Sock Monkey

Finished the sock monkey commission!
I think she came out pretty cute (and the person I made her for loves her, so even better!)

I'm working away on the pony now. She's giving me a headache (which is why I'm writing this post and not sewing! Lol)
I'd show you progress pictures, but she just looks like a crazy inside out creature right now!
Hopefully she'll look more pony like by the end of this week. :)

This little face got a layer of paint also.
She hasn't decided who she wants to be yet, but I'm hoping she'll agree to something Halloweenish ;)
I think right now she'll just be happy with a body!

Too many things in progress!

I was so happy when I left for vacation.
I had managed to finish off all my projects and had a nice clean desk.

When I got back, I enjoyed the freedom for a couple of days.
I was imagining all the things I could start on and was trying to decide what direction I should go in.

It didn't take long for that to change. ;)

Exciting news though...I got my first two commissions!
I'm considering this my first step towards finally opening an etsy shop.
I've only been dreaming of doing it for forever now.

Here's some photos of what I'm currently working on...

This first guy is a commissioned sock monkey.
He's a bit grumpy right now because he has no face. I don't really blame him.
I'd probably be grumpy too.

 

Next is a pair of eyes belonging to my second commission.

They'll belong to a Rainbow Dash inspired pony.

I've got most of the pattern drawn out so I'll be starting on her as soon as the monkey gets his face.

 

 

This little doll face is patienly waiting to be painted and given a body.

I told her she had to wait until the pony is done.

Thankfully, she seems pretty laid back about the situation. :)

 

 

This little cheshire kitty is sitting in my sketchbook right now, hoping to be turned into a painting.

I have a feeling he's going to expect to become a plushie also.

Demanding little creature.

 

 

And finally, an in progress painting.

This was actually drawn by my husband.

When our son was born, we worked together and painted a huge mural in his nursery.

My husband drew it all and I did the painting.

We had so much fun working on it together...we actually dreamed of doing murals for other people for awhile.

I decided we should try something a little more simple and had him start drawing pictures on canvas for me to paint. I think it's coming out very cute. :)

 

 

I'm not sure if I ever actually shared our son's nursery on this blog. There are SO many pictures of it, that it would take me forever to upload them so I'll just be lazy and link to the craftster post I made about it a few years ago. If you're curious to see it, just look here!

 

 

As you can see, I have lots to do!

Guess I better get back to work.

Hopefully I'll return soon with some finished pictures.

 

Anyone else have too many projects going?

Sock Monster #5

I was so happy with how Miss Monster came out,

I decided to make sock monsters for all the kids in my family for Christmas.

I was all excited to have this small army of sock monsters hanging around that I could photograph hanging out together....

and on Christmas day three of them scurried out the door

 before a single picture was ever taken!

*sigh*

Luckily, this little girl stuck around long enough to have her picture taken...

She told me she loves the color pink, big swirly lollipops, and fluffy bunnies.

Like all these other sock monsters though,

she decided to keep her name a secret until she found her permanent home. :)

Miss Monster

I had a lot of fun making Cookie,

but there were a few things I wasn't crazy about with his design...

So Miss Monster was born:

She told me her favorite color is blue and she loves horses.

More than anything, she wants to learn to skateboard.

I sent her to live with my husband's seven year old cousin,

who just happens to love all of those things also!

She never would tell me her name, but I'm hoping she whispered it to her new friend. :)

Sock Cookie

Back in October,

I really wanted to come up with a plushie that would be simple for me to make.

I decided to try my hand at making sock monsters...and so Cookie was born:

Poor Cookie only has one picture...taken with the cell phone on a messy, messy table.

Why does he have such a silly name?

Well, I showed him to Alex to get his approval and he immediately named him Cookie.

 The two became best of friends.

I was amazed!

Typically, I show Alex what I'm working on and he'll smile and laugh,

then hand it back to me.

This little guy was the first plushie that he ever given a name

(and since then, he has decided all monsters are called "Cookie.")

Anyway, Cookie was originally going to be a birthday gift for my boss,

but that plan quickly changed. :)

A Mostly Original Sock Monkey :)

In 2009 for Christmas, I was so excited about my new found sewing skill,

I went a little overboard trying to make things for everyone. I was quite exhausted.

(When you only sew by hand and you're lucky to have an hour a day to do it, it takes a long time to complete a project!)

This past Christmas I decided to give myself a break.

I only made a gift for one person...and that was only because she'd been casually mentioning wanting this for six months or so.

My brother's girlfriend was just dying for me to make her a sock monkey...

but not just any sock monkey, she wanted the original.

I searched for those stinking socks and only came up with a pair at Hobby Lobby for $12. Yikes!

(I had a problem with spending that much on a pair of socks when I could go to Target and buy a completed monkey for the same price!)

Luckily, I did come up with a pair that I deemed to be close enough for much less at Marshall's.

Somehow, eventhough I only made one gift this year,

I still didn't finish it until the day before Christmas Eve!

All you get is a sad cell phone picture and a messy background...

he got boxed up as soon as I completed him!

I sewed his button eyes on and sat back to look at him...and I hated him!

I pulled out my paints, added a few lines here and there and was so much happier.

I think it's funny how much a few tiny details can change something so drastically.

By the way, if you ever want to make a sock monkey, I love this tutorial.