Tag Archive for 'dolls'

Page 2 of 4

MAD TEA: Melissa Sue on Etsy

I took a brief break from my Mad Tea duties, and am late for it today as well. But better late than never, as they say. MAD TEA stands for Monster Art Dolls Toy Etsy Artists. It’s a stretch I know. See this page for details about MAD TEA. Today’s Etsy Monster Artist is Melissa Sue Stanley. This post also goes in the “It’s safe to tell you now I’ve ordered mine.” category because I got one of her creations.

Horrible. Horrible.

Horrible. Horrible.

Melissa Sue designs and creates creatures and creations. You can order pre-made items from her store, or you can ask for something custom. It looks like she doesn’t make Amigurumi anymore, which is too bad. For the uninitiated, Amigurumi is a Japanese art of making knitted or crocheted anthropomorphic shapes or stuffed animals. I guess it’s kind of moot now, though, except: She is selling a couple of pre-made ones.

I’m going to shut up now and let the photos do the talking. These are great soft-sculpture objects.

Melancholy Monster

Footsie Monster 3

Footsie Monster 3

New U design monster stuffed animal

sea undine monster

I wanted a friend for the Diabolical Dr. Francois, so I ordered a custom Melancholy Monster. We traded a few Etsy “convos”, which are what Etsy refers to as messages about an item. I didn’t realize until I ordered this monster that Etsy is pretty well set up to do custom orders and commissions. You can basically pick an artist, write up a proposal for what you want, and offer a price. The artist can accept, decline, or haggle. It ends up being an interesting process.

I sent in my commission and Melissa Sue sent back this drawing.

Design Drawing

I suggested some changes to the head gear, and this is what resulted.

Custom Monster

Here’s the finished product, with the Diabolical Dr. Francois.

Monster with the Diabolical Dr. Francois

Dr. Francois isn’t looking as sinister and menacing as usual, because I caught him off-guard with this gift.

Melissa Sue, like most Etsy artists, has a blogger blog which it looks like she updates fairly regularly. You should check it out. There’s a lot of cool stuff. Well, that’s it for this week’s installment of MAD TEA. See you next week for more Monster Art Doll Toy Etsy Artists.

House Tree Monster

Two For Tuesday

coilhouseUgh. The heat is starting to make my life come apart at the seams. The garden gnomes who normally keep the generator for my underground laboratory running have gone on strike and their union leader just informed me that the only way to get them back to work will involve several iPhones and an unimaginable amount of chocolate pudding (let’s just say that you don’t want to know.) I knew it was a bad idea to give those tiny little men (with their maddening little green coats and tiny red hats) a television. I thought they just wanted to watch George Pal animated movies. Now look at what’s happened!

Just two super-quick notes on this sweltering hot Tuesday:

1) Regular readers will remember my recent interview/review with Crankbunny. Craftside has interviewed her as well. Check it out.

2) If you’re not reading Coilhouse yet, I think you should start. I know, I know: They’ve got a picture of a unicorn with purple highlights on their home page,  but it can’t be their fault! Either they are contractually obligated by some witch doctor, or it’s a trick. (For the record, I’m not affiliated with Coilhouse. I’m telling you this for your own good.)

MAD TEA: Black Fez Studios

After two weeks of MAD TEA not being about Etsy Artists, we return to our regularly scheduled programming with Black Fez Studios. This is MAD TEA. MAD TEA stands for Monster Art Dolls Toy Etsy Artists. It’s a stretch I know. See this page for details about MAD TEA.

Jorge Squidleigh

Jorge Squidleigh

One of the first things that attracted me to this store was that they have an international flair. Monsters named Jorge are so much more interesting than the usual “Paul”, “Frank”, or “Suzie”. You know what I mean? Also, is it me, or could this guy be a character from Where the Wild Things Are? The monsters sold by Black Fez Studios are crocheted and painted. Some of them come with certificates, which I always think is a bonus.

Voluptuous Mermaid Vivian

Voluptuous Mermaid Vivian

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not particularly fond of mermaids. This one, however, exudes a certain charm.

Kay Thoolwho Eldritch Horror

Kay Thoolwho Eldritch Horror

Last we have a monster suspiciously named Kay Thoolwho. Am I the only one who thinks this sounds a lot like Cthulhu? They must not have been able to get licensing from the monster himself. Maybe I’ll put in a good word for them.

Overall, I found these items very appealing. It could be the playfulness of them, the sheer horror, or maybe how their stitched-on faces make me think of Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Who can say? There is much more at Black Fez. You should check it out. Well, that’s it for this week’s installment of MAD TEA. See you next week for more Monster Art Doll Toy Etsy Artists.

Giveaway! Coraline 3 inch NECA Coraline Figures

Earlier this week I reviewed the NECA Coraline Figurines, which are otherwise known as the “NECA Coraline 3 Inch PVC Figure 3-Pack Star Sweater Coraline” set. I thought the toys were really cool and looked better in person than they did in the photographs. I also commented that they looked pretty fragile, especially the Cat and the Sweet Ghost Girl.

I’ve actually been warming up to the Sweet Ghost Girl. She still kind of looks like she’s winding up for a kiss, but I guess it’s OK. I like the Tall Ghost Girl the best out of the button-eyed ghostly children. As you’ll recall, there’s also a Ghost Boy in the movie, and there are figurines of all three of them available in different of these NECA Coraline toy sets.

Anyways, blah blah blah. I sure can go on. Just put a quarter in old Dark and watch him blab on to himself and the world about any subject that he can get obsessed about. So, to business:

The Coraline Giveaway:

What is up for grabs: All the figures from the NECA Coraline Star Sweater set EXCEPT the lovely Other Mother. So that’s the Cat, the Sweet Ghost Girl, and Coraline herself.

Who will win: Leave a comment on this post. If you have a preference for which of the three Coraline figures you would want to get, include that in your comment. Make sure when you post your comment that you make sure to put in the right email address in the field. That’s how I’ll notify the winners. (I can only afford to ship to the US and Canada, so people from other countries please don’t enter. Sorry!)

What they will win: I have one set to split up, so there’s going to be three winners. One winner will get the Cat. One winner will get the Sweet Ghost Girl. One winner will get Coraline.

When and how the winners will be chosen: Saturday, July 25. Winners will be chosen using random.org. Which figure will go to which person will be worked out as well as possible, but if they stated a preference, the first winner will get the toy they chose. Likewise the second will have next priority. So the second and third winners will get the toy of their choosing if it is still available and if they stated a preference. Otherwise I’ll just do some coin-flipping. Confused? So am I!

Notification: Winners will be notified by email July 25 and will have until July 31 to get back to me. After that, their prize will be forfeited and awarded to someone else chosen with a random.org number.

Here they are:

Coraline Cat Toy by NECA

The Cat

Coraline in the Star Sweater Doll

Coraline

Coraline Sweet Ghost Girl Figure

Sweet Ghost Girl.

Don’t miss my papercraft Coraline Doll, papercraft Coraline Circus Mouse, and also my post on the Coraline DVDs. Here are the three Coraline Toy sets: The set with Wybie, the set with Mr. Bobinsky and the set I got, with the Other Mother!

Thanks to Evil Buttons for featuring us!

MAD TEA: Not MAD TEA

Normally on Mondays I do MAD TEA, which stands for Monster Art Dolls Toy Etsy Artists. It’s a stretch I know. See this page for details about MAD TEA. Today instead of cool monsters on Etsy I want to talk about a cool H.P. Lovecraft monster at another place. I’ve become an affiliate there because I want to sell a million of these things.

Nyarlethotep Statue - H.P. Lovecraft

It’s a Lovecraftian Nyarlethotep and it’s pretty awful-looking. I mean somebody did a really good job. Check out the impossible anatomy! I don’t know about you, but the horse legs really get to me. Besides being IMPOSSIBLE TO SPELL, Nyarlethotep is a monster described in a rather brief but haunting story, and is otherwise known as the “crawling chaos”.

Nyarlethotep Statue Close-up - H.P. Lovecraft

“My friend said they were horrible and impressive beyond my most fevered imaginings; and what was thrown on a screen in the darkened room prophesied things none but Nyarlathotep dared prophesy, and in the sputter of his sparks there was taken from men that which had never been taken before yet which showed only in the eyes. And I heard it hinted abroad that those who knew Nyarlathotep looked on sights which others saw not.” – H.P. Lovecraft from Nyarlethotep 1920

Nyarlethotep Statue Detail - H.P. Lovecraft

Yeah! They also have a pretty mean-looking Cthulhu statue. Here’s more information about (and more photos of) the Nyarlethotep at Sideshow Collectibles.