What happens in Mexico...

For the May/June Challenge, members of the Plush Team were asked to create plush pieces that illustrated a vacation nightmare. At first, I had NO idea what to make, and then I started thinking back to my family vacations, and volia! I had my idea.

These plush are based on a true event that happened to my family as we were playing poolside on Christmas morning, 1982 in CanCun, Mexico.

My sister (4yrs old) and I (8yrs old) watched in horror, alongside a bunch of other families next to the pool as a group of "orderlies" headed up by a truly ugly "Nurse" (on closer inspection we realized that the "she" was actually a "he" in full drag, with seriously hairy legs and stubble and chest hair) carried on a stretcher a sprawled out Santa towards the edge of the pool. 

Santa seemed to be drinking blood (THE HORROR!) out of an IV Bag on the stretcher. All the orderlies and the nurse were laughing their butts off, and were clearly drunk themselves. 

Without any warning, the orderlies heaved Santa into the pool, and then they all jumped in after him. Needless to say, my sister was HORRIFIED that they'd tried to drown Santa, and it took my parents a loooooong time to calm her down enough to where she could listen and understand that it was someone else dressed in a very tight and too-small Santa suit pretending to be Santa, and that he wasn't drinking actual blood, it was an alcoholic drink called a Bloody Mary. 

I will spare you all the visual of what the tight, white uniformed "nurse" looked like getting out of the pool, but I did make sure to add on to my Santa plush the butt-crack that we all saw as he was helped out of the pool:

You can imagine how many complaints the hotel management got from all the other parents with small children who were traumatized that morning by seeing this crazy stunt. 0_o  
We got over the shock and enjoyed the rest of our vacation; had some great times and saw some amazing things that trip, so it all balanced out in the end. :) 

If you'd like to see the other entries into the Plush Team's Vacation Nightmare Challenge, you can find them in the Plush Team's etsy shop. There are some great plush by the Raggy Rat and KittyKitty Crafts depicting their own ideas of vacation nightmares. 

New holiday Plush in the shop!

It's one of my favorite times of the year- that transition from Fall into Winter, with all the lovely warm sweaters, cozy blankets, and cold weather that comes with it.

I have made a few new items for the holiday season, which are now available in my etsy shop. They join a bunch of holiday and wintery plush that are already there waiting for good homes.

It wouldn't be winter without a snowman, and since I live in California, I have to make a snowman plush in lieu of making the real thing. ;D

This snowman is all dressed for the weather in his warm flannel sweater, flannel scarf, and felt top hat. His body is made from cuddly white minky.

It wouldn't be Christmas without Santa and his loyal reindeer, Rudolph; Santa takes the form of a pillow for your home, and Rudolph is ready for the holidays in his festive saddle blanket and red jingle ball collar.

and you can also find two of my Santa Head Ornaments in the Plush Team's etsy shop.

Just waiting to help add some holiday cheer to your home or as a holiday gift are these guys:

A snowman head pillow with a festive red minky scarf:

And winter isn't winter without Snow Angels- meet Freddy:

If you are looking for ornaments, there are a string of stars and a set of ball ornaments available:

and there are holiday Rabbits just waiting to be invited to a Christmas or holiday party at your home, a pair of holiday bears, a gingerbread clown, and if you are in a yeti mood, there are still a few of the adventurous Mini-Yetis hanging around as well!

If you are like me and like to decorate the tree with a collection of hand made ornaments, you're in luck! Check out the Plush Team's etsy shop every day from now until Dec. 7th, when various members of the Team will be adding new ready-to-hang creations.

Ornament Show!

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!