Short break...

Dragon*Con is the biggest convention in my area and it starts at the end of the week. As a result, I've been working quite a bit to make my deadlines for the con. I've got personal costumes and a lot of dolls to make. My wholesale order is due on Thursday before the con, so you can imagine how much work this is all entailing.

Needless to say, having time to actually write for the next few days is going to be nearly nonexistent. Once the convention is over, I'll be back in the game and have a lot of new projects that I'll be taking on. Over the next month, I'll be putting together a lot of new ideas and projects in preparation for Anime Weekend Atlanta, where I'll be running Moony Couture Design's table in the Artist Alley.

Hope everyone has a great week and wish me luck!  ^_^

That's me in my Tegan costume (Classic Who). I'll have that on at some point during the con. Maybe you can spot me there. ^_^

Inspiration

I'm a big fan of EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) fashion.  I'm not particularly one who'd jump to wear it, but I find it extremely inspirational.  I look at pictures of the fashion and immediately I want to draw or make something.  I found this beautiful photo on livejournal. Their entire photoshoot was absolutely beautiful. I'm ready to get sewing now. ^_^

What inspires you to create? I'd love to see the photos, videos, music, etc that helps you create beautiful art.

Busy Little Worker Bee...

I've been really busy trying to finish my wholesale order by the deadline.  It's not the easiest task in the world with hundreds of distractions all around me.  However I do manage to get a good chunk of work done on a daily basis so I'm proud of myself.

With Dragon*Con right around the corner, I'm starting to pick up my books again.  I've decided to start my bi-annual re-read of the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey.  If you haven't heard of it, the story is beautiful and extremely well written.  There's a little bit of everything in it from political intrigue, to fantasy settings, to well...the dirty stuff.

I get teased quite a bit for reading these books because they have more than a little sex in them.  Specifically of an S&M variety.  Obviously if you can't handle that, then don't try to read it.  I'm not exactly the sort one would expect to read this sort of thing.  However, I find that it's not really a story about sex.  It's a deep story with roots in faith and spirituality.  Despite what you'd believe, each act is described with grace and depth that you might not expect from a regular trashy romance novel.  The act itself is most times glazed over while the main character describes the emotional and ritualistic nature of being with that person.

I highly recommend this series to anyone that has an interest in epic stories that stretch over large landscapes, danger and intrigue, and a touch of spice to tie it all together.

I'm almost finished with the first book in the trilogy, but I'm already planning ahead to what I'll read next.  What are your favorite books?  I'd love to hear a good recommendation on what would be good to read next.

A Little About Me

Here's a quick getting to know you list of interesting things about me. (I promise it's short and to the point. XD)

Where am I from? I was born in Rhode Island, that itty bitty state in New England that most people don't know exist.

How old am I?  I was born on the day that John Belushi died.  If you want to find that out then you'll know.  ^_~

When did you become a geek?  I don't know exactly what started it, but I've got a pretty good idea that I can point the finger at my mother.  She got me reading a lot at a young age, and we used to watch a lot of Star Trek:TNG.  It just spiraled from there.  I would wake up at 5 AM just to watch the next episode of Sailormoon on TV, even if I had already seen it hundreds of times.  I watched Star Wars and at age 13 did the silly thing of writing Mary Sue fanfiction.  The crafty part would come much later.

What was your first crafting passion? Cosplay.  I don't know why but I went to Otakon in 2000 and was amazed by all of the people in costume.  I vowed that I would do that too and it's been downhill ever since.  XD  I started out with closet cosplay and have been making my own costumes for the last 8 or so years.

Me as Gilderoy Lockhart several years ago. I had so much fun grinning like an idiot and signing autographs for everyone. :)

Why I Think You Should Buy Your Christmas Gifts From Crafty People

It's not even September, but ever where I look, people are preparing for Christmas and Christmas sales.  So I've starting thinking about what I'll be doing for my friends and family this holiday.  I've already started plotting a list of things to sew and/or knit for them.  ^_^

If you haven't started thinking about your holiday shopping, let me make a suggestion for you.  Buy your gifts from crafty people!

These are examples of the great plushies that we have to offer on my online store. We also offer custom costumes and fashion.

There are many reasons that ordering holiday gifts from crafty people is a great idea.  However, the most important one that I can think of is that you'll be supporting small business.  I won't pretend to be a financial guru or anything, but I know that with the way things have been in the States over the last few years, we could all use a little help.  Supporting a small business owner is a great way to help us build up what we've lost.  Many people have lost their jobs and some of those people have started new businesses in the wake of those loses.  Buying one item from a small business means that they have more sales, which means they can spend more.  Spending more helps you in your job (maybe the person will buy from your company or from someone else that will then spend the money with your company) and helps other businesses grow as well.  It's a REALLY amazingly simple way to help others and yourself. 

It may cost a little bit more, but being able to make a purchase from a small business will also provide you with something unique that you can't get anywhere else.  You'll certainly make your friends and family happy when you get them something thoughtful and unique. 

I hope that when it comes time to shop, you'll give me and all of the other amazing artists out there a chance.  I'd love it if you looked through my store and then head over to all of the other amazing artists on both Etsy and Zibbet.

How to Get Started - Part 3

Pattern Help

Now that I have supplies and I've got artwork to base my design on, it's time to move on to cutting out the doll.  This will be my last stage of prep work.

The pattern that I use regularly is no longer available so I can't share that with you, but this great post from Plushie-Database on DeviantArt will help point you in the right direction. 

Keep details in mind as you cut out your pieces.  Some items such as gloves or boots/stockings can be added to your body directly.  For example: Frank has thigh high fishnets.  These were sewn into the legs rather than adding them as a separate piece.  My Chibimoon plushie (seen above) had her boots sewn in and I added a ribbon trim afterwards to complete the effect.  Collars and other accessories may work better if they are added to the body directly.

Now it's time to get sewing.  Good luck!  If you have any projects that you complete, I'd love to see them.  Feel free to send them my way!

Commissions Are OPEN!

Many of the dolls that I make are commissions.  Often times its great to get something unique made from your favorite series.  I can create a doll that is completely unique to match your favorite outfit or even a full wardrobe.  Every doll I make is slightly different as they are made by hand and often times made with just the supplies I have on hand.

The dolls I currently offer can be either 15" tall or 26" tall.  They come with fully removable outfits and accessories.  Their faces are hand painted with acrylic paint.  The hair is felt.

15" dolls start at $45 based on difficulty and materials.
16" dolls start at $60 based on difficulty and materials.

You can order a commission directly from my Zibbet store or contact me via email for a quote.  It will take approximately two to three weeks to complete once payment is received.

Preparations for Dragon*Con

I'm busy sewing as much as possible in preparation for Dragon*Con (held in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend). This is more of a holiday for me than a convention. We've been going for years now and I'm really looking forward to it. We always have interesting costumes and generally just have a lot of fun. I'll be taking a lot of pictures while I'm there of my partner and our friends. I do a lot of the product photos for Moony Couture and we've got a lot of new costumes to showcase.

I do make some of my own costumes, so I thought I'd share the one I'll be working on next.  ^_^ 

I'm really not usually one to do girly costumes, in fact I mostly cosplay as male characters.  However, She-ra has been a childhood favorite of mine and I've been wanting to make this costume for years.  Well I'm finally going to do it.  My spouse even made a Shadow Weaver costume to go with me so I'll have someone to fight.  :)

I'll try to share some pictures as I get it put together.  I'm hoping that I won't look too ridiculous in the outfit.  If I can at least do her justice, I'll be happy. 

My New Zibbet Store

I promise I won't be all boring really.  ^_^  I've just been trying out Zibbet and I'm really excited to use it more for my sales.

All of my products are currently available on etsy or Zibbet. However, I believe I may post more frequently on Zibbet in the future. I'll keep you updated when I have new products available.

My First Wholesale Order

I'm pretty proud of myself and my wonderful partner at Moony Couture Designs. We had our first wholesale order. It's going to be for Lips Down on Dixie, Atlanta's Rocky Horror Shadowcast. They'll be selling them at Dragon*Con this year.

They requested Frank, Magenta, and Columbia in the outfits shown.  There will be a total of 30 dolls available by Dragon*Con.  If they're successful, it's likely that we'll be making more of them in the future. 

How to Start a Plushie - Part 2

Materials...

I decided to devote at least one part to discussing the materials I work with and why.  I use a lot of scraps for clothing and accessories, so I won't go into much detail about that.  It depends mostly on what fabrics are available in our fabric closet (it's a pretty full one too ^_^) and what the character needs.

The two basic materials for every plushie I make are felt and muslin.  Felt is very common for plush dolls.  Most UFO catchers (those cute super deformed versions of anime characters) are made with felt.  They're also commonly very small, which makes them a bit hard to cuddle with.  Where's the fun in that?  I do like using felt for hair (and previously faces) because it is inexpensive and it looks much nicer than using yarn (which is another common hair option and the one I use only on my ragdolls). 

The bodies are always made with muslin.  Muslin is commonly used to make patterns and make dummy clothing.  It's a rough and undyed material.  That might not sound very appealing, but it is a comfortable material.  Once sewed up and stuffed, muslin will make a soft and cuddly doll perfect for sharing with your little ones and friends.  Just no pulling or serious rough housing.  As much as I love working with the muslin, it's easy to fray.  So far I haven't had any complaints about it, so hopefully it will continue to work well in the future.

I think I've got only one more post in this series.  My last post on How to Start will be about patterns and cutting out your project.  I hope everyone's liking these so far.  Please let me know if you have any questions and if I don't know the answer, I'm certain I can find someone with the answer.  ^_^