I seem to know so many ladies with a newborn, or a baby on the way. There really is nothing sweeter than a handmade gift for a new person. My friend Christa contacted me awhile back and said they wanted some hand crafted toys for their daughter Paloma, and she left it up to me to figure out what to make. I agonized a little bit, but then some great stuff happened.
I decided on a bunny because I had this great yarn to use for the ears (very pink and tactile) and a sturdy variegated cotton for the body (which worked up in an accidentally perfect off white oval for the belly! I did not even plan it!).
I also think all kids should have a sock monkey. I especially like to use non-conventional socks for the process. I had a pair of pastel green wool socks that had felted quite a bit after one wash, and while still gorgeous, they were too tight and small for wearing. So I made a monkey. With eyelashes. And double sewn arms, legs and tail to survive what I hope will be a whole lotta dragging around the house.
I did not want to leave Mom out, because new mamas get a lot of stuff for the baby but rarely much that is meant just for them. Christa had dyed her hair a fantastic shade of hot pink and posted some pictures, and one of them in particular just grabbed right at my emotional core. It just looked like such a statuesque vision of modern new motherhood.
I printed the picture, opened a blank document, and used my monitor screen as a light box to trace the outline in pencil. Then I used a Sharpie to firm up the lines. I took a sheet of shrink film (just like Shrinky Dink paper) and sanded the sheet in both directions If you skip this step colored pencils won't make firm colors on the sheet). I taped the film over my drawing and traced it in colored pencil and then filled in the colored areas. Then I cut it into a square and baked it at 320 degrees, fingers crossed the whole time. Shrink film curls in the oven and then flattens out, and because my original square was kind of big (maybe 5" wide and 4" high?) I was worried the edges would curl back onto themselves and stick, which would have put me back to retracing everything and trying again. But lo, the edges did not stick to themselves and the plastic flattened out, and the image began to shrink, making the colored pencil super crisp and vivid. SQUEE!!! When the plastic was cool I layered it with some clear embossing powder and baked it again until there was a super shiny, water proof coating that looks a lot like glass all over the top to protect the image from scratches and make the whole thing look a lot more polished. I cut out some light pink card stock and used Diamond Glaze to attach it to the back of the image (It dries clear and strong and won't make the image look wonky) and then attached a neodymium magnet to the back. It turned out so well it was all I could do to keep myself from posting pictures of it immediately, but I figured it was only fair to allow Christa to see it first. But now she has it and loves it, so I am in the clear!
I can post better instructions for this if any one is interested. I can even include photos of the supplies I used and a step by step process.
