Meet Sam and Pete

Only a few hours left to bid on this guy:

2012-02-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

Keyrock the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer!

The winning bidder in the auction not only gets my plush (which comes with a certificate issued by Phil Hartman's estate), but helps to raise money for Heal the Bay, a cause that was dear to Phil Hartman's heart. Here's the link for the auction, and to find out more about this cause, click here.

Let's make some burgers, shall we?

2012-02-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow the Super Button Masher's show opens at OhNo! Doom in Chicago, and my plush version of Peter Pepper from the classic 1982 arcade game, BurgerTime will be there, as well as some smaller pieces.

Peter is made from cottons, with pixelated corduroy pants, and green flannel shoes. His face, hands, and hair are fleece, with felt facial details, and a hand embroidered mouth. His burger is made from fleece and felt, with hand embroidered "sesame seeds" on his bun.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the game: Peter Pepper is a chef, who has to run up and down ladders, dropping ingredients to make complete burgers, while avoiding the likes of these characters: Mr. Egg, Mr. Pickle, and Mr. Hot Dog.

These smaller plush will be in the "prize wall" section at the show, and are made from fleece, with felt accents.

I had a blast making the pieces for the show, it was a trip down memory lane. If you are in the Chicago area for the next few weeks, head on over and check out the amazing art created for the show. If you're a video game fan, you won't be disappointed. Here's a list of some of the artists participating in the show:

Super Button Mashers Show - Sneak peek

2012-02-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, March 11th, is the opening of Super Button Mashers: A Gamer Tribute at OhNo!Doom Collective in Chicago.

I was super excited to be asked to participate in the show, since I've been a Nintendo gamer from the beginning. It took me awhile to decide on what game to pay tribute to. In the end I went back even further to get my inspiration; old school arcade games. Here's a peek of what I made for the show- anybody take a guess as to what game and what characters I made?

The Plush Team was also asked to create small plush pieces for the Gallery's "prize wall" at the show, check out the Plush Team's blog to read more. I'll be posting photos of my pieces later this week, so stay tuned. :)

Phil Hartman Charity Auction for Heal the Bay Feb. 4 - 14

2012-02-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

As promised, here's the video with all the info you need to help out Heal the Bay and bid to win my Keyrock the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer plush. :D The auction starts today, and don't forget to nominate Mr. Hartman for Canada's Walk of Fame. The link to the auction can be found here.

Win this Plush and help Heal the Bay at the same time!

2012-02-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

Remember back in December when I posted photos of a Keyrock the Unfrozen Lawyer plush that I created? Well, I didn't have all the details to share with you at that time, but I was asked to make this plush by a representative of the Phil Hartman family for a charity auction to benefit Heal the Bay. I am very excited to be a part of this charitable effort! In addition to auctioning off my plush, the Hartman family is also trying to get Mr. Hartman's name on Canada's Walk of Fame, (Phil Hartman was Canadian, in case you didn't know. :D) and they need your help. If you are a fan of Phil's, please head on over to the Walk of Fame link and nominate him for the award.

The auction runs from February 4th to February14th, and you can get all the details by watching this great video created by Mike Scott, he's the liaison that commissioned me make the plush for the auction. I'll be posting the actual video on February 4th, so stay tuned!

Be My Valentine!

2012-01-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

In the mood for love? I made two sets of heart ornaments joined by one red ribbon this week, since I realized that the annual love-fest is just a little over two weeks away- can you believe it? All you guys (and girls) out there with sweethearts better not forget the big day! You don't want to be in the dog house, do you? ;)

These are made from fleece with hand embroidered faces, and they also have small felt heart accents.

"Will you be my Valentine?" Red Bear asked White Bear. "Why yes, of course I will!" White Bear exclaimed happily, as Red Bear gave her the Valentine he had hand-made for her.

You can find Red and White Bear happily waiting to be adopted in my etsy shop along with their heart shaped friends, here.

Hooray for vintage shops

2012-01-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

One of the things that Ben loves is to check out thrift and antique stores in his never-ending search for more and more crewel embroidery pieces for his office wall. (More about that another time.) We usually end up in at least one or two stores in every city or town that we visit or are driving through. While he's on his crewel quest, I wander around the shops searching for unusual sewing items or plush.
One of the great towns for antiques is Medford, Oregon. They have quite a few large antique "mall" shops and we usually find great pieces when we are heading through there. To make a long story short (too late! ;D) I found this baby in my wanderings- a vintage sewing case!

It's made completely out of wood, and each side telescopes open to reveal drawers. I couldn't resist having this- the only other old sewing cases I have seen are made from wicker or fabric, and aren't really my thing. I'm a sucker for cool wooden pieces, whether it's furniture, toys, etc.

Here's a photo of what it looked like in the shop with both sides open. I'm looking forward to cleaning it and loading it up with supplies. :)

A new plush for my collection- woot!

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

Meet Aaron Luckybones, the newest member of my collection. Made by the super fantastic Ninon, I've been wanting one of her larger pieces for a long time. I found this one when I was lucky enough to have the chance to get to Schmancy Toys right before Christmas.

I love the pom poms on the sides of the head, and the little wee ones on his shoes- and that grin is awesome. His arms are jointed and posable which is terrific. The mixture of materials is really great! Ninon really puts some character into her plush creations, and the names she choses for them are utterly quirky and yet they fit like gloves.

You can see more of the cool world of Ninon if you head on over to her blog, where she writes about everything that is interesting her at the moment, as well as her newest plush creations.

Here are some photos of all the great plush and things I found at Schmancy- if you are in the Seattle area, you should definitely check it out.

I found more plush goodies and other things on my Christmas break, which I will be sharing over the next little while, so stay tuned! :)

A very fun Christmas commission

2011-12-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

One of my tasks this December was to create 3 specific types of plush for Christmas gifts. The commission was from one of my best customers, and it was a really nice creative challenge making them for her.

The first one I was asked to make was a Nutcracker, and after doing a bunch of research and drawing up lots of variations on the idea, I settled on this design. Meet Hans the Nutcracker:

Hans patrols the town, making sure that everyone is in the Christmas spirit. In his spare time he cultivates both holly and mistletoe. He's made of flannel, with fleece for his face and hands, and faux fur for his hair and mustache. His teeth and facial features are made from felt.

My next objective was creating Eve, the Christmas Fairy- this one also went through a bunch of sketches before I settled on the final design idea:

I took my inspiration from a Christmas tree- and created my own fabric for her dress from two variations on a green dot cotton fabric, cutting them out and then sewing them together to create a tree-ish design. I added candy cane striped tights, with snowflake shoes, and sparkly felt buckles, and topped it off with a sparkly white felt pointsettia flower in her hair.

Her wings are created from the same candy cane striped cotton, with bright pink flannel centers.

And lastly, and MOST challenging was this guy, Optimus Prime:

In case any of you don't know, Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots. He's made of mostly fleece, with felt accent pieces. I hand sewed on his helmet antennae, exhaust pipes on his shoulders, and the tires and gas tanks on the sides of his legs. I had to somewhat simplify his design to be able to make him in my style, but overall I'm pretty happy with the way that he turned out.

These were a TON of fun to make, and I enjoyed this commission a lot. It was really great to make Optimus, since I was/am a big fan of the Transformers. My sister and I had quite a few of the original toys when we were kids- and I kick myself for getting rid of them when we "grew up."

Anyway, I hope that these were a big hit in the home where they landed for Christmas- I know that they almost weren't allowed to leave my house when my family saw how they turned out. ;D

Well, that's it for 2011- I'll be back in 2012 with new creations. I'm off to spend some time relaxing, re-charging the creative juices, catching up on my reading, and viewing all the content on my DVR that I missed while I was sewing away the past month. :)
Here's to a great year in 2012 to you all!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season!

2011-12-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

Another of my commissions this month was this guy, Keyrock, the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. Based on a character created by the late, great, Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live.

He's made from actual wool suiting in a black pin-stripe, with a white cotton shirt and red tie, and his face/hands are fleece. His facial elements are made from felt, as is his huge and cumbersome 80s cell phone. His hair is this crazy black faux-fur, that I knew would be perfect for caveman hair when I saw it in the fabric store.

New plush for the holidays

2011-12-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't have as much time to make all the plush ideas I wanted to make for the holidays this year, but I managed to create a few fun pieces, like these Snowman Head Pillows,

and these 2 sets of holiday Bears, of which only the set of the Green Bear and mini Red Bear are left in the shop.

I added the Gingerbread Circus Clown to the shop- he was in the Plush Team's Group show at the HotPop Gallery in Milwaukee earlier this year,

and of course you can find the Mini-Yetis hanging out, enjoying the wintry weather and looking for new homes and new friends to have adventures with,

and there's always the group of Holiday Rabbits that would be happy to be sent off to explore new places this winter, as well.

I'm working madly on new things for a great cause and some items for a great customer at the moment, and when I am done, I'll be sure to post the results of all my sewing frenzy right here, so stay tuned! :D

Langdon Family Plushcatures

2011-11-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

Wondering what I have been up to lately? ;D I was commissioned to make these plush for my good friend Abby's birthday last week, and it was a total blast transforming her family into their plush selves. Here are the real Langdons:

And here are their plush counterparts, starting with the birthday girl:

Abby loves purple and turquoise, and wears tunics and leggings most of the time. I chose this starry fabric to represent her sparkling personality as well as her love of all kinds of purple. She wears her Uggs a lot as well, so I made some in a purple corduroy. I hand embroidered the eye details on all of the family, it seemed to fit them better than felt ones.

Next we have her husband, Jason:

He wanted me to make him in a blazer and t-shirt, with the t-shirt having the bunny logo of Abby's plush company as the graphic element, and the t-shirt is made from an up-cycled t-shirt. He wears his Chucks a lot, so I added those as his shoes. His blazer is made out of wool.

Their son, Brody:

I was asked to create a Lego t-shirt for Brody, and to put him in jeans and black shoes. Both Brody and Jason have two functional pockets on the back of their jeans, too. Teeny tiny pockets, but still pockets. ;D

Last but not least, we have their daughter, Kalli:

Kalli loves the color pink, so I chose a fun graphic pink printed cotton for her t-shirt, a pink and green polka dot for her leggings, and a light pink for her crocs. She likes to wear tutus, so I made my very first one (and did it right the first try- woohoo!) out of a bright sparkly chiffon-type fabric. She also always wears a barrette or pin to hold back her hair, so I created one out of a couple of pink flower shaped buttons and some green felt leaves to bring in the green from her shirt and leggings. She also has sparkly green rick-rack trim around her sleeves. Can't get enough sparkle at her age. ;D

Here they are as a family:

Happy Birthday to you, Abby! It was wonderful to be a part of your birthday celebration this year. :D

Holiday Shopping stress reliever.

2011-11-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

Looking for something unusual and cool to give as a gift this Christmas? Want to avoid any more mall shopping? The Plush Team is offering a solution to the holiday shopping blues. Starting Monday November 28th, the Plush Team blog and etsy shop will be featuring great plush items from different Team members each day for 12 days, as a sort of handmade 12 Days of Christmas. Some of the artists involved are:

Scrumptious Delight
Deadly Sweet
Yummy Pancake
Moons Creations
Yermit
the Pixels
Lowell and Son
HappyCloud Thunderhead
zfla
yours truly, and many more! Head on over to the Plush Team blog tomorrow morning and see what cool item Yermit is offering for sale to kick off the event. If you are a fan of the color pink, you won't want to miss it. :D

"Last Tree on the Lot" ornament by Lowell and Son

Ornament Show!

2011-11-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holidays, Schmancy Toys in Seattle is having a holiday Ornament show, and I was happy to send my group of 10 ornaments on a trip to the lovely Pacific Northwest. There are some really fantastic artists making pieces for this show, so if you are in the area, go check it out!

As promised here are photos of the pieces I sent to the show:
Bring on Santa Claus. Ho ho ho!

I was brainstorming ideas and finally sketched up some Santa heads, which I thought would make festive ornaments. Each one is unique, since their eye color, mouth and cheek color varies, and there are Santas with green hats, and Santas with red hats. Some Santas have cream colored beards and mustaches, others have white. I hand embroidered each set of eyes and their mouths.
These are sold individually, but I think it would be fun to have one green, and one red, don't you? ;D

Hope that you all are starting to feel the holiday spirit- making these ornaments definitely got me in the Christmas mood! Well, I'm off to go decorate the house and put up the tree, while listening to my favorite Christmas music. :D

More plush creations will be coming soon! Until then, check out the holiday rabbits already in my etsy shop.
Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!

Coming Soon!

2011-11-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Available only at Schmancy Toys in Seattle, I wonder what these could be? Find out this Friday, and if you are in the Seattle area, why not head on over to Schmancy and get some Christmas cheer for your tree, and cool gifts for your loved ones? Shop local, handmade, and small businesses this weekend and call yourself a hero. :D

Tall, Blonde, and Handsome

2011-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

Guess who's got themselves a new Boyfriend? ;D

This handsome fella is a new addition to my collection, I just couldn't resist him when I saw him on the Schmancy Toys website. He was part of this year's Plush You! art show, which is ongoing.

If you are wondering who is the plush genius behind the Boyfriend, her name is Jenny, and she is responsible for making all sorts of wonderful creations that she calls Yermits, including the ultra-cool Boyfriends. You can find her etsy shop here.

As soon as I saw this blonde and scruffy dude, I knew he had to be mine. He's even more perfect for me since his tote bag is made with images of Decepticons on it, (I had a ton of Transformer toys when I was a kid) and if that wasn't cool enough, he's also got an X-men comic book in there- (my favorite) and as a bonus he has an old edition of a Superman comic. His toque (or knit-hat, for you Americans out there) comes off, revealing a nice and bright mane of artfully messed up hair.

Whether you are in need of a Boyfriend, or just a delightfully quirky plush creation that will make you smile, go and check out the Yermits! There are even Santa ones for the holidays. :D

Cordoroy Creations

2011-11-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Corduroy Appreciation Club's annual meeting this past Friday was a rip-roaring success, and if you couldn't make it to the actual Club meeting, here are some samples of the awesome plush made for the event:

11l11l11 by Raggy Rat

Cordelia by ThEm Dollz

"Grow A Pair" Corduroy vending machine by Scrumptious Delight

A Pinwale Pin Whale by Squirrel Momma

The Squid and the Wale by Lana "Plushinator" Crooks

Waling Banshee by Plushroom Soup

and the ultra-groovy Wavy Wade by Patti Haskins

You can find all these lovelies for sale in the Plush Team's etsy shop, so why not get your favorite while you can? :)

Corduroy lovers unite!

2011-11-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

This Friday is 11l11l11, which if you are a member of the Corduroy Appreciation Club (or simply a devotee to corduroy) is known as the date most resembling corduroy. In honor of the big day, the NYC chapter of the Club is having a HUGE sold-out event, and the Plush Team was asked to make 11 pieces of corduroy plush to be included in the festivities. If you've been following the Plush Team's blog this month you know all about it and the 11 days of corduroy; each day featuring one of the awesome corduroy-inspired pieces created for the event. I am a big fan of corduroy myself, so it was no problem to be inspired to create a plush using the "everyman's" fabric. :D
Here it is:

"Woody Allen, Corduroy Enthusiast"

I chose to make Mr. Allen because he is a lifelong ambassador for corduroy wearers everywhere. It is rare to see photos of him not wearing at least one item of corduroy. (Although I think he's probably more famous for the almost 70 films that he's written, directed and/or starred in. :D) For my piece, I wanted to keep in mind the Club's rules: each member has to wear at least 2 items of corduroy to the meetings. So, my version of Woody Allen has on a corduroy blazer as well as pinwale (baby corduroy) trousers.

He is also wearing a oh-so-soft flannel sweater, with cotton collared shirt. I wanted to make sure to add the elbow pads on the back of his blazer, and his oxford-inspired shoes are made with ultrasuede and faux-leather soles.

If you are interested in giving Mr. Allen a new home, my piece will be available for sale in the Plush Team's etsy shop starting Thursday November 10th, along with all the other cordurrific plush made for the CAC event.

For the Corduroy Appreciation Club- a sneak peek

2011-11-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

So, I am madly working on a bunch of projects at the moment, and here's just a sneak peek of something that I will be unveiling November 8th. It's a little fuzzy since it was taken in a hurry before I had to ship it off... more photos of upcoming projects and new additions to my plush collection coming in the next few weeks. :) To see more of the great plush made for the Corduroy Appreciation Club's yearly meeting in NYC, head on over to the Plush Team's blog, where the 11 days of Corduroy are currently counting down.

Day of the Dead Group show Video

2011-11-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to see all the fun art made for the show at the Starkweather Arts Center for the ongoing (until the 5th) Day of the Dead show, check out this link.

And to see just photos of the art, click on this link, provided by the curator of the show, Heather Hansma.

Woo Hoo, Plush You!

2011-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here are my pieces for the show, opening at Schmancy Toys in Seattle tomorrow night! I wish that I was going to the opening, since it's an amazing show, and it's always a blast to hang out and talk shop with my plush peeps, but it's just not to be this year.

I was inspired by the idea of taking some classic Hollywood Monsters and adding my own spin to them. Here's the result:

The Surfer Creature from the Black Lagoon:

He's made from a mottled and hairy green wool felt, with cotton accents, corduroy swim trunks, and hand embroidered patches of scales, as well as his gills and his ribs. The surfboard is made from patterned cottons, and has a quilt-batting wrapped piece of cardboard inside, to make it stiff but also somewhat soft at the same time.

And Rockabilly Dracula:

He's made from faux-leather, denim, cotton, and fleece. I had a lot of fun creating a removable wallet on a chain for his back pocket, as well as doing all the applique on the back of the jacket. He's ready to jump into his '57 T-bird convertible and cruise the scene.

If you are in the Seattle area and have a chance, go and check out the show- it's always full of fantastic plush art to see (and buy ;D) and great people to meet and hang out with.

Plush You! 2011 teaser

2011-10-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... what can I be making for the premier plush art show of the year? I am very excited to be participating again in Plush You!, which opens in Seattle at Schmancy Toys on October 14th at 5pm. I'll be unveiling the finished pieces closer to the show's opening, so stay tuned.

Mister Bones

2011-10-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Mister Bones here was made for the Day of the Dead Group Art Show at the Starkweather Arts Center in Romeo, Michigan. The show opens October 7th and runs until November 3rd.

It was a lot of work appliqueing all the arm/leg bones on both front and back, and he also has a lot of subtle sparkly white felt sugar skull accents on his skull, which were hard to pick up in the photographing process- hopefully you can somewhat make them out here. I wanted him to read first as a skeleton, and then on closer inspection you see the sugar skull details.

I had found this great sugar skull fabric last Halloween, and I knew that someday I would find a use for it, and this show became the perfect time to use it. I also had some fun adding color with ric-rac and strings of pompoms, and I finished him off with a colorful sombrero and lapel flower.

If you are in the Michigan area, check out the show- there has been a lot of great work created for it. If you head on over to Ben's blog, he'll be posting his amazing paper collage piece for the show soon. It was really great to be in the same show- and I think it helped us create some really fun pieces.

Just a tease...

2011-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

A brief work-in-progress photo of the piece that I am doing for the Day of the Dead Group Art Show happening in Romeo, Michigan this October. Stay tuned to see photos of the finished piece coming sometime this week! :D

A Birthday Commission

2011-09-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

I was asked to create a plushcature of Noah for his 4th birthday this month, and it was a fun project, especially since his mom was very specific about his outfit.

He had to be wearing all black, with a black and grey striped t-shirt, and black high-top converse sneakers.

Here's the real Noah- what a cutie!

The most detailed aspect of this commission were the converse- it was fun to re-create such a classic shoe in plush form. It was also a trip down memory lane for me, since I wore my own converse high-tops when I was a kid, although I preferred the cream colored ones. :)

Happy 4th Birthday Noah!

Ghosts with the most

2011-09-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Meet the Boo Brothers. This ghostly trio wear shirts that describe their personalities perfectly.

First, we have eldest brother Boo, who is the calmest of the trio, but don't let that fool you- he can let out a BOO cry that will curdle milk and scare you right out of your shoes.

Next we have the baby of the family, whose slightly grayed-out ghost form and "boo hoo" emblazoned shirt conveys his "why me?" moaning personality. He's the ghost that moans in attics and in graveyards, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Last but not least, we have the middle Boo brother. His shiny rah-rah attitude comes from haunting too many frat houses on college campuses- and his boos are the loudest and most boisterous of all. He will glide silently up behind you and let out a yell that will make you jump right out of your skin.

The Boo Brothers will be appearing in my etsy shop one day at a time, starting later today with Baby Brother Boo, and ending friday with Elder Brother Boo. To view all my Halloween themed items for sale in the shop, click here.

Wee Ghosties & Jack O'Lanterns

2011-09-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this cool Halloween plaid fleece at Joann's the other day, and knew that I MUST have it. The pattern was too big to use in my regular sized plush, and as I was trying to figure out what I could make with it, it finally came to me- pillows!

It was a nice change of pace to make something different from my usual plush. They measure about 11 inches square (28cm); perfect to use to rest your head on, or simply to bring some Halloween cheer into the room. :)

The ghosts on this pillow are made from fleece as well, with hand embroidered green eyes. I free-hand cut the word BOoOoooo from orange fleece, and then appliqued it to the pillow.

I decided to go with a different texture for the Jack O' Lanterns, something that would give the idea of a pumpkin skin. They are made from a lovely soft flannel, and appliqued on. All the materials in both pillows are washable, so they should be able to be gently washed and dried.

These ghosties and pumpkin pillows will be available in my etsy shop later today. More Halloween goodies are coming tomorrow!

Getting ready for Halloween...

2011-09-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

This week I'll be adding my 2011 Halloween items into my etsy shop- a few things each day until the weekend. I'm starting the week off with these sets of Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein ornaments, which were fun to design and make, but were slightly labor intensive with all those little pieces to sew on.

Each set is one-of-a-kind, made from fleece and felt. There's also a set of 3 mini Jack O'Lantern ornaments hanging around the shop with a mini vampire bat and some fall leaves, so feel free to browse around, and stay tuned for more Halloween goodies launching tomorrow. Happy Monday! :D

Rain Forest Fun

2011-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Plush Team's July/August Challenge theme was the Rainforest, so I did some research and decided to make something that I'd never done before, a Toucan. My plush is of the Keel-Billed Toucan, which is the national bird of Belize. I fell in love with all the amazing colors on their beaks:

I found out that the more common variety of Keel-Billed Toucans are green billed, but they also have a blue billed variety, which inspired this little guy. He's made out of super soft minky, with a fleece bill, and felt accents.

To see more of the exotic plush created for this Challenge, and to vote for your favorites, head on over to the Plush Team's blog. My Toucan and all his rainforest pals are available in the Team's etsy shop.

Wonderland Wednesday Finale

2011-08-31T04:00:00.002-07:00

What better way to wrap up this year's series of Alice in Wonderland-inspired plush than with her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Hearts?

She was featured along with her husband in STUFFED magazine's Winter 2010 issue, as well as making an appearance at the "Go Ask Alice" art show.

Her Majesty is wearing her red velvet robe with hearts and gold trim over her heart-themed dress, and has a large ruffled ribbon collar on. Her hair has red heart hand-embroidered highlights, and her cheeks, nose, and lips are heart shaped as well. Like her Royal husband, her skin is made from a heart printed cotton.

She graciously posed with a quick photo with Alice, as well as her husband. The Queen will be available in my etsy shop later today.

I hope that you enjoyed Wonderland Wednesdays as much as I did. I'll continue this series sometime next year, until then we'll say farewell to Alice and her friends.

Hipstamatic fun with Obi Wan & Yoda

2011-08-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

Before I shipped these guys off to the Stitch Wars Strikes Back show in Florida, I had a little fun with my iphone. The show runs from now until September 25th at Bear and Bird Gallery.

Anyone need a Carpenter? ;D

2011-08-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

As long as you don't mind an Oyster or two, this week's Wonderland Wednesday plush is the Walrus' friend and lackey, the Carpenter. Unfortunately for the Oysters, the Carpenter is very helpful in spotting and finding the Oyster bed, and as you can see, has managed to capture a few of the little guys. Originally made for the "Go Ask Alice" art show, the Carpenter will be available in my etsy shop later today.

Made from upcycled jeans and a thermal shirt, as well as fleece and felt, the Carpenter comes with his own carpenter's pencil tucked behind his ear. The unfortunate trio of Oysters he's captured have hand embroidered facial details.

Next week is the final Wonderland Wednesday of the year, can you guess who will be the final Wonderland Plush?

Wonderland Wednesday- Caterpillar edition

2011-08-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Wonderland post is all about the twisty-tongued Caterpillar. After annoying Alice to no end with his riddle-ish way of talking, he tells her that if she eats a piece of mushroom from either side, one bite will make her taller and one will make her smaller.

I had this crazy bright green minky in my stash, and after looking at for a months, I realized that it would be the perfect material to make the Caterpillar's body. I really like the subtle checkered pattern that it has- and the color suggested a somewhat psychedelic color palette, which is why I chose the purple/white flowered cotton and the lime green/purple tear drop pattern. The tear drop pattern also reminded me of the segments of a caterpillar's body. I thought of the Caterpillar as a somewhat hoity-toity stoner, so I made him a bow tie.

He'll be available in my etsy shop later today.

Once August is gone, so are Wonderland Wednesdays, so stay tuned for the reveal of the final two characters for this year. :)

Stitch Wars Strikes Back- Opening TONIGHT!!

2011-08-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to see all the great art created for this show! I've seen a few of the pieces online, but am waiting eagerly to see the rest.
The Stitch Wars Strikes Back show opens at the Bear and Bird Boutique & Gallery in Lauderhill, FL at 7pm. If you are in the neighborhood and a Star Wars fan, I highly recommend checking it out.

These are the pieces that I created for the show.
The Spirit of Obi Wan:

I wanted to create plush of characters that wouldn't be as obvious, and after some thinking, I decided to make Yoda and Obi Wan, but in Spirit form. I used tones of blue to indicate the blue glow that these characters have in the films after they pass on. I wanted to capture the serene confidence that Obi Wan has in the Force and in his voluntary death in the duel with Darth Vader in his expression.
It took me a few tries with scrap fabric (about 6!) to figure out how to make a functioning hood that was also the right shape.

Obi Wan is made from wool (his cloak), fleece/felt for his face, linen for his turtleneck, and his robes are made from noie silk- I had to search for a nubby fabric that would evoke the texture of his robes like they are in the films. It took some searching to find that and the right fabric in the right color blue for his cloak that worked within the color system I wanted.

and last but not least, the Spirit of Yoda:

I wanted the same mood with Yoda: serenity and a zen-like calm. He has a slightly different color system, since Yoda has a green face in "life", I wanted a light blue that was more in the aqua tones than Obi Wan's to convey that difference. I had fun knotting all the embroidery floss to make his flyaway wispy hair. :D

Here they are together: I made Yoda slightly bigger than he is - and Obi Wan smaller, since I didn't want these plush to be too big. Obi Wan is 13 inches tall with his hood up, and Yoda is 7 inches.

If you'd like to see all the Gallery photos from the original Stitch Wars show held in 2009, click here. To see photos of just my pieces from the last Stitch Wars show, click here.

The King of Hearts

2011-08-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Royalty is the theme of this week's edition of Wonderland Wednesdays. Here is my version of the King of Hearts. This guy was featured in STUFFED magazine's Winter 2010 issue, as well as the "Go Ask Alice" art show, along with his wife, the Queen of Hearts.

The King likes to sneak off and go fishing when he can- it gives him a respite from all the drama that comes with being married to the Queen. ;D

Aside from all the obvious hearts on his Royal Highness here, I made his mustache slightly heart shaped as a more subtle continuation of the hearts theme, as well as adding a heart shaped buckle to his belt.

Here is a rare photo of the King with Alice, it was taken quickly while the Queen was distracted. We are all aware that she needs to be the center of attention at all times, and woe betide those who steal her thunder. I felt lucky to get this photo taken without her finding out. ;D
The King will be available in my etsy shop later today, and his wife will follow sometime in the next little while, so stay tuned!

Garry Potter

2011-08-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Isn't this hand-painted Android vinyl version of Harry Potter by Gary Ham terrific? So much fun! Another great Comic Con find. I can't believe that I forgot to include him in my other Comic Con posts. Better late than never! :)

Comic Con loot- part 2

2011-08-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I had asked Ben to find me a Rose Vampire from the Super7 booth, if they had one, and he comes back with all these wonderful goodies. Nice! :D

The large Rose Vampire is glow-in-the-dark, as is my new favorite character, Leroy C, on the far right. The flame Honoo, Milton, and the Mummy Boy in the red smoking jacket are terrific as well. If you haven't checked out the awesomeness that is Super7, you can head to their brick-and-mortar shop in Haight Ashbury, or browse their toys and other goodness online.

Wonderland Wednesday continues...

2011-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

with our oyster eating friend, the Walrus.
The Walrus, (from the story of the Walrus and Carpenter, as told to Alice by Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee) was walking along the beach with his friend and lackey, the Caprenter. The Carpenter spies some Oysters in their oyster bed, and the Walrus manages to convince the poor little Oysters to come and take a walk with them. Tragically, the Oysters don't survive their walk when they become lunch for the greedy Walrus...

I choose to make his vest out of a great plate/knife and fork patterned cotton- a subtle hint that he is ready to eat, and the buttons on his vest are iridescent; which is reminiscent of the mother-of-pearl found in oyster shells.
The Walrus was a fun design to make, and was created for the "Go Ask Alice" art show at the Paul Cumes Gallery in Santa Barbara. I've been hanging on to him and my other "Alice" inspired plush until I could get enough of a group together to offer up in my etsy shop. He will be making his appearance there later today.
Check back next week for the reveal of my next Wonderland-inspired plush!

Comic Con Loot -part one

2011-08-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

I just LOOoooove these ultracute soft vinyl toys of Marshall, the marshmallow boy, and his dog, Gumdrop. Designed by 64 colors, the strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate Marshalls are scented, and Gumdrop actually glows in the dark. How fun is that?! Although I think that my favorite is the toasted Marshall- reminds me of campfire cookouts. :)

Ya-hoo! Mountain Dew!

2011-07-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I hadn't blogged about this awesome creation from my good friend Becky of Scrumptious Delight. I had asked her to make a plush version of the old-school can of Mountain Dew for Ben's birthday this year- didn't it turn out great? He totally loves it, and so do I. It sits in our living room where we can see it and enjoy it every day.

Oh- and would you like to know why the can looks a little freaked out? (Besides the fact that he is wired from all that caffeine...)
He has a thumb in his can! Check it out:

This gives true meaning to the old advertising slogan: "Mountain Dew- it'll tickle yore innards." ;D

And here he is in relation to an actual can of Mountain Dew:

Thanks a million Becky, you rock. :)

Introducing: Wonderland Wednesdays

2011-07-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am finally finding the time to do a project that has been in my mind for awhile now- a weekly post dedicated to my plush designs that are inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

What better way to start off than to begin with Alice herself? As many of you know, Alice is a curious girl who finds herself in the mixed-up world called Wonderland, where she encounters all sorts of strange and fantastical characters.

I wanted to convey parts of the story through the fabrics that I chose. Alice has a flannel sweater with a mushroom pattern, which represents how she eats pieces of the mushroom and grows taller and shorter. Her shoes have hearts on them, indicating her run-ins with the Queen of Hearts/Red Queen. I also wanted to make her a little more modern in her dress, but still keep her somewhat "girly"- hence the pink skirt and bow in her hair.

Alice will be available in my etsy shop later today, and I will have a new character appearing here and in the shop every Wonderland Wednesday for the next little while, so stay tuned!

Stitch Wars Strikes Back

2011-07-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

In honor of the 35th Anniversary of Star Wars at San Diego Comic Con this week, I thought I'd share a little snippet of one of the pieces that I am working on for the Stitch Wars Strikes Back show at Bear and Bird Gallery, in Lauderhill, FL. The show starts August 12th and ends September 25th. There are a lot of talented artists making pieces for this show, so if you are in the area, be sure to check it out! I'm pretty sure that the pieces will also be up for sale on the gallery's website after the opening as well.

I had to do some thinking to figure out what to make this time- too many great characters to choose from! I will unveil the actual pieces closer to the show's opening in August. I will say that I stuck to the original trilogy in trying to make my decision, not the prequels. ;D
So for now, here you go:

Oh- and I have to say- I LOVE the image that they chose for the flyer- what fun! :D

New MOO stickers!!

2011-07-15T13:49:00.001-07:00

New MOO stickers!!
Originally uploaded by DesignsbyL

SOOooo excited to get my new stickers in the mail today! When I heard that MOO was making new sizes and types of stickers, the former childhood sticker-collector in me just HAD to have some. :D

To find out more about how you can make your own stickers, (and you know that you want to at least play around with the idea if you are anything like me, right?) head here.

Renegade San Francisco Goodies!

2011-07-12T11:16:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to be able to head to Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason this weekend, and these were the plush that somehow made their way home with me.

I had a ton of fun hanging out with fellow plushteamer Diane of Cutesy But Not Cutesy, and I couldn't resist this monster of hers- it was his awesome fur.

I also met Jen and Brian of Zooguu (so nice and very talented!), and had to come home with this tropical-eared elephant.

And I fell in love with most of the plush at the Mr. Sogs booth, which made it really hard to choose, but I love this guy- such great colors!

Braaiiiinnnnsss...

2011-06-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Zombies, EEEeeeeeeek!
I was asked by the awesome Team Oddity to make plush Mother-Daughter Zombie versions of themselves. I was excited to do this commission, but a little daunted since I had never made human Zombie plush before. It took me awhile to get the designs the way that I wanted them, but after a bunch of sketching I finally got the look that I wanted, and here is the result.
The real life Team Oddity:

and their Zombie plush counterparts:

I wanted to make then look like Zombies, but not super-gory ones. I just couldn't go there. So, they have pasty gray-ish white undead skin with bags under their eyes, are missing some teeth, have weirdly discolored/rotten skin patches, and their clothes have definitely seen better days. It was fun to rip and tear the fabric and let it fray. I added the skull and heart iron-ons to Jen's t-shirt, since she wears a lot of screen printed shirts.
Zombie Jen:

Fiona is definitely more "girly" than her Mom, so I made sure to put her in a matching top and ruffled skirt with a fun glittery butterfly clip in her hair, and somehow she has only one sandal, but it doesn't bother her.
Zombie Fiona:

I had a lot of fun making this Zombie Mother-Daughter pair, and it was good to be asked to do something that I hadn't done before. A new challenge always helps me to grow and stretch as an artist.

Now onto the Star Wars plush...may the Force be with me. ;D

Vote for your favorite Circus plush!

2011-06-21T12:37:00.001-07:00

Circus Playset by Hibou Cards.

The Plush Team's new Challenge is here- and the theme this time is "Under the Big Top: A Circus of Misfits."
There are two categories to vote in: Circus folk and Circus animals, and here are just a few of the many excellent plush made for this Challenge:

Christopher the Circus Ringmaster by Denn.

Drunk Plush Circus Clown Doll by Yermit.

Circus Horse by Raggy Rat.

Sad Circus Clown by Pterodactyl Pants.

Voting has begun over on the Plush Team's blog, and will be counted on June 27th.

After the first round of voting is completed, check back on June 28th for a new poll with just the winners of each category. Vote for the grand prize winner until July 1st. The winner will be announced on July 2nd.

If any of these plush catch your fancy, just head on over to the Plush Team's etsy shop, and take home a bit of circus-y goodness today. :D

Puppies for the twins

2011-06-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be so long in posting anything new- it's been a busy past few months. Finally I have the time to sit down at the computer and add some new work to the blog!

I was asked to create "puppies" for a set of twins, and the specifications were that they had to have a flower on the girl's collar, a tie on the boy's, and that they had their names embroidered on their rears. These are the finished puppies, and the photos I took in a hurry before I had to send them on their way to Canada.

Emery:

and Hudson:

More plush are in the works- be back soon with a new post! I am excited to say that I am working on new plush for the "Stitch Wars Strikes Back" art show at Bear and Bird Gallery in Lauderhill, FL, in August, so stay tuned to see sneak peeks as I go along...

Brontosaurus heaven!

2011-05-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to snatch up one of Mary's (ArtTales) super cute Brontosaurus plush to keep my wonderful ArtTales Stegosaurus company. They are pretty much some of the cutest dinosaur plush you'll ever see, and I love how they are made from upcycled materials, like wool and corduroy- even the buttons in their eyes are re-purposed. Plus, they are stuffed with plastic bags! Each of these guys is stuffed with about 24-26 bags.

I also have one of Mary's fantastic parrots- he is made from upcycled corduroy and eco-felt, and he sits in my studio, cracking jokes to keep me company as I sew, ;D Mary is one talented lady!

Wool Buddy

2011-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

I know that I have posted about the awesomeness that is Wool Buddy before, but since I got some new goodies to add to my collection, and his new BOOK! (yay!)- I had to share. If you are in the Bay Area, you can find Wool Buddy in person this weekend at Maker Faire, May 20-21st in San Mateo. There will be a ton of great artists and installations to be seen, not to mention all sorts of scientific virtuosity and steampunkery - so if you haven't been, why not head on down and check it out? It's a feast for the senses.

Hairy Man of the Forest!

2011-05-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

The fabulously talented Michal Wright-Ward of Mystic Forest Dwellers is the plush genius behind this guy, the latest addition to my plush collection. The Hairy Man of the Forest is a gentle guy who loves to give hugs, so have no fear if he approaches you if you are hiking in his part of the woods.

There are other creatures roaming the Mystic Forest if this huggable Hairy Man isn't quite your cup of tea- perhaps you are a fan of the Uncommon Fenwick,

or the Snowy Wolverine?

To see more, you'll have to check out the Mystic Forest Dweller's etsy shop. Now, I know that you don't really need any extra incentive to head on over to the shop, but when you do and if you decide to buy anything; make sure to tell Michal in the "notes to seller" box that you are one of my blog followers, and she will add a special something extra to your purchase! How's that for fun? :D
Oh, and you can also find the Mystic Forest Dwellers on facebook.

Graham Rarebit

2011-05-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Graham's dream is to be just like his singer-songwriter idols from the 1960s and 70s. No matter that he can't sing to save his life, or even play the guitar, he is determined to one day become a performer. He will spontaneously burst into his rendition of "Judy Blue Eyes" at any given opportunity, no matter how many times his friends tell him he's tone deaf. Graham is as optimistic as any flower child, and loves to dress in clothing that harkens back to that era.

I was asked to make something retro/old school looking by Emily Bluestar of Bluestar Fuzzies, and I had a ton of fun trying to find fabrics that conveyed the type of Rabbit that Graham is. I had a pretty clear idea in my mind of what I wanted to do, and I was lucky to find these fabrics in my stash. I loved the whole flowery and yellow/brown combo- to me those colors represent that time period.

Happy First Birthday Chloe!

2011-05-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Chris of Chris Creatures asked me to do her family in plush form as a present for her daughter Chloe's first birthday this past weekend. It was a really fun project, and my first plushcature of a one year old. :)
Since they are for Chloe, I wanted to make sure that they were made from soft and cuddly materials, and of course without buttons or other choking hazards.

Here are Chris, her husband Zimmy, and Chloe in real life:

And here they are as a family, plushed:

Chris: (made from flannel, fleece, cotton, felt, and upcycled jeans)

Zimmy: (his fleece hood functions as a hood, and has pockets on his organic cotton cargo pants that are actual pockets)

and the birthday girl: (made of flannel, fleece, felt, with a cotton skirt)

And a quick close-up of the whole family:

Happy birthday Chloe- and thanks Chris for the opportunity to plush your family, it was a pleasure. :D

New plush!

2011-05-02T11:50:00.001-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting all my new goodies from the Plush Team's Retreat. Better late than never, right? ;D

All these lovely new additions to my plush collection! From left to right:
A standing Seed of Genius by Sunny Plum, a lovely wristlet by Fluffy Flowers, mini Moon Bun by Moons Creations, a mini taco toastee by Yummy Pancake, a hand painted cat from Patti Haskins, a mini Monster by ArtTales/LEFTZ, and a Sheebie by Susarto. You can't see them in this photo, but I also got a couple of plush snowballs from Abbydid.

I also managed to find these great plush at a couple of flea markets that we went to:

The kangaroo is a vintage Dream Pet by Dakin, and the Christmas Dog is a vintage Modern Pet made in Japan. I also bought this awesome robot-looking dude from the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD.
Hooray for new goodies! :D

Vote for the Finalists!

2011-04-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

Starting today you have 6 days to vote for your pick for the overall winner of the Plush Team's Steampunk Challenge. Voting ends on Saturday, April 30th, and the two finalists are:

From Category A) Steampunkers: Steampunk Goat by Raggy Rat

and from Category B) Steampunk Gadgets/Accessories: Steampunk Blimp by Scrumptious Delight

Congratulations to the two finalists! To vote for your favorite, head on over to the Plush Team blog.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T15:26:00.001-07:00

Hope that you all are having a great Easter weekend.

Don't forget to vote on the Plush Team blog for your favorite Steampunk plush- you have one day left to vote, and then it's down to the 2 finalists!

Quinn Family Plushcatures

2011-04-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy the past couple of months doing plushcature commissions, and this one was my largest to date. The extremely talented artist John Quinn asked me to make his whole family (which of course included their dog, Morris :D) in plush form as a gift for his wife Lori. Once I got the photo of the Quinns translated into my style in sketch form, it was time to get sewing. This is how they came out. First we have the actual Quinns:

and now for their plush selves:

And as individuals:
John:

Lori:

Sean Bridget:

Meredith:

And lastly but not least, Morris:

I have to be honest- I definitely felt the pressure of making these for John's family, since he is an amazing caricaturist. I'm happy to report that they were well received and Lori loved her gift. Phew! ;D

On to the next set of plushcatures... photos to come in a few weeks.

Come on over and vote!

2011-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday. ;D Just wanted to let you know about the Plush Team's latest Challenge: Steampunk!
We are throwing the voting open to everyone over on the Plush Team blog, starting today. So why not head on over and vote for your favorite Steampunker and Steampunk Gadget?

Here are the entries in both categories:

The winner of each category after this week of voting will go head to head next week, with the winner announced May 1st on the Team's blog. What does the winner get, you ask? Well, besides bragging rights, the winner will receive in the mail this fun collaborative piece of steampunk themed art created by myself and the awesome Susan (Susarto). My half was the plush part, and Susan did the rest. Talented lady, isn't she? :D

All the pieces that you see here (except the prize) are available for purchase in the Team's etsy shop, should you fall in love with one and have to have it for your very own. Happy voting!

Plush Team Retreat- part 1

2011-04-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the Plush Team's first ever Retreat, which was held in Luray, Virginia for 2.5 days. It was awesome with a capitol A! Our glorious leader, Marcy of Moons Creations, had the idea last year when a few of us got together on the West Coast to do the Plush Team's booth at Maker Faire. We realized that we needed more time to "talk shop" and just hang out and create, so the idea for the retreat was born, and a little less than a year later as many of the Team who could make it descended upon the good state of Virginia. (Which I'd never been to, and found beautiful.)

This is the log cabin where 17 women laughed, ate, and created cool plush:

And here's the view from the cabin out over the valley:

I took some video of the group of us sewing, and as soon as I get it edited, I'll do another post. For now, these are some still shots of the weekend:

From left to right: Zazu, Diane, Denise, Marcy, Kaeti, and Inga- sewing and button making.

Jessica needle felting a bunch of eyeballs while Chris sews a boxing glove.

Susan, Denise, Marcy, and Mary waiting for the White Elephant Swap to begin...

And here's a group shot just before the swap started:

The White Elephant swap was fun, everyone came away with a new plush creation from another Team member to add to their collection. Which reminds me, I will have to do a post that shows all the cool plush swag I got from the retreat...woohoo! New plush! ;D

Lastly, we have a photo of the much anticipated Taco Night- just one of the many amazing meals we had while we were there. These women know how to cook! I will be emailing the cooks for all the great recipes, that's for sure.

We even had time to go to a few flea markets, drive over a covered bridge (the oldest and longest in the state of Virginia- super cool), and see the famous Luray Caverns, which were fantastic.

I'll post about my new plush goodies soon, and see if I can figure out how to post a video to my blog...

Another Great Plush for my collection

2011-04-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Woot! I was sooooo excited when I found a box from the fantastic Emily of Bluestar Fuzzies sitting on my doorstep!! Since I was too slow on the draw to get Emily's Peanut Butter Cup-inspired plush from the "Plush Team in Candyland" show, I contacted her and asked if it was possible to make me another version of him. You can imagine my excitement when she said yes. :)

And here is the result!! The wonderful Ledshano!

He is even more amazing in person than he is in the photos- and so huggable! He's a great size. About 14 inches tall (35.5cm) and 11 inches (28cm) wide. I love the colors and materials Emily used, and the hot pink cheeks are killer. And the tag is amazing, a testament to Emily's talent as an illustrator.

If you haven't had a chance to see any of Emily's awesome plush before, you definitely need to check out her etsy shop and see for yourself. I bet you leave with a new friend of your own, or with a gift for someone special, or at the very least with a smile on your face after looking at all the great creatures in her shop. Emily also has a blog and an illustration etsy shop. She's one talented lady!

Mini "Chocolate" Easter Bunnies

2011-03-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Time for some Easter Bunnies that don't add any inches to your waistline! ;D These little Mini Bunnies were inspired by all the real chocolate Easter Bunnies I ate as a kid. These guys are pretty tiny- standing about 7 inches tall (18cm) by 5 inches wide. (13cm) They come in 5 "flavors":

strawberry cream:

pistachio cream:

white chocolate:

milk chocolate:

and dark chocolate:

They are all unique, and have hand embroidered mouths, whiskers, and eyes. These little guys were a lot of fun to make, and are available now in my etsy shop. I may just have to go out and buy myself a real chocolate bunny to eat after staring at these guys for the past few days. :D

Spring is here!

2011-03-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

Well "officially" it's spring, but still feeling a bit wintery around here. The birds don't seem to care though- especially the ones that have been waking me up every morning around 4:30 with their chirping outside my window. ;D As for myself, I was getting tired of all the gloomy skies and decided to make some colorful spring bunnies to cheer me up.

These guys are approximately 13 inches (33cm) tall, and a good size for cuddling. They are made from super soft fleece and flannel, in as cheerful colors as I could find in my fabric stash. I took advantage of the brief hour of sunshine we had last thursday to take some photos in the yard.

These bright and cheery bunnies will be hopping into my etsy shop this week. I hope that wherever you are, spring is in the air.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

I hope that you all have some green on. ;D
As promised last week, a new Leprechaun makes his appearance today. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:
Bram O'Grady!

Bram really enjoys his job teasing humans and guarding his pot of gold, but he's decided to take a break and go visit some good friends in Tennessee this year. He's curious to see how Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day down south.

I wonder if Bram will get introduced to green beer? ;D
Have a lucky day everyone!

Getting my green on

2011-03-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

I have to admit in advance that green is my favorite color. I also have to confess that I tend to hoard all my green fabrics like a miser and use them sparingly, as if they are a precious commodity that I will run out of. That's probably why you don't see me making too many green plush, although it's not for lack of material or love of green- that I can say for sure. (And is resoundingly proved by my having bins full of green fabrics of all kinds.) I decided that all this hoarding was just silly, and broke out the greens for a bunch of fun St. Patrick's Day plush. What better way to get over the impulse to hoard and make plush for a holiday that is all about celebrating green?

I think it goes without saying that I never get pinched for lack of green on St. Patrick's Day. :D

Green for good luck starts with these larger shamrocks:

some small four leaf clover/shamrock ornaments:

and a couple of dogs and cats with Shamrock/green patterned bellies and ears:

Everything is of course available in my etsy shop if you're in the green mood yourself.

I also made a new Leprechaun, but like his cousin Liam, he only appears to regular humans around the actual St. Patrick's Day. So tune in next week to meet him if you are curious. :D

Plush Valentine's Day Goodies

2011-02-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

So, since my O.H. (Other Half) was on a business trip to New York City over Valentine's Day and beyond, he managed to find the time to grab these awesome plush made by danimals, from the Peoria Emporium. An excellent way make up for being away from home, I must say. I wish that I had been there to browse this store with him! It looks fantastic- and it sounds like an up-cycler's dream store. Next time I am in NYC, I am definitely going there to browse for an hour or two.
This cute dog plush is made from up-cycled knit sweaters, and the awesomely crazy daschund is made from that crazy faux-velvet material that was so popular in the seventies for couches and chairs. My grandparents had a whole living room set made from this stuff- not this pattern, but the same material. Brings me back to my childhood. I remember feeling like the material was trying to push me off the couch if I sat on it against the grain.

If you are in the NYC area and haven't been to this shop, you definitely need to go. If you're like me and don't live close enough, (*sigh*) you'll just have to be satisfied by checking out the Peoria Emporium's website, here.

Plush Collecting... Again

2011-02-16T04:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw that Mary of ArtTales/LEFTZ was creating a whole line of dinosaur plush, I was excited. The fact that she started making adorable Stegosaurus plush was more than I could handle. I HAD to have one, and this guy with his green accents just called my name as soon as I saw him. Besides just being a great plush artist, Mary makes all her plush out of completely up-cycled and recycled materials, right down to the stuffing. She uses plastic bags to stuff her creations, and my stegosaurus alone helped to recycle 24 bags. How cool is that? This guy is made from an old wool suit jacket, which gives him a fantastic herringbone pattern and texture, which I love. I just had to have some fun taking photos of my new addition, and if it wasn't raining outside I would have photos of him in the garden. Next time.

If you haven't checked out any of Mary's great plush before, you should wander over to her etsy shop and have fun browsing through all the great stuff she has there, and who knows? You may just have to get your own wonderful up-cycled ArtTales/LEFTZ plush. I'm warning you in advance- once you have one, you'll want more! I'm already thinking that my Stego needs a brother or sister... ;)

Calliope Clodhopper

2011-02-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

Calliope Clodhopper loves the rock beaches and beautiful forests of British Columbia. Calli is a Clodhopper, a species of Bigfoot that love to wear mis-matched socks.

I made Calli for the Plush Team's Russian Christmas Swap, for my super-talented and good friend Becky of Scrumptious Delight. I was really excited to have Becky's name in the draw, and it took me awhile to figure out what to make for her. I decided that she needed a Clodhopper to hang out with in her studio, and Calli definitely needed to have a pink and green color scheme, since those are Becky's favorite colors. If you haven't seen Becky's work, you definitely need to check out her etsy shop and her flickr page. She is a very talented lady, and you won't be disappointed! Here are just a few of her latest plush pieces- the hearts were made for the "Plush Team has Heart Challenge" and the graffiti wall was made for her Russian Christmas swap partner, Casie of BOOM! Plush.

Cora Valentine

2011-02-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

Cora Valentine is a Fairy with a full heart. She inspires joy and love in everyone she meets.

I made Cora for the Plush Team's January/February Challenge, which is called "Plush Team Has Heart." The Team is doing a fundraiser to benefit the International Children's Heart Foundation, an organization that works to bring aid to children in developing countries with congenital heart conditions. Our challenge was to create a heart-themed plush for this great cause, and I am very happy that so many of the members of the Plush Team have participated already, and more are putting their items in the Team's etsy shop every day.
There are some great heart plush to be found in the shop- so if you want to get something for yourself or someone you love for Valentine's Day and support a great cause, I urge you to go and check out all the cuties on offer.
Tell them Cora sent you. ;)

Russian Christmas Swap!

2011-01-28T04:00:00.000-08:00

Every year the Plush Team does a Secret Santa plush swap- and we do it for Russian/Ukrainian Christmas in January, since we are all usually swamped in December. I am finally getting around to posting the great new piece of plush that I received. I was really excited to see the package at my door from Zazu Faure, aka zfla on etsy. Zazu makes the most sophisticated animals, all from up-cycled wool, cashmere, or angora sweaters. I eagerly opened the box to find this wonderful double-sided Rhino and Maple leaf pin inside! I love how he has a calm side, and a jazzy side. :D The maple leaf pin is just wonderful. Thanks a ton Zazu!!

I couldn't resist taking some "artsy" photos with my iphone:

To see what other members of the Plush Team received in their swaps, head over to the Team's Blog, more fun plush get posted every day.

The plush collecting continues...

2011-01-24T16:58:00.001-08:00

Hooray for Christmas! Thanks to my family, I received some really great new pieces of plush for my collection.
First off I got this wonderfully huge, completely hand-sewn "Garth of Monoceros" by Diane Koss of Cutesy but Not Cutesy. I love the colors and his horn is terrific. :)

Then there's this really cool vinyl push by an unknown artist that my brother and sister-in-law found for me this past summer at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle. There wasn't even a business card or a tag of any sort with this plush, so I don't know who created this. It's a pity not to know...

Next is this adorable Knitimal, Parmee, by Danamarie of Greenstar Studio. Hand knit and as cute as a button! Sooo huggable.

Lastly, this is a Christmas present to myself. ;D I have wanted one of Robyn Fabsits' pieces of soft plush sculpture for a long time now, and I finally got one!! This Sad Clown was made for the "Soft Served" art show at OhNo! Doom Gallery in Chicago. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. :D

I'm busy getting my studio organized from the insanity of Christmas- and boy was there insanity- and I will be back making new plush as soon as I can see my sewing table, and the floor. ;)

Got Candy?

2011-01-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are my two pieces for the Plush Team's "Candyland" themed art show at Hot Pop Gallery in Milwaukee, which opens this friday at 6pm!! Tons of great candy-inspired plush is yours to behold or buy at the show, so if you are in the area, make sure to go and check it out. The show runs through March 20th.

I did a lot of brainstorming and word-listing before I found the concept that I thought would be fun to make for the candyland theme. I wanted to make sure that my pieces said "candy" without being too literal, and it took me awhile to find something that made me laugh to myself when I was doodling ideas. What I came up with was the idea of a Gingerbread Circus arriving in town, and here are a couple of its performers:

The Ring Master of the Gingerbread Circus, with her lollipop baton, top hat and tail coat:

and a Gingerbread Circus Clown, with his mini bowler hat and giant bow tie:

I am bummed not to be heading to Milwaukee to see the show in person, but I can't wait to see photos from the Team Members in the Mid-West who are headed to the opening this weekend! I'm sure that there will be photos available sometime after the opening on the Plush Team's blog, so make sure to keep checking in there to see all the great pieces the Team made for the show- I know that I will be! :)

Sneak Peek!

2011-01-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick look at my pieces for the Plush Team's upcoming Group Show at the HotPop Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the end of January. The theme they gave us was "Candyland," which was really fun to brainstorm and sketch ideas. I will post actual photos of the finished pieces closer to the January 21st opening of the show. For now you just get to see these. ;D

I'm taking a bit of a breather to recover from all the holiday season madness before diving back in to plush-making, so I will see you back here in a little while. I'm off to catch up on my new books and just chill for a bit. AAaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

I hope that you are planning something fun to celebrate the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011! :D Here's to a great year for us all. I'll be back with more plush soon- I have a ton of new ideas for this coming year, as well as a bunch of Plushcatures that will be coming down the road over the next few months, so stay tuned. Cheers!

Dogs and Cats

2010-12-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

I made these guys for some of my friends' kids for Christmas. It was something fun but quick that I could do for them, and I enjoyed working with color combinations that I hadn't used before. Their bellies and ears are flannel prints, which are fun for winter.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few of the piles of ornaments that we used to decorate the tree. Are we addicted to "ball" ornaments you ask? Are we in need of an intervention? Nah! You can never have too many ornaments, right? ;) Enjoy your time with family and friends and have a lovely holiday. See you in the New Year!

Wintery Snowman Blanket

2010-12-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is another blanket made for a Christmas gift- the fabrics were from a kit I bought back in February, (but didn't get around to making until this December ;D) and all I had to do was cut out dozens of 4 inch squares of flannel, place them in a design that I liked, and then sew all the squares together to form the quilt top. It took me about 5-6 hours (with a few breaks) to get the quilt top cut out and sewn together, which wasn't too bad. Then I had to cut out the backing fabric to the right size, and then make the edge binding. I chose not to add the optional quilt batting between the layers, since I wanted this to be more of a blanket than a true quilt. After all that was done I sewed the 2 layers together, pinned on the binding, and sewed the binding to the blanket.

The finished quilt measures 36 inches by 48 inches, and it really was a pretty quick project- about 12 hours or so all together. (Not consecutively.) Since the blanket is all flannel, it washed up super soft and cuddly. :D I would definitely make this blanket pattern again.

Fairy Christmas

2010-12-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

I was commissioned to make my first ever fairy plush for a very good customer's daughter's Christmas present. I have to admit that although I was excited at the thought of making a fairy, there was a slight moment of trepidation about how to go about it in a way that fit my design style and didn't look too cutesy, but at the same time read "fairy." I was pretty much given carte blanche on the design, the only tentative advice to me was to maybe use some blue and pink if I could.
Here is what I came up with:

I had this white and multi-colored cotton print in my fabric stash, and when I saw it, my whole color scheme fell into place. Since this was a fairy- why not make her hair pink? I embroidered a very light pink set of highlights to add visual and tactile texture, and managed to get some fairy iridescence into her dress by using green and blue ric-rac that had some sparkle to it which gave her instant fairy bling. ;) To integrate the wings with the Fairy's dress, I outlined the interior wing shape with another shade of green ric-rac.

It wouldn't be a true fairy without a photo of her outdoors in her natural habitat, and lucky for me the weather cooperated the day before I sent her on her way to her new owner. I'm really looking forward to hearing how this Christmas present is received since I had such I had a blast making her. Merry Christmas to the "Monster!" :D

Arctic Mermaid

2010-12-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is my piece for the "Soft Served "art show at OhNo! Doom in Chicago. The show opens Friday December 10th, and runs until January 11th, 2011. Wish I could be there for the opening!

Let me introduce you to the very rare and seldom seen Arctic Mermaid:

The Arctic Mermaid was recently discovered by Plushologists, who were stunned to find a mermaid sunning herself on an iceberg in the Arctic Ocean. This breed of Mermaid prefers the beauty of the Northern Lights and the refreshing cool waters of the North over the sun and sand of her tropical cousins.

I have been wanting to do a mermaid plush for some time, but until now I couldn't think of a way to make it my own. I starting doodling mermaids, and somehow my mind wandered to winter and snow, and then voila! The idea for the Arctic Mermaid was born. She has a nice and soft faux fur sweater to keep her warm, and I hand-embroidered her smile, the highlights in her hair, as well as adding a few hand embroidered scales in her tail.

If you are interested in seeing more of the great art made for this show, head on over to the OhNo! Doom website this weekend, and if you live in the Chicago area, why not check out the show- you won't be disappointed, and maybe you'll find that cool and unique Christmas present for that special someone. ;)

Art Blocks for Ghana Project

2010-12-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

This is the piece that I made for the Art Blocks for Ghana Project, which is a charity fundraiser that hopes to recieve enough money through the auctioning off of all the art donated to build a Children's Home in Ghana. I call my piece: "My Home and Native Land." The theme for the art was "home", and this is what came to mind when I thought about what means "home" to me. Living in the USA is great, but since I am Canadian and have all my family in Canada, I still call that "home," even after all these years. This was my way of trying to convey that in an art piece.

There are so many wonderful artists involved in this project that it would take me forever to list them all, but you can see their great contributions if you go to the Art Blocks for Ghana blog.

Here's a quick look at how I made my piece. It is made completely out of wool felt, and it took me about 4 hours to cut out all the varying sizes and colors of the maple leaves, I lost count of how many I actually cut out. If the photos are a bit fuzzy, I apologize, I was snapping them as I worked and wasn't paying too much attention to the focus.

Christmas Ornament Fun

2010-12-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to make my own take on the traditional round "ball" shaped Christmas ornaments. These two sets are made from fleece with fun winter/Christmas cottons as accents, and hand embroidered faces to add character:

I also had a lot of fun making a trio of Christmas Stars that hang from the same ribbon, gradually getting smaller as they go.
This ornament is also made from fleece- a variegated yellow, with smiling felt faces sewn on, and it measures about 11 inches in length.

You can find them in my etsy shop if you are interested. It's definitely starting to get that Christmas holiday feeling around here! :D

And the winner is...?

2010-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

Yardley could barely contain himself this morning- he was so exited to find out where in the world he would be traveling to next, and who would be his new parter in exploring a different area of the New World. He eagerly gathered around the names...

and watched as they went into the hat...

where the winning name was picked out...

and the WINNER IS:

BEBEBABIES!! Congratulations Casie! Yardley is eagerly awaiting his trip to your house- he can't wait to meet you. Thanks to everyone who entered, this was a really fun giveaway.

2 More Days Left to Enter the Mini-Yeti Giveaway!

2010-11-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

In case you are just now recovering from your Thanksgiving food coma, here's the scoop on how to enter and what you are entering to win.
The lucky winner will receive Mini-Yeti Yonah's twin bother Yardley, who was a stowaway on the Mini-Yetis trip to America. He just couldn't miss out on all the fun :D

Here's how you enter to win the mischievous Yardley:

*Tell me which Mini-Yeti is your favorite. PLEASE LEAVE A WAY TO CONTACT YOU IN THE COMMENTS, OTHERWISE YOUR ENTRY WILL BE INVALID.

*Become a Meet Sam and Pete blog follower. If you're a new follower, let me know that you joined in the comment section. If you're already following me, let me know that too and score one extra entry!

*Tweet this giveaway. Make sure to give me a link to your tweet in the comment section to get one extra entry.

*Repost the giveaway on Facebook. Make sure to give us a link to your Facebook post when you write your comment to get one extra entry.

*Blog this giveaway. For an extra TWO entries, tell folks about this giveaway in your blog. Please make sure to use a photo of Yardley in your post and leave the link in the comment box to get your entries.

*Buy something from my etsy shop before November 30th. Get another FIVE chances to win by making a purchase from my shop. Don't forget to let me know which new piece of plush that you are calling your own. :)

The last day to enter is November 30th, 2010 and I'll announce a winner on December 1st. GOOD LUCK!

There are only 6 Mini-Yetis left to adopt, so why not act now and take one of these furry adventurers home today?

Mini-Yeti Monday: the Grand Finale!

2010-11-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

It's time to introduce the last pair of the Mini-Yeti delegation, and to celebrate, I'm having a giveaway! :D Details will be given after you meet this week's Mini-Yetis, so read on and then make sure to enter for your chance to win...

Mini-Yeti Yancey builds the best snow-forts. He loves to build each one more elaborate than the last; his most recent design featured a series of hidden tunnels leading to his secret stash of snowballs.

Mini-Yeti Yadira loves to watch the sun rise and set each day- the colors fascinate her, since she is the most artistic of the Mini-Yetis. She loves to break out her sets of plant-based paints and cover the walls of her cave with her brightly colored interpretations of the sunsets and sunrises she's seen.

You can find Yancey and Yadira in my etsy shop, along with those Mini-Yetis not yet adopted.

I'm sure that you are ready to hear about how you can enter the giveaway- and here's what you're entering to win:

It seems that Mini-Yeti Yonah's twin brother Yardley managed to sneak his way here and add himself to the Mini-Yeti delegation, so he's looking for a good home and some new friends to explore with.

Here's how you enter to win the mischievous Yardley:

*Tell me which Mini-Yeti is your favorite. PLEASE LEAVE A WAY TO CONTACT YOU IN THE COMMENTS, OTHERWISE YOUR ENTRY WILL BE INVALID.

*Become a Meet Sam and Pete blog follower. If you're a new follower, let me know that you joined in the comment section. If you're already following me, let me know that too and score one extra entry!

*Tweet this giveaway. Make sure to give me a link to your tweet in the comment section to get one extra entry.

*Repost the giveaway on Facebook. Make sure to give us a link to your Facebook post when you write your comment to get one extra entry.

*Blog this giveaway. For an extra TWO entries, tell folks about this giveaway in your blog. Please make sure to use a photo of Yardley in your post and leave the link in the comment box to get your entries.

*Buy something from my etsy shop before November 30th. Get another FIVE chances to win by making a purchase from my shop. Don't forget to let me know which new piece of plush that you are calling your own. :)

The last day to enter is November 30th, 2010 and I'll announce a winner on December 1st. GOOD LUCK!

Also- you have the opportunity to double your chances to win one of my plush this month by heading over to the Plush Team's blog and entering your name in the November giveaway of Lavender the Cat. Good luck everyone!

Holiday Cats and Dogs

2010-11-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

I decided to upsize my Dog and Cat designs, and since it's time to start getting into the holiday spirit, I decided to make these larger and smaller dogs and cats in wintery as well as Christmassy color schemes.

All are made from super soft fleece and cozy printed flannels, perfect for snuggling with during the winter months. ;)

The Dogs and Cats are waiting for you in my etsy shop, so why not head on over and take a closer look? :)
Have a great weekend everyone!

New Holiday Rabbits

2010-11-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

Murphy the Magnificent puts on his wintery tuxedo and is a very popular magician in Lapinville, not because he is a fun and outgoing Rabbit (although he really is), but because of the amazing conclusion of his magic act, where he pulls a Santa out of his hat! This trick never gets old, and makes Murphy in high demand for Christmas parties, especially since the Santa always has some small presents to give out to each guest.

Emma O'Hare, on the other hand, is a pretty shy Rabbit, but she is just as well known in Lapinville as Murphy is. This is mainly because of the fantastic ice and snow sculptures that she makes in her yard, which inevitably cause traffic delays in her neighborhood, as all the residents drive by on the weekends to see her wonderful creations. In the winter her cheeks are always a nice rosy color due to all the time that she spends outdoors in the cold.

Murphy and Emma are available in my etsy shop if you are in need this winter of a good magician or someone to show you how to ice-sculpt. ;)
More Christmas plush to come later this week!

Mini Yeti Monday Strikes Again!

2010-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

Time flies when you are having fun, and can you believe that we are down to the second to last pair of the delegation of ten Mini-Yetis to be introduced to the world? Wow. Here they are:

Yvonne is a truly happy creature who always has a good word for everyone, and a positive spin on life. She never lets anything get her down, and she is looking forward to spreading good cheer and her sunny outlook on life wherever in the world that she travels to next.

Yorrick has a love of poetry, and will often entertain his fellow Mini-Yetis with a recitation or two. He is very fond of Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter", although his friends are getting a little tired of hearing it. Yorrick is just starting to compose his own poems, and he seems to be gravitating towards limericks at the moment.

If you are interested in inviting either Yvonne, Yorrick, or any of their friends to come live at your house, head on over to my etsy shop, where they will be happily waiting to accept your invitation.

Stay tuned for next Monday's final pair of Mini-Yetis, and there will be a special something to celebrate the occasion. You won't want to miss it- promise! :)

Snow Angels

2010-11-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Now available in my etsy shop- the Snow Angels! :)
I love snowmen, and I wanted to do something a little different than the usual snowball types. That's when the idea of adding wings hit me. The Snow Angels are responsible for getting everyone excited for winter and winter activities. They fly around invisibly and whisper suggestions for winter fun in our ears. The large plush are around 8-10 inches high, while the little ones are around 5-7 inches high.

We have Charlie, who is the Snow Angel that inspires you to get out that toboggan and hit the steepest hill in town,

and Camille makes sure that there is warm and comforting hot chocolate to welcome you home after hours of outdoor winter fun.

Freddie whispers in your ear and gives you the idea to start an epic snowball fight,

Josie gets you to pull out the skates and hit the ice for some figure eights,

and last but not least, Paulie is the one who inspires you to go outside and make the biggest snowman you can.

Needing some winter inspiration? Head on over to my etsy shop and take your favorite Snow Angel home today. :)

The holidays are coming!

2010-11-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

Yikes! That time of year already- where did the time go? I have made some new items for the shop, as well as re-listed some goodies from last year. We'll start with our favorite Vampire duo of Victor and Vittorio- all dressed up for the holidays and ready to party.

These Rabbits are all ready for winter and the upcoming holiday parties.
Clarence is a hard working rabbit who owns the local hardware store. There isn't any tool he doesn't know how to use. He loves waking up a little before sunrise and watching the sun come up before he heads off to work. He's dressed for winter in his warmest plaid jacket.

Holly works in the Lapin Botanical Gardens. Her botanical specialty is flowering shrubs and trees. She lives with her roommate Ivy in a cute condo not far from the gardens. Holly and Ivy never get tired of each other, even though they work and live together. The gardens are so large that they often only see each other at lunch time. Holly is dressed up for the company Holiday party in her favorite dress and holly brooch.

Nick is the new guy in town, VERY confident in himself and his fashion sense. You can tell this by the way he stands and the expression on his face. He's dressed in his favorite winter ensemble. Although new in town, Nick already has a reputation as a "Player". ALWAYS looking for a good time, Nick is popular with the ladies: "How YOU doin?"

You can find these and many other plush in my etsy shop, and there will be more holiday and Christmas items coming soon!

Remembrance Day

2010-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

I can remember every year when I was a kid, we would have our Remembrance Day assembly in the Gym to honor those Canadians who had served or who were serving in our Armed Forces. For the month prior we would all buy and wear the poppy pins that were a symbol of the soldier's sacrifice, which would also raise money for Veteran's organizations. These pins meant a lot to me- as my Grandfather had been a pilot in World War Two, and I knew that it meant a great deal not only to him, but to all the soldiers who saw people wearing the poppies in their honor. When I got married my Grandfather was no longer with us, but I had a Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law who had served in the US Air Force to add to my sense of how great a sacrifice, how much strength of character it takes to volunteer to serve and protect our countries and way of life, and what a military family goes through while their loved ones are away.

Thank you to all the Veterans and Active Military for your courage and your dedication to keeping us safe.

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

Mini Yeti Monday- 3rd Edition

2010-11-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

It's time to meet this week's pair of fun loving adventurers from the snowy mountains of Tibet, Yonni and Yori.

Both Yonni and Yori are more quiet and contemplative than the Mini-Yetis that you've previously met. Yonni loves laying on her back in the crisp clean snow, breathing the mountain air, and tracing pictures in the clouds.

While Yori enjoys sucking on an icicle or two as he ponders the meaning of life. Although both of them are quick to abandon their quiet time to join in a snowball fight! Woe to anyone who gets in the path of one of Yori's snowballs- he has the most accurate arm of all the Mini-Yetis.

If you are interested in adopting Yonni, Yori, or any of their friends that you've been introduced to so far, stop by my etsy shop and tell them I said hello!

Wondering what in the heck is a Mini-Yeti? Here's a quick refresher :
The Mini Yetis are much more sociable and easier to spot than their reclusive and much larger cousins the Yeti. Discovered recently in the snowy mountains of Tibet by Plushologists, the Mini Yetis seem fond of human company, even sending a delegation home to America with the Plushologists to explore the New World. This delegation of 10 Mini Yetis have volunteered to be adopted into new homes in order to observe and explore new regions and cultures, and to make new friends.

Another pair of Mini-Yetis to come next Monday, so stay tuned. Holiday plush will also be stopping by my blog sometime this week on their way to my etsy shop, so if you are interested in seeing what I've come up with for this year, keep checking back. Enjoy your week! :)

Green, green and more green!

2010-11-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

My plush collection grows again. I was obviously feeling a green vibe (it is my favorite color, after all) in my latest purchases, as you can see from the photos...

A most awesome and cuddly Lengi Bear by Tyler Poncho Toys was my first purchase,

followed by the most magnificently detailed Mandela Muju by Miss Muju (can you BELIEVE the detail and craftsmanship of this?!),

and last but not least the oh-so cute and charming Turd of the Sea by the wonderful Anna Chambers. :D

Maybe it is easy bein' green. :)

Mini Yeti Monday- week 2

2010-11-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! This week's pair of Mini Yetis are the fraternal twins, Yumi and Yuri. Yumi just loves laughing at all of her big brother's jokes, even when they are just plain silly. She calls Yuri her "big brother" since he was born a whole 5 minutes before she was. Yuri loves "knock knock" jokes, and the more they make you groan, the better in his opinion. Yumi loves collecting and pressing flowers into the pages of her journal. She likes to preserve the beauty of the flowers and record what she was feeling the day she found that flower.

If you didn't tune in last week, here's a quick refresher about the Mini Yetis:
The Mini Yetis are much more sociable and easier to spot than their reclusive and much larger cousins the Yeti. Discovered recently in the snowy mountains of Tibet by Plushologists, the Mini Yetis seem fond of human company, even sending a delegation home to America with the Plushologists to explore the New World. This delegation of 10 Mini Yetis have volunteered to be adopted into new homes in order to observe and explore new regions and cultures, and to make new friends.

Meet the twins:

Yuri:
and Yumi:
If you are interested in adopting either of the twins into your home, or their friends Yetta and Yonah, head on over to my etsy shop, and come back next Monday to meet another pair of these adventurous creatures.

In a Fall mood...

2010-10-28T12:42:00.001-07:00

Hooray for the leaves finally turning their beautiful fall colors! As you can see, I've changed things up on the look of my blog, it was time for something new and different. I'm definitely feeling in a fall mood, which is probably why I chose this yellow background. I love Fall!! :)
The fall colors and temperature changes around here also have inspired me to make some Fall colored plush, and here they are:
Meet Oliver the Dog and Persimmon the Cat.
Oliver loves the finer things in life (he'll never say no to a good caviar if you've got it), and Persimmon loves to bask in the sun and play in the garden.

Oliver and Persimmon are now available in my etsy shop. Happy Fall everyone! :)

New Feature: Mini Yeti Monday!

2010-10-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

For the next several Mondays I will be featuring a pair from my new line of plush, the Mini Yetis. The Mini Yetis are much more sociable and easier to spot than their reclusive and much larger cousins the Yeti. Discovered recently in the snowy mountains of Tibet by Plushologists, the Mini Yetis seem fond of human company, even sending a delegation home to America with the Plushologists to explore the New World. This delegation of 10 Mini Yetis have volunteered to be adopted into new homes in order to observe and explore new regions and cultures, and to make new friends.

Starting today and continuing each monday I will be putting a new pair (one guy, one girl) of Mini-Yetis into my etsy shop to be adopted, until all 10 Mini Yetis are up for adoption. Each pair are unique one of a kind plush, made from various types of faux-fur and various shades of ultra suede. Each pair are different from the rest. The facial details such as the eyes and cheek swirls are hand embroidered, and the mouths, noses, and teeth are made from felt. They measure 7 inches (18cm) tall by 8.5 inches (22cm) wide.

We start off this week featuring the Mini Yetis Yonah and Yetta. Yonah is a happy fellow, who was eager to volunteer as the first to be adopted, since he loves making new friends. Yetta loves to talk, and will be happy to tell you anything you might wish to know about life as a Mini Yeti. If you are interested in adopting either of these two creatures into your home, head on over to my etsy shop, and stay tuned for the next month of Mondays to be introduced to all the adventurous pairs of Mini Yetis. :)

Yonah:
Yetta:

A different direction

2010-10-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks I have taken a pause in my plush-making to focus on sewing baby quilts for my new niece. Hooray for babies! :) Working with my sister in picking out the fabrics for her baby's room, we came up with this design for the crib quilt. I decided to add appliques that repeated the quail motif from the main fabric along the bottom to jazz it up a little.

We also picked out some flannels for a warm and cosy rag quilt, which I sandwiched in batting to add that extra layer of warmth for the cold winter months. It was labelled an "easy" quilt to make, which I suppose it was if I hadn't been fighting with my Gramma's 1964 Bernina machine, which hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long, and stopped back-stitching... At one point we ended up hand sewing seams. ;) But, after a few days of struggle, we got the quilt done. It took my sister awhile to hand cut the fringe along all the edges of the squares to create the "rag" look, but it was worth it in the end. The quilt took forever to dry with all the flannel and the batting, (and weighed a ton wet) but it is super soft and cosy, and everyone is happy with the result. Since my mom, sister, and I all sewed on it, it is truly a family made quilt, which makes it even more special in my eyes.

I'm back to plush-making this week, (although that doesn't mean I'm done sewing for babies- more just keep on coming! ;D) with new items coming to the shop soon....

WOO HOO! Plush YOU!

2010-10-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

Hooray! Plush YOU! opens in Seattle at Schmancy Toys tomorrow, October 8th, in the evening. I wish that I could be there for the opening, but my plush will have to enjoy the party for me instead this year.
Here are my contributions to the show. I decided to go with a trio of Scarecrows- I was feeling in the fall mood when I was sketching last month, and these guys were the result.
Without further ado, I introduce you to Simon, Saul, and Sally Scarecrow. They spend their days joking and laughing while scaring away the crows from Farmer Joe's wheat fields.

Simon:

Sally:

and Saul:

I wanted to make them similar but different. Although they are wearing similar colors, they are all different patterned cottons, and I made their hair a golden color, to bring in the color of wheat (or straw). Adding in the straw that pokes out of their sleeves, cuffs, and waists was an interesting experiment, since I had to sandwich the strands of felt "straw" in reverse in the seam and the see how it popped out when the seam was finished. If it hadn't turned out I would have had to unpick the seam, which I HATE. Lucky for me the experiment worked, and I didn't have to get out the dreaded seam ripper. ;)

So, head on over to Schmancy tomorrow evening if you live in the Seattle area- it's going to be a great opening with so much amazing plush, not to mention that you'll get a chance to meet some of the artists in person. :D

Plush YOU! 2010 Sneak Peek..

2010-10-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

With the fabulous Plush YOU! show opening next week at Schmancy Toys in Seattle, I thought I would go ahead and give you a little glimpse of what I've created for the show. These guys were a ton of fun to make, and I promise to post a complete set of photos closer to the show's opening. I'll just leave you in suspense for now... ;D

If you are in the Seattle area, go and check out the show, you won't be disappointed! There are some fantastic pieces from artists around the globe on display, and for purchase. The show opens Friday, October 8th. There will be a bunch of artists in attendance as well, including some of the members of the Plush Team. Lucky ducks! ;D

Monster Girls and some bats

2010-09-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

One last Halloween post for awhile! :D

Meet Fran K. Stein. Fran was named one of Monster Magazine's "Most Appealing Monsters of 2010." When not at her day job as a Public Relations mogul at "Stein, Wolf, and Dracula" Fran likes to relax at her home raising Venus Flytrap plants.
I had a ton of fun making Fran, with her asymmetrical haircut, mis-matched sized limbs, patchy skin, and her hand-embroidered stitches. I figured that since last Halloween was all about the boys, this year there needed to be some girl monster power.

Next, we have Vivian Vampire. A cousin of Victor and Vittorio, she teaches nocturnal gardening at the local Vampire Academy. She likes to rock her favorite spider web boots to show the world that teachers are cool, too.
Vivian comes with her own removable and reversible cape. Picking out fabrics for Vivian took awhile, but eventually I found the combination of patterns that worked for what I had in mind.

I decided to make some more Vampire Bats, and this time I made some mini versions to mix it up a bit. :)

I have uploaded my new Halloween plush to my etsy shop, and if you want to see more photos of all my plush, head on over to my flickr page. Have a great week!

More Halloween..

2010-09-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be Halloween without a Black Cat, and I couldn't do a cat without having some dog representation as well, so I made the Orange Dog with a subtle gray-on-black jack o lantern printed fabric.

I also made a couple of new sets of the Jack o Lantern ornaments, and as before, no two are the same. It was a little harder this time around. :)
These guys are up for sale now in my etsy shop. I will have at least one more set of Halloween items done in the next few days, and I will post them as soon as they are done. Hooray for Halloween- now if only we'd get some Fall weather around here... summer is putting up a good fight, let me tell you.
Happy Saturday!

Getting in the Halloween Spirit

2010-09-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've finally had some time to dig out the Halloween fabric and make some Halloween items for the shop. I forgot how much fun it is making things for Halloween, there are way too many fun and spooky ideas this time of year!

First off I made two different sets of Jack O' Lantern ornaments, and each one is unique. I had a lot of fun making the individual facial expressions on each pumpkin.

I had the idea for Vampire Bats last year, but didn't have the time to make them. Here they are fully plushed. A light and dark gray version.

This is just the first wave of Halloween items to hit my etsy shop, more will be coming this week, so stay tuned!