School Mouse

Little School Mouse is now listed on Etsy. Go and take a peek. I finally finished her books and apple.

Above: Oh no....a little worm is tagging along to school.

Above: zoom in and see the little eyes and mouth. He is tiny 1/4" long. He reminds me of Wormy, Oscar the Grouch's worm. His was orange though.

Above: Little books. They are glued together, but the pages really did turn. I also glued the book strap on, I was afraid that it would get lost.

Above: She can also hold the books by the book strap.

Thanks for looking and may your day be filled with lots of sunshine!!

Holly

School Days, Golden Rule Days

My grandfather use to sing that song to us every time we would go and visit him during the summer. I couldn't stand for him to sing it, because that song was just a reminder that our time with them would be coming to an end soon and we would be traveling back home to start another year of school. The next mouse that I wanted to make was a little girl mouse going to school all dressed in her school uniform. Her head is needle felted from 100% wool fiber. Her arms, legs and body are made from wrapped wire.
Her skirt is black and white checked cotton fabric. Her blouse has a collar but it is hard to see. The little jacket is made out of 100% wool fabric with tiny pearl beads as buttons. She is wearing a headband/bow on her head. Her head is smaller than my normal mice. I am going to make her some books before I list her on Etsy. I thought that 2 tiny books would look so cute. Maybe an apple in her hand for the teacher?

 Above: On the right is Patrick Gnome, see how big his head is. On the left is....not sure what her name is yet, but for now I will call her little school girl. I made her jacket from some 100% wool fabric. This fabric made for a very realistic looking jacket. I really like how it turned out. You can't see the little felt collar that I made for her, but it is there. She is wearing little Mary Jane's on her feet with white stockings.

Above: clothes need straighting up, I had just finished her headband so I had messed her up a little.

Above: side view

Above: These are two commissioned tooth keeper dolls. They are for sisters. Their dresses will be a lavender check. I can't wait to finish them-the whole process of making these dolls is so much fun! I love designing them and seeing the finished product.

Have an AWESOME weekend and remember to keep those crafty fingers busy!

Holly

Robin Hood-A Mouse of a Tale

Here's the newest needle felted mouse- Robin Hood. Coming up with his outfit was a lot of fun. I found out that I don't know as much as I thought I did about Robin Hood's clothing. I did a little research and kind of came up of my own version. His hat was pretty much trial and error (I seem to say that a lot ;)  ). I made a couple that just didn't look right, finally success. I wanted to use a real feather in his hat and on the arrows, but I didn't have any red feathers. Pink feathers just won't do. Must be red feathers.

Above: Walking through Sherwood Forest.

Above: Bow is made from clay, "string" is actually thread.

Above: Quiver with arrows.

Above: Bow and arrows. Arrows made from toothpicks-new, not used.

Above: Quiver made from synthetic embossed leather.

Not sure what my next needle felted mouse will be, gotta do some brain stormin' :)

Have a great and crafty day!

Holly

Fur and Tails

The little mice are so fun to make. I have ideas coming out of my ears and can't make them fast enough! I am so absorbed (addicted) in making them that on some days I have totally forgotten to eat lunch. I now pay more attention to the clock. D#2 is picked up from preschool around 1pm and I don't want to be late. Guess it sounds like I have made 100s of these little guys. Well.....no. It is mainly a trial and error process that has taken a few attempts to get it "right". Some of the dear little mice looked like DNA gone bad-mice with huge heads, arms and legs missing, ears too small, mange, among other horrors. One little mouse takes several days to complete. Glue, paint and clear coats take a while to throughly dry and then putting the "fur" on takes a while for me to be happy with it. I trim fur, add more, find bald patches-add more fur, and then trim some more. Below are some of the better looking mice. These are the "keepers".

Above: Three blind mice, not really. Three mice climbing on a pincushion. The lower mouse needs some bald spots covered. He is the WIP (work-in-progress). I haven't done his final flocking.

Above: It is very hard to take clear photos of these little guys. My micro setting automatically flashes (unable to turn off) and won't let me use the brightness button instead of the flash. I used two different clays on the two mice and I like the one on the right better. In person it looks more realistic. Yes...that is a real thimble. The brothers are less than 1 1/2" tall. The right mouse is a little smaller. D#1 claimed him. So I am not going to put him on Etsy. She wants me to make clothes for him!?!? Like the mice on Cinderella-Jasper and GusGus. Maybe I need some smaller hands.

Above: Looks like someone is getting helped into the thimble.

Above: He fits.

Above: Little mouse with hand sculpted thimble on his head. Tomato is made out of recycle wool and leaves are wool felt. Stuffing is wool and synthetic.

Above: He is 1 3/4" from toes to top of thimble.

Have a great rest of the day and gather up some mice to help you with your sewing, many hands make light work!

Holly

Playing with Clay....

I love working with polymer clay. I love how a big lump of "nothing" can become anything - from smiling fruit to tiny spoons to realistic looking animals. I am not much of a realistic type of crafter. I prefer cutesy & whimsical stuff. More like Mary Engelbreit than Thomas Kinkade. I really, really love cutesy, whimsical realistic. What's that? Well.....it's giving ordinary things (animals or inanimate objects) personality. Such as, The Secret of Nimh or The Brave Little Toaster. Speaking of The Secret of Nimh, I always loved the little momma mouse and the mouse family's underground home. It was a sad movie to me, though. Many years ago I happened upon a tiny collection of mice figurines at a shop called The Mole Hole (love the name). I instantly fell in love with the tiny little creatures-they reminded me so much of The Secret of Nimh. The one big problem was -they were so expensive. I did end up buying one and have treasured it to this day. 

  

Above: Wee Forest Folk figurine. You can barely make out the owl in the hole in the tree. Miss Mousy  is just under 1" tall. So tiny. I have always wanted to a mouse similar to her. I haven't made any that small yet, but I have made some around 1 1/2" tall. I am now "flocking" them with fur. All that means is that I am adhering fur to them. I think that they look much cuter and it is easier to hide flaws.

Above: Lump of clay already prepped and ready to go.

Above: I sketched a profile of the mouse that I want to make. The jelly bean looking thing on the bottom right is his body. 

Above: His head.

Above: Pen in picture to show scale.

I have finished sculpting several mice and am in the process of flocking them. I will post them when they are finished. Maybe tomorrow.

Have a great rest of the day and don't forget to keep those hands busy,

Holly