Cute, Spooky Fun

12:39pm: Brandy new plushes in the shop...

1:59pm: Signs O the times...
I've been super lax in posting things here, as well as our MySpace page and just can't keep up with it. So what do I do? I go and make a Facebook page. Well, my husband did and sprang it on me since I am so anti-social I wanted nothing to do with it. Now I am addicted. Whole chunks of my day are spent going back and forth with friends about funny anecdotes or just plain minutia. But that wasn't enough. No.  I made the Cuddly Rigor Mortis fan page on Facebook as well.  It's actually pretty cool with a much better layout for interaction with fans than MySpace ever had. You can post pics, join discussions or just chit chat with me or other fans as well. It would be nice to see you all over there!  www.facebook.com/pages/Cuddly-Rigor-Mortis/52558914485 thanks!

9:58am: CPSIA may kill handmade...
and I'm just finding out about it. After getting an email from ShanaLogic about this today, I started looking around and this is HUGE! Did I miss it all, or am I not the only one who doesn't know about it? For those of you in the latter, it's a new law that will start Feb 10th that is very far reaching and in theory is wonderful. It came on the heels of the chinese toy recalls to help enforce testing for childrens products. HOWEVER, it was written in such a way that it will make it very costly for diy's and handmade items to see the light of day without being prosecuted. (The following was taken in part from an article on Craftzine you can read in full here http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/01/more_harm_than_good_more_on_th.html?CMP=OTC-5JF307375954)
"There are three parts to the CPSIA. The first requires independent testing and certification... CPSIA requires that you put a label affixed to the item that's permanently attached to the item forever. The tag must include when it was manufactured, and cannot be affixed to an item, and the tag itself must be tested as well so paint is not an option.
Finally, there's a cumbersome, time-consuming administrative process. Once you have tested your product, you have to send the certification to the government to put on file; they will send an authorized certificate back to you, which you must send with your product to the retail stores. The stores are supposed to display these certificates but no one knows how that will be done."
What really bothers me is that even though it's aimed at products for children under 12 it may still effect products that aren't intended for that age group -- such as designer plush dolls.

The following pdf from etsy gives all the info on exactly what it is and what we know about it right now. It also has info on who to contact and what you can do to help get a hearing before feb 10th to delay, amend or repeal this legislation.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/media/bunker/2009/01/CPSIA-Etsy-Resources.pdf
Any info any of you know that may help, please post it. If you have a minute, blog about it and let everyone know what's going on. There's great info on Etsy about this, such as badges and lots of websites too so take a minute and search it out. I'll keep what I find out posted as well.
Best of luck to us all!
--Kris

2:06pm: Holiday Show Pieces and some insecurities as well

I always have some insecurities with my work and being asked to do a show only adds a whole new level of insecurity to that. It usually subsides a little after I send the piece out, but comes roaring back as soon as the show site goes up.
Yesterday was no exception once Laura at Rivet Gallery sent out the preview page for the Stuff This II show starting tomorrow. Holy Crap! These are some kick-ass works. Oh ...and here's my little piece...damn! Shoulda worked a bit more on it...commence moping that I'm not good enough...
Wait, another email from Laura about a local paper article about the show...
http://www.columbusalive.com/live/content/features/stories/2008/12/04/ca_a_artscape.html?sid=108
Hey! They mention me! Yay :-)
So for better or worse I'm in these two shows right now and I hope you guys take a look at some of the other works being presented as well:
'Plush It' at Ruben Rat Gallery in Sydney, Australia http://www.rubanrat.com/plushit3.html

and 'Stuff This II' at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, Ohio http://rivetart.com/shows/2008/preview/12.jsp  (Since this show is opening tomorrow you won't be able to see the pieces until then -- but definitely check it out because I've seen the preview and there are some amazing works being presented)

Happy days and enjoy!

3:34pm: Love, family and plushes for shows

I was asked by the lovely Laura at Rivet Gallery to participate in their Stuff This 2nd Annual Plush Group Show opening December 6th. As usual I had a vague idea in my head of what I wanted to do. Jumped right into cutting fabric and haphazardly stitching things together and realized about 2 hours later that it was shit. What a surprise! Then I happened to glance down at this sitting on my desk:

It's a small, old medicine jar that my grandmother kept this array of little buttons and hook and eye enclosures in. My mom ended up with it and gave it to me sometime last year. I look at it all the time and think I should make something with these things. Spark! Again, I started cutting fabric, but with a pretty clear idea in my head which helps immensely if you didn't already guess. This is what came of it:

Baron La Croix or Baron of the cross made of soft faux fur and red velvet. Silver embroidery thread wraps up his arms and legs for a tidy finish. So happy when things work out. Thanks Grandma!

And on top of that, Ed gave this to me today just for the helluvit.

I love you, you silly bastard :D

1:04pm: Special order fans

I just finished up a very special order for some of my favorite fan/friends.

Camo Zombie and

VooDoo Snafu

They sent me the camo, patches, buttons and name tapes and I did the rest. I'm so honored and flattered that people who are helping our country get a smile out of my work. I couldn't ask for better fans.

11:41am:

I'm back from quite the busy week and although everything went awesome I'm feeling a bit below average today. Had a really great time in Connecticut with clients/friends. Positive business stuff and a lovely lunch. Then drove down to Brooklyn to eat dinner with friends we havent seen in a really long time and it was so nice. Next day we drove down to Atlantic City to check into the Showboat Casino and prepare ourselves for the Nine Inch Nails show at the HOB that night. The casino was a bit depressing with all the mindless gambling and one-legged old persons just pumping their ss into the penny slots. But as happens so often, we needed to have a down moment because the NIN show was so over the top amazing I still haven't recovered.

 

 

Just a taste of the show I shot with my little Canon Elph, when Peter Murphy showed up to help with Reptile. Stripped down with little more than some basic lighting they sounded even better than when we saw them at the Izod Center (large arena show). This of course was great since at midnight it technically became our anniversary. Twelve years. Unbelievable. And we haven't spent more than a few hours apart in that whole time.
So why am I so down today? Ed, sweet thing, just came down and popped in our dvd of puppies we had bought in tokyo. Can't be sad watching puppies, right? right...
Maybe Santa Zombie will help...

10:20am: Soap, Shopping and Monsters

On this rainy, windy October day, I thought I'd share some of the things I've been loving lately:

Zum Bars: These were always the best soaps. They smell so good we like to leave them out before we even wash with them. Then I decided to find them on the net. I now realize that I love their whole company! Can't wait for my free catalog :D

Mixed Plate. Liana always puts together the nicest things to spark some window shopping. Now she's got a little Holiday Gift Guide complete with lots of coupon codes all broken down into categories to help you find just the right thing. Check out Festive Goodies and you may find a coupon code for some plushes too ;-)

Silent Hill Homecoming. I love this game. I curl up on the couch after work , Ed plays it and I scream and yell. The monsters are insane and it's absolutely perfect for this time of year. Love the spooky atmosphere and bloody scares. Perfect...

 Enjoy!

5:25pm: Horrordays

I took some time out the other day for fall pictures on our front steps since they're decorated pretty for Halloween.

A little Photoshopping and our pumkins are all carved!

I also set up some new designs in our CafePress shop for the upcoming holidays. Last year I took too long and by the time the cards were up for sale, people had already bought them from somewhere else. So here's a sampling:

I've also decided to work on a Cuddly Rigor Mortis calendar but got way too tired to figure that out. Hopefully I'll get it done before the start of 2009!

Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend :-)

12:23pm: The economy is tanking, but it's almost Halloween!

Oh how wonderful it is to have that slight chill in the air, the days getting a bit shorter and the talk of economic horrors. I'm trying my best not to look a CNN too much and have instead been gorging on our Brady Bunch DVDs and making fun orange plushes. I mean, Halloween is only 32 days away.  So Pumpkin needs to come out of hiding and upon looking at him after a year, his design seemed lacking. So I added some extra stitching, extra stuffing and a cute little bandana butt patch :-)

 

( I also worked up a new VooDoo which will be my last for probably quite some time. He's called Fantome Potiron and he's number 12 in our series... )

1:52pm: Monsieur JouJou and Pinky Noir

I humbly present the next two VooDoo plushes in our one-of-kind series:

number 10 Monsieur JouJou

 

and number 11 Pinky Noir

 

I've got them all set to go up for sale tomorrow morning but feel free to check out their full descriptions now at the Cuddly Rigor Mortis shop

12:07pm: Plush shows and new woven labels -- Yay!

So I've had this nagging feeling that I needed to do something and couldn't figure out what it was...aha! The Plush It show at Ruben Rat on November 12th.  A basic template was given out to all participants and I wanted to do something associated with an autopsy. I couldn't bring myself to look at any Google image searches for an actual autopsy so why not stylize it. Hmmm...grommets are cool, and satin ribbon and lots and lots of guts! So this is what came of that thought process: 

 

He's a chunky little fellow. Can't think of a name yet, though. Any thoughts?
You can kind of see my new woven labels on the back of him too...

So happy with this purchase from Linx Corp. Not only am I paying less then when I used a more generic label but the quality is better too! Feel free to email Teresa Starnes here teresa@linxcorp.us and talk to her about pricing but also visit their website for all sorts of cool products they can make for you Linx Corporation
I swear I am not getting anything from this plug! They were just really cool and did a wonderful job :-)
I hope everyone is well and you don't have too much homework this week.

2:50pm: Two New VooDoos!
 

Hi all! I got some time to design two new one-of-a-kind VooDoo plushes. So I proudly present:

8 Usa LaRue (can you tell I'm getting excited for the fourth of July?) What a happy guy he is...just makes me smile!

9 Beb Citron These feathers are so bright and awesome AND I had some vintage fabric from my in-laws (antique dealers) that matched perfectly! How lucky :-) Again she's quite the happy gal and that top-stitching was really fun to do. She's almost quilted.

Thanks for looking and as always, enjoy!

5:49pm: Holy smokes that's a whole lot of new plushes for sale!!!

Where have I been? Working, toiling away at my sewing machine and computer and have not been able to post any of the new plushes I've made.
So with the first heat wave upon the east coast I finally put some new plushes up for sale in the shop -- www.cuddlyrigormortis.com There's four new VooDoo plushes and some old favorites that you won't have to email me about how to buy them anymore! Let's start with the voodoos, shall we? They are one of a kind (OOAK) and thus, there won't be anymore just like these.  Here's #7:

And as if I don't have enough fabric I went out today and bought all sorts of new awesome fabrics and feathers and vintage buttons. I bought some beautiful black and cream victorian-esque fabric and I'm itching to move onto the next voodoos. 
So please, enjoy! and stay cool and go buy ice cream -- I think I hear the ice cream man now!

6:10pm: PLUSH! the show

 
So very happy to be a part of this show. All the info can be found here
http://www.hellomynameisgallery.com/plush.html
It's chock full of some awesome plush artists that we love.
If you notice, that's my entry on the right hand side.
He's the third in my new one-of-a-kind VooDoo plush series.

The 'pins' are real 3-4 inch long needles with seven different colored buttons attached.

A great collector/fan/friend gave us the idea of a voodoo doll and these are what came out.
I'm really looking forward to making more since it's a free for all with the accessories
and colors. I wanted to have some more made up once I posted about them but I
haven't had the time to play around with them. So please go to the Plush! show
and see some awesome plush art. Thanks :-)

1:13pm: Zombie Bunny and his pal, Brian

 I've been lost in a sea of animation and fabric and this is only a small portion 
of what's come out of it. 
I present, Zombie Bunny and Brian the brain:

Click on each picture to go to the shop page. 

Don't choke when you see how much Zombie Bunny is...
he's only one left of two I've made and that means he's real special. 
That and he took a lot of work. Now Brian on the other 
hand is nice and affordable, besides being real cute. 
I've gotten into doing more one-of-a-kinds 
and customized plushes. Along with Ed constantly drawing up new characters 
I've been having a ball shopping at the fabric store. I'm hoping to share a 
few more new plushes this week, in a line of one-of-a-kinds that I've started. 
So, forgive me for my absence and enjoy the new cuddlier 
Cuddly Rigor Mortis...for now. It's all pins and needles next time. Bwah, hah, hah!

12:34pm: Happy Valentine's New Super Stuff!

Hi all! Ed and I worked (Ed did the work, I supervised) on some new designs and put these on CafePress. Click on each image to go to the shop page and see what we've got.

Zombie love! What's cuter than a bloody heart?

Pissed off cupid. I'm hoping to make this little guy in plush form for v-day...

Punk...what can I say, I love Punk!

Mummy and his little gift.
Enjoy!

9:44am: Open call for submissions!

Hey all you fellow plush makers/lovers out there -- just received an invite to a plush show and wanted to pass along the open invitation from Jemma Williams and the good people over at 'Hello My Name Is' gallery. Check out the info here http://www.hellomynameisgallery.com/ The deadline is Feb 15th so don't wait!

9:57am: Little cutie!

I wanted to make something small and simple and found a little sketch of a cupid I did awhile ago and thought, 'angel!' which turned into this little guy. I'm not sure what it is, but it's cute and it jingles and that's all I care about right now. I've made a few and figured I'd put them up for sale. If they don't sell you can get them at Bazaar Bizarre San Francisco on Dec 15th where I will have a table with some little stuffed goodies for sale. This is only due to the unwavering kindness of MaryJane's Attic and the Crafty Scientist who have offered to set up and sell my wares since I'm in NJ. Show them some love too!

10:34am: Happy Merry Super-De-Dooper Holidays!

Just spent a day sprucing up the webshop and decided it's been much too cloudy around here to keep it dark and gloomy. So it's snowflakes and bones! Gingerbreadman is making his yearly appearance so get him while he's warm. Ed and I also finished up some new illos with the crew in a festive theme that we made into cards, ornaments, etc for all your holiday needs. Santa Zombie is at the top of the list.


With Gingerbreadman a very close second.

There's a bunch more with Woofman and Marshy over at CafePress and here's a coupon code to help out too!
FRFAM2007 good through Nov 27th.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

11:51am: Stuff This! show is online now!
Hey all! Remember the show with Bloody Mary I told you about two posts ago? Well the truly lovely Laura who runs Rivet Gallery has posted all of the plush up on the gallery website here http://rivetgallery.com/shows/2007/11.html
so you can go and buy some awesome plush creations. I mean there are some really cool pieces that I wish I could see in person. So please go, look and maybe even buy something cool for someone you love! Remember the holidays are coming.

11:49am: Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeen!!!!

 Be safe tonight and always travel in a gang.

10:21am: Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary

Ed came into my room a couple of months ago and had the idea of doing a Carrie plush.
He quickly sketched this
 
Which turned into Bloody Mary.

We needed something special for the upcoming Stuff This! show at the Rivet Gallery
opening November 7th and she sure fits the bill.
She's made of lovely velvet with luscious 24" long chainette fringe for hair.
The kind that you just want to run your fingers through. The kind that costs $44 for one doll. Yeah those are some expensive extensions.
Sooooo...if you're around the Ohio area for the show stop in and check her out. As always, enjoy!

12:37pm: New stuff! New stuff!

Oooh how fun! Changing seasons (even though our air conditioner is still going strong and it's 85 degrees today when it should be 60) and holidays are happening soon and I took some time to update my poor CafePress shop which has been sorely neglected by me. Here's some of the new goodies that I put up for sale there:

The new stuff features some of the awesome illos that Ed has been doing for Cuddly Rigor Mortis. I just think they are tooo cooool! The Woofman stuff all contains the signature 'woooo' that I love and Zombie has a new friend along with him now...a sad brain. We were thinking that the brain's name should be Brian. Which works on so many levels. Well that's it for now -- enjoy! Oh and a super-de-dooper new character is being sewn as I type (well not exactly, but she's right here waiting for me to finish typing) so stop by again to see who she is -- thanks :-)

9:49am: We're heading out tomorrow
So Ed and I are off to California again tomorrow for the huge Golden Gals show. Yes that's the beautiful miss Betty White as interpreted by my hubby Ed Mironiuk., hence the reason for going cross country. So if you happen to be near Hollywood Blvd on Saturday night and have nothing better to do you should stop by and say hello. Heck, even if your not near by and have loads better stuff to do, you should still stop by cause it's going to be loads of fun!