I guess ill be back to posting things soon... wait for my next update! Compose
4.11.11
20.7.11
Morning mashup: Complaints, Books and the Insanity that is Life
Ok, so yes, I'm still working on that whole updating regularly, but, in my defense, My computer's charger died, so I was forced into exile.
This seemingly forced exile exposed me to something that truly worries me.... how absolutely addicted I am to technology. Now, fortunately I went out and about this weekend, I got to see some of my closest friends (and cuddle!). But what if i hadn't? When i got home i just sat, wondering what to do. I needed another escape. That is what I'm addicted to, escaping. I read a total of four books( which I shall review later). But i needed to remove myself from the boredom that was my life, and NOT BE PRODUCTIVE.
SO here is my new plan. I'm starting small, but I have developed a 6 week plan to better myself. Starting Tomorrow (not today because well... I already missed my chance) I will begin to slowly better myself, both in my mental and physical discipline. I have a list of things I shall do, out of this list I must choose to do at least 2 every day, and then there are other things that are non negotiable.
Now, The first 2 week2 will consist of:
- WAKE UP consistently early: No matter at what time I go to bed I will attempt to wake up at the same time every morning(6:30 am) I can do whatever I want between the times of 6 and 8, read, watch tv, draw, sew, but I CANNOT SLEEP.
- STUDY for 1 hour minimum per class each day: Right now I am taking two classes. That's two hours a day, If i have a test ill study more, but my minimum will be one hour, making sure I review and read.
-EAT: I fail at this, I miss meals and skimp on food. I either forget or put it off. gotta stop doing that so.... I'm going to eat at least two times a day, properly, a full meal. (See K? I'm trying to be healthy!)
- DO two of the following for 1.5 hours every day:
Read
Sew
Draw
Ride bike (or other exercise)
Paint
Write
Meditate
Clean
This plan will continue this way for the first two weeks in an attempt to form a kind of routine, afterwards I shall change studying to 1.5 hours a day per class and make physical exercise and cleaning a permanent part of my day.
Ahem. yep, that.s the plan....
Now aside from that I have other things going on, like not having a job.
See last I heard of, I was happily employed here at my university as the assistant glassblower, but apparently, upon the beginning of the new fiscal year i was not placed on their budget. Oh yeah and also I WAS NOT TOLD, nor was my boss. So my boss comes back from her trip, I return from mine and lo and behold, When I go to hand in my hours for the week at the office and suddenly I'm told 'hey, you aren't working for us!'.
How is it so difficult to email someone? To tell me.... to TELL MY BOSS, that hey! you don't have an assistant right now! So of course I asked what I could do. I like my job, I work hard and I'm good at it.. also I NEED IT. but alas, the answer to that question is "I'll talk to the department chair and see what we can do". Golly gee willikers; It has been a week, I haven't heard from them, I haven't been paid for the hours i worked and I don't know if I'm even going to return, so what not? look for a job and pray that my savings hold. I mean, its not like i have to pay for.. umm.. lets see, food, school, gas, everything...
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I have a bike, thanks to a dear friend of mine whose family has a tendency to hoard seemingly useless things!
As I mentioned earlier, I read quite a bit in the absence. Now I want to warn you, I LOVE BOOKS. Once I begin something, I hardly stop until I'm done. Books are like drugs, and if the weren't so expensive I would be the worlds most literate junkie. Now the books I'm going to quickly review are Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, by Robin Mckinley, and The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner.
Both are considered children's fantasy and both are easy but wonderful reads.
First off, Beauty.
Grace, Hope and Hounour are the three young daughters of a wealthy merchant in the city. Honour, who is known to everyone as Beauty, is the 'cunning one' in the family. Without the beauty that both her sisters have she has dedicated herself to learning and books, but when her father loses his fleet of merchant ships at sea, they are left with nothing. Forced to move into the country to survive, they move to a small town on the edge of an enchanted forest. After her father accidentally meets the Beast he is forced to make a deal to sacrifice himself or one of his daughters to the beast. Beauty, upon seeing her father's predicament decides to take his place and go with the Beast and begin her new life.
SO GOOD, I read it much too quickly and I shall read it again. The characters are so well built you can't help but love all of them, unlike most retellings of this story, the antagonist isn't a character but a situation. The hardships that the family goes through aren't caused by some nefarious villain, but by nature itself. This turns the story into one where you grow and hope with each character. You become immersed in a story that is surprisingly human, there is no evil villain out to get anyone, there is a family that you love and that you now deserves well trying their best within different (and yes, magical) situations.
Next is The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner;
Gen is a thief, and a good thief at that. After going to jail for bragging about, and stealing, the seal of the King of Sounis. He is enlisted by the king's chief adviser, The Magus to go steal a legendary stone from a neighboring country. Gen, seeing this as his chance, goes along with the Magus, his two assistants Sophos and Ambiades, and by Pol, a soldier. But Gen is a trickster with his own plan, as the Magus soon learns.
Gen is one of my new favorite main characters. The best part of this book is, usually when you have stories about thieves and fantasy, the author will focus on the details of their craft. you see each calculated move that the character makes. Now In this book Turner focuses on the characters and the story. As you follow gen you realize that stealing and pickpocketing are so natural to him that you don't even know he's stolen something until he pulls it out. This has the unique characteristic of just making the character more believable. Instead of proving his worth through exhausting descriptions, his talents are taken as a given.
And with this I end my post for the day.. I'm too tired to write anymore.
But remind me later that I have to review the Show White Collar, because it rocks my colourful socks...
SO here is my new plan. I'm starting small, but I have developed a 6 week plan to better myself. Starting Tomorrow (not today because well... I already missed my chance) I will begin to slowly better myself, both in my mental and physical discipline. I have a list of things I shall do, out of this list I must choose to do at least 2 every day, and then there are other things that are non negotiable.
Now, The first 2 week2 will consist of:
- WAKE UP consistently early: No matter at what time I go to bed I will attempt to wake up at the same time every morning(6:30 am) I can do whatever I want between the times of 6 and 8, read, watch tv, draw, sew, but I CANNOT SLEEP.
- STUDY for 1 hour minimum per class each day: Right now I am taking two classes. That's two hours a day, If i have a test ill study more, but my minimum will be one hour, making sure I review and read.
-EAT: I fail at this, I miss meals and skimp on food. I either forget or put it off. gotta stop doing that so.... I'm going to eat at least two times a day, properly, a full meal. (See K? I'm trying to be healthy!)
- DO two of the following for 1.5 hours every day:Read
Sew
Draw
Ride bike (or other exercise)
Paint
Write
Meditate
Clean
This plan will continue this way for the first two weeks in an attempt to form a kind of routine, afterwards I shall change studying to 1.5 hours a day per class and make physical exercise and cleaning a permanent part of my day.
 |
| Where can I get a discount dino? |
Ahem. yep, that.s the plan....
Now aside from that I have other things going on, like not having a job.
See last I heard of, I was happily employed here at my university as the assistant glassblower, but apparently, upon the beginning of the new fiscal year i was not placed on their budget. Oh yeah and also I WAS NOT TOLD, nor was my boss. So my boss comes back from her trip, I return from mine and lo and behold, When I go to hand in my hours for the week at the office and suddenly I'm told 'hey, you aren't working for us!'.
How is it so difficult to email someone? To tell me.... to TELL MY BOSS, that hey! you don't have an assistant right now! So of course I asked what I could do. I like my job, I work hard and I'm good at it.. also I NEED IT. but alas, the answer to that question is "I'll talk to the department chair and see what we can do". Golly gee willikers; It has been a week, I haven't heard from them, I haven't been paid for the hours i worked and I don't know if I'm even going to return, so what not? look for a job and pray that my savings hold. I mean, its not like i have to pay for.. umm.. lets see, food, school, gas, everything...ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I have a bike, thanks to a dear friend of mine whose family has a tendency to hoard seemingly useless things!
As I mentioned earlier, I read quite a bit in the absence. Now I want to warn you, I LOVE BOOKS. Once I begin something, I hardly stop until I'm done. Books are like drugs, and if the weren't so expensive I would be the worlds most literate junkie. Now the books I'm going to quickly review are Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, by Robin Mckinley, and The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner.
Both are considered children's fantasy and both are easy but wonderful reads.
First off, Beauty.
SO GOOD, I read it much too quickly and I shall read it again. The characters are so well built you can't help but love all of them, unlike most retellings of this story, the antagonist isn't a character but a situation. The hardships that the family goes through aren't caused by some nefarious villain, but by nature itself. This turns the story into one where you grow and hope with each character. You become immersed in a story that is surprisingly human, there is no evil villain out to get anyone, there is a family that you love and that you now deserves well trying their best within different (and yes, magical) situations.
Next is The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner;
Gen is one of my new favorite main characters. The best part of this book is, usually when you have stories about thieves and fantasy, the author will focus on the details of their craft. you see each calculated move that the character makes. Now In this book Turner focuses on the characters and the story. As you follow gen you realize that stealing and pickpocketing are so natural to him that you don't even know he's stolen something until he pulls it out. This has the unique characteristic of just making the character more believable. Instead of proving his worth through exhausting descriptions, his talents are taken as a given.
And with this I end my post for the day.. I'm too tired to write anymore.
But remind me later that I have to review the Show White Collar, because it rocks my colourful socks...
21.6.11
OMG MORE PLUSHIES!
I have been making plushies.. Oh so many Plushies! So i have decided to dedicate this post to teaching you how to make them!
Now first you need a few things:
Felt
Needles
Glue
Scissors
Ideas
Ok! so now you have some felt colour and you wanna make something! First you'll need a pattern!
Here are a few good ones!
This is the pattern for a simple chibi plushie, nothing too big or too small.
Now, you take your pattern and use it to cute out the same shape in the cloth, then you sew it and flip it inside out. Then just stuff it and sew the body together and you are done!
Ok now you have a body, what do you do?
I find that clothing and hair go next. depending on your choice clothing will be easier or harder. Sometimes I find that making the body the same colour as the jeans you want your character to wear is the best choice.
If not the i use the body to cut out the pattern for the clothes and I try as best I can to fit them over my little plush. This [link] is a pretty good tutorial on how to make plushie hair.
No once you are done with that work on the face, do you want complicated detailed face or just simple eyes? What accessories doe the character have? a staff? a necklace? I keep a few random items (play dough, wire, paint) at hand to make such things.
This is a simple explanation, I'll be adding pictures later but for now ill just show you a few that I've made and then add some better ones for each step.
Now first you need a few things:
Felt
Needles
Glue
Scissors
Ideas
Ok! so now you have some felt colour and you wanna make something! First you'll need a pattern!
Here are a few good ones!
This is the pattern for a simple chibi plushie, nothing too big or too small.
Now, you take your pattern and use it to cute out the same shape in the cloth, then you sew it and flip it inside out. Then just stuff it and sew the body together and you are done!
Ok now you have a body, what do you do?
I find that clothing and hair go next. depending on your choice clothing will be easier or harder. Sometimes I find that making the body the same colour as the jeans you want your character to wear is the best choice.
If not the i use the body to cut out the pattern for the clothes and I try as best I can to fit them over my little plush. This [link] is a pretty good tutorial on how to make plushie hair.
No once you are done with that work on the face, do you want complicated detailed face or just simple eyes? What accessories doe the character have? a staff? a necklace? I keep a few random items (play dough, wire, paint) at hand to make such things.
This is a simple explanation, I'll be adding pictures later but for now ill just show you a few that I've made and then add some better ones for each step.
13.6.11
I FINISHED IT!!!!!
FINALLY! I just finished the Mario quilt that I have been working on for so long. 4 Months of work, creating, destroying and everything I have done. This is the result of all of that work:
8.6.11
Adorable totoro plush: How To
I was bored and I wanted to make a plush, so I made a pattern for a Totoro plush.
This little guy is what came out of my random spurt of creativity. So if you wanna make him, here's the materials:
-A needle and thread
-Grey felt
-White felt
-Glue for cloth
-black paint for cloth, or acrylic paint
- green felt (optional)
- stuffing for plushies(or you can use the scraps of what you just made, which is what i did today)
-Scissors
SO, where do you start?
Well I started by making a paper pattern, and using it to cut the felt. Here it is:
Using this, I cut out all of the felt pieces I needed (pictured up there with the materials). The first thing I did was make the ears, to do this you have to take the glue, smear it on one side of the ear and then roll it up, letting it glue together. the little tabs on the pattern let you stitch
it and sew it into the body. Here are a few pics of what I mean:
Once you are done with that you can start sewing. Now the stitch I'm using, well, I'm certain it has a name, but I do not know it, so Ill show you how to do it as best I can, and hopefully you'll understand.
Now you start with a basic stitch, but just as you are about to pull through, instead of going through completely, you slip you needle through it, as if to make a knot. You pull and go to the next one. So basically you keep going through it, making a knot with each stitch. It makes a pretty edge and allows you to sew without having to turn anything inside out.
Once you are done with the body you stuff it and sew on the little bottom. Next you sew on the arms and the tail and finally the belly.
Use the glue to glue on the eyes and leaf on the head and then use the black paint to make his nose and eyes.
And there! you're done :D
Now mind you written down this seems very simple. In reality it will take you a little while and lots of things change. For example the bottom of the pattern that I originally made got shortened because once the plush was full I noticed the size changed.
This little guy is what came out of my random spurt of creativity. So if you wanna make him, here's the materials:-A needle and thread
-Grey felt
-White felt
-Glue for cloth
-black paint for cloth, or acrylic paint
- green felt (optional)
- stuffing for plushies(or you can use the scraps of what you just made, which is what i did today)
-Scissors
SO, where do you start?
Well I started by making a paper pattern, and using it to cut the felt. Here it is:
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Using this, I cut out all of the felt pieces I needed (pictured up there with the materials). The first thing I did was make the ears, to do this you have to take the glue, smear it on one side of the ear and then roll it up, letting it glue together. the little tabs on the pattern let you stitch
it and sew it into the body. Here are a few pics of what I mean:
 |
| Roll up |
 |
| Put glue on |
 |
| I glued them to the body to hold them while I sew |
 | |||
| The tail; I wasnt worried about the stitch showing. |
Once you are done with the body you stuff it and sew on the little bottom. Next you sew on the arms and the tail and finally the belly.
Use the glue to glue on the eyes and leaf on the head and then use the black paint to make his nose and eyes.
And there! you're done :D
Now mind you written down this seems very simple. In reality it will take you a little while and lots of things change. For example the bottom of the pattern that I originally made got shortened because once the plush was full I noticed the size changed.
 |
| See, he loves you~ |
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