Valentine's day collection of felt love hearts

I am very excited to finally share with you my latest project,  and my first Valentine's day collection - "Love hearts". 

I began thinking about making my first Valentine's day collection on Christmas break and started by modifying Plushka's "classic" - 
"I heart owls" brooches  into a slightly different, more summery and girly design with a little flower on a side.

Purple and green brooches are the "classic" design that I've been making for about 2 years and the light pink and peach are the new ones.

As I wanted to make my hair accessories available on the different clips this year, I stitched a new heart design on an alligator clip. They are easier to clip on then silver snap clips, covered with a ribbon and look very cute, don't you think? 

It's a small collection but I do hope to add a few more items with time. There are still a few cross-stitched creations that I thought I will be able to finish by the release date but slightly overestimated the time available. The design, as well as the cross-stitch embroidery itself, require a few more weeks of work.  

So far it got a very good response with my VIP club members who got a preview last week and I would love to know what YOU think about my new creations! 

xxx

Saturday in the studio....

Not that many things got done today but I wanted to make a few more Apple garden birds and I managed to finish them just before it got a bit too dark for the pictures. 

I wasn't sure what colour will go with soft apricot so I went with teal. I quite like it, what do you think? 

All 4 of them are trying to stay warm as it got a bit too chilly today at the studio. Although I love the cool sea breeze, it might be the time to close the balcony doors...

Hope you are having a lovely weekend! 

xxx

My creative space... New collection!

For the last few months, I've been sneaking in some cross-stitch and sewing for the new collection. Developing new creations, when you have orders means long hours but so much fun! I started to enjoy having a little creative space "secret" but I still find it hard not to show what I am working on to you. 

This collection was inspired by the fabric and bright colours of the ribbons with apples I had is stash. 

I designed an apple cross-stitch first, then picked all the different colours of the embroidery floss and found lovely linen colour lace for my notebook covers.... It was such a pleasure creating these items and I really hope someone who will use them everyday will feel the love that went into creating them! 

There are 6 different creations in 6 bright colours that I included in "Plushka's Apple garden" but let me show you my favourite ones: aqua, red and purple!

See more pictures of all the creations in this collection on my Facebook page! 

Visit more creative spaces here

Have a creative Thursday!

Inspiration Monday: Apple garden

If you follow my Facebook page, you probably saw the sneak peek of my new collection - Plushka's Apple garden" If not, here it is:

Click HERE to see my inspiration board for this collection.

It will be all about Apple but I included a Mimi, the Apple garden bird too as there can be no garden without a little bird singing. 

This collection was mainly inspired by fabric by BlueBerry Ash textiles. While thinking through the creations that I want to include in this collection, I went looking for some pictures that will give me a boost of inspiration. 

Source: no.wikipedia.org via Marianne on Pinterest

I was also on the look out for creations by other designers to see how apple inspired them:

 Source: etsy.com via Charlotte on Pinterest

I love this retro drawing too: 

Source: instagr.am via Mondaland on Pinterest

Only a few  days left  until the reveal and I am working  as fast as my hands can stitch... So stay tuned! 

New creations and some changes...

January went by so quick and it was so strange to be away from the blog for so long! I never expected the first month of the year to be that busy... I do have a lot to show for two weeks but at the same time nothing that I was hopping to achive. Maybe I just have high expectations when it comes to the productivity and efficiency! 

Anyway, that's what I've done since you saw me last here with the blanket progress...

- New decorative cushions collection. I had doilies that I was urging to put to a good use and, as I love cushions myself, I created a few to start and there are a few more creations I want to add to this collection  so stay tuned! 

- I wrote an article for the Cheeky Chat, that made it easier to reflect on the last 2 years, my business and what I achieved. 
Am I where I wanted to be?  - I think so.
Would I do anything different? - Most certainly! 
However, these are mistakes I learned so much from and, hopefully, this article will be helpful for crafters who just started. It will be out in a few weeks or so. I will post a link here so stay tuned!  

*********
That article and Cheeky Chats are one of the reasons why I made a decision that there are a few changes need to be made so my business will keep going. The price change is going to be the first, following by a new collections created together with lovely talented ladies;) I will blog about it next week with a previews on what's coming! 

- A few customer orders were finished. I love them so much and for some reason all the toys ordered are pink or purple:) 

I love finding new fabrics for my toys and this one I allocated to the elephants. You may be noticed that I try to have fabric piles for each toy that I make. Rabbits have their own selection, hedgehogs have more forest themed fabrics that suit their shape and colour. It makes them more individual and unique and I love that:) 
This fabric is by Liz Scott, her new collection called "Domestic Bliss". He turned out very cute and is in the shop, waiting for a new home;) 





Happy Monday! 

"Autumn is coming", inspiration board

Autumn is my favourite time of the year! I love the colours, the cooler breeze and that I can start wearing bright coloured tights and scarves:)  As I started working on the autumn collection a month ago, I really cannot wait for it to be here. I put a release date for the early Autumn collection - 26th of January. Yes, it's Australia day and Mr. Plushkin's birthday;) The sneak pick will be posted on 24th so stay tuned!

Inspired by a few businesses on Facebook, it's a first time I am holding back new items and releasing them at the same time! Usually, I would just list them as I create them. It worked well so far as I can see the feedback straight away and it guides my colour choices and stock quantity. This time, I am more nervous then ever but I thought I'll give it a try. The main advantage, in my opinion, is that the choice of different fabrics will be given to the customers straight away, the items will complete each other and fun photo styling session for me:) 

I am always looking forward to my seasonal inspiration board update! {Click here to see the Spring/Christmas one}. It's always a sign of something new that is about to be created, inspiring and fun thing to do for an hour. 

The colours that I've picked for the upcoming collection are reflected in the little cuts of fabric and other bits and pieces that I put together: orange, brown, warm and dark hues of pink, purple and yellow. Natural and organic fabrics, heavy linens and crochet.....

Which season is your favourite? 

Before the Christmas break....

Every year, before taking a well deserved break, I tidy up the studio to free the space from clutter and make it easier for the new creations make their way in to the studio!  Last night I started with the fabric. Well, this is the most pleasant part of cleaning the creative space, in my opinion. Besides, finding out some wonderful fabrics that were long forgotten, it's a great way to see which prints will be perfect for the new toys I have in mind. 


This morning, sewing table had a little makeover and cleaned from the felt fluff. 

Next, I need to update my inspiration board. I already found a few fabrics and crochet to reflect a new collection and inspire me while I create. Last time it's been updated, it was Christmas inspired and I went with pink and white. This season is going to be more green, natural linen and earthy colours.....
I am looking forward to sharing a sneak pick with you after Christmas! It's so exciting! I love all the new creatures and I cannot wait for you to meet them. 
Yes, there will be more then one;) 

Crochet hooks wrap

I just LOVE crochet and very fussy about my crochet hooks. I like the bamboo ones as they are easy to work with but dropping them too often is not a good idea and I lost quite a few of them while traveling. So this roll was created to keep them all tucked in and safe:) It is also very pretty which is not less important! 

They are a part of the "For your creative space from Plushka" collection so they match perfectly with pincushions;)

There is a felt strip to keep them separated and prevent them from sliding out, as well as flap to make sure they are all wrapped up in soft felt and fabric.

There are a few crochet hooks wraps in my shop if you would like one for yourself or as a gift for someone who loves to crochet! 

Happy Friday! 

New creations sneak pick....

In the evenings, in my studio, little Plushka's gnomes are making....

Any guesses?