Psst! I'm over here!

The blog has moved to Chickenpants.com now.
Come on over and join in the chickeny goodness!

Change the topic!

I'm embarking on a new batch of Chickenpants, so I have a feeling I won't be able to update the blog for a bit. So, to clear the decks, something bouncy and upbeat:

No? Okay, how about this:

Enjoy. See you in a bit.

Absmall Update - Pug Kokeshi

Okay, I have to type this really fast and there is no time to edit so bear with me:

Cut and pasted from the Etsy description:

"I am one surly pug with nothing to say to you.
I'm still trying to figure out what to say about this piece. But some sort of explanation would really defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? Not to mention it would probably only make the pug surlier.

Anyway, some details: This piece mixes lots of hand stitching with lots of machine stitching. And lots of loose dangly threads hanging everywhere. The letters are adhered with, of all things, puff paint. Remember puff paint? And those horrible sweatshirts your grandma made you with kittens plastered to them, ringed by puffy plastic? Yeah, that's the stuff.
Oh, and this pug kokeshi sports little bat wings, ripped from an old book.

It's made from cotton, leather, wool, vintage paper bat wings, buttons, felt, all sorts of threads, and LOVE. Okay, not love. More like crabbyness."

Now. The last fabric painting I posted on Etsy received abysmal views, sending me into a spiral of despair, defiance, blah blah blah blah. And yet, I continue to make these things, despite how they may be received. Or not received.

Olive has been going through a barnacle phase, meaning she is only happy-ish when she is clinging to a parent. (Usually me.) This makes working on anything very difficult. She has a particular hatred of me using the computer, so I have to type this REALLY fast while she is napping. Hey, did I mention how she is not so good at napping? And how I might get 45 minutes TOTAL, all day, if I am lucky? YEAH.

So, the work continues at a snail's pace, and I am really not comfortable with that. But I'm trying to be.

Hoping to post more soon.
Chicken pecks and pug licks to you!
Claire

New thing.

I just finished the most intricate, time consuming thing I've ever made. I feel a great sense of WHOOOOSH. I don't know how else to describe it. Anyway:


I've been working on this piece for a few months now. A little bit here, a little bit there. A little bit every day. I am SO relived that it is finally done. I have two other (non-Chickenpants) pieces in progress.

The thing is, I've been feeling really creatively stymied for a long time. I've been needing a new creative challenge. I've been feeling that proverbial pull towards the NEXT THING, whatever that may be. There have been fits. There have been starts. (And lots of stops.) And then I stumbled onto this fabric collage/painting thing idea. Holy cow, it's totally taken over my creative brain. I haven't been this excited about what I've been making since I first started working on the Chickenpants.

I don't even know what to call what I'm making. Fabric collages? Fabric paintings? Is this already a thing? I have been exercising a LOT of self control and deliberately NOT googling these terms. I'm sure there are already a lot of talented people doing this. I didn't want to be intimidated by what other, more established artists who know what the heck they're doing. Instead, I'm making myself breathe and figure this out on my own. It has been wonderful. (And I don't know how much longer I can go without googling fabric collage.)

I have too much to say about all this. Time to go process thoughts into something useful.

Phone blogging

Can it be done? Experiment!
Truncated text, clumsy typing. Clearly this is the future.

Working on some new stuff...

Nobody intends to take a break from their craftyblog, it just HAPPENS. Or at least that's what happens to me.
Anyway, while I haven't been managing to blog, I did manage to make some stuff. Like this:
[caption id="attachment_3458" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Willy Nilly Fabric Painting by Claire Chambers"][/caption]
I think of it as a fabric painting. Or is it collage? Or applique? I don't know. It was really fun to make, and I am really, really excited to make more. (In fact, I've got a more complex one in the works right now.)
I've had this Willy Nilly character kicking around my mind for awhile now, and fabric seemed the right way to get him out. I'm looking forward to making more images of him. And his friends. (Stella and Crackity Jones. Yes.)

Crafting With Cat Hair Giveaway - Winner!

We have a winner!

Commenter #4, Anna - step right up! I'll be emailing you in a minute so I can mail you your book.

Thank you to everyone who entered. It just so happens that there's an Absolutely Small giveaway happening over on Funky Finds RIGHT NOW. Hop on over there and leave a comment to be entered to win a Chickenpants gift set. http://funkyfinds.blogspot.com/2011/10/giveaway-absolutely-small.html

Crafty Book Review and Giveaway- Crafting With Cat Hair by Kaori Tsutaya

****PLEASE NOTE: The contest has been won! Hooray! No more comments on this post, please. :) ****

Want to win a copy of this lovely book? Read on!
[caption id="attachment_3443" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Crafting With Cat Hair"][/caption]
In the States, cat hair is generally regarded as pesky garbage, something we just want to get rid of. That's why I did a double take when Quirk Books contacted me about reviewing one of their latest offerings, Crafting With Cat Hair. The what now?
This was something too delightfully odd to pass up. Crafting With Cat hair was originally printed in Japan back in 2009. It's written by Kaori Tsutaya, and translated by Amy Hirschman.
But! Alas, I have no cats. What I do have are two pugs who shed like they're trying to make life size replicas of themselves. Clearly, they want to get crafty.
Do these crafts work with pug hair? Inquiring minds need to know!

The book is adorable. It's a nice square format with lovely thick glossy pages. It even smells like Japan! (Okay, it smells like books from Japan. Of which I have several. Japan itself smells like rain, concrete, cigarettes and cute, at least in my memory of being there. But I digress.)
Packed into the 90+ pages are: lots of really cute photos, multiple tip pages on crafting with cat hair and living with cats, and 10 projects. Most of the projects fall into the needle felting category.

So, onto the projects! I decided to try my hand at making a portrait. I've done some needle felting in my day, so I was up to the challenge. Plus, I was a little peeved at one of the pugs for some recent bad behavior. Let the stabbing commence!

And so, I stabbed the pug hair. And stabbed. And stabbed. And stabbed. Pug hair began to spread everywhere. More stabbing. More trying to compress pug hair into a shape. Ergh. Stab stab stab.
Okay. So it turns out that pug hair is FUNDAMENTALLY different than cat hair. Like everything else that is pug, it is STUBBORN. And I simply couldn't get it to felt. Ooops. Well, I tried.
There you have it. You can felt with cat hair, and (I have heard) bunny hair, but pug hair simply won't cooperate. Typical!

So! Crafty people! How would you like a copy of this lovely book? Leave me a comment below, and I will pick a winner by random Thursday the 20th.

*Want extra chances to win? Okay, we can do that.
Leave another comment if you do any of the following:
Link to this on Twitter
Link to this on Facebook
Link to this on your blog
Link to this anywhere else!

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon:

Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat

Good stuff.

A few things making me smile lately:

A reader sent in a photo of the toy quilt she made with my tutorial. (Hi, Jenny!) Yay!


James Kochalka perfectly captures the inner struggle of the artist-about-the-internet, yet again:
http://www.americanelf.com//comics/americanelf.php?view=single&ID=43319
Oh good grief, do I know where he's coming from.

Speaking of great comics, check out this one by Gemma Correll:

Crafty Book Review - Microcrafts - Tiny Treasures to Make and Share

The good people of Quirk Books contacted me, asking if I would like to review Microcrafts, one of their latest crafty books.
A book devoted to making itty bitty crafts? Oh yes, I would.

Microcrafts - Tiny Treasures to Make and Share features 25 projects by 17 different authors. (For ease of looking it up, it is compiled by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, and Katie Hatz.) In other words, there is a wide variety to the projects. Everything from tiny bird feeders to hang on tiny trees to baby monsters to tuck into little spaces. Sewing, paper crafts and model making are just a few of the techniques you'll encounter. Many of the projects feature ideas for spin off projects. All the directions are clearly laid out, and a few of the projects even offer template downloads. The book itself is hardcover with lovely glossy pages, all beautifully laid out.

(photo from the book, by Steve Belkowitz)

But what does one DO with all of these tiny things? The authors thought of that, and include a bunch of ideas for how to use these cuties in the back of the book. There are also nicely illustrated sewing techniques, tips on making tiny patterns, and all sorts of resource information.

(another photo from the book, again by Steve Belkowitz)

Picking out a project to sample was tricky. (The tiny candy charms? The perfect mini books? Oh man, the little taxidermedied deer heads...) I settled on the little owls. My baby owl went together without a hitch:

She's only 1.5" tall! (That's 3.8 cm!) Perfect for tucking into a card or onto a gift to make it even more special. (Bonus: this guy went together FAST, and all with scraps. Nice!)
I'm inspired to try out more of the projects from this book.
Bottom line, if you enjoy tiny things and the making of them, by all means pick up this book. Oh look, here it is on Amazon:

Microcrafts - Tiny Treasures to Make and Share by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz and Friends

Why yes, I AM that shameless.

Craft Room Organization- The Best Way To Organize Fabric, EVER.

My studio is far from all organized, but I just had to share this with you. A little while ago I came across a great tutorial by Sew Fantiastic on how to organize your fabric. She came up with the idea to wrap your fabric around comic book backer boards.
She is a GENIUS. I've been using this method for a few months now, and it is perfect. My stash is still organized, and everything is easy to see at a glance. And easy to put away. And pull out. Added bonus: comic book backer boards are CHEAP. My local comics place sells 25 of them for $2.

Basically, you fold your fabric neatly in half, then fold it around the board and pin into place. Simple, and it works. I'm using this technique for knits, silks, and even ripstop. (For unpinnable/delicate fabrics, just use a little binder clip instead of a pin. Done.) I have every thing from tiny, less than a fat quarter sized bits to multi yard swaths on these boards.

Life is good. Fabric is gloriously organized. It's like my own tiny fabric shop.
Thank you, Sew Fantastic! You can check out the full tutorial here: http://sew-fantastic.blogspot.com/2010/09/organizing-your-stash-on-budget.html Check out her scrappy storage tutorial while you're at it. I'm using this system, too. It also works really well for me!

A new custom Chickenpants - EMT CP!

I recently completed this custom order, and I just had to share him with you. There was an awful lot of hand stitching involved, and I loooooved doing it! The idea of tiny working pockets just delights me to no end. So does the idea of making things that are ridiculously detailed to the point of one being utterly unable to make a profit on them. (Er, not that this guy was, but you know, in general.) Which begs the question: is miniature crafting some sort of mental illness? And is there a suitable name for it? Minimania? What would you call it?

Squirrels, Woodpeckers, and Treasury HTML-ing Tools

I started this post because I was dying to try out the Etsy Treasury HTML Code Generator made by Whale Shark Websites. (And detailed on the Handmadeology blog. Thank you, Handmadeology!) "Aha!" I thought "What a nice idea for a quick blog post. Surely this will put me back on the path to blogging every single day!"
As is my habit, however, I blew this project all out of proportion, and now it's this monster post. Hi!
Okay. So. What better way to test out this tool than by illustrating the ancient war that has been raging on my porch all summer?
Squirrels. Woodpeckers. What do they have in common? They both covet acorns. Specifically the acorns that the woodpeckers have been *ahem* squirreling away under the eaves and in the walls of my house for, oh, eons. The squirrels got wind of this, and bam! Turf war, right on my porch. Right in front of my studio window, in fact. Now, before you accuse me of having a wild imagination and a lying cheating heart, BEHOLD THE FOOTAGE:

Squirrels hate Woodpeckers. And vice versa. from Absolutely Small on Vimeo.

There. Actual, filmy proof of the hatred squirrels and woodpeckers harbor in their bosoms for one another. On my porch. And walls.
And here's the treasury to commemorate The Great Squirrel/Woodpecker Battle of 2011:

'Squirrels vs Woodpeckers' by absolutelysmall

Squirrels and Woodpeckers are mortal enemies. I know this because there is currently a turf war on my porch. At stake are literally THOUSANDS of acorns stuffed into the walls and under the eaves. Who will win? Only time will tell.

ORIGINAL Squirrel Water... WaterInMyPaint $40.00	WOODPECKER Bird Waterco... lorisworld $18.00	Still I Love Snow - Squ... mingtaphotogra... $15.00	ACEO signed PRINT - Woo... poordogfarm $5.00
garden woodpecker limit... beethings $25.00	Squirrel Art - Jane Ste... amberalexander $20.00	5x7 Print Downy Woodpec... studiotuesday $18.00	Peek - Grey and Brown S... ByTheWinter $12.00
Meet Sam The Smallest S... doodlebirdie $20.00	Woodpecker, Limited Edi... badbird $60.00	Love to Swing - PRINT JAustinRyan $16.00	Woodpecker print 5x7 berkleyillustr... $10.00
Red-headed Woodpecker W... SandraHealy $45.00	Squirrel Art - Dionysus... amberalexander $20.00	Needle Felted Red Belli... InspirationByK... $175.00	Needle Felted Wool Ani... darialvovsky $98.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Look at that! You can click on everything! And I coded NOTHING! Hooray!
In other words, dang, this tool is fun. I see myself making a LOT more treasuries in the future thanks to this baby.
Go forth and add treasuries to your blogs willy nilly, people!

Crafty Book Review – Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures

I recently* picked up a copy of Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule of SouleMama fame. This book is a total delight!
I loved that this book focused on reusing fabric. There were several projects that called for used clothing, which is a really neat way to preserve memories, I think. (I know I'll be saving and crafting with some of my baby's finest.)
This book really opened my eyes to different sorts of projects, and the idea of sewing useful things for the home. Before reading this book, I'd really only focused on sewing plushies. But once I got started making useful things, I was hooked. Our house is steadily becoming filled with handmade textile goodies. It's really oddly satisfying.

There are tons of projects to try, especially if you have little ones to craft for. If not, there's still plenty to keep you busy. It's a huge project, but I'm dying to try my hand at making a rag rug, as laid out on page 39.
There's a wide variety of projects, and nearly all of them useful.

Check it out on Amazon, where you can peek inside:

*Ahem. Okay, by "recently", apparently I mean February. Because that is when this post began. Somehow**, it never got posted until now.

**This is probably how:

Couple of quick things

I woke up to a really great link in my email this moring. Check out the felt ABC book a reader made:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lvarney/sets/72157627543697203/show/
Yes! Awesome!

In other news:

I have two separate marketing posts in my drafts. One is whiny, one is a project I started and then needed to scrap. Sometimes not having the time to post your ideas immediately is a very good thing.

Been working on lots of custom orders. Such as this tiny showgirl:

She's only 11 cm tall. Actual conversation snippet:
Dan: She's a miniature showgirl Chickenpants?
Me: Yes.
Dan: So...that would make her a bantam?
Me: Yes! Nice useage of chicken terminology!
Dan: I thought so.

Important tip: marry a man who knows his way around chicken vocabulary.

Baby Crafting - Embroidered Bib

I haven't been making as much stuff for Olive lately (shame!), but I have been making more stuff in general.
I wanted to test out the new Bunnies in the Kitchen embroidery pattern I designed, and we always need more bibs, so voila! Embroidered bib.

I knew it would get ruined within minutes of making it, so I deliberately chose quick stitches. This is not exactly an heirloom. :)

It went together very quickly. And yes, within a few hours, stained by something or other. But hey, it's still in circulation! So that's something.

Got a minute?

Hello lovelies! I just put together a tiny little survey thing. I'm trying to figure some stuff out (and I hope there will be a verrrrrry juicy blog post to come out of this). And of course there's a coupon code in it for you.

Click here and take the survey. You know you want to.

Thanks very much! I really appreciate it.

A quick peek inside the crafty life of...me, actually.

I've been working like a plush making machine over here, readying all new creatures for Craftland. (Hence the lack of new Chickenpants lately.) Here's a peek:

I shot the video with my new phone, so the formatting is a little weird. Anyway, there it is. Hopefully the next one will be bigger. (Er, if I even should do a next one. We'll see!)

Easy toy quilt tutorial

Okay, calling this thing a quilt is a stretch. Or possibly an insult to quilters everywhere. But! It does make a fantastic baby toy. I whipped this up in a hurry one day when I was in need of quiet baby toys. Olive's got a thing for scrunching up textiles. (hooray!) My goal with this was to make something with a variety of textures for her to enjoy.

Here's what you need:

• 3 - 4.5" x 12" (11.4 cm x 30.4 cm) pieces of cotton


• 1 - 12" x 12" (30.4 cm x 30.4 cm) piece of fabric for the back (I used a cheap, silky one...the better for scrunching.)


• 4 - 4" x 12" (10 cm x 30.4 cm) pieces of fleece (Please ignore the obviously 14" long pieces in the photo. I was going to try something else, which wound up not working. IGNORE!)

Step 1- Sew together the cotton
Placing the right sides together, sew the long sides of two pieces together.

Connect the third piece in the same way. You'll wind up with something like this:

Press the seams open in the back:


Step 2 - Assembly
Pin the back fabric to the front, wrong sides together. Lay one of the fleece pieces underneath at the top, and fold about half of it over like so:


Pin into place, and sew the bottom edge. Repeat this process with the opposite edge:

Place another piece of fleece on one of the open sides, making sure to overlap the already sewn on fleece. Pin, and sew as you did the last two. Add the final fleece piece in the same way. (Yes, I could have been typing "binding" all this time, but you have to admit "fleece piece" is much more enjoyable to say. Try it.)
Using a 1/2" seam allowance, sew around the outside edge of the quilt:

Trim the threads, and baby, you are done!

Notes:

• This is totally machine washable. And dryable. Unless you use some fancypants fabric that is not, alas, machine washable.


• I wish I had spent a little more time on this project, honestly. The tiny format would be perfect for trying out new patterns.