40% Off for a Limited Time!!!

For a limited time, I'm offering 40% off your entire purchase before shipping when you use coupon code INEEDASALE at checkout. This offer is not good on custom orders or made to order items. You must use the coupon at the time of checkout and no refunds will be given for forgotten coupons. I'm in desperate need of some sales or I may have to shut my Etsy shop down. The listing fees are much more than the amount I'm bringing in (I've only made two small sales this month). I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a look around my Etsy shop and see if there is anything you might like to have. Thanks so much for your time.

My New Logo

I'm so stoked about my new logo! It represents me and my mascot, Charlie the sloth. I commissioned it from SugarOverkill. Michéle Liza Pelayre is the talent behind the company. Her influences are Japanese pop culture, kawaii, goth, punk, and Harajuku. Michéle is currently taking commissions for illustrations and tattoo designs. If you're interested, you can send Michéle an e-mail.  You can also connect with Michéle on deviantART and Facebook. 

I also commissioned my good friend, Jeanette Wummel, the owner of The Roots of Design to make another chibi of me and Charlie.  I know, I'm a little vain aren't I?  I just love seeing my characters (yes, I'm a character) drawn by different artists.  I think Jeanette made me and Charlie look so stinkin' cute!  Jeanette is also currently taking commissions for chibis.  If you're interested, just send her an e-mail.

I want to thank both Michéle and Jeanette for creating such awesome pieces of art for me!  You all have made the past two days really special. 

My New Shoes

Photo courtesy of Dessah Harrison

Believe it or not, these fabric flats were made out flip flops!  They were made by my good friend, Dessah Harrison, owner of Dessah Kristene Designs.  These flats are super comfy.  The soles are squishy flip flop soles and the ever annoying thong piece has been removed.  Thank you, Dessah, for such an awesome pair of shoes!  If you'd like to commission Dessah for a pair of fabric flip flop flats, send her a convo on Etsy.  Also check out her shop for some super cool downloadable sewing patterns.  Her Coffee Cozy Keychain Sewing Pattern is such an ingenious idea.    

Little Paintings

I've always said that I hate to paint. It's because I'm not very good at it. However, I've been on a painting kick as of late. I've been using acrylics as my medium for ATC's (artist trading cards). I found a killer deal the other day on eBay and purchased 7 mini canvases with easels. I've already used three of them today and they just arrived in the mail this afternoon! The canvases are 3 by 3 inches. I like working on a small scale. It's probably because of my ADD and inability to focus on any task for too long. Here are the little paintings that I made today.

"Cupcake" for a swap on swap-bot.

"Sitting Sloth"

"Self Portrait"

Smash Books, Mini-Zines, and ATC's, Oh My!

I've been trying to branch out to other crafts besides sewing. I'll have to say I'm a little burnt out on Dotee dolls at this point. Yesterday I decided to make myself a Smash Book. A Smash Book is like a journal that you put random stuff in. K and Company has an awesome line of Smash Books and embellishments. I thought it would be more fun to create my own. I painted a composition notebook and added stickers and other elements to the cover.

So far, I've started one page in my Smash Book. The page includes two mini-zines that I completed yesterday. There is a current swap on swap-bot called "Fill It." For this swap, you download a page with prompts on it, fill in your details, draw some pictures, and then fold it mini-zine style. HERE is the blog that explains the project and where you can find the downloadable prompt sheets.

I've also been working on some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards). I made this Frida Kahlo ATC for a tag on swap-bot.

I actually painted a Studio Ghibli inspired ATC for a swap. I usually hate painting, but this was really fun to do. I only hate painting because it's something that I'm not particularly good at. Here's my winter themed Soot Sprite.

I've not decided what I'll work on today. Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up sewing, I'm just taking intermittent breaks. I actually completed two plushies yesterday as well (I was super busy!). The first one is a felt doll for a swap.

The tutorial and pattern can be found at The Purl Bee.

I also made a Spock plushie for an upcoming commission next month. I am to make 3 more Star Trek characters for this order.

A Few Swaps

My creativity level has been low lately. Inspiration and motivation does not come easily these days. I'm not happy unless I create at least one thing each day, so in an effort to gain inspiration and motivation; I've been immersing myself in swaps on Cut Out + Keep, swap-bot, and The League of Extraordinary Crafters (a.k.a. LXC -- a Facebook group full of crafty men and women to which I belong). I thought I'd share a few things I've made for some swaps.

Zombie Swap on Cut Out + Keep

Grimm's Fairy Tale Swap with my friend, Tara.

Pick 5 Swap on the LXC

I have also been making Dotee dolls for swaps. I've been receiving some really awesome Dotee's as well. Here is the monkey Dotee I made for my friend, Alé for a Dotee swap I hosted on the LXC.

Here are the amazing things that Alé sent to me for the same swap: a sloth Dotee, la Virgen de Gualalupé soft sculpture, a matryoshka Dotee, and little bag of goodies.

Here is my Dotee collection thus far. I have them hanging by push pins on my wall. I can't wait to fill up the empty spaces.