Clay Barrettes!

So, I have been doing a little experimenting with clay. Surely I can make things other than keychains, earrings, and charms. I went to the craft store a few weeks ago, and I found a package of barrettes, and then my idea came to me. Why not make barrettes with clay embellishments? I have my own barrette that I love to wear in my hair, and I figure if I can make another one, then that would just be a bonus.

I thought a lot about what kind of design I would like to have on one, and decided on flowers to start with. I made a set of blue daisies to cover the back of one, and a giant sunflower with a couple of leaves to cover the other. I baked them and got glued them to the back of the barrette. Here is how they turned out:

And here's what the back of them looks like:


I had a lot of fun making them, and I learned a lot about how to make them. These ones look a little childish, but, hey, it's a start, right? :)

Sock and Glove Plushies

So, when I was saying earlier that I bought a couple of cute books on plushies, I forgot to mention that I bought a book called Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori. It's full of really cute designs, and all of them are made using that lone sock or glove that's hanging out in your dresser.

I was surprised to see how many different things that you can do with a simple sock. The plushies in this book are a much more interesting approach to making things out of socks as opposed to the traditional sock monkey. There are a variety of designs in this book, including a bunny, a lamb, an elephant, a doll, a zebra, and more. There is a sock monkey pattern in this book as well, but I think it looks quite different than a traditional one.

I haven't made any of the patterns in this book yet, but I am looking forward to trying it out after I finish up with my finals for this semester. I'm having trouble deciding which pattern to make because they're all so cute. I think that I might have to try the zebra. I mean, come on, who has ever heard of a sock zebra? :)

Nifty Pouches: Katiegariepy

If you're like me, when you get change after buying something, the coins go straight into the bottom of my purse. Or sometimes, I'll stick coins in my pocket, and I won't see them again until they are in the bottom of the wash. I have a wallet, but the coin slot is too much of a hassle to open and it only holds a few coins.

The solution: pouches from KatieGariepy's shop! KatieGariepy has a wide variety of pouches and coin purses in her etsy shop. She uses a variety of fun patterns and fabrics to make one of a kind bags and purses. She has an adorable acorn tote, a sweet doe coin purse, a cute Japanese leaf patterned cosmetics case, and these adorable owl pouches, along with tons of other cute things.

I have a soft spot for owls, and I love these pouches! They can hold your credit cards, IDs, bills, and coins. They come in a few different colors, and the eyes are hand painted on. How adorable! you can use these instead of a wallet, and they velcro shut so that you don't have to worry about stubborn zippers getting stuck or snaps that won't snap.

You can check out these pouches and more at KatieGariepy's shop:

www.katiegariepy.etsy.com

Fruity Buttons!

In my efforts to make things cute but functional, I created some buttons out of clay. They are fruit shaped and very cute! I made a strawberry pair and apple trio! Be sure to check them out in my shop! They would be awesome for sewing on a purse, or even just to make jewelry out of them!

I have also made some "buttons" that have no holes. These can also be used for pretty much anything. I thought they would be really cute for bow makers to put as bow centers. I also have some bluebird buttons in my shop.

I also was thinking of making some hairclips out of these. What do you guys think? I have some solid red apples that I don't have listed in my shop. I also have a pair of icecream cones, more strawberries, and acorns.

www.cutesyclay.etsy.com

Video Game Plushies

After designing and making a few plushies of my own, I thought it would be fun to follow a pattern to learn some new techniques. I only started making plushies last year, so I know I still have a lot to learn. I bought a couple of used plushie books off of amazon.com.

Cute Dolls by Aranzi Azonzo was full of so many adorable designs, I was having trouble choosing which design to make first. I started out with the bunny pattern and had a lot of fun with it. The directions were very easy to follow and it was great for beginners like myself. I started out with the bunny pattern and had a lot of fun with it. I also found that this pattern was very easy to alter.

My friend and I are big video game fans, and when we hang out, we have a particular game that we often play together. For Christmas last year, I decided to make my friend a plushie of her favorite character from this game. This is how it turned out.

Cool fact: I actually made this plushie from parts of the bunny pattern in the Aranzi Aronzo book! I thought it was cool how versatile these patterns are. The only limitation is your imagination!

This is the first doll that I have ever made, and I'm pleased with how the hair turned out. While the doll isn't perfect, I learned a lot about making doll clothes and what not to do. My friend loved it, too!

FYI: The character is Luke Fon Fabre from Namco's "Tales of the Abyss" for PS2.

Lovely Headbands-Jessiebeans

Some days my hair looks dull. I can't really rock the hat look. Sometimes you need that one accessory that pulls your whole look together. I am a big fan of headbands, especially the wide ones. I stumbled across a shop on etsy that sells amazing ones.

Jessiebeans has a huge variety of colorful, fun headbands that are full of personality. I love the beautiful lace and ribbon that she puts on them. Some have flowers, some have cameos, and one even features a fleur de lis.

What I like most of all are the pretty cameos that she decorates them with. This turquoise headband is my current favorite. I love the way the cameo brings the piece together with the gold trimming around it. It's such a neat way to wear a cameo!

You can check out these headbands and more at jessiebeans's etsy shop!

www.jessiebeans.etsy.com

Cutesy Pendants-Tweebird

Hi, everyone! Happy Tuesday!

In the huge world of etsy.com, you can find pretty much anything in any style. So, I thought that I would start out by introducing a shop that I bought one of my first items from. Enter Tweebird's shop.

I absolutely love her claywork. As a fellow clay artist, I know how hard it can be to handle, but her pendants are awesome. I bought two of them and I'm very pleased with them. I wear them with a ribbon choker around my neck and get compliments on them. I like all of her pendants she has in her shop right now, but my favorite is this cute purple one of her little mascot bird. It's so simple, but adorable.

She makes her pendants using handmade stamps she made herself. The pictures on her pendants are always so clear and crisp. She then adds a layer of shimmery powder on top of her pendants to make them shine.

I wear mine with a ribbon around my neck, but a long silver chain would look darling, too. And I just got this deep purple sweater that would go perfectly with it...

You can check out this pendant and Tweebird's other stuff at www.tweebird.etsy.com .