Maribel Made

Kit-Kat Mars Sock Monkey

maribelmade — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:32:46 +0000

Weeeeee! It only took me what seams forever to complete the latest sock monkey. It’s summer, there are things going on, I just moved countries…in the end there’s always a friend giving me a drink. I guess it didn’t take me that long! It’s only been since early June that I started working on the socks with the tag labeled Monkey #2. Three weeks later Kit-Kat, the first ever Mars Sock Monkey made from knee-high socks, was born!

What made this one fun was making the really long striped sleeves. I also had a cool theme to work with…Kitty! I wasn’t sure I was going to leave the whiskers, but then I put on it’s kitty & crossbones hoodie and it all came together nicely! ;)

Things in the works: I’m making a sweater for a sock monkey a little girl made from a kit called Finnoola Peach. Ooh, I like the idea of sock monkey kits! Also sewing baby socks and designing a ladybug graphic for a hoodie. :)

Spooky knee-high sock monkey!

maribelmade — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:18:47 +0000

I’m currently working on a sock monkey made from a pair of socks sent to me earlier this month. They completely rock! They come with hearts and skulls in a berry and sky blue argyle print!

This sock monkey called for spooky with it’s freakishly long limbs plus I loved the idea of incorporating some kitty features so I made several sweater designs with this in mind…

The pirate kitty sweater with pink and blue stripped sleeves was a good match! These animal sweaters or as I like to call them, cosplay hoodies, are really fun to make! I think a bunny, bear or doggy eared hoodie would be cute as well. :)

Mayah Mars Sock Monkey

maribelmade — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:38:30 +0000

After I finished baby Claudia I went on to make Mayah. She’s an order I got the day I flew from London and was completed in San Francisco during our stay there last month. She explored Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf and even did a little shopping in Union Square, but she mostly spent her time ordering room service at the Westin St Francis. ;)

Sock Monkeys and Travel

maribelmade — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:52:30 +0000

It’s been a little over 2 weeks since I got on a plane in London to move back to the States. It’s a little hard to believe considering the amount of travel and things we’ve done already. Seems more like months! But even with the change and lack of routine, somehow there’s still time to make sock monkeys! It must be the cleaning and cooking I’m not doing. :D

We’ve also explored a lot of the Bay Area and San Francisco, where we’re at now. It’s been lovely so far! I can’t get enough of the food and the great sights to see. I’ve also visited a couple of friends.

In between the travel to and from the Bay Area, I completed Baby Claudia, which sold within a day! I’ll probably be focusing on making more baby sock monkeys right now. I have 6 pairs of baby socks I brought with me from London. Also Mayah, a new order I just finished, will be coming out very shortly. I love her name! She was named by my client. :)

Baby Claudia Mars Sock Monkey wears a puffy short sleeve Bow Sweater
and measures about 8″ tall and 3″ wide.

Mauricio’s bucket hat

maribelmade — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Here’s the finished bucket hat I made for little Mauricio. I really like it on him! It makes him look cute and feminine. The hat is reversible with summery bright colors on one side and pastels on the other. The pattern I used, Simplicity bucket hat pattern, is free online! You can read about how I used the pattern here, Simplicity Misses’ Bucket Hat Pattern.

Claudia’s sweater is complete and I’ll probably be taking photos soon. I have a totally new backdrop to work with! :)

Lily and Herman prototype sock monkeys

maribelmade — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:01:05 +0000

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of minimizing for the move. I think we’ve gotten rid of 10 bags of clothes! As I cleared out my craft bins I found two sock monkeys I made during my early stages of sock monkey design! At the time I thought it would be neat to use pin back buttons for the eyes because they could have different expressions and could possibly be interchangeable. Sounded cool, but later I considered the safety and practical issues behind using the buttons and never adopted the idea.

My prototype sock monkeys Lily and Herman come with the button eyes though. They also make a cute couple! Lily and Herman sock monkeys are for sale on Etsy, but please note that they are NOT child safe. :(

If you’re looking for custom buttons, I ordered mine from Button Storm. I just sent them my file and voila, I had 50 1″ custom buttons. :)

Button eye designs

Lily and Herman prototype sock monkeys

Maurico Baby Mars Sock Monkey

maribelmade — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:39:33 +0000

It’s been sunny here in London the last couple of days. Good time to do a photoshoot with Mauricio! He was great. I wanted to take him out, but with the move nearing it was hard. The balcony was a good spot though. Passed for a “coastal” feel. ;P

Maurice is a gift for my mom. I told her I wanted to make her a sock monkey and she said she wanted a little one. She didn’t even know I was thinking of making little ones! She totally read my mind. Mauricio is also the first born Baby Mars Sock Monkey! There will be plenty more to make in the next couple of months. They’ve proven quite popular! :D

Baby Mauricio in Boat Sweater and reversible Simplicity Bucket Hat

At 8″ tall and 3″ wide, he fits on the palm of your hand!

Recently adopted Mars Sock Monkeys!

maribelmade — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:23:00 +0000

I thought it’d be fun to do a post of the sock monkeys that have made their way to new homes in the recent months. These monkeys went all over the globe! Sometimes I wish I could travel with them and personally hand deliver them. Wouldn’t that be great? Quite a surprise for the owner too. Tehee!

Adopted Mars Sock Monkeys to date!

Moving to America

maribelmade — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:30:03 +0000

We’re officially moving back to Seattle at the end of the month! Having lived in London gave me some great perspective. I’m going to miss the big city like I always seem to miss big cities. We’re just about down to two weeks of our London stay, but I’m looking forward to the new things ahead!

Of course, the bad thing about moving is always the actual move. Going through tons of stuff, packing, selling, donating and cleaning could be nightmarish. In our last move from Seattle here, I got rid of mostly everything we owned and shipped only a few things. It was sad. I’m just getting over not owning anything. I did a lot of scanning this time, but even if loose my backups I’m thinking, oh well! It’s so freeing not having things. I like the feeling a lot. It’s almost like being debt free!

There are some things I’m taking with me that can’t be replaced though…our monkey box and my vintage fabric. This along with some sock monkey making supplies will go in my luggage even if I have to replace my clothes with them. :)

Before heading to our final destination, we will be taking a short break in CA! I think it’d be nice to sit in a park in San Francisco and make some monkeys. It’s only been a week since I stopped making anything and I can’t wait to get back into it.

If there are any crafty folks out there who’d like to meet for a lunch or a drink let me know! I will be in San Francisco the 2nd or 3rd week of May. Maybe we could do a craft/make in the park type thing. :D

Maribel Made Twit Finds: 6

maribelmade — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:11:50 +0000

Yay! I managed to put together the sixth Maribel Made Twit Finds. Things are a bit hectic over here because I’m moving. Country moves are epic, but it’s a good thing our flat came furnished. You might see a bit of a change in my blogging in the next month or so until things get a bit settled, but I’m going to try very hard to keep you all up to date on what’s going on. For now, I hope you enjoy my Twit Finds. :)

This week’s Twit Finds:

How to Make a “Bloomin’Box” for Spring by Jeffery Rudell of CraftStylish- I’m totally going to try this tonight. I need a break! (via @dudecraft)
Cinnamon Copper Cushion Pillow Cover by Hand Knitted Things on Etsy- It may look simple, but it’s chic and very nicely done. :) (via @timothyadam)
Easter Egg Radish Scarf MULTI scarflet lariat necklace crochet amigurumi by TWiNKiE CHAN on Etsy - This scarf is so fun and super cute! Kyaa!! (via @twinkiechan)
Chair by Andrea Joseph’s Illustrations - I love this illustration. Andrea’s work is very pretty. :) (via @michaelnobbs )
Tiny Earring Tree by Timothy Adam Designs on Etsy - I think I could use one of these with two more branches. I like it! (via @timothyadam)
Chickenpox (Varicella-Zoster virus) by GIANTmicrobes - Killer plush! So cool. (via @neatorama)

See you again next week!