Teddy Bears For Mike

This is the story of some very special custom handmade teddy bears that I made for my friend, Lori. When Lori's brother passed away suddenly last year she asked if I could make some of my custom teddy bears out of his old t-shirts as memorial gifts to all of his siblings, nieces and nephews. I told her I would be honored. 

It took me about six months to make fourteen teddy bears. It's a big family. Fortunately, I had a few months to get them all done.

Lori lives in Alberta, Canada and I live in Maryland, so we had to do all this long distance. Lori picked out the first t-shirt I would use and mailed it to me. It had a big beautiful dragon on it and I saw lots of possibilites for the bears. We met via Skype so I could show her how my pattern pieces could be placed so that different parts of the design ended up on different parts of the bears. A few hours later I had a pile of tiny t-shirt scraps and nine stacks of teddy-bears-to-be and I got busy sewing.

I took photos of each teddy bear in progress and shared them on Instagram and Twitter so my friends could keep track of the story of this family of bears as I went along. 

Hint: If you're planning to do a lot of hand sewing, take care of your hands. Keep your favorite lotion nearby. And I highly recommend leather thimbles.

When I was close to finishing the first nine bears Lori sent me another shirt for the remaining five bears, a white shirt with an argyle pattern and an interesting texture. Again, I had fun choosing which parts of the design would end up on what parts of the bears. 

All fourteen teddy bears were completed and delivered in time for Lori to distribute them at the Brown Family Reunion last month. She lined them all up on a bed and brought everyone in to see them and choose the one they wanted to keep. Lori says, "Losing Mike was devastating to our family, and missing him is part of every day. Having a small piece of him to hold onto, with these beautiful bears, is a comfort.... The bears are another way to heal our broken hearts." 

You can go to my Flickr gallery of Mike's Teddy Bears and see a photo journal of this project with views of the teddy bears in progress and all four sides of each finished bear. 

Find more custom teddy bears in my Etsy shop 

and let me know if you have a special project you'd like me to make for you.

How to Photograph Reflective Ornaments

Last year when I listed my Pocket Mirror Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop I was able to hang them on my Christmas tree to take pictures of them. I wanted to list some a little earlier this year, though, and since I don't have my Christmas tree up yet, I had to think of another way to photograph them.

I've detailed in an earlier post my creative solution to product photography with a limited budget and small living space. I started with the same basic plan to shoot in front of the glass door leading to the deck of my town house. I get good, open lighting for several hours of the day there.

I used pieces of foamboard again, standing one scored board on end and laying another one across the top. I grabbed one of my pin-back button parts and stuck it in the top board and draped the ribbon of the ornament over it, letting it hang freely, like this:



Since these ornaments are highly reflective it takes a little creative positioning to compensate for that. I've found that a strategically place black board can take care of the problem. Watch what the light is doing and how the reflection changes as you reposition this black board in front of the item you're shooting, varying the angle as necessary. Don't worry if you have to get a little of the foamboards in the picture because you can crop that out later.



I think these pictures turned out pretty well. What do you think? These ornaments were all made with Christmas print fabrics I've collected. I'll be listing these and others in my Etsy shop soon.

Christmas in July

I'm participating in the Etsybloggers Street Team's Christmas in July sale. I keep a Christmas section in my Etsy shop all year long, letting some of the items expire as the year goes on and bringing them back during the fall. This year I'm bringing them back early and all Christmas items are marked half the usual price so get 'em while you can!

This is your once a year chance to get my handsewn Puzzle Ball Christmas Ornaments for only $20. Every stitch made by hand, I don't use a sewing machine for these. I'm considering extending my sale through the month of August, too, since it'll take me a while to make more of my Mini-Puzzle Ball Ornaments (I sold out last year).



I also have my Pocket Mirror Christmas Ornaments which were good sellers for me last year. Some are my original designs, some made with one of a kind images recycled from vintage magazines, but any and all will be beautiful hanging on your Christmas tree.



Grab a few of my "Merry Christmas Darling" buttons to add to your packages this year or let me make some custom buttons for every member of the family!



Keep checking back because I'm planning to add something new to my Christmas section every day!


By the way...the cross-stitched log cabin wreath posted at the top of this blog entry is not for sale. It's one I did many years ago and I'm keeping it. But I am considering putting a photo of it on mugs in my Zazzle shop, so I'll let you know when that's available. Stay tuned....

Merry Christmas, Darling!

With Thanksgiving becoming a memory we can now officially turn our eyes toward Christmas. I've been wallowing in Christmas for weeks now, working on a large order for my Mini-Puzzle Ball Christmas Ornaments.

Here's another series of projects I've been working on. These are just right for using as tags on your presents, adding to your package's ribbons as decorations, include them with your Christmas cards, or pin one to your lapel to make someone smile. These are a few I've come up with so far, but if you have other ideas, feel free to leave a comment or send me a convo on Etsy if you'd like to order Custom Christmas Buttons this year.

Sale Time!!

The Capital Region Etsy Street Team, CREST, is holding its first group sale this week, starting today, Monday, October 27, 2008. All of us live and create in the Washington, DC area. We have many talented artists and crafters offering you special deals to get your holiday shopping started right.

Please visit the following etsy shops and read their shop announcements for further sale details. You can also run a search on etsy for the tag "etsycrestsale" to view just some of the items being offered.
If you have any questions, please contact the individual shops.
Happy shopping!

____________________________________________

AlmondWorks
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off all items in my shop and a Thank you gift will be sent with each order. Attn Buyer: please mention "Crest" or "EtsyCrestSale" in "note to seller" and please wait for a revised invoice.


______________________________________________
anaramon
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
Most items will reflect 20-50% discounts!
Free pair of hair pins on orders over $25 when you write "CREST" in the notes to seller section!


______________________________________________
AngiesOthers
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off all week, wait for invoice.


______________________________________________
atelierdesigns
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off all Holiday Cards, Tags, and Stickers


______________________________________________
babus
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
20% off all items


______________________________________________
bodil0331
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off all items. Sale prices are already marked in each listing.


______________________________________________
BrigaBauble
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off select items. Free shipping on two or more items.


______________________________________________
DebbyAremDesigns
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
In honor of my 1st year anniversary in DebbyAremDesigns (October 30th) I'll be giving away 1 free bookmark for all orders $15 and above (one offer only per customer).
10% off total sale -not including shipping.
Please leave "etsycrestsale" in note to seller and wait for a revised invoice as prices in shop do not reflect the discount.


______________________________________________
donnapool
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
25% off all puzzle balls and photographs in my shop. Buyer's should wait for a revised invoice before paying.


______________________________________________
dottyral
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
20% off Cotton Emery Pincushions and Pincushion Rings.
Sale prices are not marked. Please put "CREST" in note to seller and wait for a revised invoice.


______________________________________________
DragonRags
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
20% off everything. Refund or wait for adjusted invoice.


_______________________________________________
erzulimojo
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off plus free shipping for two or more items.


______________________________________________
EurekaEureka
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off total sale -not including shipping.
Please leave "etsycrestsale" in note to seller and wait for a revised invoice as prices in shop do not reflect the discount.


______________________________________________
frenchroast
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off items in a special Sale section.


______________________________________________
generationsmomnbaby
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off everything.


______________________________________________
GenerationsTieDye
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off everything.


______________________________________________
GlowNGlass
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
In addition to a 15% discount for purchases over $20, I will throw in a set of "wine glass jewelry" for any purchase over $50.00. The wine glass tags are a set of fused-glass baubles to help your guests keep track of their wine stem at your party.
Please put "CREST" in note to seller and wait for a revised invoice.


______________________________________________
herbanlifestyle
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
20% off everything


______________________________________________
JellybugArtworks
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off all week. Revised invoices will be sent.


______________________________________________
katiejean
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off all items. Please leave "crestsale" in note to seller.
Items are not discounted, please wait for an updated invoice.


______________________________________________
laurenmc18
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off all purchases for the entire week! To redeem the discount, just add your LMNOProducts purchase(s) to your cart, begin the checkout process, and choose "Other" as your payment method. In the Buyer's Note box, mention that you would like to take advantage of the EtsyCREST Sale discount. I will then send a revised PayPal invoice reflecting the 15% discount.


______________________________________________
LincolnParkStudio
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
During the sale period, FREE additional painting! With every custom painting order receive an additional painting at no additional charge ($90 value)


______________________________________________
maggiesuedesigns
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
25% off all items.
Type "CREST" in the message to seller section and wait for a revised invoice.


______________________________________________
MagpieCollections
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
20% off all items(free shipping on purchase of more than $50)!!!
Please leave note to seller on message box.


______________________________________________
maryellendoran
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
Enjoy 20% off my entire collection of hand crafted sterling silver chain and gemstone jewelry.


______________________________________________
NovemberAir
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off sale on everything.
Prices will be adjusted in the listings, so there will be no waiting.


______________________________________________
Organidog
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
Purchase any variety our our organic dog treats through our Etsy shop and receive a dozen Fleas Navidad treats free. Just mention "CREST" in the "message to seller" section.


______________________________________________
OhSewUnique
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off select items. Free shipping on two or more items.


______________________________________________
penelopedesign
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off all items. Prices already adjusted in the listings, so no need to wait for a revised invoice.


______________________________________________
sararosetutus
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off of most items. Items will be tagged EtsycrestSale. The item prices reflect the sale prices for the duration of the sale. Sale items labeled EtsyCrest Sale.


______________________________________________
SudsNSuch
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% off. Wait for a revised invoice.


______________________________________________
tarabu
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10% any purchase and free shipping on two or more items, including custom orders.


______________________________________________
undefinedvillage
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
15% off entire inventory. ATC free gift with the purchase of a photographic print.


______________________________________________
UnusualFelineObjects
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
Along with 20% off everything, I offer the following to those who mention etsycrestsale in notes to seller:
- Above the $10 level, *International customers* will be given an additional 5% off. Please wait for a revised invoice and request shipping to your location before you pay and I will revise the listing for you.
- *U.S. customers* will be offered a choice of free items from my shop starting at the $10 level.
- Above the $20 level my U.S. vintage buyers will be given free insurance and delivery confirmation to go with my actual shipping. Overages will be refunded.


______________________________________________
WildHoneysuckle
Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd
10-15% off of most items. Items will be tagged EtsycrestSale. The item prices refelct the sale prices for the duration of the sale. Item descriptions also indicate price reduction.

Christmas is Still Coming!!

Still working on that custom order for my Mini-Puzzle Ball Christmas Ornaments. I figured I'd post some pictures along the way so you can see the progress I'm making.

These pictures were also a fun way to try out my new camera...an updated version of my old one, which makes the learning curve manageable. I can tell I'm gonna have fun with this one! Click on this picture and the one in my previous post and you'll see the difference, too!

Summer/Fall projects

A cool breeze is blowing at my house today and fall is definitely in the air. But this project I just completed for an Etsy customer reminds me of summer.

When she first contacted me she said she wanted a special pocket mirror to give to her daughter. She said she loves pink and elephants and butterflies and glitter.

Two thoughts occurred to me:

1. I'm knee-deep in a custom order of 15 Mini-Puzzle Ball Christmas Ornaments and don't have a lot of time for graphic design brainstorming right now.

2. "Girly" does not describe me. I'm about as "tomboy" as you can get and have been so for all of my 50 years on this planet.

I decided to call in reinforcements.

I told the CafeMom Etsy Moms Street Team about this because I knew several members are talented graphic artists who might be interested in this project. After gathering some designs from the ladies and submitting several to the customer, this one was her favorite.




I pressed it by hand with my professional button machine and materials and covered it with mylar and turned it into the pocket mirror pictured here.




You should check out the Etsy shop of the Cafemom Etsy Mom who helped me with this project, mamaslittlemonkeys for some great stuff for babies, kids and their mamas. She's also opened a second Etsy shop, fleurdeink, for some really special flower pens she makes:








If you're a member of CafeMom.com and also an Etsy seller, stop by and see our CafeMom Etsy Moms Group sometime.

Christmas is Coming!

I got a big order for 15 of my Mini-Puzzle Ball Christmas Ornaments! That's the good news. Now the challenge will be finding the time to make them all!

So far...so good!

Pink and Pinker

When my daughter was just a preschooler she used to ask for her favorite yogurt... one of those colorful Trix yogurts with the blend of two flavors. I don't remember what the flavors were, but her favorite was something that was a mix of light and dark pink that she called "pink and pinker".

I thought of that as I put the finishing touches on this pink denim teddy bear. Usually, I'll add a ribbon of a contrasting color, but then I spotted this brighter pink ribbon and thought, "why not?"

So, I present to you my "Pink and Pinker" Teddy Bear...now available in my Etsy shop! I used to sew faces on all my bears, but some people like them left plain like this, and others have a preference about eye colors or whether their bear should be a girl (with eyelashes) or boy (without eyelashes), so I leave them face-less now and let the buyer tell me what they want.

Christmas Packages and Choir Dolls

For the past couple of days I've been gathering everything that must be mailed to members of my extended family for Christmas. Since I live in Maryland and most everybody else lives in Texas, that's a lot of people. Now, my thing isn't about spending a lot of money and shopping for the next big thing. Mainly because I don't have a lot money...never have...never expect to. Necessity is the mother of invention, so they say. In my family, make that poverty is the mother of creativity!

I don't know if my mother made these because of a lack of money for buying decorations or if it was just a burst of creativity. I say a burst because with my mom we saw a steady stream of creativity and talent every day of our lives. But I remember when she made these choir dolls by folding magazines, spray painting them and adding a few other details. They're made with a copy of Look magazine, one Good Housekeeping and a TV Guide. My dad drew the faces and cut them out. I helped by staying out of the way!

These choir dolls were put on display in a place of honor atop the piano every year at Christmastime until they practically fell apart. I still have these original dolls. One year I started to make new bodies for them, finding current magazines of the appropriate sizes and I made an interesting discovery. Today's magazines have at least four times the amount of pages that magazines had in the early sixties! If I try that again I'll have to do it with with much less than a whole magazine! I'll get to it someday. In the meantime, here's a picture of the originals:

Hot Pink Christmas

I'm thinking about some new color combinations for my Christmas Puzzle Balls, so I thought I'd try one out on a friend of mine. Here's what she (and her daughter) said about it:

Here is a few (not really great) pics of the kid with her favorite Christmas Ornament.
It's a mini puzzle ball made by Donna Pool.
She can take it off the tree and it comes apart in three peices and she has to figure out how to put it back together.

She really loves it!

She's so excited b/c of all the ornaments on the tree... she knows that that one... she can take it off and play with it!











So what do you think? Leave a comment and tell me if you think I should make more like this to post in my Etsy shop. I'd love to hear what you think!

And there I Am...Again!

Something new to help you find your way around all those wonderful Etsy artist's shops:

http://etsymini.blogspot.com/

Just click on the categories in the sidebar there and you'll get a glimpse at what each artist has in their shop. This is just a sampling of artists who have submitted their shops to this particular blog, but it's a good place to start.

I submitted my shop when I saw that there was a category for "Miscellaneous and Eclectic", because I can't seem to stick to one particular type of project! So, click on that category, and there I am, on page 2:

http://etsymini.blogspot.com/2001/12/miscellaneous-and-eclectic-page-2.html

Take a look around the blog and click on anything that looks interesting...like, maybe my stuff!

Office Treasures

Items from my shop are currently featured in two different Treasuries on Etsy, both related to offices:




Click here to go to this one.



Click here to see that one.


When I think back on my days as an office worker, I think the "Frustration" one is particularly appropriate to the theme!

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged once before, but this time I was tagged by three different people: CozyMoments, TPDesigns, and mooretaste.

So, now I'll list eight things about myself. I got a combination of eight or six items mentioned by my three taggers, so I figured I'd go ahead and do eight.

It took me a little while to think up more things about myself I could list this time around, but here goes.

1. I've been a songwriter.... I wrote about a dozen songs when I was in college, singing and playing my guitar frequently at a summer camp and for the Baptist Student Union on my campus. Mind you, I didn't say they were good songs, but my friends seemed to enjoy them. One was about the camp where I worked one summer and the kids even gave me a standing ovation! But they were kids...what did they know?!

2. I've been a published writer.... I wrote for a couple of years for the Womens Missionary Union. I had a blast doing it, learned a lot, and met some fascinating people. But one day I had to set aside an article I was working on because I'd gotten a call-back from a missionary in Thailand to interview her for another article. I had to park the phone on my shoulder to talk to her while my hands were busy changing my daughter's diaper and it suddenly occurred to me ...perhaps I should wait a few years before taking on that many deadlines!

3. I've been a published photographer.... Some of my photos appeared in the WMU publications I also wrote for, some in other Baptist publications, and quite a few in the alumni magazine of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas where I worked with the PR Department for about three years. It's always a kick to see your name in print!

4. I've been a cartoonist.... Okay, don't get excited. I just doodled some cartoons for my junior high school paper. No autographs, please!

5. I've been a crafts teacher. I worked five summers in a row at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill, Texas. Four of those years I was director of the crafts program. Give me a little plastic lacing and I can make a lanyard in my sleep!

6. I've been a guitar teacher.... Besides giving tips to beginning guitar players here and there, I've actually been paid to give guitar lessons a couple of times. I also taught a couple of guitar classes during Music Week at my church. Just me vs. seventeen beginning guitar students in one class...the biggest challenge was keeping the guitars all tuned up!

7. I've been on TV a couple of times.... Again, don't get too excited. I worked as a production assistant for two shows on the old ACTS (America Christian Television System) Network, which later was sold or merged with something else. But it was a great experience since part of my job was scheduling guests for talk shows and hosting them while they were in our studios. Another job where I met some fascinating people! A couple of times, they needed me to appear on the show. Once they had someone on who was evaluating colors, you know, figuring out if you were a "winter", or "spring", etc. I agree with my Aunt Becky who has always said her color was red...as in Red Tag Special! Turns out I'm one of the rare people who can be just about any season of the year, so I posed a challenge to our guest for that show! Another time they were doing a feature about parenting preschoolers, and since I was the parent of a preschooler at the time, my preschooler and I appeared for a brief interview. We took a picture of my daughter getting her make-up done for TV to add to her scrapbook!

8. I've been there, done that, and will never grow my hair long again!






Now here's who I'm tagging...each of you have to list eight things about yourself and tag eight others:

sjcreations
EmmagailCreations
madebymelissa
happydaystudio
PhonyArt
CatherineGrace
Messie
SimplySilly

Do Overs

I started another Mini-Puzzle Ball a couple of days ago, this time cutting out pieces for two different ones at the same time. That way I've got another one ready to go when the first one is finished.

All those tiny stitches can actually be a sort of therapy for me. It's as though I'm channeling all my perfectionist tendencies into those stitches. My living room/crafting workshop is a disaster area...but, by golly, those stitches sure are neat, aren't they!?!

It used to be that I would sew all the little sections together before starting to trim the seams, turn them inside out and stuff them all, then assemble the ball. These days, though, particularly with the tiniest ones, I've decided to trim, turn & stuff the first section I finish. That gives me a better idea of what the finished product will look like.

This time, though, I trimmed it a little too close. When I used the pointed end of a pair of scissors to work the corners out, I had a blow-out. I had trimmed the seam too close and there just weren't enough threads left to hold it together there. Here's what I mean:



Determined to keep from making the same mistake again, I picked up the next pieces of fabric in my prepared stack and kept stitching. After I had successfully completed the second attempt at my first section of this puzzle ball, I cut out two more pieces of fabric to replace the ones I'd wasted on my first attempt. Of course, with a project this small...it's not much waste!



When it's finished, this Mini-Puzzle Ball will be available in my etsy shop.

Treasuries Abound!

I was delighted yesterday to discover I was featured in one of Etsy's Treasuries. Treasuries are like a mini-gallery of items from all kinds of Etsy sellers. Any Etsy seller can set up a Treasury and pick out an assortment of products from different Etsy shops, usually around a theme. A certain color, or activity or topic of some kind. Here's one I'm in now, featuring sellers who are all part of the EtsyMom Street Team:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=5227



And here's the one I just found out about today, also featuring EtsyMoms:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=5433



I hope you'll click on those links and go check out those treasuries for yourself to get a closer look at all the wonderful things made be these featured EtsyMoms!

Popular Pocket Mirrors

I've gotten lots of comments on the pocket mirrors I've listed in my Etsy shop and I've just sold another one:



I'll be posting more soon!