Hot Pop Gallery Show

Hello everyone! The Plush Team is doing a group gallery show at Hot Pop Boutique & Gallery in Milwaukee. The show opens on January 21 and runs through March 20. The exciting part is the theme.......Candyland! I was really excited about the theme because I love candy/treat themed plush. Originally we were scheduled to have the show in May but got moved to January. That is the downside. It was really hard to find time to work on plush for the show with all the Christmas crazies but I was able to get 5 pieces done (which what was asked). Since the show goes through March we have been told that as things sell (hopefully) we can send stuff to restock. Soooo there may be more candy plush from me in the near future!

Because I am still trying to promote both of my shops (Boom! Plush! and BeBe Babies and Friends) I wanted to make pieces that would represent both. I decided to make 4 Ice Cream BeBe Cones and one candy monster. The monster is a spin on the Lemonheads candy character. I made him to look very similar to the actual character but made him furry and gave him horns. I really think he is cute!

This is the original character in case you don't remember.

And my monster!

I had a needle felted lemon sucker that I made a long time ago so I stuck that in his hand.

Doesn't he have a sweet face!? This is another one I kind of hope comes home to me hee hee.

Last but not least here are the little BeBe Ice Cream Cones! It's funny because a couple people have pointed out that they are scary which took me a little by surprise. It's weird when you make something and you see it one way and then someone points out something about it that you never would have thought before. Depending on what is said it can be a little alarming. I have to admit hearing that they are scary did kind of shake my confidence. Mostly because I didn't mean them to be, or think they are, scary at all! I can only think of one thing that makes them scary and that is if you literally look at them like you are eating a baby...which is not what I meant at all! I sort of thought in my head that the babies are so sweet...like ice cream! I'm really not the first one to make plush ice cream cones..I mean look at this, this, this and this.

If you live in the Milwaukee area be sure to stop by Hot Pop where you can find all of these guys as well as a bunch of other awesome plush by the Plush Team!

Christmas Highlights!

It was a crazy Christmas holiday with something new to do and someone to see nearly every day. I am enjoying relaxing now and playing with my new toys. Next week school starts back up so I am working through my long list of things that need to be done before then. But before I get back to it I thought I would share some of my favorite highlights from the holiday this year.

If you've been reading my blog you know that I handmade all my gifts this year not necessarily because I wanted to but because becoming a student has seriously cut my funds, like to $0. It turned out to be a good thing though because I think I really gave everyone something that fit their personality. What's better than getting something you would never expect but was made with love just for you? Nothing I say.

My step dad with his "wood rat".

My Mom with her carolers.

And brother with his flame. He says he will strap it to the front of the firetruck. Yay!

The other best event this holiday was getting to see my nephews. They live a couple hours away now so seeing them is really a special event. Of course they are super squirmy and hard to get pictures of but here are a couple. They love dinosaurs and got a whole bunch for Christmas.

Wyatt told me he is "fixing the dinosaur's teeth".

I received so many wonderful gifts this year but here are some of my favorites. The crowning glory surely is my new sewing machine from my Dad. My Dad bought me my first sewing machine about 4 years ago. It definitely isn't fancy but it has served me well all these years. It made me a little sad to retire it but it had gotten loud and had a few inconvenient quirks due to how badly I have treated it. I think it will be good to have both in case my new one breaks down or I need to borrow one to someone. The new machine I got this year is a Brother and has a whole bunch of features for making clothing. Of course I don't make clothes but I like having the option because I would love to learn in the future. Also it is computerized and has all kinds of crazy programmable stitches. I had a lot of fun trying them all out. I have already been using the machine and it was a super smooth transition and I love it! Here she is!

This next gem isn't a gift but could have been by how much joy it brought has me and continues to bring. My brother's roommate is this hilarious funny guy and my brother is kind of hmmm how shall I say it.. uptight? Both of them are bachelors (which is crazy pants) but they are. Anyway my bro's roommate got them some silly Christmas sweaters at Goodwill and they took a silly photo in front of their fireplace. My brother almost didn't give me one because he is afraid of what people will think. I told him to lighten up cuz it is HI-larious! (Brother is on the right).

My Mom and step dad got me all kinds of goodies including a vintage 60's suitcase, a gift certificate to get my car cleaned, underwear from my pal Ashley, black boots and more. However the thing I have used the most already are these adorable knit slippers. Look how cute!

Now I must get back to checking things off my to-do list! Later dudes...

Merry Christmas!

Last but not least here are the ornaments I made for my Dad's little tree. I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Gifts Part 2

I told you there would be a part 2!!! I am in the home stretch and feeling a lot better than I was the other day. I think it is going to all get done. Yay! One thing that has been awesome about making plush gifts for everyone this year is that for some reason they have all come together with little frustration. Every single plush is a new design for me that I have never made before but even so I have not had to start over once! This is a huge accomplishment. It must be the love going into each one.. :) On to the plush!

First I made these Christmas ball monster ornaments the other day. The red one went to a holiday gift exchange and the other is hanging here waiting for someone to receive him (although I'm not even sure who that will be..maybe me).

The next gift is for my brother. He is a fireman and I thought it would be fun to make him some kind of flame or fire plush. While I was browsing the Internet looking for inspiration I came across this guy. After seeing him it was impossible to draw my own design without him looking just like it. Normally I don't like to use anyone else's work as I prefer to draw my own. I think it is more unique and ethical if you know what I mean. I decided because it was just a plush for my brother I would just make the plush exactly like the illustration (just this once).

And lastly I finished my step dad's gift today. My step dad has a nickname that is "wood rat". He is obsessed with woodworking and has made all kinds of wood projects and furniture. For instance I went to their house the other day and found some of my older dolls sticking out of his newest toy box. He sent me this picture later.

So I decided to make him a plush rat that would be holding a "wood" sign that read Wood Rat. I was really really happy with how he came out and wanted to hug him. He is so soft and squeezable! I am happy that all these gifts will be staying in the family though.

That's it for now! There still should be a part 3 coming as I am still working on a couple more gifts but the post might be after Christmas. If I don't post before the holiday I wish you all the best!

Christmas Gifts Part 1

I call this post part 1 because I am working non stop on Christmas gifts and there is bound to be a second post with the second round of gifts. I would like to say that I am a cheery santa's workshop type elf but really I think I resemble a manic crazed elf who has far too much to make and not enough time to do it. I already know that it isn't going to all get done and the part that has me panicked is that there are no funds to buy last minute gifts. I foresee many people opening artfully made IOUs this year.

*sigh*

Jolly aren't I? Before I continue bringing you down (does anyone except my Mom even read this blog?...) on to the gifts!

This gift is for a fun gift exchange I have coming up. I have had a BeBe ice cream cone design in my head for a while and finally made one. I really this she's cute and will probably make more.

And this next gift is for my Mom. I have instructed her not to read my blog until after Christmas but since she checks my blog everyday I am hoping she won't forget and do it out of habit. My Mom has a thing for Christmas carolers so I thought I would make some cute little BeBe carolers. I think they came out so cute!

I made their little books from images on the Internet shrunk down. I think it worked well.

Everything I used to make each doll came from scraps I already had. It feels really good to be able to use stuff from my craft room and not have to run out and buy something every five seconds. The dolls each are about 11 inches tall.

Well I better get back to the slave machine, I mean sewing machine. :)

Plush Team Happenings

Lot's of Plush Team stuff happening around here today. First I was super excited when I saw that Leeanna (Plush Goodness) was having a giveaway on her blog Meet Sam and Pete. Leeanna was giving away one of her super adorable plush mini yetis and of course I just had to enter. Leeanna is a member of the Plush Team and I have coveted her plush for a long time. Oh she is also super nice! And guess what? I won!!!!! Yay me! Little Yardley arrived today and he is so freaking cute and soft. Thanks sooo much to Leeanna for brightening my day and giving me a plush gift. It means a lot to me because times are tough this year and it was looking like I wouldn't get any plushies for Christmas. It makes me happy!

Also I ordered a PlushTeam t-shirt from Skreened the other day and it arrived. Everytime I order an American Apparel shirt I order a large and it is a little snug (this is also a source of shame and embarrassment that a large shirt is too tight). Every time (I have probably 3 American Apparel shirts) I order I think I should just get an x-large and get over it because my shirt would at least fit. So I finally did it when I ordered the Plush Team shirt because I convinced myself that if it was too big I would use my super sewing skills to resize it. I'm not sure why I never thought of that before. Well I got the shirt today and it is huuuuge so now I am going to have to figure out resizing it..or make a dress! I like the shirt though.

WeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEee!!!!!!!! Look at my crazy messy workroom!

Ok that is all for now!

Mac The New Graffiti Monster and Going to Gallery

First I have to say I might be losing my marbles. The holidays are always crazy and I forget every year until the panic sets in and I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I like being my own boss but I really need to stop piling so much on my plate during the holidays. Most days I have 10,000 more things to do than I can complete and I stress SO MUCH about the things I won't get to. Also my studying is suffering and that is just unacceptable! So it feels good to complete such a big project as this and know that one huge thing is off my list.

Remember the graffiti monster I made over the summer? I had started a second one and then had to put him aside (see above paragraph). Well then I got wind of a gallery in Chicago that is putting on a plush show in December. The gallery is called Oh No! Doom which I think is just about the coolest name ever. Lana Crooks is coordinating the show, which is called Soft Served, and she makes the coolest plush ever! I mean look at this and this. It's insane (and admittedly intimidating).

Anyhoo they are letting me in and it is the first gallery show I have ever done. It has been a goal of mine for a long time to get into doing gallery shows but I never seemed to have the time. I like it because it allows me to be creative and work on a design I have never done before. After all that is my favorite thing about making plush!

I decided to send Mr. Lucius the first graffiti monster as well as finish the second one. I had not really done much on the second one so I had a looooong way to go and I have been working on him for what feels like forever. You know me and my details. He's finally done though and I just took some photos of him.

This is the doodle of him when he was first conceived (like a plush baby haha).

And here he is done!

As you can see I changed a few things about him and to be honest I haven't looked at his original picture until I started to write this post and now I wish I would have looked at it sooner. I think I would have done a couple other/different things. But I am really going to stop obsessing about it!

Raaaaaaawwwrrr!

Wanna know a little bit about him? Well he is about 20 inches tall and 13 inches wide. He is made of fake fur, felt and fleece. His eyes are glass and hand painted. I painted in some blood looking spots. The eyes are wired and can be bent in different positions. I love how they came out. He wears a knit beanie and has 12 arms/legs. His paint cans all have paint with three of them standing out as spray.

Blood eyes

Side View

If you are interested in Lucius or Mac check out the Oh No! Doom gallery in December.

Mac does graffiti.

Lucius wants one more photo taken.

Thanks for reading! I have to get back to sewing now!

Y is for Yummy

The fabulous Plush Team will be doing a group show at the HotPop gallery in January and the theme is Candyland. What a great theme!! For the show the team decided to create plush letters that would make up candy themed words. The words would then be strung around the shop amongst the plush pieces. Well you know how I like making plush letters/words so I of course signed up. I was chosen for the first "Y" in Yummy. There were some really great letters being made like this one, this one and this one and I was feeling like I couldn't compete! I decided to look at candy online and I found these rainbow twist lollipops that I thought would be cool in plush.

And here is what I came up with! What do you think?

mmmmmm...yummy

Now I have to come up with what I am going to make for the show itself. Perhaps candy babies....monsters eating candy...I guess I better get cracking.

New and Exciting!!!

One of the number one requests I receive from customers is a baby doll for kids with changeable clothes. The second most common request is a play doll with open eyes. I have accomplished both with this new design! It all started when I was cleaning out my drawers (like usual) and found this doll that I never finished. What happened was somehow the head, body and legs got sewn but no arms. Well each fabric I have is slightly different and the fabric that doll was made from ran out before I was able to get arms sewn. For about a year the doll sat here and I tried to match the fabric but it never happened.

Last week I bought some fabric paints with the intention of painting eyes that would hopefully withstand a washing. Prior to now I used acrylic paint that was durable but not washable which was the reason I did not have open eyed dolls for kids. I decided that the doll that had been stuffed in the drawer would become an experiment. I painted eyes and then after letting it dry tossed the head in the washing machine. I was nervous but so happy when it came out perfect!!! I decided to finish the doll into a huge bundle baby since it didn't have any arms. I listed her in my shop and she was snapped up immediately (maybe I should make more big ones).

Next I started on a design with changeable clothes for kids to play with. Here is the first one, a little girl with sleepy eyes.

I thought she came out super cute but I wanted to alter the pattern to have smaller hands and added ears. I made a little boy next with open eyes.

I spent the day photographing them and trying to come up with a name for the design. They are so soft and floppy, truly a baby doll I would have loved as a little girl. After discussing with my Mom on name ideas I decided to call them Soft Heart BeBes. What do you think?

They measure in at about 15 inches long. Each Soft Heart will come in a velcro diaper, altered onesie, hat and socks. They can have open or sleeping eyes, be a boy or girl and have different skin colors. Do you know a little girl or boy that would like a sweat little baby doll for Christmas? If so please email me if you would like to order. Otherwise I hope to get a couple of these little ones made up and listed in my shop before Christmas. If you like the two shown above you can find the boy in my shop and the girl may be listed as soon as I hear from a customer that may purchase her. And for now here are some additional pictures of them.