TBT - The First Kirbys

In the sumer of 2012, before we were able to find manufactured Kirby plush, my son asked me to make some for him. He wanted four, in different colors: 

Yellow Kirby

Blue Kirby

Green Kirby

and Pink, aka Regular Kirby aka Kirby. You might notice that Pink's feet are different to the others, and that's because I later remade them so he would stand. I learned a few things about feet, like using cardboard or hard plastic in the bottoms (recycled yogurt lids) and making little beanbags to weight the bottoms. So pink can stand on its own, unlike the others. Eventually I intended to make the other three so they could stand as well, but as of yet, it hasn't happened. I guess it dropped off of the priority list. 

Since then he has amassed quite a collection of Kirby plush, manufactured, handmade by another maker (the large Dedede), and Mom-made:

He remains a true Kirby fan through and through! 

TBT - More Kirby Universe Plush

As I've mentioned before, my son is a huge Kirby fan, an as such, has asked me to make Kirby plush when he has been unable to find the ones he wants that are manufactured. I've been more than happy to oblige because his art direction helps me hone my plush-making skills.

This one is Waddle Dee. I used pipe cleaners inside his antenna, so they are fully posable.

Metaknight unmasked. 

This is Chilly. He might seem pretty easy to make, but that hat! It's a fez, and I had to make it stand up on its own, and it took me a long time to get it right. I was super proud that I accomplished it. Achievement unlocked: Fez!

And I clearly perfected my Kirbys, because when asked to make fighter Kirby, I made this guy, who is more perfectly round than any plush Kirby I've ever seen:

Rocked it!

And last but not least, metal Kirby. Satin does NOT make good plush material! Lots of interfacing here, and it's a bit delicate. But because it's meant to be metal, it's also faceted, which was another interesting challenge. 

The Kirby Army - Plush With a Mission

Around last Christmas my son got into having armies of things. First he asked me to make an Army of Kirbys - presumably for a plush series he has or had in the works - he is always coming up with all of these wonderfully creative ideas for plush series on YouTube, but his ideas amass faster than he can enact them. And then often he is onto the next thing before they come to fruition. Ah well. I don't mind making the plush, no matter what they get used for.

For Christmas I also got him ten penguin ball plush about the same size as the Kirbys. All of them are around 4" tall, and are very soft and easy to throw like snowballs - you know, in case a Kirby vs Penguin Ball war breaks out. 

Early 2013 Kirby Plush

I might have mentioned I like to make plush, which was started by my son asking me to create some plush he couldn't find for sale. One of his favorites to ask me to make, and getting pretty easy to make, are Kirby plush from the Nintendo series of Kirby games. He is a HUGE fan.

These are a few of the Kirby plush I've made him in 2013, after I got my Kirby technique down. I suppose I COULD do some commissions of these in my Etsy shop, if someone asked me to.

The center photo is a mix of plush I made, storebought plush, and plush I commissioned someone else to do (that would be the giant King Dedede there). Top from right to left are: Chilly, Waddle Doo, Kirby....the blue one is Meta Knight unmasked, the bottom is Fighter Kirby. Then there is green, lemon and blue kirby in the middle photo, and some others.

my crafty summer

Wow, we seem to have had a busy summer. No posts in awhile, eh?

I made lots of cool things!

These four Kirby plushies (or stuffies as we call them). I used this tutorial, and modified it to look even more like the video game Kirby, with the art direction of my sweet boy.

Inspired by my success with the Kirbys, I went on to use this tutorial from Obsessively Stitching to create a flock of Angry Birds. (I'll do close-ups in a future post. They will blow your mind, because the awesome, I am full of it. I even managed to make Blu from just photos and determination.)

 

I also made this Hobbes, from this instructable. I knitted the top one last year. I am a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes, to the point of having them tattooed on my ankle, so imagine me delight when my son turns out to be a huge fan, as well. I do what I can to support his fandom.

 

As a family, we made this Mario Power-Up Mushroom pinata. 

 

I sewed this birthday banner for my son's 7th birthday. I made the number removable so we can reuse it next year. Or for my birthday, or my husband's. 

 

I threw together this puppet theater out of curtains I'd previously made and dowel rods.  (Note to anyone trying this at home: those dowel rods are flimsy. The slightest leaning will have them on the floor. But they did do the trick, and the puppet show was successful. Bonus: I can put it up and take it down again whenever the whim occurs. And storage is easy!)

I also sewed the puppet bases for my son and his friends to make their own puppets at my son;s birthday party. Then they got to take their puppets home!

 

And I made this Kirby cake! 

This is only a bit of it...there are so many things we created that I haven't taken photos of! And works in progress: to come! 

Tell me about your summer!