Update-tastic

I'm back to sewing! This lion just kind of happened on a whim yesterday, and I'm fine with that. It's the first thing I've sewn that doesn't involve felt, AND it's the biggest plush I've made so far. I think I was originally going to sew him a tie... I may still do that.

OH and I finished Bunzilla!!! I started this thing a few weeks ago, but he's been sitting unhappily in my desk while I was fitting my routine back together. It's exciting because this is the first plush to usher in a new era for me: I do what I want! I'm tired of listening to the endless suggestions from (mostly) people who have no idea what my vision is or what kind of pieces I want to create. Making simple cute things is really fun, and sells pretty well, but that's not what I'm concerned with. I want to push my boundaries and try and make some more complex stuff like when I first started sewing. Yay for new found confidence!

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.

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!

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!

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!