Crafting Cute Cryptids Creatively

These are what I made for my swap partner @gozer for the Monster Swap!

Thanks to gozer, I now know about the Fresno Nightcrawler. So, I used to live in Fresno, and it’s actually where I met my husband in 1994. We both left Fresno, however, before the first Fresno Nightcrawler sighting. So we had an amusing evening of reading about these and watching videos!! And then we had to share them with my mom and brother. Everyone became educated and amused!!
Shortly after I signed up for the Monster Swap, the Green Thumb swap was announced and I dreamt of ways to combine the two. Those visions never left me and thus these both started out as tiny terra cotta planters. The Fresno Nightcrawler one is very tiny. So, before I get into process, please let me introduce you to Loretti the Yeti (my mom named her) and the Fresno Nightcrawler:

Both started with paper mache. Loretti was fun and easy and came together easily. I had some weird fur fabric a friend gave me that seemed perfect, though a wee ragged. I gave the horns some texture by wrapping embroidery floss around them and then painting over that. The feet took a bit to get stuck on all the way but that finally worked too. Then she got a big fat purple leopard print bow to cover up a bit of fur that got matted by glue. (Oops!) And thus Loretti the Yeti came to be.

I almost abandoned the Fresno Nightcrawler when I couldn’t keep it from falling over. The legs are made of bicycle spokes covered in paper straws and then paper mache. I had to make some big feet to stabilize it and then it would still fall over eventually. While I was trying to solve this, I started talking to @Tapestry about UV Resin. I found a planter dish, picked some evergreen sprigs from around my neighborhood, and made a floor of Yosemite to sink his fat feet into!! A bit of quilt batting and tulle around his legs and he was complete!

Bean approved!

16 Likes

These are both so cool! I love that they’re planters. And great solve with the UV resin.

3 Likes

I love the Fresno Nightcrawler! The resin fix was so smart.

1 Like

Thank you!

It was so fun messing around with the resin and getting more ideas. I had a lot of bubbles and some of the greenery wouldn’t stay flat, but it was also my first time working with it. Super appreciate your help and the UV light!! Thank you!!

1 Like

Thank you!!!

So creative and fun! I love the hairy yeti!

1 Like

Your cryptids are delightful! Such creative use of materials and innovative problem solving!

1 Like

Neat! I looked up the Fresno Nightcrawler-- that’s a new one I haven’t heard of. It doesn’t exactly crawl, though. They’re totally Nightstrollers. Or Nighttrousers.
The in progress shots are fun to see and turning them into planters? Genius.

Omg, so, I have a cactus that is a Ghost Cactus. It’s a cactus that has a whitish look to it. It would probably look like a pretty cool pairing. It’d have to be in a plastic pot that can be lifted out, but since it’s a cactus it doesn’t need to be watered all the time compared to other plants that need a lot of moisture.
Or there are several varieties of plants that are a very dark green or dark purple in color. I have a Dark Desire Wandering Dude, but it likes more moisture than a cactus.

1 Like

This is such a fun combo!

1 Like

Thank you @Kwality570 @TheMistressT @irid3sc3nt @Annchen !!

@irid3sc3nt I keep calling it “Fresno Nightwalker” but I think that means something totally different! :rofl: I do like “Nighttrousers”! :joy::joy::joy:

1 Like