All the small details on his face and armor are hand painted. This was my first time painting on a plush and it worked really well! It also gave me the solution to something I’ve been tinkering with for a bit.

I’ve been wanting to make a plush version of the spider butt Darth Maul since I saw the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do the markings. Now I have my answer!

I was planning to take some “before” pictures, but I got a little excited to get started. So here’s a little floor plan instead. The window in the upper left was blocked by my small work table. The room I have is fairly large, about 13′ by 11′, but everything was against the wall and the center was not being used.

I am so much happier with the new layout!

The photo below is looking pretty much straight ahead when standing in the doorway. I moved my large fabric storage to the opposite side of the room and used it to create a little “wall”. My room is supposed to be the master bedroom. Since the room we use as the bedroom now is small I need to keep all my clothing in my studio. Moving the fabric storage utilizes the space in the center of the room and creates two areas, one for dressing and one for working. Since the back side of my fabric isn’t pretty to look at, I added a curtain to hide it. I’m also planning to add some adhesive hooks to the end of the fabric storage to hang my purse and outfit for the next day.

(The color on the next picture is the most accurate.) This is looking more into the dressing area. I got a lamp to add a little light for dressing and applying make-up. My shoes are tucked back in the corner.

The craft area is to the back of the room. I have a huge desk as well as a smaller table for my embroidery machine. (My embroidery machine plugs into my laptop, so I need to keep it close to the desk.) I added a curtain to each of my work tables to hide some of the storage underneath. This room is not only a craft studio and dressing area, but also serves as a guest room. The curtain makes everything look tidier for guests. The curtains are attached with hook and loop tape, so they’re easy to remove for washing.

Moving my fabric storage also gave me the wall space to eventually add a storage rack for my embroidery thread. There’s a good amount of space over my embroidery machine, (on the left in this picture). Currently it’s all sitting in a basket, which makes it really hard to find the colors I need. I am going to have way too much fun making a thread rainbow on the wall.

This is looking more the right. Hey, there’s a window there! Both the window and the bottom portion of my storage tower are now accessible! (Those AT-ATs are going to eventually be end tables, by the way.)

Turning more, her’s the other side of my fabric storage. Everything is accessible, hooray!

I am so pleased with how the room has turned out! I still have a few little projects to finish, but I think this will be much more functional and efficient.

Little Greedo is more interested in giving Han Solo a hug than a blaster wound. (Even though Jabba put out a 50 cookie bounty for Han’s capture!)

Momaw Nadon aka Hammerhead. I was a little worried about how his funny head would turn out, but I was pleased with the very first try! I love his little head scarf and toes.

Ponda Baby aka Walrusman. His little fuzzy face is so cute. His arm doesn’t detach, sorry.

Last but not least, Blue Snaggletooth. He was pretty creepy looking when I was attaching his face, but he turned out very cute. I think his little ears are my favorite part.

While we’re on the subject of Star Wars plushes, I have been obsessed with making a Darth Maul. Specifically the spider butt version, because it would be amazing and creepy and adorable. I want to make the spider legs poseable so he can hang off of things. I’m going to have to make time for it one day.

I’m gearing up to start my sewing for convention season! If all goes as planned, I’ll be selling at three conventions:

HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC June 7-9

Dragon*Con in Atlanta, August 30-September 2

NC Comicon in Durham, NC November 9-10

I’ll also be attending GI Joe Con in Indianapolis. On my birthday. Because I am a nice girlfriend who does that on her birthday for her boyfriend. (I’m kidding, I loves me some conventions and I’m getting treated to a mini shopping spree at Kokomo Toys.) I won’t have a booth at GI Joe Con, but I will be bringing some cuddly friends with me for the room-to-room trading, mostly GI Joe as well as some other beloved 80’s buddies.

So here is my tentative list of the what I’ll have available. If you can’t make it to a convention to see me in person, I will have limited numbers of each character available in my Etsy shop.

Princess Bubblegum

Fionna

Hellboy

Rorschach

Harley Quinn

Thanos

Deadpool

Hit Girl

10th Doctor

11th Doctor

Weeping Angel

Storm Shadow

Baroness

Destro

Snake Eyes

Roadblock

Zartan

Snape

Harry Potter

Voldemort

House Elves

Bilbo

Cthulu

Mr. T

Slenderman

Skeletor

Trap-Jaw

She-Ra

Mal

Jayne

Spock

Capt Kirk

Leia

Han Solo

Lando

Lion-O

Ninja Turtles

Splinter

Greedo

Finn

Marceline

He-Man

Bugs

Sea monsters

Elephants

Dragons

Zombies

Cobra Troopers

Excited! You can check out pictures of convention dolls I’ve made before on my Flickr page. I’m also working on refining my My Little Pony pattern, so look for those too!

While people are out shopping on Black Friday, consider saving some of your holiday cash for  Small Business Saturday. Shopping small and local is a great way to keep the money you spend in your community. There’s a great infographic here explaining the benefits of shopping small.

If you’re in the Charlotte area, consider purchasing from some of our great small businesses and some of the crafters who are part of Crown Town Handmade. (If you’re not in the Charlotte area, keep some of these folks in mind for Cyber Monday!)

Beadlush just celebrated their 10 year anniversary and is one of the best bead stores in Charlotte for price and selection. The staff is seriously sweet and very knowledgeable. The owner, Lydia, very graciously offers space to Crown Town Handmade for our free monthly Make Out craft sessions. Even if you don’t plan to make something for holiday parties or gifts, consider buying some lovely beads or supplies for the crafter in your life or check out the already made items on display around the store. (You may spy a few of my plush zombies hanging around the store.)

If you have a friend who is vegan, vegetarian, or eco-conscious I would definitely recommend Ecolicious. Look for snacks, jewelry  bath and body products, toys, home decor, and clothing. (Here’s another place you might find some Handmade Stuffs creations hiding out.) Also look for some beautiful messenger bags by Add Some Zing. The store owners, Marley and Fiona, are awesome and helpful. Make sure to give their sweet dog, Henry, a pet.

If you’re looking for some unique and beautiful jewelry for this holiday season, check out Corvidae Jewelry. Vanessa combines vintage pieces, gorgeous beads, and amazing hand work to make unique and beautiful jewelry pieces. I can tell you from personal experience that her pieces are not only beautiful but exceptionally well made.

If you’re looking for other accessories, check out Stitch Machine. Sarah makes unique and fashionable hair accessories and also offers some vintage items in her shop.

Check out other Crown Town Handmade shops here.

And because I’m thankful for you folks, I’m offering a coupon code for my Etsy shop! Use code THANKYOU2012 for 10% off at checkout.

Now I’m off to a week long vacation full of crafty and nerdy things with my mom!

I’m finding that the rotation of sewing the conventions and then sewing custom orders is really good for me and helps me to not get burned out on doing either. Since I still work a full time job and I’m saving up to open my own store, I don’t give myself much break time. There’s a lot of difference between sewing batches of dolls I’ve made before for conventions and getting to sew all new characters. I find that both help me work on my creativity; whether it’s figuring out new patterns and ideas for custom orders or be excited about the batches of dolls I’m making for conventions. (What’s more fun than a giant pile of plush?) I also always end up getting a custom request for something I wanted to make already and I get all excited! I’ve had a couple of those kinds of orders so far, and I’m so happy with how they’re turning out.

Flame Princess! Adventure Time has so many great princess designs, and Flame Princess was definitely on my short list of the ones I wanted to make. (Along with Breakfast Princess and Dr. Princess!) I’m really pleased with the way her hair turned out.

I’ve been wanting to make a Bossk forever and I seriously wanted to keep this little guy. I was a little worried about getting his gross lizard face right, but I am so so happy with it. The modified head pattern worked on the first try and I always love it when that happens.

This is one that people have requested a lot, and is one of those non-cuddly characters that I love to make. Give Deadpool a snuggle!

Also, I got to make this little guy again.

Now onto more sewing!

Conventions are over for this year and custom orders are open! Custom orders start at $50 and I’ll be adding a new option: ponies! You can find more information under the Want Your Own section. Spaces are limited and I have some exciting orders already in, so hurry to reserve your space!