New Geeky Printable Stickers and Spray Paint

I just listed some new geeky printable stickers in my printable planner sticker Etsy shop, Little Happy Day. They are html themed and they come in school break, vacation, and trip. Here is an example:

My friend, Jen, suggested that I make a plush spray paint can, so I did. I made it into an ornament and it is currently listed for sale in my kiddomerriweather Etsy shop.

What plushie would you like to see me make next and list in my kiddomerriweather Etsy shop? Keep in mind it can't violate any copyrights or trademarks. Please comment below. I'd love to hear from you.

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.    

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.

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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! :)

Free Stuff at Kat's!

My good pal, Kat, is hosting a giveaway over at her blog, Kitkat's Katchat. Kat is giving away the lovely earring and bracelet set pictured above which she made. The giveaway ends on 10/31. So head on over to Kat's blog to enter. You can also check out Kat's Dawanda shop, Woodle Doodle Dandy Designs,
for more of her awesome handcrafted jewelry.

Marvelous Minnie!

I was thrilled to see a red Royal Air Mail package sticking out of my mailbox this morning because I knew that it was my Cut Out + Keep swap from the fabulous Minnie Burton! I was elated after opening up the package and inspecting the contents! Here is the awesome swap I received from Minnie.

A robot candle.

A felt appliqued tote bag with a sloth on it!

A Pac-Man resin bangle bracelet

English Candy including two Kinder Eggs!

Thank you so much, Minnie! I absolutely love everything you created! If you'd like to see more of Minnie's crafty goodness, you can visit her blog, Minnie Burton Craft.