New Colorful Knit Dragon Joins the Menagerie at CreativeCritters

This colorful knit dragon is the latest addition to the menagerie of critters available from CreativeCritters.

I challenged myself to create a knitting pattern from scratch for a cute and brightly colored dragon.  I made it up as I went along, writing down what worked, and trying again when something didn't turn out quite as I wanted.  I learned how to follow a sewing pattern many years ago, and using that knowledge (and a lot of trial and error) I figured out how to make my own original patterns.  That's essentially how I made this guy.  I thought of the shapes I would need if I were to create a sewing pattern for a creature like this, then I figured out how to knit those shapes and sew them together.  It wasn't easy- that's for sure!  But I do enjoy a challenge, and I like testing and improving my artistic skills, so although it took a lot of time, I really had fun bringing this fantasy dragon to life,  I used bright purple (my favorite color) for his body, which I knit in a garter stitch.  I used a stockinette stitch and bright yellow yarn for the dragon's belly and the underside of his tail.

I gave him triangular spikes that were knit in bright red yarn.  I sewed all the various parts onto the dragon very securely and stuffed him with polyester fiberfill.  The wings were a bit of a challenge.  I considered creating knit wings, but really wanted them to be more lightweight.  I didn't want to have to use wires to help them hold their shape, as I've done with plush dragons in the past.  I wanted this to be a toy that kids could hugs and cuddle, without any sharp or hard parts.  So I decided to use red and purple felt (I just happened to have exactly the right colors in my fabric stash).  I drew out a wing pattern on paper and used that as my guide.  Then I sewed veins into the wings to give them more stability.

This cute stuffed animal measures about 15 inches long and 15 inches tall.  This guy's pretty special, and I hope when he sells he goes to a loving home.  Until then he can hang out here and make me smile =)  If you want to purchase this dragon, or read more details about him, just click on any of the pictures to be taken to the listing in my shop.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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My newest fantasy sculpture

Dragon Fairy OOAK sculpture

My one of a kind Dragon Fairy sculpture is the latest polymer clay addition to CreativeCritters.  A lot of emotion (and time and effort) went into this sculpture. I really put my soul into this piece.  I love sculpting dragons, and I've been quite inspired by Halloween lately, so that set the tone of the sculpture.  When choosing the clay colors I wanted for this project, I was thinking of Halloween colors- red, black, and purple.  One of the things I wanted to get across is that the fairy is NOT human.  That's one of the reasons I chose to make her green and made sure her pointed ears showed through her black, purple, and red hair.  Of course the large dragon wings growing from her back make it pretty clear that she's not human as well.  And another small, but surprisingly effective, touch was to give her simple reptilian eyes with elliptical black pupils.  Once I painted her facial features she really came to life.  I also wanted to express the intense bond between the fairy and her dragon.  They will be together their whole lives (100's of years) and are completely devoted to one another.  When the baby dragon is old enough they'll soar through the skies together surveying their vast territory.  Another inspiration for this piece was my kitten Calcifer.  I feel that devotion from him, and this is the exact position he likes to cuddle in.  He even buries his face in my hair, just like the blue eyed dragon.  I do believe there's a bit of fairy magic in this sculpture, and my muse worked overtime providing ideas and inspiration for this one!


If you click on the pictures they'll take you directly to the listing.  Thanks so much for sharing the creativity!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Give your sweetheart a handmade teddy bear for Valentine's day

I've been having a lot of fun creating handmade, one of a kind teddy bears lately.  Bears like Throckmorton (with the long teal blue fur) and Perdita (with the purple fur) are made from high quality faux fur fabric and stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  In the case of Throckmorton, I also added plastic pellets to add weight and "floppiness".  Throckmorton is 17 inches tall and his sister, Perdita is 18 inches tall.  Both have plastic safety joints in their arms, legs, and head.  They also have plastic safety eyes and embroidered mouths.

Then there are my knit bears, which were created with acrylic yarn and stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  The little purple bear measures 6 1/2 inches tall, the pink, red, and white bear measures 11 1/2 inches tall, and the cream and gold bear measures 18 inches tall.  I embroidered the eyes, mouth and nose for the small purple bear.  The larger knit bears have plastic safety eyes and noses, and embroidered mouths.

 

All of the pictures are linked, and will take you directly to the listings.  Thanks so much for checking out my sweet and cuddly handmade teddy bears!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Beautiful Beads from Gottbeads on Artfire.com

Joyce Gott, of Glendale, AZ. opened Gottbeads on ArtFire.com 3-13-09.  Her Studio Announcement states: "Hello, welcome to Gottbeads, a destash store.  I have been purchasing beads for many years and have finally come to the conclusion that I will never live long enough to use them all.  So I am going to destash my overloaded shelves and share lots of items with you.  I hope you enjoy purchasing these items as much as I did.  My studio is a smoke free environment."

Her Artisan Biography reads: "I have been beading for about 10 years.  I have been known to overindulge when purchasing beads, often buying 2, 3 or more strands, when 1 strand was probably enough.  I have now decided to share my overstocked inventory with you, as I have just about taken over every room in the house.  I will continue to make jewelry and sell it in my other ArtFire studio Accessories by Gottjoy.  And yes, I'll probably overindulge myself when it comes to buying beads- which means I'll just have more to sell in my destash studio".

I don't know about you, but all these pretty beads give me the urge to create!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Finally listed Scorch the Rockin' Dragon

This is Scorch the Rockin' Dragon, a sculpture I completed some time ago, but just listed on Artfire.com. This is my biggest sculpture so far- 14" tall and 18 1/2" long. It took over a month to complete him. The whole thing started when my husband brought back a poster from the guitar store and said, "wouldn't it be cool if you made this dragon playing a guitar?". I must admit, Scorch is really cool, but he took a LOT of work. Each scale has 2 layers- one black, one shimmering red, and each scale was cut out individually by hand. There are literally thousands of scales. I found some really cool shimmering red beads for eyes and gave him a beard, head fringe, and tail fringe by sandwiching black clay between sheets of bright green clay. His yellow underbelly and chest plated were made with yellow clay outlined in black. He uses his long yellow claws to play his polymer clay wood grain guitar. I used beading wire for the strings and modelled it after one of my husband's guitars. Under one hind foot is a silver stomp box, also modelled after my husband's gear. His other foot is propped up on a black amp made from plaster with a screen framed in wood on the front (to look like the speaker). I mounted the sculpture on a heavy wooden base and signed and dated the bottom of the base. It took me a while to list this guy because I'm pretty attached to him. I'd be really happy if someone bought him though, because I'm sure they'd give him a good home. This sculpture represents many hours of hard work and trying new things. I tried sculpting the guitar several times before I was satisfied with the result. It helped having a real guitar as a model. And Scorch is a one of a kind creation, of course, as is most of my work. If you'd like to see more pictures of Scorch you can click on his picture or visit CreativeCritters on Artfire. I also have several other (smaller) dragons listed, as well as my line of dragon necklaces. Thanks for stopping by!

My first dragon necklace

I just listed the first dragon necklace I made on ArtFire.com. I spent a lot of time on this, trying to make sure I got it just right. The dragon is about 3 1/2" long and 3 1/2" tall, and the entire necklace is about 22" long. I sculpted the dragon in polymer clay and actually cut out each and every scale, one by one (very time consuming, but I just love the effect). I used gold clay for the belly, horns, and the tip of his tail. I used shimmering red clay for his scales and wings. I added gold embossing powder to the center of the wings before baking them. I gave the dragon green glass beads for eyes and used a polymer clay tube bead between his wings in order to string him on the necklace. While the sculpting was difficult and time consuming, I think the beading may have been even more so. I used a combination of acrylic, glass, and metal beads in red and gold hues. I've never taken any jewelry making classes or been taught anything about the art. I just imagine what I want a piece to look like and try to figure out how to accomplish that. I knew I wanted to use 2 strands of beading wire so I could be sure the necklace was strong enough, as well as be able to have 2 strands of beads. Actually, the necklace is surprisingly light, but I still like the double strand effect. I beaded the necklace 3 separate times before I was satisfied with the pattern. I really don't have anywhere to plan my designs before actually stringing them. In the past it wasn't much of a concern because I didn't make necklaces, but now I've got quite a few ideas running through my head, so I may have to fix that. I'm already almost done with my second dragon necklace. The thing I love about these is that you have a really cool piece of fantasy sculpture that you can wear!


You can click on the picture to visit my Artfire studio. Thanks for looking!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters