Whimsical Sock Monster Puppets

There are these socks, you do not know where the pair is. These socks, they have the habit of disappearing. You can either be a hipster and do not give a damn to the colour coded sock wearing world, go ahead and wear them mismatched monsters, or you can transform them into sock puppet monsters. Now, I don't really care whether the socks on my feet will match with each other, but I so wanted to try out making some whimsical sock puppet monsters. Just look at them, adorable things! I am also adding a step by step tutorial into how to create one of these using an old and fuzzy sock.

Before we move into the tutorial, take a look at what fun thing a sock puppet monster is... 

It sure does have a lot of character! 

It can talk and give weird smiles and all...

They are very smart photobombers!

I have used wool for the nose and hair of this one. You can use pretty much anything, it is that random whimsy.

Here he is displayed next to the boy's artwork :P

Ha ha, monster smiles.

Hide and seek.

Let us feed the monster a magician panda!

Now the tutorial.

Draw a rough oval on a piece of chart paper.

Cut the said oval. No need to put pressure on perfection.

Grab any random waste cloth, preferably bright shaded, fold it and cut it in a similar shape. This should look somewhat like this. Again, no pressure on perfection.



Keep the paper oval inside.

Next item you need is your old sock: the fuzzier, the better.

See that line over there, that is where we cut.

This should look like this.

Lookie look, the plan is evolving now.

Now insert the oval paper covered in fabric.

Next step is to stitch the said oval formation to the sock, cut the sock as and when you want it fit around the oval.

See, this is how it looks.

Now we will make eyes. You can buy those readymade teddybear eyes, but I wanted it to be from recycled stuff, so I cut a piece of fabric from an old tshirt.

Then that was rolled in to a not so neat fabric ball...

Finished rolling it.

They were then stitched into the sock as eyes.

My washing and sketching unit.

Sheets are washed and monsters are made in this household.

I drew eyes with black fabric paint. He now looks a little tipsy, don't you think?

Then I made some hair from another piece of waste fabric.
I took a roughly cut long piece of fabric.

This was then cut to make tassels, all done quickly, not so neatly.

That was then rolled and stitched on to the sock where hair should be.

Sock puppet happiness :)

This is really easy folks. Next time you see a sock without a pair, make a monster.
:)

Enjoy the puppet show.

Thread and ink alien monster tutorial

A lovely alien right? How did I create it,  now that was a fun process. The unpredictability in creating stuff like these is really interesting. Kids do it, they see things in weird ways grown ups fail to. You can have endless amount of fun if you just let the kid in you imagine alien creatures and make up stories. 

I just found this little monster on my sketchbook today. While I was doing it, till the end I was not aware that this guy is going to show up in the end. Look at him. What an adorable monster :) 

The basic thing i did was this thread ink craft kids used to do all the time.
I used to spend hours doing this as a kid. It was such fun.
Doing this is still fun.

Here is how you do it.

Just the humble thread and normal fountain pen ink. A pencil to assist you in dipping and filling the thread with ink. Any notebook. Even typed pages or already written surfaces. The layers it can create will be amazing.

So first step is to wind thread on to the tip of your pencil. A thicker twine will be nicer. This is what I found today, so I used this.

Next step is to dip the thread in ink. Leave it there for a couple of minutes for the thread to soak all the ink in.

Next step is to take a notebook and make a pattern with the ink soaked thread. You will spill some ink in the process. Don't worry about that. It will all add to the effect. This is messy fun! Make the most out of the mess!

Now close the book, press down firmly and pull the thread while pressing the page down!

You will have this beauty in your hands in a matter of seconds! Dip in ink again and make a different pattern, you will get a different picture. Fair warning: This can be addictive. Do not try it if you have any deadlines to meet.

The best part of it all is you get an identical picture on both sides of the page. You can just keep admiring what you just did, or enter more interesting worlds like I did.

The childhood craft ends here. I tried to do more with the sketch I got. I continued to do different things until I got a satisfying effect. If someone else did it, they would have created something completely different from it, I am sure.

First I doodled all over with regular wax crayons.

Then I gave a light wash with watercolour paint. I am a big fan of what water does to ink. I loved the smudge it created. 

And some outlines later, a terrible monster of adorable features was born! 

The thought behind sharing this is to inspire people to embrace the fun side of life. You know, grab some cheap paint and go wild with it. :) Unleash the monsters within you! 

PS: Corporate people who are constantly in search of de-stressing can try this out. Name your monsters according to the names of your Managers, or irritating customers. Create a story in which the wicked monster undergoes transformation and becomes all good and understanding and all. Even create a story in which the wicked monster meets a terrible end. Whatever makes you happy!