Three little soldiers...

Aren't they looking good as a trio?

I think I know what everyone is getting for Christmas! ;)

I still have two in progress, so best get back to it! :) As you can see, I did end up adding his little beard. He looked a little unfinished without it......

Nutcracker 2.0

I have been experimenting with a new type of coffee tin, since my other type has been discontinued. Mind you, I have enough to last FOREVER!! ;)

These ones are shaped like they have a little waist on them, and as luck would have it, fit the same plastic cup for the head as the other ones... Perfect!

The only significant change is that, as it's not straight sided, I need to paint it. There is no chance I can use felt to cover it with that amount of curvature, so I need a rethink on the body design. It's also slightly larger than the other ones, but not by much.

Once the label is removed, you can tell that the plastic is going to need an undercoat. This time I decided to try a brush, rather than the spray paint. I bought a small tin of paint specifically designed for plastics, and some small rollers. The roller was difficult to manoeuvre over the curves, so I used a large brush. Left to dry, it wasn't too bad.

Then, on to the paints! I have a BUNCH of acrylics in random colours, so I picked a green and a yellow to experiment with. The acrylic needs at least 3 coats to make it solid, or it's a little streaky. I used the same method on the cup, and mixed up some custom skin tone. A couple of coats, turned out not too bad ;) 

So anyway, here is where I am at. I need more dowel for his arms, and painting, but so far so good. They all still need to be top coated, but I will do that once I have the arms and legs painted as well...

I have some gold buttons, which I will stitch on before I glue on the bib. Not sure if it will go on the green or the yellow body, yet.....

Update 13/9

So, I tried to add some colour at the bottom of the shirt, below the belt part. I used some tape to mark some lines, and when I pulled it off, so came the paint! Oops!! So, started again from scratch. 

This time, I planned the colour change before I painted the green. I found that trying to paint the red over the green was not going to give me a vibrant colour, anyway. So, I marked the level of the belt, and pencilled in the lines, and just painted it all again. 

Several coats of paint later, and I think I'm finally ready for the sealer!

Update 21/9

He is all sealed, but I think I used the wrong type of sealer ;( It took FOREVER to dry, and even now is a little sticky to touch. Oh, well, he's just a tester, so I will only used Mod Podge from now on. I only have matte finish, but this will have to do, for now...

Finally got him fully assembled, to see how he looks. I'm pretty pleased!

Still need to finish his legs and need to sort out his hat, but overall progress is good :)

Update 22/9

He is done!! Learned a lot about paint, sealer and glue with this one. Not sure if I want to add a beard - so far I'm ok with it, but can always add it later.....

Still have the yellow one to go, but, I have some ideas brewing ;)

The gold circles are from foam and a hole punch ;) His hat is craft foam, partially painted with ricrac glued on. The dome is a styrofoam egg, trimmed at the bottom, couple of coats of paint and sealer. The top ball is a plastic ball painted in gold.

Placemat bag... Completed!

Ages ago I talked about doing something with those pre printed placemats that I found, and I finally got around to doing something with them. 

A bag!

But not just any bag.... A zippered bag! I remember making one of these when I was at TAFE - I even found my original sample (which proves I never ever throw out ANYTHING!)

Since I wasn't working from a pattern, I had to make my own templates. For the sides, I went a little longer than I thought, so I could make any adjustments later on. I also chose to quilt the fronts in a cross hatch pattern, which I reflected on the sides and top. After doing the quilting, it sat for quite a while, as it wasn't working for me..... It needed more structure, more stiffness, to hold its shape better. I found some heavy vilene in my stash, and used some appliqué paper to stick the two together. I used some iron on vilene for the sides as well, sticking it to the back of the batting before quilting it. Should have done this for the front/back also, but it didn't make too much difference once it was done....

I made it quite narrow (8cm wide finished) but it is still huge inside! I lined it with some rubber backed curtain off cuts, which also help it keep its shape. And the zip and all the fabric is also recycled from my stash, which is a plus! ;)

It's definitely not show quality, but still a useful tote bag, made completely from my stash. No idea what to do with the third panel - maybe another bag, but more on the simple side? We will have to see what happens down the track.... 

More bread tag robots!

I have tried some more bread tag robots, this time with some proper tools! It's amazing how much easier it is to work when you have the right tool for the job. I had seen a pack of 5 assorted jewellery tools at Spotlight complete in a zip up pouch for $15, but I much preferred paying 30% less with a discount voucher..... ;)

Anyway, buying head pins was expensive, so I bought a roll of beading wire instead, and made them with loops. I think they give a bit of interest to the front, so adding the heart may be too much?

I also tried using the one that I spray painted, and it looks pretty good an breaks up all the whiteness.

So I also thought I would try the loose leg style, and I think I like it more this time around, as they are longer, and the shoulders aren't so pointy. Basically, I just cut 2 tags in half, but the leg ones need to be trimmed a bit around the join and flipped around to make feet. 

The holes are drilled with the smalles bit I have, except for the neck, as the jump ring is thicker so won't go through. Mo measuring, just eyeball and drill. Simple!! 

Not a bad result, if I do say so myself :) And much more secure than the head pins, so the joints are tighter....

They don't look so great from the back, though, so I will consider painting them, at least in primer, to hide the dates that are printed on them. That will give a much nicer look to the finished pieces. Not sure how to fully remove the inside of the key, either. It's such a small space to work with, and you can't get cutters all the way down to the base. I wonder if I should just keep the shank attached, rather than mangle up the back trying to remove it?

Anyway, I will definitely be painting some more tags as soon as the weather calms down a bit, but what to use for the hanging loop? I thought an earring hook, or maybe a keyring? Not sure it would survive that kind of abuse, as they are quite delicate. More thought required on that.....

Mini Halloween baskets

Many months ago, we were lucky enough to receive a gift basket of local yoghurt. Delicious they were, too. However, they also came in the cutest little containers. 

A bit of eucalyptus oil and some elbow grease, and the print came right off! The handle pops off, too... Once it was all gone, I painted with the plastic primer, and put a layer of black spray paint on top. Loved the finish, so just added a simple sticker, to break it up. 

This, however, was the end of my good luck :( The next ones, the primer went on great, but for whatever reason, the colour layer would bubble up, taking me back to step one. Take off all the paint, prime, and colour again. Happens again!! What is going on??? I tried one last time, paying very close attention to cleaning and dusting them down. Used some cleaning alcohol, just to be sure. Finally, success! So frustrating!

Anyway, I tried something different with the big one, trying a stencil. Not too successful, but with a bit of pen work, I saved it (kinda). Sealed with matte Mod Podge, to keep the finish.

The other one I thought I might paint freehand. And what better to paint than dripping blood? Good old Google was able to give me some ideas, however my red paint, for some reason, was a bit gluggy, so I went over it a couple of times to try and smooth it out. Average success, but with the gloss sealer over the top, it looks better. Don't know where it's lid has gone, but it will be reunited when located ;)

I think they turned out ok, in the end...

Size wise, the little ones are perfect for dolls, such as Baby Face. 

The bigger one is more CPK size...

If I get more, I will definitely make some more! But make sure to clean them properly before spray painting them or it could become an enormous headache....