Friday 31 December 2010

The Last Post - of 2010!

And it's a tiger post! This time she got a lovely fluffy neck, what a throat ...



The neck is made from four pieces of striped fur, and four of the long white polar fur. Matching stripes is like a fluffy jigsaw!



Then our tiger got some teeth - no more gummy smile ...



Teddy bear makers often create pulled-toes, and here I have created - pulled teeth! Not the fangs, they are cones of foam covered in PVC, but the little teeth all in a row ...



Just want to say Fang you very much for reading my blog this year, HAPPY NEW YEAR! cat XXX

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Guess What We Got for Christmas?

Mary got lots of this for christmas ...



and some new play-doh tools that everyone wanted to try!



wearing some of their sparkly tattoos of course!



Mary isn't sure about some of the creations ...



and daddy isn't doing play-doh, he is playing with his - what is that exactly?



and, oh dear, matty had almost eaten all of daisy ... oops!



What did you play with on Christmas day? Did the sun shine?

Monday 27 December 2010

Red Onion Tarts ....



These pretty tarts are really rather sweet tasting, and are very simple to make ... I read lots of recipes on-line then went down to the kitchen and made them my own way! We ate these with Boxing Day lunch ...

Sunday 26 December 2010

the strange case of the dog in the garden ...

Mary loves dog ... but dog is still a little bit heavy for Mary to hump about ...



It's a girl dog, says Mary, Good Boy!



But it's too cold outside to play dog, come inside please!

Friday 24 December 2010

Happy Christmas Blog Readers!



Thought you would like to see my tree, before it is raped and pillaged tomorrow! matty set up the cute nativity scene, apart from the angel who is a pole dancer as usual!

tiger tiger ....WIP - eyes!

cutting irises from acetate... cut the pupil hole first!



polish your baubles (thats my glasses cloth) and grab some UHU glue ...



delicate work ... leave to dry away from small curious people ...



and dear old grandma-tiger ... there she is!



she gazes out of the window and wonders when the sun will shine on her hand-painted orbs!



next, her neck covering! But then, the sun did come out and showed the eyes at their best ...

Tuesday 21 December 2010

The Fairy Cake Mother...

Imagine my delight when my neighbour knocked on my door and offered me and my family these cakes ...



They looked pretty, they sparkled with edible glitter, and they tasted really good too!



and you can get some too, everyone needs the magic of The Fairy Cake Mother, don't you think?

Push-along Dog Makeover ....

do you remember This project?



Well it's all ready for Mary now ... the poor dog sat most of this year with no head nor tail! He is vintage and heavy-framed, but throwing him about should help build up little Mary-Mary!

Sunday 19 December 2010

Rat Bag ....



I lined a rat bag - rucksack - with this, while listening to shooglenifty "troots" ... good working music!

Friday 17 December 2010

far, far away ....

one day a little raggyrat-rabbit travelled far, far away ...



her name is Lettie, and I think she really enjoys travelling ...



and just now, like the rest of us, she is enjoying some snow with a small friend!



Thank you Lettie and Emily, for sharing your photos, it's good to see you again! keep in touch! And Happy Christmas XXX

Tuesday 14 December 2010

Monday 13 December 2010

Umgums .....nip and tuck ...

I don't know if you can tell, but the umgum faces and shoulders have changed a little ...



one of the things i learned from my jaunt into 'bear making' was needle sculpting, and i got myself some doll-needles from 'bear basics' a few years back ... and the umgums got their chubby-cheeks needle sculpted!



i am still really happy that my webbed feet worked really well ...

Friday 10 December 2010

Christmas!

As we are well into December now, I thought I had better mention the festive season!



And I made some thing very small and sweet (my hands are tiny, BTW) - Here we are, It's for you ...



Munch, munch ... you remember Old Ben the rat? No, don't eat it Ben ...



There - You wear it Ben! Erk! Ben is not so sure.



Then we went out carol singing



It was a bit Dark for Dave's Camera, but you can just make out me with my blue hat and scarf, and Ben in my hands, singing and amusing Zebedee, my friend's Dogs-for-the-Disabled helping-hound.

Happy Christmas!

Chocolate Rats!



Mmm, my favourite!

Thursday 9 December 2010

New fabric and Paper people!

I bought this lovely fabric on line ... it looks slightly more subtle in real life ... I think it will make beautiful barn owls!



Gigi brough some cut-outs to the last HE meeting in Abbotsbury, and Daisy and Matty selected one each, which they drew on at the hall. They also made them anatomically correct!



Daisy's had the most detail, now tastefully covered up with magazine pages and some classy bows!



Matty selected some pre-cut clothes for her paper person, and added a design of her own to the front of the jacket ...



on the back veiw of Matty's doll you can still see a useful body part!

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Another little Edward Tulane Doll .... Gosh!

another dapper little bunny-man ready for a new home ...



he and I both enjoy the winder sun in my dining room ...



i used some lovely vintage cotton lace for his fancy coat ...



be good, Edward! Safe journey!

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Umgums .....



i have for some time been working on a plush version of
Umphy the Umgum ... two, to be exact!



i have found working with 'minky' furs a challenge!



the webbed hands and feet were fun to do, I like working with fleece!



and he is in the region of 14-15 inches tall ...



and now, how about hearing all about Umphy for your self?

Monday 6 December 2010

And here is the Nose!



to create this nose i covered thin sheet foam in fleece, sewed it in place then tinted the tiger head around it with copic markers. The nostrils are given depth by needle felting some black wool roving in place...

Sunday 5 December 2010

whose nose do you suppose?

i like t o draw things so that i really get to know them ...



a double layer of dense sheet foam provides the innards for a tiger's nose ...



there he is! and the nose seems to be the right size and shape ...



i use my copic markers to colour the nose, working on some beige fleece fabric ...



the next stage will be to wrap the pink fleece around the foam and stitch in place, before adding it to the tiger's muzzle ...