bluestar bloggery

Kiddo's Artwork

2012-02-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

Now that Stella is in school and is getting uber-interested in art (yay!), we have an ever-growing pile of her artwork. Of course we're not going to throw it away, but there is only so much room on our refrigerator to display it.

One way I've utilized it is by transforming it into Thank-You cards. I cut up her artwork into Letter-sized pieces, paste it onto a Letter-sized sheet of cardstock with Modge Podge, cut it in half, and vóila! A super-cute thank-you card. Not only does it look fun and colorful, but the recipient will get a little piece of original Stella art! Bonus, right?

I also wrote "Thanks" with an oil pastel, but of course the message could be changed to suit different occasions.

Now I have to figure out ways of displaying some of her art on the walls - do you have any creative ideas, beyond framing it? That can get so expensive. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts...

Cheers!

Desktop Calendar {February}

2012-02-01T23:19:00.000-06:00

Here in Wisconsin it is just after 11pm on Februrary 1, which means I'm getting this February desktop calendar in just in the nick of time. Whew!

This one was inspired by The Black Keys' song, "Howlin' For You".

Howlin' For You by The Black Keys on Grooveshark

I thought it was somewhat appropriate for February, being the month of Love and all!

Plus, it gave me an excuse to draw a different animal and environment.

You can click on the above image and save it to your computer, or you can also find it here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Happy Februrary!

Shop Talk {Valentines}

2012-01-27T15:06:00.000-06:00

Howdy!

I'm excited to share the new products that have just been listed in the Bluestar Ink shop - Valentines!

One of my goals for 2012 is to create more goods that cater to different seasons and holidays. First up, Valentine's Day!

For this Love series, I wanted a fresh take on the traditional Valentine's Day card. Utilizing super-saturated colors, illustrations and hand-drawn type, I was able to put the Bluestar spin on love. (or lust, if you're looking at the NAKED card!)

All cards are 1-color screen prints on my favorite French Paper. They will be sold individually with matching envelopes.

So if you're looking for a little color this Valentine's Day, check out the new line of Love cards in the Bluestar Ink shop!

Have a fabulous weekend,

Painted Lyrics {Brunettes}

2012-01-20T15:12:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm realizing that painting with gouache is MUCH harder than I thought.

When I was in college and painting with watercolor, I always disliked it because of the transparency and overlapping brushstrokes. Sometimes there were really pretty effects that were created, but I didn't know how to control them. And the lack of opacity meant so much PLANNING - if you wanted white, you better get that figured out before you paint over it and lose that white space forever. In retrospect, I probably didn't give it enough of a chance, since I gave it up as soon as the watercolor section was over and we moved onto another medium.

Anyways, now that I am attempting this gouache thing, I'm finding a lot of the same issues cropping up. It's slightly more opaque, but all of those overlapping issues are still happening. Ugh! This is why I usually color my illustrations digitally, so I can get a nice flat wash of color. Maybe I'm mixing in too much water?

I should probably stop whining - this is why I'm practicing, right?

This painting is inspired by the song "If You Were Alien" by Brunettes.

If You Were Alien (Album) by Brunettes on Grooveshark

It's such a cute song! It was fun imagining Stephen and I as aliens. And now that I'm finished and looking at it, Stephen's alien outfit reminds me of the Whos in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Little PJs...plus the antennae! Hehe. It makes me laugh.

Oh - and if you get a chance, you should check out this video compilation of the Etsy Plush Team in 2011 - are we a fabulous bunch or what?

Have a great weekend,

Painted Lyrics {Zero 7}

2012-01-19T08:32:00.000-06:00

Howdy!

A couple years ago I picked up a nice set of gouache paints to give me another option for coloring my illustrations. I practiced with a few paintings, but I haven't touched them since. Since I've been spending so much of my time graphic-designing, I have really been itching do do something more with my hands. So I decided to break out the paints again.

I'm assigning myself a mini project: since I listen to music every day while working, I thought I would use it as my inspiration for some mini paintings to hone my gouache skills.

Today's inspiration is from the song "In the Waiting Line" by Zero 7. Here's the song in case you aren't familiar:

In the Waiting Line by Zero 7 on Grooveshark

I don't want to spend a lot of time on these, since I have plenty of other things to do. I'm going to try to limit myself to 2 or 3 colors to keep it simple. And I don't think I'll do these every day, just when the lyrical inspiration hits.

Have a wonderful day!

Project {Yoga Mat Bag}

2012-01-18T09:29:00.000-06:00

Hello, and Happy Wednesday!

Last Fall, my friend approached me with a request to make her husband a bag for his new yoga mat. She had seen the disc golf bags I had made, and thought I might want to tackle this sewing project. Of course, I'd love to help!

Initially, I thought it would be fairly simple, just a long tube with two circular ends, and found lots of tutorials on the Internet that could guide me. But all of those instructions were for bags with a drawstring closure, and I didn't feel that a drawstring bag was "manly" enough. My hubby agreed. {Insert frustrated growl here.}

Okay, I'll make a bag with a zipper closure. Not too much harder, right? Well, those instructions were MUCH harder to come by. Finally, I found one shop on Etsy with downloadable instructions: Needle and Spatula. That would at least give me a starting point.

Unfortunately, the mat I was making a bag for was bigger than your standard yoga mat. It was wider and thicker. Plus, even though I had it for sizing, it was still in its package which would mean it would expand once unwrapped. I knew I'd have to adjust the instructions for all of the new dimensions, but it was still a shot in the dark, considering I didn't know how MUCH to adjust. I went with 2 inches wider and hoped for the best...

After all the initial freaking out, the execution wasn't too difficult. Lots of steps, the lining and 2 zippers later, I finished up his bag! I upcycled a pair of old corduroy pants for the main body and hand-painted an abstract design on some chartreuse duck cloth for the bottom. Even though I kept thinking "manly", I still wanted to add a pop of color, so I found a cool geometric pattern for the lining. All-in-all, I was really happy with how it turned out.

...And, in case you are wondering, now that Christmas is over, and he received his new yoga mat and bag, turns out the bag could have been a bit bigger to fit his mat. In a very nice way, he told me "he needs to get in a zen mindset when rolling up his mat after yoga class". Ah, well. At least it fits! Now I know for next time - 2 inches isn't quite enough...

Take care,

CB Massage {Logo}

2012-01-11T11:43:00.000-06:00

Hello!

Today I'd like to share a logo design I finished up a few months ago. It is for a company called Cindi Bannink Massage, or CB Massage, for short. Cindi is the owner of a successful triathlon training business called Madison Multisport, which I blogged about here. She is also a certified massage therapist, which is a fantastic complement to the triathlon training.

There were a few things she was looking for in her new logo:
- A sense of 'oneness' in the number 3: How it relates to Triathlon; Bringing together Body • Mind • Spirit; An underlying faith in the Trinity
-She liked the color purple, but also wanted something that would complement her Madison Multisport Logo which is turquoise, orange, grey and black.
-Though she works with a lot of athletes, she didn't want it to look too 'sporty' - she wanted something more on the softer side.

With that great feedback, I started sketching. Here are some of the initial sketches:

I focused on three concepts - the letters 'CB', hands (representing massage) and a 3-part icon. I digitized the strongest concepts and sent them to her to get the conversation rolling.

After some discussions and revisions, here is the final logo!

So if you're in the Madison area and need an amazing massage (I've had one!), check out CB Massage!

Cheers!

New Fuzzies {Blankets}

2012-01-09T16:33:00.000-06:00

Howdy!

How is 2012 treating you? Well, I hope. Today is my first official work day, now that Stella is back at school. I was really excited to get back to business. The break was great, but I have lots of plans for Bluestar Ink, and I'm anxious to start executing.

First order of business - getting back to blogging! There are a lot of projects I've been working on the last few months which will be nice to share.

I'll start off with some new Fuzzies - blankets!

These little guys are called Ni-Nis, after Stella's favorite blanket whom she'd named Ni-Ni. I'm sure you've seen them - little blankets with a stuffed head attached. They are perfect companions for little hands and not only does the kiddo have a friend, there's a blanket built right in!

Well, seeing how attached Stella has been to her Ni-Ni, I thought making a Fuzzy version would be a great gift for newborns. Plenty of babies have received my Fuzzies when they were born, but the size of the Fuzzies totally dwarfs the itty-bitty babies. These Fuzzy blankets have a smaller head than the classic animals, so they're a much better size for snuggling.

As far as the blanket portion goes, I'm going to utilize the collection of graphic tees I've been accumulating. Plus, there is some satin binding for those kiddos who like lots of different textures.

Since these were my first two attempts, I've been experimenting with the placement of the head: Corner vs. middle. I think I'm leaning towards the middle placement - it's more snuggly - plus I don't have to deal with the satin binding when attaching the head.

What do you think? Are there little babies in your life that may want a new Fuzzy Ni-Ni friend?

Take care,

BIG SALE! {2012 Calendars}

2012-01-04T16:56:00.000-06:00

Howdy!

I just wanted to let you know about the big sale in my shop. My 2012 calendars have been marked down by 60%!

There are only a few left, so get 'em before the New Year is not so "new"...!

Have a wonderful day,

Desktop Calendar {January 2012}

2012-01-03T00:15:00.001-06:00

Hello and Happy New Year!

I hope y'all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to 2012. If it wasn't obvious, I took December off from the Bluestar Bloggery so I could focus on all of the Christmas projects that were on my VERY long to-do list. I will post more about those projects later.

For now, though it's a couple days late, I wanted to share my first desktop calendar of 2012:

This guy was inspired by one of my great friends who used to dress up as a bear at our college hockey games. It was so much fun going to games with him, because he was such a super-fan - he just radiated happiness and excitement; but it was also kinda hard to communicate with him through his big bear-head - There was a lot of hopping up-and-down and fist-pumping!

Enjoy your January calendar. You can also download it here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Happy January!

Desktop Calendar {December 2011}

2011-11-30T22:56:00.001-06:00

Can you believe it's December already? I feel like it was only a few weeks ago when I was sweating up in my studio, and now I have the space heater about 12 inches away from my feet. Pretty soon I'm going to have to break out the Snuggie™!

And in honor of the 1st of the month, here is the December calendar to brighten your desktop:

For this calendar, I wanted to acknowledge the holiday season without being too over-the-top Christmas-y. One of my favorite things about the holidays is the twinkling lights, so I knew I had to feature them. Though, I just discovered that our new (85 year-old) house doesn't have any electrical outlets on the outside, so I'm not sure how we are going to decorate the exterior sans electricity! Maybe we'll hire someone to install some...or maybe we'll just put some candles in the windows this year, and figure out the whole electricity thing for 2012. Hmmm...

Now, I'll just settle for this calendar. Much easier, wouldn't you say?

Happy December!

New Bluestar Product

2011-11-28T09:02:00.001-06:00

Hello again!

Are you finding lots of wonderful goodies this Cyber Monday? Before you fulfill EVERYTHING on your list, I wanted to quick share with you the newest Bluestar products that just hit my shops this weekend.

First off, the new 2012 wall calendar. This 11 x 17 calendar features my new "Sitting Lotus" illustration in pale yellow, blue and teal. It is printed on the heavy-duty Arches watercolor paper and comes ready to hang with a white grosgrain ribbon. Calendar can be found here.

I love this new tote! I upcycled some vintage drapes to create these whimsical new totes. My new floral illustration is screen printed across the front. These bags are lined with coordinating floral fabric, complete with 2 pockets for all of your incidentals. Do you like pom poms? There is an option with, and one without.

Holiday cards, woot, woot! I decided to take a more simplistic, graphic approach when designing these cards. Each 8-pack assortment features 2 reindeer, 2 snowmen, 2 trees and 2 retro ornaments screen printed onto either white or Kraft cardstock. Coordinating envelopes, (red, white, tiffany blue, magenta) are also included. The white pack can be found here, and the Kraft pack can be found here.

Here we have the new floral illustration again, this time screen printed onto thick, 100lb French Pop-Tone paper. Printed on 5 colors: magenta, aqua, green, red and purple. Just a simple print to brighten any room!

Finally, lots of my personal illustrations have made it into the shop as prints! These include some of the Daily Animal Doodles, along with other fun illustrations I've created over the last year or so. All are printed on 8.5 x 11 creamy Epson Ultra Premium matte paper with a white border for easy framing. Print shop can be found here.

And last, but not least, the newest Fuzzies! Meet Valentino, Galama, Wanda, Tringo, Yasu, Jemizee and Zazu. All can be found in the Bluestar Fuzzies shop. And, I've finally listed the 3 circus Fuzzies who were featured in STUFFED Magazine. Fuzzies make great gifts for the kiddos on your list!

In case you missed it there are special Cyber Monday deals happening in both my shops today only!

Bluestar Fuzzies : 20% off your purchase using the coupon code CYBERMONDAY20 at checkout.

Bluestar Ink: A free print of YOUR CHOICE with any purchase. This includes screen prints! Just note your choice at checkout.

Thanks again!
Now I'm going to go check out the sweet Cyber Monday deals floating around the Interweb...

It's Cyber Monday, People!

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hello!

I am SO excited for this post, because it means it's finally Cyber Monday...and that means big discounts for all of you!

As you probably know, I have two Etsy shops - one for the Fuzzies and one for the Illustrations & Screen Prints. For Cyber Monday 2011, I will have a different discount for each shop. They are as follows:

Bluestar Fuzzies - 20% your order - use the coupon code CYBERMONDAY20 at checkout.

Bluestar Ink - A Free Print of Your Choice with any purchase - just be sure to tell me your pick in the notes at checkout.

These discounts will be applicable Monday, November 28, 2011 from Midnight - 11:59pm Central Standard Time.

I know I haven't posted about all of the NEW PRODUCT yet - I've just been so busy listing all of the items in the shops in anticipation of Cyber Monday! I will be sharing all of the details soon - I promise! Until then, be sure to check everything out in the shops. If you have any questions, please let me know! Updated! Check out this post with all the details!

Happy Shopping!

Indie Art + Design Show Recap

2011-11-23T16:50:00.001-06:00

Hellooooo!

I'm back! You probably thought I fell off the face of the earth. Fortunately, I didn't (though I came pretty close). I have just been busy, busy busy with the Indie Art + Design Trunk Show that was last weekend. Then I got sick, sick sick. But now I'm on the up and up, so I figured I'd share a few photos and tell y'all about my experience.

First I want to say how much I have enjoyed the last 3 weeks. This is the first time I've ever focused solely on my personal work, and I loved every minute of it. I have never felt so inspired! Just doing all of the things I want to do, and think about non-stop was so rewarding. Usually, as I'm working on my freelance design work, my mind is trucking along, spouting idea after idea at me. What torture that is, knowing I can't pursue most of those ideas! But November was different. It was all about me and making the stuff I want to make.

I'll admit - it was pretty scary, going a month without any income from my freelance design gig. But I was hoping that I'd make at least a little dough with the Trunk Show, and it would be somewhat justified.

My goal for the Trunk Show was to have a good mix of stuff, to show my range of capabilities. I didn't have a lot of inventory to start with, just a few Fuzzies and a couple totes. I needed a strategy for production. I decided to split my day into thirds: During the morning, while Stella was at school I focused on screen printing. (And this meant I had to finish setting up my screen printing studio in the basement!) A couple hours in the afternoon, while Stella napped, was dedicated to new Fuzzy production. And then the wee hours of the night, after everyone was in bed, was mostly for working on custom Fuzzy orders (non-Trunk Show-related).

I decided I'd go with this production schedule until a few days prior to the show, then at that point I'd switch gears and start focusing on the finishing details, such as packaging, hangtags, mounting, etc. Then, the night before the show I selected my favorite personal illustrations from the last year or so to print on my fancy new Epson printer. This was the first time I've ever printed them out! They looked just as pretty in real life than they did on the screen.

My space at the show was pretty limited (I was against the backside of a fireplace), so I knew I had to work vertically to make the most of the narrow room. Unlike my show experience in July, I wanted the Fuzzies to be out in the open, not crunched into some crates. Sandwiching some pegboards against the brick wall allowed me to hang the Fuzzies over my table. I really like the presentation, though I need to figure out a good way to hang them. For this show, I looped yarn under their armpits (or highest catch-point) and hung them from a hook. This worked better on some than others. The Fuzzies with a low center of gravity tended to lean forward off the wall. It worked for the time being, but I might start sewing a temporary loop into the top of their heads that can be cut off after purchase.

photo courtesy of Prozan McGlinn

One thing I improved with this show was my use of Square. Last time I couldn't figure out how to enter multiple items under one sale (on my iPhone...I think it's possible on an iPad). So I utilized a sales receipt book where I manually entered every item, totaled it, figured out tax, THEN entered that number into Square to finalize the transaction. It took a little longer, but in the end, I really liked having paper copies of all my receipts with the names of all the purchases and the names of the customers. It made my bookkeeping a breeze.

For the show I ended up with 3 new large Fuzzies (plus the 3 circus Fuzzies who were featured in STUFFED Magazine), 11 new Runts, a 2012 calendar featuring a new illustration, new striped floral totes, a new floral screen print (in 5 color options!) and new screen printed holiday cards on Kraft or white. Plus some of my old screen prints, totes, greeting cards and illustrations. It was a pretty good variety and I couldn't be more pleased.

Though I did fairly well, I didn't sell everything, so within the next few days I will be adding lots of new items to my shops. Yay! Just in time for your holiday shopping.

And...there will probably be a sweet deal in said shops to celebrate Cyber Monday, so be sure to check back for the secret code!

Hooray!

Indie Art + Design Trunk Show

2011-11-08T22:49:00.000-06:00

I realize it has been pretty quiet here lately - I want to assure you it's not for lack of creativity or projects - I've been more busy than ever!

In addition to finishing up some major graphic design projects, I've been humming away in my studio creating product for an upcoming art show: The Indie Art + Design Trunk Show!

In less than 2 weeks I will be joined by 7 other fabulous local artists who will be selling our wares in preparation for the upcoming holidays.

In addition to what you can currently find in my Bluestar Ink shop and Bluestar Fuzzies shop, I will also have lots of NEW product! There will be oodles of new Fuzzies, new prints, new illustrations, new greeting cards and {hopefully} a couple new bags. I found some amazing fabric for said bags, I'm just hoping I have enough time to produce them - because in my head they are SWEET! :-)

So if you're in the Madison area the Saturday before Thanksgiving, stop by! You will not be disappointed.

For more info, check out our informational site and our Facebook events page.

Hope to see you there!

Halloween 2011 {Batgirl}

2011-11-02T23:30:00.002-05:00

Over the last couple months, there has been a lot of talk about Halloween costumes in our house. For the first time, Stella was really getting into it, because I think she finally grasped the whole concept of dressing up in a costume for trick-or-treating. Given her current obsession with all things Disney Princess (!!!), we were sure she was going to pick one of them as her inspiration. Which would have been fine, but I had decided I was not going to make a princess dress, since they are so accessible this time of year. After going through the Princess line-up several times, she finally landed on Batgirl. And it stuck.

Now I can't tell you how excited Stephen and I were about this choice. It was so rad! Though we doubted her excitement would last until Halloween. But it did! Batgirl was here to stay. With her 'batty' choice, I figured I could definitely pull off making her costume. It probably wouldn't top last year's, but she wouldn't mind, right?

I was able to use a lot of regular clothing as the base of her costume: a long-sleeved black shirt, black leggings, a black knit hat, pink gloves, a pink belt and pink socks. Then I just appliqued a few pink bats, added some ears to the hat and threw together a cape. And there we have it - Batgirl!

Though the pink metallic material looks awesome, it kinda sucked to work with. Or maybe it was the light, crunchy nature of it compared to the heavy, stretchy knit that I was pairing it with. Either way, I learned a lot about those two fabrics - and they don't really like each other. And I didn't like them very much towards the end of making that cape. After only a few curse words, it all ended up working out in the end.

Stella had lots of fun wearing her costume, which validated all the hard work that went into it. Plus, she got some super-cool pink Chucks out of the deal, too! What kid wouldn't love that?

I'll leave you with this tender moment between cat and bat:

Did you all have a fun Halloween? Any good costumes? For handing out candy, I wore a neon blue wig under a witch's hat and painted my lips black. It was fun. I actually scared a couple kids which is always a bonus, right?

Cheers!

Desktop Calendar {November 2011}

2011-11-01T08:02:00.000-05:00

Wowsers! Can you believe it's November already?

Well, it is. And since it's the 1st of the month, I present to you the November 2011 Desktop calendar:

Living in our new house, I've been loving all of the fallen leaves. That was one of our prerequisites of finding a house - there had to be at least ONE mature tree in our yard. And this house has several...which means LOTS of raking! But I don't mind. I actually enjoy it!

And, once again, the outfit was inspired by one of the JCrew outfits in the new catalog (page 009). I figured it was perfect for a cold, blustery November day!

You can also download the calendar here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:44:00.000-05:00

Boo!

J.Crew {Color Palette 1}

2011-10-20T21:41:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the newest J.Crew catalog yet? The color combos in the first half of the catalog are a-maz-ing. Every turn of the page was more and more inspirational. I kept telling myself, 'I have to remember this palette!' as I flipped through.

I was going to do a little color breakdown of every page, but I thought it would be more fun to add a little illustration element to it. You know, why keep it simple, right? Here's my first sample, from page 03:

Please forgive the crappy quality. My scanner doesn't do a very good job, so I've been taking iPhone pics in lieu of scanning.

And my palette breakdown:

It's just a down-and-dirty illustration of the composition, with some color blocking to represent the palette. And now that I'm looking at the scan of the catalog, the pants on the right really are more teal than blue and the pants on the left are more rust than red. I'm just sayin'.

And a side note: As I'm writing this post, the tweets are flying about Project Runway. What's going on? Ugh! I hate having to watch it the next day. This is torture!

Later!

Tattoo {Let Go}

2011-10-19T22:31:00.000-05:00

Way back on a lovely Saturday afternoon in July, my friend Rebecca stopped by with an urgent request. Her 35th birthday was the next day and she had accidentally found that her surprise gift from her husband was going to be a trip to the tattoo parlor. Her husband didn't know she had found out, but she was happy she did. She didn't want to arrive at the parlor unprepared.

That's where I came in. She had a vision of what she wanted: the words 'let go' hidden in a script-y, vine-y design. She liked my illustration style, so she was hoping I could help her out on short notice.

Well, I'll be honest. This freaked me out. I'm all about tattoos (I have 3 myself), but the idea of my art on someone else's body PERMANENTLY is a lot of pressure. I've had several tattoo design requests in the past, but I've always somehow avoided executing them. (Sorry, friends if you're reading this...) But Rebecca seemed so desperate - she needed it that afternoon! I couldn't let her down. So I accepted, and went about sketching the concept. This is what we decided on:

I was happy about it, but it was still on paper - it's an entirely different matter, etched into someone's skin. But when I saw her the next evening at her birthday party, she was proudly showing off her new tat:

It looked so good! It looked like I drew right onto her arm with a Sharpie. Phew! What a relief. Now perhaps I should review all of those other tattoo concepts I owe people...

:-)

It's Thrifty Thursday!

2011-10-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Did you know that today is Thrifty Thursday? Starting today, and for the next several Thursdays, members of the Etsy Plush Team will be adding new "thrifty" plush to the Etsy shop. This means the plush are made from thrifted, recycled, upcycled or scrap materials. How fun is that? And they're good for the environment, if you're in to that sort of thing.

To kick things off, I contributed a couple items to the shop:

Meet Gobb and Kipi. They're wee ones, just 7 in. and 6 in. tall, respectively. Made from thrifted materials and stuffed with fabric scraps, they're perfect for squeezing.

You can find them in the Plush Team Shop, along with a lot of other plushy goodness.

Yay!

Project {Frisbee Golf Bags}

2011-10-11T22:59:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I am back with another random project I completed over the summer. A couple of Stephen's co-workers are avid frisbee golfers and expressed they'd love a sort of satchel to carry their discs (and anything else they'd like to carry with them). I figured I could probably help them out.

My challenge was coming up with a bag that was functional, yet manly enough that didn't look they were carrying purses. I also wanted it to be fairly low-profile, so they could wear it while throwing. This was my solution:

Even though I love patterned fabric, I felt it would be more masculine if the shell was solid, and incorporated the pattern into the lining. For some extra Bluestar pizazz, I hand-painted the shell to suit the guys' tastes. Typically I wouldn't hand-paint the fabric because it is SO time consuming, but since my screen printing studio STILL isn't set up yet, this was the only way I could get the desired effect. I added a pocket to the inside front for keys, drinks or any other incidentals. And the magnetic snap isn't visible from the outside...again, avoiding any embellishments that could make this bag look too girly.

All-in-all, I was pretty happy with how these turned out. And I figured I could always use the pattern to make myself a purse! But of course I'd add some extra pockets...A button or two...ya know - those little details that make a purse super cute! :-)

Cheers!

October 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-10-06T00:29:00.000-05:00

I know, I know - It's October 6 already and I am just now sharing the October desktop calendar with you. If you follow me on Twitter, I've already apologized, and I will once apologize to y'all - I am SO sorry about the delay! I have been a busy lady.

I'll shut up now. Here we go:

Halloween is probably one of my favorite holidays because I love to dress up. And now that I have a kiddo to dress, it's even more fun! Halloween brings so many fun ghoulies - I had to showcase one for this month - Frankenstein!

It's pretty simple, but I am loving the color palette. The green just pops right out at ya. Hopefully he's not too scary - he still wants to grace your desktop, of course!

You can also find Frankie here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

And, in case you missed my post yesterday - be sure to head on over to Paper Sparrow's blog where she is having a 2-day Tim Burton-inspired mega blog party. I have really been enjoying all of the posts, and there are even some printable freebies from me! And did I mention a super-fun giveaway? There might be a Bluestar prize there, too...

So download your October desktop calendar and then head straightaway over to Paper Sparrow!

Woo!

Tim Burton Blog Party

2011-10-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

I hope you're not too busy today because there is a Par-Tay going on over at Paper Sparrow's blog! What kind of party, you may ask? Well a Tim Burton Blog Party, of course! Andrea has scheduled 2 full days of Tim Burton goodness, complete with 24 posts and 8 special guests (including yours truly!). Wow!

You can find my guest post here. I don't want to give too much away, but here's a little sneak peek:

So grab your black & white striped outfit, a bowl of popcorn and head over to Paper Sparrow for some Tim Burton-inspired fun!

Doodle {Chipmunk}

2011-09-28T16:11:00.000-05:00

I'm back with another Daily Animal Doodle!

This time I chose #21, the chipmunk. Or as Stephen would call it, 'Grinny Squirrel'. Have you ever heard that name? I think it's a Pittsburgh thing. Anyways, here you go:

Lots of white space. And some crazy eyes. Chloe, our dog would like this one - I think she dreams of catching a chipmunk to make her pet.

Later!

Wyatt & Katie {Plush}

2011-09-27T16:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I told you I'd be back with another Wyatt & Katie project! This one was super fun and extra special. Katie asked me if I would make some Bluestar Fuzzy "cake toppers" for their wedding reception. And even though they were serving cupcakes, the Fuzzies would still be sitting on the table serving up the yummy goodness.

If you've been following the Fuzzies at all, you'll know that I've never created likenesses of people (or animals) before. I'll admit, I was a little nervous. I didn't want to offend anyone with my plushy expressions or proportions! I got all the wardrobe details from Katie and set to work.

I wanted certain Fuzzy details to remain, such as the star, eyes and basic proportions, but I figured I could go wild with the rest of the specifics. I even got to sew scruff! It's hard to tell, but Fuzzy Katie is wearing pink TOMS and Fuzzy Wyatt is wearing charcoal Keens. So stylish, those two are!

Creating the plush happy couple was an amazing experience. I've seen some sneak peeks of the photographer's Fuzzy photos, so maybe in a few weeks I'll have some professional photos to share!

Have you ever thought about yourself as a plush? My mom pinned this clip from Sesame Street, and it got me thinking. I think the coolest thing EVER would have a Muppet likeness of myself. Wow. That would be SO rad. The second-coolest thing would have a Bluestar Fuzzy likeness...right? Right?

:-)

Wyatt & Katie {Part 2}

2011-09-26T17:00:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

Remember this post where I showed you Wyatt & Katie's screen printed Save the Date postcards? Well, last Friday, they got married! And I had the pleasure of designing their whole set of wedding invitations.

Keeping with the charcoal grey - magenta - white color scheme, my original plan was to screen print the whole set. But unfortunately, with our move to a new house, I wasn't able to get my screen printing studio set up in time. So instead I printed them on my spiffy Epson. Because I wasn't limited by the screen printing process, I was able to have a little more freedom with the detail and color variations.

Here we have the whole set:

We kept with the bike theme and all of the text is hand-drawn type. Some more details:

It was such a fun project! I loved having the freedom to "do my thing".

And tomorrow I'll show you one more related project.
Until then, have a wonderful day!

Doodle {Swan}

2011-09-22T23:39:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I hope y'all are doing well. I know it has been a while since my last post. That's because I've been mega busy doing some work for an upcoming wedding. But after this weekend I'll be able to show you the fruits of my labor - it is has been a fun project!

Tonight I felt like doodling again. I really miss the Daily Animal Doodles, but sometimes "real" work takes priority, right? I took a look at the September list of animals, most of which I've skipped, and the Swan jumped out at me. I wanted to create something that was simple, yet bold. Here's what I came up with:

I think it turned out pretty cool.

Even though I haven't been totally committed to the Daily Animal Doodles this month, there are a lot of other artists who have! I am so impressed with the brilliant drawings submitted lately. Be sure to check out the group's pool here!

Take care,

Doodle {Seahorse}

2011-09-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

Today I drew a Seahorse for the Daily Animal Doodles.

I'm calling him my 80s seahorse because of the color palette and the halftone pattern. I decided to go with the halftone pattern because I didn't necessarily want to add a new color, but I did want to add some shading and dimension. So I thought it might fun to play with that texture a bit.

Have a great day!

Renegade Chicago Lovelies

2011-09-12T16:13:00.000-05:00

Hello!

How was your weekend. Ours was wonderful. We traveled to Chicago for some IKEA and Renegade action. This was our first trip to IKEA since moving to the new house, so I needed some shelving to help me organize my office/studio. Plus some key accessories for around the house. Can you say red shag rug? Woo hoo!

Anyways, as always, Renegade was a blast. The sun was hot, but that didn't stop the throngs of people from some quality shopping! I didn't go too crazy this year, but I have to say - there were a LOT of very tempting booths.

This is what I took home with me:
- A set of Thank You cards from Yellow Owl Workshop
- A handful of cards from the awesome Tad Carpenter and Vahalla Studios
- A necklace from cursive design
- A Wooden Wonder Loop Troupe from The Small Object

I didn't have much of a plan going in, but I was hoping to pick up a necklace from Cursive Design. I've been eyeballing Sarah's wares for a while now, but I really wanted to see it in person. Boy, was her jewelry beautiful! I picked out a pretty party necklace made out of wood, lace and glass. Isn't it fabulous?

Now hopefully I can keep Stella from yoinking on it...

Some of my other favorites were
- Moss terrariums from Twig
- Embroidered garland and mobiles from Specks & Keepings
- Rad necktie wallets from prix-prix
- Hand-dyed pillows from Prozan McGlinn
- Prints from Little Things Studio
- Notebooks from Make My Notebook

I love Renegade!

Doodle {Loris}

2011-09-09T23:43:00.000-05:00

Today I drew the cutest little animal - the Loris!

This one was interesting because of the major foreshortening going on with his position. But I think I pulled it off.

Tomorrow we're heading to Chicago for some Renegade Fair action - I'm SOOOO excited! I can't wait to see some of my favorite artists in person. I'll be back in a few days to share my experiences.

Until then, have a wonderful weekend!

Doodle {Baboon}

2011-09-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I've decided I'm going to just pick and choose some animals from the list that I really want to do. My "real" work is picking up again, and it's becoming quite time consuming. But I don't want to forgo the Daily Animal Doodles all-together, so I figured this was a good compromise.

With that being said, D.A.D. #6 is a Baboon:

I really like the color palette of this one. Again, I'm trying to find a good balance between color shapes and linework.

I chose the Mandril Baboon because of his unique facial features. My version looks pretty tame, but I have to say, after looking at reference photos, these guys often look quite scary with their teeth bared. I would definitely not want to run into one of them in the wild...

Hope you're having an excellent week,

Doodle {Manatee}

2011-09-06T14:25:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I'm back with another Daily Animal Doodle. This one is a Manatee:

This guy is so simplistic! I guess it helps when there isn't any fur or feathers...

If you missed my interview over at Paper Sparrow, be sure to check it out here!

Later,

Paper Sparrow Interview

2011-09-06T08:42:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

If you've been following my blog the last month, you'd know that I have been busy participating in the Daily Animal Doodles. This fun project is being organized by the lovely Andrea of Paper Sparrow. Well, she asked to interview me for her blog and the post is officially up!

So if you're interested in learning a little bit more about me, head on over to Andrea's blog for the full interview!

Doodle {Hare}

2011-09-04T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Just poppin' in to post another Daily Animal Doodle. We're actually visiting my parents' this weekend, but I got a little time during the kiddos nap to draw. My next doodle is a hare:

I'm still trying to figure out this new drawing style, but I'm definitely having fun with color blocking. My limit is 5 colors.

For those of you in the U.S. have a swell Labor Day holiday tomorrow!

Doodle {Heron}

2011-09-01T23:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm back with more Daily Animal Doodles. Since I was 100% for August, I figured I'd take it easy from here on out; not necessarily committing to EVERY assignment. But then tonight at 10:30, I'm looking at my computer, and I suddenly have the itch to doodle.

This time around, I'm going to take a different approach. I'm going to concentrate more on color blocking than the linework. Last time, I'd do the sketch in my sketchbook, transfer it to the computer, and then color and finesse it in Photoshop, leaving the original sketch pretty much intact. Now I'm going to still utilize the initial sketch, but it will only be the framework for the blocks of color and minimal, only necessary linework. We'll see how this goes.

Today is a Heron:

It's simple, yet graphic. Hopefully it still exhibits some of my style, such as the eye and the uneven lines.

I hope you had a great September 1st!

September 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-09-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

It's September! And that means a new Bluestar Ink Desktop Calendar for your downloading pleasure!

In honor of the First Day of School for so many kiddos, I decided to draw a couple panda kids making their way to school.

You can download it here, too.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Have a wonderful day!

Daily Animal Doodle #31

2011-08-31T17:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it. I made it through an entire month of Daily Animal Doodles! I have to say, I've really been enjoying them. It has been a great way to hone my skills and experiment with textures and colors.

Today's doodle was an Ibex:

I realized I draw an awful lot of profiles. So I decided to go with more of a 3/4 front view. I love the horns!

Wow, I love looking at the whole month! Do you have a favorite? I think my favorites are the skunk, mouse, squirrel, reindeer, ostrich and sun bear. And it looks like I need to use more yellow. Funny, the last two are the only ones that really incorporate that color!

If you want to see any of them again, check 'em out here.

See you next month!

First Day of School

2011-08-31T09:49:00.000-05:00

Today is a big day for our family - Stella started preschool! Which means a new routine (for Stella AND me), no more sitter, new friends, PTO (!!!) and packed lunches. Stella was SO excited, I don't think she even cared that she was going to be leaving us. She just ran into the classroom and barely waved good-bye. Ho-hum.

But it's great. We're so happy she's transitioning well. Better than screaming as we leave every morning, right?

Well, I won't bore you with all the lovey-dovey family details. I DO want to show you what I made for Stella's first day - a new backpack! I picked up some of Heather Ross's Far, Far Away III fabric while we were on vacation, because it just called for me: 'Oh Emily...Emily! Look at me! Look at how wonderful and perfect I am! You NEED to make me into something for Stella! And look! I have little girls playing ponies and cowgirls all over me - just like Stella! And I'm not a traditional pink and purple girly pattern! Oh, Emily!' Or something like that... so I decided to make it into a little backpack for her:

I used the Toddler Backpack Pattern from Made by Rae because of the smaller size. It's perfect for our little peanut. Though the combination of the smaller backpack and the spread-out cowgirls on the fabric was a little tricky - I wanted to include as many of the cowgirls as possible without cutting of their heads. I think I ended up with 3 on the front panel. I had some coral corduroy I had thrifted a while back which matched really well. I used that for the quilted bottom (which you can't see) and the padded straps. The unique color palette made it a little tricky to match the piping, zipper and nylon straps, but I think it ended up looking okay.

The bag took a little longer than expected, but my goal was to finish it before Stella went to bed last night. When I finally brought it to her, she was SO EXCITED! Which is awesome, because I always fear that she won't like the things I put my whole heart and soul into. Plus, there aren't any Princesses or Tinkerbell on it, so that is an automatic mark against it. But she loved it so much - I could actually see her eyes light up when she saw it. She put it on and immediately ran about 8 circles around me. My heart melted.

Yay! Now we'll see how she does when I pick her up in a couple hours. I can almost guarantee there will be tears...

Daily Animal Doodle #30

2011-08-30T23:05:00.000-05:00

Today's Daily Animal Doodle was a Sun Bear. I wasn't sure what that was, and after doing some research, apparently it's the smallest of the bears. They are great climbers, have very long tongues, and have the bright yellow horseshoe-shaped markings on their chests which inspire their name.

Here's my little guy. I still wanted to include a sun somewhere, just because I like drawing them. And I tried to limit the color palette, too.

Can you believe there is just one more day of August? Wow. My little girl starts school tomorrow...*tear*.

Which means I should probably be going to bed, since it's a school night and all...

Daily Animal Doodles #28 and #29

2011-08-29T17:10:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I've finally caught up on my Daily Animal Doodles. Today's doodles were the Kiwi (bird) and the Peacock.

All of the reference photos of the Kiwi were about the same - just a profile of a little round brown bird. There wasn't a lot of inspiration. So I decided to play around with its color once again. I kinda like how he turned out with his fluorescent green stripes.

And the beautiful peacock. My hand hurts. That's all I have to say.

Cheers!

Daily Animal Doodles #26 and #27

2011-08-28T22:32:00.001-05:00

Howdy!

Well, I'm almost caught up...and just in time for the end of the month. Today's doodles represented two opposite ends of the Earth - the [Mountain] Goat and the Shark.

I decided to go with a mountain goat because I got to meet a few while on a road trip out west. We were just leaving Mount Rushmore, and we came around a bend, and there they were - a family of mountain goats leaping gracefully down the side of the mountain. They decided to graze along the side of the road, so we pulled our car over to take pictures and get a closer look. They weren't afraid of us at all! They just looked at us as they munched the grass and gave us a little smile. I fell in love with the baby - it was so fluffy and adorable!

And here we have the mighty shark. I didn't want to go the gory route, so I went with their most famous feature - their teeth - and decided they probably needed good hygiene to keep their pearly whites sparkly clean!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Daily Animal Doodles #24 and #25

2011-08-27T21:16:00.000-05:00

Hello and Happy Weekend! I hope y'all are having a lovely one.

I spent my afternoon drawing #24 and #25 of the Daily Animal Doodles: Penguin and Cow. First off, Penguin:

Stephen's favorite animal (I think) is a penguin. I even got him a stuffed one when we first started dating. Aww! Maybe it's because it's the name of his hometown hockey team (Pittsburgh Penguins), or perhaps it's just because they're so darned cute. Either way, I decided to make them Love Penguins. Sappy, I know. But I'm allowed to be a little cheesy once in a while, right?

And then we have a cow. Yes, I meant to draw the tongue picking her own nose. That is because one of my more traumatizing childhood memories involves a purple cow tongue. My dad worked in a veal packing plant when I was growing up and he would occasionally bring me along to the office or to the barns. I would love going to the barns because I could pet all the cute little calves. He would discourage me from naming them, because, well...let's just say he didn't want me to get too attached. :-( Anyways, I loved petting their soft noses between their eyes. One day, though, one of those cute calves must have liked me a little too much because he licked me square across my face. Ugh. Wet, purple calf tongue. Do you know where their tongues have been? See the above illustration.

Sweet dreams! Hopefully they don't involve cow tongue.

Daily Animal Doodles #22 and #23

2011-08-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

I have two more Daily Animal Doodles for ya, both birds: The stout Kingfisher and the leggy Ostrich. I have never seen a Kingfisher before, so I don't have much to say about them.

But regarding the ostrich, I do have a related story. It's actually about some Emus, but the ostrich is close enough. My prom date's family owned an Emu farm. And one of my girl friends and I where hanging out at his house, specifically near the Emu barn. All of the Emus were out in the field, so for some reason we thought it would be a good idea to go in their barn. Perhaps we thought we'd get a closer look? Well, as soon as they caught sight of us, they came storming towards us, legs flying, mouths open. Oh my gosh. We were terrified. We screamed and sprinted back towards the gate we had just emerged. We were able to escape just before they could get to us. In retrospect, I think they probably thought we were going to feed them, but they looked so manic that it is a vision I don't think I'll ever forget. I know, Emus aren't ostriches, but this drawing reminded me of that scary moment.

So in honor of the lovely Emus, here is my Ostrich doodle, running at full speed, with the help of his fancy sneakers.

Daily Animal Doodles #20 and #21

2011-08-25T23:30:00.000-05:00

I was super unmotivated to draw tonight, but I knew I had to knock a couple doodles out in order to catch up. Despite my lack of motivation, these turned out being two of my favorites.

Here is Daily Animal Doodles #20 and #21: Squirrel and Reindeer, respectively.

I want to use the squirrel in some other application. Maybe a screen print if I ever get my shop set up? A tote bag could be fun.

And of COURSE I had to make my reindeer into Rudolph. I'll take any excuse to get into the Holiday spirit!

I'm hoping one of these days I'll get a chance to take photos of the top-secret project I've been working on. It's been stressing me out all summer, but I finally finished it! It will feel good to finally share it.

Until next time,

Daily Animal Doodle #19

2011-08-24T23:03:00.000-05:00

Well, have you guessed what my favorite animal is? It's a sloth! And D.A.D. #19 is just that. What's funny is that I don't think I've ever drawn one. Weird, eh?

Here is Mr. Sloth, in all is cuteness:

Some day, I'd love a real, live sloth hug. For now, I'll hug my stuffed sloth, Kirby. I got him when I was 14, and this little dude has traveled with me all over the U.S., to England and to China. I adore his mashed-up little face and his matty fur.

*Kirby waves good-bye*

Bootstrap Social Media Logo

2011-08-24T10:40:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I wanted to share a new logo I created for a very cool company: Bootstrap Social Media. As their website states, they 'help individuals, businesses and non-profits obtain social media focus within their network and industry vertical'. In today's age it is so important to have your social media marketing strategy established, and this is the company to help you accomplish that goal.

Bootstrap Social Media is the idea of pulling yourself up by your 'bootstraps'. My direction was the idea of a stick dude inside some huge boots. The logo was to look 'professional, yet funky', since the company has a caring, yet alternative approach.

I decided to create a person that was a bit more complex than the 'stick dude', exhibiting an old-school handyman-type look. I figured this would work, considering the purpose of Bootstrap Social Media is to help build a strong social media structure within your company.

Doesn't he look like someone who would be happy to help you out?

Have a great day! I'll be back later with a new Daily Animal Doodle.

Daily Animal Doodle #18

2011-08-24T00:04:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

I'm back from a wonderful vacation, and even though I had high hopes, I wasn't as productive as I would have liked to have been while traveling. I had planned ahead, saving animal images to my phone so I could doodle during the flight. But then we had little individual TVs for each seat on the plane, and I couldn't get enough bad cable television. I know. Pathetic. Who would have thought Millionaire Matchmaker was so interesting? Well, it was, and I totally soaked it all in. And alas, no doodles. :-(

So this week I am going to attempt at playing catch-up. Which is funny, considering all of the other projects I have piling up. We'll see.

For now, here is the Daily Animal Doodle #18 for last Thursday: Blue Jay. Birds are fun to draw! All the feathers and markings make for an interesting illustration.

I am so excited for D.A.D. #19! It is my favorite animal. Do you know what it is?

You're going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out...

Daily Animal Doodle #17

2011-08-18T00:06:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Today's doodle was a camel. I wanted to include the environment with this one because it is so stark and beautiful. Plus I wanted to play with some super-saturated colors.

I'm going to be taking a break from doodles so I can go on VACATION! Woo hoo! Stephen and I are going to be hanging out in Colorado for the long weekend and I cannot wait. Plus, it's Stephen's birthday today (Happy Birthday, honey!) so what a way to celebrate, right?

I'm hoping to get some doodling done in the airport, but no guarantees.

Have a great weekend! I'll be back next week and will be playing major doodle catch-up.

Yay!

Daily Animal Doodle #16

2011-08-16T14:00:00.004-05:00

Today's Daily Animal Doodle assignment was a hummingbird, and it was SO fun!

First, I love hummingbirds, those little elusive creatures. It always feels like such a special moment, when I happen to spot one. No matter what I am doing, I always stop to watch it as it feeds and flits about, because I know the moment is fleeting. I remember a few years ago I was buying flowers in a greenhouse and there was one stuck within the hoop house. I felt so bad for it - it seemed even more frantic than usual, if that's possible. Hopefully the little guy made it out okay.

I drew the ruby-throated hummingbird, only because it's the one I'm most familiar with. But they're gorgeous, too! I love the bright colors, and the shiny, iridescent feathers, that almost seem to vibrate with the bird's energy. And of course I had a blast with all the textures.

See you tomorrow!

Daily Animal Doodle #15

2011-08-15T22:32:00.000-05:00

Wow. I have officially made it through half of the month of Daily Doodles! I'm pretty proud of myself.

Today's assignment was a dolphin. There isn't much for color or pattern or texture, so it went pretty quick. But I really like the simplicity of it.

Is he flying through the air or swimming under water? You decide.

Daily Animal Doodle #14

2011-08-15T00:08:00.000-05:00

Today's Daily Animal Doodle was fun and pretty easy because it was Dog. And who is my favorite dog? Our dog, Chloe, of course!

She is such a fun subject because of her distinctive features: the long floppy ears, the shiny brindle-patterned coat, her hound dog face. But I discovered pretty quickly that brindle is a touch pattern to draw. It's very stripey, without looking TOO much like stripes. So I tried simulating stripes by using the dark fur color and drawing them with short little strokes. I think it worked.

Do you remember this Home Ec post about her dog bed? That will give you a better idea of her coloring. She is such a pretty dog. I think she'll be excited to hear she was my model today!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend,

Daily Animal Doodle #13

2011-08-13T18:31:00.000-05:00

Today Stephen occupied Stella ALL day so I could get some work done. Which was pretty awesome, considering I am slowly drowning in my projects once again. And I know that means I should start sacrificing some personal projects, but I'm going to hold off as long as possible.

Again, I dressed my animal. What's the word for it? Anthropomorphizing? Here's the definition:

Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to
inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

Sure. Something like that.

So without further ado, here is today's drawing - the Woodpecker:

What a stud!

Daily Animal Doodle #12

2011-08-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

Today's Daily Animal Doodle was a mouse. I wanted to incorporate some props, since the last few have been pretty minimal. But I didn't want to utilize the standard mouse accessories - a block of cheese or a mouse trap. I decided on a teenage mouse who was too cool for his home, his family. (We had a friend over tonight who was talking about his 14-year old son and what it was like to raise a teenager. So that's probably why the concept was fresh in my mind.)
His name is Miles. And I really like his outfit. I don't think I was nearly that stylish as a teenager...

Happy Weekend,

Daily Animal Doodle #11

2011-08-11T23:44:00.000-05:00

For today's animal, the Panther, the majority of images I found on the web showed a pretty menacing creature. With their bared teeth and glowing yellow eyes, I guess it's not hard to look evil. But I wanted my drawing to be happier, 'cause that's just how I roll!

So here we have it: The sensitive side of a Black Panther:

G'night!

Daily Animal Doodle #10

2011-08-10T23:20:00.000-05:00

Today I drew a Bison.

I'll be honest: I wasn't the most excited for this one when I read the assignment. There wasn't a lot of pattern to play around with...they're all brown and kinda sad looking. In fact, I thought their environment would be more exciting - with the majestic mountains and big blue skies.

But as I started drawing I discovered all of the wonderful textures! They're shaggy up front, nappy in the middle and smooth on the rump. And I invented a new texture for the midsection - I'm calling it 'The Brain' because I just swirled back and forth, up and down and round without picking up my pen as one long continuous bumpy line. (Kinda like that last run-on sentence. Yikes.)

Okay, enough chatting.

I'm really happy with how Mr. Bison turned out! And I didn't find it necessary to put him in any environment - I thought he was interesting enough without it.

Yay for doodling!

Daily Animal Doodle #9

2011-08-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

Hooray for stripes! Because today's Daily Animal Doodle was the Zebra. Once again, I've never drawn one before, but it was a lot of fun. My goal was to make this doodle extra stripe-tastic, so I dressed her in my favorite outfit - striped tights!

It's a good thing she found some tightrope-walking slippers to accommodate those hooves; otherwise that would be quite the challenge!

Have a great evening,

Inspiration: Seasons

2011-08-08T23:28:00.001-05:00

I got my hands on the most amazing children's book at our library a couple weeks ago. It's called 'Seasons' by Blexbolex. I had originally spotted it here and was taken aback by the super-saturated color scheme. But to see it in person...wow...it is breathtaking.

I picked out a few of my favorite spreads to showcase. The illustrations come across as simple, but there is an amazing amount of detail upon closer inspection. There are some really beautiful textures, and I really love how the great use of negative space - especially in the figures. And there is a bit of humor and whimsy sprinkled in to keep things interesting. I think the "Itchy" page is so fun! What a perfect description of summer - at least here in Wisconsin, where the mosquito is considered our honorary state bird... :-)

I know this isn't my typical post of late, but I thought this eye candy was too good not to share! If you're interested in a copy for yourself, you can find 'Seasons' here.

Later!

Daily Animal Doodle #8

2011-08-08T17:16:00.000-05:00

Today's DAD is the robin! Which is pretty cool, considering it's Wisconsin's state bird. I always have a soft spot in my heart for the birds, because they're first annual appearance means Spring is just around the corner.

And today's lesson for the day is SHARING. (Hear that, Stella?)

Have a wonderful day!

Daily Animal Doodle #7

2011-08-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Here is Daily Animal Doodle August #7: Frog.

Now, there are a LOT of varieties of very cool-looking frogs out there, but I decided to go with the red-eyed tree frog, which is absolutely beautiful. Though, I think if I'd ever see one in the wild, I'd freak out - those eyes are crazy!

And I tweaked the colors a bit to me more pastel-y. He looks kinda 80s fab, if you ask me.

Enjoy the last of your fleeting weekend! Sigh...

Daily Animal Doodle #6

2011-08-06T18:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Weekend!

Today's Daily Animal Doodle was a moose. I was having major creative blocks because I kept wanting to put hiking boots and a Trapper hat on him like my Moose Tote. I decided to go a different route and change is coloring. Why not? That's the power of illustration - I can do whatever I please!

So here we go: Blue Moose.

I was harkening back to my college days when I added circles to all of my paintings. All of the joints of my figures were circled. Hence, the moose's circled knees (or are they ankles? Not sure.).

This one was fun! Maybe I should explore color a little more here on out...

Later!

Daily Animal Doodle #5

2011-08-05T17:24:00.000-05:00

Today I'm keeping it clean with a fluffy white polar bear. He's a little chilly, so he's sporting some hand-knit mittens to keep him warm.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Daily Animal Doodle #4

2011-08-04T23:43:00.000-05:00

Whoa - I'm cutting it close for missing today's Daily Animal Doodle. But here it is - Armadillo:

The thing I'm liking the most about these assignments is that I am drawing animals I would never consider. Typically I'm into the woodland creatures such as bunnies and raccoons. But these new animals are fun and challenging. Plus it's making me examine the animals' features more than usual. Take this armadillo, for example - I had no idea the complexity in its armor; all the segments and scales - it is quite a magnificent creature!

I hope he makes it to the other side of the road safely, don't you?

Daily Animal Doodle #3

2011-08-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

Today's Daily Animal Doodle assignment was a skunk. I've never really looked at a skunk's face before - it's actually pretty nondescript! All the black makes it very hard to see it's features. So I decided my skunk was going to be more of a charcoal grey so the detail won't be lost.

A skunk lying in a bed of flowers doesn't smell QUITE so bad, right?

'Til tomorrow,

Daily Animal Doodle #2

2011-08-02T17:03:00.000-05:00

Today's post is kinda silly. We were assigned TIGER, and I've been really inspired by the latest J.Crew catalog cover, so I decided to combine the ideas.

Here's the cover:

And here is my Daily Doodle:

Plus, you know how much I like "dressing" animals!

Have a great day,

Daily Animal Doodle #1

2011-08-01T18:18:00.001-05:00

I've realized I haven't been doing a lot of drawing lately. Other than the monthly desktop calendars and an occasional illustration, that encompasses my drawing of late. And that makes me sad because I really love to draw!

When I came across Andrea's daily project "Daily Animal Doodle", I thought this might be just the assignment I need. She comes up with the list, which means I don't have to think at all - just create! Plus, there's no pressure to do it EVERY day. And, it's drawing animals!

So here goes numero uno: Budgie.

I'll be honest. I had no idea what a Budgie was. Then with this thing called Google, I was able to figure out it's a cute little parakeet. Yay!

Now I'm going to give myself a pat on the back because I'm officially one-for-one. Woot!

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow for another Daily Animal Doodle!

August 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-08-01T00:10:00.000-05:00

Wowsers! It's August 1 already. Can you believe it?

Here is the new desktop calendar for your downloading pleasure:

It features one of my favorite things about summer: fireflies! And now, even living in downtown Madison, we still have the magical little creatures floating about. If only I could get little Stella to see their beauty. "Scare me, Mama", she says.

Ah well. Hopefully she won't be afraid of my drawing...

You can download it here, too.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Have a wonderful day!

Custom Fuzzy Family

2011-07-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

Did you know that I do custom Fuzzies? Lately I've had several requests to make Fuzzies out of a loved one's clothing - such a special keepsake, if I might say so myself.

This wonderful little family was an example of a custom request. In addition to the "typical" outfits my Fuzzies wear, I patched in a t-shirt on their backs, too. You can see the t-shirts on the fish and elephant. I was also asked to embroider some initials on the outfits.

I really enjoy working with customers to get them exactly what they want. Including these little "extras" make the Fuzzies even more special and unique.

And, yup! There's a fish - the newest addition to the Fuzzy animal line-up.

So if you're ever interested in getting an extra-special Fuzzy for someone in your life, let me know! I would love to help you out.

Later!

Home Ec : Sewing Machine Cover

2011-07-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Once we moved into our new house and my sewing room and office were combined, I wanted my space to be as lovely and inspirational as possible. One of the first projects I tackled in my new space was a bonus project from Home Ec - a sewing machine cover.

I had been using the white plastic one that came with my machine, so a pretty handmade one would be MUCH better.

This was a pretty easy project, the only new skill I learned was mitering the corners of the bias tape. I added a Bluestar Star, and voila!

Have a wonderful day. If you're in the Midwest, stay cool!

My First Show!

2011-07-14T15:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finally done it. I have participated in a show.

When my friend Krystin approached me about having a table at her Shop For A Cure event to help raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research, I didn't have to think twice. The small venue would be a great opportunity for me to get an idea of what an art fair would involve. So I treated it like it was a "big" show and gave it my all.

Yes, I turned into a crazy-person the last few days before the event. Even though I had plush, screen printed tote bags, illustrated greeting cards and screen prints, I wanted all of the products to look like the same brand. I furiously printed signage, wraps for my cards and sewed a bunting, to help tie the whole visual together. All-in-all, I thought it was a very cheerful, inviting table.

A few things I learned:
1) I need to look approachable. When I go to art fairs, I'm personally not a fan of the vendor trying to sell their wares to me, so I didn't want to come off as pushy. But if a customer looks interested, they generally want to talk. So talk, emily!
2) My Fuzzy "Runts" were a hit! I need to bring more next time.
3) I forgot to bring a "Will Do Custom Orders" sign. Oops.
4) I brought too much cash. Apparently customers come pretty prepared when they want to shop!
5) I used the Square app for the first time. It was pretty slick, but I didn't know how to itemize a sale with multiple items. (If anyone has any insight, please let me know!) Otherwise, next time I will tally the order first, then put that total into Square and ring it up from there.
6) Along with #5, I have to track my sales better. When it came time for me to log it all into my books today, I had to rely on my memory to match up who bought what. For this smaller venue I was able to figure it out, but for a bigger show, I'll have to manually write out receipts with a carbon copy so I have some record of who bought what.
7) Generally, people had an extremely positive response to my stuff. Which was so great to hear! Typically, the majority of my orders are for people I know, (and I'm so lucky to have such supportive friends and family), but this was the first time people outside of my circle saw my products in person. Their feedback and reactions were really helpful.
8) It's a good thing I saw a color void and made a pink Fuzzy at the last minute, because that was the first one that sold!

Overall, I really enjoyed myself. I think this is something I'd like to try again in the future. But until then, I have to start building up my inventory!

Later!

Published: STUFFED Summer 2011

2011-07-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful July. Mine has been pretty unproductive thus far, as Stella's sitter has been on vacation - so though I've gotten quality kiddo time, my work and projects have been on hold.

One thing I would love to share is the newest issue of STUFFED: The Crafting of Softies -

STUFFED Summer 2011

I am so excited, because once again, Bluestar Fuzzies have been included! Here are pics of my two spreads:

As you may remember from this post, I created some circus-themed plush for this submission. I had never made people before, so that was bit of a challenge, but I'm really happy with how they turned out. And there are props - a whip for the lion tamer and a trapeze for the trapeze artist to help complete their stories. Fun!

Once again, the talent in this issue is unbelievable! I am so humbled by all of the other artists' work in the issue. Some other featured Plush Teamers are:

Jolene Wheeler of Dingogirl's Den

Chris Hwang of Chris Creatures

Catherine Zaccino, aka Junker Jane

Denn Rodriguez

Jen Musatto of ThEm Dollz

Anne-Claire Regan of Hibou Cards

Mary Casher of Art Tales Leftz

There is also an amazing article about a Plush Team challenge in which they collaborated to make some cool Frankenplush creatures. You must check it out!

So thanks again, Stampington & Company, for featuring my Bluestar Fuzzies. It is such an honor.

Later!

July 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-07-01T00:18:00.001-05:00

Happy July! Here is the new downloadable desktop calendar to brighten your day:

You can download it here, too.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Stay cool,

Drawing Buttons

2011-06-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

This morning, while going through all of my favorite blogs, I came across Leigh-Ann's latest post about drawing. She went through her collection of buttons, laid out a few, and took a stab at drawing them. Even though she says she's not very good at drawing, I really like how hers turned out!

Then she offered all of her readers a chance to draw her subject matter. Though I have lots of projects on my plate, I can never pass up a good drawing opportunity! And I loved her selection of buttons, so what better way to experience them, then to draw them, right?

Here is her wonderful photo:

source

And here is my drawing of her wonderful buttons:

What a fun way to spend a Sunday morning, when I am supposed to be working...thank you so much for the lovely diversion, Leigh-Ann! :-)

Home Ec : Fabric Cubby

2011-06-22T14:11:00.000-05:00

Yes! I've finally completed a few more Home Ec projects. I figured I should probably get crackin', since the tutorials are only available for a couple more months.

I decided to skip the Ruffled Duvet Cover, since we only have one bed and I'm saving it for the quilt. I'm sure with my little Princess Stella, I'll have plenty of opportunities to hone my "ruffling" skills.

So here's the next project on the list - the Fabric Storage Cubby. I decided to make it fit my super duper Expedit bookcase from IKEA. I never realized just how big the compartments were until I made a box to fit them!

I got to work with some stiff stabilizer for this one, which wasn't too bad until I had to sew up the final sides - it really didn't want to fit around the arm of my sewing machine. But I ended up prevailing in the end! And now I have a nifty floral box to prove it.

Later!

It's Summer

2011-06-21T17:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer Solstice, everyone!

Cheers!

Turquoise Plaid Dress

2011-06-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

Just a quick post to show you my latest altered thrifted dress:

I don't have a 'before' photo, so let's just say it was REALLY big on me. I ended up hemming the bottom about 6 inches and took the sides and arm holes in a couple inches. Just throw on a belt, and there ya have it!

Cheers!

Home Sweet Home

2011-06-06T08:10:00.000-05:00

I know I've been talking about it for months, but we finally moved into an adorable little house in Madison, Wisconsin. The move wasn't far, only about 25 miles or so, but Stephen and I both spend a lot of time in Madison, and the commute was getting a bit long.

We're so excited! We moved into an amazing neighborhood right in the heart of Madison. We can see the bike path from our back deck and we're within walking distance of so many parks, grocery stores, yummy restaurants and our friends that we're hardly going to have to use our car anymore. That will be a big difference from living in Mount Horeb.

At some point I'll post some pics of the new digs, but for now I'll give ya a sneak peak of my view from my computer in my new office/sewing room:

I have the sunniest room in the house for my workspace which is fantastic. But it also means it gets REALLY hot during these steamy summer days. But I'm not complaining. All the natural light totally makes up for the heat.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

June 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-06-02T07:44:00.000-05:00

I know, I know - it's a day late. But...I'm hoping y'all understand because I've been extremely busy with our big move. Yay! More about that later.

So without further delay, here is the June desktop calendar for your downloading pleasure:

Of course, you can always download it here, too.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Have a great day!

New Runts!

2011-05-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Wow, it feels like such a long time since I last posted. Life has been crazy, between packing up our house for the big move and traveling to Oklahoma to watch my little sister graduate from Army Basic Training. But between all the chaos, I have still managed to do some sewing.

I am so excited to share my latest crew of Fuzzies: The Runts!

These little guys are miniature, simplified versions of their big brothers and sisters. I am using recycled fabric for each one, and Stephen is writing some wonderful haikus to accompany them. I am having so much fun with them!

I have started adding them to the shop, so be sure to check back often for some new cuteness.

Yay!

Plush Goodness in the House!

2011-05-12T14:52:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Today I am so excited to share the latest addition to my plush collection: Graham the Rarebit, made by the wonderful Leeanna of Plush Goodness:

Isn't he glorious? I have been a big fan of Leeanna's work ever since I have been a part of the Plush Team. And when I got the opportunity to see her plush in person at the Candyland Show, they were even more amazing (if that's even possible)! When Leeanna inquired if I'd be willing to do a plush swap, I didn't even need to give it a second thought.

I loved the retro styling she gives some of her creations, so that was my only request - I didn't want to hinder the greatness that is Leeanna. And boy, she didn't disappoint. When I received Graham last week, I was so excited I don't even want to tell you what I did...

The fabrics are so fun, and his face is so adorable, but what really blows me away are her attention to details. Take a look at all of the accessorizing happening here:

He's wearing a belt, complete with belt loops! And a corsage! And he has a lovely little patch with a hand-stitched "L" on his back. Pinned to Graham was a fun Plush Goodness pin and custom ribbon. And did I mention the hand-drawn hangtag and story?

It's Graham's greatest wish to become a celebrated folk singer like his idols from the 1960s. Despite being tone deaf and unable to play the guitar, Graham still sings along with the radio, and occasionally torments his friends with off-key renditions of "Judy BlueEyes". He also loves to dress in clothes reminiscent of the 60s - an ode to Flower Power.

Aw, I love him so much! Before I saw him, I thought I might let Stella play with him a bit. But now that he is in my hands, sorry kiddo - I'm not sharin'!

So if you get a chance, I highly encourage you to check out Leeanna's shop, Plush Goodness and her fun blog. And if you are looking for some unique portraits for your family or for a gift, look at what else she can do: Plushcatures! She is one talented lady.

Yay!

Wyatt & Katie

2011-05-10T15:32:00.000-05:00

Wyatt and Katie are two of Stephen's co-workers who have fallen in love and are going to get married this Fall (yay!). They are a super-fun couple that I have had the pleasure of getting to know since Stephen has worked at Saris.

Well, not too long ago, Katie asked me if I'd be willing to help her out with their Save the Date postcards. After I found out their color scheme of black, grey and magenta and their possible theme of bikes, I knew this was going to be a neat-o project.

I really wanted to screen print the postcards, but with our crazy purging and cleaning, and having potential buyers come through our house, I knew that was going to be a challenge. But I love challenges, so I surged ahead. Things got off to a smooth start, but then I realized for whatever reason my positives were different sizes. Doh! That won't make for accurate registration, that's for sure.

Other than that little hiccup, it was a pretty good print run. It was my first time printing two-sided, so I wasn't sure how the registration worked for that. After a lot of guessing and testing, I finally got the spacing right. It was a great learning experience. And, in my personal opinion, I think they turned out really good!

I was excited I got to throw in some of my hand-drawn type and an old-school tandem bicycle. Thanks, Wyatt and Katie, for this fun, creative opportunity!

Bramiot and Chiloo

2011-05-08T23:25:00.000-05:00

Please help me welcome the two newest members to the Fuzzy family: Bramiot and Chiloo.

Chiloo the Dog:
Chiloo constantly was sneaking out of classes in high school to go down to the music room and mess around with instruments. His parents couldnt stop him, and his teachers barely tried to contain him, so his love of music grew. Then one day he picked up the bass guitar, and was hooked. After years spent playing in funk bands all across the country, Chiloo wants to slow down the pace and find a friend willing to help keep rhythm.

Chiloo was donated to the Merrill Lynch Grand Gala to support the Domestic Abuse Intervention Services. I heard he went to a great home!

Bramiot the Monkey:
It's one thing to be a monkey, it's a whole other thing to be a monkey who loves grass. Bramiot couldn't get enough of mowing, raking and fertilizing, so he begged his way onto the crew of a baseball stadium grounds department. But no matter his disguise, fans ways went bananas when he came out between innings, so now he is seeking a good playmate who is okay with him taking his own turn mowing the lawn.

Bramiot is for sale in the shop and can be found here:

Have a great Monday!

Pillowcase Dress

2011-05-03T08:44:00.000-05:00

Stella really likes dresses. A lot. She is turning into quite the girly-girl, which is pretty funny to me, since I'm not. Every day is a request for her 'party dress', tutu or 'party shoes' and a specific hairstyle, usually consisting of a braid or ponytail 'up high'. Quite the princess she is, that little girl. But it is so fun! I wouldn't trade it in for anything.

With that being said, I've decided to try to make her a dress for all the special occasions that require a pretty dress. So for Easter last Sunday I made her a pillowcase dress from Leslie's tutorial. I had picked up a few vintage pillowcases last year, and I was saving them for a special project. And this is what I came up with:

She loved it. Yay! Though it was pretty chilly, so the green cardigan covered up the cute bow. And of course, she insisted on wearing her cowboy boots to complete the outfit. What a little fashionista!

I couldn't believe how easy this project was. I'm definitely going to have make more of these as the weather gets warmer. Hooray for girly-girls in pretty dresses!

May 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-05-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Hello, and Happy May! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

To celebrate the May and Bicycling Month, I present to you the new desktop calendar:

You can also download it here:

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Cheers!

Easter Pig

2011-04-25T16:59:00.000-05:00

To honor the day of Peeps, chocolate rabbits and jellybeans, I drew a pig of course! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Funk Family Fuzzies

2011-04-08T09:33:00.001-05:00

Last Fall, I was approached by a very special woman in the Madison community to make a series of Fuzzies for her family. Earlier that year, her husband had passed away from brain cancer after battling the sickness for over eight years. She wanted some mementos made from his clothing that her family could keep near and dear to their heart.

Though this was the first time I had met Brandi, I felt an instant bond. She was such a warm, caring person, and even though she had been through so much, she was positive and upbeat and so very welcoming. She told me their amazing story, showed me around their beautiful, colorful happy home and even fed me some delicious soup. When I left their house a few hours later, I felt I gained a friend.


Cutting the bodies out of shirts.

I'll be honest. This was one of the most difficult commissions I've ever had to do. I couldn't help but think of their family CONSTANTLY as I was building their Fuzzies. I could not imagine what they have been through, and I couldn't believe how calm and thoughtful Brandi was. It was hard to initially start cutting into the shirts, knowing Chris had worn them not that long ago.

Laying out all the pieces.

I had so many conversations with Stephen about this project - it was really tearing me up inside. He kept reminding me that this service I was providing for the family would be so meaningful - that I would be making them happy - so I shouldn't feel so sad about it.

The hand-stitching is complete!

He was right. As the Fuzzies started coming together, the colorful fabrics and patterns looked so joyful, I could see them coming to life.


Limbs, waiting to be sewn.


The limbs are stuffed - let's put 'em together!

It's stuffing time!

Brandi provided me with some special mementos to include in the Fuzzies. Each Fuzzy has a piece of a HEADRUSH t-shirt patched onto the front of their outfit. HEADRUSH was founded in 2004 by Chris and Brandi Funk whose mission is to significantly improve the future of Brain Tumor research, treatment, and survivorship.

She also gave me several pairs of Chris's cycling socks pinned with a CF snowflake pin, to stuff in each one. I did my best to stuff them close to the Fuzzy's heart, because if it was squeezed hard enough, the pin could be felt - another symbol of Chris's love.

The pinned socks which where placed near the Fuzzies' hearts.

The Funk Fuzzies: Biaco, Rennen, Dotson, Olri, Joca, Panlow & Oodrie

Though this was a very difficult project for me, I can't imagine how Brandi felt when she saw the Fuzzies for the first time. I am so happy she asked me to make them for her family, because I love the idea of her children squeezing their Fuzzies, thinking of their dad.

If you are interested in learning more about HEADRUSH and Brandi's family, you can find more information here, at the official website.

Thanks for letting me share this very special project with you!

Earth Day Sunshine

2011-04-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

I just wanted to share the newest special edition plush I created for the Etsy Plush Team:

Meet Lihosu the Sunshine. Lihosu is completely eco-friendly, made out of upcycled and recycled fabrics and stuffed with fabric scraps. If you're looking for a way to brighten your day, you can find Lihosu here, in the Plush Team shop.

Have a great week!

April 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-04-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone!

Well, it has been a long month. All of the work involved with putting our house up for sale has really taken a toll on me. Since I am fortunate enough to work from home, most of my work days have been dedicated to preparing the house. Whether it means being available when the handy man is repairing issues, or cleaning the house for the official photographers, I haven't been able to do a lot of work. So I have been cramming my sewing projects and miscellaneous design work into the evenings, when all I want to do is sleep. So tired, so stressed. Our house has barely been on the Market for a week, and I'm already ready for this to be over. Ugh.

Sorry, I don't mean to complain! I'm actually very excited to move into a new house. I just wish I had more hours in the day to take care of all my other responsibilities, and have some quality time with the family.

Throughout the last couple months, I have gotten some fun projects which I'm excited to share. For now, though, here is the only illustration I've done lately: the April Desktop Calendar! Woo Hoo!

Though our snow has melted here, it has been really, really cold. I think the only ones enjoying the outdoors have been the robins - they are hop-hop-hopping around, like it is toasty warm! The forecast for the next few days calls for rain and snow (yuck!), so I thought it would be fitting for my illustration to showcase a robin making the most the rain puddles. Enjoy!

You can also download it here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!

Turtle Power

2011-03-17T17:16:00.000-05:00

I'm just dropping by to show the latest design in the Fuzzy collection: Turtles!

Obviously, the first one isn't a turtle, but he wanted to hang out with the newbies and show them the ropes. I had a special request to add some satin-y fabric to the orange turtle for the baby to touch. I thought it was a great idea and incorporated it in the cheeks, feet and tail. I'm really loving all the different textures.

Oh - and I have more big news - The circus Fuzzies I featured here have been accepted into STUFFED Magazine! Hooray! What a great way to celebrate summer.

Later!

March 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-03-01T09:00:00.002-06:00

Hello!

Wow, where has February gone? It seems like forever since I last posted. Over two weeks, to be exact...

I had big plans of getting lots and lots done, and then we decided we're going to put our house up for sale. Well, if anything puts the brakes on creative productivity, that does! The last four days have been spent painting several rooms in our house while Stephen and Stella went to visit Grandpa and Grandma. From 7:30a to 11:00p, I painted. And crouched, and crawled, and rolled, and sweated, and spackled, and sanded, and taped, and painted, painted painted. Talk about back breaking work! I forgot how taxing it is on the body. My back is killing me, my hands are blistered, and I can't tell you how many times my knees cracked as I went up and down. Ugh. I feel so old.

But needless to say, the house is looking great! It also helps that we have been seriously cleaning and purging. We loaded up a 17-foot truck and hauled everything from our basement over to a storage unit. We donated about 20 boxes/bags of stuff to charity. We got rid of some of our furniture. Hopefully within about two weeks we'll be ready to go. Then I can maybe go back to some of my personal projects...

Anyways, it's March! And that means a new Desktop Calendar! Hooray!

You can also download it here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Have a great Tuesday!

Happy Heart Day!

2011-02-14T13:31:00.000-06:00

Have a fantastic Valentine's Day, y'all!

Love,

Off to STUFFED country

2011-02-10T15:37:00.001-06:00

Hello!

Today I am happy to say I sent off my new submissions to STUFFED magazine. This time around, I told myself I was going to get a head start and NOT wait until the last minute. Well, I did start earlier than usual, but I created all new Fuzzies, so I wasn't able to make them as fast as I usually do. (Now, when I say fast, I don't really mean fast - there's nothing fast about hand-sewing...)

Part of being on the Plush Team means participating in challenges. Candyland, though not a challenge, per se, still pushed me to try something new and break out of my box. Up until that point, I had my set "crew" that I always stuck to, and once in a while, usually upon request of a customer, I'd try a new shape. But being on the Plush Team has taught me that I don't always have to stick to what I know. Why not try a different creature? As long as the plush still exhibits Fuzzy-type qualities, then it's still a Bluestar Fuzzy, right?

So for the STUFFED submission I decided to try something new: A new animal, and...people! Whoa. Who would've thunk it?

Da da da DUM! It's the circus Fuzzies! Here we have Topatty the Trapeze artist, complete with stirrup leggings (!) and Stipelo the Lion being tamed by Blusabi the Lion Tamer.

And my brilliant husband came up with three individual stories that are all integrated. He's such a smarty pants like that.

These 3 circus performers are making their way to sunny California to try out for STUFFED. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Have a Heart

2011-02-08T08:30:00.000-06:00

Today's post is a bit more personal for me.

As you may or may not know, our little peanut, Stella, has some pretty serious medical issues. Three years ago today, as a tiny 6-week old, Stella went in for a routine follow-up cardiology appointment and got immediately admitted to the ICU. She had a small hole in her heart at birth, but we were told that was fairly normal, and set up an appointment to check on it in 6 weeks. Fast forward those 6 weeks and all of a sudden we were told this minor abnormality had turned into a full-blown enlarged heart with crazy rhythms, skipped beats, and a gamut of other problems. Whoa!

Her unique combination of heart complications really perplexed the doctors. In fact, several other pediatric cardiologists from around the U.S. were called into the conversations to try to figure out the best solution. Finally, after 4 weeks, we found a combination of medications that seemed to stabilize her heart. But during our hospital stay, we found other medical problems: Stella developed severe reflux; the doctors discovered malrotation of her gut which required surgery to correct it. During that surgery they also placed a G-Tube to aid in feedings and medication administration. The surgery caused her right lung to collapse, so she had to have respiratory therapy to help her through that.

It was also in that hospital stay that Stella was diagnosed with Noonan Syndrome, a developmental disorder. This explained some of her heart problems and new feeding issues. When we were sent home with our 10-week old, we were scared out of our minds. Without the reassurance of the constant computer monitor surveillance, how would we know what her heart was doing? What would we do without the help of doctors and nurses? We would be so alone...with this baby who could go into cardiac arrest at any moment...

I could go on and on about the challenges we've faced the last three years, but what's really important is that she is doing excellent, despite her diagnosis. She is an amazing little girl, and has beaten the odds and continues to surprise her doctors and therapists with her wonderful progress. Though it has been tough for our little family, we believe we were given this "challenge" because we could handle it - and we are! We wouldn't trade it in for the world.

Now onto the point of this post. For the month of February, the Plush Team challenge was to make a plush "with a heart". "Plush Team Has Heart" is a fundraiser to benefit the International Children's Heart Foundation, an organization that works to bring aid to children in developing countries with congenital heart conditions. 100% of the sales will be donated to the ICHF.

Typically, this challenge would be a great one, but this one specifically, hits home for us. To honor Stella, and all the children of the world with heart conditions, I made Cardesso the Monster:

To purchase Cardesso, with 100% of the sale going to the International Children's Heart Foundation, go here. If Cardesso isn't your style, there are plenty more awesome choices in the Plush Team Shop.

Thank you so much for reading this post and supporting such a wonderful cause.

Please note: Our family has not benefited specifically from the ICHF. We have, however, gotten help from other local organizations, for which we are forever grateful.

Have a great Tuesday! (and Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!)

Patchwork Onesies

2011-02-04T11:52:00.000-06:00

Hooray for Friday!

I can't be more excited for this weekend. It has been a long week and we have some fun in store the next two days, so bring it on!

I wanted to quick post about some new patchwork onesies I made for our good friends' new baby. Little girls' clothes are so often pink or pastel, I wanted to go the brighter route, which is much more my (and their) style.

I had so much fun making these! All of the fabric is vintage/thrifted, and after heat-bonding them to the shirts I hand-embroidered the patch in contrasting thread.

Yay! Have an amazing weekend.

Go Pack, Go! I had to say it...

February 2011 Desktop Calendar

2011-02-01T10:00:00.002-06:00

Here is the February 2011 Bluestar Ink desktop calendar.

You can also download it here.

Please note that this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Happy Tuesday!

Holiday Gifts 2010

2011-01-28T16:48:00.000-06:00

I know, I know. It's over a month past Christmas, but I'm still doing holiday-related posts. I *think* this is the last one, so bear with me, okay?

For Christmas 2010, our goal was to give all hand-made presents. And we actually succeeded, save for 1.5 recipients. And that didn't necessarily mean that I made all of the gifts. They could be handmade by someone else, too. (Yay for Etsy!). I was proud that we were almost able to meet our goal, but it definitely came at a price - it is SO time-consuming! I know you're thinking, "Duh, emily.", but sometimes I conveniently forget that little fact.

Here's the breakdown:

My dad spends a LOT of time at the library, and I know from experience that the pile of books he hauls gets quite cumbersome. So we decided to give him a tote bag for his trips to the library. This was made from some super-soft thrifted fabric that I thought looked "manly" enough for my dad to sport, lined with some grey thrifted suiting. And it includes a Bluestar Star!

Stephen's mom has been dabbling in knitting and expressed she wanted to make a market bag. So I used this tutorial, scaled it a bit larger, and made a yarn stash basket for her knitting projects. I also included a couple skeins of cotton yarn that I like using for my knit market bags.

I made a scarf for Stella's sitter and speech therapist. The main fabric is cotton jersey, and I screen printed the fabric leaves and hand-sewed them on to either end of the scarf. I also added my new screen printed Bluestar Ink garment tag to the edge.

Speaking of knit market bags, I made one for my mom for Christmas. I played around with changing yarn colors a bit and creating some stripes. It's not too complicated, but I'm still a pretty inexperienced knitter and I thought it looked kinda cool!

I've developed a new shoulder bag design (which I've neglected to share), so I made one for Stephen's sister-in-law. I used some totally amazing thrifted fabric that I've been saving for-e-ver. No project was ever good enough to use it on, so I decided, if nothing else, I'll see her often enough, and see the bag so I can continue appreciating the fabric. If it was going to a stranger, I'd never see it again! (I know, I have weird reasoning). Oh - and the striped lining and button are also thrifted.

So that's my Holiday 2010 handmade (by me) gift round-up! Apparently, as I write this post, I REALLY like bags. Can you tell?

I'm off to work on some gifts for next year...
...just kidding...

Candyland Gallery Show

2011-01-24T10:03:00.001-06:00

While the air temperature was hovering around the zero mark last Friday night, that didn't stop the hardy folks of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from stopping by the first-ever Plush Team gallery show opening at the awesome Hot*Pop Shop. The theme was Candyland, and everyone's sweet tooth was out in full force. From zombie gingerbread men to huggable gummy bears to flaming fireballs, the Plush Team was representing! And to top it all off, there was a candy buffet and a gypsy band. It was a glorious night.

These are three Fuzzies I made for the occasion: Cabu, the candy button monster, Spinsu, the cotton candy with super sexy legs and Pebuckly the peanut butter cup. I have to say, since I primarily make more traditional plush consisting of animals and simple monsters, these were a fun challenge! I wanted them to still look like Bluestar Fuzzies, with the characteristic eyes, cheeks and star, but still mold them into some candy goodness.

And some photos from the big night:

Clockwise from top left:

• There were several candy-themed banners made by the members of the Plush Team. My
candy cane exclamation point is at the end of "CANDY!".
• Stella and Stephen were entertained by the original life-size Tyler Poncho.
• My Fuzzies, hanging in all their glory.
• Stella and I hanging out with Big Bunny and Tyler Poncho.
• The walls of the bathroom were covered with chalkboard paint, so I took it upon myself to
leave a little Fuzzy mark.
• Some girls enjoying the story of Cabu.
• Hot*Pop shop - thank you so much for hosting us! Hopefully we'll be back next year.
• That's me, standing in front of my candy creations.

All-in-all, the show was fantastic! It looked great, thanks to Christina and Kaeti. Hot*Pop was a perfect venue for our plush, as the product really complemented each other. Despite the frigid weather, there was still a steady stream of gallery-goers and the music accompaniment was absolutely wonderful. I was so excited to meet some members of the Plush Team, artists whose work I respect so much! And it sounds like Hot*Pop wants us back next year. Woo hoo!

For those of you who couldn't make it Friday night, the show will be up through March 20 if you're in the Milwaukee area. Otherwise, check out all of my other photos here. I tried my best to capture the ambiance of the night and all the fabulous plush pieces.

Plush Team at Candyland Gallery Opening

2011-01-19T23:13:00.001-06:00

Friday, January 21 • 5:00pm - 10:00 pm

Hot Pop Gallery Milwaukee, WI

213 N. Broadway

What happens when a guild of internationally recognized plush artists descend upon Milwaukee in Winter for January Gallery Night? Candyland! See works created especially for Hot Pop Gallery by members of the Plush Team.

Please join us for the opening of Candyland at HotPop. Enjoy musical treats and an amazing candy buffet with samples of Plush Team favorites sent to MKE from all over the globe.

Plush Team artists have been featured in galleries all over the world! Including: Schmancy- Seattle, Chromeo- Vancouver, Gallery Hanahou-NYC, StitchWars, Bear & Bird Gallery-Miami, and many more. Numerous Plush Team members are featured in STUFFED Magazine every issue.

RSVP at our Facebook event!

www.hotpopshop.com

2010 Holiday Projects

2011-01-17T09:06:00.000-06:00

Happy snowy Monday! Here in Wisconsin the snow is coming down and I'm listening to the sounds of the snow plow clearing the roads in our neighborhood. I think that is one of my favorite auditory memories. I remember as a child, once I heard the low rumble heading up our street, I'd sprint to the front window and watch the glow of the plow's headlight cut through the blowing snow. The slightly unnerving sound of metal grating on pavement gave me a shiver as the plow tossed piles of snow on the bottom of our driveway. We knew that snow would eventually lead to amazing snow forts built into the drifts.

So, back on track. Today I want to share some of the Holiday-themed projects I tackled for the 2010 holiday season. I didn't go too crazy this year, since I was focusing much of my energies on handmade gifts, but I was pretty excited with how these turned out, nonetheless:

1. 8-pointed snowflakes - Stella and I had fun making paper snowflakes, which we hung in the opening between our kitchen and living room. I think we're going to keep them up all winter, since they're not too Christmas-y.

2. Santa Bird screen printed ornament, which I've already shown on the blog here.

3. Stella's holiday dress - I took one of Stephen's old plain black t-shirts and made it into Stella's dress. I gathered the neckline and sleeves and appliqued some vintage fabric circles onto the front and the back for a little whimsy. She wore it with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath, white tights, a black headband, and her shiny black "party" shoes. It was pretty adorable, if I do say so myself!

4. Felt tree garland - Thank goodness for die-cutters, is all I have to say about this project. When I first decided I was going to tackle this one, I was planning on hand-cutting all the fabric circles. After talking to my mom, who is a Stampin' Up demonstrator, she told me the S.U. die cutter would be able to cut through felt. So when I was visiting my parents one weekend, I spent hours sending piles of felt through her Big Shot die cut machine. Then I just sewed a straight stitch through them all, stringing them all together. After it was hung on the tree, I loved the color it brought to the room. I'm hoping next hear to make a yarn pom-pom wreath in the same colors to coordinate.

That's it!
Have a great week!

Holiday Card 2010

2011-01-12T10:53:00.000-06:00

Now that the holidays are officially over, I think I can safely share our 2010 holiday card without ruining anybody's surprise.

Every year, we create a card that depicts our whole family. It's usually Stephen's task to come up with the theme, and then I am in charge of execution. This year, my goal was to screen print the card, so it had to be somewhat simplified. Unfortunately, that also meant cutting the animals out, because it was getting way too busy. Sorry Chloe and Rothko!

The colors also had to be pared down, as had my illustration linework - that proved to be quite challenging, because much of my style is in the details! That meant many failed print tests until I finally got a combination that worked.

My other challenge for this project was registration. Apparently when I cut down the paper to size, they weren't all exactly the same size. That meant even 1/16" off caused major misalignment. So, I ended up registering each one individually to minimize the issue. Even then, it wasn't perfect, but it'd have to do.

It is times like these when I realize I am really still a newbie screen printer. I'm sure there are tricks that could have helped my registration process, but I don't know them, so I just had to deal. Every project I feel like I learn a little more, so maybe in 10 years or so I will be able to consider myself an expert. Until then, I'll have to settle for not-quite-perfection.

Stephen is also responsible for the poem inside. I really loved what he wrote for this card:

Embrace this wonderful time of year

With snowy fun and winter cheer!

So find the cocoa, get out the mugs

We extend to you, Stella hugs!

The cards were printed on French Paper Pop-Tone Red Hot paper. Man, I love that paper.

Till next time!