DIY Life

I have to admit that Spongebob Squarepants is one of my guilty pleasures: the antics of the little "absorbent, yellow, and porous" ocean dweller are always good medicine for a bad day.

So I was delighted to see this amigurumi version of Sheldon J. Plankton, the evil nemesis of our hero Spongebob's employer, Mr. Krabs. He was created by Craftster user LadyLuigi, and is one of the site's new featured projects.

To make this amigurumi, you need a passable knowledge of crochet: the instructions given for Plankton (on the fifth page of replies) may not be enough for a beginner. But if you have crocheted a few things before, you shouldn't experience any real problems.

Required supplies include:

• an H hook (approximate size)
• a couple of pipe cleaners
• black embroidery floss
• stuffing
• scrap yarn in the following colors: olive green (you'll need the most of this), pale yellow or cream, red, and white

Plankton may ordinarily be 1% evil and 99% hot gas, but in this case, he's primarily made of yarn -- and 100% adorable. I bet he won't even try to steal your Krabby Patties.

Have you ever been caught in a sticky situation and wished that a super hero would come to the rescue? Not to worry folks, now you can make your own super hero online and have them ready to serve you at a moment's notice. Under Ground Online has made it easy for you to assemble the component parts which will give you a really cool looking super hero character portrait. Granted, it's only a picture of a super hero but it's your own creation and perhaps even an extension of your ego.

You can choose male or female, human or mutation. You get to choose their entire outfit, piece by piece. You even get to give them awesome side arms and other weapons. What you can't do is make a replica of a well known super hero which already exists. Well, you can make a replica but that would be naughty.

All you aspiring cartoonists out there owe it to yourself to take a trip to Hero Machine 2.5 to give it a try. It's easy, it's fun and if you get hit with a mega dose of gamma rays while you're working on your super hero creation, perhaps the attributes you have chosen shall be transmuted into your DNA making you into a real super hero... but probably not.

Want to make the kids (or kids at heart) on your holiday gift they'll like as much as you like making it for them? Check out these cartoon-themed knitting (and one crochet) patterns, inspired by favorite characters:

Spongebob Sqaurepants Hat, from Kody May Knits.

Bloo Mittens, from craftster.

Wonder Woman Sweater, also from craftster (oh those craftsters!)

Transformers Hat again, craftster strikes again.

Crocheted Spiderman Afghan, from Gail at Stitch n' Frog


Want to add a cartoon character to a basic knitted sweater, afghan, or pillow pattern? Check out these knitting charts for Bob the Builder, Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, the Powerpuff Girls, Dexter, Pokemon, Scooby Doo, South Park, Spongebob, the Simpsons, a slew Disney characters and a bunch more, some of which I don't even recognize.

FYI: These are all copyrighted characters, so using the images for gifts probably won't get you in any trouble; using them in items you plan to sell at the local craft fair? That's a whole other story.

One of the things I most enjoy about my computer is the creative potential it offers to me. Being that I'm a semi-accomplished artist, my computer's video card has become an extension of my personality. In that regard, my Paint Shop Pro (PSP) program has opened up illustration capabilities to me that would have otherwise gone unrealized.

Recently, I used PSP to make a cartoon out of myself. I think the results I produced would make Stan Lee proud. The pictures I have included outline the basic steps of the process. You'll notice that the end result is just a bit idealistic. You can make many desired improvements upon your subject when you transform it into digital form. I believe that's one of the things that I most enjoy about digital editing.