Mini Dude - competition winners

Alongside the celebrity auction of my Davina Dudette, Dudebox ran a competition to giveaway 100 mini Dudes. Here's a fine selection of some of my favourites.

Meet 'Mono' and 'Joey' created by Ged, an already established illustrator (not quite 30 years old) and Joseph, a vinyl artist in the making (almost 10 years).

Mono - black and white brilliance

Joey in all his glory

Fletcher's Dude, aged 6

Christine's retro owl comes complete with beads and some of the most ornate detail I've seen on vinyl.

Check out the detail on this gem

Michelle's monster is simply stunning.

Lucy's princess looks rather regal in her tiara

But the one that stood out the most for me (so far) is this one, Paul's Rock Dude.

I love it's simplicity but it's also something totally new and completely different to anything I've seen done before. Paul, get out of your shed and get creating some more. A little vinyl birdy told me that a 'Gold' version was another option... Let's see the bling!

I'll be adding more to the Mini Dude gallery over the next few weeks, as and when the pics come in, so come back to see what else pops up!

Inspirational illustration

Over the last 2 years me and my little family have been privy to some select meet and greets with some fabulous authors and illustrators. This is largely due to our amazing bookshop Just Imagine, who pull in some huge names from the literary world.

Steve Cole and Julia Donaldson meet the Yewman clan

Here are just a few names you might recognise:

• a meet & signing with the infamous Julia Donaldson
• a creative writing workshop with Kate Tenbeth 
• a cuppa & a biscuit with World Book Day illustrator Rachel Bright
• a fun-filled hour sniggering with (and at) Steve Cole 
• an award winning performance by the genius Laura Dockrill
• and just narrowly missing out on a pirate sketching master class with Chris Mould due to illness. (Sorry Chris I really wanted to come, never mind the kids!)

The inimitable Laura Dockrill

But yesterday's chance encounter came via Twitter, when the illustrator James Davies made my 7 year old son's day! James is one half of the Space Penguins books. Josh loved 'Star Attack' so much, we ordered 'Cosmic Crash' which arrived on Saturday and he couldn't wait to collect it.

We have Little Tiger Press to thank for helping us find these gems, as we're lucky to be on their Parent panel, where we get to review some of their lovely books. I must not forget Lucy Courtenay who writes the books and has made Josh so eager to carry on reading the series. (The only other author to manage that was Steve Cole and his Astrosaurs books.)

I happen to follow James on Twitter and tweeted him to let him know that Josh loved his illustrations, particularly Rocky with the mental eyebrows. Here's Josh pointing him out.

James responded almost immediately and very kindly offered to send Josh a signed copy of the next Space Penguins book. This obviously inspired Josh, as he disappeared and about 40 minutes later produced this:

Meet Paul Penguin

I sent it to James and once again he came up trumps for Josh, telling him he loved it and that he would 'try' to sneak it in a future book. This was all Josh needed to be spurred on and he is using this fabulous Twitter story for 'Show and Tell' on Friday. If that wasn't enough, James blogged about Josh! Read it here.

And here's what a very lucky Josh received in his Priority penguin parcel.

A beautifully written package containing the next Space Penguins book, signed by James and more importantly, a personalised Rocky illustration which now has pride of place on Josh's bookshelf. Thanks again James!

Superhero storage

This isn't just any old storage box, oh no, this is a Superhero storage box, no less.

Want to know how to make your own?! Just follow this simple step-by-step tutorial.

Step 1.
Find a suitable box. I bought this paper mache box from my local craft shop.

Step 2.
Select the comics/magazines of your choice, ensuring the paper isn't too dense, otherwise it won't wrap around the box neatly and more importantly the lid will no longer fit on the box.

Step 3.
Cut strips from the comics, including price, date and letter details, as well as the key characters.

Step 4.
Using decoupatch glue/modge podge, layer the comics strips in different directions over each other, ensuring the whole box is covered. Leave overnight to dry.

Step 5.
Fill your Superhero storage box with... Superheroes, of course!

Looks great on any bookshelf or chest of drawers.

Daniel's Dude

You may  have read about my recent meeting with the immensely talented and totally loveable, Laura Dockrill. 

Most well known for her poetry and books (if it's not on there, get Darcy Burdock on your reading list, NOW!) Laura has an incredible knack for tale-telling (of the story variety not the 'grassing-up' variety).

As Laura is one of those all-round creative types, she humoured my vinyl junkie stories and asked to see my creations. 

I was chuffed to bits when Laura then commissioned a 'Daniel Dude' (her hubster).

Now it's important to state up front, that not everyone is suited to being cast in vinyl, but Daniel is one of the exception's to that rule. As you can see, he has the most fantabulous eyebrows and a beard that quite frankly, puts most others to shame.

I knew instantly this would be a winner. 

Meet Daniel

For this medium to work on us mere mortals, one must have a couple of obvious, defining features and a signature garment of clothing/outfit/uniform. Daniel checked all of those boxes, and more.

The process began with a couple of photo's of Daniel, a chat about what attire he would be sporting and any specific details that Laura wanted to include, such as his watch, paisley scarf and Nike Huaraches.

So a few sketches later...

Daniel's Dude, taking shape

 ... and a couple of minor tweaks, I set about bringing him to life.

I knew I had to get Daniel's defining paisley scarf spot on, but the beard and brows were my main concern, as this could make or break him! 

It's at this point in the process when I get nervous, as you never know how your client will respond to the finished product. I cross my fingers and say lots of prayers that I've interpreted all of their features, as they know and love!

Here's Daniel in all his vinyl glory.

'Daniel Dude'

So what was the verdict?
Luckily for me, both Laura and Daniel approved and have allowed me to blog about it!

Thanks to you both and an early 'Happy Birthday' Daniel.

Laura's tweet

Felt, fun and frolics

Not my usual Monday morning granted, but a damn near perfect one.

A monster making workshop at Pick Me Up London in the beautiful Somerset House in conjunction with Creative Review.

An abundance of felt, pins, patterns, glue, googly eyes and none other than THE Felt Mistress as our trusty coach.
All who know me well will know that this is my idea of therapy. 

I've admired the Felt Mistress's (aka Louise Evans) work for a while having seen a number of her amazing character creations. If you haven't yet seen them, you really *must*.

Groam the Guru

Following my recent work with Dudebox, I also was drawn to her own fabulous felt Dude.

I arrived early and had a wander around the Pick Me Up art on offer, continually checking my phone for the time, as there was no way I was missing this fabulously felty opportunity.
I managed to snap the Felt Mistress and her team preparing for the enslaught.

  We started at 11am prompt and I was first to take my seat.
By midday, a steady queue had formed and the room was full of people wanting to get their hands on some felty fun.

Louise and her other half, Jonathan Edwards (@Jontofski) pulled together a beautifully designed help sheet, which kept us all on point.

They make a great couple, as Louise explained she can only work in 3D, whilst Jonathan is a fabulous 2D artist. (See Jonathan's work below)
I grabbed my template and set to work making my monster.

All the while, we were presided over by the Guru's

Groam, G'goob and Lester Flent

I chose my colours, cut out the core shapes, started layering and here he is slowly coming to life.

Some design inspiration provided by Felt Mistress. 

These 3 got our creative juices flowing

After 4 hours solid of cutting, stitching and stuffing, I hadn't left my seat for a second (except to get much needed materials) and hardly looked up from my emerging monster.
But I had finally completed him.
Stuffed, stitched and a character in his own right.
Meet Monty, complete with handle bar moustache and pink tie.

Monty the gentlemanly monster 

And here he is relaxing on our train ride home 

Another treat, Jonathan had been sketching away as we worked.

That's me 4th from the left

This was my idea of heaven.
A fabulous event that ANYONE could have taken part in, not just those with sewing skills.
There were so many wonderful creations emerging and I'm pleased to have seen some of the finished articles on Twitter since the workshop.
I have no idea where the 4 hours went, but they went far too quickly and I'd do it all over again tomorrow in a heartbeat.
And if that wasn't enough Monty was featured in this month's Creative Review!

The next generation of vinyl junkies

After the publicity surrounding my customised vinyl toys and in particular my Davina McCall celebrity auction for Comic Relief, I have been in discussions with a number of people and organisations about some really exciting projects and I can now reveal the first project to come to fruition.

I'm running 2 workshops for children aged 6 - 11 yrs at Just Imagine bookshop in Chelmsford. The first is on Thursday 31st May, at 10:30am - 11:30am (sold out), the second is scheduled for Thurs 22nd August. The session costs just £7 (and that includes the cost of the toy that you get to take home).

DIY mini Dudes, supplied by Dudebox

Those fabulous people at Just Imagine invited me to run a vinyl toy workshop and I jumped at the chance to get the next generation of potential 'vinyl junkies' experimenting with this fab medium.

Stocking up on supplies

I must also say a big thank you to the UK company Dudebox, who make these fab toys and kindly donated the mini DIY Dudes for the workshop.

And in true Blue Peter stylee, here's a few I made earlier...

The Davina Dudette

As my May workshop is a sell out we have scheduled one more exclusive session for Thurs 22nd August (pm).

Footballer Dudes

Before the frenzy around my Davina Dudette kicked off, I'd made a start on a top secret project, which I have finally got round to finishing.

This commission was for a UK based University American Football team in Hull, namely the UH Sharks, (with whom I have fond links).

Front view

Each year the Sharks get together with the past members of the football club, the aptly named Whales, for what is basically a weekend of fun, frivolity and down right debaucherous behaviour, which culminates in a match between the aforementioned teams.

Back view

These custom vinyl Dudes are intended as prizes for the raffle. 

Front view

Back view

I hope and pray the winners approve! They're a picky lot, those Whales ;o)

Meet the winners

One Old Boy meets another

Once upon a Shark