Info AquaScape

I really, really like the Chronicles of a Yarn Obsession . It's such a staple in my pattern collection when I need a quick, cute gift for my cat-owning friends. Check out the changes I made to make a refillable catnip pocket that will truly drive your kitty wild! =^._.^= Materials: The materials needed for the Kitty Squid pattern  (scrap yarn, black yarn, crochet hook G, tapestry needle) Catnip Scrap piece of fabric (something to wrap the catnip such as a square of 3-4 inches in size, preferably a color that will blend in with the cat toy body) Sewable strip of Velcro (less than 2 inches, preferably white) Hand sewing needle  Sewing thread (pick a color that will blend in with the cat toy body) Instructions: 1) Follow the Kitty Squid pattern and finish making the squid body and attach the eyes, but don't stuff the body yet or sew it shut. 2) Flip the squid upside-down and open the base of the body. Cut a length of Velcro that will span the width o...

My 3-year-old son woke up one morning and said that he dreamed he had a little white dog in the palm of his hand. Despite the fact I haven't crocheted anything new in months, I was determined to make his dream come true. This is an English translation of Waldi by Conni Hartig , with some added notes that made things easier for me. Enjoy! Materials: 10 crochet thread (I used worsted yarn) 1.5 mm hook (I used a 4 mm size G hook) Polyester filling Back and red embroidery floss for face (I used 6 mm plastic safety eyes and a 9 mm nose) Tapestry needle Abbreviations: ch = chain dec = sc decrease  hdc = half double crochet inc = sc increase  rnd = round sc = single crochet sl st = slip stitch st = stitch Instructions: For the legs and the head/body, the pattern is worked continuously in a spiral; do not join. For the tail and ears, work flat and turn the work at the end of each row. Legs Magic ring , ch 1 Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring (6) Rnd 2: ...

Once upon a time, there was an ordinary man named K who loved to play video games. When he heard that the New Nintendo 3DS XL handheld console was coming out soon, he decided to preorder it on a whim. Little did he know what a treasure he had in his hands... The four release versions of the New Nintendo 3DS XL for North America (Source: Nintendo ) You see, Nintendo decided to create four designs for North America's launch day: standard red standard black The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D limited edition Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate GameStop-exclusive edition To give you an idea of how rare and desired these things were, the Majora's Mask version sold out on GameStop's website in 15 minutes  and was being sold on eBay for $300 (originally $200). And because of the US West Coast labor disputes, it was becoming hard to even find the regular red and black handhelds . As for the Monster Hunter version, well, let's just say they were going on eBay for a whopping $4...

When Dexter was born, I was worried that I wouldn't be a good enough mom, so I read tons and tons of books and blogs. When Rosalina was born, I was worried that I would be too busy running around with two kids, leaving my marriage in the dust. Then I found thedatingdivas.com  website, which provides tons of free ideas for keeping the romance alive with date nights and love letters. What a great resource! So I've been busy for the past two months working on a massive series of "Open When" letters in time for our anniversary. Source: The Dating Divas If you haven't heard of them, it's a series of envelopes where you write a special note for your significant other (SO) to open when they're feeling happy, worried about something, need a pep talk, etc. However, instead of including letters in each one, I decided to comb the whole Dating Divas website for bigger and better ideas. They have tons of free printables, so all you mainly need is: Color pri...

I can't believe I get to stay home every day and take care of this bundle of joy! I did it! I took a leap of faith and told my boss that I'd like to extend my 3-month maternity leave for at least 1 year until I finish nursing Rosalina. K's job seems somewhat stable at least for the next 6 months (they're looking to hire him on soon, which means health insurance benefits, baby!). Plus, my mother-in-law isn't able to babysit as much anymore, so it just wasn't worth it to pay for childcare when I really, really  want to be there for my kids when they're younger. I love having a little girl... she's literally my living doll that I get to play dress up with. While it may have seemed nerve-racking to pull the plug with my company, I was scared to death about telling my parents. Yeah, the same parents who both worked their entire lives and paid for my engineering bachelor's and master's degrees. The same mother who told me when I got marrie...

It's that time of the year again! Traditionally K has been the one that does both of our makeup jobs for the zombie crawl , but since I've been experimenting with makeup more this year, I decided to give it a shot myself. I'm not into the gore factor as much, so I looked at "glam zombie" examples for inspiration. Based on some tutorials, I simplified the makeup to 7 easy steps that only cost me $4 in white face paint from a Halloween costume store (since I already owned everything else). Can there be such a thing as a glamorous zombie? (Sources: Beautylish ,  Sccastaneda ,  Marie Claire ) Materials $4 white grease paint or clown white paint Eyeshadow: charcoal black, plum red or brown Black eyeliner Red lip gloss Makeup brushes or sponges Black nail polish (optional) Makeup fixer spray (optional) Baby wipes Eye makeup remover Baby shampoo Step 1: Foundation After washing your face, put on the top of your outfit and trace or dot the n...

When Dexter was 2 weeks old, I had a Groupon discount for a studio photography session for a disc of 10 digital, retouched images. It was a really good deal and the photographer did decent work, but in hind sight, I feel that Dexter came out looking kinda... weird. Above: newborn Dexter taken by a professional with studio lighting and heavy editing Below: newborn Rosalina taken by me with natural lighting and minor editing Since then I have paid for a photo session of our entire family (this time in an outdoor setting), and again, I feel like most of the images didn't have us looking our best. Maybe I'm just super picky or there wasn't enough time to get our kid in the best of moods. Then I saw this article on DIY newborn photography . Wow, if I could make my own setup at home and take pictures over the course of many days to get that perfect pose, maybe I could produce results that looked professional (and several hundred dollars cheaper). Materials The only...