Crafty as a Cookie

Spring is in the air!

2010-03-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

First off, HAPPY ST.PATTY'S DAY!
To mark the celebration, everything in my shop is 20% off today!!

*ahem*
So has everyone been enjoying the springtime lately? I went on a walk with my mom and puppy today and it was gorgeous out. I wish it would stay this way forever! No hotter, no colder. And that's, that.

Last night, the weather inspired me, and I made this cute little Lion-creature named Creamsicle!

Check out his listing here.

Pretty spring-y, eh?

Also, I just entered my first craft swap on Craftforum.com! I'm pretty excited about it, it seems like fun!

Something else that reminds me of spring has to be BUBBLE TEA!

If you haven't had it, it's like a tea slushie that comes in really good flavors, and they have little tapioca pearls at the bottom. I've been searching everywhere to get them, but I think I may end up making my own, so I found a recipe i'm going to share with you!

Here it is:
Classic Bubble Tea Recipe

1/2 cup chilled, cooked large tapioca pearls (if substituting smaller tapioca, use 1/3 cup)
1 cup crushed ice
1 cup very strong chilled black tea (or orange pekoe tea or Lichee tea)
1 cup milk, or to taste
Honey or sugar to taste

Place the pearls in a large parfait glass. Combine all remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker, and shake vigorously until the mixture is frothy. Pour into the glass, and serve with extra-thick straws.
Yields one (16-ounce) drink.

You can also add flavors like strawberry, or blueberry or really anything you'd like! It's such a nice treat that's a lot healthier than soda!

So I leave you with a delicious recipe, go enjoy the springtime, and Happy St. Patrick's day!

2010-03-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

I have been prettyyyy hard at work. Suprising, eh?
This weather has been GORGEOUS, but now we're starting to get some rain. Ugh!
And I FINALLY got a car =]
It's a mark 3 golf. And it's this weird blue-green color. I think as soon as it stops raining the boyfriend and I are going to paint it flat black and pink (yeah i'm gonna hello kitty it out!)

I lovee lovee penguins. And even though winter is nearing it's end, I tried making these two little guys!

The black furred one REALLY looks like prince. I didn't mean to do that. But if Prince were a pengin, he'd look JUST like that. Swear. ;)

ALSO!
If you guy's haven't tried Alchemy on Etsy, do it.
Request items, or bid on ones you think you can make!
I, personally, have had pretty good success with it. I just finished a custom request for an owl named Hootie from a kid's TV show in Australia.

I think it turned out pretty well. It required a lot of hand sewing (my hands hurt) and i'm used to doing most everything on the machine!

So. Off to scout out alchemy's new listings!!

Featured Etsy Blogger

2010-03-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

DizzyDragonflies is the Featured Blogger for the Etsy Blogger's Team for March. Upon checking out her blog, and both of her etsy shops
http://DizzyDragonflies.etsy.com
http://KnittingDragonflies.etsy.com
I have found that her flickr is the best way to get a feel for all the beautiful work she has done!!
My favorite thing I found that she has done has to be this peace sign sweater:

She also makes beautiful hand dyed yarns of all different colors. She has definitely inspiried me to possibly start knitting!!

I hope you all take a moment to check out DizzyDragonfiles a very talented Etsy Blogger!

Manic Monday

2010-03-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone ^_^
Sorry for the lack of updates..!
I was supposed to be buying a car this morning, a really cute blue jetta, but the dealer it is at said it needs a part put on and wont be done till tomorrow. Drat! As soon as I get it, I will be sure to post pictures though!
Anyways,
I've finally gotten to work and made two more plushies!

Another Greeble:

andd in the St.Patty's day spirit a Shamrock Panda!!

They were both really fun to make. Also! I have updated my shop banner and my shop avatar, so be sure to take a look here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cookiemonzter

Because i'm pretty proud of them! I'll also be updating the blog's layout too, so stay tuned for that.

Now, has anyone else watched the new Alice in Wonderland???

Here's my thoughts:

Overall, great movie. The casting was great, but I wished it was more colorful. I think though that they should have made it more clear that it wasn't a re-make. The ending was a little too disney-fied with the big fight and happy ending. And it made wayyy too much sense to be Alice in Wonder-I mean UNDER land. Okay, maybe it sounds like I have a lot of problems with the movie, haha but really, I did enjoy it very much.

**ALSO:

I would really like to host a giveaway for an item to get sales going in my shop.
I was thinking sometime before easter, but i'm not sure how to go about doing it, so any help is definitely appreciated!!!

Who doesn't love a good giveaway, anyways?

fur all over the place!

2010-03-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates in the past couple days...
I've had to help one of my best friends move and it has been hectic.
Earlier today I FINALLY sold my car!! Yay! So now i'm trying to find a beetle to buy.
Very exciting.

Anyways. Here's some finished projects:

Brown Bear Zippered Pouch

Dust Bunnie Plush!

Grendel the Greeble Monster Plush!

As you can see, my plastic eyes came in! Horray! They are so easy to use and they definitely look awesome! Thanks to Glasseyesonline's store on Etsy! Not expensive at all and they look fantastic.

I think i'm going to do this last zippered pouch i've been procrastinating and then start on some cool pillows i've had some neat ideas for..

Also, Happy Birthday to my beautiful mom! She's turning 51 tomorrow and she still looks stunning =]
I love you momma!

don't you hate it when..

2010-02-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

So this morning someone in the heavens decided to give me a break. I got called for an interview for a pastry job on wednesday, two people called about buying my car, my glass eyes for my plushies came in, and I'm having a good hair day! (haha)

So I woke up, decided I was completely unhappy with my last plush's eyes, and fixed them so they look MUCH better:

Then I started finishing up my second zippered pouch, which is going to be a cute bear's head, and my needle broke on my machine. Hate it when that happens. So I'm off to run to get a new one, then start on some of the smaller plush's I've been thinking of ideas for, since I have these eyes and all this fur!

I'd rather be in the city of water..

2010-02-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

   Lately it hasn't stopped snowing. The snow we've had from weeks ago is still on the ground, now being covered by more and more piles of snow. Schools have been cancelled for a week straight and it leads my mind to wonder about traveling to a faraway place.. away from all of this snow!

   So to answer this week's question for the Etsy Blogger's carnival (my first one ever!) :
   Of all the places in the world, where would you like to go and why?

Venice, Italy would be my choice, hands down!
   My fascination with this beautiful place started only around two summers ago, when I attended the Rhode Island School of Design summer program. For those of you who don't know, RISD is located in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence is a very beautiful, small city which is built around a series of canals, much like Venice. Since then, I have made it a life goal that no matter what I will visit this city.

How wonderful would it be to take a gondola or a boat to work, instead of a car? I have always loved the water, even since I was in diapers, just learning to swim. Visiting this city would be a dream come true. From the amazing architecture, the beauty of the water, to the spectacular sight of the Piazza San Marco, the experience alone would be truly fascinating. Being an amateur photographer, imagine the photo opportunities! The culture! The strange new language spoken by everyone around you and not to mention, the food! Authentic Italian cuisine most certainly must be delicious.

So enough of the day dreaming..

But someday, I will be sitting in a gondola staring up into the sky, making a mental check-mark off of my bucket list.

working working working..

2010-02-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

It's always nice to wake up to a giant box of fur waiting for you to create =]

Thanks to Ever After Designs for all of this amazing fur!!

Put a listing on Alchemy, and it was definitely worth it!

Anyway, today I woke up, shipped an order, got some starbucks, and prepared to get to work all day long. So far I have completed this rockin' colorful bird :

He was definitely fun to make. Now, to make some more zippered pouches, since my last one sold so quickly!!

Take a listen to this 8 track playlist i made today, great jams!

say hello to provolone

2010-02-23T23:23:00.000-08:00

Say hello to provolone the mouse!
The newest addition to the plush family.

I think he may be my favorite so far! Check out his listing on etsy here.

I also just created a little panda zippered pouch, which I love!

I haven't listed it on etsy yet because i'm trying to get better pictures (damn you, bad lighting)

But I really love how it turned out. Zippers can be superr duffucult. I think i'm going to try making a dinosaur one next!

It's really hard trying to define a style for yourself, but i'm trying my hardest and I think lately it's starting to shine through.

I came across this site today, Cute-plush.com and it definitely inspired me. I really want to try to get into making t-shirt designs, I just am not sure whats the best way in ordering them and selling them on etsy. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

Now..off to work on some more creative thinking..!

business cards!

2010-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Happy day! I recieved my business cards today!!

Also, I finished making my tags, and putting them on my plushies.

have a look-see:

I'm so pleased with how they came out, printplace.com is easy and fast. Use it!

Now for waiting for my giant box of fur to come that I found by listing on Etsy Alchemy.

Finally figured how to use Alchemy and I love it!

FINALLY!

2010-02-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

I joined my first etsy team!
The etsy bloggers! Whoo. Very exciting, I know.

So finally after lots of hard work, my craft room is pretty much complete!
Here's the pics:

So, finally, I am all organized and ready to go. I organized everything, painted it Nightmare before christmas-like purple and topped it off with an Alice in Wonderland poster.

Is anyone else PUMPED for the premiere???

Anyways. I just finished making my tags for my plushies, and now i'm putting them on. Also, I just recently gave Oscar the Businessman Bunny a little update:

Very fresh, I think! Here is his listing on etsy - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38248617

Now, off to work on more plush ideas!

flowers everywhere! but it's winter..

2010-02-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

I took a simple drawing I did from my 2D design class, and decided to make pop art out of it!!

(click for larger view)

what started off as this simple drawing turned into something great! Does anyone know where to order canvas prints?

craft room makeover!

2010-02-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

My craft room definitely needs a makeover, so its gonna happen. Its getting organized, shelves put in, and most of all PAINTED!
I'm gonna have a purple paint sorta like this color:

And the trim is going to be black.
(kinda nightmare before christmas-y themed!)
And we might do some black and white stripes on the ceiling.
Here's the disorganized before pics! -

It looks pretty haggard right now, but by the end of the week it should be looking good. So keep looking back! If anyone has a light fixture idea, let me know! I'm looking for something creative to do!

Also, i've started on an alice in wonderland perler set.

But I dont know what to make the end products into, and i'm not sure I want to do magnets. If anyone has suggestions, comment!

finished the love birds!

2010-02-12T11:24:00.000-08:00

Finally finished my little lovebirds, and listed them on etsy!
I plan on making a couple more, but not too many as i only have so many fur scraps!
Anyways here they are -

There's more in detail pictures of them in my etsy store. They're all listed separately!

Also, last night I was up till the crack of dawn designing my business cards (finally)
Here's a peek at that :

The border looks huge, but after cutting it will be a lot smaller. I originally had it all pink, and then I realized that was kind of overload..so I went with purple! I don't know why this took so long, but it was definitely worth all the time and effort I put into it. I can't wait till they arrive!

Now time for a break today..gonna play in the snow some more. Enjoy it while it lasts! Then more sewing tonight!

problems fixed

2010-02-10T21:39:00.001-08:00

for some reason it wasnt letting anyone comment on my blog posts. that's now been fixed!
just an FYI =]

some new projects..

2010-02-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

First off, does anyone know of a good place online to order business cards?

I'm trying to get the best quality/deal! (comment and let me know!)

Anyways..

The snow here has definitely been keeping me inside and busy.

Here's a few upcoming projects..

Love birds! I plan on making them in different colors, and market them for easter baskets! (or year round)

A series of "pillows"

Perler "diamond" jewelery!

Cookie Coasters!

For the coasters, I really need a couple more cookie types, any help would be appreciated with that! So leave comments with ideas of cookie types if you can

I'm off to work..

21 inches of pretty snowfall

2010-02-07T09:53:00.001-08:00

So this giant blizzard has been pretty distracting..and fun.

It's so beautiful!

(click for larger view)

Click to view my flickr and see the rest!

super mario on SNES is ADDICTIVE.

2010-02-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

Lately my friends and I broke out the SNES, and started playing Super Mario World. I didn't remember how super addicting that game is..

So here is a Magnet Set based on the game, that's for sale in my shop =]

Check out the listing here!

some inspiration..

2010-01-28T22:20:00.000-08:00

Today, while poking around on random blogs, i found some drawings by Jonatan Cantero on Boooooom..

So so so super imaginative. It really makes me want to start keeping a sketchbook again! So, I think tomorrow I may go get a fresh one..hmmm. I need to bump up my creativity! So, alas, i'm hitting the sack... to hopefully have some creative dreams.. (such a good source for inspiration..)

hearts, hearts, hearts

2010-01-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day is fast approaching and i need to get working harder on more listings!

I've been so caught up in trying to sell my car, which is getting pretty stressful.

Check it out here (its a great car =])

anyyyywaysss.

here's what i've been up to:

Giant Whale Pillow! -- Click here to see the full listing

and the finished Polar Bear! click here for the listing

Any suggestions of what else should be added that you'd like to see?

a very busy day...

2010-01-13T19:01:00.001-08:00

After hours at the doctors office for my boyfriends allergies and asthma and traveling to pittsburgh to get his computer fixed, i'm kind of worn out. Still, when i walked out the door this morning i found some pretty birdie footprints:

a pretty bridge in the burgh: (excuse the bad quality, taken on my blackberry in a dirty carr)

anddd I even found the time to start on a pair of baby polar bear plushiess!

(with heart noses... =] )

Hopefully ill get more done for the shop tomorrow..
Oh! the weather is supposed to make it to the 40's! Yay!

working up some Valentines Day spirit..

2010-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

Just posted a cute little notebook on my etsy..

great for making a coupon book for v-day to give to someone special ;)

check it out here.

my first self-made patterns..

2010-01-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

So, I finally recieved all of my super ultra plush felt from jo-anns! I decided I would try to make my own patterns, as I had never done it before! After a few practice-runs, these are the cuddly creatures I came up with:

Oscar the Businessman Bunny, and Six the not-so-Octopus

These were super fun to create, and they are both for sale in my Etsy Shop! I'm definitely going to be making alot more plushies in the future, especially for Valentine's day! Hopefully, I'll get some good sales!

It's been snowing like crazy lately, so possibly today i'm going to go out with my Nikon and snap some pretty pictures of it.