A Dapper Raccoon and Some LOL Cats

These three ATCs were made for the January Ongoing ATC Swap on Craftster. The first is a sweet little racoon made for blupaisan. A secondary theme of hers was top hats and i think he looks dapper in his fancy hat. The raccoon is hand drawn by me on pieced felt bits. The background is scarpbook paper from my stash.

The next two cards were made for krafty_karasu's theme of LOL Cats. She also wanted some interactive cards and I knew Monorail cat would be perfect for a pull tab card. Pull the arrow and Monorail Cat "leaves the station." (I like to make a swooshy sound effect when I play with it) A little editing of the original pic and some cutting and pasting. I'm getting pretty good at pull tab cards.

Long cat is a quick bonus card for KK. I had him in my head for myself and knew she would also like one. (plus it was just two fold so not alot of work). Long cat starts out long but unfolds to be loooooong. I can't take credit for any photoshoping on this one. It is borrowed from the net.

Vintage Papercraft and Obligatory Cat Pics

After a month of not posting I have plenty of to share. I seem to be in a papercraft state of mind so lots of ATCs and inchies lately.

This is the set I made for the 3x3 ATC Swap on craftster last month. Alwaysinmyroom gave me 9 themes to try to incorporate in the spread. I was able to fit most. The prominent ones are Asian, sewing and red. Also included are cats, wildlife and technology. To pull together all of the varied themes I made all 9 from the same background paper. I Mod Podged a vintage sewing pattern to some card stock and toned down the shininess with gesso. Then I scoured my ephemera collection. I pulled together all the mismatched items with the color red. Always adores it and even called me her new craftster crush. *blush*

I usually try to make a copy of all ATCs for myself. In the case of the 3x3 Swap I really couldn't. Most of my found objects were one of a kinds so it really was impossible. Instead, I took a second background page of the decoupaged apron pattern and added the bits of the rest the sewing pattern. The first row is from the front of the envelope. The second is from the back. The third row as bits from the instruction pages inside. The set is pulled together by scraps of lace, ribbon and rick rack repeating in each row. I love the vintage feel of the set. It is so cute.

With the leftovers of the leftovers I had just enough to make a matching set of inchies. I added drawn on stitching lines to define each object.

Between sewing projects Vash entertained me by running around like a freak. Mike started calling him Super Vash after he started taking corners by running up the wall. I new then that he needed a cape. I used scraps of fleece and a bit of ribbon. It slides around a bit but it is so cute.

Here is Super Vash preparing for a day of crime fighting.

Taking a break but staying vigilant by watching for evildoers out the window. Or is he watching squirrels? Or are they EVIL squirrels?

Hey, Its Those Sewing Projects I Promised

All these projects have been made in the past couple months and for some reason never got photographed or posted.

First up is a Sashiko Stitched Saddle Bag Purse. The pattern comes from Stitch Magazine, Fall 2009. The outside is a shiny pretty blue fabric that was going to be part of a halloween costume that never happened. The stripes inside are left over from a messenger bag I never finished. The asian is a random fat quarter I had in my stash.

Of all the embroidery I've done in the past this is the first that is done in sashiko. The traditional Japanese stitch was used to hold together layers of fabric in winter kimonos. There are many traditional patterns all done in the simple running stitch.

Bag opened up so you can see the two pockets. This seperation makes it great to put my electronics and sun glasses in one side and things that would scratch them in the other. The pockets are just big enough to slide a note book in making it perfect for grocery day or carying a sketch book.

Here is the detail shot of the sakura blossom. The pink thread wasn't quite right but I like that the flower is a little hidden. There is also a blanket stitch around the patch.

Next up is a scraf born from compulsion. When I saw the pattern in the lattest Quilting Arts Magazine I just had to make it. All the patch work fabric is from fat quarters in my stash. The back is left over from a swap I did last year.

The colors don't seem to go with anything in my wardrobe so I'm going to send it to Mom. It is so her colors.

Time: 5 hours

Cost: $0

And last is a little bear purse I made as a 50% scale prototype for the Goth Loli Swap I'm working on. I think he needs a nose and maybe wiskars. The zipper will work a little better in the full size bear. Otherwise he is pretty cute.

Pink gingham is scraps from my Sickly Sweet halloween costume. All other bits are from my stash.

Time: 1.5 Hours

Cost: $0

EXTRA!!!

An ATC made from the leftovers from the bear bag. It is called "Loli Leftovers". I think it is super sweet.

ATCs Today, Sewing Projects Later

I'm doing the Ongoing ATC Swap for the month of December of Craftster. You get to pick a theme from the person who posts before you. Then the person after you picks something from your list to send to you. Here are prototypes of the first four I've sent out. Somehow I managed to not take pictures of the ones I sent out before they went in the mail.

For calluna's theme "Tea". Collaged tea bag hang tags with embossed vellum tea leaf.

For Oyhanna's theme "Zebras". Acrylic paint on clear Shrinky Dinks; watercolor background. (woot, I hand painted that)

For WiccadWitch's theme "Pagan". Layered vellum moons on mat board; Diamond clear on woman for shine and dimension

For tehbunnykins theme "Celtic". Her version is actually a celtic knot clover instead of the circle. Needle Tatted Lace object on paint stamped cotton.

And most importantly, the first card I have received in the swap. A "Non Paper" card from calluna. Hand beaded on shiny fabric. So lovely and a great start to the swap.

I have also been doing some prototyping for the Goth Loli Swap as well as working on a new outfit for myself. There has even been some compulsive sewing of purses and scarfs. Those pics are forthcoming based on the sunshine. I can seem to get decent photos indoors this evening.

A Couple Quick Projects

I'm still unpacking and trying to get my house set up. As I go along I think of a million projects that still need to be done. It is nice to have a few small things to do at night when I'm worn out after all that house work.

I discovered a set of tarot cards that have been in storage for the last three years. This is a beautiful deck that needs a special bag. I had a peice of denim laying on the couch looking mysteriously like a pouch with a spiffy flap. So I embriodered up the seams and left the edges raw. I even found a perfect clear button that shows of the button hole.


These balls of plarn are sitting in the clover waiting to become a welcome mat. Each ball is made of 10 bags and takes about 1 1/2 hours to put together. Once crocheted they will carefully remove the mud from Mike's boots and stand up to the constant rain we get here.


Lastly, I promised the fine people at craftster that I would photo this as soon as I unpacked it. This set of inchies is titled "Sudoku No Choji". Choji is Japanese for butterfly and all the pieces have bits of Sudoku answers in them. I made the frame and mat back at the frame shop in Germany. I miss that place.

Long Time No Craft

I know... not doing so good on the post-once-a-week resolution. Well, it has been tougher than I thought. I did finish my first crocheted sweater, though I can't manage to get a decent picture of it. I also have made a few ATCs wich are put away and ready to be packed. Did I mention that we've been preping to move back to the U.S.? It takes time away from the crafting. That and reading too much instead.

I have done a few things latley though. I got all the inchies framed from a swap last year. I left room for another 50 I may receive in round 2 but missed the sign up. More waiting then. I was the custom framer on an Army post in Hohenfels, Germany so the matting and frame are custom built for the job. I must have had a slow week to want to do all the math for that mat cut.

Mike and I got a little obsesed with our Nintendo DSs this last month, too. They realy have come a long way since they first came out and only had weird games with convoluted use of the stylus. Plus Mike seems to be learning Japanese from his. Anything we use this much must be worthy of a customized case. After doing a little research I took bits I liked from lots of designs and drafted a patern. Two prototypes later we have one of a kind awsomeness. Haley, my coworker's daughter, also got one cause she rocks and drew a bee for me that I will someday get tattooed. Thnaks Haley!



Here are a three Pretty Little Pin Cushions. I made them as samples for my last class with Katie. Top one is made of scrap cotton; middle is silk ties; bottom is squares from Angie. Angie got the bottom one as a gift for finaly coming home from visiting her familiy.

P.S. I had a pain in the butt posting these pics just now. They kept wanting to be choped off by the minimum pixel count for this lay out. Thanks to The Blogger Guide for the HTML help. I'm useless with that kind of left brain thing.

As Promised

Its been a whole week but I am doing as promised and posting lots of pics today. The only ones I'm missing are from the Monster Sewing Class. Those photos are still on the comp at work.

First today is Kattie and her finished doll, Emily. At least that was her name last week when she left. This poor doll has been in pieces for months now and its so nice to see her with arms and legs. After I post today I need to go draft a pattern for some clothing though. Nobody wants a naked doll.

Next are the ATCs I sent out for the latest part of the Alphabet Swap. Much to Mike's shagrin, I signed up for another swap before finishing the Pirate Flags but I simply can't miss a letter now that I started. All cards use a bit of my favorite new product, Diamond Glaze. I beleive it was designed as a glue but it can also be usde like resin and add demension to paper craft and mixed media.

D is for Dinosaurs. Using Wash's monologue grom episode 1 of Firefly as the background. My partner for this has a Fruity Oaty Bar avatar so I'm sure she will appreciate this.

E is for Evel Knievel. I did a 3D thing here layering differant sections of Evel to make him stand out on the card.

F is for Favorite Things. I know way to many songs. This is my first collage style card with as many things from the song as I could fit. Unfortunatly, I couldn't find any appetizeing picture of schnitzel and it seems to not be served with noodles anymore, just fries.

Lastly, two crochet projects to post. Crochet seems to be my grove right now. I even have a small group of ladies meeting at the shop to play with yarn a chit chat. We can't call it a Stitch and Bitch though. Stoopid Army is boring.

A totaly nerdy guitar strap for my fake Fender. I play fake guitar really well on Rock Band and felt that my instrumant needed to be crafted up a bit.

This is P.P. For Pirate Panda. I made him for Mike after he squeeled seeing the picture in the book. Made from a pattern in Cute Litte Animals (ISBN 1601404670). Mike liked him well enough with no arms or legs so thats the way he is. I used Caron Simply Soft for the body, head and hat and Lion Cotton for his shirt. The different weight of the cotton makes his shirt look 3D. Totally not planned but oh so awesome.

Well back to sew flags and making doll clothing patterns. I can't wait to be finished we these big commisions so that I can get back to crafting for me (and maybe a few swaps too).

Fat ATCs and Legos

First some ATCs for the Alphabet Swap. I went with a phobia theme and wanted to do some interactive pieces. You can force the chicken to cross the road and get vertigo from falling down some miniature stairs. The bookshelves in Bibliophobia are 3D on an acordian pleat. All of the ended up WAAAAAAY fatter than intended but they are architetual masterpeices. I am going to make a set for myself with out all the writing on the later. Sorry about the fuzzy pics. Aparently I forgot I had a Macro function on my digicam.

My partner in One Tiny Thing has recived her Lego Earings. Balue loves green and had some Legoy things and nifty earings on her wist. I think these worked well for her. She seems to genuinly like them. I made a blue and white set for myself which I imagine myself wearing with a formal dress and high heels for some odd reason.

One more tid bit.... I am totaly hooked on a podcast called Craftcast. It has been around for a few years but I just recently stumbled across it. If you don't know about it yet visit the site or subscribe on iTunes. This is an amazingly insprational and informational cast. Learn about new techniques and products and feel good about craft and art. It makes the artist in me smile big. Thanks Alison Lee for all the good stuff.

Christmas/Winter ATC Swap

Here are my finished cards for my first ATC swap ever. I've made a few before in fabric scraps. This was nice because, like all swaps, your partners give you some inspiration with their likes. I can't wait to see what I get in return.

For smushisweetbaboo an Old World Santa




For Tygir a Rudolph