Tragic Stitches

Oliver Comes Out To Play

2012-01-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

Today is cleaning day around our house and my job was to watch our hedgehog Oliver while my wonderful hubby cleaned out his cage. I think I got off super easy. We have had Oliver for about a year and a half and he is an awesome pet. He is so cute, and snuggley, and low maintenance which is a must for us. When he comes out of his cage he will walk around the living room or sit on our laps. I like to get a piece of fleece and let him hang out on it on my lap or next to me on the couch. He likes to cuddle and burrow into my hands. I took a few pics of him today hope you enjoy them.

I do recommend hedgehogs as pets, but, as with all pets do your own research before you buy one. Animals deserve happy healthy lives so don't bring one into your family unless you are prepared to take care of them. If you think you might like a hedgehog I will tell you they are great lil pets with a lot of love and a kind demeanor. They are pretty spiky too.

Speaking of Prudence's birthday....

2012-01-05T16:39:00.000-05:00

Prudence got piles and piles of presents for her birthday, lovely toys and clothes, jewelry and makeup and anything else a little girl could want. I owe so many people thank yous too. My personal favorite gift she got was a custom vinyl toy from my absolutely amazing and wonderfully talented soul-mate and best friend Sharon. I actually own two of Sharon's custom toys, but I am still super jealous of the one that Pru got. lol So here are some pics of little miss Pru with her new piece of art! Oh and please check out Sharon's blog, her art is so whimsical and creepy-cute, I promise you'll love it.

Prudence's 4th Birthday Party Pics

2011-12-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

Miss Pru had a blast at her birthday party. She and her friends played Candy Land and Gnome Bowling. She got lots of My Little Ponies and Lalaloopsy's and she had the rainbow cake she asked for. It was a cute party and for us, way smaller then usual. I only had to make one cake. lol The cake ended up bigger then I had planned, next time I won't use 3 boxes of cake mix I will use 2. It also had 5 lbs of icing on it. lol Sooooooo much icing. I made truffles too, they were peanut butter pretzel flavor. The recipe is by Martha Stweart and they are super easy and so yummy. Find it here. Rupert is next, he wants an Adventure Time party. I have five weeks to get that together, better get started.

Holidays Decorations

2011-12-30T15:41:00.001-05:00

I adore decorating for each and every Holiday, but the winter ones hold a special place in my heart. We don't really celebrate Christmas per-say but we give the kids gifts on the longest night of the year, have a special dinner and we always watch Surfs Up too and hope the weather warms up fast. So basically we do our own thing. It's always fun. Today I wanted to share my holiday table with you guys. Of course I decorate with toys!!! I'm obsessed. This year I also picked up a very cool vintage holiday table cloth on etsy. I love browsing etsy for vintage holiday decorations. I couldn't believe I found this one, it is huge! My table seats 8 people and this table cloth is big enough to hang over the sides. I have a hard time finding cute vintage table clothes that are this size. Click the pics to see bigger versions.

This is my daughter Prudence at her Nana's house on Christmas day. Nana collects dolls and toys too.

2011-12-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

It's the end of 2011 and I wanted to say thank you to all my lovely customers and fans so I'm having a sale. All you have to do is use coupon code HAPPYHAPPY at checkout on etsy to receive your discount.

CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING.

More Dolly Love

2011-12-18T17:03:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been feeling the itch to bring a new dolly into the house. So I've been browsing online looking for one that would spark my interest and I came across a dolly on the Leeke World site that stole my heart. Her name is Ariana and she is very different then any of my other dolls. She is around the height of an MSD, and she has a Leeke art doll body which I adore. I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding the Leeke art doll body between Leeke and Dust of Dolls. Basically I feel the same as the mods on DOA. I cannot make any official judgments on dolls that are inspired by other dolls. It seems to me with any kind of art that inspiration is bound to happen as artists meet each other, and share there work with each other. Plus it is clear that at the least Leeke did not make a mold directly from the Dust of Dolls Puns. The bottom line for me though is that I'm not a big fan of the Dust of Dolls head mold where as the Ariana face takes my breath away. It's as simple as that. I know I am digressing here, but I wanted to be sure that I commented on the situation and made anyone reading this aware that I know about it, but don't really have much of an opinion. Hmmmmmm. Maybe stating that I don't have an opinion is a waste of my time and yours, but it's here so I'm leaving it. Of course if they do go to court over the matter, it might be easier for Leeke to just pay Dust of Dolls for their idea and be done with it. Either way I'm not going to boycott Leeke because I have shopped with them many times and they have always done good business with me personally. So, that said, here is a photo of Ariana.

Her face is so sweet and innocent, it makes me want to just spoil her rotten. lol Something I end up doing with all of my dolls. The bulk that Ariana carries on her body makes me very happy because well, I am fat and I'd love to have a doll that has a body more like my own. Oh and I'm not going into the fat thing either because um, I like the word and I like my body and that is all I can say about it at the moment. Wow, I kinda feel like I should just delete this post because it might make me seem like a horrible person and maybe I'll even loose a lot of respect from it. I'm not gonna do that though because this is my blog and I will write what I want no matter what. Humph. HaHaHa. Really I swear I am a happy and easy going person. I also created a set of things I'd buy for Ariana if I did buy her, or get her for Christmas. *hint hint* I'd like to name her Tilda and give her green eyes and dusty pink hair. I'd even buy her her own BJD (ish) cat because a dolly this cute truly deserves one.

It's time for a new dolly by gloomyerina on polyvore.com

Stuff This!

2011-12-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

Once again I am part of the Stuff This! show at Rivet gallery. This show is really wonderful with a nice variety of Plush artists. My piece entitled Tylöskog is inspired by the forest of the same name in Sweden. It depicts a bunny who is a pregnant mother spirit. I am really into the beauty that resides deep in forests, especially old growth types. Below is a photo of the forest that really inspired me and below that of course is my plush. I hope you guys like it. Oh and click on the pics to enlarge.

Prudence's 4th Birthday Party

2011-12-14T15:45:00.001-05:00

I know it's been forever and ever since I have posted, this time of year is super busy and I've had shows and holiday orders and family things going on. December for me means not only winter holidays, but my daughter Prudence's birthday. This year she has asked for a Lalaloopsy party. At first I was excited, because I thought, this will be easy it's a toy they sell party decorations. Nope. lol So I've had to plan the theme and colors etc. I've had way too much fun with it though. So here is a polyvore set that I made to keep me on track and inspired for the party. The theme is Lalaloopsy, circus, rainbow, girly fun. All the guests will receive lip balm, nail polish, a necklace made with lalaloopsy pencil topper and candy in their gift bags. This set also shows what Prudence will be wearing to the party! I will be making a rainbow striped cake, and some cupcakes and I don't know what else. Plus I have picked up lots of lollipops, and colorful bottles of soda to use as decorations and of course for people to consume. I hope it turns out as cute as I am imagining it will.

Prudence's LaLaloopsy Birthday Party by gloomyerina featuring hair bow accessories

Baby doll top
$23 - fao.com

Hair bow accessory
$500 - amazon.com

Clown CupCake Topper Decorations - 12ct
$3.99 - bundleofbeauty.com

Bake It Pretty - Green Gingham Baking Cups
$3.75 - bakeitpretty.com

Lalaloopsy Pencil Toppers - 32 Pieces - MGA Entertainment - Toys "R"...
$20 - toysrus.com

Mini Lalaloopsy Ferris Wheel Playset - MGA Entertainment - Toys "R" Us
$15 - toysrus.com

Mini Rainbow Spiral Lollipops (16) Party Supplies: Grocery & Gourmet...
$5.99 - amazon.com

Girls Expressions 12PK Fruit Flavored Lip Balms
$4.99 - boscovs.com

Girls Expressions 24PC Mini Nail Polish Set
$5.99 - boscovs.com

Happiness Recipes and Quotes
$8.51 - squidoo.com

Amazon.com: Lalaloopsy "Sew Smart" Bea Spells-a-Lot T Shirt: Clothing
$1.98 - amazon.com

Circus Train Cake Topper
$6.99 - bundleofbeauty.com

Coming Soon

2011-11-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

I'm trying out a new product line for my etsy shop. Prints and Cards made with photographs I have taken. The first image I am trying out is one I took today, it's just so cute I couldn't resist.

For now I've only added prints in 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 but, Greeting cards will be coming really soon. Below is a preview of the cards that will be coming. I ordered the cards from shutterfly because I trust that they will do a lovely job with the printing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

5x7 Folded Card

2011-11-06T19:16:00.001-05:00

Classic Without Edge 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for beautiful Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

My Dream Kitchen

2011-11-05T20:01:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I would do if I could just decorate my dream kitchen, and money was no object. Well if I were totally being honest one of my favorite things to do is decorate my dream house, with no budget all in my mind. It's fun try it sometime. lol I made a polyvore set this week of things I would put in my dream kitchen. By the way if you haven't tried out ployvore yet, you should it's kinda a waste of time but so fun. Think of it as window shopping online. ;)
Here is my set plus links to where you can find some of this kitschy goodness. Oh and the appliances are all from Big Chill.

Colorful Kitchen Dreams by gloomyerina on polyvore.com

Le Creuset 12-Piece Cookware Set | Williams-Sonoma
$1,130 - williams-sonoma.com

Russian Dolls Nesting Glass Set of 3
$9.99 - urbanoutfitters.com

Multicolor Ceramic 7-Piece Mixing Bowl Set | Williams-Sonoma
$160 - williams-sonoma.com

shop.sanrio.com - Shop Sanrio.com for Designer Collections...
sanrio.com

The Container Store > Glass Slant Jar with Metal Lid
$9.99 - containerstore.com

Japanese Gift Market - Decole - Daisy - Handy - Tin - Box
$23 - japanesegiftmarket.com

Slice Day for a Hike Cutting Board
$15 - modcloth.com

MUNNYWORLD MEGA MUNNY 18-Inch Blue Edition | Kidrobot
$200 - kidrobot.com

Cuckoo-ca-choo Magnet
$11 - modcloth.com

Another Room In My Doll House

2011-11-04T19:16:00.000-04:00

I have a super huge doll house, where I keep almost all of my dolls and there belongings. It's about 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide and has 6 huge rooms. This room is for my YoSd sized dolls. The sleeping doll is my Little Fee Luna and her name is Klara. The other doll is a Pipos Mari and her name is Alice. I love collecting dolls and setting up rooms for them. It really brings me back to my childhood, when I spent most of my time setting up rooms for all my dolls on my book shelves. I started collecting dolls again in 2004 with Blythe, but now collect almost exclusively BJD's or ball joint dolls. I do have one Blythe still, it's fun to have lots of different kinds of dolls. I even have a small collection of Monster High dolls. lol Thanks for stopping by.

Today is my Birthday!

2011-10-19T15:58:00.001-04:00

So because of that and because it's Wednesday... I have a very special Halloween PIF for you guys! I love Halloween, and fall and all things Autumn. I hope you guys will enjoy this cute pumpkin and gargoyle necklace for just .20 cents plus shipping. Click Here.

Thrifty Thursday's

2011-10-06T17:48:00.000-04:00

I found this cute owl salt shaker and this lil mousey bank yesterday at one of my favorite thrift shop. Don't you just love it when you find a thrift shop that has great things over and over. It's like you go there and it makes you smile because chances are you are going to find something wonderful. I have this Volunteers of America that is about two blocks from my house and it seems like just about every time I go I find treasures I just can't leave with out. Check my shop later on, the mousey will probably show up there. The owl fits in perfectly with my woodland kitsch kitchen so I'm keeping it.

PIF Wednesday

2011-10-05T16:58:00.000-04:00

Just my little way of showing my appreciation for my wonderful customers.

Grab up these cute Pop It Beads fast you can get them for 20 cents plus shipping.

This Messy Life

2011-10-04T16:08:00.000-04:00

Lately I've felt like I can't quite get my house under control. The mess piles up, especially with a 6 and a half year old son, Rupert, and an almost 4 year old daughter, Prudence. These are the monsters that make my house look like a tornado hits it every day. Sorry but I can't help posting pictures of my babies.

No matter how many toys I pick up there are always more. My first goal is to get the kids to do more chores. I'd like them to do chores with out being asked too many times and for them to want to do them by letting them earn things from doing chores. So, while looking online for ideas and print out charts for this goal, I came across a super cute blog and super cute printable charts! Both charts are by the absolutely wonderful and talented Arian Armstrong, who coincidentally lives in Ohio just like me!!! You should check out her super cute blog and etsy shop! Feel free to print and share the charts just don't charge for them. :)

Click Here For A Bigger Version.

With four people laundry, dishes and daily clutter all pile up. All of this on top of trying to organize my etsy shop, my blog and of course making jewelry and plush. You can see why it doesn't take much to tip the scales and have me feeling totally over whelmed. Whelp I know we've all been there. The number one thing I do is make small goals and put those into to do lists. It seems simple, and you can find thousands of blogs, books and articles that say exactly the same thing. Personally, I think it's better to actually write out lists and then actually check off or scratch out the things you have done. Of course smart phones and other such devices usually have planners and places to make lists but it just doesn't feel the same to me until I put pen to paper. What better way to put pen to paper then on a cute chart also by Arian Armstrong.

Click Here For A Bigger Version.

I gotta say just looking at these charts makes me want to start making my lists and getting things under control around here. I really hope I can get better organized and keep track of the things I do get done. Sometimes even if I clean all day, if I don't have a list where I can actually see what I have done, it can feel like I haven't done much at all. If you use these charts or just start making lists and it helps you or even if it doesn't let me know. I'd love to hear about your efforts. Hope this helps you meet some goals. ;) Oh and check out Arian's blog too.

PIF Wednesday

2011-09-28T21:13:00.000-04:00

Get this cute lil Giraffe necklace for 20 cents plus shipping!!!

Just my little way of showing my appreciation for my wonderful customers.

Oh and in totally other news... I added a widget to the left side of my blog, if you scroll down you can find my Poupee Girl and even visit her if you'd like. If you join Poupee or are already a member add me over there I love new friends!!!

Hello Kitty Tea Cup Rings

2011-09-26T14:20:00.000-04:00

I just added these cute tea cup rings to my shop.

On the top of each tea cup is a Lenticular image, which is an image with the ability to change or move as it is viewed from different angles. So these were really hard to photograph, but I captured both images the best I could. Also, the rings are stamps and open so you can hide stuff inside them. Stash box anyone? Each piece snaps in place so it won't come apart while you wear it.

Here is a picture of me wearing one of the rings, I really need to paint my nails and take better care of my cuticles. I am just so bored of all of the nail polish colors I have right now. Hmmmmm I feel a shopping trip in the works.

Guilty Pleasures

2011-09-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

I am online a lot, I have to keep up with my shop, and social networking and advertising and the like. I'm addicted to flickr and like to take photos and post there. One thing I do online every day is play a game called poupee girl. It's a Japanese fashion game where you have an avatar and dress her up every day to earn points called ribbons which you use to buy clothes, accessories, jewelry, makeup and all kinds of other stuff for your Poupee girl. Poupee means doll in french I am told and that is why they picked that name. The second part od the game is that you can post photos of actual clothes and accessories from your own collection to earn ribbons. Also when you post photos of your own clothes other people who play the game can comment on your posted clothes, and they and you earn even more ribbons. There is also a pay currency on Poupee girl but you by no means have to use it. Here are a few of my favorite photos of my Poupee girl.

I have totally learned a lot about Japanese fashion, culture, and customs from playing the game. Plus, I have pushed my own style farther then I ever would have if not for poupee girl. It's a super fun game that takes minimal daily effort. Here is a link to Poupee girl. There is also a lovely Live Journal community that is really helpful when learning the ropes on Poupee. I hope you'll check it out and as always thanks for reading!

Hand Grenade Soap By Stinkybomb - bomb the dirt right off your body!

2011-09-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

How cute is this Hand Grenade soap by stinkybomb?

Today I want to share with you guys one of my favorite etsy shops, stinkybomb soap. Talk about a unique gift for that quirky friend or family member. Stinkybomb soap not only looks hilarious, but also works wonders on getting you sparkling clean. It's even awesome for giving your kids a bath because it's easy to grip when it's wet. Stinkybomb soap is run by husband and wife team, Megan and Rob Green. It was actually Megan who came up with the first ever grenade soap using a mold from husband Rob's replicas of historically accurate weapons business, the fieldwerks. Taken directly from the Stinkybomb website: "Megan's devilish sense of humor could think of nothing funnier than stealing a grenade mold and making a hot pink bar of soap. Instantly a unique product and brand was born. As a collaborative team, Rob and Megan enjoy pushing the bounds of irony and cleanliness through fun, uniquely designed soap." Since I happen to know Megan personally, I can tell you she is a wonderful person who puts all of who she is into her business. She is one of the hardest working people I know, and that comes through loud and clear in everything she makes. If your looking for a fun treat for your self, or a truly wonderfully strange gift look no further then stinkybomb. Here are a few more pics of soaps that Stinkybomb offers.

You can also find Stinkybomb here:

http://www.stinkybombsoap.com/

http://www.facebook.com/stinkybombsoap

Thrifty Thursday's

2011-09-22T17:33:00.000-04:00

Today I want to share with you one of my bestest thrifty finds of the past six months at least. As you probably already know I am doing my kitchen in a kitschy woodland theme so when I saw this canister I knew I had to have it. I paid $8.50 for it, and it's pretty old so I am sure I got a good deal. It looks really cute next to my flocked hedgehog I have named Oliver 2, after my real hedgehog Oliver. I believe the canister is by Mccoy, but I could be wrong, the mark on the bottom is really hard to make out. I love the colors and the faux bois. Taken from wikipedia: Faux bois (from the French for false wood) refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media. I am pretty much obsessed with fake wood-grain, to me it just epitomizes the woodland kitsch look.

PIF Wednesday

2011-09-21T17:24:00.000-04:00

Click on over to the shop to snag this lil owl necklace for 20 cents plus shipping and if you get it don't forget to pay it forward, and make someone smile for no reason at all. :)

I've decided to have one PIF or (pay it forward) item in my etsy shop each week. Just because it makes me happy to make someone happy, anyone really, so once a week I will list something for 20 cents on etsy (which pays for the listing fee) so all you have to pay is 20 cents plus shipping and you will get a some super cute mail and jewelry from Tragic Stitches for super cheap.

Springfield Antique Show

2011-09-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I headed out out of town with a good friend to check out the Springfield Extravaganza Antique show. I love love love to go antiquing. You never know what kind of treasures you will find, the food is fried and yummy as fair food and it's fun to see silly things from the past too. I wish I would have brought my camera so I could take pictures of this show, it's huge literally thousands of dealers. I found some fun things, and got to eat ribbon fries my favorite! The weather was cool, the sky was clear and I think we walked for 8 hours straight. I found some lovely things, here are photos.

Cute nicknacks for my kitchen. A lovely girl in a green dress, a skunk, a wood fairy and two Swanky swigs glasses with a deer and squirrel. I'm redoing my kitchen in kitschy woodland theme. Once it's more together I will post photos.

A Smokey the Bear belt buckle for my Dad. He plays Smokey every year at the state fair, so I thought he would like this.

Of course I found some fun toys!! These will get cleaned up and hopefully made into jewelry soon. All in all it was a super fun day. Thanks for checking out my blog.

Speaking of weekly posts...

2011-09-14T17:53:00.000-04:00

I've decided to have one PIF or (pay it forward) item in my etsy shop each week. Just because it makes me happy to make someone happy, anyone really, so once a week I will list something for 20 cents on etsy (which pays for the listing fee) so all you have to pay is 20 cents plus shipping and you will get a some super cute mail and jewelry from Tragic Stitches for super cheap. I'm picking Wednesdays for this... because it's the middle of the week and I always feel a bit of a lag on Wednesdays so yeah that's why. LOL The idea of getting the chance to buy something at one of my favorite shops for 20 cents sounds great to me, so I hope you guys will enjoy getting something on the cheap from me. I think I'm getting better at this blogging thing, but I'm still finding my voice or at least trying not to let it run away from me.

So here is the PIF for this week.

A totally Kawaii ice cream cone necklace filled with lip gloss!

Thanks for reading.

This is Independents' Day

2011-09-13T18:19:00.000-04:00

This Saturday I will be vending at a really cool local music and art show called Independents' Day.

On the website it explains Independents' Day : "Independents’ Day is a simultaneous effort by active and creative people of Columbus to display their talents and abilities. An all-for-one, one-for-all mentality culminates into a daylong explosion of creative spirit." Here is a mini documentary on the fest.

I am really excited to take part in this show, I love the spirit of it and it sure does hit home with what I am trying to do here. I love running my own business, and I do try and buy handmade gifts for people and handmade items and vintage items in general because I believe in supporting local and small business and of course re-using as much a possible. Hello, I love to thrift. Which brings me to a new topic. I thrift store shop a lot, okay more then a lot, a freaking crap load. lol So I am going to add a new and my first weekly post called Thrifty Thursdays. I am sure I didn't come up with this name. Basically to show off my thrift store finds. Oh and I guess antique mall shopping counts too since it's my post. This Friday in fact I am headed to a giant antique show in Springfield, Ohio. It is a great antique show with so many dealers you can barely walk the entire thing in a day. I'll be headed there with one of my bestest friends Laura, who by the way owns one of my favorite all time shops, Rivet. I own so many toys from there it's ridiculous. I am getting off topic now but I am excited to go and search for treasures. So thanks to all of you who follow my blog, it means so much to me. Look forward to more fun posts soon. Have a lovely week guys!

Toy Finds...

2011-09-09T14:23:00.000-04:00

I've been frequenting children's resale shops, thrift shops and toy store clearance isles for years always looking for toys to add to my ever growing collection. Lately I've been finding things that I can happily add to my etsy shop. One thing that I found lately that I was particularly happy to find was a Treena and her Forest friends tree house. I already have one and so does my daughter so I picked it up for my etsy shop. It's missing a few pieces, but it's super rare and in good shape especially to display. I collect tree houses and other toys from the Japanese toy line Koeda Chan, and this tree house is an American version of those that was offered in the US for a very limited time. I guess kids here were not too interested in them. Here are a few pics of the tree house.

Isn't it cute!

Some Dolls from my collection playing outside

2011-08-31T18:02:00.000-04:00

Today I just want to share some quick photos I took of a few of my dollies. I know I say it all the time but I freaking love toys and dolls especially. Gah. It's my obsession what can I say. I am super happy with my dolly family right now, but that doesn't mean I won't add more. One doll in particular that I got recently called a Luna Rock doll, is in these photos wearing a cute bear suit I bought for her. I love this little doll, she is easy to cart around, and a really nice mix of toy and doll and she's cute with just enough attitude. She came in a cute punk outfit, but, I had to take it off of her when the bear suit came. I have named her Rilakkuma because well I may never take this bear suit off of her. Rilkkuma is my favorite San-X character. Oh and this is also a big ass mushroom that is living in my back yard. Rilakkuma owns the mushroom now. Check it out.

How cute is this!

This is one more shot I took today, of Rilakkuma, Rainbow my Blythe and Walter Matthau the little yellow bear. Walter was made by Violetpi on etsy who makes some of the cutest plushies I have ever seen. Go and look at her shop, it is adorable. So with August ending today, and September starting tomorrow... Happy fall and enjoy some dolls.

New Dolly at Tragic Stitches Shop

2011-08-28T13:19:00.000-04:00

I added a new Dolly to the shop this week. She is called Acid Alice, I have been so into color lately, and rainbows. I'm a dork for all things cute, so I guess it's no surprise. My favorite part about this doll is her hair, their is tons of it and it's rainbow!! Wanna see a pic? Of course you do.

Buy Acid Alice

Collecting Dolls

2011-08-18T19:22:00.001-04:00

Ever since I was a little girl my mother collected dolls. Most of the dolls she collected were from before her childhood, and they were called Patsy dolls. Recently she gave me about six dolls from her collection.

Four of them ended up in my etsy shop, but I saved the two that I loved the most. My mothers collection is certainly why dolls mean so much to me. I need to share some more photos of my modern dolls, but for now, here are some photos of the dolls I saved and a few more that I keep with them. Please ignore the dust, I do.

I have a thing for Kewpie dolls.

This is one of my most favorite dolls. I believe she was a prize from a fair many many years ago. How would you like to win this for playing a game at a fair now. I sure would.

Making Art into Jewelry

2011-08-16T17:55:00.000-04:00

I am a huge fan of Kathie Olivas, as many of you know. Her work inspires me so much and of course I collect her toys. Of Kathie's first blind box series I have a few double figures, one of which is Dexter. He is so cute, in all red with a blue and white striped hat. I just had to make something with him, so I made him into a necklace. I took apart a really chunky and pretty vintage jet bead necklace and added some red stone beads. Dexter hangs as the focal point of this piece. It's very nicely weighted and the jet beads are cool to the touch. I almost want to keep this one for me... but what fun would that be? So of course he is up in the shop. I'll be adding new Jewelry all week. I am also working on a doll who will be called Acid Alice. She has a lot of pink and baby blue. Think teapots, bows, rainbow hair and stary eyes.

Husband and me make art...

2011-08-09T12:06:00.001-04:00

Every year my sweet husband and I try and do one big art project. This year we decided to tackle a coffee table to go in our toy room. I had a coffee table from when I first moved out of my parents house, and it had seen better days, I'd spilled nail polish on it, scratched it up and other things you do when you don't really know better. We painted the table gray, one of my favorite colors. It ended up needing 3 coats to cover everything that sand paper wouldn't fix. The idea for the coffee table was to cover it with stickers that were from so of our favorite toy designers, etsy artists and just things that made us happy. Some super lovely etsy sellers helped me by trading stickers for jewelry to help keep our costs down. JoeyDesign cute unicorn, bunny and monster stickers. Mimi Chocolate who draws amazing cute little girls, bunnies and lambs. Sleepy Robot who generously donated cute robot and zombie stickers. Please check out their shops, they have wonderful things in them. After applying all the stickers, which was definitely the most fun part, we used a waterproof lacquer to seal everything down. Here are the pics:

Other artists featured on the table are: Kathie Olivas, Tokidoki, Hello Wars, Huck Gee, Andrew Bell, Charlie Owens, Giggle Sparkle Shawnimals, Misery, and so many more.

Kawaii Circus Dolly

2011-08-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

It's been a while and then some since I have felt up to making a doll. I needed a break, and I've had a lot of personal stuff going on that was stopping me from being able to create plush art. Then as it usually goes I got inspired and just went to work on a brand new doll. So with out further ado, meet Kawaii Circus.

Yummy Dessert

2011-08-05T07:15:00.000-04:00

I love the Yummy Dessert key chains by Heidi Kenny for kidrobot. In fact I love just about everything that Heidi does, you can find her site and blog here. check her out, she is one amazing plush artist. So, I collected up a bunch of them, but what do I do with all these cute adorable key chains? Of course I decided to make jewelry out of them. They are just too cute not to share. They are $18.00 a piece, except for the color cake which is the chase figure of this set and so it's $25.00. You can tell I am a toy collector. lol Find them in my shop here. Hope you guys like them.

Blythe Meet

2011-08-02T07:30:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I attended a Blythe meet up here is Columbus. I collected Blythe's years and years ago, and of course I still collect dollies so I was happy to attend. I met up with a lovely group of ladies at Buca di beppo and we had lunch and lots of dolly photos and talk. Honestly I am not a fan of Buca, the food is meh and always makes my tummy feel yucky after I eat it. I'm getting off track though. I took some photos, and I thought I'd share them with you guys. I have to say being at the meet made me miss having a Blythe doll in my collection so I ended up ordering one as soon as I got home. I suppose all in all it was a very expensive doll meet for me then. I didn't catch dolly names, so if you see yours, leave a comment and I will add captions.

Lots of super cute Blythe's, but wait there are so many more.

Told ya. ;) As you can see, my dolls look totally out of place, but they were well received and everyone was super sweet about them being a different kind of doll. (Mine are the super tall ones, and some other BJD's and a big purple bunny)

My bunny with a beautiful Kenner Blythe.

Super adorable custom Blythe.

Middie Blythe's, they are so cute, and so tiny. I hope to pick one up some day.

Beautiful.

One more shot of my girls. I suck at un-candid photos of dolls. Does that make any sense? So the doll I ordered is called Simply Sparkly Spark, and she looks like this:

Borrowed this from flickr, it's one of her release photos. I adore her blue hair and special eye chips. I can't wait until she gets here... I'm working on her bedroom in the doll house already. It was a fun doll meet and I hope we do another one soon.

Cleaning

2011-07-21T14:37:00.000-04:00

This Saturday we (the family and I) are having a back yard BBQ. So leading up to that we are all cleaning the entire house. Of course this includes my studio which is a huge huge mess right now. It's a big job and evening sitting here posting this means I am avoiding it a bit. I have added some destash supply lots to my etsy shop. I have so many supplies it's not even funny, hopefully I will be able to clear some out.

Speaking of my family, I have a picture of us I wanted to share.

This is Me, Scott my hubby, Rupert and Prudence on the 4th. Awwww. Wish me luck on my cleaning, hopefully it will look so good, I will want to post pictures.

Glow In the Dark... Nail Polish

2011-07-20T19:37:00.000-04:00

I have been totally obsessed with things that glow in the dark lately. One of my favorite glow in the dark things I've picked up is this tiny bottle of GID (glow in the dark) nail polish I found at hobby lobby of all places. In the light it's this really really pale sheer shade of blue-green and in the dark well, it GLOWS! I totally want to try more kinds of GID nail polish too. I took some photos of it in the dark and in the light. It glows really well... even if my camera can't focus with out the flash.

In the light. BTW, this ring is available in my shop now.

In the dark.

Spooky.

HaHaHaHaHaHa

Happy Buddha Earrings

2011-07-18T13:25:00.000-04:00

I made these up just a about a week ago and added them to etsy a few days later. I can't get enough of things in rainbow colors lately. I really should make a rainbow theme etsy treasury. I think I'll do that later today. I don't know what it is about color spectrum that seems to draw me in to anything in rainbow color. It's like a happy memory every time I see it.

The Nursery Shadow box

2011-07-15T15:47:00.002-04:00

I made this a while ago, but just recently added to my etsy. A cute little diorama made inside a box with a brass hinge. The scene depicts a little princess playing in her nursery. She has lovely toys, oil paintings and of course fresh flowers. Each piece is securely glued in place. The box measures approximately 6 inches tall, 4 inches wide, 3 inches deep when closed. I've gotten a lot of faves on this piece, so I'm planning to make some more soon. It's really fun and easy process, see below.

To make a shadow box first pick out a box, or a tray, a small drawer or you can buy shadow boxes at your local craft store. Old cigar boxes can work well too. I like to use wood or paper-board boxes because acrylic paint goes on them nicely and won't peal off. I paint the box using acrylic paints, I like Golden Acrylics. Follow the directions on the paint, use thin coats and let them dry fully before putting on the second coat. A really good tip that I can give you, is don't skimp on your brushes, buy the very best ones you can afford. I used to just buy cheap packs of brushes, and then I could always see brush strokes and I had to replace them with almost every project. After it's all dry you can glue paper inside to give the look of wall paper. Next seal the entire thing with a varnish, I use Golden for this too, they have many kinds and finishes depending on if you want a matte finish or gloss etc. I usually prepare the box and then after the varnish I let it sit for about 48 hours just to be totally sure it is totally dry. The last part is the most fun part gluing in all your treasures, toys, or whatever you want into the box. I use E6000 in very small amounts. Let it dry and admire your work!

2011-06-21T15:21:00.001-04:00

Kawaii Cutie

I just finished this cutie last week, she is up in the etsy shop : http://www.etsy.com/shop/TragicStitches

The title of the piece is Kawaii Cutie, she has two faces, her hair can be rotated to show 2 different expressions. The color scheme I have chosen is pink, yellow, and purple. She has a sparkly pink flower tea cup on her head, and inside of that is a cute bunny holding roses. I love to use girly creations to tell a story, of life, of love, of phobias of pain and, of course, of childlike wonder. This piece in particular combines my love of a few things, Japanese culture, ultra feminine vintage goodies, urban vinyl toys even toys from my childhood. Think of pink bubblegum and rhinestones; of vintage lace and lolita skirts; of baby dolls and tea pots too! The idea is to leave the viewer ready to go home play dress up just like when they were little.

This piece was made using all kinds of toys, plastic cabs, glitter, rhinestones, and so much more. The photos hardly show the detail... but it is epic in person. Kawaii Cutie took 3 months to create and was truly a labor or love.

May Show, Laboring.

2011-05-17T13:50:00.000-04:00

This month in honor of Mothers day, I participated in a show entitled Laboring at Upper Arlington's Concourse Gallery. The show consists of works from many lovely ladies in a group that I am a member of called MAW. The idea behind MAW or Mother Artists at Work as stated on our blog is this "The mission of Mother Artists at Work, a non-profit association of mothers working in the arts, is to support and promote artists who are mothers through networking, professional development, and exhibit opportunities, as they work to keep career and family in balance." To me MAW is where I have found my family, a group of woman I truly love. We all support each other in every way we can, from Artistic to emotional support and everything in between. Here is the link to our blog : http://motherartistsatwork.blogspot.com/

My piece for this show is called Labor of Love. LOL, as I've been calling her, is very feminine and playful. I love to use girly creations to tell a story, of life, of love, of phobias of pain and, of course, of childlike wonder. This piece in particular combines my love of a few things, Japanese culture, ultra feminine vintage goodies, urban vinyl toys even toys from my childhood. Think of pink bubblegum and rhinestones; of vintage lace and lolita skirts; of baby dolls and tea pots too! The idea is to leave the viewer ready to go home play dress up just like when they were little.

So... on to the photos.

Laboring in Columbus Alive. My piece and some others from the Laboring show were featured in an article in a local paper too. It's all very exciting. I'll do another post soon with photos of some of my other favorite pieces from this show.

A quick post today

2011-04-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to mention to all my lovely followers that I have been a guest blogger over on Offbeat Home. Offbeat home is "Dedicated to helping you create a comfortable space for yourself in this world, Offbeat Home celebrates occupants as much as we ogle over decor porn and DIY projects." Here is my post.

Speaking of toys...

2011-04-08T17:03:00.000-04:00

I wanted to talk a little bit about my own toy collection and how I incorporate my toys in to the decor in my home. My basic idea has always been to enjoy my house and make it fun. So as my toy collection grew I stopped displaying them in just my study and started to have toys all over the house. It makes for a happy and cozy home I think. One thing I have done is to use book shelves to house my toys. I will usually use the bottom shelf or two for books, which are less interesting to look at and keep any very little kids hands off my toy collection. I have to say one of my favorite things about using toys to decorate, besides that they make me smile and feel all happy, is that they are way less fragile then say antiques, vases of flowers or candles. This way if one gets knocked to the floor chances are it won't be broken. So here are a few photos of the toys around my house. I'll be posting more in the coming months as I continue to dust the house. ;)

Fun and yet it still fits well with the gray walls and leather furniture which you can't see. The bottom shelf is all books.

Here I used prints and toys all by the same artist, Kathie Olivas. This way it flows nicely and creates a fun corner that creates conversation.

These toys are actually custom works by me and my hubby. I do use my own art to decorate the house too, 'cause I'm proud of me. The pink is mine and the other is the hubby's. These prints are by PinkyToast. I love, love, love her work.

So this is an example of putting toys with every day objects like a tiny TV, sushi plate and antique sewing table. I just think it works. Plus it's fun, and remember it's all about fun and what makes you happy. I hope you enjoy.

2011-04-03T19:40:00.001-04:00

Not that this is really new news, since it's been all over the web for a while now, but I still want to post about it because I love Tokidoki like whoa. lol For the first time in two years, Tokidoki is releasing a new blind box mini series!!! Oh and it's UNICORNS!! On April 22nd the awesomely cute figures will hit your local or web-based designer toy retailer. I'll be picking mine up from Rivet They stand about 2.5 inches tall and are blind boxed. At $6.95 a pop I plan to collect them all. Below are a few pics of my favorite ones. I'll be counting the days... because I am toy obsessed.

\

2011-04-02T13:51:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to post this forever and ever. I am so behind on blogging, but I'm gonna work on that. So here are photos from my son Rupert's 6th birthday party. It was Mario theme and I made him 2 Rainbow cakes. They are super easy to make actually, I learnt from here: omnomicon but then I didn't make a diet cake, I use only full fat for birthday cakes. lol Well, real milk, butter, sugar etc. So basically make what ever cake you want and then, split up the batter dye whatever colors you want and pour and bake. I used Wilton Dyes to keep the colors bright.

Enjoy!

And one of the kids 'cause they are so cute.

Rupert and Prudence.

2011-02-08T14:02:00.000-05:00

Hi all, I hope those that live in wintery areas are keeping warm and cozy. We had an ice storm last week and lost power for 2 days. It got really cold in our house really fast; as it was built in 1958 and is a bit drafty now. Everything is back to normal now though thank goodness.

Today I want to share some more of my toy collection. I took these photos yesterday.

I love the rainbow of colors that the little deer lend.

My collection of kwepie dolls and some vintage Patsy dolls that my Mom gave me. The Patsy dolls are made of a material called composition. They are from the 1930's. My Mom actually made the pink dress on the bigger one.

This is my Tara McPherson collection so far. The pink Munny is a custom she did for me when I met her at Kid Robot NYC.

I am totally and completely obsessed with toys, they cover my house and take over my world. I am happy that way.

2011-02-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

And the Winners are.....

noctua-carpenoctem

aussieartistjo

chubbyvegangirl

All the winners have super cool blogs too, so check them out. I will be contacting you all tomorrow, but right now I am going to bed because I am sick-ish. I just feel crappy, and I think if I get some sleep I'll be fine tomorrow. Yay for bed time. More contests soon.

2011-02-04T18:11:00.000-05:00

The contest is done and later tonight I will be drawing the winners!!!! With Random number generator and the help of my hubby. Thanks so much to all those who entered, and good luck.

2011-01-26T14:16:00.000-05:00

I Thought I would do a giveaway this week, as the weather is dreadful here and I'd like to put some smiles on some faces. This time I will be giving away some cute Owl Necklaces. Three (yes 3!!!) lucky people who leave a comment on this entry between today and the 3rd of February will win. Every commenter will be assigned a number, with the first person to comment being number 1 and the second commenter would be number 2 and so on. Sometime on the 4th I will use a random number generator to pick the winners.

How to Win:
Visit My Jewelry Shop, and leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite item is, it’s that easy!

EARN EXTRA CHANCES TO WIN!!

If you become a follower of my blog you will be given a second entry.
If you have a blog of your own, post a link to this contest on it.
Do one or both of these things and you will be given a second number so that is 2 chances to win one of 3 necklaces.

Enter by 12am EST on 2/3/2011. A winner will be selected at random and notified on or around 2/4/2011. Be sure to leave a way for me to reach you ;) This contest is open to anyone age 18 or older. I’m happy to ship internationally, so it doesn’t matter where you live. The prize will mailed within a week from the winners announcement.

2011-01-17T15:15:00.000-05:00

Meet Oliver, our pet hedgehog. We absolutely love this little guy!! Just to give you an idea of his size, his orange food bowl is a ramekin. Hedgehogs in my opinion are lovely pets. My family and I did a lot of research before we got him because they do have some special needs and you can't be afraid of a prick now and then. They don't hurt too bad though. Every week we give him a bath and scrub him with a tooth brush which he loves. He also runs around the house in the evenings, he is pretty slow moving so we can easily keep him out from under furniture usually. It's no fun to pry a hedgehog out from under your couch. He likes to have peeled cut up seedless grapes for snacks. He also likes to snuggle on your tummy, as long as I have a thick enough shirt it's fun for me too. Oliver also loves to be picked up and he will walk from one hand to another back and fourth. It's good bonding experience for both pet and owner. Here are a few more photos of him.

2011-01-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

A new year, a new planner! Every year I buy a planner to help me keep track of my life... and to use as a journal. I am totally addicted to planners from a Korean company called Morning Glory. They are beautiful and have the only sections I need, monthly, weekly and journal. Plus every page is decorated beautifully. I always use stickers and special pens when I fill it out. Yeah I am a stationary or office supply Junkie. I wonder what you call someone like that besides crazy I mean. Just Kidding... kinda. So check out Morning Glory, they are lovely! Oh and tell me what your geeky obsessions are?

2010-12-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my daughters birthday party. I believe it went really well, although it's hard to say. When you are the host it is so easy to forget to enjoy your self or take a moment to breathe while you bustle around helping your guests and trying to make everything prefect. My little girl had such a good time and that is the main thing. I made three kinds of cupcakes, vegan chocolate with green icing, red-velvet with cream-cheese icing and white with chocolate icing. I also made a cake, it was 3 layer, two yellow layers and one red-velvet layer in the middle with chocolate icing. Way more dessert then we needed I think, but at least I had variety. I am so glad it's over, now I can concentrate on getting ready for Yule and have a low key holiday with my family.

Would you like to see some photos? Of course you do.

Treats.

Gift Pile.

Decorations on the kids table.

Gift bags. These were given out to every girl that came to the party, both little girls and mommies. They contained owl bell necklaces, deer and hedgehog hair clips, snowflake rings, candy canes, and for those that had pierced ears mushroom house earrings.

Me and my silly Daughter.

A Very Kitschy Wreath

2010-12-13T17:35:00.001-05:00

While rummaging through my Mom's basement yesterday I found and old and probably once more festive little wreath. It has this really cute little plastic deer on it so I decided that I couldn't just leave it there. I promptly scooped it up and brought it home to fix up. Here is a before picture of the wreath.

Pretty Sad huh?

I gathered up some fun things to add to the wreath and set to work. I fluffed the "pine" branches and gave the sad little deer a new eye with a sharpie. I used a few of the cupcake toppers I got for my daughters birthday party to add even more fun stuff to the wreath. The snow flakes used to be rings, but I snipped off the ring parts to make them easier to glue. I also trimmed the long stems on the holly with mushroom decorations. I used E6000 glue to attach all the plastic pieces, it's a really great glue that has a strong permanent bond. Then I took Mr. Snow Man's accessories off and made new ones. Velvet ribbon was added to his hat and he got a spiffy new collar and "muff"? I think that is what that thing where his hands should be is. Then I hung it on my front door which I now realize needs a new coat of paint.

I feel pretty happy that I saved the little wreath. I am going to leave it on the door for a while, probably just until the party, then I think I'll give back to my Mom as a Christmas gift this year.

A Woodland Birthday...

2010-12-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it, my little Prudence is almost 3!!! I am doing a woodland theme for her party this year. Last year we did a princess theme and though it was cute, I ended up having to take down all the Yule decorations, and then put them back up after the party. Taking down decorations and putting them back up the next day is not very fun. So, here is the inspirational ployvore set I made to keep track of things I want to pick up before the party. Surprisingly, there is a bunch of stuff at Urban Outfitters I love, including that blue owl bank. Prudence is obsessed with owls, so it will make a prefect gift to go with the orange doll house and hello kitty tea set we already bought her. I thought all the little girls would get a kick out of gnome bowling, how cute is that!

I also found an adorable website called Bake It Pretty That I am planning on ordering from in a few days. I make all the confections for parties at our house and I am super excited to have found so many cupcake toppers, baking cups, candles and party favors that will be prefect for my theme. Check out the site it's so cute and will make you want to break out your cupcake pans right away.

The treat sacks will include sliver owl necklaces, snowflake rings, deer hair clips, and lots of candy. I want to think of one more thing to put in the bags, but I am still working on an idea for that.

Woodland Birthday Party by gloomyerina on Polyvore.com

Outdoor Gnome Bowling
$35 - urbanoutfitters.com

UrbanOutfitters.com > Toys & Novelties##
$12 - urbanoutfitters.com

Red Victoria Baking Cups
$3.75 - bakeitpretty.com

Set of 3 Mushroom Lights
$18 - urbanoutfitters.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$3.50 - bakeitpretty.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$2.50 - bakeitpretty.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$3.95 - bakeitpretty.com

Mushroom Ornament
$12 - urbanoutfitters.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$2.75 - bakeitpretty.com

Bake It Pretty
$2.25 - bakeitpretty.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$3.95 - bakeitpretty.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$5.25 - bakeitpretty.com

Bake It Pretty | Baking supplies - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate,...
$3.25 - bakeitpretty.com

PicPanda.com - Upload and Share Images, Pictures, Photos and Flash...
picpanda.com

Delish Beads - 30mm Light Pink Baby Deer Cabochons - Cute acrylic...
delishbeads.myshopify.com

Delish Beads - 30mm Chocolate Brown Baby Deer Cabochons - Cute acrylic...
delishbeads.myshopify.com

Delish Beads - 50mm Blue Hair Clips - Cute acrylic beads, resin beads,...
delishbeads.myshopify.com

PicPanda.com - Upload and Share Images, Pictures, Photos and Flash...
picpanda.com

Stuff This! At Rivet this December!

2010-12-02T12:27:00.000-05:00

Tragic Stitches will be a part of Stuff This! for the 3rd year in a row. Opening this weekend, Stuff This! is one of the most fun art shows Columbus, Ohio has to offer. With lots of lovely plushie pals looking for a new home, Stuff This! is a great place to find one of a kind gifts for that special person on your list or even your self.

Stuff This! IV plush art group exhibition opens this Saturday, December 4th. An opening reception will be held that evening from 7-10pm. I will be at Rivet during the show so come hang out if you are in town. This show will feature 3D plush artwork from over 25 artists. The exhibition will run from December 4th through January 23rd.

I love love love being part of this show. It's so wonderful to have my work displayed along side some of the most amazing plushers out there. Did I just make up a word? lol This year I am debuting a new plushy design at the show, vintagey bears. The show preview can be viewed HERE.

Here are the bears, they are entitled Heidi Bear (the one with pink and red) and LuLu Bear (the one with purple. They will be $55 a piece and you can only get them through Rivet.

I will be having another contest where you can win a free plush later this month, if you have not done so add my Blog, all contests, and shop updates are posted here first!

Happy Happy!!

2010-11-22T12:41:00.001-05:00

So, I've done some holiday colored jewelry for Tragic Adornments. I do love this time of year so much. I also hate cheesy jewelry like the big Christmas bells hung on red and white striped string I used to wear around my neck as a child all December. Oh and this one country Santa pin my Mom used to wear too. So the idea behind these is being festive with out screaming Jingle Bells in your face. Plus you can wear them after the holidays as well. I also have a holiday special in the shop going on from now until the end of the year. When you purchase any pair of earrings and a necklace you will receive the free ring of your choice from my shop.

Bunny Girl

2010-05-17T13:34:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to do a different kind of dolly for quite a while now, but wasn't exactly sure what direction I wanted to go. While browsing at a fabric store over the weekend I came across this lovely plush pink velvet fabric and I knew that second what it would become. Meet Blythe, the bunny girl dolly.

She is super snugly, Prudence my daughter is so in love with Blythe, she has given her many hugs and has stared at her for hours on end. I think I need to make another bunny girl doll just for her.

There are a few new additions to the shop as well. Check them out.

Thanks for looking.

A new addition...

2010-05-07T13:19:00.001-04:00

We (the fam and I) are thinking of making a new addition to our family. This was all my husbands idea actually. I brought up getting a new dog, but we already have 2 and that is really enough. So then I half jokingly said maybe a hamster and then he said no a "HEDGEHOG." So after a few days of interweb research and youtubeing hedgies we decided this might be a lovely addition to our family. We found a breeder here in Ohio and have an appointment for the 22nd of May to pick out out. I've been playing around on www.polyvore.com it's a really addicting site where you make collages of things you want or like. It's mostly a time waster. I made this because I pretty much can't wait to go pick up this little critter.

The kids have spent the past three days "hunting" for a pet hedgehog in the back yard. That's been my favorite part about this whole experience so far. Some of the things I am learning and liking about having a hedgehog as a pet is that hedgehogs are not rodents so they don't chew much and so can be kept in a modified clear plastic tub. They can be fed cat food which is easy to get. They do eat insects but not every day. They can eat some veggies and fruit. They can be litter trained so they don't need shavings in there cages. They are solitary animals so you don't need more then one. A lot of my research came from this site: www.hedgehogworld.com

Speaking of hedgehogs, I came across this beautiful hedgehog print on etsy.

It's by a lovely artist named Kelly who owns the shop thepoppytree I have been browsing her shop and I have to say she has some pretty amazing things in there. Take a peek.

Something new...

2010-04-27T00:02:00.000-04:00

Here are some sneak peeks of my piece for the Hard Labor show at the Sean Christopher gallery here in Columbus. "Hard Labor" celebrates the blood, sweat, tears and joy of creating. See and experience the art of:
Melissa Ayotte
Sharon Dorsey
Cyndi Bellerose McAfee
Missy Conley
Monica Fillmore
Laura Garcia
Judy Chesnut Gerdeman
Mollie Hannon
Kristen Marra Marek
Harvest Rider
Catherine Bell Smith
Alissa Sorenson
Wendy Phillips Yeager
Tragic Stitches by Erina
April Sunami

All members of MAW (mother artists at work) a lovely group I belong to and love.
Click here to find out more about our group.

So on to the photos:

All 3 of the bunnies can come out, but the other parts are not movable. I hand dyed all the fabrics, and painted the box. The mural on the "wall" is printed on fabric and attached to the back. This is my first diorama piece, but, certainly not the last. In fact... tomorrow there will be more. *hint, hint*

Introducing...

2010-04-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

Well this is Dasha and she has just arrived at my house from Russia. She is quite tired as it is a very long flight. Dasha adores Matrioshkas, having tea in the morning and cold weather. Don't miss the photos of Forest, this little guy is Dasha's best friend and he sits quietly by her side as she reads or watches the moon rise. I hope you enjoy her.

Have I mentioned how much I love dolls...

2010-04-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

The dolly obsession for me started when I was a very little girl. It just never seemed to go away. From Cabbage patch to American Girl, from Rose Petal and Rainbow Brite to Ginny Dolls and even Barbie I've played with them all. When I got older the type of dolls changed. I began collecting Blythe dolls in 2004 and then traded those in for Dal dolls a few years later. About two years ago I got into BJDs. Now I find my self lusting after Toffee and Hujoo. No matter what type of doll it is, the love is still the same and dolls will always hold a special place in my heart. One thing I spend a lot of time and dolly energy on is my giant doll house. I've spent years collecting tiny things to decorate it with. It's super addicting and something that is nicely distracting after a stressful day. It is quite large about 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide and my amazing family even lets me keep it in our study. I finally have taken some photos of my doll house, well one room so far. Take a peek.

These are my Dals, Michiko & Suki's in their room.

I am planning to post more photos of my doll house as I get time to take more pics. I hope you enjoyed this peek into one of my obsessions.

Much needed update...

2010-04-13T19:25:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, but spring is here now and my shop is full of cute goodies including some cute bears all ready for a teddy bear picnic. More regular updates coming soon.

Kawaii

2009-12-17T17:20:00.001-05:00

I just finished up this lil bunny and she is so darn cute it's not even funny! She is called Cupcake and she is on etsy right now. Ok that is all for today.

When it's cold outside....

2009-12-14T23:46:00.000-05:00

It's nice to just sit at home and browse etsy. I've been hunting around for silver tea pots. I have a couple, but I just adore them so much and really you can never have enough right? So here are a few I found, plus spoons, tea strainers, and tea cake cups. What else do you need except tea... and hot water.

Winner!!!

2009-12-13T02:21:00.000-05:00

Here are the results, I had 36 entries, which is awesome. Johoanna Boykin is the winner as she was commenter #5. Be watching your mailbox for this bunny very soon.

Be sure to add my blog and or join my mailing list because there will be many more contests in the future! Join the mailing list and get first crack at contests and new plushies my emailing me at erina @ tragicstitches . com sans spaces and telling me to Add You! Thanks again to everyone who participated, there will totally be more contests soon, this was fun.

Just In Time For the Holidays

2009-12-09T12:33:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I Thought I would do a giveaway to one lucky person who leaves a comment on this entry between today and the 12th of December. Every commenter will be assigned a number, with the first person to comment being number 1 and the second commenter would be number 2 and so on. At midnight (EST) on the 12th I will use a random number generator to see who this bunny will be visiting for the holidays. Be sure to leave your email in the comment so I can find you if you win! (I’m happy to ship internationally, so it doesn’t matter where you live).

Brand New Doll

2009-11-12T14:32:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share my latest dolly, Tender. I am having fun with colors lately.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
TragicStitches.etsy.com

Quick

2009-11-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

This will be quick as I am on my way out the door to work, but I wanted to share my two latest dollies.

Both of these are in the shop right now... Clicky Link There are many more photos and descriptions so you can get a better idea of how amazing these little dollies are.

Birthday Toys....

2009-10-27T01:59:00.000-04:00

My Birthday was last week - ish as many of your know and over the weekend I had a party and my wonderful friends brought presents! I took photos of the toys I got.

This Mini Munny is a custom by my awesome friend Sharon, I believe it is a Monkey in a bunny suite with a carrot friend. I freaking LOVE it and hope she does more customs soon. Blogged Here Go to her blog, you must, her art rocks!

From my wonderful friend Laura the Junko Mizuno My Little Pony!!!! It so rocks, I needed this in my collection because I adore Junko and MLP is awesome too. I had been wanting it so bad, but had not gotten it yet. Thank you Laura!!!

From my very cool friend Brett 2 Junko Mizuno blind boxes! I love the one with the 2 girls, it's like buy one get one free every time. lol I can't get enough of these.

This is my favorite gift from Scott, the Buff Monster Dunny, the bunny looking guy in the middle.

There are more photos on flickr, click the pics to see more gifts.
I got other stuffs too, a vegan cook book from Sarah! I needed one of those, thankies and Buttons in pumpkin from my friend Kelson.

I must go make Halloween Costumes now... so much to do.

Lady Bug

2009-10-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

A tiny lady bug came to visit me while I was taking photos of a new bunny plush today. It feels lucky to me. I adore this little bunny that it landed on too. I decided to name the bunny Lady Bug in honor of the visit. Here is a photo of the bug on my bunny and of course of the bunny. I hope you like her... she has deer, crowns, skulls in lovely shades of pink and red and black what's not to like.

New Plushies Just In Time For Halloween

2009-10-19T14:34:00.000-04:00

If you scoop these up fast, you should have them home in time for Halloween!

More blog entries are coming soon, but for now check out my latest works!

Clicky Here To See More Photos

2009-08-31T15:58:00.000-04:00

Tragic Stitches is in a book! lol See

I am so thrilled that I was not only included, but that I actually am featured on preview pages and that I am in a book with such awesome artist as Simone Legno and Charuca! You can see more photos by clicking your mousey here. I am supposed to get a free copy although it may be a while. You can buy a copy by clicking your mousey hereI may have to do that because I am impatient. lol I am about to head to Joann. What's new. LOL.

Delora

2009-07-09T11:41:00.000-04:00

Well this is Delora, she is a fan of all things, gloomy bear, spooky and of course zombie and slasher films. She is such a beautiful girl, even if she is all stitched up and covered with blood. She is quite the little fan girl, showing off her gloomy bear dress and necklace. She could talk your ear off about Japanese's horror films if you let her. In fact she is teaching her self Japanese very slowly so she'll probably need your help with that. I swear she is a very sweet girl even if she is a little talkative and excitable. Don't miss the photos of spook, this little guy is Delora's best friend and he listens to her talk and talk and talk.

Delora has a beautiful gloomy bear empire waist dress with lovely gray ruffle at the bottom. She also has a bright red petticoat under the dress to give it that lolita poof that she loves! Delora has pot hole fishnet thigh highs to show off her stitches and gashes. She has black, white, gray and red hair... but mostly black with red lace bows. The heart on her chest is red lace with a few Tragic stitches on it. Take a look at all the pics, she is amazing and uber goth!

You can find her listing here.

Welcome to my life...

2009-07-07T15:21:00.000-04:00

This blog is going to be much more then just plush and jewelry, I swear it is. To begin the "this is my life outside Art" posts, here is something really cool my hubby and I did last month. We met Liz McGrath! I am such a huge fan of her art and I am getting into her band too... but I didn't know much about that before meeting her. Here is a link to her site so you can check out all the creepy and amazing art this beautiful lady creates. http://www.elizabethmcgrath.com/ Go look, make Ooooo and Ahhh noises I sure did. We met Liz at a book signing for her new book Everything That Creeps at Rivet Gallery. She was in town for a concert with her band Miss Derringer as well. Sadly we could not make it to the concert, we have those pesky kid type things. We asked Liz to sign and desig a DIY art toy for us. If you don't have a clue what I am talking about you can check out Vinyl Pulse for a basic idea of what I am talking about. The idea behind the DIY toys is that you can design your own, but you can also have your favorite artists make a quick one for you if you get the chance to meet them! It's fun and lots of people do it. Liz told us she had never done a DIY figure, but, was incredibly sweet and agreed to custom it for us anyway. I think it looks just awesome!!!!

Photos:

The figure and then us getting it signed.

So that last one is not the best shot... I was so hot and um not at all photo ready. Oh well. Photo provided by my lovely friend Maxe! Thanks!!

Mortal Plush

2009-07-05T11:18:00.000-04:00

Tragic Stitches is going to be in another plus show!!! This is just the image they used as a call for entries, but, Very my last dolly Very, you can see her below, was entered and excepted. She was put in the mail yesterday. The show is in DC and there will be a book with the art featured in it! I am super excited about it. Here are some links: MORTAL PLUSH about the show and ArtWhino here is the gallery.

I am really happy I entered. I totally sent my entry late in the day on the very last day they were excepting entries after they had extended the deadline. lol

Ponet Bunny

2009-06-21T17:33:00.000-04:00

This pretty little bunny is named Ponet. She is something a little different once again, and yet still a bunny. Poor lil girl has no arms, but it seemed to fit easily that way. She is filled with natural lavender scented plush filler to weight her a bit and giver that great beanbagish feel and also fiberfill stuffing. She is made of many textures of fabrics... so she is really fun to touch. She is a sweet and loving bunny that loves to be held and even more then that she loves to be sniffed. Her lavender scent will sooth you while you hold her. Just in case you need to know, yes there are real dried lavender pieces inside Ponet.

She is available in my etsy shop. Clicky link

New Bunnies

2009-06-19T14:53:00.000-04:00

There are new bunnies in the shop!
My favorite is the gray bear with the gun on his tummy. He has these amazing hammered metal button eyes! The orange one with mushrooms is actually a gift I made for my Mom because today is her 67th birthday. I think she'd kill me for saying that, but I think it's great. She still works full time and finds time to cook, garden, take care of her house, kitties and my Dad. She certainly has taught me how to juggle things that life throws at you. I don't know how I manage keep up with 2 toddlers who are not in school, a house, 2 dogs, a husband in college and who works full time and two etsy shops but somehow I do it. Sometimes it is one minute at a time and I do have lots of help from my wonderful husband, but I balance it. The making things helps me clear my head I believe.

And a few more new plushes

2009-06-15T19:53:00.000-04:00

So last week I made 3 plushes, but only 2 made it into the shop, life and stuff seems to have gotten most of my time. One of these little guys is already sold, Craze. Craze is the black and purple one. The purple fabric with the guns and brass knuckles seems to have been very popular so I am sure I will make more with it. Actually I got the fabric from a hoodie that I had that got ruined. I splashed some bleach on it. Why do I always have my favorite clothes on when I decided it's time to get out the bleech or ummm paint. lol So now it can be many peoples bunnies and dollies. lol Here is the photo of the new bunnies.

New Tragic Stitches Doll Very and more

2009-05-28T21:02:00.001-04:00

Look what I made this week...

Yet another addition of see what I did. lol A brand new doll is done, another will be started soon, I hope and I made a Bear or a Mouse or something like that.

Oh and yes tell me what you think, I love that kind of thing. lol

Very comes with a lovely bunny named Flamer. She has been known to hug her bunny when she is feeling morose, which to be totally honest happens most days. She does feel like she is doing better lately and is finally ready to move out and make her way in the world. Trust me this is a big step for her. I thought Very would never end up in this shop, she was so scared to be photographed, but look, she is very pretty isn't she. Yeah I will tell her you said that. Find her in my shop, link below.

Meet Scream Louder! Awww. The robber bear or mouse, you pick!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
TragicStitches.etsy.com

... and more looking please. lol Thanks!

Intro Post

2009-05-09T00:55:00.000-04:00

As always I am late in the game at joining, doing, or finding out about something. Oh well, I am not one to say I am up on anything new... I still have CD's in my car. lol I have decided to create this blog to make it easy for people to find out about Tragic Stitches, to share new creations and new ideas. I will also talk about my life a little I am sure and share photos. I have quite a few lovely friends that are artists so I am sure you will hear about them as well.
I suppose we will see how this goes.

So here is a little bit about me and my creations. My name is Erina and I started Tragic Stitches about 3 years ago. It started as an outlet for me to work out pent up creativity and of course a little aggression. Who doesn't need to sew to work things out, well maybe that is strange but hey it works for me. I have been sewing since I was a little girl, when my grandmother taught me. My grandmother is a quilter and primitive artist who is pretty well known in our home town. She was my first inspiration and continues to inspire me every day. In a short time my little business grew. Tragic Stitches is Dolls and Plushies, with themes that fit into a lot of subcultures. I adore Gothic, Lolita, Victorian, steampunk and Nior styles and all them are reflected in my art at one time or another.

I also have a jewelry shop, Tragic Adornments. I have been making a lot of my own jewelry for years and of course make all the jewelry my dollies wear so I recently decided to start a jewelry line and Tragic Adornments was born soon after. Tragic Adornments Creations is gothic, steampunk, vintage inspired jewelry.

Here are a few photos of some more recent jewelry I have made.

Here are some photos of recent Dollies.

Deer Lolita

Alice

So, welcome and enjoy.