Another kokoleo banner/pillow update

That last post makes it seem as if kokoleo is kaput. Nope, just scaled back a little. Luckily, I have some longtime customers who keep me in business with commissions. I haven't done a personalized pillow/banner update in a while, so here's my latest batch:

The customer asked for initials so I did it monogram-style.

 

One week I got 2 commissions for the same name from customers on different sides of the country.

I made these pillows as a donation for an auction at my old summer camp Peterkin in West Virginia. They made $400!

 And of course, I had to make this...

 

to bring a little kokoleo into my new workspace.

Now I know how Santa's elves feel

It's been a busy month in my studio. In past years I've stopped taking commissions in December so I can focus on making things for my family and preparing for the holidays. This year though I took on every project that came along, and they kept coming. Consequently, there are kids all over the country that will be getting personalized kokoleos for Christmas and Hanukkah and my kids will be having a fabulous Christmas as well thanks to the cash I earned in the process. Here's my latest batch of personalized pillows...

 

Those last two were a last minute project I accepted this weekend. A return customer who lives in Seattle emailed me to ask if there was a possibility I could make a pillow for her by Monday evening. She was going to be in my neighborhood visiting a friend's new baby and wanted to be able to take her a kokoleo pillow, and if I could squeeze it in she wanted the Jonah pillow for another friend's kid too. We exchanged a few emails to determine the best fabrics and I sewed like a banshee and literally snipped my final thread as she arrived at my door to pick them up. It was nice to meet her in person and see her reaction when I handed them to her (she loved them). Usually I just package my work up and send it out into the world and pray they arrive safely and the recipient is happy. 

Another return customer contacted me to make Hanukkah gifts for 4 little boys. She wanted personalized capes like the one I made for a friend years ago. Here's what I came up with...

Modeled by McKenna...

 Then an old friend from Peterkin, our church camp, called me to ask if I would make banners for each of her family members with the Peterkin "Halleuiah Kids" symbol on them. After a few days of exchanging emails with fabric combination options, here are the 4 we came up with:

And now I'm done with my commissions for the year. Last night I made these chocolate pretzel trees for the staff at my kids' school...

 

After teaching two preschool Mother Goose classes plus improv acting classes at 2 different elementary schools the past few months, I remember what it's like to be a teacher. And after what happened in Connecticut, I remember why it's important to tell people you appreciate what they do for your kids. 

For my kids' teachers I made these tiger print totes - one for Sage's teacher, one for McKenna's, and one for the teacher who found this super soft luxe tiger print fabric (their mascot is a tiger) at a yard sale this summer and bought it for me.

 

She knows I collect fabric because she's seen the PTO displays I've created in the front hall of the school. Here's the one I did a few weeks ago:

 Whew! That's a lot of kokoleo for one month. I wonder what I'll make next year..

Adventure Time! Times Two

What time is it? Adventure Time! And Halloween season too. Last year my kids went as Finn and Jake for Halloween. (you can read my Finn costume tutorial here and my Jake costume tutorial here.) I made their costumes because at the time, there weren't any officially licensed Adventure Time costumes available. Now there are some mass-produced Made in China-kinds available here and here. They even have Ice King and Princess Bubblegum costumes and a slutty Fiona costume too. Still, some prefer the one-of-a-kind variety. While searching the internet for Finn and Jake costumes last month, a woman found some photos of my kids in their costumes, discovered this blog and my kokoleo website, and wrote to ask if I would make the same costumes for her sons. Luckily, last Halloween I made some extra Finn hats and backpacks so I already had an adult-sized version available for her teenage son, but the Jake costume I had to make from scratch. And here it is:

Her younger boy is 10 and small for his age, just like my boy who was nice enough to model it for me.

And here he is with his sister who can still fit in her costume from last year.  I think the yellow I chose for the bigger costume is closer to the actual color of Jake.

And here they are with our real-life doggie:

I never saw a hot pink cow... till now.

My latest custom plush commission started with this drawing by a little girl in Oregon.

Its name is "Marly" and it's a cow. I immediately thought of the old nursery rhyme:

I never saw a purple cow.

I hope I never see one.

But I can tell you anyhow,

I'd rather see than be one.

When I went to the fabric store though, the hot pink fleece matched the color of the drawing better than any of the purple fleece, so I went with the best match. Fast forward two weeks and here it is in huggable form:

Sometimes it's tricky interpreting the back of a child's drawing. The difficult tasks with this one were figuring out a way to make supportive legs and devising a skinny, yet supportive neck.

I did it by giving the cow a triangular rump and inserting a sewn tube of vinyl that extends diagonally from the base through the neck and into the head, then hand-stitching the back part, front legs, and head together.

Soon it will be sitting on the bed of the little girl who designed it.

I never saw a hot pink cow

But now I'm glad I did.

I took a drawing, flat and small

And made it plush and big.

Custom kokoleo bed sheet sundresses

I compiled some photos of custom sundresses that I currently have the fabric to create.

 Since the fabric and bed sheets I use are vintage and hard to find, I have a limited supply of each print. Often, I've found, when customers peruse my sundresses they find a pattern they love but it's in the wrong size. By custom-making them, I can save my fabric for those who really want it and can make a dress in size six months to six years. This way, customers can choose their favorite trim and buttons and get a true one-of-a-kind that they helped design. Check them out in my Etsy shop or email me if you're interested.

A Peek into the Process of a Custom Plush Commission

Two weeks ago I received another custom plush commission and a young girl's "Googly Eyeball Lady" drawing arrived in my inbox:

I have to admit, as adorable and imaginative as she is, I was a bit intimidated by the task of recreating this 32-eyeballed lady. When I do a custom plush commission, it's important to me to stay as true to the child's work as possible. Since this was a very detailed line drawing, I did this custom plush a little different than others I've done - I copied it. Here's how:

First, I enlarged it in Photoshop and printed it out in three parts which I then taped back together:

 Then, since the line drawing was faint, I traced it with a Sharpie:

and place it under white fabric and traced it with a pencil:

  You can barely see the pencil lines here without the drawing underneath:

First, I ironed on some stabilizer to give it added strength. Next, I referred to the original often as I sewed over the lines with an embroidery stitch on my sewing machine. When the stitching was completed, I ironed another layer of thin stabilizer onto the back to seal it and secure any loose stitches.

Here's a picture in progress I sent to to my customer so she could select a fabric for the back:

 

She chose this one:

And here's the finished product:

The Googly Eyeball Lady is now a Huggable Cuddly Googly Eyeball Lady.