Vintage finds and retro handmade--a sweet mix I know you'll love.

This is my blog. To visit my stores, click the Etsy or Artfire links above, or the product images on the right column of the screen.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

More Pom Pom Animals for the Christmas Tree

It's been way too long since I've updated here about my pom pom menagerie, but I have been very busy. I've been making a whole lot of pom pom critters for everyone and thought it might be a good time to share. My best-sellers so far this season have been black poodle ornaments!

In fact, I have six half-finished poodles on my craft table right now, as of writing this, and they are headed out of the US when I get them done! 

I have also rolled out one new pom pom creature, a blue bear wearing a winter scarf. I have made it possible to order a polar bear in white as well (of course, with a red scarf like this). I don't have a picture up yet, but it will look just like this in pure white.

Making this new pom pom creature ornament taught me a few new design tricks, which I intend to put to good use in a few other designs that have stumped me for years.

What you may not know is that I tend to have a collection of alien-looking "failed creatures" on my table all the time. My biggest "fail" of late is a crouching silver fox. Well, it should have looked like a silver fox, but just looks like "some kind of animal." Sorry, I don't have any pictures.

I also have a kitty that has some issues with its hind legs. You may have seen this photo on my Facebook page and wondered where it went. I feel uncomfortable about offering it for sale under the current design, because it acts like it might fall apart at any moment. That is just against my personal crafting code of ethics! I think I may have figured out a way to fix it, though. I really hope so. It is time for kitty lovers to get some attention, too.

First, I've got to finish some poodles and such.

Have you cracked out the Christmas music yet? It's time to get in the spirit. I stopped by my local craft store to stock up a couple of weeks ago, and they were already playing "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" on the intercom. I wasn't sure whether I should feel excited or a little stressed. Christmas is my favorite holiday, but there is a lot of preparation still needing to be done! I guess I hadn't realized it was this close already.

Have a good week, everyone!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Not Too Spooky!

Hey everyone! Long time, no see, right? I've been really busy stocking the shops and training for my new part-time job, but I thought that I should spend some time today updating you about what is going on at Candy Apple Crafts these days.

Since fall is technically here (it doesn't feel much like it, though), I've been trying to get as much fall and winter themed vintage up in the shops as I possibly can. This is a good time to start shopping for the holidays, and preparing for the cold months.

Etsy has the best selection of Halloween themed items in my vintage collection. I have a children's animal costume pattern (for a very young child) from the 70s. It's itty-bitty, which means the finished costume would be absolutely adorable!  I also have a rather spooky piece of medical equipment from the 1910s, designed to frighten away your nasal drip problem. It is still in the box, for display only, and probably was never used.  I also have a set of ceramic owl face macrame beads (you can use them with crochet or on a stuffed toy, I'm sure), and a few other things. I hope you'll stop by!

I also took the time to make a couple of not-so-spooky Halloween monster figurines. These will probably end up being "one offs," which means one-of-a-kind items. The first is a furry-toed monster pigeon. This idea came from a random search that came in to my Etsy store, under the keywords, "Furry-toed monster." I decided I would make something for anyone else who came to my store looking for that. So, eventually, it turned into this clawed and scaled monster pigeon....don't ask me why. 

Basically, this is just me letting my imagination and my crafting scissors go wild! Don't worry. The claws look sharp, but they are very flexible plastic.

This furry-toed monster figurine can stand up on its own, but I'm pretty sure it would not hold up under rough child's play.

So, after I had so much fun making that one, I decided to make something a little more in keeping with the retro monster movies theme.  You all know how much I enjoy retro things!  Since I don't take myself too seriously around here, I chose to reference the movie that makes fun of monster movies--Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Mine looks rather convincingly like a tomato on the back (and I'm pretty proud of myself for that), but it has a comically menacing expression on its face. It's all cartoon and no bite!

Mine is only an unofficial movie reference, since we all know the real Killer Tomatoes wear better disguises! You can disarm mine by playing the worst pop music you can think of.

To the person who just got my movie reference, you get 20 points. High five!

If you have any questions or special requests for this time of year, now is the best time to ask! Leave a comment and I will respond right away.