crafty mcgee

Famous fairies

Here are the cards I created for Amy's "Fairy Tales and Fables" ATC swap. We only had to make three cards for this round, along with an envelope (which I haven't finished yet). These really remind me of something, but I can't think of what. The fairies are - from left to right - Blue from Pinocchio, Godmother from Cinderella, Tinkerbell from Peter Pan, and Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Yes, I know the last one isn't a fairy tale or a fable, but what can I say? I love Shakespeare. Still, for that reason, it will probably be the card to stay behind. You can see close-ups  of the individual cards on Flickr. Never let it be said I don't suffer for my art - I had Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo stuck in my head the whole time I was making these!

Back-Tack III: Revealed!

Robin at i green eye, please ignore the rest of this post if you want to be surprised. Everyone else, go for it!

Mysteries of the space-time continuum

A while back, I made this ship for Lady Linoleum's blogaversary contest. Alas, I did not win, so I was stuck with an abandoned spacecraft. Luckily, I just unloaded it on sold it to this...um....guy (I think) and his robot pal. The mystery is how they will both fit into it, but maybe the robot can carry it.

Whiplash Week 6: Colour

Or Color, as we spell it here in the US. I just hadn't been too inspired by the previous topics, but color is endlessly inspiring to me, so I thought I'd join in for the final week. Before I talk about it, here's the required link:

Color is such a wide open topic that I was having trouble narrowing down my ideas until I thought of color as a verb, which led to coloring, which made me think of coloring books. So here's my interpretation of the perfect coloring book page (or at least what it would have been when I was eight). I added the embroidery to make it look a little like those yarn cards, and also because I wasn't quite sure if printmaking alone would qualify. (Psst, judges.....I also "whipped up" the magnet just for this picture).

Here's what the non-colored card looks like. I gocco'd it, so if you'd like a limited edition Ponies & Ballerinas Coloring Card of your very own, email your snail mail address to craftymcgee_@_mac_dot_com, and I'll send one off to you! At least, until they are all gone. If you make something with it, send me a picture - If I get enough replies, I'll make a Flickr gallery.

japanese craft books: stamp carving inspiration

ISBN 407248881X

Here's my latest purchase from the Kinokinuya bookstore near my work. This book is filled with cute images and clever ideas - like stamping on unusual surfaces:

If you click on the image you can enlarge it enough to see the robot! I've put a request in the crafting in Japanese group on Flickr to see if I can get specific directions for stamping on glass. This calendar is great:

I think it would make a great project with kids, or a great gift, and the possibilities are endless! I have a good idea of what I'm doing for Moki's recipe card swap, but this book has some good ideas for multiple color printing:

The little blueprint stamp is really cool! I'm also impressed with all of the text she's carved, I've always shied away from that. All in all, a very helpful book. While I was at the bookstore, I couldn't resist this sweet pen case:

Now I can take at least a few drawing tools along with me all the time.

illustration friday: angels and devils

Lest you think I am casting aspersions on anyone, roll your mouse over the picture for the rest of the story.

If you are not arriving here from Illustration Friday, go check out the amazing new site design if you have a chance.

my to do list

This picture has nothing to do with the list. It's just on my desk calendar this week. I love it. The line work, the colors, everything. It's by an illustrator I'd never heard of before - Maginel Wright Enright. Her work is wonderful. Also, she's the sister of architect Frank Lloyd Wright! Learning is swell.

On to THE LIST.
1) My Backtack III stuffie. I had originally thought I wouldn't participate, but then I started thinking of all the things I could do, so I'm in. I was hoping to have my fabric from EQuilter to show, but it hasn't arrived yet. But here's a hint: it is neither a kitty or a bunny (or a penguin, for that matter). A subcategory of this item on the list is to visit all of the new (to me) blogs on their blogroll.
2) Moki's latest hand-carved stamp swap - Recipe Cards. And it's not little stickers this time, it's 3x5 cards. I'm excited about this one, but my idea is sort of complicated. *I'm trying to come up with a simplified version.
3) Heck, I'm excited about this one, too. Round Three of Amy's always amazing ATC swap. This time the theme is "Fairy Tales". How could I possibly resist? Along with three cards, participants also need to make a large, decorated envelope. I've got an idea for a series of 6 or 7 cards, also incredibly complicated. See * above.
4) This month's Coloriffic Swap-o-rama, is, like Backtack, black & white & something else. The person I'm sending to has completely opposite tastes from me, and her favorite color seems to be pink. So it's going to be tricky finding and making things she'll like.
5) My pony quilt. I actually know exactly what I want now. If I can just carve out the time to do it. The only thing missing in my plan is the back. I'm hoping I'll be inspired once the front gets pieced.
6) A knitted lace shawl for my grandma's 90th birthday in August.
7) Speaking of family, I really need to finish my brother's birthday gifts, since his birthday was over a month ago. I keep putting his stuff aside (partially because it's new to me), but I feel like such a bad sister.
8) I need to frame the art I've been collecting on the internet for the past year. Here's my latest acquisition:

It's a letterpress print (!) from artist Saelee Oh (aka Lemonaid Maid). I love this print SO MUCH. Once, I was on a camping trip, dozing in the woods, when I happened to glance up and see a slug on a branch right above me. Back to dozing, and sometime later I woke up with said slug on my forehead. So you see, I had to have it. Right now it's in a drawer along with many other great pieces of art. This is wrong, and must be corrected.

Then there are more vignettes, which I truly love to make, and that I get an idea for a new set every other day; some multiple screen gocco prints; and all of the other miscellaneous bits & pieces that always turn up. At this point, you may be thinking "Gee, Rose. This sure is a lot of stuff. Why are you wasting your time writing such a long, whiny post?" Excellent question! This is phase one of me shifting into "Zen mode". When I feel overwhelmed I make a list, and then let it all go. After that, it tends to sort itself out. This almost always works!

fruit bowl

Here's my entry for Boogaj's "Fruit" Pincushion Challenge for May. I think this is a great meme - you end up with something small and useful, and get to stretch yourself a bit in the process. The little basket is knitted and felted using this pattern for mancala bowls from knitty. The pattern calls for a i-cord edge, but it rolled up nicely. I've come to the conclusion that it's the Lamb's Pride Worsted that doesn't felt very well, and not just me - I left it in the hot water for a long time. The fruits are made of felt with a bit of embroidery for detail. This a great pincushion for me. Usually I have all of my different types of needles in different pincushions. On this one, I can but the embroidery needles in the banana, tapestry needles in the apple....all sorted out in one place.

what's in the tree?

Sure, this kid might be looking for the bird in the tree, but I think there's something else up there! I had a hard time deciding how to pose the squirrel. I think it would be fun to do a set of nothing but squirrels playing around a tree....another one for the list!

Since I chose this for my Whiplash "introduction" page, I'll add a bit more. I chose this because it combines two things I'm loving at the moment - designing odd softie/sculptural pieces and little embroidered 3-D story figures. But I like - and do - lots of other things  (sometimes way too many, I think). One thing I'm not is a particulary chatty blogger. I really admire those folks who can write heartfelt posts about the deepest or most mundane topics, but I don't have it in me. I just like making and discovering cool crafty things.

sunny cinco de mayo

The flower patch is the my second handmade item for the yellow and orange swap-o-rama. When I first saw the bag itself in the shop, I was eyeing it for the pattern, figuring I could make one. Then I saw the price tag! It was so inexpensive that the best I could have done was break even after I bought the starch and felt.

At least I think it's starched, and then folded. Cute! Sorry for not pressing the background fabric, I was in a rush to catch the last of the sun!