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).

No Internet

I was without internet at home for almost two whole weeks. I never realized just how much I need the net to keep in touch with the outside world (read: sites work doesn't block). Fortunatly, all that down time let me craft my butt off. Along with a tote bag for a swap (pics after partner receivs) I finished up an Amigurumi Octopus, made a bunch of beads from a book and did my first entry for a Crafster Challange.

Here is Davey. As in Jones. It is a fitting name since I made him while watching Pirates of the Carribean and because he is "all tenticle-y." Some day I hope to make him a hat. Once I get a good human patern I want to make a Tia Dalma too. The pattern comes from PepperKitty on Crafster.

Family Photo: Luau the pig looks nervous and Cthulhu looks like he found a long lost relative.

Originaly I was going to cut up my junk mail to make these beads but it didn't have enough text. I LOOOOOOOVE words. I love them individualy, together as language and simply as texture in arty things. The simple black and white print looks great with some faceted beads, don't you think?

Lastly, my entry to Crafster Challange #24. The theme was to craft something to help with New Year's resolution. I want a tattoo so I decopaged and giant pickle jar and a blank book. The jar to help me collect some money and the book to keep track of ideas and sketches. There were some left over cut outs that I made into magnets.

Team Apache In Unforgivable Terrain

Up until now I was unable to post any pics of my husband with his pirate flags. But since these are PUBLISHED *squee* I guess they are safe.

This is actual proof of my hard work flying right over Afghanistan by 3rd PLT. These pics can be found in the December 16th, 2007 Stars and Stripes Mideast Edition. The color picture is on the front page. The whole article can be seen here by clicking the date of the issue.

I'm so proud of the hard work my darling husband has been doing these last few months. I'm also so selfishly proud of my work being on the front page of something. OMG!

Drew's Flag

Every pirate needs a proper flag. Drew will now be able to pillage in style with his OOAK flag. I feel that it its very important for every pirate to have a flag specific to themselves. It proves who is the real thing and who bought their Jolly Rodger and the surplus store.

The 5th flag I've made in recent months may be the last I do. This is the biggest commission I've ever done. Both in size and time. The final size of the flag is about 72" x 60". It is made of heavy canvas cloth for stability. The eyes are painted. I used a double sided applique technique (I may have made that up) to make it reversible and flyable. The design was suggested by the client but drawn and enlarged by me. The other 4 flags currently fly over a military base in Afghanistan, a present from my husband to his soldiers.