Boy, this sneaked up on me…..The Plush You! show is happening here in Los Angeles (for the first time) starting tomorrow, August 26th! What’s Plush You you ask? Well I’m glad you did. It is an awesome, annual exhibit that showcases plush creations from artists all over the globe. Held each year, the show is curated by Kristen Rask. Kristen is the proud owner of SCHMANCY in downtown Seattle whose mission is to provide quirky toys, collectibles and original art work to the world. Maybe you’ve seen her book?

The Los Angeles show is being held at Munky King thru 9/19/10. Tomorrow night is the opening. Plush You! will feature plush creations by 65 artists, whose work ranges from cute to creepy.  I have 2 pieces in the show and as you guessed, my creations lean toward the cute category! Heidi & I will be at the reception from 7-9, so please come by if you are in the area and support independent artists!

Here is a LINK for more info about the show and the opening reception.

Here is a LINK to an interview with Plush You and SCHMANCY founder, Kristen Rask.

-Susie

J’adore this vintage craft book!  Felt is one of our favorite crafting materials.  It’s so easy to work with, whether you are sewing or gluing, and there’s something about the flat, bright colors that just makes us happy!

Is it just me or does it seem like puppets aren’t really popular anymore? Susie and I had tons of puppets when we were kids. From elaborate marionettes to commercially produced puppets (I loved my Kermit the Frog one!) to homemade ones that we crafted out of paper lunch bags or socks, we loved them all.

The puppet projects in this book are very easy and straight forward.  A stack of colored felt, some scissors and glue and you can make your own cast of characters.  Puppet show time!

- Heidi

I picked this collection of books up at a local church rummage sale. When I asked what the price was, the elderly lady gingerly said $3. I handed her a five and told her to keep the change; it was well worth the price.  It’s a 22-volume set called “Creative Hands” that was published in the late 1960s. It is billed as “The complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide”, but I must say after looking through every one, it’s much, much more than that.

The books feature projects that utilize knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, needlepoint, embroidery, machine sewing, hand sewing, tatting, quilting and more.  Projects included run the gamut from making embroidered placemats to intricate quilted wall hangings to crocheted 3 piece outfits.

The most amazing thing about this book series, other than the great illustrations and wacky photographs, is the depth of knowledge about needlecrafts.  There is so much information included it’s a little overwhelming.  In a good way!

There’s lots of fun things to make for kids, like this fun sweater quilt:

Cute clothing projects:

Or these adorable porcupine toys:

Their names are Augustus and Marmaduke.  Could that be any cuter?

For the really adventurous sewers there’s advanced projects like sewing drapery for your home:

Or for those looking for more of a weekend project, there’s fun ways to embellish existing chairs:

I’m thinking Susie and I need to make these matching outfits to wear:

Wacky outfits aside, this book series is really quite astounding. The amount of instructional information is invaluable.  It makes me want to learn some new skills!

- Heidi

Has it really been a couple of weeks?  Usually I feel like time flies when you’re on vacation but this time, it actually feels really long!  Maybe it’s because we’ve done and seen so much in the past 2 weeks while our Belgian cousins were here visiting. It’s always fun being a tourist in your own town and seeing things like the Hollywood Sign:

The beautiful palm trees which are something so foreign to Belgians:

We spent some time chilling out in Malibu at the beach,

and having a few cocktails. Nothing says vacation better than a fruity concoction!

We went to Universal Studios and pretended we were kids for a day

and even took took a little side trip to Palm Springs

where we stayed at the awesome Ace Hotel & Swim Club.

But probably the most exciting things that happened while we were on vacation, was this:

I got married!

After 18 years together, my boyfriend and I tied the knot at a surprise wedding.  About 70 friends and family members came to our house for a backyard BBQ in honor of our visiting cousins. Little did they know it was also our wedding! Needless to say, they were all very surprised!

It was an amazing night that I will never forget. And the best part?  The boyfriend is now my husband!

- Heidi

We are going on a little vacation starting today. Our cousins are visiting from Belgium and we’ll be showing them the highlights of the Los Angeles area for 10+ days. Not exactly a relaxing vacation, but super fun, for sure. Even though it’s going to be blazing hot, we’re going for a quick overnight trip to Palm Springs and staying at the Ace Hotel. We’re looking forward to hanging out by the pool and enjoying a booze sno cone (or two!). We’ll be back on Wednesday, July 28th (Susie’s Birthday!) with more happy posts to share with you!

Happy Summer!

-Susie and Heidi

At the market last night, I couldn’t help but snap a photo of these cartons of cotton candy flavoring. The awesome two color graphics, plus the flavor names “Silly Nilly” and “Boo Blue” are just too much!

- Heidi

Happy Friday!

Hope you have something fun planned for this summer weekend. Stay cool, have some ice cream and definitely fit in a nice afternoon nap!

-Susie and Heidi

We’re working on a new line of children’s party invitations and stumbled upon this vintage Betty Crocker book the other day.  It seems like we pull it out every few days, and read little bits of it while having lunch here at the studio.  It’s chock full of amazing illustrations, adorable ideas and bright colors.

Don’t you just love this layout with the little pushpins and notebook paper?

I love the black curly-Q details on this horse illustration:

A good portion of the book is dedicated to party game ideas. They are divided into sections such as “Guessing Games”, “Games of Skill” and “Relay Races”. These egg illustrations are so cute!

I absolutely love this layout of colored balloons that are used to organize the games by age appropriateness.

This page is part of the “Guessing Games” section and features such silly sounding games as “Boots without Shoes” and “Beans Aplenty”.  Sounds fun!

I not only love, love, love this page with it’s scattering of letters, but I also the love the thought of kids playing a word game at a birthday party, or any of these very simple, but inventive games.

Anyone up for a game of “Toothpick Balance” or “Shoe Scramble”?

- Heidi

(photo print by Etsy seller TCaponePhoto)

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream month?  I didn’t either until today, but as far as I am concerned, every month is ice cream month! There is no sweet treat that Susie and I adore more than good old ice cream.

Both of our first jobs were working at ice cream parlours.  In fact, Susie even met her husband at that job, scooping ice cream side by side as teenagers.

(ice cream print by Etsy seller twoforjoypaper, ice cream cone thank you card by Rock Scissor Paper, ice cream t-shirt by Poketo)

Cones, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, cakes.  There isn’t a single way we don’t love ice cream!

I recently inherited a professional ice cream machine from a friend; no freezing the bowl a day in advance, just plug it in and make ice cream instantly.  We’re already a few weeks into summer, I’d better get busy making some ice cream!

(ice cream mobile by Etsy seller jikits)

Want to know a secret?  If were to start a new career, I would want to own an ice cream shop. Everyone is always happy when they are eating ice cream, who wouldn’t want that joy to be a part of their everyday work life?

When Susie and I were kids, we had a local old-timey ice cream parlour called Farrell’s.  It was the place to go to celebrate your birthday.  They were famous for an ice cream dish called “The Pig’s Trough”; it was so large that if you ate it all yourself, you would get a special certificate.  We never attempted that, preferring instead a giant silver goblet of ice cream called “The Zoo” that came with tiny plastic animals perched on the scoops of ice cream.

The Zoo was really big and if it was your birthday the waiter’s would carry it out on a stretcher with sirens blaring, singing and general wackiness! Farrell’s is making a comeback.  They recently opened one about an hour south of where we live that is supposedly completely true to it’s original version.  Might be worth a drive down there!

(ice cream truck poster by Etsy seller hhop)

I’ve pretty much never met an ice cream flavor I didn’t like.  I have my favorites though. What’s your favorite flavor?

- Heidi

Happy Friday!

It’s the official start of the long Fourth of July Weekend. The phones here at the studio have been deathly quiet today, so we’re guessing that a lot of people have already hit the road for the weekend (figuratively & literally). We have a busy weekend planned, but really wish that we had nowhere to be and could just perch on a beach chair somewhere with a cool drink! In thinking about that dream scenario: we’d love to be relaxing somewhere like HERE, HERE, or maybe HERE, drinking something yummy like THIS, wearing something cute like THIS.

Whatever your plans, have a great weekend!

-Susie and Heidi