Happycloud Thunderhead X Plushroom Soup

Yesterday, I met with Jessica Puckett Fishman aka. Plushroom Soup to exchange plush monsters and gab. I had a great time. Our collaboration/sewing swap was pretty simple, we both cut out 2 identical monsters. Then, we each made one ourselves and sent the other one off in the mail to be put together by the other person without instructions. Then we got together to compare the results. It turned out really fantastic.

Happycloud Thunderhead

Go Ask Alice

I'm finally ready to reveal the pieces I made for the awesome Go Ask Alice show! I decided to make the Queen of Hearts, Alice, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. I envisioned the Queen of Hearts as a nasty sea monster who captured Alice:

The Queen herself is vaguely heart-shaped, and she has heart-shaped pupils and suckers, as well as heart-shaped jewels on her crown.

I based my Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum on the John Tenniel illustrations from the first edition of Alice in Wonderland.

I actually used my owl pattern, enlarged, for their general shape (Alice also uses my owl pattern, but much smaller), and then I just added arms and legs. I was really nervous about embroidering the faces since I've never made anything remotely human-looking before, but I am rather pleased with how they came out.

I decided to also make sailor hats for Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, to more closely tie them to the Queen of Hearts piece.

And here's the whole gang together:

I've long been a fan of Alice in Wonderland (I even wrote my undergrad thesis paper on the tale, because I'm that nerdy), so I'm more excited than usual to be participating in this show. Many, many thanks to Cimmi for curating! If you're in the Santa Barbara area, please go check it out (and take lots of pictures!). Visit the Paul Cumes Fine Art Gallery website for more info.

Octozombie

Introducing octozombie! He is made with 100% wool and has needle-felted mouth, eye sockets, eyeballs, teeth, and blood. Detached tentacle reattaches with use of a magnet hidden inside. Tentacles are wired for posability. His fish prey is also 100% wool, with a needle-felted head wound.
I just sent this fearsome creature to terrorize the Big Apple. He's my entry in the APW Gallery's Custom Toy Exhibit, running April 3 to April 27. The exhibit is actually contest, with the grand prize being a solo exhibition. So if you live in or near New York, please go see the exhibit and vote for octozombie!
Also, you can now become a fan of Plushroom Soup on Facebook, and you can also follow me on Twitter!

Blue

This coming weekend (February 6-7), I am participating in the Studiopolis group color show Blue right in my own neighborhood in Minneapolis. I have three pieces in the show: Ishmael, one of the pieces I had in the 2008 Plush You show in Seattle, plus these two lovelies:

The dragon I tweaked slightly from the previous dragon I made. I wanted this dragon to be less cute and cuddly, so I gave him long fingers over a wire armature and made his face slightly longer and more angular. He's made of buttersuede with cotton scales, polyester ears and wings, and hand-painted acrylic safety eyes. His wings are also wired, and his arms and legs are jointed with plastic safety joints.

The kelpie is a brand new design. He's made of suede with a mohair mane and hand-painted acrylic safety eyes. His arms are jointed with plastic safety joints, and he rests atop a painted wooden base (a new technique for me--thanks to Robyn Fabsits for the inspiration!). I had also wanted to give the kelpie's tail and fin a fishlike look. I considered painting on scales, but ran out of time, so I opted instead for spraying on a coat of clear, pearlescent acrylic. I like the effect it gives, like he's still wet from the sea.

A Clever Guise

Don't let the carrot fool you. Nor the bunny ears, bright fur, sweet little paws, or buck teeth. It's all a clever disguise to make you think this guy is sweet. But don't be taken in. He's not a bunny. He's not even an herbivore.

And introducing: mini yeti!

For those who live in Minneapolis, you can snap up these guys and others at the No Coast Craft-o-Rama on December 5 and 6. And don't forget, there's still time to enter my giveaway!

It Came from beneath the Sea

Behold Edmund, another ferocious monster from the dark depths of the sea:

Edmund is about 35 percent smaller than my previous sea monsters—I wish I had a larger one on hand to photograph him with so you could compare—but he's no less terrifying . . . to fish, at least.

I think he's pretty awesome, but I think he still needs something. A toupee, maybe? What do you think?

Introducing Plushroom Soup!

Hi Needlers!

You all know me as one of the makers behind Crabtree Studio (Jessica@Crabtree Studio). It's been a while since I've posted. What have I been up to, you ask? I've been working on launching my own brand, Plushroom Soup!

Plushroom Soup will feature many of the same softies you've come to love from Crabtree, but with a twist. I've realized that the softies I most enjoy making are monsters, fairy tale and fantasy creatures, and anything odd and a little off-beat. A sneak peek of what's been stewing:

I have lots of other new stuff brewing too, and I can't wait to share all the goodness with you guys in the coming months!

In the meantime, head over to the new blog for a contest to win one of two new plushie patterns!