Family Home Tour - Avery's Room

I'm back with another home tour this week, and this time it's my crazy cute niece's toddler room.  Avery has a ton of personality and never stops moving (note the blurred jumping on the bed picture).  I created a custom Horrible Adorable for her before she was born, while my sister was choosing a 'strawberry patch' sort of inspiration for the nursery.  The aptly named 'Strawbeary Bear,' that was made to fit in with the decor of her old nursery, has in part influenced the color palette of her 'big girl room.' Touches of bold raspberry hues and juicy apple greens now fill the room.  I can't help but feel cheerful when I step into the space.  Her toys are placed within easy reach for little hands, but can also be packed away tidily when not in use.  I'm not just a little jealous of her pink bed... I'm totally envious!  I'm interested to see how the bear critter continues to transition with Avery's space as she continues to grow, and her room evolves!

Family Home Tour - Piper's Room

On the Horrible Adorables' blog, I try to give my readers an inside peek to the work we create and our processes.  However, I so rarely show finished work properly displayed in a room.  We get many requests to create custom works for children's rooms, and carefully coordinate the colors.  Most times, once a piece is sent out to a customer, I never see how it is integrated into the space.  Today, I'm going to give a little peek at a special Horrible Adorable that I made for my youngest niece, Piper, to match her vintage circus themed nursery.  I love the soft pinks, greys, and butter yellows mixed in with pops of a lively aqua color in her room.  My sister requested a whimsical elephant with a little heart over its eye.  I scalloped the ears and chose it's colors inspired by Piper's cute bedding details and hanging circus lantern.  As she grows older, I hope it's a piece she will continue to cherish, and is fitting enough to transfer over to her 'big girl room.  

Color Theory

Clutter Gallery is having an upcoming group show called 'Color Theory.'  It's all about crazy colorful art!  Instead of making some of my typical multicolored critters for this show, I decided to tone them down and focus on creating a clear rainbow effect from a grouping of Horrible Adorables.  Each creature has a different brightly colored felt flower perched atop it's head.  I can imagine them as mischievous wildflower spirits.  They have excellent camouflage, making them virtually undetectable when they wander into neighboring gardens to feast upon summer veggies.  I was wondering where all the squash we planted went... but now I know.

Join the preview list here to get a first look at all the pieces in the show, and an opportunity to purchase them before the opening!

Show runs Sept 13th-Nov 2nd at

The Clutter Gallery

163 Main St./ Beacon, NY 12508

Christmas in July Sale

Horrible Adorables will be celebrating their stellar year by having a 20% off Christmas in July sale this month!  The offer will be good for all 'custom minis' and 'ready to ship' items in the Etsy shop.  It will not be valid on custom orders over $60, or existing orders put in before the sale.  The sale will be for two weeks starting THIS Friday!  Offer code is: RUDOLPH.  Dates are July 11th-July 25th at midnight EST.  Look for new critters, ornaments, and books stocking the shop.  Mark your calendars, these sales don't come around often!

Art Star Craft Bazaar 2014

Divine weather at Penn's Landing.

Awesome articulated stained glass puppets at Le Puppet Regime.

A hand cut and hand printed paper insect from the dapper dudes at New Academy Press.

Crafty friend and boothmate Sarah-Maria of Meerwiibli.  I came home with that fantastic fox dress!
(sorry for the blurry photo, I don't know what happened here)

Fun patterns and cute animals at The Wind and The Sail.

A Tadpole Creations headband.  Turn yourself into one of Renee's adorable stuffed animals!
(Modeled by the lovely Megan of Art Star.

Stitched wood wall decor from Little Green Things.

The annual Philadelphia Art Star Craft Bazaar took place at Penn's Landing, May 10-11th over Mother's Day weekend (even my Momma came to the show!).  It was a great fair, seeing some familiar faces and meeting new people!  Sarah-Maria from Meerwiibli and I requested to have our booths next to each other.  It was great fun to catch up with her and her hubby.  We both wore cat dresses of her design on Saturday... and it was pretty darn cute.  

The weather took a turn for the worse late afternoon on Saturday.  A crazy rain storm rolled in, blowing in intense winds and dampening the day.  Thankfully I had invested in a brand new EZ Up pop-up tent, before the show, with roll down flaps.  Though there were times when I thought our tent might take flight, the Horrible Adorables stayed put and dry.  Sunday's weather was beautiful and sunny, almost making the ickiness from the previous day a distant memory (almost!).

I've snapped some photos of some of my favorite vendors from the show above with links to their websites.  There was a super diverse mix this year, and it was nice to see some totally original and unique wares that I've never seen before! 

With a belly full of vegetarian comfort food, and a lightened car load from the many creatures adopted, I bid Philly a 'good bye' and an 'until next year!'

Wilderness at Auguste Clown Gallery

So thrilled to have my work included in Auguste Clown Gallery's group show 'Wilderness' running June 20th-July 7th.  You have to see the line up of participating artists... it's amazing!  These are the two pieces I'll have in the show.  They were both inspired by some Australian marsupials (the gallery is located in Melbourne, Australia).  

The first creature featured is a 'Pick Pocket.'  Saddened by her own drab coloring, this creature seeks out brightly colored babies and stuffs them in her pouch, stealing them away in the dead of night.  Not much is known on what she does with the babes after looting them, but skeptics believe that she takes them back to her nest and raises them as her own.  Though she would be an awful mother, always resenting her 'adopted' children's beauty.  The second is a 'Crowned Foxolotl.'  Not to be confused with ordinary 'Foxolotls,' each ear marks the status of her royal lineage.  She is the great-great-great-great-great grand daughter of the first ruling queen.  Unfortunately, the royal line ends with her, as she now resides upon a plaque.  

Itsy Insects and Mini Sweasels

We at Horrible Adorables have been working on some very special mini mount designs!  Mini mounts are affordable and adorable pieces of art that come on a 5"x3.5" wooden plaque.  This season we are adding not one, but TWO new critters to our mini line!  The first are Mini Sweasels, which have a foxy look with their lemon shaped heads.  These cuties are a shrunken version of one of our most popular designs.  Our second mini to make it's debut are Itsy Insects.  The little buggers have wide staring eyes and can be made with fluffy moth antennae.. or not!  As with all of our other mini mounts, these creatures are completely customizable!  YOU choose the colors and style! 

Custom Mini Sweasel and Itsy Insect listings will be posted in our Etsy shop on MARCH 20th, the first official day of spring!  They will also be traveling with us as we hit the road and start craft fair season.  Dates and locations coming soon!!

Curious Beasts - Opening Reception

Photo Courtesy of Clutter Gallery

Photo Courtesy of Clutter Gallery

Got to meet Ron English and had a pleasant chat about Bigfoot (see his Little Bigfoot banner below!)

First thing we saw driving into Beacon.  That's when I realized that this city must be awesome!  

The opening for Clutter Gallery's 'Curious Beasts' show was on February 8th.  I had the pleasure of attending the show (drove through a snow storm and all!) and was so blown away by the fantastic work!  The gallery is located in Beacon, New York in a quaint little town.  So different from the hustle and bustle of NYC which is only a short train ride away!  I had an amazing time meeting the staff at Clutter, catching up with friends and seriously ogling the cases of colorful toys at the Clutter HQ.  There are still a handful of pieces available for sale through the gallery website.  The show is closing tonight, but the work will be available for a wee bit longer online... so quick, check it out now!

Home Tour - Studio

My husband and I bought a sweet little house last summer.  We painted it top to bottom (no easy task when it's an open floor plan with walls that extend three stories), and converted the second floor to studio spaces.  This is the first edition in my home tour series.  Working from home, my studio is where I spend the majority of my day.  My goals for the space were for it to be bright, happy, inviting and organized!  At my last studio, it was especially hard to keep it organized and tidy, as I didn't have a closet space to stash all my junk.  Now I have a huge walk in closet to tuck away all my crafting essentials, that I don't necessarily want to keep on display.  I keep all my product on the walls and on pegboard to keep track of inventory and surround myself with the things I love to keep me inspired!