Sock Monkey and Gears

Still snowing! This area is known as the “banana belt” because most of the major snow storms miss us. We get maybe two or three all year but not this year. The weird weather continues in 2014. I would say global warming but it is also very cold here -12C (10F) but with the wind it feels like -22C (-7F). So its more like global cooling around here. No walk for me today. I’m staying put!

The “lower studio” is very cold as well so it will be the “upper studio” for me today. I have some microwave pot holders to make for a friend of mine. She brought her own material but it is in strips so I have to sew them together first. This takes a lot more time but it is what she wants. (These are so handy. You put your dish into the potholder and microwave the food and then you just lift it out. No burnt hands and no floppy potholder getting into the food). And I have some beading to do. I’m trying to duplicate the bracelet that Joe bought me for my birthday. So, it’s good that I have lots of hobbies and more than one place to do them in.

I did get some cards made this week though which is posted at the end of this post. But first, do you remember the (Super Hero) sock monkey I made for my grandson. In case you missed it, here it is when it was made – and before it was “altered” by Finn.

In the summer he found out that the safety eyes I put on turned. So he kept twisting one of them round and round until the eye ripped off. The safety part stayed on but it left a hole where the eye was so sock monkey looked like this.

 

So, sock monkey came back to Grandma for a repair job. There was no option but to remove the other eye, sew up the hole and then sew on buttons. Here is what he looks like now.

He is not as cute as before but we returned him when we had our Christmas get-together. He was packed in the large tote of Christmas presents and when I pulled him out Finn yelled, “Sock monkey is back” grabbed him and ran off. Guess he doesn’t mind the eyes being changed and he’s been told no more twisting eyes!

So, now for the card.

 I’m still having fun with the gears I die cut (Tim Holtz) and then painted and distressed. I did a huge pile of them so I will always have some on hand. The background was created by inking lines in Peeled Paint Distress Ink on angles, masking the other areas and then stamping just between the lines. This was a technique featured on StampTV and I thought I would try it. Its okay but I need to do a little more practice. Making cards for men is not my favourite thing so when I get an idea I go for it before I forget about it. Most of the stamps I used were Tim Holtz except for the old bicycle stamp.

Off to the sewing/beading room now.

Cheers

Violet