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making wild olive patterns extra kawaii

Tinted Cheeks = Extra Kawaii


For those not familiar, "kawaii" is a Japanese word that means "cute". But when I think of or use the word, I think "extra cute". So now, I'm going to show you how to make something extra kawaii, or extra extra cute. Mmmmkay?

Often you'll see kawaii items and illustrations that have the sweetest little blushing cheeks. That has never been a part of the drawings I do, and one reason is that I find it to be a distracting element when you embroider them. I think those cheeks are sooooo cute, but I've never used them. Thankfully, a wonderfully creative customer sent me a photo of a quilt labels she stitched, and she had found the answer!

It involves crayon or colored pencil tinting, and it really does make my patterns extra kawaii!

Tinted Cheeks = Extra Kawaii

Just look at that baseball and mitt! Amanda crayon tinted both designs so well, but it was the cheeks that jumped out at me. I'm so thankful to her for letting me share her work, and for coming up with a way to make cute into extra extra cute.

Tinted Cheeks = Extra Kawaii

Here's how you can try this out when stitching something that needs some darling blushing cheeks. Grab some pink crayons or colored pencils. I used Prismacolor Art Stix, which are like a colored pencil in stick form.

Test some little circles on a scrap of your fabric. This is also a good way to practice how you want those cheeks to come out, because once you start coloring on your embroidery, you really can't go back. I went with the lightest color for this piece.

Tinted Cheeks = Extra Kawaii
Tinted Cheeks = Extra Kawaii

Gently add your tinted cheeks to the face on your embroidery. Start out light and make it darker as you go. I probably could have gone a little darker on mine, but in person it shows up really well.

There you have it! Extra kawaii!

As a side note, when Disney made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, each animation cel that featured Snow White was hand tinted with real blush to give her soft, rosy cheeks. When I was tinting this pan of cookies, that's all I could think about!

17 comments:

  1. I do like designs that are kawaii even with tinted cheeks is even better. :) Love this blog post.

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  2. >.< Adorable!

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  3. Oh my goodness, how cute is that little tray of hearts?!! I learned how to tint with crayons from an online class, and I remember being so excited about something so simple--who knew! But now you've got me thinking...wonder how gelatos would work on fabric...?

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  4. Will the tinting go through the wash ok, or does it need to be "set"? Thanks for such a kawaii post!

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    1. Yes, you do need to set the color if it will be washed. Usually an iron is best, but different techniques suggest different methods of setting the color. Doing a test wash with the supplies and fabric is a good idea for things you really want to be safe on!

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    2. Thanks! I'm definitely going to try this. (Also, I was inspired to buy my very first psl today, wonder why?)

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  5. Oh this is so cute!! I love kawaii and I love your little tray x

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  6. Anonymous4:30 AM

    This is soooo 可爱! ;)

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  7. Love this idea, extra extra kawaii!!

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  8. Very kawaii. I squealed a little when I saw this post. Do you have any patterns you can share? I love the baseball and mitt.

    This is my latest kawaii purchase: Panda Chan edamame :) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jcDqr50gMq0/UfbLo6Xo3zI/AAAAAAAAAiI/sIcRBkII4qg/s1600/Panda-Chan+edamame.jpg

    Claire xx
    http://somewhereyonder.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. That edamame is the cutest!

      If you click the "Patterns" link under the blog header at the top of this page, you'll find lots of free patterns, plus if you click "Shop" you'll find even more, including the set that this pan of heart cookies is from.

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing this, very helpuful :)
    I also have a question, I am a little late for the autumn stitching club, are you going to have one for winter or Christmas?

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    Replies
    1. If you sign up for Autumn now, you'll still get all of the patterns and only be behind by three, which is pretty easy to catch up on. But yes, there will be winter and spring clubs too!

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