Collagey Coaster Can't Hold Water

Hello all!

I have been knitting up a storm, but I am still fiddling with my lame-o camera to take a quality photo of the finished work!

In the meantime, here's something I finished awhile ago.

A few months ago, I was helping clean out the storage shelves at my work, and happened upon so awesome glazed ceramic tiles. I was immediately inspired to make some collagey (not really a word, but whatevs) coasters. Here's the first one I made for my friend Nicholas.

Nicholas is really into the outdoors and cycling so I decided to take these facts and run with them. I collaged the background with a glue stick and magazine pictures. I then found a gear silhouette online, printed it, and covered it with electrical tape, cut it out and glued it on top. I wrapped the ugly white edge with black ribbon, and then proceeded on my mission to find the best collage sealant around.

I think it's pretty important for a coaster to be waterproof, don't you? I asked at Joann's (clueless), and Collage (a fantastic store in Portland, much more helpful), they offered their best advice, and I walked away with supposedly the best sealing spray...not so much. I added layer after layer, sprayed it once in the morning, once at night, and hoping it was safe, delivered it to Nick. Sadly, Nick reported back soon after that it was rippling under increased moisture, which caused an understandable stream of obscenity.

I'm still proud of it as a work of art...but I would have loved it if it could have been functional art. While discouraging, this project has inspired me to look into working with resin, and other nifty (not to mention waterproof!) mediums.

On a personal note, loving Portland, I think it was meant to be.

Will post the new knits soon!

Love Y'all

-Mykal

A gift for a baby

My older sister is having a baby in the next few days. A girl named Sandra Lynn. So this crazy bear/monster doll is intended for her love and usage.

(Post-face which is made of felt, pre-stuffing.)

(The back.)

(The front!)

-Kendra

Green Man

I've been fascinated with masks since I was in the 7th grade. Once upon a time, I was a part of a mask ensemble at school and since then they've always been my favorite way to work in theatre. Recently, I'd had an itch to make a half-mask and decided that I'd make one depicting a green man/woman. To find out more about the history of the Green Man, please feel free to begin your search here.

So I was sitting in my house thinking, "Well great. To make a mask, it tends to require clay and paper mache. Neither of which I have lying around."

To the second: Flour and water works. Recipes abound on the internet. (Beware of the smell.)

To the first: Oh yeah. I just happen to have a ceramic mold of my face lying around from a stage makeup class.

Fancy that

So Vaseline was applied to the ceramic part and then covered with a plastic bag. From there, it was a lot of cutting up and applying pieces of newspaper, shaping, and then letting sit.

After everything was dry, there was cutting of the eye holes and the cutting/shaping of the edges around it. Sanding down smooth. Reapplying a layer of paper mache around the edges on the outside and around the edges of the eyeholes. I applied artificial leaves and then let sit another while. Painting (with acrylic paint) and the cutting of the holes for the elastic band happened after. You've seen the outside of the mask, this is the inside:

(My camera gave up the ghost after Ireland, so these are taken with a webcam. I'll repost these after I acquire a new picture-taking device, I promise. This looks way cooler in real life.)

There is another mask in progress, so I'll be around!

-Kendra

Annie Get Your Garter!

Hey there! Ho' there! How do ya do?

Sorry, had to. Anywho, as I briefly mentioned in my last post, my friend Mikki recently got hitched (sweetest couple ever). I didn't really realize how many parties were involved in the whole wedding thing, but first there was the bridal shower. The theme of said party was Leather and Lace, now, I tried to follow these guidelines when it came to my dress, and failed. But when it came to the gift, I couldn't think of anything better than a custom garter, a bottle of wine, and a shot glass presenting several phallic images, but I digress...here's the garter:

I didn't make the original garter (although I intend to dabble in creating them myself), which is the silky black under-layer seen here, I bought that and the plastic guns at a quirky little store on Hawthorne in Portland called, Naked City. The garter cost about $3 and the guns were 20 cents each. When I got home, I surveyed my ribbon collection and decided to make a trip to Michaels, where I found the awesome sparkly, black ribbon (from the halloween collection).

I then attached the ribbon and 3 guns with black embroidery floss, and I think I ended up with a pretty awesome gift! I want to make tons of these now!

I just got a job in Portland, so I hope it doesn't impede on my creativity too much, but it will fund it...so that sounds like a deal :)

Thanks for visiting! Come back and see us soon ya' hear?

A Poem From Me To You

I am a great bear full of style and grace

With well trimmed claws and fur on my face

And unlike the others that are of my kin,

It's truly the waltz that brings out my grin.

Eating and sleeping or smoking cigars

Is nothing to dancing 'neath wild, bright stars!

Sure you are small with your gold, curly hair

And I am a scruffy and rather large bear

But you, my dear girl, are as lovely as ever,

And I'd dance with you here, from now to forever.

So you wear your dress, and I my large tux.

I'll meet you at dusk by the pond with the ducks.

We'll laugh and prance and sing and sway-

A bear and a girl, in the whimsy way.

(Art by Emily Martin)

At the moment, I am working. It's a 24 hour live-in caregiver position, so I'm not finding a lot of time to craft. But I've made a list for the upcoming school year and am looking forward to getting started on them once fall is around. Until then, I hope you enjoy the poem!

-Kendra

Cowl at the Moon

Who knitted an entire cowl last night?? *Points at self* This gal right here!

At about 5:30 last night I decided to partake in some knitting therapy. Had a busy weekend, friend's wedding, so much driving, hardly any sleep. So, I decided on a movie; The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, about the world champion of Donkey Kong, and got out the super chunky black tweed I bought a few weeks ago.

I am a sucker for tweed in general, but this stuff was special, not only was it black, but the beautiful flecks of color (the signature of tweeds) were rainbow. There are few things I love more than rainbows, but one of them is knitting. So, the fact that I could combine the two was pretty gosh-darn satisfying. Even more satisfying is the fact I finished a cowl in about 4 hours, with breaks, a girls gotta eat. Here it is...

Please excuse the sub-par quality of the picture, as my camera (I have recently discovered) is a piece of trash, and I decided to take this photo on my laptop's camera.

I knitted this cowl like a scarf, experimenting, and knit every row until it was big enough to fit around my neck and not strangle me, then I switched to a simple rib-stitch, knit 2, purl 2, and cast it off after about an inch and a half. I then took the tail from the cast-on edge and used it to sew the two pieces together. The buttons are just for show, but they sure are cute, aren't they?

Really excited to get some use out of this, I'll try and knit a sweater to match it tonight or something (not really).

Until next post, Byeee!

A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell DELICIOUS

So, yes, I haven't posted in quite awhile...but would you believe that it was because I was too busy creating awesome crafts to share? Well, believe me or not, that's what I've been doing.

I've been knitting, sewing, baking, and stitching to my heart's content! Some stuff for me, lots of stuff for others! I'm going to post them one at a time, so that you can savor them all individually, how does that sound? Hope it sounds good.

My first little project was to make some amazing Rose-Pistachio Cupcakes, from the pages ofVegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, one of the most amazing cookbooks I've ever owned!

Now, I love rose-flavored or scented anything, it's an addiction, for reals. So I searched far and wide for the right ingredients; the outskirts of Portland in an international food store to acquire rose water, and a ridiculous number of co-op's and groceries, to find everything else.

I think the end result was completely worth it. What do you think?

For frosting, I used the recipe in the same book for Fluffy Vegan Buttercream. I failed when I attempted to make that too, rose-flavored, and ended up with a melty pink mess, but the second attempt turned out beautifully, hand-whisked and all.

The cupcakes themselves could have been a little more moist, but I gladly ate half of them regardless. I have made them about three times since and like to think I have perfected them.

Anywho, I'll keep craftin' and keep the posts comin'. I want to give a quick shout out to my girl Kendra who has joined me in my venture to create awesomeness. Thanks for visiting, check back soon!

I Iz In Yurr Blawg, Showin' Yooz Kraftz

In case ye be wonderin', this is not your loverly Miss Mykal. This be your friendly neighborhood Kendra, hijacking the blog to wave some of my own crafts in front of your lovely faces. I believe this will be heading towards a collaboration effort, so...I'll be creepin' around. More.

(I'm smiling at you. Widely.)

And now onto the show!

This summer, I've been focusing more on visual art. In June this meant constructing this:

Since originally snapping this photograph, the miserable looking cow dangling from the moon has been fixed. The yarn is stitched further up on the little dude's stomach and shoulder, so he sits more upright.


How 'twas made: It involved a balloon. The balloon was inflated. It was then slathered in paper mache, three layers high (not counting how many things of paper mache it took to shape the craters). Balloon was popped and removed (this involved a knife, a lot of shaking, and then repatching). Craters were added. Acrylic paint was applied. Two holes were made at the top and fishing line was wound through. Black yarn was used for the cow's lasso. The little cow toy was purchased and then hand sewn onto the yarn.


Viola.


Aside from this, I have this friend who I like to draw cartoons of. So here are some of those pictures:

For now, I shall spare you the pictures of the painting. I may need something to blog about in the future and they're my back up plan. But I didn't tell you that.


-K

Hello Cupcake!

I got a great cupcake book for a graduation gift called, What's New Cupcake? the sequel to the book Hello Cupcake, which I also own. What's New has a wealth of great decorating ideas, one of which my friend Kendra and I decided to try out; cupcakes that look like pies! Armed with my brand new Wilton Dessert Decorator, I thought this would be a breeze...not so much...

A decent effort, considering I am a complete beginner but I have every intention of trying again. Kendra and I took the rest of the frosting and and made the simpler pink and blue frosted cupcakes. I was most excited to use my new Rainbow Decorating Sugar, I had been searching for it for a long time and finally found it in the baking section of Joann Fabrics and Crafts.

Hope to have better results to show off next time. In the meantime I'll try and hone my skills.

Hooray!

Hello there! I am so very excited about this new little venture I'm embarking on. My intention in starting this blog is to keep myself creating things and maybe get some feedback, and ideas for more things to try out! I am a collager (yes, I have coined the adjective), and have been for many years, and recently I have had a great interest in knitting and baking.

My title is taken from my favorite poem, Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. Here it is in it's entirety;

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes
Over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
The world offers itself to your imagination,
Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
Over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Thanks for visiting! Come on back and check out my crafts! I'll post as often as I can :D