2010.02.28.thing.a.day: tad summary

for my last day of tad this year, i compiled a collage of many of my 'things' from february, as well as a photo triptypch with 3 of my favorite photos from the month:




i concentrated mainly on felt plushes and sculpey figurines, along with some photography and other sewing projects. i didn't make as many clothing/clothing reconstructions as i normally do, nor did i do any knitting, crochet, or drawing, but it's ok---hopefully, i'll have a chance to do some of those things in the coming year.

original post here.

2010.02.27.thing.a.day: cartoon shade

today, i took a drawing that my friend, kevan, drew of me and shaded it usinga wacom tablet in photoshop elements:



i plan to use it as a profile pic/icon on different sites. thank you, kevan!

original post here.

2010.02.26.thing.a.day: snowpig snow globe

today, i took the snowpig i made yesterday and incorporated it into a snow globe:




it went smoother than my last snow globe disaster. it's pretty tiny, so there wasn't much room for glitter or anything else, but i probably could've put a little more in. i'll probably keep it at my desk at work, along with the rest of my collection of little things.

original post here.

2010.02.25.thing.a.day: snowpig

i'm going to try another snow globe, but thought i'd try something
much simpler than my previous globe/disaster. i made a snowpig
figurine today and will try to incorporate it into a snow globe tomorrow:



wish me luck!

original post here.

2010.02.24.thing.a.day: snow globe disaster

i assembled my pigsea monster from yesterday and put it into a snow globe. i put everything into one jar, but put way too much glitter and confetti, and my monster was filling the jar and couldn't be seen under the glitter and confetti, so i tried to change to a bigger jar (too big) but by then, everything was covered with mineral oil, so i couldn't get the monster to adhere to the new lid. also, i ran out of mineral oil and filled the rest with canola oil so it's a bit yellowish/murky looking. i would say my experiment failed, but at least i learned something, right?



i might try again with a new sculpture, but modify my process.

original post here.

2010.02.23.thing.a.day: pigsea monster, work in progress

i am making a sea creature to put in a snow globe:



today, i made and baked sculpey and started so sew some of the pieces
together with fishing line. i'll need to finish sewing the pieces together, then am going to try to assemble everything together in a handmade snow globe. this was more of a proof of concept/experimental thing since i've never made a snow globe before and want to see what one is like with moveable parts. i think i want the parts to be slower moving so want to figure out a way to mix a more viscous medium. any suggestions?

original post here.

2010.02.22.thing.a.day: tiger heart (revisited) and hot dog sculpeys

today i revisited the tiger heart plush that i made in honor of valentine's day and chinese new year, year of the tiger, and made a tiger heart sculpey. this time, i added a body:

for more pics, see my tad flickr set.

i also made a little hot dog sculpey with what is supposed to be a mustard/ketchup smiley face:

original post here.

2010.02.20.thing.a.day: little mr. ice cream cone

more colored sculpey work:


i'm having fun mixing colors.

original post here.

2010.02.20.thing.a.day: teeny tiny food sculpeys

i ordered some colored sculpey and was happy to be able to try it. i
made miniature food sculptures of egg custard pie, edamame, and shrimp
dumpling (back to the dim sum theme sort of):




they are all less than an inch, on average between 0.25-0.5".

original post here.

2010.02.19.thing.a.day: cartoon me

i took richard's idea: http://richardsplanet.posterous.com/gimping-0 and tried to make cartoon versions of myself, but i don't think i was so successful:



i had trouble reducing the color palette in elements. i tried posterizing, and also converting to grayscale, then posterizing, then setting a new color index.

original post here.

2010.02.18.thing.a.day: pigopus

today, i made a pigopus, which is a combination a pig and an octopus, only it's only got 4 leg-tentacles, so it's more like a quadripus:





i was looking at jim woodring's crazy and imperial newts and wanted to go for something along that vein, but it turned out to be more aquatic looking than i envisioned, so i added suckers to the leg-tentacles.

original post here.

2010.02.17.thing.a.day: tiny skull

i made a sculpey skull, it's tiny. i don't know the exact
measurements, but the height is probably about 0.75":



this is pre-baked, will bake later today...

original post here.

2010.02.16.thing.a.day: push me pull me elephant

this is sort of cheating, but after i posted my pink elephant yesterday, jrmyst pointed out that it looks like an elephant in both directions. so i added eyes to his butt and baked him, and then put it all together in photoshop. here's the result:

original post here.

2010.02.15.thing.a.day: pink elephant

i thought my sculpey piggy might need a friend so i made a pink elephant:





i guess it's more like a flesh-colored elephant than a pink one. i
haven't baked him yet, but will do that later today or tomorrow.

after i took the photos, i thought he looked a bit lopsided, so i evened out his legs so that they are less splayed looking. i also shortened the back legs to match the length of the front legs more and flattened all of the feet (made them less rounded).

original post here.

2010.02.14.thing.a.day: tiger heart

today, i combined chinese new year and valentine's day into a plush valentine:



happy chinese new year and valentine's day to everyone!

original post here.

2010.02.13.thing.a.day: jersey a-line dress

today i sewed a dress:


i based it off a dress that i own and like, but it's made of a silky material, whereas this one is made from 2 jersey materials. the top is cut from a tshirt, the bottom is the same printed fabric i used the other day for my haramaki project. i'll try to take a picture of me wearing it tomorrow when there is daylight.

original post here.

2010.02.12.thing.a.day: piggy skull

my 2nd sculpey project, unbaked and baked (i overcooked it a little
again) versions:



i was trying to make something cute, but with a little more edge,
unlike my usual (cute cute) projects. it will go with my collections
of skulls and piggies.

original post here.

2010.02.11.thing.a.day: krotona of hollywood

today, i was going to make another sculpey sculpture, but it was
gorgeous outside, so i went on a walk instead.
i walked through krotona of hollywood and took some photos.

for more photos, check out full flickr set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cignoh/sets/72157623415592762/
for more information about krotona, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krotona/

original post here.

2010.02.10.thing.a.day: this little piggy

i have been wanting to try sculpting with sculpey, this is my first project:





it's made of super sculpey, and it measures about 1"x0.75"x0.75". i haven't tried to bake it yet but will do that soon, wish me luck!

update: here is the baked version:

i had thought about putting it into a snow globe, but since it's my first sculpey project, i decided to leave it alone. i added it to a collection of piggies that i have...

original post here.

2010.02.09.thing.a.day: plush blue velvet cupcake

today, i made a plush blue velvet cupcake in honor of my husband's bday. happy birthday to jrmyst!




he's not dead, he's just sleeping...

2010.02.08.thing.a.day: a couple of haramakis

in tad 2008, i made a haramaki, a japanese style belly warmer:
http://cignoh.blogspot.com/2008/02/20080229thingaday.html

i thought i would make more, but never did, but find that i wear the
one i made a lot. so, i made a couple more tonight:



one of them is made from the remaining tshirt material from my day 1 project (bob tshirt pillow), and the other is made from some fabric i bought a while back but haven't done anything with. i normally leave my tshirt creations unfinished so the hems roll up, but the orange jersey fabric i bought is printed, and the back is lighter than the front. i'll either leave it or add some kind of trim at some point.

original post here.

2010.02.07.thing.a.day: sunny day walk

some photos i took while walking today:

more photos and original post here

2010.02.06.thing.a.day: rainy day walk

some photos i took while walking today:

more photos and original post here

2010.02.05.thing.a.day: danta dim sum doll

this is danta (egg custard pie):




i improvised a bit while making her, shortened her body attached the crust in a different way than i had envisioned. i have other ideas about how i might make another, perhaps it will be another 'thing' this month. or not, who knows?

2010.02.04.thing.a.day: yutougao dim sum doll

this is a plush yùtougāo, or taro cake:




i actually like to eat turnip cake better than taro cake, but i wanted to make something more colorful to go along with the existing plush dim sum i made already. i'm planning to make more for the collection, but am giving zhongzi, shumai, and yutougao to my 2 nieces and 1 nephew tomorrow when i see them.

the yutougao has 1 separate cake and 2 cakes that are sewn together. i did this because i ran out of fabric and couldn't make 3 separate ones.

original post here.

2010.02.03.thing.a.day: shumai dim sum doll

meet shumai:




my husband says she looks like a pig in a flower, and i agree that she does. i was going to give her a more similar look to my zhongzi yesterday with a face on the side, but somehow, it seemed to make more sense on top as i was making her. i wasn't sure how to wrap her, i had ideas of gathering thread along the top or using elastic, but in the end, i read instructions for how to wrap real shumai, and went with something similar. i wasn't able to sew everything on the machine like i did yesterday, but probably could've sewn her face on the machine if i had more foresight. i think the wrapper needed to be sewn by hand in any case.

original post here.

2010.02.02.thing.a.day: zhongzi dim sum doll

this is the first in a series of plush toys that i want to make as presents for my nieces and nephew. this is zhongzi, which is stuffed glutinous rice wrapped in a bamboo leaf. i sewed everything entirely by machine (including the eyes and mouth) and sewed a running stitch along the outside seam, not wrong side out, then flip inside out like i normally do. this is because i am lazy, but i think it works ok (maybe a little messy):

i'd also like to make turnip cake, shu mai, mantou, and egg custard at some point.

original post here.