Valentine's Day

It's coming. The stores kind of scare me this time year. All the cheap teddy bears holding hearts, the cheesy romantic cards, and poor quality chocolate. And then I remember how much fun Valentine's Day was a kid: gorging on chocolate, giving out valentines, getting a balloon from my parents.

So in an effort to make something worth the good memories and so none of you need to step into a CVS to shop for something for your special someone, I've got a few little goodies of my own.

I've collected everything in my shop with a heart on it here.

I've really enjoyed making these little valentines. They're sweet, eco-friendly, and not made in china.
Blank on the inside, and made entirely from found materials. And did I mention inexpensive? It would be just the perfect little something to slip into someone's lunch or leave hiding for them to find or to give one to all your closest friends.

For someone special, or maybe even a little discerning try a twist on the teddy bear

or a robot silhouette (very classy!)

or a t-shirt (especially great for those monster loving boys)

New Year Resolutions

The monsters are debating about whether 2010 is Twenty-ten or Two-thousand Ten. I can hardly get any work done with all the arguing and ensuing tussles. But this too shall pass.

My Monster Related Resolutions

• Transition from selling monsters every weekend to only doing a couple of large shows a year.
• Get the monsters in more stores.
• Make some larger monster art pieces (paintings, softies, etc).
• Keep writing! (My mom noticed that I haven't updated since November. Maybe it's time I get back on this.)
• Do more holiday themed items (new Monster Valentines have been made and will be up in my etsy shop soon).
• Set up a well lit photography space, with semi-permanent back drops and props.
• Make some craft connections in the Bay Area.

I'd love to hear some of your resolutions (maybe craft related) for the new year.

Oh and Happy New Year everyone!

Finished a Custom Order

I finished a cute Cat In The Hat Bib today for a toddler's birthday party. It came out really cute I think. I'm especially pleased with the embroidery.


My spring is really starting to come together. I'll update you soon on new places you can find me. I might even go back up to Ithaca for the Spring Festival this year. Need to find a place to stay first though.

I also have a contest to post about (soon, I promise!).

And well Saturday (tomorrow) is Valentine's Day. So I'll be ignoring you all so that I can spend time with my husband as I ignore him for work/monsters/etc so many other times. We're going to spend some of the playing with paper and making Valentine's for each other.

Valentine Shirts

I've started screen-printing my new Valentine's Day Design.



I'll be at Artists & Fleas in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on the 7th & 8th (the weekend before V-Day) if you want a shirt!

I was recently inspired to make some Anti-V-Day monsters too. So we'll see if those happen in time.

Showing the softer side of monsters

Valentine Cards!

Patty the Love Monster featured on a blank notecard.

Squishie monsters offer the teethy kind of love.

These monsters just want to give you some love!

If you want these sent directly to a loved one with an inscribed message, just let me know in the message to seller, I'd be happy to do it.

Gloria, Love Monster Plush Toy

Gloria really loves parties. She loves the decorations and all the different people and monsters that come. Certainly she hopes to be the center of all that attention, but sometimes it’s nice to just be a part of it all.

Love Monsters have big hearts and long arms good for hugging. They make great Valentine Gifts and everyday friends.

You can find Gloria in my Etsy Shop, along with lots of other excellent monsters.

And now in XL

After some controversy over at Etsy about plus sizes vs. XL, I remembered that I finally ordered my Ted Monster Shirts in XL. So I put them up on etsy.



They're the same shirts as always. These shirts are soft (my husband is incredibly picky about softness of shirts), but still nice and thick, with a high thread count that means it'll last.



I've heard now from the 30 & under crowd that these shirts are true to size and the 30+ crowd that they are a size smaller than they expected. So keep that in mind if you're interested in owning the famous Karen's Monsters Shirt.

P.S. I have Bunny Ninja shirts for kids too. Though I'm still looking for a model, any kids want to model shirts for me in the NYC area?

P.P.S New shirt design coming for Valentine's Day!

Happiness is a new screen, or three

I spent yesterday at ABC No Rio burning new screens for, yes you guessed it, new T-Shirts!

I shall have new T-Shirts ready to sell for Valentine's Day (and beyond) soon.

The new screens. Aren't they pretty?




I was really surprised at how easy it is to burn your own screens. Of course I had close supervision. And I'm sure it's one of those "Takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master" kind of things. But I feel like maybe I could try messing up on my own next time.

If you're into art and artists and making stuff in NYC, you really should check out ABC No Rio. Totally knocked my socks off, as it was the first time I'd ever been there, though I've heard endless good things about them. I was most surprised that it's the only place I've ever been that's reminded me of Mix'Art Myrys in Toulouse, France.

Finally new things in the etsy shop.

Squishie monsters are like the gnomes of the monster world. They steal socks and can find their way through any crevice.

This squishie happens to be full of love and will watch your back most protectively unless he gets side tracked by something shiny.

You can find this squishie in my etsy shop. Just you know, hanging there. Might I recommend a squishie (with a heart) as a sweet if somewhat unusual V-Day present?