Dapper Dog

This dog is another part of the order requested by my friend Ann (who I made the fabric roses for).

The plaid material is from one of her late father's shirts.

I call him "Dapper Dog".
She originally wanted a sock dog style, but I wasn't sure how to pull that design off using shirt material instead of socks.  So I made this dog in the style of my Woodland Creature dolls... a bit anthropomorphic with button-jointed arms.

After working with knits like sweaters and socks for so long, working with a non-stretchy fabric like this woven cotton shirt fabric was a slight challenge, but I got through it!  

I liked making the cuff of the shirt into the dog's shirt collar.  I'm looking forward to making some more "Dapper Dogs".

Ann decided to do something cool with Dapper Dog in the style of "Flat Stanley"... taking pictures of him in various locations (like what I was doing with Hal for awhile last summer).  You can go "like" her Dapper Dog Facebook page to follow his adventures!

I made a smaller dog ("Dapper Puppy") first as a prototype, but had forgotten to take a picture until I met Ann to deliver her order.  Dapper Puppy will be going to her sister in Australia.

 These Nubbins were Easter presents for her 2 sons.

Vintage Japanese Silk Blouse into Fabric Roses

I had a unique project request recently from my new friend Ann.  

There is quite a story that is the background to this project.  (Ann tells it better than I do, but I'll try).  So...Ann's father passed away last February, just before Valentine's Day. That Valentine's Day, her mother received a delivery of flowers.  They thought at first that they were sympathy flowers, but when they read the card, they found out the bouquet turned out to be from Ann's father.  He had scheduled the Valentine's Day delivery before he died. *tear*

But the story doesn't end there.  Every holiday since, Ann's mother has received flower arrangements.  Saint Patrick's Day, Easter, her birthday, his birthday, Christmas, even a "just because" bouquet.  He had scheduled all of them in advance!  Aww! *more tears* What a husband!

So... here's where we come to the project Ann wanted me to do.  Her father brought this Japanese silk blouse home for her mother back when he was in the Navy in the 50's and was stationed in Japan .  It had sentimental value, but it was pretty tiny and no one in the family could wear it anymore. So Ann wanted me to take this blouse and make five fabric flowers (one for her, her mother, for her 2 sisters, and her aunt).

I was SO nervous to cut into this VINTAGE blouse that had such sentimental value.  And I hadn't done much with silk before. Most of the flowers I have made before involve singing the edges of polyester fabric.  That technique wouldn't work here, since silk would just burn if I tried to singe it!   But Ann had such confidence in me.  She told me that I was the only one she'd trust with this project (no pressure, right? I found it confidence-boosting and nerve-wracking at the same time!)

When I finally mustered up the confidence and courage to cut into the blouse, I cut 5 strips and sewed each of them into a tube with a tapered end.

(A look at some detail of the fabric)

 Then, I did a straight stitch down the middle of the tube.

 After stitching down the middle, I pulled the top thread and scrunched and gathered the fabric for get it to ruffle a bit.

I folded the fabric on the gathered seam, stitched it again with an overlock stitch, and then rolled it up into a rose shape.

Then I put plenty of hot glue on the back to hold it into place.

After that, I took a circle of green felt, stitched around the edge, gathered it into a ball, stuffed it, and hot glued it onto the bottom of the flower.  Sorry I don't have photos of that process or my process of making the stems.(maybe I'll do a full tutorial at another time).  I made the stems with felt and wire.

I was able to get these finished and delivered in time for Ann to give them to her mother (and sisters and aunt) for Easter.  So Ann's mother still got her flower for Easter...and this was the first holiday a flower arrangement wasn't delivered. So bittersweet.

Custom Item: Minion Nubbins

I made these special "Despicable Me" inspired "Minion Nubbins" as a gift for the adorable daughter and new son of some dear friends of mine. 

I had the idea to make these back in December and planned on making them as a surprise, belated Christmas present...since I knew my friend's daughter loves "Despicable Me".  But then I received an invitation to a baby shower (which was today) and so they became a shower gift instead (along with one of my infant-sized monster ear hats).  I wanted to make 2 Minions, one with one eye and one with two eyes...so one was for Mollie and one was for baby Mikey.

Here is the original sketch I did in December.

The pupil and "reflection" in the eyes are hand-embroidered.  The mouths are hand-embroidered too.

I watched the movie while sewing to gain inspiration, of course!

My friend, Julie, loved them, and her husband wants me to make one for him to keep on his desk in his office.  I'm sure I'll get many more requests (especially after this blog post).  I gave out a few business cards at the shower today as well.  I tried to get a good picture of Mollie with hers, but she was distracted and excited by all the people around.

*I am willing to re-create these, but will do so by custom request only.  You can contact me via Etsy convo to make a request.

Custom Request: Viking Nubbin

I had a customer request this Viking Nubbin for her son-in-law for Christmas.  I was so busy in December (with craft shows, custom requests, handmade gifts for family, all while having an injured ankle) that I forgot to blog about it. I need to blog about a lot of other things I made in December too.

 

I really liked how he came out and definitely want to make more.  I've already had a friend request me to make a blond one.

This is the first "bearded" Nubbin I've made in a long time.  I think it was the second one I've ever made.  It's a far cry from the first bearded Nubbin I made...which was a Santa Nubbin back in 2009 (that looks so horrible to me now compared to this!)

I liked adding some "viking-y" touches to photograph the Nubbin with.  My husband had this big horn with fur on it (he's had it for years and I forgot where he got it from) and I have a "drinking horn" I got from a Renaissance festival, as well as some leather pouches that I used as background elements for my photos.  I think I've mentioned before...i have a ridiculous amount of enjoyment out of staging my Etsy photos.

A peek at the beginnings... preliminary cut pieces and my original sketch.

Custom Order: 2 Zipperump-a-zoos

Did you know if you do a Google image search for "Zipperump-a-zoo", a picture of one of my plush versions is one of the first images?  This is how a mother found me and sent me a message on Etsy, requesting me to make 2 Zipperump-a-zoos for her daughter.

The back-story is quite delightful...

"My 2 1/2 daughter was first introduced to the character in my childhood book "little monsters bedtime book." The last page of the book, and a line we repeat at her bedtime, is "good night, sleep tight, don't let the zipperump-a-zoos bite". Since then we got her a copy of Prof. Wormbog and the search for the zipperump-a-zoo. She started calling my husband Professor Wormbog, she's "Little Laff", her younger sister is "Kerploppus" and I'm "Croonie". She goes on Zipperump-a-zoo hunts and finds them eating our shoes!"

This is why I photographed them in one of my favorite shoes.

I find it funny that even when I make two "identical" items...they still have a bit of a difference to them.  That's part of the appeal of handmade I suppose.  I can't make 2 items exactly alike if I try!

What's On My Worktable Wednesday: Nubbin-Sized Plush TARDIS

I'm a little afraid to post pictures of this...since I'm afraid of the flood of custom requests I may get to make more.  I learned about the power of Google through the requests I've been getting as a result of the "Hobbes" tiger doll I made.  Plus...I know how crazy Doctor Who fans are.

But...here it is.  I made a Nubbin-sized plush TARDIS this week in an attempt to get some sewing motivation and my creative juices flowing. (even though I need to be working on finishing up 3 more custom requested tiger dolls!)

I painstakingly hand-embroidered that "Police Box" text. (emphasis on "pain"...I forgot to wear my wrist brace and my wrist hates me now!)  I already have a buyer for this one.  They should feel very special because my husband really wants to keep it!  (I'll make him one for Christmas though!)

 Here is was in its preliminary cut-out stage.  I used a photo in a recent Entertainment Weekly issue (that featured Matt Smith as The Doctor on the cover) as reference...even though I've made a TARDIS craft before...a T-shirt for my husband.

So...what is The TARDIS all you non-geeks ask?...well TARDIS stands for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space" and it's The Doctor's funny little time-machine/spaceship that looks like an old British Police Call Box, and its big feature is that it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.  There's your geeky education for the day!

What's On My Work Table? Wednesday: More "Hobbes" Tigers

I had no idea, when I made that "Hobbes" tiger doll for my friends' son for Christmas, that it would be so popular!  I've recently received at least 3 requests from people who came across my blog while searching for a Hobbes plush. 

I've been pretty busy lately with preparing for shows, plus just keeping up with real life, church, friends, family, spending time with my husband, and maintaining order in my house, and I do this whole craft/Etsy thing part-time.  The "woodland creature" style (as I call it) has been pretty popular, but it is time consuming, since they require more hand-stitching than my typical monsters.  The heads and arms have to be hand-stitched on.  These tiger dolls especially take a lot of extra work, due to the stripes.  Most of the stripes can be machine sewn, but the stripes on the head have to be hand-stitched, since they wrap around the seams of the head (I forgot to put my hand brace on while sewing and now my wrist is killing me!...Oh the hazards of a crafter!)  

I finally got around to finishing one of the requested "Hobbes" dolls last night.  One down, 2 to go! But I have some other custom requests to do first that are ahead of the "Hobbes" requests in my queue.  Luckily the other two Hobbes don't have to be finished until October.  Oddly enough, both requests are intended as a gift for someone who is having a baby in November. (one guy says his wife is having a baby in November, the other guy says he has a close friend having a baby in November) Strange coincidence?...or will both tigers end up being for the same person?  That would be pretty funny.

What's-On-My-Work-Table Wednesday: Otter Nubbin & Rabbit

I'm trying to start a new weekly blog post..."What's On My Worktable Wednesday"...inspired by some posts by my friend Vickie of In My Head Studios.

I recently received a request from a customer for a custom "Otter Nubbin" for her soon-to-be-born granddaughter, who has been nicknamed "otter" due to her initials being "O.D.R."

I just finished it up today and I'm very satisfied with how it turned out! (the customer is too!) I was worried that  it would end up looking like a teddy bear instead of an otter, but the long tail, longer body, and wide smile made it look very otter-like.  If  you look at photos of otters, they have a  short, wide face...hence the wide smile. (I also tried to draw inspiration from Jim Henson's "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas"... because, y'know, I'm a Muppet geek!)
The most work intensive part of it for me was embroidering the initials onto the heart...

Next on the worktable, a rabbit done in my "Woodland Creatures" series style...

I just need to sew up the head and attach the arms and I'll be done!

Custom Plush: "Hobbes the Stuffed Tiger"

Some friends of mine asked me to make a "Hobbes" tiger plush for their son for Christmas.  He's been really into the "Calvin & Hobbes" comic.  

The image above is from the comic and is what I based the design off of.  In the comics, Hobbes is a real live tiger to Calvin, but to everyone else, he's seen as the stuffed toy tiger in the picture.

I'm really pleased with how he turned out!  I almost wish I could keep him! Well, I can always make another one!  I'm sure I'll end up making another one at some point anyway! ;)

After doing the stuffed lion, I didn't think a tiger would be too difficult. The most "difficult" (ie: time-consuming) part was doing the stripes. The stripes on his back, legs, and tail were machine-stitched. But I hand-stitched the stripes on his head, since they had to wrap around from the back tot he front.