I thought this would be an appropriate blogpost to do after the ridiculous amount of snow New England has been smashhhhhed with over the past few days... and it still keeps coming ahhhhh

Monster mittens!  They were custom ordered from my shop. 
The customer chose the fur, the eyes, the expression, and the eye color.  This is my newest pair, but I made a lottt more last year!  Check it out!


A customer photo!  This pair of mittens was shipped out to France. :D

Set of matching monster mittens & claw scarf, so fun to make!


A forest-y green pair I made as a custom order, and brought into the New Hampshire mountains to take pictures!



& the very first ever pair I made as a trade with the ridiculously fantastically awesome Bobsmade!  Who used them in one of the photoshoots for her products, check it out below!
So cool... :D :D

I compiled a big list of all the best blogs, books, magazines, and free patterns for toys!  Not just plush toys specifically, but vinyl, wood & paper toys as well.

Blogs:
A lot of these I read regularly, especially the ones towards the top.  They're all really inspiring and keep me thinking creatively!
www.plushteam.com
www.customtoylab.com
www.plasticandplush.com
www.toysrevil.com
www.toyrannosaurus.com
www.spankystokes.com
www.tomopop.com
blog.craftzine.com
plushyou.blogspot.com
www.theneedle.org
www.toybreak.com
www.alittlestranger.com
www.myplasticheart.com
www.rotofugi.com
http://amigurumiandpizza.blogspot.com/



Books:
These are all books I think are really awesome. A few of them I own myself, some of them are on my wish list, & some of them have been recommended by other people.  You can find links to them on the right column.
I make a small percentage if you buy it from clicking my blog, I would really appreciate if if you did! (Only if you want one of course)
- Plush-o-Rama
- I am Plastic
- Stupid Sock Creatures
- Invasion of the Plush Monsters!
- Softies
- Dot Dot Dash
- Plush You!
- Plastic Culture
- GET STUFFED- The Plush Team book (Coming soon!)

Magazines:
CRAFT www.craftzine.com
STUFFED - http://www.stampington.com/html/stuffed.html


Free Patterns:
Please note that these are all patterns to be reproduced for fun, or personal projects, and not to be resold unless it says otherwise.
www.puchicollective.com/
www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=140343.0


If you have any other good additions for the list, just leave a comment & I'll add it!

That little white & pink yeti is also available on my shop now!


Something I finished: These little monster hairties as a cute little custom order for egyptianruin!  I can turn any of my earring monsters into hairties or keychains if you just ask nicely. :)

& also, I love this song. Keeps me optomistic!

New work! (Click the photos to see larger)
Been working my ass off and finally got around to taking pictures of things (Still havent taken photos of some smaller stuff. My hands hurt just thinking about all the other orders on my todo list!

The Pandoctopus (now sold)

More illusive than the giant squid, happier than the fresh water dolphin, and quite possibly the only fish covered entirely with fur. The Pandoctopus is a mysterious crossbreed between a panda and an octopus. Scientists are baffled as to how this creature came about, because no panda has ever been recorded as being able to swim.
Nevertheless, this Pandoctopus is being put up for adoption by the PCS (Pandoctopus Conservation Squad) in hopes that he will find a good home.


Two custom yetis & a sasquatch




Two custom Engreds (the right one was the one featured in my timelapse :D



I also put together a little 8 track mix of music I've been loving to listen to recently while I work. Let me know if you like this, and I'll do it more often!

I LOVE getting pictures from customers, or artwork from fans.
I've gotten so many seriously awesome pictures/art from people over the past few years I've been making my monsters! I wanted to post some of my favorites for the wooorld to see! (Click any of them to see them bigger)

From the awesome KittyPinkStars




My little cousin :D








This one & the one below done by the boyfriend
I want to thank every single person who has ever bought anything from me, and especially anyone who has ever sent me me a picture or a piece of art. You have kept me fueled financially and emotionally to keep me pursuing my dream!
Much much much love,
Chelsea
PS. If you want to send me a photo, just email it to me! loveandasandwich(at)gmail(dot)com I would love it so much.

I get a lot of questions from people about where I get my fabric & fur, so I decided to compile all (or most) of the online things I use every day!

Since I live in the middle of the mountains, there's NOWHERE to get supplies that isn't an hour + away from me, so I have to get really good at scouring the internet for good stuff!
-Usually I can get a family member to mail me acrylic felt from home, but sometimes I have to buy it online! Lupin is a great source for acrylic felt. She'll send you a rainbow pack with 60 felt squares, or you can choose a pack with a general color theme like pastels or brights.

-If you prefer using Wool Felt, I was recommended this site by Nonesuch who uses it for her amazing little creatures! The plus about wool felt is that it comes in way more beautiful colors than acrylic & is a bit softer. Downside is that it costs 2-3 times more. Another good place I've used is AMarketCollection on Etsy.

-Cotton printed fabric I just search through Etsy or Ebay to find something pretty with good deals. I usually just buy fat quarters since I don't usually use cotton very often.

-And faux fur! Which is what I get asked about ALL the time, more than anything else, so I'll try to go into more detail about each site I use for it.

Distinctivefabric- I probably use this site more than any of the others. Plus sides- They have a huge selection with really cool stuff, and they're one of the cheaper sites. If you sign up with them you get 5 free swatches immediately (Which you can use for smaller things/accent bits), and you get 5 free swatches each time you order fabric from them. They also have monthly discounts they email to you. Down sides- The shipping is expensive, you can only buy a minimum of one yard of the fur, and sometimes the fur takes a long time to get to you.

Mendels- Plus Sides- They have SO MUCH FUR. So much cool looking stuff. Biggest selection I've ever seen. They let you buy a minimum of 1/2 yard, and the shipping isn't too expensive. Down sides- Some of the fur is ridiculously expensive, some up to $35 a yard.

Fabric.com- Plus Sides- Way cheaper than any other site. Lets you buy a minimum of 1/2 yard. The fluffy fur is nice, and they have solid colored fur for a decent amount. Shipping is fast. Down Sides- The short plush fur is barely even fur, and there isn't a wide selection.

Etsy & Ebay- Plus Sides- You can find awesome deals from people getting rid of their fabric stash. Down Sides- It's never consistant with what's available.



My next post I'll try to talk about the sites & books I've learned more about sewing from!
Hope this was helpful :D
-Chelsea

I started making timelapses recently because it's something I've always wanted to try out! I've always been fascinated with watching timelapses of artists on youtube, but I hadn't ever seen one of people sewing! Maybe I'm the first :O

I made these three, I like the last one the most, but I figured I'd post all three up for you to see!








The music to them is:
1. Matias Aguayo= Rollerskate
2. Animal Collective= Purple Bottle
3. Crystal Castles= Magic Spells

:D
-Chelsea

I miss having a blog I update frequently. I was big into Livejournal for awhile but that sort of dwindled away. I'd like to be able to post & update people who are interested in what I'm working on every day!
& photos & whatnot from anything interesting I saw, did, ate, thought about, haha.
So I've restarted my blogspot & hope to keep this updated daily!
More to come later!
-Chelsea