Spiders
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The Huntsman Spider on this Brooch and Earrings is based on one of the spider specimens you can see in the Queensland Museum. The spider is looking a bit worse off after being in a cabinet for years but provided a suitable starting point for this little guy.
If you are a Queenslander you are probably pretty used to seeing Huntsman Spiders around your house, your yard, the garden shed, etc. They are a pretty common feature in most environments.
I used to be afraid of the hairy little guys until I had a chat with one. I was desperate for a good nights sleep but when I went in to the bedroom there was a large spider on the wall. I’d usually get upset and sleep elsewhere but that night no spider was going to ruin my plans for a good sleep. I told the spider to stay away from me, explained my situation and requested the spider keep to himself, the spider obliged. Since then I’ve not had any issue with them. I changed the way I dealt with the spider and how I reacted to it and it ended up in my favour.
I made a stop motion of an ovary growing and releasing an egg for Easter. I have a lot to learn about doing stop motion and have a lot of work to do to get better but I have to start somewhere.
Skeleton Update-Ribs
The ribs are done! Well, they’re maybe done. I’m not totally sure about them but I think it is hard to make my mind up on them or alter them again until I get more of the parts done.
Below is the current progress of all of the parts I’ve done so far. I’m currently sewing up the shoulder bones, scapula and clavicle. I’m not sure on the scapula but once again I’ll see how it looks in context.
Cannibal Barbie
I put together this Cannibal Barbie and oven combination 5 or 6 years ago when I found this awesome little Barbie stove in a second hand shop. Barbie has a pan full of brains, a heart in her pot and a brain roasting in the oven.
She lives in a bag in a cupboard. Maybe I should bring her out and display her.
Who else used to eat crumbed lambs brains? Now that brings back bad memories.
Friday is Cleaning, Catch up and Planning Day
I once read an article about things you should do on Friday that will increase your productivity. I’ve been feeling pretty unproductive since about late January so I’ve turned Friday into my cleaning, catch up and planning day. It’s cleaning day as I usually work on weekends (which is always a good time to clean) but I still need a day designated to doing some cleaning. The house is pretty tidy anyway so this is usually a few bits and pieces. My catch up is generally just trying to get some jobs finished that I’ve been working on during the week. Having a designated catch up day is the part of this day I really like. Start nothing new on Friday and just catch up on everything that needs catching up on. Finish those teeth and uterus (they’ve been in my sewing box for weeks!).
The planning…groan…this is where I fall down. I just struggle getting things together at the moment. I sit down with my planner and cannot think. I can easily jot down the things I do every week but struggle trying to come up with something that will keep me moving forward.
I love my journal, below. I do Bullet Journalling and find this is a system that works very well for me. I can combine all of my work and personal life into one notebook (I use different colours for different work) and jot down notes etc. A bullet journal allows you to allocate the space you want to the content you need.
Well, it is friday so I better get back to it. I need to tidy up the couch, and shrink some stuff.
I love this journal. It’s A Novel Journal.
365 Days, 206 Bones, 1 Skeleton
Over the last week and a bit I’ve tackled the arms of the skeleton. The arms were easier to design and cut than the hands as they’re nice and big. They took a bit of time to sew (2 hours plus) and add stuffing to. I’m happy with how these have turned out.
I won’t be joining these together with stitches just yet as the bones will be too hard to store when they are all together.
You can read the post about the hands and more about the project on this post.
Teratoma
I’ve been making Teratoma Tumors for about 5 or so years. They are a something that I find both fascinating and horrifying. Browsing Teratoma images online is not something I recommend or like to do. It is confronting to see so many babies with Teratoma’s.
Teratoma’s often sell to young women who have had one found on there ovary, a very common place for a teratoma.
From Wikipaedia “Teratomas belong to a class of tumors known as nonseminomatous germ cell tumor (N.S.G.C.T.). All tumors of this class are the result of abnormal development of pluripotent cells: germ cells and embryonal cells.”
You can read a little more about the link between the teratoma and the parasitic twin below.
From Wikipaedia
Fetus in fetu and fetiform teratoma
Fetus in fetu and fetiform teratoma are rare forms of mature teratoma that include one or more components resembling a malformed fetus. Both forms may contain or appear to contain complete organ systems, even major body parts such as torso or limbs. Fetus in fetu differs from fetiform teratoma in having an apparent spine and bilateral symmetry.[12]
Most authorities agree that fetiform teratomas are highly developed mature teratomas; the natural history of fetus in fetu is controversial.[12] There also may be a cultural difference, with fetiform teratoma being reported more often in ovarian teratomas (by gynecologists) and fetus in fetu being reported more often in retroperitoneal teratomas (by general surgeons). Fetus in fetu has often been interpreted as a fetus growing within its twin. As such, this interpretation assumes a special complication of twinning, one of several grouped under the term parasitic twin. In this regard, it is noteworthy that in many cases the fetus in fetu is reported to occupy a fluid-filled cyst within a mature teratoma.[13][14][15][16] Cysts within mature teratoma may have partially developed organ systems; reports include cases of partial cranial bones, long bones and a rudimentary beating heart.[17][18]
Regardless of whether fetus in fetu and fetiform teratoma are one entity or two, they are distinct from and not to be confused with ectopic pregnancy.
365 Days, 206 Bones, 1 Skeleton
This year I was looking for a 365 day project to challenge myself. I almost chose 365 days of horror movies but though I might be a wreck after just a month, not to mention that some days I just couldn’t fit in a horror movie or find one to watch. Horror movies isn’t much of a project either. My partner always has good ideas and suggested I make a skeleton from felt. He didn’t think horror was a good idea as he doesn’t enjoy the genre.
I began the Skeleton around the start of the year with some sketches. It’s already been a struggle getting the sizes right and finding references for parts. Felt is a huge challenge with really tiny details as it is hard to cut small and make matching parts so small. I started with the hands and had to get creative with the scissors when my patterns were just too small to cut around. The bulk of the hands were done across about 4 hours but about another 2 or 3 hours needs to be added on top of that just sewing bits here and there and re-doing bits that went awry.
The Good Hand. The second one worked out way better than the first.
Both hands. One is very floppy (right) the other very stiff (left).
As I was making the phalanges I realised that making individual carpals was going to be bloody challenging as I would never get the sizes right so I decided to go with a solid piece under with details on top. Artistic licence has come into play here as some parts were so tiny and the felt was not cooperating and I’ve heard that sometimes done is better that perfect.
All up I’m pretty happy with how they turned out but I think the stiff hand might need a re-sew. I plan to do the arms next. Radius and Ulna.
Maybe I should try the horror thing out. Watch a month worth of Horror movies? Maybe I could do a month of horror movies and TV shows (American Horror Story is in my Netflix list) and see how I go.
Teeth
I’ve been making felt teeth for about 5 years. They are a pretty popular item being snapped up by dentists, dental nurses and anyone with something going on with their teeth. I’ve even made myself a tooth with a crack it when I found out I had a crack in my tooth and needed a crown.
I still make the felt teeth but these days I also enjoy making teeth from other materials as well as working with acrylic teeth-they are a little bit freaky! I also have a plaster version of my teeth that is used to make my mouth guard (I’m a terrible tooth grinder in my sleep).
My partner and I visited Reverse Garbage over the weekend and I spotted a lot of plaster teeth, below.
This made me think of all of my favourite teeth I’ve made. Below are some of my favourite teeth creations.
Laser Cut Tooth Earrings
Acrylic teeth into some Plasticine. This is something I’m playing with while trying to learn stop motion.
Carving a tooth stamp.
The tooth that started it all. Mr Felty.
Wooden Tooth Brooch
Your Organ Grinder 