So Stoked!

 

Inspired by my bipolar medication yet again, I decided to make a prescription pill bottle plushie.  I submitted the project to Craft Foxes.  My plushie is now one of the featured projects on their front page!  They even featured it on their Facebook page.  I am so stoked about this!  

You can purchase this cute little plushie in my Etsy shop. 

Give Us This Day Our Daily Meds

My latest creation was inspired by the numerous prescription pill bottles sitting on my dresser. I have to take medicine daily for my bipolar disorder, depression, and ADD, so the phrase "daily meds" came to mind as I stared at the orange bottles. Swap "daily meds" for "daily bread" and voila!

My mom pointed out that my new embroidery is very sacrilegious, but I think Jesus has a sense of humor. You can purchase this item here.

Happy Shark Week!

This post is a little late as shark week is wrapping up, but I thought I'd share what I made in honor of shark week.  I did some felt embroidery of a great white shark which I think came out pretty awesome.  It's been featured in several treasuries on Etsy.  It's available for purchase here.

And the Winner Is . . .

lin3arossa! Congratulations on winning the 5 pairs of earrings from Mylana! I have sent the winner an e-mail and she has 48 hours to respond with her mailing information or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you all for making this giveaway a success!

Mylana Review and Giveaway

I first became familiar with Mylana, an Etsy shop specializing in handmade soaps, candles, and jewelry, back in April of 2011 when I joined the April's Army Team on Etsy. I was able to try out Mylana's Light Spice Soap as Clare, the owner of Mylana, was offering it at a special discount. The soap is absolutely fabulous! It has a warm, earthy fragrance and is infused with patchouli essential oil which is my favorite. (Yes, I'm a hippie at heart!).  So when Clare asked me to do a review of some of her handmade products, I jumped at the chance.

When I received my review package from Clare, I felt like it was Christmas Day!  Clare sent me the most lovely jewelry and a couple of samples of her signature soaps.  The best way I can describe Clare's jewelry is that it is modern with a vintage feel to it.  I received two necklaces.  This first one is my favorite because it has vibrant blue beads, and I've been on a blue kick lately.  

The second necklace I received is a choker type beaded necklace.  I love the textured silver beads and the glass lampwork beads on this necklace.  Both necklaces have a toggle clasp closure, so they're super easy to wear.

 

Clare also sent me a beautiful beaded bracelet with a fun little silver card charm attached at the end.

I also received a sample of Mylana's The Great Outdoors, Pine and Clove Cold Process Soap.  I'm not a huge fan of pine scent, but the mixture of the pine and clove aromas together is really pleasing to the senses.  This actually may be one of my new favorites.  I was also sent a sample of Mylana's Awake Fragrance Blend Cold Process Soap.  It's a blend of citrus, rosemary, and mint and it smells absolutely divine!  Yet another new favorite of mine.  

Mylana also has lots of great candles in stock.  Clare carries votive, pillar, and jar candles.  Mylana is definitely a diverse shop with a little something for everyone on your gift list.  Her fragrance line caters to nearly every taste.   


Clare provides excellent customer service which I can vouch to firsthand.  She also offers free pick up if you live in the Murfreesboro, Tennessee area (just use the coupon code LOCAL to receive free shipping).  Clare is the Captain of the Middle Tennessee Etsy Team and she would love for any fellow Middle Tennesseans on Etsy reading this to join the team.


Clare is generously giving away 5 pairs of her handmade earrings (yes, I said five) to one lucky reader!  That's one pair for each weekday!  

 How to Enter:

You MUST be a follower of this blog in order to qualify to win this prize.  If you're not already a follower, simply click the "Join this Site" button on down the page and to the right of this post.  Then visit Mylana and come back here and comment on this post with the name of your favorite item from the shop.  This entry is MANDATORY.  Please leave your e-mail address or Etsy shop address in your comment so I have a way of contacting you if you're the winner. 

To gain EXTRA ENTRIES, you can:

1. Like Mylana on Facebook.  (Leave a separate comment below with your FB username).
2. Follow Mylana on Twitter.  (Leave a separate comment bellow with your Twitter username). 

That's 3 possible entries per person.  You must leave separate comment for each entry for your entries to count.  You must complete the mandatory entry or the extra entries will not count.  This giveaway is open worldwide.  The giveaway will be open from July 15, 2011 to July 22, 2011 at 6 a.m. EST.  The winner will be chosen at random using the random number generator from Random.org.  The winner will be contacted by e-mail or through Etsy convo and will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.  One winner will receive the 5 pairs of handmade earrings pictured above from Mylana which is a $60 value.  I was paid no money for this review.  I received free products for the purpose of review and giveaway.  All the opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.

Shop Updates & A Giveaway Tomorrow!

Yes, I've been neglecting the blog lately. I remember when I used to post 2 or 3 times a day! I've been busy working on custom orders and new items for House of Plush on Etsy. Here are three items that I listed today.

Sleeping Sloth Plushie

Black and Plaid Cat Plushie

Felt Campfire Play Set

My Christmas in July sale is going on right now.  Simply use the coupon code JULYXMAS at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase.  You can also "like" my updated Facebook page by clicking the "like" button on the right sidebar of my blog to receive more shop updates.

I will be doing a review and giveaway tomorrow of Mylana, a shop on Etsy that specializes in handmade soaps, jewelry, and candles.  So check back here on Friday to enter to win some great prizes!

Sublime Stitching Giveaway!

Head on over to The Cartoon Lovin' Mama
and enter for a chance to win a La Petite Embroidery Kit from Sublime Stitching. I'm really excited about this review and giveaway because I learned to embroider using Sublime Stitching products and tutorials. The giveaway ends on July 3, 2011 at midnight CST.

Free Embroidery Pattern

Here is a simple embroidery pattern I designed. Feel free to use it to stitch to your heart's content. Just right click on the image and save it to your computer. You can resize the image prior to printing if you'd like another size. I just got a new iPhone and wanted to use my scanner app, so I thought this would be a good way to do so! Have fun!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turn 33 years old. I still feel like I'm a 10 year old! My 33rd birthday promises to be like any other day. I'm currently organizing my craft room which doubles as my bedroom. I've been working on this daunting task for three days now, and it feels as if there is no end in sight. Here is the family cat, Mr. Bob, "helping" me straighten up.

Look at the cute gifts my 3 year old niece, Allie, picked out for me all by herself! She gave them to me early because she wanted to make sure that I liked them. Of course I loved them. They are probably the best gifts I've ever received because she hand picked them.

My best friend, Adam, celebrated his 35th birthday with family yesterday, but we will be meeting up later today to celebrate mine. He is a huge Gary Busey fan. I decided to make him an angry Gary Busey plushie for his birthday. Gary has gone a little "off" in my version and forgotten his shoes.

To celebrate my birthday, I'm offering 33% off in my Etsy shop this weekend when you use the coupon code HAPPY33 at checkout. This offer is not good on custom orders or gift certificates. So head on over to House of Plush and take advantage of this deal!

Look What I Got In The Mail!

I recently participated in a matchbox swap on Cut Out + Keep. I was lucky enough to get paired with one of my favorite crafters, biggest inspirations, and a good friend: Alejandra. I won't post pics of what I sent to Alé as she hasn't received her package yet. I loved the matchbox and all of the little goodies inside (I'm a sucker for miniature things), but I was in awe of the surprise rag doll that she sent along with it!

My altered matchbox and goodies from Alé.

The beautiful rag doll that Alé made for me!  I've named her Molly.

My 33rd birthday is this coming Friday, so this was a wonderful early birthday gift to receive!  Thanks so much, Alé.  You made my day!

A Blog You Should Read

I'm proud to state that one of my custom order plushies from Etsy, Captain Kidd, is not only currently globe trotting, but he's also raising awareness and money to help in the fight to cure leukemia and Multiple myeloma. He started out here in Tennessee and since then has been to Alabama, California, Chile, and various other destinations. Next is the Netherlands. Check out The Adventures of Captain Kidd
to learn about the origins of Captain Kidd and his trip around the world. Here he is recently in Morro Bay, California.

I wish Captain Kidd and his traveling companion all the best on their adventures!

What I've Been Working On

This year has been pretty busy for me. I've gotten several custom orders for plushies and that's what I spend the majority of my time doing these days. Here are a few of the custom orders that I've done this year.

"Imagination Movers"

Snape from "Harry Potter"

Pirate Captain

Pink Turtle

Purple Turtle

Adipose Baby from "Dr. Who"

Donna Noble from "Dr. Who"

David Tennant from "Dr. Who"

 

Those are just a few of the things I've been working on this year (these within the past month).  If you're ever curious as to what I'm up to,  you can always visit my deviantART profile.  If you'd like to place an order for a custom plushie, you can either e-mail me or contact me in my Etsy shop.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know I haven't posted at all this year, but thought that this might be as good a time as any to start. I want to wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day whether you're single or not (still single here). Here is a Valentine plushie that I made for my grandmother. It's cupid, complete with polymer clay bow and arrow.

I've been doing a lot of plushies since December and have improved quite a bit. I don't know if I'll get around to posting pics of the plushies I've made over the past few months on this blog. If you're interested in seeing what I've been up to, you can view all my creations on deviantART.

Much love,