Zelda Art Kikwi Beanbag Toys by Cinth Degree!

[CinthDegree]

Heya peeps, I recently made some (according to me) awesome Kikwi beanbags! I've made 4 so far (2 Lopsas, an Erla and a Machi), and put them up for sale in my etsy store. I only have one left (a Lopsa).

I haven't made Oolo yet, but will likely make him next, and maybe start on that tonight.

I also thought about making play sets for the Kikwis, like a Link hat, Pols Voice 'hood' or a Korok mask for them to dress up in! I've been perusing the great image galleries here for some inspiration! ---> Any ideas are welcomed! <---

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oh - almost forgot to mention: their pods actually open and more leaves come out, so they can hide! There's a Lopsa hiding in that first photo (but he's blending in with the fruit)

 

[Dragonfly]

If you didn't use fake fruit, the Kikwis are tiny.
But that makes them just more adorable!
What material did you use?

 

[CinthDegree]

They are pretty small, about 10 inches in diameter (easily fit in your hand). They're made from felt and some wire in their outer pod leaves, then filled with pinto beans (raw, of course!). The pears do look fake in the photos, but they're real, and the strawberries are kinda freaky big.

Originally my plan was to make much bigger, cotton stuffed Kikwis, and I still may someday. But, something made me think of beanbags, and that seemed cuter!

I'm making 'play sets' for the beanbags, too. I included some prototypes on my last order . Here are some photos -- Erla the Kikwi in a Link hat, and Erla wearing a Korok mask.

Link's hat is felt with some elastic to hold in place (like a party hat), and the Korok mask is also felt (2 layers, red over black, the black mimics the outlines in Wind Waker's art), then I painted veins on with some Martha Stewart paint! I think they turned out pretty cute! Erla wears the Korok mask simply by hanging it on his nose.

 

[Dragonfly]

The Link hat... so cute!

I tried to think of something they could wear but couldn't come up with anything.
What came to my mind, however, were maybe Items.
I don't even know if that's possible because I have no talent for crafting anything.
Maybe you could somehow sew tiny magnets onto their sides (or if you do new ones even into them).
Then you could try Items like a shield or bombs and it would look like they carry them...

I don't know if that's in any way what you want to do, but it's the only thing I could think of.
They're lovely no matter what

 

[CinthDegree]

I LOVE the idea of sewing magnets into them! <3 I may give that a try soon! I have been thinking of deku nuts and maybe some bombs. I also plan to make non-Kikwi sized items, like the wallets from the games (I esp. like the Twilight Princess wallets), and maybe even some human-sized Link hats and Korok masks.

Rupees made with resin can be really cool, but working with resin is suuuuch a slow process!

 

[Dragonfly]

I'm glad I could help

The advantage of the wallets is that they can be really useful, you can actually store things in there...
Korok masks could be nice decoration. I know people who have some Venetian masks on their walls, you can put Korok masks on your wall

Don't listen to me, I'm talking rubbish...
What I actually wanted to ask: How do you work with resin?
That's the first time I heard of it, I guess it's just not very common here. Do you melt that?
I mean... It's made of tiny pieces of... resin, how do you shape that into rupee-form? :huh:
Sorry, I'm just totally clueless...

 

[Libk]

Omg these things are amazing. What are you selling them for?

 

[Raindrop14]

These are so cute!!!!

 

[CinthDegree]

I only have one left right now, in my etsy store, a Lopsa for $23. I was hoping to make some more this weekend, and try out Dragonfly's idea of putting magnets in, too.

I have a link to my store on my profile (home page). I also bought some materials to try out the wallets. Been to busy with my real work, but wishing I could be sewing

I'm glad I could help

The advantage of the wallets is that they can be really useful, you can actually store things in there...
Korok masks could be nice decoration. I know people who have some Venetian masks on their walls, you can put Korok masks on your wall

Don't listen to me, I'm talking rubbish...
What I actually wanted to ask: How do you work with resin?
That's the first time I heard of it, I guess it's just not very common here. Do you melt that?
I mean... It's made of tiny pieces of... resin, how do you shape that into rupee-form? :huh:
Sorry, I'm just totally clueless...

oh - and for the resin question. It's a fairly time consuming process, but mostly due to the drying time. I did small scale metal work in college, and was sad I could only easily do cold connection pieces (meaning, I have to hold stuff together using rivets, hinges, wiring, and not use fire to solder, or use a kiln), since I lost access to the studio and equipment. So - at one point I decided to try out resin instead. I'd used it just a bit to accent some metal work.

The resin I have now is in two parts you have to mix together, but the ratios are super important. It effects drying time, how hard or soft the final pieces will be, etc. I also bought liquid rubber mold making stuff, and started by making molds of some little jewelry pieces I had made from silver and brass earlier. The resin is a clear liquid, and will dry clear, but you can add dye to it. I think the dyes I have are solid only in black and white, and all the colors, like green or red, are transparent (so I could make a semi-see-through rupee). Of course you can mix them to get a wider range of colors, too. I used the rubber to make custom shaped molds - so, I could model something out of clay, for example, then pour liquid rubber around that to make a mold. Once it's dry, cut the mold open, remove the original clay piece, then fill the mold with liquid resin. Let that dry, then I have resin versions of what I molded in clay!

Hmm, this is kinda hard to explain . I wish I had some pictures I could add to clarify things, but I'm not at home. Otherwise I'd get a picture of the resin components and maybe some of the pieces I've done in resin! I'll try to do that later, maybe even write up a quick tutorial on how to make something