Effunia

ZAPHOD

2011-07-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

My first plushie of 2011... and what a good one to start with! I made this for Sarena, who's cat tragically passed away a few months ago at 6 yrs old. Right away, I knew I had to make her a plushie of him. Zaphod is one of the cats responsible for me owning a cat now. He was "magical."

Sarena was sooo happy!

A photo I took of Zaphod when I first met him.

I'm glad he turned out on my first try :) Sometimes that's really difficult when trying out a new pattern.

And lastly, the sketch I did.

R is for Roma, P is for Poppy, S is for Stevie

2010-12-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

My friend asked me to make some bunnies for his friends in England who recently had babies. The orange is my favorite!

Steampunk-shroom

2010-12-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

I made this for my friend Koz because I was his Secret Santa this year. He loves Steampunk and his cat Myu. I was going to make a giant Myu doll but wasn't sure how it would turn out, so I opted to do what I do best which are mushrooms and add a little Myu via magnet :)

I love giving handmade things as gifts! They get the best reactions ever :)

2nd Annual Small Paperfox Swap

2010-11-22T16:00:00.001-08:00

These are 10 ornaments I made for the 2nd Annual Small Paperfox swap. The deal is you send in 10 and get back 10 random handmade ornaments- I love it! I should have made one for myself though, forgot to... :p

Jack, the Beanstalk, & Giant-shroom

2010-10-24T23:18:00.001-07:00

A while ago, John asked me to make some story-book mushrooms for his baby. For the baby shower, I delivered. 1 storybook shroom done, 3 more to go... The Giant-shroom is about double the size of my normal mushrooms. It was a lot of fun to work on. I love the weight of it. Then the beanstalk bends and Jack is able to climb up each leaf. When John & Maegan opened the gift, the whole room filled with gasps, ooh's and ahh's. It was really sweet! Just looking at the pictures, I can still hear the sound. This is the reason I make things. They bring so much happiness to people! I love it! :D

Jack-shroom

2010-10-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

I created this Dog-shroom for a co-worker based off of the real dog Jack. One of my faves :)

The Real Jack

Jack's new home

Plush You! 2010 for Sale

2010-08-31T15:12:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

if you couldn't make it to the show, Munky King has posted the plushies that haven't sold yet on their site- Go & buy buy buy :)

Check over here, I indulged and bought one as a present for someone special :)

Thanks,
Eva

Also check out this cute video and this article

Plush You! 2010 was awesome

2010-08-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Munky King!

My shroomies & me

My Wild Wild West Shroomies

My good friends & also #1 fans John & Maegan :)

My supportive friends

Check out some more pics here and a cute video here and some coverage of the event here

Plush You! This Thursday in LA!!!

2010-08-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

PLUSH YOU

8.26.10 – 9.19.10
Opening Reception: Thurs, August 26th 7-10pm
Munky King Melrose

An exhibition of 65 of the "best of the best" plush artists from around the globe curated by Kristen Rask of Schmancy Toys in Seattle.

I'll be there, so come by & say hi if you're in the LA area :)

Purple Mushroom

2010-06-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

For a friend.

Robo-shroom

2010-06-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

for a friend

Giraffe-shroom

2010-05-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

This was a custom request from my friend Ammie. I can't wait to give it to her :)

Sophia Gasparian Plushies

2010-04-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

I made these for Tate who wanted to give them to his wife for her bday. They are based off of her artwork, you can check it out here.

Zombie-shroom!

2010-03-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

BRAINS!!!

Well, I'm back... sort of... craft time is still not back in full swing. But I'm trying & slowly getting there! I'm feeling better these days, so my productivity is increasing.

It was my friends birthday yesterday and he loves zombies, so of course a Zombie-shroom was a must :)

Happy Birthday John!!!

Tough time...

2010-02-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I'm going through a tough time in my life right now so my crafting has come to a complete halt. It might be some time until you hear from me again, hopefully I'll be back sooner than later. For the time being, I have to take care of myself.

Wish me luck in recovering quickly :)

Thanks,
Eva

Craftmas 2009

2010-01-07T14:59:00.001-08:00

as you can see, at my family's house this Christmas, it was more Craftmas than Christmas :)

As always, we had tons of fun. My favorite were the clothespin dolls. I think my sister enjoyed making more sock monkeys.

Drumroll please...

2009-12-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for playing! I enjoyed reading all of your stories, so thank you for sharing them. I wish I could give all of you your very own mushroom... I will try doing these more often.

After I first read through all the stories, couple of days later there was one particular one that I still remembered. Then this morning I read through all of them again and it made me laugh all over again. I can just envision the whole thing happening in my mind. So without further ado, Pippi Langstrumpf I have chosen your story as my favorite- Congratulations!

And... because I couldn't just pick my favorite story, I also wanted to pick one person randomly out of a hat and the winner of that drawing is Kate! Congrats!

So ladies send me your addresses to ekrzemin(at)yahoo(dot)com. I will make your shrooms today and tomorrow and send them off hopefully in time for you to receive them by Christmas!

Thanks again everyone!!!

Penguin-shroom

2009-12-13T11:45:00.000-08:00

Newbie ;)

Holiday Give-away

2009-12-06T21:28:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to do a little give-away for a long long time... and finally, the time is right :)

So here's the deal: Just leave me a comment on what your favorite Christmas memory is by end of day Monday Dec. 14th. Also, tell me whether you would like a snowshroom ornament, angelshroom ornament or Reindeershroom ornament in your comment & I will custom make it for you. (I will ship wherever so everyone is welcome to leave me a comment :)

I'll either use the Random # Generator or pick my 1 favorite story/comment if I can make up my mind :)

Happy Holidays everyone & Thank you for visiting my little blog :)
Eva

Holiday Shop Update this weekend!

2009-12-04T10:20:00.001-08:00

***Shop is updated :)***
Yay! I finally sewed up enough little mushroom ornaments for a small shop update.

There will be 2 snowshrooms, 2 angels, and 2 reindeer for sure. And one big custom order...

I'm planning on listing things on Saturday/Sunday- not sure what exact day or time unfortunately. But if you don't get any this time around, I plan on sewing more and listing them as they become available. I have until the 16th to sew sew sew and then I'm off for vacation. So I don't think I will have a lot to share since I'm also busy with making some presents, but I'd imagine at least 3 or so would make it into the shop before then...

Have a fun time getting ready for the holidays!!! This is my favorite season :) I LOVE it!!!

Wedding Mushrooms

2009-11-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

These are my first wedding mushrooms ever and I couldn't have created them for a better couple. They really were something special for me to work on. John & Maegan really loved them and I was thrilled that they had come out better than anticipated. I managed to give my mushroom a pinstripe suit and John was wearing one. I matched the blue shirt too! And my orange and green were pretty close to the original wedding colors. So fun!

Angelshroom!

2009-11-16T10:22:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I should've been sewing more snowshrooms and reindeer shrooms but... I got distracted. I think it's a good thing :)

Rudolph the Red-nosed Mushroom!

2009-11-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

I love this new design, but I always say that... or at least I think it. I'm hoping to make a few more- these 2 are spoken for and then aiming to have a shop update at the beginning of December. Wish me luck to get as many done as I can! I already feel bad because I feel like I just can't work fast enough... I even gave myself a wristache the other day :(

Snowshroom Ornaments finished!!!

2009-11-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Hoping to make a few more for an Xmas-themed shop update :)

Snowshroom Ornaments

2009-10-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

I'm creating 10 of these for the First Annual Small Fox Ornament Swap that Sarah is so kindly organizing.

I can't wait to see what everyone else makes and what I end up receiving. These guys are really fun to make. I'm hoping to make a few more to finally update my shop. This year I really wanted to do some Halloween stuff but I never really had the time... so I'm going to start all my Xmas ideas instead. Hopefully, I can come out with 1-2 new designs for bigger mushrooms too or maybe stick to ornaments? Either way, there will be new things in the shop soon! :D

Got back from visiting my family

2009-10-21T13:06:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun crafting!!! We made sock monkeys for the first time ever and it was a big hit. Painted ceramics with Pebeo paint- also a success. And it's tradition to go to a pottery place and paint... and do a paint by numbers. Play games- of course! This time around we tried Bananagrams (loved them). Another favorite- making paper fan people hangups :) I don't know what else to call them. We made plushforms- ghosts! Great times :)

and I also had the chance to digitalize some of my dad's old photographs! Gosh, I love them so so much. I'm pretty lucky- he took pictures of us pretty much every month of the year. I only got through maybe 1/16 of albums and captured 5-6 out of each album just to give you an idea how many beautiful photos we have :)

for more pics of my trip go here
and old pics, the set is here

Mushrooms at Plush You!

2009-10-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

UPDATE- they are for sale here

The Plush You! show is opening this Friday. If you're in the area, you have to go check it out!!! There are going to be many fantastic plush and some of the artists will be there as well. To those of you who are going- have fun and please take some pictures :) And to Kristen Rask- a big shout out for organizing this event, year in and out & introducing all of us to new artists all the time!!!

Here are the details:

Plush You! opens Friday, October 9th 5-10pm.

Shows are being held at:
Schmancy
1932 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98101
Fancy
1914 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98101
Nancy
1932 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98101

And without further ado, here are the mushrooms I submitted to the show. I've been keeping them secret for quite some time and I'm happy to reveal them now. I'm really smitten with my German mushroom. But I am a bit biased since I grew up in Germany...

Hexagon Blanket finished :)

2009-10-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been much going on in my plush making world lately... and this is the reason. I've been working on this blanket for a couple of weeks now. It's going to be a Christmas present for someone special. Yep, it's that time where I start to make Christmas presents already... slowly but surely. I really love how this turned out. I think I might be addicted to crocheting all these colorful squares, hexagons and then piecing it all together. The best part is that I just crocheted hexagons I liked the color combos of, I had no master plan other than the pattern in which they fell in. Then it all came together just like that. I did end up crocheting one extra row because I thought it would be nice if it was longer and to achieve a certain color blend. I can't wait to see the reaction of the receiver :)

Friendly Ghost & Hexagon Blanket

2009-09-29T10:11:00.001-07:00

So the other day I did some doodles of ghosts... Halloween is right around the corner and I'm going to visit my little sister in less than 2 weeks so I was trying to think of an easy project to do with her. I imagined making a bunch of little ghosts with her.

This is my first attempt. I'm quite pleased with the result. It's the first time I used an embroidery hoop too and I thought it made the job a lot easier! I found it a lot easier to keep the proportions of things.

Anyway, I've been in need of designing a plush that I can sew wherever I happen to be... The sewing machine is not very convenient for me. I always have to bring it out of the closet, set it up on the kitchen table or the coffee table. And so I have to have the right amount of time available to get a project done from start to end and sometimes I don't have the 3-4 hrs needed.

Oh and in the background are some hexagons from a blanket I've been working on as a Christmas present. I'm actually almost done with the blanket... just haven't taken pictures up until this point... so more to see when that's done :)

Virtual Yard Sale on ebay

2009-09-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is my 1st time trying to sell something on ebay... we'll see how it goes. Figured I'd try to get rid of my doubles from the Treeson collection. I also need to clean out my apartment from extra toys, extra yarn, fabric and all sorts of things. So if this goes well, I'm hoping to list a lot more things :)

Here's my ebay

Have a look if you like :)

Mushroom Ice Cream Bowl

2009-09-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'm going to make a set of Ice Cream bowls with my mushrooms doing different activities. This one is the Spring version. I'm going to make 4 total including summer, fall, and winter. They are pretty small bowls, perfect for 1-2 scoops of ice cream- which I think is great because it'll keep me from eating too much of a good/bad thing :) I was going to make 2 in one session but this one took longer than expected, about 2 hrs... I love painting pottery. It's so relaxing.

Anyway, I wonder if this is something that I should make a few of for the etsy shop? For some reason, this is the only medium so far that I've found where I like painting... and it's a nice change of pace from sewing, knitting, and crocheting.

Oh, and yesterday was the 100th Birthday of the Santa Monica Pier. They haven't been doing fireworks at the pier for a long time, but last night they got them out. It was a bit unfortunate though because they were very smoky. I'm not sure whether it was the lack of wind or whether they didn't space them out correctly or maybe the timing was off. But I did get one shot that I just love and have to share :)

Jean-Michel visitait Paris part Deux

2009-09-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

I finally received the whole CD with all of the Jean-Michel pics in Paris. They put a huge smile on my face!!! So incredibly cool- I have no words really...

To see all the images go to my flickr set

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-08T11:05:00.001-07:00

A nice break from crafting and work, I visited San Diego and got to go to Sea World and the Zoo. Both were quite crowded so it was really difficult to get nice shots of the animals but I think I got a few nice ones...

I'll definitely have to return to the Zoo when I get a telephoto lens. Plus, I want to see the baby panda when it's bigger, see Frank the Gorilla again, and the Polar Bears!

Some of my visits highlights was seeing the Polar Bears, Beluga Whales, and Frank the Gorilla.

You can see all my photos here and here

Tags I made for my Plushies

2009-08-22T19:57:00.001-07:00

The other week, I was able to finish some of these tags just in time for Plush You. I've been working 50-60 hr weeks so it's been tough making much of anything... much less post about it. But soon, I should be back to a normal schedule and then vacation. Which I am so so looking forward to! I'm actually impressed I've been able to do as much crafting as I have been considering this has been going on for 4 months now. I am tired, very tired. Last week it really hit me and I don't think I could go on much longer at this pace...

Oh and I wanted to say thank you to Cathe Holden for sharing her tips for making these :) Btw, she has lots of useful crafty tips on her blog :) Now you can make them too!

Belle the Mushroom & 2nd Plush You submission finished

2009-07-26T19:40:00.001-07:00

For this one I really wanted to add a crocheted detail because the little flowers reminded me of crochet. And, at first I wasn't sure about the result... but now that I've looked at it for a while, I like it. I don't think it would work on most of my mushrooms, but I like it for this pattern. Maybe I can do the spots on the head in crochet in the future when I feel it fits?

Sprouted: July 26th, 2009
Favorite Color: Peony colors
Favorite Drink: orange juice
Favorite Food: Greek salad
Favorite Activity: dancing
Favorite Season: Summer

My 2nd Plush You submission done! This was the most difficult mushroom EVER... Can you guess what he is?

Moo-shroom

2009-07-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is for my brother's birthday, he likes cows, so only naturally a "Moo-shroom" was in order :)

Sprouted: July 16th, 2009
Favorite Color: black & white
Favorite Drink: cold milk
Favorite Food: Cheese!
Favorite Activity: hanging out in the field and picking daisies
Favorite Season: Summer

Jean-Michel visitait Paris

2009-07-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Calix and his sister for sending these in to me!!! and there are more... I can't wait to see them all- how fantastic!

I love making mushrooms, especially when I see how appreciated they are :) truly so cool :)

My fave picture so far is of Jean-Michel drinking a creme, because I love the napkin with the drawing of the Tour d'Eiffel on it ;)

Baby blanket finished

2009-07-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

My first blanket finished :) I have one that's been in the works since winter, that I just haven't finished but I'm hoping to finish that one up real soon too. But I love the way this one turned out, now I want to make one for myself and my sister... and who knows maybe one for the shop if there was interest in it. I just love crocheting those squares- definitely one of the most relaxing things I've made.

You can see more images in my flickr.

Astulabee via Lensbaby

2009-07-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, I received my pony from Nicole. I love it!

I had been wanting a lensbaby for a while and the other day I decided to go for it. I figured for $75 it would be worth the fun even if it wasn't a very serious lens. Today I got it and of course had to play with it right away. Considering the bad lighting conditions and just starting out, I was happy with the possibilities. I think it'll be great for portraits and plushy photos!

This is definitely one of my all-time fave plushies and that says a lot because I have a huge collection, bigger than I'd like to admit. I love my woodlander.

I've always thought Nicole's plushies are very dream-like and so this lens is perfect for taking pics of them ;) Btw, go check out her etsy, flickr & blog to see fantastic things ;)

Blanket is almost done, now I just have to put some edging on it.

What I've been up to lately...

2009-06-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

I finished my first Plush You Submission. I might make some additions/tweaks as time goes on, but for now here's the sneak peek- what could it be?

Also I'm working on a baby blanket for a friend of mine... I decided to teach myself how to make granny squares, I'm a little over half way done. Each square is 4x4. This has been great fun to make because you can do it anywhere, on the bus, in front of the TV, at lunch... I've found it super relaxing and I'm thinking of making one as an xmas present maybe with a different pattern for someone special.

A few custom orders done

2009-06-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Jelly Legs Jim with Petey the Parrot Two
* I really enjoyed taking pictures of these two, and I hadn't made a paper boat since I was a little kid I'm pretty sure! I had to look up the directions on the web even...

Anastasia the Mushroom
Sprouted: June 8th
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite Drink: tea with lemon
Favorite Food: golompki
Favorite Activity: playing with Zephir
Favorite Season: Summer

Custom order for Anna :)

My little mushroom visits Anna in Gdansk- Poland

2009-06-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Anna of pink-orange-red on flickr organized Little Plush visitor. I signed up to do the little swap which consisted of sending your favorite plush overseas, receive a plush from your partner and take pictures of it around your town, then make a scrapbook of the plushies adventures, collect some souvenirs and goodies and send everything back to it's owner.

I loved doing this so much that I'm thinking of making a few of my little plush mushrooms and holding a give-away of sorts that kind of runs along this theme... You get a little mushroom and in return, you take pictures of the mushroom around where you live and post them on flickr. What do you guys think? Would there be interest in this?

Anyway, Lilly the little mushroom really enjoyed it's stay in Gdansk Poland. Thank you Anna!

Welcome Bruce the Bottomfeeder!

2009-06-13T19:36:00.001-07:00

Jennifer Strunge of Cottonmonster made this Bottomfeeder for me. She makes all sorts of terrific plushies, if you haven't checked them out- you should! Here's her etsy and blog!

I'm lucky because I own a few of hers already- a pentapod, little monster, eye and now the bottomfeeder. I named him Bruce :) He's definitely the biggest plushie in my entire plush collection. I have a thing for really tiny plush or really huge plush! I started collecting smaller plush now because... well I've run out of room... but I couldn't resist this guy.

On my wish list is one of her big monsters... I really heart this guy

Keep up the great work Jennifer!

A shout out to Jenny M!

2009-05-21T22:37:00.001-07:00

Meet Jenny M everyone!

I just discovered the work of Jenny M! Jenny's work reminds me of my childhood. I love her use of color and her style! I can't wait to own something of hers. I'm so glad she has an etsy shop. If you want to see more of her work, visit her webpage or her flickr :)

Love love love this!!

Love these houses- is that a surprise at this point?

and I really want this!!! a village on top of an adorable creature- genius!

This drawing just makes me smile!

*all images belong and created by Jenny M, not me*

Houses

2009-05-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

You may have already seen this article on BBC... but if you haven't I think these are sooo cool! I love artwork with houses in it or plush houses, there's something about houses that captivates me. Maybe it's because I don't have one and I would love to have one... it could be adding to my obsession for sure. I especially like plush houses, of course! And I just thought it was great that 40 crafters got together in England and re-created their village of Mersham, plus the old lady really makes me smile :) She looks so proud! And well she should be :)

I really like the work of mummysam- she makes some terrific houses :) I need to get one for sure- sure beats buying a house here in Southern California ;) Check out her store!

Knitted Octopus

2009-05-17T23:18:00.001-07:00

I've been admiring Hansi Singh's work for a long time now and when I saw that she had a book out on Amazon with 20 patterns- I knew I had to get it. I love her patterns and to my surprise, as intricate as they look, I knitted this guy up with ease. It was helpful that she included explanations in the beginning of the book for some of the tougher stitches to refresh my memory. I made him on Saturday and plan on making a few more... right now, I'm making the snail for myself because well I love snails!

And lastly, the littlest m blogged about my pink easter bunny mushroom. I love her photo! so I had to share :)

Neon Miniature Mushrooms

2009-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

This is my summer series of miniature mushrooms. Not sure yet how many I will make of these, but a few more :)

Lilly the Mushroom

2009-05-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Yay! I finally had the chance to add a mushroom to my shop. I still have a few more custom orders to complete, but I needed a break and just started sewing with this fabric combination. Isn't she so summery?! I love her! :) I love how season seem to affect with what fabrics I sew.

Sprouted: May 5th
Favorite Color: teal
Favorite Drink: coconut milk
Favorite Food: saltwater taffy
Favorite Activity: learning about sea creatures
Favorite Season: Summer

Annabelle the Mushroom for HATCH Studios

2009-05-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Sprouted: May 1st, 2009
Favorite Color: cherry red
Favorite Drink: raspberry soda
Favorite Food: watermelon
Favorite Activity: picking flowers for her mom
Favorite Season: early summer

This mushroom is going to Bethany for the opening of her new studio & gallery HATCH. I'm so happy to be part of HATCH. I wanted this mushroom to be bright and sunny just like HATCH's future! :D

I can't wait to see pictures of the Grand opening and see how it all came together.

Super Mega Tiny Mushroom

2009-04-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

He's only a little bit bigger than a quarter. I almost had to use tweezer to hold onto the little pieces. I think this is officially as tiny as I can go. The scarf was knitted on 0000 size knitting needle. He turned out to be about 2" tall. The bigger sized one is 3.5". Kind of amazing what a whole 1.5" changes...

He might possibly become a hair clip for my sister if she would like to wear such a thing. If not, I'm not sure what I'll do with him yet. He could totally be a brooch! But I think I might make a few more :)

I've been MIA

2009-04-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

As some of you have noticed, I've been a little absent from blogging lately. Recently, my old company had a bunch of layoffs and so I decided to go on a job hunt. I'm very happy to report that I found a really good job that seems very stable. I love the new video game that I'm working on :) I've been there for a little over a week now and it's been great learning new tricks and tools. But with all that going on, I've been a bit too tired to blog or craft when I get home these days...

I did get some things done, smaller projects... I've been meaning to make some hair clips for my little sister. I'm hoping to get better!

And I also finished a custom order of 4 mini-mushrooms. This weekend, I'm going to try to finish a mushroom for HATCH grand opening. Then I think I have about 5 more custom orders to do, some of them are for friends- so I will make them wait and try to update my etsy store a little more. I feel bad about never having anything in there anymore....

A Little Stranger Swap

2009-04-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Holly of A Little Stranger made this lovely bunny brooch for me and in return I made one of my mini mushrooms for her. I love this brooch! The sleepy eyes, the fuzziness, the colors, and adorable scale! I couldn't have wished for more- Thank you!!!

Visit her shop here

Skunkboy Creatures Swap

2009-04-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Katie of Skunkboy Creatures was so nice to do a little swap with me. This owl is perfect for my new (very small) desk at work. As some of you know, I LOVE to collect toys and I was quite sad that my new desk had so little room for toys... but it won't be sad for too long because this little owl is coming to join me! :) Thank you Katie! Visit Katies shop here, she makes the most darling plushies :)

Miniature Mushroom for a friend

2009-04-08T10:45:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to get the blue one done for a while now...

then I also was able to finish 2 custom orders of my bunny mushrooms and I'm right onto the next custom order. Right now, I have 11 more to go (and some of them have more than 1 thing to create)- Phew! Busy busy busy!

In the future, I'm going to have to figure out some kind of balance, because my poor etsy shop is totally neglected and I'm starting to feel bad to make people wait so long. But it's all good, I think from now on, I will only make custom orders when I'm ready for them. One at a time. I will list on etsy "custom order mushroom" whenever that time arrives. I really wish I had more hours in a day! But don't we all?!

Nathaniel and Ringo

2009-04-02T15:23:00.001-07:00

Nathaniel and Ringo, originally uploaded by Effunia.

He couldn't have found a more appropriate home, could he? i don't think so :) And he already has a best friend in Nathaniel too :)

Thank you to Bethany for sending these in! As always, they make my day!!!

Check out Bethany's new studio/gallery space called HATCH- I'm super excited for her new venture, and I'm honored that she's going to be showing/selling my mushrooms there too. My mushrooms will be around loads of little kids doing arts and crafts and hopefully get adopted and move to new homes. It's all so exciting!

Good news!

2009-04-01T11:27:00.001-07:00

Good news!, originally uploaded by Effunia.

I've been accepted to participate in the Plush You show :) Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to apply!

The show opening will be Oct. 9th and I'm hoping to make this a good excuse for visiting Seattle for the first time.

I can't wait to start working on my submissions! And I'm so honored to be part of this talented group and a little bit intimidated :) I'm also really excited to see what everyone else comes up with.

Check out the Plush You blog- it always has super interesting posts!

And to make it an even better day, the Plush you blog posted about me today :)

Easter Egg Mushrooms!

2009-03-23T21:30:00.001-07:00

Just in time for Easter!

These are the mini-mushrooms I've been making for Easter. Each mushroom comes with a 4 inch Easter egg, bunny ears, and bunny pom-pom tail. They are 3.5 inches tall. All of them were made out of Eco-fi felt which is 100% repurposed out of plastic bottles- it's rather amazing feels just like regular wool felt or the other kind.

You can also get them just plain without ears etc if you prefer that :)

Gorey in his new Home

2009-03-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today Lisa of Firefluff was so nice to send in some pictures of Gorey, whom she named herself, in his new home :) He's fitting right in! And he's made some new friends already too! She also blogged about him here- Thanks Lisa!

Coraline Box #37

2009-03-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

My Little Mochi organized the wonderful Coraline mystery box swap for which I created this box. I'm very proud of it and it turned out better than I would've ever imagined. It's on it's way to it's new home today and I hope the owner will be just as happy with it as I am :)

Now the waiting game starts to see which one I will receive :)

Oh and Evil Buttons blogged about my box and my squid! You should check out the blog if you're a fan of Coraline, you will find many other wonderful art/craft projects inspired by Coraline. Thank you!

Leeanna and Ben the Love Droplets

2009-03-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ben
Precipitated: March 15th, 2009
Favorite Color: lime green
Favorite Drink: Mountain Dew
Favorite Food: lasagna
Favorite Activity: creating collages
Favorite Season: Spring

Leeanna
Precipitated: March 15th, 2009
Favorite Color: neon green
Favorite Drink: lime soda
Favorite Food: cannoli
Favorite Activity: sewing and crafting
Favorite Season: Spring

They are "Love Droplets" because they make an upside down heart :)

These were way overdue for a swap I was doing with Leeanna of Meet Sam and Pete. But I hope the wait was well worth it. The girl droplet is probably my fave droplet to date.

Celeste the Mini-Mushroom

2009-03-16T11:26:00.001-07:00

Sprouted: March 12th, 2009
Favorite Color: hot pink
Favorite Drink: sparkling grapefruit soda
Favorite Food: Cheese Nan
Favorite Activity: sewing!
Favorite Season: Winter

For a swap with talented Holly from alittlestranger :)

Easter is just around the Corner

2009-03-08T15:09:00.001-07:00

Working on some special mushrooms for Easter. Hoping to get them all done before the end of the month...

More pics to come soon...

Mushies in their new home :)

2009-03-04T11:35:00.001-08:00

When I receive pictures like these, they totally make my day!!! How cool is their new home?!? I LOVE that picture! And they highly approve of their new pockets :) Thank you Maegan & John!

Mini-Mushroom

2009-03-04T10:14:00.001-08:00

just wanted to make a few more, before I embark on my surprise project that I'm hoping to have done at the end of March, beginning of April. Between the surprise, Custom orders and swaps, I will be busy busy busy...

Oh and the little Cloud factory that you can see in the shot behind my mushroom is made by the talented team of Pearson Maron- I want everything in their shop! But this little factory will have to do for the time being...

Mini-Mushrooms!!!

2009-03-02T12:26:00.001-08:00

I love the bright colors on these. They are so fun to photograph too. I can't wait to make more. I have some special plans for the next couple of weeks. I have a feeling I'll be absent from the blog in order to complete the surprise :)

Clara the Birthday Mushroom

2009-03-02T12:23:00.001-08:00

Sprouted: March 1st, 2009
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite Drink: soda
Favorite Food: peanut butter and jelly :)
Favorite Activity: jumping on her bed
Favorite Season: Spring

Custom order completed for a special Bday :)

Boing Boing!!!

2009-02-20T14:48:00.001-08:00

I got a few surprise emails today... all letting me know that I had been featured on Boing Boing!!!

How exciting :) For once, I have a loss for words :) Thanks Mark for featuring Basil!

Basil the Miniature Mushroom

2009-02-19T09:53:00.001-08:00

Basil is about 3.5" tall. I've been wanting to come back to my original mushroom design for a while now, but always on a really small scale. It was a lot of work and took me close to the same amount of time as my bigger versions. And Working that small, there's no room for mistakes. Embroidering all those teeny dots was labor intensive too, but I love him! I'm hoping to make a few more and would like to try making an even tinier version. I want to see how small I can go!

Sprouted: February 18th, 2009
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Drink: Hot Chocolate
Favorite Food: Rice Crispies- hehe
Favorite Activity: hiding in pockets- jean's pockets, shirt pockets, kangaroo pockets... you name it!
Favorite Season: Winter

Coraline

2009-02-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

I finally got to see Coraline over the weekend and I loved it! Hoping to see it one more time... to catch things I didn't see the first time around. It was the best use of 3d I've ever seen and so creative. It was magical, yet dark, and inspiring. And the website is pretty fun too :)

I was also surfing the web for some artwork that was produced for the film and here are a few amazing artists that worked on it.

Burst of Beaden

Shane Prigmore

Shannon Tindle

Dan Krall

Bard Sculpture Studio

Pebbles the Droplet

2009-02-17T10:45:00.001-08:00

Pebbles the Droplet, originally uploaded by Effunia.

a little present for a swap... got a few more of these to make for other swaps too. I hope she likes it...

Precipitated: February 14th, 2009
Favorite Color: green
Favorite Drink: seltzer
Favorite Food: caramel apples
Favorite Activity: floating in a stream
Favorite Season: Spring

Astrid the Mushroom

2009-02-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well this is the mushroom I made over the weekend and have been contemplating so much over... and I've decided it's MINE :D I always wanted to keep one for myself... and I just can't part with it. I do have some more of the corduroy left and the top fabric, so I'm hoping to make another one for the shop.

Sprouted: February 7th, 2009
Favorite Color: blue
Favorite Drink: Orange Sanpellegrino
Favorite Food: Sweet Cheese Pierogi
Favorite Activity: crafting
Favorite Season: Winter

HOOt HOOt HOOt

2009-02-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

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They are completely hand-sewn and made out felt that is made out of 100% recycled plastic bottles. I found it at the craft store the other day and thought it was amazing! It feels just like regular felt!

It was raining all weekend, which I thought was perfect for hand-sewing these little ones :) Plus my shop was so empty... and looked so sad- not anymore :)

I also made a new mushroom- but I can't quite decide what to do with it. I really like it and am tempted to keep it. Then again, I do have more of the fabric, so I could make another one, but they never turn out exactly the same... part of me wants to share it with someone... so torn!

Do you ever Google yourself?

2009-02-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

Well, last night I did and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many blogs my mushrooms showed up on without me even knowing.

I really enjoyed reading all the nice things people had to say about my mushrooms :)

This is what PT Ford of WhyTravelToFrance had to say about Jean-Michel.

"Santa Monica California-based artist, Eva/Effunia, makes the most adorable custom-made mushroom plushies ever. This one is called Le Champignon Jean-Michel, who sports a removable painter’s palette, paint brush and beret, with a requisite black and white striped shirt. The moustache is perfect. The polka dotted head is brilliant and reminiscent of the mushrooms in Mario games. This French mushroom’s favorite colors are red, blue and white and his favorite drink is a cafe au lait. His favorite expression? C’est la vie! Mignon!"

Isn't that nice?!

And then I also found Jean-Michel on the Super Punch blog! Thanks everyone that has written about my plushies :)

Le Champignon Jean-Michel

2009-02-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

Le Champignon Jean-Michel {happy}, originally uploaded by Effunia.

Germe: 1 Février 2009
Coleur favori: Rouge, Bleu, et Blanc bien sur!
Boisson favorie: Cafe au lait
Nourriture favorie: Pommes-Frites
Activité favorie: Peindre des panoramas
Expression favorie: C'est la vie!
Saison favorie: L'été

Jean-Michel comes complete with accessories- painters palette, paint brush and beret of course :) All removable too! This was a custom order for a co-worker of mine who's sisters is an artist and likes France. I really want one of my own actually.

Would the real Porky please stand up?

2009-01-26T10:14:00.001-08:00

The real Porky is way cuter by far, but I think I did an ok job for my first knitted guinea pig. I hope lil' sis approves! It's for her Bday. I used a pattern that I bought from Greenjelly, although I modified it quite a bit as I wanted to make it look more like the real guy. I'm going to make a few more for sure- one following the pattern to a T. A few with my own techniques... My whole family really likes Porky, so I might get some more requests :)

Also wanted to share the Jentelus blog with you. She featured me on her blog today- Thank you!

Sandy the Drummer Mushroom

2009-01-09T10:57:00.001-08:00

Sandy the Drummer Mushroom {front}, originally uploaded by Effunia.

My first Mushroom of 2009 :) The hat is removable and the drum can be detached as well.

Sprouted: January 8th, 2009
Favorite Color: yellow
Favorite Drink: 7 up
Favorite Food: hot dogs
Favorite Activity: playing drums
Favorite Season: winter

I really like yellow mushrooms!

Owl Love

2009-01-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

I was told that Dillan cutely grunts while opening his presents- Sooo cute. The last picture is of Yoko with her Owl- how adorable!!! Thanks to John for sending in these pics :)

Featured on the Penguin & Fish blog and a recap of 2008 in Mushrooms

2009-01-08T11:01:00.001-08:00

Alyssa of Penugin & Fish was super nice to feature my mushrooms on her blog today! I love her blog and always discover great new artists there. I'm so happy to be part of it :) Thank you!!!

Back from the Holiday break

2009-01-06T11:36:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I almost crafted every day of Christmas break with my little sister mainly, but even some of my other family members joined :) I had a lot of fun and absolutely loved spending time with my little sister! Christmas Eve she told me "You make Christmas special!" and when I left she said "I enjoyed every minute with you." How could that not have been the best Christmas.Anyway, just wanted to share some pics. I also made another Mushroom right before the New Year ended. I went to the fabric store and told Karolin she could pick two fabrics and I would make her a custom mushroom and I loved the results.

Here is Pocky the Mushroom

Sprouted: December 28th
Favorite Color: hot pink
Favorite Drink: Fanta
Favorite Food: Strawberry Pocky sticks
Favorite Activity: playing with Hannah and Karolin
Favorite Season: winter

and Karolin drew me my dream house ;)

Happy Holidays Everyone

2008-12-19T14:26:00.001-08:00

I'm going on Christmas vacation today- wahoo! I'll be back in the New Year. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! And, I wanted to present to you Matilda the Christmas Mushroom.

Sprouted: December 18th
Favorite Color: white
Favorite Drink: Egg Nogg
Favorite Food: Sugar cookies
Favorite Activity: building snowmen
Favorite Season: winter

I had planned on making a bunch of Christmas mushrooms, but my schedule got too hectic. I'm glad I did finish one for a special someone at the last minute. My last mushroom of the year :)

And one last thing to share: some of my Christmas gifts and Christmas craftings. Choco & Minty as bees- I love them so so much!!!! Kathie Olivas toys... a craft bucket from my Secret Santa... the biggest gift of all- a Canon EOS 5D- I sooo can't wait to use it!!! Paper snowflakes... and one of the gifts I got for Chris- that was my fave pic of our gift exchange.... he got me Choco & Minty, the Kathie Olivas toys, and the Camera- I'm so lucky :)

See you soon!

Diego is featured on Plush Monster Feed

2008-12-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

Kelli from Plush Monster Feed was so nice to feature Diego on her blog :)

She posts about new plush every single day! I can't wait to look through all the entries.

I crocheted up these flowers for one of my friends at work for her Xmas present. I hope they brighten her day every day!

They are removable from their pot even and come with their own crocheted soil! And the best part, no watering needed :)

I found the pattern at on the web at www.mygurumi.de and I just had to embellish and add faces to the flowers

PS: that's one of my paper snowflakes casting a shadow- how pretty!

Callie & Cailey the Mushrooms with Sidney the Owl

2008-12-17T15:00:00.001-08:00

Bethany was so sweet to commission me to make a purple mushroom for her daughter's birthday. I knew a few cute facts about Caroline, so I tried to incorporate them into my mushroom making. That's also why I added the owl to the mix. I ended up making two because I could not decide which version I liked better and it turns out Bethany couldn't either so she bought both of them!!! Today was Caroline's b-day- Happy Birthday, Caroline! And Bethany was so nice to share some pictures of Caroline opening her gift. Check them out over at her blog. I think Caroline's expression is priceless and it was definitely one of my favorite custom orders that I've had the pleasure of working on :)

And I couldn't resist and had to add at least one pic of Caroline- this is my favorite shot!

She looks so happy :) I love Nathaniel's expression too. He seems to be really happy for his sister! What a great shot! You guys are awesome!

Diego the Lucha Libre Mushroom

2008-12-16T15:27:00.001-08:00

This was probably the most difficult commission I've done to date, but I really love the result. He comes with a removable mask!!! Next time, I'm not sure that I would make the mask removable, because it took so long to get it right... but then again, that's one of the cool things about it. What do you think?

Sprouted: December 15th
Favorite Color: red, blue and yellow
Favorite Drink: Burstin' Lime Soda
Favorite Food: anything with tabasco sauce
Favorite Activity: wrestling of course!
Favorite Season: summer

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and for my Secret Santa, I finished this awesome Guitar... the pattern was designed by the super talented Katie of Caffaknitted

and lastly, some paper snowflakes that I've made over the past few days... next up is decorating my bedroom window with them.

I got TAGGED

2008-12-11T17:24:00.001-08:00

Nicole Licht from Astulabee tagged me for 6 random things... (above you see an image of my collection of hers... I got the duke for my bday from my boyfriend just the other day- hooray :)

1. I turned 29 the other day and to this day, I haven’t owned a car thus far. I’m not sure if it’s by chance or choice, but at this point I don’t really want one either. I’m happy with car- pooling and using the bus system here in LA. I guess I just feel it’s one less thing to worry about, one less responsibility… I just wonder how long I’ll keep it up?!

2. I was born and raised in Germany until the age of 12. Although when I was young, I couldn’t speak any German. I only knew Polish when my parents put me in Kindergarten. And even though Polish is my first language, it’s also my weakest. However, I dream in all 3 languages.

3. I’m a vegetarian. I’m not good with keeping track of dates, so I think it’s been 7 or 8 years. It was an easy transition for me. I didn’t like meat to begin with. I wish I could give up sweets as easily. ;)

4. I miss my dog Rambo. I’ve always loved animals and I need to move to an apartment that allows pets. But at the same time, I really want a dog and I feel like he or she would need more room… and a house is pretty impossible out here. Hopefully sooner than later… Btw, I can usually imagine people as animals. I’ll be like, you look just like a beaver, and you look like a pelican, you look like a red panda… some people totally get it and some just think I’m odd.

5. Growing up I was an only child, it took my parents 8 yrs to get me a baby brother, 19 to get me a baby sister… but because of the boredom I learned to use my imagination a lot! I remember I used to take a little mirror hold it up towards the ceiling, look at it downwards and pretend to be walking on the ceiling. I haven’t tried it in quite some time… but I remember it was a lot of fun.

6. I get sayings wrong ALL the time. Even if I know them… I’ll say “Thumb of Rule” instead of “Rule of thumb” or “My stomach is doing summersaults” instead of “I have butterflies in my stomach.” Quite frankly, I’m not even sure I got them right this time. I’m just no good at sayings… but it seems to get a lot of giggles  Some words also give me real trouble, no matter how many times I rehearse them, to this day, “canary” as in the bird… I’ll say “cannery” even if I wanted to say “canary.” Recently, I discovered “Bengal” gives me real trouble.

*****************************************************
And now for the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Dawn from Plush-a-holic
Nichol from Pink Cheeks Studios
Bethany from Red Yarn
Chelsea from IttyBittyBirdy
Leeanna from MeetSamandPete
Jhoanna from OneRedRobin

Tag...you are it!

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and on a side note...some snowflakes we made today...

Theo in his new home

2008-12-04T18:48:00.005-08:00

isn't awesome? and he has an Uglydoll to keep him company, I think it's Babo?

Maegan looks so happy with Theo as a buddy. And Theo is happy to be hers! Thanks John for sending these in!

Amy, Benjamin, and Horace the Owls

2008-12-04T11:04:00.001-08:00

don't they look like they are comforting poor Benjamin (in the middle)?

Maisey the Owl

2008-11-26T13:00:00.001-08:00

Maisey the Owl {size ref}, originally uploaded by Effunia.

Maisey is about 5-6 inches tall. She's completely hand-sewn and made out of felt. I was intending her to be a Christmas ornament, but I couldn't make myself stick string through her head. But it would be an easy addition if needed. I figure it can sit on a tree branch just as easily. Also this way, it's more versatile and can just be a plush as well.

I'm planning on making a bunch of these for the holidays in different color ways :)

Bake it Pretty Giveaway

2008-11-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I'm always up for entering giveaways and I found this one that's particularly appealing since I want to make cupcakes over the holidays with my little sister. I would love to have some supplies, if you do too- just head over the Every Little Thing Blog and leave a comment to win by Nov. 25th. Or if you can't wait... just head over to Bake It Pretty :)

Happy Holidays Etsy Treasury

2008-11-22T19:11:00.001-08:00

Thank you to Pinkparchmentsoaps for including Maxine in her wonderful Holiday Treasury :)

NEON rainbow etsy treasury

2008-11-21T10:26:00.001-08:00

"so bright, you gotta wear shades"

Thank you to Jessijewels! Here's the actual link to the treasury.

Ringo & Kat the Rocker Mushrooms

2008-11-19T10:28:00.001-08:00

Yeah! Rock on :) The red one is a custom order that I made for an Xmas present. I was pleased with the result that I had to make another one and put it in my etsy shop. Looks like I'll have to make one more for my little sister, she said it's the best one to date, even better than the little devil one. Personally, I love their little mowhawks.

Kat's Bio (red one):
Sprouted: November 16th
Favorite Color: neon red
Favorite Drink: vanilla cherry coke
Favorite Food: french fries with mayo
Favorite Activity: rockin' out
Favorite Season: Summer

Ringo's Bio (green one):
Sprouted: November 15th
Favorite Color: neon green
Favorite Drink: Sierra Mist
Favorite Food: fish sticks
Favorite Activity: rockin' out
Favorite Season: Summer

They sits all on their own at 13 inches tall & come with electric guitars that they can hold.

Amy the Birthday Mushroom

2008-11-03T11:52:00.001-08:00

Sprouted: November 2nd
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite Drink: cherry soda
Favorite Food: cherry cupcake
Favorite Activity: having parties
Favorite Season: Summer

Sits all on her own at 13 inches tall.
Her hat is removable via magnet :D

Custom order for marshmallowtwist :)

The Plant & Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

Today we followed Bitter Betty Blogs tutorial on how to make ferocious plant fangs. It was a lot of fun and we did it all in an hour. Here's her tutorial if you want to have fun too :)

Teddy Bear on a whim & Bat from Fuzzy Mittens

2008-10-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

The other day I was at Michael's and I saw this great ball of yarn. Well, it wasn't that great, but immediately I envisioned this little bear when I looked at the skein of yarn. I'm pretty happy with the result, being that I free-formed him. I am especially proud of the hat with the holes to let the ears poke out. It felt very good to just knit and crochet with no rules :)

Then the Bat is going to be 1 of the 24 presents for my little sister for her Advent calendar. I have a lot of work ahead of me! :p The pattern is by Fuzzy Mittens- aren't her patterns just super adorable?

Softie Central

2008-10-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

Yay! My mushrooms were blogged about on Softies Central! Thank you!

What a cute little bunny too by Little Love Blue :)

Kiley arrived at her new home!

2008-10-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Bethany for blogging about her :) Doesn't she look happy?
Thanks for taking the picture Bethany!

2008-10-20T21:48:00.001-07:00

Create your own custom mushroom!

Here are a couple of ways to create your own mushroom:

1. Look through my past mushrooms and see which ones you like and let me know.

2. Fill out a little questionnaire to help me create one just for you!
Favorite Color-
Favorite Shape-
Favorite Smell-
Favorite Animal-
Favorite Food-
Favorite Book-
Favorite things to do-

3. Or do both! :)

I made an animated gif of this, but unfortunately neither blogger or etsy seem to support it :(

Laura Plansker & Magdalena Bors

2008-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just had to share these two artists with all of you. I absolutely love their images!! I've been wanting to do little mushroom dioramas for a while now (but I'm not sure how feasible it is- I might have to make a really tiny mushroom versions so they can fit into a shoe box due to my limited amount of space). These images totally inspire me. Of course, now I'm a little scared to even attempt, because these are so good!

This is the work of Laura Plansker

And here is the work of Magdalena Bors

Yay- finished 2 custom orders and a little Mushroom Devil for my shop!

2008-10-19T18:19:00.001-07:00

These two were custom orders that were requested right after I made the Molly mushroom. And I have to say, that I really enjoy making things in two's right now. I don't know what it is... maybe they just look cuter together?!

I also wanted to offer a lil' devil mushroom for my shop. The first one was for a friend. Ralphy hopes he's lucky enough to go trick or treating with an adult/kid this year :)

And check out this sweet blog post I received from Starr!!! She has an etsy shop too with some pretty jewelry!!! Thank you Starr!

Theo the Mushroom Devil

2008-10-13T10:48:00.001-07:00

Sprouted: October 13th
Favorite Color: candy red
Favorite Drink: spicy tomato juice
Favorite Food: Deviled Eggs
Favorite Activity: roasting marshmallows at a campfire
Favorite Season: hot hot summer

He was a custom commission made by a friend of mine who loves all things Halloween :) Sits all on his own at 13 inches tall.