Doll Street and Swiffer covers

You're probably wondering what one has to do with the other! Well, I am taking over the online doll club, Doll Street Dreamers, and I am spending soooo much time learning how to run the various types of software and talking to banks and credit card processing centers and just brainstorming that my muse has been neglected. I am starting to have the shakes, yep, craft withdrawals, LOL. I had to break away from the computer and sew. So I decided that since I am officially retired from making Plushies (at least until I get rid of some of the 19 living here now) I would use the fleece for something else. Segue to Swiffer covers! I saw a blog posting about these on the Craftzine blog and figured I could make myself a dozen or so. I really hate having to buy the Swiffer paper covers and then throwing them out. This way I can just toss them in the wash. Save money and feel better about the environment! I cut one long piece of fleece 11" x 5" and then the two top pieces are 5" x 4.5" - just lay them together and sew. The top piece stretches so it can be slipped on. Couldn't be simpler - unless someone else did it for you!

You know, if I was a Martha Stewart kind of a girl I'd probably have CLEANED the Swiffer before I took the photo. Nah. That'll never happen.

Have a great weekend!

Domino Magnets /Jewelry components for sale

I decided that I''m not going to put the magnets up on Etsy because by the time I pay all the Etsy fees and PayPal fees there won't be anything left for me, LOL. So here's the deal ... I will sell you the magnet for $6.00 which will include shipping. I will also include instructions on how to change the magnet into a necklace. The magnet is removable so it can be used in other art projects too. Just click in the sidebar under the mermaid's photo where it says 'Write to me via' and list the number of the magnet(s) you want. I'll send you a PayPal invoice. PayPal takes credit cards now too so you don't have to have a PayPal account anymore. Fair enough? Click on the photo - I left it really large so you can see the domino magnets close up. Actually, click twice - wait until the new window opens and then click the photo again. Thanks!!! OMG .. THEY ARE ALL GONE! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST .. IT'S A GREAT FEELING TO KNOW THAT YOU APPRECIATE MY WORK ... THANK YOU, THANK YOU ...

ALL GONE!!!! THANK YOU!!!

Plushie groupie

The craft fair was a bust as far as the plushies were concerned. I sold the little pink one on the far right. So the rest are up for sale .. $30 plus shipping ... email if you're interested ... they'll go up on Etsy eventually but they'll get lost in the crowd there. Did you know there are nearly 98,000 sellers on Etsy now? Amazing. Anyhow - all the plushies except the little chubby one in the middle are available ...

... and thanks for all the congrats on my 500th posting! ...

500th blog posting !!!

In the tradition of other artsy bloggers and in celebration of my blogging milestone, I'm going to have a drawing for a piece of crafty goodness. I will put the name of everyone who leaves a comment on this posting in a hat and will have my hubby pick a name next Wednesday. Funny to think I've had this much to say. I really appreciate everyone who comes and visits. I hope you keep coming back for the next 500 entries!!!!

Here's the last batch of domino magnets I made for the craft fair.. I do love the faces ...

The last of the Plushies!

This is it for now. I am done. I still have a ton of fleece and felt but I can't bring myself to make any more of these right now. Good luck to me finding somewhere to store it all, LOL. I am going to take a group shot of all my plush toys before I head out to the craft show this weekend. But for now, Finestra and I want to wish all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

Equal Opportunity in the Plush World

We don't discriminate in my plush world. Anyone can be a fighter or a wrestler. Consuela here is evidence of that. She recently won her first fight but not without a bruise or two.

I taught a plush toy class yesterday at the quilt shop, I had one student - a young mother in her early 30s. This did not surprise me because I see so many artists in their 20s and 30s making these dolls and the customer base at the quilt shop is way older than that. I think if I was to teach these again I would have to go to somewhere like JoAnn Fabrics rather than the quilt shops. But I had fun with Marissa - she is a beginning sewer so the one-on-one instruction was in her favor!

CD Fragments - Recycled compact disc art

I decided to make one more thing for the craft fair. These are fragments of old AOL advertising compact disks (CDs) that have been made into pins (brooches?). Easy peasy. They are way prettier in person than in the photo (which you can click to enlarge) because the top layer is enameled. There are about 5 layers each with different elements which make for great depth. Click the 2nd photo and you can see the depth a bit better. My favorite is the one at the top you can barely see - it is stamped Dream - has a clock face - and a beaded 'pendulum' - to me it says Dreamtime! I even made little cards to mount them on - how's that for professional, LOL. If these don't sell at the fair I think I can approach a couple of boutiques with them. Although there are a few tutorials here and there on the web, I am thinking of making these and the domino necklaces/magnets into an online class. What do you think?

Opinion please ...

I am making domino magnets to sell at the craft fair. Here's the first dozen that I've finished. These are full sized dominos (last year I sold mini's). I'm not sure how much to charge for them though - $3 or $4. What do YOU think?

These are all made with my newest stamps. Three of them are collage stamps - just love using sections of those! The woman in front of the compass is actually an angel.

Two more wrestlers

When I was in Mexico this past February some of the stall vendors were selling wrestling masks. These were full head masks but I decided for my version it would just be the face.

If you look closely at the yellow one you'll see I used the negative spaces from the Don King plush's mustache and mouth for the facial features.
I don't particularly care for this brown plush's shape with this mask. I like the mask but it is more scary than fun. Not such a success. I think I am approaching plushie burn-out. Who'da thunk it!

Look familiar?

Inked and ready to be stamped and made into magnets. If my new stamps ever get here. I ordered from Stampers Anonymous on October 27th and still nothing in the mail ... I'm not used to waiting this long for crafty happiness! Grrrr ....

Hi Vicki!!

Moving into wrestling?

Thought I would try a wrestler. Didn't get the mask quite right but it will work. Notice the change in the arm pattern...

The Blue Marauder

A northern mermaid surfaces

I finished up a new northern mermaid today. Her name is Seku and she wants to be a cheerleader when she grows up. She already has the pom poms - or so it seems. I went a bit overboard with the cuffs. She certainly has the look of a pouty teenager, LOL.

Have I mentioned that these mermaids are very hard to photograph. You can barely see it but her tail is gold lame - this was not fun to work with at all! I lined it with interfacing and it sewed up fine but when I had to reach inside with the hemostats to turn her right side out - the teeth kind of gnawed the lame. I was able to fix it with some fancy free motion embroidery but I won't be using gold lame again. I found some black silver stretch lame for 70% off at JoAnn Fabrics last week - so I'll be trying that next.

Her fur is Arctic Fox. I have a whole bunch of fox and wolf faces - I got them from someone who made hats and these are the leftovers. It's perfect for little projects like this - I can cut small pieces from the sides. It might creep some people out but I'm used to it.

Building the team - a plush toy team, that is!

You have to have a manager if you have fighters! Remind you of anyone????

Is this the loser? More plushie fun.

This is Hiram. He didn't fare as well in the boxing ring as his friend did but he's still quite the happy fellow. You see, even though he lost he managed to rake in tons of money. He'll need it to fix his eye.

The Pugilist ... I'm on a roll now!

Another basic shape - a light bulb with legs! I love this guy - I think he is my new favorite! He is fast and easy to make too so I think I'm going to make a few of him for the craft fair. Gotta love these pants, eh???

The Protector of Easter Candy

My friend Jacque came out with a darling little pattern called Angel of Stress/Protector of Chocolate. A lovely little female creature whose skirt is meant to be a holder of chocolate kisses (the Hershey type). My version came out a bit different ... is that a surprise?

I could not get the clay to do what I wanted and when I made this little block head it made me think of the monoliths on Easter Island ... ergo the Protector of Easter Candy.