Stitch Wars: Preview & Articles

Stitch Wars opens this Saturday, July 18th at Bear + Bird Boutique+ Gallery! If you can't make it to the show in person, or if you'd really like to buy a piece in advance, or are just curious, you can get a sneak preview of all the work in the show if you sign up on the Bear + Bird mailing list. This also gives you exclusive pre-show buying rights! So if there's a piece you really want, you can potentially buy it tomorrow. :) The mailing list will go out tomorrow, so make sure to sign up now!



Stitch Wars has already received lots of great press in the August 2009 issue of Maxim, and the front over of the July 16, 2009 issue of the Miami New Times! It's going to be a great show. I can't wait my preview email to arrive! :D

Etsy: New MOHAWK Deer + Mini Ghostie plush!

More plushies hit my Etsy shop today. The ones I'm most excited about releasing are my new twist on my deer plush line -- plush deer with mohawks! These hip and trendy deer love to spike their soft furry hair. :D




[Left] Strawberry Kiwi Deer loves to go to the spa. She gets the works: facial, massage, manicure, pedicure, you name it! Her guilty pleasure is reading all the trashy celebrity gossip magazines while she's there.
[Right] Peach Bluberry Tartlette Deer owns a pastery shop filled with the most mouth watering sweets in Deerville. She bakes all the scones, croissants, danishes and everything else that is displayed behind the glass counter. When she's not baking, she's learning how to skydive. :)


[Left] Peach Blueberry Tartlette Deer with mohawk is a cousin of the other Peach Blueberry Tartlette Deer without mohawk. Sometimes they even get themselves confused! They love Halloween because they can dress up in entirely different costumes -- however, they call each other ahead of time to ensure that they won't be wearing the same thing!
[Right] Professor Bubble Tea Deer has a famous laboratory where all the wonderful flavours of Deerville's Bubble Tea are created, mixed and made into drinks. He has pioneered the Bubble Tea industry and has become extremely wealthy off of "the world's greatest taste buds", as he puts it. (He also wants you to know that Bubble Tea is also called "Pearl Milk Tea" and "Boba Tea" in different parts of the world.) ;)

• Mini Brown Ghostie helps you to feel grounded and wholesome again.


• Mini White Ghostie absorbs negative energies that are blocking you from clear and pure thinking.


• Mini Green Ghostie helps to settle things down if everything around you is growing too fast.

Renegade Craft Fair: Los Angeles 2009

My husband & I went to the Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles. It was fantastic!!! There were so many amazing artists and crafters with gorgeous set-ups and beautiful handmade items. Most of the sellers I recognized from Etsy. HERE is a full list of all the artists who were there.


This was Renegade's official booth. You can buy this stuff on their website.


[Left] Me looking at the awesome portraits by illustrator Ryan Berkely. My husband and I want to get a few for our future home. We really liked the bat, shark, squirrel and cheetah. :)
[Right] My husband really got a kick out of this awesome shirt by Sharp Shirter!


I loved these statements by Seattle Show Posters. :)


I really loved these figures by KG+AB! I wanted to buy a few to customize, especially the deer, squirrels and mushrooms.



The space the craft fair was held in was very open and airy, and there was so much to see and buy. I didn't get pics of all the lovely booths, but I wanted to mention that Matty8080, Rock Scissor Paper, Fugu Fugu Press and Sweet Meats had amazing stuff too! There are tons more pics of the craft fair on Flickr here.


[Left] This was the I Heart Guts plush toy display. I love their designs and bright colours. I wanted to get the gall bladder for my husband, since he had his removed last year, haha. ;)
[Right] I totally love this print by Sycamore Street Press!


One of my favourite artists Tsai-Fi had a booth at the craft fair! I love all her stuff, so it was really nice meeting her in person (especially since we were both in the Custom Mini Skully Show together! :) ). I wanted to buy so much of her stuff (especially that mermaid with orange hair)!


So, this was my haul. The plush Dust Bunni and Last Call t-shirt is from Tsai-Fi. Everything else were freebies (stickers, buttons, business cards). I REALLY liked the Etsy bumper sticker! :)

Weekly Window Shopping #4: Modcloth

This week I'm featuring the online shop Modcloth. They don't have a slogan, but they do have twitter if you want to keep up to date with them. :)


[Left] Festive Harvest Tote - $24.99
[Middle] Save Our Forest Tee - $29.99
[Right] Riveting Flats - $24.99

[Left] Kawaii Woodland Wallet - $23.99 (I have this wallet, and it's great! I get lots of compliments on it.)
[Middle] Urban Forest Rings - $11.99
[Right] Sassy Sparrow Necklace - $17.99

[Left] The Better To Brew You With Teacup - $29.99
[Middle] Fawned Of Hygiene Toothbrush Holder - $7.99
[Right] Water Logged Watering Can - NOW $13.49 (was $17.99)

Etsy: More Mini Ghosties!

More Mini Ghosties have been added to my Etsy shop!

• Mini Peach Ghostie helps to stabilize your emotions when you are seeking creative ideas.


• Mini Violet Ghostie helps to re-balance over-active energies in your life.


• Mini Light Blue Ghostie helps to open the flow of communication.


• Mini Red Ghostie absorbs all the fears and anxieties around him in an effort to try and make things stable again.


• Mini Black Ghostie helps to stabilize a situation with his mental and physical strength.


• Mini Orange Ghostie helps to bring down the energy level of a situation that is too intense.

Plush Art Show: Stitch Wars (Princess Leia & R2D2)

In a galaxy far, far away... plushies were created of Princess Leia and R2D2! :)



These are my plushies for Stitch Wars, a Star Wars inspired plush art show at Bear + Bird Gallery + Boutique in Lauderhill, Florida. The show runs from July 18th - August 29th. The pieces will be available for sale at the opening and online. If you sign up on their mailing list you'll get a preview of the show before anyone else does!



I LOVE Princess Leia's hair buns (who doesn't!), and simplistic design, so I really wanted to make my own version of her. After I made her I knew she needed a little R2D2 sidekick buddy. I did a lot of handstitched work on him, and I think the buttons look really cute.



Star Wars is such a pop culture phenomenon with a HUGE cast of very unique characters, so I had quite a lot of inspiration when I was brainstorming what kind of plushies to make for Stitch Wars. I decided to stick with the original Star Wars trilogy because (to put it quite bluntly...) I'm not a fan of the new Star Wars movies at all. :P I do like some of the designs in the new movies (pretty much anything by incredibly talented conceptual artist Iain McCaig), and I like the 2D animated "Star Wars: Clone Wars" (where we are introduced to the super cool Sith Asajj Ventress) directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (creator/writer/director of "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Samurai Jack"), but I much prefer the original classics. (Puppet Yoda is 1,000 times better than CG Yoda!)

When Leia & R2D2 are together, they remind me of the famous scene in "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" when we see Leia entrusting a secret message for R2D2 to give to Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Well, I think it's time to pop in a Star Wars DVD! :)

Etsy: More Mini Ghosties!

I can't believe my eyes! More Mini Ghosties have been marching through my craft area. ...I think it's an invasion! They will be slowly populating my Etsy shop, so keep your eyes peeled for more colourful ghosts! :)



Today's new additions are:

• Mini Yellow Ghostie likes to promote happiness and clear thinking.
• Mini Blue Ghostie absorbs all the sad feelings around him in an effort to try and make things happy again. That's why he looks so sad.
• Mini Lime Green Ghostie promotes new growth in any situation.
• Mini Dark Pink Ghostie helps to bring lots of love and passion to a situation.

Plush Art Show: Mortal Plush: I Am Not Your Toy

Mortal Plush: I Am Not Your Toy opens tomorrow night at Art Whino Gallery in National Harbor, MD. They will have live DJ's spinning tunes, a performance by Helicopters and Vultures, and free gelato samples! The show runs from July 11 - August 11, and if you're in the neighbourhood you should go check it out!

I'm disappointed that I won't be able to make it (I'm on the other side of the country) because I have one plush in the show, the Sad Pierrot! You can see him hanging up below.



Art Whino is a beautiful open & modern gallery space and it looks like it's going to be a fantastic plush show. I'm not sure if they will be selling the plush online after the opening reception, but they will be available for sale at their store. You can see more pics of the show here.

Photos: Toronto (Distillery District & Downtown)

I was back home in Toronto this past weekend because my husband was the Best Man at our friends wedding. Their wedding was held in Toronto's historical Distillery District (established in 1832). The Distillery has lots of old buildings, art galleries, restaurants and quaint cobblestone streets.



The ceremony and reception were both held at the Archeo Restaurant. The food was delicious! I would definitely eat there again.



The cake was gorgeous and made by Dufflet.



We had a bit of time to see family and snapped some pics of downtown Toronto.



Toronto's Yonge Street, which was at one time the longest street in the world.



Toronto was having a city-wide garbage strike (it was at 15 days when I took these photos), yet it was still cleaner than I thought it would be. Toronto is known for being a very clean city, and as you can see people are still putting trash where it should go even if it's not being picked up. I was quite impressed! However, I think the message: "Please do no litter" placed on a garbage can by the city during the strike is very insulting!



Below is a pic of Bloor Street. On the right is the new addition to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) called the: "Michael Lee-Chin Crystal". I love how abstract and obnoxious it is! :)

Weekly Window Shopping #3: Zombuki

This week I'm featuring the online shop Zombuki. "ZOMBUKIS LOVE YOU | Resin Jewelry and Eclectic Awesome". The shop owner Brigitte is super awesome, and a good friend. :) She has a blog, flickr, twitter and is the mastermind behind the beautiful Zombuki Pullip dolls!


[Left] Zombuki Postcard Set - Four Designs x2 Each - Featuring Pullip and Dal Dolls - $8.00
[Middle] Rococo Story, Chapter 1 - Zombuki Ume - Pullip Doll Photo Print - 8 x 10 - $25.00
[Right] Zombuki Dolls - 1 Inch Pinback Buttons - Set of 5 Featuring Pullip and Dal - $8.00


[Left] Plays With Dolls - Cherry Red - Resin Pendant Necklace - $18.00
[Middle] Zombuki Kokeshi Doll 09 - Dame Strawberry - Pink and Red - One of a Kind - $38.00
[Right] Clumsy Alice - Lost In Wonderland Part VI - Lolita Cameo Necklace - $18.00


[Left] Dueling Clock Rabbits - Lost in Wonderland Series - Resin Pendant Necklace - $19.00
[Middle]Sweet Lolita Pirate - Baroque Cameo Necklace - $18.00
[Right] Deer Forest - Pink and Black - Glow in the Dark - Heart Shaped Resin Necklace - $18.00