Disneyland Medievalism and Embroidery on Wood

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Peter Pan's Flight

WIP: Disney Mountain Shadow Boxes

The glue on the Big Thunder Mountain shadow box is drying.

Really Bad Kitty Plushie

Better Homes and Gardens Candy Cane Wreath

Every year I attempt one Christmas project.  And when I saw this, I had to do it!  It's from Better Homes and Gardens.

I made three total.  Sadly, the creatures were stirring.  Not the mouse, but a thousand million ants.  But I learned my lesson.  With the first, I coated it with the clear matte finish after it was done.  Well, that left a lot of uncovered, sugary goodness.  And I guess ants like that kind of thing.  With the second and third, I coated those puppies after every layer.  And then added more.  And then some more.  To store them, I wrapped them in saran wrap, sprayed a bit of ant spray over the wrap, and then bagged them.  They're in the storage unit right now.  I'll know if it held December 1.

Not the Ace of Cakes

Our friend Shane was moving away and we wanted to throw him a going-away party.  But our friends Chris and Kevin were having birthdays at the same time.  And it was Christmas.  So what to do? Throw a Holiday/Going Away/Birthday Bash all at the same time since we're such gluttons for punishment incredible friends.

If that were not enough, I had this wonderful addlebrained idea to make each honoree a personalized cake. I started in Illustrator and designed the graphics.

I printed several copies of these so that I could cut them out to use as patterns for the fondant.  The hardest part was deciding which layers go where.  Having never worked with fondant before, I found it pretty easy to cut and sculpt.

I also threw everything together in Illustrator to make an invitation to show off send out.

Always getting myself in trouble

I'm terrible at wrapping presents.  I can't ever seem to cut the paper right or fold in the right location, so I end up mummifying the ends with tape.  So how do I make up for it?  By creating extra work for myself.

I usually wrap any gift in butcher paper and then spend hours and hours illustrating a unique design just for the recipient.

This design was for my niece.  I printed it to fill a letter-sized piece of photo paper, cut it out, and glued it on the top of the present.

Also did a gift tag.  You have to have a gift tag for wrapping paper that actually says the person's name on it, right?  RIGHT?

IKEA + Cheap + Geek = Craft project

Was wandering around IKEA with the better half when I spied their wooden maquettes.  The Force must have guided me because I thought they would make really cool Star Wars figures.  Finished them in one afternoon while watching the Super Bowl.  Crafting during the Super Bowl? you're thinking.  Yeah, I'm like that.