Floppy Ears…

Good morning!   I just finished up this giant bunny for Tweak.  He is very large and his ears are quite floppy, although they can be flipped up also.

This bunny was made with a new fur.  Originally, I thought it was grey, but upon closer inspection it’s dark chocolate underneath, with white and black frosted tips, which give the illusion of grey.  It’s very fun for an Easter/spring bunny!

This small blue bunny is also new!  I love the teal/ rusty orange combination.  This guy is 12 inches.

The two bunnies got along right away and even cuddled  for a bit!

It’s a beautiful day and it’s going to get into the mid 70’s, so I need to take advantage of it!

I wanted to share a great blog post by Plushmaker Abby Glassenberg about having integrity in our work.  Just read it, it’s great! You’ll have to google “While She Naps”  blog.

Yours in crafting,

Grey Hare

This is my work today.  It will eventually be a large grey bunny with an incredibly funky sense of fashion.  Enjoy the weather!

Yours in crafting,

 

Have a great weekend!

I was at Trader Joe’s yesterday, to pick up a few things and the woman said to me, “Have a great weekend”.  But, I am always sewing on the weekends and I don’t give myself Saturday off.  I guess it’s just a conventional, congenial expression.  I’ve been busy building up my inventory because I have a goal to reach.  There are a few big craft shows that I would like to participate in this summer and one of them is in San Francisco!  That could be a fun road trip!

I had a custom request this week from Tara from Tweak.  Her friends just had twins and a twin gift was in order.

The lions are for siblings – a boy and a girl and they have custom embroidery on the back for a more personal gift.

These two were a fun challenge and I hope the parents like them!

It’s back to sewing for this girl… Yours in crafting…

 

 

Springtime Cuteness…

Well, it was warm last week and one day even got up to 80 F which was balmy.  Now this week it’s a bit chillier again(60’s) and last night it rained all night.  I woke up thinking that Los Angeles would be a bit greener today from the rainfall and I felt like it was Spring.  Nothing says spring quite like baby hedgehogs(hoglets) and bunnies.

 

The bunny is made of a nice mint green faux fur and for her shirt I used vintage fabric.  This flowery fabric is from the late 60’s/early 70’s and reminds me of something that Marsha Brady would have worn.  I got the fabric new from a Silverlake art/craft/vintage show that I was in last year.  It was a couple yards of never used fabric that the woman got from an estate sale.  Such a great find!

The hoglet has neon glasses which I love.  I’d like to have a pair of those bright pink glasses for myself.

Today I am working on a lion and another hoglet.  I’m off to go for a walk and stop by Tweak to see how my gang of softies are doing there.

Oh and if you are into movies, I just saw “Safety Not Guaranteed” with Jake Johnson, Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass and I thought it was great!  Check it out.

Yours in crafting,

Studio Envy…

Yesterday my husband and I did a big cleaning of the apartment.  Lots of scrubbing of walls and vacuuming into deep corners etc.  There is a great sense of relief and calm that follows a deep clean.  I spent most of the day organizing my craft cupboard and purging bags of scrap material, wool felt and just general craft things that I didn’t need or use anymore.  It took hours of spreading it all out and scrutinizing over each bit to make sure I wouldn’t be using it.  I am quite proud of my efforts and can breathe with a sense of extra ease.  Our apartment is from the early sixties and on the smallish side and  our hallway to the bedroom can be closed off as a separate room called a dressing hall.  So, although we have a lot of cupboard space, I have one small closet that is designated for my craft supplies.  You see, I don’t have a sewing studio, I am portable.  When I wish to make something, I have to pull everything out of the closet that I need.  Here is a photo.

I apologize for my husband’s shoes.  Here is a close-up.

So, considering my lack of space, I’m sure you can imagine just how unruly this cupboard can become!

I have to admit that I have studio envy at times.  When I am reading one of my favorite blogs and there is a studio space snapshot, I feel my skin fading to a dull green.  There is even  a magazine all about studio spaces, but I don’t have the nerve or the stomach to pick it up.  So, for now I just dream of a studio space to call my own.   Maybe I should form a support group for all of the crafters lacking a studio space.  We’ll call it – LSSA.  Lack of Studio Space Anonymous.

In other news, I finished a giant Koala.  He is quite precious and the size of a toddler.

My favorite part about him/her are the shoes.

I had better go as today is a day for bunnies and bears.  Here is one more…

Yours in crafting,

Hello Japan!

I’ve got 63 hits from Japan today and so I just wanted to say hello to Japan and thank-you(Domo Arigato) for looking at my blog!  I love Japan and I have had a lot of Japanese friends because I used to live in Whistler, B.C.  Whistler is known for having many Japanese and Aussies too, who come for the winter season to ski/snowboard and some of them love it so much, they never leave!

So Hey there Japan and I hope to see you again! 

Yours in crafting,

Down Under Cuteness

I love Koala bears.  I have since I was a child.  I used to have a stuffed one.  I also used to have a little clip on furry koala.  You would pinch his arms and he would clip onto your shirt or bag.  So, introducing Kroeger and baby Sampson.

Kroeger is 19 inches and Sampson is 12 inches.  They were so much fun to make and I like that they are wearing the same outfit.  I listed them in my shop today if you absolutely need to have one of them!

The pants consist of wool from the great shop in my sister’s hometown in Florence, MA.  I received it for Christmas and I am glad that I used it for these two.

I love these outdoor photos of the koalas.  I took them up to the roof and they immediately started goofing around in the ficus trees.

What a beautiful blue sky we have today here in West Hollywood!

In other news, I watched the documentary “Food for Change” last night and although some of it I already knew, it was nice to see different aspects and opinion bundled into this film.  It really made me think a lot about health and how much our diet is part of our overall health.  I ate a salad and an apple last night for dinner and I really focused on my mood afterwards and how good I felt from feeding my body such a healthy dinner.  I think everyone can benefit from watching this documentary.

Alright, now speaking of health, it’s time to go for a hike up into the hills and get my blood pumping.  Yours in crafting,

February

February has been a busy and exciting time for me creatively.  I just finished up these guys to take to Tweak today.  These are the small sized softies(12 inches).

I just love the little lions!  I am using a golden short brushed cashmere for the faces.  It is quite pricey – $95.oo/yard, but so worth it.  It goes so well with the french faux fur.

I couldn’t resist putting a little bit of Valentines into this order.  The raccoon has a beautiful festive cape on.

He is a loving Super Raccoon!

And the secret behind his cape are jean pockets.

On Thursday, only two days ago, two transformers on our street blew up early in the morning.  We had to go the whole day without power.  This wasn’t too bad as we had candles,  and a portable wind-up radio and flashlights.  I had to use natural light to cut and hand sew what I could.  We went for out for lunch which was nice.  I am not complaining about the power outage because at least the weather is mild here.  I can’t imagine what they are going through in New England where there is a major snowstorm and lots of power outages.  Minus the Manifesto Killer that is on the loose, I wish I was up at Big Bear where they received a major dump of snow.  Alas, instead of being up to my knees in powder snow, I am up to my eyeballs in polyfil stuffing.

Yours in crafting,

A Chipmunk off the old block…

I love chipmunks.  They are the cutest little woodland animals.  I used to feed one when I was a kid.  His name was Chippy and he loved peanuts.

I used wool felt for the black strips and I hand-stitched them onto his cashmere brown wool fur.  I needlefelted the white strip on top of the black stripe.

I also put stuffing under the wool on his cheeks for a “puffy” chipmunk, nut-hoarding face.   He also has denim pockets on the back of his jeans.

I wanted to personally thank all of my friends and admirers for your support.  Your feedback means a lot to me and you are greatly appreciated.  Yours in crafting,

Buckingham the Badger loves you!

I have been really wanting to make an english badger for some time now.  They are pretty cute animals in my opinion because of their markings.  I named my Badger Buckingham.  Now that he is finished,  he kind of looks like a boxer puppy or a panda bear – but I am sticking to the fact that he is a badger.

I don’t think that badgers have teal eyes, but I couldn’t resist.

This badger’s  shirt is made with the awesome designer Liz Scott’s fabric.  This fabric is so fun!

He also has hearts on his backside as I am inspired by the fast approaching Valentine’s Day.

As far as Foxy Mc Heartpants is concerned, she is definitely smitten and happy to have a new best friend!

Well, it’s a nice Sunday morning and time for a hike up into the hills.  I need to bring my camera sometime when I go to show you how pretty it is up there, but I just don’t want to sweat all over it.  It’s a bit gruelling and steep in some parts.  Someday…Yours in crafting,