I've been struggling to deal with the dullness and monotony of work lately and have turned to making art to help me survive/stop my brain from melting. I started drawing a lot and got really into reading the blogs of artsy folks online. Blogs led to other blogs that led to other blogs that introduced me to the art/hobby of plushie making.
Hi, I'm Rachel... and I'm a plushie addict.
The other night I really felt like making something... namely, my very own plushie. My dear husband was sweet enough to drive me to the nearest craft store where we bought some supplies: a small stack of felt, some nice thread, some stuffing. And thus it began.
We each designed and made a plushie. I started out simple-- very simple-- and it showed. I'm not going to show you a picture because it's embarrassing, but it's now a chew toy for Momo the bunny.
Nathan started out the opposite. His plushie was pretty amazing. An extremely cool design and well made, especially for a first try! Meet Jonny Sweets:
Thankfully, after feeling a little down after my first (failed) attempt, my next plushie turned out MUCH better. I'm happy with it! He's a surprised little raccoon...
More supplies were then needed! We went to a fabric store (conveniently right next to the craft store) and bought some more felt (on sale!), red thread (dun dun daaa!), glue (for those tricky little bits), new needles, and some cotton fabric for fun details. Hurray! :) Admire our bounty...
Nathan's next project was a very dapper jellyfish. With a monocle. And a top hat. Aaaand a bow tie. ...only from the mind of Nathan. Here was the first time using red thread for all the major seams.
And here's my current project. It's all sewn together but the face. I'm not sure about it yet, so I'm not going to sew it on until I decide. Any suggestions?
I feel like we've done pretty well so far! More importantly, we're learning about the materials and techniques. My goals are:
- Improve my workmanship. I want those stitches EVEN, darn it!
- Become more familiar with how felt behaves and make patterns accordingly
- Develop a style
- Continue looking at others' work
- Think of creative/unique ideas for new plushies
- Work to build up a stock/collection
- THEN, eventually, open a shop online
4 comments:
Haven't read it all yet but the "plushies" are brilliant! Truly awesome!
Don't worry. I will never be a Buddist! Mom
I could tell which ones were yours and which were Nate's justing looking at the pictures before reading it.
Very cool.
Tee Hee. I could tell who made them as well. :) You are so cute and so are your Red Thread plushies!
I like the plushies that look like an actual animal, not so much the monsters. There are so many monsters on etsy...
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