Bunny Love

Meet Romeo and Juliet ~ Valentine sweethearts. Romeo enjoys golf, grilling and reading historical novels. Juliet likes to crochet, bake cupcakes and play Solitaire on her iPad (presumably while Romeo is golfing).

They are sweethearts and best friends. Just what everyone should have on Valentine's Day...

Valentina Supports Go Red for Women!

What's better than Valentine's Day?

Combining the fun and romance of a Valentine with awareness for a good cause! Valentina here is doing both. She holds her red heart in her hands while sporting a red tulle tutu to support Heart Health month (February) and Go Red for Women! Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, so we want to do all we can to raise awareness.

10% of each sale of a Valentina dog will go to the American Heart Association. Thanks for your support!

Banana

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I've got some fun things in the works. Easter is rather late this year (April 24), but on these cold January days it is encouraging to think about Springtime.

So Banana and her Wee Traveler bag are a little tease. ;-) Omygosh this little bunny is so soft I wish you could reach thru your screen and smoosh her.

She's in my Etsy shop now. And her relatives will be showing up in the days and weeks to come! But until then, I've Valentine ballerinas to bring to life. *wink*

(This particular duo is a baby gift for a friend. The Wee Traveler bag can be personalized with any initial or a yellow rubber duckie applique.)

March of the Raccoons :)

Some requests and some customers are just special. And super fun.

I had a blast making these little guys ~ and even more fun putting them in formation and playing with them. :)

Now they are off to the Pacific Northwest to join their fellow "raccoons."

Let the wild raccoon ruckus begin!!! :)

Dreams and Wishes and Hope...

As promised ~ more items benefiting Make-A-Wish! They are in my Etsy shop now.

These super soft, super warm chunky knit beanies were hand-knit on looms and are sized as "child size;" I would say they would fit a toddler from about age 2 - 4. Sporting buttons full of hope, one states "Dream" and the other "Wish." (Watch the little guys with those buttons, though!)

10% of each sale will go to Make-A Wish Foundation of Colorado. Thanks for taking a peek!!

Go Team!

As I mentioned in my previous post I was honored to be asked to create a few Wee Ones for a local fundraiser for Make-A-Wish of Colorado. It is a sports themed event (in very sports-crazy town) so, keeping copyright restrictions in mind, I decided to create my impressionistic versions of mascots for the Denver and Colorado Professional Sports Teams, as well as the four mascots for the major Denver and Colorado Universities.

So all done. And delivered. The Collegiate Wee Ones ( Rudy the Ram - CSU; Bob the Buffalo - CU; Reggie the red-tailed hawk - DU; and Brewster the Bear - UNC) and the Professional Wee Ones (Raquel the fierce cat - Denver Nuggets; Dinah Saur - Colorado Rockies; Bert - Colorado Avalanche; and Buckaroo - Denver Broncos) are now in the safe keeping of the wonderful Make-A-Wish volunteers. They will be auctioned off on February 2 at the "Sporting Affair Celebrity Waiter Dinner" at Denver's Four Seasons. Have a good life little guys!

But (as I stated previously also) why stop the love there? Stay tuned for more items featured in my Etsy shop ~ with 10% of each sale going to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado.

What is more important than a child?

Say I Heart You with a Special Wee One and More!

Need a Valentine for that special little girl in your life? This is quite foo-foo.

How about this Wee Traveler bag and Coco Chenille the Fancy Wee Dog? The bag can be personalized with your princess's initial. Coco fits perfectly inside the coordinating fleece bag with room to spare. You know for important stuff like a box of raisins, some chapstick, the dollar Grandpa gave her and a stick of sugarless gum.

Both items are in my shop now .

I had such fun making them! The first in a line of coordinating Wee Ones and Wee Travelers. :)

Quick ~ Make A Wish!

One of the things I love most about making my little critters and all that goes with them, is it allows me a venue in which I can give back ~ pay it forward. A new cause just kind of fell into my lap when an awesome customer asked if I would be interested in donating a couple of Wee Ones to a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado.

Is that even a question? Of course I want to!

So, nothing gets the wheels of creativity churning like a new theme. The fundraiser has a sports theme dubbed as "Sporting Affair Celebrity Waiter Dinner." It will be held at Denver's brand spankin' new Four Seasons Hotel and feature silent and live auctions along with a dinner served by Colorado's favorite sports heroes.

So. Sports... In a sports-crazy town and state, I'm more of a theatre, comedy, music person; but I love a challenge! So, keeping copyright restrictions in mind (i.e., don't use any copyrighted logo fabric; the pro organizations -and their attorneys - frown on that), I pondered the project.

What I came up with was the idea to look at the mascots of each Denver/Colorado pro teams and the mascots of the top four universities in Colorado. I decided to make "impressionistic" versions of the mascots in the form of my Wee Ones, using each team's colors.

The photo above depicts my version of the four professional teams' mascots:

• Buckaroo representing the Denver Broncos (football)


• Raquel representing the Denver Nuggets (basketball)


• Dinah representing the Colorado Rockies (baseball)


• Bert representing the Colorado Avalanche (hockey)

Today I tackle the mascots for the University of Colorado, the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University and the University of Denver (which will prove to be the most challenging as there appears to be some controversy over exactly which of two mascots is the real mascot! Yikes!)

But to my point (and I do have one!) ~ I decided why stop the love with the fundraising dinner? So I will be carrying a line of sports-themed Wee Ones (and other Wee Ones) in my Etsy shop indefinitely with 10% of each sale going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado.

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Inspiration.

Sometimes when I'm working my Mom pops into my head. And she is adorable.

She jumped into my head today when I was creating a Piper the Penguin.

My thought? I thought - I hope I'm still doing this when I'm 92.

If you follow my wanderings you know that she is an inspiration to me ~ and anyone who knows her. She is 92 years young and sews, crochets and crafts every day. She does word search puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. She takes the stairs as opposed to the elevator. She is always open to learning something new. She quilts with her friends several times a week. She plays Bingo on Monday nights, volunteers every Saturday morning at the nursing home across from her apartment and is active in her church. She has taught my nieces how to sew, bakes a mean kringla (a Norwegian kind of shortbread) and has a mini-business doing alterations and designing quilts from all manner of things like treasured tee-shirts and baby blankets.

So, yes, when I am working with my hands I think of her. And am resolute in the notion that when I grow up I want to be just like her.

Wee Travelers are Here!

The next idea...

Voilà! Introducing "Wee Travelers" ~ little travel bags for kids! Something I've been thinking about for awhile and finally had time to work up a prototype. Mind you, these aren't the best images; I found it difficult to find the proper lighting for this particular item, but you get the idea.

"Wee Travelers" will be offered in a couple of sizes ~ this particular cupcake version is larger ~ about 12 inches high and 28 inches in diameter. It sports a cupcake appliqued pocket on the front and another pocket on the inside in the pink and white striped lining. Both fabrics on this model are flannel - super soft and completely washable ~ and the bag has a Velcro closure (easy for little hands to manipulate). A coordinating ribbon on the 18 inch handles and a cute pink heart button on the outer pocket complete the bag.

Of course there will be "manly" bags for boys as well; and I will be making a smaller version, too. The bags are perfect for overnights at Grandmas; play dates with friends; traveling on an airplane (they'll make it thru security just fine!); going to the beach, the lake, the mountains; going to the market with Mom or on a camping trip with Dad.

OR ~ the bags will be perfect for carrying a Wee One (or two!) along on all those adventures!!

More to come. This cupcake bag may or may not show up in my Etsy shop ~ I haven't decided yet. It may be going to a special little girl... Stay tuned for all kinds of bags and especially the "Wee Travelers" for guys coming soon, too!

New Year ~ New Ideas!

Not one to make New Year's Resolutions, I have always been one to set goals for a new year. Goals seem more positive to me than resolving that I've been doing something wrong. *wink*

And fortunately each new year brings new ideas for projects ~ everything from photography to things around the house to, of course, my designs for little ones. I've been a little obsessed the last couple of days with the thought of personalizing things. (This may eventually involve upgrading my sewing equipment, but we'll have to see how the year goes. *wink*)

Till then, here is my first personalized item ~ a plush pillow with your child's (or your!) initial. Of course I see sets of three for all three initials (first, middle and last name). Or if one wanted to spell out a short name; or a couple's initials on one or two pillows to celebrate a wedding or anniversary. Ack, the possibilities are endless.

And I'm chomping at the bit to get to the sewing machine for the next idea for personalization. So here is to 2011. Bring it on! :)