Mustache Mania

Wow, it's been a busy fall so far! Birthdays, shows, general family madness. It never seems to end. I had planned a wonderful Halloween post, but it kind of fell through because I lost track of time and the costumes just didn't get done like we wanted. So yeah, upset about it a little but it happens. Now we are gearing up for the holiday show season. Going to be doing Deluxe again this year, which we are super excited about. I love that show, you meet so many awesome people there. Also doing some smaller shows, one at my kids elementary school and one at Chesapeake Energy. So lots to do!

My daughter got me started on the whole mustache thing a few years ago. She likes to buy the stick on mustaches from the vending machines and freak people out as we drive by them in traffic. I have always made plush ones, but this time I decided to make some out of Crayola Model Magic and dowel rods so you can walk around with your stache. I have to hide them from my four year old, he likes to wear them around. His favorite is the Fu Man Chu stache. It is very easy to do. I mainly make things I think kids are going to like to play with  and plus it is made out of non toxic materials so you don't have to worry if they stick them in their mouths. Enjoy the pics I remembered to take! I actually did process photos this time ( I am so bad about that)

So here is my layout of clay and sticks. I also have wax paper on the table so I have somewhere to put them while they dry. It takes about a full day for them to totally dry enough to sit them in a container, I also make sure to flip them so both sides air dry equally. I use the Model Magic because it's just plain awesome. My daughter and I built an entire Greek Mythology Theme Park out of it and paper mache one year. It dries well and it doesn't get all crumbly, plus it stays a nice soft texture after it dries. I also don't have to bake it which is a huge plus! I have black and red here.

Next I pull some clay off and start to roll it. I put it into one piece and taper off the ends. I also did this on top of my calendar, which was a dopey thing to do. After this I shape it to the shape I want and shove a stick into the middle of it all.

I do use some sculpting tools for whatever I feel I need them for. Not much but they help when smoothing things out and curving things. Then I lay them out and let them dry.

Ta Da! Then when they are all dry, you hand them out and let your family members take unsuspecting pictures that you then put on your blog. I am sneaky like that! My sister decided to add a pop cap monocle to her picture,  my daughter just had a giggle fit because she used the ginger stache as she calls it.

She somehow reminds me of the Mayor from the Power Puff Girls. All she needs is a jar of pickles.

The fun never ends in this house, let me tell you!

Time to go, hope to update again soon, providing I don't get sucked into another black hole. See you soon!


Author:
Kiamichi

The One Man Hat Band

I decided to do my baby sister a favor and bead her man a hat band. It was supposed to be for Christmas, which he got to look at it but I hadn't finished it yet. It's now March, I just got it done last week, lol. So much for me being swift on this one. Granted though, I have to be in an emotionally stable place when I do any kind of traditional bead work. I can't bead when I am feeling crazy or for certain other reason I do not care to share with the population at large, kind of personal spiritual reasons that I just do not feel like explaining. Basically, when you are in a rotten mood, the beads seem to know and they will hate you for it and not do what you want them to then the item you are making is just going to be a source of frustration for you and you will resent it the whole time you are making it. This is why it took me so long, I didn't want to resent it. It isn't necessarily a pattern I would normally do, it is very different and one of a kind. Kind of like the person I made it for. He really is a great guy. So here is the hat band I made for him to wear with his cowboy hat. The photos are progressive and I made it with nylon thread, beeswax, seed beads (size 11), card stock, felt, and backed it with leather.






That's my son holding it for me. I think he would kill me if he knew I posted his picture somewhere, he is kind of shy lol.

Now that I have that finished I can start on another piece. Well several pieces actually. They will all be part of a traditional grass dance outfit for my husband. He is going to start dancing again and we are hitting the pow-wow circuit hardcore this summer so of course, he wanted brand new bead work. Here is kind of a sneak peek at it and a few pics of the beginnings of his cuffs:




Please, this is a family design so no stealing it. As in, everyone in my family has this on their regalia so if I see it on yours I will shame you out. You know what I mean. Use it for inspiration all you want, just don't blatantly rip it off. I will have some more updates soon, shoe related ones! EXCITED!!!

Craft Show stuff!

I have been meaning to do this update for about a week now. I let things get away from me and lose track of time because my weeks get so crazy with three kids and my new part time job.

I was part of a craft show at my mom's place of business. It was their annual Christmas Craft Show. I tried it last year but was not that successful.
It gave me a year to think about what to do next. I clearly
am not a jewelry maker. Frankly, I hate making it. I do however love to sew things by hand. I spent time at the library pouring over all kinds of books about sewing bags, hats, clothes, you name it, but nothing was really making me feel passionate about making it. That was until I went digging into my grandmothers old craft folders. She has patterns in there from the 1950s! It made me remember how much I loved making dolls with her when I was a kid. So I sat down and sketched some ideas out and then made the patterns for them. I also read a few plush toy books to get some ideas on sewing and materials. Then, I got down to business. I made dolls like crazy. I had to hide them from my kids. They kept trying to steal them, especially the youngest one. I made them out of felt, fuzzy fake fur, velvet, and canvas. I dug up my embroidery thread and my buttons and just had a great time. I also painted a few with acrylics. I worked like crazy to get my stuff done for the show. Day of the show and I can say I did much better this time. So now I am sharing my little creations with you. I still have some left over and they are going to go up for sale in the Etsy store.

I have a few more ideas, I know definitely the big dolls are getting made in more colors and in a bigger quantity next time. I sold all but one of them! I am also going to work on more screenprinting and block print note cards. My plan is to enter more shows this year and have fun meeting new people. I have to get out of my cave some time! Here are the rest of the pics. Make sure to check out the Etsy store some time in the next day or two because I will be posting the rest of my stock there.