Wow, since I’ve started using Twitter (only a couple of weeks), I’ve made quite a lot of new friends. I thank these new friends for all the yummy content they feed me on a regular basis. In turn, I present some of this neat content to you in a weekly blog post I call Maribel Made Twit Finds. Enjoy the goodies. :)
This week’s Twit Finds:
- CupCake Soap by Morgan Street - I would have never thought this was a soap. It’s the most yummy soap I’ve ever seen. (via @Etsy)
- sharp IV painting by Frank Gonzales - These digitized like paintings are very nice! (via @BenGrace)
- Owls pattern by Kate Davies - I would love to try this owl pattern some day. It reminds me of a macramé owl my mom had in the 80’s. (via @craft)
- wolf hat by Funky City Baby- These are genius! There are other animals available. (via @Etsy)
- Teal and Hot Pink Half Persian 4 and 1 Necklace by MBOI - I thought this necklace was hot! Perfect for a dance night. (via @chainmaille)
- Jumping the 5 textured card by warpeDesign - I love repetitive things! These hand perforated cards are very well done. :) (via @daisyjanie)
See you again next week!
Tags: blog, card, chainmaille, craft, cupcake, etsy, finds, Frank Gonzales, funky city baby, hat, Kate Davies, made, maribel, mboi, morgan street, necklace, owls, persian, sharp IV, soap, texture, twit, warpedesign, weekly, wolf
This weekend I will be selling my handmade goodies at The ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ Alternative Christmas Fair taking place this Sunday, Nov 30th in Barnet. The event is happening Saturday and Sunday from 10:30-4:30pm and it’s housed inside a yurt! Expect to see lots of handmade, fair-trade and recycled items for sale from local artists plus tea, homemade cakes and mulled wine from the kitchen. Yum-yum!!
Maribel Made items for sale will include: Mars Sock Monkeys, Jebby the Whale, crochet hats, knit rings and silver earrings!
The Alternative Christmas Fair
Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November
10.30 am - 4.30 pmThe Yurt 28 Abbotts Rd New Barnet Herts EN5 5DP
Entry by donation/In aid of Amnesty International
map
Keep Calm and Carry On Facebook page
About the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan:
Keep Calm and Carry On was on of a series of posters produced by the British Government on the eve of World War 11 which purpose was to convey a reassuring message from the King to his people. Intended for distribution only in the event of an invasion, the poster was never issued. In the early 1990’s an original copy was discovered in a box of old leaflets by the owners of Barter books and it proved so popular with customers that a facsimile poster has since become a best seller. It is a credit to the nameless artist who designed the original poster, using the crown of George VI as the only graphic device, that long after the war was won people everywhere still find reassurance in the distinctive design, and the very British attitude-of-mind the brief message manages to convey.
Maribel Made handmade goodies
www.maribel.etsy.com
Tags: alternative, barnet, carry on, christmas, craft, fair, keep calm, made, maribel, poster, sale, shop, yurt
Plastic, plastic, it’s everywhere! Especially those plastic bags you get at the grocery store or just about anywhere hiding in a drawer. Although the number of bags would dwindle with the use of a handy tote, which is quite popular here in Europe when buying groceries. Personally if I remember to bring one it’s fine, but if not it’s okay too because I can fuse them together! I can make a TOTE, a wallet, coin purse, some hanging art like I did, maybe a dress? I’m actually tempted to do a dress..no kidding!
A very cool gal I met sent me links to the Fusing Plastic Bag Tutorial that Etsy Labs put together and other Plastic Bag Crafts from Craft. I actually can’t wait to try again…I’ve gotz more bagz!!
Tags: art, bag, bags, black, craft, etsy, fabric, fused, fusing, iceland, labs, monkey, plastic, tutorial, wall
Not for eating :) It’s a paste made from the whites of commercial loaf bread, white craft glue (school glue), lime juice and glycerin (or cream with glycerin). Mom used to make flowers made from migajón in the 80s. After she added stems and leaves to the flowers (like these), she combined them to make beautiful bouquets!
Dyed migajon paste
Nowadays, it’s popular to sculpt tiny foods, much like mazapán fruit! Unfortunately, they’re not edible like marzipan, but still much alike in cuteness rankings. ;)
I’m working on a technique since what I’m trying to do is different from how Mom used it. Sculpting with it, rather than pressing and combining pieces together, is much harder than it seems…not sure if it will work. Maybe my recipe needs some adjusting.
Migajón recipe (in Spanish)
Tags: 80s, banana, bread, craft, diy, dough, food, ingredients, migajon, paste, recipe, sculpt, spanish
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
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
