Ten Thousand Hours

Tuba Bell Engraving

2016-09-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

My first tuba bell engraving! In case you can't see it too well, the design is of an art nouveau-style woman's profile with her hair flowing around the curve of the bell.

It was so much fun to do this design, the metal was very soft and easy to engrave. It was the first time I put together a complete/uniform composition vs. doing little "doodles" here and there throughout the instrument.

This tuba got donated to a local middle school; hope it brings joy to lots of students who end up playing it in marching band!

Time to complete: 8 hours

State Flower Tattoo for Myself

2016-09-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

Back in September of 2015, I designed myself a tattoo that included the state flowers for all three states I've lived in:

The state flowers are orange blossom (Florida), rose (New York) and dogwood (North Carolina). It's been a decade and a half since my first tattoo, so this was an exciting and fun project to work on!

Below are photos of the completed tattoo (I decided to keep it in simple black ink):

Total time: 3.5 hours

Open Source Saxophone Project Logo/Sticker

2016-09-20T10:30:00.000-04:00

My husband Matt started a new project called the Open Source Saxophone Project. Below is the logo/sticker that I designed for him:

Just so you can see the design process, I've included his original drawing:

Check out the website here!

Total time taken to design: 3.5 hours

More Miscellaneous Saxophone Engravings

2016-09-19T15:36:00.000-04:00

Here are some more engraving practice projects I've completed so far this year:

Below is my first attempt at re-engraving. The metal was extremely hard/brittle, so lots of slippage!

Time taken to complete: 15 hours total

Praying Mantis Tattoo

2016-09-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

Another tattoo design request! Below are the drawings (black & white and color versions) for a praying mantis design:

And here's the mantis outline on my friend's arm!

Once it's colored in, I'll post an update photo (possibly sometime in November).

Time taken to design and draw: 3.5 hours

Crocheted Stag Head

2016-09-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

I've always wanted a stuffed stag head for my house, but didn't want to go out and kill a deer and then learn how to taxidermy it. Compulsive crocheting to the rescue!

The pattern for this stag head can be found in Vanessa Mooncie's awesome book, Animal Heads. Check out her other books, too, they're all great!

Time to complete: 23 hours

First Completely Engraved Saxophone

2016-09-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

Starting around 2014, I began teaching myself how to engrave saxophones. In May of 2015, I completed my first "junk" saxophone:

I couldn't resist inserting a bit of a joke:

Time taken to complete: 20 - 30 hours (sharpening gravers takes a lot of time!)

State Flower Tattoo Design

2016-09-15T14:36:00.003-04:00

I recently designed this full-arm tattoo for a friend:

The flowers included in this design are the Syringa (Idaho), Rhododendron (Washington), Bitterroot (Montana), Yellow Jessamine (South Carolina) and Dogwood (North Carolina).

Here's what it looks like with the simple black ink outline done:

The flowers are life-size and represent each year that she's lived in a specific state. Here's the tattoo with some beautiful color added:

This design was so much fun to draw! I'm so grateful to my friend for asking me to do this project for her, thank you!

Time taken to design: 4.5 hours

Crocheted Hat & Scarf Set

2016-01-29T21:58:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week I made a scarf & hat set for my almost-two-year-old daughter:

Here she is proudly modeling it!

The pattern for the hat can be found here (I made it using multiples of 6 vs 8 to fit her smaller head), and the scarf is just alternated single crochet/double crochet rows 10 stitches across. The yarn is Lamb's Pride Bulky in Lotus Pink.

Time taken to make for hat: 1 hour
Time taken to make scarf: 1.5 hours

Handmade Shirts

2014-09-02T22:32:00.000-04:00

I've decided to try my hand at making clothes for my son now that he's not outgrowing his stuff so quickly! Using my husband's old shirts (I guess the hip term is "upcycling") plus some iron-on transfers, I made him two different raw-edged raglan tees.

This is the one he calls his "spaceman shirt":

And here is the "bird shirt":

The graphic on the above shirt is connected to one of my favorite Google searches, "birds with arms":

If you've made a few simple clothing items using a sewing machine, this project might be slightly challenging but not super-difficult (no serger required, either, just a zigzag stitch function). You can find the pattern and instructions in the book Sewing for Boys.

Time taken to make each shirt: 3 hours

Colored Pencil Animal Drawings for Baby Room

2013-04-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

In order to add some decoration to my son's room, I made two animal drawings using colored pencils.

Method: I traced a couple of photos from David Attenborough's book Life on Earth then transferred them onto Canson Mi-Tientes colored pastel paper. After transferring, I filled in the outlines with colored pencil, much like one would do with a coloring book. :) I really like the results, and am looking forward to applying this technique to future paintings/collages.

I used Polychromos colored pencils (made in Germany). These are oil-based so if you want to do life-like drawings with them, you can use a bit of citrus solvent with a brush or Q-tip and "melt" the pigments together for a beautiful blended effect. The leads on these pencils are super durable, I didn't have to deal with constant breakage like I've found with Prismacolor pencils. As an added bonus, they don't bloom like the wax-based Prismacolors do.

It took around 11 hours total to do both drawings, start to finish.

Needle Felted Macaroon Magnets

2013-04-05T12:51:00.000-04:00

Just look at those faces!

I wanted some more colorful items to put on my fridge and filing cabinets, so I decided to needle felt these macaroons in different "flavors" and turn them into magnets. There's a bit of wool covering the back of each magnet, which should ensure many years of use without the magnet discs detaching from the macaroon.

The magnets are rare earth neodymium, found on Amazon. All small parts are glued on using Mod Podge Fabric glue.

Below you can see the magnets on a fridge and a workshop vice:

If you're into wool felting but can't seem to find a reliable source for your wool roving, felting needles, etc., check out Weir Dolls and Crafts. They have so much amazing stuff and their prices are great! Living Felt has great customer service and product selection as well, but their prices tend to run a bit higher.

Each macaroon magnet took me around 30 minutes each. They're all listed on my Etsy shop, in the Needle Felted Magnets section.

Needle Felted Birds

2013-04-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

These needle felted birds/ducks were supposed to be for a baby mobile, but that idea got shot as soon as the baby was born (no free time during the newborn phase, which was when I wanted him to have a mobile!). Now they all sit on a dashboard, adding some welcome color to the interior of my car.

They look quite serious, but I think their colorfulness makes up for their straight faces. :)

For the longest time, I was like, "These birds remind me of something..." If you're a Wallace & Gromit fan, you'll recognize the penguin below as one of the stars of the episode "The Wrong Trousers":

Time taken to make each bird: 4 hours

Knitted Cotton Bib

2012-08-09T11:37:00.000-04:00

Wowzers, another long break was taken since my last post here! I *do* have a very good excuse, though... my son was born in early February! Yay!

In keeping with the baby theme, I wanted to post about a knitted bib that I made for him during my pregnancy.

When I made it I didn't know he was gonna be a boy, so I tried to keep the colors gender-neutral (though now when I look at it I think it's a tad girly).

The bib is made from 100% cotton Sugar n' Cream yarn.

The pattern is from the book Knitting for Baby.

It took some intermediate/advanced skills (picking up all of the stitches around the curved edges was a real pain) + tools (circular needles). I rented it from the library, it was the only item I made from the book so I'm not sure how easy/difficult the rest of the patterns are.

Here's a photo of my little sweetpea, proudly modeling his handmade bib! :)

Total time: 6.5 hours
[The only one I'll make, since it took so long! But hey, it's an heirloom piece.]

More Crocheted Stuffed Animals!

2012-01-30T11:45:00.005-05:00

Here are some more crocheted stuff animals I made recently, lots of variety (species-wise) going on. All of these critters are available on Etsy!

Seal:

Hippo:

Octopus:

Parasaurolophus:

Turtle:

Time taken (all approximate):

Seal - 4 hours

Hippo - 5 hours

Octopus - 5 hours

Parasaurolophus - 6.5 hours

Turtle - 5.5 hours

Crocheted Bird "Rattles"

2012-01-28T11:45:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine who has a young child recently told me that very small babies aren't as interested in plain stuffed animals as they are in things that make noise. In order to accommodate their developmental needs, I recently crocheted some bird "rattles" that have two 25mm-sized bells, one in the head and one in the body. Check them out!

I'm hoping to make enough of these in the next few months to sell at local consignment shops as well as on my Etsy store. The birds are crocheted with 100% cotton yarn (instead of acrylic), so they're perfect for little teething kiddos. :)

The pattern for these birdies can be found in Stacey Trock's book, Cuddly Crochet.

Total time for each bird: 3.5 hours

Crocheted Play Food

2012-01-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

Here are some new items that I put up on Etsy recently, crocheted "play food"! Great for keeping around on your desk at work or for little kid's tea parties.

Fruit Set:

Falafel:

Pumpkin Pie:

Total times:
Fruits - 6 hours
Falafel - 6 hours
Pumpkin Pie - 4 hours

Design Project: Stohrer Music Business Cards

2012-01-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

I recently got "commissioned" by my husband Matt to make him some new business cards.

In his words: "I actually had this idea for a card before we moved away from NYC, while we were just talking about [moving to the country]. Had to wait until now to use it." Now that we've finally made it out to the countryside, it's time for this card to be put to use!

Here are a couple of Matt's initial drawings:

I scanned his drawings into my laptop and line traced some of the elements in Illustrator. I also used some .eps symbols (like the music notes) and vector-based pictures (the tree) to complete the design. The typeface is an unusual one called Ebrima.

Here is the final product:

I love how it's not just a business card, it's also a small glimpse into our new business-owning lives that tells a story.

Time spent: 6 hours

Needle Felted Bear

2011-11-14T12:00:00.002-05:00

Needle felting is a versatile medium that allows you to make everything from small figurines to apparel and artsy wall hangings. It's accomplished by using barbed needles and wool roving. Basically, you stick the needle into the loose wool over and over again so that the barbs tangle up the fibers and make the wool condensed (vs. remaining fluffy). With this technique, you can make flat sheets of felt OR stick the needle into a mass of wool in order to sculpt a 3D object.

The repeated motion of poking the felting needle into the wool can be pretty meditative. I really enjoy this hobby because it allows me to be "in the moment" AND I love sculpting stuff! It's also a treat to handle all of the colorful raw wool when the weather is getting cold outside. :) A nice bonus is the fact that wool is non-toxic and environmentally friendly.

The bear shown below is one of the first needle felted items I made. He's even got moving joints, which makes him pose-able.

To make the bear, I used a kit from Living Felt.

For more information on how to needle felt or to purchase supplies, check out the sites below:

Living Felt (instructional videos, supplies, kits)
Weir Dolls & Crafts (supplies, kits, books)
Ornamentea (supplies, PDF tutorials)

Below is a list of recommended books:

Needle Felting to the Point
Wool Pets
Little Felted Animals
Needle Felted Figures
The Art of Feltmaking (also has info on wet felting)

If you have any questions about needle felting, please leave a comment!

Total time to make the bear: 5.5 hours

Crochet Dinos!

2011-11-12T15:47:00.001-05:00

Quick note: Long time no post! Life has been a bit crazy-busy lately, and also my husband and I recently moved out to the countryside and now have very limited internet access. BUT I still plan on posting here on a more regular basis again soon. I'm currently experimenting with oil pastels, colored pencils and watercolor crayons, too, so perhaps some artwork will go up here in the next couple of months! Oh and I've also gotten into needle felting! :)

When I was little, I really wanted to be a paleontologist... dinosaurs are the coolest! Below are some cuddly little crochet dinos that I made a few months ago:

The easy-to-follow patterns for making the critters above can be found on www.planetjune.com!

Each dino represents around 3.5 hours of work, which totals out to 10.5 hours.

"Spot" the Dog

2011-07-06T20:20:00.000-04:00

This little guy is a crochet puppy with an adorable orange spot around one eye. I want to adopt a dog so badly, but crochet dogs will have to do for now. :)

Made using Red Heart acrylic and a size 4.0mm crochet hook. Some small glass orbs were placed inside the body along with the stuffing to weigh the dog in a balanced manner (so he would sit up on his own).

The pattern is from Amigurumi World:

Time: approximately 2 hours

Crocheted Miniduck

2011-07-04T17:48:00.003-04:00

More crochet critters! This one's a little duck, just about 3 inches tall.

I used the "Tiny Ami" pattern from the book Amigurumi World by Ana Paula Rimoli. Her books are awesome (I have all three), highly recommended even for the absolute beginner.

Really loving how durable these crocheted animals feel and it seems much easier to make round shapes and limbs vs. with knitting. More to come soon! Just listed this little guy on Etsy.

Total time: around 1.5 hours

Knitted Kangaroo Mom & Baby Set

2011-06-28T11:36:00.000-04:00

This mother kangaroo & joey set was made from a pattern found in the previously mentioned World of Knitted Toys book. As you can see from the photos below, the joey is its own entity and can be played with either in the mom's pouch or completely independently!

The joey is 5.5" tall, the mom is 12.5" tall and 14" wide at the base. I used Red Heart acrylic worsted weight yarn in the "Williamsburg Print" color, using size 3 needles.

Time to complete: approximately 14 hours (!)

Crocheted Hippo!

2011-06-27T18:47:00.007-04:00

This is my first attempt at a crocheted (vs. knitted) "amigurumi". Because crochet comes out thicker than knitting, this hippo turned out to be very durable-feeling, which makes me think that crochet might be a better choice for small children's toys.

The hippo is roughly 5 inches in length, not including the tail. I used Red Heart acrylic worsted weight yarn in the "Primary" color and a 4.0mm crochet hook. The pattern is from a booklet called Easy Crochet Critters:

Total time: 2 hours (a little quicker than knitting!)

Knitted Piggy 2.0

2011-05-13T15:17:00.002-04:00

Back in February, I made a knitted pig for the first time. Here's my second attempt, using multicolored yarn and solid black eyes. Looks much cuter this time around, methinks!

Time: approximately 4 hours