Plush art show: Stuff This 2

I made it! My move from Toronto > LA was relatively painless (which was nice for a change!). Lucky (my tuxedo cat) was a great traveler (considering the drive took 5 days!) and I think he likes being back in LA too. I'm a 10 minute walk to the beach, and I really like the animation studio I'm working at. Life is good!

I am so excited to be a part of the second annual plush show Stuff This 2, hosted by Rivet! I *love* the pieces (and the artists) that were in the first show, so being a part of the second show is such an honour. The opening night is December 6th, and the show runs until December 31st (check it out if you're in Columbus, OH!). I really wish I could be there to see the plush art in person, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it. I will be revealing my pieces for the show in 2 weeks, so stay tuned! :)

Plush Art Show: Crammed Organisms Book

I finally received my copy of the Crammed Organisms book! It features work from over 120 talented plush artists who all participated in the Crammed Organisms show back in June 2008. It is available in Crammed Organisms' Etsy shop for $35.



I have two pages in the book. The first page features my plushies that were in the show...



...and the second page features some of my drawings, my other plush creations, and my studio in LA!



Next blog entry will be from my new apartment in LA. I think my kitty suspects there's a move in his near future! ^_^

Blog Update

• I'm moving back to LA to work on an Animated VFX Film, and I'm super excited about it! It means a break in my Etsy shop, sewing and blogging for a little while, which I'm not too happy about, but not much can be done about that.

• My friend Danny Z made a really nice post about me. Thanks Dan! :) Check out his website, he's got superb drawings and commentaries.

• Urban Nostalgia made a lovely post about Silver Icicle Deer, who now lives with her. :) Check out her blog, she's got really nice crafty stuff on there!

• I was working on an Alice & The White Rabbit project, but now I have to shelve it for a while due to the upcoming move. I decided to share an in-progress pic of them anyways. Hopefully I'll get to finish them off someday!



[I still need to finish sewing along the edges of Alice's hair, the white rabbit needs his hands attached, as well as stitching along the edges of his body.]



• Scot from Valley Of The Dolls sent me some copies of my winning photos on the promotional stickers for his doll shop. I think they turned out pretty good.

Etsy: Another Batch of Plush Deer

They're now available in my Etsy shop!

Grape Deer
Grape Deer is a member of the famous Deer synchronized swimming team. She trains 7 days a week, and hopes that her team wins the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.


Papaya Deer
Papaya Deer likes to sit on the beach and sip pink grapefruit margaritas. She wears a huge straw hat to keep the sun off her face. She likes to collect spiral shells near the shore and make them into necklaces.


Orange Crush Deer
Orange Crush Deer likes to hike in the woods. He loves the smell of fresh air, and the smell of pine and cedar. After his hikes, he likes to drink a cup of hot apple cider.


Iceberry Deer
Iceberry Deer loves to go skating on the frozen pond. He twirls and spins and likes to race his other deer friends. After skating, he likes to sip a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Etsy: New Batch of Plush Deer

I've begun listing a new batch of plush deer in my Etsy Shop. The deer shown below are currently for sale in my shop. I will be listing more deer in different colour combinations over the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled! :)

Chocolate Deer
Chocolate Deer is a famous Chocolatier at the local chocolate shop in Deerville. This shop is known for its groundbreaking new flavour combinations. Chocolate with berries and acorns is the most popular type of truffle amongst her fans.



Silver Icicle Deer
Silver Icicle Deer likes to ice skate across the frozen pond in the middle of winter. He skates in figure eights to try and impress his deer friends. Sometimes he loses his balance and ends up in a snow bank.


Pomegranate Deer
Pomegranate Deer likes to prepare for winter by storing the last batch of fruit and vegetables from the garden. She also likes to hang herbs up to dry in the kitchen. When it gets too cold to be outside, she likes to sit indoors by the wood stove with good book to read and a crocheted blanket wrapped around her shoulders.


And last but not least, I wanted to show a comparison photo of my newly redesigned deer (on the left) and the old style deer (on the right). As you can see, my little deer has gone through quite a bit of changes. (I think the old style deer looks a bit nervous!) :)

In progress: New studio + new Deer

A few entries back I mentioned that my ex and I had moved from Los Angeles, USA to Toronto, Canada. We've spent the past couple of months getting settled into our new home, and I've been setting up my new workspace so that it's clean, tidy and workable. It's almost perfect -- I still need to frame a few more prints and hang them in the blank space on the wall. Other than that, I feel that I'm back into the sewing groove again, and I'm really excited about diving into my plush work again. Here are a few pics I took of my art studio.

This pic shows my current studio (it's actually quite similar to my previous studio set-up). I found a pink sari in one of my moving boxes, so I decided to drape it over the closet to give the space more of a personal touch. I like having two lamps on my desk for light, and having plastic drawers with my supplies within reach is so handy! All of the furniture is from IKEA (one of my favourite shops).



Below is a closer look at my desk. Other than having a functioning workspace, I think that being surrounded by inspiration is *so* vitally important to any artist. The silver magnet board holds all my important notes (for a closer look at my magnet board, go here), as well as inspirational postcards and images. Directly infront of me, I have a collection of paintings and prints that inspire me, and brighten the space (for a closer look at these paintings, go here). My desk is crammed with in progress deer waiting to be finished up and put on Etsy.



To the right of my workspace, I have an IKEA shelving unit filled with some of my favourite toys (dolls, plush, prints and urban vinyl), as well as my collection of fabric (that seems to be overflowing!). My plan is to get a second shelving unit to put side-by-side, so it can hold more fun things that I just can't live without. :)



Finally, here is a glimpse of the new deer that are currently in progress. I need to add a few finishing touches on the first batch of deer, so they should be ready to list in my Etsy shop in the next couple of days. I was able to pick up some new colours on my last trip to the fabric store, so there are lots of new types of deer that have never been made before! Plus my deer pattern is completely redesigned, so everything will have a new look to it. I can't wait! :)

Etsy Plush Team: Renegade Chicago Part 2

Plush Team was a big hit at Renegade Chicago this past weekend, despite enduring massive rain storms. Take a look at some of the incredibly talented artists in Plush Team's booth:


[Plush Team at Renegade, originally uploaded by PterodactylPants Plush.]

And here's a pic of my plushies saying hello, all the way from Chicago! ^_^


[Follow The White Rabbit at Renegade, originally uploaded by PterodactylPants Plush.]

If you would like to see more plush art that was featured at Plush Team's booth, please check out more of PterodactylPants Plush photos.

Etsy Plush Team: Renegade Chicago

If you are in the Chicago area this weekend, please stop by Renegade Chicago. It is one of the biggest DIY craft shows in America, with over 300 artists! I will have my plushies for sale there (along with other amazingly talented artists of PT) at Plush Team's booth (#70). Please come out and support indie artists! ^_^

Location: Chicago / Division St. between Damen & Hermitage in Wicker Park
Time: September 13th - 14th from 12 noon - 10pm
Cost: Free

Etsy: Plush Deer Redux

I've been wanting to redesign my deer for a while now, and I've had a bit of time to work on it these past couple of weeks. I decided to make the deer bigger (neck/legs/ears/tail are all longer/bigger), and I redesigned the back legs to make them look more like real deer legs. I flared out the bottom of the feet and put the spots in the middle of the body, instead of just at the back. I added a snout and a nose, and redesigned the eyes. All these changes made the deer 2 inches taller, so it now stands at 8 inches high. There have been quite a bit of changes, but I think it still has the same feel of the old deer, and most importantly, I think it looks more deer-like.









I'm working on restocking my Etsy shop with an assortment of these guys very soon! ^_^


[New Deer on the left, Old Deer on the right]

Blog Update

• I've been on a bit of a hiatus -- this month my ex and I packed everything up and moved from the USA to Canada. Our furniture arrived this week (I have a chair to sit on! lol), and the first thing I unpacked was my sewing machine. I can't wait to start making plushies again! ^_^ My Etsy shop has been closed while I have been away, but I will be re-stocking it with brand new items and designs during the month of September.

• While I was away, Erin K made a lovely post about my Sideshow Twins at the Inspirational blog. (Thanks Erin! ♥)

• I was also very pleased to find a couple photos on Flickr of my winning Valley of The Dolls sticker designs being used on VOTD's sold merchandise:


[My Rida Pullip sticker designs, photo by yuhime]


[My Noir Pullip sticker design, photo by robotsformagnolia]