Inventory reduction moving sale at CreativeCritters

Within a few months I'll be moving and I've been slowly but surely packing things away and preparing to move.  I think I've thrown out about 3 tons of garbage over the last couple months!  It is amazing how things can accumulate over the years.  One thing I'm not looking forward to is packing up all my sculptures, dolls, jewelry, and home decor I have for sale at CreativeCritters.  There's just so much of it (over 400 items)!  So I decided to have an inventory reduction sale.  The less I have to pack and move, the better!  I'm offering 50% off all items in six different categories:
Sale Half Off miscellaneous items
Sale Christmas/ Winter
Sale Pen Sculptures
Sale Animal Sculptures
Sale Cloth Dolls
Sale Plush WoW Characters
These are the lowest prices I've ever offered on these items!  You can find whimsical handmade items like this plush Murloc with sound.
 
Or a sweet handcrafted cloth doll you little girl will cherish.
 
You can even find wild (or maybe not so wild) cheetahs roaming the pages of my shop ;-)
 
There's also a wide variety of fun pens on sale too.
 
You can even get a little early Christmas shopping done!
 
You can even find mythical beasties like this adorable Griffon on sale ;-)
 
So come on over to CreativeCritters and browse the numerous items on sale.  I'd much rather sell them than have to move them! ;-)
Thanks for stopping by!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Animals inspire the artwork of CreativeCritters

A quick browse through my studio will be enough to tell you that I love animals.  My Maine Coone, Calcifer was kind enough to pose as my avatar.  And although they've both passed away, my cats Ozzy and Cedric inspired many of my creations and were the original testers of my catnip toys.  Calcifer has since taken up the role as Catnip Product Tester. The picture above shows my fluffy kitty after a hard day of work ;)  I've had pets ever since I was a young child, and simply can't imagine life without animals. I've shared my heart and my home with everything from dogs and cats to ferrets, turtles, bunnies, and more.
  It wasn't until I got Katherine Dewey's "Creating Lifelike Animals in Polymer Clay" that I felt I could sculpt a truly realistic animal though. You'll find many animal sculptures in my studio that were created with guidance from that book.

  I now am confident enough with my skills to sculpt many different types of animals, and have created several custom pet sculptures for customers.  The sculpture below is Rudy, a Collie/ Irish Wolfhound mix.  This sculpture became an integral part of Rudy's memorial.

  I also enjoy creating whimsical and fantasy animals- I have several dragon sculptures, a unicorn, a griffin, and more available.

  Animals have also found their way into my jewelry.  I offer several one of a kind dragon necklaces and bunny rabbits and cats can be found in jewelry sets, earrings, and necklaces.

And then there are stuffed animals, which I never really grew out of.  Once I learned how to sew and follow a pattern I made all sorts of stuffed animals, some to keep for myself and some to give as gifts.  I love being able to make my own teddy bears and share their cuddliness with my customers!

  When I (finally) figured out how to knit, and consequently found some books on knitting stuffed toys, I found a new avenue for my creativity.  I'm now able to create my own sewing and knitting patterns, making many of my stuffed animals one of a kind original creations. 
 

And I'm always adding more, so be sure to check back often!  Thanks for looking!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Leopold the Loom Knit Lion

Today I want to introduce Leopold the Lion, one of many stuffed animals I knit using round looms.  I created my own pattern for this cute lion as I went along, making him a one of a kind creation.  I discovered loom knitting a few years ago and have had a lot of fun making a variety of stuffed creatures with the looms.  Using the round looms makes the knitting go a lot faster, and I find it very relaxing.  I plan on writing an e-book on how to make stuffed animals using round looms, and Leopold the Lion will be one of the projects in that book.  Some of my loom knit critters available at CreativeCritters include this cute unicorn

 

this whimsical monkey

 

 

And of course Leopold the Lion

 

 

With some of my animals I use a combination of loom knit pieces and traditionally knit pieces, depending on the shapes I need.  Figuring out how to turn a ball of yarn into an adorable animal with lots of personality is challenging and enjoyable for me.  And I want to be able to share that enjoyment with others, which is why I decided to start working on a How To Make Loom Knit Animals e-book.  My own book shelves are filled with How To books on all sorts of crafts, and now I'm ready to write some of own.  I've honed my skills over the last several years and am ready to share what I've learned.  So not only will you be able to purchase these cute stuffed animals from my shop, you'll be able to make your very own.  These toys are wonderful for children, since they're very soft and cuddly, and just the right size for hugging.  As always, be sure to keep your child's safety in mind when purchasing any toy.  Some of my creations have eyes which are sewn on very securely, but very small children may still try to pull off.  

Stay tuned for future updates on new stuffed animals and the progress of my e-book!  Thanks for stopping by! :-)

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Christmas in July Sale!

It may be near 90 outside, but I'm thinking Christmas already! This is the perfect time to sit in the AC and do a little online Christmas shopping. Beat the rush and relax this holiday season knowing your gift giving needs are taken care of. To make it even better I'm offering 10% off everything in my Christmas in July category from July 12 through July 25. Simply use coupon code XMASINJULY during checkout to receive your discount. I've got all sorts of wonderful handmade items that would make great Christmas gifts. Below is a sample of what you can find for sale at CreativeCritters. I have everything from ornaments, to dolls, to jewelry, to trinket boxes, and more!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a merry Christmas in July!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Wearable Art Huggable Friends- from yarn to treasures

Wearable Art Huggable Friends on ArtFire.com creates some truly adorable clothes, accessories, toys, and more, all knit or crocheted by hand.  Laura says "Knitting and crocheting help keep my spirit in balance.
There is an excitement in finding a new yarn or pattern. Then, being able to imagine how something is going to look when I add my pespective.
The movement of the hook or needles creates a rhythm that gives me joy.I like to think that I infuse good thoughts into each piece that I make.
My greatest hope is that I deliver a little bit of that positive energy to the person that receives my products".  As a fellow knitter, I completely understand the excitement of a new pattern and the calming rhythm of the needles.  And what she creates with those needles is just amazing.  Some of her customers have said "These are the so totally adorable! You are one talented gal!!! Thank you extra-much fro the lamb! She's a keeper! Beautiful, imaginative and sweet! 3 words that best decribe---YOU and your "critters" LOVE LOVE LOVE 'EM" and "Oh Laura she's BAACK!! I finally have another Ballerina Bunny and she's PERFECT! The shades of blue are just spectacular and I love the combination :) YOUR NEW PENCIL TOPPERS--SO COMPLETELY SPECIAL!!!  Love them both!!"  You can also find Laura on Facebook, Twitter, and http://lauramcgarvey.com/.

Below is just a very small sample of the many wonderful items available from this very talented fiber artist.  Be sure to stop by her studio and see everything she has to offer!

Talk about talent!  And there is SO much more to see in her shop!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Handknit Stuffed Animals from CreativeCritters

animals from my ArtFire studio

I'm on Blogger!

OK, so I'm finally here. I had a feeling I'd end up on blogger after checking out the blogs of my fellow artists here. Now I just have to play around a bit to see what all I can do with this. I have several other blogs out there (MySpace, Facebook, JoAnn.com, ByHand.me), and of course they're all a little different. All have pictures of my work: lots of fantasy sculptures, jewelry, plush WoW critters, knit stuffed animals. Whew! I make a lot of stuff! Come Christmas time I feel like one of Santa's elves. I make gifts for all my friends and family by hand, usually starting in October at the latest. Everybody keeps having kids and getting married, so the list just gets longer! I really enjoy it though. Nothing beats a handcrafted gift made with love.
Of course I've got my fuzzies helpers supervising the whole process. Ozzy and Cedric, my cats, are the world's best supervisors. Especially Ozzy. He has to know what's going on at all times. He follows me around like a dog. He likes to sit on my lap while I'm knitting too. It's his job to keep an eye on the yarn, and he's very good at it!
Well, this was basically a test blog- we'll see how it looks. More to come! Here are some samples of my work!