A Poll

As you may know, I'm not one to draw. I can draw. It's just not something that I do a lot of. I was one of those kids who hung out in her room with a good book -- not a sketch pad. When I design my guys, I work with a pair of scissors, not a pencil.

Still, I'd like to be able to offer my customers some items that are a little less expensive. I'm going to do a small line of screenprinted onesies and tees. They'll be less labor intensive than my applique so the price will be lower.

I've been working on the drawings (and really enjoying it -- much to my surprise) but I would like to know what you guys want to wear. I created a little poll (there on the left underneath the Etsy mini). Please vote. Thank you.

UPDATE: The poll is now closed. Thanks to all who voted!

A Milestone

I remember when I first started selling my little guys on Etsy I would check out how many hearts other shops had. I was always so surprised when there would be one with lots and lots of hearts. Now I am one of those shops. It's amazing. I can't believe I have 650 hearts.

Thanks everyone!

And special thanks to BenCanDance who is making me a custom airstream pendant as my little treat to myself. Check out Ben's blog. He really gets around.

An invasion

I've been busy here at Lemon Cadet preparing for my Fall show schedule. Instead of adding too many new items to the Etsy shop, I've been organizing the studio, finishing up some custom orders and ordering wholesale blanks.

Plans have been in the works to add new Yeti items like a brooch, a set of magnets, and some stuffies (yes, that's right, stuffies -- also known as plushies, softies, stuffed beasts, and dolls). So when a customer lost her beloved Yeti panties and requested a patch, it seemed the time was nigh.

I whipped up a Yeti who's currently flying via the USPS cargo plane to Boston for his training session. Above is the portrait I snapped of him in my office with my cellphone for his visa (Yetis need a visa for travel as they aren't permanent citizens this far south). As soon as he's good and ready, I'll be offering them in the shop. Brooches and magnets will be there quicker.

I'm almost finished with my inventory spreadsheet and I'll post a pic to flickr as soon as it's ready. Now I know what I have in every size and color. Why I didn't do it sooner is beyond me...

Etsy Treasury Poster Challenge

I get really excited about contests. I love to enter and I love seeing who wins. So Jared (the guy at Etsy who invents all the amazing graphics stuff like the Treasury, the Time Machine and the Color Picker) and the other Etsy Admins came up with this idea to have a poster contest via the Treasury. They are going to pick a few of the best and make limited edition posters out of them to give away at events (like Strange Folk in St. Louis where I'll be in September).

I love my entry. I chose most of these from my favorites, starting with KnittyDirtyGirl's hedgehog piece. I love her work and can't believe I didn't see her amazing little felted pieces at the Eastern Market last weekend. I based the color theme around the red of the polka dot fabric and then built from there. Here's a list of the sellers that I included: theblackapple, aorta, supastarr, heatherjeany, cornflakegirl, thegarbagegoose, miniblisscakes, oktak, AuntyCookie, askey, douajeevang, lagreen, fifilapin, huddle, and yumiyumi. I just bought a felted cat from lagreen to go next to thegarbagegoose's Poppy Kitty.

It's gotten some great feedback so I'll keep you posted.

Lancaster, PA and the Eastern Market

It was a beautiful drive to Lancaster. We hardly had any traffic and it was a little overcast so I didn't have to wear sunglasses all day. Mom and I ate lunch at a crazy diner and then got to our hotel room with the evening to spare.


The Eastern Market was really cool. I got to hang out with some amazing Etsy sellers. Actually most of the vendors there are Etsy sellers. But seriously, how much better can it get than to drive up, get out of the car, and get a hug from someone you've been "talking" to online for months? That's one of the reasons why I love Etsy. It is such an amazing community. I have made so many friends and the network has allowed me to meet a lot of them in person.



One of those sellers is Steph of Stephanie Gibson Designs (above). Her jewelry is really exquisite. I was so impressed by the quality of her craftsmanship. My mom got a very nice necklace and some matching earrings. I bought a lot of soap and a lip balm from The Professor's Wife. She's not on Etsy yet but we're trying to talk her into it. I can't even list all of the other artisans who were selling their work that day because there are just too many of them. I was pretty happy with the way my table turned out. I've been adding new types of products (like the bean dolls) and it was a struggle to figure out where to put everything. I'll keep working on that one.


Lancaster and its surrounding towns are incredible. Mom and I had a great time doing some touristy stuff like visiting the emergency room (seriously), shopping for crafts and antiques, checking out the outlet mall, eating at gargantuan country buffets, and buying miniature pies. It's a wonderful place for a family vacation (as long as you check out the Eastern Market!). That's a cool llama that I met.

For more pictures of the Eastern Market, check out Frost Imaging's flickr site. Alissa of DivaDea also wrote this nice blog post about the market.

Saturday at the Market

This weekend, Saturday, July 14, Lemon Cadet is heading to Lancaster, PA for the Historic East Side "Eastern Market." At the corner of East King and Shippen Streets in downtown Lancaster.

As always, there's going to be something new that's not in the Etsy shop yet. This time it's really big striped bean dolls. They're all finished and ready to go.


For this event, I'll only have room for one table. That's a big switch from being able to use the space of the whole tent like the last couple of shows. So I spent some time figuring out how I want it to look since I have a wider variety of items now. I left all the baskets and bowls empty and took a quick picture for reference. I'm going to print it out and bring it with me.

Find directions here. Photos of the event here. The weather is going to be amazing: sunny and warm without any rain. I'll be in the big building, just inside the doors next to StephanieGibson and her beautiful jewelry. You'll also get a chance to meet my talented mom.

There's no entry fee and it goes from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Plushie Softie Stuffie Pillow Bean Love

So finally I added my brand new bean dolls to the Etsy shop! I've had a couple finished for a while now but I wasn't ready to part with them.

Yesterday I shot a bunch of photos and got the images all ready to go. These beans are really big. They're about 14" tall and super stuffed. I'll start making some smaller ones after the Eastern Market.


I also made two striped bean dolls but with new stuffing. The new stuffing is all lumpy and I don't like it so I'm going to pull it all out and fill them up with the same kind of stuffing as the first two guys.

Soon, I'll have a listing for a matching set (onesie or tee). I think that will be really awesome -- a bean doll to match your kid! I'll be able to make the bean dolls in almost all of the fabrics that I have (and I got some great new prints last weekend). In the meantime, if you want a matching set -- or if you have a onesie and you want a bean to match, just send me an email and I'll get started.

A little note: Since these beans have no removable parts (i.e. no button eyes or other loose appendages), I would let my baby play with one if I had one (a baby, that is -- I have beans). That said, these bean dolls aren't designed to be used with babies or as children's toys. And never, ever, ever put your baby down next to a pillow or in a crib with a pillow because babies can get suffocated. So be careful.

Huskystar, I have missed you!

So I went on vacation and then mom had a bit of surgery and then it was the first week of summer classes...

Excuses, excuses! But until just now, I've been so busy playing catch-up that I haven't had one free moment to make stuff.

I got so excited after stitching up that striped bean doll (inside-out and there to the left of my baby, Mr. Huskystar), I decided to take a picture and write up this little post.

The bean dolls will be in the shop by Monday. I had taken photos of the two corduroy number beans before I left. I thought I had locked them before deleting everything else from the Nikon but alas, I had not. So into the abyss that is the digital recycling bin they went.

Tomorrow promises to be sunny enough for new pics.

I really love sewing. I really love doing the applique. And I really really love drawing up new little guys.