(no subject)

[exitwounds.livejournal.com]

hello crafty girls and boys!

i have a bit of a dilemma. my illustration professor gave us this assignment to make a self-promotion package. it looks like it'll be a lot of fun and i want to accentuate my silkscreening skills (as that's what i enjoy the most.) however i also want to incorporate my love of sewing and fabric, so i had a few ideas on that. i was also considering functional things so that theoretically a person could get my item and remember my work that way. so pretty much i can make anything, so long as it refers to my own artwork somehow.

this is what i've come up with for interesting ideas:

1) small (two or three inch) soft sculpture 'toys' depicting elements of my art-- a bird, a little ghost/bubble thing, and an amputated arm, perhaps more. possibly having silkscreened additions to the fabric? or perhaps those plus a little stuffed doll?
2) tear-off notepads-- really simple, just get a stack of printer paper, cut to size, silkscreen an image on the top or bottom of an image. then get a piece of chipboard for the base and bind the edge with some kind of glue.
3) small pillows/handwarmers with a silkscreened image on them.
4) tshirts, but then i have to account for size.
bear in mind i have to make at least fifteen copies of each item too. (later on down the line i'd love to make a small side-business of pillows and t-shirts and purses/wallets, but it doesn't need to be done now)


however i also want to make nice packaging, and overall really nice stuff because i have annoyed my professor by missing meetings quite a lot lately and i want to do good on this one so she doesn't hate me.

so my question/s is/are: 1) does anyone have any ideas of interesting crafty items that could work well within my project? 2) does anyone know anything about packaging-- i'm guessing i'll have to cut out my own boxes which is fine-- but what kind of stock/box template is good? how about if i want a window-- does acetate work well? 3) does anyone know any good places to find colored velour or thin fleece-- i'm guessing that's what i'll make the toys out of?

any suggestions would be great. the dolls/toys are going to be tough because i'll be winging it patternwise, but if i do it i'll be probably referencing japanese ufo catchers.

thanks guys!
-meg
http://www.crossedfingers.net (not just a shameless plug, but i thought it might help with the suggestions if you knew just what my stuff looked like-- check the portfolio)