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[samarrakhaja]

A Very Covid Christmas (Plus All Other Holidays and Basically Every Day This Year, For That Matter)

I decided to ring in the 2020 holiday season by making what seems like the most fitting ornament to embody this mess of a year... 

Presenting The SK Commemorative 2020 Covid Ornament!

Sufficiently grumpy and full of all the 2020 feels, if I don’t say so myself...

I was planning on just posting a quick pic of it completed, but as some folks have requested a bit more information on how I made it, I’ll tell you basically how I did, so you can create your own!

I found a 2″ diameter styrofoam ball in my collection of craft things; I had gotten it in a bag of secondhand styrofoam balls at a thrift store last year. Overall, I’m not a big fan of buying styrofoam as it’s not a sustainable/environmentally-friendly material, but since I bought it secondhand, I got to avoid unintentionally signaling to styrofoam manufacturers to make more by buying new (recycling and reusing lowers that production potential!). If I hadn’t had it on hand, I would have likely used clay of some kind.

I also had a bunch of 1″ flat-head pins already in my supplies. I used 24 for them for my grumpy coronavirus. Also, I seem to possess an obscene amount of beads that mainly go unused, so I was very happy to put some to good use. 

Here’s the set of beads and sequins I used:

The two round beads (one hot pink, the other a garnet color) are each 1/8″ tall and the orange bugle bead is 1/4″ long. I threw in a couple of sequins (one clear flat iridescent one, one faceted silver one) for variety and to create an interesting capped shape for each tendril.

I started by painting the styrofoam ball with a custom mix of neon pink, orange and white acrylic paint. Before you choose those colors, it might be fun and worth noting that although illustrations of the coronavirus are often depicted in reds and sometimes greens, it turns out the pesky thing is actually clear and has no color at all. 

So that means, you can make it any color you like! Or a whole bonanza of multi-colored ones!

To make the face, I painted on two dabs of white paint, waited for them to dry, and then went back with a fine point black Sharpie to add the remaining facial details.

 For the backside, I used that same Sharpie and wrote the glorious “2020″ tramp stamp above Le Crack de Bum* with a red Sharpie. (This was an undeniably scrappy make, you can tell by the first “2″ having a couple of different pen treatments....but it’s 2020, so who cares.)

Once I sorted where the face and backside were going to be, I loaded up each pin with beads/sequins and stuck them in one by one all around the ball. 

The good news is that if you think you haven’t spread them out well enough, you can easily go back and rearrange them all, even while grumpy face watches you.

My final step was to put a pin in at the top of the coronavirus to hang it by.  That took a few tries as I was very particular about how it hung, but if it’s wonky, that’s even funnier in my estimation. 

I initially used a metal looped pin from my jewelry supply stuff (I threaded beads onto it and then pinned it in), but found that it wasn’t secure enough and wouldn’t hold the weight of everything. You could easily add a drop of glue to to that hole/pin to fix that, but I decided to just replace it with another of the 1″ flat-head pins I had. 

I got some white embroidery thread, folded it in half and tied the looped end around the pin before pressing it down all the way into the ball. After it was pushed in, I tied a knot at the opposite raw ends of the thread to create a hanging loop.

And that was it!

 Happy 2020 Holidays! xo-sk

*Not real French but it should be.

[samarrakhaja]

Halloween 2020 Homemade Costumes

If you know me, you know I have a long tradition of making my kids’ (and mine when there’s time) Halloween costumes. This year, this COVID Year That Is 2020, was no exception. The only difference was there was actually time to make myself a costume AND there were pretty much no places whatsoever to show any of them off in person. Ah, you sneaky trickster, Coronavirus! 

So for the sake of posterity, here are the costumes we fashioned up. My kids were characters from Nickelodeon’s Splatoon2 video game and both kids helped make parts of their costumes (I suspect my eldest will be in charge of his full costume come next year, so I think this is the passing of the torch “bridge year”!)

Little kiddo on the left is specifically a frying pan-wielding Salmonid Chum from Splatoon’2′s Salmon Run. All parts constructed with cardboard from the recycling bin, butcher paper, masking tape, paint and trusty hot glue.

I drafted up the body in one go and was happy to see that my plan to make the sleeves look as much like fins as possible worked...the client is satisfied! Brief, nailed! The eldest kiddo chose to be an Octoling, also from Nintendo’s Splatoon2 game. We worked together on the head and visor, he came up with the ear construction idea (cardboard shoe inserts, that clever kid!), and he made the paint roller all by himself! 

And with all that completed, I was still able to find time to make my idea come to life. I could not pass up the chance to fully encapsulates this year PLUS it’s the easiest and fasted Zoom-friendly costume, which is also so  fitting for this hot mess of a year....

It even has wheels (with one of them messed up and facing the wrong way, as often seems the case), so if you choose not to wear it, it can sit nicely on display....you know, because what better thing is there to commemorate this dumpster fire that is 2020, than a dumpster fire of 2020 halloween costume.

[samarrakhaja]

Posters: Save the People’s Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is actually more American than apple pie. It was founded in 1639 and did you know, Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General in 1775. It’s kept people in this country connected – door by door, mailbox by mailbox – for centuries. As their motto goes, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” There’s so much more to the USPS; you can find some neat facts here and here. 

The excitement I felt over receiving first letters from faraway pen-pals as a young kid turned quickly into an insatiable appetite for philately and learning the fine art of soaking received envelopes in water to collect their stamps for my albums (I still have them) from all over the world. I owe that great fondness to the postal service. 

So when I was asked if I’d make some march posters in support of the USPS – as it seems like we’re in a perpetual state of needing to take to the streets for the government to hear us these days – I jumped at the request. Much like postage stamps themselves, I’ve got a selection for you to pick from and encourage you to make your voice be heard. The state of our democracy depends on it...

 Protect the USPS:

Save The People’s Postal Service:

Deliver De Mail Depose DeJoy:

Let America VOTE:

Same rules apply as with my other posters; please follow my usage rules below: Printing: Each poster is formatted to be 18″ x 24″ in size, so feel free to print them that large or size them down if needed. (Staples has an 18x24 poster printing option at their store, fyi.) Usage: These posters are free for personal use only. They are not for resale or for profit in any way; use them in good faith without misappropriation and most importantly, please credit me –Samarra Khaja– whenever possible.   If you print and walk with one of my signs at a march, etc. please send me photos of you in action! I’d love to see them as well as repost/share them via my blog and social media. Email photos to: info@samarrakhaja.com. Keep your voices loud and you will be the force of change.  xox -sk

[samarrakhaja]

Black Lives Matter: Posters

I've made some more protest posters, available to you for free personal use. 

The “We Demand” design is directly inspired by a poster used in the 1963 March on Washington...a solid 57 YEARS ago. 

Ms. Wells-Barnett's quote is 127 YEARS old –pause on that for a moment– from her “Lynch Law in All Its Phases,” published February 13, 1893. Read it.

If you do download any of these posters for display and/or peacefully marching with in upcoming BLM protests, I ask that you please also donate directly to Black Lives Matter,  The Innocence Project and The Sentencing Project as places to start further support, if you haven’t already... because this centuries-old racial injustice shit storm isn’t going to stop by itself.  xox-sk

Color Is Not a Crime:

Those Who Commit the Murders Write the Reports -Ida B. Wells:

I Comply I Still Die:

They Weren’t Bad Apples The Tree Is Rotten:

We Demand An End To Police Brutality Now!:

Same rules apply as with my other posters, which are all my original artwork and my intellectual property. Please follow my usage rules below: Printing: Each poster is formatted to be 18″ x 24″ in size, so feel free to print them that large or size them down if needed. (Staples has an 18x24 poster printing option at their store, fyi.) Usage: These posters are free for personal use only. They are not for resale or for profit in any way; use them in good faith without misappropriation and most importantly, please credit me –Samarra Khaja– whenever possible.   If you print and walk with one of my signs at a march, etc. please send me photos of you in action! I’d love to see them as well as repost/share them via my blog and social media. Email photos to: info@samarrakhaja.com. Keep your voices loud and you will be the force of change.  xox -sk

[samarrakhaja]

By Request! Social Distancing Tees

Too soon? Likely not soon enough, if the truth be told. I got a request to design some social distancing swag and I’m here to tell you they’re up and available (for how long, due to virus shutdowns, I don’t know) on my Society6 shop page. I’m afraid I can’t control all aspects of the printing, so just know I tried my best to select colors that would do well on their shirt options. If you order any, definitely shoot me an email with some pics of you rockin’ your social distancing like it’s nobody’s business!! Stay safe, folks!! xo -Samarra

[samarrakhaja]

Covid-19 PSA Posters!

Whoa, okay so it really must be the end of times because I’ve dusted off the ol’ blog! Turns out Coronavirus/Covid-19 calls for more free downloadable poster creations, this time in the form of friendly PSAs (please stay awesome). My hope is to add a nice little batch here (so keep checking back for more) for you to download and print at home, because SELF-ISOLATING TIMES, PEOPLE! If you were the only one in a Costco (hahahaha, when has that ever happened?), you could theoretically get these easily printed up as 18x20 posters but SOCIAL DISTANCING, FRIENDS, so do not even think you’re heading to the store (nope, nope not unless it’s 100% unavoidable) and just print these at home (I’m making them friendly to b/w printers) and tape ‘em to the fridge for now. Then wash those hands. Spread the word, not the virus. Big hugs, stay safe. xoxox-SK

We’re In This Together (Wash Your Hands):

Fresh new PSA No. 2, added 03/16/2020! 

Be A Boss (Manage That Stress & Anxiety):

03/19/2020: PSA Poster No. 3, now up and ready for download today!

Stay HOME My SWEET Stay HOME:

Added 03/22/2020, as a love letter to all the people on the frontlines...

Anatomy of a First Responder:

[samarrakhaja]

Halloween Craftacular 2018

Today I’ll be instructing a roomful of kids on how to make their own recycled golfball eyeball pendants. I love creating crafts that don’t involve the purchase of single-use craft store materials (glitter, resins, plastics, excess packaging that will all end up in the trash) but rather focus on the reuse of other familiar materials/objects that have already lived one life and I get to give them at least one more before they hit that trash heap. 

For this project, we have a bunch of toilet and paper towel rolls that have been cut down to make mini easel stands for each golfball to sit on while the kids draw on them with permanent markers. I thrifted that giant roll of black cording at least a decade ago; I’ve used it for endless drawstring bags and today some of it will be cut into 20 necklace lengths. 

A friend gifted me a bag of used golfballs that her dad was done with and I cleaned each one off, drilled holes in them and attached screw eyes (because we have less than an hour), so they’re all ready to go. 

And lastly, to add in that nerd level I always desire for any project, I designed a handout that talks about iris muscles and illustrates many of the pupil shapes that exist in the world. Did you know that some frogs have HEART-SHAPED pupils?!?! Yep, exactly. Mind blown. Conscious crafting with some sweet, sweet knowledge on top. Oh, and we’ll talk about aerodynamics and how many dimples are on a golfball; I’m also bringing in a golfball my youngest and I cut in half so everyone can see what it’s made of. It’s going to be a long day!

Happy Halloween!

[samarrakhaja]

Trick-or-Treat Gesso Paint Can: Sewing Instructions

If you’ve been over to Spoonfower recently, you’ll have been introduced to my L’Artiste Paint Palette Halloween Costume:

And now here in this post, you can find the sewing instructions for the accompanying L’Artiste Gesso Paint Can trick-or-treat bag! Because we can’t forget the candy collecting!

Here’s how to assemble your very own:

1.   This is the sewing kit you’ll need; get it in the minky substrate, to ensure you get all the pieces. Cut out all pieces along black lines (paint can rectangle, circular can base, and two handle rectangles):

2.    Using the paint can rectangle as your template, cut out 1 same-sized rectangle of foam stabilizer and 1 out of white lining fabric. Using the paint can circular can base as your template, cut out 1 same-sized circle of foam stabilizer and 1 out of white lining fabric. Using one of the handle rectangles as your template, cut out 1 same-sized rectangle of foam stabilizer. You should now have these pieces:

3.    We’ll assemble the handle first: Layer minky pieces face-to-face with the foam stabilizer layer on top of them, like this:

4.    Pin layers in place and sew all the way around each edge using a ½” allowance, leaving one short edge open. Trim off corners and turn handle right side out.

5.    Next, we’ll assemble the paint can rectangle: Layer minky piece face up, place your white lining layer next and the foam stabilizer on top of everything, like this:

6.    Pin layers in place and sew all the way around all edges using a ½” allowance. NOTE: Make sure to leave 2 openings, each approximately 2½”- 3″ wide, for the handle ends and to turn the rectangle piece right side out; refer to this diagram as your sewing guide:

7.    Turn paint can rectangle right side out.

8.    We’ll now assemble the circular can base: Layer minky piece face up and place your white lining layer next with the foam stabilizer layer on top of everything, like this:

9.    Pin and sew around edge, using ½” allowance. Leave a 2½” opening, like this:

10.  Turn circular can base right side out, like this:

11.  Place handle ends into top of paint rectangle and topstitch across entire top edge of rectangle, securing handle in place. You should now have pieces that look like this:

12.  Curve rectangle around to end to end and sew up back edge of the can.

13.  Sew opening of paint can base closed. I chose to ladder stitch this shut by hand to hiding the stitching.

14.  Pin circular can base to the bottom of paint can and sew all the way around. TIP: If machine-sewing, sew on the inside of the can and base, on the lining side, so the stitching is hidden once can is flipped right side out. You can also chose to sew this by hand with a disappearing ladder stitch.

15.  Your L’Artiste Gesso Paint Can is officially complete and ready to stuff candy into! Go get some, you happy Halloween-er, you!

[samarrakhaja]

Recent Client Work: Totally Collectible

I created this action figure box-style photo op display for attendees to have fun with at the Singer booth during the Emerald City ComicCon in Seattle last week. I busted out some custom hand-drawn and drafted lettering too! It was a really fun project to conceptualize and design and from what I hear, it was very well received by everyone.

Both Walter and The Dude totally abide…

[samarrakhaja]

It’s March: Gun Reform Posters

There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said regarding all these horrific mass murders in this country and the changes desperately needed regarding gun reform. 

Enough. 

I’ve created 4 new posters for you to print and march with. Walk out of school with them, march with them to see your local leaders, and let the government hear your voices. 

Enough. Here's what I’ve made for you:

1. Guns Don’t Vote, But I Do.

2. Doesn’t Look Well Regulated To Me.

3. We Call BS!

4. Enough

Same rules apply as with my other posters, which are all my original artwork and my intellectual property. Please follow my usage rules below: Printing: Each poster is formatted to be 18″ x 24″ in size, so feel free to print them that large or size them down if needed. (Staples has an 18x24 poster printing option at their store, fyi.) Usage: These posters are free for personal use only. They are not for resale or for profit in any way; use them in good faith without misappropriation and most importantly, please credit me –Samarra Khaja– whenever possible.   If you print and walk with one of my signs at a march, etc. please send me photos of you in action! I’d love to see them as well as repost/share them via my blog and social media. Email photos to: info@samarrakhaja.com. Keep your voices loud and you will be the force of change.  xox -sk

[samarrakhaja]

New Year, New March Posters!

Okay, fine peeps, it’s a new year and time for more marching (because sanity! because fitness! because community!), so I’ve whipped up a new batch of posters for you to walk with, wherever you are in the world.

Personally, I thought saying “Ditto from Last Year” pretty much sums up everything for me, hahaha, so it was the first poster I made in this new set.

So here they are, SIX NEW POSTERS (woohoo!) that I’ve made just for you:

1. Ditto from Last Year

2. She Should Run

3. Folding Chair/ Shirley Chisholm

4. Magnificence/ Anita Moorjani

5. Nevertheless She Persisted

6. We Rise

Same rules apply as with my other posters, which are all my original artwork and my intellectual property. Please follow my usage rules below:

Printing: Each poster is formatted to be 18″ x 24″ in size, so feel free to print them that large or size them down if needed. (Staples has an 18x24 poster printing option at their store, fyi.)

Usage: These posters are free for personal use only. They are not for resale or for profit in any way; use them in good faith without misappropriation and most importantly, please credit me --Samarra Khaja-- whenever possible.  

If you walk with one of my signs at a march, please send me photos of you in action! I’d love to see them as well as repost/share them via my blog and social media. Email photos to: info@samarrakhaja.com.

Happy 2018 marching, Fine People of the World!

xox -sk

P.S. Here’s a 7th bonus poster (by request!) for all my marching friends in Queens, NYC! Heck, if you’re not in a place called Queens, but you consider yourself most queen-like, then I say this certainly is a viable royal option for marching with too! Woot!

7. Queens United Will Never Be Divided

[samarrakhaja]

Happy New Year!

Flyin’ on in with a bang! Ummm, also slowly dethawing from Cyclone Bomb bombogenesis action...which accounts for the 9-days-late greeting... Happy new year, fine people!-sk

[samarrakhaja]

When News Travels...

Aka, when you know full well that once you’ve made one kid’s wishes come true, you’re going to have to immediately do it for any others within earshot, you get in there like a champ and transform this request:

into...THIS!!!!

BOOOOOYAH!!!!!!

Yep, that’s right. A (fully removable) wee baby stuffie in the pouch of a bigger one, all following the precise color instructions in my young client’s drawing.

I think my job here is done. -sk

[samarrakhaja]

Transforming a Kidlet Drawing into a Yeti Stuffie

Oh, what do I do on a lazy Sunday to wind down from post-party/holiday festivities? Give myself the challenge of transforming my art director kidlet’s Yeti drawing into the stuffie he imagined it to look like. 

Although I see a few flaws, my client is 100% satisfied, which is always good news. The silver metallic leather claws and glitter foil eyes also help... 

xo -sk

[samarrakhaja]

November’s Awkward Animal Portraits Pattern Release is Here!

It’s time for our next installment of the Awkward Animal Portraits series! So who’s this pattern is for? Wait for it, wait for it…the birds!!! (hardy har har) 


What better way to celebrate these fine feathered living dinosaur friends of ours than to give you not one, not two, not three, but FOUR festive ways to depict these aerial avian artistes!!

Finished sizes (clockwise from upper left): 27” x 27” • 24” x 21” • 24” x 33” • 30” x 24”

Some fly fact about birds you might wanna know:


#1. According to National Geographic, scientists have an answer for the age old dispute over which came first, the chicken or the egg.  Reptiles were laying eggs thousands of years before chickens appeared.  The first chicken came from an egg laid by a bird that was not quite a chicken.  Therefore, the egg came first.


#2. The common phrase “eat like a bird” should mean something quite different!  Many birds eat twice their weight in food each day.  In fact, a bird requires more food in proportion to its size than a baby or a cat.

You can get your downloadable Birds pdf patterns now and see the rest of the available critters here!

Enjoy! -sk

[samarrakhaja]

My October Food Pyramid*

This pretty much sums things up....

*This may or may not also be my Working-on-Deadline Food Pyramid... 

xo, sk

[samarrakhaja]

Awkward Animal Portraits Series: Seasonal Special Edition

If you’ve been following along with our Awkward Animal Portraits (AAP) quilt pattern series, you’ll know we’re now ready to humanely release our October creature, and in true nocturnal partying weekend style, a certain someone is oh-so-fashionably late, but as we know, better late than never.

So without further delay, please welcome our first Seasonal Special in the AAP series with a big round of wing flapping:  

This is BAT!

Here are some amazing BAT facts you should know: 

Bat is the only mammal that can fly. 

Bat can see with its ears. ITS EARS, we tell ya! 

Bat works hard to control pests.

Bat helps produce some of our favorite foods. 

Even though folks think Bat is more closely related to rodents, guess what? Bat is actually more closely related to humans. Yep, it’s true. 

Bat is also super cute, so in conclusion, kindly love Bat!

Finished size: 81” x 81”. PDF pattern available here.

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Be sure to check back at the beginning of every month to see what Jessee and I have in store next in our intergalactically-renowned Awkward Animal Portraits quilt pattern series!

Enjoy! -xo, sk