WIP…Thursday?

Yeah, I totally forgot to get my WIP Wednesday post ready yesterday. I generally don’t write WW posts ahead of time as I am usually working on said projects and I like to have the most recent pics. So usually I’ll snap pics in the morning and then write/publish the post during naptime. Well….that just didn’t happen yesterday! I remembered while cooking dinner and said, well, I guess it’ll be tomorrow’s post! On to the art and projects!

The Princess Celestia plush is finished!! This was a serious labor of love. But I did learn a lot along the way, and my stitching is getting so much more even, and faster too! In terms of stuffing, nothing got too warped which I was a bit worried about. There’s a slightly awkward part up by her wing, but that’s about it. The only thing I did learn is stuff the legs before you sew them completely shut! Normally to stuff a felt plushie I’ll sew all around the edges leaving myself a hole at the top to jam in some stuffing using a combo of my fingers and a wooden dowel. However, the tiny pony legs just weren’t having it, even trying to smash it in with a dowel. So for Princess Luna, I’ll add stuffing to the legs as I go, and then sew them shut.

Just a quick side view to see how thick the plushie is. It’s about 1.5″-2″ total.

Princess Luna is coming right along! I’m really excited about her – but that’s also because I love Luna! Anywho, as you can see by the pins I’m in the process of sewing the body and tail to the main hair piece. Then I have to put the back hair pieces to the back body piece, and finally sew and stuff the whole thing together.

This is my first 2D felt project!  A (not so) little Flareon ornament for my best friend! She’s about 5″ from ear to tail, which is a little big for an ornament, but too bad. Pokemon has always held a special place in m heart – I met my best friend of sixteen years because of Pokemon! I had just gotten into it (both the video game and card game) and she was the go-to girl for Pokemon card trades. We met about a trade, and have been BFF’s ever since.

Another gift for my BFF – a Superfruit pillow! Superfruit is the YouTube channel of Scott and Mitch from Pentatonix. Every Tuesday they release a vid, which is generally hilarious. We love them, and since my best bud just moved into her first apartment in September, I felt a Superfruit throw pillow was a necessity. 😀 I sewed the pillowcase (I already had the small pillow kicking around) and as you can see, I haven’t finished the top of it yet. Originally I was going to sew on the 2D guys, but I think I’m just going to stick with hot glue. I used hot glue a lot for these guys as it suited the original illustration more than stitching, and I think it will work great to attach it to a pillow. Also a quick rant about Scott (blondie on the left)’s eyes: in the original image they are all blue, which I did and it looked creepy. So I made them black and now they look creepier! So I’ll be painting them back to blue. Le sigh.

Lastly, I have finally started this oil painting for my hubs! It’s of Aurelia, a Magic the Gathering character. All I’ve done so far is lay in the background colors, but I feel better knowing it’s started at least. Being a pretty darn slow painter I am quite nervous about the fact that I have TWO oil paintings to finish in time for Christmas (plus they need about 9 days drying time, if not more). It’s going to be a scramble, but I actually work really well under pressure so I can do it!

WIP Wednesday

GAH, I am so behind on blog stuffs! I can never manage to keep up with life when I am sick! But luckily, I feel pretty much tip top again, so it’s time to get back on track with posts, starting with WIP Wednesdays again. Nothing new this week, just more progress on things I’ve already shared. Now that I am in epic Christmas present scramble mode, I won’t have a ton of new stuff to share in the next two months, but I’ll post all I can!

I’ve had this portrait of Mr. Cumberbatch finished for a couple weeks, and I’m quite happy with it! However I absolutely need to work on rendering certain clothing texture.

A penguin daddy and baby! This is a Christmas present for a friend of mine, who adores/collects penguins.

I’ve made a rather abysmal amount of progress on my Neil Gaiman portrait. I haven’t even finished laying the darks in the hair yet! But, this project does wind up at the bottom of the priority list since it’s just for fun, not a Christmas present. I work on it when I can, or when I just HAVE to use my pencils after spending days leaving them untouched while I work on my two big sewing projects (see below).

Princess Luna is coming along nicely. All her pieces have been cut out and I’m in the process of stitching each side together.

But this is where the majority of my effort has been going. Princess Celestia. This plush has taken SO MUCH work. I entirely hand stitch these plushes, and since I’m kinda slow at it, these are a huge time sync. But I’m loving how she’s turning out!! This is the front side, obviously, and it’s 100% finished.

The back side has MUCH less detail than the front and will therefore take much less time to put together. Then, I can sew the whole thing together and stuff it. I’m a little worried about the stuffing part, as I’m hoping nothing will look warped or misshapen, but I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

That’s all I’ve got for you this week! I feel like I’ve been working a TON, but it’s only because sewing takes me ages haha. I’ve got a couple more plush patterns to draw, then cut out and stitch, and TWO oil paintings to do, one of which I haven’t even started. It’s gonna be a busy two months of art. Just the way I like it!

WIP Wednesday

Lately art has been a balance between finishing the just-for-fun projects I’ve started, working on Christmas presents, and still wanting to start more just-for-fun projects! I’ve made the decision to focus on Christmas though. I know it’s still two months away, but I also know me and if I don’t bust out at least half my list, I’ll never get them done in time. I’m making so much this year! Which is awesome, but also stressful. I’ve actually closed commissions for the season just so I can focus on it, and it’s been a great choice. One less things to stress about!

Last week, I was lamenting about my little raccoon and his poor nose. I made the decision to seam rip the nose off, then cut and hot glue a new one one and I am SO HAPPY I did! I just love him now! So I will definitely have to remember that when making a new one…I’ve got some raccoon plans up my sleeve.

Finished my Bravely Default piece! Tiz’s (far left) eyes are a bit dark, and Ringabel (pirate) looks a bit evil haha, but overally I like it a lot! I also learned I’m not a huge fan of using watercolors in this manner. I like them for more tightly controlled things, and this was very loose. I think a piece in this style is one I’d like to try once I get a set of Copics and see what I think!

I got the Neil Gaiman piece all sketched out and have just barely started laying in the darks in the hair. However, after staring at it while working I think I’m going to erase the left eye (our left, that is) and redraw it in. It’s too low, and it’s driving me banana sandwich.

This piece however, I am 100% happy with! It was just one of those times where everything is working out exactly the way I want it to! I’d say I have about an hour left to finish up that side of his coat, and then it’s all done! At this point, I feel like I’m subconsciously putting off finishing it up because it’s been so much fun to draw.

The last thing I wanted to share today is a bit of my pattern/plush making process. I started a new plush for my daughter for Christmas, and figured I’d give you a taste of how I do it!

I start with a sketch. I find a reference pic that I like, then sketch it out to the size I want the plush to be. In this case, it’s about 8″ x 8″ including the hair and wingtips. I know how messy it looks, but I have to sketch in all the sides of everything (hair, wings, etc) for the next step: tracing.

Using a light box, I take my sketch and trace out each individual piece I will need. Then I cut them out, pin them to felt, and cut the felt out.

And voila! Princess Celestia is coming right along. I need to snag a couple other felt colors to cut out the rest of the hair, and then I’ll be ready to start sewing it together (which is a whole other ball game). This is definitely the most complicated plush I’ve tried. I want it to be ‘viewable’ from both sides, not just the front, which added the extra step of making sure it all works from the back too. So far so good though! We’ll see how it all comes together once I start layering everything to sew.

I have some plans for upcoming Christmas posts and I was thinking about making a full step by step tutorial for (how I do) pattern & plush making. What do you guys think? Something you’d like to see?

WIP Wednesday

Before I get into the art stuffs, I’m going to apologize upfront for the horrendous photos. I had a total brain fart last night, and realized not only had I not prepped this post yet, I hadn’t even photographed my WIPs. And I’m gone from the house all day today, meaning no time to do it this morning. Which therefore meant taking art photos in my horrible bedroom light (aka fluorescent, hospital room style lights. Blech) last night. Some editing helped, but not that much. Pardon!

My little asked me last week for some new art in her room. Yesterday, I finally remembered this conversation, and asked her what she wanted. Unsurprisingly, she asked for some My Little Pony stuff, specifically Princess Luna and Princess Celestia (her two faves). I whipped these up during nap time for her. Happy three year old.

Sharing some stuff from my small sketchbook (5×7″) today. A quick life sketch while my daughter was painting from a couple weeks ago. She’s such a serious painter, which is handy for me – she sits so still I can get a quick sketch in.

This was a five minute sketch I did yesterday while listening to Jane Lui. I love the music she makes – so unique. Anywho, since I had her on the brain, I decided to do a quick sketch. The likeness is only meh, but for five minutes I’ll take it.

Started another MTG bookmark! Though this one isn’t for my hubs; it’s actually a Christmas present for a friend. I’m feeling 50% super accomplished for starting Christmas presents in August, and 50% yucky with myself. However, if I don’t start now, I’ll never have time to get everything done! Doing so much art as gifts this year.

And lastly, still making bits of progress on this piece. I feel like this is my backup piece, so when I can’t figure out what I want to work on, I’ll add more to this. It still has so much work that it needs, but it’s slowly coming along.

What projects are you working on lately?

Life In Photos #10

It’s been a grand week around here! My birthday was on Wednesday, and it was spent with my hubs and daughter. A nice simple day, just the way I like it! This weekend has been filled with family, fun, and laughter as my dad and brother are up to visit. Such a wonderful way to celebrate!

Ready for an adventure in the woods at Grammy’s house!

Happy Eli bathing in sunbeams.

Books make the best birthday presents.

My mother-in-law took a trip to Cancun and brought me back this vanilla! It smells so rich – can’t wait to bake with it.

Happy mail from Scrawny Girl.

Gotta get ’em started on geek while they’re young! She loves her MLP comics.

-Kayly

Local Love

Despite being currently buried under a foot of fresh snow, we actually managed to venture out of the house this past weekend and Monday for some fun! We ventured out of our little town to explore our neighboring town of Meredith, New Hampshire.

The weekend provided some grownup fun. On Saturday we headed to the local comic book shop to play some Ascension. Ascension is an awesome deck-building board game where you buy new cards and fight monsters to accumulate honor. The person with the most honor at the end wins! If you’ve ever played Dominion, it plays very similarly; almost a more simplified version, but I find Ascension more fun.

*Image via Acension’s website*

Before we headed out, we decided to snag a present for our little miss – a new My Little Pony comic! She received one for her birthday, loves it, and has been asking for the next one. It’s never to early to start a comic book collection, and she’s kicking it off at the ripe age of three!

After we finished up there, we decided to hit up some of the local shops in Meredith, which I had never really explored. We ended up coming across a locally owned bookstore, which just about made my day. I had no idea a bookstore was tucked away so close to me! I’m up to my ears in books to read right now, so I didn’t purchase any. Instead I opted for a new journal, since my new one is pretty tiny and will fill up fast.

Front cover

Back cover

Isn’t it gorgeous?! Hand stamped leather, hand bound pages – I’m so in love with it. Can’t wait to start filling the pages!

Monday was filled with an adventure to the Meredith Children’s Museum. We met up with an old friend from middle school days (Sarah Chase of Chase Photography – check out her blog too!) and her husband and son. It was great! The museum was actually much more than I was expecting – huge open layout rooms with plenty for the kids to do. We never even fully explored the lower floor since there was so much to do! If you’re local with kids, I definitely recommend checking it out.

She was so excited for a playground inside!

Completely fascinated by. . .

. . .all the billiard balls rolling around these tracks! She loved this room.

And now, we are reburied under mountains of snow, so it’s a good thing we got in our trips when we could! I really wouldn’t mind the snow if it were warm enough (by which I mean at least 30!) to play outside. But it’s only been in the teens, and add wind to that – no thank you. We’ll stay inside with our arts and crafts instead! Here’s hoping we see warmer weather soon!

-Kayly

NerdBlock #2

Our second NerdBlock showed up in the mail last week and I love it as much as the first one! The geek in me definitely outweighs the girly girl aspects since I am FAR more excited about my monthly NerdBlock than I am by my other beauty subscription boxes! Let’s get to it.

I was excited from the get go. Just opening it up and I’m seeing Star Wars, My Little Pony, and Hunger Games. YES.

I love Funko figurines. I think they are so adorable. And slightly creepy, which in my opinion just makes them better. My hubs was THRILLED with this little Luke Skywalker! He is a big Star Wars nerd. He already has a little plush Yoda hanging from  his rearview mirror, and is now going to mount this guy onto his dashboard! Which is just perfect, since it’s a bobblehead. Spectacular.

   

Next I opened up the My Little Pony figurine. My three year old is a huge MLP fan, and I can’t deny it – I totally like that show. It’s funny (I have literally laughed out loud on multiple occasions), it has great animation, and it has a worthwhile message – what’s not to love?! Anywho, we got a Fluttershy which is perfect, since she and Pinkie Pie are my little missy’s favorites. Why they are black, I don’t know, but my daughter loves it and that’s what counts!

 

I ripped into my Hunger Games mini-fig next. Well, I tried, got frustrated, then finally gave in and opened it with scissors. Inside was a mini Johanna Mason figurine! Suits me just fine – I love Hunger Games, so onto the nerd shelves it went. On the close up you can see she seems to have a case of cave-man face but shhhh let’s not ruin it. . .
I find this slightly ironic as Johanna is supposed to be all sexy and super hot, but seriously her head is about the size of a pencil lead – how much detail are you expecting to get in there?! Moving on.

I was intrigued by this Ninja Turtles splat ball. Mainly because I had no idea what that was. But TMNT always makes me feel super nostalgic. I have very fond memories of watching the original cartoon with my big bro and honestly, does it get any more classic than the guys-in-suits live action movies? Anywho, the toy is kind of like a combination stress ball/water balloon. We’ve had fun tossing it about the house, and trying to stick it to walls. The hubs and I attempted to give it a home on our nerd shelves but the three year old dictator was having none of it. So it resides with her.

I saved unrolling the shirt for last, as I have decided I will always do! I feel they are the biggest surprise, so I like the anticipation. This month was an awesome Batman shirt! My hubs is thrilled. I too am a total Batman fan, but since I got the Zelda shirt last month, this one was all his.

Yet another awesome NerdBlock! Click the link below to sign up and you too can have a mini nerd Christmas every month!

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