New Puppy!

I made a new puppy! He's Houndstooth Pup! He's oh-so-soft, made from a felted wool and cashmere (yes, I said cashmere!) jacket for his body, soft felted wool for his ears and tail, and ecofelt for his nose and heart. Embroidery floss and bamboo fiberfill add the finishing touches. He stands at just under 5 inches tall:

Here's a view from the back:

Recently, Houndstooth Pup got into a little trouble:

Here's what happened: He rode his bicycle to the park. He was having fun romping with a new friend, Raccoon. Then Raccoon ran off with Houndstooth Pup's bicycle! Oh, No! He got tricked by that rascal Raccoon. Look how sad Houndstooth Pup is now! Will he ever get his bicycle back? Stay tuned for the next chapter in this saga. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Frogs!

After making my kitties, I wanted to tackle making frogs next. I've always loved frogs. They're so sweet and tender! I had found some vintage green buttons at a thrift store on a trip to the Oregon coast. Those were going to be the eyes, along with some new yellow buttons to go on top/inside the big green ones. First I made the cute and geeky tall frog:

His narrow neck gets cold (like mine!), so he wears a scarf. Then I made the cute and geeky short frog:

I think of him as a baby bullfrog-in-training. These two little guys are brothers. As you can see in the next photograph, they're getting ready for a bath together:

Both are made from a green felted lambswool sweater, vintage and new buttons, vintage embroidery floss (given to me by my mom 20 years ago), ecofelt for the short frog's heart, felted wool for the tall frog's heart and scarf, and bamboo fiberfill. They're super soft and snuggly!

I have two more critters to show you in the next few days, so please keep checking back often. I can't wait for you to see them! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Kitties!

I just love cats, so I always had making kitty plushies in the back of my mind. For that reason, right after I made my woods mouse plushy, I made a tomcat plushy:

He's all boy! Actually, Tom looks tough, but he has a tender heart. He's a powerful 6 inches tall, made completely by hand from a felted grey merino sweater for his body, a felted black merino sweater for his nose, and a felted pink lambswool and angora sweater for his heart and ears. Speaking of his ears, they even have some angora "fur" on them! Tom was lonely, though. As tender as he is, he needed a girlfriend:

Her name is Plushpussycat! Does she look familiar? She is the avatar/mascot for Plushpussycat and stands at a slightly more delicate 5 1/2 inches tall. She is made from a felted black merino sweater (body), felted hot pink lambswool and angora sweater (nose and ears), and a felted green lambswool sweater (eyes). Both she and Tom are soft, soft, soft. They've got cotton embroidery floss for their finer details, and they're stuffed with snuggly, renewable bamboo fiberfill.

Recently, the two of them went on a picnic date at the park:

He brought her flowers (what a romantic!), and she brought a picnic basket full of goodies. What fun! xoxo Jennifer

A New Era: Felted Wool Sweater Plushies

After making my banana slug and worm plushies, I caught sight of several artists who were making cute stuffed plushy critters from upcycled felted wool sweaters. I caught a kind of fever for using this type of material, as it was and is a great fit with my values and interests.

I like the idea of recycling something that can no longer be used by someone else. It saves the material from going to a landfill. Using recycled sweaters (and other fibers and craft supplies, for that matter), reduces the raw material and energy needed to create brand new materials. Double-win for the environment! Plus, I LOVE thrift store shopping! I win too! :-)

Here are some fun pictures of my first felted wool sweater plushy. It's a sweet little woods mouse: 

First, I thoroughly washed and felted the sweaters I used. Then I made her completely by hand from soft recycled lambswool sweaters, cotton embroidery floss (including some vintage floss), and bamboo fiberfill, which is a soft and renewable fiber. I adore this critter, and designing the sets and taking the photographs was so much fun. Hope you enjoy them too! OK, that's it for now! More cute plushies next time.... xoxo Jennifer

My First Creations (Part 2)

After making my first plushy, a cute banana slug, I got the idea for making (don't laugh!) a worm (OK, you can laugh!) from Sew Me, Love Me: Best Stuffed Friends to Make by Hsiu-Lan Kuei:

Isn't that a sweet title? I fell for so many of the critters in her book, including her worm. I ended up making mine an oversized worm, because that worked better for the recycled cotton terrycloth towel I used for my project:

My First Creations (Part 1)

Hello! After learning just last summer that the world of plush existed, I read everything I could get my hands on about plushies, stuffies, softies, whatever you want to call them. After attending Plush You! in October of 2010, I came home ready to get creative! I found the pattern (which I modified for my own use) for my first "creation" in this book, Make Your Own Misfits by Fumie Kamijo and Rosie Short:

My first creation was to be a slug! Now here in the Northwest, we are known for our slugs. There are common brown garden slugs, and then deep in the woods, you can find large green banana slugs. Here's my first plushy:

He's a lost banana slug who made his way from his forest home to the 'burbs. Look! He's even been busy munching on collard leaves from our garden!

This little slug was a lot of fun to make. He sits up on his own, with just a little scrunching of his bamboo fiber stuffing. ;-) And he's very Zen-like in his demeanor. Good to have a buddy like him around. Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

Plush You! October 14, 2011

Hello! In my last post, I told you about how I discovered plushies. Plush You!, the plush art show with artists from all over the world, was a big part of that.

Kristen Rask has just announced the details regarding applications for this year's Plush You! show. If it is anything like last year's show, it will be amazing! I couldn't believe the creativity of the artists involved.

Isn't the Plush You! icon above groovy? My husband and I are already planning to attend this year's show. Maybe I'll see you there! xoxo Jennifer

How I Discovered Plushies

Hello! It's me again. Last time, in my very first post, I told you a little bit about myself and about plushpussycat. You know, I didn't even know that plushies existed until summer of 2010 when I saw and picked up my first issue of Stuffed magazine:

Wow! I was hooked big-time! Who knew there was this whole plush world out there?! Plush animals, plush food, plush people, plush monsters, plush household implements--the possibilities were endless! From there, I picked up a copy of Kristen Rask's book Plush You! (I copied this picture of the book from Amazon.com),

which showcases the work of plush artists who have been featured in her show of the same name. By October, my husband and I traveled to Seattle to see the show, which celebrates the work of plush artists from all over the world (nice vacation that was!), and to meet Kristen herself.

All I can say is, hooked, hooked, hooked! The world of plush is so fun and creative. At this point, I was ready to start creating my own plushies. More about that in my next post.... xoxo Jennifer

First Post

Hello All! Welcome to my humble little blog. I'm glad you're here! This is my first entry, so here goes. This blog is all about my love of plushies. I'll show you the work of other plush artists as well as my own. I hope to help you, dear reader, stay on top of the latest trends in the plush world. You'll also watch me work and see my latest projects here.

Let me tell you a little about myself: I make handcrafted cute stuffed critters with super-soft vintage and other recycled fabrics, including felted sweaters. My inspiration for my plushies comes from an appreciation of nature, including animals, and a desire to leave a small and gentle footprint on planet earth. I've always had a love for vintage fabrics, so many of my stuffies are made from them. I am sensitive to scratchy fibers (so are many of my customers!), so I only employ the softest wools, cashmere, and other fabrics in making my critters. And, of course, almost everything is recycled.

OK, that's enough for now. Next time I'll tell you how I discovered plushies. Until then.... xoxo Jennifer