Pixabay ATC Fun and a Ransom Note

I've been hella bored this weekend.  This is nothing new.  I stay bored.  During the quarantine, I've been having a problem staying creative.  Before COVID-19, creativity seemed to flow effortlessly.  Now I have to force myself to make anything.  Yesterday, I decided I'd settle down in my chair in my literal cave (my workspace is recessed underneath a loft bed) and create some mixed media ATC's (artist trading cards).  I've known about Pixabay for some time now, but I've never really utilized it.  For those of you who don't know what Pixabay is, its a site with over a million free to use, copyleft photos, illustrations, vector graphics, film footage, and music.  In addition to using some photos, vector graphics, and illustrations from Pixabay, I used some hand painted papers I purchased from my friend Stephanie's Etsy shop, Paper Cut Lane.  Stephanie is my favorite mixed media artist ever!  So when she opened up her Etsy shop recently, I was thrilled that I could buy her handmade supplies to use in my own mixed media pieces.  Here are some of the ATC's I made yesterday.

I also made a ransom note handmade postcard yesterday for an upcoming swap on swap-bot.  I wanted to add a sinister message, but not something too creepy.  Here's what I came up with.  

I don't read magazines, so I purchased a digital file of these cut out letters from LaSoffittaDiSte on Etsy. Much easier than combing through magazines and finding the letters myself.  

I've already been searching Pixabay this morning, looking for more interesting images so I can make more ATC's.  Unfortunately I'm running out of ink already just two weeks after installing new color cartridges.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to invest in a color laser printer soon.  Do any of you have any recommendations for a relatively inexpensive ($400 or less) color laser printer with a scanner?  Or can you recommend a good brand?  Any suggestions would help me out a great deal.  

Witcher Plushie

I finally got my ass in gear and finished the Geralt de Rivia plushie in a bathtub.  This is for a swap on swap-bot.  The pattern I bought for this plush proved to be too difficult for me to understand with regard to the body.  I ended up keeping the head from that pattern and used a body pattern that I was more comfortable with.  I had to redo my tub because the new body was significantly larger than the one I'd previously planned on.  No, those aren't rocks in the Witcher's tub.  They're supposed to be bubbles, but I guess they are a little big.  He looks really sad about bathing doesn't he?  

Joe Exotic, Rascal, and a Bunny

Lately I have found little motivation to do anything creative (except for my Teesha Moore inspired creations).  I was unable to sleep last night and I was soooooo bored!  Finally about 5AM I decided I would pixelate the Tiger King, Joe Exotic.  If you haven't seen "Tiger King" on Netflix, you are definitely missing out.  It's a trainwreck mixed with a car crash, and a raging dumpster fire.  I highly recommend it.  I used a base by Cosmindart to make my pixel icon.  Here is the enlarged version of my icon (actual size is 50x50 pixels).

Isn't he adorbs?  So kawaii!

My raccoon buddy, Rascal, has been coming out in the daylight hours.  Due to this new behavior and his limited fear of me, I researched raccoon rabies and he seemed to have symptoms.  Then I found out that once a raccoon contracts the virus, they only live up to three days.  Rascal has been friendly with me for months now.  I've determined that Rascal is just friendly and weird.  He is starting to get a little too close to me, but as of right now, he follows my verbal commands to stay back.  He does back away if I make any sudden movements, so he's not completely comfortable with me.  This is Rascal getting a little too close.

Finally, I made an ATCoin patch, or a merit badge as I like to call them, for a swap on swap-bot.  It was a spring themed swap.  I always think of bunnies when I think of spring.  I absolutely hate finishing the edges of these patches!  I think it turned out pretty cute. 

That's all for now.  Stay safe, y'all!

My First Teesha Moore Inspired Bag

In the past I've participated in many Teesha Moore inspired patch swaps on swap-bot.  I've never counted how many patches I've received and I can't begin to guess.  I have them in a large tote bag being put to no use whatsoever.  My BFF, Naomi, has made me 2 bags and 2 journal covers from some of my favorites.  A couple of years ago, I got up the courage to try and make my own bag.  The patches didn't all line up and I got discouraged, so I put it away and it was forgotten.  I found it the other day and had an idea that if I could add a border to each panel then that would even out the unevenness.  I chose one of my favorite faux bois fabrics and essentially made the panel of patches into one large patch.  The entire bag is hand sewn.  The handle is made from fabric scraps twisted into rope that I divided up into 3 parts and braided.  I received the fabric rope in a swap years ago and didn't have use for it until now. Here is the finished product.

Magpie Journal Cover

I just joined a magpie journal swap on swap-bot.  I ended up using the altered journal that I put in my shop.  While I was working on my journal, I leaned over it to pick something up and accidentally bent the front cover.  I decided I'd make a felt cover to hide the damage. 

I used some donut printed felt that I got a long time ago from Hobby Lobby.  I cut out a name label from stiff, brown felt and embroidered the word, "magpie," on it.  I think it looks much better.    

I Don't Want to Embroider Today

However, that looks like what I'm going to have to do.  I decided to make an opossum embroidery piece for a stuffed bubble mailer swap, to top it off. 

I also tweaked the Princess Tina embroidery pattern.  I removed the bangs and I think it looks so much better now.

She looks a bit like Linda now though.  I won't be adding the braids on the buns either.  Princess Leia's buns weren't braided.  

I'm just not in the mood to embroider.  The two pieces are pretty small, like 6 inches max, but I'm just not motivated.  

"Bob's Burgers" Crafts

My BFF, Naomi, loves "Bob's Burgers."  It's our Easter tradition to exchange giant Easter eggs full of goodies each year.  For one of the items, I had a plain journal that I got at Target for $1.  I decided it was too boring, so I altered it into a "Bob's Burgers" themed journal.

I lined the edge of each page with a different print of washi tape like I do with most of my altered journals.  I also added baker's twine as a tie closure.

On each page, I glued a cutout from one of two free comic books I got from Free Comic Book Day.  

I really enjoyed making the altered journal, so I made another for a stuffed bubble mailer swap.  That one was just distressed and had a tie.  Then I made another distressed journal for my shop.  I haven't listed it yet, but I will soon.  It says "Schemes" on the front and has a tie as well.  It has round Chinese tapestry stickers on each page in lieu of the washi tape.  

I'm also participating in a mashup swap with Naomi.  She chose "Bob's Burgers" and "Star Wars" as her themes.  The first thing I thought of was Tina Belcher as Princess Leia.  I was looking on Pinterest for ideas.  I had always thought I'd make a doll of some sort.  I saw some BB/SW mashup embroidery and decided that's what I'd do.  I drew my own pattern freehand, but I'm not sure if it's my final draft or not.

I'm wondering if I should get rid of her bangs and redo her buns.  Plus, I don't think her cheek/neck connection is right.  Her hair clip is on the wrong side because the pattern is in reverse.  I probably will redo her hair.  

Teesha Moore Inspired Patch

I just hosted an introductory Teesha Moore inspired patch swap on swap-bot.  Pictured above is the patch I made for the swap.  I'd forgotten that I had the vintage pickup truck fabric.  I received the polka dotted fabric in a private swap a couple of days prior to making this patch.  The patch is completely hand sewn.  The lines on the truck are all back stitched.  That part was very time consuming.  

If you like to see more Teesha Moore inspired patches, you can see my Teesha Moore Patches Board on Pinterest or my flickr album of patches I've done.

Toss a Plushie to Your Witcher Plushie Swap - WIP

Megan, spoilers ahead.  Avert your eyes! 

I'm in a Witcher plushie swap on swap-bot with my pal, Megan.  Megan is far more advanced when it comes to sewing than I.  They can make clothing and costumes.  I can "get by" when it comes to making doll clothing.  I really don't do removable garments.  I'm pretty good at props though.  I found a vinyl toy online of chibi Geralt of Rivia in the tub.  I decided I'd be ambitious and turn that scene into a plushie.  I started out by making the tub because I wanted to see if I could pull it off.  If I couldn't; I'd be going a totally different direction with my plush. 

It was actually pretty easy.  It's not perfect and is a little wonky, but I think it'll take shape once I stuff it, add the doll, and cover it with water (felt).  I'll be using BabyLondonStar's sit pattern for the actually plushie.  The tub was made without a pattern. 

Another Peek Inside the Book--It's Magical!

I found out who my partner is for the altered composition book journal swap and learned that she likes Harry Potter.  I followed an online tutorial on how to draw a cute HP.  Here's my drawing:

She's going to get sick of my drawings.  

Super Deco

This is a deco book I made for a swap on swap-bot.  It's a WTA (winner take all) swap, where one of the participants is randomly drawn to win all of the decos after they have been passed around and completed.  Unfortunately I was not the lucky swapper, so I will not be getting this deco back.  This has to be my favorite deco that I've made so far.  A deco is a small book or folded sheet of paper created by a person who decorates the cover and leaves the subsequent pages blank.  The deco is usually themed and is passed around from person to person for decoration and signing until eventually it's sent back to the originator when all the pages are full.  For this deco, I used a collage sheet from onecrabapple and the ransom letters are from LaSoffittaDiSte.  The raised dots are UV resin which cures within seconds underneath a UV LED light.  I made the base of my book with 3 plain white envelopes tucked into one another.  I'll be receiving a deco book from my swap partner to work on and then I'll pass it on to someone else in a future swap.  I'll post pictures in a future entry. 

Inside the Book

Here are a few pages in the altered composition book that I've been working on. First, some "King of the Hill" pop art. I used Distress Inks for the background and the stamps were hand carved by my friend, Met.

The next two pages are drawings of food that I've incorporated with song lyrics.

And finally, I found this rubber stamp in the cheap bin at JoAnn yesterday which fits with the theme of this project very well. It cost a whopping $1.19. I'm stamping it on sticker paper, cutting out the images, and sticking them to the bottom right corner of every blank page that I'm leaving for my partner to journal.

I've got a lot more pages to decorate, so I'm sure I'll be sharing more in the future. Have a beautiful weekend!

Altered Composition Book Project

I'm currently participating in a swap on swap-bot where we take an 80 page composition book, cover the front and back covers, decorate every 3rd page, and leave the rest of the pages blank for our partners to use to journal in. I'm having a great time working on this project. My front cover looks like this:

I got the taxi scrapbook paper at Joann and the collage images from the wonderful Sandy at onecrabapple on Etsy. Whenever I alter a plain notebook, I love sprucing up the sides of the pages with washi tape. This notebook had 80 pages and I was bound and determined for each page to have a different pattern of washi. I actually have enough washi where I was able to do this. This is how it turned out:

Yesterday I found some space themed stencils at Target for $1.78 on clearance. I decided to use a couple of them for my first decorated page in the altered comp book. I used Distress Ink and regular metallic stamping ink. I love the way it turned out.

I've got to decorate 25 pages in all. I'll probably add some drawings, collages, and pockets. What would you like to see?

Printable Planner Stickers and Dotee Dolls

I just reopened my third shop on Etsy, Little Happy Day. Here you'll find instant digital downloads of printable planner sticker sheets like the ones pictured below.

I'm really hoping that this shop is successful despite being in a saturated market. *crosses fingers*

After a 2 or 3 year hiatus, I'm back to making Dotee Dolls. I just joined a group on swap-bot dedicated to making and swapping these unique dolls. So far I've made five in the past month. Here are two of my favorites.

Dotee Dolls are little dolls originated by a woman named Dot. They are only meant to be traded, and are never to be sold. The bodies are usually between 3 to 6 inches in length. The dolls have both a hanger and some sort of tail. If you search them on Flickr or Pinterest, you'll see how diverse these dolls can be. In the past, I've made a nun, a luchador, and Spiderman among dozens of others. I just set up a swap for a tiny Dotee. The body is required to be 2 inches or smaller. I've already made mine and I look forward to see what my partner comes up with.

Early Happy Birthday, Edgar!

It's been about 6.5 years since my last post. A lot has happened during that time. I won't bore you with the details. I probably can't recall them anyway, so I'll just keep this post crafty in nature. I am still very active on swap-bot. For a recent swap, our mission was to create a 3D piece of art inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's life or work. The twist was to also make our artwork cheerful as we were to incorporate a birthday element(s). (Poe's birthday is January 19th.) Of course, I chose to make a felt doll of old Edgar. For the base of my doll, I used the Albert Einstein doll pattern from Noia Land on Etsy. I altered the hair, face, and clothing to fit my needs. I ripped the head off a plastic, Halloween skeleton and sewed it onto Edgar's tiny hand. It was a perfect fit! I made the birthday hats out of wool blend felt, pom poms, and metallic pipe cleaners (glued on). I think that the petite Poe turned out really sweet. My partner liked him so much that she decoupaged the inside of a box to look like a library in order to display him. I haven't received from my swap partner yet, but I'm excited to see what she comes up with. One of the best things about swapping crafts is seeing the different interpretations of the swap guidelines.

Tiny Sloths

I've been extremely uninspired lately and have been depending on swaps on swap-bot to get inspiration for new projects. I found a very interesting swap yesterday called Managerie Shrine 3. The premise of the swap is that aliens are collecting samples of wildlife on Earth in order to save them. Swappers are to take a 32 count matchbox and create a shrine out of it including an animal in their natural ecosystem. The outside of the matchbox is to be decorated as well. Of course, I went with a sloth. I decorated the outside to look as if what's inside is a specimen for the aliens. While making this matchbox shrine, I got the idea to have the tiny sloth plushie to be hanging off a chain. I introduced this new necklace in my shop today.

Tiny Sloth Plushie Necklace

Little Paintings

I've always said that I hate to paint. It's because I'm not very good at it. However, I've been on a painting kick as of late. I've been using acrylics as my medium for ATC's (artist trading cards). I found a killer deal the other day on eBay and purchased 7 mini canvases with easels. I've already used three of them today and they just arrived in the mail this afternoon! The canvases are 3 by 3 inches. I like working on a small scale. It's probably because of my ADD and inability to focus on any task for too long. Here are the little paintings that I made today.

"Cupcake" for a swap on swap-bot.

"Sitting Sloth"

"Self Portrait"

Smash Books, Mini-Zines, and ATC's, Oh My!

I've been trying to branch out to other crafts besides sewing. I'll have to say I'm a little burnt out on Dotee dolls at this point. Yesterday I decided to make myself a Smash Book. A Smash Book is like a journal that you put random stuff in. K and Company has an awesome line of Smash Books and embellishments. I thought it would be more fun to create my own. I painted a composition notebook and added stickers and other elements to the cover.

So far, I've started one page in my Smash Book. The page includes two mini-zines that I completed yesterday. There is a current swap on swap-bot called "Fill It." For this swap, you download a page with prompts on it, fill in your details, draw some pictures, and then fold it mini-zine style. HERE is the blog that explains the project and where you can find the downloadable prompt sheets.

I've also been working on some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards). I made this Frida Kahlo ATC for a tag on swap-bot.

I actually painted a Studio Ghibli inspired ATC for a swap. I usually hate painting, but this was really fun to do. I only hate painting because it's something that I'm not particularly good at. Here's my winter themed Soot Sprite.

I've not decided what I'll work on today. Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up sewing, I'm just taking intermittent breaks. I actually completed two plushies yesterday as well (I was super busy!). The first one is a felt doll for a swap.

The tutorial and pattern can be found at The Purl Bee.

I also made a Spock plushie for an upcoming commission next month. I am to make 3 more Star Trek characters for this order.

A Few Swaps

My creativity level has been low lately. Inspiration and motivation does not come easily these days. I'm not happy unless I create at least one thing each day, so in an effort to gain inspiration and motivation; I've been immersing myself in swaps on Cut Out + Keep, swap-bot, and The League of Extraordinary Crafters (a.k.a. LXC -- a Facebook group full of crafty men and women to which I belong). I thought I'd share a few things I've made for some swaps.

Zombie Swap on Cut Out + Keep

Grimm's Fairy Tale Swap with my friend, Tara.

Pick 5 Swap on the LXC

I have also been making Dotee dolls for swaps. I've been receiving some really awesome Dotee's as well. Here is the monkey Dotee I made for my friend, Alé for a Dotee swap I hosted on the LXC.

Here are the amazing things that Alé sent to me for the same swap: a sloth Dotee, la Virgen de Gualalupé soft sculpture, a matryoshka Dotee, and little bag of goodies.

Here is my Dotee collection thus far. I have them hanging by push pins on my wall. I can't wait to fill up the empty spaces.