More Dudes...Yeah, Baby!

After breaking down the Superman set (see previous post), I set out to get the proper scene for the "dudes" I just completed. I was impressed with the "dudes" made by Kimberly Chapman and was ready to create a challenge for myself: Austin Powers!

I originally began making these little dudes for my "little dude," but after the many hours of creating, I think I might have to keep these for myself.

I foud the hair to be the most challenging piece for these groovy dudes. It was a really tight knit and difficult to get the embroidery needle through the head (I had to use pliers for Austin to pull through the dense layers).


For Miss Kensington, I stitched in the hair and used some hairspray to shape and hold her doo.


Austin's glasses were also an issue. I completed them last night at 1:30am only to realize that one side of his frames was WAY bigger than the other. I had to tear it all out (not an easy task) and start again (I finally got to bed at 2:45).

I purposefully left off mouths on my dudes. I like to be able to imagine their expressions and moods.


I did place the scar on Dr. Evil's right eye. It is understated, but you can spot it if you are looking ("But don't look too close or I will put you in the tank with the ill tempered sea bass...Mooooohaaaha Ha!").

To give you an idea of their size, here is the gang next to a spare "D" cell from Mason's swing (don't worry, Mason. I'll give it back!).

Over all, I think they turned out smashing, baby!


These are all the dudes so far (I did make a wee ninja, but I can never find him...too stealthy!). I am plannning on making more. If there is a challenge you would like to submit, please do! I am always looking for more ways to further my obsession.

Roll the Montage!


"Come on, Vanessa! Back to my groovy jumbo jet!"


"Austin, you ARE and Man of Mystery!"


"I'll get you, Austin Powers, if it's the last thing I do! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha! Mooooohaaaha Ha!..."

Superman Returns

So, I have been WAY into knitting lately. It is a hobby gone obsessive. But it is not scarves or hats or cute, furrry mittens that gets me excited. Lately, I have been into knitting Little Dudes!

I spent today setting up a photo shoot for some of my recent dudes. Jen was amused by my dedication to my art and snapped a few of me intensly getting the shot just so.


Superman was my first "dude." I made him for my 4 month old son, Mason after running across the pattern online (Kimberly Chapman has a great site with many free knitting project patterns including some of her own "dudes"). He really digs this dude and loves to slobber on his head.


And now...The Montage!


"Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!
It's Super-Little-Dude!"


"Daah, da, da, dun, daah... Daah, dun, daah.."


"Daah, da, da, dun, daah...Deeump, ta, daah!"

Another Chalking

Ok, one more chalk set, and then I promise to give it a rest for awhile. The reason I have so many of these is I use them in my lessons at school. Many of these paintings are temporary (done on flimsy black butcher paper with cheap chalks) and used in teaching the lesson, up in the room for awhile, then off to the recycling bin. It's nice to have a place to keep them alive and share them with others.


Here is the heart. It was actually done in layers over several days. Each day, I would build on top of the existing work. Here's the breakdown:
Day 1: I taught about arteries, veins and capilaries as well as the travel to and from the heart. At this point, the heart was nothing but a blob of reddish hue.
Day 2: We began the discussion of how blood enters the heart (Inferior and Superior Vena Cava), exits to the lungs (pulmonary arteries, re-enters the heart from the lungs (pulmonary veins) and finally gets pumped back out to the body (Aorta).
Day 3: The atriums and ventricles and valves along with a recap.

Here's another chalking I did. Can you guess what I was going for?


If you said, "zits," I guess I should go back to the drawing board (literally), or you should go back to 5th grade. If you said, "aveoli," you are correct and I did my job well because I made this stuff.

There's a Moon Out Tonight

Just a quick bit of chalkwork from my unit on astronomy. This was the first chalk painting I did this year for my class. They provided the usual response of "Man, how'd you do that?!" to which I gave my usual wise crack of "With chalk." And I wonder why I get so much lip from the kids. I guess I made that monster, and I made this stuff.

This Man Knits

I have suffered many snide looks when I mention that I have "a thing" for knitting. These looks usually come from those of my same gender. I guess most men out there in the world when they think of knitting, think of the furry scarves and grandma's crochet throw. So, this one is for all those men out there that think of knitting as a woman's sport.


If you want to give it a go, you may find the free pattern HERE, but I made this stuff.

Ancient China

Last year, as part of a unit I taught on ancient China, I created several chalk paintings for my lessons. Here are two.

The first is Marco Polo meeting Kubli Khan for the first time and at his summer palace.
The second painting is the Great Wall. The actual mural size was 15x7 feet. The rectangular objects are books my students made.
My students made the books, but I made this stuff.

Welcome

This is not the first blog on the weird wide web dedicated to stuff someone made. It is, however, the first blog to feature the stuff I have made (Ok, not totally true. I helped make this). I don't believe many will even bother looking at my stuff (and well, they probably shouldn't), but, should you stumble into this space and take time to look at my stuff, I will think good thoughts at you.

What kind of stuff do I make? You will just have to keep stopping by to find out. I can't really say what you will see here. Whatever the spirit moves me to make... I will post it here.

If you make some stuff, and you would like to contribute to this blog, please email me with a sample of your stuff.

For starters, how 'bout some breakfast. A hearty meal is great for starting the day, why not this blog?!

I poached the eggs (the macho way... in a pool rather than the specialized pan), and made the hollandaise from scratch. Jen provided coffee.
I made this stuff.