Long Overdue Update, with Travel Pics

Hello everyone! I got back from Colorado earlier this month, and totally forgot to update the blog since then. Oops! Guess my brain is still in vacation mode.

 I had a wonderful time and took a lot of pictures. I don't think I could turn around without seeing something I wanted to capture in a photo. I'll only share a couple of pictures here. 


Call it "Colorado Spring" inspiration, but these views make me want to create something, like a painting or print, maybe.  I don't know, yet.  I think it should be more pom-pom creatures, since you may be anxiously awaiting them!

Unfortunately for all of you, I've only been making progress on my writing projects since I got back.  I plan to list something else in the coming week.

In fact, two days ago, I bought some brown felt on sale at Wally-world. Unfortunately, I forgot and left it the cash register!  I guess I made a donation to the store. :P

Seriously, though, I'm trying to figure out which animal I'm trying next. I wrote down all the ideas suggested during the contest, and I'll try those, first.

Off to look into it! I'm sorting through my vintage stash, too, for a few cool things to share with you later.

Contest Winner Pictures!

I thought I'd hop on over here to show you the prize for the first Menagerie Contest Giveaway.  The tip was "A Cute Bunny."  I hope I have accomplished that with this one.  I was going for something not so "Easter," since one of my other entries was an Easter Bunny.  I want to be fair, and also I want my work to be the kind of thing a person could display year-round if desired.

This was a very labor-intensive idea, mainly because of the legs, which had to be sculpted out of flat sheets of felt. I also had to trim the pom poms to make it look less "lumpy."  Of all the things I have made, this is the closest I have come to true sculpture, using construction techniques inspired by the little figures used in 60s animated specials like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I actually saw a few of those movie production figures on the Antiques Roadshow awhile ago.

 Because of the labor intensity, I am wondering if I will ever put one in my shop. I could do these, but can't produce them on the scale of my poodles.  This bunny would be costly compared to my other ones.  Would you buy a bunny that is about one to two inches tall, and priced at around $20 to $25?

Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, It's back to the drawing board to find a more mass-marketable bunny. :)  Thanks for reading!

Announcing Menagerie Contest Results

I received 14 entries in the contest since it began, so to choose a winner, I numbered them in chronological order, 1-14, and input that number (1 minimum, 14 maximum) in an online random number generator.

The result was "a cute bunny," which happened to be number 14.  Congratulations to Whitney at Whitney Sews!

This has been fun, so I'm thinking about running the contest again in a little while!

Now I need to get started crafting a bunny rabbit... :)

Artfire Patron Discount, Contest Update, and More!

Just popping in here to update everyone on a few things going on in my stores.  The title of this post doesn't cover everything, so keep reading!

First off, this past week, Artfire rolled out the new Patron Discount program.  If you are a signed-in buyer, you will see discounted prices in stores that have opted-in. These discounts are only available to people who have an account with Artfire, and they are invisible to everybody else.  For instance, here's what signed-in customers would see if they came to my store:

If you aren't a registered buyer at Artfire, it is easy to sign-up.  You don't have much information to fill out, and voila!  You can even sign in with your Facebook account.  Here's what the log-in page looks like on Artfire:

This is only one of the two discounts available in my store on Artfire.  In addition to this new Patron Discount, there is also a small discount for leaving a comment on an item!  Just look for the comment form at the bottom of each item page.  You can only cash in on the discount for four hours after you leave the comment.  It is a smaller discount than the Patron one, but it's something!

Now for the Menagerie Contest Update...

I have continued to receive entries for the contest, and currently have 11 entries.  Most have come from Facebook.  All of you Twitter users better get busy!  Let me emphasize the basic rules again:

• Got an idea for a pom pom or felt creature you'd like to see me make?  You could win it!
• Tweet your entry @CandyApplCrafts and tag it #MenagerieContest  in case I somehow miss it.
• Write your entry on my Facebook fanpage wall.  You can click on the Facebook module to the right, here on the blog, to go there.
• Yes, you can post the same idea on both Facebook and Twitter at the same time.  Just don't post it more than once on these accounts, in one day.  Theoretically, you could post your idea twice a day, once on each site, every day until the end of the contest.  This would increase your chances of winning, too!
• Contest entries end 10 p.m. US Central Time, March 3, 2012.

Hope to hear from you soon!