Sunday 21 April 2013

I Need Help With The MANE Event!!

Do you remember earlier this year I mentioned a soft toy project I had embarked on? Well, here’s the story behind it!

As you’ll know, my boys (& Lee!) are BIG into computer games! I tend to let a lot of the chatter & excitement about this game & that game just wash over me! Most of them seem to involve war, or fighting zombies…lots of shooting & strategic planning involved…give me cutting & sticking any day!!

But I digress…my ears pricked up one day when Alex was getting very excited about a new hybrid trend online…someone (or lots of someone’s) was (were) blending all of his favourite 18+ games & more, with ‘My Little Pony’…yes…you read that right!

fc,550x550,black_u2Apparently this has been happening since 2010 & the group even have a name…they’re called ‘Bronies’. He was laughing at how all these unlikely, very macho characters were being depicted in pony form, with pony names to match…Dr Who became Dr Hooves for example!

There’s even a website for MLP Bronies…DeviantArt, where a Broney can share his creative work & admire fellow Bronies work too!  Alex was soon creating digital images including his own pony alter-ego ‘Robinmane’! He also downloads & watches adapted ‘MLP’ cartoons, all with an underlying moral story but geared to a teens/twenties audience!

fc,550x550,white

   So, I have been paying
   attention since, I’ll admit
   I’m fascinated by what these
   Bronies come up with! A visit
   to the DeviantArt site is quite
   impressive! There’s even a
   site selling Tee-shirts, sweats
   & hoodies up to a mens XL,
   all bearing MLP images & pony
   pictures!

fig,black,mens,ffffffThese are no ‘Little girls ponies’!!

So where, you may ask, is this leading!! Well, my own Brony Alex asked me if I could make him a plush toy of his favourite pony Trixie!
He & his brother have quite a collection of plush toys collected through the years, mostly from their Pokemon era! So I wasn’t surprised at the request!

Happy Mail

   I managed to find on ebay a
   ‘blind bag’ miniature of said
   said pony, hoping that that
   would satisfy the need to
   own a solid replica! But No!
   the need still prevailed for a
   larger soft toy & I thought
   ‘where to start?’

   Years ago I made soft toys,
   teddies & other animals, rag
   dolls etc but I can’t say that I
   ever made anything like a
   pony!

TrixieHere is the pony in question, her name is Trixie & Alex was very specific about the colours & type of fabric I needed to use! I found a pattern on DeviantArt for a generic pony body & set about my fist foray into toy making in more than a decade!!

project 1 


   The cutting out & sewing up by
   hand was very therapeutic & it
   was nice to see it all coming
   together & taking shape! Then,
   once the body was done I stuffed it, using lentils in the ‘hooves’ for added weight, & we had a satisfying but rather blank looking pony!!

project 2

Now the fun began! I scoured through DeviantArt for patterns for the very specific requirements for mane & tail, but none are to be had! So I decided to get on with the eyes & cross the whole ‘Hair’ bridge later! I opted for a combination of felt & embroidery for the eyes & this is how it looked stage 1…

project 3

 

 

   …& then I HAD to tackle the
   mane & tail! I could not avoid it
   any longer! I sourced some white
   velveteen fabric & blue satin that
   would be perfect but with no
   pattern to cut, it was trial & error
   from the start!

 

IMG_9696I managed the tail, with approval from Alex that yes. this is just how she should look…I even managed the eyelashes & smile to his satisfaction…

…but the mane is giving me nightmares!! I’ve had two attempts & she either ends up looking like she has bunny ears or some kind of hat & scarf combo!!

So this is where I need your help…you wonderful crafty people!! Can you offer any practical advice, links to sites etc that can help me get Miss Trixie done & dusted? If you can you’d make one frustrated toymaker & one self confessed Brony very happy!

fc,550x550,army  
   Thank You in anticipation!!

   …& thank you for stopping by
   too, be sure to come back
   very soon! Open-mouthed smile

Better Late Than Never…I Hope!!

Hello! Remember me? I’m returning to Blog Land after yet another extended absence!! I’ve just spent a lovely couple of hours stopping by all my favourite blogs & before that, a not so happy but ‘had to be done’ hour of bringing all my online chores up to date! You know the stuff…emails, surveys, bills to pay!! Still it’s all done now & I fully intend to keep on top of it now that the Easter break is over!

So..I must get this one thing done….it’s the April challenge over at ‘From Screen 2 Scrap’ & there’s still a week left to play along!!

freaky friday posterThis months poster for inspiration is ‘Freaky Friday’…Remember this classic starring Jamie Lee Curtis & Lindsey Lohan?

The added criteria for extra points are…

1. Green & purple cardstock
2. The word ‘Freaky’ in the title
3. A cut out figure on the page

I will admit that I had to dig deep to find a photo to work with for this one!  I finally found one…..

Freaky  
…of Lee, taken during the dress rehearsal of the school Christmas Pantomime in 2009! He played one of the Ugly Sisters & believe me, that WAS just plain freaky!

So if you’d like to play along we’d love to see you over at ‘From Screen 2 Scrap’. The deadline is midnight on Tuesday 30th April…hope to see you there!!

Thanks for stopping by & come back soon! Open-mouthed smile

Monday 1 April 2013

Happy Easter….

I’m just sneaking in before Easter is over!! I do hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend!

Easter Bunny   I was greeted at the 
   breakfast table by a fan
   arrangement of my
   favourites….Malt-easter
   Bunnies! Lee had actually
   bought me a box of 32!!
   Thankfully he has them
   under lock & key & I’m to
   be rationed!!! ;D

SpringIt’s now British Summertime (!!) & I think maybe there are one or two signs in the garden that Spring is on its way!!

These little Daffodils pushed their way up through the snow & have now opened just in time for Easter & the first bit of Spring sunshine…even if it is barely above zero with a biting Easterly wind!!

 

St Patricks dinnerSince my last post I’ve celebrated St Patricks day with the girls…two of them are Irish & one hosted an evening with a menu of Irish stew, beef in Guinness, baked potato’s & soda bread!

The dress code was green & a good time was had by all…we always laugh so much that I end up in tears!!

Marti Pellow

   I also got to see Marti Pellow
   in concert last Sunday night. I
   went on my own but had the
   BEST seat in the place!! He has
   a truly amazing voice. He sang
   mostly songs from stage &
   screen but in the second half
   snuck in ‘Goodnight Girl’ & ‘Love
   is all around’ from the Wet Wet
   Wet songbook!!  I love live
   music/theatre & just wish it
   wasn’t quite so expensive!!

Eye test
Alex has had a busy week with his quarterly Diabetes clinic & his annual sight test. At the hospital they wanted to discuss the possibility of his having an insulin pump fitted. He went into shutdown mode & would not even talk about it!! It is so difficult as he is so resistant to any kind of change!

But his sight test revealed no change so that was good news!

I managed to harvest the impressive (not!) crop of THREE whole chilli peppers we’ve managed to grow on the kitchen windowsill & used them in a new recipe I found for Creole pie…

pepper 1Pepper2

…it was delicious & we could certainly taste the fire from the chillies!!

Cake!   Nathan raised a smile
   this week with his DT
   cookery item! Somehow
   he mixed up the fats &
   sugars for the sponge &
   the filling & ended up
   using only half the fat
   but twice the sugar (to
   explain, he included the
   icing sugar meant for the
   buttercream in with the
sponge mix!!) that the recipe required! It looked OK….& it tasted just fine!! But I still want to know where the teacher was while this masterpiece was being mixed!!

with NannyWe also had a whistle-stop visit from Mum-In-Law & her gentleman friend as they were returning from a reunion in Cambridge last weekend.  It was so lovely to see her & grab the photo opportunity with the boys! She couldn’t get over how her two ‘Little Angels’ are both now taller than she is & how deep their voices sound!!

I have to share a silly photo with you….Lee came into my craft room this morning to ask ‘did I think he needed a haircut?’  What do you think?

Need a haircut

   It’s a good job it’s love
   is all I can say!!

   I’ll leave it there for now
   & I’ll be back soon with
   a new FS2S challenge
   for April!
  
   Thanks for stopping by
   & come back soon! Open-mouthed smile