Meet Mr. Henry S'moth

I'd like you all to meet my new little creature...

...Mr. Henry S'moth 

Like a moth to a flame he is.... or a light bulb in this case. As per usual. 

Say "hi" Mr. Henry S'moth. Come out of the lamp shade, little man, everyone wants to see you. 

There yah go lil' s'moth. Isn't it nice being in the natural daylight? Even though I know you prefer the nighttime. 

I guess you're not digging the daytime. Thats cool, go back to hiding in Grandma's lamp shade. It's all good. 

He's new, and he's shy, it'll take him a while to get used to it all. Oh well. Maybe after he meets his wife he'll gain some confidence and come say hi to us. Until then... 

...Ta ta for now

~ Zigs

The Lady and The Gent

They're done. Squee! 

The Epic Creation of The Lady, and the Completion of The Gent

What lies below was a wicked googelly of creation... let me tell you. Literally. Let's start with the Lady, shall we?

Her belly, sewn to her head. Self explanatory.

My sister and I both had the same idea of how to fancy up her wings. This is a bride Lady after all. I found these little tea cozy like thingys at a local fabric shop ready made. Score! Sewing them to the fabric of the wings and having them not fray was a whole other story. No need to dwell on that. 

Since one of her wings is going to be positioned outward to hold the wing of her mate, The Gent, I had to make them different shapes. One will be all sweet and lie nicely by her side, while the other will -- or rather, does -- curve out nicely to hold onto her man. 

Life happily imitating art.

Her man, decapitated. 

Her man, not so decapitated. 

Ahhh, the top hat. The greatest little freakin' thing I've made yet. I swear.

 Daniel Day Lewis, a la The Gangs of New York, popped into my head the night I was putting together The Gent at Grandma's house. I absolutely had to make him an extra long top hat to wear, and almost named him The Butcher as a result, but, really, that isn't a very festive name. Plus, then he would need a vest, and some fabulous slacks, and as you can see, my little owl does not have the waist nor the legs to accommodate such attire. 

Testing out their chemistry. What do y'all think?

I took a slight detour with The Gent's eyes. I was originally planning to make them resemble little H.M. Winston's eyes, but I missed my pinwheels. The original Winston was proud to see them come back. 

Sewing on the petals. Tedious work. Tedious I tell you! 

Viola! The Gent is complete! 

.... well, almost. He might get some more lovin' from me if I decide he needs it. The rim to his top hat is a wee bit wrinkled from being sewn on, that might have to get fixed. We'll see. 

Ta! 

Lil' Linds' New Home!

Lil' Linds is at her new home! She made it safely, and I am sooo happy to hear it. Her adoptive momma sent me some photos of her hanging out (literally) in her new digs. 

Ain't she cute? 

Lil' Linds apparently thinks she's a bat, and loves hanging upside down to chill and meditate. She's always been an odd one, that Lil' Linds, but she's unique! I adore that. 

Maybe she's just preparing for Halloween? 

:-)

Zigs Goes Tagging!

I've been on Etsy practically non-stop this past week, looking up and figuring out ways to help develop my shop. One of the big things I've seen other creature creators like me do are little tags for their little creations.

So, naturally, I had to try and come up with a tag of my own. 

 

My first batch of tags. Like 'em?

Lil' Linds was the first owl to have her own tag. Each creature to be sent out from now on will all have one too! 

Crap, she's cute. I have to make a Lil' Linds 2.0... she needs a twin. Badly. Like whoa. 

Little H.M. Winston and his new tag. Perhaps this will help him find a new home. He misses his sister and I do believe some traveling will help to get his mind off the melancholy. 

~ Zigs

Creating At Gran's House

What's more wholesome than making cute stuffed creatures at your grandmother's house? Ihavenoeffingclue. Maybe if I threw in some apple pie and a rainbow with a pony galloping over it, and a baby giggling off in the distance.... or something?

 I'll try that next time. 

The 'Groom' gets his fabrics picked out. He's a rustic sort of fellow, and I think we all know that means plaid. Two types in this case. 

The Lady's belly prior to being sewn. Grandma helped pick out her fabrics. We're staying light because, after all, this is a wedding, but color is always a good thing in my book. 

The Groom's belly, and the Lady's belly side by side on Grandma's coffee table. Complete with coffee! How perfect. 

It was cold coffee, but that's besides the point. 

Their heads have also been completed and stuffed. Now they just need to be sewn to their appropriate bodies and have the details added. I can't wait.  

Stewie's New Home!

Yay! I'm overjoyed right now. Stewie has made it to his new home, and his momma sent me some photos of him in his new digs... on the family bookshelf. 

Stewie is apparently a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books. His favorite character is Eric Northman, which I totes agree with. Nice taste Stew. 

I wonder if he watches the show, True Blood? 

His little book looks great, if I do say so myself. *sigh* Happiness. 

I did hear that he had a run in with the family dog, but now sticks to the higher shelves, and stays away from any strange animals with large wet noses and waggily tails. I do agree that, that is the best course of action. 

A New Commission!

Hello again! This morning I drank coffee made from grounds that had been in my freezer since last year. I have no idea what the outcome of this will be yet, but I suspect gnargles will be behind it. 

I got a commission the other day! The same wonderful woman who bought Stewie would now like a little wedding couple. I know, I know, the possibilities... endless! So, I've started to sketch some ideas. I think I like this kinda thang for the Lady owl. 

The "feathers" on the back of her head will trail down, like a veil. Appropriate, no?

My sister insists on adding lace of some kind. I'm not sure yet, but I'm never opposed to paisley. As you can see. Chuck Bass agrees. 

Full sketch, on the desk. 

I wonder if Dali approves? He looks rather apprehensive. I shall now go get my spy glass and will have a stare down of epic proportions, that I'm sure he will win since he never blinks. Bastard. 

No, no, I'm not bitter. In fact, I'm overjoyed! Lil' Linds was sold last night, and isn't it fabulous, the girl who bought her is a Lindsay. How perfect! It's almost as if she were made for her. 

*winks* 

Lil' Linds has been celebrating all morning by meditating and listening to Simon and Garfunkel. What a little hippie. 

:-) 

The Creation of Lil' Linds Winston

I'm back! I have a new owl to share with you all: Lil' Linds. She's below. I shall give you a moment to stare and smile. 

There now, isn't she cute? I was going for a bohemian vibe since I started creating her this past weekend, and every radio station was playing fabulous tunes from Woodstock. Her fave seems to be 'Motherless Child' by Richie Havens. I find that rather apt, don't you?

------

A lot of love and caffeine go into making one of these little creatures. So, I've decided to show you through pictures and wit, and rhyme. Or maybe just pictures and descriptions, since my wit and rhyme seem to be on vacay somewhere.  

Step 1: In which I create a little body for the owl, and I prick my fingers many times in creation of said body.  That strange casing next to the little uncapped Linds is her soon to be head. Merely unstuffed, and probably unsatisfied.

 

Linds' head... stuffed. Satisfied? That remains to be seen.  

While taking a break to get more coffee, and mellow out with some Van Morrison tunes, I was being silly and gave Linds' body eyes, using pins. Like I said, no food + too much caffeine = eccentric Ziggy. 

Step 2: Where soul meets body. Or head in this case. 

Step 3:  "A bird may love a fish Signore, but where will they live?" 

"Then I shall have to make you wings." 

Not quiet as dramatic, but still, I like them. 

Linds' attempting to hug my tools of creation. She's such a thread hugger. No wonder she's a hippie. 

Step 4: I decided her wide wings would get too in the way if I left them unclasped. So, I sewed them together. She now looks very much like she's meditating. I like it, it fits her personality.

 

Ommm, Shanti, sthanti, shanti.....

Step 5: Linds' brief phase of being a Rennisance enthusiast. Don't her eyes look like little crowns with the pins? Huzzah! 

Step 6: Figuring out the right kind of eyes for her. The first option is above. 

The second option I toyed around with a lot. I liked the idea of repeating the paisley pattern from her belly, but alas, it didn't fit. This little eye is still sitting on my desk, now staring at me bitterly. I feel I better throw it out soon before it haunts me in my sleep. 

Finally! Little upside-down tear drops save the day. My poor Lil' Linds looks melancholy as a result, but perfect to me, regardless. 

She now awaits, sitting with her buddy and brother, H.M. Winston, for someone to come and take her to her new home. She'd prefer Bethel NY, due to her heritage, but anywhere will do. 

My first sale!

Hello. I'd like you all to meet Stewie: 

Isn't he cute? Here's another picture. I want you to get the full visual experience here. 

Stewie was my very first sale off of Etsy, and I'm totes proud of the little guy. He was a trouper. He had been listed for barely three hours and poof! Sold. He makes a mamma proud. 

He's now flying off to his new home in Texas. I hope he enjoys it there. I've been told that he'll be residing in the family's library. How studious! In fact, I was even asked to make him a little book, so he wouldn't have to worry about pulling out those heavy volumes from the shelf and crushing his fragile wings. He now has a book of his very own. 

I'm making a new owl today. I'll be putting up 'work in progress' photos shortly. Thanks for looking! 

~ Zigs