Skull ATC, Bird Stickers, Ticket Stickers, Gelliprint Tags

Hey, hey. It's the end of the day on Tuesday and I think I did a good job today with managing my time. I usually have babysitters on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays for about 4 hours so I can get work done, listen to my podcast playlists, fill orders, run errands, do art, and basically have alone time. I love being able to make a list of tasks that I've been meaning to get done and actually doing ALL THE THINGS. It happened today, it just so happens that the last thing on my list is a blog post. So here's my update!

I did a little bitty swap with an old Craftster buddy, AlwaysInspired. She just wanted some blank craft stickers (of which I have a whole roll), but I wanted to make something for her. So I made this skull ATC with paint, inks, gelatos, etc. The base is another gelliprint from Audio. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, especially the light peony doodles in the background.

 This grouping of birdy drawings made me smile. There's something about feathers. These are also for swapping, and they're all drawn on sticker paper for extra function and coolness.

 Also, swapped these altered tickets. (I got the idea from another craftster pal, Smmarrt). They're alien cats, because I love cats and I love weird things. Also, I made these into stickers using my Scotch ATG. Fun fact: there was also a blue ticket in this set, but I turned on my fan and it vlew off the table, presumably into an alternate universe, because I couldn't find it.

Last, I made some gelli-printed tag stickers out of blank labels that aforementioned Smmarrt sent to me. They turned out soooo cute and I can't wait to make more. They're gonna be perfect to use in my planner.

So, I hope everyone had a beautiful, peaceful MLK weekend. Mine was pretty okay, and I got to spend time looking after my poor unfortunate, pained husband who was separated from his wisdom teeth last Thursday. Until next time, I'll be making art when I can and sharing it here :) Have a really, really good week.

Cards Cards Cards

I just have some colorful eye candy for you today! I made a ton of cards using my Alpha Stamps Collage Sheets and misc other stamps and paper :) Scroll and I hope you like them. Happy Friday!

Have a great weekend!

Big Toucan Mask... and he is wearing a hat.

 I warned you... I would make a bird mask, too. Check out my giant toucan head. I am also pretty excited about his hat. I was yard sale hopping and a super nice old guy gave me the hat for free :) It was olive green, but I had to paint it some other crazy color and landed on orange. Add a big blue ostrich feather and boom, sweet hat.

I was feeling sick so I decided to put my Toucan Mask on around the house. It made me feel a little better. For some reason I feel kind of silly about making masks, which is weird because I'm ALL about being silly. Maybe it's because they're so HUGE and I haven't got many events where I can use them. Halloween, and.... um... that's it. Haha! But they are so funny and fun to make... Bobby thinks they're awesome.

Also, unrelated, but not really. I am having this idea to challenge myself to NOT BUYING any new craft supplies for 3 months (super-unique thrift shop and yard sale finds don't count! I'm talking like Hobby Lobby and Michaels stuff) and crafting my brains out to reduce my outrageous stash. And maybe put more in my Etsy Shop than just Witch Bookmarks. I feel like I haven't been making much lately because of all the busy-ness.

Should I take the de-stashing challenge?

Whittled Toucan

 More whittling! This time I made a toucan, which shouldn't be a huge surprise, considering my obsession with toucans...

 The base is a 1x1" wooden block that I decorated with some really simple stamped inchies.

A photo of the plain wood after carving, before sanding and painting!

I actually made this a few days ago... It would be pretty hard to do now because yesterday I sliced the side of the tip of the thumb on my left hand. Pretty bad. I was cutting up some squash and our new knives are SO SHARP, even went right through the nail. (TMI?) I'm really glad it wasn't my right hand, which would have been devastating, but I'm still hoping it heals really quick... I've got things to make and I've found it pretty surprising how much I use my left thumb...

At any rate, I hope YOU are having a brilliant Tuesday :)

Needle Felted King Bird... it's New Year's Eve!

Good evening, friends! I realized that I failed to do a Christmas post to wish you all the happiest of days, so I'll say now: I hope you all had a really wonderful Christmas and were able to do things you enjoy with people you love. I had a really good Christmas here in Alabama with Bobby and we treated ourselves to lots of candy and supplies and tools and of course, relaxation :)  

This is my second needle felted bird post in a row, and it won't be the last! I made a few batches of birdies for Christmas and thank you gifts. This one is special because he has a little crown on. I made him for my crafty buddy Audrey. 

Check out that colorful spotted tail :) My brother and his wife must be psychic, because they sent me another couple of packs of dyed/plain guinea fowl feathers for Christmas. I have been using them like crazy.

 Did you know it's way easier to needle felt a big beak than a little one? True story, unless there is some awesome tiny-beak method that I have yet to figure out.

 *Yawnnn* I don't think I'll make it to midnight...

Needle Felted Bird of Paradise with looong tail

 I looked out the window, and what did I see? This crazy bird hopping 'round my apricot tree! Well, it wasn't an apricot tree, and the bird wasn't hopping around, but that would have been fun. I made this little needle felted bird of paradise for myself on Sunday because I needed to make something for me to keep :) It's a gorgeous morning today in Alabama, so I decided to go outside and take some pics of my new birdy.

 Photogenic little chap, isn't he? 

He'll soon be roosting on my totally ornament-encrusted tree. I'll have to find a good spot for him.

The long pretty tail feathers are from an emu. I've been hiding them away for a long time (picked them up at the critter zoo a while back), and finally found them when I did a little organizing. It sure feels good to finally use some random supply you've been hoarding forever, doesn't it? 

At any rate, I am so excited for Christmas! And maybe Christmas orders will slow down a little and I'll have some time to go play Santa and deliver gifts and treats to my friends in town :)

Toucan and Budgie Watercolor Painting

 Oh, I know what you all are thinking, "Kira, you have not been posting enough toucan crafts lately, shame." Well, to make up for that, here is a watercolor painting of a toco toucan and his little budgie friend.

They're best friends. happy Friday!

Needle Felted Purple Toucan

 When Bobby left for work today, I told myself that I was not going to do anything today, since I was feeling awful blegh. So after reading some sci-fi and lounging in bed for a while, my mind started turning because it was a mess downstairs and I hadn't cleaned up from lunch yet...So I got up and tidied up downstairs and did the dishes. Then I realized that I needed to go to the post office... To get it out of the way, I just went. Then I got there and I had left my wallet at home and had to go back and get it. LAME.

So finally, when I got home, I told myself I'm REALLY not going to do anything else today, not even crafts. That didn't last long. I made a toucan.

 This is my second needle felting project, and I'm really enjoying this new craft! I credit Felt Me Up Designs for the wee toucan that I bought, and all the inspirational felty goodness. 

 Here's the back, I used two tones of purple wool, even though real tocos don't have wing spots. Wait, real tocos aren't purple either. I guess I'm okay, then.

This is a happy looking bird! I'll admit, he made me feel a little better. I'm wanting to find a little glass cabinet to house my growing number of little toucan thingies. I'll have to remember that come Christmas time.

(Phew! Toucan is tired of taking pictures!)

Three Bird Inchies made from Scraps

 It's been a while since I've made any inchies, so I pulled out my wee ziploc baggy full of itsy bitsy scraps of watercolored paper. And whenever I don't want to think about what to create, I make birds. Birds are always a good subject matter for me :)

 Cutting out and piecing together teeny little bird bodies is pretty relaxing, but it can be tough to find a scrap with just the right shape... The bits of paper I use are just the little in-between pieces after using paper punches for the majority of watercolor backgrounds.

 Here's a nice, long-beaked fellow.

Of course, no surprise, I had to make a toucan, because they are my favorite :) Have a great weekend, folks.

And please enter my crochet giveaway that is going on until September 10!

Toucan Felt Badge and Bird News

I sat down to make this little badge tonight after doing nearly nooooothing all day... I got a ridiculous headache yesterday morning in the middle of a cardio class, then came home and dry-heaved and sat in the dark all day, curtains drawn, feeling nauseous and awful. I think it was a migraine, and I did not enjoy my day! Today I'm feeling better, but still sluggish and tired. I was feeling up to making a little toucan out of my new felt (from Etsy seller SweetEmmaJean) this evening, but after I cut out the pieces, I was 2 minutes into needlefelting the pieces together and my one and only felting needle snapped. Boooooo! I did give up, but came back to it about an hour later. Lo and behold, I have finished it just now with stitching and about 2 minutes worth of needle felting. I wanted to share :)

Also, take a look at this smug, tricky bird. There is bird news in my house, that isn't huge news, but my world was rocked nonetheless. My beautiful Peanut Button birdy boy is NOT a boy, but indeed, a big fat HEN. I got the DNA test results back on Tuesday, and I was a little upset. I know, I know, Peanut is the same sweet, kind bird and I still love him... uh, her... just as much. It's just going to be weird adjusting to the new feminine pronouns after 6 years of "Mister Peanut". I'll be honest, I'm probably going to continue saying "good boy!" to him...DAH! her... for a while. Well, it was 50/50 and we just guessed wrong when he was a chick. In my defense, she never ONCE corrected me. I'll cope.

Happy Thursday to you all, I hope it's been a good week for you so far.

And! Don't forget to enter my Hey Hey Crochet Giveaway Yay, if you haven't already. It's as simple as leaving a comment :)

Toco Toucan Altered Altoids Tin

This month's challenge over at the Unique Crafters Challenge Blog is GLITTER AND SHINE! 

I made this altered Altoids tin lid with all sorts of sparkly, shiny fun stuff. The clouds in the background are cut out of American Crafts glitter paper, which is unlike any other glitter paper I've used. It's so smooth and totally not the normal glitter texture. Nothing falls off of it, and I think I'd describe it as more glowy and reflective. Seriously, it's awesome. I have to find some more of it.

I also slapped on a border of beads, along with glitter glue on the inside rim and some rhinestones.

Here's a shot of the polyclay toucan I sculpted before the acrylic paint job. 

"My favorite color is shiny." 

The bottom has a dangling pendant with lovely, sparkly glass stones :) I couldn't resist adding just another glitter and shine element.

So, if you've got the hankerin' to create something shiny this month, don't hesitate to enter it in the Unique Crafters Challenge! You can win some radical supplies. 

Happy August 1, folks!

Toucan Sculpture: He's wearing a hat!

 Here's what I've been working on this week! While I was on vacation, I saw an awesome toucan sculpture made from different stones in one of the gem galleries. It was an instant WANT, but I thought, hey, why don't I make my own? It won't be made of rock, but it will be cute! So I started on this toco toucan guy on Monday.

 I had a little bit of air-dry clay in my stash, but I didn't want to use up ALL of it, not to mention wait days for such a huge hunk of clay to dry, so I first made the form of the toucan out of aluminum foil. The beak and body were made in two separate pieces, so the beak is attached and supported by two toothpicks jabbed in  and glued at the base. I stabbed in and glued the legs, which were just made from pretty sturdy .032 safety wire.

 Then I just had to cover the outside as smoothly as I could with the air-dry clay. I wanted a reasonably thick layer, because I was planning on sanding it smoother once it dried. And I did. The clay sands really nicely when dry, actually! The clay I used is Premier Lightweight Stone Clay .

 Then all I had to do was paint the toco toucan goodness on with artist acrylics. I used those because they dry a little shinier than craft acrylics, and I wanted the sheen. Oh, and I also added the tail which is just a tail shape cut from thick canvas I had painted/stiffened with the same acrylics I used on the body.

 "Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark." I needed a quote about faith, things hoped for, but not seen... Dreaming about and working towards having a toucan someday is going to take a lot of faith! Not to mention everything else...

The mini-hat is from Hobby Lobby and embellished with a fancy pheasant feather and lots of novelty yarn! 

And I also decorated the base with a bunch of inchies made from a cut out book page and toucan doodles. I can't wait to show it to Bobby when he gets home! He's been watching this little sculpture progress over the past couple days... Anyhoo, happy Wednesday, friends! Until next time.