Happy Planner Joy!!

After stalking Happy Planners online for some weeks (months?) I FINALLY bought one.  I used a coupon at Hobby Lobby and managed to snag the ONLY Peony-themed one in the store.  I love it!  I LOVE IT!  I.  LOVE.  IT.

Since I'm more of a bullet journaler, I REALLY appreciate being able to move things around if I later decide I want them in different places.  I'm not a super-great organiser.  Sometimes just knowing that I have to get it all planned out and get it written in the space allowed without forgetting anything is enough to cripple me from the start.  With this planner, I haven't felt any of that.  It's so freeing! :D

I made a fun Alice-in-Wonderland-themed charm for it:

I also created a sticky-note holder that's made from a Little Twin Stars sticker I got when I was about 8 years old.  It's laminated onto cardstock, edged in washi tape, and punched to fit. I laminated and punched some other cute papers for note-making as well.

And finally, I made an adorable Sumikko Gurashi page-marker, also laminated, that's great for making daily notes in wet-erase marker.  I love it so much that I made another one for my Etsy shop:

Ah!  I just adore these little characters! :D

BJD Sewing and Sushi Mania!

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately.  Hand sewing used to drive me batty, but now (especially since mastering the backstitch), I find it really calming.  Kiki got a sweater made from 2 different socks.  Dollar Tree often has great socks to use for sewing. I made the arms nice and long to be super cosy.  LOVE how it came out! :D  I'm also working on a milk carton plushie for her.  It needs stripes and a face still, but I'm really happy with the design.

 

And then I went on a sushi binge.  Cushions for all sizes!  I think I like the orange better than the pink, but I'm really happy with all of them.

 

 And, finally, a fun planner charm or bag charm.  He's a friendly guy. ^_^  I made it with a clip on top for easy attachment.  Super happy with this guy, too. :)

Cushions, Cushions, Cushions!!

I felt the need to make some cushions of various textures.  These work great for MSD, YoSD and Playscale.   Complementary colours tie them all together.  They're SUPER squishy, too! :)

Filofax Fun

I could easily become a planner addict.  I love looking at all the amazing layouts people do, and the fun goodies they use.  And they always look so crisp and organised.  Sadly, I'm not that organised, but I do keep a bullet journal.  And I love to scrapbook, though I seem to craft in phases - sewing phase, knitting phase, scrapping phase, clay phase, etc.  I found some really fun summer papers and made some scalloped summer papers for scrapping or filofax fun.

 

Check them out at SnootyCow, my Etsy shop. :)

Mori Hats, Hair Clips, and Alpaca Bag :)

I've been caught up in my final edit.  Writing my cover letter next, then off to a publisher it goes!

In the meantime, I made some goodies for my store. :)

 

Another view of the Alpaca Bag, complete with dangly bag charm. ^_^

And I made a fun doughnut cushion, too!. ^_^

BJD Bag and Paper Pleasures

I love, Love, LOVE all the Alpacasso stuff that's out there!  The other day, I felt (hahahaha) inspired to make this kawaii little bag for my shop.  It's hand sewn from blue, white, pink and black felt, with a teensy embroidered nose and mouth, and has a tiny hook and loop closure.  The strap is white plastic chain, and there's a lobster clasp for easy on-and-off. :)  I couldn't stop myself from adding a super cute bag charm of tiny cubes and stars.  More pics in my Etsy lising.

 I'm definitely going to have to make some to keep.

In other news, I got this super cool book at B&N.

 It's in Dutch and English (though there's not much writing) and is crammed with yummy papers, envelopes (to cut and fold), cards, stickers, buntings, and even a pop-up dollhouse and paper dolls.  I decided to send out some Snail Mail using my new trove of paper goodies, and my first piece went out to Mollusc's Godmother today.  I can't wait 'til she gets it. :D

Almost ready to send out my book to the publisher.  For reals.

And as a final note, I learned today that one of my favourite (out of 2) professors at UW-Madison passed away in March.  Requiescat in pace, Professor Baughman.  So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Another American Girl Hat

This time a beret designed with a split in the back and a ribbon, to accommodate different hairstyles. :)

 

This way it will fit even if you give your doll thick braids. :)

I also made some BJD washcloths I'll have to post tomorrow. :D

Something for the Bigger Girls

The BJDs have been getting a lot of love lately, but now it's time for the American Girl dolls to score something.  I made a cute, lilac beret for Serafina to model.  It's newly listed in my shop. :)

I'm going to make some more AG sized stuff, and maybe some Sasha goodies, too!

New Goodies for SnootyCow!

I've been having so much fun knitting, sewing and crocheting tiny things for the shop.  Also, I was really excited to get my first commission about a month ago.  Unfortunately, after I spent about 20 hours making the blankets, the woman who ordered them had an emergency and couldn't pay.  She was supposed to be able to complete the transaction by the end of the Feb, but hasn't done so yet.  I guess I could prompt her, but honestly, I don't want to be that pushy, because I understand that sometimes stuff just happens, and although I spent a lot of time making the blankets, I can still try to sell them in my shop if she just can't buy them.  I think what I'll do is ask her if she wants me to break it up so she can buy one at a time as funds allow, and take it from there.  All I can think is what if it were me?  I'd be so embarrassed that I couldn't pay, you know?  In the grand scheme of things, not making the sale is certainly something I can shrug off.  I sure wish I could get more sales, though, and more great feedback.  (EDIT - Just heard back from her!  She still wants the order!! :D  Hooray!)

Anyway, here are some of the things I've made and listed recently:

A lacy hooded scarf for MSD sized BJD

A set of knit and crocheted cushions
The big one works nicely for a floor pillow. :)

 

Another set of cushions, this time sewn from cherry blossom fabrics. Again, the large one makes a great floor pillow:

 

Some sweet slippers for Spring to fit MSD dollies.  The centre photo shows them on both Durango and Pippa so you can see how they fit both a manly foot and a more dainty one. ^_^ 

I've also been practicing with Shrink Plastic, because I would eventually like to roll out a line of kawaii happy snail items, and some snail flair, too.  Playing around with the plastic, I found that it gets much smaller than I'd anticipated.  Kiki scored a fun new necklace!

My only complaint is that the stuff I'm using has a rough finish when it's done.  I can solve that by doming with Diamond Glaze or Triple Thick, but I think next time I'll purchase a different brand.  The clear stuff I got comes out nicely so far, but I've only made one project with it.  There's definitely a learning curve to the shrink plastic, as well as decisions to be made.  What do you want to use to colour the images?  Pencil?  Marker?  I just got some markers from Dick Blick that I'm loving!  That's what I used for Kiki's snail necklace.  They're just the store brand, and are basically a generic Copic from what I can tell.  I got a great deal since we went to Blick on their 20% off day, and the markers were buy 4 get 1 free in addition to the sale price!  

Once you choose your colouring medium, you need to decide how to shrink your project.  Oven?  Heat gun?  Lately I've been using the heat gun for more control, but it does tend to blow the project away if you're not careful.  I've been using wooden chopsticks to help with that, but ideally, I think a little metal mesh screen would be handy.  I think I have something in our Chemistry equipment that I can use.

That's probably more than enough for now.  This evening I get to go pick up Mollusc in Detroit for SPRING BREAK!!!!!  Hurrah!!! :D  Happy March, everyone! :)