iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I have so many questions and no answers. If you are feeding live giant centipedes to your cat, please stop.

A cat toy shaped like a giant centipede on a cardboard backing that describes it as "mimics real prey"

DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 29/09/2026

This guy just didn't come out right. I had a feeling from the beginning but I'm not sure if my instincts were telling me something or if I was predisposed to make him mediocre as a result. Anyway, I made a fun lil dude and tried out carving a new pose. Not a bad result! #persistencenotperfection

A whittled monster with blue fur and green hair. It's raising its arms over its head.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 24/09/2026

Commonly known as a "Baby Yaga", this is the juvenile stage of an izbushka. While they can grow large enough to support a house like in the famous legend, it can take decades for them so do so.

A carving of a pair of chicken legs emerging from a top hat.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 23/09/2026

I've only been doing nice carvings recently, which is fine and all but sometimes I get a craving to make something awful. To that end, please welcome Eyeball Jeff.

A row of old books with a tiny, tentacled eyeball monster on top.

A carving of a giant bloodshot eyeball with dark green tentacles underneath staring at the camera in front of a shelf of old books.

A carving of a giant bloodshot eyeball with dark green tentacles underneath staring at the camera, out of focus.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 23/09/2026

BUSINESS PINGUS. Just when I thought this couldn't get more daft, @athenamango.bsky.social had an idea.

A very chunky wooden penguin wearing a tall top hat with a purple ribbon

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 21/09/2026

This is Big Pingus! You ever just get a stupid idea in your head and need to see it through?

A very round wooden penguin with a thousand yard stare.

A very round wooden penguin with a thousand yard stare, seen from the side.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 18/09/2026

Tiny knives, along with the knife used to carve them! If you have some long, thin wood and can avoid snapping them, these are a really fun five-minute whittle. Dunno what to do with them now though. Maybe I'll just give them out for free at craft fairs.

Three tiny wooden knives below a large whittling knife

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 16/09/2026

If you're very lucky, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of a gnome overlord. Despite their name, these gnomes are very peaceful and are most often seen apologising for something they knocked over or broke (tomte spaces are much too small for them).

A large, unpainted gnome carved from wood with a pointed hat with a snowflake decoration. A smaller gnome with a beret is looking at it.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 11/09/2026

"Could you move? I need to get back to work." Cat obligingly rolls over. "...thanks a lot" 😑

A calico cat on a desk chair, looking at the camera.

A calico cat on a desk chair, on her side.

A calico cat on a desk chair, on her back.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 11/09/2026

These turned out so cute! Made them for a really lovely couple I know.

A pair of wooden pendants made by cutting a heart shape in half, resting against some old books.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 09/09/2026

I'd almost forgotten about this lil' guy, but the person who ordered him just placed another order for a tomte that's twice the size. This should be interesting!

A gnome with a grey beard and a wizard hat looking at a half crown coin.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 31/08/2026

A friend requested a platypus carving, and after only a small (well medium) amount of wondering how the heck I was going to make that, this is what I came up with. I think it's a pretty cute lil thing!

A carving of a very chubby platypus resting on my head, side view.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 24/08/2026

Look what I found at a craft fair! 😁

A tin of beeswax polish with linseed oil and white spirit.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 19/08/2026

Wait a minute, that's not a gnome... #whittling

A goblin either emerging from or hiding underneath a huge hat, gripping the brim and grinning hugely with pointy teeth (seen from the left).

A goblin either emerging from or hiding underneath a huge hat, gripping the brim and grinning hugely with pointy teeth (seen from the right).

A goblin either emerging from or hiding underneath a huge hat, gripping the brim and grinning hugely with pointy teeth (front view).

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 17/08/2026

I lost the top for this tube a while back and was going to make a stopper when I remembered I had this failed carving from the chess set. Ironically, I threw it out because the arm was too high, which makes it perfect for this! (insert Bob Ross quote here)

A carving of the head and shoulders of a druid in a hood, being used as the top of a tube of dice in front of some old books.

A carving of the head and shoulders of a druid in a hood, being used as the top of a tube of dice in front of some old books. Close-up so the features are more obvious; he has a long beard and a large nose.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 12/08/2026

Baguette! Okay this one is a stretch 😁

A Calico cat stretched out on a green carpet

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 27/07/2026

Lil Gator nails my entire approach to life:

An anthropomorphic alligator with a bucket on his head is talking to a bipedal horse with a dialogue box that says "I just say stuff all the time!"

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 24/07/2026

This took me a while, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! I'll post a description of all the places in a bit.

A fantasy map divided into four quarters: The Kings Road, The Barrens, The Mangrove Swamps and The Splinter'd Woods. There's a tonne more stuff on here but honestly I don't know how to describe it coherently, sorry.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 09/07/2026

Even after 14 years of not touching Blender, it seems that the (limited) skills I learnt using it are still hardwired into my brain! We're running a Taskmaster-themed competition at work, and I found an STL of the trophy. All I did was replace the "TM" with my company's initials, but still 😅

The Taskmaster seal but with the TM replaced with BT

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 06/07/2026

It's done! It is indeed extremely derpy 😁 it's a bit messy but I like it.

A ginger and white crochet cat toy balanced on a bannister, side view.

A ginger and white crochet cat toy balanced on a bannister, front view, looking like it's about to pounce on something.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 01/07/2026

This is easily the derpiest thing I've ever made and I love it. It will eventually, crafting gods willing, be a cat, but for now it's just an extremely confused ball.

An orange crochet ball with a very confused cat face on it

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 29/06/2026

Don't worry! The Home office has assured everyone that the people reviewing asylum claims will be given extensive training and tools to make fair and impartial decisions, as seen below:

Someone holding up a chart of skin colours with "OKAY" written next to the lighter tones and "NOT OKAY" written next to the darker tones.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 25/06/2026

I love making things like this. One of the pins that holds the handle on this wooden teapot went missing after it broke. Recreating it with a knife and a file took a while, but eventually I got it to fit just right. Now I just need to mix up exactly the right shade of yellow...

A red wooden teapot with a yellow rim and white spots. There are two wooden pins next to it; one painted yellow, the other plain wood. Next to them is a yellow handle, and in the background is a dish of wood shavings with a knife on top.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 11/06/2026

Some things never change 😅

A Calico cat lying on top of a bag attacking the yarn I'm trying to crochet with

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 27/05/2026

I love just sitting down with my notebook and filling every available inch of a page with notes. There's still a bit more room on this one! Minor spoilers for my next Dead Channel game, if you can decipher my handwriting and cryptic references 🤣

A dotted notebook page covered in pencil diagrams and notes, some of which are vertical.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 23/05/2026

@dannyhewson.bsky.social and I found this gentleman (I think?) in a car park yesterday. Given said car park was surrounded by roads and he was rubbish at flying, we had to carry him through several floors of a shopping centre to find a safe flowerbed for him. The looks we got were quite something.

A close up of my hand holding a large brown cockchafer beetle

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 17/05/2026

THE CHESS SET IS DONE! The stain didn't quite work as I anticipated on it black pieces, but it looks beautiful with the wax on top (and it covers a multitude of imperfections, which is handy). Genuinely surprised at myself for getting all that done.

A chess board set up for a game with hand carved pieces.

The black pieces on a chess board. They feature knights for the pawns, castle towers for rooks, dragons for knights, druids for bishops and a fairly standard king and queen.

The white pieces on a chess board. They feature knights for the pawns, castle towers for rooks, dragons for knights, druids for bishops and a fairly standard king and queen.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 15/05/2026

This guy got to be the test piece for the dark oak wood dye - I didn't want to ruin a chess piece if it didn't work. He still needs to dry and a coat of wax, but so far so good!

A carving of an old man with a long beard in a robe, stained a dark brown

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 14/05/2026

A little trinket I made in celebration of a trans friend coming out 🙂

A small cross stitch sampler with a heart and the number 135 in the trans flag colours.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 12/05/2026

The first batch of pawns has been oiled and waxed, and the process has brought the grain to the surface beautifully 🙂

My hand holding a whittled knight with a sword and shield, with the wood grain very visible.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 11/05/2026

The final king is done! The whole set is finished!! That's 32 pieces and 3 failures in all. Of course now I need to review them all, clean them up, recut any lines that need tidying and then stain and wax them...

Two whittled king figures with long beards, pauldrons and sashes in front of a shelf of old books.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 11/05/2026

I have been told that I have to use Claude at work now, after fighting it for months. I may have lost this round, but the game continues.

A Claude window with the caption "What's up next, His Holiness, Nigel the Majestic?"

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 10/05/2026

The first king is done! I was so stressed about this piece, probably because it's the first one where my first attempt failed - I didn't have another to prove I could do it. Still, he's done and I'm so excited to do the next one!

A carved king with a long beard, a stern expression, a big nose and full armour.

A carved king with a long beard in full armour Seen from the side to show his cloak.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 10/05/2026

If you see this, post a bird! Mine is guaranteed AI-free 😅

A carved wooden owl on top of a leather bound Latin dictionary

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 07/05/2026

TWO QUEENS. WE ARE ON THE HOME STRETCH. They don't have faces because: - the video didn't have them - they're abstract chess pieces - the only faces I can do have massive honking noses and pointy grins and these are supposed to be elegant ladies 😅

Two faceless whittled ladies in gowns with crowns and braided hair.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 05/05/2026

So, how's the vibe coding going, BlueSky devs? 🤣

A screenshot of an error page saying "there was an unexpected issue in the application"

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 04/05/2026

Four bishops!! The last things I need are two queens and two kings, and then it's time for staining.

Four carved hooded figures with long beards, belted robes and staves.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 03/05/2026

This piece has been a nightmare from the start as apparently the grain goes in all directions at once 😑 and now I realise I messed up the proportions and he has a tiny arm. INTO THE BOX OF FAILURES WITH YE SIR

A carved druid with a tiny arm holding a staff.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 01/05/2026

Four rooks! I don't wish to alarm anyone but I might be about to FINISH A PROJECT ON TIME. This is of course so wildly unlikely that it may be a sign of the apocalypse so please ensure you hug your loved ones and make peace with any deities you believe in, just in case.

Four carved wooden castle towers on a shelf of old books.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 29/04/2026

Sixteen pawns! That was a lot of fun ☺️ they all have a different personality to them, and I love them all. I'm going to miss making them!

Sixteen carved knights on top of a dresser, next to a bunch of carved dragons.

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DrRelling @drrelling.dev · 27/04/2026

Just picked up some of the props for my game of Dead Channel on Saturday! The printer did an excellent job with fixing a janky aspect ratio on the poster then forgot to print the leaflet double-sided, so we'll call that a draw 😅 Luckily the leaflet is supposed to be distressed, so I can fix it.