Holiday Ornaments!

Ooooh, hello lovelies...just in time to decorate your holiday tree, little handmade fabric ornaments - lil' versions of the larger ones in my shop.  Dontcha just want to eat 'em up?  I don't know why everything is cuter in miniature. 

Rock N Roll, Baby.

Yay, I got to peddle plushies at Rock N Roll Craft Show on Thanksgiving Weekend!  Gnomes, elves, vikings, trees, mushrooms, ornaments, and my new favorite, Big Fat Rainbow Pillows.  Thanks to all who came out and supported a great local show!

Girl Power - Winter Elves

 

 It occurred to me, all of a sudden, that all I have been creating lately are Boys!  Gnomes, elves, all boys!  I have a little boy, so I think it's just a natural tendency to make boy-centric plushies sometimes. Well, you know I have to represent the girls too so I finally sketched something out...here are my initial sketches, straught from ye olde sketch book.  I think the hair I sketched is a little emo...and weirdly androgynous.  I ended up making it like finger waves, kind of Betty Boop.  Aren't they cute in their little coats with their peter pan collars and muffs and gloves? 

 

Patternless Plush - Winter Strawberries

 They're only my favorite fruit in the whole world!  Alas, they are not in season, but you can still have strawberries in the winter.  Practically the very first moment when the weather feels winter-y, I find myself searching in my fabric closet for scraps of felted wool and thick, nubby fabrics to use in small upcycling projects.  I covet scraps of bright red wool and save them to make tiny strawberries...nothing is more adorable than a tiny plush fruit.  I defy you to try to find something cuter!  

Okay, boys and girls...I'm going to share the secret with you so you can make your very own.  No pattern necessary, which is why it's part of the Patternless Plush series.  Here's what you need to get started:

SUPPLIES:
scraps of thick red wool
scraps of green wool
needle and thread
white embroidery thread & embroidery needle
scissors
small handful of polyfill or other stuffing 

See those pieces of red wool?  Heavenly!  See, this is why crafters save everything.  Those discarded scraps will become something marvelous.  The first thing you do is cut out a strawberry shape, front and back.  Lay two pieces of wool together and cut out two tapered half-ovals.  Remember that when you sew the body shape, it will make the strawberry a lot smaller, so cut out a shape a little bigger than what you want the final plushie to be.   Now, cut out some leaves.  Make some small, some bigger, a little variety is nice.

No plush fruit of mine will be faceless!  Embroider a face on one on the body pieces. It will help here if you know one of two basic embroidery stitches - a back stitch or a chain stitch - easy-peasy.  You can see here that each eye is three back-stitches wide with two eyelashes and the mouth is two back-stitches.

Now, place the right sides together and stitch around the edge, leaving a small opening at the top.  You can use a sewing machine OR hand stitch this part, it really doesn't matter.  Turn the strawberry inside out and, hey!  You're halfway done!

Put some stuffing into the strawberry.  I like a firm strawberry!  Choose three green leaves.  Insert the green leaves into the opening of the strawberry and, while holding the opening shut and the leaves in place, stitch the strawberry closed. 

Boy, is he cute or what? 

Art Outside

It's high time I posted pictures from my favorite event of the year, Schlafly's Art Outside in September.  Do you know how much plush it takes to fill a 10x10 foot tent?  A whole lot.  Each time I do a show this big, I learn a little bit more about the joy and the agony of being your own business.  It's a little scary being on display like that, but at the same time, I get so much positive feedback that it's totally worth it.   Of course, my awesome mom came to help me out and that makes it so much better. 

This year, I debuted *new* full-size vikings, rainbows, sloths, sleepy ponies and gnomes.
Enjoy!