Bunnies!

Flower-Ear Bunny Nubbin

 Sprinkle-Ear Chocolate Bunny Nubbin

The sprinkle-ear Bunny Nubbins come in 3 different "flavors" for the ears..."Mint" (green), "Strawberry" (pink), and "Blueberry" (blue).

Vote for me in the RNEST Monthly Challenge for August!

It's that time again!...Time to cast your vote in the RNEST Monthly Challenge!  The theme for August is "Comic Books & Superheros" so I entered my "Calvin & Hobbes" inspired tiger doll.

Tiger Doll by KiraArts
(Inspired by "Calvin & Hobbes")

Please take a second to go to the RNEST Blog and vote for your favorite item (which I hope is mine!) on the poll in the upper, right corner of the blog! There is no registration required...just click your choice in the poll and click "submit".
(The deadline to vote is by midnight on Wednesday, August 8th)

What's On My Work Table? Wednesday: More "Hobbes" Tigers

I had no idea, when I made that "Hobbes" tiger doll for my friends' son for Christmas, that it would be so popular!  I've recently received at least 3 requests from people who came across my blog while searching for a Hobbes plush. 

I've been pretty busy lately with preparing for shows, plus just keeping up with real life, church, friends, family, spending time with my husband, and maintaining order in my house, and I do this whole craft/Etsy thing part-time.  The "woodland creature" style (as I call it) has been pretty popular, but it is time consuming, since they require more hand-stitching than my typical monsters.  The heads and arms have to be hand-stitched on.  These tiger dolls especially take a lot of extra work, due to the stripes.  Most of the stripes can be machine sewn, but the stripes on the head have to be hand-stitched, since they wrap around the seams of the head (I forgot to put my hand brace on while sewing and now my wrist is killing me!...Oh the hazards of a crafter!)  

I finally got around to finishing one of the requested "Hobbes" dolls last night.  One down, 2 to go! But I have some other custom requests to do first that are ahead of the "Hobbes" requests in my queue.  Luckily the other two Hobbes don't have to be finished until October.  Oddly enough, both requests are intended as a gift for someone who is having a baby in November. (one guy says his wife is having a baby in November, the other guy says he has a close friend having a baby in November) Strange coincidence?...or will both tigers end up being for the same person?  That would be pretty funny.

Sunday Kittens

Another thing I saw and took pictures of at the farm today were kittens.  There are a lot of them, but the black kitten and white kitten are the two that caught my eye...

This black one is the one I think I'd take home if my husband would let me! He says that we can't get a second cat until we get a second dog, and I won't let us get a second dog until we can fence in the back yard.  He would allow for an "outside" cat, but I am afraid  it would either get run over or chased off by neighborhood strays.  That's why we made Terra an inside cat.  Our other friends who live in town haven't had much luck with having outdoor cats...they've either gotten run over or run away.  

Oh...why can't cats stay kittens forever?
I still love my own cat though...and she's trying to snuggle up with me right now as I type!

Custom Plush: "Hobbes the Stuffed Tiger"

Some friends of mine asked me to make a "Hobbes" tiger plush for their son for Christmas.  He's been really into the "Calvin & Hobbes" comic.  

The image above is from the comic and is what I based the design off of.  In the comics, Hobbes is a real live tiger to Calvin, but to everyone else, he's seen as the stuffed toy tiger in the picture.

I'm really pleased with how he turned out!  I almost wish I could keep him! Well, I can always make another one!  I'm sure I'll end up making another one at some point anyway! ;)

After doing the stuffed lion, I didn't think a tiger would be too difficult. The most "difficult" (ie: time-consuming) part was doing the stripes. The stripes on his back, legs, and tail were machine-stitched. But I hand-stitched the stripes on his head, since they had to wrap around from the back tot he front.

Woodland Creatures Series: Hans the Hedgehog

After having a poll on my KiraArts Facebook fan page, it was obvious the masses were clamoring for my next plush in my Woodland Creature series to be a hedgehog...

So here he is! Hans the Hedgehog!

I've known that hedgehogs are right up there in popularity with owls & foxes, but I'd been putting off doing a hedgehog because I just wasn't sure how I was going to the "spikes" on his back. But I realized that I had some lovely faux fur fabric I'd gotten from the Joann's remnant bin awhile back. And it was perfect for getting that "spikey" back texture...although the fabric itself is quite silky and soft! (making Hans extra huggable!)

Hans did get sold at the craft show this weekend though. But I'll be sure to make another hedgehog to list on Etsy to give you non-locals a chance! ;)

(I also have another fox and raccoon in the hand-sewing stages right now!)

Terra's Sister

There is a kitten at the farm right now that looks almost exactly like Terra when she was younger...

That's because she is Terra's younger "sister". The little girl at the farm has named her "Hannah".

One of the little girls at church yesterday actually thought it was Terra and asked me, "Why did you bring your kitty today?" I had to explain to her that it was Terra's "little sister".

Her eyes are a slightly different color (Terra's are more of a yellowish green), and the edges of her ears are darker. And of course, since she's younger (and an outside cat) she is a lot skinnier than Terra is right now.

But, despite being a "barn cat" she is a very friendly little cat. She still has a bit of the typical barn cat skittishness (just the slight noise of my camera turning on or focusing seemed to spook her a bit), but despite that, she is one of the few newer cats at the farm that is most likely to snuggle up next to you and let you pet her! Most of the other cats barely tolerate people to get close to them.

Green & Blue Little Owls

I made some more Little Owls in green and blues...

All the different colors of Little Owls I've made so far (except the Barn Owl).

Nubbin Bunnies!

I made these Nubbin Bunnies back before Easter...

I made them in order to add to my inventory for shows (which is why they haven't been listed on Etsy) But surprisingly enough, as cute as these little guys are, no one has bought any! So I am planning on listing them in the shop soon. But for now, you can enjoy the adorableness through pictures. I couldn't decide on what mouth design to do for them... so I ended up with 3 different varieties...

Happy...

Indifferent...

and Grumpy.
Back view for the puff-ball tail!

RNEST Monthly Challenge: February (Safari)

This month's theme for the RNEST (Rochester NY Etsy Street Team) Monthly Challenge is "Safari"... so I made Liam the Lion...

He's almost entirely hand-stitched (except for his head)...since I was visiting Grandma this week and didn't have my sewing machine!

So...if you want to vote for Liam, go to the RNEST Blog and there will be a place for you to cast your vote in the top-right corner. As of now, I'm neck-and-neck with Sunshyne Silverwear and her "Leo" pendant! (not that I blame anyone for voting for her. That pendant is pretty awesome!)

Woodland Creatures Series: Gavin the Groundhog

In honor of Groundhog Day today, my next woodland creature is...a groundhog!

One of my Facebook fans suggested making him a little scarf and shovel (because "he's going to need it!" with the snowstorm that was moving into Western New York today). I did make a little scarf (but no shovel). I thought it would be nice to give him a little bit of color. Groundhogs are such nondescript little brown furry things.

Here's a shot of him without the scarf. (above)

"Gee...I hope Punxsutawney Phil was right! I'm ready for Spring!"

And here's a picture of all the Woodland Creatures in the series so far! (except Knox the Fox, who is in his new home in Maine).