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googly eye earrings

The first I myself saw of it was from Amanda the Great, who started sticking them amusingly onto Magic the Gathering playing cards for her Tumblr, Magic Cards With Googly Eyes. Shortly after that, while cruising the internet for craft ideas and such, I encountered several blogs and online groups devoted to eyebombing. Then I saw Anne Wheaton and Bonnie Burton tweeting their own eyebombing adventures, with the now-widespread hashtag #vandaleyes. And it’s progressed from there.

I’ve had a bag of googly eyes in my craft supplies stash for ages, because I have just about anything and everything in my craft supply stash. (Testing this has, in fact, become a favourite game among several of my friends when they come over to hang out and craft. “Hey Tally, do you have an exacto knife I can use?” “How about a wire cutter?” “Green felt, superglue and some vintage leaf-patterned wallpaper samples?” “I need a fuschia sharpie, some blue acrylic yarn, five bottlecaps and a rabbit cutout.” All in the futile hope that they’ll stump me.) Anyway, I never had a great deal of use for those stashed eyes. But then as googly eyes started popping up all over the place, I realized that they are fun and delightful and absolutely not limited to little kids’ craft projects. In fact, I suddenly realized that designating them as “for kid stuff only” would be as ridiculous as denying Crayons their rightful place in the ranks of excellent and worthwhile adult crafting supplies. Crayons, in case you somehow forgot this after grade school, are awesome.

The point here is that googly eyes are fun. I still don’t use them in a huge amount of crafting, but they definitely have their place. On wine charms, for example, and holiday goodies like Easter eggs. Sometimes even on cloth bags – if you’re going for derpy, nothing quite says derpy like googly eyes. And of course you can simply stick them whimsically and amusingly to trash cans, toilets, door handles, hotel concierge desks, fire hydrants, gardening supplies, close friends and family members, total strangers, cats. Read the full post »

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Tally’s tally for the July 6-8 weekend – Operation MAKE ALL THE THINGS

Recently on Twitter, a couple people brought up the idea of doing a post that sums up all the things I’ve made in a given period of time: “Tally’s tally” of crafts, as it were. While fun, I thought this might be a bit too much like bragging. “Look at all the stuff I made in a day!” Then I thought about it some more and realized several things:

  1. “Look at all the stuff I made today” is exactly what my Twitter feed says on numerous days, so I’m already bragging anyway.
  2. After spending all weekend pouring my time and energy into creating things, I damn well want to show it off and have it appreciated a bit.   2.5. I am vain of my crafting and I like bragging about it.
  3. I’ve switched to a new format of posting tutorials every other week, and posting less extensively descriptive “here’s a thing I’ve been working on” or “here’s a fun idea” posts on the alternating weeks. However, I’ve been making so much stuff lately that even with an opportunity to showcase some of it every other week, I will never be able to post about it all.
  4. If people don’t like these posts, they are not obliged to read them. They may go look at internet cats instead. Here, I’ll even give you some links, because I’m a good person like that.
  5. Maybe it will inspire other people, and other feebly noble sentiments to mask my desire to just brag about the the stuff I’ve been making.

homemade fezzes and a Doctor Who party

Last week we said farewell to our friend Ash, who has now moved away to experience new things in new places. Ash, along with her brother Steve, is the creator of Megacynics, one of the few webcomics I actually read on a regular basis, and one I recommend. A while ago she did a couple of Doctor Who themed comics, and did a considerable amount of drinking research in order to create a whole set of yummy Doctor Who themed party drinks. (Click on the link to see them all.)

So we decided Ash needed to have a Doctor Who themed going-away party. I hung styrofoam galaxies in the hall and made a bleach and paint splattered galaxy-ish tablecloth, and made a bunch of fezzes for people to wear, because everyone knows that parties are more fun when they include amusing and thematic attire. Plus fezzes are cool.

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Pokemon plushies

Well here I am breaking promises just two weeks after changing up my blog post schedule. I don’t have a tutorial for you today – after being away last weekend, having houseguests for the first half of the week and making decorations for tonight’s Doctor Who party, I just did not have time to prepare a how-to pst. It’s been a great week, but super busy. I promise I will make it up to you by posting two tutorials back to back in the next two weeks, but for this week, I’m simply going to show you some Pokemon.

Or “teh Pokemans,” as my boyfriend is fond of saying. These were both commission pieces I did over the last few months, one Spheal and one Castform. I missed out on the whole Pokemon craze myself as a kid (I mean, I remember it, but I never got involved in it – not having cable or any close friends who were into Pokemon had a hand in that), so I was totally going from Google images and no inside knowledge on these.

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lemon trees: a progress report

“Progress report.” Isn’t that a horrible phrase? Just typing it causes a sinister shiver, and brings visions of a beige-walled, fluorescent-lit cubicle farm with a drably-suited man tapping his pencil on his clipboard and wordlessly daring you to even think about attempting any kind of humour or good cheer. The phrase also reminds me of junior high school, which is only less horrifying because it is irrevocably in the past.

I’d look for a better phrase to re-title this blog post with, but nothing comes to mind, plus I’ve become rather fond of that opening paragraph above, which wouldn’t make much sense if the post’s title didn’t use the phrase “progress report.” Which I promise not to use again for the rest of this post. Or hopefully ever.

In any case, you may recall the recent-ish post where I talked about planting lemon seeds and somehow getting them to sprout, and then somehow managing not to kill said sprouts. Miracles abounding, given my total lack of gardening knowledge.

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felt pigs

A Moment of Immodesty

Several months ago, I had a stroke of utter genius.

I admit to pridefully thinking that I’ve done something rather clever now and then when it comes to craft ideas and execution, but this is the one thing I’ve come up with that I actually think was somewhat brilliant. I’m certain other people have already thought of it on their own, and others will do so in future, but I haven’t personally encountered this idea anywhere else yet. Maybe because I haven’t looked in the right places. Maybe because doll-making types, from what I’ve seen online, seem to keep things awfully close to their chest, as though doll-making techniques are great secrets available only to the properly initiated. Which I think is ridiculous. But anyway.

Last summer I made a dragon doll, which is where this sort of started. This dragon doll:

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felt spheres

Your first question here may very well be “Why?” And that’s understandable. But I promise you there are some excellent reasons to want to make little felt spheres, and they have nothing to do with making juvenile jokes about how many balls you have. Though you can do that too.

This tutorial is the beginning of me teaching you how to make little round felt pigs. This week we’ll do the ball part, and next week we’ll add the snout and feet and ears and tail. And then you’ll have the basic know-how to add different kinds of noses and feet and tails and such to make all kinds of different little roly poly animals:

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