Mid-Autumn Festival

Full Moon on Mid Autumn Festival

The Duck Who Played with Fire

WTD with 猪笼 aka Pig Biscuit （I have no idea if it has a proper name)

WTD channels his inner Tom Selleck with a water caltrop

Mushroom Pin Cushion Tutorial

Mushroom harvesting season is here and I thought this would be a good time to share my Mushroom Pin Cushion Tutorial. This cute pin cushion reminds me of something granny would have kept in her sewing box. Its a fairly simple project that requires a bit of sewing and a hot glue gun. I purchased all the supplies at my local craft store. Happy crafting!

Materials Required

Polka Dot Fabric

2 1/4" Diameter Wood Disc

1 1/2 " Wood Candle Cup Holder

Mini Ric Rac

Hot Glue or Craft Glue

Wool Roving for Stuffing

Instructions

1. Cut out a 7 1/4" diameter circle in your favorite polka dot print.

2. Sew a gathering stitch around the edge of your circle.

3. Pull your gathering stitch to create the mushroom cap. Pack cap with wool roving. Pull gathering stitch tight, close and knot. (A polyfill will work but wool filling is much better. Wool will make a stiff cap that will hold your pins in place. A poly fill will make a squishy cap but will still work.)

4. Glue candle cup holder to wood disc to make mushroom stem.

5. Put a layer of hot glue on top of the wood disc and quickly push mushroom cap onto disc and hold into place until the glue dries. Hot glue typically dries in under a minute.

6. Glue a piece of ric rac around the edge of the wood disc for decoration.

7. Finish the mushroom with a cut felt flower and a pretty pin.

For personal use only. Commercial use prohibited.

Outdoor craft shows are sucky!

Go ahead, laugh. I did, until I realized that the collapsed tent was mine when I arrived this morning. Its not a good feeling finding your tent knocked over to the side with all your display stuff sitting outside of your tent, soaking wet. :( This is what was left of my EZ Up tent after the high winds hit and twisted the frame into a pretzel. I thought I did everything I was suppose to, as far as weighing down the tent yet this happens.

Needless to say I'm done with the outdoor craft show thing. It certainly takes a strong person to deal with the fickle weather and hawking art goods outside. Next time you see me at a craft show it will be INDOORS away from the wind, rain and heat. Buh BYE outdoor craft shows!

Please learn from my mistakes.
1. If you leave your tent over night in strong wings lower your tent roof by bringing the legs down. Not only will your tent have a lower profile but the legs will double in strength because they fit together into one solid leg reducing the chance of bending.
2. If you can't stake your legs because you are on pavement you must get the heavy weights that are placed on the feet of the tent to prevent it from sliding because of the strong winds.
3. The hanging cement PVC weights will keep your tent from lifting off like a hot air balloon but they will also pull down your tent if the legs are swept from underneath. Please follow 1. and 2. to prevent this from happening.

DC Universe Classics Wave 16 Preview

Time for another preview, very recently, Mattel announced their next DC Universe Classics line up.  This time for wave #16 and it has a little bit of a Batman theme going.  So lets get to it:

First we have "The Creeper"

Johan Hex:

Mercury:

We have a 2 different versions of classic Robin.  The only difference is the head.  This appears to be the only character in wave 16 with a variant.  First we have "Classic Robin : Vintage Head":

and then we have "Classic Robin: Modern Head" :

For those of you not happy with The Riddler from Wave 5, we're going to be given a more classic look (Think Superfriends version):

And finally, Azrael Batman:

The CnC action figure for wave 16 and a pretty good choice IMO, but Mattel has given us 2 versions of this character in the previous DC Superheroes toy line.  Judging by the pictures though, this will be a much better action figure.  Bane:

So there you have it.  Personally, the most appealing figures here are the Riddler, Modern head Robin and possibly the Azrael Batman.......maybe Creeper too....maybe.  Bane was a good choice for the CnC figure considering the DC Superheroes Bane version lacked articulation and quite frankly, was sub-par.  That being said, Im still waiting for a whole slew of Batman characters to be released in the DCUC lineup, starting with Ra's Al Gul, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Black Mask and who would be better in the Batman universe for a CnC figure than Killer Croc??  (the DC Superheroes version of Croc was crap!) Get on it Mattel!!  Not sure i want SOOOOO many versions of Batman, Riddler and Robin when there are so many more characters they can tap into. 

This set won't be out for some time, probably Q1, 2011 but if you'd like to search for your favorite DC Universe Classics action figure, the best place to find the one you want, is ebay! 

To find DC Universe Classics action figures by Mattel on ebay, click here.

Thanks for checking out Action Toy Review.  Be sure to check back for more reviews, previews and news on Mattel's DC Unvierse Classics action figures.

NYCC Exclusive - and MORE!!!

Greetings all you Mega-Super Peoples!

In short - the RAMPAGE studio is finally up and running - and the projects are quickly piling up... This is a GOOD thing! After some fun at summer shows, and a fantastic month-long break from just about everything, I've finally dug back into the toy making biz and it's really really exciting! Here's the skinny on all things recent and AWESOME:


1)New York Comic Con Exclusive with Tenacious Toys! I'm working on an exciting piece for the October NYCC - The release of the long (and thoroughly) planned Kapukeeki Kaiju Toy! The toy will be released at the Tenacious Toys booth in the NYCC "Cultyard" - which will be the place to be for ALL things AWESOME in the toy world! Even better - I WILL BE ATTENDING, and you should too! I'm posting progress shots on Flickr, so you can keep and eye on the toy's progress, but what would this blog be without pictures of all mentioned projects -

2)SCHMANCY Exclusive Kapukeeki Kaiju Plush! September 1st saw the release of the first RAMPAGE TOYS Exclusive toy at Schmancy Toys in Downtown Seattle! Kristen Rask, the awesome owner and curator at Schmancy (http://www.schmancytoys.com/), hosts some of the best artists around, and RAMPAGE TOYS is proud to have a presence in such an awesome shop! Check out the following shots and head over to the Schmancy webstore (schmancytoys.bigcartel.com) to get your plush fix today!

3)Promo Piece for the November "Art of Toys" resin show at Tasty Art Gallery in Seattle! Justin Hillgrove - of Imps and Monsters fame - and I have finally finished our sculpt and have cast our first piece for the "Art of Toys" show in November. This piece will be painted soon - to be completed by the 13th of this month for max-promo-exposure!!! Keep an eye out for more information - and be sure to put NOVEMBER 12th on you calendar for the opening during the Greenwood Art Walk at TASTY!




As always - thanks for checking in with the RAMPAGE BLOG! Be sure to stop by the Etsy shop (rampagetoys.etsy.com) and BigCartel (rampagetoysandart.bigcartel.com) to get your hands on some RAMPAGE toys and art!

Free Printable Pink Paper Fawn

This pink fawn has been with me since the beginning of Fantastic Toys. One of the first plush toys I made was this darling. After posting pictures on Flickr I received so much positive feedback I knew I was on to something. Since then Fantastic Toys has grown to include many soft toys, paper toys, fabric and kits. My ideas for new toys are endless and I hope the next 5 years will be just as productive and successful.

For those of you who have always wanted a fawn from Fantastic Toys I am offering this special paper version just for you. This 3 page PDF includes fawn, two mushrooms and instructions for assembly. I recommend printing on 60 lb. or more cardstock. Thanks to all of you that have supported Fantastic Toys over the years with your kind comments and feedback. Enjoy!

Download Pink Paper Fawn

Good Morning Lovlies!

A little something I'm working on. :) Happy Blossoms Jewelry will make their debut at the upcoming Centennial Lakes Arts Festival next weekend. Will post more pics of entire collection later.