Stuffed Animals from CreativeCritters

I never really did outgrow my childhood love of stuffed animals, and once I learned how to sew my own stuffed toys I created my own little zoo.  I have a wide variety of stuffed animals available at CreativeCritters, and continue to add new critters on a regular basis.  Some are plush and sewn from soft fur fabrics, fun prints, and soft chenille,  and some are knit in different types of yarn.  My most recent addition is my knit penguin.

I created my own pattern for this funny penguin and even sculpted the eyes from polymer clay.  I like having the ability to completly customize my creations.  I've used polymer clay to make my own eyes, teeth, claws, noses, and other parts for my stuffed animals.

I also make plush teddy bears with jointed arms and legs.  These bears are just full of personality, and each is a one of a kind creation.  I use high quality fur fabric and sew the bears by hand.  Right now I have bears in blue, pink, brown, purple and white.  They range in size from my tiny 7 inch bear up to my big 18 inch tall bear.

And for Easter I've got an adorable knit purple and white bunny rabbit.  The variegated purple yarn inspired this rabbit.  The color made me think of Easter, and Easter bunnies.  When I was little Gramma would always hide a stuffed animal with my Easter basket, and I just loved those bunnies!

And to indulge my love of fantasy I've sewn stuffed dragons as well.  This one was created using some of Gramma's floral print dresses.  The bold bright colors make this a very happy dragon!  This  large dragon is 22 inches tall and she took many hours to sew.  Her wings, claws, and tail are wired so they can be positioned into different poses.

My love of animals certainly shows up in my creations.  I've got everything from little ladybugs, to hedgehogs, cats, dogs, walruses, to fish and birds.  From cute and cuddly to wild and whimsical, you just never know what kind of animals might show up at CreativeCritters! ;-)

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Buttonwilloe creates adorable polymer clay pieces

Buttonwilloe, on ArtFire.com is one of my favorite artists.  She sculpts Collectible Miniatures, Keepsakes, Babies, Angels, Cupcake Toppers, Figurines, Personalized Ornaments, Animals & Whimsical Jewelry in polymer clay.  Her pieces always bring a smile to my face. She's loved playing with clay ever since she was a child. In the early 1970's she began sculpting little bears and other animals. She enjoyed giving them as gifts to friends and family. With their encouragement, she started her business in the early 1980's doing local craft shows and festivals. Button says "Whether you purchase these items for your loved ones and friends or keep them in your own collection, it's my hope they will bless your heart, make you smile, and in some small way remind you that we are all "precious in His sight"."

Her customers just love her work too.  This is only a tiny sample of what some have said (check her Karma to see all the rave reviews). "An eye for detail and quality in buttonwilloe's work. Generous and kind individual and it carries over into her business. Excellent easy transaction which was Customer oriented from start to end. And, thanks button for the extra adorable gift! Trustworthy Seller.", "Absolutely adorable! Lightening fast shipping, special & careful packaging! Each item is wrapped with ribbons & bows. Highly recommend this seller!", and "I was amazed at how fast I got my item. And what a pleasant surprise that I got a little gift to go along with it. It has been a complete pleasure buying from this seller and would be more than glad to continue shopping here."  Button is not only a wonderful artist, but a great person as well.  You can also find her on http://www.buttonwilloe.blogspot.com/. Honestly, I could go on forever about Buttonwilloe- to know her is to love her.  And her work is sure to bring a smile to your face and brighten your day.  Below is just a sample of the cute pieces available in her shop.  Be sure to stop in and see all she has to offer!

Too cute!  And her blog is a great read, as well.  I highly recommend checking that out!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Stuffed Critters from CreativeCritters

Just a sample of the handcrafted stuffed animals, teddy bears, and knit toys created by CreativeCritters on ArtFire.com. Click on any of the pictures to go directly to the listing, or if you'd like, simply view my entire Stuffed Animals category to see all the stuffed toys available. Thanks so much for stopping by!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Give your sweetheart a handmade teddy bear for Valentine's day

I've been having a lot of fun creating handmade, one of a kind teddy bears lately.  Bears like Throckmorton (with the long teal blue fur) and Perdita (with the purple fur) are made from high quality faux fur fabric and stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  In the case of Throckmorton, I also added plastic pellets to add weight and "floppiness".  Throckmorton is 17 inches tall and his sister, Perdita is 18 inches tall.  Both have plastic safety joints in their arms, legs, and head.  They also have plastic safety eyes and embroidered mouths.

Then there are my knit bears, which were created with acrylic yarn and stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  The little purple bear measures 6 1/2 inches tall, the pink, red, and white bear measures 11 1/2 inches tall, and the cream and gold bear measures 18 inches tall.  I embroidered the eyes, mouth and nose for the small purple bear.  The larger knit bears have plastic safety eyes and noses, and embroidered mouths.

 

All of the pictures are linked, and will take you directly to the listings.  Thanks so much for checking out my sweet and cuddly handmade teddy bears!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Loom knit stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments, and catnip toys

A few months ago I was looking for a quicker way to knit stuffed animals.  I decided to try my hand at some of the knitting looms I've seen in the craft store. These are circles of various diameters (mine are plastic) with evenly spaced pegs around which you wrap your yarn.  The looms allow you to create a knit tube with no seams.  I started with a very small loom, and slowly added to my collection.  The smallest ones are great for tails and similar long, thin cords.  As the circles increase in diameter they can create arms, legs, bodies, hats, sweaters, and more.  Some of the first items I created with the looms were catnip toys, which I stuff with my own organic catnip.
I used my two smallest looms to create the head, body, tails, and ears on my catnip dog, cat, and bunny.  I've also found loom knitting to progress a bit faster than flat knitting, and it's a little easier on my hands.  I used the small loom to create tiny hats for some of my Christmas ornaments (I knit the scarves in the regular manner).  And the purple stockings (which hold some adorable polymer clay kittens) were knit with a small loom as well.
Very recently I've been knitting teddy bears.  These stuffed toys are very soft and cuddly- great for children and adults alike.  I think everybody should have at least one teddy bear.  I made the little purple bear first, with Valentine's Day in mind.  This is the sort of gift I would love to get.  When I saw how well he turned out, I thought I'd try my hand at larger bears.  All of these were created with my own patterns.  When my cream and gold bear turned out so nicely, I figured I'd do a slightly different bear in red, pink, and white (another good one for Valentine's Day).  In my opinion, she's even cuter than the gold bear (although he's quite adorable himself!). 


I hope you enjoyed all my loom knit creations.  There will certainly be more to come.  I'm mulling over ideas for a knit dragon, among other creatures, so be sure to stop back often.  You never know what you'll find at CreativeCritters!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Jingle Bells!

These are some of my fun items with jingle bells attached.  One year I got a whole bunch of bells (can't quite remember why), and have been slowly incorporating them into different projects ever since.  I think they add a little more fun to my Christmas ornaments and jewelry.  Plus if your cat likes to attack the Christmas tree, the bells will alert you before she can destroy the whole thing- LOL!  When my Ozzy was younger and more frisky, the sound of bells always warned me when he was getting into the tree.  Below is a sample of some of my pieces that feature bells.  You can click on the picture to go directly to the listing, or simply browse CreativeCritters at your leisure.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

KraftyLady on ArtFire.com

Karen, of Fall River MA, opened KraftyLady on Artfire.com 12-20-08.  Her categories of handcrafted items available in her shop include Scarf Shop, For Your Home, Teddy And Friends, For the Younger Set, The Miniature Shop, Fashion Fun, The Glove Store, Hats in Fashion, and
Handbag Heaven.

Her Studio Announcement reads: "Hi I'm Karen and I own KG Krafts, a wonderful little craft and yarn supply shop in Southereastern Mass. I teach all sorts of crafts and make so many different things it makes my head spin! I hope you will enjoy your visit and find the right item for you or for a gift! If there's something you would like in another color or size please feel free to contact me!
for all your crafting supplies visit me at www.kgkrafts.com."

And her Artisan Biography states: "I make all sort of crafts items from knitted hats, sweaters,shrug, and more to knitted necklaces, beaded items and home decor. I've been in business for 25 years and still have so many ideas in my head that I can't process them or produce them fast enuf!"

Her customers have said "This perfect angel arrived yesterday! I am DEEElighted to have it! As a collector of angels, I adore my latest addition! Thank you so much and I wish you many more sales!", "Guess what came today?!!!!!!! Another angel and she's beautiful!!!! I'll be hanging her next to her friend who has already herself at home here!
I love the cancer pin!! So great to see your delightful reminder! I thank you very much!", "Thank you so much for ALL your adorable items! NOBODY DOES THEM LIKE YOU DO!!!!!!!!!!!! :)", and "Another PERFECT purchase from you!!! YOU have THE best ornaments!! Thank you so much. NOW I've enough to go around :)".  Obviously, this crafty lady knows how to make her customers happy. She can also be found at www.kgkrafts.com, on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.  Below is just a small sample of the great items you can find in her shop Stop by to see her entire selection!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters