New Pea Pods have sprung for Spring! Handmade from soft bright green fleece with embroidered smiling faces and details, these Pea Pods will surely brighten your day every day!
More peas coming soon!
Thanks for your suggestions, Vicki!
Feel free to share more suggestions for peas!
Happy Spring!
♣ Happy St. Patty’s Day ♣ ~!
~ Rita
In celebration of my best friend’s birthday, we hosted a Mad Tea Party last Saturday then followed the madness with watching the new Alice in Wonderland movie at the El Capitan Theater! She has the most fabulous collection of cute tea pots and tea cups that we paired with different mismatched saucers! We decorated the table with antique clocks, skeleton keys, potted flowers, playing cards, and “Drink Me” bottles and lovely, scrumptious delights!!
Mochi Studios’ newest Wonderland Mushrooms made a special appearance at the tea party too!!
Mad Hatter Shroom enticing Alice to drink the mysterious bottle~
Queen of Hearts Shroom looking disdainfully at the tipsy White Rabbit~
Alice Shroom stuck in a teap cup, no thanks to the nutty Cheshire Cat~
White Rabbit Shroom found a good place to hide from the Queen of Hearts~
You dare stare at me?! Off with your head!
White Rabbit~ I’m late for a very important date!
This spinning Mad Tea Party Tea Cup ride is making me dizzy!
I want my tea now! Hmmph!
We’re all totally bonkers!
You must stay for more tea!!
The Mad Tea Party itself was absolutely splendid too!
Some Wonderland Mushrooms keeping watch over the red velvet cupcakes~
And here’s yours truly~ The Queen of Hearts!
E-A-T M-E Red Velvet and Choco Smores Cupcakes~!
New cup! Move down! Move doooown!
And I found the Mad Hatter himself with his Alice at the Theatre!
We all need a little more madness in our lives every day!
Can’t wait for more madness!
More Wonderland Mushrooms will become available soon at my next craft fairs!
~ Rita
Just to prove that I’m just bumming around, here’s a sneak peek at something I’ve been working on for my spring/summer craft fair applications!
My friend Gina loves pandas and she commented on My Dear Darling’s penguin in a pod on Facebook with gave me this idea! Thanks, ladies!
Ok, back to work, Mochi!
Wish me luck!
♥
~ Rita
These Bride & Groom Peas in a Pod are for Nancy as a gift to her son and future wife for their wedding in June! Congrats to James and Lindsey and I hope they like their gift!
Spring is almost here!
Have a wonderful weekend!
~ Rita
I love seeing crafters in action! I’m so thankful for those craftsters who post videos of themselves crafting awesomeness!
The insanely brilliant Love and A Sandwich sewing little Monsters!
And she makes an Antlered Monster! It’s so cool to see her in her plush making zone! Wow!
And look! She sews a Calcifer pillow too! I love Howl’s Moving Castle! I’m tempted to play with furry fabric now!
Amigurumi Flying Usagi Pirate! found via the We Love Amigurumi Live Journal group
Amigurumi Ghost in the Shell Tachikoma! It even has ball joints!
And is anything more awesome than stop motion music video with an Amigurumi bunny and bear!? Love it! U900 -Walk Don’t Run (Isogabamaware)
~ Rita
Mochi Studios and Geri Designs vended together at the Renegade SF Holiday Craft Fair last December at the Fort Mason Herbst Pavillion.
We’re here!
Geri and I right after we set up on day one!
RCF was the weekend right after Bazaar Bizarre so we were tired yet excited for a great fair weekend! This is every plush I had left at the beginning of day two! And on the left was all that left of Geri Designs‘ painted wooded dolls!
Geri and my cousin Eric!
They’re getting married in October!!
I love happy pictures with my customers!
Grandma got a Ninja Bean plush and Mama and Baby Ninja Bean kits,
and her granddaughter got my last Spring Gnome!
These girls have the cutest outfits with my plush Pea Pods!
These guys bought my last Giant Pink Octopus and last two mushrooms!
Isn’t the octopus so cute with her spoon that Lam stuck on her arm? ^_^
We didn’t have much time to wander around Renegade but I did get to meet many talented artists and just chat and admire their works. We did meet the incredible and sweet Jill Bliss and she signed her Turtle City Print for me and Lam’s calendar for our friend’s little girl.
Bye bye, Renegade~ See you again this Summer!
*kisses*
Thanks everyone and I can’t wait for the next Renegade Craft Fair!
~ Rita
I’m sure you’ve all seen the giant meat plushies by the wonderful and talented Lauren of Sweet Meats! They’re clever and hilarious and eco-friendly! She’s from right here in San Francisco and her Sweet Meats booth is always a fun presence at local craft fairs like the San Mateo Maker Faire. The incredible Lauren even teaches a plush making class at the Workshop SF and partners with the San Francisco Food Bank! I had the happy opportunity to work with her since she was a major part of the planning committee for the San Francisco Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Craft Show!
Sweet Meats, image from Bazaar Bizarre Blog
She is also a small business blogger at her blog Biz Miss, which I just recently discovered, and she writes a ton of super helpful business articles at the Bazaar Bizarre SF blog too! I read each of her super informative articles line by line because they’re so well written and explains business things in simple ways and I can user her advice directly, effectively, and immediately to Mochi Studios.
Lauren is an incredibly huge inspiration to me for her imaginative plush creations, her dedication to environmental and social responsibility, and her support of craft business owners and teaching the plush makers of tomorrow! We kept missing each other at the holiday craft shows last December but I hope to meet Lauren in person one day soon to thank her for all she has done and tell her how much I admire her and want to be like her.
~ Rita
Alissa from Handmade by Alissa started the Modern Quilt Guild and chapters have exploded across the country and across the world! Many inspiring members of the guild braved to answer the question What is Modern Quilting? and gathered interest from the greater online community to meet in person on a regular basis to learn from each other and work on collaborative projects and more!
I recently joined the SF Bay Area chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild but since they have been holding their meetings in Redwood City (about an hour commute by train for me), I joined up with some East Bay modern quilters and we had our first meet up on Tuesday at my ultimate favorite fabric store Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley! It was wonderful to meet fellow quilters in person and see their awesome projects! Stacey of Peppermint Pinwheels shared her newest quilt top that you can see in the header picture of the new blog I created for our group! I brought along my Cross My Heart Quilt which was the last quilt that I’ve finished recently.
We talked about our backgrounds, inspirational quilters, cool techniques and ideas for future meetings! I’m really excited about our new group which makes me love quilting even more by being part of something bigger! I’m self taught and I’ve mostly been quilting with what I’ve learned from online tutorials on my own. I’ve learned so much already! I can’t wait for our future meetings! If you’re interested in modern quilting groups, go check out one in your area!
Would anyone from the Bay Area be interested in a Plush Makers Guild? That would be so so beyond awesome!!
I’ve been busy with extreme new plushie production for my upcoming craft fair applications so I’m sorry for the lack of new posts but new plushies will be making appearances soon!
~ Rita
Have you ever had a childhood toy that you cherished but has been long lost or destroyed? I remember growing up, I had the softest kitten plush that I would take with me everywhere until a fire at our house turned it to ash T_T I was one very sad kindergartner. I was so touched when Andrea convo-ed me on Etsy and asked if I could replicate a stuffed pea of hers that got burned in a house fire and has special meaning to her family.
Here is her picture of the original burnt pea~
Aww, doesn’t he looks so sweet despite his toasted situation? How could I say no to that adorable smile? Andrea requested three peas~ two to represent her and her twin sister and another mama pea. Isn’t that so sweet? After days of prototyping and designing a custom pea pattern, I made this family of peas for Andrea! Lam photographed them beautifully, didn’t he?
Mama Pea~
This pillow I made for my friend Eleen’s birthday which was last week!
Pea Twin with Pink Shoes~
Pea Twin with Blue Shoes~
Pea Family Picnic~!
Mama Pea taking care of her lil peas~
These peas are made for Andrea’s mother’s birthday which is today! I pray that the package arrives in time! I hope Andrea and her family will enjoy the peas! I am honored to have had the opportunity to make replicas of your past treasures. They were such a joy to make for you, Andrea!
*****
Andrea and Michelle, the twins, received the peas and shared these great pictures with me! They took pictures of the new peas with the old toasted one! While my pea reproductions were not exactly the same, I’m happy that I did my best and they enjoyed the final results!
Thank you, Andrea and Michelle, for sharing these pictures with me and I hope that your mom will love the peas when she receives them tomorrow!
*****
Thank you, Michelle, for sharing your bittersweet story and happy ending!
two peas in a pod.. reunited
~ Rita
Happy Lunar New Year from Mochi Studios!
Everlasting peace and prosperity to you and your families in the Year of the Tiger!
February 14th marked the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger which was celebrated by my family with a stupendous feast with my closest friends and relatives! I spent the day and the next day calling up my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other close family friends to wish them Happy New Years and good luck! In Chinese tradition, this is probably the most festive and colorful time of year for celebration, good wishes, and renewing our lives (which reminds me, I need to clean up my apartment!) Also, Lam’s mother received her pillows in time for New Years celebration too! In Vietnamese, the Lunar New Year Festival is called Tết! The red pillows are going to be perfect to brighten up their home!
It’s been such a busy time of year this year! The 2010 Winter Olympics started on Friday; Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Years was on Sunday; yesterday was President’s Day; today is Fat Tuesday and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday marking the first day of Lent! Whew! There’s so much going on, it’s been hard for me to keep up with everything! Lam and I usually celebrate our love alone on Valentine’s Day but since it was also New Years, we had a spectacular New Years dinner with my family instead of cooking up a romantic meal. But we did take yesterday off to barbecue some delicious fresh oysters in Tomalas Bay and strolled down the soft sandy beaches of Point Reyes which was blissful~! We also recently went to Vegas to see Utada Hikaru in concert (pictures of the show are on her website! I love this one!) and we took some pictures at the Bellagio garden conservatory which was decorated beautifully in a Lunar New Year of the Tiger theme!
Happy Lunar New Years, everyone!
And best wishes for all holidays and occasions you all celebrate this time of year!
~ Rita
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