chocolate lollipop and teapots

chocolate lollipop and teapots, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

I made up these little beauties for a swapbot potholder swap. The inspiration for them came from Pink Penguin.  Ayumills is just so talented that you will want to try out her sewing tutorials.  The teapot tutorial is found here and includes a downloadable pattern.  My advice is to have your computer nearby while you are making the pattern,  because I didn't and the photos would have really helped my attempt turn out a little better.  The brown potholder is made from some chocolate lollipop charms I bought a while back.  Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anna Maria Horner's fabric.  It is awesome.  I am going to try to make one of Ayumills' other tutorial patterns with the rest of the charms - a Reversible Patchwork Bag.  

kokeshi dotee love

kokeshi dotee love, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

received in a swapbot swap
I am in love with her
she is simply perfect
thanks to rubberstampcollector
for making her

{Kokeshi Dolls are traditional Japanese dolls.  They were orignally from northern Japan and hadmade of wood.  They have a simple trunk and enlarged head.  The facial definition is made up of a few thin, painted lines.  The body usually has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.} Wikipedia

MonoPrint ATC

MonoPrint Atc's for Swapbot Swap, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

I joined the "Easy Mono Print" Atc swap on swapbot. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I found that making a mono print that was acceptable for swapping was harder than it looked!

What is a Mono Print?  Well, it is the most basic form of making a print.  You apply color (paint) to the surface of something, then place another surface on top (paper or fabric), press down, remove your paper, and you have a unique painted print!   It has been described here as:

The monoprint or monotype is often thought of as a halfway stage between painting and printmaking. The process is simple: the artist paints, rubs, or wipes the design directly onto a plate, using a fairly slow drying paint or ink. The fleeting image must be printed before the ink dries. Printing may be by press or by hand, and as the name monoprint implies, one can usually get only one strong impression. The effect must be guessed right from the start; there will be no trial proofs or different states unless the design is redrawn for a second impression. This term is used to refer to any print made in one version and incapable of being repeated. A monoprint cannot be editioned.  

Mono prints are supposed to allow for artistic spontaneity which I found out pretty quickly.  In my usual "fly by the seat of my pants" way of doing things, I decided to give this a try using the directions on swapbot:

Use a roller or a paint brush to spread the paint over an area big enough for your work. You will have to work rather quickly before the paint gets too dry. Using a stick or end of your brush or a pencil, draw a pattern or a quick sketch into the paint. It will be printed in reverse so remember this if adding text. Now place your paper onto your glass and give a quick, even rub with your hand and peel off immediately.  

First, I tried flowers.

This didn't work out so hot.  My designs were too intricate and didn't show up well.  I decided to try something simpler, like an egg.

I used an old ipod box as my glass surface.  It is exactly the size of the atc.  You can see where I scraped off the paint for the print.

I tried this a bunch of times, some worked and some didn't!

I let them sit for a day, and then went back to them.  I thought that if I embellished a couple, they would be ok.  So, I picked one and added some glitter, gold and little jewels.  

For the next one, I figured that if I used something wider to lift the paint off the surface, it would make the design stand out more. I found a pencil with a nice round eraser on top and used that. It worked great on this little chick.

So, this was a fun, get your hands full paint, type of project.  Today, I did a quick search on how to make a monoprint and found some sites that would have been helpful to me before I started this project.

1. How to make a Mono Print
2. MonoPrint for Beginners and Children
3. Janet Clare's Tutorial
4. Making Monoprint Background Papers - I quickly discovered that all the rejects would make great backgrounds for other ATC's.  This little tutorial will show you how!
5. Take it one step farther with a Monoprint Mini Book!

If you like to see how rather than read it, you can find lots of tutorials for monoprints on youtube. 

Blog Swapping

I am in my second round of blog swapping on swap-bot.  I think that cittylou is to be commended for organizing another successful swap!  

For this swap, we were given three blogs to go take a look at and leave comments.  Three bloggers got my name to do the same for me!  I have been trying to be a good swapper and return to all the blogs I was assigned and leave comments.  It isn't hard to do, because the blogs are fun to read!

Today, I visited Ros at the Hmm. blog where there was a tutorial for a newsprint covered shopping bag.  What a fun idea! 

                                                               Originally uploaded by hmm.  

She also had a link to a blog, Molly Likes to Draw, that has a nifty tutorial for making packing tape transfers!  Did I say NIFTY?  You bet!!!  I couldn't get this little project out of my mind, it seemed so, well, innovative!  Especially for the ATC chic design wannabe that I want to be!  

In a nutshell, you take packing tape, cut a piece and tape it on top of a magazine picture that you want to transfer, cut out the taped picture, drop in a bowl of warm water, once wet peel off the paper, and VOILA - you miraculously have a transfer.  Yes, the ink just sticks to the tape.  Its magical!

I decided to try right when I got home.  I just couldn't wait.  But, unfortunately, I couldn't find any packing tape.  Not to be thwarted, I did put my hands on some scotch tape, which worked amazingly well!

Here is a quick one I did of James Dean

What a great way to add some life to ATC's!

Lucky Week!

It was my lucky week, as I received a bouquet of Atc's this week from my various swaps. Here is what made it my way:

This one was from jenken for a February Quilt Atc on swap-bot.  I think the pearls are just lovely!

This one made it to me in time for Valentine's Day!

It was made by Lisa at Ivory Blush Roses. Her blog is beautiful! In addition to her pretty Atc, I am also in awe of her crazy quilted fairy flower garden blocks. They make me wish for spring!

The last two I received were from a Brown Bag Atc swap. For this one, the challenge was to make cards and use recycled brown bags in your design. Barbara on swap-bot sent me these:

I am hoping that my luck continues.  I signed up for a give-away at Amber Alexander's Blog.  Her drawings are amazing!  The contest is outlined at her Etsy Shop.  Here is one of her prints, perfect for Valentine's Day!

Snow Day - Not

It was supposed to snow 4 inches today.  We were really looking forward to a good old fashioned snow day, since we haven't had one in several seasons.  Needless to say, it flurried big white yummy flakes all day which accumulated to NOTHING!  It is just cold, wet and muddy! Ugh, I hate global warming!  

As a result, I got nothing done today.  I kept anticipating that the snow would actually amount to something, and school would be dismissed early, and as a result, I was distracted and nonproductive.  I did have to take my mother-in-law to the doctor, where I ran into my hair stylist.  It was a bit awkward - sort of like seeing your GYN doctor at a cocktail party - trying to make small talk in an atmosphere that is just completely out of context.  She wasn't all made up in her hair stylist perfect hair and makeup garb, and my hair was curling and frizzing up the wrong way.  I wondered what she was thinking about styling (or lack thereof).  Thankfully, I had washed my hair this morning, so at least it was clean!  I guess I need to make an appointment soon.  

The best thing about the day, was that I received some comments and emails from my swapping partners on the BLOG swap at swapbot.  I feel like my blog is getting getting resuscitated and that it might actually live again!  It is certainly fun to be introduced to some new blogging friends - Yarnigras, This Handmade Life, and My Lil Toy Haven - who share similar interests to me.  Be sure to check out these blogs!  I also found a blog that offers free vintage clipart, The Vintage Moth.   Not only was there wonderful clipart for the taking, but the blog is full of great links to other resources.  I was so taken I added a link on my sidebar!  This is definitely worth a look!

Dotee Doll Swap

Recently I joined a swap for Dotee dolls.  Happily, this one came in the mail to me from Brandy.  She named her Carla.  Dotee dolls are tiny, handmade cloth dolls (4 to 6 inches).  They have a circular face that can be drawn with markers, embroidered or even painted.  The stuffed doll usually has a hanger made out of ribbon or beads, and a beaded tail (or legs).  The stuffed doll is embellished with beads, ribbon, sequins, yarn...just about anything.  I believe that the craze was started by Dot.  There are lots of tutorials online to help you get started.  There is a video tutorial here and a nice pattern here.  Once you have made a few dolls, you can start swapping!  There are so many swaps on swap-bot.   And, there are lots of pictures on flickr.  I made one for swap as well, but am waiting to post until it is received by its new owner.  

Another fun thing that I like about the swaps on Swap-bot, is the packages usually contain a few "extras".  In addition to the doll, Brandy included a cute, handmade card and a little magnet.  How thoughtful!

Handmade Gifts to Go!

I finally finished the ornaments for the ornament swap. It was great to see all those little houses wrapped up and ready to go to their new homes! I made a trip to the post office with 10 of them. Hopefully, they will arrive at their destinations (California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Rhode Island, Spain, Texas, United Kingdom, and Wisconsin (2))

Now, I have moved on to my next goal - getting all the gifts out in the mail to relatives. I like to send gifts to my nieces and nephews who live on the west coast. I made this little bag up for my 5 year old niece. I was inspired by the little bag that Anna Maria Horner made for her daughter written about in this blog entry.


I used some Alexander Henry (fabric for the imagination!) for the base. It has little birds on it. I am really impressed with the weave of this fabric. It is top quality!

I am particularly proud of the monogrammed "K" on the front. It was my first attempt at this type of embroidery, and I am pleased with the results. I used a carbon template from the Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To book. The book has pages and pages of reusable templates which come in handy at the least expected times! The accenting fabric is from a charm pack I purchased several months ago. Charm Packs are packs of squares pre-cut out of coordinating fabrics. You can find them on Ebay or at online fabric stores. I think these are from a Moda Charm Pack.

I filled the bag with some amigurumi birdies, a little blankie, some mini-markers and two little coloring books. I crocheted the little birds about a year ago, during my amigurumi phase, and was saving them for something like this! I can't remember the pattern I used, but on a quick search I found this free pattern that looks really similar!

Pin Cushion Swap

I signed up for a pincushion swap on Swap-bot today. That sounds like fun. I have a hoard of pincushions already made, so I won't have to put too much added work into the mix.  Here is a simple one I made from a bottle cap

I did a quick search for pin cushion tutorials and found this quick sampling  for those who are interested:

How About Orange's Tiny Pin Cushion Tutorial

paper.string.cloth patchwork pincushion

Martha Stewart's strawberry pincushions

a wrist pin cushion from the Green Kitchen

a pincushion sewing kit from the Monkey Room

If you love pincushions, you might want to splurge on this gift for yourself  Pretty Little Pincushions (Pretty Little Series).  Or, you could go to the Pretty Little Pincushion Flickr group for more inspiration!

Quick Ribbon Swap

I sent off some little scraps of ribbon today for a ribbon swap on swap-bot. It was quick and easy and the little envelope is on its way to Indiana!

Little House Ornament

little house front, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

I decided it was time to start thinking about making some ornaments since I signed up for the Ornament Swap again this year. I received my list of swap partners yesterday. The group is being administered by swap-bot.  This is a pretty cool site, especially if you like to participate in swaps.  I signed up for another swap that is swapping ribbon!  I think it is interesting and awesome that most of my swapping partners in the ornament swap are from the opposite parts of the USA than me, and two are from other countries! Last year my whole family got into the excitement of receiving the different ornaments. I hoping that this year will be just as much fun. 

To get in the mood, I did a quick GOOGLE search of handmade ornaments. The first site that popped up was Pimp Stitch. I was a little taken back by the name, but clicked anyways. Well, I hit the motherload - not only was there the absolute best tutorial here for a wee little house ornament, but there were tutorials for lots of embroidery related crafts!

The most recent post on the blog chronicled an interview with Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To. Do you ever think that things just are supposed to happen, like clicking to a blog on a whim, and finding just exactly what you are currently interested in? During a recent surgical recuperation, I used the book Sublime Stitching to start learning how to embroider with it's great projects and patterns.

So, last night I took the plunge and made one of the little house ornaments. I have to say it was a fun, easy project. The only change I would make to the order of putting the ornament together would be to embroider the decorative elements before I sewed it together. It is probably just me and my inexperience at embroidery (don't look too closely at my stitches!), but I had a hard time with the embroidery with the bottom already sewn on the ornament. Despite this lack of experience, I think that the final product was pretty sweet!  It definitely brightened my day to see this cute little cottage sitting on my bedside table when I woke up this morning!

Holiday Swap Time

I signed up for another round of the Holiday Ornament Swap sponsored by cake & pie and freshly blended. It was so much fun last year to receive unique ornaments. Here is a little taste of what I received last year:

Swapping ornaments is a great way to add to your collection, or to accumulate little gifts for friends, family and teachers! My kids loved opening up the packages as they arrived too.



ONE MORE THING....
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW.
IT'S NO SECRET
I SUPPORT

BAA BAA ???? SHEEP

I like my sheep colorful. Sheep of different shades remind me of how much fun it is to create different colorways and patterns with fiber and dye. My swap group may think it is a little strange....but sheep of different colors will be arriving in mailboxes throughout the US and Canada in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

Swaps are Here!

My group for the Holiday Ornament Swap arrived in my email box today! I am so excited to be included in this swap. There is a Flickr group already up and running with ornaments ready-to-go. So, if you need ideas for homemade ornaments, check it out here!