The Moon and the Stars

Here are two little drawings I did, some time ago... there was supposed to be a third girl, but for whatever reason, she never got drawn.

They aren't that great, but I love drawing in ballpoint pen... and I love diptychs and triptychs... and in general, just things in multiple.

I'm not really sure why the The Stars looks so worried, is she worried that the other girl will fall asleep and drop the moon? Does she wish SHE was wearing comfy pajamas? I don't know... but The Moon seems perfectly at peace and ready for bed... as if she's about to tuck the Moon somewhere safe for the night, or let it loose to frolic in the darkened sky.



And in the theme of sad ladies... here is a pencil sketch I did of a ghost. I always figured she was a faerie illusion, waiting to lure people from their path... and then watch sadly as they wandered, lost. (Ok, usually if fae are involved, the fate of the person is much worse, eek!) I always figured she didn't much like her fate though... and tried to warn people with her mournful expression, that she was someone they should not follow.




And here is yet another giveaway, this time a fellow Michigander!

Nerd Kitty

Well, my roommate just got another black cat... and he's a total NERD.

Only 12 weeks old and he's already got a World of Warcraft subscription!


I'm not sure if he wants me to watch... or go away.


He likes to type too, he's especially fond of the 'esc' key... much to my chagrin. He's cute as a button, of course, all kittens are... but beyond that I'm not sure how I feel about him. He seems to be one of those 'I'm gonna meow at everything, even when I don't want anything' kind of cats... which, if he keeps doing this, will quickly drive me nuts. Right now he's lucky he's so cute (not that this picture makes that immediately apparent).



I have two cats of my own:

William the Bloody

The Salacious Crumb

William the Bloody (Will for short) is quite the character. There is a long list of people who plan on stealing him away from me so they can have him for their own. He is fond of stuffed animals, and will line them up around the house in perfect (no, really, PERFECT) lines, like little stuffed animal parades. He often lines them up across doorways... and I wonder if they're his personal guards. He has a stuffed Chihuahua that he stole when he was a kitten, who is his best friend. He sets it in the window so it can look out, he sets it by the food dish so it can eat, and he puts it all snuggly in bed otherwise (or sometimes propped up looking at the TV).
If you aren't petting him, and he wants to be pet, he comes up, looks at you (deep, meaningful look), reaches his own paw up and pets his head, then gives you another deep, meaningful look that clearly says "If you don't understand what I want, then humans ARE inferior"... and these are just a few of his many strange, endearing quirks.
Will LOVES the kitten, and he and the kitten spend hours chasing each other around.

The Salacious Crumb (Crumb for short, unless he's at the vet, where they insist on calling him The Salacious Crumb, because they love the name) is possibly actually half cat, half bunny. His fur is soft and fluffy and feels like bunny fur... and it forms itself into little dust bunnies and then drops off of him, usually in large groups, in what I'm sure, is an attempt at world domination. I had never had dust bunnies before this cat. If you look directly at him and ask, "What?!" he'll meow, and he knows he's cute and fluffy, and likes to stay juuuuuust out of reach of new people who are itching to pet him. He's the PERFECT cuddle kitty, he'll come and curl up either next to you or in your lap for hours, and remain perfectly still while doing it (none of the constant twitching and flipping and readjusting) He likes to stand between the shower curtain and the shower liner when I take a shower, and bat at the drops hitting the liner. He's not quite the character, personality wise, that Will is, but he's like a good teddy bear, always around for a snuggle.
Crumb HATES the kitten. I think he feels it's encroaching on his 'cat thing', which is being the cutest cat in the house. It's hard to compete with kittendom. I've told Crumb not to worry... that the new kitten will, all too soon, stop being a kitten, and just be another black cat... and he will still be the fluffy, adorable, Salacious Crumb... but at the moment that doesn't comfort him, and he spends his time laying next to me and glaring at the little kitten out of the corner of his eye.

(I apologize for the unmade bed and cluttery desk, and for the long post about cats... I try to refrain!)

I Love Dielines Giveaway!

I Love Dielines Giveaway!

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New Bear from a New Pattern! And link to a giveaway

Well... I had said I wanted to try my hand at a needle felted muzzle... so I did!
I LOVE IT! HAHA!

It didn't turn out quite like I pictured, but since it's my first try, I'll let this one slide. This little one isn't complete yet, (and no, that pin is not through it's ear, just kind of harmlessly clamped on to the outside)... they have a little Halloween friend and a few other embellishments.

I put coated wire in the arms for poseability and this little gal is made from faux fur, wool, suade and little plastic eyes.
Currently nameless (although Pumpkin springs to mind... wonder why?...) I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this little one.

Oh no! She dropped her staff!!



Bye!

Also! Gumi Gumi Island is having another lovely giveaway! Her stuff is just so cute! You will be able to choose one of the following little Halloween creatures!


http://amigurumiandpizza.blogspot.com/2009/09/halloween-giveaway.html

How?

How do you get over wanting to keep all the little bears you make?

Sheesh.

Also, along the lines of selling... As a beginning artist, who, currently, is only working with synthetic materials... what is a good rule for pricing? I've seen the figure of $10 an inch (for beginners) thrown around... but I suspect that's directed more at Mohair users... yeah?

New little bears underway!

I've drawn up 3 new patterns, inspired by some little tins I found :)

I am always so excited to sew up a new pattern. I'm not yet to the point where I know exactly how it will turn out, I just have this very rough idea... of course, sometimes it backfires, and while the pattern is sound, the material dictates a different direction (see endless moaning about mystery bear project).

I've sewn up the head and ears of this latest one though, and I'm pretty sure it's happy being a bear. I think I might try give this one little claws! It'll probably be a disaster, but oh well, hopefully it will be a fun one!

I don't think I'm to the skill level of mohair yet, but Joann's just got in a TON of lovely fur fabric! It's inspiring!!!

Time to go buy more cotter pins!

Driving and Wizards and Walking, oh my!

This last weekend I went to Chicago with two friends to see the Harry Potter Exhibition. (unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside)



We left Michigan at 7 am to make sure we got there bright and early... and with the time change, we got to Chicago at 10:30 their time (it's about a 4 1/2 hour drive). We went straight to the Museum of Science and Industry, where the exhibition was being held, and got in line to buy our tickets... thinking we'd go see the Potter stuff, then kick around Chicago for a few hours, then be home by 10pm or so.

Oh no.

The Harry Potter Exhibition was sold out until 8:30 pm, Chicago time... 10 hours from when we bought our tickets!

We were determined to see it though... so we checked out the museum for a while (since it closed at 4) and then hopped a bus to the Magnificent Mile for 5 1/2 straight hours of shopping and walking. I am SO sore!

I got the most delicious drinking chocolate from Ghiradelli, and was in awe of the American Girl Store... where they now have a cafe where you can get cute treats that are sized both for little girls... and little dolls!

We didn't get back to Michigan until about 3:30 am, but I have to say, the Potter Exhibition was so very worth it. Seeing all of the costumes alone would have made it worth it!

So if it's touring near you... I have to say... go!

Oh, there is also this lovely Fairy Castle in the museum, that is absolutely amazing!

New Pin!

This one is a weeee tiny mouse :)

and some extra squirrels!

Give Away Pay It Forward!

This little game is from Gumi Gumi Island's blog:

Here are the rules:
1. the first 3 comments on this post win a give away item!
2. But to win this prize, you must post this giveaway on your blog as well, offering 3 prizes with the same rules!

Prizes can be as big or as small as you choose... if you'd rather give away helpful items (such as crafting supplies you have extra of, old crafting books, old crafting magazines, etc) instead of a handmade item, that's fine too!

Mine will be a Mushroom, Acorn Pin or Wooden Pin of the winner's choice (unless I can think of something better... Maybe a custom Acorn Pin (as in, a design I haven't yet made, but you would like?)?) Or possibly any of my future crafts I post here... because, oh yes, there will be more! :)

Have Fun!

Strange Little Things

Who are these strange little creatures, and where did they come from?

Standing roughly half an inch tall, these tiny visitors have been touring my desk all day taking strolls through the miniature garden, consulting with the mystical Jade Dragon, and his more earthy friend, the Clay Dragon... running from dinosaurs and fighting epic battles with mice who are armed to the teeth.

They've been in the mouth of a monster, riding the catbus, scrambling for cover from a witch on her broomstick, observing ancient Egyptian artifacts, playing with some pets, petting some birds, smiling with a Sabertooth, scaling a skyscraper, inspecting a butt freckle, letting a sleeping ghost dog lie, riding a mechanical chicken with the help of a gnome, meeting an insane Pinky, casting some spells with Potter and his friends and watching some Supernatural.

Oh yes... they've been busy.

More Pumpkins!

Another random craft celebrating my love for Halloween...

I'm going to have to break down and make a Halloween bear. The mystery creature will just have to be put on hold, since all he's really been doing is giving me a brain block! Maybe he's an anti-muse.

Anyhow, until then, here are some Halloween pins I designed (all the white bits are reflections in the gloss... I'm probably too big a fan of sparkly and shiny!):

Wednesday is full of color!

Two separate blogs today are celebrating a specific color theme just because it's Wednesday... so I thought I'd have my own Wednesday party and celebrate my favorite thing about this day...

Odin!

I've always been a fan of Norse Mythology... and with Halloween coming up... well, one can't help but think of old pagan gods. Admittedly though, I think of Odin every Wednesday.

Odin, as far as I've ever seen, seems to be the principal god of Norse paganism... He gave up his left eye for knowledge, he travels with two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, whose names mean Thought and Memory, and a pair of wolves named Geri and Freki, whose names mean Ravenous and Greedy... he is the All Father, associated with everything from Wisdom to War.

The word Wednesday comes from (I think) proto-germanic spellings in which it was Woden,... in which the old English became Wēdnes dæg... eventually leading to Wednesday.

It's interesting to me that our days of the week find origin in Norse Mythology (Mostly).
Monday is the Mani's Day
Tuesday is Tyr's Day
Wednesday is Odin/Woden's Day
Thursday is Thor's Day
Friday is Freyja and Frigg's Day (are they the same, aren't they? Let's not take chances)
Saturday is Saturn's Day - ok, so maybe Saturn isn't a Norse god... we'll come back to this.
Sunday is the Sol/Sunna's Day

Now, I know all of these are in relation to planets and in turn, Roman/Greek Gods:
Monday: Luna, Selene
Tuesday: Mars, Ares
Wednesday: Mercury, Hermes
Thursday: Jupiter, Zeus
Friday: Venus, Aphrodite
Saturday: Saturn, Kronos
Sunday: Sol, Helios

And that leads me to wonder two things:
1. Why mostly Norse name origins for our days of the week? Why aren't we shuffling through Lunaday, Marsday, Mercurday, Jupiteday, Venusday, Saturday and Solday? Yeah it might look silly... but Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday would probably look silly too if we'd always been calling the days something else.

2. Why Saturday? Is there no true Norse equivalent to Saturn? I couldn't really find one, but the truth is, chances are I'm just missing it. (happens to me a lot :) )

Anyhow, it's always just been a bit of a mystery to me how Pagan gods are hiding throughout our week :) If anyone knows the answer, please share!

Acorn Holiday Pins

Well, here is my latest craft creation...

Tiny little sculptures in discarded acorn tops. I've always thought acorn tops were REALLY cute... and I've always wanted to use them in some fashion or another... so I've finally found a way!

The Pumpkin & Grave combo:

My Graveyard Scene... aka, 'Heather would like to think of new ways to torture herself':

The Single Pumpkin... I figure this one could be Halloween or just Autumn in general:

Look Ma! It's an Acorn... IN an Acorn! (aka, Heather = dumb):

Mr. Jack O. Lantern:

Totoro... in an Acorn! If you've ever seen My Neighbor Totoro, you know this is appropriate... if you haven't seen My Neighbor Totoro... WATCH IT! It's disgustingly adorable!

It's a Squirrel in an Acorn, hah! (really I just wanted to make a cute little furry animal):

So, anyhow, that is my most current craft.
Bears or bear type creatures are still in the works, along with a doll... more than anything though I have to finish my non-bear... he's holding up the works!

Adorable Sculpey Bears created by a friend of mine...

My friend Amy has created these tiny little Sculpey bears that I think are disgustingly cute :)

They're fully jointed and hand painted and I'm going to share them because I'm really amazed by these little guys!

This little golden bear is mine :) She was nice enough to make one for me!

Here they are pictured with a Fairyland PukiFee... for size reference :) Although they stand about 2 inches tall:

Yay! I was in a Treasury!!

I've made a series of Halloween pins that I haven't posted here yet, and one of them was included in someone's Treasury (which unfortunately is expiring today... so I won't link to it) but it's fun to know people like what I do!!! Mine is the pumpkin pin, second row, middle!

My first time ever in someone's Etsy Treasury!!!

Hmm...

As a child, I NEVER liked dolls. I much preferred plush friends. Dolls just creeped me out... and I'm sure it had to do with their stares, and my over active imagination.

When you were a child, did you ever stare so long, and so intently at an inanimate object that your mind started playing tricks, and the object started to appear to move? I'm not sure what causes this... or if it's just my crazy brain that does this... but when it came to doll eyes, I was always afraid that one day I'd look over and they'd be staring at me. They'd ALL be staring at me... and the belief that they could even accomplish such a task came from those periods where I'd stare intently at them and my imagination would kick into overdrive.

Well, as an adult, that childhood fear died when I came across Asian Ball Jointed Dolls. I don't know if it's because they resemble cartoons, or if it's because I now take an active part in their customization... but they just don't scare me, for the most part (granted, at one point I owned one who looked so real that I just had to sell him... I still, foolishly, believed one day I'd wake up and he'd be staring at me)

My personal taste in these dolls leans towards the small, cute ones (I'll post pictures some day, or you can check out www.travelingtwig.blogspot.com to see a weird little blue elf one). The small ones are easy to transport... and I'm the kind of person who likes to travel and document with photographs... so I always have leaned towards things that can travel with me.

However, I have found one larger doll (43cm)... not the largest of this type of doll, by any means, but just about as big as I'd ever want to go. She has a meloncholy look at times, and there is just something about the 'sad, quiet princess' persona that draws me in when it comes to dolls. I love it when they look like they could be reminiscing about the past...

I know this seems like a bit of a random post for a crafts blog... and while I did not sculpt the doll, I did paint her face... and I love that about these dolls, that you can have such a dramatic effect on their expression with nothing more than a paintbrush and some paints.

Anyhow, here's a pic of the wee princess... she currently doesn't have any sort of name... and maybe I'll just leave her nameless... it's kind of mysterious that way:

Cute Giveaway!

Yup, here's another one!

This one is at Gumi Gumi Islands!

Absolutely adorable amigurumi creations up for grabs! The bunny suit people are too cute!

Here's the link:
http://amigurumiandpizza.blogspot.com/2009/08/giveaway.html


And boy... when it rains it pours, here is another fun give-away... Halloween themed with multiple give-away items!

http://artisticthalloweenqueens.blogspot.com/2009_09_06_archive.html#176026393703754829

Now for one final give-away, for a very cute pumpkin pattern:
One of the stipulations is that you have to say something you love about pumpkins... and honestly, besides the history of the Jack O'Lantern ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-o'-lantern ) and picking out the PERFECT pumpkin... my favorite PUMPKIN thing are the holiday Pumpkin scents from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (Here's a link: http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/limited.html )
Between the pumpkin, the candy based ones, and then the gingerbread and eggnog that come out at Christmas, I have yummy smells all year long!

HELP! Artistic Advice Needed!

Alrighty, I'm making these buttons of bear faces... but I can't find a good material to make the ears out of!

The actual button is wooden, with paper and gloss... as you can see below... I tried foam, and I think it's uglier'n'sin. Well... ok, maybe not that ugly, but certainly not as cute as I've been envisioning!

Maybe the foam coated in a nicer scrapbooking paper? Sculpey? Any suggestions?

I'll work on it more tonight... the sculpey might be promising... but GAH! Poor guy has such ugly little ears!!!

Harumph.

It's very aggrivating when you can't find the proper materials for the project you're working on!

Oh, and they no longer seem to sell just a plain ol' cheapo hole-punch at Michael's anymore! You can only buy the ones that are going to cost you around $6!!

Grr... Aaarrrgh...

Over the next couple of weeks you'll probably notice some changes to my logo... I'm trying to "Halloweenify" it a little!

This would be Zombearry... he's not really that well done, but I only had 3 minutes to zombify him!

New craft pics tomorrow! No... really!!

Taking a Moment for more Mushrooms!

Oh yes, I'm on a Mushroom rampage (but I'll only bother you with one picture... the rest of them can be found shortly on Etsy... they're high gloss... so pardon the reflections!)...





I'm also working on some pins... they're far from perfected, a bit rough around the edges and all that... but the prototypes have held up to the rigors of use!




And yes, in case anyone is wondering... I am still toiling away at that one mystery creature... I have a feeling he's been fiddled with too much now to be any good... but I'm determined to see him finished!

Another Fantastic Giveaway!!

Ok, this one is from Ginger at Bearbits... who is an absolutely wonderful person! ... and her bears are cute and have 'tude to boot! (Good, cute 'tude)

Here's who is looking to head out into the world:


and here is where you can find the give-away thread:

http://bearbits.blogspot.com/2009/08/silver-anniversary-giveaway-3.html

And ANOTHER great giveaway from Cart Before the Horse... you could win this great doll, or some excellent patterns :)

http://thecartbeforethehorse.blogspot.com/2009/08/200-posts-and-giveaway-or-two.html

Halloween giveaways galore!

I think I've mentioned, I LOVE Halloween... and all the Halloween themed blogs around seem to be doing give-a-ways (I guess it is that time...)

Here is another one with many, many, many things to be given, all of them absolutely wonderful! It's Primitive Folk Art Talk and Tea's Blog and it's a collection of artists who do amazing work:

http://pfatt.blogspot.com/2009/08/pfatt-fall-blog-giveaway.html

Back from Vacation!

Well, I had a lovely week long vacation and now I'm back and in full craft gear!

I plan on doing sketches today for the art doll I want to make (her head is done... but I have no idea what I want to do for her body!)... and finally cutting out the rest of my 'mystery' creature that was, and then wasn't, a bear! (I've been having a real brain fart over what exactly to do about him)

I've been making Halloween themed spool dolls, and Lucky Mushrooms and Unlucky Mushrooms... so here are a few pics!