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Anitabot Stamp!

The Speedball stamp making kit came in the mail last Thursday and I got to the stamp making today.
It took me about 1.5 hours, and it turned out pretty well.

The first step was to trace (with pencil) the item that I wanted to make into a stamp, then rub it onto the piece of rubber:

Anitabot stamp progress: the beginning

Then, using the 2 cutting tools, start gouging! This part was easier than I thought it would be. I thought doing the curved outlines would be difficult, but they weren’t so bad.

Anitabot stamp progress: almost done

I used the smaller tool to do the outlines, and the bigger tool to gouge out larger areas. Then I inked it up and did a few tests to determine which areas needed to be shaved down. After that, it was done!

Anitabot stamp progress: Done! (kind of)

The only thing left is to get a wood block to mount it to – though it’s still usable as it is. It was really fun… and now I want to stamp the entire city with it!

Tags: anitabot, crafts, stamp

Anitabot Bathroom Graffiti

A few years ago, after I designed the Anitabot logo, I got stickers printed up and handed them out to friends and stuck them around the city. I went to Nuit Blanche ’08 and posted a sticker at every installation I was at, and friends told me later they saw that I had been there. How Novel! (See the album below)

2 Christmas’s ago Aaron designed for me, the greatest Christmas gift ever. A Pop-art rendering of my beloved face! (Yes, I am obsessed with my cartoon alter ego).

Take that, Warhol!

I had ran out of stickers so I tried drawing one on a bathroom stall… I’m not good at free handing, I like vector handles I can pick up and move. Anyway, the ‘bot’ on the left was my doing back in February. I returned to this stall just last week and noticed someone had added on!! I don’t know who this person is, but this is great because I love sugar skulls! I also like that this was a complement to my drawing, and not a defacing. To C, whoever you are, thanks!

Bot left, Sugar Skull right!

This made me think that perhaps I should get more stickers printed and continue my rampage on the city but then decided something that may be a bit more economical: a rubber stamp!

I ordered a kit from www.paper-source.com and I cannot wait until it arrives. I’m excited to try out a new craft. I’m pretty decent at sculpting/carving things, but this will require a very steady hand. I’ll update you when it does, or you may just see the stamp in a bathroom stall near you!

Tags: anitabot, crafts, silly, stamp

Weddings are a good excuse to craft things!

The wedding planning has been going as well as it can. I’m 33 days away and have most things done. Weddings still kind of blow my mind. The planning experience has been a little tough, stressful and frustrating but everything is happening… but I can’t wait til it’s all done and over with – I don’t want to plan stuff anymore!

One of the more enjoyable things for me has been the excuse to get crafty! With the help of a friend I designed and crafted the Save the date cards, and programs. These two things have improved my illustrator skills tenfold. The world of print is so daunting, but I feel like I’m starting to understand it more and now want to create and print more things.

The latest craft project is what I’ve chosen for centerpieces. They are unfinished wooden “Taj Mahal” birdhouses purchased from Michael’s:

Taj Mahal Birdhouse

I’m not sure what kind of bird would even fit into that. The actual Taj Mahal is a masoleum, not a palace or house of any sort. So maybe this is more of a “final resting place” for birds, rather than a house. That’s a bit grim. Maybe I’ll put 2 tiny coffins in each one. Tee Hee.

I’ve started work on 2:

Centerpieces... in progress

The one on the left was decorated using scrapbook paper and modpodge – much like my “Ikea Fira Chest” project. I painted the pink, purple and gold on the domes. I love the colours.

The one on the right was a more random idea. Using a black sharpie and ruler I drew random diagonal lines all over, and started randomly filling in colours. I’m not sure what type of look I’d call this, but the colours have a sort of  ’70s feel to it. I’m not sure what to do with the top parts – I didn’t want to try drawing straight lines on the curved surfaces for fear of screwing it up but I don’t think they should just be one solid colour either. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

My friends have taken on a few of their own and I can’t wait to see what they come up with. I’m excited that they’ll all be a little different with a dose of individual personality. I have about 3 – 5 more to do and trying to think about types of art and design I am drawn to an how to incorporate it into a design.

I think the next one will use ribbons and string to give more texture. I’ll post more pictures, and hopefully after the event I can post them all.

Tags: crafts, design, wedding

Halloween brings out the crafter in us all.

Somehow October flew by me at unprecedented speeds, and because of this I didn’t have a lot of time to hype myself up for it. The pressure of trying to put together a costume and something to bring to the work bakesale probably helped me with my creativity. With no time to languish in creative-thinking hell, I set straight to it.

Firstly, my Halloween costume:

Rabbid & Manny Calavera

That is me as a Rabbid (from Rayman Raving Rabbids fame), and my boyfriend as Manny Calavera from Grim Fandango.  I wore this to work but did not win any costume prizes. However, I got some wonderful responses while out on the street and was in more than a few strangers photos! I’d love to see them, but have no way of finding them. If you were out near kensington in Toronto and took a pic of/with me I’d love to see it!

This is what I used to make the costume:

• Posterboard
• Felt
• Acrylic Paint
• Styrofoam balls
• leggings/leg warmers
• and old shirt
• papier mache (over a balloon)
• a lot of moxie (and tape)

Basically I created a large tube to sit on my shoulders out of the posterboard, cut out an area for the face and taped it up. Then I stuck an inflated balloon into the top and papier mache’d over it so the dome would be joined to the tube. I used sharpies and paint on the eyes, and the same for the mouth/face area.  It’s a bit hard to see but I did even have a plunger! Bwaaah!

The other craft item I made was the Pumpkin Cake:

Pumpkin-o-lantern Cake

It was made using 2 betty crocker cake mixes (French Vanilla for the Pumpkin, Chocolate for the dirt patch), home made cream cheese frosting + a can of store bought chocolate frosting, oreo cookie crumbs and fondant.

Using a sphere cake pan, we carved out the shape of a pumpkin, covered it with fondant and used the end of a knife to score the lines. We added the stem and the vine and put it on the the base, which was covered in oreo cookie crumbs for the ‘dirt’ effect. It was my first time covering a cake and fondant and I think it worked so well because pumpkins are lumpy by nature.

I’ve decided that I need to craft something once a month. Since there are no major holidays in November, I’m not sure where my inspiration will come from but hopefully I’ll find it.

Happy Halloween!