tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74154179060099227802012-02-16T17:59:45.662-05:00Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.comBlogger551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-75504252351395097062011-12-07T10:35:00.001-05:002011-12-07T10:35:00.726-05:00

I'd just like to announce that I can't take on anymore plush/craft requests for the holidays.  I added a few more to the request list after my last post, but I'm now officially maxed out on what I can finish and get to customers on time for the holiday. I'd like to thank all those who have requested items, and can't wait to get your things to you all. For those that may have wanted a Suzannah

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-70267326943357893342011-11-30T10:45:00.003-05:002011-11-30T10:45:00.666-05:00

My last post was the beginning of October? Holy smokes! I knew I was busy, but wow, seeing it in concrete dates makes it mind-blowing. I didn't end up participating in the craft fairs. There just wasn't enough time to DO ALL THE THINGS (partial reference to one of my favorite Hyperbole and a Half posts. Work, commissioned crafts, a sister's wedding, holidays, all of it seemed to pile up, and next

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-60208881379914011762011-10-01T11:00:00.001-04:002011-10-01T11:00:07.705-04:00

I absolutely love fall.  Fall and winter are my favorite times of the year. And now that its October I'm thinking about Halloween, which is also another favorite holiday of mine.  I don't necessarily go out and do much in celebrating the holiday, but its probably my favorite holiday aesthetically. Images of pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, and skulls are all some of my favorite imagery anyway, and

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-48609773770296122892011-09-27T14:34:00.000-04:002011-09-27T14:34:29.766-04:00

Hello everyone.  I've decided to occasionally put up free patterns, as well as tutorials from time to time.  So, to start off, here is an embroidery pattern for a unicorn. I came up with this design while trying to find a unicorn pattern to use for a craft swap. Not finding anything that really jumped out at me, I decided to make my own.  Now I'm offering to the glorious interwebs for all to

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-7233133250341962872011-09-21T11:50:00.002-04:002011-09-21T11:52:00.350-04:00

Things have been busy for the past couple of weeks. Because of this, I've been planning out the rest of my year to try and balance both work, crafts and my upcoming wedding. All of this planning has led me to make some announcements for upcoming craft fairs, commission taking, and my Etsy operating statuses. Craft Fairs: September 24 - ART CARNAGE at the Soundry in Vienna, VA. October 29 - ART

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-23511256289317824732011-09-13T21:00:00.001-04:002011-09-13T21:07:34.408-04:00

Back in July I was asked to participate by donating some items to Stubby Dog's Art Auction.  Stubby Dog is a Non-Profit organization dedicated to changing the public perception of pit bulls to allow people to see that pit bulls are truly loving animals, pets and friends. While I do not have a pit bull, I do own three black cats, who are also often discriminated against as pets. Also, every pit

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-73489355918617784952011-08-17T19:50:00.003-04:002011-08-17T19:55:21.573-04:00

The other day I was inspired to make a nice dinner that would be perfect for a fall night. I know its not fall yet, but its my favorite season, and I wanted something reminiscent of it.  I was inspired by a recipe I found on allrecipes.com for Apple Butter Pork Loin. I did make some changes to the recipe, but it turned out super delicious. So did the roasted acorn squash stuffed with apple and

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-30618573487438754302011-08-08T10:25:00.007-04:002011-08-10T11:23:56.488-04:00

Things have been a bit busy lately. I'm glad I was able to get a few things finished and up in my shop before things got hectic with work.  Now that our big conference is over, I'll be making things and posting more regularly. I'm planning what I'll be working on for the remainder of the year.  It seems a bit early to be thinking about the end of the year, but I know from experience that time

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-42504345917278691422011-07-05T16:38:00.001-04:002011-07-06T11:15:46.373-04:00

Several months ago I made a sharktopus plush for a friend. I posted that version in here a while back. I have since revised the pattern a bit and made another large one for the director, but something terrible happened. He started multiplying! Now there is a adolescent and baby sized sharktopus, and I'm afraid for all the beach goers out there. Especially with the baby, he's super cute, but

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-79618475197878372622011-06-29T14:44:00.000-04:002011-06-29T14:44:13.983-04:00

A while back I mentioned having a couple of pieces accepted into Stuffed Magazine. Well here they are: I wasn't sure which issue my stuff would be appearing in.  My fiance came in with the mail a few days ago, and had already found my pages and marked them so when I asked if there was anything for me, he replied, "yup" and showed me this! Its so neat and weird at the same time to see my little

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-32906721817764925372011-06-23T15:37:00.000-04:002011-06-23T15:37:50.851-04:00

Been pretty busy with some plush preparations for a grand shop reopening.  But I took a 24 hours break to participate in The Soundry's Cell Block 316 art show.  Artists were "locked up" at the Soundry for 24 hours, and had to complete as many works as they could. All projects had to be started and completed within that 24 hour period.  It was a really fun experience and I would totally do it

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-7254910968176772872011-06-01T16:40:00.001-04:002011-06-01T16:41:38.154-04:00

Just saw a great tip from Red Marionette, on making and using patterns from stiff felt.  Its a great idea and can't wait to try it out. Especially for some of my larger plush since it might save me a lot of time I spend tracing patterns now. I have a feeling it will work similarly with the fleece I use for plush as well as with felt I use for ornaments.  :D

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-18258313944400456272011-05-24T12:35:00.000-04:002011-05-24T12:35:24.523-04:00

Whoa!  Its been a busy last several weeks.  In addition to 2 wholesale orders, I had to travel out to Seattle for work.  Its been a while settling back into things. After returning, there was work stuff to catch up on, wrapping up a wholesale order, wedding planning things, and some unexpected kitchen floor repairs.  So now that all of that is easing up, except the kitchen floor which still

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-91287420134748964732011-04-16T14:04:00.001-04:002011-04-16T14:12:45.080-04:00

A few weeks back, I was contacted by Clothes That Kill! about coming up with a plush of their Dead Bat Logo. Its the first time I was asked to make something to produce in multiples and sell at wholesale. It took a few prototypes to come up with a design that both was easy enough to reproduce in multiples, and was as close to the original artwork as possible. After several revisions to the

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-46758527331498521112011-03-20T12:29:00.000-04:002011-03-20T12:29:13.797-04:00

My sister is a big fan of the Adult Swim show Squidbillies. Her favorite character is of course, Early Cuyler. Knowing this, her fiance and I conspired to make a plush Early for her birthday. I did some research both to get an idea of his facial expressions, and an idea on how to construct him.  I came across vikangaroo, who had made a custom plush Early too. I got a better idea of how to

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-25345341003905868782011-03-18T15:22:00.001-04:002011-03-18T15:25:23.076-04:00

Its been a long time since I last posted.  Life got busy and my little blog, and my crafts, got pushed to the side.  My dad has been a sick for about a year with congestive heart failure. Luckily he was approved to be included in the trials for a new procedure to replace a heart valve (A calcified valve was the cause of his problem). He went through the surgery and did great!  Even the doctors

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-1284696181452291772011-02-11T10:53:00.000-05:002011-02-11T10:53:13.193-05:00

I've been distracted from updating. A lot has been happening lately in real life, however I am finding time here and there to sneak in some creative things. I have a couple of commissions to finish up, including the Sharktopus for Declan O'Brien. Also I'm finishing some work for the upcoming Soundry Members Show. I'm should have 5 pieces in the show including a good sized plush Some of the

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-70075311582509168602011-01-13T13:14:00.001-05:002011-06-01T16:42:26.911-04:00

Abby Glassenberg is posting some really helpful technical information about sewing plush and soft toys. Check out the ongoing series, Elements of Soft Toy Design, at her blog.

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-39042734814425861012011-01-11T14:03:00.001-05:002011-01-11T14:06:59.709-05:00

Apparently my cute little sharktopus is a hit! Not only did I get an email from the Editor-in-Chief of Rue Morgue Magazine telling me that Declan O'Brien, the director of Sharktopus wanted to know how he could get a sharktopus plush, but SyFy tweeted about my plush too! I could just explode! *twirls*

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-32757762459908014862011-01-11T11:26:00.003-05:002011-01-11T14:16:14.609-05:00

UPDATE:  SyFy tweeted about my plush!  Tweet Tweet. So I've had to keep quiet about a recent commission for a while now. Its been killing me because its so cute and I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Luckily its finally been delivered to the person it was made for so I can finally now share.  Share what, you say? ... SHARKTOPUS!!! Half shark, half octopus! He's actually not that bad

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-60621738829714203902011-01-05T22:45:00.001-05:002011-01-11T10:48:00.876-05:00

One of my favorite things to make in the winter is homemade marshmallows. They actually aren't that difficult to make, and are SUPER delicious.  So much better than store bought versions.  I use a basic recipe (below) but I may make some adaptations to it for my specific needs. As I experiment I'll let you know the outcomes.

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-25368017786538391522010-12-18T13:03:00.001-05:002011-01-04T11:13:50.478-05:00

Its pretty obvious that the story of Santa with a sleigh and reindeer is a lie. I mean flying reindeer? Come on!  The truth of the matter is that Santa is a Ninja. That's right, a Ninja.  He uses his Ninja training to sneak into all the houses of good little girls and boys and leave them presents. That's why he doesn't need a chimney to come down. Ninjas can find a way into anywhere! This

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-14440276209972010622010-12-15T11:14:00.000-05:002010-12-15T11:14:36.851-05:00

When people ask me what types of things I make, I find it hard to give a straight answer.  See, I have something I call Craft ADD.  I get really interested in some craft and will be completely absorbed by it. Then something clicks in my head, or I see something, and all of a sudden I'm like "oh I want to do that now!" and I go off and do that. I've been knee deep in ornament and plush making. I

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-78714680235423678692010-12-12T14:15:00.000-05:002010-12-12T14:15:50.379-05:00

So it seems a lot of people like my little owl ornaments. I'm super flattered by this.  I have a few more color variations of them that I wanted to photograph and put into the shop today. Unfortunately its raining here pretty steadily. I could take pictures inside, but I think they look so much better setup with the trees and natural light. I also have another cute little ornament I've made that

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-46072553467340918992010-12-06T09:42:00.002-05:002011-01-04T11:15:09.407-05:00

I came up with some super cute owl ornaments just in time for the holidays. They are completely hand-sewn, and made out of felt, thread and a wee bit of poly-fil to poof out their bellies a bit. I'm totally in love with their cute little embroidered sleepy eyes. These will be listed in the shop later today, and can also be found in the Soundry starting later this week. More colors coming soon!

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-70025811428651789482010-11-18T10:29:00.002-05:002010-11-18T10:31:09.871-05:00

So a while back I doodled a cute little guy absent-mindly.  He looks sort of like a squid-monster thing.  I was really fond of him, so I tore him off whatever scrap piece of paper I had been drawing on and saved him, not sure exactly what I'd be doing with him. Several days ago, I decided to sketch him out bigger into a test pattern for a plush.  He actually went pretty well, but I'll probably

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-22079507971045385562010-11-08T11:49:00.000-05:002010-11-08T11:49:24.248-05:00

Yes, its already time to start thinking about Xmas.  Especially when most of the gifts and goodies you've planned are handmade. I'll be visiting my sister and her husband, and my nephews this weekend.  We're going to have some Xmas Crafty Time, since I think its something that they really haven't gotten the chance to do much of in the past. I figured I'd whip up some patterns and we'd make some

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-74983976348453160592010-11-02T11:59:00.000-04:002010-11-02T11:59:40.338-04:00

Yup, that's right!  I finally got my Etsy shop started.  I'm so excited. There are only a few items in the shop at the moment, but look for it to grow over the next couple of weeks. As well as finishing up some more plush and artwork, I'm brainstorming on Christmas ideas. But that's only part one of my exciting craft news. Part two is that I've joined The Soundry! The Soundry is a local (to me)

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-88770335979388930062010-10-14T14:39:00.001-04:002010-10-14T14:49:51.414-04:00

Several months ago, I stumbled across Spoonflower's website. Its a custom fabric printing shop. That's neat enough on its own, however, they also hold lots of contests for new designs, patterns, etc.  I had thrown my hat in the ring, and came up with a cute little idea for their Fat Quarter Puppet contest. After voting was over, they announced the winner and showed the top 10. I wasn't among

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-19709695696677781032010-10-07T16:01:00.002-04:002010-10-07T16:04:25.669-04:00

So I finished and sent off my swap for Craftster, and it should be arriving soon. I'm going to go ahead and put up pictures because I'm a cheeky monkey like that. The first thing I worked on was the biggest and newest to me. Bunting.  I had never heard of the stuff before, but once I looked it up I recognized it. I don't know what I used to call this stuff before I knew the proper term, probably

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-83942224283198471482010-09-21T11:45:00.001-04:002010-09-21T11:45:00.216-04:00

I'm still here, I've just been a bit busy. I'm participating in a few craft swaps, which I'll show my work from once they are received by my partners. All are Halloween Swaps. One is through Craftster, and its pretty open-ended as far as what to craft, so I've tried to focus on new things to experiment with. The other 2 are through Swap-Bot. These are both Halloween Stuffie swaps. YAY!

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-39079571255463344562010-09-08T11:29:00.000-04:002010-09-08T11:29:12.865-04:00

What is a distelfink?  To be honest I didn't know either until a couple of years ago.  See I grew up in southern Pennsylvania, in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. As a typical teenager, I didn't appreciate anything from the area. That was until I moved for college, and realized that nowhere else would I ever eat a delicious fausnacht, or other local treats. As I got older, I began to

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-48642804721017029702010-09-03T13:31:00.003-04:002010-10-12T14:21:17.802-04:00

I had made this little fella a while back, but I forgot to share him. Shame on me.  He was part of the Cute Zombie ATC Swap over at Swap-Bot.  I liked him an awful lot and was sad to see him go.  I think as the Halloween season gets closer, I'll make another one similar to this. Maybe a bit larger and more cleaned up looking.

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-55117665749910388742010-09-01T16:38:00.000-04:002010-09-01T16:38:27.122-04:00

Or more accurately, my two plushies I sent off got into Stuffed Magazine! I'm not sure which issue yet, but I am so pleased.  And I'm hoping to have my shop open in time to include it on the information I need to fill out and send into the editors. Yaaay!  *twirls*

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-28097470030139025882010-08-27T14:25:00.001-04:002010-08-27T14:25:00.842-04:00

This little drawing/sketch has been in a holding pattern for a while now. I really like her, but am unsure of what I'm going to do with her. Make her into a painting? Make her into a larger drawing and tweak the shading by adding some more light areas? So many ideas for her! She is up on the short list of things to do something with in the next month or so... Definitely expect to see more of

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-11534773170531762212010-08-19T16:18:00.001-04:002010-08-19T16:20:15.856-04:00

One of the many arts and crafts I want to do more with is carving my own stamps and block prints. I just really like the feel of carving away at something and watching a design or shape slowly unfold. Unfortunately for my Mama, I discovered that love at the age of 3, using a nail file to dig swirls into the nice wood furniture....  oops! Several months back I did a little simple carving, using a

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-31874915709094590062010-08-11T23:01:00.000-04:002010-08-11T23:01:34.263-04:00

So long since my last post! Time got away from me as I was busy with preparing for our annual conference at my day job. I was out in San Francisco for only 12 hours before I got a call that there was a family emergency. After some calling back and forth between my sisters and I, I decided to head back to the east coast. My dad was in the hospital for a week, but is out now and feeling a lot

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-59945598763948663282010-07-10T11:10:00.002-04:002010-09-01T16:32:53.324-04:00

Who has a closet filled with partially stuffed doll parts?  Oh, I do! There is mischief and shenanigans afoot!

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-33819568233076720802010-07-03T10:34:00.001-04:002010-07-03T10:34:00.866-04:00

I finally am started to get my craft space organized and usable. I actually had a "craft room" at my last place too, but it was more of a craft supply storage area. Early on I discovered that a futon and coffee table aren't the best of working spaces, at least for me. When I moved a few months ago, I once again had a room that was designated as my craft room. This space is a good deal larger,

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-88337148557282249142010-06-29T11:31:00.005-04:002010-06-29T11:31:00.225-04:00

So much of the last 2 weeks has been wrapping up work for the Baby Canvases II show at the Soundry. I finished all 15 works and added little tags to the back of them with my blog address and dropped them off last Wednesday.  This past Saturday was the show opening. There were so many good works. I drank a delicious lemonade fizz served up by the lovely folks at the Soundry.  HINT: The Soundry is

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-42573553584830981412010-06-15T15:15:00.006-04:002010-06-15T15:59:05.059-04:00

A few months back I was making nightly sketches (something I really should get back into).  Just getting things out of my brain and onto paper. Most of my sketching is very organic, without too much forethought going into them. I'll have a basic idea, and after that things flow in whatever direction they want to go. I've tried to force myself into a neater, cleaner style, but it rarely turns out

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-9648776985653369312010-05-31T10:31:00.001-04:002010-06-15T14:49:18.477-04:00

Yet another piece in the set I'm doing for Baby Canvases II. A cute little painting of my little green monster.  You've seen his cousin "in the plush" in this post. I'm still getting used to this whole shading in color concept.  I've used monotone dry media for so long, that its sometimes hard for me to understand that not just any old dark color will do for shading. I originally tried making

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-84079770744977090222010-05-26T15:28:00.003-04:002010-06-15T14:50:05.699-04:00

One of the many things I've added to my list, is to participate in the Baby Canvases II show being held by The Soundry. I figured it was a nice baby step into painting since I haven't finished a painting in...oh....10 years? Yeah... So, the other day at lunch I was doodling. Trying to come up with little felt patch designs for the upcoming plushies I'm working on. Instead I doodle a slightly

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-63448659945885077642010-05-13T10:53:00.005-04:002010-05-26T14:55:07.997-04:00

I've heard about Spoonflower before. Its a really neat site where you can upload your own fabric designs and get them printed. You can also make your designs available for sale if you choose. When I first heard about it, it was still by invite only.  Now anyone can get their designs printed. I also just recently learned that they hold contests.  I love contests! So I came up with something

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-76300290171407601802010-05-10T10:50:00.003-04:002010-05-26T15:09:09.098-04:00

Its been so long since my last post.  Oops! I was out of town for a little while for work, and I'm slowly getting back on the crafting ball. My most recent completed item was a little gag gift for one of my sisters. Apparently she thought one of the lyrics in the song "Here comes the Hotstepper" said: I'm a leprechaun gangster. This amused her boyfriend a lot. Enough so, that he contacted me and

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-26981029725965847162010-04-12T11:54:00.003-04:002010-05-26T14:49:07.981-04:00

I'm going to be a busy bee over the next few weeks. There are some deadlines closing in for work and applications to some shows. The Plush You Seattle deadline is May 10. After that the Strange Figurations deadline is June 30 and the very next day is the deadline for Teeny Tiny Art show #7. I've got several sketches that need to turn into paintings, as well as several plush ideas. I'll try to

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-5095431365132781252010-04-07T10:41:00.003-04:002010-05-26T14:51:55.178-04:00

This is the result of last nights playing around with my new oil pastels. I'm actually pretty happy with how he came out. At the beginning I didn't think I would be. But I just kept on playing, and slowly things started to look better and better. And while I didn't get super expensive pastels, I was really impressed with how well they worked. Definitely good enough for me to work with for a

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-39648494535299709722010-04-06T17:26:00.005-04:002010-05-26T14:50:13.620-04:00

I got the disappointing news that I did not make it into the Plush You LA show. While I was a bit bummed out, I'm not too down about it. I really am just starting out. So I'll work on making more cute things and try again next time. Also I've been switching moods from my Plush Mood, to my Art Mood. I got the idea recently to make a simple little doodle to use to test some new methods. So here is

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-8787058239050198472010-03-22T20:52:00.003-04:002010-05-26T14:49:44.202-04:00

My labels arrived today!  I'm so excited.  They look great, and are so well done. I'm definitely very pleased and can't praise Priya Creations enough for the outstanding job. I definitely recommend them for all label needs. I just made my layout, and uploaded the file to them. I was given a soft proof, and after approval and a few days these lovelies were waiting for me in the mailbox! Now to

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-31386157789145841452010-03-20T23:41:00.001-04:002010-03-20T23:42:39.170-04:00

I'm almost finished moving. There are only a few remaining odds and ends at the old place, and today I dropped off all the donation items/clothes. The new place is coming along. I'm about 40% unpacked. The kitchen is mostly set up. I still need to clear out some of the cabinets and reorganize them. There is a laundry backlog that needs to get worked on...oops. The craft room is currently full of

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-64479939153014858102010-02-22T21:52:00.006-05:002010-05-26T15:02:19.120-04:00

YAY! Here are the 3 images I sent in. You'll recognize the one from the Mortal Plush show. I decided to go ahead and use her for the application. Now I can focus on packing and moving before beginning working on other projects. :)

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-71380233351262344172010-02-03T22:28:00.000-05:002010-02-03T22:28:21.025-05:00

More snow this weekend makes me very happy.  Did I mention I LOVE snow.  :D *does a snow dance*  I've gotten a bit busy with the day job so haven't gotten to work on my art and crafts as much as I would have liked. I did work on a painting, and got a good under painting on the canvas. I've also sketched up some other ideas for pieces that I really like and have a good solid plan for my Olympic

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-30974951571332049422010-01-20T23:08:00.003-05:002010-01-20T23:14:14.659-05:00

I have been planning for a while now on submitting some plush cuteness to Stuffed Magazine. Their next deadline is February 15. I was going to rework my Vox plush that was in the Mortal Plush Show last year, as well as create some "sisters" or friends. Its helpful that I've started to get into a plush mood. I get crafty moods, where I am completely focused and only interested in a certain art or

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-58441300299587525952010-01-14T14:22:00.001-05:002010-01-14T14:25:01.988-05:00

The other day I whipped out a pack ATC sized Bristol board a friend had given to me and decided to do a little shading practice. Its been awhile since I've worked on art, so I'm trying to get my art muscles all nice and loosened up. She's pretty much a replica of the girl in my previous post. Just wanted to get some tonal values down to see how I want to progress with her on a larger scale. I

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7415417906009922780.post-61311637354510808582010-01-11T14:08:00.001-05:002010-05-26T15:03:18.986-04:00

I've had a certain doodle laying around for some time while I tried to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with it. I eventually came up with a basic idea, and even sketched it onto a canvas. I didn't start painting it yet, because I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to go as far as the color scheme, or some of the details. Just last night I decided I'd do a series of these girls with

Suzannah Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700103793288056945noreply@blogger.com0