Ladybug Fly Away Home!

I was out in my yard this afternoon and found the biggest ladybug I have ever seen! I thought she was so pretty, climbing around my ivy fence.
I went to pick her up, and low and behold! She's a very angry male ladybug! He's upset he keeps getting mistaken for his wife. Silly Ladybug, er . . . Sirbug!

Business Sewing

I have been very busy with work the past few weeks. Finished final grading yesterday and have to finish a class outline by next Friday for our big trip. But I did manage to get a few things made! I call them "Business Sewing" due to not a monster, but a necessity. Both patterns by Amy Butler. The business card holder was real quick and easy, but does not hold many cards! I was going to bring it with me to Scotland but I want to take more than 6 cards!

The ipod cover was difficult, many layers of stabilizer hidden inside, and then the bending of fabric to close it off. Never again! But it's done and matches my laptop cover.

The Gotcha Family is going on summer vacation!

To Washington, DC! I have been accepted to the Mortal Plush show! I am so excited! This is my first show, and they will be making a book of the show as well. First show and published work!!

I am so excited!! To learn more about the show, please see Mortal Plush's website.

Studeny Body 2009!

Presenting the Student Body Class of 2009! These students are going right to the top!

At our school we have a faculty show each summer. Last summer I showed a mixed media cross stitch I made. This summer I wanted to show my new craft, plush. The idea came from my students. As an instructor, we here all sorts of excuses and comments by students! We get to know them and even when they don't mention something, we can understand what they are thinking. Two of my students in the Student Body of 2009 are actual comments I have heard. The other two I refer to as studentisms. They don't say it, but I'm sure they are thinking of it sometime!

Here are some closeups of the girl student, since she got pushed to the back a little.

Challenge #1 - T-Shirt

As part of the Crafty Summer Series, here is my piece for the first challenge: T-Shirts!

For this challenge we had to take a T-Shirt and re-purpose it somehow! I found this old T-Shirt of mine I got in NYC when I went to see The Producers on Broadway. I love the shirt, but it wore out and doesn't fit anymore. So I knew it was the shirt I wanted to use!
So the first step was to trim out the front. I had an idea to take the text and apply it on a monster. Once I had it cut, I decided to turn it into either a belt or a head band for the monster. Headband it is!
Next was to pick fabric and layout the eyes and mouth to get the right proportion. I knew this monster was going to be bigger than I usually do, so I went and bought a Soft-N-Crafty pillow at 12"x16". This helped build it's form so I wouldn't have to use up my stuffing! Luckily it was on sale at Jo-Ann's that weekend too! Once I had the pillow I took a little stuffing out and sewed it creating the legs, removing the excess material.Once I had the pieces, it was time sew! I appliqued the eyes and arms on first, then sew over top to make sure they would stick to the form. Next arms sewn and stuff, then the body making sure to add felt for his spikes and my tag on the leg. I even appliqued the Producers logo on the back to keep with the shirt! Once all parts were sewn, I stuffed the pillow form in, with help from my husband! Word to the wise make your seam larger than three inches! I closed the seam and hand sewn the headband to the monster so it would be sure to stay on. I am very happy with this monster, and am definitely Flaunting My Stuff!