Well, really just singular.. Supply.  lol

Up until now, I’ve been using my dad’s fabric scissors (he works in the garment industry) but now that he has a new job and a spanking new company, he had to take all his supplies because they had nothing at their new offices.

I didn’t find out until I went over to the garage and was ready to cut up 40 toys or so and was left with this old pair that only had one tiny spot that was still sharp.  So, I went to downtown with my mom on one of our days off and bought my own pair!  They’re a tiny bit smaller than my dad’s but I’m a lot smaller than him too (I’m 5′7″ compared to his 6′2″ height–I know, imagine, a 6 foot Asian man lol).

I’m so excited to now start collecting my own “pro” supplies!  :)  And look how fancy they look in the box they came in. Nice.

A few weeks ago, I got a convo from an Etsy buyer asking me if I would make her a custom toy… I’ve received convos like this before, but most of the time, they really just want one of my designs in a larger size or it doesn’t end up coming through because the buyers expectations of quality can’t meet the price they expect to pay.  (I love a challenge, but it’s hard to deliver a good product when buyers expect to only pay about $30 for at least 10 hours of work.. ouch.)

But, this custom order went through very smoothly.  :)  She asked me to make a kettle bell (don’t worry, I didn’t know what it was either until she sent me a link–it’s basically a weight that’s a ball with a handle) and I figured that after some minor pattern adjustments, this was something we could definitely work out.

I’m really proud of how it turned out!  It’s pretty big at 11″ x 11″ and I’m very satisfied with the felt applique I made and hand stitched on the back.  Check it out!

Buffy the kettle bell is the toughest physical trainer out there. She’s worked with celebrities, royalty, and CEOs, but her favorite clients are the nice “Average Joes”. She’s loyal and will stay by your side as long as you need her–but really, who would let go of this cutie?

I love how the applique turned out.  I chose a font I liked (I used Rockwell which you can download at dafont.com for FREE) and sized it to what I needed in Word.  To save some ink, when to Font and check the outline box since I only needed the shape of the letters to be printed out.  Then I cut the letters out and traced it onto the gray felt with a disappearing marker (you can buy it for a few dollars at Joann’s.  TOTALLY WORTH IT.)  And here comes the time consuming part, I hand stitched the letters onto the finished plushie with a simple backstitch.  Hulu helped me pass the time.  I watched last week’s episodes of Parks and Recreation and the Office.  :)

Want one of your own?  Send me an email to jane@janiexy.com and I’ll re-list it for you!

Sergio and I LOVE going to the movies.  Now, we’re so busy making toys, we only get to make it out about once or twice a month (we used to go about 2x a week…I can’t tell you how many times we got to the theater and realized we already watched every movie there..).  As you know, a big part about the whole movie experience is the popcorn but I just hate getting those darn kernels stuck between my teeth and gums.  Ouch!

That’s why I created a plushie popcorn!  It’s huggable and has all the fun of popcorn, without those annoying kernels!  It’s fresh off the sewing machine, so I haven’t thought of a name or story yet, but I do know that each of these babies will be slightly different (making yours that much more special) and most likely limited edition.  Here are some pictures!

That’s hand stitched tan felt on the bottom to give it that contrast that real popcorn has.

I’m hoping that I’m getting back into the habit of blogging.  It’s so stress relieving to take a break from that sewing machine in the cold/hot garage–a.k.a. my studio.

Today, I was a vendor at the Long Beach Sunday Market and met some AWESOME people.  I think meeting fellow vendors is one of my favorite parts about these events.  A couple of my favorites….

Pearl Helix Bracelet by Penrose Designs

Silver Elephant Necklace by Lovely and Amazing

I also got asked by a few kids (5-9 years old)  to draw some pictures of my toys for them.  I’ve never considered myself much of an artist–especially when it comes to drawing, but one girl said, “My grandma is an artist.  Do you think she’ll be able to draw Billy the Blueberry like you did?”  I was flattered, especially since Billy is just a couple of circles thrown together in a few places.

It did get me thinking though, maybe there will be a Janie XY coloring book in the works?  :)  Let’s hope so!

Oh and before I forget, let this be a lesson for all your crafters or people thinking about selling your wares at shows like this.  You may have your products, table cloth, display, etc. set up, but make sure, especially when the show is on a Sunday morning at 9 am, that you HAVE CHANGE FOR THE EVENT!

I couldn’t believe I forgot that very important detail, but I did.  lol.  Luckily, I found out that our local Ralph’s opens at 6 am and that they happily give LOTS of change.  Lesson learned.

I’ve been in this weird phase lately where all I want are girly things with a masculine touch.  So, while I was tossing and turning one night, I realized what my bed needed were some accessories!

I am in love with bows right now, so I thought what better way to finish off my bed than to add a little bow or bow tie?  Well, two weeks later, I finally had time in the garage to make a pattern and here it is!  I’m also proud to announce that Janie XY will soon be selling patterns so you can create your own projects at home!

I guess that would come out to be real time, but that’s how I’m feeling right now.  Things on the store front are a little slow, but I’ve got all sorts of things in February coming up, including sending my toys out to a few stores and selling at my first farmer’s market.

It’s now the last week of January, which means that I really gotta step on making some inventory, but I don’t know why I’ve been moving so slow.  Well, whatever glue is holding me back, I have to start getting a move on things because February is only a few days away!!  And I’d like to have some sleep (unlike the time before Unique LA–I was running on about 4-5 hours of sleep a day, yet somehow still had lots of enery!).

Well, here’s a little milestone for me…I now have 100+ fans on my Facebook Fan Page.  Let’s shoot for another 100 by the end of February!  So if you haven’t already become  a fan, please do so now.  :)  Click here to join!

There’s nothing quite like getting a scoop of ice cream or soft serve from your local ice cream shop.  My personal favorite for taste and economical reasons is Rite Aid’s ice cream.  (If you haven’t had it yet, you’re missing out.  I think all their flavors are awesome!  But I usually go for black cherry, coconut pineapple, cookies n cream, rainbow sherbert… ok, I go for all of them! lol At about $1 a scoop, how can you not?)

When I’m hungry, I think of ice cream.  When I’m bored, I sketch ice cream. When I’m happy/sad, I get ice cream.  So, when I was itching to make a new plushie toy, it only seemed natural that I whipped up some soft serve.  So, here it is, in Vanilla, Strawberry, and Chocolate.  It’ll be available in the store as soon as I get a decent picture out of it.

Today is Day 1 of my Paper N Stitch exhibit.  It’s the first time I’ve been a part of something like this and it’s really exciting!  It’s kind of crazy seeing my toys up with other great artists–the kind that I admired about 6 months ago and never thought I’d get to be a part of.  It’s amazing to see the progress I’ve been lucky to receive in the past few months.  What a great start off to the new year!

Check out my exhibit here. And don’t forget to leave comments.

Living in SoCal, you don’t see much weather variation.  Sunny, cloudy, sunny with one cloud in the sky, drizzle, sunny… You get the idea.  I’m not complaining here.  It’s postcard weather everyday.  But, once in a while, I crave a white winter, so for the past 3 or 4 years, I’ve been heading up to Big Bear for a weekend to get some fresh air, freeze my behind, and slip on some ice.  2010 will be no exception.  So you won’t see me here for a few days, but I’ll be back Sunday night ready for more sewing and blogging.  Until next time!

Oh, and whether you’d like to see them or not, I will be posting pictures!  lol.  (If I remember to…)

Valentine’s day is fast approaching and I thought that plushies would make a great gift for your loved ones.  You’re probably going to get  a stuffed teddy for your Valentine anyway, so why not make it special with a Janie XY creation?  I still have a little tweaking to do on this little guy, but he should be up and ready for sale by next week.  

That little pink thing on the right is a heart and the white thing behind him on the left is this little tail with a heart at the end.  Lots of love going around here.