Kokeshi Girls Visit the Botanical Garden

Raoul took me to the BOTANICAL GARDEN to take some photos of my Kokeshi dolls I made. I think they look like the girls from SHONEN KNIFE, so I named them Naoko, Atsuko, and Michie! These dolls will be in PLUSH YOU! in Seattle. The opening is Friday, October 8 and you can view (and buy) my plush in NANCY! Please have a look at all the great plush if you are in the area.

Plush You - Kokeshi Dolls

Are you ready for this year's PLUSH YOU? Plush You! is an art show dedicated to handmade plush form around the world! This year Plush You! is on October 8, and takes place at three of my favorite shops in Seattle - SCHMANCY, NANCY, and FANCY! This year I made three KOKESHI DOLLS. I think they came out really cute!




Here they are standing up so you can see their shape a little better. I used fleece and felt and they are weighted with some pellets at the bottom so they can stand on their own. I also added a jingle bell in the body, too!








My plush will be shown at my friend Kate's shop, NANCY. I got to see PLUSH YOU! a few years ago, and it was very inspirational! Please have a look at the show if you are in the Seattle area cos it is really a fun and creative show with many great artists!

Coming Soon To Plush You!

The big yearly PLUSH YOU! plush toy and art exhibition in Seattle is just around the corner and Missy's been hard at work on her submission for this year. She's been working on prototypes for a set of plush JAPANESE KOKESHI DOLLS, inspired by her own collection of wooden kokeshi. Check back at the RANCHO COCOA blog in the next day or two to see the finished dolls!

You + Plush You!

Hey Folks!

Just a reminder...the big PLUSH YOU! exhibit is poppin' off RIGHT NOW! If you are in the SEATTLE, Washington area, please head on over to the NANCY, FANCY and SCHMANCY boutiques and the BLUEBOTTLE ART GALLERY to check out plush creations made by artists from all around the world. You can check out Missy's trio of ELEPHANTS and a GIANT SNAKE that she made! Support your local art scene and support handmade and D.I.Y...we unfortunately could not make it to the event this year as we had hoped, so we're counting on YOU to represent for us! For more information, just click HERE!

Plush You! October 9th and 10th!

Elephants for Plush You 2009., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

If you are in the Seattle area and like plush, please go check out the Plush You! exhibit in Seattle this October 9th and 10th. This year it looks like it is going to be better than ever, with all handmade plush jewelry at Fancy this year. My plush elephants will be on display at Nancy, my favorite little shop that Kate runs! Go in and say hi to her and check out my elephant trio if you can!

Oh And O!

Snake letter O to spell "Plush You", originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I made this letter O to be sent to BLUEBOTTLE GALLERY in Seattle. It is for a sign to spell out "plush you" for this year's PLUSH YOU! show. It looks like it is going to be a fabulous exhibit with lots of great plush artists, so if you are in Seattle, be sure to check it out October 9 and 10 at Schmancy, Nancy, and Fancy.


This is a little detail of the snake's face. I am learning embroidery, so I appliqued the eyes on using a sort of made up blanket stitch when I really meant to make it a split stitch.


My snake O got shipped yesterday! Here he is all curled up and ready for the post office.

In other news, I sent a bunch of new zines to NANCY in Seattle, ATOMIC BOOKS in Baltimore, and BIRD IN THE HAND in Australia! There's also a new shop that I sent to called BENTO in Pennsylvania, it is a cute shop so check it out, too!

Weekend Wind-Down #67

Missy is close to completing her trio of plush PINK ELEPHANTS...just a few finishing touches here and there, and the little pachyderm family will be ready to leave the ranch for Seattle...







FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Sewing up the elephants.
RAOUL - Thursday night's show at the Secret Squirrel.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Being at work so long on Friday.
RAOUL - Working 10 hours on Friday without taking a lunch.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Sprinkle cheese!"
RAOUL - "Junk hole"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I like The Grit on Thursday.
RAOUL - Homemade German noodle bowl last Sunday.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Cat food, lettuce, broccoli.
RAOUL - Apples, hummus, fancy hand soap.

FOOD ITEM THAT THAT DESCRIBES LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Peanuts
RAOUL - Molasses?

PERSONAL RESOLUTION FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Clean up!
RAOUL - More cardio.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Jellyfish, Kristen Hersh, Beirut, Microphones, Aislers Set, Dean & Britta
RAOUL - Mazzy Star, Watercolor Paintings, Iji, Pipas, Dean & Britta, Au Revoir Simone, BARR, Ivy, Desolation Wilderness, Ponytail, Of Montreal, Rafter, The Dimes, Cause Co-Motion, Abe Vigoda, Love Is All, King Tubby, Pterodactyl Squad's 8-Bit Weezer tribute comp.

Baby Elephant Walk

We spent the bulk of this afternoon in the living room watching T.V. while Missy stuffed her LITTLE PINK ELEPHANTS and then sewed ears onto each of them...they're slowly getting closer and closer to completion...

Weekend Wind-Down #65

Missy has been getting a major jump start on making a bunch of STUFFED ANIMALS for the big PLUSH YOU! exhibition happening in Seattle this coming October. The first thing she worked on was this GIANT SNAKE, which ended up being a little over a yard long. Missy stuffed the snake while we sat in the living room watching our new CORALINE dvd....apropos to the movie we just watched, the snake is currently waiting for a PAIR OF EYES to be added to it's head:









After getting most of the snake stuffed, Missy drew up some patterns and cut out shapes for a set of stuffed PINK ELEPHANTS that are based on some original drawings she did...so far, they just look like pink blobs...but they'll be super cute once they get stuffed and embellished:













FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Finding out that I'm in Plush You! again!
RAOUL - Finally getting some crafting done.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Being stressed at work.
RAOUL - Not being at the XX Merge music festival.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Nilla and Oreo playing together.
RAOUL - The crack addict that hit me and Jay up for money in the Stevi B's parking lot.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Sprinkle cheese!"
RAOUL - "Body farm"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Pizza last night.
RAOUL - Vegetarian hawaiian pizza from Transmetropolitan.

FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL / CHARACTER / OBJECT IN OUR COLLECTION?
MISSY - Stuffed beardy guy made by Jenny of Prairie Dog, Inc.
RAOUL - My frowning stuffed "Malfi" from Friends With You.

FAVORITE CRAFTING SKILL?
MISSY - I'm starting to do more embroidery.
RAOUL - Sewing by hand.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Clean up.
RAOUL - More cardio!

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Of Montreal, Elf Power, R.E.M., Danielson, Hawk And A Hacksaw, Beirut.
RAOUL - M Ward, Guv'ner, King Tubby, Buffalo Daughter, Tom Tom Club, UUVVWWZ, Depeche Mode, The Breeders, Galaxie 500, Pterodactyl Squad's 8-Bit Weezer tribute compilation, The Moth podcast.

Anti-Pill

We just got back from JOANN'S FABRICS with many many yards of FLEECE...Missy is gearing up for yet another PLUSH YOU! in Seattle, Washington this year! This will be her third year exhibiting her plush dolls along with many other amazing artists and crafters from around the world. To see some of Missy's photos from last year's exhibition, go HERE...and for more info on Plush You! go HERE. Hopefully, Missy will be able to attend the opening again, and this time I hope to go with her and not miss out on all the fun!

Say Goodbye

These little guys are going to the PLUSH YOU! show in San Francisco at DOUBLE PUNCH GALLERY today. I am sending the striped bunny in the red scarf and the minty green guy on the right in the second photo. I am also sending a cute little scarf with a bunny in the pocket - it is bunnies with scarves and a bunny in a scarf theme. Yay! So say goodbye!

Plush You!

Well, as you may know, dear readers, I was lucky enough to visit Seattle for the fabulous Plush You show this year! I loved all the wonderful plush that was shown by so many talented artists!









I love the mountains in Seattle, they are so pretty!





My pieces were shown at my favorite shop, Nancy, run by my friend Kate. We got to see the shops and plush before the show, so I got some good pictures before it got so crowded that night. I love her shop - there are so many cute things to inspect. Each time I went in I noticed more and more goodies. I made the little green bear and long bunny shown above. Oh, and the brown bunny and scarf above that.

We got to meet lovely Kristen at Schmancy who put the show together! It was like meeting a rock star! I read her blog each day! I love seeing all the interesting plush she finds.





I love these little owlies on the wall! I am too short to get a better angle on them, but believe me, they are adorable!



I love the guys in the back. They have good expressions.



This one is for all the indie kids! Ha ha.



Who would have guessed Hansel and Gretel would show up to Plush You? Amazing detail work on these - my photos do not bring it to life like looking at it in person does!!



I think Kate mentioned that there are over 100 artists shown in Plush You. I am starting to learn who they are and I recognized some of them from blogs and pictures I have seen. I apologize for not putting links and artists names to my photos. I do not know everyone and I simply do not want to get anyone wrong. I do know these are by Cutesypoo. Aren't they great?
Edit: Those are not by Cutesy Poo! So sorry! With a little more research, Raoul was able to find LouLou and Tummie! Thanks, Raoul!











I love the soft colors and use of pattern on these characters. I love the simplicity in their shape, too. So soft.



My Paper Crane, aka Heidi, is so talented. It was good to see her work for real! Look at the detail in the straw! And I love the twist in the third guy's arms.





This little sewing machine (complete with thread) was a favorite of Terri's!









We spent alot of our time in Nancy talking to Kate and Aaron. They are super sweet. We also got to meet Mike and Janice. Oh, and my pen pal Dana. Hey everyone! I even got the soft cashmere whale plush made by Kate! He came in handy on the flight home.



Later that night we went to the opening. It was busy! Fancy even had a DJ, so it was busy and bumpin'! We did not have dinner, so Mike and Janice took us to Noodle Ranch. What a day!