Lu and Ed

My son, the entrepreneur!

2012-02-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

My six year old son started an entrepreneurship called Painted Pennies. He draws mustaches and hats on pennies, and sells them for $0.50. During his grand opening yesterday, he accepted donation purchases - the pennies were free, you just donated whatever you had to his piggy bank fund to help him get started with his business so he could expand to other coins. ♥ Oh, and he's open 24/7.

Just had to share. I love that kid. ;)

** By way, it's washable marker, and it wipes right off the money.

Fan Mail Friday!

2012-01-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ah, finally! I can post some of the AWESOME photos I got in the past few weeks! I have them saved on all different computers and devices so it took a while to gather them up, since I have been so busy running around with classes and events at Daft Crafts, restocking my online store, restocking the two brick and mortar stores I sell in, being a mom, and trying to buy a house! Haha! So, here is several pieces of Fan Mail, but I have a lot more I need to organize and post as well! :D

Your monsters were a huge hit this Christmas!!
my son...Christmas morning:)

my beautiful 1 year old nephew with his...it's yummy i guess cause he chewed that horn all day :)

and once again...my son. Christmas night...and this is how it's been every night since :)

Thank you so much!! They are getting much love here :)

My dd LOVES her monster!! Thanks Cody :) She is extra cuddly.

Kayla's cuties with their plushes and sun glass Mon-stor

Cute little Huddy enjoying his monster at bedtime!

I agree! Do you?

2012-01-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

Leave me a comment, or click a ♥ below this post if you agree with this!

I know it's definitely be true for me, in my ventures as a small business owner and indie artist.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

So, it's a bit late... but.. Happy New Year!

I hope you all had excellent, wonderful holidays!

Ours were very low key, no traveling or anything. Quiet time at home with family and such! My son loved having a break from kindergarten and was reluctant to go back, haha! He read a lot of books over break and got into astronomy with his new telescope he got for Christmas! I did a lot of sewing over break (if you are a fan on Facebook, I am sure you saw my cute new breed of monsters!) and came we got a foster pooch, who has been named Wookie!

She is a lab/terrier mix, about 2 years old, and so freaking sweet! I was only supposed to foster her.. But.. she is so perfect for our family and such a sweet girl we are thinking about adopting her! :) We are fostering her through Unleashed Rescue, and if you are in West Central Missouri they are always looking for foster/adopters! Such a great organization! :) Wookie has definitely brightened our days! And on the many walks outside she needs, I have found myself more energized and inspired to create colorful, fun new monsters! So I think it's a win win all around. :) I love rescuing animals, it just brings such a positive and great energy into your life! It definitely revitalized my creativity. ♥

So, anyway! I guess you guys are here to see the monsters of 2012, right? Well, here are the plushes I have made since the beginning of the year. :) A little more furry, a lot more cute, and a WHOLE lot more character! I love the direction they are going in! :)

What do you think of the furry new look they have? Like it? Love it? Don't like it? Leave a comment and let me know! I will be working on restocking Mon-stors soon too! Here was my first experiment with fur on a Mon-stor. Haha, I feel like I should have added pit hair to him. ;)

So there you have it! An update on me, my new foster pooch, the family and the monsters!! I have a full size laptop I can take up to Daft Crafts with me now I will be able to write blog posts a lot more easily, so expect to see more soon! :) I have missed blogging on here! :) Facebook and Twitter just doesn't allow the characters for updates like these. ;)

The Very Best Monster Of 2011

2011-12-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

I've made a lot of really awesome monsters this year, both of my own design and customer requests. I ♥love♥ making monsters, and tonight, I decided I'd make my son a super special excellent one of a kind monster to go to bed with on Christmas Eve, and I gotta say, I think this is the very best monster of 2011!

He's a hit! :) My son loves him so very much! He named him George. :} That's my dad's name.♥

I have a lot of things (big, monstrous things!) planned for 2012, and I cannot wait to show you all! I have been very busy make new plushies and getting ready to restock Scrivner's Creative Center in Leavenworth with an army of cute mini plushies like this one (but none can compare to the awesomeness that is George!) on Tuesday, then on to restocking the online shop with Mon-stors and plushies galore! I won't be accepting custom orders for quite a while (sorry!) but check the shop often to see what new stuff I have listed, and be sure to fan us on Facebook!

Wishing you all the very merriest and happiest holidays ever!!!

Love, Cody, the mon-stor maker. ♥

Tried My Hand At Something New!

2011-12-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

Last night at Daft Crafts, one of the artists in the store, Allysha Woodson, hosted a session/lesson on making jewelry - stretchy bracelets and earrings! :) It was a lot of fun to experiment with a new medium and focus on something besides monsters for a little while! :) But I am ready to finish all the holiday orders this week and start restocking the online shop for all you lovelies out there! :)

Here are pictures from last night!

My son made a set for his kindergarten teacher. Didn't they turn out awesome?! He picked out the beads, the pattern, everything! And helped bend the earrings together and all that.

I'm so proud of my crafty little dude! :)

I didn't make earrings, but I did make a cute little stretchy bracelet. My son came upon jewelry more naturally than I did - I dropped my string and spilled my beads off 8 times, and made it too loose three times! Oi! :) But here is a photo of mine! I went with earth-y colored glass beads and some metal touches through out. I really like how it came out! :)

:) Allysha is such a patient and fun teacher! She makes jewelry, beads, and clay bowls/mugs! You can see her stuff here. <-- LIKE her Facebook page! She is such a sweet and awesome person, full of good energy and positivity. :) I'm so glad I met her!

20 Things I'm Thankful For.

2011-11-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

I categorized. :)

Family:

1. My adorable, brilliant, hilarious son. He can always makes me laugh. Just moments after he makes me want to scream.
2. My fiancè. I moved half-way across the country on a whim to be with him after being good friends for about 9 years, and it was the best decision I ever made.

3. My family. They're all crazy, but I love 'em anyway!

4. My future in-laws are all very epically awesome and I love them dearly. I really lucked up. ;)

5. Denise, my future mother-in-law. She taught me the basics of sewing and loaned me her machine to go on a monster making frenzy with. Plus she's an amazing writer and gives me new copies of her books to read. Eep!

Friends:

6. They're all awesome, and put up with my crazy ideas and off-color sense of humor. ^_^ Friends make the world go round. ♥

7. A special little thankful section here for Jessica, Chris, Barrek, and Sharolyn. You guys totally just rock my socks and I am so appreciative of all the help and support you have given me this year. ♥

8. My bestie Rob. Been around for years, always puts a smile on my face. ^_^ Love you dude!

Business:

9. I am so thankful for Bernie, my sewing machine. He always gets me through the monster-making day, he's very low maintenance, and he is always ready when I get a creative burst of energy.

10. Every single customer and fan of Lu & Ed. You guys fire my creativity and empower me to live a creative lifestyle.

11. Modern technology, which enables more people to provide for themselves as entrepreneurs in today's world.

12. Storenvy.com - being a free e-commerce site that is easy to use, looks great, and makes it possible for indie artists to have a great starting pointing for their business.

13. I'm so thankful that my dream of owning a real, brick and mortar store, became a reality this year, and that the launch of Daft Crafts has went so smoothly.

14. I'm thankful for all the customers and fans of Daft Crafts and the indie artists and crafters who make the shop possible!

Misc. Things

15. My garbage disposal. Seriously. Until three years ago, never used one. These things are amazing.

16. Central heat and air. I grew up in a house with no heat. I am beyond thankful for living in a home that is warm.

17. Shoes. I have five pairs, when so many have none.

18. Food, clothing, shelter and transportation. I wish everyone in the world had these.

19. Art. It inspires, it can make people smile, it can give people an outlet.

20. My kitties. If it weren't for my fiance, I would totally end up being a crazy cat lady. ;)

And there you have it, 20 things Cody is thankful for. Hope you enjoyed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A bit late, but check out these fan photos!

2011-11-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

So, if you remember I did a raffle in September to raise money for Alpacas for Autism and Camp Encourage. I just got some fan photos in of Ralph, the raffle mon-stor, in his new home and I just had to share! :) There is a video as well but I was unable to download it. :[ Becca B was the winner of Ralph and here is a few pictures of her cute kiddos enjoying him. ^_^

Haha! I love seeing my mon-stors and stuffies in their new homes! :) Thanks for sharing, Becca!

Becca is also the author of BCImtheMommy.com which is a fun, lighthearted blog about her life and interests. If you have a few spare moments check her out! :) I may be doing a giveaway with her for Leap Year next year, so bookmark that link! :)

Thanks for looking! New stuff coming soon!

My kidlet turns SIX!

2011-11-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

In his fifth year, my son Guage learned to tie his shoes, count by twos, count to one thousand (ugh, over and over again), do problems like 10-x=3, ride a bike with no training wheels, and how to sew (aw, I'm so proud!). He lost his first two teefers, started kindergarten, rode a 4-wheeler for the first time, touched a tank and fed alpacas. His 6th year has a lot to top.

It's hard to believe I've been a mom for six years! I'm so blessed and thankful that I am able to do what I love, on my own time, as a job, instead of working grueling hours and missing out on some fabulous memories with my son. ♥ And I am thankful, so very thankful, for all of you who make that possible! You monster mongers are the reason I can do what I do and I love you all very much for it! ♥♥♥ Keep being awesome!

P.S. I do have some new monsters made up, I'm just waiting to have a fully stocked store before I list them! Soon, very soon! And just in time for the holidays! ♥ I

♥ Be Inspired!

2011-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Be inspired to do what you love, to be happy with your life, and to not be afraid to do what you want to do instead of what is expected of you.

It won't be easy, but it will be fun and you won't regret a minute of it! Life is too short to be anything besides happy with who you are, what you have, and what you are doing!

And the winner of Ralph is....

2011-10-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

First off, thank you guys so much for your participation in this raffle! We were able to raise $110 for Camp Encourage! FANTASTIC! You guys seriously rock so much! Thank you all for your donations and support. It's been such an honor working with this organization, and we had a blast at Alpacas for Autism's Fall Festival we attended this weekend in Adrian. Here are a few pictures from the event that I thought you guys might like! ^_^

Jules manning the Daft Crafts/Lu & Ed booth!

Some info about Alpacas

View of the pastures!

Feeding the alpacas!

I love their hair 'dos!

'Sup?

And here is the part you've been waiting on.. The winner of this guy!

And here is the name my lovely fiance, Trace, drew at random while blindfolded... duh-duh-dun!

Congratulations, Becca! I will be mailing our Ralph tomorrow!! ^_^ Yippie!

Also, a ginormous thank you is in order to all of our fans who made donations! ♥

Thank you to:

Lisa Y

John B

Jaime R

Kayla K

Katie K

Leighann M

Abby N

Telah

Megean K

Roni B

Chrissy

Norma D

Lu H

Danielle M

Becca B

Thank you all so much for your donations! You guys all rock so much! And to celebrate what a great success this raffle was, use code "Alpaca" anytime before Oct. 31st to get 10% off your purchase!

The Raffle is LIVE! ♥ Show your support!

2011-09-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

So, purchase some raffle tickets. ;) All proceeds will be donated to Camp Encourage.

Click here to purchase a $5 raffle ticket (or, a few. ^_- ) from my online store. Thanks so much for your support! ♥♥♥

A raffle!!

2011-09-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

^_^ As you know, I have the Alpacas for Autism Fall Festival event coming up next weekend. I am super stoked for it! Tomorrow morning I am picking up the signature puzzle piece fabric, and I will be making a LARGE Mon-stor to raffle off this week!! Large Mon-stors retail for $22 in my web store.

This is an example of our large Mon-stors - NOT THE ONE BEING RAFFLED!

Here is how it works - entries will cost $5 and can be purchased through my Storenvy site. You can purchase as many raffle entries as you want - all proceeds from this raffle will be donated to Camp Encourage! The raffle will run from Tuesday until Saturday at noon! Winner will be announced Sunday by 5pm, and the prize Mon-stor will be shipped Monday morning.

I hope to have lots of participants in this raffle as it's for a fantastic orginazation with a great prize worth more than three times the raffle cost, so tell your friends to like our FB page, follow us on twitter, or follow our blog for more details! :) Thanks guys! ♥

Hello, Blog. It's been a while.

2011-08-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Why, hi there. Remember me? I look vaguely familiar? It has been a while, hasn't it?

Here's what's up:

At the moment I am practically sold out of Mon-stors. This is such an amazing thing, and I am so thankful to every person who has adopted a Mon-stor out of my online shop, from Scrivner's in Leavenworth, KS or Daft Crafts in Independence, MO. I don't have as much time to sew as I would like, so custom orders have been put on hold until I can replenish stock in all three locations and do all my seasonal sewing (trick or treat bags and stockings). I hate to put customs on a hold (again) but operating Daft Crafts daily and getting ready for the huge street festival about to come to the Independence Square (Santa Cali Gon days, baby!) I have had ZERO free time. Finally, Santa Cali Gon is upon us (this weekend, Sep 2nd-Sep 5th) and I think afterward I may be able to find time to breath again. And of course, sew! And then maybe I can even find time to sleep. But, hey, priorities!

In October, there is another Alpacas for Autism event that I am eager to start stocking up for! Around Mid-September I will be setting up a raffle to win a small Mon-stor. $1 entries and all of the proceeds will be donated to Alpacas for Autism! We will also be donating a Mon-stor and stuffie for their live auction next April. I will post more details about these events soon! As always, I'm super excited to be a part of their fundraising, and can't wait for their upcoming events! They are always so fun and I get to meet so many amazing people at these events. If you are in the midwest, definitely make it a point to come out and see me Oct 2nd and 3rd at the Farm Days event in Adrian, MO! :)

If you have been eagerly awaiting trick or treat Mon-stors, swing by my Storenvy shop and snag one! We have a few listed, and I am trying to make and list at least one a day. :)

And that's all the business-y updates I have. There have been other exciting things happening. Like, opening a brick and mortar business, and the daily operations of that are still pretty new and exciting! Plus we do fun events there like tie dye events and craft things with little kidlets. You know, something fun and artsy for the community that is free or super cheap. :)

And the next big, exciting event was my son starting kindergarten!!!! Wow!

He is a super big fan of kindergarten. He absolutely adores his teacher and already has a new bestie. They even have matching shoes! ;) It's super cute.

And then, there's... Well....

...Okay, actually, between opening Daft Crafts and my son starting kindergarten, nothing exciting has really happened besides just being BUSY... But, LIFE is exciting! Every day is new and mostly fun. :) And hopefully after Santa Cali Gon days I will be able to sew more, post more, blog more. Thank you for being patient with me during these big life changes! ♥

♥ Fan Mail Friday!

2011-08-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

I took a small hiatus from taking orders to get things rolling at Daft Crafts. It's been a few hectic months, but I've slowly been filling custom orders. This is a fan photo from my most recent one. I promise I'll update you all with a lengthy post very soon! :)

Thanks for sharing this, Kelly B! :)

"I got my amazing monkey hamper yesterday!!! Thanks sooooooooo much as always I absolutely love it.....THANKS ♥ "

What a taxing situation.

2011-07-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

I just filed my quarterly state taxes for Lu & Ed. Most people would say this grudgingly, but I find it exciting! It's so liberating to own a business - To have created it from the ground up, to be in control - while at the same time being very constraining and time consuming. But then I look over the books and see how many colorful and fun monsters I have shipped off to new homes in the past three months and I get excited and inspired all over again! I have a few little critters cut out in the basement I'm going to attend to this evening, one for a custom and a few for the shop. :)

I've been so busy getting Daft Crafts off the ground I haven't had much time to make monsters. Time to make time! Gotta get back to what I love to do! I sorted a little space for myself at Daft, tucked behind the register and by the bathroom door, to set up my machine so I can sew during my ten hour days at the shop. I am so excited for this new adventure and all the places it will take my monsters and me! I am so lucky to have such fantastic customers and friends who have been patient with me while I have been scrambling to get the store ready for it's opening next week. I doubt that the actual opening of the store means less time spent scrambling like a crazy woman, I just assume I will eventually find a beat to march to in the chaos and make it all look orchestrated.

I will post some pictures of Daft Crafts here tomorrow to show off to you guys. :) Without you, I wouldn't be where I am now! ♥ Thanks for all the support! You are all wonderful! And remember, you can do anything you put your mind to. Live your dreams!

Pardon my language...

2011-07-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

But &#@$ YEAH!

We are officially shop owners! :D

If you don't see me for a few days, it's because a whirlwind frenzy of dusting, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, painting and moving stuff is about to ensue! I only have TWO WEEKS to get this store set up! O.O A little about the store:

Daft Crafts will have it's grand opening on July 15th in Independence, MO. It will bring the coolest handmade items from across the nation right to the The Independence Square, with an enriching and fun shopping environment full of color, fun, and of course, only the most fantastic arts and crafts, some practical and others ornamental! :D Our goal is to make it easier to buy handmade, by providing people with a local shop filled to the brim with amazing hand crafted items! :D

I'll write more on it later. Carpal tunnel is kickin' my booty right now.

Fan Mail Friday!

2011-07-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

I got some more fan photos in from one of my best customers, Kelly B! Her son is so adorable with his growing monster collection!

Fan Mail Friday!

2011-06-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all! I can't sit down and write out a lengthy explanation of what's been going on lately (long story short, carpal tunnel. I'm not supposed to type or sew for about two weeks.) but I do have some new Mon-stors in the works, a dino one (super cute) and a puzzle piece Mon-stor as well! Hopefully I'll get those finished and listed this weekend. And now for the point of the post...

Some of our latest fan photos!

This Mon-stor is going places with his new best friend!

At least we know this Mon-stor isn't goin' hungry in her new home!

Hope to be back in the swing of things soon!

Fan Mail Friday!

2011-06-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

From Kelly B:

♥ We received our awesome monster pkg from you yesterday and wanted to say thanks, it is always awesome when i see your pkgs sitting on my front porch after getting back from the gym....Thanks, we love our stuff!!

Fan Mail Friday!

2011-06-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

♥ I have some pictures to share for Fan Mail Friday!

Adorable pictures of baby Ian with his new friends Pat and Bloo! Thanks for sharing, Stefanie!

♥ And here is a photo from Alison of her daughter playing in a cape I made last winter!

I should really work on making some more capes and listing them in the store... :P

Happy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!

Sweat and hard work

2011-06-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

I'm probably only sweating because the computer is in the HOTTEST room in our house, but my sewing machine is making my most favorite pass time a complete chore today.

I haven't had much time to work on monsters lately. I've been so busy preparing for Daft Crafts, answering emails, shopping for displays, that there just hasn't been time! I sat down today planning to at least fill a few orders, and so started the complication. First my bobbin was acting all wonky. A few time rethreading it, then reloading it, finally got it back on track and working. Then my feeder dogs started bunching the fleece up. Once I resolved that, I started having issues with the thread getting caught in the cotton layer of the monster I was working on. >.< That turned out to be a tiny piece of thread caught in the bobbin cage.

I couldn't take it anymore and decided to take apart the machine, clean it, oil it and rethread it. Working like a beaut now. :)

So, back to my most favorite pass time! :) Making monsters to spread the colorful love all over the world! ♥ I have a few custom slots open if anyone is interested. Shoot me an email to LuandEdCreations@yahoo.com with the word CUSTOM in the title!

I have kept a secret for far too long

2011-05-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

I am terrible at keeping secrets. Honestly, just terrible. I guess you could say my lips are a bit loose or maybe even make it sound like a cool character trait, like believing in the free flow of all information, if you want. No matter how you word it I have just never liked keeping things from people. But this time I felt it was necessary to protect the integrity of Lu & Ed and everything I had worked so hard for. I didn't want anyone to even speculate that I had even lost a sliver of my dedication to this monster making madness that I call my job. I love what I do. I am passionate about it, and I made the decisions recently in the best interest of Lu & Ed, and all my monster loving fans. Most people would probably start the next paragraph with "I thought long and hard about this before I decided..." but not me.

I decided I wanted to open a local brick and mortar store. Less than two weeks later I sat outside in the rain on E Lexington Ave waiting to view a store front right off Main St that was for lease. Less than a week later, I'm planning the grand opening event to take place in July.

It has all flown together so fast. It's exhilarating! I have known the name of this store for years, and had a vision for this store for even longer. Daft Crafts will be a colorful shop filled with amazing, off-the-wall handmade merchandise geared towards punky young adults and parents. As a 20-something mom, this will be the shop I always dreamed existed but never did. I'm so excited to have vendors such as Shear Nonsense with furry hats galore, Kamikaze Kreations with duct tape creations, JB Baby with up cycled clothing, Quilted Callings with amazing quilts(these aren't your grandma's quilts, guys!), Karma Crochet with fun tile pendants and button pins, Melli's Trinkets with unique beaded jewelry, and many more. I love their creations and can't wait to be surrounded by them and sharing them with everyone else!

Now let me address the top three questions I've had since beginning to release the news about the store:

Yes, I will still be making monsters. I am going to be taking my machine into the shop with me to work on orders and stock monsters during down time, and still working on them when I'm at home! I could never stop making monsters!

Lu & Ed monsters and Mon-stors will still be available in my online store, though I am going to be focusing primarily on selling local! I won't be promoting as much online anymore. I love all my online fans and I will always provide you guys with monstery awesomeness, but I am spending too much time online every day trying to make sales! That's time I could be sewing more of these guys for you, or spending time with my kid and fiance. Even workaholics like me have priorities. :)

I will keep selling my monsters at Scrivner's in Leavenworth, KS as well as in Daft Crafts in Independence, MO. If you are local and you haven't checked out Scrivner's yet, you should. :)

I hope that clears up any confusion, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! :) I will keep you updated on news about Daft Crafts, but if you want day by day updates be sure to fan our page on Facebook. :)

Finally!

2011-05-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Blogger has been down for a few days so I wasn't able to update here how the market and stuff went in much detail, and you know I love to yak, so, here is the (light) run-down of going-ons and happenings.

Opening day at the market was a little chaotic, being that I didn't know exactly where I was going so I was a little late (but still the first craft vendor) setting up at 5:20am. The weather seemed to be foreboding, cloudy and drizzling, but that blew away by 7am for sunny - and hot - weather. We lucked up that the first day of the Market fell on Harry S. Truman's birthday, so the entire Square of downtown Independence was full of festivities and the amazing smell of kettle corn. Yum. Seriously, yum. I love kettle corn. And Jess and I sent a bunch of monsters off to new homes Saturday, and had a great time getting to know our fellow vendors. We got a lot of feedback from the local kidlets about what monsters they liked the best and what we should name future monsters. Adults even stopped in to play and get to know the monsters! :) I can't wait for next Saturday, we really had a great time and I know it's the perfect place to set up weekly with the monsters! We unfortunately won't be at the market this Saturday, the 14th, but we will be returning weekly on the 21st! :) Come and check it out, Truman Rd in Independence, MO, between Main and Liberty! Produce, flowers and plants, all locally grown, as well as handmade crafts and jewelry from local artists! Shop local!

Tomorrow I will be at downtown Scrivner's Creativity Center in downtown Leavenworth, KS from 1-3ish to partake in fun that is Leavenworth's Second Saturdays. Scrivner's is hosting a Kids Zone fun strip! They will have games, prizes, live music, and awesome shopping as always, and Lu & Ed will be dropping off new stock of monsters, including several baby monsters. Stop by and check it out! :) The Kid Zone and Second Saturday fun is going from 1pm to 6pm.

So, if you throw in Mother's day, my fiancè's birthday, baby sitting, and sewing like a woman obsessed, this week has been pretty busy. :) I wouldn't have it any other way though! Chaotic, busy, and fun. That's what my life is. :) And now that Blogger is up and at 'em again I keep you posted with long and drawn out updates again...

Like that I'm moving my studio from the master bedroom upstairs to the full basement downstairs! I'll have a two room studio complete with cable and internet,and completely separate from the living area so I can make as big of a mess as I want. :D Joy! Jess and I are sooooo busy with custom orders and making inventory for the online store and Scrivners that we need more space to spread out our projects and store this plethora of supplies we're accumulating. I'll be sure to post pictures later this week after the big switcheroo!

For now, I have a few customs I need to finish up before I start packing up stuff to move downstairs. :)

Fan Mail Friday!

2011-05-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

I just got this fun email from Stephanie, winner of last weeks giveaway. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

"Mester Trouble arrived today! He was a littles stressed from his trip,  he kept saying,  "Orville was in his personal space" Not sure what that was all  about. We brought him outside to show him his new neighborhood and made  sure to point out any kids that might treat him like a football. We  encouraged him to get an adult if that happens. He still seemed bummed,  maybe we should have held off on warning him about the football thing,  we have never had a monster live with us, beginners mistake! My daughter  offered to give him some hugs, that got him a little better. Once that  didn't work she tried her next plan of attack, tickle his booty! Not  sure why tickling a monsters booty works but it sure helped, he seemed  in much better spirits. Finally, we realized he just needed some coffee  and presto--ready to get into some trouble!

Thanks so much for sending him to live with us, we promise to take good care of him."

:) Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!

Custom Order Policy!

2011-05-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted my custom order policy so I wanted to post it here so it's easy to bookmark or find in my blog for future reference!

I have a limited number of custom slots available at any one time. I typically only take on 2-3 custom orders at once to get everyone's monsters to their new homes as quickly as possible!
To place a custom order, the best way to contact me is through email (LuandEdCreations@Yahoo.com). I try my best to keep up with comments on Lu & Ed's Facebook Page, but it's easy to oversee requests there. Put "Custom Order for Lu and Ed" in the subject line of the email to ensure that it does not end up in my spam folder.
I fill orders on a first paid, first made basis. If you have a rush order and need your filled quickly, please let me know at the time that you place your order so I can ensure that I can realistically complete it on time.
The typical turn-around time for a custom order is 1-2 weeks. I will contact you if it appears that it will take longer.

Thanks for taking the time to read over these and feel free to contact me with any questions. :)

Winner of the giveaway!

2011-04-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

I just did the drawing of the giveaway for this little guy. :) He's probably one of the cutest little guys I've ever made, and I can't wait to send him on his way to his new home!

Stephanie, who commented on my blogger post from Family Jules, was the winner. Send me an email to LuandEdCreations@yahoo.com to claim your prize! :D

Fan Mail Friday!

2011-04-29T06:36:00.000-07:00

I decided I'd have a day designated to posting fan mail for everyone to read! Fan mail is the greatest joy of being a small business owner! I love to see and read about my monsters traveling the world and making new friends. Check out the latest:

From Rissa B. (from Kansas City):

"Great way to get your kid to clean their room: don't tell them to go clean their room. Tell them to go feed their monster so it doesn't get hungry and eat them LOL. We love our Monstors!"

From Kelly B (from Texas):

Thanks for sharing guys! :D Keep the fan mail coming! You can post it to our Facebook page or email us your monster love letters and photos to LuandEdCreations@yahoo.com. Have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget to enter our MONSTER GIVEAWAY that is ending today at 5pm!

Lu & Ed Monsters Now at Scrivner's!

2011-04-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yup! You can now buy Lu & Ed Monsters at Scrivner's Creativity Center in Leavenworth, KS. Stop in and support local artisans! They have so much quirky and crafty stuff, I just kept saying "amazing" and "awesome" to the point I'm sure Cricket, the owner, thought I was daft. The talent of those ladies is just mind blowing! I know my monsters will enjoy their stay there, though I doubt they'll be there long before they are adopted out!

The lower level of the shop is a dedicated craft and music studio for children. She has classes daily with children of all ages, and the class room enthralled my son. He took right to Cricket and loved the colorful studio covered with hand prints and art work of her students on the ceiling tiles! The (hour long) drive home he kept begging me to enroll him in her craft and music course.I agreed! Haha! It was awesome! :D Visit their website for more information about classes.

I left with a beautiful watch Cricket had made on my wrist - the watch head comes off and you can inter-change the bands so they match whatever you are wearing. I'm not even normally a watch fan, but dude, these tie-bands are the most comfortable things ever. I forgot I had it on and almost washed pots with it on my wrist tonight! >.<

Cricket is the best and I really love Scrivner's after just my first visit there and I hope you get out of your house and go check it out if you're in the area - it's worth the trip!

Fan mail!

2011-04-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

I got had this waiting in my inbox when I woke up! :D What a great thing to wake up to! Now I'm inspired to hit the machines!

PS - Did you enter the Monster Giveaway yet? We're giving away this little guy on April 29th! All you have to do to enter is pop over to that post, and let me know what you would name him if you won him! :) There are more ways to enter listed on the post, too! :D

Monster Giveaway!

2011-04-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling particularly generous today and decided to set up a Monster Giveaway!! :D Hoorah!

What lucky monster am I giving away, you ask?

This nameless little guy I found hiding in my fabric!

I think he's hiding in there because he's shy.

Here we go! Convinced him to come out for a photo shoot!


Uh-oh! Um, how'd this photo get in here?? He's normally not so destructive! I promise!

How to enter:

Mandatory entry You must leave a comment either here, or on designated posts on our Facebook page with what you would name this little guy if you win him!

Additional entries (MUST leave a comment here or on DESIGNATED posts on FB for each that you do):

Share our online store link on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Blogger.

"Like" and share our Facebook link on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Blogger, and for each new FB fan who says that you sent them will earn you another entry into the drawing.

Follow this here blog. :)

And there you have it! I am accepting entries from now 9:30am 4/25 until 9:30am 4/29, so get to naming this little guy and sharing the giveaway with your friends!

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

You may not know it,but I'm sort of a hippie and kind of obsessed with saving the Earth. And I bring that into everything I create. And being Earth Day and all, I thought I'd share a bit with you about the Lu & Ed Green Movement!

Obviously, being environmentally conscious with Lu & Ed is really important to me. I started my green movement small, by dicing fabric from each monster into tiny bits and blending it with Poly-fil before stuffing the monster - meaning no waste from our monsters going into landfills - so you can feel as good about your monster stuffie purchase as I do!! :D

Then, Jess and I began to scavenge for high quality fabrics at flea markets, thrift stores, and yard sales - turning gently used materials into fun and colorful monsters!

All three of these monsters were made from one pink fleece blanket found at a thrift store!

Repurposing a shirt, blanket or yardage of fabric, to me, means I'm not buying bulk-made fabrics that are processed in high energy production plants, then shipped to distribution plants which then repackage and deliver to individual stores - which translates to my hippie ears as a lot of energy usage, fumes, and packaging waste. So, though I still shop for new fabrics regularly, every thrifted and repurposed find does a little bit of good to Mother Earth! :)

My most recent efforts to reduce waste is perhaps my most favorite yet - turning cardboard food boxes into shipping boxes for monsters! This cut shipping costs for a wee little baby monster from $5.95 to just $1.39 in most cases! Amazing savings for buyers! And it's giving a new life to an existing box (which I hope they are getting recycled when they arrive at their destinations! ^_- ).

Every day I try to find new ways to make a smaller impact on Earth. Reusable bags when I go shopping for materials, putting my sewing machine by the window so I don't have to use the overhead lights during the day, small little things like that, over time, will make a positive impact and I hope inspire other crafters to make green choices for their businesses as well!

What green efforts have you made this year?

I ♥ Thrift Stores

2011-04-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

I picked up some amazing finds today at a thrift store - some fuzzy blue fleece and this super amazing TROLL fabric! I also obtained a little white thing that holds about 15 spools of thread, which helped tame the clutter of the sewing area a bit. :D

Eye couldn't wait to do something with the spotted fleece. :) I'll finish this guy up tomorrow. I've sewn so much in the past two days my own eyes are crossing. I need sleeeeeeeep.

More fan mail!

2011-04-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks for letting me share your photos, Kelly! ♥ Brandon looks like he's having a good time nom-ing on it's limbs! :D

2011-04-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

I got flooded with orders today! I spent the better part of the afternoon working on them with lots of help from the protege. One ready to stuff, 2 cut out waiting on faces, and two waiting on their turn to crawl out of my brain.

♥

I love days like today.

I ♥♥♥ Fan Photos!

2011-04-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

♥ Much love to Melanie for sharing some photos of her monster collection with me last night! :D I love to see the monsters I made in their new homes, and the people who adopted them enjoying them! It gives me inspiration and drive to keep pounding monsters out!

Melanie's custom ordered car trash monster! Lined with vinyl so it's easy to wipe out!

Melanie's first two monstors from me, nomming up their recently adopted monster stuffie friends! ♥ She set the record for buying that orange monster within 8 minutes of me listing it! :D

Her latest Mon-stor with a mouthful of extra monster goodies!


And here is her beautiful, lovely, wonderful latest addition, Alaina! She's just a few weeks old! You can read her amazing home water birth story here. It's so inspiring. Oh! And, though you can't tell in this picture, but she's is lamenting how much she loves her new monsters to play with and how cozy the quilt I sent along is! ♥ Hehe!

If you have some fan photos you'd like to share (because I seriously, really, honestly would love to see them!) email them to me at LuandEdCreations@yahoo.com!

New stuff(ies) listed!

2011-04-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

I listed a few new stuffies today! Pop by the shop and check them out! The new baby monsters have been a huge hit so I'm working on more of those today! :) Cheerio!

Shop now!

2011-04-15T07:52:00.001-07:00

Shop update!

2011-04-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

I had put off updating monsters in the shop until after our big show, but that's over now and I just finished adding some I'd had hidden away to the shop. :) Pop over and check them out!

Click here to shop!

Now to get started making monsters for Scrivner's of Leavenworth, KS. I can't wait to get my monsters in her incredible shop!

Eye See.

2011-04-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

What I learned at the craft show Sunday: I become emotionally attached to my monsters. I give them names, personalities, interests. I think of where they came from and which monsters in my studio are likely to get along. Watching them get 'adopted' and travel off to their new homes was an inspirational experience for me. And to think, they all start as just some fabric. I add creativity and love and personality. I put twinkles in their eyes and smiles on their faces. I love my job! I am so inspired to push harder and reach different venues so more people can experience monstrous joy. :D I have a meeting later this week in Leavenworth to drop off a few Mon-stors and stuffies at Scrivner's. I am beyond giddy to see my monsters hanging in a store. :D It astounds me to step back and realize that I am a small business owner, halfway successful and very happy with my life!

Monster eyes, starting out as just circles of black and white..

Add some color! Almost adorable, just a little bit more...


Twinkles! AH! CUTE OVERLOAD!

I (eye) can see now that this is what I want to do with my life. Maye I'd like to upgrade into owning my own store one day to sell quirky handmade items from. But for now, this it where it's at. It brings me great joy and satisfies me. My hope is that anyone else who has this dream, to drop their day job and pursue something they love to do, will have the self-confidence to do so and the resources and support to make their dream come true!

$1 Mon-stor Raffle!

2011-04-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Want to potentially score a Mon-stor for $1, and help a great cause? From right now until Friday at 5pm, you can buy a Ralph L. Ticket (haha, punny, eh?) for $1 and be entered to win this monster! Sweet, eh?

All you got to do is click HERE and buy a raffle ticket. If your name is drawn Friday afternoon, you will get this monster in the mail plus an extra little surprise! :D ♥

All proceeds from this raffle with be donated to Camp Encourage, a summer camp in the KC Metro area for Autistic children.

Upcoming craft show!

2011-03-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

Finally finished the banners for my display! These will look great against black table cloths. I'm glad I saved all the scraps from other projects.

The next show I will be at is Alpacas For Autism Spring Fling. You can learn more about this event by following this link which will take you to the Facebook event page for the show.

Alpacas for Autism will be held in the Marriot of Overland Park, KS. There will be a special appearance by "I Don't Want to Kiss a Llama" author Byron von Rosenberg (at 1pm) in addition to live music, shopping, crafts and activities for children. I'm really excited to be in this event, and I'm donating a Mon-stor for the raffle! We will also be donating a portion of sales to Camp Encourage, an over night camp for children on the Autism spectrum to help them with social growth and independence located in the Greater Kansas City area. I encourage you to follow the link and learn more about their unique program, and share the Alpacas for Autism Spring Fling link as well! I am super stoked for this event.

I want to say, Tina, the organizer of Alpacas for Autism Spring Fling, was my first ever customer at a craft show. She bought a quirky orange stuffed monster for her son, the first stuffie I ever made, because it reminded her of a picture her son would have drawn. ♥ It was a birthday gift to him. It warmed my heart to know that my silly little monster had struck a heart string as a gift, and inspired me to keep participating in shows even though my first year of craft shows kind of sucked. I know the market better now, and have a few events planned for this summer I am sure will be hits, including one I am helping organize to benefit the Humane Society! :D I will keep you posted on all events as dates and locations are made available!

As for the custom orders I have right now, thank you for your patience! I've been so busy trying to prepare for Alpacas for Autism Spring Fling I've gotten a bit behind! I hope to have all orders completed and out soon! :)

And the winner is...

2011-03-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

First, I want to thank everyone who entered our stuffie giveaway for their donations to help Japan - together, we raised over $50 which I have donated through Red Cross to aid in disaster relief for those suffering after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11th. You guys are amazing! Thank you, truly, for your generosity. ♥ I am still taking and matching donations for Japan until the end of the month. Please click here if you are interested in making a donation and having it matched. :)

Now, to reveal the winner of the monster stufie giveaway! But first, I want to throw it out there that I made several attempts to thank you all personally with a video of myself doing the drawing, but it didn't quite work out. Apparently I speak very quietly and I couldn't figure out how to adjust the sound on the video. :P Anyway, what you've all probably already scrolled past this to see, the winner is...

Melanie Louise!

Thank you all again for your donations and participating in the first 2011 Lu & Ed give away!

Kia goes to the park!

2011-03-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

My ~~studio~~ entire house is over-running with stuffies. I think I went a little overboard. I just love making them so much!!! My kid loves stuffies, and wanted to take a monster friend to the park today. I figured, why not? He has had two or ten monster stuffies that were all his own, but he wanted one from the ~~living room mantel~~ studio shelves.

He picked out Kia.

Kia is pnk, dimply, and apparently, up for any adventure!

She survived the bike ride, strapped to the handle bars by a make-shift rubber band seat belt, and arrived unharmed to the park, where she was promptly whisked up into the play equipment to play pirates.

After pirates it was numerous trips down the slide and a few games of "catch the monster"!

Then another bike ride home for dinner and a movie!

I have one happy kid and one monster still in mint condition! I have to say, I am thrilled with how well Kia held up at the park today! I always strive for quality, but watching my kid mangle and throw a monster I had listed in the shop set my teeth on edge. It turned out to be an excellent a quality test - after an inspection under my lamps, Kia has no marks, mars, or signs of wear after a rough day at the park with a rowdy little boy and being strapped to a bike that fell over numerous times!
See for yourself! Here's some up-close shots of her under my LED lamps.

front

back

Since she did get played with quite a bit today, I am going to mark her down to just $13 in my shop! Check out her listing, and while you're there donate $1 for disaster relief in Japan and I will enter you in a drawing to win a free stuffie of your choice! Giveaway ends tomorrow. See this post for details and information on how to get additional entries.

Stuffie Giveaway!

2011-03-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

My heart hurts for the people suffering in Japan. I set up a donation option in my store where you can donate in $1 increments for disaster relief in Japan (I'm matching each donation), I am donating $2 from each item sold as well, and I have decided to host a giveaway to raise money for disaster relief! All money donations will be matched and sent directly to Red Cross, Attention Disaster Relief Japan via Paypal.

You can enter the giveaway from today, March 14th, until Saturday, March 19th, 5pm Central Time.

Here's how you enter to win a free Lu and Ed Monster Stuffie.

1. Mandatory for entry! You must make at least a $1 donation through our store for 2 entries in the giveaway. Follow this link to make your donation: http://tinyurl.com/4j742dr

2. Mention this giveaway and post a link on your Facebook. 1 entry.

3. Tweet about this giveaway and post the link to the donation page. 1 entry.

4. Blog about this giveaway and post a link to this blog post. 1 entry.

Don't forget to post a comment on this blog post to let me know which entries you have completed!

The winner will be selected at random and will receive their choice of a Monster Stuffie from the shop. The more entries you complete, the more chances you have to win! The more people you tell about the giveaway, the more money we can raise to help the hurt and homeless victims of the March 11th tsunami.

Mini-Monster-Mes? Eh?

2011-03-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

Going to make several more of these mini-monster stuffies tomorrow! Some have ribbon spines and stuffing-less limbs for babies to gnaw on, others are just tiny stuffies! They are about 8-9 inches from toe to top. I think I'll list them for $7-$9... Just need to think of a nice name for them! Any ideas?

Sunshine!

2011-03-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Is it possible spring has sprung?! I'm going to ignore that the forecast says snow later this week, ditch sewing for the day, and walk to the park, basking in the semi-warm sunshine, possibly with some hot tea in hand! Normally a coffee lover, I'm trying to cut back and indulge in new habits and trends.

Ah, I just love having the liberty to pause, stretch my legs from beneath my sewing table, and enjoy life on a whim. I find so much creativity and energy in these little breaks from sewing! It reaffirms my choice to throw caution to the wind and explore the sometimes-scary world of being a small business owner. I work my one day a week at the fabric store for now, investing the money back into my own business, and six lovely days a week I delve into something I am passionate about, something I can see actually bringing joy to people all over the world! It is such a wonderful experience and I have so many people to be grateful to for giving me the foundation to build my business on!!

I most certainly owe a lot to my loving fiancè, Trace, without whom I wouldn't even be in the Midwest, which means I never would have touched a sewing machine, which obviously means I never would have started sewing monsters! The sewing machine was borrowed from Trace's mom, for a one-time project that started ripples of requests that grew into waves! The machine was loaned semi-indefinitely to me when we moved from her basement into our own home, and it has served me well on it's thrifted desk with a broken drawer. My studio quickly out-grew the tiny middle bedroom and was moved into the larger 2nd master bedroom, where fabrics are stacked and crammed haphazardly into the walk-in closet and a mix-matched row of desks and tables line the walls, providing work sewing-cutting-ironing spaces. And the clever crafting protegè, Jessica, happened into Lu & Ed just recently after the studio upgrade, but has already given me a plethora of new ideas, new products, and new services. She had proven indispensable in such a short amount of time and inspired to me explore new business ventures.

Dropping my full-time job to sew monsters seemed crazy at first, but I did it and my life is completely different than it was 2 years ago. I am free of so many restraints I never even knew I had! If you have passion and drive, but don't know where to start, look around you. There are people there just waiting to help you! There are so many resources just waiting to be tapped into, people with advice to share, tips to teach, tricks to show you if you just ask. Put your inhibitions aside and let your passion and inspiration drive you! It is such a wonderful life experience to share fun and beautiful things with other people that you created. Do something you love for fun, not for the money, and you will find happiness in it no matter what!

I'm going to walk in the sunshine today! What are you going to do? :)

Project Monster Munchies - Page Twelve!

2011-02-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

I have some of the monsters from this installment already listed online in our store -

Check 'em out!

Twelve tall monsters

At the dance

Drink some punch

And eat their pants!

I had a lot of fun working on this installment - I love making Mon-stors. Especially these smaller ones. I wish I had thought it up when my kidlet was younger, and I needed a nifty bag to hang in the car where I could stuff a change of clothes for him. But it makes me happy to know I make them now, and that everyone in need of a little extra storage can do it the fun way - by having a monster eat their stuff! I'm so thrilled every day with my choice to drop my conventional job and focus on doing something I love. It's so fantastic to have a job I am proud of, not some dreary title I mumble under my breath when people ask me what kind of work I do. I do something wonderful - I give people a reason to smile. And here are 12 more reasons to smile. :)

Project Monster Munchies - Page Eleven!

2011-02-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Two days without computer time, thanks to minor flooding in the basement and a slight change to living arrangements. Today is internet catch-up day! Here is page 11 of PMM.

Eleven blue monsters
In a band

Eat the music
On their stand.

In other news, we started blending diced fabric bits with poly-fil to stuff our monsters. Which means the stuffies and limbs are filled with about 40% recycled materials, which helps keep costs down and keep excess bits of fabrics from ending up in landfills.

Project Monster Munchies - Page Ten!

2011-02-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

Yay! I've been waiting for this chance to show off our new "baby monsters". We're calling them Cuddle Monsters for now, in lieu of a better title... They are crinkly, multi-textural baby play things. :D I use low-pile fur, dimple-dot minky, contrasting cotton prints, ribbons, hook and loop (also known as Velcro), vinyl and other interesting and stimulating fabrics to entertain babies! Or, maybe it’s just the crinkly sound that comes from re-cycled plastic bags inside them (with no less than fifteen 1” air holes cut in to prevent suffocation hazard). Either way.. Fun to make, fun for kids!

These will not be available online, only at the Lees Summit Saturday Market! :)

Ten baby monsters
Hear a noise

Get upset
And eat their toys!

* You may recognize three of these guys from earlier this week - our goal was to make a total of just -ten- of these guys to see how they sold at the market, though we may make more depending on the web-response. :)

Tumblr?

2011-02-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to be sewing but just spent the past hour typing up the story of how I got start over on my new tumblr account. :) I really, really like tumblr.. But I haven't decided if I should switch to it instead of blogger yet..

Why don't you pop over and lemme know what you think? :) If nothin' else, you'll get to read the story about how Lu & Ed got started!

http://luanded.tumblr.com/

Project Monster Munchies - Page Nine!

2011-02-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Today, bits of brightly colored fur flew in the studio as if it were a parrot massacre. We had a blast finishing up PMM, page nine, just in time to post it before dinner! I'm going to try to get get page ten finished and up tonight, too!

Here's two fun shots from the studio today!

Pausing to play puppet.

Trying out some new tri-color thread! It's awesome, yay!

Anyway, back to the point of the post...

Nine fuzzy monsters
Mix a cake

Then eat the bowl
Before they bake!

2011-02-18T15:13:00.001-08:00

Project Monster Munchies - Page Eight!

2011-02-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

Eight bumpy monsters
Red as beets

While not all 8 of the monsters are red, they are all bumpy!

Stop to talk
And eat the seats*.

I ran out of red bumpy fabric and couldn't obtain any in a timely enough manner for this post, unfortunately! It's okay, these bumpy guys are all pretty cute!

*if you haven't purchased the book yet (you should!!), the eight bumpy monsters are eating the seats of the car the seven silly monsters left behind. :)

Project Monster Munchies - Page Seven!

2011-02-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

All witty photo shoots have been abandoned at this point, after several late night sewing sessions and too many times of running out of coffee creamer. Plus, I'm mixing so many different types of monsters together during this project it's gettin' kinda hard to pull off clever shots... Ah, well! Here ya go!

Seven Silly monsters
In a car

Cuddle monsters, for babies, complete with crinkly insides! Will only be available at the Lees Summit Saturday Market!

Eat the wheels
They won't get far!

My Montrous Valentine's Day Gift

2011-02-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

I'm celebrating Valentine's day by sewing, catching up on PMM, and this evening, with a dinner of steaks, baked potatoes, and some video games. Not the most romantic evening, but romance is totally over rated, and it doesn't compare to beating your fiancè at video games.

So, what's the monstrous Valentine's gift? From me to you?

Until 8pm today, every item in the store ships for just $2.14! (Limit two items per purchase).

♥Shop!♥

Take a peek around the studio!

2011-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the studio!

Monster cabinet & the ironing table.

Monster closet! Where we store Mon-stors and fabric.

Cody's sewing table. :D

Jess's first ever Mon-stor bag!! She's such an awesome protegè!

I forgot to make a picture.. But in that corner is the second work station!

Ta-da! Showing off a completed Mon-stor!

:D Thanks for taking a peek!!

Project Monster Munchies - Page Six!

2011-02-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, bare with me here. I've run into a small issue - some of the monster for PMM has already sold, sooooo... I am having to use previous photos of the monsters. When means some of the installments of PMM won't be as staged and adorable as previous installments. But the real purpose behind PMM wasn't to create a storyboard (though it is *super* fun and I hope you guys are having as much fun following along as I have posting it!!), but to really hit the sewing machine and try to churn out 210 monsters in just a few weeks time. It ~~was~~ is hard, but I am determined to complete 210 monsters by the end of February, even if it means late nights and lots of coffee (especially if it means lots of coffee!)! Anyways, here you go! Page 6!

Six purple monsters
Down the hall

Count 'em! Six! Well, five and one face, hehe.

Play in the gym,
Then eat the ball.

Om nom nom!

Zoinks!

2011-02-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

FB did some fanaggling around with the way business pages work. I really don't mind the changes, I think it makes it a lot more easy to work with and manage. I did however take this opportunity to create a NEW Facebook fanpage for Lu & Ed, though! With so many changes to the business itself lately, I figured it was time to fix the biggest problem with the business fan page:

I forgot to space Lu and Ed. Thus, the page name, where I generated most of my wonderful customers from, was LuandEd. o.O Kinda of confusing, and it led to a lot of people pronouncing it Lu-an-dead. Hm, not quit what I was going for!

So, the new FB fan page can be found here, properly titled Lu & Ed. :)

Pop over, 'like' the page, and check out my cleverly watermarked images of monsters available for adoption, each picture linking you to their profile page in the shop! :D

Do you have a FB fan page for your business? What do you think of their new settings?

Project Monster Munchies - Page Five!

2011-02-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to run into issues photographing my monsters recreating scenes from the book! Need... more... creative juice! *runs to the coffee pot*

Five grouchy monsters,
Go to school

Eat their desks
And think they're cool!

Ask me anything!

2011-02-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

I may regret doing this.. But out of boredom, I set up a formspring.me account! So now you can ask me anything you want to about a day in the life of the monster making world! Check it out here.

... Well? Pop over and ask me something! :D

Project Monster Munchies - Page Four!

2011-02-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

Four tiny monsters
On a bus

(Yes, I'm aware that's a garbage truck and not a bus - I had to improvise!)

Hear them burp
And make a fuss!

Burping up gadgets! Cameras- phones - Ipods!

Lu and Ed Monsters Like to Party!

2011-02-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

I took a monster to a birthday party as a gift, and left with monster requests from all the kids in our family for their birthdays! It was exciting to see how a kid reacted to being gifted a monster - and that the monster was a total hit with everyone at the party! Even the adults wanted a turn checking him out and playing with him! :D

Looks like this monster is going to love his new home! :)

Project Monster Munchies - Page Three!

2011-02-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

Three yellow monsters
At my door

Come inside
And eat the floor!

Studio upgrade.

2011-02-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy with Project Monster Munchies that I haven't had much time to sit down and write, but I have some exciting news to share so I'm squeezing in some computer time. :)

Drum roll, please!

There has been an addition of a second sewing table and sewing machine to my studio. :D

But, I clearly can't man two machines at once, so I guess you are wondering why the addition, eh? Well, you see, it's not for me to use. It is for my friend, Jess. Or should I say, my protegè, a clever crafter companion to join me for long stretches in the studio. I have such big plans for the future of Lu and Ed, it seemed like it was definitely time to add an occasional helping hand to prepare for the coming months of pretty much endless sewing, stuffing and selling, so I won't get bogged down trying to keep up with the Lees Summit Saturday Market and keeping the shop stocked and keep the turn around for customs around two weeks. Jess started in the studio Sunday night and got snowed in with us for four days, so she got took the expedited monster making course and helped me come up with a new, hand drawn business card design that is absolutely fantastic! I can't wait to get them printed so I can show them off. It's just amazing how many new doors I have opened with the addition of some part time help.

But somehow, it all seems a little ludicrous. I mean, what is going on? Less than two years ago I set down at a sewing machine with an idea, and now that idea has grown into a giant fluffy monster (pardon the pun). The more I feed it, the more it grows, and the larger it grows, the farther it travels! I knew this meant that I could easily become frazzled and overwhelmed with the keeping up with demand, and now I'm teaching Jess the ways of the monster trade, and watching the giant fluffy monster I dreamed up grow even larger and begin the most wonderful adventures yet! It is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I have never done any thing this BIG before. This is growing way bigger than me and though it's strange to have a second person in my studio with me, it's energizing and inspiring, and has already pulled my creativity in new directions. I can't wait to see where this adventure takes me and my monsters (and my protegè) in the coming months!

Oh, and talk about perfect timing and some mind-link weirdness - when I contacted Jess to ask if she's like to help me out, she said was about to contact me to see if she could bring her machine over to learn to sew monsters. :D So clearly it was meant to happen. ;)

Project Monster Munchies - Page Two!

2011-02-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

Second installment of Project Monster Munchies, GO!

Two happy monsters

Clean the room

And when they're done

They eat the broom!

Project Monster Munchies - Page One!

2011-02-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

A bit late, but here is the first installment of Project Monster Munchies! There will be twenty installments, one post at a time through February. Monster Munchies is such a cute book, teaching children to count to twenty and rhyme. :) Using it, I (attempted) to make 210 monsters in roughly 5 1/2 weeks, going from 1-20, semi-following the monsters descriptions in the book. And here we are, with page one, which reads:

One giant monster

In a dress

Eats the couch

And makes a mess!

(I am not posting the pictures from the book because I'd rather you go out and get the book that has been a great inspiration to me! I know it by heart. (: So, head to the library or the bookstore and pick up your copy today!)

Even when it's not a monster, it is!

2011-01-31T07:06:00.000-08:00

Took a break from sewing (pink) monsters last night to try my hand at project that is most normal people's FIRST sewing project - an apron.

I am beyond thrilled with how it came out, considering I didn't pause to do any measuring (bad habit of mine that usually doesn't end this well). I really ♥love♥ it and can't wait to rock it at the Saturday market! It has two pockets, a big one to keep the money bag in and a smaller one for my phone, receipt book, and business cards. I'm considering getting some more monster fabric and making a few more to share with others because something like this is entirely too fantastic to keep to my self!

My favorite part is probably this little block I salvaged for the remaining bit and sewed onto the left pocket.

:D Isn't he so cute?? ♥ I'm really excited about how well this little side project came out! :) Now I just have table clothes and a banner to make for the Saturday market! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I am!

2011-01-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

Have I ever told you guys how much I ♥ cupcakes?

Well, I do. I absolutely ♥ cupcakes. That may be why I enjoyed making this cupcake lovin' Mon-stor so much. :)

Pink was the color of the day. My way of sticking it to the dreary gray sludge, slush and mud! First warm day in months, and it was just teasing us here in the Midwest before dumping more snow on us. But ha! No gray and gross weather can defeat me and my army of colorful monsters! We are entirely to chipper for that.

Speaking of my army of colorful monsters... just three more days until I start posting Project Monster Munchies for the world to see! I bet you can't wait.. I bet you are sooooooooo excited you are literally bouncing with anticipation... Right? Am I right?

I hope you are excited. You should be. Monsters are awesome.

I haz a great big happy!

2011-01-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

See? It's pink and very happy!

Hi!

I have been sewing like mad these past few weeks. I'm a stone's throw from my goal (if it's being thrown from a catapult) and I have an idea for new, amazing monsters that instead of eating laundry and toys, will eat your KID. That's all I can say about those at the moment, though. (: Gotta first get the stuff for the prototypes, then MAKE the prototypes. Then of course work out all the little kinks and all that.

But it will be amaaaazing, I can promise that! (:

I turned in my two week notice at the fabric store today. And got talked into not quitting. Ha! I was really looking for more time to sew (April is quickly approaching and I don't have HALF the inventory I would like to have before I start the Saturday Market!) and they were actually able to accommodate that by changing my availability so I'm just working one day a week now. Which means, I have six days off a week to sew! Plus, extra dollars (and a decent discount!) to use at the fabric store! Which means boatloads of new monsters for YOU! (Assuming you have a boat. If not, carloads! That is, if they are small cars, not SUVs or trucks)... Well, just expect to see lots of new monsters!

And have you been by the shop today? The store-wide sale is still going on, along with discounted shipping! (: Click here to head over there and check it out!

Save a monster, save some money!

2011-01-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

Store-wide monster sale! :)

Shop Now!

Discounted shipping, too! Enjoy!

Emo-Ster. :)

2011-01-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

These crazy monsters and their wild hair! ;)

Eleven Days...

2011-01-11T16:07:00.000-08:00

Eleven days and a few dozen monsters later, I'm slowly but surely filling my closet shelves with monsters! I am no where close to my goal of 210 monsters by the end of January. So many things came up this month that encroached on my sewing time! I've remained optimistic about reaching my goal, though, and I am just extending my deadline by a few weeks or possibly until the end of February. =)

And, I found my camera. So check out my shelf of stuffies I've been working on!

I have several more that need to be sewn shut, others that are ready for faces and to be stuffed. Good thing I have all this!

In other news, I will start taking custom orders again within the first two weeks of February. With such a busy year ahead, I will only be able to accept a handful of customs each month, probably 5-10 orders depending on the quantity of monsters in each order. These orders slots will be filled on a first come, first PAY basis, which means I will not add orders to the queue until paid in full. I will be at the market every Saturday from April until November, which means a LOT of sewing to keep my booth stocked, but as always, I will attempt to have all custom orders completed within two weeks of being placed and paid for! =) And I know you guys will keep me busy! I already have three pre-orders for February! ♥ You guys rock!!

Toast!

2010-12-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

I'm kicking the internet habit. Kinda. I haven't been on much lately, and I want to keep it that way!

I'm only going to be working that retail job until my fiancè lands his new job doing his new career - then I'm going to focus on MY career, my sewing, my monsters, the Saturday market every weekend from April until November! I gots to gots to gots to gots to start sewing those 210 monsters, and working on my new designs! I gots to stop wasting so much time at the computer! I GOTS TO!

Rant over. =) If you don't see me much this week, it's because of the holidays and the sewing and all that jazz. I will definitely pop on and keep up with everyone, post pictures of new monsters and things I've been making, but not mass posting and chatting like I do usually.

I'm going to go make some toast. I'm going to eat it. Then I'm going to sew! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday week. =)

Mon-Stor Sale!!!!

2010-12-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

Just three days left to shop with Lu and Ed before the holidays!

If you want to get your little monster a Mon-stor for the holidays, now is the time to do it! I marked all the rascals down to $15 for the weekend, and will ship everyone's purchases first thing Monday morning. The post master assured me all packages shipped BY Monday morning SHOULD arrive before Christmas, so head over to the shop and place your order now, before I sell out!

Click to shop for Mon-stors!

Let's celebrate!

2010-12-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

My fiancè graduated from college today! ♥ And I'm one Mon-stor away from finishing all my holiday orders. Which means I can start on Project Monster Munchies this week! Yay!

Here are two of Rachel's Mon-stor stockings. Her husband is in the army so she requested camo Mon-stors. =)

I need to finish her third stocking, it's a green camo one with brown lining and green eyes, then these guys are ready to ship to their new home just in time for the holidays!

Order up!

2010-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Finished Melissa's order tonight! Shipping it first thing tomorrow morning before work. =)

Now, just need to work on Rachel's three camo Mon-stor stockings this week, then I am all finished up with custom orders for about five weeks so I can focus on Project Monster Munchies, which I am rather excited to get started on!

Customs is closed, folks!

2010-12-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

I am not accepting any more custom orders from today, Dec. 10th, until January 31st! Sorry if this is an inconvenience, but I am going to be working on a personal monster making goal of mine starting as soon as I finish up these holiday orders..

My goal is to use inspiration from my son's favorite book, Monster Munchies, which is a rhyming monster counting book, numbers 1-20. If I make a monster for each pictured in the book, I will end up making 210 monsters! I am going to have about 5 weeks to work on spinning out that mother-load of monsters, so you may not see as many updates from me.

This project will provide me with enough inventory to participate in the Saturday market the entire summer and fall of 2011, as well as having a full shop online at all times! =) I have so many great plans for 2011 and this business, and I cannot wait to share the adventure with you! I already gave you a teaser about the Saturday Market, but there is so many more opportunities I am just beginning to outline and explore that I feel like it wouldn't be fair to talk about it now, when nothing is completely set in stone and I still have a million ideas bouncing around in my head! But I can assure you that in 2011 Lu and Ed will be expanding, growing, and evolving!

And I think that's a good note to close on, and leave you wondering just what I have up my sleeve. ;)

On Today's Agenda..

2010-12-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

I need to finish up some of these Christmas orders!! I have several projects going at once and hope to finish a few up and get them in the mail Friday. I am going to finish Christie's order today and work on part of Melissa's this afternoon, and hopefully I can start on Rachel's order today, too!

From December 10th until January 31st I am not taking any custom orders so that I can work on a personal monster-making goal of mine. =) I will post about that later! I promise it will be totally amazing, though.

Lu and Ed has entered the blogging world.

2010-12-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

Yup! I needed a domain where I could type - a lot - and keep people updated about their orders, new products I'm working on, craft shows Lu and Ed will be at, expansions to the business, host giveaways and all that jazz. So, slowly I'll get some stuff set up over here. You can still find me on Facebook of course, and our products will forever be expanding in our store.

So bookmark this page and check back often!