Vote for My Project! Please!

I can hardly believe it: one of my projects is in a national Art of ReUse Contest! It's sponsored by NBC and Etsy. Martha Stewart is one of the judges!!! I'm so excited!!!!! Here's the project. It's my most recent miniature vignette, featuring my little bride bunny pondering her future as she waits for "Mr. Right":  

The materials for this project included a piece of reclaimed foam board and recycled fabric for the backdrop; recycled plastic toy chair; and hand-sewn bunny plushy (felted vintage recycled cashmere sweater, vintage recycled embroidery floss, recycled fiberfill, vintage recycled lace, and recycled tulle).

Voting and commenting are open from Saturday, April 9 until Friday, April 15 at midnight Eastern time. Voting requires you create a log-in, but commenting doesn't. Both voting and commenting (or one or the other--any combo!) would be much appreciated! :-) 

Dear friends, here's how to vote for my project: Go to http://www.greenisuniversal-reuse.com, click login to create an account and log in. Go to "Projects," then "Toys, Games and Gadgets." Mine is "Miniature Vignette with Cute Plushy." Click it, scroll down to "Cast Vote in This Category" and click it!

To leave a comment on my entry (this is easier than voting): Go to http://www.greenisuniversal-reuse.com/toys-games-gadgets/miniature-vignette-with-cute-plushy, scroll down, and where you see "Add a Comment," write your name and a comment, then click "Post Comment."

It would mean so much to me if you would take a moment to cast your vote for my project. :-) If you have time and the inclination, please leave a comment too! Many, many thanks! Bless you! xoxo Jennifer

New Bunny Plushy!

And she's a bride! :-) I've been wanting to make a bunny plushy forever, and here she is! She is made from a white vintage cashmere sweater that I felted, vintage and new embroidery floss, and she's stuffed with renewable bamboo fiberfill. Her bridal veil, which is removable, is made from recycled tulle, vintage embroidery floss, and vintage lace. She is completely sewn by hand except for one seam on the back of the veil that I sewed with a machine. She's super soft and huggable!

Oh, sweet little bunny bride. She is waiting for Mr. Right! That's the one thing on her mind. See how even when she is doing something, her eyes are always looking to the right? Looking to the right symbolizes looking to the future, and that's what she's always doing. She is imagining meeting her Mr. Right, getting married, and living happily ever after. Until then, she is just waiting, waiting, waiting....

Let's see what happens in this little bunny's future, shall we? Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

What to Do When Your Stash Gets Too Big

My fabric stash, that is! I used to regularly search for vintage and recycled fabric to add to my stash for making plushies. Used to, because finally my stash got too big. My craft room was overflowing with felted sweaters, used clothing, and vintage linens. As you can see, my stash got WAY too big!

Another problem: I was storing a lot of fabric in boxes, because my craft closet didn't have enough shelves. With so much in the boxes, I couldn't keep track of what I had, which caused me to think I needed MORE! Aiya! It was a vicious circle. By the way, the legal size file cabinet in the photo just below was also cram-packed with fabric.

Finally, with my birthday looming, I asked my darling husband if he could add another shelf to my closet as a special "gift" for my birthday. What a sweetheart! He put the shelf in Friday night after work. He also removed the closet doors, at my request. Saturday morning bright and early the two of us re-organized my craft closet, and it looks great:

I can see most everything, and it's organized by type of fabric and color. :-)

Here's the only downside: I still couldn't fit everything in there! Man! But I finally found a good solution, suggested by my hubby: I moved anything that still needed processing by me (cleaning, felting, and so on) into the laundry area of my home (should have kept it there in the first place--just didn't, because I didn't want to alarm my hubby at the amount of stuff I had, so I "hid" it in my craft room!).

OK, now you know my secret: I had a huge "hidden" fabric stash! Yikes! But now things are back in order, it is under control, my secret is out, and I feel much better! Have any of you had this kind of trouble with your stashes of crafty or art supplies? If so, I'd love to hear about it! Until next time.... xoxo Jennifer

New Bear!

My newest creation is a cute bear plushy:

Here's a rear view of the little cuddly guy:

He is made from a felted lambswool and angora sweater for his body, soft felted wool for his snout, soft wool for his scarf, embroidery floss, and ecological bamboo fiberfill. He measures approximately 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. He is soooo soft and cuddly! I call him Papa Bear, and he has a little toddler bear under his care that I call Baby Bear.

Before a full afternoon of play, Baby Bear needed to go to the bathroom. Baby Bear is just a toddler, so Papa Bear coaches him on how to use the toilet. "Good job, Baby Bear! Now we can go outside and play!"

After using the bathroom, Papa Bear and Baby Bear spent all day playing together. There was lots of snow, so they built a snowbear together and had a snowball fight. It was the best day ever!

Hope you've been having fun with my silly stories and vignettes. I've been having a ball putting them together! In my next post, I'll begin where we left off with Houndstooth Puppy and Raccoon. Until then.... xoxo Jennifer

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

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