Kokoleo Custom Acklay

Here's my latest custom plush creation: An Acklay from Star Wars.

Now, before you think I must be the biggest Star Wars fangirl ever for undertaking such a complex project, I have to admit that before last month I had never even heard of an Acklay. A woman who had seen some of my other custom plush creatures that I had made from kids' drawings wrote to me to ask if I would make an Acklay for her son, a Star Wars fan who for years has been asking for a stuffed Acklay. She had looked for one but unfortunately they don't exist. Normally I don't accept requests to recreate licensed characters (I get these requests often) but this time I made an exception and accepted the challenge.

 I started by Googling images of Acklays and based my plush on these pictures:

 And referred to them often as I pieced together the creature. Here are the arms:

It's the only picture I took in while I was making it. 

  The Star Wars Wiki, WOOKIEPEDIA, describes and Acklay as "a three-eyed amphibious non-sentient crustacean native to Vendaxa. Though acklays lived underwater, they could go on land to hunt, which they frequently did, as the lemnai, a creature that lived on the plains of Vendaxa, was their main source of food...

As they resided in the oceans of Vendaxa, their eyes enabled them to see in darkness, although they were near-sighted...
 

 

Despite their crustacean-like nature, acklays also had characteristics possessed by reptiles, such as their powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth...

The acklay had a tough, leathery skin that ranged in color from green to brown, another trait from its reptilian heritage...
 

Its belly was more vulnerable than other parts of its body, as the flesh covering it was not as tough as it was elsewhere...

 

 Acklays had a bony crest around their neck, used for both intimidation and protection."

They did not, however, have kokoleo labels on the backs of their necks, but this one does.

Now go, weird creature, to the boy who wants you. May the force be with you.

Custom kokoleos

Whoa! December already? I've been so busy with commissions that I haven't had time to write any Christmas craft tutorials or post holiday photos. It's nice though. After a year of wondering where kokoleo was headed, I'm grateful for a steady stream of commissions that keeps coming my way. I never know what I'm going to make next, and I kind of like it that way. I used to worry about cranking out one-of-a-kinds and hoping they would sell but I'm finding now that custom one-of-a-kinds are where it's at. Here are a few recent commissions:

I have a few smaller Power Puff Girls dresses in my Etsy shop but this customer needed one to fit a 6 year old who loves Bubbles. Since I had some Power Puff fabric in stock, I obliged and even customized it with yellow buttons and trim to match Bubble's blond hair.

Around the same time I was working on this dress, I got an email from a customer who had purchased my Monster Tail pants years ago. She mentioned that her son loved those pants but was outgrowing them and she asked if I could make a larger pair. Luckily, I had some flame fleece on hand, and I was able to whip up these:

I hadn't made a pair of these in years so it was nice to read that the ones I made years ago have been well-loved. I decided I should start making them again, and I'm now offering custom-made Monster Tail Pants on Fire in my Etsy shop.. I love seeing McKenna run around in Sage's old pair - the first I ever made - and they're always her first pick if they're in her pajama drawer.

Around the same time, I got a commission for a custom plush (also now available in my Etsy shop) based on this child's drawing:

and I came up with this:

  

So that's what I worked on last week. On one of the days when McKenna didn't have preschool, she came into my studio to draw and play with the vintage Little People. After intently sewing for a while, I turned around to find that she had gathered up my scraps and arranged them like this:

 I love it because it contains bits and pieces of things I was working on that week, but mostly because it's totally her style. Her smiley faces always have snaggle teeth, so the choice of pom poms for the mouth was perfect. After all the monsters I've made, I've never thought of that.

This week, we put it together in plush form.

and she named it RockMiss, the Lady Rocketship.

 Yes, I think I will be handing the kokoleo monster making department over to her very soon.

Custom Monster Making

Recently, a friend asked if I was still making kokoleo monsters. I haven't in a while. I used to make and sell them all the time. I stopped partly because of the scary CPSIA that basically makes selling one-of-a-kind handmade toys illegal in America. But shhhhhh, don't turn me in, I made some anyway.

I told my friend, sure, "I'll make a couple monsters for you." and she said, "Great, I'll send you the drawings my nephews did." Ha. I forgot that on my website there's a section called Design Your Own Monster, a service which no one has ever taken advantage of before. (Note to self: Revamp website ASAP.) I accepted the commission anyway, and I'm happy I did. 

Here's Bruce's monster drawing:

And here's what I came up with:

 I tried to be as true as possible to his artwork. The most difficult part was devising a way to make the extremities sturdy; a problem I solved by reinforcing them inside with 2-ply naugahyde. The next problem was the face since it was drawn in outline form; the mouth wouldn't look the same against a blue background so I added a circle of white fleece and it instantly looked more like the drawing. Here's a view of the back:

Next is Brett's monster:

I wasn't sure if the rocket thingies shooting out the sides were part of the main monster, so I looked to the 3 tiny monsters hanging beside him. They were each drawn similar to the big guy and since they didn't have rocket thingies, I figured the rockets were separate. Having solved the last outline issue with white fleece, I did it again for this monster:

Back view:

Now they're in 3-D form, freed from their papers and ready to fly across bedrooms, fight off evil-doers, scare away bogeymen, and snuggle with two very creative brothers. Bye guys!

Monster Adventures

Back in September I blogged about how The Children's Museum of Virginia purchased six of my monsters to use in their educational program about germs. Last week I received this in the mail.


They're starring in their own coloring book! I'm so proud of them! Here they were before:


And here are a few pages from the coloring book:




Yay! But also, ewwww! Now go wash your hands.

Monsterlina by Monday

My friend Rachel asked me to make a Monsterlina for her daughter Avenelle. That was way back in the middle of the summer. But! She said she didn't need it until Christmas so I could take my time. So I did. But! Here she is, and that's one thing I can check off my to do list.

I don't have much else to show this week. I have a bunch of personalized piece in progress, but none completed. I did have fun making my Raggedy Ann costume this weekend. I hadn't made a skirt in a while. Skirts are easy! I should make skirts all the time. That's just what I need. Another thing to make. I also like the apron thingy I made and I just might modify it and make some little girl apron tops. So many ideas, so little time.

And sometimes, the best thing I can make is time for the kids. We went to Disneyland yesterday, just for a few hours (since we get in free). We were there long enough to see the parade, ride the new Nemo Submarine (awesome!), go through the Haunted Mansion, and see the park all decked out for Halloween.

I want this job:

Sage liked this Day of the Dead exhibit:

and McKenna just thinks we're all so strange.

Just another Monster Monday

It seems I've abandoned my "Made by Monday" posts. Oh well, how about I just blog about the stuff I make as I make it? There's less pressure that way. Coincidentally, today is Monday and look what I made:

Don't look for them on the website though, they are currently under the supervision of the U.S. Postal Service as they travel to their new home at the Children's Museum of Portsmouth, Virginia. A few weeks ago I got an order for six of my monsters. I was very excited that someone on the other side of the country liked my monsters enough to order six of them, but also a bit perplexed as to what they planned to do with all those monsters. So I asked. Ha! Only a small-time indie designer would wonder such a thing -- You really like my stuff? Really? Enough to order a whole bunch of them? Really? Wow. Can I ask why? Here was the reply I got from Helen, the Education Coordinator of the museum:

Hello KB,
And welcome to your new baby girl! How exciting it is ushering in our newest citizens of the planet! We actually stumbled across your website in our search for prop items. Your little folks were so colorful and so cute we couldn't pass them up. The program we have developed is called Stuffee and the Aweful Icky-Yuckies. It is a program being funded by a grant through the Virginia Department of Health about the spreading of germs. Obviously, by the title, it is geared towards pre-school aged children. Your monsters will be the star "germs" Icky and Yucky. We don't have anything online about them yet but we will. Our website is www.childrensmuseumva.com.

Thanks for all of your help. We look forward to our new "friends".
Helen

How cool is that? The kokoleo studio was all abuzz these last few weeks with the monsters (or Germs, as they now prefer to be called) bragging about how they were leaving Hollywood forevah! and following their dreams to become big-time celebrities in Portsmouth. Bon Voyage snaggle-toothed ones! Have fun!

There are monsters in my garage.

Once in a blue moon my fabric stash starts to grumble and growl. It usually comes from the fake fur/fleece section. I pull out the offending fabric and let it speak to me. Last night, this purple fur said, "Make me into two monsters with long legs and arms made of fleece and horns made of naugahyde."

When monster parts speak, I must oblige. Introducing: These guys!


And this one too.


They are currently hanging out in my garage getting psyched up for Felt Club. Here's a sneak peak:


It's taken a little MacGyvering, but I think I have my best kokoleo display ever figured out. The space is tight- 6ft. by 4 ft. - and my belly is large so I had to get it totally streamlined and ready to go ahead of time. Also, I have a LOT of stuff.


The thing in the middle is a 4-tiered circular necktie accessory display atop a lazy Susan. It spins! Come visit me at Felt Club and spin for yourself!

Of Monsters and Marvels

Saturday night was the opening for the this show at Monkeyhouse Toys:


I had eight pieces in the show. I took them all in to show Mayra, the gallery owner thinking she would pick out just one or two, but she insisted on taking them all! I love her.

Here's my Jack-in-the-Hatbox. The blue furry winged thing above him is by Jenny Harada. Jenny's stuff rocks.


Here are four of The Five Senses, from bottom to top - Mouthius, Handre', Nosetradamus, Earick. I accidentally cut off Eyevan who was at the bottom of the totem. Oops.


Here's Threeo, the one with three eyes and overalls:


I also had an orange five-eyed one fin/footed t-shirt wearing monster named Fiveye that sold before I got there so I never got to take his picture. Oh well. Bon Voyage undocumented one! I hope you enjoy your new home!

The show was jammed packed with lots of cool people mingling amongst the monsters. At Monkeyhouse, it's hard to tell where the gallery ends and the shop begins. Likewise, the line between art and toy is blurred. It's all art. Check it out:





Here's Sage with his friend Ava.


He fell in love with that top hat while we were there. It's a magician's hat and it comes complete with a bunny. He wore it all night, took it to bed, and this morning I awoke to him standing beside my bed saying, "Abra Kazabra! Look! I'm magic!"

Thanks Mayra, for making magic happen.

a Robot, a Spider, a Postman and Pumpkins

Mad-seamstress that I am, I worked feverishly in my lab this week to transform one sweet little boy into an angry robot:


Ingredients include lots of silver vinyl, red, blue and bronze vinyl, a fake brain in tupperware, telephone cords, calculator parts. . .


. . . an empty beer box, the top to a salt shaker, polyester stuffing and cotton batting, elastic, an plastic placemat, Sharpie ink and about a pound of hot glue.

On their way to the Atwater Village trick-or-treat event on Friday, Sage and his friendly lion friend (kind of Wizard of Oz-ish but with a demented Tinman):


Last week at a Halloween party Erik went postal and I went as a spider. It's kind of hard to see my legs here but they were three pairs of black tights stuffed and hanging by strings from my wrists.

Lovely couple, aren't we?

Tonight we carved pumpkins. When I picked these two out at the pumpkin patch they just screamed Bert and Ernie to me. It's hard to ignore a screaming pumpkin.



Erik's pumpkin - evil, of course:


and Sage's pumpkin - cute just like him:

Happy Halloween!