Thanks for Playing

I was really hoping to get into the Plush You LA show, and when I didn't hear back from them for a long time, I figured I wasn't going to make it. But I got the official "better luck next time" e-mail a few days ago, and I'm pretty bummed about it. Luckily, I have the opportunity to try again for the Plush You Seattle show when they start accepting applications for that, so I'm just going to give it everything in me. Another disappointment came when I saw the winners for the Plush You olympic challenge. I'm happy for the winners, and even though I definitely feel they deserve it, it still has me feeling down that I didn't place. Sometimes I just feel discouraged because I'm trying to make a name for myself in the plush community, and I'm not sure if I can. It's what I love to do though, so I'm not giving up.

On the bright side, I did have some fun today taking pictures with my bunnies. My mom helped me find a good spot in her yard and took the pictures for me. I'm really lucky to have a supportive family - both her and my dad have let me know that they are proud. It really helps me through times like this when I don't feel as strong as I usually do.

Lesson Learned

This is Penelope. She's cute as a button, but in reality she's a happy little mistake. I just about gave up on her and sent her to the plush graveyard quite a few times. I get so caught up in sewing sometimes that I will sketch something onto the material I am making the plush out of and just go at it without a second glance. Last night, I was SO ready to use this purple tipped white faux fur for a little bunny. It's my favorite faux fur that came in the scrap box I ordered - so soft and long and awesome colored! I made the little lady's face, and immediately I was in love with her. So I sketched up the body on the fur and got down to cutting. I sewed her together, and then I was ready for the "birthing" where I turn it right side out. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account how long the fur was and that her ears needed to be a little wider than usual so that I could turn them out easily. I normally have a really hard time turning them out as it is, so the added fur made it impossible. I spent at least 30 minutes in labor trying to turn her ears out, and my shirt took the punishment for me.


I had just gotten home from my day job and I hadn't changed my shirt yet. Lint roller anyone? Anyway, I got pretty pissed off and broke a couple of pens in the process, then went to bed for the night. Today I decided that I loved this tiny thing too much to give up, so I sewed bear-like ears under where I sewed the long ears and cut off the excess. I still think she's adorable even though her ears are not very bunnyish. At least I learned not to rush things when I'm dealing with my favorite (and only) scrap of material.

Copycat

One of those random floating around the net pictures, not mine!

So one of my biggest fears as a crafter is not only being copied, but copying someone else. Of course I would never purposely copy someone. However, I've noticed that, like any human being, I tend to be influenced by my favorite artists or even work that I see just one time. Sometimes I will catch myself and think Hmm I feel like I've seen this somewhere before, but I'm constantly afraid that I may not catch myself, and I might subconsciously copy someone. My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts because I will scour the internet for other crafters and plush artists and ask him how similar he feels my work is to theirs. I admit that it seems silly, but I've crafted things before and then seen plush almost identical in concept to what I've created. Usually, mine have been made after theirs, so then I sit and think about if I've ever stumbled across the image before. Often I come to the conclusion that we just have similar ideas, and I honestly do not remember ever seeing their work. I guess what it really boils down to is that I want to be original, but there is seldom an idea that hasn't been thought of previously. And to the copycats that know exactly what they're doing, make something that reflects you instead - it's much more impressive!

Desk and such

This is where the magic happens. The drawer on the right pulls back into the desk, but I just wanted to show you the space I have. It isn't always this clean looking - this is between projects. I love this thing SO much. Having the chance to organize all of my sewing and art stuff makes me a million times more productive. For anyone who doesn't have their own designated space to create: it seriously makes all of the difference in the world.

Here are some of the keychains I've been making for the craft show next month. It's 23 days away, so I've got to bust ass to get everything together!

Sick of the Flu

Sorry for the lack of posting over the last few days. The flu has been tearing through my friends and family, including myself. On top of this, my internet has been out, so I'm checking my mail and posting from a cafe before I go to work today. I did manage to drag myself out of bed to make the little baby rabbit above, and I'm thoroughly happy with the way he turned out. More baby rabbits on the way!

Here's another photo of my olympic plush entry, Vincent. All of his accessories are removable, and I personally like him better without them.

Also, my Moo Mini Cards arrived yesterday! I'm more than excited about the way they turned out. It took every ounce of energy left in me not to run into the street and throw them at people as they walked by.

The new olympic sport is...

Eskimo Panic!

Monster olympians participating in the popular Eskimo Panic sport must get the best scare out of an unsuspecting Eskimo going about their daily routine. Athletes are awarded up to 10 points in the following categories: element of surprise, Eskimo response, originality, and overall scare. Each monster must participate in two rounds, with the winner having the highest averaged score. Note: Any Eskimo getting harmed will result in immediate disqualification!

And here we have a photo from this years Eskimo Panic event. This was taken just moments after Vincent "The Tentacle" Jahwee poked his infamous tentacle through an ice fisher's hole in the ice. We got the opportunity after the even to speak with Jahwee.
US: That was an amazing round! Why did you decide to choose this particular Eskimo?
VINCENT: Well, I think it's obvious that I needed a clever way to put my better half to use. When I cam across this little ice fisher, I knew exactly what to do.
US: Do you think you have a chance of taking the gold home this year?
VINCENT: If it were up to me, absolutely, but we'll just have to wait and see what the judges say. I'm a little intimidated by the nation of Boogie's judge.
US: Pardon us for asking, but what's with the scarf?
VINCENT: You never know what kind of environment you are going to be scaring in, other than the fact it will be cold. Thankfully, I brought a diving mask, but the scarf was not quite as functional as I had hoped underwater.

Fur box!

Today I got my first box of faux fur scraps! I bought it less than a week ago from Lulievision's Etsy, and they got here very quickly. I'm happy with the variety and size of the scraps, and a few of them even matched.


None of them are really big enough to make my usually bunnies out of, so unless I make them a little smaller and use different fabrics for their front and backs, I need to come up with another plush design to use all this fur on. Now I see why Love & a Sandwich uses these - they are the perfect size for her newborn monsters!

Moo card update: Got an email today saying they should be here by next week. Yay!

Goodbye Nunny!

Obviously the main reason for opening an Etsy is to make money. When I opened mine last month, I had every intention of selling the things that I love and love making. I'm not backing down, this is ultimately what I want to make a living doing, but I had my first real bittersweet moment with it today. Nunny is my hands-down favorite plush that I have recently made, and yesterday she found her home! I'm always excited when I make a sale, but it's hard to let her go. She's going to a little girl that I know is going to love her, so I'm ultimately happy. While I was painting today, I thought I would make a little doodle to ship with Nunny, and I think I might do this every time I ship from now on. It's always nice to get an extra doodle!

Another olympic plush peek

I finally finished my entry for the Olympic Challenge! I'm really excited about it, but I'm not going to show the whole thing until the entry date is over, only because I have "made up sport" as my category. I feel like my sport would be an easy one to copy! So far, I've only seen a few entries popping up here and there on Flickr. What I have seen looks great though, and I can't wait to see more!

Vin, the Olympic Torch Monster by Diane Koss

Penguin Power Bobsleigh Team by feltlikestitchin

Plush Olympics - Moon Bun style by Moon's Creations

Shop Update + Moo Card Beginnings

This monster tote hit the shop today after I had a neat photo-shoot out at my mom's house. There are so many interesting textures out there, almost makes me want to live there again. I would never be searching for a good photo background again... On the down side, it was windy, and the sun was in my eyes, so most of the pictures had me squinting hardcore or looking like Cousin It. I'm definitely squinting in the one I chose, but I thought it was a good picture otherwise.





Speaking of pictures, I also took several for my first batch of mini Moo cards today. I just ordered them, so they should be here in the next month - I can hardly wait. These are a few of the pictures I used, you'll just have to wait and see how I cropped them for the cards!

Craft Shows

I wanted to be almost done with my Plush You Olympic Challenge entry by now, but I've been working "the day job" so much that I've been too tired to think. Waitressing seems to suck the life out of me on the weekends.

On a positive note, I got to visit a local craft show yesterday that was pretty awesome! The above picture is me on the left and my best friend Caitlin on the right after a long afternoon of Goodwill shopping and booth hopping. My mom and little brother came also, and it was a lot of fun. Here's an funny booth we came across where a woman made fake "spilled things."I realized a few things while I was at the show: I seriously BELONG in craft shows where I'm surrounded by like minded people. It was great to understand where each vendor was coming from and see the hard work behind their items and prices. I also realized that my work and I really are unique. Being on the internet and following all of the latest plush artists and crafters is amazing, but sometimes it can be a little disheartening when you feel like someone is doing exactly what you want to do, only better. It took a long time to gain confidence in my craft, and being at a local event where there was literally nothing even remotely similar to my style or crafts made me feel great.

One last thing I'm excited about - At the show, I was handed a couple of fliers to upcoming shows and whatnot, so I decided to apply to be a vendor at them. When I signed in to my email today to contact the event organizers, I already had an email from a woman saying that she liked the stuff in my shop and was wondering if I would be interested in having a booth at a local craft show/festival she was putting together! It's on April 17th, so for the next month, I'm going to be working like crazy on my inventory. As soon as I get this darn contest entry finished...

In honor of Snowmageddon

Well it really had nothing to do with "Snowmageddon" to begin with, but I guess it's a fitting thing to sew right now. And notice the lack of snow in my surroundings :) Anyway, this is part of my entry for Plush You's Olympic Challenge. There's much more to it than this, but I'm still working on the rest. This little eskimo had my fingers about ready to fall off last night. The suede his body is made out of did not agree with my sewing machine, so I did it by hand instead. He's one of the smallest things I've made - he easily fits in the palm of my hand - and I think he turned out pretty much how I sketched him up.

I used a different technique for closing him up and stuffing him than I normally do, and it was actually pretty difficult for me. In the most recent issue of Stuffed, plush artist Kathryn Paul talked about how she sews the entire body of her Longtails closed, then cuts out a circle for the face, which she uses to turn it right side out. Since the faces on her Longtails really reminded me of the faces on my own work, I though I'd try her technique. I'm sure it goes much smoother for her than it did for me!

Hey there

Seeing as I've become pretty into craft blogs lately, I figured I might like keeping up with one myself. Basically I'll be posting inspiration, examples of stuff I'm working on, what I'm currently obsessing over, and other things like that. I just recently opened an Etsy shop, so my crafting has been steady enough to actually document, which is a first. Normally, it takes the backseat as a hobby, but I'd like it to be more than that. Anyway, this is Sarah...
I apologize for my lack of scanner, but I think this picture pretty much sums up who I am and what I do.
And this is my partner in crime, Lucky.

It's adventure time.