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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Meet My February Sponsors

Hello everyone! I’m excited to introduce my February Sponsors! I hope you’ll take a minute to get to know them, and check out their shops and/or blogs! :)


Crafted


Well hello there! My name is Dom, I am a twenty something year old girl from Sydney Australia. I am totally obsessed with all things crafty! So much so I have been working in craft shops for over 5 years now! I use my blog, Crafted to further my obsession by sharing a whole bunch of crafty goodness with the world! If you love makering too make sure you pop on over and check out my blog. :) I also sell some of my handmade creations in my store on etsy. :)

Visit her: Etsy Blog


Pwark!
Hey there! 
It's TiWi, the creator of the PWARK!  I started creating monsters in 2008.  It all started for a contest where you had to take an object and turn it in a new thing, so I took a t-shirt and turned it into a monster.  I didn't win the contest, but my friends and family saw the result and begun asking for creatures.  This is how it all started, in my living room.  Now, 4 years later, my monsters are more sophisticated than they were.  I also have a full room for them, but they keep invading all my place anyway.  They are still made of clothes that people give me, the only thing that is new is the Polyfill used to stuff them. After a couple of years of picking old clothes from everywhere, this is what the studio looks like: 


As you can see, I won't miss fabrics soon!  And new ones always keep coming in!  So, every creature is one of a kind!   

Visit him:  Etsy Blog Website












Saturday, January 28, 2012

Happy Caturday!

It's Saturday, and I thought I'd share a few cute videos I found on the interwebs this morning. :-) I say you can never have enough cute kitty videos to put a smile on your face, and start your day off in a good mood. Enjoy!



Who doesn't like little birdies and gentle kitties together? :)


What about deer? Who doesn't love deer, especially when they're so cute and friendly to kitties?


My most favorite kitty of all is Maru. He is a Japanese cat, who lives in Japan, and he absolutely LOVES boxes!! I bet you can't resist Maru...







I hope you enjoyed this! :)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Star Crossed Lovers... So Close, Yet So Far Away.

Drew and Brianna. Two bunnies that are meant for each other, but one is too shy to talk to the woman of his dreams, and one who just wants to be chased like in the olden days. Will Drew ever overcome his shyness and approach Brianna and profess his love for her? Only time will tell....

















I would love to take some suggestions on easing the fears of Drew, and helping him to come to grips with the fact he must stop being shy, and talk to Brianna. They can't be forever apart... They're meant for each other. What to do?

I guess only time will tell....

Thursday, January 19, 2012

New Monster In Town

There's a new monster in town, in my apartment currently wreaking havoc, and that's Burton!


He's one of my brand new collections, a collection I call Cotton 'n Button monsters. This is a series of monsters that I have created which are aimed at my target customers, adults. I'm sure they'll be a hit with kids, but they're not safe for anyone younger than 5 years of age, of course.

This particular stripey guy is named Burton because he's a little Tim Burton-esque, with a touch of Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. He's the goth child of all three of these movie styles, with a similarity to his furry monster relatives. Burton is a troublemaker, so beware when adopting him! He's been known to cause havoc! I've caught him knocking over a mug (thankfully empty), rooting through purses, and throwing pieces of paper. He simply wants to show you how awesome he is!

Here is Burton trying to get into my glass of water!


The glass was full, so thankfully he just got a little wet is all.

I've also made siblings for Burton. They're still in the 'need to be stuffed' phase. The reason being is, seeing as I'm a brand new entrepreneur with little to no start up resources, I haven't yet been to my stuffing supplier here in Montreal. I have made several phone calls to the companies in question, it's just a matter of going up there to buy the stuff. Soon, very soon. I have monsters I want to send to the STUFFED magazine at the end of the month, and other guys I'll be making for the upcoming Valentine day fair in February.

Here's some photos :)

Burton's almost twin on the left, a wacky patterned guy in the middle, and on the right he's made out of fabric that says "How To Stop Smoking" on it. Totally hilarious, and not for kids he is. ;)


Middle guy is made out of some crazy pink pockets I found on this gaudy shirt. He's bright pink on the back. The one on the right has a better photo just below.


This pretty girly monster is made out of some fancy patterned denim, and has a furry belly with a navel piercing. She's fancy!

I'm hoping that they'll be really popular, because I really enjoy making these guys. ;)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Monster Create And Make Features Curious Little Bird

There's a brand new blog on the block, and it's called Monster Create And Make. I was approached by Jen via email, and was honoured to hear she wanted to start her new blog with my shop! How could I say no? So she asked me a few questions, and voilĂ ! A new post, all about Curious Little Bird.

Here's the link, check it out!
http://monstercreateandmake.blogspot.com/2012/01/melanie-audet-of-curious-little-bird.html
Don't forget to follow her blog for great new updates!

Cheers!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Grandpa Monster!

Good weekend my blogger followers! How is everyone enjoying their weekend so far? It's been snowing here in Montreal for 2 days straight, and out of the 4 people who live next to me and share the stairs going to our doors, no one has helped to shovel snow. I've done it 5 times in 48 hours. I keep telling myself I only do it for myself. :) Besides, I've already fell down the stairs once in July), injuring my left foot (which by the by is still healing), and I want to make sure my trek down the stairs is safe.

Yesterday I decided to try out a new pattern. Half fur, half wooly fabric. I really like it, but I don't know if I'll be able to make many more. I prefer the solid colour in the front with the fur, but most of what I have is crazy patterns, and it just wouldn't work in the front.


I think this guy is totally cuddly! He's about 12 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Really large, and cuddly worthy. He'll be listed on Etsy soon. :)

He's the only one of his kind. Don't hesitate to snatch him up when you see him on etsy.

http://www.curiouslittlebird.etsy.com

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Crazy Cat Lady Post

I felt like sharing some photos I have of my two very special boys in my life. They were found in an alleyway with the mum cat and the rest of the litter. A friend found them, asked me if I wanted to adopt any (since she knew back in 1999 that I wanted a cat). When I walked into the room, she told me all of them were adopted except for two... a runty black and white cat, and a silver and white tabby. Well I fell in love with them instantly! I brought them up to see my boyfriend, plopped them on his lap (cause I knew if I did that, he couldn't refuse), and it was decided! You know when kittens have those tiny tails that stick right up? I LOVE that about them when they're little.  First I'm going to show pictures of Squeak (aka as Squeaker, Mr. Spook, Squeaky, Boob). He's black and white, and festively plump.


This is Squeak's favorite way to be cute. Either that or he had recently been sniffing his catnip toys behind him, and he's lying there in a catnip stupor.


I can't resist a cute face!


Why yes, I am taking your picture!


Wishing I had been able to capture this without the blur. :) I love action shots!




Someone was taking a nap under the blankets.

OMG this is the cutest! Squeak's favorite chewy bouncy ball (which is currently lost in my apt), and one cute paw and one eye peeking.


Getting ready for that deep stretch, or just sitting around.


Yep, Squeak likes the floor, and I don't blame him. He's cutest on the floor. I especially love his little soul patch on his chin. That's my favorite spot on him.


A super close up of his paw. Every time I see it, I want to put my finger in between his toes. He doesn't like it. He might be ticklish.


It's not a cute cat picture without a tongue sticking out, now is it?


This is my other little baby, Littleone. He is a darling, very sweet, quiet, and a troublemaker. Gets Squeaky into trouble by giving him ideas. He also goes by the names Mr. One, Little Guy, Sweetie.


I think he's checking out the new view.


Alright! Another action shot!


Gorgeous kitty.


Littleone had the same idea as Squeak (possibly on the same day).


I looooooove that little white, furry tummy of his! And he loves it when I rub it. I get purrs as a reward.


I totally found Littleone curled up like this, with the comforter around him! :)


Another great close up!


I've never seen him sit so oddly, with one leg sticking out like that.


Look how cute that nose is, and the little mouth!


Love it, him, this photo!

Squeak and Littleone are brothers, so of course, they tend to cuddle together sometimes. Here's a selection of cute moments I caught them napping together.


They love used items. I got this free meditation pillow from Craigslist, and they slept on it for months!


I *heart* black and white photos. Especially when my two favorite boys are hugging.


Festively plumpy Squeak makes a perfect pillow for Littleone. I've used Squeak as a pillow too, and he is so cuddly.


It's not brotherly love if they're not at least cleaning each other once in a while.

Well there you have it. It's just two cats, but with the amount of photos I take of them, I guess I am the crazy cat lady. :-) I wish I knew exactly when their birthday was, but if you're wondering, they're about 12-13 years old right now.

Have a great night!

Monday, January 09, 2012

papernstitch

If you haven't yet heard, I'm one of the exhibitors this month on the website papernstitch. Papernstitch is an online exhibition space that was created to promote talented artists, designers, and makers selling handmade goods. The exhibition space is curated monthly and showcases the best of the best on an international level. I like knowing I'm pretty awesome to have been chosen. :)

  <------ Click me. 


The website where I'm exhibiting looks similar to Etsy, and it's easy to purchase something you like. The photo will ask to take you to the site where the item is for sale. Easy peasy. :)

Here's a preview of the page of my products.



 Don't forget to tell your friends! :)

Saturday, January 07, 2012

The Fine Art Of Survival

I know it's not much, but my monsters made it into the newspaper yesterday, the Montreal Gazette. I wish the writer had actually given me a credit. I did send him an email asking for that, so we'll see. :)





Here's a snippet of the post, and a very tiny photo. No, I'm not mentioned anywhere in the article unfortunately, but there I am, booth 18, and so are my monsters!!

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Customer Appreciation

Happy New Year everyone! It's 2012, and already the days are starting to get longer! Woohoo! Soon it'll be my birthday, and that's a scary thought! haha Ok, that's not why I'm writing this post. Today I wanted to share some really cool customer appreciation photos I got recently.


Wooky is always sitting on your shoulder making sure you do what you're supposed to.



Wooky is also the perfect travel companion to Paris for the New Year party of 2011-2012



I'm loving this purple fur and yellow horn combination. It's going to be a new monster!
 

Aww, Lavender looks like she has a nice new friend.



Louise was really happy to get her bunnies, and had difficulty parting with them as they were a gift for her friends.


Haha! Harold looks worried he's being squished!

You're never too old to get a monster for Christmas! They're not just for kids you know. :)

Well there you have it! There are a lot of happy people right now, and all because of me. 2011 was quite a year, I have to say.

I started the year by losing my job from restructuring. As you know, living in a city with a high unemployment rate can be depressing, as it was for me for a few months. After a few months of being down I decided to sell the few monsters I made in 2008 on Etsy, and noticed how great the response was, I started making more monsters for real. In June/July I decided I wanted to start my own business selling monsters. If I can't find a job, I'll create a job! I had nothing to lose anyway. I was already unemployed for 5 months (having only worked 3 weeks during that time), and on employment insurance. After some hard work with my business summary, I got accepted into a government entrepreneurship program, and now I'm here, working to make this work! 2011 has been a bumpy time, but a good year. :-) My advice? If you want to start your own business, don't wait until it's convenient, just do it!

Have a great 2012! I'd love to hear how your past year was! :)