What I have been up to

First of all, I made more coasters.  In fact, these lemon ones are made for a friend of mine's wedding gift.  I highly doubt she actually watches this blog, but if she does, SURPRISE!  I made you coasters!

 Reminder, click to enlarge to see better quality/size images.

Then I made more corgi coasters:

 Swinging Corgis!

 Corgi Butts!

And finally I finished the Face Hugger pacifier plush is finished.

There's no actual stuffing in the middle and a non scratchy Velcro to seal the backside.  That way the pacifier can be removed/replaced if needed.

I've been essentially doing these things plus playing some Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as of late.

~Lumie

Something so Random

Courtesy of The Daily What.

Sad Puppies and Heart Kitties

I am highly thankful for the people at MyCorgi.com that help when I write a random question asking post.

House hunting from far away is frustrating, but really what else is new?

Here is something new.

I finished the kitty cake topper for my friend's wedding.  No worries about it coming in contact with the cake though, she's having a desert bar instead of a cake.  So these two will just be keeping the desert company and watching for if you come back for seconds.

Those of you who watch icanhazcheezburger.com may recognize this design.

~Lumie

Your Morning Cup of Corgi

Not my corgi, but so cute I had to share.  This is Data, owned by Chau Ly on MyCorgi.com.  I've only got the pattern cut out and the edges fray checked, so not much to post today.

As per usual, if you see your corgi on here and don't want it to be.  Leave me a comment, message, or email and I'll take them down.

~Lumie

Appa Costume and face hugger progress

So far I've drawn up patterns.  Yes, I know I'm moving slow, but considering how confused I am about my current situation (ie when I'm moving), I think it's not too bad.

Face hugger pattern.

 Appa costume pattern

Source for Appa costume pattern.  I'm going to give the original onsie to my friend Jamie for her little girl since the costume recipient is a little boy.

~Lumie

Moving East

   Alright, so there are a few new things going on in my life.  First of all, my husband got a job out in Baltimore, Maryland.  So  soon, not exactly sure when precisely, I will be moving from MN to MD.  Currently, we are investigating potential housing in the area that is reasonably priced that allows dogs.

As an aside, I did happily find a home for all my fish (since they wouldn't survive the 18 hr drive) and the recipient couldn't be any happier!  It makes me pleased to be sure.

   Also, once we are there, we are also going to be looking into getting a corgi (finally! It's been 7+ years since I've lived with a dog).  So if anyone knows a reliable breeder out that way, I'd love to hear it. <3

   I also have two new commissions coming up that I just got material for.  One is a little kid costume of Appa; the other is a face hugger pacifier.  Considering they're a local commission, I need to get hopping on it shortly.  Why pay for shipping if you don't have to, you know?

That's all for now, 

~Lumie

Will You Be My Corgi-tine?

Just drew up a few Valentine corgis.

Anyone from Maryland?

~Lumie

Build Your Own Momo part 3

So first of all, we are going to make those ears.  Take two really big sheets of firm felt and trace your ear design.   Judging by the screen caps I took, it should be two and a half heads long.

Cut both of them out.

I had to trim mine down because they were 3 inches too long.

Then I traced the ears onto my inner ear fabric.  I was fortunate enough to have fabric that is orangy-brown on one side and chocolate brown on the other. Cut them out.

Then lay the pieces on top of each other and cut them into three pieces.  I cut them evenly, but for you guys I would suggest making the bottom piece the biggest to accommodate for the later ear fuzz.

Then flip over the middle piece and swap them around so that they match up.

Align the pieces on the felt pieces to make sure you have it aligned right and then tape the front side of the pieces so that they won't shift on you.

Put down a weld line of glue on the back side of the ear pieces so that they won't separate on you.

Wait for it to cool, then align the inner ear pieces on the felt piece.  Pull back a part of the inner ear and add a little glue on the "weld lines" to get it to stay in place.  Then pull back parts of the inner ear and add glue around the edge like above and lay it down.  It doesn't matter if your fabric shows the glue lines around the edges, it's going to be covered anyways.

Trim any excess felt showing if there is any, and then repeat the last step on the other ear.

Lay your ears on the fur fabric and trace around it giving yourself 1 inch excess around the entire ear except the bottom.

Align the inner ear on the fur piece and peel up part of the inner ear to put a daub of glue between it and the fur piece so that it does not move.  Then put two glue lines down for each piece you glue.  Put one line on the edge of the inner ear and one on the edge of the fur.  Fold over the fur over the edge like shown above.  Remember, you can always enlarge these images by clicking on them.

This is how they should look when you're done.

Note the hairy glue gun.

Next we're going to work on the body.  Notice that I haven't added on the ears yet.

To figure out the length of fabric, put your hand in the puppet's mouth and lay your forearm on the fabric.  You want it to go to your elbow. Then pin the fabric around the opening to the head so that it goes around the puppet and overlaps slightly at the seam.  Once you have your cut, turn int inside out and have the puppet head facing you.  Pin it so that the furry parts are facing each other.   To glue, lift a piece of the fabric, glue, press, remove next pin, lather rinse repeat.  Make sure that the bottom part lines up as shown.

Just to show you the fur around the head and how to glue it.

Then glue the remaining edge like a seam.  Then sew a straight line  down the same edge. You want to reinforce this seam.

Turn the Momo puppet right side out.

Now we're going to work on the ears.  Fold the bottom edge over itself as shown. glue the flap down.
Then on the entire flap that you just glue down add a pool of hot glue and then press to the back of the head.

Do the same for the other ear and then let them rest and set.  I taped the back of the ears for this part so that they would not shift.

Once that has set, literally fill the basins the Momo ears have in the bottom with enough glue to cover all exposed fur.

Then put in a little plush stuffing in that basin.

Then take some of your scrap fur and make little crown pieces to glue into the inner ear.  Make sure there are some points that they touch the inner ear material.  Layer all the way to the bottom.

 Layer all the way to the bottom.

Be careful about pressing anything into the ear with the hot glue or your hand will be like mine. Burned and in pain.  I just finished icing my knee and ended up needing to perpetually ice my hand. *SIGH*

I would also suggest stitching the ears to the neck.

Next, cut out the brown felt for the stomach.  Judging by the screen shot, it's kind of lemon shaped.  Then hot glue it to the puppet's stomach.

Next cut 4 fur strips about 2 inches wide and a scissor blade long for the limbs.  Fold the fur towards each other and glue a seam.  Turn right side out.  Also, cut out four sets of little hands out of white felt.

Then pick an end for the hands to come out of, put a glue line on the edge and press the straight line of the hand.  Then put a glue line on the non glued white straight line of the hand and press the fabric down on it.  Seal the other end with hot glue.
Do this with all four limbs.

 Your puppet should have some natural folds around the neck with how it's assembled.  Glue the hands under the folds.

Glue the legs so that they stick out the bottom from the inside front of the puppet.

Next we work on the tail.  Lay it out as you want it to be seen and then take some clear necklace string on a needle and run it through the tail in a straight line as pictured above.  I usually use fishing string for this, but it shows up blue against the white fabric.

Then stitch it into the backside of the puppet and also have a line of hot glue in the middle of the tail base that touches the back.

Also make sure to stitch/glue the top section of the tail to the back of the head.

Now you have a Momo puppet!

 (Yes, that is my hubby with the puppet!)
Not bad for being the first puppet I've ever made, no?
~Lumie