craft
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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.
Tags: area, baby, bay, bow, claudia, craft, doll, hoodie, mars, mini, monkey, san francisco, small, sock, sweater, travel
I’m now into my fourth week of using Twitter and I’m up to 175 @maribelmade followers! I’m close to following 300 people and I’ve already reached a point where I can no longer keep up with my feed as much as I’d like. This is making me sad, so I think I’m going to start using TweetDeck to categorize all my content.
I’ve made a lot of new friends in the past three weeks and 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. I hope you enjoy the goodies. :)
This week’s Twit Finds:
- Handstitched Cupcake Purse tutorial by paper-and-string - These little zipper pouches are lovely! I need to get my hands on some pretty felt. (via @craft)
- Custom Baby Sweater by HandKnitHugs - I love the idea of customizing a baby’s sweater with an initial. I made one for sock monkey Edwin not too long ago. (via @HandknitHugs)
- Stuffed Monster Gallery by Anne Karsten - A collection of stuffed monsters based on toys drawn by 4th and 5th grade students. Kids learning about product development at such an early age is quite a concept! (@crafts)
- monito-de-montte-copia by Alberto Montt - Twittering about monitos, PinkBonsai sent me this beautiful one. (@PinkBonsai)
- Brain and Heart by The Heart of Papercuts - Some of the most beautiful papercuts I’ve seen. These papercuts are made by Elsa Mora. Her work can be purchased at Three Graces Gallery. Added to wishlist. (via @TommmyKane)
- Dandy Victorian Peacock Cameo Corset by Louis Black Designs - I was breathless when I saw this gorgeous corset! It’s so elegantly gothic. Also in my wishlist. ;) (via @DeadpanAlley)
See you again next week!
Tags: Alberto Montt, anne karsten, baby, brain, cameo, corset, craft, cupcake, custom, development, Elsa Mora, finds, gallery, handknithugs, heart, Louis Black Designs, monito, monter, paper-and-string, papercuts, peacock, pouch, product, purse, stuffed, sweater, twit, twitter, vistorian, zipper
I finally opened shop at Art Fire, a new up-and-coming online marketplace for handmade goods quickly gaining a spot next to Etsy. I’m glad more companies are taking a shot at the space. I think there needs to be more options out there for sellers so they can decide what fits them best. Like one of my pet peev’s about Etsy are their fees for listing and for purchased items. I mean come on, I’m selling handmade here not commercially produced goods! Why take advantage of the seller who is responsible for creating the content in the first place? Apparently, Art Fire doesn’t have any fees, but then that’s what DaWanda said too and I recently got an invoice from them! That’s for another topic.
Well here it is, Maribel Made Art Firs Studio! I’m still very new at using Art Fire’s system. It has loads of stuff and tools. I personally think they have to much going on in the seller dashboard, but I’m sure with time they’ll focus on what’s working and what’s not. One thing I like is the studio stats. These show incoming links to your shop and for each of the items listed in your store. The stats page also explains how to link your shop to Google Analytics to get more comprehensive stat reporting.
One thing that turned me off at first was that prices entered in USD were automatically calculated to GBP based on the current exchange rate. For example, my Mars Sock Monkey which sells for $50 actually appears for sale today at £34.51 so I suppose it changes the price depending on what country you’re at. I wasn’t very excited about the .51, but I guess it doesn’t matter. I was actually listing dollars, pounds and euros on Etsy so this does make my job a lot easier. I noticed that prices entered into the Product Description box are also converted! Kinda cool.
Tags: artfire, craft, etsy, features, handmade, online, seller, shop, space, studio
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
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