Birthday Cakes and a Prize Winning Pie

August is always a busy month for us with vacations, picnics, and the kids birthdays just 10 days apart. I couldn't let it come and go though without sharing some of the cakes and pies I made last month. Here's McKenna's birthday cake:

 She wanted a "rainbow" party so I made this cake using 3 circular cakes - two stacked and one cut in half and then placed on top of the other two, then propped up with marshmallow "clouds" and decorated with Skittles.

Then, two weeks later I made this campfire cake for Sage.

It's composed of a rectangular cake cut into 3 "logs", iced and stacked and topped with 3 fondant "flames". My boy is 10 now. 10! Double digits! He had a camping-themed party complete with fire pit, roasted weenies, s'mores, and friends camping in our backyard.

Another great thing about August is all the fruit in bloom - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, apples, rhubarb - and that's just in out backyard! My husband's company had a pie contest and I won second place for my AppStrawRhuBlackBlue Pie:

This picture was taken after it had been sampled by all the picnickers, hence the mess. I won a $25 Visa gift card and a ribbon. Not bad considering most of the ingredients were free. I've been making pies all summer and sticking them in the deep freezer to save them for special occasions this winter.

Oh summer, you were warm and sweet like a fresh-baked pie, and we gobbled you up.

I never saw a hot pink cow... till now.

My latest custom plush commission started with this drawing by a little girl in Oregon.

Its name is "Marly" and it's a cow. I immediately thought of the old nursery rhyme:

I never saw a purple cow.

I hope I never see one.

But I can tell you anyhow,

I'd rather see than be one.

When I went to the fabric store though, the hot pink fleece matched the color of the drawing better than any of the purple fleece, so I went with the best match. Fast forward two weeks and here it is in huggable form:

Sometimes it's tricky interpreting the back of a child's drawing. The difficult tasks with this one were figuring out a way to make supportive legs and devising a skinny, yet supportive neck.

I did it by giving the cow a triangular rump and inserting a sewn tube of vinyl that extends diagonally from the base through the neck and into the head, then hand-stitching the back part, front legs, and head together.

Soon it will be sitting on the bed of the little girl who designed it.

I never saw a hot pink cow

But now I'm glad I did.

I took a drawing, flat and small

And made it plush and big.

Vintage Pattern Meets African Batik Meets kokoleo

Last month I got a commission to make a sundress using authentic batik fabric that was purchased in Kenya, Africa. The customer wanted it to be a 1950s style cocktail dress based on this vintage reprint Vogue pattern:

To be honest, I'm not a fan of patterns, especially vintage ones. You'd think with all the sewing I've done that following a pattern would be no problem, but I much rather prefer devising my own way of doing things, be it custom plush monsters or a cupcake costume or any other weird one-of-a-kind. Fancy grown-up dresses with darts and gathering and interfacing and buttons and hidden side zippers still intimidate me. Which is precisely why I said, "Yes, I'll do it." To prove that I can. And I did!

 

 It took a few weeks of careful planning before I got up the nerve to piece it together. One wrong cut and I would have been screwed since it's not exactly the kind of fabric you can pick up at JoAnn's. Luckily, I remembered reading somewhere that vintage patterns run about 6 sizes smaller than their modern counterparts, so while the pattern I had went up to a size 14, that's really a modern size 8 and I needed to make it a 10. Argh! Math! I checked the measurements against those I took from my customer and realized that the pattern was too small so I simply trusted my seamstress instincts and cut about a 3/4 inch extra on the sides, top and bottom and followed the basic shape of the original pattern. Thankfully it fit her perfectly.

Here's the back view. The skirt is nearly 4 yards gathered at the waist.

 The only materials I purchased for this project were the shoulder buttons. I have a billion buttons in my studio stash, but not 10 identical ones.

Working with the free-form, assymetrical pattern was a bit tricky. I took extra care to line it up in a balanced, flattering manner, making sure not to let the circles be two giant bullseyes on her boobs. I thought the cummerbund needed a little something extra so I added this oversize vintage plastic button that matched the colors perfectly. I've had that button for probably 6 years now knowing it would be perfect for something some day. 

And now it's done! My confidence in my vintage pattern-following abilities has grown and my customer got a one-of-a-kind, custom-fit, African batik, vintage reproduction, kokoleo cocktail dress.

Summer Games and Baby Names

Oooo the summer is flying by. I haven't posted since April! Sheesh. Where does the time go? For me it's gone into entertaining the kids, organizing a neighborhood bike parade and picnic, gathering materials for a community mosaic in our park, and teaching a craft class at happy delusions every Thursday:

I've also been busy with a steady stream of personalized pillow orders lately. Here are some pics of the ones I've done in the last few months:

 

 

Such great names!

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.

Hamster Crafts!

Meet the newest member of our family - Goomba!

 

He's super cute and tons of fun and looks right at home in the Woodsey House.  He also fits right in to this vintage Kenner Family Tree Tots Tree House:

But his favorite place is snuggled in a pocket.

McKenna carries him around in this fleece bag I made, which we now call the Hamster Holder.

I had originally intended it to be a project for my "No Sew Pillows and Totes" craft class last week, but realized it was a little too difficult for the younger kids in my class so I scrapped the idea and gave it to McKenna instead. Goomba loves to snuggle up and sleep in it.

Look how adorable he is!

I made another Hamster Holder today. It only takes aboout 10 minutes. Here's the pattern:

Take 2 pieces of fleece, cut in a circular shape with a flat top. Then all around the edge (except at the top) make 2 inch cuts, about a finger's width apart. Also, cut a long strip of fleece for the strap. Next, tie each fringe bit together with 2 knots all the way around and then tie your strap to the top knots. Viola!

 You've got a hands-free Hamster Holder.

Yesterday I saw a project on Craft Magazine for a Pocket Fleece Pet Hammock posted on Craft Nectar, so I immediately went in my studio and made this for Goomba:

I made it a bit differently though,  in a triangular shape with fleece strip ties instead of grommets and hooks.

I may just abandon all my other kokoleo products and become a full-time hamster-crafter. Okay, maybe not. But this little guy has been a sweet source of inspiration lately. He's even with me right now, hanging around my neck helping me write this blog post.

Awwww....