Monday, March 19, 2012

Elevenopus?

I proclaimed 2012 is the Year of Crappy Crafts and I am determined not to disappoint the reader(s) of this blog.

Now I know it's March and I'm finally posting about a completed craft, but you can't rush art people! Art has to flow organically --- and there can't be anything good on tv to distract me.  I also needed a little nudge in the form of a deadline, which turned out to be my friend's birthday, which I blew by a week...........but it's the thought that counts.  Right?

So I bought this book earlier this year and boy oh boy is it full of crap!  I mean that sincerely.


Since my friend loves crap and octopuses I decided to have a go at this lil guy.  He is called Baby Oscar.  Looks easy right?



Well......it took me a few tries to get it just right because I am a perfectionist when it comes to crap.  There are two pages of instructions for crying out loud! Two pages is a lot of pressure!  I'm sure anyone with a brain could figure it out just by looking at the picture.  *face palm*

To make this Merry Monster you're supposed to wrap yarn around a piece of 13" cardboard 60 times, then tie the top off, drape the yarn over a styrofoam ball (you know how I love me a styrofoam ball), tie it off below the ball, cut the looped ends and braid the arms.

First, I had to use way more yarn than the directions called for.  It took me two tries just to get the thickness right.  There were too many bald spots on Baby's head for my liking.  Then the directions said to braid eleven arms.

Eleven arms?

On an octopus?

These things are called octo___

____gon

____mom


____pus

I also ended up wrapping the yarn around a 16" piece of cardboard instead of 13" because the arms turned out stumpy.  I finally got the body right and it was so cute I decided Oscar must be girl so I gave her a bouffant and pretty eyelashes.

And EIGHT legs.

Perhaps I should try the Terry Loincloth next.  Great gifts for the men in my life dontcha think?

Merry Christmas Dad.  Have a gay time.