Crochet Toys- Amigurumi Snail

Yesterday and today I stayed inside in the dark, air-conditioned bliss of my lounge room doing some crochet. I made this little snail to be the mascot for my classroom this year. He hasn't got a name yet, feel free to add a suggestion. I love his (or her? ) kind of really creepy eyes hehehe.

I chose to make a snail because there is a saying I like that I want my class to remember all year:

 It doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop.

I think it's a great saying to keep up motivation when you might feel like you aren't good at something or aren't getting anywhere with what you are trying to do. 

I got the pattern for the toy from an Etsy store:

kseniadesign

She has some other cute patterns and instant download which I always appreciate so I can get started right away! I'd rather like to make the crab and the lamb pin cushion. I found the pattern quite easy to follow and well set out. If you have never made a toy like this before you might need to try a few very in depth tutorials first to get the hang of the process, however she does include a file with extra tips for and explanations. 

        

Fabric Lust

More web window shopping today... I'm being very lazy and trying to stay out of the sun because I got a very nasty burn down the front of both my legs when I was reading outside yesterday....

I know I'm not allowed to buy more fabric at this point. But there's no reason I can't look through all the sale fabrics at Hancock's and then arrange in rainbow order swatches.... so pretty! Seeing them all nicely arranged makes me want them even more, but like I said in the Window Shopping post, the postage takes a couple of weeks at best, so I can resist ordering knowing I won't get it right away or even soon.

Window Shopping

I have been wandering around Aliexpress this morning looking for cheap thrills. Initially I was looking for a new bag. I have a lovely mint green Mimco thing, but I used it for all of 2013 and I'm a bit sick of it really. I don't want to spend much on another bag right now, and I know Aliexpress always has bargain items where the risk of it being really bad is not to much because the price is so low. I found heaps of other items that I would like...as usual. I usually stay away from direct copies or fakes trying to pretend they are the actual item, but there are a couple I would like to try just to see if they are even half decent- like most of the things I've bought there previously.

I am putting off buying anything for a little while. I don't need any of it desperately and I know that shipping takes quite a while so I figure the longer I put it off, the longer I keep my money and the higher the chance I decide I can't be bothered or it's not worth it. 

What are your favourite place to shop for bargains online? Which colour do you like best for the bags ( I really can't choose and there are even more colours I like too!)?