Marsbarn Designs...

Building a robot face

 

 

Waving the geek banner proudly!

I did an interview for Geek Mom!  Whoo-hoo!
I feel so very cool.  Go take a look! 

Thanks Cathe!

Deck carrier bags (or what to keep your Magic decks in)

Okay, it's roll out the new product time. 
I've been working on this idea for ages, but I've finally
finished fine tuning, and here it is...

Looks like one of my square bottom dice bags, no?
Well this bag is rectangular, not square, and it has a 
firm bottom.  (Yes, I said 'firm'.)  There's a layer of 
flexible mesh between the layers of fabric (so it's still
reversible!), so the bottom won't sag when you fill
the bag.  (No one likes a saggy bottom!) 

The bag is taller than my normal bag, 7 1/2" to be exact.  
The base measures 4" by 3".

Why those measurements?  Because that means this bag
is perfect to hold gaming decks.  You know those 
deck boxes?  (The ones that measure 2 3/4" by 1 7/8"
by 3 3/4") Two of them will fit in this bag, side by
side, or laying flat.

See what I mean?  

Oh, and there is a pocket on one side.  Sometimes you
have a card or a note or something you just need to
keep separate.  

Now, if you play a game that uses larger cards or
different deck boxes, just email me about making a
custom sized bag.  I'm happy to make you a bag to fit
your game!

You can read more about these deck bags, or any of 
my bags, here.

To buy Deck Carrier bags go to my Etsy shop.

Soot Sprites!

When I made the Totoro dice bag in June,  I wanted to make a soot sprite too.

And here it is!

Happy little soot sprites bouncing around the sides of the bag! 

Hexagonal Dice Bag? Why not?

At the end of June, I had a request for a hexagonal dice bag.  

Well that's something I haven't done before. 

It took a bit to figure out how to work out the mechanics of it.  And then a bit more time to practice, and to get the corners clean.  I will say that making a hexagonal dice bag requires a bit more attention to detail than a square one.  But, the results are pretty darn cool.

I have plans to make some for the shop, but I have to catch up on my special order backlog first.

The Goblin Dice Bag

I've reopened my Etsy shop.  I have listed a bunch of 
new bags featuring new fabrics and new designs. 

This square bottomed, goblin bag features a hand cut
design made of wool felt appliqued onto the bag.
The goblin is based on a drawing done by Big E.

It's part of a new line of Special Dice Bags I'm making.
More information can be seen here. 

Orc skulls and other things dice bag

I'm continuing to work on new dice bag designs
and decorations.  This Orc Skull motif is new,
and I'm making it in both felt and thermoset vinyl. 

There's also a bag with a firm, reinforced bottom for
decks of Magic the Gathering cards that is in the works.

Oh, and as one of those "you might want to know" things,
the shop will be closed for the month of July while I
spend some quality time with my family. 

Eevee dice bag

This Eevee bag was requested by a friend who's going
to PAX in August. She has a super cool idea for a 
costume, and she needed a dice bag to match. 

For Eevee I played with footprint of the bag in a new
way.  This bag isn't square, or rectangular. I used a
diamond shape base. I wanted to put the face of the bag
on a corner, and wanted to insert the ears on the side
seams.  A traditional square bag would have put the
ears too far back, I thought.  So, I shortened that front
corner.  The front sides are 4" long, and the back two
sides are 5" long.

The ears are wired, so they can be shaped. Most of the
features are wool blend felt. The mouth is thermoset
vinyl.

Oh, and there is a bushy tail.  The tail is stuffed with
fiber fill, and is sewn in at the base.  I tacked the
tail to the side of the bag, so it would stay perky.

With the weight of the ears and the tail, I needed to 
reinforce this bag.  I added a layer of craft fuse
between the red lining and the outer bag.  Then I 
used that stiff layer to anchor the ears.

the T.A.R.D.I.S. dice bag (add your own sound effects)

"Let's get one thing straight, I am a Madman with box."

It shouldn't surprise anyone that the T.A.R.D.I.S. bag
has alternate dimensions.  It is larger on the inside,
than it appears.   

The bag has a 6 by 6" base and is 9" tall, which makes
it significantly larger than my standard bag.  

I had a lot of fun doing the details on this bag. 
Everything is fabric.  The written details on the door
have been printed onto inkjet fabric, and then inset
behind the wool blend felt of the door.  I just wish
I could have figured out how to the sound effects.

Dice Bag Totoro

My friend Totoro:

and his little friend, Chibi Totoro...

For the O Totoro, I used a combination of wool blend 
felt and thermoset vinyl for the decorations.

The chibi totoro is all wool blend felt.


First there was the Spongebob Dicepants bag,
and now with this Totoro bag.  These more complex
bags are so fun to make, and such a natural evolution
from my applique dice bags.  I think this is the start
of a new series of higher end dice bags.

This bag makes me so happy.  Look at that face!

I have ideas for more bags. There is a Tardis in the
works, and Soot Sprites, and perhaps even a series
of monster bags.  So. Much. Fun.

 Totoro has been listed in the shop. 
What kind of a dice bag would you want to see? 

(UPDATE: The Totoro dice bag has already sold. I'm
working on some more, and should have them up
next week.)