A plush giveaway!

I'm giving away a Chickenpants plush art toy on my Instagram feed! I'm actually super nervous to do this, but here goes.
I will be giving Luann Chickenpants away to one winner, picked at random.

To win her, just
1. Repost this photo on Instagram*
2. Tag said photo #chickenpants
3. And follow me on Instagram, @chickenpants


That's it! I'll pick a winner next Wednesday, the 4th. (Feel free to tag anyone you think might be into this, too. I didn't want to make that a requirement, but I sure would appreciate it!)

And here is Luann's story. (Every Chickenpants has a little backstory.)
Luann Chickenpants - CP. No. 608
Luann Chickenpants is a thrifter extraordinaire. She takes great pride that nothing that she owns has been bought at retail cost. She has an eye for great finds and a beak for bargains.

If you'd like to see more chickeny goodness, you can check out the Chickenpants blog!

*There's a copy of this photo on my instagram feed, naturally, to make this easier for you!

Recent Custom Chickenpants

I make a lot of custom Chickenpants. I have this tendency to forget all about them once they're packed up and shipped off, though. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy a peek at two of my recent favorites: Maleficent Chickenpants and Audrey Hepburnpants. For Maleficent here, I used the most luxurious velvet I could find, and then slashed and burned it to make the ends all ragged. Also, I had to expand my skill set to figure how to spell "Maleficent". Audrey here was SO much fun to make, partially because of all the tiny accessories, which we all know I have a weakness for. Fun fact! Tiny poly clay sunglasses are very hard to make!

Dude. 500 Chickenpants.

HOLY COW. It's the 500th Chickenpants!

I can't believe I've made 500 of these things.

There's a blog post and a bunch of stuff going on at the fan page (including a free zine to download!).

If Tom Baker was a chicken...

At last! I've finished Tom Bakerpants! The Fourth Doctor is here, sprouting a fine crop of super curly hair. He also features a super long scarf and a hand made burgundy velvet jacket. (Yes, burgundy. Very hard to capture on film, but trust me, it's burgundy. As it should be!)

He is number 492 in the grand scheme of Chickenpants. (Meaning he was the 492nd one made. Also this means that we're only eight Chickenpants away from 500. HOLY COW!)

If you'd like to see more of The Doctor, come on over.
Or you could, you know, check out our fan page on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/TheChickenpants

Captain Jack Sparrowpants

I've been working on this guy for awhile, and I'm happy to say he's finally done.

Those tiny dreads were surprisingly hard on the wrists to make.

Working on Capt. Jack made me realize just how INSANELY complicated his costume is. It would take him like an hour to get dressed. Highly impractical for a pirate on the go.
Anyway, I had fun working on him, and I hope you like him, too!
You can check him out here.
If you'd like to see more Chickenpants, come on over to the Chickenpants Facebook page. We've got all kinds of goodies, including a Members Only page (still in the early stages, but seriously, you want to be a part of that. Chickenpants 500 is coming up soon, and I've got some fun stuff planned.)
See you around!
-Claire

Dr. Who Chickenpants

OK. So, I'm a leeetle obsessed:

Here is the Chickenpants tribute to my very favorite Doctor, David Tennant. He sports a totally hand stitched suit, complete with functional interior pocket to hold his -oh yes- sonic screwdriver.
(He also has a little loop sewn into his hand, if you prefer him to hold said sonic screwdriver.)

"Jack: [incredulously] Who has a sonic screwdriver?
The Doctor: I do!
Jack: Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'Ooo, this could be a little more sonic?'"
The Doctor: What, you've never been bored? Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up? "

You can check him out here, or check out his Flickr set for more pictures than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at.

play time - rats and a shopping trolley!

two hooded raggy rats investigate my new shopping trolly prop!



some pastel raggy rats really have fun giving each other rides ...



and then, it's the turn of the chickenpants, and Daisy!

The 80's Chickenpants Are Here!

Aw, yeah.

I was given a big bag full of 1980's fabric, and in that moment, I knew what I had to do. (It's so nice when people donate fabric and other goodies to the cause, isn't it?)
Chickenpants 380-390 became the 80's Collection!

Of course I had to make a couple of 80's goths. This is probably offensive, but I find them adorable. (My husband was one! So it's okay, right?)
From left to right: Robert (Smith), Siouxsie (Sioux), and Ian (Curtis).

And finally:

Lloyd Doblerpants.
He sports a handstitched boombox, and a little trench coat that snaps at the top.
You know where you can check them out, if you want to read their little backstories.
-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

The LOST Chickenpants

I just completed my Lost project! I wanted to make a tribute to the show that's chewed up so many hours of my life:

I took them all to a local park for a photo shoot. It's as close to an island as we're going to get over here.

I carefully picked the fabric and accents for each individual Chickenpants to best capture the spirit of that character. I then carefully applied "dirt" to each one (not real dirt, just pastels), because we hardly ever see these guys clean and tidy unless it's one of those sideways flashes which I wish they would hurry up and do something with, already.

Actually, J.J. Abramspants and Richart Alpertpants do not have any dirt on them. Why? Because J.J. Abrams doesn't strike me as the sort to get dirty. And Richard Alpert always seems fairly tidy and well kept, too. What's with that?
In total, I made 11 characters. There are so many more I'd like to do, though!


-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

Chickita Miranda Chickenpats

I recently completed a custom Chickenpants, and I think you might enjoy her. Behold the splendor that is
CHICKITA MIRANDA CHICKENPANTS!

Making her involved lots of glue gun seared finger tips, but it was so worth it.

She's number 347! We're getting perilously close to 350 Chickenpants, people.

Scandalous!

Claire ~ Absolutely Small

Also, the Chickenpants have a fan page now. Come on over, if you're into that sort of thing. (It's fun over there! Really!)

Ninjapants - back in black!

Hey! It's March! Bulbs are starting to pop up everywhere. Buds are back on trees where they belong.
And Ninjapants are getting back in the coop again. Oh, almost spring!

That's right, Ninjapants are back! Here's a few of my favorites. Click on any of the pictures to learn more about that particular Ninjapants.
Haiku Ninjapants - #286

Sakura, The Deadly Blossom Ninjapants - #290

-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

A very special Chickenpants

February 12th was my three year Etsy-versary. I made a very special Chickenpants to celebrate it. Behold: chickens on his pants. (And belt!)
Perhaps the most exciting thing about him, though, is that he can't be bought. No, he can only be won.
Hop on over to chickenpants.net to enter the giveaway!

Hamster Car meets the Chickenpants

As promised, here's a brand new Hamster Car/Chickenpants video:

(And you can watch HamsterCar on YouTube, if you're so inclined.)
There will be a NEW Chickenpants/Hamstercar video soon, too...stay tuned!

The Hamster Car was made by the one and only RaggyRat. Check her out!

I'm Absolutely Small, maker of all things Chickenpants. Check me out, too!

Travelin' Plush

I fell in love with the amazing Hamster Car made by Raggy Rat. She's kindly allowed him to come visit the Chickenpants here in California...and he's here!

I don't know what happened with the uploading process, but things are all grainy. That's what I get for trying to film at night, I guess. Anyway! Working on some new Hamster Car related fun right now. You haven't seen the last of him!

Hamster Car's Creator: Raggy Rat. Check her out, she's awesome!

Me: Absolutely Small. Check me out, too. ^-^

hamster car - go !

my three year old daisy got some boot-sale cars for christmas, and thought a particular one with a wobbly walk could be a hamster ... oops, mummy plushed the car, and made it int0 - HAMSTER CAR !

this week , hamster car is off to visit some chicken pants ! and claire too, of course !

Chickenpants? That's what she said.

We've been watching a lot of The Office lately, so I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened:

Michael Scott Chickenpants, Regional Manager of Dunder Chicken Paper Company.
Aw, yeah.
Of course, there is also a Pam and a Jim...Dwight, alas is still on my desk.
Pam sports curly hair and a Re-Ment pencil:

Jim sports a slightly askew tie, as well as tall skinnyness.

Their pants are all made from suiting material, to give them a suitably office-y feel.
I think I'd better get back to work. I have a feeling Dwight Chickenpants is going to hold his tardiness against me. And probably try to have me fired.

-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

New Absolutely Small Goodies

Last week saw the release of Chickenpants #260, Grace. Which came at a really weird time, as the shop was then at 259 sales. So Chickenpants #260 could have been sale #260. It didn't work out that way, but that's okay. ^-^

I also listed a new plush bird named Finnegan:

And, maybe most excitingly, I released the first new Chickenpants Limited print in way too long, Snowed In:


Back to work!
-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

Chickenpants in Wonderland

I was invited to participate in the Go Ask Alice plush art show in Santa Barbara. I had really grand plans of making a whole cast of characters...but, um, life kind of got in the way.
Anyway, here's what I did make.
Of course, I had to make an Alice:


All that time spent making Blythe clothes has not been a waste! Turns out, it's very useful to know how to make tiny dresses after all.
In the Disney version, the Queen of Hearts always freaked me out. She was so angry! I was inspired by the John Tenniel illustrations of the Queen for my version.


I was a little nervous to make a Mad Hatter, namely because of the hat. How does one make a plush hat?

I'm glad I did it anyway, though. Turns out it is really not that difficult. Yay! Perhaps I'll be making more Chickenpants hats in the future...
(and yes, that is a Re-Ment cup in his hand. Turns out collecting Re-Ment is useful, too.)

So, that's that. If you're in the area, please stop by! I hear they're having a tea party to celebrate the show opening. It's on December 5th, and you can find all the details on their site.


-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

250 Chickenpants!

On July 9th, 2007 I made a creature that cracked me up. I had no idea he'd crack so many of you up, too. Not to mention become my own personal creative obsession.

A little over two years later, I find that I've made 250 Chickenpants. 250? 250! 250.
This is a really big deal for me. I never thought I would make so many of anything. When I first started making plush, I was also painting. Mostly foxes. I'd never been able to stick with any one subject matter long enough to make a series. I had done literally every art/craft from writing to glass fusing and back again. Nothing stuck, and I thought nothing ever would. Then suddenly, Chickenpants took over my life.
So, without any further ado, let me present to you Herb Chickenpants, Number 250:


(You can say hello to him in the shop, if you're so inclined. ^-^)
So how are we going to celebrate this? The only way the internet knows how...with a contest! The full scoop is on my blog.

Remember to follow those insane creative hares...you never know where they might lead!
-Claire ~ Absolutely Small

Fresh from the studio

Here's a few new goodies from the Absolutely Small studios this week.
There are some new Chickenpants who are ready to fly the coop:
Willy:


Chickenpants Slim:


Marzipan:


Lil' Orphan Chickenpants:

And I think a few others. I'm trying to list one a day (M-F anyway). Craftland preparations and the general busyness of living get in the way sometimes.

One more little critter:

He's only 1" tall! I just started making these. I wanted to see just how small I could make my pompom headed dogs...turns out the answer is "very".

-Claire