Curiobot, an archive of strange and wonderful things

I just came across Curiobot. It is a site that selects interesting products that are available on the internet. Some of the items are mass produced, but many are handmade. There are a ton of neat things there. They have listed my fleece Leia Wig among their products. Yeah!

Wonder Woman Accessories

After I created the Leia Wig, I wanted to make more items that represented strong female role models of my childhood. I was a big fan of the Bionic Woman, but she had no iconic costume paraphernalia. Making a bionic ear was a thought, but a little obtuse, and you would not be able to wear it.

The equally best thing was to create something that was wonderfully Wonder Woman. As a young girl I had always coveted those fabulous evil deflecting gold bracelets and fancy gold crown.

And so, I present these Wonder Woman accessories, which are perfect for days when you need a little help feeling like a hero, or just want to play dress-up. They are available in my etsy store.

Knitted Scene from an Animated Video

I was over at the Craftzine blog and came across this amazing knitted scene that toki45 posted at Craftster. The inspiring animated video was for "I Lived on the Moon" from Kwoon's album "Tales and Dreams". The designer and director of the animated short was Yannick Puig.

Costume-a-thon contest at Etsy

Etsy is hosting the ultimate handmade costume contest, and awarding eighteen winners with over $2,000 worth of prizes. These are the categories: Pet, Kid & Baby, T-Shirt Costume, Sci-Fi, Green, and General Awesomeness. The Judges are from Babble.com, Boingboing.net, Craftzine.com, Makezine.com, Tcritic.com, Treehugger.com, and Threadless.com.

I have entered my Knit Leia Wig pattern, and fleece edition Leia Wig. You can see the other entries here.

Craft My Ride contest

Scion is hosting a competition for handmade car accessories called Craft My Ride. There are only 2 weeks left to submit. So start up your sewing machines, warm up your glue gun, and thread your needles! The best submission will receive a 2008 Scion xD. Yeah!

DIY Labels

I wanted to add a label to my Fleece Leia Wigs that had my business name and online store listed on them. I decided to make them myself so I did not have to order thousands, also I had waited until almost the last minuet.

I had remembered that there were several posts about other crafters who had made their own labels on the Craftzine blog. This one by I Sew Biz seemed the easiest.

I headed over to my local fabric store and purchased the "Colorfast Sew-In Inkjet Fabric Sheets" by June Tailor. They worked out great.

For the first few wigs, I had sewn in the label so it showed. I decided to change this and now all the tags will be sewn into the inside.

Fabric from Fused Plastic Bags

A while back, Etsy Labs posted a tutorial on how to create a durable plastic fabric by fusing plastic bags together. Three of my favorite blogs wrote about the process too, CRAFTzine, Whip-up, and Treehugger. Treehugger has posted a new article about the fusing experiments that Betz White is doing. Her experiments have resulted in the cutest bags!

I love that these bags are recycled and eliminate the need for using new bags from the store every time. In reality, I may never make one though because there are so many great, affordable options on the market. I would rather spend my limited crafting time making something else.

Craft In America, Tonight

REMINDER: Craft In America airs tonight on PBS. Check you local listings for times. This documentary is accompanied by a 7 city traveling exhibition, a book, and online presence.

Craft on TV

I am very excited about a new, 3 part craft documentary that is coming soon to your local PBS station.

WHAT:
Craft in America, A journey to the origins, artists, and techniques of American Crafts.

WHEN:
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
8, 9, & 10pm

This documentary is accompanied by a 7 city traveling exhibition, a book, and online presence.

The amazing felt flower lariat necklaces of Gail Crosman Moore & Sandra Jasmin Fuchshofen

I have always been enamored with the work of Gail Crosman Moore. Her felt flowers have been an amazing source of inspiration for me. Last year I was lucky to have the opportunity to take on of her classes at The San Gabriel Bead Company. Craftzine featured an interview with her a while back.


I was browsing through the felt flickr pool today I came across another artist, Sandra Jasmin Fuchshofen who creates amazing felt flower lariats too. Her website, in German, features many more of her amazing creations.

The Wonders of KnitPro

microRevolt has an amazing product on their website called knitPro. knitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns. You can try it for free, but they appreciate donations.

The Becky at Pesky Pixie has created up a bunch of stuff using this application. Now I just have to find that perfect image and get to work.

Artist Jennifer Morris

One of my incredibly talented friends, Jennifer Morris, has been working on a line of polymer clay jewelry for the past few years. Her outstanding work is unlike any polymer clay creations you have ever seen. She is currently working on a website, Jennifer Morris Beads. She has a lovely etsy store where you can see and purchase her work. You can also puchase her work at The San Gabriel Bead Company in Arcadia, CA.

More Competitions

Whip Up has just posted about a few more places where you can challenge yourself artistically. Also, Anushka of Magic Fingers has posted some other interesting links about things to do if you do not know what to write about on your blog.

Two Upcoming Competitions

There are two upcoming contests that sound like a lot of fun.

The first is the third annual Translations in Tupperware Global Design Contest. Consumers and designers are challenged to create a piece of art or unique functional object using tupperware. Categories include Fashion, Utility Objects, or Free Form. You can see the winners from previous years here.

The second is Craft Magazine's Stitch N' Pitch Contest. This competition celebrates all things needle arts and baseball. There is more about Stitch N' Pitch at The National Needle Art's Stitch N' Pitch. Contest rules and how to enter are here.

Knit Leia Wig in Craft Magazine

The current version of Craft magazine has included a picture and link to my knit Leia Wig. It is located on page 24 of the 'Our Favorite Trinkets & Treasures' section.

If you have not had a chance to check this magazine out, I highly recommend it. It full of inspiration. Thanks Craft!

Knit Emerald Beaded Bracelet

The new MAG Knits magazine is out. They provide free knitting patterns just like Knitty does. In this issue of Mag Knits there is a wonderful knitted beaded project called the Emerald Beaded Bracelet. The pattern was designed by Heather from Surrey, UK. You can view her blog here.

Although I am a very experienced beader, I have never knit with beads and have never knit anything so small. I really like this project and think I will have to head over to the San Gabriel Bead Company to pick up the supplies for this project. Thanks to Heather and MAG Knits!

Wool Breast Pads for nursing moms

One of my dear friends is having a baby shower this weekend. When I looked at her gift registry, I saw she had organic wool breast pads on her list. It got me thinking….
I have wool and I felt. So, I came up with these felted breast pads. I used a Merino-Corriedale wool bat for the base and embellished the top with colorful tussah silk top and merino wool roving. Because this is an experiment, I made them in two sizes. I hope they work out well for her.