When Creativity Takes a Detour You Pretty Much Have to Follow It No Matter How Unhappy the Pirate Gets

 

It isn't like I don't have a plan. I do. Actually, I have some very detailed lists of what I need to get done before the next show. HOWEVER.... I needed to make a pirate doll. Because, Pirates. I mean seriously. Who doesn't NEED a pirate doll. Which of course has taken the better part of the last two weeks as my pirate needed clothes and I didn't have any in his size. But then.... Olive... I don't know why I HAD to make the first olive....

But once I did and I shared it with some friends. Well, I had to find a giant martini glass for her to swim in.

And then, well it was an olive in a martini glass, it needed a toothpick. But it was pretty angry about that.

And I shared that with some more friends. And well, I HAD to turn the whole thing in to a plushie pun. So now the olive is holding a heart instead of trying to remove the toothpick.

And so I have three new plushie denizens and the pirate still has a mullet and is getting pretty angry about that. Fortunately, I haven't made his sword yet or we would have real trouble.

And that list of things that I need to get done before the next show.... Well it is a pretty list and is has a few things checked off. It is what it is. And if you are at my next show looking for a monkey or a new fish to add to your collection... well you can blame a bit of a creative detour.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

 

 

Sometimes, one of the hardest things to do is decide which path to follow. I decided to make an olive. It has silly little legs. I laugh every time I think about it because I imagine all of the olives in the Mr's martini bottle of them sprouting little legs and running around all crazy as soon as the fridge light goes out.

I posted a picture of Little Miss Oliveea on Lettuce Craft, a friendly, supportive community I've been a part of for a long time. In the comments section, it occurred to me that I have almost a complete, old school relish tray. I have carrots, pickles and now olives. All I am missing is celery, radish roses and a little glass pitcher of poppy seed dressing. And as is it's wont, my tiny little mind decided I needed to make celery. 

I started sketching. Now to fit into my vision of vegetables running around all crazy in the dark, the celery needs to be kawaii with silly little legs. That is, it is best served as the top sketch from this page in my sketchbook. But oh.... that face on little Mr Celery number two is just so hard to resist.

So now, I have to make a choice, because I don't have a lot of time to make both. Which one do you want to see first?

Of course, I still have no idea how the leaves at the top are going to work but I am sure it will come to me eventually.

 

 

Today's Recipe: No Place Like Home

 

 

 

One of the hardest parts about working with upcycled denim is the variation in color you get not only between pairs of worn out jeans but within the jeans themselves.  That makes choosing the thread colors difficult.  A thread color that stands out on one shade of blue may be dull and lifeless on the next one.  Occasionally I come across a color that translates well to most.  The gold used in this ray gun badge is one of those colors. 

 

It was a random event that lead me to this color.  I bought it at a shop that was selling off a huge selection of odds and ends spools.  It was a large spool.  I have been using it for a couple years.  It is almost empty.  I went searching for a replacement. 

 

Because it was a remnant spool, the labels were not very clear.  I knew what brand it was but the numbers on the spool turned out to be size and type but not color.  They lead me to a page from that manufacturer with 20 shades of gold.  Many of them were close but the images were color swatches and not actual thread.  Without the sheen of the real thread it is very hard to tell if it is the correct one.  I had a flash of inspiration and looked inside the spool.  There was a small sticker with more numbers.  Fortunately, those matched the color numbers for the brand and I was able to find what i believed to be the proper color.

 

Finding that, lead me to a search for a vendor who carries the thread.  That lead me to Amazon where I found a spool!  I ordered it.  It arrived four days later.

 

It arrived with a return address for a shop less than 10 miles from my house.  A shop* I have been to before.  A shop I could have gone to with my almost empty spool to see if I could find a match.  A shop where I could have had the thread in hand immediately.  A shop I would have gone to last year.

 

But 2020... 

 

Next time I need new thread I will call them or go directly to their website.  I need to shop local. I need to do what I can to support the small local businesses that I used to depend on and want to be able to depend on in the future**.  There is no place like home.

 

*Remind me to tell you the story of my first visit to this shop and my first impressions and how they came back to haunt (or maybe just amuse) me some time. 

 

**This badge is one of my favorites.  It is from a series of Steampunk badge I designed specifically for a Steampunk Festival a few years ago.  I am going to have to design a steampunk sash next!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/471612650/steampunk-spaceship-ray-gun-iron-on?ref=shop_home_active_2