Hi everyone!
As usual I’ve been pretty nonexistent on the internet, but I still make time to provide updates for the Monthly Crafting Challenge! With any luck you should also be hearing from me again about a new giveaway and getting to see some of the projects I’ve been working on all this time I’ve been on semi-hiatus!
Here’s how my stats look – I’m extremely close to my next giveaway goal! Once I reach my 100k pageview kiriban (milestone) on DeviantArt, I’ll start up the next giveaway ^0^
DeviantArt pageviews: 97,778/100,000 = 98% (almost there!)
DeviantArt watchers: 3,619/4,000 = 90%
Facebook likes: 1,257/2,000 = 63%
Tumblr followers: 762/1,000 = 76%
Wordpress followers: 1,227/2,000 = 61%
I’m thinking at this rate I should be able to do another giveaway around June-ish, so be sure to check back into hear news about that 😀 However, you can always speed up the process by visiting my DeviantArt page if you haven’t already ^-^
On to the good stuff, though! The new Monthly Crafting Challenge prize for May is this chubby little Usagi Manju plush!
I don’t know as much about these sweet buns as other Japanese foods, but I couldn’t resist making them because they’re so adorable! I haven’t seen them personally in any Japanese confection shops I’ve been to, but from what I can gather, they’re a steamed bun that’s typically filled with sweet red bean paste. The rabbit features are usually painted with natural food dyes or sculpted from other garnishes. The rabbit theme makes it popular for both moon viewing festivals and festivals during the Year of the Rabbit (which won’t be until 2023 :<). You’ll find this adorable shape not only in this particular kind of filled sweet, but in bread buns and other confections as well!
You can get the pattern for this plush by signing up for email updates (found in the submission box on the right side of the page below the search bar). If you have trouble signing up, you can check out more info at the main Monthly Crafting Challenge page, the FAQ, or by emailing me. Also, bonus! for today only I’m offering both this pattern and the one from April when you sign up. After today though, the prize is just this guy 🙂 Though you can also purchase the older pattern through my Etsy if you’re too late.
If you’ve already signed up for emails, that’s where the challenge comes in. You can get this pattern if you make one of the projects from this blog, my books, or my Etsy then email me or message the finished project to my Facebook where I have a really awesome collection going of your creations! Keep it up every month and you’ll get a new free pattern, so don’t forget to check back during June to see the newest creation!