Alphabet Sets

I've put a couple of sets of my plush alphabet magnets up in my shop--find them here. They each come with all the fabulous letters of the alphabet, as well as a little sack sized-just-so to hold all those lovely letters. And did I mention that the letters contain magnets so you can attach them to your fridge, boiler, car door, hot-water-heater, magnetic board, or whatever suits your fancy.

And yes, these were made from my plush alphabet tutorial--found here if you have not already seen it. And the sack? Well, that is a new addition. I made it from Sharilyn's simple and perfect pattern right here--but did make mine a bit smaller so it would accomodate the magnets just-so. And I also customized it with the "ABC" applique.

All the letters of the alphabet in a sack. Really people, what more could you want?

A Vampire for Lucy

This was the little vampire doll I made for Lucy. She had her 6th birthday party today. We love Lucy--especially Beeper. I think she is probably his bestest friend. Also, while we love Lucy, we still sometimes call her Lucifer because she has this streak of cunning and a bit of wickedness that is often surprising to observe in a kindergartener. And naturally, given her dark streak, Lucy loves monsters. So, a little vampire doll to play with and cuddle up with at night seemed perfect for our little Lucifer--I mean, Lucy.

Yeah, it's kind of Edward-Gorey-esque. But I am okay with that because I love Edward Gorey. I made it from Emily's Black Apple Doll pattern you can find here. And then I added on the mary-janes and a little red velveteen capelet--which you can find my tutorial for how to make those, right here. I made the little white felt ghost too, but you are on your own with that if you want to make one of those.

And I might add, Lucy was 100% Lucy today at her party, and 0% Lucifer. Must be the added maturity that comes with turning 6.

The Wind Beneath My Wings

(Image courtesy of Matsutake)

Um. I hope you have been reading Katie's blog. Because, if you haven't, you are so missing out. She has become the wind beneath my wings during this season of crafting masochism. Go to her blog and read this post, and then follow it up with this post. What are you waiting for? GO! There is no time for dwadling while there is still SO MUCH to make...GO ALREADY.

October Toy Society Drop

Yes, yes, yes--I am late with this post. But here is my October Toy Society Drop. It is the Silly Snake found in the sweet book Sew Darn Cute by Jenny Ryan. And I have to tell you this snake was a mongo hit around our house--I mean, Beeper declared the snake his own when he saw it, like they had always belonged to one another or something. So, yes, now there is a second snake in progress for Beeper. And aside from the fact that this snake plushie is big with the kindergarten reptile-loving set, it is also just BIG. I mean, like 4 feet long. With this sort of size, I am thinking it must be at least part anaconda. Which explains why I have this irrational fear of Beeper sleeping with the snake, and keep imagining the snake entwined around his sleeping body. But back to the Toy Society. We dropped this snake on Halloween eve, just outside the Seward Co-op in Minneapolis, on Franklin Avenue. And this is drop number 10 in my year long commitment--I know, can you believe it? You can see all my Toy Society drops from this past year right here, if you really want to. And also, don't know about the Toy Society and its acts of random plushie giving kindness?--learn more about it here--but really, the best way to learn about it is just to do a drop for yourself. You should. Think about it at least.

Shop Update--Loads O' Stuff

Okay--maybe "loads o'stuff" is a bit of an exaggeration. But there is all this stuff + more in my shop. Find it here. Go now--check it out. Go on. And tell someone else about it too while you're at it.

Tutorial and Pattern: Cashmere BatBaby Hat & Beddy-Bye Beast

As promised, I am back with another little tutorial for you--this one on how to make a cashmere BatBaby Hat and accompanying Beddy-Bye Beast. This is from a very early design I made when I very first started making plushies--of course, the design has evolved and been improved upon about 143 times since that first attempt (yes, 143--some of us just cannot seem to get it right the first time or about 142 more times thereafter...).

And one of the loveliest things about both of these designs is that they are made with cashmere--and not just any old cashmere, but cashmere gleaned from reclaimed sweaters. What do I mean by reclaimed? Well, for me that generally means thrifted--or sometimes, old sweaters my lazy friends dump on me so they do not need to bother with the GoodWill donation. Also, what you should know about the hat is that it is reversible--and it will fit a 6-18 month old baby. And what you should know about the Beddy-Bye Beast is that I put a little packet of calming herbs inside of it (equal parts chamomile, lavendar, roses, and hops)--but that is optional really. And also, I have included the designs for all 5 beasts pictured above in the tutorial .
And now you should go make your own. For sure. This makes a superduper baby gift and the hat really is freakin adorable on a baby. Like, squeal-worthy adorable. Get your own copy of the tutorial with patterns right here:
DOWNLOAD BATBABY HAT AND BEDDY BYE BEAST TUTORIAL

And one other thing? I started a Chez Beeper Bebe Flickr group where you can show off your own interpretation of one of my designs/projects--but mostly I started it because I am nosey and would love to see what any of my readers out there are doing with these tutorials and stuff. Humor me. Please. You can find the Flickr group here.

Shamelessly Soliciting Your Votes

Dear and Lovely Chez Beeper Bebe Readers,
Did you know that right now, as we speak, that Sew Mama Sew is asking people to vote on their very favorite tutorials from the Scrap Buster contest I entered my plush alphabet tutorial in? You can vote for up to 8 different tutorials that were featured on the site this month, but you need only pick 1 if you really want to--like, uh, me.

So, would you, could you, vote for me? There is free fabric at stake here--and think of it this way--the more fabric I have in my coffers, the more likely you are to see more tutorials because it does take fabric to make things, and fabric can inspire all new creations than one might be inclined to share with one's readers...hypothetically, of course. Not that I am suggesting I would actually pay my readers off for voting for me...

Is that the crafting ethical conduct committee I hear calling? Excuse me, gotta run...

Oh, and you can vote for me here--if you really want to. (wink, wink)
Democratically Yours,
Holly