A Craft that didn't Make the Cut: Audrey Jr.

I make a lot of crafts.  In fact, as I've been posting a new project just about every week for the past decade, that means I've shared with you somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 crafts.  However, as you may guess, not every craft I make ends up on the blog.  Some are abject failures, but others are kind of good, but with issues.  Audrey Jr. falls into the latter category.

I have a couple of zombie garden gnomes that Brian's mom got me for Christmas ages ago.  They're pretty neat, but I usually just stick them by my doorstep because I'm not sure what else to do with them.  Last year, I decided to give them a couple of creepy plants to watch over.

I made a couple of little plants reminiscent of Audrey Jr. from Little Shop of Horrors.  I used clay to shape heads, toothpicks for teeth for one of them, and stems from artificial flowers for stalks.

They came out looking okay, but the big issue is that they're lacking in structural integrity.  The clay heads are pretty heavy and cause them to lean.  Also, they don't have any sort of base.  Brian and I just buried them as deep as we could and it kind of worked?  Which is fine for my personal use, but not really something I'd feel comfortable writing a tutorial on.

So there you have it, one of the many crafts that I've made that hasn't appeared on this blog before.  It's certainly one of the nicer ones, and I thought it was still worth showing, even if I didn't think it merited a tutorial, since it has some issues.  Would you like to see more of these unblogged crafts in the future?  Let me know in the comments.

DIY Jigglypuff Ears: Pokemonbounding Ep 10

Here's a fun and relatively inexpensive item to make for your next Pokemon-inspired look: Jigglypuff ears.  You can also use this technique for making other ears.  Just modify the ear shape and felt colors to suit your critter.  Otherwise, the steps are the same.

Materials:

*Headband

*Pink felt

*Black felt

*Scissors

*All purpose adhesive

*Fabric chalk or pen

Directions:

*Draw and cut two Jigglypuff outer ear shapes from pink felt.  I think I used my Meowth ear template for this, but you could also freehand the ear shape.

*Draw and cut out two Jigglypuff inner ear shapes from black felt.

*Glue the inner ear pieces to the outer ear pieces.  Let dry.

*Glue the ears to the headband.  Let dry.

DIY Ursula Shell Necklace

Ursula's gilded shell necklace is a key piece of her aesthetic.  Both stylish and functional (great for storing voices), this may be the perfect accessory to finish off an Ursula cosplay, costume, or Disneybound.  See this post for one of my Ursula Disneybounds which uses this necklace, as well as more information about Disneybounding.

Materials:

*Oven-bake clay

*Gold paint

*Paintbrush

*Toothpick

* Jump ring

*Knife

*Necklace chain

Directions:

*Roll out clay into a log shape that is thick at one end and thin at the other.

*Beginning at the thin end, wind the clay into a spiral.

*Once you have wound the clay into the desired spiraling shell shape, trim any excess clay with a knife, if needed.

*Insert the jump ring into the top of the shell.  Use the toothpick to smooth over the clay around the jump ring.

*Use a knife or toothpick to score three lines in the clay, mimicking the look of Ursula's necklace.

*Bake clay in accordance with the directions on the packaging.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

*Once the clay is cool, paint gold.  Let dry.

*Slide the necklace chain through the jump ring to finish off your necklace.

Clay Tentacle Earrings

Looking for a fun, spooky accessory?  Why not try these clay tentacle earrings?  I've used the purple ones for Ursula Disneybounds, and the green ones give me strong sea monster vibes, so I'll probably be putting together a look based on that at some point.

Here's what they look like on me.  This was one of my Ursula Disneybounds.  I also made the shell necklace, so if you want more details on that, let me know, and I'll make sure to include it in a post.

Materials:

*Oven bake clay

*Nail art dotting tool

*Paint in colors of your choice

*Jump rings

*Ear wires

*Round-nosed pliers

*Fine paintbrush, such as a nail art brush

Directions:

*Form clay into two tentacle shapes.

*Insert a jump ring into the top of the tentacle, covering it halfway in the clay.

*Create small disks from clay.

*Use the nail art dotting tool to attach the disks and give them a suction cup shape.

*Bake in the oven in accordance with the directions on the packaging.  Let cool.

*Paint in a color scheme of your choosing.

Pop Star Pikachu Bow (Pokemonbounding Ep 9)

Pokemon GO Fest 2021 was music themed.  For ticket holders, you got to choose whether you wanted an encounter with pop star Pikachu or rock star Pikachu.  I of course had to go with pop star Pikachu because she's absolutely adorable, and I decided to make a bow like hers for my Pikachu ears so I could match her.  I also ended up making a mini bow for my Pikachu plushie.  Keep scrolling for more pictures, as well as instructions on how to make a bow of your own.

Pop Star Pikachu Pictures

When I completed the GO Fest special research, I received two photo bomb encounters with the musical squad I selected during the course of the research.  Aren't they just adorable?

I had to snag some pics with Meloetta, the star of the show.

I also had to include a picture with pop star Pikachu herself.  If I had more time and money, I would love to do a full pop star Pikachu cosplay, but for now, the bow will have to suffice.

Lastly, here's a picture of my Pikachu plushie with the matching bow I threw together for her last minute.  If you'd like to make a Pikachu plushie of your own, here's how I made mine.

DIY Pop Star Pikachu Bow

Materials:

*1" wide pink satin ribbon

*Thin ribbons in dark pink, white, and purple

*Packing tape

*Large pink circular or oval-shaped rhinestone

*Sewing needle and pink thread

*Scissors

*All purpose adhesive

*Elastic

*Pikachu ears to attach the bow to

Directions:

*Construct a bow following the directions outlined in this post.  That post calls for a thin ribbon, but I took a small length of the pink satin ribbon and folded it in half to create a thin ribbon to wrap around the center.

*Glue the rhinestone to the center of the bow.

*Pikachu's bow has a strip of ribbon hanging from the side.  To keep the ribbon from flailing around while I was wearing the bow, I took lengths of the pink, white, and purple ribbon and lined them up side-by-side on a piece of clear packing tape.

*Cover the ribbon with a piece of clear packing tape on top to essentially laminate the ribbons together.

*Trim the ends and cut off excess packing tape.

*Sew the strip of ribbon onto the back of the bow.  You'll want the ribbon at an angle so that it won't be in your face when you wear the bow.  I just kind of winged it here, which is why the sewing does not look particularly nice.

*Sew on some elastic so that you can attach the bow to your Pikachu ears.

*Cut off any bit of ribbon that pokes out over the top of the bow.

Toilet Paper Tube Spooky Eyes

Looking for an inexpensive way to provide some Halloween ambiance?  These spooky eyes are made from empty toilet paper tubes.  This craft first appeared in my Halloween 2020 'zine, but I figured I'd post it here too, in case you missed it.  

If you're a Halloween lover and haven't checked out the 'zine yet, I'd definitely recommend it.  There are crafts, recipes, activities, a quiz, and more.  While some of my projects are rather elaborate, the ideas you'll find in here err on the simpler side to make it more accessible for a wider audience.  There's fun for the whole family, assuming the whole family loves Halloween!

Materials:

*Toilet paper tubes

*Pencil

*X-acto knife or box cutter

*Glow sticks

*Waxed paper

*Black duct tape

Directions:

*Draw a spooky face onto a toilet paper tube.

*Carefully cut out the face using an X-acto knife or box cutter.

*Tape a toilet paper tube to either end of the tube with the face using black duct tape.

*Snap a glow stick so that it lights up and wrap it in waxed paper.  Slide the glow stick and the waxed paper into the tube.  The waxed paper helps diffuse the light from the glow stick.

*Tape the ends shut with duct tape.  This will help prevent light leakage, so that the glow comes only through the face and not from the ends.

Zombie Stitches Necklace

This picture is from a Clueless x Universal Monsters challenge I did.  This was my attempt at a 90s rendition of the Bride of Frankenstein.

Looking for an inexpensive accessory to make for spooky season?  Why not try this felt zombie stitches necklace?

This project was inspired by one in the book Felt-o-ween.  Unfortunately, the book is no longer in print, although there are secondhand copies available online.  The template is my own design and the instructions are my own, but I was inspired by a project in this book and thus wanted to give proper credit.

Materials:

*Black felt

*Scissors

*Fabric chalk or metallic marker

*Some form of clasp or closing mechanism, e.g., safety pin, jewelry clasp.

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the template below onto a sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper:

*Cut out the stitches shape and trace it onto the black felt, using either fabric chalk or a metallic marker.  Since felt squares are often 9" x 12", you may want to extend the ends out further to make sure that you'll be able to close the necklace.

*Cut out the stitches necklace from the felt.

*The last thing is to find a means of closure.  I just used a safety pin to close mine, but you could attach a jewelry clasp instead if you want a more polished end result.