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!