Craftster member Jeebles created this inspiring, modern-looking mobile from nothing more than hand-folded paper cranes, thread and ribbon, and a few chopsticks. Paper Crane Mobile

Related:
• HOW TO - Make an Origami Mobile
• Nursery Mobile
• HOW TO - Make a Paper Mobile

Check out these tentacled animal finger puppets with... cute hats? Ok, I admit it, I have no idea what animal these are, but they're certainly neat!

I'm also excited to announce that HP will be at the Maker Faire (May 3 - 4)! At the HP booth, you'll be able to get hands on and make some fun printable craft projects like the 3-D origami finger puppets, crafty cards, photo matchbooks, and more! Kids can also get a free photo taken with Po from the movie "Kung Fu Panda". Visit the HP booth when you are at the fair and get ready to get your craft on!

Related:
Craftzine Projects on the HP wiki

Here's an incredible crochet glove that makes your hand look like a forest of fallen logs and mushrooms. I can imagine it being used very well in a puppet show. This creative lady's blog is in Japanese, but her pictures aren't hard to translate! - Link.

PingMag has an amazing roundup of bizarre and wonderful chocolates from Japan. I'm drooling over the gyoza stuffed with bean paste and chocolate ganache. They say:

Valentine's Day is upon us, again. Now in Japan, the custom of women giving chocolate to men on this day has been quite strongly established: Thanks to clever marketing campaigns, the girls have to buy a lot at special items at department stores across the country. There, you find all sorts of cacao temptations, from luxury truffles by chocolatiers to "all-you-can-pack" types. So if you want to impress the boy next door you have been eyeing for a while, PingMag recommends you to get some very special, uniquely shaped chocolate that might leave an impact...

For those of you who don't know it, PingMag is an amazing online design magazine based in Tokyo with articles ranging from Brazilian carnival costumes to Malaysian seal engravers to, well, weird chocolate. They also started a cool series of interviews with rural Japanese craftsmen. Link.

It is said that Mizuhiki connects the hearts of the giver to the receiver. With Valentine's Day approaching I thought this would make a lovely gift/keepsake. Mizuhiki knots are also great to use for cards, wrapping gifts, embellishments, or even a valentine swap.

A while back, The Wurst Gallery in Portland held a great show called We Heart Gocco, which centered on artwork created with the much-beloved Japanese tabletop screenprinting device. It's so impressive seeing how different artists have utilized the gadget's capabilities. Amazingly enough, you can still nab some of the prints online at the gallery's website--what a great way to grab some fun and affordable artwork from some of today's coolest artists. Here are two examples of the 14 prints available, "Little Love" by Mizna Wada (above) and "Love with a Needle" by Evan B. Harris (below). Link.

Related:
• We Heart Gocco - Link.
• Print Gocco Tutorial - Link.
• Save Gocco - Link.

Mr. Funky creator Narumi Ogawa will be teaching a crochet class at The Little Knittery in Atwater Village on Sunday, February 3, from 3-6pm. Students will learn to make their own super cute bear like this one--Narumi is even providing the plastic eyes and nose. Narumi has given me crochet lessons before (here's a link to my very first-ever amigurumi project, made with her help) so I can personally guarantee she's a great teacher. Don't miss it! Link.

If you've ever wanted to customize a Blythe doll and have her actually get manufactured, you may want to consider entering the 3rd Annual Blythe Beauty Contest! The details:

We are pleased to announce the call for entries for the 3rd Annual Blythe Beauty Contest! The three categories of this competition are: "Miss Natural Beauty" a competition to select the most beautifully enhanced Neo Blythe with a presentation of both casual and formal attire; "Miss Special Beauty" to select the most beautifully enhanced Neo Blythe using creative customizing skills with a presentation of either casual and formal attire; "Miss Petite Beauty" ( a new category) to select the most beautifully enhanced Petite Blythe with a presentation of either casual and formal attire.

Visit the Blythedoll website for full details and rules, plus some amazing photos of past winners. Link.

From the pages of CRAFT: 03.

Read Queen of the Misfit Toys by Jenny Ryan, pages 40-42. CRAFT subscribers can read the full article at the Digital Edition. Link.

To subscribe to CRAFT and receive 4 quarterly issues and access to the digital edition go here. Link.

Clairigami creates colorful and intricate origami sculptures from a variety of papers and vintage advertisements. She'll even personalize a sculpture with the color(s), size, and message of your choice. Link.

Sister Diane of CraftyPod recently made some intricate and beautiful Temari ball ornaments for a mutual friend, and I had to snap a photo to remember them by. Seeing them inspired me to try making similar ornaments for myself. There's a great tutorial in CRAFT: Vol. 3 (available here), or you can check out the TemariKai website for more info and inspiration. Link.

By the way, you too can join in on the fun! There are lots of digital crafts projects being featured on the HP Community Wiki from learning how to print on fabric to great photography tips, and projects from Gwen Stefani herself. While you're there, why not sign up and add your own projects into the mix! Visit the homepage here to find out more about the HP Community Wiki. Link.