Doodle Schmoodle - Days 6 & 7

For day 6 we had to doodle why we are so clever - I thought I'd doodle the process of bringing a crazy idea to life! Here's how I make my plushies:

Day 7 of Doodle Schmoodle was my 'patchwork life' which is quite appropriate for me because I always feel like I'm balancing all the different bits of my life which don't naturally go together!

The 365 Scientist - Day 21

The 365 Scientist ventured into the garden today, between the showers, and picked some of our homegrown produce. Here he is picking the blackberries, which incidentally aren't actually berries at all - they are aggregate-accessory fruits apparently! 

The 365 Scientist - Day 20

The 365 Scientist and I went for a little walk in the countryside this afternoon and it was all very pretty and relaxing. He got a bit upset when he wasn't allowed past this fence over the field to the pretty house, but we explored the woodland paths and watched the ducks on the lake instead. Next time we'll remember to take bread to feed them too.

The 365 Scientist - Day 19

I'm not quite sure whether the 365 Scientist is studying the 22 bones of the skull or practising his Shakespeare! Perhaps he's interested in branching out into the arts. Alas poor Yorick....

The 365 Scientist - Day 18

Now hold on a minute, who's that your having a break with there 365 Scientist? He looks a bit familiar! And be careful with that Kit Kat - you don't want to be getting chocolate all over your nice white lab coat.

The 365 Scientist - Day 17

The 365 Scientist was quite excited by the first Helianthus annuus bloom of the year. That's a sunflower to the rest of us!

The 365 Scientist - Day 16

As I'm starting a 30 day journal project today, the 365 Scientist didn't want to feel left out, so he's starting it too! Here he is at the garden table with his blank journal, trying to find some inspiration. He chose all the blue Promarkers (his favourite colour of course) and my new colouring pencils.  I'm sure he'll share his creations soon.

Journaling - the first blank page syndrome!

I'm very new to journaling and a couple of weeks ago I found myself sitting at the table in my garden, surrounded by pens and pencils, just staring at the first blank page in my new sketchbook! I didn't know where to begin.

So I started searching online for journal tips and I found that some of my flickr contacts were following a free 30 day journal challenge hosted by Janel on her blog. It was nearly over when I found it but I've printed out all the prompts (1 for each day) and I made a start on the first one which was to introduce yourself.

When I'm drawing or writing, I'm the sort of person that likes everything to be neat and tidy, and as near to perfect as I can get it, so the idea of just drawing straight into my lovely new book with a black permanent marker was soooo scary! But eventually I just jumped straight in and the ideas began to flow.

Here is my first attempt just with the outlines, followed by the completed and coloured in version! I just had to make use of my new Letraset Promarkers and Aqua Promarkers - they are fab! They've also reminded me why I loved colouring in so much when I was small.

The 365 Scientist - Day 15

As part of my revamped Fur Will Fly blog I will be featuring interviews with my plushies each month. For the first one the 365 Scientist wanted to be the interviewer, and Plush of the Living Dead was put under the spotlight. Naturally, the 365 Scientist took his role very seriously, and even wrote out his own list of interview questions. Stay tuned to my blog for the full interview very soon!

Doodle Schmoodle - Days 4 & 5

I really struggled with day 4 - the gallery of frames. I just couldn't think of what to draw at all, then I eventually decided to draw some everyday things I love. Those things that you wouldn't normally find in a gallery, but which I think deserve to be there! You've got; Buddha, music, red wine, the countryside, teddy bears, flowers, crisps, cakes and books!

Day 5 was easy - I dream of...Cornwall. It's my favourite place in the world, and I often find myself daydreaming about being there on the coast, usually eating fish and chips or an ice cream! This is my version of Bedruthan Steps, a beautiful beach on the north Cornish coast.

The 365 Scientist - Day 14

Just hanging out! It's chore day and the 365 Scientist offered to help me hang out the washing on the line. Being a rotary line he noticed that it was just like a roundabout, and enjoyed being spun around for a while to prove his point!

Friday is Doodle Day!

For doodle day this week I'd like to share a couple more pages from my doodling books. For the first one you had to name the dogs, so I gave them all very unsuitable names (hope you can read them)! The second one was all about what the cat could be thinking, so I stayed on the dog theme!

The 365 Scientist - Day 13

Here is the 365 Scientist on the bus on his way to work with me. He really enjoyed the ride and looking out of the window at the world passing by. I'm guessing that will eventually wear thin and he'll find it as frustrating and dull as the rest of us soon! I didn't buy him a ticket though, so he's officially a fare dodger! I doubt they'd do special rates for plushies anyway.

Doodle Schmoodle - Days 2 & 3

As part of the doodle schmoodle project day 2 was to draw your pirate self! At first I drew a blank, then I decided to draw a skull and the rest quickly followed. You'll notice that my pirate ship is of the cardboard variety - the best sort of boat there is if you ask me! I'm not a very seafaring, water-loving person I'm afraid.

Day 3 was much easier - all about hobbies. I have many things I love doing but I decided to represent my 2 current favourites - photography and sewing. This doodle pays tribute to my 2 amazing pieces of kit - my Sony HX5V camera and my Singer sewing machine. They've certainly put in some hours and I couldn't have half as much fun without them! Thank you!

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The 365 Scientist - Day 12

As he has been so helpful around the house and garden this last week, I treated the 365 Scientist to another day in the laboratory with me. Here he is checking out the microscope. You might notice he has to stand on a little box to see through the eyepieces and he found it a bit tricky only having one eye. Still, he mastered it in the end. He certainly loves science!

The 365 Scientist - Day 11

After reading though my latest copy of Women's Fitness magazine, the 365 Scientist felt motivated to get into shape. He's devised himself a weights routine, based on the latest in sports and exercise research from all the best journals, and aims to complete it 3 times a week.

Doodle Schmoodle - Day 1

Here is my first doodle for the doodle schmoodle challenge! It's all about 'Me Me Me'!!

I got to use my Promarkers too and am so impressed with them!

The 365 Scientist - Day 10

Time to make dinner and the 365 Scientist offered to chop these fleshy spore-bearing fruiting body of fungi for me (his words, not mine!), and I could hardly refuse.

The 365 Scientist - Day 9

This morning the 365 Scientist set to work reading 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman in time for the book club meeting tonight at my house. It's a pretty hefty read as you can see, but he practised the art of speed reading and managed to read the whole thing just in time. He found the book to be a little bit too weird for his liking, and he considered there to be too much pointless narrative that didn't really coincide with the deeper themes of the story. Turns out he was more interested in the wine that was on offer anyway!

The Fantabulous Plush Team Annual!!!

The Plush Team is ecstatic to present to you our first ever Team Annual, containing 120 pages of plushy goodness!

What is in store for you upon opening this marvelous book:

• An opening by our team founder, Megan Green, describing how our team came to be.


• An insightful, informative, and all-around fascinating account of the history of plush craft by our team co-founder Christina Ward.


• 42 two-page, full color features of our Plush Team members. Each includes photos of the artist's work, and text written by the artist explaining motivation, process, and inspiration.


• A time line of Plush Team activities through over the years.Profile pages providing a comprehensive list of Plush Team artists, including artist head shots and Etsy shop addresses.


• Photos of PT Stitchy, the team mascot, scattered throughout the book in his various incarnations as interpreted by our team members.

The book is full color, professionally printed, and soft cover. It measures 6.75"x6.75" (or 17 centimeters square). This is volume 1 of our Team Annual, featuring the artists from 2009. Our intent is to make this a yearly publication, updating it each year with our newest members and their incredible work.

Visit the Team Shop today for your copy!

Doodle Schmoodle

I was bored at work, and easily distracted by fun plushie stuff, when I found a free doodling challenge on Betty's place blog! When I read that she is a bit on the childish side too, I knew I had to sign up! I've just started journaling and doodling and mine are all quite basic and childish, so I was a bit worried about taking on journaling challenges! I'd love to do both types of drawing - the real-life sketching and the fun doodling, and I'm going to make an effort to expand my range of creative skills.

I'm looking forward to this 30 day challenge, and I hope to share some of my pages on here and in the flickr group (if I'm brave enough that is!). I'm also looking forward to this because I get to meet likeminded people, and to know that it is OK to have these hobbies and it's not something to be embarassed by, just because it's not considered 'proper art'.

The 365 Scientist - Day 8

With the lavender in the garden almost at the end of its blooming period, the 365 Scientist and I thought it would be a great idea to use some in our baking today! We made this rather yummy lavender cake and some lovely little cookies too. The 365 Scientist discovered that baking is a little like carrying out an experiment, so I think he might be baking again very soon.

The 365 Scientist - Day 7

As promised, the 365 Scientist was out in the garden today, digging up the produce and pulling out weeds. After learning all about plants yesterday, he made a great job of it today. Thanks 365 Scientist!

I really must give him a name soon! Any suggestions would be welcomed - thinking something geeky or a name of a famous scientist!

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The 365 Scientist - Day 6

With gardening on the agenda tomorrow, the 365 Scientist decided to swat up with a cuppa! He certainly likes to be prepared.
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Doodle Day!

In the last month or so I have really rediscovered my creative spirit and have been trying out all sorts of new things. One of them is doodling! I used to love to draw when I was small, and I'd often play a game with my parents where you draw 3 random lines on a piece of paper and the other person has to make a drawing out of them. I remember playing that for hours and never getting bored! Well, when I was trawling Amazon for art/craft books, I found doodling books! I never even knew such a thing existed. So I bought a couple (yes I know they are for kids really) and have started messing about with them.

Basically, they give you either a part of a drawing and instructions on how to complete it, or they give you a few squiggles and you can make anything you want out of them. Then you can colour them in! And seeing as I've just bought some new marker pens, it gives me an excuse to try them out.

So I thought I'd share a few of my completed doodles with you each week. Nothing serious - just a bit of fun! And why not?

P.S. If you'd like to buy the books they are: Oodles of Doodles by Nikalas Catlow and Pocket Doodles for Kids by Bill Zimmerman & Tom Bloom.

The 365 Scientist - Day 5

I was feeling a little poorly today so the 365 Scientist and I just slobbed out on the sofa. He decided to use the time on my new laptop, catching up on his data input. He's made a snazzy graph of just how much fun he's had over the last few days. Naturally the day with the highest fun percentage was the day he spent in the lab. Bless him - he really is quite the geek.

Tigsy on Tour - The British Museum

As you may remember back in May last year, Tigsy the Tiger-Moose discovered the magic of Ancient Egypt after stumbling across a Sphinx while out strolling along the Embankment in London. Well, since then he has nagged me every day to take him to the British Museum, and I finally relented! He was so very excited!

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Here he is waiting outside the museum - as you can see it was quite miserable weather so both of us couldn't wait to get inside:

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Once inside the Egyptian section, Tigsy made a bee-line for the prize item - the Rosetta Stone! It was very crowded so I had to hold him up high to see over the many heads. Then he came up with a great idea and we went round the back!

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Tigsy had the usual morbid fascination with the mummies too!

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Overall, he had a great day and can't wait to go back to London and explore more museums!

The 365 Scientist - Day 4

Today the 365 Scientist came with me to his favourite place - the laboratory! He thoroughly enjoyed himself and spent all day helping me with my experiments and messing about with chemicals. He learnt a lot and can't wait to go back soon.
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The 365 Scientist - Day 3

It was a Goldilocks day today (not too hot, not too cold, but just right), so we decided to go for a walk around our home town, and ended up in the park. The 365 Scientist noticed a contraption 'oscillating like a pendulum' as he put it, and insisted on having a closer look. It was of course a small childs safety swing, but he wasn't to know that. After 15 minutes of 'research' on this contraption, I had to drag him away.

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The 365 Scientist - Day 2

Day 2 and the 365 Scientist was a little perturbed that we weren't off for another day out, so I had to explain to him that not every day can be fun and games! He took the news well and went to work finding things he can investigate and odd jobs he can do around the house. As the sun was shining he went out into the garden poking at this and prodding at that, and decided to make a list of jobs that needed doing. He seems keen so it should be great having an extra pair of hands around the place!

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The 365 Scientist - Day 1

On day 1 the 365 Scientist (nameless as yet) was treated to a day out by the coast. It was his first trip out of the house and he was incredibly excited. Being a scientist, he wanted to investigate everything the seaside had to offer, so of course we ended up eating fish and chips on the beach - perfect!
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The 365 Toy Project

I had heard about the 365 Project which involves taking a photograph every day for a year, and I decided to give it a go. I was searching on flickr for groups and I luckily stumbled across the 365 Toy Project - like the 365 Project but with toys!! How perfect for me, as I love taking my plushies for days out.

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So, I set to work designing a new plushie and decided to make a scientist (just like me!). I can now reveal my 365 Scientist plushie, complete with white coat...stay tuned for day 1!

The Blog is Back!!

Here goes...another attempt to get this blog back up and running! And this time it will happen - I promise (fingers crossed). I have lots of new fun ideas for the blog so please stick with me!

There will be regular catch-ups with Tigsy the Tiger-Moose on tour, my favourite sellers, feature creature and many new posts too, including giveaways (and if that isn't reason enough to stick around, I don't know what is!).