Happy Holidays!!

New paintings and sketches added

I added some new paintings and my entry to this week's Illustration Friday theme "Sink" to my painting + sketch blog here.

First attempt at needle felting

I've never thought about doing needle felting before until I bought some wool yarn and the description said,"great for needle felting".  The light bulb finally went on to start using my yarn scraps for something useful.

The first project ~ Unintentionally Creepy Oven Mitt!

I used the wool from the shrunken pillowcase debacle, which I first mentioned in this post from last year and scrap yarn that I had been saving in a glass jar for a few years. [insert happy recycling dance]

I have no idea if I did *it* right, but I guess time will tell during usage.

Re-dyeing jeans

Rit Denim Blue + Black = Dark Purple

Our jeans faded back into the 90's. Mine had some paint and glue stains for extra pizzazz.  The paint stains that looked like blood and stuck on glue bits that looked like boogers were fantastic for keeping people away from you on the subway, but not so good to wear to a restaurant.

Here are the jeans after the second dyeing hanging on the line. I dyed them again with the rest of the dye left in the bottles for a darker look. So far I was really pleased. Untillll... the clothesline broke and I had to put these in a dryer. They came out of the dryer an intense shade of dark purple.

I *think* I  can get away with wearing my new purple pants in public, but unforch Sal has a new pair of purple house pants.  I did some research about the best Rit dye jean dyeing combo and people say to use 1 part each of Navy Blue, Black, and Indigo. Okay, maybe next time.

Some stripey sweaters to wear to holiday parties

mushroom card boxed set

12 blank cards with a free mushroom pen/ pencil holder now in the shop!

A song for your custom pizza party

Here's a song from The Muppets Movie, if you are looking for a sweet, optimistic movie go check it out.  I went to see it on Sunday night because Sal is a really big Muppets fan. I felt like I could really relate to this song the most.  I told Sal I sing like this everyday around lunchtime while Timmie and the other softies look on.  Ok, maybe no singing, just some twirling.

TJ's lavash flatbread

another Trader Joe's favorite. Custom pizza party, woot woot. This one has D.O.C. Roma tomatoes, fontina cheese, red onions, garlic powder, basil & a little bit of olive oil.

Plaid 3 toggle duffel coat

 

3 toggle duffel coat in plaid wool, available here.

Illustration Friday "round"

Timmie is feeling pretty round after last night's Thanksgiving dinner.

After Thanksgiving Sale!

C.W. is feeling the holiday stress

This is my latest softie, Crazy Whiskers a.k.a. C.W.. By request I made another rat, one that can fit into the Timmie clothing. So this little guy can go clothes shopping with Timmie and then they can do each others hair and then nails... OMG. :D

You will be able to tell from the description of this guy on Etsy that I'm starting to lose my mind due to premature holiday stressin'. aaaaahhh...

Hunting (for cute) Jacket

penguin jacket

Yay separating zipper action!

Available here

mini adventurer bag / pouch

Antiqued cotton and leather

teal and navy sweater

wax on

wax on, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

candle, thread, and shoe burnishing wax

The final sweater of the week!

Orange and gray with a mustard snap. Available here.

Next week I may work on straight up sewn jackets and give my wrist a rest. I bought small separating zippers a few months ago that I still haven't tested out.

Super cute wood buttons

saw these on Ebay, listing ending soon!

and the matching sisters on Etsy-

here

and these!

here

The vintage ones are sooo charming!

chunky cotton sweater jacket

I *think* this is the first collared sweater I've made. I might try to make a human sized version for myself one day but with the buttons going all the way up the neck. This olive cotton yarn that I bought is too bulky for miniatures. I want to figure out exactly how much yarn I will need to make human sized items, this chart estimates 1170-1690 yards for a crocheted adult sweater with chunky/bulky yarn...hmmm... maybe I should just aim for a vest :) Yeaaah...maybe a vest with a big collar, so it acts like a scarf as well, like the sweater dress I just made for Blythe. This might be a good idea because it will fit easier under my winter coat.

Timmie sweater jacket added to the shop today + yellow and gray love

available here

I'm loving this color combo. The last few years I've definitely become a fan of grays with saturated color mixes.

Like yellow and gray.

fabric here


fabric here


felt slippers seen on Etsy.

#occupy my belly

Homemade banana ice cream with just your blender! I got the recipe from this sweet fella on youtube. Great way to use up bananas that are starting to go bad! Yumzzers! After I give my waistline a chance to recover I want to try ginger!

jumbo jars

What I like as much as string and things is having a nice place to neatly store them in. My favorite type of storage is glass jars, the bigger the better. This simple 2.5 gallon Montana Jar by Anchor Hocking is readily available online and in stores. Also, it is made in the US, so that makes me feel good too. [insert U-S-A chant]

I found this type in person at Target and at Bed, Bath & Beyond (bet, bad, and behind as my Dad pronounces it) for $19.99. They also have one with a black cap that I see is available online here and here.

String addiction still going strong

(click image to enlarge)

String (thread, yarn...) is just so attractive and practical, I love it so much. Some new lace-weight silk, cotton, and linen in the studio to play with. Last night I waxed up the linen on the right and used it for some tags. ♥ These are made by Habu Textiles. They are based in New York, I wonder if they are open to the public? *Ding Dong*

purplicious

wild blueberries from Trader Joe's + bananas + milk = lovely (and yummy) shade of purple.

a complete handmade outfit

sadly the tights don't match, need to make more in other colors! A stretchy fabric shopping trip is in order.

If anyone is interested, I added this wool sweater dress for Blythe to the shop today. Miniatures really make my heart go pitter patter.

wormy apple hat

Adult-size apple cap available here.

wool striped hoodie

new sweater hoodie for Timmie T. in the shop! I am going to try to upload one new item a day in November.

Homemade marshmallows

(click image to enlarge)

Seeing snow on jack-o-lanterns yesterday had me reaching for some hot cocoa. I decided to try making homemade marshmallows for the first time from this recipe. Whenever I see them at fancy sweet shops and bakeries I adore the way they look piled up like captured clouds in big glass jars.

Results: They came out o-k, they taste exactly like marshmallow fluff to me. Also, the batter became so dense that my stand mixer looked like it was about to explode. Poor sweetie mixer... Next time I will use PURE vanilla extract and more confectioners sugar for the dusting instead of the cornstarch mix.

Now, who wants a marshmallow?

debranding promo items

removed Dr. info and most of logo with a 1-2 punch of 91% by vol. isopropyl alcohol and orange essential oil with some aggressive q-tip swiping.

Warning: I don't know how safe this is, but I do know that both of these liquids are flammable, so use in a ventilated area away from open flames, smokers, flame throwers and circus clowns (they are creepy).