New project

So I haven't been slacking, just trying to get back into a rhythm of working after having all that lovely time off. I've been busily sketching up ideas for new plush, and I have a few really fun ones that I'm starting work on. One of them is this project: Eva of "Effunia" asked me to do a "plushcature" of her little sister Karolin, as a gift for her 10th birthday in a couple of weeks. (obviously I must get this to her before the CPSIA goes into effect on the 10th, wouldn't want to be the first one nabbed for violating this totally cracked law...)
Eva's little sister has a ton of personality, she is a fun person to make into plush! I will be posting more pics as I get further along.
Since I made the plush of Ben and myself for our niece's Christmas gift, I've gotten some interest in people asking if they or their family (or pets) can get plushed. I'm definitely up for that, and it is quite a lot of fun! If any of you are interested, feel free to let me know. You can leave me a comment on my blog, or convo me through etsy. I will be putting it up as a feature on my etsy store by the end of the weekend.

Holiday additions to my Plush collection

I got a cool new dog plush from Ben for part of my Christmas gift. He bought it at an antique store in Michigan. His Aunt's friend told him that it was the mascot for Michigan State College- before they became just Michigan State. They think that he's pretty old, but don't have an exact date. He's made of felt, and had hand painted eyebrows. I LOVE the expression on his face.

The next two are my purchases from Schmancy. We managed to visit the shop over the holidays, and Kristen has some great plush in there- it was all I could do to restrain myself and come away with just these guys. It was a tough decision to narrow it down. Head on over to her online shop to snap up some new plush for your collection and support both Kristen's shop and your fellow plush artists! Down with the CPSIA, and Hooray for plush!!

The fist one is "Schnee Meister" by SOWA. I have a soft spot for "abominable snowman/yeti" designs, and this guy is great!! His face, hands and feet are SO soft. I love the 3D aspects of his face, and his teeth are actually that soft craft foam. Terrific idea.
The next one is "Fat Coco" by We Dream of Meat (great name!) They had 3 different ones to choose from, but Coco had to come home with me. She's made of felt, and her expression just screams "feed me!," but in a cute way of course. The plush addiction- I mean collecting- continues... :D!
Have a great week everyone!

Phaneuf gets plushed!

This was part of Ben's Christmas gift this year- his favorite hockey player, Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames in plush form. I had to do a lot of small applique pieces for this one, it was a bit hard on the hands, but worth it. It was a fun project, and I can definitely see more of this type of plush in my future. He measures 12 inches wide by 16 inches tall, so he's one of my larger plush- even this large I had to leave out some of the smaller details of the jersey, they wouldn't fit or read well.
For more WIP pics, check out my flickr.

Back from the lands of snow and winter...

We're back from our extended vacation, it feels good to be away from the below zero weather from up north, I must admit. I do miss the snow though. Speaking of snow, it was the theme of our trip from the get go. These are a few pics from the trip to illustrate my point. We had a ton of snow everywhere we went. The top picture is from Tacoma, WA- where they aren't really supposed to get snow, but are having some fall every winter now, much to the delight of the kids and all the snow days they get! The next one is from our drive through Spokane, WA- it was an INSANE amount of snow there!! Cars were buried, roofs collapsing from the weight of all that snow, you name it. Driving through the streets of Spokane was like being on a roller coaster track. Super bumpy, full of grooves, and totally slippery. The last one is Elbow Falls, AB - where we went tobogganing and had BBQ'd hotdogs and hot chocolate- yes in the snow! We had a great trip, but I am glad to be back-it's time to get back to the sewing machine! (You can't BELIEVE all the amazing fabric I found along the way... my fingers were itching for my machine!)

Hope everyone had a great holiday and a belated Happy New Year!!