#craftster

[mari-beau]

First I get to read that Tumblr is intimating that it's going to go for algorithmic bullshit, and then I find out AO3 is currently down.

HAPPY MONDAY!

[madrabbitsociety]

Have I mentioned I've never sewn satin before? Also, does anyone else miss crafting in the 2010s? I feel like we all had the best time on the craftster forums. Anyway, please consider checking out one of the funniest shows on stage in the #DMV right now. We're quite a catch, and you don't want to miss this boat. 🐟🐟🐟

https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/performing-arts/theater/red-herring

[girlhorse]

mildly annoying pet peeve is when u as a craftster or artist show someone a completed project u made and are proud of and they say like "ohh you could sell stuff like that on Etsy!" like i know they're trying to be nice but im bitchy and i hate that kind of comment lmao i just want to make things for myself not run a business babe!!!

[briarpatch-kids]

Hey it looks like you're having a difficult time so I just wanted to send in some positivity :) I love your blog and I think you're a very talented craftster! Have a fantastic day!

Thank you!! I really appreciate the support and care

[dynamoe]

As long as you're looking at random asks: I remember seeing Cakey, the Cake From Outer Space posted on Craftster, and only recently realised you were associated with that. Does someone still have the puppet? I seem to remember there was a lot of caulk involved and have always been curious how it held up.

Thank you for your kind question and even more for not calling me "mommy."

Cakey the Cake from Outer Space was a web series I wrote/directed (with co-creator/puppeteer Kirk Damato and my roommate Bill Buckendorf on editing/cinematography) It was a goofy Alf-type sitcom where everything was... off. We made episodes for Channel 102 and then Adult Swim's SuperDeluxe (first incarnation) commissioned more episodes, but then imploded, so no one ever saw them officially (they're all over the web now. Do a google and find Cakey if you want)

A still from Cakey that a rando put a much less funny joke on top of but that's meme's for ya!

I haven't seen Cakey in years but the puppet wasn't made of professional-grade materials so I'm sure... after all this time... he nasty.

Upholstery foam "cake" with a set in half-circle mouth in lighter foam sheets. Outside entirely frosted with heavy paint mixed with caulk and piping was done with a pastry bag with more caulk. Chocolate sprinkles and cherries were FIMO/Sculpey.

The puppet is still owned by Cakey's voice and operator who made a NEW Cakey for his solo project Cakey and the Master (I wasn't involved) The 2nd Cakey puppet looks more foam-y (no frosting) but it is probably more expressive and easier to puppeteer. Old Cakey was tough to work with; a real prima donna baked good on set.

The original puppet was made by Erika Kern, who was a serious craftster who had done props for my anime-live-on-stage show NeoTokyo GirlCrush at UCB. One of those props was a standard "fake cake" — a cylinder of foam "frosted" with paint — which are made for window displays and as bottom tiers of real cakes. I asked her if it would be possible to cut a face into the side of this cake and make it talk. She ran off and made it.

The idea to make the show was similarly "hey, how 'bout this idea" level planning. We'd walk by this billboard in Chinatown of old people looking at a glowing, levitating birthday cake. All the copy's in Chinese so we have no idea what's even being advertised (I think it was Western Union).

I requested a Black Forest Cake with cherries (leading to a million fucking "The Cake is a Lie" youtube comments.) I also wanted Cakey to have cherry antennas that rose out of his head like My Favorite Martian but she passed on making those. Erica was just guessing how to make a puppet through trial and error... going with whatever looked good.

On filming days, if the room was cold, Cakey would be a solid lump. Kirk had to flex the mouth over and over to warm up the puppet to move it at all. The whole surface was so stiff and the paint on the corners of his mouth chipped off as he spoke, had to be repainted constantly. Cakey's foam rotted on the inside from hand-moisture so the roof of his mouth was always nearly going to tear through.

We made episodes of for a monthly screening called Channel 102 in NY (Later renamed Channel 101-NY to bring it under the same umbrella as LA's Channel 101.) We had less than 4 weeks to make any episode and never if you would get "renewed" until the night of the screening based on audience vote. We had zero budget. No prize. We did it just because we wanted to make a thing.

Did I cover all the unsolved mysteries of Cakey?

[jancola]

I miss craftster

Is there another website with a similar vibe? Where did all the craftsters go?

[thelonegunmenlive]

Some Lone Gunmen cuties made by Annie Cardella

[ladybuggirlcrafts]

This is the second patch made for me by my partner in a patch swap on Craftster! Isn’t it exquisite?! I almost cried seeing it! It includes: a stream, rocks, trees, and a cute heart in the corner. I love my bestie! #Craftster#bestie#bestfriends#patch#embroideryart #stream#rocks#trees#nature#love#talent

[storerboughtcreations]

Nerdly the Fox. A pillow I made as a raffle prize in the Nerd Games on Craftster

[red--dragoon]

Hi, I just discovered your little FE crochets and they are the cutest!!! I love them so so so much. Do you have a specific doll base that you use for them, or did you make the base pattern up yourself?

Aww, thank you, that makes me so happy to hear ^_^

And yep, I do have a base! Though I've tweaked it since starting out, the pattern I began with and still pretty much follow is this one (though the forum it was on is now dead so this is a webarchive link, RIP Craftster). It's a great base, and just adding a couple extra or less stitches in certain places can make lots of different shapes/body types!

[kittenstrinkets-blog]

I just learned that most shops use acrylic paint to color their fur? The seamstress and the artist in me are both kind of screaming right now because of how wrong that is, but I’m really tempted to try it because 1) dying non-natural fibers gives off serious fumes and I always worry for my cats’ health when I do it at home, and 2) if everyone else is doing it, can’t be seen as terrible.

Before I join them because no way can I beat them, here’s my mini rant on why acrylic paint is a terrible choice for this:

1) Acrylic paint is water soluble. Obvious big problem

2) Aside from some special mural techniques, costumes that will only be seen on stage and cheap t shirts, you *never* paint fabrics. You always dye them. 

3) Shouldn’t you treat faux fur fabric much more like hair than you would treat it like a shitty cotton t-shirt? For example, I try not to send my fur through the wash, and often use wig spray to detangle it

4) Paint will make the fur hard to some extent, and definitely won’t feel soft to the touch. I don’t care what people say, it’s just the truth. It also cracks and shrinks as it dries. 

5) Acrylic paint comes in a wiiiiiiiiide variety of qualities. Do I use my shitty wal mart acrylics on the fur or do I use my precious Dick Blicks? Lolol picturing myself using “burnt umber” on fur. (PS: Burnt umber is actually W’s favorite paint color. I read that in an interview xP)

6) THEY MAKE FABRIC PAINTS for all the exceptions I listed in 2. Why wouldn’t you at least use fabric paint and not acrylics? Just checked to make sure I’m not being stupid here, and even JOANNS sells spray fabric paint that does not appear to be acrylic in any way. I always assumed the top shops had re-engineered their airbrushers to take fabric paint, not that they’re spraying acrylic paint onto their ears. There are actually many kinds of specialized paint that exist for any number of applications, so using grade-school art class basic acrylic seems mindblowing to me.

7) Once again, acrylic paint is water soluble! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills here.

I’m really trying not to be a snob, and I get that paint can be expensive, dye can be expensive, and learning the proper techniques can be expensive. This just feels like when I found out most ears were made by gluing fur to cardboard without dealing with the raw edges. Please understand that these things go against everything I’ve been taught from childhood about crafts from both professionals and hobbyists who really loved and understood their craft. It’s a little mindblowing to find out a shop that sells out within minutes during their releases are using these techniques.

But anyways, like I said I can’t beat them, and luckily for me I have a million paint brushes, white faux fur, and a few dozen bottles of acrylic paints hanging around, so I’m going to be experimenting with this. 

Please please don’t let this be my one post that blows up and gets me a reputation for being a snob. If you have issues with my issues, please just talk to me. I promise that 90% of the time I’m not bitching and that if we talk I will be a nice person, even if we never agree. Thanks!

[marshmallord]

i miss bible’s diy craftster era

[sol-flo]

entranced and enamored by this handmade plushie on a craftster forum from 2008

[release-the-quackin]

How do you do the edelgard Amiguri?? Is there a pattern you use? Or just freehand? Any tips?

Hi! I hope it didn’t take too long to get to this ask, I don’t check my inbox too often ^^; I’ll put the answer below a read-more since it turned out pretty long:

I've never been good at writing down patterns and end up freehanding pretty much everything (even in situations where writing at least something down would be helpful, like with symmetrical parts lol) However, I do have a link to a pattern for a basic doll body! It's what I used as my jumping-off point when I first started, and is still pretty close to how I make dolls today. It was on the now-dead forum Craftster, so you'll have to use a Web Archive link. You can find it here: https://web.archive.org/web/20200809112602/https://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=403946.0

For Edelgard in particular, she's a relatively old doll that I would have done a lot of things differently if I made her today. Luckily I do still have the doll, so I can look closely at it if you have any questions! I'll try to give a few pointers based on what I think might be more difficult parts:

• The hair is sewn directly onto the head, except for the... bangs? Not the right word, but the two strands that frame her face. Those were crocheted, then fluffed up slightly using a nap riser brush to make it more... hairy? I'm not too eloquent today lol.

• The shorts are surface crocheted directly onto the upper legs. I think her sleeve cuffs are as well.

• I used a felting needle to keep hair in place, but nowadays I would also use clear nail polish, especially on those strands of hair that hang past her shoulders to keep them smooth and pointy (which is what I did for this doll, who has a similar hairstyle). I would also possibly try to make the 'bangs' with this technique as well, but it probably wouldn't work...

• Those ornamental buckle things on her shorts are french knots, I remember that specifically for some reason.

That's all I can really think of right now, but if there's anything in particular you want to know, I can try to help with those specifics. Good luck! :)

[with-the-same-tattoos]

As an artster and craftster, pls don't be to hard on yourself for it turning out....meh. Such is the way of crafting , sometimes you make something that you are really content with and sometimes you stare at your mountain of hot glue like it's Frankensteins creation and you wonder how you will keep the villagers away from torching your house. (I am still in awe over that little eel you did. I love him. Also exited to see the little guys)

;;; 😭 god this made me grin snarl giggle SO much we really are odd lil artesans... hiding away manmade horrors in our houses lest. they be discovered and unearthed like horrors... THANK YOU SO MUCH I WILL KEEP GOING ; V ; the hot glue burns feel better 2day anf I have got wool to needle and i will try to make a little guy to present 2 u soon 💪💪💪

Also ajdjsk;;;tysm!!! Eel is framed now akd i may work on the paint a LITTLE more but i also have some more honeycomb cartboard 2 mess w 😎 may even do a self portrait. Moore.fish, more likelu but. Never hurts to concider.

[onceuponacrochet]

Little cutie Gir. I made this while rewatching the entire first season of Invader Zim! I wanted to make the zipper for Gir out of felt but my local Micheal’s did not have any grey felt. And I don’t know if I just didn’t stuff him properly but his neck has no support at all. But he’s very cute and I love how he came out! I found the pattern for Gir HERE but it looks like the Craftster website that hosted the page is no longer working.