Apr 30, 2012

Music Monday! How I Feel by Wax Tailor

Music Mondays - where I give you a taste of the music that inspires me while I bring monsters to life in my studio!
My overhead light burned out and I can't find the right replacement bulb for it. >.< So I deal, and just set the  mood with dim lights and jazzy music while I sew. I feel very film noir when I do this.

Apr 29, 2012

Miscellaneous Crafting on a Rainy Day. :)

This weekend has been chilly and rainy - perfect for crafting! :) I have been sewing Mon-stors to restock my online store, and doing some random crafting with/for the fam, too! I made this Mon-stor yesterday, using remnant bin fleece and a thrift store pillow case for the lining fabric.

Link to buy

Link to buy

I have had that monster pillow case for over a year and have been waiting for the perfect moment of inspiration to cut into it! I LOVE this monster fabric! From the scraps, I took whatever discernible monster bits and turned them into coasters today. I told you, I loved that fabric. Each one of these took like 30 seconds so ignore the crooked stitching, I was just using up the last of the thread in my bobbin so I wouldn't run out during a big project.


Squished Monster!!


Hahaha, I love this monster, he cracks me up!

And while I was pausing to change songs on Pandora, I arranged my pins on my magnet into a little pin-forest.


I also ventured out in the rain to the fabric store today for felt and thread for eyes, and while I was there I grabbed some fabrics on sale and this bird house for my son. It's one of those pre-made ones, he just had to paint it! I think he did a fab job and I am in love with his color choices. You can tell he's my kid. ;) Once the rain stops we are going to screw in a hook and hang it from our patio to see if we can get some new birdie friends to move in. :)


Also today, this Mon-stor was born! I love her!!! :D


Link to buy

Link to buy
Now I am going to have dinner with the fam (spaghetti, yum!), unload/reload the dishwasher, then start on Mt. Laundry. :P I'm going to pull a late night tackling our huge laundry pile so I can have all day tomorrow to sew! I have two more big Mon-stors lined up plus working on a super special Mon-stor for you all that will be revealed on May 1st - as a prize for one lucky fan! Yes, a PRIZE MON-STOR!! Be sure to check back on May 1st for more info on that! :D

Apr 27, 2012

How Lu & Ed Got It's Name

This, kids, is the story of the birth of Mon-stors, and how Lu & Ed

April 25th is a big mile marker. But to be honest, the celebrations really start on April 23rd, and they end on April 25th. What exactly am I celebrating for three days? Friendship, love, and crazy spur of the moment decisions. And this guy.



To tell you about all that though, you need a backstory, and I'll warn you it's kinda sappy and romantic. Trace and I met - gosh, I can barely believe it! - over 11 years ago, when I was 14 and he was 13! We met online, through a mutual friend (Rob! He is my best bud. ♥), and chatted daily on AIM. His screen name involved the name Edward, mine, Lucy. He was living in Oklahoma and I was on the East Coast. We would talk for hours every day. Despite the distance, we grew close and were the best of friends . Every major life moment was shared, as well as every ridiculous detail of our days. As we grew up together, we would talk several times a day usually via AIM, text or phone calls. There were times we lost touch, sometimes for a few days, once for several months, but we always picked up right where we had left off, as if only a few hours had passed since the last time we spoke.

Trace moved many times with his family growing up, sometimes living as close as Tennessee, which was just 7 hours from me - but we never met in person. Every meet-up we attempted fell through. Eventually, Trace ended up in Missouri at college. In late March of 2009, Trace up and decided to fly out and visit me over spring break. It was our very first time meeting in person, and I was giddy! Years of friendship and we could finally meet! I couldn't wait to meet him in person and show him all of the places we had talked about, have him meet my family and friends, taste the southern food I always ranted about, and so on.
Trace and I in Ed's stomach at EdVenture
So, you know that corny saying about love at first sight? Yeah, it totally happens. The moment our eyes met when he walked into the terminal things just... clicked. I leapt into his arms (and I'm pretty sure I heard a few people gagging over the clichè girl-and-boy-at-the-airport-hugging-for-far-too-long thing). My long time friend was now the love of my life, and it happened in the beat of a heart. The following week flew by. We visited the zoo, a kid's museum called EdVenture and traveled through a giant boy's body, dined at Mellow Mushroom (the best pizza joint in the world), ate perlo at my cousin Reathel's house, stayed up into the very wee hours of the morning watching movies, and on the days I had to work, Trace would go to the video store with me. The day before he left to fly home to Missouri, we were sitting outside on the steps, and he asked me a question, one that would change my life completely, as one would ask someone what they thought of the weather:

Trace and I at the Columbia Zoo

"Do you want to move to Missouri and live with me?"

Most people would have a response like, "Um, what?" or "I need to think about it" or "What kinda drugs you on, dude!?", you know? I think my response was a laugh, shrug and "When?"

Three weeks later, on April 22nd, he flew back to South Carolina, and we loaded up a U-Hual and my car with all my worldly possessions and my son, and around 5am on April 23rd, I began my venture halfway across the country with Trace. ♥

My son at a McDonald's play place in Tennessee on our trek from SC to MO.
I wish I had taken more pictures of our adventures on the road. It was a great trip. So much fun, traveling through South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and all the way across the state of Missouri to Kansas City. 986 miles in all. I arrived around 2pm, April 25th, and was greeted by his mom and five siblings. And since that moment, my life has never been the same! ♥ It has been beautifully, blissfully, busy and chaotic.

Trace and I on our first ever "date" in Missouri! We were at the movies. :)


When I first arrived in Missouri, I lived in Trace's mom's finished basement with him and my son while we both worked to save up money for our own place. My son took the one bedroom and we turned the rest of the space into a studio. Due to the tiny living conditions, and as many of you well know how kids have eleventy billion toys, overflowing drawers of clothing and a million sharp objects for you to step on no matter how many times you clean up, I started to search for small space storage solutions to contain his stuff, and was discouraged, because shelves and toy boxes and totes take up much needed floor space we couldn't really spare down there in his tiny room.

Then I had a brilliant idea - what if I just made some hanging storage bags?! I had this idea at 2am (when all the best ideas come) a few months after moving in - and since it was for a kid, what about monster bags that eat toys?! They could hang from the doors, or in the closets, and not actually take up any floor space. I got out of bed and flipped through some craft books my friend had given me before I moved that had tips for sewing items for kids and decorating furniture to give myself a boost of confidence that I could handle a DIY project, even if I had no idea what a seam allowance was. I couldn't wait to get started!

The next day, Trace went with me to shop for fabrics, something cheap to practice on, and with the help of Trace's mom, Denise, I drew up a pattern* on pieces of paper I had taped together, and she taught me how to use her sewing machine (faithful Bernie that I still use today!). And several hours later, on that hot day in September, the very first Mon-stor was born, made with broadcloth and burlap with buttons for eyes.

The very first ever Mon-stor! He looks like he has eyebrows, hehe



I saw (lots of) room for improvement, so we headed back out for more practice materials, more broadcloth and burlap. I was obsessed. I made Mon-stor after Mon-stor after Mon-stor. I totally loved making Mon-stors! Personalities began to develop with each one I made, but Mon-stors were still far, far from what they are today.**


Derpy and lop-sided, but I still totally love this guy!

After posting pictures on Facebook and Cafemom, people started asking if I would make them one, too. After about 10 requests, I had a crazy thought - what if I did this, instead of working in customer service, which I had been working in for 7 years? It was a crazy thought, but Trace was in full support of the motion, and encouraged me to do it. So, then, two weeks later, I quit my day job and bam! I was a monster making knuckle head. I started booking craft shows, and would sew until 4am to fill requests. Denise thought I should branch out off of just my personal Facebook page, and spread out to other social media venues and turn this into a real business. She asked me what I thought about for a business name, and I said without pause,

"Lu and Ed".

because, if he hadn't made that crazy on-a-whim flight to South Carolina to meet a girl he only knew through the internet and phone calls, and if I hadn't made that totally rash, spur of the moment crazy decision to move half way across the country with a boy I had just met for the first time in person 6 days before he offered to sweep me away to the Midwest, then I probably wouldn't have ever learned how to use a sewing machine, Mon-stors would never have been invented, and, the most unfortunate possibility of all, Lu wouldn't be with the love of her life, Ed.


And that, kids, is how Lu & Ed got it's name. ♥



* The first ever pattern I drew up on taped together pieces of paper is still the same pattern that is used on today's Mon-stors, thought it has been converted into a fabric pattern! The limbs have been altered but the body is the exact same as the original Mon-stor. :)

**The three prototype Mon-stors I made for my son in November of 2009 are still in perfect condition after 3 and a half years of non-stop use, going through the washing machine, and multiple kids hanging off of them. The pictures of the burlap Mon-stors were taken today, 4.27.12. and the Mon-stors were created in September, 2009. :)

Apr 22, 2012

Happy Earth Day 2012

Happy Earth Day!!! I hope yours was as awesome as mine! This is one of my most favorite days, a day when we can focus on making positive change and when people band together through individual small acts to create a huge difference! Today it has been very windy and chilly, but the wind died off a bit by this evening so we were able to do our big Earth Day Clean Up! We picked up litter in our neighborhood (which we do every day when we walk our dog, but today we put extra emphasis on it, took a new route and went further into the woods by our house than we normally do, and talked a lot about littering, recycling and eco-systems). At the end, we had about two trash bags full of trash from the woods and fields by our house, and we only walked the equivalent of two blocks. I hope the people who saw us bagging up garbage take it to heart and keep paying it forward and pick up litter when they see it! A little bit of effort goes a long way!

Some photos of our Earth Day clean-up! I apologize for the poor quality, we were using a camera phone. :P We combed the fields and small section of woods by our house, found two grill covers, cat litter bags, plastic food containers, five gallon buckets, lots of fast food trash, and lots more nastiness choking up the growth. We made a pretty good dent in this area, but plan to do another clean up next Sunday! :)

Gauge starting the clean up from his bike!

Gauge and Trace cleaning up a field behind our neighborhood

Me picking up shopping bags and a cat litter bag

This bag had a lot of dryer sheets and dryer lint in it - we took the dryer lint out and threw it back into the field. Birds use it to insulate their nests. ♥
We had a lot of fun doing this today! Looking around with fresh eyes and stepping off the walking trail and sidewalks opened our eyes to environment hazards we may not have noticed otherwise, and from now on we will make an effort to take new routes on our daily walks and veer a little off the path to take our daily clean up efforts a little further! ♥

Last Earth Day, I put up a post about Lu & Ed's green movement. I wanted to write an update about my efforts to continue being as green and environmentally friendly with Lu & Ed as possible! Saving the world and leaving a lasting impression of good environmental habits on my son is very important to me.

In last year's post, I touched on how we had started buying fabrics at thrift stores - sometimes I find raw yardage there (several times with the cut tag still attached to it from the fabric store! Crazy!). My favorite finds are sheets, curtains and blankets that I use to turn into Mon-stors! Sometimes I even snag fluffy robes to make super cuddly plushies. Purchasing from thrift stores reduces a lot of waste that comes from production factories, which is then packaged and shipped to distribution, where it is opened, separated, repackaged and shipped to stores, which throws away the packaging and then has the product on their shelves. A lot of energy, fuel, and waste. Buying from thrift stores reducing the waste from big box factories, plus the lower cost of using found fabrics over new, off the bolt fabrics keeps Lu & Ed Mon-stors awesome and affordable. Today, about 80% of all Mon-stor fabrics are found fabrics! Woot!

Last year, I had just started to recycle boxes by turning food or product boxes inside out to ship in, and recently, if I need to pad a package, I started to use junk mail and fliers to stuff around the product to keep it snug during shipping. Win win on the green scale. :)  While doing this, I have learned that it is the most cost effective way to ship packages, because most boxes sold specifically for shipping tend to be odd sizes, which make the cost of shipping run a bit more. So, my green efforts are also another way to save my monster loving customers money! ♥ I love it! ^_^

I still use the polyfil/diced fabric/thread bits blend to stuff plushes, and I now use my larger scraps to stuff dog beds that I donate to the local animal shelters and rescues, so Lu & Ed is a waste-free operation! I save the fabric bits from monsters and fill bags with them, and when I have enough to use, I sew a large rectangle of fabric and leave a small opening, and stuff the pillow full of scraps, then I sew it shut. It creates a lumpy nesting bed for dogs, that they love to nose around and roll on!  (Cats love them too!!) Here is one I made for Ripley, our dog. Ignore the messy floor around her in the first pic. :)

She tested it out....
Then gave me her seal of approval!

One small change in your habits can make a big difference on your impact on the Earth.  Reducing waste, recycling, picking up litter, composting and being a more conscious consumer are simple ways that help you make a positive impact on the environment, and with every purchase from Lu & Ed, you know you are supporting a green movement with my waste-free production methods and second life found fabric shopping! :D I want to thank you all, as always, for adopting my fun storage Mon-stors and helping me continue to do what I love! I couldn't do any of this without you. ♥  Happy Earth Day!

Apr 20, 2012

Fan Mail Friday!

Oh hai guys! The past two weeks have been crazy busy - if you follow me on Facebook you know that I was doing a live in nanny job last week for four kids. It was a total blast! :) I am doing it again next week, for three short days. Kids are fun. :) While I was there gettin' my nanny on, I unfortunately got super sick. Fever, headache, congestion, cough, sore throat. Ugh! It was awful! I am just getting over the end of it, lots of drainage and nastiness. This week I have been really busy with the new foster program at Daft Crafts, getting ready for our big reverse tie dye event, and working up the nerve to do a super huge announcement for all my fans. I think I will air that next week, along with a radical surprise for all of you! :)

I have been sewing in what little bit of free time I have. I have a camo Mon-stor for a friend almost finished, and a green spotted one to list in my store almost complete, just needs an eye! :D I am going to be scaling back hours at the shop soon and really get cracking on stocking! I miss sewing all day, every day. This year has thrown me so many curve balls, illnesses and losses, and so many positives, including the great growth of Daft Crafts, house hunting and my son's first year of kindergarten, plus so many more great things.

I am ready for things to calm down, and focus on my art and monsters again, though. I can only take so much craziness.

Though I don't have lots of new monsters to show off this week, I wanted to share some fan photos! :) Enjoy, y'all!

From Mrs. Curtains (isn't this kid the cutest!? I LOVE her glasses!):

Showing off her Mon-stor!
 From Heidi, this is the beautiful Miss Z and her two monster friends:
Z showing off her two monster friends, Quigley and Libby!

Apr 16, 2012

Music Monday

Music Mondays - where I give you a taste of the music that inspires me while I bring monsters to life in my studio!

Apr 13, 2012

Fan Mail Friday!

Here are some fan photos I have received recently! I love cute baby photos!!

Benjamin and his monster friend, Benny the Green Bandit!

Aedan and his new monster friend Boop!

Apr 7, 2012

I'm Famous!

Well, not really! Hahaha! But here is a video feature that a website called Cafemom did on me, and my Mon-stors! It was my first time EVER being on camera, and I was soooo nervous. I am VERY camera shy, so be kind! Haha! :)


Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought! ♥ 

A little shout outs to my fellow artists!

The tee shirt I am wearing is made by Allysha of Almond Eye Creations.

I made my necklace and two bracelets. :)

My earrings are clock piece earrings made by Compass Rose Design.

The dollies shown in the Daft Crafts portion of the video at 2:40 are by Mollie Moe's Bows.

The green plush owl at 2:30 is by Frankenstitch Productions.

School house play curtain at 2:08 is by Kinder Play

Apr 3, 2012

It should come as no surprise...

That I am in love with Of Monsters and Men. ♥ The album My Head is an Animal is just brilliant and I love every single track on this album!!! :) I just had to share. This is my favorite song from the album, Little Talks. It helped me through things recently.


Go download this album. It's awesome.

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