penguin tutorial (and story)

last summer we went to quite a few yard sales. i started giving pixie some of her own change to spend. at one yard sale she spotted a giant green stuffed hippo. after asking the lady how much it was and paying the .50 the lady handed pixie a HUGE stuffed penguin also and said, "two for one!!!" i was thinking oh great...just what i need, TWO huge stuffed animals...

so, recently when i was decluttering and downsizing i went through the toys. there were four different large stuffed animals and i told pixie we had to let one of them go to a new home. so she picked the penguin. when we dropped the box off at the goodwill pixie started saying that penguin was upset. we told her it was going to a new home and would be happy etc. i thought that would be the end of it. i couldn't have been more wrong! numerous times since then(about 2 months ago) she has been talking about penguin. once at bedtime she was almost sobbing because she didn't have penguin. she said, "that was my only penguin! it's sad and crying because it misses me!" it was soooo sad!!! i wanted to cry too! i felt terrible that i made her get rid of it! i just wanted to have less 'stuff'. and we already have two boxes of stuffed animals stored in a closet! it's ridiculous!

after that near-hysterical incident i promised pixie i would make her a new penguin. i finally got to it last night and i decided to post a tutorial for it! hopefully it will be just in time for the holidays!

after i gave pixie the new penguin she said, "where's it's mommy?"
sigh.
i will never live this down.

Penguin Tutorial

Supplies:
pattern
a sock
felt or other non-raveling fabric-white, black and another color for beak.
thread
needle
pins
stuffing(i used polyfil for this project but i prefer wool or bamboo.)

Instructions:
cut the toe of the sock off right below the heel.

stuff the toe of the sock.


tuck the edges in so it's snug.
cut a circle of the felt the same size as the bottom of the sock. this creates a base so the penguin can stand on it's own.
trace the face/belly pattern onto the white fabric.

pin it onto the body. sew on using black thread and blanket stitch.
embroider the eyes next. i didn't include any pictures but this site has a lot of embroidery stitches on it.
cut out the beak using whatever color you want, i'd suggest orange, yellow or a bright pink.
sew the edges with a tiny blanket stitch, leaving the straight edge open. stuff. sew onto the face.
pin the wings on and sew them with a blanket stitch or whip stitch. i sewed around the whole top half of the wing. i wanted it to be sturdy because it seems like kids love making their toy birds 'fly'!
that's it! meet your new little creation!

if you make this i'd love to see how it turns out! feel free to email me with any questions: zazidesigns at live dot com.

handmade holiday 2010

it feels a little odd to be thinking about holidays during the summer but my avoidance of that has led to my past stress-filled holidays. so, i'm following the example of these cool crafters and starting on some handmade heartfelt holiday gifts. i feel so giddy! i've never started planning this early!
i'll be making some recycled sweater hats and gloves out of a bunch of wool items i've been collecting. i'm also making some small waldorf-type dolls. pics will be posted as things progress. i hope i can share a few fun projects with everyone, including some original amigurumi patterns!

carrots and dirt

aren't aprons just the best?

tiny magic with water and paint

the top three are pixie's, bottom three are mine.
cherry tomatoes inspired.

the idea of sun, wind and wilderness. in other words, freedom!


coffee.

the two on the right are pixie's.

life shining.

jellyfish.

octopus by pixie. "it only has three legs so it has to walk, it can't swim."

home is best

home is best


stay, stay at home, my heart and rest;

home-keeping hearts are happiest,

for those that wander they know not where

are full of trouble and full of care;

to stay at home is best.

weary and homesick and distressed,

they wander east, they wander west,

and are baffled and beaten and blown about

by the winds of the wilderness of doubt;

to stay at home is best.

then stay at home, my heart, and rest;

the bird is safest in its nest,

over all that flutter their wings and fly

a hawk is hovering in the sky;

to stay at home is best.


henry wadsworth longfellow

dye another day

wool yarn.un-wind the amount you want to dye.


secure it gently.
soak in hot water with a dash of white vinegar for 20 minutes.

collect your supplies while you wait. eye droppers, needle-free syringe, paintbrushes, for putting color on the yarn.

glass dishes for the yarn.kool-aid.
food coloring, white vinegar(or citric acid, or invisible kool-aid. food colors need an acid added.)
glasses for color mixing.
water. 1/4 cup measure.
it works well to start out adding about 1/4 cup of water to each kool aid packet.
squeeze the water out of the yarn and place it in the glass dishes.
wooly spaghetti! ;)
start painting!


use as little or as much as you want!

once you get as much color as you want, put the whole container in the microwave for 2 minutes. let it rest for another 2 minutes. microwave for 2 minutes again. the liquid left in the container should be whitish-clearish. that means the colors have all been absorbed by the fiber. take it out of the microwave and let cool. once it's cool enough to touch, rinse it with lukewarm water. you can use a bit of mild soap if you wish. the colors won't wash out.
squeeze out the excess water and hang it up to dry!
i like using the shower curtain rod in case it drips.
outside is even better if the weather allows.

then you wait. and keep checking to see if it's dry yet...
wind it up!
ooh and ahh at your colors! (the 2 small balls are pixie's work).

chunks of color...
that's better!


happy dyeing! <3