Yummy Pancake

And the winner is.........

2011-09-05T14:55:00.003-04:00

Congratulations, The Needle Nerd! You are now the pround owner of Kristen Rask's new book/kit, Yummy Crochet! Get ready to get your crochet on!

Thanks everyone who entered! Remember, you can still get the book later this month at your local Barnes and Noble!!!

Stitch Wars Strikes Back!

2011-08-11T19:58:00.004-04:00

I was uber happy to be asked to participate in Stitch Wars Strikes Back this year....which opens this friday at Bear and Bird Gallery!! I LOVE Star Wars and had a lot of fun making stuff for Stitch Wars 2 years ago! This year I made a Lightsabre rattle....which I completely forgot to take a picture of....derp...and I made some Granny Square Tie Fighters. Each of the 3 Tie Fighters is a different Granny Square pattern.

Yes, I know, I'm a nerd. whatever ^_^

Oh, and these are now available to purchase from Bear and Bird's website....snap them up before they are gone!

Yummy Crochet Interview and Giveaway!!

2011-08-07T10:40:00.007-04:00

Last year, the fabulous Kristen Rask, owner of Schmancy Toys, contacted me and asked if I would like to be one of the artists to contrubute crochet patterns for her upcoming book with Barnes and Noble. The book is called Yummy Crochet and features 12 different food themed crochet patterns. Well, of course I said YES! I mean, crochet food is my bread and butter ^_^ I contributed patterns for Tea and cookies, tiny oranges, and donuts.....and you can see pictures of them all over the box the book comes in! Oh, and did I mention the book comes with yarn to make two of the projects in the book....one of them being my donuts! SWEET!

In anticipation of the book's release in September, I had a little interview with Kristen to see how the heck she does it all:

*****

YP: Congratulations on another awesome book! Was this one easier or harder than your previous ones?

KR: Thank you! I would say easier. I knew more what to expect so when I was contacting contributors I could give them more information about how the process would work, etc. I also knew that it would take some time for B&N to approve everything as I was working with a third party so it seemed like one extra hoop to jump. Everyone I worked with on this project was really great to work with and I am really excited to see it's end result. It's pretty yummy don't ya' think?

YP: Was it difficult to find artists to design the patterns for Yummy Crochet?

KR: No, it wasn't. Luckily I have an awesome pull of people to contact :) I think it helps to have the first kit, Creature Crochet, to refer to as well so that people know it's legit and can imagine the end product.

YP: Yummy Crochet is filled with super cute food inspired patterns - what's your favorite food?

KR: Honestly, I love them all. I love the different personalities, the cover, the different spins on stuff and I just think the overall book is delicious! But I think I may be a bit biased :)

YP: With Schmancy, Plush You, writing books, etc etc, do you have any free time? What do you like to do to relax?

KR: Hahaha. Yes, I get this question a lot these days and yes, I do have free time. I am very protective of my Monday's. That's my one day to do grocery shopping, make food for the week, etc. I also am closed two days a week. I used to try to do Schmancy 6 days a week and I progressively got grumpier and less productive so I chalked that idea. Paying someone to work for you is expensive and not always worth it so I just decided to do 5 days a week as no one will die if my shop isn't open 7 days a week. Seriously, you will not die with a store being closed. I guess that's the luxury of being a shop owner, making those decisions. So yeah, Sunday's are for fun times and Mondays are for chores I suppose.

For fun? I sew, sometimes I get to go on mini vacations and those are a great treat. There are tons of amazing restaurants in Seattle so going out to eat is always fun. Drinks with friends is fun. crafting and watching tv or movies on netflix is always pretty enjoyable to me. I got into Crafty Bastards so I think there will be a lot of that in the next few months and crafting with friends...and cocktails.

YP: Do you have any plans for future books?

KR: Not at the moment. I would never say never but they are a lot of work. I am now the President of Seattle's largest indie craft show, Urban Craft Uprising and it's really great but a lot of work and time and so my new goal is to say no more. Although I haven't been very good at that yet.

YP: If you could be any animal, what would you be and why ^_^

KR: Either a seahorse, because the males carry the babies and that sounds pretty awesome. Not that I have kids or will but that sounds nice. Or a whale. I just find whales one of the most amazing creatures in the world. The dinosaur's of the sea. They are smart, gentle and mysterious and they will rip you to shreds if you mess with 'em

***

So, do you want to win a copy of the book? Yes? Well, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post with your e-mail(so I can contact you when you win) and also what you would like to see me crochet next ^_^ The winner will be chosen on August 21st!!

Exciting news!

2011-04-27T17:58:00.004-04:00

Guess What! Soon, Yummy Pancake goodness will be available at the uber fabulous Schmancy in Seattle WA. That means, you can pick Yummy Pancake up on the east coast(from me) and west coast! Word to your mother!

Oh, and did I mention you can ONLY get my Margarita and Cosmo keychains at Schmancy?

Hoppy Easter!

2011-04-24T10:47:00.002-04:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

Mr. Toastee and I wish you a super fun Valentine's day filled with all sorts of yummy stuff....like crocheted chocolates ^_^

Plush Team in Candyland Opens TOMORROW at Hot Pop Gallery!!!!

2011-01-20T19:26:00.002-05:00

What happens when a guild of internationally recognized plush artists descend upon Milwaukee in Winter for January Gallery Night? Candyland! See works created especially for Hot Pop Gallery by members of the Plush Team.

Please join us for the opening of Candyland at HotPop. Enjoy musical treats and an amazing candy buffet with samples of Plush Team favorites sent to MKE from all over the globe.

Plush Team artists have been featured in galleries all over the world! Including: Schmancy- Seattle, Chromeo- Vancouver, Gallery Hanahou-NYC, StitchWars, Bear & Bird Gallery-Miami, and many more. Numerous Plush Team members are featured in STUFFED Magazine every issue.

RSVP at our Facebook event!

http://www.hotpopshop.com/

I'm so bummed I'm not going to be able to make it out for this to see it in person, but I did contribute some plush for the show....check out my collection of crocheted candy:

You are NOT going to want to miss this show!!!

OMG! It's 2011 already??!?!?!?

2011-01-15T15:31:00.005-05:00

Yes, I know...once again it has been an eternity since I last posted. Oh well, what can you do, right? The holidays and the new home certainly kept me busy, but now I am ready to get my crochet on. I made the difficult decision to not do any craft shows this year....I will still participate in art shows at galleries and such, but not craft shows. Last year, I felt I spent waaaaay too much time trying to make a bunch of stuff for craft shows, and didn't really come up with many new designs. This year, I want to focus on coming up with fun new stuff, and finally making some of the ideas that I have had cooking in my idea journal. I already have a few cooking that you'll be seeing in the next few weeks!

Since I have been so busy, I decided to hire 2 new employees to help me out. Can you beleive it? Meet the 2 newest members of the Yummy Pancake family - Guinness and Jericho:

They love yarn almost as much as I do! Let's hope they are as productive as they are cute ^_^

My greatest project EVER!

2010-10-10T15:13:00.008-04:00

You may have noticed that I have been a very, very, very bad blogger the past few months. Well, I have been working on the greatest and most difficult project EVER...and it has nothing to do with plush or crochet. I have been on the long, hard journey of becoming a homeowner, and am happy to say we have been successful! It took months of looking at houses and losing out on a couple before we finally found the perfect house for us! And the best part it, I now actually have a room just for my studio!!!

We are just about moved in(but far from being unpacked), and the studio is still a mess of boxes, but check out the progress I made thus far in forming the new creative space of Yummy Pancake:

This is the before shot....

Mr Toastee couldn't wait to help me paint over those stripes!

We first had to put 2 coats of high coverage primer on the walls to cover up those yucky stripes:

After the stripes were gone, we painted the walls the most awesome shade of pink! What a difference.....and more Yummy Pancake style than blue and orange stripes!

I still need to unpack and organize, but at least the walls look fabulous ^_^

My etsy shop will be re-stocked very soon! And be sure to come see me in Cleveland at Oddmall on November 6th!!!

Plush Team Virtual Book Tour - a Detour to the Land of Yummy Pancake

2010-08-07T01:00:00.002-04:00

Next stop on the Plush Team Virtual book tour is the wild imagination of Yummy Pancake!

Earlier, I posted about the awesome-tastic Plush Team annual that the fabulous Plush team, which I am a member of, put together and published earlier this year (get yourself a copy here!). Not only does it contain the history of the Plush Team, it also contains pages upon pages with pictures of each member's work. Everyone is so talented and unique. It makes you wonder how the heck they come up with the ideas for all the plush they create....so, on my stop of the virtual book tour, I'm going to give you a little glimpse on how I come up with the ideas for my plush!

I get my inspiration for my designs from many different places. Sometimes, it's just from something that I like and enjoy. For example, my husband loves Guinness - it's his favorite beer. I thought the harp on the can looked really cool and decided to whip one up:

We also enjoy a shot of Jager every now and then. I love the bottle - it is such a pretty green color and such a cool label:

Another place I get inspiration from is other people - family, friends, co-workers, etc. My brain can only think up so many things, and I'm not the only one who can come up with cool ideas. Below is a custom order I designed for someone. They wanted a lighthouse with a 'stache similar to a lighthouse in NJ and a crab. I put on my thinking cap, and this is what I came up with:

A giant source of my inspiration is food. I like food. Food is good. It's even better with faces in my opinion. After Thanksgiving dinner one year, I looked at all the leftovers on the table and thought that they would make a really cool monster if I put them all together....and the Thanksgiving Leftover monster was born:

And one of my favorite characters, Mr. Toastee, was born from a BLT plush I had made. I was looking at the bread I designed for the sammich and thought it would look cute with a face and butter ^_^

And I combined 3 of my favorite things - bacon, eggs and jellyfish to make the Bacon and Egg Jellyfish ^_^

Locations can spark inspiration as well. When I was vacationing at the beach last year, I saw a jellyfish in the sand. Then for some reason I kept thinking about peanut butter and jellyfish sammiches....so i made one. My thought processes can tend to be a bit strange, but I just embrace it ^_^

Sometimes it's a button or type of yarn that will give me an awesome idea. I bought some red glittery lip buttons earlier this year. When I saw them, they made me think of a Las Vegas Showgirl for some reason. So, I used them and created a Las Vegas Showgirl Toastee:

And sometimes an idea can come from just seeing a cool type of yarn. I found a really cool, chunky, colorful yarn at a knitting store in NC. It just screamed at me to make a jellyfish out of it.....so i did ^_^

You just never know when inspiration is going to strike. Do what I do - I carry a little notebook with me at all times to jot down plush ideas when they come to me. That way, I don't forget them. The stranger the concept, the better! I never run out of ideas, just time.

So make sure you stop by the Plush Team's etsy shop and pick up your copy of our awesome annual. You will be amazed at the talent on out team. I know I am!!!

The Plush Team Annual is Available NOW!!!

2010-07-19T11:36:00.000-04:00

The Plush Team is ecstatic to present to you our first ever Team Annual, containing 120 pages of plushy goodness!

What is in store for you upon opening this marvelous book:

An opening by our team founder, Megan Green, describing how our team came to be.

An insightful, informative, and all-around fascinating account of the history of plush craft by our team co-founder Christina Ward.

42 two-page, full color features of our Plush Team members. Each includes photos of the artist's work, and text written by the artist explaining motivation, process, and inspiration.

A time line of Plush Team activities through over the years.Profile pages providing a comprehensive list of Plush Team artists, including artist head shots and Etsy shop addresses.

Photos of PT Stitchy, the team mascot, scattered throughout the book in his various incarnations as interpreted by our team members.

The book is full color, professionally printed, and soft cover. It measures 6.75"x6.75" (or 17 centimeters square). This is volume 1 of our Team Annual, featuring the artists from 2009. Our intent is to make this a yearly publication, updating it each year with our newest members and their incredible work.

Visit the Team Shop today for your copy!

Plush You LA - let the crocheting begin!

2010-07-18T14:44:00.000-04:00

As you may know, I was accepted to participate in Plush You LA and Seattle this year. Woot! I did a lot of brainstoriming and finally came up with what I am making for these shows....it's going to be EPIC!

Check it out - I went and picked up all the supplies I'm going to need(minus the yarn - already had that):

This weekend I scheduled myself to focus on completing my Plush You LA pieces. I decided that I'll post teaser pics just for fun....like this one:

any ideas on what it could be?

Yay! I have been featured in STUFFED magazine again ^_^

2010-07-08T19:33:00.000-04:00

Guess what! I've been featured in the current issue of STUFFED magazine along with tons of other talented plushmakers. Be sure to pick up your copy today!!

I have been turned into a plush!!!

2010-06-20T11:35:00.001-04:00

My husband and I recently celebrated another wonderful year of marriage together, and the celebrate, I decided to commission a set of plushcatures from the wonderfully talented and fabulous Leeanna of PlushGoodness. Words cannot even describe how awesome they turned out! It's us, but plush! And the detail is amazing...from my graphic tee to my hubby's famous 32 polo!

Oh No! My brother has my husband in a choke!

My west coast adventure to Maker Faire ^_^

2010-06-02T21:33:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that just over one week ago today, I was flying back to the east coast from Maker Faire! We all had a blast! I don't think that words could adequately describe our experience at Maker Faire, so here are a few pictures we all took of our experience:

Abby snapped this awesome pic of me and our gelatos ^_^

We all sported awesome PT Stitchy Name Tags by Abbydid ^_^

dkoss took an awesome picture of some of the Young Makers and their creations from our Felt Creature lab on Friday

Plush Goodness took a great picture of us getting the sweing machines and yarn ready for the classes we taught

Here is Zazu and Christina leading one of our many classes thoughout the weekend(taken by dkoss)

The Plush Team got a ribbon for Editor's Choice From Craft Magazine!! Woot!

Zazu took a picture of Abby and I making friends with R2D2 ^_^

You can also see a really cool gigapan pic taken of our booth at Maker Faire here.

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to see us at our booth and took part in our classes, all the new friends we made, all the awesome staff at Maker Faire, the members of the plush team for sending along a spectacular variety of plush, the plush teamers who made the trip to San Mateo - abbydid, Christina Ward Creatures, Absolutely Small, Cutesy But Not Cutesy, Plush Goodness, Moons Creations, Zazu Faure of Los Angeles, and Brian, an honorary Plush Teamer - who all busted their butts with no complaints to make this experience a giant success, to Craft Magazine for awarding our booth with a ribbon for editor's choice( and for letting me do a little improptu demo at their booth), our fabulous sponsors: Mendel's, Monterey Mills, Shannon Fabrics, Kunin Group/Foss Manufacturing, and Singer. We couldn't have pulled this off without any of you!

In closing, I just want to say that the Plush Team rocks. I am really lucky to be a part of such a hard working, talented, dedicated, and awesome team.

OMG! I'm going to Maker Faire!

2010-05-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

Wow. I can't believe it...it's finally here! Tomorrow, I'll be hopping on a plane and flying out to the west coast to participate in the Maker Faire with 7 other fabulous members of the Plush Team! I can't wait! If you are in the San Francisco area, you really should come and say hi!!

Check out the Plush team blog for more information about who will be there from the Plush Team and what we will be doing. I'd detail it here, but I really need to back and get to bed!!! Don't worry, I'll be posting pics and video when I get back ^_^

Yay for Oddmall!!!

2010-05-09T20:52:00.000-04:00

Oddmall ROCKED yesterday! I had such a great time, hung out with fellow Plush Teamers Abbydid and the Itsy Bitsy Spider, met a lot of cool new people, and a lot of my plush found wonderful new homes! Thanks to everyone who came out to the show! Oddmall was so fun and well organized - I will totally be back there for the November show ^_^

This was my first big show and I learned a lot of things.

I learned that collapsible wagons are the way to go when transporting your goods:

Those wire storage cubes that come apart are great for displays:

I changed the display around a couple times before I was happy with it:

Proper table signage is a must ^_^

Coffee is a MUST:

Make sure you eat:

And most importantly, the Plush Team reeks of awesomeness!

Oddmall Sneak Preview!

2010-05-07T11:46:00.001-04:00

Here's a sneak peek of all the stuff I made for Oddmall this Saturday! Make sure you stop by!!!

OddMall!!

2010-05-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that I haven't been too active lately. It's not because I'm lazy - I've actually been getting ready for my first BIG craft show - OddMall! If you are in the Cleveland area, or even it you aren't, I'd recommend stopping by and saying hi ^_^ There are going to be TONS of awesome crafters and artists there!

OddMall is on Saturday, May 8th from 10am - 6pm which is the day before Mother's day! Pick up something awesome for your Mom! Here's the address of where it is being held:

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center (Akron area)
240 East Hines Hills Road
Hudson, Ohio 44236

Hope to see you there!!!

Blessinz of teh Ceiling Cat be apwn yu!!! kthxbye!!1!!

2010-04-15T18:02:00.001-04:00

Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem. Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz. At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz. An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stuffs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz kittehs can see in teh dark An not tripz over nethin. An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. It were FURST!!! -- Exerpt from Genesis 1 of the lolcat bible.

The latest Plush Team Challenge was to create a plush based on something from world mythology...gods, mythical creatures, demi-gods, etc. The first thing that popped in my mind for this challenge was Ceiling Cat, God of the lolcats ^_^

I decided to try something a little different this time. There are elements of crochet, but I also did some handsewing to create a super fun wall hanging with an embroidery loop(it just didn't work right on the ceiling). I cut the letters out of sparkly felt and hand sewed them on using glow in the dark embroidery floss(it looks cool in the dark, but was impossible to photograph). And look at the little cheezeburger detail on the exclamation point ^_^ It's like Ceiling Cat is coming out of the wall to eat yer cheezburgers!!

Pounce on over to the Plush Team Blog to check out all the fabulous creations for this challenge and to vote for your favorites. Ceiling cat would really like your vote! If he doesn't get your vote, he told me he would send basement cat after you....just kidding!

Want Ceiling cat for your wall? He's available for purchase in the Plush Team Etsy Shop!!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T16:23:00.000-04:00

I hope your Easter is filled with Ham, Peeps, and Plush ^_^

The Plush Team Annual Has Arrived!!!

2010-03-24T19:30:00.000-04:00

I never knew you could STUFF this much awesomeness in one book!

The PlushTeam, of which I am proud to be a member of, is ecstatic to present to you our first ever Team Annual, containing 120 pages of plushy goodness!

What is in store for you upon opening this marvelous book:

*An opening by our team founder, Megan Green, describing how our team came to be.

*An insightful, informative, and all-around fascinating account of the history of plush craft by our team co-founder Christina Ward.

*42 2-page, full color features of our PlushTeam members(including me!!). Each includes photos of the artist's work, and text written by the artist explaining motivation, process, and inspiration.

*A timeline of PlushTeam activities through over the years.

*Profile pages providing a comprehensive list of PlushTeam artists, including artist headshots and etsy shop addresses. We are a good looking bunch if I do say so myself!

*Photos of PT Stitchy, the team mascot, scattered throughout the book in his various incarnations as interpreted by our team members.

The book is full color, professionally printed, and soft cover. It measures 6.75"x6.75" (or 17 centimeters square). This is volume 1 of our Team Annual, featuring the artists from 2009. Our intent is to make this a yearly publication, updating it each year with our newest members and their incredible work.

Get one for yourself in the Plush Team's Etsy Store!

Look...it's good enough to eat!

nom nom nom

Give me back that crochet o fish! Give me that fish!

2010-03-13T15:50:00.001-05:00

Okay, so my brother and I really get a kick of that stupid song in the McDonalds filet o fish commercial, and my mom totally hates it. Yes, I am a dork. But last night I was inspired to create a crochet version....lasts longer than the real one.

I really wish i could find something I could ecord the song on and then put inside the plush so that it plays everytime you squeeze it ^_^

Come to the dark side....we have filet o fish!

Schmancy Olympic Challenge - The Meme-athalon!

2010-03-07T10:32:00.000-05:00

I am finally done! Here is my official entry for the Schmancy Olympic Challenge. My category was made up sport, so I created some plush centered around the most awesome olympic event ever....the Meme-athalon! Consisting of events such as 1500m All your base rase, The Rick barrel roll, 50m Leeroy Jenkins dash, Cheezeburger competitive eating, I like turtles hurl, and star wars kid fencing, the meme-athalon is sure to delight one and all! It is run both at the summer and winter olympics, and the events are as dynamic as memes!

Pictured here are the winners of this year's meme-athalon - in first, winning the gold medal for the 10th time in a row, CATS! He really cleans house in the 1500m All Your Base Race. He's won that event ever since it became a part of the Meme-athalon! In second, winning the silver medal is I like turtles Toastee, and in third, winning the bronze, is Happy Cat...looks like he ran out of happy ^_^

I had a lot of fun with this challenge, and am very happy with how my pieces turned out! I can't wait to see all the other entries....this contest is going to be epic!

Just in case you are not familiar with these memes, click on the links below for more information:

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Happy Cat Has Run Out Of Happy

I Like Turtles Kid

Time to play catch up!

2010-02-28T16:28:00.000-05:00

I haven't been good about posting, but I assure you it is with good reason ^_^ I have been a very busy bee lately. My non-plush work has been very busy for me lately, and we've also been battling some unusually heavy snow here! I am so tired of shoveling snow!

I have lots of exciting news to share! First off, I will be going to Maker Faire in San Mateo CA in May with some of the Plush Team! My flight is booked and I am ready! I'm a little nervous about flying by myself, but it is going to be so worth it! More deatils on that to come!

I also just got word that I was accepted into Plush You LA this year! Woohoo! I'm already brainstorming what to make for that show!

I've also been busy working on my piece for Schmancy's Olympic Plush Challenge. I was given the category "made up sport". I'm putting the finishing touches on my entry now....it is epic! I guess I can give you a little clue - AYBABTU ^_^ I'll be posting about it and showing pics when it is all done!

I also found out that one of the pieces I made for the Stitch Wars show last year - my Wookie Cookies - will be in an upcoming George Lucas documentary!! How awesome is that!

I've also been busy whipping up some goodies for OddMall this may. I know it is still 2 months away, but it will be here before you know it!

I did have a little bit of time to get some St. Patty's day plush made and in my etsy shop. Actually, a few of us in the Plush Team have been whipping up some St. Patty's day plush. You can check them out in the Plush Team's etsy shop. The St. Patty's day mini Toastees there are different than the ones in my etsy shop!

I also got to meet one of Mr. Toastee's cousins - Mr. Loafee. He is now available in my etsy shop as well! It's amazing what all can happen in a month, huh? ^_^

You've got some splaining to do ^_^

2010-02-07T10:55:00.000-05:00

I recently finished my entry for the Threadknits contest. What is this contest you ask? Well, You need to create something either knitted or crocheted inspired by one of Threadless' awesome t-shirt designs. While I was looking through all the shirts, this one really stuck out to me, so I created a plush version of it. Make sure you check out the Threadknits gallery and take a look at all other wonderful entries....there is some stiff competition in this contest!!

OMG!!!! ZOMBEES!!!!!

2010-01-17T16:24:00.001-05:00

Guess What?? On January 20th Zombee Toastees will be invading Schmancy in Seattle WA! This Limited edition(only 25 made), Exclusive plush will ONLY be available at Schmancy - both in-store and online....get one before they get you!

Zombee Toastee Features:

~ They are just over 3 inches tall and wide
~ You have your choice of Mr. or Mrs. Zombee Toastee
~ They come with super special acrylic tags with brains on them made by the fabulous RobertoSand
~ They have one pink eye
~ They have pink, shiny, glow-in-the dark guts or brains seeping out
~ They have a patch of flesh eating bacteria handsewn on their backs
~ They come with a ballchain attached so you can chain them up to keep them from eating your flesh and that of your family and pets.
~ And the coolist thing - they each have names and come with an official numbered, and signed adoption certificate(designed by the uber awesome Ross Smith) which lists their name, birthday, favorite color and organ and also a few of their likes and dislikes.

Mr. Zombee Toastee:
Mrs. Zombee Toastee:

Remember, these are only available at Schmancy, and while supplies last...once they are gone, they are extinct!!

Kristen at Schmancy recently did a little interview with me - check it out here!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-10T15:54:00.001-05:00

I'm back from vacation and the store is now open! I hope everyone had as great of a holiday as I did! I am really proud of myself....I didn't crochet at all while I was away! I actually relaxed, took it easy, and spend lots of time with family and friends! But now I'm back, it it's time to get down to business. First off, I already have some Valentine Mini Toastees in the etsy shop. Aren't they adorable?

I also have some more exciting news! On Jan 20th there will be an awesome, exclusive, Limited Edition Mr. Toastee plush available at Schmancy, and only at Schmancy! You are going to want to scoop up one of these as there are only 25 available. Stay tunes for more details and to find out what the heck it is!!

And still more exciting news....2010 is already an awesome year! I'm going to be doing my first BIG craft show! I'll be participating in OddMall on May 6th. If you are in the Cleveland, Ohio area, be sure to come by booth 18 and say hi!!!!

Goodbye 2009!!

2009-12-31T17:07:00.000-05:00

Wow. 2009 was such a great year, I hate to see it go! I made some awesome new friends, participated in a number of gallery shows, was featured in STUFFED magazine, and other fun stuff. Through it all, I managed to keep sane too! I just want to thank everyone for making 2009 such a great year...I couldn't have done it with out you! I can't wait to see what 2010 will bring in Yummy pancake land!!!

Super Awesome Handmade Ornament Recipe

2009-12-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

Wow...has December flown by or what? I've been a busy little bee ^_^ I shared this ornamet recipe last year, but I figured I'd post it again for the masses. It is uber easy, and they smell absolutely wonderful when put on your tree and make you house smell nice when you have them all set out to dry. I would recommend picking up the ingredients from your local dollar store or discount grocery store - otherwise, you are going to spend an arm and a leg on the spices alone.

**These ornaments are NOT edible!!**

Cinnamon Ornaments

1 cup applesauce

1/2 cup cinnamon4

T. ground cloves2

T. allspice2

T. nutmeg

Add all ingredients in a bowl. Work mixture with hands until dough is smooth and ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Divide into smaller portions and roll with rolling pin. Cut dough with cookie cutters. Using a straw, poke a hole near the top for inserting a ribbon as a hanger. Lay the ornaments on a tray covered with wax paper. Turn ornaments every other day until completely dry. It takes about 4-5 days. Use ribbon to make a hanger. Have fun! Also, I usually mix several batches at one time. One doesn't make too many ornaments unless you have very small cookie cutters. I also found that they will smell great year after year if you store them in an airtight container or bag.

Introducing....Pullip Haute Cro-ture!

2009-11-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

New to Yummy Pancake - Pullip Haute Cro-ture. Why Cro-ture? Well, because this line of Pullip clothes is crocheted...get it? (a special thanks to Chelle for coming up with the name ^_^). Check out all the different designs...including some holiday ones...in my etsy shop!

Deck the Halls with Mr. Toastee ^_^

2009-11-28T22:13:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! It's the weekend after Thanksgiving! Do you know what that means? I can decorate the house for the holidays! I was in such a festive mood that I listed a whole bunch of holiday Toastees in my etsy shop, including some super cute ornaments! Fa la la la la la la la la!

Yummy Pancake at Luv-able & Hug-able

2009-11-20T18:22:00.000-05:00

Check it out! Luv-able Hug-able is another show that I am participating in this year! The theme this year was medium and mini plush. I actually struggled quite a bit on what I wanted to make, then I was inspired by my favorite food...TACOS!! Here's what I came up with:

Senior Toastee, Tico Taco, a tiny jalapeno and the cutest little margarita ever ^_^ it even has a little glitter "salt" rim around the top. If you are in the NY area, be sure to stop by Gallery Hanahou and check it out!

Gallery Hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730
New York, NY 10012

Yummy Pancake at Plush You

2009-11-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

Phew! I have been crocheting like a madwoman lately! Wanna see what I have been up to? I'm planning to do a series of posts this week to make up for my complete lack of posting so you can see what I have been working on. I've been a busy little bee ^_^

First off, I wanted to talk about Plush You at Schmancy in Seattle. Before the show, Kristen was nice enough to do a little interview with me on her blog. Check it out here.

Here are the pieces I made for the show:

Mrs. Toastee McBacon and Little Baby Melba...I even put a little rattle in Baby Melba:

I Scream for Happy Happy Ice Cream Cone - I put a crier in this one su when you turn it upside-down, it really DOES scream:

And last but not least, my favorite piece - The Plush-A-Sketch. Right before I sent it along to Schmancy, I added a little embroidered "Plush-A-Sketch" Label....and of course I forgot to take a picture of it:

From the pictures I saw, there were a lot of amazing pices at Plush You this year. Even though the show is over, you can still get your hands on some of the plushie goodness that was there here.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T16:10:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween! I know, I know, I've been pretty bad with posts lately. I've been working on some really cool stuff! In the next few weeks, I share with you exactly what has been occupying all of my time ^_^

And the winner is....

2009-10-17T14:53:00.001-04:00

Annie!!! (annabann7)

Woohoo! Congratulations! I'd also like to thank everyone who entered, and also everyone who helped me make it to 1000! You guys all rock!

So you are probably wondering....what does Annie get? Well, along with the super awesome Mr. Toastee tote bag, she also receive the goodies pictured below:

~Mr. Toastee Notebook

~Yummy Pancake Sticker

~Plush Team Aluminum Water bottle

~Zombie Mr. Toastee

~Limited Edition Outer Banks Mini Toastee Key chain

~Mini Cuppee Cake Key chain

~Mini Candy Corn Key chain

~Glow in the dark Jellyfish Key chain

~A kit that includes everything you need to make your very own Happy Happy Ice Cream Cone

~Resin Ring

~Resin Necklace

~3 Resin magnets

~Mr. Toastee Stickers

~Mr. Toastee pins

This was fun! I think I should have giveaways more often ^_^ any ideas??

OMG! It's the Uber Awesome 1000th Sale Giveaway

2009-09-25T16:46:00.000-04:00

Wow! When I started my etsy shop in Feb 2007, I though 1000 sales was just a dream...but I did it! I reached my 1000th sale this week! I want to thank everyone for their support, because I couldn't have done it without you! Because you guys are all so awesome, I decided to have my very first giveaway to celebrate!

What am I giving away you ask? Well, it's a surprise....but it will come in the cute little Mr. Toastee tote bag pictured below. And no, you do not get my Pullip doll ^_^ I won't tell you what's in there, but I'll tell you this...it's a plethora of Yummy Pancake fun! It's even better than getting a bag of crap from woot.com!!

How do you enter? It's simple! Just leave a comment at the end of this post and tell me what your favorite Yummy Pancake creation is. Be sure to also include your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win! If you post about this giveaway on your blog or facebook, I'll hook you up with some extra chances to win! Entries must be received by Friday, October 16th at midnight EST. Winner will be announced on Saturday, October 17th ^_^

Woot!

I got me a Pullip doll!

2009-09-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

As you can see, I finally got myself a Pullip Doll! I couldn't help it....they are just so adorable! I got her from The Valley of the Dolls....great selection and they arrive super quick!! She only came with one outfit, so I decided to design and crochet her a few more!

Here's a little watermelon dress I made her:

And here's a Nanner dress:

And my personal favorite, inspired by Joy Kampia's human sized crochet cheeseburger dress:

BEWARE!!

2009-08-29T11:01:00.000-04:00

::cue scary music::

Halloween is coming to my etsy shop on Sept 13th.....don't say I didn't warn you......

Toastee at Plushstock 2009

2009-08-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

Wow, have I been busy lately or what? If you put things off till the last minute, they only take a minute to do, right? Well, I finally got my pieces done for Plushstock 2009, the Etsy Plush Team's July/Aug challenge inspired by the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. The first little guy I made is a Hippie Mr. Toastee....and I think he's a bit toasted too ^_^ He is crocheted with 100% cotton yarn, stuffed with an all natural eco-fil, his clothes are made from a old retro washcloth I got fom my grandma, and the beads on is clothes and hemp headband are repurposed from old jewelry. He's so hippie you can almost smell the patchuli:

Also, because of my love of puns, I also made a PEACE of toastee....a mini Mr. Toastee made with tie dye yarn and with a handsewn peace sign on his back:

Be sure to stop by the plush team blog to see all the other awesome entries and to vote for your favorite(voting starts Aug 16th).

A new Toastee Species Discovered - Peanut Butter and Grape Jellyfish Mr. Toastee!

2009-08-13T17:13:00.000-04:00

Check this out! I stumbled across a new species of Mr. Toastee while I was vacationing last week in the Outer Banks - a Peanut butter and Grape Jellyfish Mr. Toastee! He was just chilling out on the beach when I saw him from afar. He consists of 2 slices of Toastee bread, a layer of peanut butter and a layer of grape jellyfish. He doesn't sting like other jellyfish and he's quite soft, not goopy. I heard that there are also strawberry varieties too, but I haven't found one just yet ^_^

This little guy will be available in my etsy shop very soon.....

Limited Edition Outer Banks Mini Mr. Toastee Keychains Have Arrived!!

2009-08-09T10:56:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a wonderful vacation with my family to the Outer Banks, and was inspired, as I sat on our deck watching the ocean, to create some Outer Banks edition mini Toastees. They are limited to 9, and each was made by me as I sat enjoying the ocean. Each tan little toastee has a fun, beach themed button attached. Get yours here while they last!!

Plush You Sneek Preview

2009-07-25T18:33:00.001-04:00

Plush You Sneek Preview
Originally uploaded by Yummy Pancake

I've been busy brainstorming and getting my pieces made for Plush You this October at Schmancy in Seattle. I have 2 done so far and anticipate finishing the last one before I go on vacation. Here's a sneak peek at the piece I finished today. I have been throwing this around in my head for awhile now, and finally decided to give it a go. I was uber happy that it came out exactly how I wanted on the first try! Any guesses as to what it may be?

Miami New Times Stitch Wars Writeup (July 16, 2009 Issue)

2009-07-16T20:37:00.001-04:00

Miami New Times Stitch Wars Writeup (July 16, 2009 Issue)
Originally uploaded by Bear and Bird

Stitch Wars opens this weekend, and My Wookie Toastee, Wookie Cookies and Wookie Throw pillow will all be there along with other awesome Star Wars inspired creations that put my stuff to shame....have you seen the needle-felted jabba the Hut?? Awesomeness in it's purest form! The show has been getting some great press too...and one of my Wookie Cookies is pictured in this article! woot!

Crafty By Nature

2009-07-07T17:03:00.001-04:00

I just want to thank everyone who came out for Crafty By Nature this past weekend on July 5th! It was great to see everyone, and it was such a beautiful day to hang out on the woods and check out everyone's awesome handmade goodies!! I am so glad that some of my plush found new homes with some of you ^_^

Yummy Pancake - The Early Years

2009-07-01T16:42:00.001-04:00

OMG!! My mom just sent me this old photo of me rocking a little sewing machine. See, I started crafting at a very early age. The photo is circa the early 1980's. Look at how impressed by cousin is with my sewing abilities ^_^

Squishy, Fuzzy, Furry Wookie Pillow

2009-06-28T11:36:00.000-04:00

I am so excited! I finally got my final piece completed for the Stitch Wars show this year! It's a Wookie Pillow, made of faux fur and fleece. It's super soft and hugable! I had so many ideas of things to make for the show, so to help myself not go crazy, I choose a theme for all of my pieces...can you guess what it was? I'll be sending along The Wookie Pillow, 8 Wookie Cookies(that squeak), and a Mr. Toastee Wookie plush to Stitch Wars. All of these pieces will be available to purchase there(and online at their website)! Make sure you check out the Stitch Wars website and blog for more info!

Yummy Pancake in STUFFED Magazine!

2009-06-22T14:06:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! I am so excited! There is a nice piece about me and my creations in the Summer 2009 edition of STUFFED magazine! It's such an honor to be featured in a magazine with so many other talented artists! There's also a few of my fellow Plush Teamers in the magazine, as well as a nice article about the Etsy Plush Team and another great article about Plush You! It hits the stands on July 1st, so make sure you pick yourself up a copy. You will be blown away at all the talent packed in there!

The picture above is a ceramic unicorn I painted to look like a Mr. Toastee My Little Pony ^_^

OMG!!! I Can Has Cheeseburger!

2009-06-14T14:44:00.000-04:00

New in my shop...Mini Cheeseburger key chains. Pure awesomeness in a portable size ^_^

So awesome that even the Emperor wanted one:

Iron Plush Wookie Cookies

2009-06-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

I found some of our old Star Wars figures, so I took a few more pics of the wookie cookies I made. I can't decide which one I like best. Which do you like best??

To see more of the Plush Team's creations for our Iron Plush Challenge, hop on over to the Plush Team blog. I feel honored to be a part of such a talented group!

My Next Creation for Stitch Wars....Wookie Cookies

2009-06-07T16:54:00.000-04:00

Behold! One of my creations for the Stitch Wars show this year AND my entry for the Etsy Plush Team Iron Plush challenge....my secret ingredient was faux fur...very out of my comfort zone. I came up with wookie cookies, mixing my love of wookies and cookies ^_^ I even put squeakers in these little guys so they make noise when you squish them! All 8 will be making their way to Stitch Wars in July and will be available for purchase there and online as well! I have to laugh, as I seem to be on a Chubacca kick for Stitch Wars ^_^

As I mentioned, these are my entry for the Etsy Plush Team Iron Plush Challenge. Head on over to the Plush Team Blog for more info about our challenge and to see some of the other totally awesome entries!! I need to work on my plating...I'll make another post once I have perfected how I'd like to plate these guys!

$5 Mini Plush Monday

2009-05-31T17:42:00.000-04:00

***** $5 MINI PLUSH MONDAY *****

Even better than $5 foot long subs!

Every Monday in the month of June, 5 members of the Plush Team will list 5 mini plushies for the ridiculously fabulous price of five dollars in the Plush Team store! Snatch them up, they won't last long.

I'll be listing my 5 tomorrow, June 1st. They are a sneak preview of some new mini designs that will be hitting my shop and the Broad Street Bazaar this summer!

Adventures in Needle Felting

2009-05-31T12:02:00.000-04:00

When I was at the Fairy Festival this year, I bought an awesome pack of wool roving from Feederbrook Farms, which also including a couple of needle felting needles. I have always wanted to learn how to needle felt. This week, I watched a tutorial online on how to make a needle felted bead...that inspired me to break out my kit and have a go at it! Of course, I had to make a Mr. Toastee ^_^ Not bad for my first try, huh? I had a lot of fun with it....I think I'm going to grab a book or two and try to learn some techniques ^_^

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:59:00.001-04:00

Wishing everyone a safe and fun Memorial day! Let's be sure to take some time today and thank those who gave their lives to defend this country.

Toast Wars

2009-05-23T13:24:00.001-04:00

If you didn't already know, I am a huge nerd and I LOVE Star Wars. So, when I heard that there was going to be a show called Stitch Wars, which would be featuring handmade goodies inspired by one of the awesomest movies ever, how could I not participate?? It is going to be at Bird and Bear Gallery, and will run from July 19th through August 29th. Check out their site for more information. I have already seen a few items made for it and they are AWESOME! The bar has already been set pretty high for this show by Heidi Kennedy and Cutesypoo! I have completed one of my items that I will be sending to this show, and thought I'd give everyone a little peek! I made a Wookie Toastee:

As you can see, I even pulled out some of out old-school Star Wars figures to pose in the pic as well ^_^

Yummy Pancake at Crafty By Nature on July 5th!

2009-05-23T10:52:00.001-04:00

Woohoo! Guess what! I will be participating in the Crafty By Nature on July 5th! Crafty By Nature is an outdoor indie craft market that takes place the first sunday of the month at Shupps Grove in Lancaster County. I will be sharing a booth wirh Eric of Manly Knitting. So make sure you stop by and say hi....and pick up some chainmail and plush for yourself ^_^

Wearable Bacon!

2009-05-17T12:23:00.001-04:00

Bacon is awesome. Now you can be awesome too with these crochet bacon bracelets! They have all the happiness of my crochet bacon slices, but you can wear them around your wrists! They each fasten with a cute little piggy button. available now in my etsy shop. Be the envy of all your bacon loving friends!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T10:40:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to wish everyone out there who have spawned, a happy Mother's day! I wanted to send a special shout-out to My cousin Steph and her hubby Bill, who are the proud new parents of an uber cute baby boy. I also want to give a shout-out to My bro and his wife who are expecting their first next month!

But mostly, I wanted to thank my own mom, as without her, I wouldn't be here. She is one of the most awesomest people on the planet, and I couldn't have asked for a better mommy than her! She cultivated my creativity, and passed along all of her artsy and creative genes ^_^ She rocks!

Sir Toastee!

2009-05-04T16:45:00.000-04:00

OMG.....check out the sheer awesomeness of Mr. Toastee's chainmail! I totally geeked out when I saw this! No, I didn't make it....the uber talented Eric of Manly Knitting whipped this up for me! How does he make these wonderful pieces? Well, he uses 1/4" galvanized steel rings, which he makes himself from 17 gauge wire! He also makes pouches, bracelets and such(I have one of his bracelets....they are super awesome as well!). Make sure you stop on by his etsy store and check out all of his creations!

Eric - you totally reek of awesomeness. Both Mr. Toastee and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts...and butter ^_^

Yummy Pancake Available at The Broad Street Bazaar!!

2009-05-02T14:56:00.000-04:00

Woot! I am so excited! My plush and resin creations will now be available at a brick and mortar store - the Broad Street Bazaar in Lititz, PA! The Broad Street Bazaar is a new gift shop opening up in Lititz, PA next week. It features handcrafted gift items by local artists, including yours truly! There is seriously going to be a lot of talent going on in this store!

Come on out and show your support by purchasing a one-of-a-kind item from a one-of-a-kind store. The grand opening is on Friday, May 8th.

Broad Street Bazaar
55 North Broad St

Lititz, PA

OMG!! Tokidoki!!

2009-04-23T17:43:00.000-04:00

I did it. I finally did it. I broke down and got myself an uber awesome Tokidoki purse. I wanted to get a Hello Kitty one, but they didn't have a zipper, and I hate open purses. So, I ended up getting this one, and I LOVE IT!!!! The end.

Pouches of Nom

2009-04-19T16:42:00.001-04:00

I had a custom order to make a case for a Blackberry Curve, and this is what I came up with. I found that these will also fit a Garmen Nuvi, Sirius Stiletto, Sansa, iPod, Deck of Cards, Gift Card, Credit Cards, etc etc.

I don't know about you, but I love having cute little pouches for my possessions ^_^

New Perfume!

2009-04-14T16:42:00.000-04:00

OMG. Okay, I seriously have the bestest parents ever. Check out the perfume my mom sent down to me....how adorable is this??? It is Harijuku Lovers Lil Angel...my mom found it at Macy's, but I just checked and Sephora carries to too! There are 5 different ones and they are all equally as cute!!!

On another note, I am sad to say the the Mr. Toastee Zip pouches will be delayed until May. I was approached to have my stuff on consignment at Broad Street Bazaar in Lititz PA. It opens on May 4th, so I need to get my butt in gear and get stuff made for that while I chug along on all the custom orders in my queue ^_^

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:11:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter from Yummy Pancake!

Phew....what a week!

2009-03-28T17:20:00.000-04:00

Man, this week really wore me out! I finally finished my article for Stuffed magazine, I bought a brand new car(my old one wasn't going to last much longer without me putting some major cash dollars into it...i now drive the batmobile ^_^), there was a woot off going on on woot.com(which I was lucky enough to FINALLY get a bag of crap!), my 8-5 job has been busy, etc etc. But I thankfully was able to get a little me-time in and got my hair colored and got my crochet on. I got a bunch of orders completed and even started on some new pieces that I hope to get into the Mortal Plush show at Art Whino gallery in MD. Check out some of Mr. Toastee's emotions:

And on another note, since I was good in the grocery store, my husband let me get a toy out of the machine. Look at the one I got. It is supposed to be pooh dressed up as a grasshopper but I can't help but think that it looks like he is being eaten by one:

Oh, and FYI - the Mr. Toastee zip-pouches should be hitting my etsy store sometime in April ^_^

I am now off to work on some custom orders for Nannerpuss ^_^

I Can Has Hamburger....Cupcakes

2009-03-19T20:04:00.000-04:00

Not only can I crochet, but I can also cook! I made these tonight for my coworkers...this is totally going to beat out whatever Laura decides to bring in tomorrow! They are really super easy to make! All you need is:

Yellow Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Green Food coloring

shreaded Coconut

Frosting

Orange Fruit by the foot

Sesame seeds

The thing that took the longest was making all the yellow and chocolate cupcakes! I posted step by step pictures of me making them on flickr. nom nom nom!

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-18T17:58:00.000-04:00

It’s Spring Plushapalooza!!!

The Etsy Plush Street Team is showing off the newest softies for spring in the Gallery room in Etsy Virtual Labs on Tuesday, March 24th, 3 to 4 p.m. EST!

The Plushapalooza is just like a trunk show in the real world. Plush Team has come to you to show off the latest and greatest we have to offer. We’ll put up three listings from three different Plush Team artists at a time and everyone in the room can click, browse, and ask questions. Many of the Plush Team artists will be right there in the lab to answer!

Here’s a list of just a few of the Plush Team members sharing their work in the Plushapalooza:

* area thrifty one
* weirdbuglady
* patti haskins
* SLC Studio
* Emily ♥ Follow The White Rabbit
* PterodactylPants
* Needlings
* abbydid
* Phil Barbato
* RaggyRat
* Squirrel Momma
* absolutely small
* LittleCritters
* Melissa Stanley
* Yummy Pancake <---------me!!
* Diane Koss
* Christina Ward
* samariaproject
* fuzfrenzy 

The Etsy Plush Street Team is a group of Etsy artists supporting and furthering the ideas behind plush dolls, toys and all the soft areas in between.

Don't forget, Etsy Virtual Labs on Tuesday, March 24th, 3 to 4 p.m. EST! Mr. Toastee will be there!!!

Slacker

2009-03-15T10:06:00.000-04:00

Okay, as usual I've been a bit of a slacker on my posts for a bit here. I have been busy though - I've been working on my new basement studio, designing pieces for a few shows this year, keeping up with orders, etc. Oh, and guess what! I'm going to be in the next issue of Stuffed! What is Stuffed you ask? It's only the most awesome magazine chock full of amazing plush artists! Run on over to your favorite book store and grab a copy - you won't be disappointed! The issue I'm in will be out later this year. Don't worry, I'll let you know when it is available ^_^

I've also busted out my sewing machine and tried a few new things with it, including a Mr. Toastee zip pouch (as pictured above). These will soon be available in my etsy shop ^_^

Yummy Pancake on Fierce and Nerdy

2009-02-24T21:50:00.000-05:00

w00t! I just found out that Yummy Pancake will be mentioned on the Fierce and Nerdy blog on Wendesday, Feb 25th! Make sure you stop on over and check it out ^_^

How fitting, as I am both fierce and nerdy ^_^

ps - my awesome mittens were made by Love & A Sandwich....aren't you jealous?

Plush Team New Years Resolution Project

2009-02-20T17:44:00.000-05:00

Skip on over to the Etsy Plush Team blog to check out all of the wonderful entries in our Jan/Feb New Years Resolution project...including Mr. Toastee and his bottle of Jager! The plush team is overflowing with softie talent! Vote for your favorite entry by leaving a comment on the post on the Plush Team blog ^_^

You Can Call Me Mr. Nannerpuss

2009-02-16T17:24:00.001-05:00

After many people told me that Nannerpuss on the Denny's commercial reminded them of my Nr. Nanner character, I decided to take a stab at a Mr. Nannerpuss.....pictured here on a stack of Mr. Toastees, not pancakes ^_^

The Adventures of Mr. Toastee and Friends blog is in full swing!

2009-02-15T15:07:00.000-05:00

Make sure you stop by the Adventures of Mr. Toastee and friends blog to see what kinds of shenanigans Mr. Toastee and his Yummy Pancake buddies are up to!!

Mr. Toastee's New Years Resolution

2009-02-03T17:42:00.000-05:00

Here is my submission for the Plush Team Jan/Feb challenge - a drunk Mr. Toastee with his trusty bottle of Jagermeister. I had to create a plush with a new years resolution theme. I struggled to come up with an idea, so I asked Mr. Toastee to share with me what his new year's resolution for 2009 was. He was quite the party animal in 2008, even giving Paris Hilton a run for her money! Needless to say, Mrs. Toastee was not too fond of his partying, and it almost ended their marriage! Thank goodness they were able to work things out, and Mr. Toastee's resolution for 2009 is to cut down on his drinking and not to party as hard. He doesn't want to end up on Celebrity Rehab!

New Mr. Toastee Stuff

2009-01-26T18:05:00.000-05:00

I was totally trying to save these until Mr. Toastee's Birthday in february, but I couldn't stand it! Lets start the celebration early! Check out the new Mr. Toastee pins and stickers now available in my shop! They were designed by the uber talented Ross A Smith as I am clueless when it comes to graphic design. What are you waiting for! Show your love of Mr. Toastee to the world and be the envy of all your friends!!!

BEHOLD....

2009-01-21T16:17:00.001-05:00

...my very own Wreck This Journal, courtesy of my bro and his wife for Christmas. I couldn't decide if I should create a blog just for my experiences with it, but since I have such a hard time keeping up with this blog(and will be starting the Mr. Toastee blog in Feb...shhhhhhhh), I figured I'd just put my WTJ posts here ^_^

As you can see, we did a few pages this weekend:

Spill, Drip, Fling your Coffee here - using the delicious coffee my bro made for breakfast, we dripped it, splattered it and then dipped Chad's fork in it and ran it across the page.

Collect Fruit Stickers here - Maggie was nice enough to donate the stickers from her lemons ^_^

And I just taped it shut and mailed it to myself today. Sure, I got a weird look at the PO, but it was so worth it!

A Toast to 2009

2009-01-04T12:35:00.000-05:00

I was originally planning to unveil Mrs. Toastee in February for Mr. Toastee's 1 year anniversary, but since you guys are so awesome and have been supportive, making my 2008 the bestest ever, I have decided to make my first new design of 2009 Mrs. Toastee!

Yes, Mr. Toastee is married! Mrs. Toastee is a bit more shy than her hubby, and doesn't like to be the center of attention. I guess opposites attract ^_^

Available now in my etsy shop, along with another newcomer...12 Grain Mr. Toastee.

The weather outside is frightful......

2008-12-16T16:50:00.000-05:00

....but Mr. Toastee looks so delightful! Just peeking out of my pile of custom orders to share one of my newest creations. These little guys were made for someone uber special. I love making gifts for folks who I know will totally appreciate them!! ^_^

Plush Team Plush Swap

2008-12-14T16:01:00.001-05:00

Whew! I have been up to my eyeballs in custom orders here! I have been crocheting so much that my fingers just might fall off! The Plush Team did a secret plush swap for Nov/Dec and I got my super awesome plushies in the mail the other day! Check them out....are they adorable or what? Thank you to the very talented PterodactylPants for these little guys! You can read the story of their arrival, plus the storied from my fellow plush teamers about their swaps on the Plush team Blog.

Holiday Ornament Recipe - Try It!

2008-12-07T11:24:00.001-05:00

Today I wanted to share an awesome recipe of mine to make the coolest ornaments. It is uber easy, and they smell absolutely wonderful when put on your tree and make you house smell nice when you have them all set out to dry. I would recommend picking up the ingredients from your local dollar store or discount grocery store - otherwise, you are going to spend an arm and a leg on the spices alone.

**These ornaments are NOT edible!!**

Cinnamon Ornaments

1 cup applesauce

1/2 cup cinnamon4

T. ground cloves2

T. allspice2

T. nutmeg

Future Fan of Mr. Toastee

2008-12-04T19:42:00.001-05:00

Okay, I totally had to double post today. I wanted to introduce you to my future niece or nephew. I cannot wait to shower him/her with tons and tons of plush goodness!! This kid is going to have the coolest plush collection ever...well, next to me. Are you totally jealous or what? Right now they are smaller than Mr Toastee - they may be just about as big as mini Mr. Toastee ^_^

Thank you for your votes!

2008-12-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

Mr. Toastee and I wanted to take this time to thank all of our fans for voting for us in the MODNARoS contest!!! We were both so happy to win and couldn't have done it with out all you folks! I can't wait to get more buttons...I think I have some more ideas for clothes for Mr. Toastee using them ^_^ Stay tuned!

VOTE for Mr. Toastee!

2008-11-29T10:47:00.001-05:00

Make sure you stop here and vote for Mr. Toastee in the MODNARoS contest with no name ^_^ He's wearing his favorite winter coat and hat ^_^

Glowing with excitement for BBBS

2008-11-19T17:41:00.000-05:00

Wanna get some holiday shopping done and support a great cause at the same time? Head on over the the Plush team etsy shop NOW!!! Me and my fellow Plushteamers have donated plush to the shop, and all proceeds are going to Big Brothers, Big Sisters!

I have contributed a special edition glow in the dark Happy Happy Ice Cream Cone plushie! Be the envy of your peers while supporting a great cause!

Be sure to check the team blog and the shop daily...there will be a new plush added to the store every day!

Portable Holidays

2008-11-16T17:28:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! I came up with a few new holiday themed plush key chains. Check them out:

Mr. Turkee the turkey leg

Mr. Snowee the snowball

They are currently available in my etsy shop.

I also finished my piece for MODNARoS contest using the buttons I received, and I have to say, it is pretty darn fabulous...more on that later ^_^

Button up, it's cold outside!

2008-11-11T21:32:00.000-05:00

I love a challenge - that's just how I roll - so when I heard about the contest Tennekka was having, I could not pass it up! She makes these beautiful buttons, MODNARoS by Tennekka. So, the contest is, she sends you a button or 2, and you need to incorporate them into one of your creations. Then, folks will vote on the entries and the winner receives 20 buttons from her shop! You can read more about it on her blog. How cool is that?? So yesterday, I got the buttons in the mail(as you can see pictured above). I have so many ideas floating around in my head right now.....Should I incorporate them into a holiday plush, a delicious food plushie, or something completely bizarre? I'm open to suggestions ^_^

White, Wheat or Rye?

2008-11-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

You know how when you go to a restaurant and order toast or a sandwich, you are given a choice of bread? Well, now you get that same choice when you go to Yummy Pancake to purchase your very own Mr. Toastee! That's right - The Mr. Toastee plushie and plush key chain now comes in Original(white), Whole Wheat, and Rye!

And you thought Mr. Toastee couldn't get any better ^_^

Just when you thought it was safe to eay Thanksgiving dinner....

2008-11-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

....Pumpkin pie body, whipped cream head, cranberry sauce arms, and turkey drumstick legs - Introducing the Thanksgiving Dinner Monster!!! The perfect table centerpiece! He is sure to be a conversation starter ^_^

Seriously, I don't know how I come up with these guys....just wait till you see what else I have in store for you!!

I See Blind Boxes

2008-11-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have an addiction to blind box toys. They are just so much fun! Here are some pics of the newest additions to my collection:

I love the Dunny....he's fuzzy!

3 Yummy Breakfast and 1 Spider Baby Boom ^_^_

Happy (Belated) Halloween

2008-11-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

ps - never watch the movie "Satan's Little Helper"....trust me on that one!

Breakfast is the most Important Meal of the Day

2008-10-22T19:45:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day! Over lunch, I went to this awesome Art Gallery in Lancaster called Metropolis and got myself a couple blind box toys - a Dunny and also a little Snorkin. I'll take pics of the ones I got later, as I am feeling quite lazy at the moment. I am starting to become very addicted to blind box toys. Then, we grabbed lunch at a little Italian Bakery...uber delish! To top it all off, I finished up another custom order I was working on! Behold - Creepy Breakfast Monster II:

I also made a Breakfast Monster Toddler Hat - my first attempt at head wear for kiddos. I love how it turned out!!

mmmm...Toastee!

2008-10-20T16:48:00.000-04:00

Just finished up this little guy for a custom order - A Mr. Toastee Scarf modeled by my giant Pikachu. It has happy buttered toastees, indifferent plain toastees, and then angry burnt toastees. I LOVE how it turned out! I'm thinking about making some angry burnt plush Mr. Toastee Plushies in the near future ^_^ I love the original happy, but the burnt Mr. Toastee just seems to be packing so much attitude ^_^

Plush Team Sept/Oct Challenge Voting

2008-10-13T20:43:00.000-04:00

The entries for the Sept/Oct Plush team project are up on the Plush team blog and voting is open! Stop by and check out all of the wonderful plush team creations and vote for your favorite!

btw - My Mr. Toastee dressed as a Black Cat is in the Costume Challenge category ^_^

A Toast to this week ^_^

2008-10-11T18:36:00.001-04:00

Wow! Was this an amazing week for me! I had good stuff happening at work, I got a couple big projects in my queue completed, Plush You opened this week, and to top it all off, I found out that I'm going to be an Aunt! I am going to totally spoil that kid rotten - he/she is going to have more plushies that you can shake a stick at!! I also hit the big 30 this week....not too happy about that. I don' feel like I'm thirty, and according to most folks, I don't look it (or act it) either. And just because I'm 30, that doesn't mean that I'm going to become dull....I still have an uber wild imagination and massive creative drive that cannot be tamed. Just look at the Mr. Toastee Throw Pillow that I whipped up:

And speaking of Plush You, If you are in the Seattle area, stop by Fancy and check out the pieces I sent for Plush You!

Yummy Pancake Wins Ribbons at the 2008 Ephrata Fair!

2008-09-28T18:07:00.000-04:00

Yep! The Ephrata Fair was this past week - it's the largest street fair in PA, and always a ton of fun! Once again this year, I submitted some of my work for judging and won ribbons for all 3 of my submissions! It's the second year in a row that I got ribbons for everything I entered!

I got first place in the Christmas Decoration - Felt and Latch hook category for my hand sewn advent calender:

I also scored first place in the Toys category for Ms. Stitch and Ted the Thread:

and I got second place for my Mr. Toastee Messenger bag in the Useful Article, Crochet category:

I have to say, once again, I am very pleased....I would have liked to have gotten first place for my messenger bag, but I'll take second ^_^

Even Toast Dresses Up For Halloween!

2008-09-21T17:32:00.000-04:00

Here is my entry for the Esty Plush Team Sept/Oct project - Costumed Plush Catergory. When I asked Mr Toastee what he wanted to be for halloween, he said, "a black cat". So, I whipped up a little black kitteh costume for him - complete with little pink paws! You can check out the other Plush team project entries on the Plush team blog.

I love living in a world where Toast dresses up for Halloween ^_^

Glow in the Dark = Awesome

2008-09-08T17:51:00.000-04:00

Everyone likes stuff that Glows in the dark! When I heard that Bernat came out with glow in the dark yarn, i HAD to get me some! Turns out it's uber expensive - $4 for only 72 yards, but it's totally worth it! The pics suck cause my camera kinda sucks, but check out the glow in the dark mini Mr. Spookee and mini Candy Corn that I whipped up ^_^ They are available in my etsy shop!

Free Time Anyone?

2008-08-28T22:27:00.000-04:00

I've been a bit lax on the old blog, as I an currently doing a daily countdown to Renegade Chicago on the Plush team blog, highlighing all of the team members who will be participating in the event. The Plush team will be at booth 70 if you are going to be in the area!!

That being said, I have also been quite busy on some special projects, custom orders and entries for the 90th annual Ephrata Fair, as well as trying to come up with some new designs...there just isn't enough hours in a day! I am very happy though, as my plushies for Renegade made it, and I also completed my pieces for Plush You and those arrived safely today in Seattle! I'm going to keep a little suspense as far as what I sent in for Plush You(although you can see one on them on my photostream in flickr)....partly because I totally forgot to take a pic of one of the pieces...grrrrr

I did come up with a couple new mini keychains for halloween though - a mini candy corn as well as Mr. Spookee - available now in my etsy shop:

Off to Chicago we go!

2008-08-14T20:47:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! I finally got all my little guys done for Renegade Chicago!! It was so hard to decide what to make so I decided to go with some of my favorites...I may make a couple last minute substitutions, as I realize my peas are conspicuously absent from the gang. If you are going to be in the Chicago area Sept 13 and 14th, make sure you stop by Renegade Chicago and find the fabulous Plush Team booth...it is going to be the most huggable booth there!!! I can't wait to see pics of everyone's plushies all together there! I really wish I could go!

Itteh Bitteh Kittehs

2008-08-10T13:50:00.000-04:00

I just completed a custom order for skybluebunny of 2 itteh bitteh kittehs made to look just like her little guy. She made me a rocking pair of sno cone earrings, an old school gameboy charm, and a rainbow lollipop charm our of polymer clay in return. I recommend you check out her etsy shop - her work is AMAZING!!!

Cupcakes are cool!

2008-08-06T19:31:00.001-04:00

I have been hard at work, crocheting like a madwoman to get ready for Renegade Chicago and Plush You 2008, plus keeping up with orders and working on a couple of cool custom projects, but I found time to stop over to Jen's Pottery Den and paint some uber fun cupcakes. I did one in a poker theme because I LOVE playing Texas Hold'em, and one in Yummy Pancake colors. These guys won't go stale if you leave them sitting out ^_^