Ya-hoo! Mountain Dew!

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

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

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!!

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!

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...

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!

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

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...