Red Thread

Not Dead

2009-01-29T11:47:00.002-05:00

Hello plushie lovers, if any of you still come to this blog! I know it's been ages, and I apologize. Since I started the process of getting a new job a couple months ago I haven't been making anything plushie-like.

We actually sold something a couple days ago (happy surprise!), so I figured I'd check in here. One of the pumpkin ornaments I made this fall was purchased and sent off to the sunny land of Florida. We're buried in snow here, so I'm kind of wishing I'd have shipped myself too.

I can't promise any more posts any time soon, but someday I'll get back into making plushies... I hope! In the meantime, there are still lots of cuddly critters in our shop if you're interested :)

Words From Around Here

2008-11-21T11:33:00.002-05:00

Get your own.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:52:00.001-04:00

These are last year's pumpkins. We'll be carving new ones tomorrow!

Tonight we'll be heading up to Napoleon to host the 2008 Hallogivingmas party! It's our combination Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas party with our college buddies.I'm pretty darn excited, so I'd better get moving
and finish my preparations!

Happy Halloween!

Return of the Crammed Organisms!

2008-10-23T15:16:00.001-04:00

I just got a box-o-plush in the mail! The plushies I'd sent to be in the Crammed Organisms show returned to me today, along with the official Crammed Organisms book! That's the part I was really excited about, because... well, look!

That's right, a full spread of Red Thread Plushies!!! And guess who get's a page all to himself (with a landmark in the background, no less)!

I'll be listing our celebrity friends in the shop over the next few days, so keep your eyes open for updates!

Additionally, here's the plushie I made yesterday, Sunny the cat!

She's pretty darn cute and very fluffy and cuddly :) She's currently listed in our shop.

Happy Thursday!

Making!

2008-10-22T11:06:00.004-04:00

I've been trying harder to make things this week. I decided that I wouldn't allow myself to get on the Etsy forums until I make something that day. So far it has worked nicely!

Behold! Two new teeny plushies, Meep and Hugh. Cute, eh? I think I might start working on a full-sized plushie today.

Also, we are "featured" on a blog! Well, in truth the blogger asked for volunteers and I jumped at it... haha! Anyway, here's your link. Be sure to browse the rest of the blog too- it's fun to see how people's art has changed over a couple years.

Silent

2008-10-20T23:42:00.002-04:00

Please pray for those participating in the Day of Silent Solidarity and those they come in contact with!

Visit these websites for more information:
standtrue -info about the organization behind the Day of Silent Solidarity
abort73 -I recommend this one, but be aware that the images shown are very graphic
pregnancychoice -information on abortion and alternatives

Scrappy

2008-10-15T23:34:00.002-04:00

Look! A new non-custom plushie! Gasp!

This is Scrappy the bear- he's a pretty sweet little guy. And he has a rockin' yellow scarf!

It seriously took me days to figure out what to do for his face... it was pretty ridiculous. What do you think? The scarf was a last minute idea and I really love it- it adds so much character!

I've been spending more time on Etsy lately due to being a jobless bum. I finally filled in our "Policies" page, which really isn't that exciting... haha! I had an issue today with PayPal because I was dumb and forgot to update Etsy when we changed our PayPal email address... ugh. Hopefully that works out ok! I've spent significant time on the forums lately, which is bad for my back (I get sore from sitting still so long!) but good for my business... sacrifices sacrifices ;)

I hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Pumpkin Time

2008-10-09T12:12:00.003-04:00

I'm getting ready to list these cute new pumpkin ornaments I just made in our Etsy shop, but it seems to be broken at the moment... sooo... watch for them to be listed soon!

They're the first of many I hope to make, including some jack-o-lanterns and fall leaves (followed by Christmasy things as the season gets closer). They're made out of felt, stuffed with polyfill, and sewn with embroidery floss. The hanger is ribbon. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Still Kickin

2008-09-30T22:17:00.002-04:00

That's right, we're not dead!! Hurray! Obviously we haven't updated this blog lately, and that's for the simple reason that there's been nothing to say! Since we started our current jobs Red Thread Plushies has been pushed by the wayside...

...until we got custom orders! Jezebel was the last one, and this is the one I just finished today: a jackalope! It's always fun and challenging to do custom orders, and this one was especially happy because... who doesn't love a jackalope?! He's bigger than any plushie I've made yet and is really really cuddly. He has a fleece body with felt embelishments (and pipe cleaners in his antlers :). The eyes and mouth are some great new product I bought... it's similar to shoe laces but smaller, very smooth, and a bit glossy. I think it gives the face a more polished look than embroidery. What do you think?

Nathan's contribution was the tail, below. Isn't it cute?? It's a really nice touch.

I hope you like him! I'm pretty pleased with how he came out :)

Jezebel

2008-07-29T19:49:00.003-04:00

Heeeere she is! I sent Jezebel the honey bee out this morning. I'm so happy with how she turned out. Now if only I could get motivated to make more... ;)

Crammed Organisms Week 2

2008-07-21T11:28:00.003-04:00

I was fiiiiiinally able to find a few pictures from week two of Crammed organisms. There's our little dragon, Peter, on the wall (he's green... near the middle towards the bottom).

And here's a little preview of the book that was published for the show- inside is a spread for each artist. I'm excited to get our copy!

And finally, here's a grainy sneak-peek of my latest project! Our most loyal customer has asked for yet another custom order, this time a honey bee. All that's left to do is the wings (and I have one done). I'm actually really proud of this one. I was worried about making a bee because I didn't know if I could do it, but I LOVE how she's turning out!

I'm sorry about the long absence. I hope I can update more from now on :)

Crammed Organisms Week 1

2008-06-08T16:03:00.002-04:00

Sounds like Crammed Organisms got off to a great start this weekend! The folks running the show posted a bunch of pictures of the gallery of plush for week 1, and guess who we spotted! That's right, our very own Persimmon the lion is hanging out with his new pals in St. Louis. Check out the rest of the pictures to see all of the fun entries. It's really cool seeing my work hanging up in the same room as that of some other artists I admire. What a great show!

How does your garden grow?

2008-05-21T23:09:00.003-04:00

I don't have much in the way of plushie news (with the new jobs we haven't been making much), so I thought I'd fill you in on our garden!

I hope you can see the rows of lettuce in this picture... it's looking great. I think we have 5 varieties of lettuce and they're all growing really well. They're one of the most successful crops at this point.

This is a closeup of some of the lettuces. I hope they continue looking this good!

Our corn is still looking good too. It has been growing, which is all I can ask for.

Several of our types of plants only managed to sprout one or two plants. This is one of one and a half zucchini plants... there's one and a half because the other one got chewed on by something. I think this is a really weird looking plant because it has a couple round, smooth-edged leaves and one very jagged leaf.

Here's an overview of part of the garden. There are pea plants by Nathan's shadow's head, big broccoli plants above my shadow's head, and the row of big plants you see are red potatoes.

The potatoes are definitely the most impressive and encouraging plants at the moment. They're growing super fast and are big, hardy, and deep green. I'm SO excited that they're doing so well... since potatoes are my favorite food and all ;)

The most recent news is that our carrots are beginning to sprout. Nathan also bought some new herbs yesterday (Italian basil, sweet basil, rosemary, and parsley) and planted them today. They really filled out the herb garden nicely.

Our garden is being weird in that many of the crops are only growing/growing better at one end of the garden. For example, we have a ton of good looking pea plants growing at one end, but at the other we're just growing dirt. It's really strange. A few crops haven't sprouted anything at all, so we'll see.

We're going to see the new Indiana Jones film tomorrow, and then to visit my parents for the long weekend. I hope you have a fun weekend too!

Box-O-Plushies

2008-04-30T15:18:00.003-04:00

I think we're going to make the deadline after all! We finished our last entry Monday night and sent the box out yesterday with 2 day shipping, so I think it'll get there in time to be in the Crammed Organisms book. Whew! Above is our final entry: The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse. It was a big project, but it came out as I had pictured it so I'm pretty happy. Sorry about the very green background... it was dark when we finished and they got packed in a box immediately after this photo, so we couldn't do an outdoor photo shoot. Oh well!

Here are the rest of our travelers:

Peter the dragon

Linus the monster

Persimmon the lion

______________________________________________

On another note, I thought it would be fun to show you our sitemeter hits by location from the last couple days- hits from all over the world! How cool!! Hello, all!

Dragon Tales

2008-04-21T23:23:00.003-04:00

Here's what I made yesterday! I promised Crammed Organisms a dragon, and although this is a lot different than I originally imagined, I absolutely love how he came out! This has to be one of my all-time favorite plushies. He's one-sided (the back of him is blank) which is a little different, but I think it works well. I'm just really pleased with this little guy. What do you think?

I've got a lovely cold which I'm hoping will leave me alone soon, but I hope the rest of you are having a lovely week so far! It's past my bed time- goodnight!

Kitty Capone

2008-04-20T22:14:00.003-04:00

We fiiiiiinally finished our last custom order last night. This is Kitty Capone, a mobster that Johnny Sweets, Private Eye has been hunting down. He's finally showed his mug after a month of lying low.

Nathan's contribution to this one was the tommy gun. It's made out of the same wire mesh that we used to make Simon's cage, and is then overlaid with felt. I'm pretty satisfied with the way he turned out, and am relieved that he's finally finished.

I'm actually about five minutes away from being done with one of my entries for Crammed Organisms, which is pretty amazing- I started today and am going to finish today. I will hopefully post pictures tomorrow. I'm excited about it too!

I hope you all had a great weekend :)

Crammed

2008-04-17T13:31:00.004-04:00

We've been accepted into the Crammed Organisms show! Click here to see all of the artists who were accepted into the show. I'm pretty excited about it. However, I'm a little worried that I won't be able to make my entries in time! We already have one plushie in the works for an Etsy customer, and it has been taking WAY too long to make it. I'm pretty embarrased about it, and feel really bad for making the customer wait so long. Nathan and I have been crazy busy and worn out lately, what with new jobs, church activities, and random other things. I need to get that plushie done... like... yesterday, and hurry up on my show entries. Ahhh!

Sowing instead of Sewing

2008-04-08T14:09:00.001-04:00

*This is actually a post from April 6... I just now had the thought that you folks might enjoy this ;) *

OK, so this is a deceiving picture. This is not the subject of this post. However, it has a lot to do with the subject! This is an image from Nathan's dark past. A few years ago Nathan had a "farm off" with his friend, inspired by my favorite video game, Harvest Moon. Unfortunately, Nathan's farm kicked the bucket when he left it unattended for a week when he and his family went on vacation.

Hey, if at first you don't succeed, try try again!

April 1:

THIS is the subject of this post. Nathan and I have been talking about starting a garden, and we got the thumbs up from his dad so we got started on Tuesday (April 1). Right now our garden consists of cups of dirt with seeds hiding inside, hopefully waking up from hibernation. We bought a bunch of different seeds, and some recommend starting them and then transplanting them, so that's what we're doing. I'm just hoping we have as much luck as Nathan did with his "farm-off" ...minus the losing part.

Each cup is lovingly labeled with Sharpie marker. Some packets came with more seeds than others, so we have about a billion onions, peppers, tomatoes, and basil planted but only a few of some others.

April 6:

Today we bought some more seeds and continued planting. The only ones we started from seed today were Roma tomatoes... a LOT of tomatoes. I planted 18 cups with 3 seeds each and still had about that many left over. We planted some potato eyes too- I've heard of people doing that but have never tried it. I hope they grow!! That plant in a pot is a baby orange tree that we bought in Florida in November. It's not doing so hot at the moment- the leaves are sort of curling, plus the cat knocked it over a couple times and broke off one of its two main branches- so we thought it could do with some sunlight. Hopefully it'll perk up.

We also bought some strawberry plants. A package that was supposed to have 10 came with 11! Yeah! They came in a plastic bag in some peat... they're little sickly looking sprouts with lots of roots. We figure for something like strawberries that's fine, since they reproduce by sending out runners. As long as the roots are healthy they should be fine... we think. It feels good to have actual plants in our garden at any rate!

We'll keep you posted periodically. Larry has someone lined up to come plow out a spot in the backyard once it dries out a bit (it's still pretty swampy from all the rain we got in March). We're both really excited about this project! Let me list everything we're planting (or as many as I can remember at the moment):

-Broccoli
-Carrots
-Sweet Corn
-Yellow Squash
-Cucumbers
-Zuccinni
-Sugar Peas
-Green Beans
-Potatoes
-Onions
-Roma Tomatoes
-Cantaloupe
-Watermelon
-Strawberries
-Pumpkins
-Lettuces
-Bell Peppers
-Rosemary
-Parsley
-Chives
-Oregano
-Flowers :)

Oh yeah, and our garden is already famous! Larry used a couple of our starts as an illustration in his sermon this morning. Haha! Don't forget to be good soil! ...Luke 8, the parable of the seed ;)

Johnny Sweets, Private Eye

2008-03-24T16:09:00.008-04:00

Nathan just completed another masterpiece! Claudiasburningink, a fellow Etsian, requested him. She suggested that he could do with a tiny briefcase, so we substituted that for the cinnamon bun that the origional Johnny Sweets was holding. Don't worry- he's still got one stowed away. I think he turned out really great, although I think he took longer than any other plushie we've ever made! Great job, Nathan!

This reminds me of the pictures where the detective is leaning nonchalantly against a lamppost.

Isn't this a great briefcase?? It even opens up. Now if only I would have been smart enough to take a picture of the inside... well, just so you know, inside is a top secret file (on himself) and a cinnamon bun. Of course.

I know his hat is tucked into his jacket. Don't worry, I fixed it before I shipped him out. I love his tail!

Who is that mysterious blurry figure?? He's so sneaky.

I heart you too

2008-03-21T22:43:00.004-04:00

Good evening, plushie fans! Well, I had a great birthday... and the best present of all is that I got a job! I'm going to be a nanny for two cute little girls- I start Monday. I hope I like it and do well!

We were asked to make another "Johnny Sweets, Private Eye" plushie, so that's in the works right now. I've got the body all stitched and stuffed, so it's all ready for Nathan to finish it up with the all-important details: the trench coat and fedora... and face.

Also, we just reached 200 hearts in our shop! That means 200 people have marked our shop as one of their favorites. Thank you all for the support- it's always encouraging to know that others like what we create. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I know I will- my parents and younger brother are coming to visit! Have a fantastic Easter-
He lives!!

23

2008-03-18T00:57:00.002-04:00

It's my birthday! Yay! I hope today is a good day :)

Hippo!

2008-03-17T13:36:00.006-04:00

Look! The first definitively female plushie in our collection! Not that pink necessarily equals female, but Nathan thought her name needed to be Gladys so that pretty much decided her gender. I think she turned out pretty cute! I'm a big hippo fan, so it's a wonder it took me this long to make one. The only thing I don't really like about her is how she looks from head-on. She only has one ear, so a front view looks kind of goofy. Hopefully whoever she ends up with won't mind and will just display her like the picture above... except maybe not on a woodpile.

Simon (our pet rat) went on an outdoor adventure with us as we searched for a good place to take Gladys' photo! He did a lot of sniffing, probably trying to figure out if any of those smells led to food. Silly Simon.

Isn't he cute?? Oh yeah, and Simon's not bad either.

Dive

2008-03-14T01:12:00.003-04:00

OK, plushie fans... I applied to be in the Crammed Organisms show!! I'm really excited to take the chance to be part of something like that- it sounds really cool! I hope if my application is accepted that we can make the trip to St. Louis to see the show for a day. What fun! Click on the link in the right-hand side bar to read more about this awesome show.

And now a word from our sponsor:
My friends love to support me, so I want to try to support them too. A couple college friends of mine have a fantastic fashion blog that I read daily but sometimes can't keep up with! They cover everything from Etsy shops (yeah!) to trends to runway shows to great sales. It's tons of fun to read... go give them some blog love! Fashion Me Fabulous!

Outdoorsey

2008-03-13T17:08:00.007-04:00

It's finally warm outside, so I couldn't resist the urge to get out there and take some shiny new plushie pictures! I'm SO happy with them. These are so much more my style (see: barren trees and rusty metal) than any previous pictures and show off our plushies' personalities so well! The natural light (oh, how I've missed you!) really does their vibrant colors justice. I'm excited!

I found out about a plushie show in St. Louis, MO yesterday, and I'm trying to decide whether it'd be worth it to enter. It's called Crammed Organisms, which is brilliant. Money is uber scarce at the moment, so the $35 fee if we're excepted is worth consideration. If you have the time and ambition, please check it out and give me your recommendations.

Make sure to look at our shop to see the rest of the new pictures! Happy Thursday!

I heart monsters

2008-03-10T15:13:00.005-04:00

I'm sorry I've been neglecting this blog lately. The up-side to it is that I have 3 new plushies so share! Last week we had a monster making day! Here are our new friends:

This is Linus. I have to say that I really like this design. For some reason it makes me think of a Japanese animated film. He's gotten a pretty good response so far.

Here's a tiny monster named Mo. I just listed him in our shop a few minutes ago (no views yet). I think he's a lot of fun. All those big sharp teeth and those rosy cheeks... hehe!

And finally, Nathan's monster. This one doesn't have a name yet, so if you have any ideas please leave a comment. Of course his is much more intricate than mine and obviously his style. And so adorable! Everybody say "awww!"

Quickly

2008-02-23T00:44:00.001-05:00

Spencer the Sleepy Cat has been listed and sold! Woot woot!

...that is all.

New Faces

2008-02-11T22:55:00.001-05:00

Nathan and I finally got to work today on a couple new plushies! We only have 4 things in the shop at the moment, so we figured it was high time we made some new ones.

Here's mine: Arnold the snake. I had to sew him right-side-out and stuff him as I went because there was no way to do it any other way- he's too skinny! I wanted to try something different, and I think he came out really cute... for a snake.

And here's Nathan's: a yet unnamed bigger version of Percy the sleepy cat. This one even has a blanket that 's just big enough for him to sleep under. Cute!!

Look for these little guys in the shop soon!

Great Week!

2008-02-05T23:49:00.000-05:00

Wow! Someone just bought Charlie the puppy! That's 3 sales in one week!! How exciting!

2 Kitties

2008-02-04T09:21:00.000-05:00

Our friend from NYC also decided to adopt Percy the sleepy cat (with a freshly sewn heart on his bum)! Looks like his girlfriend is going to have a great Valentine's Day... assuming she likes cats ;)

I'll let you know what my next project is... as soon as I start it...

Butt Initials

2008-02-02T16:57:00.001-05:00

Sam the kitty has found a new home! A fella from NYC bought Sam for his girlfriend for Valentine's Day (how flattering!), and asked for their initials to be "sewn on his butt." No problem! I hope Sam likes city life.

Percy

2008-02-02T01:57:00.000-05:00

There's finally a new face in our shop! I just finished him a little while ago and listed him on Etsy. His name is Percy and he's a very sleepy cat. Talk about a big yawn!

It took me forever to figure out what to do with his mouth... he's been sitting around with different mouths on for a few days. I'm pretty happy with this one. It's Tangerine-esque without being the same ol' thing.

Prettified

2008-01-30T16:30:00.001-05:00

I just updated our shop with all new pictures taken using the lightbox! I like it a lot better because the pictures all have a consistent background now. Don't worry, I'll still have our jungle cats hide behind plants and such sometimes! Go check it out and let me know what you think :)

P.S. A new plushie is in the works... I'm just having trouble figuring out a face! Should be up this week.

Bags!

2008-01-21T22:17:00.000-05:00

As I promised, I'm going to show off my two new bags! The first is completely hand-sewn and painted, and the second is hand painted and block printed.

I got this one from my parents for Christmas. It's a mini messenger bag, so it's a perfectly sized purse. It even has red polka dot lining :) I love it! Check out I Scream Seams for cool items like this.

I'm going to start substitute teaching soon, and I hear I'll have lots of time to read, so I decided that I needed a bag with which to carry books and such. I had seen this one some time ago but resisted the urge to buy (as I usually do). But now I have the need for it (and the Christmas money to pay for it) so It's mine!! One of the especially cool things about this tote is that it's printed on both sides.
From OH HONEY!

Born of Love and Consciousness

2008-01-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

I was invited by a fellow Etsian to be part of a project this Valentine's Day season. She's trying to get someone from every state involved. We're making little fabric heart pins that are meant to be conversation starters, and represent the values of buying handmade and buying locally. Hers are made of reclaimed/recycled fabric, and mine are made from scraps. All in all, they're just a reminder to be conscious of what we buy and where it comes from.

You can find mine in my Etsy shop: RedThreadPlushies
And my teammate's at hers: BujorHandmades

Photons!

2008-01-18T01:38:00.000-05:00

The first thing I wanted to mention is that I finally made a light box! It makes taking good pictures much easier. I need some more practice working with it, but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

Here's the light box with a new friend inside:
And here's what he looks like using the light box! His name is Charlie; he was my project today. I'll list him in the shop tomorrow.
And this was Nathan's project! A Valentine penguin that his brother asked Nathan to make for his girlfriend. Isn't he cute?
Nathan's Mutant Snowman finally found a new home... in California! Haha! I guess you've got to get snow somewhere, even if it is the nuclear variety.

Lion Love

2008-01-11T16:20:00.000-05:00

Persimmon's getting some love too! I didn't notice earlier in all my excitement about the other treasury being on the front page, but it looks like we're in two treasuries at once!!

Check it out :)

Digby also found a new home, which is so great- he's a cutie if I say so myself! Hurray!

Holy Views!!

2008-01-09T23:25:00.001-05:00

WOW. The treasury we're part of must have been on the front page. Look at these numbers!!

Sam the kitty has 790 views. Um... WOW. Unfortunately I didn't get to see him on the front page, but I'm still absolutely thrilled!!

I contacted the person who made the treasury and she sent me a screenshot of the front page- look!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-09T16:23:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends! I'm sorry that we've been neglecting our blog. We've had a busy month! There was moving, then Christmas and New Year's, then getting settled, doing post-Christmasy things, and beginning the job search/application process. So far things are going well!

I just wanted to post a quick update about Red Thread Plushies! Things are looking good in our shop- we've finally been able to get a couple of new things in there, so stop by and check it out! Since I last posted we finished and sold a couple things, including Bill the Mome Rath:

And a custom order, Munchie the candy monster, for a friend:

Probably the coolest thing made by Red Thread over this last month was by Nathan. He made this awesome Jack Black plushie for his sister. He's proposing, if you couldn't tell ;) My favorite part is the guitar.

As for new things currently in the shop, I made another lion named Persimmon who has been getting lots of views:

I bought some fleece a while back to play around with, and finally got around to doing so this week. Out of it came Sam the kitty cat, complete with a felt fish snack! To my surprise, he's featured in a treasury today (in the first spot, no less)!! I listed him last night and he already has 61 views, which is pretty incredible for us!

I'll update again soon and show you the awesome purse I got for Christmas and the bag I just ordered (both from Etsy)! Have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T11:42:00.001-05:00

From us to you.

Carlisled

2007-12-15T12:19:00.001-05:00

Just to let everyone know, we're safe and sound in our new basement abode! Our move went really really smoothly- we actually got everything loaded into the trailer and our apartment completely cleaned and all checked out in 2 1/2 hours. WOW! We unloaded in double time. Most of our stuff is sitting in the garage right now so we need to go through that soonish. But I did manage to set up our little Christmas tree in the basement! I know my priorities.

Today we're going to pick out a Christmas tree in the beautiful snow! I'm so excited!!

In his Life Songs

2007-12-12T10:30:00.001-05:00

Every shadow a sunshine hath,
The noon is the midnight's wife;
In the seven lakes of death
Stand the seven new islands of life.

Each hope in a fear begins,
The sweet in the bitter lies furled,
And joy and sorrow are twins--
Or the world would not be the world.

-From "Day and Night" by Theron Brown (1832-1914)

Treasure

2007-12-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

We've been included in a treasury on Etsy!!! I'm so excited! The difference between this and Treasury West is that a regular treasury is not only viewed by more people, but also has the potential to be featured on Etsy's front page! How cool! Check it out: Lions and tigers and bears.

I retook the not-so-great Bill the Mome Rath pictures this weekend and have been working on my final custom order for the year. Besides that, I think I want to make a couple of ornaments to give to people.

We're moving on Friday, so that's pretty much life right now! We still have some packing to do but are getting there. Wish us luck!!

Have a very plushie Christmas!

2007-12-08T23:25:00.000-05:00

Momo

2007-12-02T18:31:00.001-05:00

We had to have Momo put to sleep on Thursday. We don't know how it happened, but she somehow injured her spine on Wednesday and was paralyzed in her back half- she couldn't use her back legs. She didn't seem to be in any pain so we're thankful for that; we just felt really bad for her because there was no way she could live like that and there was nothing we could do about it but have her put to sleep. She was a good bunny.

Cruise with me

2007-11-28T20:46:00.000-05:00

I'm finally finished putting pictures (with narration) from our cruise on our website! Whew! Click here, and enjoy!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2007-11-28T08:35:00.000-05:00

I listed my Christmas ornaments a couple days ago and they already sold! Yippee!
**Update- this is so sweet! Look what the lady who bought the ornaments wrote to me: "They are for my toddlers' Christmas tree. I showed them the pictures and they are very excited. :)" Isn't that great? It made me happy. **

Maurice is featured in another Treasury West called "colour in your name"! Yippee!

I promise I'll make some kind of real update soon. I'm putting all my cruise photos on a website and it's taking ages.

More news to come- stay tuned!

Livin' Large

2007-11-16T20:31:00.001-05:00

Sooo... right now we're staying in a hotel room. For free.

Apparently every time we use our shower water pours into the apartment below us! Cool! Yesterday they told us they'd have it fixed by this afternoon, but today we were told that they don't know when it's going to be fixed! Double cool! AND we aren't allowed to use any water at all (sinks, toilet, shower, etc.) in our apartment, so we're over in the campus' hotel for the night! TRIPLE cool!!

Yeah, it's a little annoying, but at least we get to hang out and watch movies on cable all night.

And tomorrow....

We're leaving for a cruise!!! We're going with Nathan's family (it's our graduation present from them) and a bunch of people from their church on a cruise of the Mexico area... I know that's vague... I'll tell you more when we get back. We have a 14ish hour car ride ahead of us tomorrow, but it should be worth it. As long as the weather is nice this time!!

Have a great Thanksgiving, everybody :)

Treasury Westfulness

2007-11-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

We made it into another Treasury West! Maurice is featured this time- I'm glad- I love that little guy. If you want to see it, go to Treasury West and find the list called "Mugshots" It will expire today at 12:31, so hurry over! If you miss it, it's my own fault for posting this so late... oopsie.

I also made a treasury of my own! I happened to wander in when there were tons of spaces open, so I decided to give it a go just to learn how to do it. Mine is appropriately named, "I'll give it a try..."

___

We're leaving for a cruise tomorrow!!! I'm so excited. That means we won't be around to tend the shop for a week, but I'll put up an announcement so everyone knows that any orders will be delayed.

I probably won't be posting anything new for at least a week, so Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Hallogivingmas!

2007-11-14T19:43:00.000-05:00

I uploaded all of the pictures of our holiday weekend in Michigan to our website, so hop on over and take a look! I narrated, so you'll also get the story.

A happy Hallogivingmas to you!

He's Heeeeere

2007-11-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

Our butterfly friend has arrived! This lil yellow (not so very green) fella hatched out yesterday! His wings were still floppy when we put him outside on the windowsill. I hope he lives a happy happy butterfly life! Surprisingly, a couple days ago two butterflies just like him showed up in the apartment! I guess we had more little green wormies than we thought! Prettiest infestation EVER.

AND now you can see all of the secret projects I've been keeping from you! Yay!!

First is the mome rath that I made for my friend-of-the-same-first-name as part of an art trade. She gets this little guy and I get a colored pencil Jabberwocky illustration that she drew in college! Awesome!

The fabric for his spots is from FaffCreations.

Below is a peach for the same friend! I had to miss her senior college art show (which is a HUGE deal for art majors at our ex-college), so I made Rachel her very own momo! I think she liked it- she spent the rest of the day singing "momo and the mome rath!"

Below is a felt heart ornament that I made to thank the two ladies who donated their fabric scraps to me! The other side has green buttons.

Aaaand, my latest custom order! No, this isn't Tangerine- he's in Canada. This is Tangerine's cousin, Tangelo! He came out pretty darn cute- slightly different from Tangerine, but with just as much of a personality... and mischievous grin!

I'll post again soon with more exciting things to say! Have a splendiferous day!

Lately

2007-11-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

First of all, we're featured on a blog today! Check out Indie Finds on Etsy to read the feature. Thanks, Dotty!!

_____

I've gotten a couple things done since I last posted!

I finished a monster similar to the mome rath I made for my friend, and I will be listing it on Monday.

Someone requested a Tangerine twin, so I'll start working on that as soon as I can get some more orange felt.

I made a little gift for somebody (which I need to get shipped out today).

I need to get moving on making some new plushies! I'm falling behind!

____

We're heading up to Michigan tonight to see a bunch of friends and have a multi-holiday party! This includes carving pumpkins for Halloween, having a big Thanksgiving dinner, and doing a Christmas gift exchange. I'm so excited! Hopefully we can make it before midnight. If not we're going to crash at my parents' house on the way.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Suuuuper Digby!

2007-11-08T15:07:00.000-05:00

Digby the purple puppy is part of a treasury in Etsy's Treasury West! I'm SO excited!!

The treasury is called "Dog first, husband second" (haha!). Thought I don't share the sentiment, I am honored that a plushie of mine is somebody's favorite! Check it out (I'm having trouble linking to the exact page, so just follow this link and scroll through the pages until you find the dog treasury)! The treasury will expire tomorrow night at 6, so look now!!

For those of you who don't know, a treasury is a list of 12 items chosen by an Etsy user. These items often appear in a set according to a theme (dogs in this case), color, or medium. Treasuries are highly sought after as there can only be a certain number at a time; it's hard to get a treasury! A link to the main treasury can be found on the main Etsy page, but Treasury West is kind of an offshoot of the main treasury. I only know about it from the forums. Every list in the main treasury has the potential to be chosen to be featured on the front page; Treasury West does not. So Digby won't be showing up on the front page because of this, but it is directing some people to our shop which is great.

Thanks to theknottysheep for choosing Digby for your treasury!!

Top 5!

2007-11-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

The mutant snowman plushie that Nathan made and submitted to the Softies Central Holiday Softie Awards got in the top 5 in its category (Nightmare Before Christmas)!!!

If you would like to vote for our little nuclear winter friend, as long as your favorites in the other categories, please visit this link. If this link doesn't work for some reason, there is also a link to the voting page on the Softies Central site.

One vote per IP address! Thanks for your support! :)

Nathan Saves the Day

2007-11-04T16:16:00.001-05:00

Our apartment is finally back to a comfortable temperature, no thanks to housing services who, of course, are gone for the weekend.

After about 2 hours and 9 stores worth of searching, Nathan was able to find two big window fans to pull in the cool outside air. We were actually able to sleep last night- which is more than could be said for Friday night- which is fortunate for Nathan since his fan hunt wore him out (since he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before!).

Right. So. Somewhat back to normal.

On the plushie front, I finished the mome rath (I don't think I mentioned it before, but Rachel H and I are doing an art trade. I get one of the pieces from her senior art show and she gets the mome rath! I hope she likes it!!) and made a puppy plushie yesterday. All I've gotten done today is breakfast IN BED (goooooooood hubby) and a ton of laundry (which is quite a project since the laundry room is on the opposite end of the building and 3 floors down) and taking pictures of the new plushies. I'll try to start something new tonight!

I'll leave you with a picture of the puppy- his name is Digby. I'm planning on listing him in our Etsy shop tomorrow. I used some of the fabric from Faff Creations by Eve for his tummy. I also used some on the mome rath. Heeeeere he is!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The Circle of Life

2007-11-02T19:35:00.001-04:00

Yesterday a tiny little bright green caterpillar showed up in our bathroom! We think Nathan must have brought him in with some plants he brought home from work for Momo to eat. Anyway, wormy was just sitting there on the wall in the corner, and we figured that he couldn't hurt anything so we just left him alone.

Just now I noticed that instead of a bright green caterpillar on our wall, we now have a not-so-very-bright green chrysalis! How cool! Our very own bathroom chrysalis! I bet you're jealous.

Ignore the icky paint- I try to. I'm so excited... I wonder what will hatch out! Hopefully a bright green friendly butterfly. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

___

In other news, there's 100 degree air coming out of the heating vents. I wrote housing services a couple emails today.

I'm almost done with a Jabberwocky character plushie (a mome rath) for our friend Rachel H. Can't show you pictures yet though! I know, the suspense is intense.

Happy Obscure Christian Holiday!!!

2007-10-31T14:42:00.001-04:00

You know you live at a seminary when...
This Reformation Day pumpkin was painted by Kevin at Circulation. Best Reformation Day pumpkin I've ever seen!

So, forget Halloween-- Happy Reformation Day, everyone! ;)

Package!

2007-10-29T20:41:00.000-04:00

I got a package today! Last week I mentioned on a forum on Etsy that I could use some fabric scraps, and a couple people jumped at the chance to give some to me! Today I got a package of scraps from Eve of Faff Creations by Eve. There were lots of great fabrics in there. My favorites were patterns of monarch butterflies, peacock feathers, and robot parts/theme. So fun! There's no way I could find (or afford) so many cool patterns :) Thank you Eve!!

I got two things made today, but I can't show you because both are gifts. Sorry! I'll try to post pictures later- once they get to the people to whom they are going.

Have a great night!

Fritz

2007-10-28T15:55:00.000-04:00

I just finished and listed my new plushie! Meet Fritz the chipmunk :)

Look at that face! I love him! I'm really happy with the way he turned out. Of course I had to mess up along the way and go back and fix it, but hey... at least I'm consistent ;)

The Ornaments!

2007-10-26T12:24:00.001-04:00

I finally got outside to take these pictures on my lunch break. Classic felt Christmas Tree Ornaments. I hope you love them!

The star is my favorite :) I think I'm going to re-take the group picture when there's better lighting- I already played with the image on the computer, but I think I just need to start over.

These will be entered in the holiday contest at Softies Central, and will be in our Etsy shop eventually- probably after Thanksgiving.

I took pictures of Nathan's newest plushie, so that should show up here soon. I'm also almost done with a new one (a chipmonk!!) which I'm excited to show you! Check back soon!

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Quick Update

2007-10-23T22:35:00.001-04:00

I finished my first custom order! Pictures to come eventually ;)

I also finished my set of five Christmas ornaments! Pictures to come soon. I'm going to enter them in a contest and then eventually list them on Etsy.

That would be all! 'Night!

Hotcakes

2007-10-19T15:17:00.000-04:00

Someone just adopted Nathan's jellyfish! We only have four things left in the store and I have no idea when we'll be able to restock! AHHH!!

NOT that I'm complaining... ceratinly not! I'm SO happy Red Thread Plushies has already been so successful. NOT complaining that I have three commissioned pieces, a couple gifts, and a few others to work on. I only wish I could devote more time to it!!!

Le sigh.

p.s. :D

Sale # 2!

2007-10-18T08:29:00.000-04:00

Last night I listed Pete the bunny and was SO disappointed because he only got 2 views within the next couple hours. I was so sure that he'd be popular- the style that he's made in is one I thought people would really like.

However, that turned around while we were sleeping, and Pete now has 14 views, we have several new hearts for our shop, and someone adopted Johnny Sweets! And this time it's someone we don't even know! I'm very excited :)

I don't know how we're ever going to restock the shop, though! I have 2 commissions, a set of ornaments, and a gift to do within the next few weeks, plus working full time and busy weekends! Thankfully, Nathan has one new thing finished so that can be listed soon, but on my end I'm not listing anything new any time soon :( le sigh.

I wish I could devote more time to this!!

First Sale!!!

2007-10-16T21:05:00.000-04:00

Tangerine the lion has a new home! The lovely Lori (aka Cheshire Cat), who we went to college with, adopted Tangerine this afternoon, so he's off to live with her in Canada! Another big thanks to Lori- I'm so glad you love Tangerine as much as I do :)

I'm giddy!

In other plushie news, I finished my bunny the other night. His name is Pete.

He looks shocked that he's having his picture taken. Poor ol' bunny-head!

I also have 2 1/2 Christmas tree ornaments finished and Nathan is working on a mutant snowman, all of which will probably be entered in the Softies Central holiday contest. Buuuut we're out of stuffing. We have to go buy shipping supplies for Tangerine tomorrow anyway, so we'll stock up.

I'll post again soon!

Tangerine and more

2007-10-14T12:13:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can see from the sidebar I got our Etsy shop up and running! Lots of people are looking at our plushies, 11 people have added our shop to their favorites, and I'm getting some really great feedback. Hurray!

Yesterday morning I finished a plushie I had been working on Friday night: Tangerine the lion. I love him!! He turned out even better than I was hoping. I wasn't sure how his mane would come out, but I really like it. His face is my avatar for Etsy right now. Here's a picture, but if you want more angles check out our Etsy store.

Isn't he adorable?!

Yesterday the internet wasn't working when I wanted to set up our Etsy store, so I made this little monster instead. He's simple and weird and happy about it. He reminds me of one of the ghosts in Pac-Man. I think I'm calling him Zeke.

Right now I'm working on a bunny, and that'll be done later today. I think after that I'm going to try to make a few felt Christmas ornaments (like those ones you have, Mom) because I think they're really cute. But I need some buttons and such for those, which I don't have....

Anyway, that's what's happening this weekend. Hope you like it!

Good Monsters

2007-10-11T21:41:00.000-04:00

Monsters are so fun to make! I drew a bunch today... it's cool because you can make them look however you want- there are no rules! So I have a bunch of fun ideas for new plushie monsters that I'm excited about working on.

Today I started a new project immediately after work- wow! I usually just want to veg after work but was excited about an idea and so got started right away! That's a good sign! This plushie only took 3 1/2 hours to make! I was really surprised because I was really careful about its construction quality. I made teensy weensy stitches and am SO glad I did- the seams look great!! No matter how you sew it you're going to see the stitches, so making them tiny and even made the seams look really really good. Plus I feel like it's more tight and sturdy.

Aaand here he is! I think I'm going to call him Maurice.

He's bright red on the front and dark red on the back... sorry about the bad lighting- it's dark outside! He doesn't look quite like the picture I drew, but I really like him anyway. His mouth was kind of tricky to do because I wanted to cover up where the top of the teeth were sewn to the face so I had to go over it like 3 times with embroidery floss. It looks a little funky, but hey, it's a monster so that's ok!

All in all, I'm really happy with this one simply because of the good construction. This thing won't be falling apart any time soon. I feel like that's a pretty big step for me because I would never want to sell something that was bad quality. It took a loooong time to sew all the way around this thing with those teeny tiny stitches, but it was totally worth it.

The plan right now is to make around two more plushies and then open a shop on Etsy. Opening a shop is free and they only charge a 20 cent listing fee for four months, then 3.5% (I think) cut if it sells. Sounds good. We shall see!

I hope you like Maurice!! Nighty night.

drool

2007-10-09T20:17:00.000-04:00

My new monstery plushy is finished! I did end up changing his face a bit and like it much better this way... although gravity must be a little wonky because that drool isn't exactly going straight down... but hey, I like him!

Poor thing doesn't have legs, but those arms more than make up for it! Here's a glamorous close up...
His left eye is a button :) You can't see it, but his back is the same dark purple as his mouth. Aaaand I really thought his hands came out cool, so here's a picture of one.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do next. There's a contest this month on Softies Central (link in right hand column) that I'd like to enter, so I might do that next since there's a deadline. Although I do have an idea for a friend that I'm excited about doing, so we'll see!

Somebody needs to help me name all these critters, so if anybody has ideas let me know!

plush me!

2007-10-09T14:13:00.000-04:00

Hello, and welcome to the beginning of our brand new artsy craftsy blog!

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

Sooo... I have a long way to go, but I'm having fun so that's fine with me :) Check back soon for updates.