Category: Mochimochi Photo Contest

🏆 Winners of the 2022 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest 🏆

Posted on by Anna

via GIPHY

The results are in!

One of the BEST things about designing little knitted toys is when I get to see fellow knitters from all over (that’s you!) use Mochimochi Land patterns to create their own characters with original personalities and stories.

When we have a contest, it’s a special opportunity to experiment and have fun with those stories. For the 2022 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest, many of you picked up your needles—and your lights and cameras—with results that were hilarious, sweet, and awesome. Thank you to all the creators who contributed to this year’s contest!

The theme was Sharing is Caring. Now, let’s take a look at the exciting winners!

Continue reading “🏆 Winners of the 2022 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest 🏆” →

Photo + Video Contest update

Posted on by Anna

A couple of happy updates about the 2022 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest!

First, due to Covid nonsense, the deadline has officially been extended to September 7th. You have so much time to finish your entries! (But get started now because September will be coming soon!)

And second, we have a new prize! Our top three winners will each receive a copy of Patty Lyons’ Bag of Knitting Tricks (featuring illustrations by Franklin Habit)!

This book is available for preorder right now—I can’t wait to have it in my hands!

That’s in addition to trophies made by yours truly, along with gift cards to the Mochimochi Shop.

See the full contest details on how to enter!

Announcing the 2022 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest

Posted on by Anna

UPDATE: Congratulations to our awesome winners!

UPDATE: Deadline extended! The new deadline for entries is September 7th!

UPDATE: Check out the Top Winners and the Bonus Award Winners from our 2020 contest for inspiration!

That’s right, The Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest is back for another summer of knitting cute Mochimochi Land characters and making them do cute and weird stuff!

The theme this year: Sharing is Caring

Let’s celebrate being together and the things we like to share: ideas, snacks, a contagious yawn
 there are many possibilities!

The top three winners will receive a handmade, one-of-a-kind Mochimochi Land trophy! They will be hand-made by me out of ceramic! Making them will be my own special summer challenge 😉

Eligibility

This contest is open to knitters worldwide who are 18 years or older.* To be eligible, your photo series or video must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop, a pattern from one of the Mochimochi books by Anna, or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design. (The use of Photoshop is OK, and other toys/characters, including other knitted toys, are welcome to appear in your photos or video too!)

Categories

Like last time, we’ll have three main categories, photo series, short video and super short video. As always, we’re looking for your cutest, most creative photos and videos of Mochimochi Land toys! (We prize originality over “professional” quality entries.)

PHOTO SERIES is a series of 3-10 photos. This should be a short sequence showing an unfolding action with or without “dialog” or captions.

SHORT VIDEO is a video that’s at least 20 seconds long, and up to 2 minutes long. It can be puppetry or stop-motion animation. Make a Mochimochi movie! Please avoid making this a slideshow of photos.

SUPER SHORT VIDEO is a video or animated GIF under 20 seconds long. It can be puppetry or stop-motion animation, Again, please avoid making this a slideshow of photos.

Note that we’re looking for humor, cuteness, and originality—not necessarily the most professional-looking photos and videos. We want everyone to enter! Need some inspiration? Check out the winners from our 2020 contest. They’re fantastic!

PLEASE NOTE: We may share/repost any photos or videos entered into the contest on social media, the Mochimochi Land newsletter, or on the Mochimochi Land website, but only with credit and only in relation to promoting the contest (no commercial use).

via GIPHY

How to enter

PHOTO SERIES: There are three ways to enter a photo series. Please choose just one platform, and enter up to three series of 3-10 photos each.

1) Post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest22. Post the photos together in one post if possible, or title and number each photo in the captions if posting separately.

2) Post your photos to the Mochimochi Land Facebook page with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest22. Post the photos together in one album.

3) If you can’t or don’t wish to use social media to enter (understandable if your accounts are private), you can send your photos as an email attachment to info@mochimochiland.com with the subject PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY.

SHORT VIDEOS (20 seconds to 2 minutes long) and SUPER SHORT VIDEOS (under 20 seconds): Enter up to 3 videos in each category. Here’s how to enter a video.

1) Post your video to Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest22. (Make sure your post is PUBLIC.)

2) Post to GIPHY (if it’s a GIF) or a video site like YouTube or Vimeo. After posting your video, please email a link to the video to info@mochimochiland.com with the subject line VIDEO CONTEST ENTRY. Please do NOT send the video as an attachment.

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is September 7th, 2022. We’ll announce the finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog and all the socials. (Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates!)

Prizes!

We’ll pick one top winner in each of the three categories. And the prizes will be a bit different this year! As suggested by a clever knitter, I will be attempting to craft handmade trophies for the winners. They’ll probably be ceramic, but we’ll see what happens with that. It’s my own creative challenge for the summer. 😉 Each winner will also receive a gift card to Mochimochimochi Land, and probably other fun stuff too!

Needles ready? Cameras set? Let’s GO!

* “Family” entries involving creative kids are welcome!

Spooky Spooky Winners!

Posted on by Anna

I hope everyone had a very happy Halloween! Ours was extra cute this year because we got to enjoy some very cool entries in our first-ever Spooky Spooky Contest! I had originally planned to select three winners, but picking three just wasn’t possible! So we ended up with four.

Without further ado, in no particular order, here are our SPOOKY SPOOKY WINNERS!

I love spooky things by Jennaferhay

How fun is this arrangement of assorted spooky characters!

Patterns: Candy Corn, Tiny Terrors, Tiny Fall patterns, and Tiny Ghost from Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi

That time of year when Mochimochi Land characters get Spooky Spooky by Frauborgmann

(Click to play video!)

So much drama and terror in this little video. Bravo!

Patterns: Tiny Gnome, Sophie & Chanel, Octopus from Adventures in Mochimochi Land, Spooky Ookie Cats

Witchy Tableau by Antipodeanstitchwitch

This adorable scene is comprised of some exquisite Mochimochis and mods!
(This fiber artist’s original creations are also amazing—check them out!)

Patterns (via the knitter’s caption: I modified the What-to-Werewolf [from Super-Scary Mochimochi] to make my witch. The white mouse is based on the Tiny Armadillo pattern [from Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi]. I also used the Tiny Owl, Plucky Mushrooms, Tiny Cacti and Cat in a Life Preserver patterns.Oh!! I also scaled down the free snail pattern to make a teeny tiny snail (it’s munching on the pot plant).

Fright Night by Aliceisknitting67

(Click to play video!)

OK Alice’s entry is beyond spooky and hilarious! Well done!!

Patterns: Tiny Gnome, Tiny Balloon from Adventures in Mochimochi Land, and Alice’s imagination!

How great are these!!! Check out all the spooky spooky entries (there are many more fantastic ones!) at the #Spookyspookymochimochi hashtag.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered! You are all such an inspiration to me!

It’s a Spooky Spooky contest!

Posted on by Anna

via GIPHY

Let’s share some delightful frights with a spooky Mochimochi contest! Your creation can be wearing a costume, or just somebody who’s spooky all on their own!

đŸ‘» Tag your Instagram post with @mochimochiworld and #spookyspookymochimochi

đŸ‘» Use a Mochimochi Land pattern as your base—modifications are great! (Any pattern from one of my books, from the Mochimochi Shop, or a free pattern from my blog counts)

đŸ‘» One entry per person, please!

đŸ‘» Three winners will each receive a $50 Mochimochi Land gift card!

đŸ‘» Deadline is October 30th đŸ‘»

Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest BONUS Awards

Posted on by Anna

We had so many terrific entries in the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest, I have some BONUS awards to give out in addition to our top three winners.

Each of these creators will receive a $15 gift card to the Mochimochi Shop!

Click on the title or image to be taken to the full video or photo series on social media.

BEST KNITTING THEME: Little Helpers by Bonnie

BEST BIRDS IN FLIGHT: The Great Escape by Tammy G

BEST NEWS GRAPHICS: Breaking News by Lora

BEST ALIEN: What If? by Ursula B

BEST SOUND: An Axe-ccident Waiting to Happen by Hueymcr

BEST NUDITY: If you go down in the woods today by LundeLinda

Congratulations to these creative thinkers! I could have given out so many more awards, but we just had to stop somewhere. Thanks again to everybody who took part in our contest this summer. Keep sharing your creations on social media using the hashtag #mochimochiland!

Announcing the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest

Posted on by Anna

Update: More wonderful entries featured in our BONUS awards!

Update: Congratulations to the winners!

Update: The submission deadline has passed. THANK YOU FOR THE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS! A team of Special Guest Judges will be announced soon, and winners will be selected later in September.

Update: Another new prize to announce! Each winner will receive a copy of Bites of Terror, the hilarious, creepy-cute book by Cuddles and Rage, aka Liz and Jimmy Reed!

Update: We have a new prize to announce! Each winner will receive the ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens from the always clever indie designer SpillyJane! 

The 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest is now officially open for entries!

This year’s theme: Escape into Mochimochi Land!
We want this summer’s photo contest to be a refreshing departure from the world, and there’s no better way to escape than through stories! Use your knitted friends from Mochimochi Land to tell a story through a series of photos or a video. (We’re using “story” very loosely here—it can just mean that something HAPPENS.) We’re looking for cuteness, humor, creativity, and escapism. Enter through your favorite social media platform (see below for details). Deadline is August 31st!

Winners will receive generous gift cards to some of our favorite small yarn stores (all capable of shipping internationally), plus “goodie bag” packages with lots of surprises.

Eligibility

This contest is open to knitters worldwide who are 18 years or older.* To be eligible, your photo series or video must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop, a pattern from one of the Mochimochi books by Anna, or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design. (The use of Photoshop is OK, and other toys/characters, including other knitted toys, are welcome to appear in your photos or video too!)

Categories

There are 3 categories to enter: Photo Series, Short Video, and Super Short Video.

PHOTO SERIES is a series of 3-10 photos. You could think of this as a short sequence showing unfolding action or emotion, or as a kind of “comic book” format for storytelling, with or without dialog.

SHORT VIDEO is a video that’s at least 20 seconds long, and up to 2 minutes long. It can be puppetry or stop-motion animation. Make a Mochimochi movie! Please avoid making this merely a slideshow of photos.

SUPER SHORT VIDEO is a video or animated GIF that under 20 seconds long. It can be puppetry or stop-motion animation, but no slideshows for super-short videos. Please avoid making this merely slideshow of photos.

Note that we’re looking for humor, cuteness, and originality—not necessarily the most professional-looking photos and videos. We want everyone to enter!

IMPORTANT: We may share/repost any photos or videos entered into the contest on social media, the Mochimochi Land newsletter, or on the Mochimochi Land website, but only with credit and only in relation to promoting the contest (no commercial use).

How to enter

PHOTO SERIES: There are four ways to enter a photo series. Please choose just one platform, and enter up to three series of 3-10 photos in each series.

1) Post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. Post the photos together in one post if possible, or title and number each photo in the captions if posting separately.

2) Post your photos to the Mochimochi Land Facebook page with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. Post the photos together in one album.

3) Post your photos on Twitter with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. Post the photos in a thread in order (preferably numbered), or post separately with a title and number as a caption for each.

4) If you can’t or don’t wish to use social media to enter (understandable if your accounts are private), you can send your photos as an email attachment to info@mochimochiland.com with the subject PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY.

SHORT VIDEOS (20 seconds to 2 minutes long) and SUPER SHORT VIDEOS (under 20 seconds): Enter up to 3 videos in each category. Here’s how to enter a video.

1) Post your video to Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. (Make sure your post is PUBLIC.)

2) Post to GIPHY (if it’s a GIF) or a video site like YouTube or Vimeo. After posting your video, please email a link to the video to info@mochimochiland.com with the subject line VIDEO CONTEST ENTRY. Please do NOT send the video as an attachment.

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is August 31st, 2020. We’ll announce the finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog.

Prizes!

We’ll pick one top winner in each of the three categories. Each winner will receive a $100 gift card to one of our favorite yarn stores: Gather Here in Cambridge, MA, Knitty City in NYC, or Yarnify in Chicago. The gift cards will be usable online, of course!

Like many local yarn stores right now, these three are working to help their communities while also working hard just to stay in business—and these three are very special to me personally.


Photo credit: David Trudell
Each winner will receive the ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens from the always clever indie designer SpillyJane! 


Each winner will also receive a copy of Bites of Terror, the hilarious, creepy-cute book by Cuddles and Rage, aka Liz and Jimmy Reed!

Needles ready? Cameras set? Take us away to Mochimochi Land!

* “Family” entries involving creative kids are welcome!

Winners of the 11th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest

Posted on by Anna

OK everyone, we’ve tabulated your almost 1,000 votes, and it’s time to announce the winners of the 11th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest!

Here’s another look at the finalists.

First, I want to again thank everyone who participated with your very creative entries. Mochimochi Land thrives on your enthusiasm and inspiration!

And once again, a big thank-you to our sponsor, Knit Picks! Knit Picks has sponsored this contest every year almost from the very beginning, and this year they are generously providing gift certificates to the top two winners in each category.
knitpicks_yarn
If you’re at all familiar with Knit Picks, you know they have everything a knitter or crocheter could want, including my favorite Palette yarn—perfect for knitting tiny mochis!

Without further ado, here are your winners in the photo category.

In third place is the charming Solar System by thefrugalgirl (knitted by Sonia)!

We love this cool cosmic family! You win a Mochimochi Land mystery kit and this collection of cute stuff (including, appropriately, a miniature astronaut)!

In second place is the awesome Beekeeper Gnome by Huey!

Way to go Huey! You win a $50 gift certificate from Knit Picks, a $25 gift card to Mochimochi Land, and two mystery kits!

And first place in the photo category goes to the adorable Sakura Bunnies by wooly brain!

Hooray! You win a $100 gift certificate from Knit Picks, a $50 gift card to Mochimochi Land, and all three mystery kits!

Now for our video category winners!

We had almost an exact tie for second and third place. In the end, by a very small margin, third place went to Robot Froyo by juleenbean!

So cute, Juleen! You win a Mochimochi Land mystery kit and this collection of cute stuff (which includes a fancy mushroom keychain)!

In second place is the epic der berg ruft by Alice is knitting!

Incredible knitting achievement! You win a $50 gift certificate from Knit Picks, a $25 gift card to Mochimochi Land, and two mystery kits!

And finally, first place in the video category goes to the eerie Stringer Things by Megan S!

Terrific, Megan! You win a $100 gift certificate from Knit Picks, a $50 gift card to Mochimochi Land, and all three mystery kits!

Congratulations to these most creative knitters! And that wraps up the 11th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest—thank you again to Knit Picks and all who participated with entries and votes. You all keep Mochimochi Land a thriving place of cuteness, adventure, and happy-making!