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It was only a matter of time before Maribel Made, made its way into the diy web printing services out there, and Zazzle came to be easy and fast for publishing the new Mars Monkey illustrations I created based on the Mars Sock Monkeys soft toy product line (see my post, Sock monkeys + knitted sweaters = Mars Sock Monkeys).
If you’re already a fan of the lovable monkeys, then you’re really going to like the products I’ve lined up for my summer offering on my new Zazzle store at, http://www.zazzle.com/maribelmade. I’ve listed Mars Monkey Beach Totes, Buttons, T-shirts (in many sizes), and Mousepads! It’s a Mars Monkey craze!
The great thing about Zazzle is that as a purchasing customer, you’re able to customize each item to your liking, following a bit of the creators guidelines; like if the the design should be printed on a light or dark t-shirt. Other than that, it’s really up to the buyer, but if you’d rather not do the customization yourself, I’d be very glad to personalize whatever item you’d like for you…just let me know. :)
These are some of the products available for sale…check them out! =D
Tags: accessories, animal, bag, beach, button, clothing, computer, diy, fashion, made, maribel, mars, monkey, mousepad, pet, press, printing, purse, service, shop, store, summer, t-shirt, tee, tote, tshirt, wear, web, zazzle
Like the unveiling of a spanking new fortune 500 company product, I give you the newest in independent crafting technology, the new and improved collection of Mars Sock Monkeys for the Spring of 2008!
Seattle/London raised Mars Sock Monkeys pictured from L to R: Stella, Frankie, Sheena and Lulu.
Stella and Lulu come with newly designed sweaters, modeled after the ever so popular polo shirt. For these, I chose a short puffy sleeve and non-ribbed finishing to add a feminine touch. They also have a small heart on the left side as opposed to something large taking up the front of the sweater, also to add a delicate touch.
Another new addition to the sock monkey fashion wear are knitted hats, which I learned to make especially for the occasion! I had already been making crocheted hats for people so I thought why not make them for the monkeys as well! The only problem I ran across this was that the crochet pattern didn’t work so well on a small scale because it looked too bulky, that is why I learned to knit them instead. The hat made for Stella has a crocheted flower attached to the side and the other made for Frankie sports the cutest yellow puffy pom-pom I’ve ever made!
Stella comes with a polo style, puffy short sleeve light pink and grey sweater with small heart design and same color beanie with flower. For sale, at Maribel.etsy.com.
These are the best sock monkeys I’ve done so far and I must say that my knitting skills have improved quite a bit since I made my very first monkeys last year. The construction hasn’t changed all that much (it is a sock made monkey after all), except that I’ve switched from sewing with a cotton thread to a more elastic invisible thread and I’ve replaced the plastic eye backings to metal since the plastic ones were tearing from the pressure of the front eye piece. Anyway those are all minor details, but I guess you could say that it has improved the quality of the product. You could almost even say that these monkeys are indestructible ;)
Frankie comes with a long sleeve brown and yellow sweater with duckie design and same color beanie with pom-pom. For sale, at Maribel.etsy.com. SOLD!
I’m going to keep the amount of time it took to make these four monkeys including “jumpers” a secret because it’s still a process being worked out. The most I can say is that I was right on schedule and I got photos and marketing done within my specified amount of time. No wonder I’m beat! Next up is more painting and digital drawing. Yay!
Shenna comes with a striped sleeve hooded black and purple sweater with a skull and crossbones design. Party hat included! For sale, at Maribel.etsy.com. SOLD!
If you would like to adopt one or ALL of my cuddly monkeys, Stella, Frankie, Sheena and Lulu are for sale at Maribel Made DaWanda and Maribel Made Etsy.
Lulu comes with a polo style, puffy short sleeve hot pink and brown hooded sweater with small heart design. For sale at, Maribel.etsy.com. SOLD!
See other Mars Sock Monkey collections:
Summer 2008
For more info on my exclusive line of sock monkeys see, Sock monkeys + knitted sweaters = Mars Sock Monkeys.
Toys, original and manipulated photos are copyright Maribel Castellanos.
Tags: adults, animal, baby, black, brown, children, craft, crossbones, cute, doll, duckie, flower, hat, heart, hood, hoodie, hot, indie, jumper, knit, knitted, mars, monkey, pink, polo, product, purple, skull, sock, socks, striped, stuffed, sweater, toy, unveiling, yellow
Now I know why it’s so exciting to be working in secret. I can’t wait to get this batch of sock monkeys out the door! I had a great response from my last sock monkey, Eriko, and I hope that these little guys will be enjoyed just as much.
These new Mars Sock Monkeys, which I named Lulu, Frankie, Stella, Ben and Sheena, were half-raised in Seattle and London because I bought the socks in Seattle before I moved and put them together here in London. They are international jet setter sock monkeys!
I should be finished with all five this week (four of which will go for sale) and hopefully do a photo shoot by the end of the week if weather permits. I’ve been thinking of a theme and will need a few props. I also have a few other unveilings. One being the new sweater design below, which I modeled after a polo shirt. This is Lulu’s puffy short sleeve hoodie. The rest you’ll have to wait and see!!
Here are some London raised next generation monkeys to be…
Tags: animal, ben, design, frankie, generation, hoodie, knit, london, lulu, mars, monkey, new, next, polo, puffy, raised, seattle, sheena, shirt, sleeve, sock, stealth, stella, sweater, tennis, wip
Entry to the 2nd Annual Softie Awards officially closed last Friday and I got there just in time to enter Jebby the Whale under the CUTEST FACE category. Other categories included: PICNIC FOOD, ELEPHANT TRIBUTE, PINK OR PLAID and EMBROIDERED TO DEATH. So what would my chances of winning be if there are 482 entries in this category?
Softies Central - A Handmade Hip Experience
2nd Annual Softie Awards Flickr group pool
Jebby the Whale is for sale on Etsy and DaWanda.
Tags: animal, cathodon, cotton, cute, edition, felt, jebby, kawai, limited, mammal, physeter, plush, print, purple, satin, Scalamandré, silk, soft, sperm, stuffed, toy, vintage, whale, white
I never would have thought I’d be making sock monkeys, let alone selling them online or let alone knitting them sweaters! It’s a weird and funky combination I have grown to love. I remember as a child sewing clothes for my dolls so it’s not that surprising to me that I would do the same as an adult.
And how did this come about? I knew how to do basic knitting because my mom taught me a very long time ago. Ah yes, even before the knitting revolution took hold and everyone (including myself) started going to Stitch ‘n Bitch groups to yap (or bitch) about how you and your knitting were better than everybody else. Well I wasn’t the best knitter and I didn’t care for such nonsense, but I did always want to learn to knit something that would fit a human being. The only problem was that I’m not the type of person that can knit for very long periods of time; I get bored easily doing the same thing over and over, but then it hit me!
These sock monkeys looked naked and cold (because I care very much about inanimate objects) so they would make perfect test subjects (de cariño) because they have tiny torsos! My dilemma was solved and now I’m learning how to properly make knitted clothes that on a large scale could potentially be made for a human, but are actually fit for a sock monkey. Did that make sense.
That is how Mars Sock Monkeys came to be. Now I have to complete the part of the equation where Mars Sock Monkeys equal a sort of living, but that’s what I’m looking into now. Did I mention I love designing them? It’s so much fun picking out colors and giving each monkey a distinctly different look and personality, not to mention giving them a name! As one of my cyberspace friends said (because that is where I live)…they are my “hijos.”
See the Mars Sock Monkey Collections:
Spring 2008
Summer 2008
Tags: animal, design, experiment, experimentation, funky, hijo, knit, knitted, mars, monkey, product, pullover, scale, shop, small, sock, stuffed, subject, sweater, toy, yarn
I just learned a new knitting stitch, which I have to say is awesome! I came across it while knitting sweaters for my sock monkeys (i know, bizarre). I use it to join the two side pieces of the hood together at the top.
The nice thing about this seam is that it appears seamless! The bad part about it is that you have to pay close attention to the instructions and to which step you are on because it can be very confusing. The best thing to do is memorize the steps or what I do is make a smaller cheat sheet of the instructions. For example: *1st Needle: 1st stitch, K (knit), D (drop), 2nd stitch, P (purl), S (stay), 2nd Needle: 1st stitch, P (purl), D (drop), 2nd stitch, K (knit), S (stay)*, repeat between * until you run out of stiches on both needles.
Well that makes sense to me, but maybe not to you. That’s why I included a scan from the book. I know Debbie Stoller and the Workman Publishing Company will appreciate this (or not?) because I’m totally promoting their fabulous book, Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook, which is my bible when it come to knitting so please don’t sue me!!
p.s. the seam along the back of the hood (not mentioned here) is called the mattress stitch, which I may post about later because it’s pretty neat too. Good luck!
Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook - Stitch-bystitch instructions, 40 fresh patterns, how to start your own knitting group, and everything you need to know to get your knit on by Debbie Stoller
Eriko Sock Monkey is for sale on Etsy and DaWanda.
Tags: animal, bitch, book, craft, diy, handbook, howto, kitchener, knit, knitting, mattress, monkey, seam, seamless, shop, sock, stitch, stoller, stuffed, sweater, toy
