Damn That's Crafty!

Spider Wreath

2010-10-22T11:22:00.002-07:00

Halloween is on the way, which always puts me in a crafty mood. This spider wreath is perfect because it is light on the effort and heavy on the creepy. I was able to create the whole thing in less than an hour. A small disclaimer though, I live in Arizona so the spray paint only took a few minutes to dry. If you live in a more humid climate the project may take a little longer. On to the details....

Supply List

Grapevine Wreath (I used a small size but use any size you want)
Black Paint (preferably spray paint)
Glue Dots®
Plastic Spiders
Ribbon
Scissors

The Goods

Begin by spray painting the wreath black. Be sure to get in all the crevices and paint both sides. Allow the wreath to dry thoroughly before attaching the spiders.

Starting to get Creepy

Attach the spiders to the wreath using Glue Dots®. It looks best to attach them in random directions rather than all in one direction. I prefer to use a lot of spiders rather than just a few. Be sure to leave a gap where you can later attach the ribbon (if you choose to attach a ribbon for hanging.)

Demonstrating!

Connect the ribbon by creating a loop at the top and secure using a Glue Dot®.

So Close to Completion

If you choose you can fasten the ribbon to the wreath using Glue Dots®. This will prevent the wreath from shifting.

Final Touches

Place a single spider on the ribbon as an accent.

Done!!!

Cool and Gross and Perfect

Your wreath is now ready to hang! Or to take artsy pictures of! Your call!

Full disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Glue Dots® design team.

Photography Website!

2010-09-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Big news! I have finally gone into business as a photographer. I specialize in dog photography, which makes me a dogtographer. So, you will see less photography here since I will now put it on the photography site and corresponding blog. Once my life slows down a little I will do some more crafting blogs as well. Check out my new website HERE. Thank you!

Valentine's Day Cards (Slightly Delayed)

2010-04-22T15:24:00.002-07:00

This post is rather silly seeing that May is almost here, but honestly if I don't post it now it will never happen.

I was commissioned to make Valentine's Day cards for a local business as part of a promotion they were running. After a few days of hard work 130 cards were produced in 3 different designs. Here is a peek of what I did.

The first card was the "sweet" card. I made all of the cards using Fabriano Medioevalis paper, which is a super nice quality paper. It has a deckle-edge and feels amazing and so soft. Step one was creating an image, and I came up with the bunny sniffing some flowers. I drew the image, photocopied it, and then printed it using my nifty Gocco Printer. To jazz it up a little I added a sparkly heart embellishment. I think it turned out rather cute. On the inside I printed "Love is Sweet" in pink.

Sweet Indeed

Close-up sniff

The next card was my take on a more "masculine" card (or whatever that means in reference to Valentine's Day.) It is a pun, which to me is the essence of Valentine's Day.

See what I did there?

I used a heart shaped punch on wood grain printed paper to create the hearts. The blue paper is just scrapbook paper cut to fit the card and adhered using Glue Dots. I prefer to use Glue Dots on paper projects because you don't get the rippling that happens with more wet adhesives like Elmer's Glue. In addition the Glue Dots are cleaner to work with so you don't get glue all over everything you are working on. The border is made of ribbon and also adhered using Glue Dots. The "Wood you be mine?" text was printed on address labels. Address labels are a fantastic trick. You can use the opaque ones or to look really slick use the transparent ones like the one below.

I was a Creative Writing minor in college

Detail shot for the fans

I used a Glue Dot Pop Up to secure the heart to the card. These are basically thick double-sided stickers that give height to your object. You can use one for a little height or go crazy stacking them for even more lift.

The last card I created was the "romantic" card.

Seduced yet?

The background and red of the heart were created using scrapbook paper. The map is actually taken from on old road atlas. I love this idea because I always have old atlases or maps hanging around from trips and other activities. I cut a heart in the map using a paper punch and mounted the red paper behind it. That was all secured to the card using a Glue Dot Pop Up to add some interest.

Inner text- nothing witty to say

I printed the text in the transparent address labels I mentioned earlier. They are barely noticeable in person and only a little visible if you decide to take a really close-up picture. This technique works well when you a.) Don't want to hand write the text b.) Can't send the card through a computer printer.

Drama

I would like to wish all of you a Happy Valentine's Day about 2.5 months late! On a side note, I do custom cards for ANY occasion. On occasion I will even post them before it is embarrassingly late.

Long Lost Return

2010-04-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

So, 2010 has been a hell of a year. A hellish year really, and because living sometimes takes 100% effort the blog has suffered. Horribly. Well, things have calmed a little and I am back to posting. Thank you for sticking with me and here is to better times ahead.

My return to blogging is a good one. For as long as I have been working at my current job there was a rusty stand alone ashtray outside. Because you can't smoke anywhere even remotely near a building in Arizona this ashtray had seen its last days. Rust everywhere, twigs, leaves, you name it. I knew that eventually this relic would go to the big dumpster in the sky, but I knew it had such potential!

Take a peek at the lovely before images below.

Fact: This is also what your lungs look like after smoking

Hope you have your tetanus shot!

Yum

When dealing with rusted metal (in this case rust that may have some metal in it) it is easiest to just paint the whole thing with Rustoleum. Rustoleum is amazing stuff really. It is spray paint that magically paints beautifully over rust and also stops it from progressing.You can get it at any hardware store and it comes in all sorts of colors. I went with a leafy green color.

The key to working with rust is that you have to cover all the surfaces well with paint. Any exposed rust will continue to develop and eat away at the metal under the paint. My helpful spray painting tip is keep the can at least a foot away from your project. Any closer and too much paint will dispense and create drips. You will be pretty sad. Be sure to shake the can often. A little shake and spray wrist action also works really well. Do a coat and let it dry before applying additional coats for coverage. Please also work outside or in a well ventilated area and cover your work surface because spray paint does just that- sprays.

After just a little spray paint here is what I got.

Maybe a little better

Fancy

And now to solve the mystery of WHAT I was creating out of this nasty old ashtray...

A Lovely Bird Feeder!

I am happy to report that all the birds in my area really enjoy it. The quail especially love the treats, and I need to refill it every single day. Greedy birds.

Dia de los Muertos Masks

2009-11-01T18:46:00.001-07:00

Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite holidays! Living in the Southwest I have noticed that this celebration has becoming increasingly part of popular culture without becoming over commercialized. If you are unfamiliar with Dia de los Muertos I highly recommend reading up on it. It is a meaningful holiday that celebrates life and death. Added bonus the decorations are amazing.

To celebrate this year I made my own Dia de los Muertos skull masks. I picked up the paper mache masks at Michael's right before Halloween. If you are lucky they still may have some!!! Next I painted them using regular craft paint. The traditional skulls are usually colorful and celebratory. We tried a little bit of everything.

Paper mache mask primed in white craft paint

Decorating with swirls and things

Good thing about being a skull: No double chin

Luchador! Courtesy of Casey

Muy traditional

Finished Mask- Like the Platinum Grill? It was unintentional.

What if this is what I look like inside?

This scares me pretty bad

Someone give this guy a sandwich

I know that you are thinking: Finally! A use for all those skull masks I have just laying around the house. You are welcome!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-31T17:31:00.001-07:00

Milo as El Diablo

Hannah as a bat (naturally)

Felt Squid Gift-O-Rama

2009-10-27T21:29:00.003-07:00

My friend Jenny is a fan of the wool felt animals, and for the past few months she has hinted that a wool felt squid would be really great. Always being one to please, I whipped this little guy up for her. I hope Jenny enjoys her new friend!

Arty Squid

Orcas better watch their backs

Please do not do this with a real squid

It is all in the eyes

Wool Felt Gift: Panda Addition

2009-10-22T14:07:00.002-07:00

My very soon to be brother-in-law Carl had a birthday just the other day, and I wanted to give him something special. Panda special to be exact. Carl really likes pandas, and I assume pandas really like Carl.I got out my wool, my needle and got to felting. This is what I came up with.

Birthday Panda!

Love my face

Beary nice

Pandie in situ (image courtesy of Casey)

Mmm Bamboo

I hope Carl really enjoys his panda and keeps it nice and safe away from the dogs!

Devo & McRib Dogtography

2009-10-13T19:00:00.005-07:00

Ok I am a giant liar. I promised there would be more crafts before photography. Clearly this is more photography. There are crafts in the making, but the pictures aren't ready yet. These pictures are.

I would like to introduce you to Devo and McRib. These are my sister and her soon-to-be-husband's dogs. They are rescue pups (which I love!), shar-pei mixes, and also brother and sister. They have very silly names as well.

McRib Vision

I think he is a pitbull for sure

Debating which gross thing to do next

Screams!

Sister and Brother

McRib with dignity

McRib's tongue (no dignity)

Kiss

Lovely Lady Devo

PawPaw

The Eyebrows!

What a Love

McRib deep in thought (common in mutts)

I hope you can forgive my little lie and hope you enjoy the dogtography!

p.s. Click on the images for extra hugeness!

Awww Rats!

2009-10-06T21:10:00.009-07:00

Although I focus on dog photography, I love ALL animals... OK, I don't like mosquitos. Darby asked me to take pictures of his new rat babies, and I was happy to oblige. They proved difficult to capture because they were so darn quick. If an eye wasn't blinking than a whisker was twitching! Also, please excuse all the noise (graininess) in the pictures. I really had to increase the ISO and it wasn't ideal. If it really bothers you please squint. Thank you.

Family Picture

Brotherly Love

Ratty Drama

Convict!

Rat Art= Rart?

Heavenly

And then there was light! And then a mini rat!

Albino Beauty

Whiskas!

Sexy shoulder glance

Ratatouille

I think beady eyes are charming

Good rat. Five dollar. Deals?

Rat circa 1974

The cutest infestation ever

Peeker

Hope you enjoy!!!

Dog Photography

2009-09-28T20:09:00.012-07:00

In an attempt to improve my photography (specifically dog photography) I decided to take my camera along for a quick weekend getaway to Greer. I captured a whole lot of images! Here are some of the better ones. I think I am improving on my CRAFT.

You can get lost in those eyes!

NO WAI! (thanks Nico!)

What to murder next...

She loves vacays

A tale of two tails

Sneak Attack

Dainty Paws

My love

Just my fur kids. Hangin' out.

Glamour shot (where is the red rose?)

Driver License Photo

Coach Snuggle

Whiskas!

Sneak attack part II

Leash vision

A squeaky toy may have been used

Someone needs Just For Men Gel

Ahoy! A Stuffed Whale

2009-09-13T17:29:00.006-07:00

I have been meaning to get into making stuffed animals for a while, and since I had the fiberfill out for the last project I decided why not. I got the pattern from the book Softies, but this project is so simple you don't really need a pattern. You could probably just free hand draw your own pattern and go from there! This would be step 1, either get or make a pattern.

Already Looking Very Whaley

The next step is to trace your pattern onto a piece of fabric and cut out your first side. For this whale I used grey felt, but pretty much any fabric would do. Hell, make a patent leather whale if you like. I recommend tracing and cutting out the first side using the pattern, but trace/cut out the second side using your first piece as a guide. This guarantees your sides are perfectly even.

Harpooned!

After both sides are cut out, you now need to decorate the whale's face if you want to use any sewing. This is so your messy knots and work are concealed inside the whale. (Pinocchio-style). I used needlepoint like the Softies book recommends. This book also gives direction for basic needlepoint. Needlepoint is a whole topic unto itself, so I won't really get into it here. If you don't want to learn/hate needlepoint feel free to create the whale's face using whatever you would like.

Sorta looks like a Vampire Whale

After this, it is much like sewing up a pillow. Remember to stitch your whale up inside out! Stitch all around the edges using either a machine or by hand. Leave a gap to allow for stuffing. Also, be sure to make your whale's tail large enough that you can get the tail fin through. For tight spots you can use a pen or other small point object to help push the tail through.

Now that your whale is mostly sewn up and right side out, stuff that baby! Be sure to read my stuffing tips if you need help. You can also use that pen to help stuff filling into tight spots like the tail.

Please don't call those Sea Shepherd people

The final step is to hand sew up the hole and add an eyeball. I used an eye of the google variety and employed the use of hot glue. Now your whale is complete!

Riding on a Hand (Like all Whales do)

Pass the Krill

This project is so easy and so cute you should expect to see a pod of these little guys soon!

Shrunken Sweater Pillow Crafting

2009-09-11T18:09:00.001-07:00

According to the internet, fall is just around the corner. Although it is still 100 degrees here in Tucson, I will go ahead and believe it. One of my favorite things about autumn is the clothing because you get to wear sweaters and pants and scarves and all the things you can't wear for the other 9 months of the year here. One downside of this is the inevitable wool sweater in the washer and dryer. It is a sad, sad day to find your favorite sweater warm out of the dryer misshapen and shrunk to half its size. What to do in such a situation? Some would say make lemons into lemonade. I would say make sweaters into pillows!

This is the story of this sweater. I bought it for my husband at Target (because I am cheap). He wore it several times until GASP it ended up in the regular laundry. Luckily for me, it shrank to my size! I wore it several times before it magically appeared out of the dryer again. Since we have no babies nor midget friends we were out of luck. Until this craft came by...

Oh, you have never heard of a dry cleaner?

Step one is to decide what shape to cut your pillow into. Mine had trim along the bottom so this was a good place to start a choppin'. Another natural cut line was right before the armholes began. The shape becomes less square after this point due to tailoring and it would make this project more challenging. Since I am a pretty miserable seamstress I thought it would be better to keep it as simple as possible. Interesting fact: Ever notice how wool feels denser after it has been washed? This is because the washing machine and dryer agitate the wool fibers causing them to mat a.k.a. felt. Much like the wool animals you see on my site, the wool changes characteristics due to agitation, be it a barbed needle or water. The more you know...

Snip Snip

Tada! A sexy/cozy wool tube top

You could of course stop here with your tube top, or you could continue on with the original pillow plan. The beauty of this project is that the sewing is half done! Two sides should be the original seams, so you only have two straight lines to do! Be sure to turn the tube top inside out before you sew! This will conceal your sewing work on the inside of the pillow that no one will ever ever see. I used a machine, but you could do this by hand if you don't have access to a sewing machine. It isn't especially difficult, it would just take more time. Sew along one entire side, closing up that end. Begin sewing up the other side but LEAVE A HOLE large enough for you to stick your hand in. This allows you to turn the pillow right side out and also stuff it with fill.

Stuff it, Stuff it Good

A few tips on stuffing. I used a poly-fiber fill. It is a good choice because it is readily available at the craft store, is cheap, and works pretty well. Please don't just take the fill out of the bag and stick it in your pillow. Lump city! Instead, break it up in your hands a little so that there aren't any huge lumps and bumps. Now start stuffing. As you put it in watch for huge lumps and fill in these spaces accordingly. You will use more filling than you think. Really stuff it in there! A nice firm pillow will a.) Look better b.) Feel better c.) Resist lumping up in the long haul. After it is all stuffed hand sew up the hole. The great thing about wool is that the fabric is so fibrous your stitches virtually disappear!

So Comfy

You have now saved a sweater from dumpster death and accessorized your home to boot! What? You don't have a shrunken wool sweater because you know how to do laundry? Ok fine. You have a few options. Ask around. It is possible that a friend lazy enough to shrink their clothing will also be lazy enough to not make it into a pillow themselves. You can also check the thrift stores and discount chains for wool sweaters. Wash those babies a couple times in your washer and dryer and you are all set!

Rethinking the Binder

2009-08-03T17:57:00.001-07:00

Sometimes crafts happen because you own something ugly but don't want to throw it away. Take this binder for example. It is horrid. It is huge, puffy, and godawful marbled brown. It may be an eyesore, but it is perfectly good. It would be a shame to send it to a landfill, and not even poor people would want to be given this.

I have no redeeming qualities

Luckily for this binder, it does have one redeeming quality: it is utilitarian. There are lots of things I could put in a binder such as this. I happen to have a lot of cards and letters I can't bare to part with. This binder, with a little overhauling, would be a perfect home for these keepsakes. So using felt fabric, a hot glue gun, glue dots, felt stickers, ribbon, some more glue and paper I created this:

I swear it lit itself like this

Sexy side view

Peek inside

This project from start to finish took under an hour. First, I cut the fabric to fit around the binder. Using hot glue I secured the felt directly to the binder. It takes a few additional simple cuts to get the corners to overlap nicely and to get the fabric to fit around the metal inner-workings. I glued decorative paper over the exposed felt edges to cover up my handiwork. I added a ribbon border (totally optional.) I had a few felt flower kickin' around and added those to the front for decoration. It was almost too easy...

I keep cards and letters in this binder, but there are tons of options: Photos, scrapbooks, recipes, notebooks, speeding tickets, etc... The options are limitless!

Birthday Cards- Return of the Crafty

2009-06-28T16:14:00.001-07:00

These cards were actually done a while ago, but I had to wait until a few select friends received the cards before I could do a post. For those of you who follow the blog, these are Gocco cards I printed using my own sketch. I personally like to jazz them up with some color, but I think they stand on their own.

Crabs= Birthday Celebration

What it would look like on your table (if you received one)

Mit Gelb

Blue is my personal fav

I made a few...

For those of you who may be interested, I opened a Flickr account and am posting images there as well. You can see these pictures there as well. You can find me here.

Excuses, Excuses

2009-06-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have been a very bad craft blogger. I readily admit to this. I do PROMISE that a new craft centric post is on the way. Until then you will have to be tided over with these pictures I took in San Diego. Hang with me!!!

What a scamp!

Not made of wool

Balboa Park- flowers aren't funny

Enjoy koi

I love two things: crafts and aquariums

Eel better soon

It is not a vacation without geology

OMG!!!!Seals!!!!1!!!

Fatties

The look!!!!

We had a moment

Disapproves

I took him home

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

Easter is a notoriously crafty holiday, but I didn't do much. Why? Because I find Easter a little creepy. End of story. Happy Easter anyway! Here, enjoy a Peep.

Wait a minute...

What the...

It would be more convincing if the wool was radioactive yellow

Careful analysis revealed Peeps are nothing more than sugar blobs

Put down the Peep and eat some vegetables will you! My teeth hurt just looking at them.

More Dewey Pics

2009-04-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

I think I have found my true calling...dog photographer. Here are some more pictures of Dewey. He is growing up so fast!

First day of school

Not so fast

Slurp

Gentleman Dewey

Dewey Disapproves- Puggles are very disapproving

Betty Davis eyes

Thanks for taking a look. If you are interested in any dog photography lets talk!

Confession

2009-03-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

I have been a very bad crafter. In fact, I have done very little crafting at all. What's the hold up? Well, I have been taking pictures, reading about taking pictures, and editing pictures. It has been digital photography overload for me. Since I have nothing else to report back on, I will just show you some of my pics...

My parents got a puggle puppy! And his name is Dewey! DEWEY!!! My dogs, of course, refer to him as Uncle Dewey. Uncle Dewey was fun to take pictures of, but damn he was fast! Here are some successful shots:

It is Dewey with a "y" damn it

Oh geez

Attacked! (And yes, I am that white)

Another factor in my absence is that I took a vacation. Finally. My mini Fam headed up to Greer, AZ for the week, and it was wonderful. We relaxed, communed with nature, and even had a freak snow storm.

Vacation?!

Yes, there are badasses in Greer

Goosen at sunset

Snow!!!

We were prepared for the elements (!)

Damn oxen died

Awwww

May have been color enhanced

Hope you enjoy the pictures! If anyone would like to see more and/or higher resolution versions let me know. Thanks! Oh, and I promise to get back on the crafting bandwagon soon.

A Bunny for Nico

2009-03-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

There is only one way to wish someone goodbye and happy birthday at the same time. This is it:

He had to catch it first.

Birthday Bye Bye Bunny!

I mustn't- oh but I must!

I think he likes it!

Nico, I hope you like your new little friend. I am a little worried because LA seems like no place for a bunny, but I trust you will be a good parent.

Sculpey Sack Boy & Flash Fun

2009-02-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

My husband has been asking me forever for a crafted Sack Boy from Little Big Planet. My husband likes the game because it is full of little puzzles. I like the game because you find stickers and outfits. When he was at work today I whipped this guy up.

Baked for 15 Min

Size Comparison

He is made of Sculpey clay and wasn't that bad to make. I think it is time to reintroduce clay to my crafting world. Plus, Sculpey reminds me of my childhood.

ALSO!!! I finally bought an external flash for my Canon Rebel. It is well worth the money, and allows me to take rad pictures like the ones below.

At Night in Our Super Dark Dining Room

Drama Queen

Bling

When Will I Stop Posting Wool Felt Animals?

2009-02-20T17:07:00.001-07:00

Answer

I will never stop posting wool felt animals because they are the best (and perhaps one of the most obscure) crafts! This winged porker turned out rather well, although I think the bright pink may be a bit much. My next flying pig may be a more soothing peach.

My Whimsical Little Piglet

This guy was started awhile ago at Marl's Craft Jam 09, but he was just finished a few nights ago. He started looking a bit turtle-like, but now there is no question this guy is the KING OF DINOSAURS!!!

Terrifying I Know

Full Body Sexiness

If You Don't Move He Can't See You

Sure, wool felt animals are great. They are cute, they offer unconditional love, and they are a hit at parties. That all seems well and dandy, but did you realize that not all of the earth's creatures feel this way?! Below, an image of the wool felties one known natural predator...

The Humanity!!!

Don't worry folks, the pig survived (unlike an untold number of lizards- R.I.P Lizzies). Remember, always keep your wool friends out of dog reach. Only you can prevent wool tragedy.

I apologize if the font size varies from post to post. Blogger apparently hates me, and thinks it is hilarious to posting things differently than the draft. Anyone else have this problem?!

Flowers for you, Valentine

2009-02-14T16:17:00.001-07:00

I hope you enjoy these ribbon flowers my friend Katie and I made. They are super easy to make. All you need is some ribbon, a needle and thread. If you want, you can attach them to some floral wire with floral tape for an instant bouquet.

The trial and error bouquet (Mostly a success!)

Artsy shot

Close-up of my fav flower

Serious fun

A very large fabric flower- all Katie on this one

I was so inspired by these ribbon and fabric flowers I quickly found other applications for them. Below is a Valentine's Day card I made my parents. I made a simple ribbon flower, but instead of attaching it to floral wire, I adhered it to the card and added some jewel accents.

Easy Peasy

Would you buy this?

Dramatic shadows for added emphasis

If you live in Tucson and ever need flowers, give Katie call! She is a super talented florist, and may I add a complete doll. Visit her shop Posh Petals!

Gifting Dogs

2009-02-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

This past month I made two different wool felt dogs to give as gifts. It was kind of tough giving them away (I get attached!), but I know they went to good homes. I hope the recipients enjoy them!

The first was a black dog I did purely from my imagination (no pictures or patterns). I made it for my mom for her birthday. My parents don't have any dogs at the moment, so this guy will have to fill in. Plus he is house trained! I am pretty happy with how he turned out.

mutt for my mom

I even gave him a ribbon collar with a tag- a first!

The second dog was for one of my closest friends Kim visiting from Australia. Her family recently lost their dachshund Pumpkin. He lived to the ripe old age of 14! This little wiener is now far far away in Perth; take care my woolly friend.

Delightful!

Full body shot

Throw another shrimp on the barbie for this guy

Standard DTC bum shot

I Can Sew!

2009-01-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ok not really, but here is my first attempt at a solo project. I decided to make a camera cozy for my point and shoot. The poor little guy lives in my purse, and believe me it can get dangerous in there sometimes.

I made the pattern myself with some directions off the interweb. I am especially proud because I was able to do a liner and foam cushioning. The foam cushioning was my own genius idea. You will recognize the skull fabric from my earlier tote project.

The directions said this should take about 20 minutes. It took 2 hours.

Artsy picture of the inside

My Camera All Tucked In

Next time I will add a snap or some velcro so it closes, but the tucking method works well too.

Snow Yeti!!!

2009-01-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

My husband and I went up to Greer for a super quick mini getaway this week. Check out what we ran into!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow Yeti!!!???!!!

Terrifying.

Nice abs! He must work out.

Breathtaking.

We also saw a bald eagle, but he flew away before we could get any pictures :(

Felt Fever

2009-01-16T14:15:00.001-07:00

I am sure all two of my readers are pretty bored of wool felting by now, but that is too bad. Here are some more.

Below is a cat I actually did around Thanksgiving but never got around to posting. He isn't the best work I have ever done, but oh well.

Meow

When I was sick, I watched a lot of Planet Earth on Blueray. I was inspired...

Yes he is in the freezer ice bin

This last little guy is a fun time. You can't tell from the pictures, but he has awesome back stripes. If you are lucky I may post them later.

Chipmunk Fever

a la acorn

2009: Year of the Craft

2009-01-09T11:08:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted, but don't fret, I have been a busy little crafter. I got sick around New Year's Eve, but the good news is that gave me time to work on some projects. I promise these will be posted soon!

For Christmas I got all sorts of craft supplies. My husband got me tons of Gocco supplies, and my mom got me a sewing machine. Both excellent! In addition, I got a bunch of crafting books. 2009 will truly be the year of the craft.

Not My Sewing Machine

My husband (have I mentioned he is super great) also got me a Canon Rebel xsi. Prepare to wowed (when I figure out how to really use it- I am still practicing.)

Merry Blogmas!

2008-12-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Who is that on top of the tree?!

Is This Really a Craft?

2008-12-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Answer: I don't care.

So here is the story. For Thanksgiving we got the dogs stuffed snowmen out of the Target dollar bin. Of course, they were quickly defluffed and torn to shreds. Well, these snowmen happened to be wearing hats and scarves. These hats and scarves happened to be just about the right size for the pups. You do the math. I cut the accessories off the now mangled bodies, sewed a little elastic to the hats and voila!

Top secret Milo picture

Hannah loves the pictures

They look like a cross between pajamas, baker's outfits, and some sort of French outfit. Perhaps a French baker headed to bed?

Why Don't You Tell Us What You Really Think?

2008-12-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

The holiday cards are almost ready to go out! You will recognize the elk/deer from the Gocco post. The snowflakes on the front were done with metallic ink and a stamp. Everything was taped together in true crafting fashion. Now I just have to decide if we are including pictures, address them, and off they will go into a friend or family member's trash can. Check out the cover below.

Front (gold metallic ink is difficult to photograph)

Inside

Close up of the Inside Detail- Super Fun Foam Stickers!

So now for the truth. Despite how jolly my Christmas cards appear, I pretty much hate Christmas. December is the worst. For fun, I decided to make some holiday cards that expressed how I really feel. Please note that these are not amazing works of art, or even amazing works of craft. These are simply concepts. Concepts about how I hate Christmas.

A small warning. Some of the cards pictured below contain questionable subject matter, blasphemy, adult language, but unfortunately no nudity. Enjoy!

Front: Lovely Mistletoe

Inside: So True!

Front: A Nice Card?

Inside: Think Again

Front

Inside: Says it all

Front

Inside

Front

Inside

Front

Inside

Front

Inside

A Card so Good it only needs a Front

Front

Inside

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season! Or not, I don't really care.

All Souls Procession (Way Past Due)

2008-12-04T19:53:00.001-07:00

I was reading the fabulous Kelly Rashka's blog when I saw all her amazing pictures of the All Souls Procession way back on November 9th, and I never posted my pictures. Here are some of the better ones. I took almost 300 pictures (holy memory card Batman!) If you decide to compare my pictures to Kelly's, please remember she is a pro and I am a rather lousy photographer. Oh well, enjoy!

p.s. Click them for massive hugeness.

Nice!

2008-12-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Sweet! Image courtesy of Crafty Gear at http://www.cafepress.com/craftygear.112969988

You All Knew This Would Happen

2008-12-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me well knows I am a "dog person." I am wayyyyy into my pups. So, here they are, the wool felted dogs!

Hannah can really strike a pose.

Show off.

Milo REALLY hates pictures. Really.

Close up of wool felt Milo.

A better (top secret photo) of Milo.

Unrelated: I have recently learned there are more people reading my blog than I thought. Wow that makes me nervous! I thought Nico, Hellen, and Molly were the only ones that read this damn (!) thing. Thanks everyone for your interest and support!

Let the Holidays Begin!

2008-11-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week in the mountains, and I was inspired.

It wasn't Arctic cold, but it did snow.

When I think Thanksgiving, I think polar bear.

Nice.

And now for a change of pace...

Did you see that??!!

Who needle felts a yeti?

Stay tuned for more needle felting, holiday cards, and other crafts. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Gocco

2008-11-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

For our one year wedding anniversary my husband got me a most excellent gift...

A GOCCO!!!

For those of you who don't already know, a Gocco is a personal printing device from Japan. They used to import them, but now you have to find an individual (or small company) that imports them directly. Read more to find out about the magic.

Above you will see the supplies: A Gocco, flashbulbs, ink, cleaner, masters and directions (mostly in Japanese).

Step One: You make an image. This has to be done with a pen that uses carbon (Gocco makes one). You can also use photocopies! I drew this nice deer. I will use it for a holiday card.

Here is the image in the Gocco before I make the master.

Push down and FLASH. The carbon based image is "burned" into the master. The one downside is that the bulbs are only single use (and apparently are toxic). Minor details!

The next step is to ink the image using the Gocco inks. The kit came with gold, black and red. There are tons of colors you can get.

Squissshhh, you press down on the Gocco and the ink seeps through the burned through image.

Tada! The image is transferred! Not so impressive in pictures, but it is pretty cool. In retrospect, I should have filled in the whole body with ink. Live and learn!

Workin' hard.

The instructions said you could get between 50-100 prints depending on how much ink you used. Maybe it was because my image was so fine, but I gave up printing somewhere around 75 prints. Judging from clean-up I probably could have gotten 200+ prints!

They Multiplied!!!

The next step is to buy some more masters, bulbs and ink colors. The Gocco is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, and I cannot wait to create more great prints. It is perfect for stationary/invitations, art prints, and so much more. I am a convert.

Don't Be So Sheepish!

2008-11-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

Yet another felt friend for you...

The Guy in the Middle

He May be a Criminal

Casey preferred the moustache over the finished nose

Stay tuned for my next post! I promise good and amazing things!

More Halloween

2008-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

My lazy person Halloween craft this year was a painted pumpkin. All it took was: one mini pumpkin, one small paintbrush, black craft paint and a Sharpie.

Simply outline the stripes on the pumpkin using the marker. If the pumpkin is small you can do this by hand. It is easiest to just follow the natural grooves. If you are painting a larger pumpkin, I would recommend breaking out the painter's tape.

Next, full in the lines with black paint. This may take a few coats. Any mistakes can easily be scrapped off with a fingernail. If your lines are messy you touch them up using the marker.

TADA!

The above picture has nothing to do with crafts, but I thought our costumes were neat so I thought I would share. Dare I say Christmas card?!

p.s.

We are fancy show horses- just in case you couldn't tell.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

Blog Name Change?

2008-10-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it is called for. Other name to consider: Damn Enough with the Needle Felting! Just a thought..

p.s. Click on the images to see HUGE detailed pictures courtesy of the Canon.

p.s.s. There are more crafts on the way, and yes, some of them may be needle felted.

More Felt Friends!

2008-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Last week I completed a felted dog, and this week I finished a felted bear as a gift for my husband. Check them out below:

Meet the Camera

2008-10-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

My new Canon has arrived. I can tell it does great things, but I have yet to read the manual so I know very little about all the cool features. Here are some pictures of our adventure at the pumpkin patch. They aren't great (my fault), but they aren't too bad for just pointing and shooting.

Never look at your skin this close

Pumpkin Bug

Pumpkins

Some of My Best Friends are Stuffed Animals

2008-10-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday was another family crafting afternoon with my sister Molly and mom. My mom and sister spent most of the afternoon trying to make Molly some Oompa Loompa pants for Halloween. Although they got a good start, next year I think Molly should go as a ghost.

I set my sights on more adorable projects. I was super excited to finally start using all my new books, and after a supply run on Friday I was ready to go. Let the fun begin!

The first project to share is my stuffed "Sprite" from The Cute Book.

He is pretty adorable and was really easy to make. He is made of felt, some embroidery floss, thread and poly-fill. He was also very cheap. He does not contain any actually Sprite or other lemon-lime flavored soda.

I was able to do all of the stitching by hand, although next time I will be more careful so he doesn't look so much like Frankenstein.

Molly made a rather adorable bunny. I am sure she will post him/her over at her blog.

My second project was my first shot at wool felting! It was really easy to catch on, and it turned out better than I expected. The book Little Felted Animals that I blogged about last time was a pretty good guide. It was rather time consuming and those barbed felting needles are a little dangerous, but it was well worth it. One word of caution, I was not able to find the right kind of eyes at the craft store, so my little friend is eyeless. With no further ado, here is my FIRST wool felt creation....

Bunny!!!!!!

And because an eyeless bunny is disturbing, I drew some pupils on some pins for a temporary fix...

Bunny with Eyes!!!!!

Admire the Quality.

Well it is 'tock-tober

I will definitely be making more stuffed animals, and I have already started my next felting project (although my pup Hannah helped undue some of that project earlier this morning).

Until next time...

A Little Retail Therapy

2008-10-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the last few days have been crazy busy and insanely stressful on both the personal and business front. It does make me feel a little bit better to know these puppies are on the way:

I am excited to get started on both stuffed animal creation, as well as wool felting. Wool felting seems a little scary, but the finished products are so amazing. Check out the image below!

Hint: the felt dog is on the left. The image is courtesy Cute Overload (of course).

I just checked Amazon and the books are going to arrive super quick! I am one step closer to my master plan: move to the White Mountains, become a hermit, and make stuffed animals. Wish me luck!

It Runs in the Family...

2008-10-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday my mom graciously agreed to give Molly and I a sewing lesson. We started with something simple: a tote bag. After 3 hours and $30.00, we had 2 fabulous totes. Mine was the "test" tote, but as long as you don't look too closely it turned out rather well. This was my first real attempt at using a sewing machine, but I declare it a success!

The Tote on the Floor

Close up of the Fabric

My sister made an equally, if not cooler, dinosaur printed tote. Perhaps she will

post it for us to all enjoy!

Time for a New Camera!!!

2008-10-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my beloved Canon is no longer with us. Technically it still takes pictures, but the LCD screen is kaput. It is time to put this horse to pasture.

This is the tricky part! There are so many options out there. I plan to invest in a nice digital SLR so that I can toy around and try to take some artsy shots, but I also want to have a convenient point and shot camera. I am 80% sure I want the BRAND new Canon Powershot 990 IS. In black, of course. The thing doesn't even come out until tomorrow.

To be fair, I have heard some awesome things about Nikon cameras. Introducing the contender, the Nikon COOLPIX P6000.

The Nikon has a really cool vintage look to it, the Canon not so much. It also has the ability to manual focus. The downsides are: it is larger and heavier, the performance seems just about the same even though the Nikon is about $100 more, and it is call "COOLPIX"- so uncool.

Any opinions on the matter?

Glitter Skulls

2008-10-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, my sister Molly, Hellen, and I all got together for a craft night. Crafts were made, and Kraft Mac n' Cheese was consumed. I decided to glitterize some skulls. See my inspiration from Pottery Barn below:

Not to toot my own horn, but I sorta think mine turned out better. I haven't actually seen the Pottery Barn ones in person, but I am sure "German Glitter Glass" means "Fancy Named Glitter That is Going to Cost You $19.00 a Piece."

The supply list was easy. Styrofoam skulls of any size; mine are about 4 inches in height. Spray adhesive glue. Assorted color glitter. Craft paint in the same color as your glitter. I also needed a paint brush as well as a pair of rubber gloves (the think kitchen kind worked well.) It cost under $20.00 at Michael's.

Directions:

First, paint the skulls in whatever color you like and allow them to dry. You are only looking for minimal coverage so no white shows.

Second, spray small sections of the skulls with the spray adhesive. Wear gloves and avoid gluing your hand like I did. That adhesive is brutal! Also, please spray outside so you don't give your friends and family cancer. Thank you.

Third, quickly cover that section in glitter.

Repeat until fabulous.

Please keep this in mind, I am working with my rather sad back-up camera because my good camera died. Also, glitter is damn hard to photograph!

Why Hello

Having a Moment

The Whole Gang's Here!

More Wedding Images

2008-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

Below are a few more images I took of crafted wedding details. After this, I promise the wedding talk will be over.

A close-up of the tissue packets. I wrapped tissues in purple tissue paper and wrapped it all up in raffia. It looked much better than plain old Kleenex!

The table numbers were hand painted wood. All of the pieces except for the stands were readily available at craft stores. Paint was an easy and cheap way to coordinate the wedding.

A much better picture of my favor boxes. The ribbon was glued to the box so they could be opened without deconstructing the whole thing. They were stuffed with Bailey's Chocolate truffles from a local chocolate shop. The truffles were wrapped in parchment paper and the same purple tissue I used for the tissue packets.

Autumn! (?)

2008-09-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here in Tucson, it doesn't feel much like fall has arrived. We are still in the 90's and that doesn't usually change until the end of October. Despite this, I love all things autumn, so I am willing to pretend the leaves are changing, and there is a chill in the air.

We are about a month out from Halloween, and it is time to get crafty. My inspirations are skulls/skeltons (always a favorite)

and this little guy:

There is just something so sweet, yet so subtly disturbing about him. How can you not love that?

My First Entry!

2008-09-29T16:57:00.001-07:00

How exciting, my first entry on my new blog! My goal is to chronicle my crafting adventures, although I am sure some of my other interests may just end up here as well. For all of you reading (hi husband!), thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy.

So, lets dispel a misconception about crafting. Crafting is not just for old women. I am not (that) old, and I would not consider my work fussy or old fashion. Crafting can be modern, it can be innovative, and it can be fun.

Arts and crafts time was always a favorite as a little girl, but I lost touch with my craftiness during high school and college. What brought me back around? A little thing like my wedding. I spent a lot (perhaps too much?) time on different projects for the day. Although weddings are hell, I actually very much enjoyed the crafting part of it. I was able to forget about whatever (or whoever) was bothering me and spend some time creating something unique and pretty. Take a look at some of the items I made:

Pictured above: Custom made programs bound with raffia and tissue packets wrapped with tissue paper and raffia. This picture, as with all of my amazing wedding pictures, were taken by the very talented Sergio Photographer.

Super crappy low quality image of my favor boxes. My advice to people doing wedding projects, or even just crafting, take lots of good pictures when you still have the items!

Stay tuned for more!