Vote for Jelly Legs Jim :D

Yay- i was picked for the top 40 finalists for the Handmade Kids Challenge on Etsy :D
Guess what?! If you vote, you have a chance to win too!!! So here's the link to VOTE
and the Rules which basically say that you can only vote once per category and you have to have an etsy account.

and look Nichol is right next to me, too- I love Frank the Porter :D So wish me luck and if you happen to like Jelly Legs Jim, I'd appreciate your vote! Thanks! Good luck to everyone who entered! :D

Morton the Mushroom

A Custom Order I made for Titaniumhip- I think I do some of my best work when I get a custom order, there's just something about getting the answers in my short questionnaire and getting inspired by them. This is one of my favorite color combos :D

Sprouted: August 24th
Favorite Color: neon orange
Favorite Drink: Ice Tea with Lemon
Favorite Food: Vegetable Samosas
Favorite Activity: playing with his yo-yo
Favorite Season: Summer

Olympics have me crocheting up a storm...

This is Margie the Bunny.   

           Her Birthday is August 23

           Favorite Color: Teal

      Favorite Drink:  Grape Juice

      Favorite Food:  Waldorf Salad

      Favorite Activity:  making bead necklaces & bracelets

      Favorite Season:  Winter

Lydia the Bunny is for a friend.  Her room colors are pink and brown, so I thought a co-ordinating bunny would be perfect :D

I made Herman the Dachshund the other night.  He's going to be a Christmas present for my brother.  I made him from the Super Happy Cute Crochet book.  Cute huh?

Candy arrived in her new home...

after all those good pictures that were sent in to me, I got another one! Hurrah :D To me, pictures say more than words ;) And a big thank you to Stephanie goes out for blogging about my mushrooms and saying such nice things :D

Hannah and Ollie the Mushroom

This is just the cutest ever! I was told that she sculpted this in the California sand (while on vacation from Maryland!) without prompt from anyone! The best appreciation picture EVER!!!
apparently, Hannah takes Ollie almost everywhere, what a cute pair!!!
and when Hannah can't take Ollie somewhere... she thinks of him often :D What a creative young lady! I would've never thought of making a Sand Mushroom ;)
When I received these pics, it totally made me tear up out of happiness. For me, making plushies is totally about the happiness they will bring someone. And it looks like this plushie has... it really warms my heart! Thank you!!!

The pictures were originally sent to me by www.flickr.com/photos/fleshrot - again Thank you so so much for sending these in!!!

Jelly Legs Jim the Mushroom & Petey the Parrot

Ahoy me Hearties, this is Jelly Legs Jim and his scur'y mate Petey Parrot. They be like most Piratey folk, they be huntin' for Booty for 100 hundred years.

Avast ye, they been lookin' in all the wrong places such as the Dead Sea. Once, Jelly Legs Jim lost his eye in a pillow fight with a gigantic octupus in that very Sea. Shiver me timbers! Just kiddin', not really but he likes t' pretend that he did (the pillow fightin'twas for real) Savvy?

Unlike most parrots, Petey does not like t'talk or repeat thin's. He's happiest collectin' shiny seashells and sittin' on Jelly Legs Jim's shoulder. Which Suits Jelly Legs Jim just fine, for e'ery pirate must have a loyal parrot by his side.

Legend goes that Jelly Legs Jim is feared by all, for he can tickle you t'the depths o'the earths!

I had a ton of fun making this guy. I made him for the "Handmade Kids Challenge" on etsy- wish me luck! If you do want to buy Jelly Legs Jim, feel free to do so, I'll still be entered in the challenge even if you scoop him up :)

Hamlet the Piggie

with the Olympics and all, I've been feeling distracted lately with updating the shop. But I love to craft, so I decided to start going through some of my pattern books and at least crochet while watching TV and hopefully start stockpiling for Christmas :D It's a win win! Plus, I was super happy with how cute this little guy turned out. I made him from the book "Amigurumi: Super Happy Crochet Cute" by Elisabeth A. Doherty It's a super book and has some fantastic patterns in it. And I must say I"m really fond of that title ;p

Teapots, Mugs, and other Ceramics I LOVE!!!

Lately, I've been really into cute/beautiful kitchenwares/ceramics. I can't stop wanting them. They are just so beautiful! And I have yet to get some...

My favorite find is the Teapot with a cold, if only it were not so expensive- I would get it in a heartbeat. This is so cute it's almost killing me! Found via Lama Designs

then check out some other cuties in their store- eek! and don't you just love the photography done for these. i love the soft colors! this is so me... anyway...
I also adore Jonathan Adler's ceramics and have yet to own some. His recent addition of the Utopia collection drives me crazy- it's sooo good!
and lastly, I thought these were some of the cutest espresso cups I have ever seen! Pepe & Friends have cute salt shakers, the butter dish really cracks me up- so much good stuff! These all are definitely going on my Christmas wish list! I'm trying to be better at not spending money, but such finds make it tough. I really want that teapot and those little nuts ;p

Fanta arrived in Pennsylvania... living more GREEN

Thanks to Bethany for blogging about my Droplet ;) Check out her blog, she has some really great ideas for living more GREEN. I know I can definitely improve on that front as well.

Currently, I do these green things and I'd like to hear your ideas of what you might do that I haven't done yet or a new idea :D

1) use bio friendly detergent, I've found that Seventh Generation works really great!
2) use a water saving shower head- I was surprised, because I could tell no difference really other than that the water seems to come out a little harder, because it sprays a bit
3) use canvas bags
4) recycle
5) use a glass mug for coffee and tea at work
6) use a re-usable lunch bag
7) i don't own a car, so I carpool or use the bus system (this is the one I'm most proudest of, because sometimes it's the one that can be more pain in the butt to do than the others, but sometimes it has it's rewards- many hours of crochet, knitting, and reading have been accomplished this way)
8) use energy saving lightbulbs
9) always turn off lights and anything that I'm not using, lately I've also been unplugging my toaster and microwave when I remember
10) i've been trying to buy natural shampoos & conditioners, but that experience has been mixed, i still buy regular shampoos because my hair is a bit unmanageable and i find the conditioners just don't condition enough for me, so i gotta keep on trying to find a good one!
11) and lastly, at work we get free sodas which come with lots and lots of those pesky rings. so i set up a little bin where people throw them into now and each morning, i pick up at least 20 of them and cut them into little pieces. i think this may be one of my most satisfying things, knowing that nothing will get trapped in them and it takes very little effort :D

Summer Crafting

Summer Crafting, originally uploaded by Effunia.

Over my 1 week vacation, I tried to craft as much as possible with my little sister. We made stamps, kokeshi dolls, friendship bracelets, played with sculpey, knitted snakes with a knitting loom and other things! it was great fun. My little sister didn't like her lion stamp, but i told her everything she made turned out great and she told me that I was just saying that because I was her sister. But I was really impressed with her carving skills. She wants to make a bunch more of the knitted snakes and then sell them in my etsy shop so she can save up for a Build-a-Bear- how cute is that?!? I told her she was really good at everything artsy, but she doesn't believe me. She keeps on comparing herself to me. All i know is that when I was little, I couldn't have done half the things she's doing now. Can you tell I'm a proud big sister? :D

I'm back from Vacation... and wanted to share some Flickr & Blog love I've received

Thanks to all of you who blogged or flickered about my plushies- you make my day!

Check out all these great pics!!!

Dottie has arrived in Canada and she loves her new home :D  Thanks to Cheryl for sharing her photos with me!!!

This pic was taken by Chelsea Ann- she's so sweet to include me so frequently in her blog posts!  I just love seeing new pictures of my mushrooms and in this particular series of photos, my mushroom is having a birthday party :D

Look at Leeanna's cute plush collection!  She makes great ones herself too, check them out here.  Can you spot my mushroom?

And lastly, Jhoanna from One Red Robin added me in her linky love last Friday, so I thought I'd return the favor.  Besides, I've coveted her plushies for over a year now and if you haven't seen them, they are super cute!