Cuteable

My Elyria unicorn was featured on Cuteable today!

Tiny Shop Update

The two lovely unicorns above are now available in my Etsy shop. I will be adding a few more over the next few days. In the meantime, check out the rest of the bunch on Flickr! 

Thoughtful Thursday - Community

Sorry for the lack of words and pictures lately. (I promise this post is not a downer, but if you don't want to hear my brief grumbling, go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. :) I've been feeling a little burnt out and a little lost. I spend all day at work thinking about sewing and about all the cool crafty things I want to do. Then I get home and, by the time I've taken care of the dogs and dinner, the only thing I can think of doing is curling up on the couch with a good book or some trashy TV. Please tell me you guys all go through this stuff too?

But yesterday I forced myself to sit down at my sewing table and just push through it. Fake it til' you make it, right? Well, it worked. I started to feel energized again and I was disappointed when bedtime rolled around. The other thing that helped was the support and encouragement of other crafters.

As much as I bemoan the Internet sometimes for the way it often replaces face-to-face interactions, it is a great tool for instant support and feedback. I love being able to reach out instantly, via e-mail, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, to so many awesome like-minded people. I've made many wonderful connections, and I appreciate beyond measure their kind words, encouragement, stories, problem-solving skills, openness, and laughs shared.

Through the connections I've made online, I've actually met a lot of great people since in the real world, like Laura, who is so, so awesome. And, it turns out we have mutual friends. Weird, right? But in a good way.

Without this community of awesome crafters, I couldn't do what I do. So a big, huge, corny but heartfelt thank you to all of you. Know that even if I don't always say so, your words and ideas are endlessly inspiring and encouraging. An extra big thanks to Laura, Kate, and Lisa for your help this week! Props to Isara too—I love our lunchtime crafty sessions, even though I'm bad at scheduling them!

August Goals

(image: Modish Biz Tips)

I want to keep up the great creating momentum I had in July, so most of my goals this month will center around just being creative and actually DOING.

1. Work out pattern design for one new plushie. This might be ambitious because I'll be starting from scratch, unlike the two I made in July, which were based on previous designs of mine. But if I can at least get a good start, I'll be happy.


2. Sew, sew, sew. More concretely, make at least 6 new plushies.


3. Make a list of what needs to be done to gear up for the show/holiday season. It seems like almost cheating to have a goal to make a list of goals, but there's so much to be done before my big selling season of the year. I don't want to get caught off-guard when the rush finally hits again, so making a list of everything that needs doing will be crucial to my success. And sanity!


4. Spruce up the ol' shop. This week I caught the tail end of Etsy's Virtual Lab about turning browsers into buyers (if you missed it, read the notes). Daniellexo presented lots of great, easy-to-do tips that I can implement with little effort. First up: retake photos to replace some lackluster ones.

And I think I'll leave it at that. It may well be a tad more than I can actually accomplish, but again, I'm counting on some momentum to carry me through.

Here's to a happy, productive August, everyone!

July Goal Status

I'm at last happy to report that I fared better than usual this month with my goals. Let's break it down:

1. Complete and turn in application for this year's No Coast Craft-o-Rama. Status: complete.
   The deadline is actually later than I first thought (August 31 instead of August 1), but I'm trying to be better about not procrastinating, so I went ahead and did it!


2. Host a giveaway on the blog. Status: incomplete.
   Oops. This one fell through the cracks this month. I have a really fun giveaway planned in my head for when I can unveil one of the new projects I'm working on, so part of me just wants to wait until then. Then again, doing two could keep the momentum going on any buzz the first one conjures. Or it could just oversaturate the market. Anyone have any thoughts/advice about this?


3. Work out pattern design for two new plushies. Status: complete.
   I unveiled work in progress pics in one of my Thoughtful Thursday posts; both photos in this post are more finished versions. I still have more planned for each of these designs, which I hope to unveil very soon. But my goal was to just work out the pattern design, which I did, while also managing to have tons of fun doing it!
   


4. Submit some plush for consideration in the next issue of Stuffed: A Gathering of Softies
   (deadline: August 15). Status: complete.
   'Nuff said.


5. Sit down with
   an accountant/tax advisor. Status: incomplete.
   Is anyone surprised this didn't happen yet?
   
   Total accomplished: 3 / 5.

I feel really good about my progress this month. Here's to continued momentum and success in August!

Thoughtful Thursday - Hine

Most of you are probably already familiar with the amazingly talented Hine. She makes awesome stop-motion videos for They Might Be Giants, illustrates, sews, and is an all-around super awesome crafter. I adore her little needle-felted vignettes, like this one:

© Hine.

I've admired Hine's work for quite some time, but her prices are just a little out of my league. Until now! This summer, Schmancy Toys in Seattle has been releasing exclusive, limited runs on plush by great artists. The latest release was Hine, and the price was so good I had to snap one up. My little banana slug arrived today:



I've named him Edgar, and every time I look at him he makes me giggle a little.

If you're not familiar with Hine's work, you should be! Check out her Flickr, her Etsy shop, her blog (in Japanese), and her stop-motion animations.

Christmas in July Sale!

I'm having a Christmas in July sale over in the Etsy shop! Until August 10, all
items in the shop ship free to addresses in the United States and
Canada. But wait, that's not all! For each order over $25, I'll throw
in a free alpaca or horse sewing pattern (print version). Just let me
know your preference in the Notes to Seller field when you check out.
For orders over $50, I'll throw in one of each pattern!

And remember: I take custom orders! So if you have a yen for a creature you don't see in the shop or you want something in a different color, just let me know.

Happy shopping!