorial so much! It has a usable result, and it does not take long to actually finish the project. In my experience, I need about 15 minutes to finish my first coaster. My result looks like this:
I used the same kind of crochet pen(?) and yarn size as the video. As it looks, it is not as tight as the coaster in the review. I don't know what's wrong, maybe different type of yarn, or maybe I simply did not hold it tight enough. Also, the coaster is big! it's about 13-14 cm in diameter. Because of the "loose" result, it does not create a flat surface, so, if I put smaller glass, about the size of the 2nd circle, it might spill just after a few nudge.
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Origami Envelope
I needed to deliver my brothers' picture because his id card was gone, but I don't have any small ziplock back or envelope, so I look it up at youtube.
This is the one that I decide to do after 2 tutorial videos because It does not need any glue, and it holds the content very well.
I made mine with a cropped A4 paper, because that is all I have at the time. It results in 13 x 8 cm envelope. By my experience, it can hold 12 3x4 cm and 12 2x3 cm picture printed on glossy paper very well.
This is the one that I decide to do after 2 tutorial videos because It does not need any glue, and it holds the content very well.
I made mine with a cropped A4 paper, because that is all I have at the time. It results in 13 x 8 cm envelope. By my experience, it can hold 12 3x4 cm and 12 2x3 cm picture printed on glossy paper very well.
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Korean Rolled Egg (Gyeran Mari)
My husband asked me to make gyeran jjim. He lived for quite awhile in South Korea and wanted to have the nostalgic taste of it ;)
I forgot to take the picture of my gyeran jjim. But in the video, there are 3 kinds of egg recipes. One of it is gyeran mari, or rolled egg. I also tried to make it using the trick from Maangchi and it works very well! Even on small pan, it still make quite impressive roll shape.
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Korean Hotteok
So… I found this hotteok recipe on instagram and tried it. It works! I mean, it works even for super noob like me, and even without any video cue.
The recipe is super simple, and the only thing that I need to buy at the grocery store is yeast. Rough translation of recipe I found:
ingredients
dough
245 grams pf flour
2 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoon of instant yeast
½ teaspoon of salt
235ml of warm water
filling
40 grams of brown sugar
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
3 tablespoon of peanut
how to cook
mix all the dough ingredient in a bowl. Cover it, and wait for one hour until it expands. After 1 hour, open the cover and do one light mix. Wait for another 20 mins. After 20 minutes, cover your hands and board with flour and make 8 balls out of the dough. Blend the fillings in blender. Fill the balls with fillings. At this point of time, you can either, slightly fry it on a non stick pan for frozen Hotteok, or fry it until brown. While frying it, press the balls to flatten it and create Hotteok shape.
Basically, it’s mixing and waiting game XD
Some things that I changed and need to pay more attention to are:
- It is important to make sure that the water is warm, not hot. For better results, I think I need to activate the yeast separately before mixing into dough. Just to make sure that none of the yeast is inactive.
- The dough is super sticky! It took almost a cup of extra flour just to shape the dough and fill it. Idk if there’s something wrong? But I think it adds chewiness to the bread, so I should only bear with it.
- I can’t find any exotic ingredients like cinnamon in grocery store, so I used a pack of honey coated peanut blended with two tablespoon of honey.
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Martabak Manis
Tried this recipe and it actually works!
I cannot replicate the height however, so the Martabak are quite thin. Nonetheless, it tastes quite like the abang-abang one xD
Some tweaks I’ve done to the recipe:
- I don’t have the ceramic pan that they used in the recipe, so I used non stick pan.
- They didn’t explain the heat needed while cooking Martabak. I used a medium heat first and ends up with burnt Martabak skin. So for the second batch, I waited until the pan is heated and used lowest heat before putting the lid. It turned up really well!
I’d like to make it again, since it is not as fatty as abang-abang’s and because of less grease used, it still taste pretty good after a day.
Behold and see my own Martabak manis!
Blog Haul!
So... I've been using this blog for years with no entry. Mostly I just used it to lurk on livejournal communities. But since I have a new found hobby : re-creating youtube tutorials. I guess I will crost post some of my tutorial reviews here.. to keep the blog alive x)
