Random Clay Fun (polymer clay)

Today is a rainy day, which I have to admit I really love. I have always preferred rain to sun if I had a choice. It gives an excuse to stay in and bake goodies and make crafts. :) The other night we were all playing around with the clay and I had some of this "pluffy" clay that is super soft and easy for kids to work with. One of the kids came up with this "road-kill rabbit" and it is super flat. When it was baked, I picked it up and it looks like a pancake hahaha. I love it... and I'm thinking to add a magnet to the back to hang it up on the fridge.

This dinosaur is what my hubby came up with!! I was pretty impressed...he used the same pluffy clay to make a lump of a body armature and baked that first... then rolled out flat pieces of green to layer over the top of the baked armature. And basically just worked on it until it looked like he thought it ought to, then baked it again a final time. I really like the legs... way better than what I could've done for it!


I made the next few items... this one is an owl charm. In the pic, I hadn't yet bent/twisted the wire out of the top of its head into a loop yet but it's done now.

A baby dinosuar...see the stubby legs and arms?? I told you the hubster's dinosaur legs were better lol..


And a new gnome on the block!! This one is a baker. :D He has a blue apron with white edging, and it is tied in the back around his waist and neck. Also holding a frosting bag and decorated cupcake!! :) I love this guy.. he is the same size as the others I've posted about recently.

I have been starting to add new items to my Etsy shop, so please bounce over there any check it out any time. If you would like a custom order of anything, write and let's see what we can do! :)

Super Long Stocking Hats (crochet)

Howdy all!! As you can see...I finally managed to pick up a fake head to use for modeling my hats and getting pictures! The thing is scary and when not in use, it lives on top of a shelf where I don't have to look at it. :P

Anyway, today's post is about 2 stocking hats I crocheted over the last few days. The green and black one above is a bit longer than the variegated one below, but both are quite long. I *love* this style of crochet hat and it makes me happy to make them. No two are exactly alike because I use random yarns and color schemes and no pattern at all. Just start at the end and work my way to the base for as long as I feel like it.

The variegated hat below is with a yarn from Hobby Lobby called "I Love This Yarn" and I had bought it last time we were traveling and I had the opportunity to go into that store. We don't have Hobby Lobby where we live (boo!) but I sure wish we did because I'd love to get more of that yarn...it is super soft and feels like the expensive stuff without actually being expensive! It is a little more than the basic Red Heart brand, but not much. And so worth it!! :D

I've already listed the striped hat above on my Etsy shop for anyone interested in getting it... this other one will be listed later today or tomorrow. :)

Road Scarf, Pencil Scarf, and Crayon Roll (crochet)

A very busy first half of the week this has been!! I've decided to go ahead and get a jump-start on some scarves and hats for Fall and Winter and will be listing on Etsy (as soon as the site is back up... ?!?!) rather than holding on until the craft fair. And if I still have them for that, then fine. :D Otherwise the plan is get them on Etsy today!!

Above is a road scarf- PERFECT for little boys or girls who love their toy cars!! It's the right size to keep them nice and snuggly warm and long enough to use for play if you wanted also.

Next up is another scarf...this one is a GIANT pencil!!! With most kids heading back to school in the next week or two (if they haven't already) this is a great item for them to get into the spirit of things! :) An adult could wear it more for the novelty, but it's definitely the right size to keep kiddos warm and looking good!


And finally...a rainbow crayon roll-up holder. A friend sent me a photo of one that someone else had made but there wasn't a pattern and it was difficult for me to see how it was made just by looking at the pic... so I decided to just try making one up. This was the final result and so long as you only wanted a few colors- this is perfect!! Maybe for travel? Fewer crayons to lose to the car seat crack!! hahaha


I hope everyone is having a great week! Check out my Etsy shop later on today for some updates and new additions! :) www.maebellecreations.etsy.com

Amigurumi Pink Elephant, Dolly and Pumpkin (crochet)

Well I had originally planned to get these posted over the weekend, so I'm a day late. Oopsie!! :) We ended up doing a Sunday drive down the coast instead so I figure that's a good excuse for being late.

This little doll is only about 5 inches long and her apron is tied on/removable. I gave her to a special little girl who kept eyeing it while it was being made! (She didn't know it was going to be for her anyway, so it was a nice surprise). :D

The pattern for this micro-mini elephant (in pink!!! hahaha) Is actually a pattern from a Lion Brand yarn book that normally makes it about 6-7 inches big with medium worsted weight yarn. BUT, for the fun of it, I used a total of 4 skeins of this pastel pink embroidery floss (100% cotton) and a #6 steel crochet hook instead and it turned out roughly 2 inches long. Super, super, super tiny and the stitches...well, let's just say my eyes had to strain a little but it was worth it!


Lastly, a little pumpkin!! This guy actually IS made using regular cotton yarn and an F hook, so he's just small by design. :) But Halloween is coming up and I couldn't wait to make it! I love holidays and can't believe they're already just around the corner again. I would love to find more Halloween patterns to try out!

P.S. Contemplating signing up for another craft fair that will be held in December. I think it sounds like a good idea and now I just have to balance out between posting new stuff on Etsy or saving it for the c.f. ??? aaagghh... if you see anything you like and it's NOT on Etsy, drop me an email and we can set something up! :)

Pirate Gnome and Hippie Gnome (polymer clay)

Another round of gnomes!! This is just a quick update for tonight..I have another finished crochet project to share over the weekend when I get a chance.

It's all in the details....on the left we have a pirate gnome. He comes with a skull & crossbones tri-pointed gnome hat, a gold earring, solid gold piece in his hand, a parrot on his shoulder and an eyepatch!

On the right we have the hippie gnome...a lovely tye-dyed jacket and underclothes, open sandals, a peace symbol on his jacket, a rosta gnome hat, braided beard, and last but not least..giving the ultimate of peace signs in his left hand.

Off to take care of dinner and think up more gnomes! :) Have a good night!

Glee-Inspired and Ice-Cream Garden Gnomes (polymer clay)

Now that all 6 of the little plant gnomes I sent out last week have safely landed in their new home, it is time to make more!

If you're a Glee fan like myself, you may see the inspiration for the Warbler-ish gnome on the left. Complete with "L" sign for being a Gleek ;) And since Summer is not quite over yet, the other guy gets a nice, tasty ice-cream cone. :D

They are roughly 3 inches high or so and made for house plants. Unless you have a really tiny backyard, in which they'd be perfect also! What do you all think of the new gnomes? I'll definitely be creating more as I think up new ones.

Make-Your-Own-Design Acrylic Rings!!

Good morning! Recently I was going through the baskets of craft supplies that I get and then put on hold (you know...until I think of something to do with them) and found my package of "blank" acrylic rings. They are all one size and although I can't remember specifically which seller I bought them from, they did come in a bundle-lot off Ebay for pretty cheap even with the shipping.

So after asking the kids what little pictures they might like to see get drawn onto them, here is what we came up with! Up above are a cupcake and a weiner dog.




Next up are a pair of pandas and lastly, an owl on a tree branch!



For the cupcake ring, I used the pen package in the photo. They are basically glittery paint pens. I found that although they dried pretty quickly and looked nice, you do have to go over your design several times to make the paint dark enough to see really well. The other non-cupcake rings were all done with Sharpie markers!!! :)

I am not sure how permanent the Sharpie markers are on acrylic, but after a little testing, they didn't just rub right off...but I'm sure you'd want to be careful about wearing them in water or scraping them on stuff. :)

So...Ebay (or other source of your choice) for blank acrylic rings and Michaels (or other source..I know Walmart, Target, etc have them also) for the Sharpie markers and you can make your own fun rings!! :) Next time I do these, I was thinking of trying out ModPodge with fabric or paper on them to see how that looks. Lots of ideas to work with for these rings! :)

Garden/Plant GNOMES (polymer clay)

Who doesn't love little garden gnomes?? And when they come in miniature scale, they're even better! (In my opinion anyway) :) Today I finished up the 6th one after spending about a week working on these little guys. They are for a special request made a while back by one of my SILs and I am so happy to be able to finally get them out in the mail to her tomorrow. I hope she will enjoy them as much as I do!


You can see Mr. Blue-Hat doing a little flash dance....Orange Coat is going to dig with his shovel...Tuxedo is ready for some fancy dining...Green Coat has something hiding in his pockets...Shy & Nervous has flowers and a heart for a lucky gnome gal...and lastly, No Name in the back left corner- well frankly, he's up to something but I don't know what!

Next up on my list of things to do (or at least somewhere in the top 10) is to make more of these for my Etsy shop. :) Everyone who's seen these wants them up there, so I'm working on it!! :)

Amigurumi Camo-Hippo (crochet)

Spending another late evening working on some crafts before sleep-time. I actually managed to finish this little gal yesterday and even took a nice sunny photo amongst the clovers we have growing! And as happens with a lot of the fun little toys I make, I found a home for it before I could even get it listed for sale! :) So good-bye to camo-hippo and enjoy your new owner!

P.S. I think this is one of my favorite crochet patterns...this being about the 4th or 5th time I've made it. This particular hippo was using an F hook and 100% cotton yarn. The book is "Easy Crochet Critters", a Leisure Arts pamphlet. It calls for a G hook, but I've made it using all sizes to get different sized toys.

Robot Doodles!!

I recently discovered that I love to doodle. I am one of those people who can't really draw anything except stick people, but doodling is basically along those lines. And robots are easy to try because it's just shapes and squiggles and you can't mess them up since they don't have a defined "must look like this" to them! Above are two pics (one enevelope and one card to go with) that I made just sitting being bored for about 15 minutes the other day...



And this is one of my sketch books (also nothing but scribbles, no actual drawings lol) full of more robots!!! I love robots and how you just can't screw them up. (Har har...pun intended!) By the way, I was using Staedtler markers with a fine tip, along with some Copic "atyou spica" glitter pens that I *LOVE*. Just wish they weren't so dang spendy!

I intend one of these days to turn that bottom picture into an embroidered piece but I have to figure out the best/easiest way to turn it into a colorful pattern first. :)