Dr. Henry Killinger

New to my Venture Brothers collection, it's Dr. Henry Killinger.

"Compromise, my friend, is the essence of diplomacy and diplomacy is the cornerstone of love"





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Pupae Twins

Tim Tom and Kevin, the Murderous Moppets of Dr. Girlfriend don new costumes in the Venture Brothers and become the Pupae Twins!





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wedding cake toppers

I was recently asked if I made wedding cake toppers out of my peg people. I haven't yet, so I wanted to test out painting a bridal party - just to make sure I've got the Right Stuff. What do you think? Be honest!

I used my sister's recent wedding as the jumping-off point for the attire. Her dress had tone-on-tone embroidery that had small crystal beads stitched into the design, which I replicated by doing a tone-on-tone painted detail and then touched up with irridescent glitter paint for sparkle. Her veil was shoulder-length and was dotted with rhinestone jewels, which I have also included on my tiny bride's veil.























The bridesmaids wore pink sashes that also had an embroidery and crystal detail on them, along with rhinestone barrettes -- I used the same glitter paint on the barrette.










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The Monarch plus Henchmen 21 & 24

The Monarch and his henchmen are back in the shop! Dr. Mrs. The Monarch sold separately!



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Scooby Crew peg people

Scooby Doo - where are you?

Chasing that dang dog around all the time is *really* getting tiresome, so these 4 gidgets are striking out on their own! Imagine what great adventures these guys could go on if they didn't have to constantly track down that scaredy-cat dog of theirs! Snap up this set of 4, now available in my shop.





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Kick-Ass peg people

Last weekend, we went to see the movie Kick-Ass, and it was so much fun that I came home and immediately whipped up a tiny army of Kick-Ass inspired peg people. (Click any of the images to view larger on Flickr)



First up, Hit Girl. She's only 11, but she's got more skill and bloodlust in her pinky than you do in your entire body. Her purple leather ensemble is accented with a girlie pink utility belt, all custom crafted by her daddy - Big Daddy.



Big Daddy is a rogue militiaman with a bone to pick. He's been training his daughter for the day that they will exact their revenge on those who have wronged them. In addition to extensive weapons training, he has also created himself a "hero" outfit, modeled after Batman, which is called only "Big Daddy."

Sweet little Kick-Ass. Just a high schooler in a wetsuit, he sets out to rid the city of crime, only he can't do it alone!

Red Mist is a fickle hero, more concerned about wealth and power than protecting the citizens. But he does have some awesome gadgets. And that hair!


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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

Holy smokes - check out this sassy costume! Back before she was Dr. Girlfriend - or even Queen Etherea or Lady Au Pair - this lovely lady (aka: Sheila) had an eye for design. She gave the Monarch the concept for his costume on their first date, so it was only appropriate that after the wedding, she would design a sexy costume for her new role as Dr. Mrs. The Monarch!

This tiny homage to her loveliness can now be yours! To keep! Forever! She makes a great traveling companion or cake topper - what more could you ask for?













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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Triana Orpheus

Sweet Triana Orpheus is one of my favorite minor characters from the Venture Brothers. She can't help it that her dad is a powerful necromancer who is a bit of a ninny and drove her mom away! She just wants to be herself, ya know? She came up with this groovy outfit going for a kind of Adam and the Ants retro-thing, but now she's stuck wearing it every day because her closet is the gateway to the Necropolis and smells like burning band-aids (brimstone). *sigh*

I can totally see why Deanie V. has a major crush on her and why she kind of likes him too. I mean, he's sweet and dresses like Buddy Holly but not really on purpose. Plus, he's got hover boots!







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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Virgin Mary

This was a special request - and I'm not sure why I've never made Mary before. She's so cute in her simplistic style.

Her arms are 'dimensional' meaning that I have painted several layers to build up the paint, rather than just paint the outlines. Her robes are edged in gold and covered in a blanket of golden stars. Her hands are held in meditative prayer, and her eyes are softly closed.

This was my first religious icon that I have ever worked with - a wee bit intimidating!




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Han Solo

My first Star Wars peg person: Han Solo! Han is wearing the pants with the red stripes on the sides, which I have been informed are from the 'best' of the Star Wars movies (I have no opinion, personally).

His belt is decked out with all the requisite gear and his vest has the correct number of pockets - I checked! The pockets are painted on the vest 'dimensionally' by layering the paint, so they're pretty subtle in photos, but I promise, they're there!


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Check out my Etsy shop or email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Dr. House

Full disclosure: I have never watched "House" so I only had still pictures to work with when creating this wooden version. He's got the typical gloomy face and dressed-down demeanor, complete with wooden cane (not shown in this picture).





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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Wonder Woman

More super hero goodness - this time in the form of Wonder Woman! She's decked out in her saucy outfit and golden crown and thigh-high boots, ready to kick some serious bad-guy booty!

Not included: invisible plane

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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Devo peg people & Mark Mothersbaugh

A while back, I made a set of DEVO peg people just for funsies and they came to the attention of James Sime, who owns Isotope Comics in San Francisco. He liked them, so I sent them up his way and he was very kind about the whole exchange (even offered to trade comics!). So I was even more amazed when I got a message from James recently that he had backstage passes to the DEVO show in SF and he asked if I'd like to pass on a set to DEVO themselves. Um, YES! Of course!

So then I saw this picture on Flickr a few days later -- it's James backstage with Mark Mothersbaugh!! Oh, and Mark is holding my Devo peg people! I nearly fainted from happiness.

According to James:

"He absolutely *loved* them. Clutching them in his hands, his eyes bugging out, exclaiming 'These are SO CUTE!' I told him your website address and he said 'AAAA! PERFECT! EVERYTHING IS SO CUTE!'"

I have died and gone to Devo heaven.

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Scooby Doo stop-motion

My friends and I dressed as the "Scooby Crew" last year for Halloween and it was so much fun that I keep crafting up Scooby Doo themed gifts for them (which, I know needs to stop). My latest creation was a set of peg people that went to my friend Kate.

For those of you who don't know Kate - she's not the kind of person who will just casually place something on a shelf and forget about it. Oh no. This is what she did with her present: created a stop-motion video of the Scooby Doo intro!!

After you've recovered from the giggle fit that is sure to ensue, you should check out some of the other work that the talented and lovely Kate has done. Ever wonder what happens in the life of a sock zombie? Well, wonder no more!!



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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Once upon a time, I had a crafty sister in arms named Amy Choppa. She was one of my first internet crafting pals and we'd send packages back and forth via "Choppa Mail" which was actually ziplock bags and tupperware containers taped closed (but see-through, so the mailmen/mailwomen handling them could get a smile). It was great!

And then not so long ago, Ms. Choppa got married and became Mrs. DoubleYou and soon she's going to be Mommy DoubleYou! I am, needless to say, very excited for her (and Mr. DoubleYou too!).

After trying my hand at painting the Giggly Family, I decided to paint the DoubleYou family! Baby DoubleYou hasn't actually made his entrance, er, exit (as it were) so I cannot say that he will be born with a single curl of hair on his head. I can, however, confirm that he will have a onesie with muscles painted on it! I thought this was utterly hilarious, so I painted Baby DoubleYou with it on.

I also included the DoubleYou dogs, Ruby & Clementine, who are Boston Terriers. This was my first time ever painting animals as peg people and I am pretty happy with them. I tried to mimic the dogs' coloring and patterns, but as always with peg people, they're not exact! :)




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Giggly Mama Family

Giggly Mama is not just giggly -- she's part of my family! And her birthday was coming up, so I thought I'd make her a set of peg people -- but who to make? And then I saw her pictures of the family picking pumpkins and I had an 'aha' moment: I'd paint the family!

This was my first-ever attempt at painting people that I know, so it was a little nerve-wracking! It's one thing to paint cartoon characters, who are not real people who might look at something and think "why did you give me such wide eyes? Do you think I am a shark? Am I supposed to be smiling or smirking? And are you saying my shoes are ugly?" See? It makes you nervous!

Fortunately, Shannon is an artist and crafter herself and can appreciate the thought and the gesture and doesn't get bent out of shape if her eyes are painted uneven! :)

So happy birthday Shannon! I hope you have a great day and enjoy your new peg people!


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Long Beach Comic Con

Last weekend was the inaugural Long Beach Comic Con and Ryan and I shared a table there in Artist Alley. It was a lot of fun and a really good show! Sadly, we didn't make it to a single panel discussion or even get an autograph from Corin Nemec (for reals!), but the reason was good: the table was well-visited!

My side of the table, as usual, had the benefit of bright colors. In a sea of comic book portfolios and sketches (mostly black and white), my giddy crafts stand out. So they caught a lot of eyeballs. This show, I had 2 offers: my dot paintings and my peg people. Both were very well received, I am grateful to announce! By Sunday afternoon, I was packing up nearly empty houses and had sold almost everything that I brought (sorry to everyone who asked, the houses aren't for sale).It was amazing -- THANK YOU to all the good people who came by and took some of this stuff home for me!!

One of my display techniques was to use this cupcake, to demonstrate what-in-the-world-would-I-do-with-a-peg-person (hint: a cake topper!). This was a store-bought cupcake that had gone stale and then I coated it with acrylic gloss, so it was shiny and solid. Unfortunately, it was lost/stolen after the show closed on Friday night. My table neighbors were more upset than I was -- I just hope no one tried to eat it! But no matter, I have a more permanent version coming soon. This was just a quick-and-dirty way to show how the peg people could be used. And it served its purpose, so... bon voyage little cupcake!

One of the fan-favorite items was the tiny mailbox with tiny business cards. I have to admit, I'm pretty fond of it too. :)

I also sold some of the blank peg people (seen in the above pictures in a bowl and on the table) so that convention-goers could try their own hand at creating a masterpiece. I figured that the kids would think it was a great idea, but I was surprised at how many adults were buying them -- inspired by what they saw and chock-full of ideas of their own! The kids mostly wanted what was already painted, although there were a few kids who were determined that they could (and would!) do better than what I had. Every one of them said they'd email me a picture - and I hope they do!

I also was honored to be asked to contribute to someone's sketch book (full of awesome art from all the Cool People there) and I felt terrible that I CANNOT DRAW so I scribbled a peg-person form of me and Ryan (dorky) and the girl asked if maybe I could add something with dots. Well, markers don't really give the same effect, so I painted an artist trading card (ATC) made of canvas with Spider-Man for her to stick in her book instead.

Along the way, my table was photographed several times, including by the OC Weekly, the LA Weekly, a handful of blogs, and I did a video interview with the Daily 49er (Cal State Long Beach's news). So that was all really cool!

Plus, I'm waiting for the photos to roll in. I'm having a contest asking folks to submit pictures of their giddy girlie art to win $20! I've gotten a few so far, but there is still time to submit!

Oh! And we also saw a skateboarding shrimp!



And then were driving behind this... a sentinel from X Men. You're welcome.








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Madame Leota gidget

I've been Haunted Mansion crazy lately (oh, can you tell?) and Madame Leota is always bewitching my thoughts. The other night I was looking at my blank peg people and had an aha! moment. So, now there is this little charmer.

Leota's crystal ball floats above the seance table and her hair swirls all around the glass. Her hair is painted in navy blue and then covered with a dimensional glitter paint to give it more 'oomph' and sparkle. The one pictured below has NOT been clear coated yet (easier to photograph) but I think when this has a glossy clear coat over the top, it's going to really come to life.




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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .

Long Beach Comic Con Oct 2-4

Ryan and I signed up for the Long Beach Comic Con a while back, when it was still "months and months from now" and suddenly - whoa! It's almost here! I am very excited and am working like mad to have some fun stuff to sell at the show! Ryan and I will be sharing a table and we'd love to see YOU! If you're at the show, please stop by and say 'hi!'

Ryan will have original artwork, sketch cards, plus be doing sketches and autograph signings and such during the show. For my part, I'll be bringing some of my little 'gidgets' and dot paintings. I even have some show exclusives! Like these little movie monsters in a coffin - first available at LBCC! Stop by and get yours AND take advantage of special show pricing on everything I sell!


See us at Table 44! Buy your tickets online! Ryan is listed on the Guests page! Floor map [PDF]! Programming Schedule!

Hitchhiking Ghosts - wooden peg people

These spirited spooks are everyone's favorite hitchhikers (L-R): Phineas, Ezra, & Gus! These fun little wooden peg people are 1-11/16th" tall, which makes them adorably dainty. Currently for sale in my etsy shop. I've also made a second set, using the taller sized pegs (also in my shop) if these are just too cute in this teeny size!

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Interested in owning a piece like this? Check out my Etsy shopor email me for a custom order!. : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : . _ . : * ~ * : .