Plushroom Soup

Thoughtful Thursday - Oh, Baby

First, I am not pregnant. I repeat (mom): I am NOT pregnant.

However, four of my friends have given birth so far this year, and four more friends are due by the end of February (not to mention the handful of friends that gave birth last year. Oi!). So as you can imagine, I have spent a large portion of my free time crafting baby gifts.

I know this kind of post is very atypical of me (and I promise it will remain this way). But I know many of you are in the same boat as me: lots of preggers friends, needing creative handmade gift ideas, but having no idea where to start. So for those of us less baby-minded, I thought I'd put together a little round-up of all the lovely tutorials and patterns I've found this past year.

My favorite stand-by quickie gift is the Cozy Quick Blankie from the Purl Bee. It's perfect because it sews up in under an hour, uses just two yards of fabric, and the end result is really cute and, well, cozy.

My other standard go-to gift is embellished baby burp cloths. All moms I know tell me you can never have enough of these around, yet the store-bought variety are dreadfully boring. So I like to dress up 3 to 6 of these and include with most baby gifts. Chickpea Sewing and Paper Dolly Girl both have excellent tutorials for how to do this. And though the latter tutorial calls for flannel scraps to be used as the absorbent interior, I like to used the standard Gerber cloth diaper you can buy in packs of 6 at Target or any baby store. It's more absorbent than flannel, is already pre-cut, and serves as an excellent template for cutting your fabric pieces. You can also sew both of these up in well under an hour.

This free skirt pattern from Oliver + S is super easy, and sews up in just about an hour. The pattern calls for a yard, but a baby skirt really only needs a fat quarter (or two 18 x 11-inch pieces). And how adorable is that squirrel fabric?! I kind of want a skirt from it for myself. . . . For a slightly fancier skirt, Two Little Banshees has a nice tutorial.

More time consuming but sure to be a hit with babes and adults alike (I gifted a set of these at a recent office baby shower, and the whole room got super excited and tossed the balls around for the remainder of the shower) are the Fabric Beach Balls, again from the fine folks at Purl Bee (and no, I'm not a paid endorser!).

Not free but super adorable is the Baby Binky Bunny pattern from mmmcrafts. The pattern is so easy to follow and is great fun to make.

Finally, if you're a knitter, I highly recommend the Offset Wraplan pattern by fyberduck. Simple, quick to knit, yet easily and endlessly customizable.

So, there you have it. My take on awesome handmade baby gifts. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

Thoughtful Thursday - Autumn's Arrival

Anyone who knows me for any short time at all knows that fall is by far my favorite season. I love fall so much, I wish it was the only season (though I know I would then probably enjoy it less). I love the colors, the smell, the temperature and light changes. I love Halloween, and pumpkin-flavored everything. I love the crunch of leaves underfoot. And even though it's been years and years since I've been in school, I still get that great anticipatory feeling each fall like I did while in school. To me, autumn is like the new year--full of possibilities. A time for rebirth. I know, I know; in autumn, vegetation is dying. Birds are flying south. Other critters are readying their dens for a winter's sleep. But I choose to look at it the way Albert Camus did:

Autumn is a second spring, where every leaf is a flower.

Isn't that pretty?

I also like to think of autumn the way our ancestors might have: autumn is a time of great celebration. After the great harvest that will sustain a family and village through the winter comes a time of respite from the hardest farming work. In the fall and through the winter, a family gathers around the hearth. It's a time to enjoy the fruits of all your spring and summer labor. It's a good book in front of a warm fire. Cider from your own apples, pie from your own pumpkins. A leisurely walk down a country lane.

Everything about fall evokes in me strong, happy emotions. Autumn smells, looks, tastes, and feels good. I think if Goldilocks had been able to test out the seasons, she would've declared fall just right. Not too hot, not too cold. Not too bright, not too dark. Autumn is comfort.

I wish all of you a warm fuzzy fall.

Thoughtful Thursday - On Halloween and the Zombie Scourge

Yep, it must be October all right—zombies have shuffled their way into my Etsy shop! There should be a zombie critter to satisfy most souls, and I plan to add one or two more in the next week.

If zombies aren't quite you're thing (is that even possible?!), there are a few other "dark" critters as well, like this undead dragon:

Aside from Christmas, I think Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love playing dress up and seeing all the creative costumes others make. I also love the typical Halloween themes—skeletons, zombies, ghosts, wizards, witches, and so forth. It's the one time of year you're not considered a super nerd for enjoying or displaying items with these themes. So, here's to a fun and festive holiday this year, and no matter what others may say, zombies are always in fashion!

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!

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.

Thoughtful Thursday - Creative Burst

As mentioned in my July Goals post, I always have tons of ideas bouncing around in my head. I've been really energized lately about making these ideas a reality, and this week I started on two of them.

The first is a unicorn. Sure, I could've just thrown a horn on my existing horse pattern and called it good, but I wanted my unicorn to be less cutesy, more stately and elegant. So I started tweaking the pattern into a new shape—elongating the face and neck, narrowing the legs, and giving the creature a little more movement.

Once I have some workable pattern pieces, I sew up a prototype. I usually make my prototype out of a cheap muslin or flannel, but I thought it would give you a better picture of my process if I sewed this one in my usual fabrics.

This is the part of pattern design that is always a little frustrating for me. I'm not a natural at drawing, so I go through a trial and error process before I can replicate what I see in my mind's eye. As you can see, I didn't get the legs quite right this time. So I've started pinning the legs into the shape I want, and I'll go back and tweak my pattern pieces accordingly.

The head could also use a little more work; I'd like to shorten the snout just a tad. I'm really excited about the possibilities in this piece, though, and should have it finalized by the end of the month.

The other project I this week has been in the works for a long time; it was one of my original ideas when I decided to start Plushroom Soup. It's still very early in the planning stages, so I can only share this small sneak peek:

I wish I could share more with you, as I'm practically bursting trying to contain my excitement about this one. Stay tuned!

Last, I'll leave you with a screen capture of a treasury I'm featured in:

Many thanks to Harvest Moon by Hand for featuring my Ginger Pup along with all these other great MN artists!

Thoughtful Thursday - Etsy Plush Wish List

Most of you know that Etsy is a wonderful online marketplace filled with amazing, talented artists. I can get lost for hours exploring all the handmade goodness. I wish I had the means to support all of my favorite artists, but instead I'll have to settle for telling you all how awesome these people are. Next time you need a gift, whether for a friend or for yourself, consider shopping at Etsy instead of a big-box retailer. The items on Etsy are lovingly hand-crafted by individuals or very small businesses. You'll get something totally amazing and unique in addition to some really good karma for supporting independents.

Below are just a few of my current faves. If you like what you see, please click the links, explore the shops, and tell others!

Miss Blueberry Pie Deer Plush © Follow the White Rabbit.

Beef with Broccoli © Cutesy but not Cutesy.

Bronson, the Monster Plush Toy © Happycloud Thunderhead.

Mini Marshmallow © Scrumptious Delight.

Custom Little City Hoop © Little Pink House.

Jackalope Feltidermy © Girl Savage.

Zombie-Bear Traditional Jointed Teddy © A Little Stranger.

Thoughtful Thursday - Welcome Home

As a general rule, homecomings are great. "There's no place like home" and all that. But this week I had a particularly fantastic welcome home after my trip to Ohio to visit my dad.

First, a nice note and a lovely impatiens plant from my sweetie graced the kitchen counter.

A package with my booty from Girl Savage's contest awaited me on the mail pile. Look at the cute little jackalope Feltidermy mirror! I'll have to save my pennies a bit longer for an actual Feltidermy, but this little mirror is super fun.

In my inbox, I had an email from Mortal Plush, letting me know I'd been accepted for the exhibit in July! I am so honored to be included with so many super talented plush artists. I wish I could make it out to DC for the show! Here's what I'll be sending:

 

Outside, my wee veggie garden had doubled in size, new flowers were blooming in the front beds, and my alpine strawberries offered up their first fruit of the season.

And today, I won yet another contest! Samaria Project decided to give away the adorable owl keychain below, and I won! If you haven't perused her adorable Etsy shop yet, you should definitely check it out.

I've had such a lovely, lucky week, maybe I should enter the lottery!

Thoughtful Thursday - Quick and Dirty Edition

It's been a hectic week, folks. Work is crazy busy, and I'm going out of town for a few days first thing tomorrow morning (I have to catch a 6 AM flight. Eeesh.). I'm sorry to leave you all with such a short post this week, but such is life.

Pretty amazing shots, right? I found both of these guys in my yard in the last few weeks. The top one got into a product shot, and I didn't even notice until I uploaded the photo to my computer. Pretty cool. The second photo was taken around dusk last night. This Mourning Cloak caterpillar (don't worry, I'm no budding entomologist; I Googled it) was hanging out next to the driveway when I got home. I had never seen one before and, nerd that I am, promptly went inside to grab my camera and start photographing. I love finding beauty in the mundane, in the small, simple things. And looking at my everyday surroundings through a camera lens somehow always opens me up to things I don't otherwise notice.

It's often all to easy to miss things going on in the natural world around us. The sun shines, rain falls, flowers grow and bloom and die, eggs hatch, insects and birds sing, critters forage for food, and so on— all of it happening daily without much notice. But when we take time to look and to see, it can be a pretty amazing thing. Nature is so simple and complex all at the same time. It can remind you just how big you can be, yet how small you really are. Which can really put things in perspective; no matter what happens in life, no matter what I create or fail to create, the Earth still rotates around the sun. Rain falls, flowers grow and bloom and die. And each day, I have a renewed chance to create something.

Kind of sappy, yes. But I think it's important to remind myself of these things, so I don't get discouraged by not crossing enough things of my to-do list, or not having something turn out exactly the way I saw it in my head. Each day I get to try again.

Thoughtful Thursday - Fairy Tale Edition

One look at some of my stranger creatures, and you can probably tell that I get a lot of inspiration from fairy tales, folklore, legends, and mythology. I love exploring the common themes in these stories and find them endlessly captivating. I love the imagination in them, the timelessness, the hope, the beauty, the magic and, yes, even the horror.

I decided to focus on this theme this week not only because it is one of my favorites, but because I just finished reading book 4 in a series that has been filling my head with all sorts of new ideas: the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. I am adoring this series, in which a plucky teen and her brother find themselves suddenly wrapped up in a world of magic, mystery, and danger when they learn that their grandparents are the caretakers of a secret preserve for magical creatures. The story is enchanting and fast-paced and the characters are a bit more realistic and interesting than a certain famous boy wizard.

Mull populates these novels with creatures we are all familiar with (and some we are not), painting very vivid pictures of their looks and behaviors. I've been inspired to sketch some new creatures, but it will be a while yet before I have anything I can show you. So instead, here's a sampling of fairy-tale themed art that really speaks to me:

 
Baba Yaga's Chicken Leg House © Melissa Sue Stanley.

The Shape Shifter (Mammalius Kinesis) © Marina Bychkova.

Fairytale Forest Skirt © Made with Love by Hannah.

Fairy Tale; Bajka © Tanja.

I wish Tanja's blog wasn't in Serbian; I would love to know more!

Gyspy Countess © Lolley.

SilverHoof IV © Indigo Ocean / R. R. Wake.

Little Red Riding Hood © Elsa Mora.