What's-On-My- Worktable Wednesday: New Nubbins In The Works For Fall

Here's a peek at some new styles of Nubbin I have in the works to be available at craft shows in the fall.

Dapper Mustachio Nubbin

I've done a moustached Nubbin before (two years ago for the RNEST "No-Shave-November/ Movember" team challenge).  I decided with this batch, I like it with just the moustache without the teeth.   I feel like I'm late on the moustache trend, but it still seems to be trending, since people still like it!  And my Facebook friends are loving this Nubbin so far.

Yellow & Grey Floral Print Barn Owl Nubbin

I also have another printed fabric that is yellow spots on grey that I'm making Barn Owls with.  It coordinates really well with the floral print, so these owls will look great displayed next to each other in a basket at shows.

White Arctic Fox Nubbin

In addition to the White "Arctic" Fox, I'd also like to add a Grey Fox Nubbin too....and perhaps some mustard yellow (inspired by Sleepy King's yellow foxes)  And for some reason, I've been having the urge to make one in turquoise-blue.  Who knows... blue foxes could end up popular!

What's-On-My-Worktable Wednesday: Washi-Tape Doodles

While trolling Pinterest for ideas for the homeschool art class this upcoming year and found this blog with a little doodle of a girl with her clothes made from washi tape.  Researching for art class makes me feel all (traditionally) artsy too, so I busted out my own small stash of washi tape and my Smashbook and made this little doodle...

Here's a wider view of my Smashbook page.  The words and crown were already printed on the page.

When you do art as your "job", it's nice to just make art for fun sometimes.   It's refreshing to just do something fun for yourself that's out of your usual medium.  The funny thing is that I didn't grow up sewing a lot. I liked to draw and paint.  Even in high school, I wanted to be a painter.  My original "what I want to be when I grow up" job was a "children's book author and illustrator".  Yeah... at age 5 I knew that was an actual job.  I blame it on Steven Kellogg... my favorite childhood author (who I've had the pleasure of meeting twice...once when I was 5, and again when I was 26).  Even though my preferred medium has changed, I'd like to think those early aspirations have influenced my work.  I did end up creating characters and making art that is greatly appreciated by children!

Thrifty Thursday! DIY No-Sew Recycled Clothing Wall Pockets

I had this idea pop into my head this morning... to use the breast pocket of a men's shirt to make another version of a no-sew embroidery hoop wall pocket!  (I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this idea, but I still think it's pretty cool!)

 It's ridiculously simple.  Find a piece of old clothing with a pocket, place it how you want it in the embroidery hoop, tighten the screw, and cut of the excess fabric around the edges!  Ta-da! 

The size of the hoop depends on the size/style of the clothing item or the look you're going for (if you'll notice, I did something different with the jeans pocket).  I used a 9 inch diameter hoop for the shirt pockets.  I used a smaller size for the jeans, since it was a bigger pocket and I was experimenting with a different style for the pocket.

This is a great way to save a piece of clothing with sentimental value... like your dad's or grandfather's old shirt... and turn it into some functional wall art.  Or if you don't have any shirts/jeans lying around ready for crafting, you can just hit up your local thrift store!  (all my embroidery hoops are from the thrift store as well!)

Enjoy!

What's-On-My-Work-Table Wednesday: One-Eyed Nubbins, Embroidery Hoops, and My Craft Room Companions

Back in June, I made a "Mike Wazowski" inspired Nubbin as my own little homage to "Monsters University" coming to theaters.  I ended up giving it to a friend's daughter who loves Mike Wazowski.  But that one Nubbin inspired me to make a new line of One-Eyed ,Horned Nubbins in multiple colors!

I only have them in 3 colors right now...Green (with blue eye), Blue (with green eye), and Purple (with orange eye).  They'll be making their craft show debut this Saturday at the August "Brainery Bazaar" at the Rochester Brainery.  This show will kind of be a "beta test" to see how well they sell.  I'll only have 2 of each color.  I have a feeling the green one will sell well because of the resemblance to Mike Wazowski.  Maybe I should have a few more of the green ones on hand.

When I posted the picture of my new Nubbin design on Facebook, a friend requested that I make a purple one with one horn and wings... a One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater!  That idea excited me and I just had to make one right away!  I'm sure I'll get more requests for this one too.  The only thing is, those wings are a bit annoying to make... especially to make 2 of them that are supposed to be the same.  I should try to see if I can make myself a template for them.

As you can see, I'm falling in love with utilizing embroidery hoops...largely due to Pinterest.  I have a friend from RNEST who does embroidery hoop art, and I have this stash of hoops I've gotten from the thrift store that I've been meaning to give to her... but I'm not sure that's going to happen now, since I have been using them myself lately!  Yesterday, I made this "wall pocket" for my craft room, inspired by this tutorial I found on Pinterest.  It was no-sew because the fabric I used for the pocket was already hemmed!  Although another no-sew option is to just fold the fabric over.  I do want to add an additional small pocket on the front of this though, to hold smaller items like small scissors or a seam-ripper.  And, as you can see in the Purple People Eater photo, I can use them for display/photo purposes too! (I just used some large pins to hold the monster in place to look like he's flying!)

And finally, for your daily dose of cuteness...here's Luna in her favorite napping spot in my craft room!  

Well, it's not exclusively Luna's spot...it's one of Terra's preferred spots too!  But they are good sisters and share it based on a first-come-first-served basis (with no fighting!)