31 Amigurumi in October - Six

Ok, so this is my third try at a Godzilla Moon Bun, but this time I had a little helper in my 6 year old son who thinks Godzilla is the coolest monster. This little one, and many of the dolls from the 31 Amigurumi in October series, are still available at Moon's Creations.

31 Amigurumi in October - 5

 Today's doll is the little boy from Ju-on, or The Grudge. A lot of the dolls I make for the 31 Amigurumi in October series now are remakes of dolls I've made in the past. The first time I attempted this doll was back in 2008! I have to say I'm over the moon happier with this rendition. I like face of Toshio but my hear goes to Mar. Mar is the name of the little black cat and I love this little kitten's blorp-y shape so much!

Plus, so heckin' tiny! I will definitely be making more little palm-sized kittens in the future for my own enjoyment.

31 Amigurumi in October 2-4

So sorry for missing the posts. Our internet was not working for a while, but it appears it is now back. I hope.

Here are dolls 2-4. Enjoy! They are available for purchase at Moon's Creations (except Jaws.)

 Jaws

 Alex Moon Bun(A Clockwork Orange)

Predator Moon Bun

31 Amigurumi In October - October 1

The 31 Amigurumi in October series has begun! And it starts with the Phantom of the Opera Moon Bun. He's more inspired by the musical, but I love this design. :)

This doll is now available at Moon's Creations.
You can follow along with the series here or my other social sites: Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Or through the hashtag: #31AmiinOct

The Woooorst!!!

Ah, yes. I'm finally back.
It has been a whirlwind of indecision on my part. Due to life, the universe, and everything, I was waffling on what the future of Moon's Creations would be, or even if there would be a Moon's Creations.

After much mulling during the past two conventions, I have finally decided to move my company forward, by taking a step back. I have to realize I am a human who is the provider for two little humans. I can't be all the things. It's impossible and so I have decided to stop carrying most of my made-to-order listings.

Through the September, I will be working on a few patterns, such as my Hogwarts animals. I plan to have the patterns available for purchase before the holiday season gets into full swing. I will also list a few of the dolls every so many months as my schedule allows for those who can't or don't want to crochet their own dolls.

All new dolls will be in limited releases. Dolls will be previewed first on my Patreon page on Tuesday, then social media sites on Wednesday, with a Thursday release.

Every month, I will accept a limited number of custom orders, because I really love making them.

So, that's it! Oddly, this is the original set up for my store. You will be seeing changes almost immediately. All dolls which are made to order will stay in my store until they sell out or expire. I have a few delicious custom orders to work on this weekend and plan to have new dolls left over from the past two conventions join my shop next week.

Thank you for your patience with me. I promise I won't let you down.

Moon's Creations is going on Vacation

Well, not really.
I wish I could say I was going on vacation. A bit of sand and sun would do me wonders.
Instead, I will be working on getting together stock for Anthrocon in Pittsburgh this July. It's my first convention outside of the anime/gaming nature and I'm also going solo, so I've got to make sure this convention is a success.

To do this, I'm going to be closing up shop on May 28th and won't reopen until July 10th.

Please wish me luck and if you'd like follow along in the behind the scenes prep work, please consider joining us over at my Patreon!

New to the shop: Frogs! And a Toad

Today, I've added a new design to Moon's Creations. These cute little frogs (and one toad) are a handful size and so happy. I love their faces. I've always wanted to try a frog and here's the results. 

 They are available for purchase now!

*

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted since January. 

I'm really beginning to believe I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. It kicks in around November and lasts until April. Ugh. Do any of you have this condition? What do you to to fight it? I hate my productivity levels to sink when I already have such a limited work window.

New to the Shop

I've finally added a few items to Moon's Creations which have never previously appeared. These are items I've sold at conventions, but never before online!

Bell Bags inspired by Animal Crossing

Cat Toy Pokeballs

 

Ditzy Pokemon Starters

Let's Make Bath Bombs!

Bath bombs! You must have heard about them before. It seems everyone is talking about them. For a show I did this past weekend, I made bath bombs instead of my usual glycerin soaps. 

I don't sell bath products by trade, but I like to make something fun, which my children will enjoy if I don't sell them all. It's also nice to schedule a day that doesn't involve crocheting, because when I'm preparing for a convention, that seems like all I do.  

I thought, why not give you a how to on making bath bombs and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes! 

Ok, so first things, first, you need a recipe. I based my bath bombs on Hello Glow's No-Fail Coconut Oil Bath Bomb recipe, but I tweaked things here and there as I saw necessary.

Ingredients:

Baking Soda

Citric Acid

Epsom Salt

Cornstarch

Coconut Oil

Essential Oils

Food Coloring

Bath Bomb Molds

Tiny Pokemon Toys (What? Don't worry, I'll explain.)

 

Ok, so as I see it, part of taking a bath bomb is the experience. You want a super fizzy bath bomb with a pleasing color and scent. As a bonus, I like to put a small plastic toy in the bombs. It's a longer lasting memory and a random toy makes things more fun. haha!

Now don't forget, safety first! I highly recommend wearing a Particulate Respirator when mixing your ingredients and Nitrate Gloves will keep your hands from drying out. While working with all these salts, your hands will dry up. 

You will also need:

A Large non-reactive bowl

One Cup measure

1/2 cup measuring cup

A small bowl

Plastic disposable fork (or spork!)

Wire Whisk

Ready to make some fun bath bombs? 

Alright here we go!

1. Combine 1/2 cup of Epsom Salts with a few 10-15 drops of food coloring and 10-30 drops of essential oils. It will smell strongly, but don't worry we will be mixing this with the other ingredients and it will be diluted. Set your Epsom Salt mix aside for about 15 minutes. 

Why are you doing this? Well, The biggest reason we have failures in bath bomb making is moisture. Moisture will make your bombs react before they are ready. To avoid this, we pre-mix the coloring and fragrance with the Epsom Salts. Epsom Salts will absorb moisture without making your bombs react too early.

If you were just making bath salts, you would stop here, let the Epsom Salts dry completely and bottle up your salts. 

2. Now while you're waiting for the Epsom Salt to "cure" let's mix up the other dry ingredients. You will mix 1 cup of Baking Soda, 1/2 cup of Citric Acid, and 1/2 cup of Cornstarch. Mix these ingredients thoroughly with a wire whisk.

Why Cornstarch? Ok, you don't need cornstarch to make a bath bomb. But it does slow down the bubbling process just a tad so you extend the experience. It will also give the water a slightly milky appearance, which is nice. But if you don't want cornstarch, just leave that out. No harm at all. 

3. Mix in your Epsom Salts to the other dry ingredients. Mix well. You will see the color transfer to the other ingredients without the tell-tale fizz of a failure batch.

4. Melt approximately 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a microwave safe measuring cup. I found 15-20 seconds was enough. The amount of coconut oil you use will depend on the humidity in the air on the day you are making bath bombs. I had some mixes act very dry and had to use an extra tablespoon or two to make my bombs. Again, it really depends on the weather. 

5. Mix the oil into your dry mix slowly adding more as needed. It's important to mix this with your hands. The texture will feel like good snowball making snow. It will pack and hold it's shape nicely. 

6. Taking your bath bomb molds, fill 1/2 of the mold halfway. Place the plastic toy inside and finish packing. Use your palms to pack the molds. (Don't be me with sore thumbs) Pack that little ball like it's the end of the world, but be sure to keep the threads clear. If there is ingredients trapped in the threads, it will not make a solid bath bomb. 

7. I found I was able to make a total of 10 bath bombs per batch. Once you finish making bombs, place them in the freezer for 20 minutes. I placed all of my bombs on a metal baking sheet with sides to keep them from rolling all over or worst case popping open in my freezer.

8. Remove your bombs from the freezer, warm the mold with your hands and separate carefully. You should have a perfect little bath bomb now! 

9. Oh no! Your bathbomb broke! No problem. Let it warm up to room temperature and crush it back up. You likely need a little more coconut oil, but it can be repaired. Hooray on only a little waste

10. I recommend letting your bath bombs set overnight to finish drying. With a coconut oil based product, this isn't necessary, but I found letting the tiny bit of moisture from the food coloring evaporate helped produce a more solid product. 

These balls won't like heat or moisture, so I wrapped mine tightly in plastic wrap and tied the ends with curling ribbon to keep them dry and help keep their shape. 

I hope you try making your own surprise bath bombs. If you have any questions, please contact me. This was so fun and my children are loving their baths. (I'm enjoying their coconut oil baths which is keeping itchy winter skin and fly away hair at bay. 

PS! Your bath bombs might make your bathtubs a little slippery. To clean up, I recommend using a scrub brush and dish soap. Fill your bath with hot to warm water, just and inch. A quick scrub around and you're bathtub will be sparkling clean.

Patreon Giveaway

Due to being so busy with doll making, I missed out on the November giveaway, so instead I'm giving away two dolls to two lucky Patreon patrons.

One is an adorable Shiba Inu Puppy for 2018, the Year of the Dog. The other is a cute Moon Bun Daruma doll. Daruma dolls are a symbol of perseverance and good luck in Japan, a perfect symbol for the new year ahead!


Each of my patrons, who pledges by December 31st, will be automatically entered into this giveaway. The drawing will take place on January 1st.

Thank you!