New Lens Pet designs!!!

I haven't added any new designs to the shop in quite a while. There's no shortage of ideas, only time (which is also why my poor blog has been so neglected)! I've been so busy working on orders (still am) that I haven't had a second to think about anything else. I was right on the brink of my 6-8 week wait time but I'm working my tail off to be caught up by the end of the month. I have a craft show to do in December and I need to spend the entire month of November working on stuff to take with me. Of course it will also be GREAT to be able to make and ship orders within a week or less instead of the 6-8 weeks that it has been for a while now. SO that's my goal! 

Not being behind on my wait times apparently freed up a little creative space in my brain though because over the last week I've put together a number of new Lens Pet designs! :) Not only am I sharing sneak peeks of the *COMING SOON* 'Chilly' holiday line on my FB page, I've also added these cute critters to the shop...

squirrel

raccoon

elephant

and just in case you haven't made it over to Facebook in the last week, here are the sneak peeks I've shared there, all part of the 'Chilly' Collection. ;)

I'd like to introduce you to Polly!! Polly is a polar bear. She likes sushi, playing video games and long walks on the beach at sunset. ;)  (p.s. those spots on her nose are evenly spaced, but the photo was taken at a slight angle so it looks like her snout is kinda chopped off on one side. rest assured, it is even!) ;)

Not quite Santa's reindeer - meet Rudolph's second cousin twice removed... this is Randolph! ;) He's also got a few brothers and sisters, you'll be seeing them soon. ;) They applied for the job of flying Santa's sleigh last year but were, unfortunately, rejected. Now they mostly hang out at the mall and the roller rink (roller skating is HUGE in the reindeer community, they're super good at it... you know, having four feet and all) :)

Meet Ginger! ;) Her boyfriend Jake will be joining her and the rest of their 'chilly' friends in my shop very soon!

this is Kris Moose! ;) He's best friends with Randolph and the other reindeer, they like to play Life and Monopoly and other reindeer games together. Kris always wins. Maybe it's those big antlers!

This is Frankie! (it just so happens he's related to another well known snowman you may have heard of) ;)

tomorrow will be sneak #6 and they'll continue through the next week. The new collection will be up in the shop and ready for shipping November 1st!

Friday Favorite Finds!!

I know I'm super late with this today but I've been sick... and trying to keep up with orders... then my car started making this HORRENDOUS noise so I had to spend some time sitting at the shop today while it was being worked on. I'm here now though!!! Recently I've been surfing Etsy looking for art. Nothing huge or anything, just small prints that I can pin to the wall behind my computer so I have some lovely inspiring goodies to look at instead of a white wall. :) AND as many of you know I LOVE stuffed animals and small cute things that I can keep on my desk and admire while I work. Both of these things inspired my finds for this week. First off we have some super cute desk sitters (at least for me... maybe you want them for your bookshelf or the dresser or just to play with)! ;)

• The Jaunty Gnome (adorable little felted gnomes that I am completely in love with)

I am completely in awe of those who needle felt. I truthfully have little idea about how it's actually done but I do know it takes lots and lots and lots of pokes with a needle to make a single piece. These tiny gnomes and other little bits and pieces that go along with some of them are SO cute. I especially love the ones who are adorned with flowers! SUPER CUTE stuff!! A couple of my faves...

I definitely need one (or more) of these little guys for my desk. ;) 

You can find The Jaunty Gnome on Facebook here, go 'like' her!! She's going to be starting a "gnome of the month" giveaway soon but you can't win if you aren't a fan! ;)

New favorite find #2 is from one fantastical amazing artist...

• Rob Foote Illustrator (makes some of THE cutest drawings I think I have EVER seen)

When I stumbled upon this shop I could not stop giggling! Of course that brought the kids running and after looking through all of the prints they each told me their faves (and asked if I would buy them some, lol). I am most definitely going to be adding a few of these to my cart very soon. Until then I am sharing just a couple of my favorites with you.

OMG my very favorite in the whole lot of em! Those bunnies are SOOO cute! I love that all the little 'popcorn'  pieces coming off the cob are bunnies and the crackly bits in their ears just like on the inside of the popped kernels. SOO creative and freaking adorable!! LOVE!!

ok, yes this lion cub has the most adorable face... but aside from the obvious cuteness, you can really see how talented the artist is in this one. That is one amazing drawing! The eyes are so expressive, the detail is just unbelievable! I wish I could see the originals in person!Fantastic!!

you seriously NEED to go see the rest of the animals in this collection!! They're just so wonderful! :) I couldn't find Rob on Facebook but I did track down his blog where you can see lots more of his wonderful work, so check it out.

And... that's it for today's rendition of 'Friday Favorite Finds'. See you next week with more super fun finds!

(Please Note: I have been in no way compensated for mentioning these shops. All statements are entirely my own opinion based on my personal tastes)

Erwin's Apple Orchard

I realized yesterday that I missed doing Friday Finds AND CIC Saturday this past week.... I've just been really focused on trying to catch up with orders and knock down my current wait time. In addition to that I try to spend some time with my boys every once in a while so they don't forget who I am. :)  Yesterday we made our annual trip to the apple orchard. My oldest decided he didn't want to go this year so it was just me and the younger two. Unfortunately the apple harvest was all but destroyed this year due to the frost and freeze back in the Spring. There were only TWO kinds of apples left to pick (both red, not my favorite. bummer) and there were about a gazillion trees with NO apples at all on them! It was so sad. :( BUT even with all of that, the day was GORGEOUS and we still left with a huge bag full of apples... plus cider and donuts and I even sprung for caramel apples this year! ;)

I actually didn't take very many pictures at all because I was too busy picking apples myself, but here are a few that I did get.

hmm... think my kids know Mom likes Twilight?? ;) completely unprompted, Connor was all... "MOM! You have to take a picture of this!" lol

cheeseball

I have NO idea what's up with Carter's crazy eyes... but he was giving them to me all day

yeah, um... I really don't know. It was demanded that I photograph this

talented kid, eh?!

as we were leaving the sun was setting and it looked AMAZING! the sun rays coming up from behind the clouds were shooting off in every direction! (even though you can only see a little here) this doesn't even begin to show how awesome it looked but it was the best I could get because the damn wagon was bouncing all over the place!

the end... :)

Gobble, Gobble...

In the midst of making Halloween Lens Pets for orders and getting Christmas Lens Pets ready to list in my shop I realized I'd skipped an entire holiday!! So last night I whipped up this little guy. :) Meet Lester...

I only have FOUR of these brown scrunchies on hand right now. I plan to make up all four turkeys and then list them as ready to ship over this coming week. Once they're gone, they're gone! So if you think you might like a turkey, act fast! I might be able to get more brown scrunchies before Thanksgiving but the store was out yesterday and you never know when they'll restock. 

That said... I do have brown fabric so if anyone needs/wants a turkey in the LARGE size I can absolutely accept custom orders for them. And of course I will make sure they ship in time for you to use them at your big Turkey-Day gathering. :)

CIC Saturday!

This week's installment of CIC Saturday brings with it, the color GREEN! And let me tell you, this was a really tough one!! There were SO many awesome green finds from the CIC team that I ended up only being able to narrow it down to 18 instead of the usual 9. SO this week you get double the handcrafted goodness at no extra charge! ;)

Enjoy!!

Group number one and the fantastic artists who made everything seen above:

• Lemon Lime Bath Bombs set of 3 by KBShimmer
• Olive Green Drops of Color Sterling Silver Earrings by MistyAurora
• Lime Green Turquoise Necklace by hiddentreasure
• Alligator with 7 Teeth by 4hands
• Bead Garland Kelly Green 5 Feet Long by KIMONOS
• Waimanolo Water Ceramic and Glass Necklace by leslee6
• Green as Grass Charm Bracelet by brandyfisher
• Spring Antlers Art Print by littledear
• Pistachio and Chocolate Necklace by XauXau

Group number two and the fantastic artists who made everything seen above:

• Extra Large Planto the Doll by botodesigns
• Hand Dyed Fabric Journal Cover by rubymountaindyeworks
• Leaf Drop Necklace by HoneyThistle
• Timmy Studs by TheTinyFig
• Green and Yellow Glitter Ball Hand Painted Pendant by Chromotherapy
• Green Heart Felted Soap - Euphoria in Silk by therainbowroom
• Green Leopard Choker Necklace by dinafragola
• Dotted Green Delight Drawer Knob by sweetmixcreations
• Snuggle Monster Ted (green fleece stuffed animal) by chasingmystar

(As always, if you click the shop name you can see everything each artist has for sale, if you click the item name it will take you directly to the item pictured here)

and don't forget to check back next Saturday for another batch of colorful handmade goodies!!

Friday Favorite Finds!!

Ok... since I shared two NON plush makers last week, this week I'm going to jump back in with some creators of squishy little toys (because I LOOOOVE them). I've picked two uber-talented plush makers from my favorites folder, believe me it was NOT an easy task to choose only two. BUT if you've got any stuffed animal lovers in your life you will definitely want to click on these links! ;)

• Hello Again Monsters (super amazing awesome VINYL monsters!)

I seriously don't think I've ever seen anything like them, and my 13 year old thinks they're wicked cool! I love every single one of them and keep wanting to place an order but I just can't decide! (That, and the fact that I already have more stuffed animals than any Toys R Us might need... ever! yeah, that's a deterrent.)

stripes!!

and spots!!

I'll probably cave eventually because they're too cool not to own. ;)  But until then, you should all go buy some... lots of them! Just leave me one. ;)

Up next on my list of plushie favorites...

•  MrSogs (a brand new discovery for me, lots of super cute critters here)

Every once in a while I do a search for 'monster plush' and add a truck load of new stuffed animals to my favorites. Someday... when I win the lottery, I'll buy every single one of the plushie friends in my favorites and build them a house in my backyard so we can have parties and watch movies together. Does that sound strange at all?? Ya know... for a grown up??? ;)

Of MrSogs creations, here are a couple that will definitely need to join my house of plush!

 Seriously fabulous colors and personality! I'm in love! :)

And... that's it for today's rendition of 'Friday Favorite Finds'. See you next week with more super fun finds!

(Please Note: I have been in no way compensated for mentioning these shops. All statements are entirely my own opinion based on my personal tastes)