Felted Punkmen

When my newphew was little, he called pumpkins "punkmen". I was thinking about that this weekend when I stitched together these little creatures. Their bodies are felted balls. They're embellished with stitching, ribbons, beads and other little doo-dads that I had in my Halloween box.

 They make me smile when I look at them. These are going to be mailed to some special people this week. I think I'm going to have to make some more, though. They were so much fun to do!

I also created some more of the large pumpkins that were featured in my article, "Paper or Plaster? A Very Vintage Halloween Makeover" in the September/October issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Some will be going into my etsy shop, and others will be going to local stores for sale.

I made a bunch of little ones that are currently for sale at the emporium in LibertyTown in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

This was my original display idea, but my family vetoed it. They said it was too creepy. Imagine that!

This is how the final display looked. More cute. Less creepy.

 And, I finished off my robot that I posted a week or two ago. He is a little more streamlined than he was originally. He also has a spiffy new paint job. (I didn't cover up all of the peeling paint, though. I liked it.) My daughter named him Waldo. He is currently on display at LibertyTown's 6x6x6 Show. When I went to see him at the opening last night, he had a red dot on his tag, and had won third place in the show. Good job Waldo!

Pumpkin Palooza!

by Leslie Brier, Brier Design Studio

My September/October 2010 issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors arrived on Friday. I always look forward to receiving this magazine in the mail, but this month was really special for me, because I have an article in this issue: Paper or Plaster? A Plastic Pumpkin Makeover.

The articles details my technique for repurposing those little plastic halloween jack-o-lanterns that kids bring home from parties, as well as the big ones that they carry while trick-or-treating. (The photos in the article are much nicer than these.)

I spent a lot of time during last year's snowstorms working on these guys. They were all over my house. I had to remember to explain to visitors why my house was full of Halloween decorations! (There's nothing like a little creative anachronism to make the neighbors think you've lost your mind.)

If you'd like to make some of these with me, I'll be teaching a workshop on October 23, 2010 at Artistic Artifacts  in Alexandria,Virginia. Details coming soon.

Altered Snow Family

I saw Sue Pelletier's altered snowmen on the cover of the December issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and knew I had to do some of my own. This is one of the few projects that I didn't need to do any shopping for -- I had lots of ephemera, including vintage Christmas items and jewelry that were in need of a new lease on life.

These snow people have been delivered to the post office and are making their way to friends and family. I hated to break up the group. They seemed so happy in my front hallway. Maybe I'll get around to making a set for myself next year!