Buzz Buzz Buzz

I have been an extremely busy bee! As Heroes Con and Dragon Con are drawing closer, I've been spending every spare moment attached to my sewing machine and turning out batches of cuddly friends. Here are two of the largest batches I've made:

Ninja Turtles! Shredder had better watch out with all these little guys after him. They are so fun to make, the little shells and bandannas come out so adorable. Plus, who can say no to teeny plus nunchucks? Nobody, that's who!

I absolutely had to make a big batch of zombies for Dragon Con! It's held in Atlanta, which is also where AMC's "The Walking Dead" is filmed. This zombie hoard is decidedly cuter, and less pungent!

This is only half of the plush zombie hoard! I have twenty-two cuddly brain eaters with removable guts. Each one has a unique set of gross features with skull faces, bloody mouths, wormy friends, eyes dripping goo, and various injuries. These are probably my favorite thing to make, which might be cause for concern...

I'll be putting a limited number of these, as well as a few of the other dolls I've made, on my Etsy shop this weekend.

I Love My Captain

This was a custom order I was really excited to do! I love Firefly and Serenity, and Kaylee is one of my favorite characters. (It's so hard to choose a favorite on this show, everyone is so fun and rounded out!)

I think what I like most about Kaylee is that she can be girly but doesn't mind getting dirty either. She loves her job as a mechanic and the adventure of being out in space with the crew, and her skills can get her a lot of respect. (One of my favorite scenes is her surrounded by admirers while discussing the pros and cons of various ship components, especially since she had been snubbed by the fancy girls for her store-bought dress.) Kaylee is sweet and positive and seems to be able to find the good in people even when they have trouble seeing it themselves. She's a good balance between the feminine and refined Inara and strong and always self-assured Zoe; naive and unsure at times but not treated like a child.

The doll was based on Kaylee's outfit in the pilot. She has a floral top under her removable jacket. She also has a little stuffed strawberry, no doubt snuck from Shepard Book's payment. Her coveralls have a teeny teddy bear applique. Her hair is done in two little buns.

Since I had so much fun with this doll, I wanted to something else as a little homage to Kaylee.

I started with Kaylee's everyday mechanic outfit, trying to keep the theme with the utilitarian jeans and roughed up boots. Since Kaylee has her girly side too, I added the frilly top as a nod to her over the top gown in Shindig. (That dress is hilarious but a little much for everyday wear). I added a jacket similar to the one Kaylee wears on Persephone in the pilot episode to incorporate some of the Chinese influence through the show. I also like the contrast of the floaty floral jacket with the slim pants and boots. Being the mechanic, of course I had to add a little wrench ring.

I have a few more cute plush ladies I want to feature, so check back for more cuddly dolls and outfits!

NC Comicon

If you're in the Raleigh,  NC area this weekend com visit me at NC Comicon. There will be many plushes to cuddle!

Adolescent Abnormal Samurai Chelonians

Or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, if you want to be technical.

Leonardo leads!

This little guys are the first of the dolls completed for NC Comicon, and I'm a little bummed I won't be keeping them. Despite all my incredibly girlish hobbies and tendencies, I did watch a ton of "boys" cartoons growing up and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of my favorites. (I'm still a little tomboyish about television and movies; I love zombie movies and I can't watch a romantic movie without making puke noises. Because I am so mature.) I found this green fleece online and immediately knew it had to be turtles.

Donatello was my favorite, I think mostly because purple was my favorite color as a kid. He's also a big geek, so that doesn't hurt. I think my favorite part was always the the incredibly unrealistic inventions he would create, most of them pure deus ex machina. His voice actor, Barry Gordon, also did work is several other of my favorite cartoons, including Darkwing Duck and Swat Kats. 

Each of the turtles has a little plush version of their signature weapon, held on with hook and loop tape so they're removable. I think Michelangelo's little nunchucks are my favorite.

Now I just need to make them some little plush pizza for a snack.

The End

I Have a Backup Brain in My Butt

Over the past few weeks I've been getting the last of my custom orders done in order to start getting ready for selling at NC Comicon the first weekend of November. I always get a good selection of interesting charcters with customs, and it seems like I've had an overload of aliens lately...

Oh em gee, I am super happy with how little Doop came out. I think I captured his absolute redonkulousness, along with his vacant stare. Doop is one of those dolls I had way too much fun making. He's about 16" tall and, like all my dollies, has jointed arms. Jointed arms are especially good for flailing while following your boyfriend around the house and repeatedly singing "doop doop doop doop doop doop" until he loses his mind. I think "Nerdy ways to irritate your boyfriend" is so going to be a new blog feature.)

I love his weird, buggy eyeballs. You don't even know.

Kit was actually for Stitch Wars Strikes Back at the Bear and Bird Gallery. He didn't sell and I'm totally disappointed to have his adorableness in my house again. Devasted. He's not at all cuddly and loveable and I do not squee girlishly about his head tentacles. (Headacles? That doesn't sound right.) He also did not sit with me and watch the aquatic episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

I think Marvin is the most "mainstream" of the alien plush. He looks a little cranky about it.

Here's Starro to give you a big hug... and control your brain and subvert your will. But mostly hugs!

Come on, give him a little smooch.

Daddy, Why Did You Eat My Fries?

Making Adventure Time plush for other people was super fun (see PB and Lady here and Finn and Jake here). But you know what was even more fun? Making a Marceline for me to keep!

As much as I sew, I rarely get to make things for myself.  Most of what I make is custom orders or for sale at conventions or on my Etsy shop. (Speaking of conventions, I'll be at NC Comicon in November, come see me!) I love sewing for other people and it's a good thing I don't keep everything I make because I would be buried in dolls, but I've been so busy lately and now I'm gearing up for a plush-a-thon in preparation for NC Comicon and the holidays. With all that, I decided to recharge  a littly by making something just for myself.

I used the same pattern I drafted for Princess Bubblegum to make Marceline, as well as modifying the dress pattern. I'm really happy with how the jointed necks are working out, so I may be making more characters in this size eventually. Other than the neck modification, which Marceline especially needed to show off her bites, the body is pretty similiar to the body I use for the regular female plush. She stands about 25" tall, most of the height coming from her legs.

I made the clothing removable so I can make her more outfits in the future. One of the little things I like about Adventure Time is that they do bother to make different outfits for the characters. (Finn, being a 13 year old boy, probably does just wear the same clothes all the time.) Her outfit from Henchmen is top of the list if I can find the right fabric for her tights.

She's very cuddly for a vampire queen, but don't tell anybody.

Totally Mathmatical!

Plush Finn and Jake can't just go galavanting about the land of Ooo all alone, right?

Duh, they have to have PB and Lady Rainicorn to rescue from the Ice King and his terrible fanfiction and explain the difference between Xanoids and Plantoids. Ya ding dong.

Since PB is a princess, she has to rock out in her sweet crown.

She also has two little dresses, in case she wants to mix it up a little.

When she has important royal business to attend to, so can ride off on Lady Rainicorn. Who is huge. I'm serious, check this out.

I think she ended up being a little over 60" long. I really didn't intend to make her that hugely long and it took forever to sew all those strips of fleece together. Despite that, I totally want to make another one. Princess Bubblegum is about 25" tall, so a little taller than the plush Finn. She's the first plush I've done with an actual neck that's jointed, and it turned out pretty well.

So far, these have been customs and I'm only able to enjoy them for a short time. These were so fun to make I need to make some for myself. I think I'm going to have to carve out the time to make myself a plush Marceline the Vampire Queen. Is there a cuter idea than a little plush axe bass?

Good News, Everyone!

Now is the time to do the Almost Through My Commissions Dance. As much as I totally love making customs and all the amazing and weird character requests I get, I haven't had a chance to make what I want to make in MONTHS. I'll be taking a break from customs until early November to prepare for selling at NC Comicon and to get my Etsy shop stocked for the holidays! Keep an eye out for lots of new characters, some old favorites, and other fun things.

Until then, bask in the amazingness that is Futurama plush.

Bender, as was to be expected, was a pain in the BUTT! I think I went through five versions before I was happy with how he looked. Version four was great except for being about 3" too tall, which I didn't realize until I was most of the way done and set him down next to Fry. Argh.

I am so pleased with how little Zoidberg turned out, especially the little sandals and face tentacles. Who knew face tentacles could be so cute? Making him used up the last of this peachy colored fleece though, so I'm on the hunt for more.

Of course you can't have Futurama without little Fry. I love his ridiculous hair. Now I'm going to go try not to think of the episode with Fry's doggie Seymour and .... oh crap now I have to go cry. (The end of the Wikipedia article has links to articles about real dogs who for years for their dead masters. Wikipedia what did I ever do to you?)

Stitch Wars Strikes Back

I am so freaking excited to be in my first ever gallery show, I feel like a real artist. Also there are some insanely awesome and talented people involved and my stuff gets to hang out near their stuff and be friends. Maybe our toys will have slumber parties.

Stitch Wars opening night was this past Friday, August 12th. I really wish I could have made it, but Florida is a bit of a drive and as supportive as Bats is I don't think he would have been down for a twelve hour trip. What a loser. I'll just have to enjoy it through the magic of the internet.

I made three dolls for the show, a Kit Fisto and a Yoda and Luke on Dagobah.

I had to make Luke a little bigger than the usual dolls so Yoda wouldn't have to be so tiny. Luke is about 21" tall compared to my usual size of 17".

I found this really really great rough muslin for Luke's pants and Yoda's robe. That makes me happy, which is how you know I'm a big fabric nerd on top of being a big Star Wars nerd. I am like a totem pole of nerdosity.

Luke has a little backpack so Yoda can ride along and make cryptic and generally unhelpful comments. The pack attaches across the front with velcro so it can also be removed as well.

The original Kit I did as a commission was so popular and came out so well I had to make another one for this show. He has some small changes; a different robe and spotty tentacles. The head is jointed and the lightsaber attaches to his hand with velcro. Added bonus, his lightsaber is fun to hit people with. Also, I'm making a million more Kit Fistos because they are so freaking cute I'm going to explode.

The show runs through September 25th. Check out photos of all the artwork on Bear and Bird Boutique's Flickr stream or at their website. If you're interested in purchasing, there's a price list and availibilty sheet on the website here.

Make Way for the Fat Fury!

One of the great things about doing custom plush for nerds is that I get requests for some pretty random and obscure characters. Like a stoic fat guy with a plunger on his head. What says superhero more than that? Just about everything, but that's not the point here. The point here is look how cute he is! (You should all be really grateful this is over the Internet and your eardrums are not subjected to my actual girlish shrieking.)

Sometimes I get sad because I make something as a custom and I don't want to send it away. Then I remember I can make as many dolls as I want for myself. Did that just make you sad? It's okay, I know what will cheer you up.

Don't you feel better now? Seriously, look at his little face! I love making dolls with ears that stick out.

It probably says nothing good about me that I had way too much fun making a teeny plush plunger. I also found myself wishing I had a little plush toilet to unclog. Oh wait, I found one. Thank you, Internet.

Speaking of things that make me squeal and thank the Internet, I leave you with Kanye Potter:

PEACE OUT!

What Time Is It?

Adventure Time!

Come on grab your friends! We're going to very distant lands...

With Jake the dog and Finn the human, the fun will never end. Adventure Time!

Finn and Jake are custom orders. Finn has jointed arms, a pack that opens, and a removable hat. There is Velcro on his hand so he can hold his mathmatical sword. He stands about 22" tall. Jake has elastic in his arms and legs since it's hard to give plushes magical stretching powers. Hey, I'm good, but I'm not that good.

Also, this! With Neil Patrick Harris and the awesome daughter from Californication. I am now required to make a Fionna costume. Which is totally upsetting news for me, I have to say. Seriously, I cried.

Stitch Wars Strikes Back

My plush are on the way to Bead and Bird for Stitch Wars Strikes Back, yay!

Something Different

Just kidding, it's more plush! I'm having nightmares about stuffing again. I'm still working on commissions from Heroes Con. Isn't that crazy? The answer is yes.
Anyway, I've gotten a lot of the simpler characters out of the way and I'm starting to work on dolls that require some pattern drafting. Does anyone else have a skill that some days you feel like the DaVinci of whatever and some days it seems like somebody snuck in at night and stole the part of your brain that knows how to do that thing? That could totally happen, I'm an insanely heavy sleeper. That's me and pattern drafting. Sometimes I draw something and sew it together and stuff it and it's like "Hi, I look exactly how you wanted! You should go have some ice cream for being so cool!" Sometimes I sew something and stuff it and immediately unstuff it and hide it under the table and pretend that it never happened.

V.I.N.CENT from Disney's The Black Hole started as a hide under the table kind of project. The little round body base and feet weren't too bad, just some sizing issues. Those little arm things were terrible! I might have made my boyfriend come help and then been kind of mean about it because I was grumpy about the terribleness. Luckily I got it in the end and he turned out really cute and his recipient was super happy and danced around a little. That's what matters.

Choopie from the The Perhapanauts was a totally different story. I think I did his head twice to get the size I wanted. Other than that, the tweaked patterns for his arms and legs worked perfectly. Aw, and he has a little wings and bright green nipples. Adorbs. For some reason I love putting little nipples on dolls.

I'm almost done with the dolls for Stitch Wars Strikes Back at Bear and Bird Boutique. I'll get some pictures and gush about them. Excited!