pompy the bellbird

neglecting the blog...but in the process of increasing my internet presence. I decided to start uploading some illustration work Ive done.

Heres one I did a while ago but really still enjoy:

meet pompy the bellbird

new things in store.....

Heyo.....

its been forever, I know. It has been difficult juggling my hobbies with school, sports and whatever else life has to throw my way. It is especially difficult to blog about these things on top of that.

But I am back and want to try even more to stay on top of things and keep updating this thing. I have been involved in a number of projects which I hope to share soon and have many more lined up!

So whats new..I just moved into a new apartment with my significant other and it has been a lot of work but fun. Almost everything is in its place and the numerous trips to home depot will stop soon I hope. The layout is much better than our last place and we now have an office! This makes us happy. I can post pictures when I am mostly satisfied with how it looks.

toodles for now but not long...i hope

~skunkrabbit

V-day Card making

I have a number of cardmaking supplies at home so I invited a girlfriend over to make some valentine's day cards. We experimented a bit with twilling and it was fun. I ended up making a few cards for friends and my mom:

Here I layered patterned paper with a wide ribbon and actually sewed the button in the middle of the heart.

I made my own twilling tool by knocking off the top of one of my large blunt ended needles. I dont think its the best but it created some decent shapes.

A couple more:

This one is my favorite I think, probably since I am biased by bugs.

I think the recipients enjoyed their surprise cards. I like to interpret this overly-commercial holiday as a chance to make any of your loved ones feel special.. not just a significant other.

Happy Valentines Day!

~skunkrabbit

grand opening of my esty shop

I finally decided to take the leap and start up my etsy shop...whoo!

It has been in the works for a while since I wanted to develop a good number of items that I think are sell-worthy. It took a while to upload photos since the size restriction are rather tight, so I think I'll take a break before starting another listing. I think it looks weird but I guess that is how it is when viewing your own work.

Anyway here it is:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39283413

A while back I began to make a number of flat felt owls that I use to decorate bags, pillows, shirts, etc.

I made a black tote bag to put this guy on and now its on sale!

:)

~skunkrabbit

Moving on ..more crochet projects: mice and jellyfish

After following a few patterns and making some cute crochet critters I am starting to form ideas of how shapes and forms are generally made. With that I am starting to do a bit of experimentation.

Although not entirely novel I decided to make small mice using what I have learned. Here is the result!

The first one had a funny nose that I wasnt too happy with so I modifed that the next time around. I think however the look of the first one will be useful in making a cute hedgehog (Working on figuring out how to do the spikes effectively). I think they have came out rather cute. I even made one for a friend to give to her lovely cats to play with. Apparently they loved it!

I would like to get into making patterns for people to follow so maybe this one will be a good start, so keep tuned!

More recently I became inspired by this lovely rainbow colored yarn that I had bought. Naturally I thought ...Jellyfish! so I just start crocheting not sure of what the results would be but here it is along with some progress photos:

the top

flipped over

curly tentacles

finished!

Jellyfish family

I am very pleased as to how they came out. I plan on selling these so keep tuned for the opening of my etsy shop!

~skunkrabbit

Beginner Crochet!

It was my cousin that first inspired me to learn how to crochet. Her skill is brilliant and she has made all kinds of attire with this technique. I was a child and got quite experienced at making granny-squared potholders but didn't progress much further until that.

Recently I tried to use what I remembered to make a scarf which seemed straightforward enough but it was not coming out right. I think I discarded it, if not it would be a funny picture to put on here. Anyway after a short google session I figured out what I was doing wrong and started over and now have a wonderfully soft scarf to keep me warm. I prefer them longer and thinner so that is how i made it:

Anyway so for some reason I wanted to make crochet animals. I have seen them all over craft sites and they are rather adorable and seem fairly easy to do. Aside from that there are tons of great free patterns out there to test out. Amazon is saturated with crochet how-to and pattern books and the selection is rather overwhelming to say so in the least.

However I did stumble upon the Crochet Answer Book by Edie Eckman which is succinctly written and pocket sized. It seemed like a good resource to have if I were to have any and the reviews were good so I purchased a copy. I am rather glad I did. Its easy to carry with me so I can check on something if i need a refresher

http://www.amazon.com/reader/1580175988?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Aside from that, the web has been a fantastic resource for finding free patterns and project ideas.

Here is what I found to be a couple of great resources :

www.crochetpatterncentral.com

this site has a rather old fashioned design but I have found it to contain links (many of them working!) to a large number of projects. Clicking on their free Pattern directory will lead you to a listing where you can find something and get started immediately

http://www.lionbrand.com/
http://cache.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternIndex.fcgi

This site has a patterns to buy but a great collection of free ones. It also has a great introduction to crochet and types of stiches (including clear illustrations!). You need to register for free on the site which is completely worth the effort in my opinion. My first couple of projects were derived from this site:

new bffs

Often simply typing a search into google... for example "crochet elephant" will turn up many results that you can use to make your own cute crochet critter. There are thousands of craft blogs and websites out there so chances are you will find something do-able and sutiable to your level, whatever that may be. Its a great way to get your feet wet and not invest uneccessarily in books.

~skunkrabbit

Home Improvement Part I: Starburst Mirror

It has been a long while since I have updated but that will probably happen quite often. Anyway I have become a bit DIY crazy. It is such a great way to produce unique items and impress the the folks and the get the "you made that??' No way!!" response, which feeds quite nicely to the ego.

Best place to find projects/inspirations are on the webs. I rent a room in a little house that, needless to say can probably get on one of those Home makeover shows with ease. Most of the furniture is either thrift store bought or side of the street found. I have become interested in making it looks less like hobo-land, so a long term project has been to spruce up the living room. However as a graduate student living barely above the poverty level my options are limited...so I have to get a bit creative

I came across this entry on the apartment therapy site:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/how-tomake-your-own-starburst-mirror-allisons-february-jumpstart-project-2009-076260.

Initially it seems complicated, but as you read through it appeared to be a project one can do with ease. So of course I went out (almost immediately) to get the materials needed.

I ended doing a few things differently. The instructions called for a blind spot mirror which I did get, but I had much difficulty getting the plastic off. I even tried melting it off. Luckily when getting more mirrors at another craft store I found a perfectly sized mirror to substitute. Also, instead of silver leaf I just got some metallic paint which did the job quite nicely.

having lots of fun with the hot glue gun

closeup of the back..thankfully no one will see it

before adding the smaller mirrors

pretty much complete!

Conveniently the tutorial is not specific as to how to hang the damn thing so I had to do a bit of brainstorming. After thinking through several ideas I ended up adding one of those hooks with teeth and hung it from a picture hook. I just hot-glued the hell out of it and it still hangs safely to this day:)

~skunkrabbit