Here are some of my Wizard Lizards.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
My Other Creations: Wizard Lizards
So why is my blog called Snapping Monsters anyway? A good question indeed! When trying to think up my blog name (you fellow bloggers may know the anguish and triumph of that little activity), I was just beginning to delve into my non-existent sewing skills. Since I am an anti-pattern-follower (not necessarily by choice, but by cognitive abilities), I didn't think I'd ever be able to make cute little stuffed animals and creatures. But heck, I tried it anyway and loved seeing how if I could sew a stitch at all on the machine (that wasn't easy at first, either) then I could make creatures after all. I started making cloth monsters and once I finished them, I would snap pics of them. Get it? Snapping Monsters? As in snapping pictures of monsters? And so my blog name was born.
Here are some of my Wizard Lizards.
Here are some of my Wizard Lizards.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
My Other Creations: Air Mail Angel
For this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, the theme was "Air Mail." I remembered living in London several years ago (pre-cell-phone era for me) and my family members all lived back home. I quickly learned to LOVE (all in caps) using the postal system to communicate with them. And so I wanted to glorify mail and give it an angelic status with this Air Mail Angel:
Confession time: I'm lazy when it comes to craft construction itself sometimes and much more enjoy the decoration phase of the creative process. So here's a nifty trick I used on this project, and which I've also used in the past, to make a quick human female figure. Ready for the big reveal?? Re-purpose a jewelry hanger torso! You know the ones I mean: it's a girl in a dress, but she has a spinning hook device for a head and hooks where her arms should be so you can hang things from her. I usually find them at places like Ross and Home Goods for a few bucks each.
Here's what my angel started out like (I already removed the big hanger where her head should go before I took the picture):
You can twist and pull out the hooks with pliers. Then you can either leave the dress on and build around it or remove it and create another one from scratch. I went from scratch, so here she is in her new outfit, which is basically a cotton print base layer:
Before you get too far along, you need to create her head and arms out of clay. I use Sculpey clay and mold the head shape and arms just by looking at the torso and shaping them to match. It takes a little practice, but you don't have to be a master sculptor to make a oval for a head and two snakes for arms. Leave a "neck hole" on the bottom of your head shape so you can just pop it on her neck after you bake it (like a Barbie head). And don't worry if the head and arms aren't totally perfect. If you add a lot of hair to your doll, you can't even see much of the head and arms anyway.
Embellish the dress while your clay pieces are baking. I added scraps of fabric to the base layer, then added ink and some stamping, too. I stamped some portions of various travel stamps and blended them into the fabric. I embossed some white text on the dress to finish it off.
After her head was baked (that sounds weird, but you know what I mean) and after I let it cool, I glued it onto her neck with hot glue. I also added some blush to her cheeks with pink chalk.
Next came the wings. These wings were made from water soluble paper. I made an abstract picture of green blobs on the computer, then I printed the image onto the paper. I sewed on the paper with criss-cross grid lines and then dissolved the paper in between some of the stitched grid lines. Kind of a tricky and time-consuming process, but I love the result. I also added some postage stamps to her wings for the Air Mail theme.
Lastly, I put it all together: the wings, the hair, the arms and the items she's holding. The hair is made from pink yarn. Here's a view of the whole girl from head to toe:
This project was a lot of fun and as always, I used several supplies from Simon Says Stamp to make it happen.
The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog has a new theme every week for you to work your creative magic on! Make something wonderful following Simon's theme, post it to the blog (following the rules, of course) and you'll be automatically entered to win $50 at the Simon Says Stamp store! Wa-hoo! I drool at the mere thought of free money to spend at Simon Says Stamp!
Confession time: I'm lazy when it comes to craft construction itself sometimes and much more enjoy the decoration phase of the creative process. So here's a nifty trick I used on this project, and which I've also used in the past, to make a quick human female figure. Ready for the big reveal?? Re-purpose a jewelry hanger torso! You know the ones I mean: it's a girl in a dress, but she has a spinning hook device for a head and hooks where her arms should be so you can hang things from her. I usually find them at places like Ross and Home Goods for a few bucks each.
Here's what my angel started out like (I already removed the big hanger where her head should go before I took the picture):
You can twist and pull out the hooks with pliers. Then you can either leave the dress on and build around it or remove it and create another one from scratch. I went from scratch, so here she is in her new outfit, which is basically a cotton print base layer:
Before you get too far along, you need to create her head and arms out of clay. I use Sculpey clay and mold the head shape and arms just by looking at the torso and shaping them to match. It takes a little practice, but you don't have to be a master sculptor to make a oval for a head and two snakes for arms. Leave a "neck hole" on the bottom of your head shape so you can just pop it on her neck after you bake it (like a Barbie head). And don't worry if the head and arms aren't totally perfect. If you add a lot of hair to your doll, you can't even see much of the head and arms anyway.
Embellish the dress while your clay pieces are baking. I added scraps of fabric to the base layer, then added ink and some stamping, too. I stamped some portions of various travel stamps and blended them into the fabric. I embossed some white text on the dress to finish it off.
After her head was baked (that sounds weird, but you know what I mean) and after I let it cool, I glued it onto her neck with hot glue. I also added some blush to her cheeks with pink chalk.
Next came the wings. These wings were made from water soluble paper. I made an abstract picture of green blobs on the computer, then I printed the image onto the paper. I sewed on the paper with criss-cross grid lines and then dissolved the paper in between some of the stitched grid lines. Kind of a tricky and time-consuming process, but I love the result. I also added some postage stamps to her wings for the Air Mail theme.
Lastly, I put it all together: the wings, the hair, the arms and the items she's holding. The hair is made from pink yarn. Here's a view of the whole girl from head to toe:
This project was a lot of fun and as always, I used several supplies from Simon Says Stamp to make it happen.
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The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog has a new theme every week for you to work your creative magic on! Make something wonderful following Simon's theme, post it to the blog (following the rules, of course) and you'll be automatically entered to win $50 at the Simon Says Stamp store! Wa-hoo! I drool at the mere thought of free money to spend at Simon Says Stamp!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
My Cards and Tags: Oh, Hello
As an avid card maker, I do enjoy a good card sketch to build from when my own creative well is running dry. Here is a sketch-based card that I recently made:
And here is the inspiring card sketch I used courtesy of those talented Chief Editors of Crafting Ireland Online, Nicole Mullen and Timi Konya.
I left the tops of my banners protruding above the line and added a scallop and some quarter-rosettes. The paper I used was from Graphic 45, MME, Simple Stories, The Paper Studio, Tim Holtz and Jenni Bowlin. I used some Prima flowers to add some dimension behind the little quarter-rosettes. I inked around all the edges with Tim Holtz's Walnut Stain distress ink then I finished it off with the "Oh, Hello" sentiment from Stampin' Up.
I have to say kudos to great sketches like this that always provide some artistic oomph when my brain's too tired to start from scratch. That's the beauty of the crafting world: constant inspiration from the talents of others. :)
And here is the inspiring card sketch I used courtesy of those talented Chief Editors of Crafting Ireland Online, Nicole Mullen and Timi Konya.
I left the tops of my banners protruding above the line and added a scallop and some quarter-rosettes. The paper I used was from Graphic 45, MME, Simple Stories, The Paper Studio, Tim Holtz and Jenni Bowlin. I used some Prima flowers to add some dimension behind the little quarter-rosettes. I inked around all the edges with Tim Holtz's Walnut Stain distress ink then I finished it off with the "Oh, Hello" sentiment from Stampin' Up.
I have to say kudos to great sketches like this that always provide some artistic oomph when my brain's too tired to start from scratch. That's the beauty of the crafting world: constant inspiration from the talents of others. :)
Sunday, July 28, 2013
My Other Creations: The Book of Not So Bright Ideas
The setting: junior high art class. The new kid, Dustin, was trying to pick up some extra income before lunch. The veteran kid, Rick, was bored. In a moment that would prove catastrophic for Dustin's nostrils from then on, Rick pulled a vial of Binaca out of his pocket (if you don't remember Binaca, it was this super-intense breath freshener spray). Rick looked at Dustin and said, "I'll give you a nickel if you spray Binaca up your nose." As we all shook our heads in the universal sign for "no," Dustin said, "Sure!" I won't go into the gory details, but Dustin had red eyes and a runny nose for the next two days. And while I didn't request the extra info, he also said he was pretty sure all of his nose hairs were burned off. Worth a nickel? Um, no.
But we humans, because we are humans, do things all the time that are not exactly brilliant. And so to honor Dustin and myself and everyone else who has done some pretty "duh" stuff, I created this book of "Not So Bright Ideas" in response to this weeks' challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.
I started out with a tin that had a clear plastic rectangle window on the front. I cut out the plastic piece and assembled some fabric to use.
I covered the tin with fabric scraps and threw on a few strips of Washi tape for good measure. I wanted to use a light bulb to symbolize ideas, but since I wasn't celebrating bright ideas, I wanted to make the light bulb look like it was leaking out blackness instead of light. Using a makeup sponge, I dabbed some StayzOn black ink to the light bulb's surface (StayzOn is made for non-porous surfaces, including glass). Then I took Heidi Swapp's Black Velvet Color Shine Spritz and sprayed a blob of it behind where my light bulb would go.
I adhered the light bulb to the tin and let it dry. I tore off some background fabric scraps and adhered them to a blank Bo Bunny "Miscellaneous Me" collection binder. I cut out some tickets from the My Mind's Eye "Find Your Wings and Fly" collection, then used alphabet stamps to spell out the book's title. I accented the tickets with paperclips.
I also added a "secret message" to the inside of the tin that can open up like a little door.
As for the inside of the book, there are so many non-bright ideas to choose from that it's hard to know where to begin! I decided to start with the bad idea that inspired this project: my friend who ate an egg that was fried by a street vendor on a downtown sidewalk where thousands of feet (some bare) walk everyday. Not that I'd want to eat a sidewalk-fried egg under any circumstances, but a downtown sidewalk just up's the ick factor by about 200%. My friend was sick for days, so here's the page I created to honor him:
There are more details to the story, of course, but I didn't want to shame my friend so blatantly on the internet, so I just shown here the main page without the journaling on the back. I used ink, paint, fabric, stamps and yellow ink spray to make the center look a little like a spilled yolk. Here are some of the supplies I used that you can get at Simon Says Stamp:
I'm already thinking of the next pages, all inspired by my own or my friends' stupidity: testing the sharpness of an electric razor on your tongue, eating an entire bag of jalapeno Jelly Belly's before riding the roller coaster, trying on a pair of your grandpa's prescription glasses and then walking down the stairs...let's just say I left plenty of blank pages!
The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog never ceases to inspire. And you could win $50 to the Simon Says Stamp store just by entering your inspired creation! Give it a try because that would be a very bright idea.
But we humans, because we are humans, do things all the time that are not exactly brilliant. And so to honor Dustin and myself and everyone else who has done some pretty "duh" stuff, I created this book of "Not So Bright Ideas" in response to this weeks' challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.
I started out with a tin that had a clear plastic rectangle window on the front. I cut out the plastic piece and assembled some fabric to use.
I covered the tin with fabric scraps and threw on a few strips of Washi tape for good measure. I wanted to use a light bulb to symbolize ideas, but since I wasn't celebrating bright ideas, I wanted to make the light bulb look like it was leaking out blackness instead of light. Using a makeup sponge, I dabbed some StayzOn black ink to the light bulb's surface (StayzOn is made for non-porous surfaces, including glass). Then I took Heidi Swapp's Black Velvet Color Shine Spritz and sprayed a blob of it behind where my light bulb would go.
I adhered the light bulb to the tin and let it dry. I tore off some background fabric scraps and adhered them to a blank Bo Bunny "Miscellaneous Me" collection binder. I cut out some tickets from the My Mind's Eye "Find Your Wings and Fly" collection, then used alphabet stamps to spell out the book's title. I accented the tickets with paperclips.
I also added a "secret message" to the inside of the tin that can open up like a little door.
As for the inside of the book, there are so many non-bright ideas to choose from that it's hard to know where to begin! I decided to start with the bad idea that inspired this project: my friend who ate an egg that was fried by a street vendor on a downtown sidewalk where thousands of feet (some bare) walk everyday. Not that I'd want to eat a sidewalk-fried egg under any circumstances, but a downtown sidewalk just up's the ick factor by about 200%. My friend was sick for days, so here's the page I created to honor him:
There are more details to the story, of course, but I didn't want to shame my friend so blatantly on the internet, so I just shown here the main page without the journaling on the back. I used ink, paint, fabric, stamps and yellow ink spray to make the center look a little like a spilled yolk. Here are some of the supplies I used that you can get at Simon Says Stamp:
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
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I'm already thinking of the next pages, all inspired by my own or my friends' stupidity: testing the sharpness of an electric razor on your tongue, eating an entire bag of jalapeno Jelly Belly's before riding the roller coaster, trying on a pair of your grandpa's prescription glasses and then walking down the stairs...let's just say I left plenty of blank pages!
The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog never ceases to inspire. And you could win $50 to the Simon Says Stamp store just by entering your inspired creation! Give it a try because that would be a very bright idea.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
My Cards and Tags: Soar
It's always toasty in my neck of the woods in July, but this morning the air was downright muggy and still; as though waiting to either explode into a storm or just hang out in gray monotony. It's still in a holding pattern. But I have to give kudos to the weirdly mysterious air because it did inspire me to create a card using this fabulous hot air balloon stamp from Tim Holtz.
I stamped the balloon image on several pieces of patterned paper, then cut out the different sections of the balloon and pieced them back together. The paper I used is from My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, K & Company, Graphic 45 and Jenni Bowlin.
I added some Washi tape to the background from Recollections and My Mind's Eye, then stamped the "Soar" sentiment using alphabet letter stamps, also from Recollections.
Whether the weather decides to go crazy or stay mellow, I'm glad that the overcast mood inspired me to try and "soar above it" (ha, ha) with this card.
*Interesting side note: not sure where the "water squirrel" word combo came from on the text background paper at the bottom of the card, but it sure made me wonder about the rest of the story!
I stamped the balloon image on several pieces of patterned paper, then cut out the different sections of the balloon and pieced them back together. The paper I used is from My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, K & Company, Graphic 45 and Jenni Bowlin.
I added some Washi tape to the background from Recollections and My Mind's Eye, then stamped the "Soar" sentiment using alphabet letter stamps, also from Recollections.
Whether the weather decides to go crazy or stay mellow, I'm glad that the overcast mood inspired me to try and "soar above it" (ha, ha) with this card.
*Interesting side note: not sure where the "water squirrel" word combo came from on the text background paper at the bottom of the card, but it sure made me wonder about the rest of the story!
Sunday, July 21, 2013
My Other Creations: Fabric Mache Cupcakes
No matter how old you get, there always seems to be something soothing about goo: aloe on a sunburn, stringy cheese on pizza, a mud mask, and of course, paper mache paste! I daresay these goos are therapeutic. So when the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog issued a "celebrate" theme for this week, I decided to combine some of my favorite celebratory things: cake, fabric and goo. So wah-la! Behold my paper mache'd cupcakes!
These are not too hard to make, especially if you start out with these pre-made cardboard cupcake boxes like I did. I've seen them at both Michaels and JoAnn's. Fist, paint them with white acrylic paint. Next, rip up all sorts of fabric scraps then mix up a batch of Golden Harvest Universal Wheat Paste (it's basically fancy paper mache mix that smells pleasant).
Just like those happy pinata-making days of childhood, submerge your fabric scraps in the paste and smoosh them onto the cupcake form. Be sure to cover your work surface before you start! When it's done, it'll look something like this:
The texture, as you can see, is wet and glossy. Once it's dried, it will look like this:
If you want to get a more "ragged" look in some places (as opposed to the glued-down look), you can still glue scraps to your cupcake after it dries. And this is when you get to add a ton of dimension and oomph with ink! Any ink seems to work just fine, but Tim Holtz distress ink works especially well. I also used Colorbox chalk ink and I applied all of it with a make-up sponge.
Once you've added ink, you're ready to embellish! Glue on flowers, lace, stamped images or whatever else your little heart desires. Here are how the other two of my trio turned out:
The quote on this one, "There is never an awkward time for cake," is a totally classic one-liner I heard my boss say after cake was distributed at the end of a staff meeting that had gotten a bit heated. My boss was absolutely right: cake = peace.
This was such a fun project and Simon Says Stamp is a fantabulous place to get all sorts of crafty supplies in one go. Here is what I used to bring my cupcakes to life:
Remember that you can enter the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge every week yourself! You could win $50 to Simon Says Stamp! Just upload your project that follows the weekly theme and you're entered in. Wa-hoo! And hey-- inspire others with your cool projects at the same time. It's a win-win...kind of like cake and goo.
These are not too hard to make, especially if you start out with these pre-made cardboard cupcake boxes like I did. I've seen them at both Michaels and JoAnn's. Fist, paint them with white acrylic paint. Next, rip up all sorts of fabric scraps then mix up a batch of Golden Harvest Universal Wheat Paste (it's basically fancy paper mache mix that smells pleasant).
Just like those happy pinata-making days of childhood, submerge your fabric scraps in the paste and smoosh them onto the cupcake form. Be sure to cover your work surface before you start! When it's done, it'll look something like this:
The texture, as you can see, is wet and glossy. Once it's dried, it will look like this:
If you want to get a more "ragged" look in some places (as opposed to the glued-down look), you can still glue scraps to your cupcake after it dries. And this is when you get to add a ton of dimension and oomph with ink! Any ink seems to work just fine, but Tim Holtz distress ink works especially well. I also used Colorbox chalk ink and I applied all of it with a make-up sponge.
Once you've added ink, you're ready to embellish! Glue on flowers, lace, stamped images or whatever else your little heart desires. Here are how the other two of my trio turned out:
The quote on this one, "There is never an awkward time for cake," is a totally classic one-liner I heard my boss say after cake was distributed at the end of a staff meeting that had gotten a bit heated. My boss was absolutely right: cake = peace.
This was such a fun project and Simon Says Stamp is a fantabulous place to get all sorts of crafty supplies in one go. Here is what I used to bring my cupcakes to life:
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Remember that you can enter the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge every week yourself! You could win $50 to Simon Says Stamp! Just upload your project that follows the weekly theme and you're entered in. Wa-hoo! And hey-- inspire others with your cool projects at the same time. It's a win-win...kind of like cake and goo.
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