Craft Show Prep

On December 3rd and 4th, I'll be selling my creations at the St. James Episcopal Church's craft show in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is my first craft show and I'm really excited about it. Being broke as I am, I can't afford to go out and buy displays for my table. I was able to get a ring display for $3 after using a PayPal coupon on eBay. Everything else will have to be homemade.

I was really concerned about what I was going to do about a banner. I happened to have a large amount of off-white felt which made the perfect base for an indoor banner. I ended up stenciling my text on using freezer paper and fabric paint. I printed my logo on card stock, and then "laminated" it with packing tape. I then glued the logo onto the felt. Voila!

I put some old picture frames and a discarded cork board to use as well.  Using a frame, some plastic grid, and some vintage fabric given to me by a friend; I made an earring display.  I made two cushioned pin boards which will display necklaces and cell phone charms out of the remaining frames, the same vintage fabric, and some pillow stuffing.  Finally, my mother brought a cork board home from work that someone was throwing out.  I covered it with the same fabric and I'm going to use is to display my stenciled and appliqued bags.  Here are my results:

 

Click to Enlarge

I'll be posting pictures of my table  when it's all put together.  I'm really proud of my thriftiness by creating my own displays!

Christmas Ornament Swap (Made by Me)

Here are the Christmas ornaments I made for my friend, Heather, for a Christmas Ornament Swap I participated in via my group "Crafty Friends." I didn't really do anything too Christmasy, but I think this suits Heather's style. She really loves woodland themed things. Heather is a super talented gal who crochets like no other! You can see her work at her Etsy shop, Snoodle Studio. I'll definitely be posting pics of the goodies I receive from Heather! I'm sure they'll be super awesome and I can't wait to get them!

Shark Hoodie: Finished

Shark Hoodie: Work In Progress

I began work on the shark hoodie which is a custom order for a friend of a friend. I started with the hard part first, the fin. It took me about 2 hours to construct out of regular felt and stiff felt. It's both sewn and glued. Notice the snaps I added to the bottom. I sewed the other part of the snaps to the backside of the hoodie so the customer can easily remove the fin whenever he wants.

I decided to add gills to this shark hoodie as the customer wanted it to look more menacing.  I couldn't decide on what eyes to use so I've sent some pictures to the customer so he can choose or suggest his favorite eyes.  Here are a couple of the choices.

After I sew on the eyes and gills, all that is left to do are the teeth. I'll post pictures of the finished hoodie as soon as I get it done! Later.

Custom Order: Polar Bear Hoodie

I can finally say I am very happy with how this hoodie turned out. This is one of two custom orders that I am doing for a friend of a friend (the other is a shark hoodie). I started this hoodie the other day at 7 a.m. and by 7 p.m. that night I was "finished" with it, but extremely unhappy. It took me so long to do because I was displeased with how it came out the first go around, so I redid every single part of the polar bear, disassembled it and reassembled it, and then did so at least one more time following that. When I was finally "finished," I discovered a hole behind one of the ears and sewed it up, but it had left a huge blemish. I was just ready to call the hole thing quits! My mom took the hoodie from me and fixed the ears so that they covered the blemish. Then a couple of days later, I picked the bane of my existence back up and simply changed the nose and voila! I think it turned out awesome in the end and I hope the customer loves it as well.

More Scoodies!

This is actually the original scoodie that I made yesterday. Since I thought it looked like it should be worn in a nativity scene, I decided to jazz it up a little. Initially, I was going to make it into a monster scoodie, but after getting two orders for monster hoodies last night I decided to do something cuter. Now it's a mouse. I listed it for sale at House of Plush.

This scoodie is actually for a 4 year old. My niece, Allie, wasn't around, so I couldn't have her model it. It looks really funny on me, but you get the general idea. It's a Vampire Moon Bunny for my friend Sugarlishes' daughter's upcoming birthday. Sug tells her daughters a story about Vampire Moon Bunnies to get them to go to bed, and I had previously made them plushies of the characters. Sug gave me the idea yesterday, so here it is!

I'm currently working on a Little Red Riding Hood Scoodie, then off to work on my two custom hoodies: a shark and a polar bear. Later!

I Made a Scoodie!

This morning I was browsing the projects on Cut Out + Keep and saw all these projects for knitted scoodies. A scoodie is a scarf/hoodie hybrid. Since I can't knit, and have an abundance of fleece; I decided I'd sew one up. I found a tutorial on indietutes, but only read enough of it to learn how to make the pattern. I just winged everything else. If you don't know me by now, I'm not one that likes to follow tutorials because honestly reading and following instructions is quite difficult for me. I'm more of a hands-on learning type crafter, and often just fly by the seat of my pants. This was such an easy project to do and only took me about an hour to complete. The entire thing is hand stitched using a back stitch since I'm sewing machine illiterate. Since this one looks a little too Virgin Mary, I'm going to monsterfy it! I'll be sure to share it with you all once I'm finished.

A Couple of Stenciled Tees

I had a couple of tees I needed to do for my friends, so here is what I created yesterday. (Sorry for the blurry photos.  I used a function on my camera that I hadn't used before and I will not use it again.)

A beard tee for Tara.  She is making me a cool pair of cotton mary janes with skulls on them in return.

Book whore commission for Jessica.  Still not sure what this is all about. :P

Monarch Butterfly Necklace

I made this necklace this morning. The monarch butterfly is one of my favorite symbols as it can represent so many things: perseverance, strength, transformation, etc. . . I used shrink plastic to make the butterfly and used some old bronze chain and findings I'd forgotten about to make the necklace. I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out. It's available for purchase at Cool + Kitschy Creations.

Cute Poo Plushie

Something I never thought I would make: a kawaii plushie modeled after human excrement. I was bored, still had kawaii on the brain after finishing up my Kawaii Swap, and had a surplus of brown felt. Not the most original of creations, but really super cute if I do say so myself.  It's on sale at House of Plush.

A Couple of Swap Projects

I'm catching up on my list o' things to do. This morning, I completed my part of the Kawaii Swap that I'm in on Cut Out + Keep. I decided that I'd have another go at making a 3D plushie. I've only ever made a handful in my life, so I need more practice. Fantastic Toys
has a great pattern and tutorial for kawaii cupcakes. Here is my version.

Although what I made is cute (please excuse the pins, I'm still waiting for the felt glue to dry), I don't think it resembles a cupcake.  To see and make the original, you can go here.

I'm also in a Christmas Ornament swap where I have to make 6 ornaments for one partner.  My partner, Heather, really loves anything woodland themed.  So far I've made a hedgehog, I'm working on a cute little deer, and I made these cool mushrooms.

 

I'll probably be making a gnome ornament similar to this plushie that's in my shop, but smaller of course.

Back to work I go!

Cool + Kitschy Creations Review and Giveaway

The Romantic Type has reviewed one of my Etsy shops, Cool + Kitschy Creations, and is hosting a giveaway for a $15 gift certificate to either Cool + Kitschy Creations or my other shop, House of Plush. This is the first time that another blog has hosted a review and giveaway sponsored by me, so I'm really excited! So head on over to The Romantic Type and get your entries in today!

She's Crafty: Kira

For nearly two years, I've been lucky enough to be a part of an awesome online crafting community called Cut Out + Keep. I've met tons of crafty gals there who not only show me unconditional friendship, but provide me with a lot of inspiration. "She's Crafty" will be a feature I write periodically about my crafty friends. They are definitely women you should know!

Martha Stewart meets Elvira Mistress of the Dark.  That's what I think of when Kira comes to mind.  Kira is the proprietor of Kira's Lil Shop of Horror on Etsy and the author of Crafty Loo's blog.  In Kira's Etsy shop, you'll find mostly cute, horror related crafts such as plushies, jewelry, hair accessories, magnets, and keychains.  Here are a couple of my favorite items from Kira's Lil Shop of Horror.

Vampire Apple Plush

Hot Pink Heart Necklace

On Crafty Loo's blog, Kira gives us a peek at her life, especially when it comes to her shop and her crafting endeavors.  Kira has begun sharing tutorials on her blog.  She was recently a featured author on "It Belongs to Turtle," where she shared a tutorial for making chocolate silhouettes for cupcakes or cakes.

I asked Kira a few questions related to her creative life:

 Me:  Why do you craft and when did you begin crafting?

 Kira:   I think all crafters and artists will say that they've always felt a need for it. The  feeling of just having to do something with your hands or create something. But I've been crafting since I was a kid... drawing mostly, but when I realized that I can make a lot of things I love on my own it was on.

 Me:  What is your favorite medium to work with?

 Kira:   I'm restless, I can't stick to one project very long without wanting to start something new. So it's really hard for me to have a favorite anything.

 Me:  What's a craft that you have made that you are proudest of?

 Kira:   That's hard. I love everything I do in many different ways, I don't have one specific item I love the most.

 Me:  Who/what are your biggest influences and inspirations?

 Kira:   My parents. My mom honestly is the type of person that can pretty much make anything she looks at and my dad was always doodling on things. So I would have to say they are probably the biggest influences, other than Martha Stewart...

 Me:  What can we expect to see from you in the near future?

 Kira:   Ohhhh, I have lots of things in the works (rubs hands together menacingly). I'm hoping to get some t-shirts out, larger versions of my pilla' monsters and possibly some christmas ornaments. But I'm always writing down new ideas for my shop so you'll just have to keep a look out.

 Kira also plans to veer in a direction other than just her horror related items, but don't fret!  Kira assures me that she will always be making creepy crafts.  You can keep up with Kira at her shop, her blog, and her Facebook Fan Page!  Thank you, Kira!  

What I've Been Up To

I think I may have mentioned that I was in a bit of a crafting slump about a week ago. I had so many projects to do, but just no motivation to make anything. Not being able to create led me to become very depressed and I just didn't see an end in sight. I'm happy to report that the slump is over, and I'm crafting again! I'm not working at the furious pace I had been for several months, and that's probably a good thing because I believe that's what led to my burnout. Emotionally, I feel happy lately and I'm very optimistic about life. I've not felt this way for . . . well I really can't remember feeling this way. I've made some positive changes in my personal life and I'm moving forward. I also have a second job interview for a position with a company that I really really want. I'm very hopeful about my prospects as I have many years of experience doing this type of work. On to what I've been making recently.

I procured several rolls of fleece remnants from the remnant basket at Hobby Lobby recently. I'd never really worked with fleece before, but enjoyed making plushies out of it simply because it's so soft and snuggly. I ran across a tutorial on deviantART the other day about how to make fleece hats. It looked simple enough, so I drew a similar pattern to the one the artist used (I don't have easy access to a printer so I just drew the pattern free hand). Due to my hands-on learning style, it's difficult for me to follow written tutorials. I just really have to do the whole trial and error method when creating. So I did what I thought would work, and hand sewed my first felt hat! It came out a little wonky because my pattern wasn't accurate. I decided to add bunny ears and a kawaii face to it. Here is the finished product.

I did a little more research on the pattern because I wanted to make one for my friend, Ruby, to send her as a part of the Kawaii Swap we're participating in on Cut Out + Keep.  I found a pattern somewhere on the web that was made by using all these metric measurements.  Since I'm horrible at following directions and doing Math, it took me a little while to draw up the pattern, but I finally did it!  This time the hat came out more uniform.  I made a duck because that's Ruby's favorite animal.

I wasn't lazy this go around, so I added a brim to make it look finished.  It took me all day because again I only sew by hand, but I'm very pleased with the results.  I've still got one or two more projects to do for this swap, but I've not settled on an idea or ideas yet.

I have so much more on my list of things to do!  Since I lost about a week and a half due to my slump; I'm behind.  I have two t-shirts to stencil, an ornament swap to work on (I have one of six completed), a pair of earrings to make, and a blog feature to write.  I'm trying my best not to become overwhelmed, especially with the job interview coming up tomorrow.  I guess it's off to work on my list now!

It Was A Happy Halloween!

I'm the third zombie from the left.

Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday, but unfortunately the past few years have been pretty lackluster because I didn't really have anyone to celebrate it with. This year was the best Halloween I've had in a long time! First, I got out of my creative slump and made a pumpkin plushie for my niece (see previous post) which she loved. While playing JMKit's Halloween game, which was released yesterday, I noticed that I make a cameo as a zombie at the end (see picture above). How awesome is that? To be featured in a game made by your favorite artist is really an honor, and as a zombie nonetheless! Finally, I spent the evening making cute little Halloween treat bags with my friend Jason. I hadn't seen Jason in several years and we had tons of laughs while catching up. He just bought a new home and this was his first year handing out treats to the neighborhood kids and I was glad to help out. I didn't wear a costume, but wore a $5 tee I bought at Walmart that had a rib cage and a stitched up heart on it. My monster hoodie came in handy as the night got colder. I did get a little freaked out at one point during the night. The street was free of trick or treaters and I looked up and saw Michael Myers lumbering down the street. He stopped in the middle of the street and turned around and stared at us for a few seconds. The costume was really good, so I was a bit uneasy for a few minutes. lol Even though I didn't get all dressed up and attend any parties, I still had a great time! Thanks to my great friends and Michael Myers for making this a very memorable Halloween!

Happy Halloween

Pumpkin plushie I made for my niece, Allie, for Halloween this year.

Here's wishing all of you a very happy and safe Halloween!

A Gift from JMKit

I received this gift from JMKit yesterday. Yesterday was a really rough day to say the least and finding this in my inbox was a very welcome surprise.  This is my MiKit holding my two cats, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.  Thank you JMKit for brightening up my day! :) 

If you're not already familiar with JMKit, do yourself a favor and visit their site.  You'll find tons of cute characters, free downloads and printables, games, and awesome merchandise.  So go already! :)

The Blooming Thread

Fourth on my list of retail addictions (behind craft supplies, handbags, and shoes) are pouches. I don't what draws me to these little mini zippered bags, but for some reason I can never have too many. I recently won the cutest little pouch from The Blooming Thread. I've been entering a lot of giveaways lately in order to stock up on Christmas presents since I'm still unemployed, and was thrilled when I saw that The Blooming Thread blog was offering up this little goody as a prize. (Of course I knew if I was lucky enough to win it, I wouldn't be gifting it to anyone. This entry was purely self-serving).

I just love the fabric that Ryan, the talent behind The Blooming Thread, chose and the zipper placement on this pouch. Ryan's shop is full of these modern looking little pouches. It's refreshing to see this different style and fabric as Etsy is currently inundated with top loading zippered pouches made of Amy Butler fabric.

The Blooming Thread also carries other hand stitched items such as totes, handbags, pin cushions, sachets, and wall art that are also quite fabulous.  Ryan also has a cute little blog and Facebook fan page, where she sometimes offers deals to her fans. 

Thanks to Ryan for this giveaway prize!  I'll definitely be back to your shop in the future.

Thank You Mr. Churchill

I made this after having a cruddy week and even cruddier weekend.

The Shark Hoodie

I'm super stoked about this creation! I received a request in my House of Plush Etsy shop the other day from a customer who wanted a shark hoodie as a Halloween costume similar to the monster hoodie I currently have listed. At first, I wasn't going to take the order because of my lack of confidence in my abilities, especially when it came to making the fin. While mulling it over, I googled "shark hoodie" to kind of get an idea of how this thing was supposed to look and I found a tutorial for a children's shark hoodie by Martha Stewart. Her instructions on how to attach the fin made of "industrial felt" (which I had never heard of) did not help me in the least, but I found her templates for the eyes and fin to be quite useful (I referenced it while making the eyes and fin for this hoodie).  

After discussing it with the customer, I finally committed to making it, but let her know that if I encountered any problems with the fin; I'd let her know immediately so she could make other arrangements for Halloween.  I went shopping for supplies the following day and was thrilled to find the illusive industrial felt that Ms. Stewart had mentioned in her tutorial.  It was a different color grey than the hoodie, so I sewed regular charcoal colored felt on each side of the industrial felt to make sure the fin had a more uniform look when attached to the hoodie.

I wanted to find a way for the customer to be able to attach and remove the fin easily.  Velcro seemed to be the easiest answer, but would be really noticeable if the customer wasn't wearing the fin.  I opted for sew on metal snaps instead and they worked really well!

I shipped the shark hoodie off yesterday and I can't wait to hear back from my customer!  I've already gotten a lot of positive feedback on this project from friends and family.  I hope my customer is as thrilled with the results as I am!

If you'd like me to make you a custom shark, monster, or creature hoodie, feel free to contact me and we'll work it out!