DIY Superhero gifts for men

Over the last few months my family and I have quite a few superhero themed gifts for my lovely boyfriend. I just thought I'd make a quick post to show what we've made so far.

Marvel Avengers coasters

These coasters are made from Avengers wrapping paper, cork coaster backs and mod podge. The wrapping paper was the most expensive at £4.50 for 2 sheets, but Primark has started selling similar paper for £1.50 a roll.

Superman knitted doll

My nan made this doll from a pattern in a book called 'Knit your own boyfriend' which you can buy here.

Superman Vs Batman cupcakes

I made these cakes for his birthday (I made about 45). Batman was chocolate flavoured and Superman was blue velvet. The toppers were ordered off amazon. I'll make my own toppers next time.

Superman cushion

My nan picked out the fabric and my mom stitched this cushion case for his birthday. The case has a zip on one side so it can be separated from the cushion to be washed.

Hulk mannequin

This the mannequin that I did a tutorial for last week. Tutorial can be found here 

 So that's it. I'd love to hear if anyone else has made something similar. If you have then please leave a comment below or email us :)

Loppy x

DIY Painted artist's mannequin - Hulk

First of all I want to say how awesome Midge's first post was! If you didn't see it, you can read it here. She's crazy good at art :)

So yesterday my wonderful boyfriend took me shopping and bought me this Spiderman bear and costume;

Say hello to Peter Parker :)

I wanted to make something for him to say thank you. I've had this project pinned for a while but I've never got around to making it.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/63/35/b7/6335b72bdb348c687c18d939a2a1b136.jpg

My boyfriend spends obscene amounts of money on figurines so I thought it was perfect.

I picked up a mini artist's mannequin from The Works for £2. I already had acrylic paints and brushes so that makes this a super cheap gift idea :) It just requires a little patience.

I don't feel ready to tackle the intricate webbing on Spidey's costume so I went for the Hulk instead.

Here are the steps to make it;

Start with a plain mannequin

Paint the skin area and base green

I had to remove some of the paint with white spirit because I accidentally painted the wrong section

Paint the shorts purple

Paint the hair black

Use white paint for the eyes and mouth

Use a fine black pen to add detail to the face, I used a Stabilo fineliner

Ta-dah!

Just coat with varnish or matte Mod Podge when the paint is dry and there you have it, a fully jointed Hulk figurine for £2! I think I might try to make the full Avengers team at some point.

Loppy x

Drawing With Midge

So, as you've probably seen, Loppy is the crafty eccentric hipster of this partnership. I'm more the artsy fartsy gaming type. So lately I've been working on something I fancy showing off a bit I guess. Myself and Loppy have fallen in love with Marvel films lately, and we recently went to X-Men: Days of Future Past. But my all time favourite villain, and close to being my favourite overall (I still hold a torch for Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr.) is Loki, especially played by Tom Hiddleston. So I decided to start a painting... which is by no means close to being finished, but I thought as a filler and as my first real solo post it would start things off nicely.

So I started this a while ago, just as a passing the time thing, beginning by drawing in the head. I like to document when I draw things in progression stages, to sort of prove to myself weirdly that I did it.



Apologies for the bad quality.

As I started it, I did not really like it. I even considered giving up a few times, but most of the things I do don't turn out well, until the very end, so I'm glad I stuck with it.



I am a caption!! :D

I then started the shading, starting with the face, but I'm not good with mouths, or specifically anything that completes a face. Anything that completes a face either makes it or breaks it. It's the part that decides whether your drawing looks like the person you intended, a random non identifiable person, or not a person at all. It was then I started enjoying the look of the painting all together.

I preferred the first photo but I stuck with it.

Loki in between day and night. Loki is the master of the universe (H)

Loki's head sitting atop a hobbit hole on a backdrop of the night ;P

Still without a mouth, and not quite there, but a lot closer then we were. Ill update the progress when I finally decide to complete this.

 

So that's it for now. I hope people like it as much as myself and Loppy does ^.^
And maybe Ill do another Drawing With Midge soon :3

Baii for now <3

-Midge

(Btw Loppy hijacked the captions for photo 2, 4 and 5 XD)

Pretty Pagan Pieces Review

Lately I've been seeing a lot of floral head garlands on the high street and although I think they look lovely, most of them are cheaply made and mass produced which takes away the appeal for me. I wanted to purchase a handmade and better quality head dress that will last a long time.
I decided to buy one from an Etsy shop called Pretty Pagan Pieces where the floral crowns are handmade to order. Custom orders are available (and I'm already dreaming of an orange and black crown with autumnal leaves for Samhain).

Looking through the crowns I was spoiled for choice and found it hard to decide between Titania, Mab and Ophelia. I eventually chose Titania but I may still get Mab later on in the year for Yule.

I paid £27.50 for my crown which may sound a bit expensive but it was worth every penny and it is unlikely to fall apart like the ones sold on the high street. It was packaged well, the box was slightly crushed when I received it but this was due to my neighbour placing a heavier parcel on top of it when he took it in for me, and the crown wasn't damaged at all. A handwritten invoice was in the box with a request to take a picture for the Pretty Pagan Pieces Facebook page which I thought was a nice touch.

The crown itself is beautifully made. At first sight I thought it looked a little too big for my head but it was a perfect fit. The flowers and foliage are secured onto the band but are still a bit flexible so can be positioned as desired. I think this crown is great for Summer/Autumn time and would be perfect for a festival as well as handfastings and pagan celebrations.

I would highly recommend that you get one of these crowns right now.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyPaganPieces

Loppy x