I Think My Sewing Level Just Went Up

So, I thought I knew how needle-sculpting worked, but when I was making this terrier (with this pattern, by the way), I tried experimenting a little because it started off all dumpy and looking more like a deranged bulldog. But when I figured out where to place the stitches, it started transforming, and now it looks adorable! :) I kind of want to go back and touch up the plushies I finished earlier to make them look better, but I still have a whole bunch to get through, so I'm not sure I'll get to that, unfortunately. At least this one looks really good, though.

I also made a tiny shadow heartless earlier in the day, using this pattern. I had to make the body and limbs a little smaller to make him proportional, but he turned out really cute. His entire body is lined with pipe cleaners, so he can be posed in any way.

The last plushie I finished yesterday was this little narwhal, using this pattern. 

I am Groot (and Panda)!

I finished two more plushies yesterday! Yay!

The panda was made with this pattern by Runo. It's pretty small, like most of the plushies I make :)

The baby Groot was made with this pattern by Ultimatecheez. I changed the base a little I bit so that it's more rounded, and I sewed him to a piece of felt-covered foam so he stays in the pot nicely. I also put pipe cleaners in his body and arms so that he can be posed to dance!

It's So Fluffy I'm Gonna Die!

Awhile ago one of my friends requested that I make them a wolf plushie. I had been putting it off because I knew I would have to use faux fur to make it look like a wolf and not just a dog, and I had never really attempted such a thing before. But I used this pattern by Voodoo-Tiki, and it turned out great!

Nothing Like Last Minute...

It is a truly unique feeling to finish something literally 20 minutes before you’re supposed to leave to give it to someone… Man, I really need to get better at not procrastinating…

The one that I finished first was this Articuno. It wouldn’t have taken quite as long to finish if I had stuck with my original plan and simply used this pattern. But I decided it didn’t look accurate enough for my liking, so I made a few changes, which turned into basically redrawing the entire pattern… But it turned out good :) It has pipe cleaners sewed into its legs, wings, and tail, so it’s fully posable. Here is the pattern I made for it.

And this is the plushie I finished just on time- Stitch! I used this really cool pattern, which I was thankfully able to find this tutorial for, since it’s in Chinese or Japanese or something, so it took me awhile to figure out what everything was even with the tutorial. But I think he turned out really cute :)

A Bayleef for Bailey

So... I finally got back to making plushies for my friends. They're going to be 11th day of Christmas presents this year, just like last year... And I still have some actual Christmas presents I need to finish up... I guess that's what I'm doing all day today.

Anyways, I made a Bayleef! And this is the first plushie I've designed myself without heavily relying on other peoples' patterns or tutorials to help me that actually came out right on the first try! I sketched out the pattern yesterday, made him, and he looks cute.

The leaf on his head took a really long time to make, since I sewed a pipe cleaner to both pieces before I sewed the edges so that it would be able to stand right. I just had to make sure that those stitches never went through the other side of the felt, so they're effectively invisible :) I think the extra effort was totally worth it, though, for how well he came out!

Meet Ralph

I finally decided to finish and test out the pattern for a Souvenir Raptor, to submit in a contest on Deviantart. Since the deadline was today, I didn't get a chance to add all of the details I would have liked to, but it still looks like the raptor, so I'm happy.

Eventually, I'll go back and add the decorative stitches and wrappings on him, but since I'm already behind on making presents for people for Christmas, I should probably work on those first... 

Also, here is the pattern I made, if you want to make one of your own.

Udder Destruction

I finished another plushie! It reminds me a bit of the Pygmy Cow battle pet from World of Warcraft.

I made it using this pattern. It turned out a little bit fat and weird-looking at first, so I tried thread sculpting for the first time, and I think it actually turned out pretty well. :)

Puzzling Puzzles

I'm taking a woodworking class at school this year, and it's lots of fun!
These are the first projects I made, which I finished a few days ago. I made a hedgehog peg puzzle:

And a traditional knot puzzle:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I made a wreath this morning to put on my locker at school!

It may not be the best, but it's a significant improvement from the one I made last year:

I learned a lot from the last one, which was the first wreath I ever made. This one is braided together, with extra pieces woven in, so it doesn't have any wire in it, unlike the one I made last year, which was entirely held together with wire. I also was able to make this one look more full, so I didn't have to use ribbon to cover up the bare spots. And most importantly, this one is made from a much better material, so hopefully it won't lose its needles quite as easily. The last one would lose half its needles every time I closed my locker, so by Christmas break it was pretty much just sticks...

The Cutie Mark Crusaders

These two plushies have been half-finished for awhile now, mainly because I was intimidated by having to make a pattern for Sweetie Belle's mane and tail. But I finished them finally!

After I finished them, I realized that I had done Sweetie Belle's bangs wrong, since the purple part was supposed to have another bend to it, to connect it to the pink part, like on the bottom of her mane... Oh well. And I didn't realize until later that I should have sewn the purple and pink parts together first, so it didn't end up so flat. At least I know for next time.

This is the pattern I used, which uses this pattern for the body. I included it in my pattern for sizing purposes. Sweetie Belle's mane and tail are designed to be curled after they are sewn together, like so:

For the eyes, I cut circles of white felt, and used puffy paint to color them.

Rock On!

With all of the Christmas music playing on the radio, I was reminded of how far behind I've gotten on making Christmas presents. But I finished another one- a little electric guitar!

Hermione Hat

I've been meaning to make this hat for a really long time, but for some reason I never quite got around to it until now. But then one of my friends mentioned that she didn't own a hat, and with winter approaching, I figured it was the perfect time to make it.

It turned out a bit bigger than I was expecting, though that may also have been because I didn't really check the gauge before I started it. Oh well. It still looks pretty cool!

For the Horde!

So, I woodburned this Horde coaster awhile ago, and I meant to stain it a lot earlier. But I finally did it! And I think it looks much cooler now!

November Wishes

Finally, I made a set of 1000 cranes in a reasonable amount of time. This is the fourth set of 1000 cranes I've made, and I did it in just under 2 months. I made an average of 20 cranes per day, but most days I actually didn't end up making that many... so there were days that I literally made like 150 or something to catch up. But I did it :) These ones are made from ~2 cm square pieces of paper.

Now I just have to find a lid for this jar, so I can give them to one of my friends... 

And next, I plan to try making 1000 cranes from 1 cm squares!

I'm a Knight!

Happy Halloween!
I finished my knight costume!

I spray painted it silver, then added some black paint around the edges to make it look weathered, and then I coated it all in some acrylic sealer. The only problem is that I was only able to let it dry for a few hours before I had to put it on this morning... so I smelled very strongly of spray paint and acrylic sealer... Oh, well.

I'm a Knight... Part 2

Finally, I was able to make some progress on my cardboard armor!

The breastplate is a tight fit, so I ended up lacing the sides and shoulders, so I can actually get it on.

I started covering the pieces in paper mache, putting toothpicks in the holes so I could make sure not to accidentally cover them.

Then, I designed my pauldrons. I had to kind of guess how they would fit on the breastplate, but I don't think it will matter too much.

I also added a hole on the top of each one, to connect them to the shoulders of the breastplate.

Now all that's left is painting the pieces when they're dry, and then I can wear them tomorrow!

This is Why I Never Get Anything Done...

I'm so easily distracted... It'll be a miracle if I get my knight costume finished by Halloween...
So, I was looking through some pictures I had saved, trying to get an idea of how to proceed with my armor, and I happened across this cool origami box tutorial that I had never tried before. So, naturally, I wanted to try it. And then I thought it was so cool that I had to make ten more...
These are the prettiest ones I made:

At least I had gotten a little bit farther on my armor before that...

It looks kind of weird right now because I tried mod podging over part of the front piece... and then I realized that it wasn't quite the right shape and I that I probably should cover it in paper mache instead. But now I have a back to it as well. My next step is finding a way to connect the two pieces at the top. Hopefully with less distractions this time...

Mole-locs!

Happy Mole Day!

I decided to make a festive plushie for the occasion- a murloc mole (AKA a mole-loc).

Two years ago, when I was in Regents Chemistry, my teacher had us make stuffed moles using this pattern for Mole Day, and told us to be as creative as we wanted with it. So I made Han Molo and Chewbacmole (I would have made just Han, but I thought he would be lonely)… and that actually was what made me realize that sewing plushies wasn’t so hard, and that creating an elekk plushie might be a legitimate possibility.

So anyways, I decided to make another mole using the same pattern this year. Plus, since I’m taking AP Chemistry, I had a good excuse :)

I'm a Knight... Part 1

I finally decided what I’m going to dress up as for Halloween this year! A knight! It is a bit last-minute, but at least it’s better than the past few years, when I literally came up with something the night before. One time I wore a blue shirt with a red bandana as Merlin, then the next year I drew blue arrows on my forehead, arms, and legs, and was an airbending master. And last year, I put slightly more time into my costume and dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow.

I had gotten the idea from camp, since one week my cabin all dressed up as Johnny Depp characters. It was pretty fun. And the best part both times was seeing people's reactions to the beard and mustache.

But anyways, this year, I’m going to make a better costume. And I have over a week to do it! I was going to try to finish a can tab chainmail shirt that I started a few years ago, but the tabs kept breaking away from each other, and it was frustrating. So, I’m making cardboard armor instead. This is what it looks like so far:

I’m not sure how many pieces of armor I can finish before Halloween, but I’m planning on at least making some pauldrons, and maybe a back for the breastplate.

To All the Rabbits I've Loved Before

So... yesterday I finally had a little break from homework, and I had a chance to do fun stuff again! And, naturally, I forgot about all of my half-finished projects and started something new instead... I was looking at some pictures, one of them being a Horde symbol, and I realized that if you turn it a little, it looks kind of like an eye. So I decided to add one to the rabbit icon from World of Warcraft:

I think it looks a little more interesting than the plain old rabbit, though maybe a little evil, too...