Green Elevator

Oh, November! Where have you gone?

2011-12-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

PTO day = Field trip with some new creatures. Check them out in the shop.

Sometimes Mother Nature Grounds Me In My Room For Not Updating My Blog

2011-08-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

At least my summer is going out with a bang. By a "bang" I mean more of "woosh" and by "woosh" I mean hurricane. I experienced two new natural disasters in one week: earthquake and hurricane. I must say, these two events have done nothing to crush my "everything will be fiiiine" attitude, that tends to annoy others so much. The earth quake caused a pen to roll of my desk at the office, and the hurricane "forced" me to stay inside yesterday while watching Netflix and drinking wine with my roommates. This morning I had to discover the devastation of Irene in my neighborhood with seeing SEVERAL leaves on the ground. Life is hard, folks.

As I will be out of town for the next two weekends (Harry Potter Land, then Kennywood Park) I got my game face on to get some pictures of my new work (that has been done for about 2 months) and starting some new.

Starry Eyed Yakac

Woozeled Horned Cyclops

Two Toothed Yaktac

Yaktac

Custom made Yaktac for my mom! Who also serves as my "shipping department" when I have to send something out that I left in her house... oops! Thanks mum :)

Traveling Zikoo

Four Armed Eastern Groffet

Me with my creatures

The next two big items on my Green Elevator to-do list are:
1. Get my submissions ready for Plush You! I was toying around with introducing some new creatures, but I think I would rather showcase the work I've accomplished this year.. on steroids. Well you know, not ACTUALLY on steroids,, because that's unhealthy and unsportsmanlike. Plus my creatures are inanimate objects so it would just be silly.
2. Silk screening! I took a super great screen printing class an the Brooklyn Artist Gym a few weeks ago, and pretty enthused. Here are a couple of designs in the works:

Building an Army of Sunshinyness

2011-05-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

After months of saying "I'm going to update my shop.. no.. really!" I finally did! Now that I'm finally back in New York, settled in an apartment, and have adjusted to being back at a full time job - I've started to find a nice rhythm with my crafting. Time management is not my strong suit, but I'm trying to work on that rather than using it as a lame excuse to be a very..very... unproductive person.

I was tempted to write an epic blog post detailing everything I've been working on since my last post - my travels across country, moving to Brooklyn, and so on. However, I think I'm going to jump right in to some new work that is up in the shop , and have a nice catch up blog post later.

I've been working on new ways to construct my creatures, hand sewing more, coming up with some new designs, and making adjustments to old designs. I've also been playing with scale a lot to try to find the best size for each type of creature. You will see a lot of them are around 10 inches high (rather than my old average of 16 inches high) which I think gives them a more fuzzy whimsical look.

Zikoo (new!)

Yaktac (new!)

Fluttering Mowmay (new!)

Long Horned Iffiet

I've also had a few friends lately talk to me about wanting to animate my creatures. Awesome fun? yes. Will most likely cause me to live in even more of a fantasy world than I do now? No doubt.

Japan quake & tsunami relief

2011-03-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, 100% of the proceeds from my etsy shop - - items will be going towards relief efforts. If you have a specific charity you would like the funds to go towards, please let me know. I am currently donating to the Red Cross via The Network for Good.

http://www1.networkforgood.org/help-survivors-pacific-quake-tsunami

Find the Remote and Press "PAUSE"

2010-11-28T21:22:00.001-08:00

On the road again.. gee it's good to be on the road again...

There is work to be done.. but it's going to have to wait a few weeks. I'm on a cross country road trip with my dear friend Sherry! Pictures, news, and so on will be here after Christmas. However, if you are in Colorado (where we are now), California, New Mexico, or Arizona, and want to buy a fleece skirt (pictured below), wool hat, or wool hand warmers - we'll be around :)

All my plush work is still for sale in shop and will be shipped out with the assistance of my own Christmas elves in Ohio.

Happy adventures everyone!

I Only Like Monsters likes Green Elevator and I Like them!

2010-11-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

Just when I was needed to be struck with a motivation stick, J-Monster of the amazing I Only Like Monsters blog, informed me that my Groffet and Iffiet were featured on the blog today! If that isn't motivation to roll up my crafty sleeves and get to work I don't know what is. Check out the feature here: http://www.ionlylikemonsters.com/2010/11/green-elevator-monsters.html

The past week I had to take some time to do some things in my life other than craft. As much as I can no longer picture my day to day life with out doing something semi creative - there is only so much of being a hermit one can take before they need to clear their head. You would think that I would have taken some of that time to continue to plan my road trip out west... but.. no. I thought that my Asia experience would help me be a more focused, organized, planning type person.. but again... no. Everyone out there needs to think happy thoughts that Sherry and I will be able to find our way to California and back.

Hanging out with my favorite creatures in my favorite city

2010-11-06T20:55:00.001-07:00

Stop by and visit me and my Green Elevator creations Sunday November 7th at Pittsburgh Flea!

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Located in the Strip District
21st & Railroad
Pittsburgh PA 15222

http://pittsburghflea.com/

Why Was October Two Minutes Long?

2010-11-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

It's true, October flew by. It was an activity filled month, so I suppose it makes sense. This past week I had the good cheer of celebrating my birthday, Halloween, and seeing a few of my best friends.

Me as a Lumber Jack Rabbit, and my first friend ever as Sexy Weird Al

Lumber Jack Rabbit, Paperham Lincoln, Red Monster

As you can see, I have annoyingly creative friends that serve as a constant source of inspiration and craft envy.

I was all over Ohio this weekend, and my pal Sherry and I still managed to make some plans for our cross country road trip coming up! Perhaps I've become a little too comfortable being a nomad because I'm itching to get back on the road. We have a few craft stops planned along the way, so anyone west of Ohio: you might be seeing us soon!

I didn't neglect my crafting with all the merriment. Check out some of the new work:

New creature!!! Long horned Iffet.

The long horned iffiet is one of the few lucky creatures to have magical powers. The longer the horns are, the more magical the iffiet is. They have the ability to turn anything into a large vanilla cupcake topped with pink whipped frosting and rainbow sparkle sprinkles.

Burlap Cyclops

Burlap Tree

Burlap Dino

All of these are now up in the shop. I'm going to be in Ohio for a couple more weeks until my westward journey, so there should be a lot more work coming up. I might even have a few crafting events coming up in that time. Details to come!

I'm On a Mission

2010-10-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

A mission of craft! I have the rare opportunity of time on my hands. I assumed once I started a grown-up job that I would never really get the time to sit and work on my art/craft projects, as I did my first few years of college. It's amazing how randomly quitting your job to backpack in Asia can really shake up your life. Right now I'm in a happy limbo between my bartender job ending and my cross country road trip beginning! In the past week I've really tried to focus my butterfly-like mind to working steadily and completing more work. So far so good.

This is based off of my previous amigurumi "Hedgehamster," with an extra dose of silly. Ladies and gentlemen meet, the Hedgemunk.

New species in da house.. hi-ziz-ouse? holla? Nevermind.. Anyway! This is a Groffet. There is the northern version (pictured above) with six arms for extra cuddling, super fuzzy fur for warmth, and horns to battle the doldrum winter monster!

This is the southern version of the Groffet. Four arms rather than two, no horns, smaller size, fleece rather than fur. They are more speedy and spunky than their cousins of the north.

Burlap Bunny

2010-10-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

In an effort not to be wasteful, I've been looking for a project that I could use my scrap fabric in. I've wanted to incorporate the scraps as stuffing, however, I didn't really like using it with my fleece and faux fur creatures. The scrap fabric is much more dense than polyfill, and leaves fleece looking a bit lumpy. Not up to my light and fluffy cuddly stuffed animal goal. New direction? Burlap. Paint. Modpodge. A dash of cute. Ta-da! The burlap gives it that kind of natural rough look that works great with scrap fabrics.

For this particular burlap bunny, I went with safety eyes and felt accents. Next time I might make the features using the scrap fabric as well. I love to reuse/repurpose/recycle/reclaim/re-etc etc etc as much as possible so I think this style will give me the opportunity to do just that!

Grandma Werewolf

2010-10-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

The mighty werewolf... half man... half beast... Running wild through the darkness of night to feast on humans!!!

or in this case..

Part wolf... part sweet little grandma!

A little known fact about werewolves is upon reaching their golden years, they aren't the full moon howling, human eating, all around ruffians they were in their youth. They morph in the early afternoon so they can morph back to their human selves in time to catch the early bird special. During their werewolf time, they like to enjoy nature during a pleasant afternoon at the park, rather than running wild in the streets.

Grandma Werewolf came out of my love of old people charm, (The Golden Girls, Matlock, playing bingo, etc.) and creatures of all sorts. Equipped with grandma necessities, (silly hat, crocheted shawl, pearls) and wolfy mightiness.

Due to my sewing machine temporarily being mean to me, Grandma Werewolf is 100% hand sewn. I crocheted the shawl, and handmade the hat down to the flower accent.

Hitting the Road, Jack

2010-09-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

As wonderful as Fayetteville, WV - it is time to hit the road. I'll be heading out west soon, after a pit stop in my home state of Ohio. I've managed to turn my orderly parent's home upside down under 24 hours. I want to be more sorry about this, but I must admit a certain amount of satisfaction. I'm throwing together work shop in my old bedroom, which is now a library. Sorry books, you have to be friends with large amounts of yarn and fabric. It's so nice to have all of my craft supplies in one place again!

Top priority?
Dress making for the upcoming new company by Ms. Sherry, and myself. Serger machine,you don't scare me! That's not true. You scare me a lot. meep!

Expect a lot of plush coming up too, as I just got in a new shipment of faux fur, and have been burning through my sketch book.

I'm also pleased to say that you can now find Green Elevator on Deviant Art! I'm still trying to build up the page, but what a fun art community.

On a random note: I now own new running shoes, increasing my overall happiness points.

Blog Feature!

2010-09-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce one of my Sneekokeets is being featured on Ms. Samantha's blog: Keeping Creativity Alive. Check it out here

http://samanthaferratoart.blogspot.com/2010/09/stuffed-animals-are-one-of-childs-most.html

Who's a Bad Blogger?

2010-09-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

::Raises hand::

I don't want you to take my blog slacking as crafter slacking as well. I've actually had a little more craft time on my hands due to:

The pub where I work being slow before Gauley Season starting
My dear friend Sherry's return to grad school (yay learning!)
Summer being officially over (I.E.: me officially hiding under a pile of blankets while knitting)
My running shoes being shot and me not desiring to tear my ankles to shreds until I can get a new pair in two weeks

Plush:
Still being my main crafting priority, I have a few new creatures to display.

This big blue fellow was actually the first thing I made this summer upon my arrival to Fayetteville, WV. He's just been hanging out waiting for his time to shine in front of the camera. This was my first time using safety eyes, which I ended up liking a lot. It gives him a similar look to some of my earlier amigurumi plushies.

Next up is a new creature combining some of the features I liked from a few of my previous plush dolls:

This next little lady is a little smaller than the other fleece plushies. These creatures with the little head twist is known as a Sneekokeet (sneak -o-keet). Nervous creatures, but very sweet.

Finally, this slightly sinister creature was saved from my misfit project box (projects that were not going quite right, and must be saved to be completed at a later date... once I am no longer frustrated with it.)

The problem before? It was supposed to be cute... and it was looking like this:

Creepy...

Add a lot of personality to the face, bow here, bow there. Ta Da! Much better.

Super Fantastic Save the World Dress Project with Sherry:

Pictures? No. but! We're moving right along. We have the final design down, fabric choices made, tools needed acquired. Including... This super awesome serger:

This is going to make our lives (and final product) a lot better! We just need to pick it up from Ohio and figure out how to use it...

Other Crafting:

More flower hair clips! These are now up for sale in my Etsy shop, and available in any color. You can't be in a bad mood when you wear these because you feel like a fairy princess! I will be a fairy princess.. I WILL!

Hats! With a chill in the air, I picked up my trusty crochet hook and whipped up a few hats. They are also for sale in my Etsy shop in any color of your choosing. I just filled a custom order for one cutesy dark red ear hat, and one grown-up blue hat.

My morning project while I drink my tea has been knitted hand/arm warmers. No pictures yet, but several pairs will be for sale in the shop soon.

In Other News:

It's almost time for me to say goodbye to Fayetteville, WV - my home for the past four months. Sherry and I are planning a winter adventure as we speak, that may include a craft fair out west... or east... or in another country? Who knows :)

For the Love of Craft!

2010-08-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Though I love working on my plushies, I get the itch to craft around a little. Friday off from work = bonding time with my sewing machine.

My plans for the winter are still up in the air, but one possibility is a cross country road trip with my best friend to Lake Tahoe. We were thinking of adding some hats and scarves to our inventory list (along with our dresses). This fleece scarf is one of the possibilities!

I've wanted to make these cute flower hair pins foooorever. Synthetic fabrics do this neat melting/curling effect when you hold them near a candle flame. Add a few layers, lace, beads and ta-da!: fairy princess hair clip. I made several of these and they were super fun to make. I want to add a few more colors and styles and add them to my Etsy shop soon.

As for what's coming up with my plush work:

Something kind of like this! Look close and you can see part of my to-do list haha

Dragon Bunny

2010-08-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

I recently teamed up with the talented Ms. Sherry Spilker on a play-dress making mission. We've been prototyping for about 2-3 weeks and I think we have our final product almost nailed down. No pictures on that front yet as most of what we've created looks like it should be worn by a misfit toy, rather than a human lady.

I had to take a break from the dresses this past week to start and finish a custom order for a friend. What do you get when you cross a fluffy bunny and a scary dragon? According to me, this:

Rough sketch:

In progress 1 :

In progress 2:

Wings :)

Overall I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. This was definitely a great project to learn more about working with faux fur. I think if I ever make this guy again I might add a crazy tail or some spikes to the back to even out the bunny to dragon ratio.

Returning to Work

2010-07-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

After an amazing three month trip to Asia, we're back in the US with our crafty wheels turning! I've been experimenting a lot with fleece plush dolls rather than my usual crochet method.

Here are a few of my new pieces:

Meep!

I intended for this one to look a little shy, but I think he looks more sneaky.

This lady turned out totally different from the original sketch. She was going to have three octopus legs but then little feet just happened.

I went into this one with no plan, and just started cutting. I was pretty happy with how spunky he turned out, so I would love to tweek a few things and turn this one into a series.

Sky Arm Warmers: The Early Years

2010-01-15T17:57:00.001-08:00

Sky arm warmers in progress.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

We Made It Official

2010-01-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

Blogger and Green Elevator Industries are officially in a long term relationship. This is our new official home!

Custom made Frog and Dog

2009-12-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

As December is coming to an end, Steff and I are letting our poor tired fingers rest after a month of intense crafting. Although we've mainly been knitting arm warmers, we also finished one of our custom amigurumi orders. The order was for a frog and a family pet, Rebel the dog. Both are single crocheted in the round, with buttons/beads for eyes and felt accents. The Dog's "furry" look is done by pulling loops of yarn through the project and trimming it at the end. The Frog is wearing a hat because he needed a little snazzing up since the Dog was so fluffy.

Arm Warmers...

2009-12-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

have taken over our lives.

Love,

Megan and Steff

Ms. Molly Maroon Monster

2009-11-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

We're happy to introduce the first item in our plush creature series! After a little sketch book planning, we're happy to say we have a few cool items coming up. The first we have to show is Ms. Molly Maroon Monster. Hand stitching fabric was a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to combining this technique with some of our other crocheted amigurumi styles we've done in the past. Molly is hand stitched faux fur/felt, stuffed with foam stuffing, durable, playable, fun. Enjoy!

Drawing Board, Back to It

2009-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

Dear World,

You've seen creatures made of yarn, and you're about to see them made out of felt. or fabric. or fabric and felt. or yarn and felt and fabric. You get the idea. We've been hitting the sketch books this week to branch out more into the wide world of plush. It's a change of gears going from all yarn to mixed fabric, but we think this will really allow us more freedom with the designs. Should we be this excited over felt? Perhaps not... but it makes us happy. With the success of our crocheted hats on Etsy , we will also be creating some more "creature hats" combining felt, yarn, and other fabrics as well.

To satisfy our crafting ADD, we've also been knitting up a storm. Megan has started and restarted and restarted again (don't ask) a woven cable scarf (pictures to come). Steff has finished an awesome cabled leg warmer, and will finish the other after a trip to the craft store ends her "I've run out of yarn and I need to get more before I move on to another project and forget this one forever" crises. Wow, knitting seems to be giving us the heck lately! Not cool knitting, get your act together.

Love,

The Ladies of Green Elevator

Ice Cream Monster

2009-11-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

This is the most frightening creature EVER!!!!!

....If you're an ice cream cone.

This fellow is super nice but he devours frozen treats like.. well... a monster. Stands at 5 1/2 inches high. Crocheted using cotton candy light blue and sprinkled with dark blue berry polka dots. Eating a crocheted strawberry ice cream cone. Cute, slightly crazy, and as sweet as the ice cream, this is our Ice Cream Monster!

For sale now at our Etsy Shop www.GreenElevator.Etsy.com

Halloween - A Crafters Most Important Holiday

2009-11-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

Hi Ho! Megan the VooDoo Doll here!

Dorkyness, fun, costumes, playing pretend, hand-made things EVERYWHERE. My goodness, I love this Holiday!!!

Steff rocks the socks off of themed-party costumes, but Halloween tends to be my one big "turn myself into my own craft project" day of the year. This year was my first non cute/cartoony costume. I'm proud to say, I creeped a few people out. Victory!

I needed a costume that I could make in under 4 days and had 90% of the materials. Wednesday-Saturday (Halloween Night): crocheted tights and sleeves, made dress from burlap, felt heart, drinking straws+glitter+styrofoam+pain+hot glue+mod podge = pins, crochet headband with strips of fabric for hair, black eye pain, bright red lips stick, brown tights underneath for warmth. ta da!

Purple Creature Hat

2009-11-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

Feel like pretending you are some insane adorable wild creature in the middle of winter, but it’s too cold? FEAR NOT! We have a solution. As usual our solutions are made of yarn. Here it is, The Purple Creature Hat!

We enjoy inventing new creatures as much as celebrating our favorite real life ones. Here is the first of our “Creature Collection.” This hat is super warm, so it is sure to bring play-time back into your winter days.

Crocheted in the round using super soft fuzzy yarn. Purple hat, dark pink ears, and extra long ties. This hat is designed to rest right at your eyebrows for maximum warmth, and creature transformation. Enjoy!

Geekery

2009-10-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hi-ho!

Megan the Geek here! We we are not only business crafters, but full time personal life crafters too. Yesterday was a very special day for me:

1. Yesterday was my birthday (yay!)
2. (More importantly) My Rainbow Brite Halloween Costume was recognized by GeekCrafts.com! I take great pride in the nerdyness of myself and the things I make, so I'm pretty excited about this. You can check out the post at http://geekcrafts.com/rainbow-brite-costume/

Black Kitty Cat Hat

2009-10-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

New item for sale on Etsy!!!

Ok we admit it... We are on a fast track to being crazy old cat ladies one day. We are huge cat fans here at Green Elevator, so we couldn't help making a Kitty Cat Hat.

This hat was crocheted in the round with super thick soft yarn, has extra long ties and tassels, with kitty ears. We thought it would be perfect for Halloween, or just fun to celebrate cats and cuteness any chilly day of the year!

Sneak Peak

2009-10-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sneak peak of our new items before they go on sale. You can brag to your friends that you knew what Green Elevator had cookin' before it was on the market. If that doesn't score you some cool points, nothing will.

2009-10-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

We would like to start out by saying... we are NOT cold weather fans. Seriously. Not at all. We both whine and complain from about October-April. However... In our great battle to defeat Jack Frost, we have a wonderful excuse to make millions of cute hats, scarves, mittens, sweaters and so on. Right now Steff is in the middle of an amazing complicated sweater. I am the child who never grew up, so I'm been making a series of themed hats. Our first to show... The Sea Monster Hat!

Loch Ness gave sea monsters such a bad reputation! Clearly, they're a nice fun loving bunch. Care to join the party? This can be your official Sea Monster Hat to go play under the sea, dress up for Halloween, or enjoy any other chilly day of the year.

This hat was crocheted in the round with soft fuzzy aqua and purple yarn. The hat has dainty ear covers, and extra long ties and tassels at the end. Accented with a sea monster style and beads.

On sale at our Etsy Shop now www.greenelevator.etsy.com

Extra Extra! Read All About It!

2009-09-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Green Elevator Industries is FINALLY up and running. That's right kids. Get excited.

www.greenelevator.etsy.com

A lot more to come very soon...

Just So You Know...

2009-08-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

Lots of knitting.
Lots of yarn and paper.
Torso Army.

Prepare yourselves.

Love,

Megan and Steff

Trees In Progress...

2009-08-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed... Steff and I... not so great at in progress updates and pictures. We swear we're trying to get better! To prove it here is a little guy that's in process now:

Crocheted truck and three pom pom's for the leaves - this little guy is on his way! Way to what.. I'm not sure. Right now I'm thinking of making a few crochet and non crochet tree jar pieces. I still can't decide if I would want everything in the jar to be made of yarn or not for this tree. I don't want it to be too yarny but I also don't want the yarn to look out of place with some other material. Unfortunately, I haven't been eating a lot of food that comes in jars lately, leaving my "art supplies" a little low. Spaghetti dinner anyone?

Speaking of trees... here is another piece I've been working on...forever...

I don't even know if I want to talk about this one due to being so embarrassed that it's STILL not done. It was a chicken wire frame... for months.. then it was a mod podge fabric decoupage trunk... for months... then I was super motivated! I hand cut and stitched all the leaves, glued/wired them on - and then!!!! I ran out of thread... lost my momentum... and there it sits. I plan to finish it soon though. Upon Steff's suggestion I think I might make a preserved twig bonsai tree type base filled with moss to put it in.

PS - I love that you can see my awesome Martha Stewart Glitter in the background. yes!

The Weather Was Nice To Us!

2009-08-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

I suffered for my art!!! By suffer, I mean got a bug bite in the park... By art, I mean yarn animals... By all of this, I mean we took new photos in the park!

This is our pretty pig. She prefers frolicking in fields of flowers over the laying around in the mud. She is crocheted from yarn with felt accents, and her flower garland is made from origami flowers and sealed with Mod Podge. For the rest of the photos click here.

At the moment this is an Unidentified Creature. Although he looks like he and the space hamster may have come from the same location... He is made from yarn with felt accents, wire, and yarn pom poms. What ever he is, I hope a merry little army of these guys takes over the world, then enforces their jolly way of life upon us. "You earthlings will be play games, sing songs, and dance! NOW!!! HAHAHAH!" For the rest of the photos click here.

All photos taken and enjoyed in Prospect Park.

Hello Hello!

2009-07-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Thought we've been slacking? Running in fields of daisies? Singing songs? Playing all the live long day? All the while NOT crafting? Well you're wrong Mr. and Ms. Fancy Pants! Steff and I have been crafting up a storm at the Green Elevator Head Quarters. While we are dedicated crafters, we're not so great at taking pictures to prove it. I swear there will be photos to come soon.. really.. I swear!

Some things to look forward to:

Steff has been bouncing between sewing and knitting. Her knit patterns are so complicated my eyes glaze over just looking at her very.. large.. very organized.. chartS. Note the emphasis on the plural. As for sewing, you can all look forward to some awesome aprons coming up. Circle skirts, upcycling, trimmings - They're so cute it hurts.

I've been making a few amigurumi creatures, experimenting with "plarn", itty bitty bit of knitting, and brain storming. By brain storming I mean starting 20 differnt things, not really liking them, making my living room look like a grave yard of unfinished yarn creatures. Interesting but not quite the decorating theme I was going for.

Also it looks like we will be teaming up with our good friend and fellow crafter Nissa of Nissa Sue Loves You (link to her Etsy shop on the right) to form a craft coalition! Right now we are in the very serious planning stages (coming up with a cool name), in extreme privacy and secret (in a conversation over our facebook walls), to take over the world (to make crafts)!!!

If the weather is a little less dramatic this weekend we'll be taking photos of our recent finished works and a few in progress shots to give you a preview of what's to come. Until then, sleep soundly knowing Green Elevator Industries is alive and well.
Love,

Meg and Steff

Photo Shoot II

2009-07-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

In addition to the amigurumi creatures below, I also shot the jar things I made this winter (See all photos from this shoot here). This was started right after Steff and I each made 1,000 origami cranes. It's hard to spend every spare moment making cranes for a month and then just stop. It was kind of a nice routine adding little birds to my flock. So after the 1,000 were complete I made a few more miniature versions. I had seen several types of jars filled with origami creations, but thought it would be neat if they were strung up inside the jar as you would string them up in a room.

This was my first jar piece. This was an old spice jar - all spice maybe? Italian seasoning? Hmm.. Anyway, the cranes are strung on a piece of cotton thread, separated by beads, and glued to the top. The bottom is filled with black ceramic beads. It is called the "Leila" crane jar because it reminded me of one of my coworkers named, you guessed it, Leila.

The Leila Cranes were folded on a 1.5"x1.5" square, for my next jar I went a little smaller to 1"x1." As I mentioned I started these two crane jars right after I made 1,000 cranes. For those of you who did not go through an obsessive origami crane phase - the idea is that the 1,000 cranes bring you good fortune and a wish by carrying that wish to the heavens and so on. This jar was kind of going with that concept, with the cranes hung in an ascending swoop around the jar. The lid is painted blue and the bottom is filled with a mixture of paper, plastic, and ceramic green beads.

Danda Lion, get it? Like a dandelion! I know, I even winced at that a little. As much as I would love to take credit for that horrible pun, I can't. This was inspired from a fabric pattern we saw in a store in New Paltz NY. It had a dandelion print with little lions whose manes looked like the white fuzzy part of the flower. Precious, right? So I had to make my own dande-lion. I call mine "Danda Lion" though because "Danda" sounds like it could be a real lion name. He hangs out in this old spaghetti sauce jar with a couple origami flowers, yarn grass, and burlap earth.

I mentioned that I go through obsessive phases.. This jar was made during my "Coraline" phase after seeing the movie. Great movie by the way. It shows the dark side of crafting, awesome soundtrack, and it's an all around good time for everyone. The slightly creepy little girl is made from tooth picks (kind of a miniature worry doll) and embroidery floss. The bee is made from embroidery floss, a bead, wire, and a bit of fabric. These two hang out in a field of origami violets, and seem to be very good friends.

I like that they have a: catching lightening bug in a jar look about them - but you get to capture their whole environment with them. I want to start a few more of these soon. Stay tuned.

Amigurumi Photo Shoot I

2009-07-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

We're not ready for an Etsy launch yet, but things are happening for us here at Green Elevator. Since Steff and I decided way back when to start a business we've been on a craft mission, an exploration of craft, a journey to the crafter with in! That basically comes out to be 5 billion (no more no less) half finished/started projects.

However, I think Steff has started to master the art of aprons while I have continued and improved my amigurumi-crocheted creatures. The first official Green Elevator items have been photographed and posted to
flickr. Nothing is for sale yet, but you can get an idea of some of the things we have cooking.

I made this guy several months ago when we were first thinking of starting a business. I was going for a woodland type creature, and he turned out to be a mix of a hedge hog and a hamster. So that's exactly what he is.

This was my first attempt with using wire in an amigurumi project. I had no idea what this was when I finished.

Conversation:

Megan: What is this thing?

Steff: A hamster from space?

and so he is..

Ah this project was fun walk down memory lane. I, and many of my friends, went through a "punk" phase in high school. Blue hair, baggy jeans, old thrift store t-shirts - the whole bit. Looking back at pictures we looked about as hardcore as this bunny does. But who says a little bunny can't be badass? Um.. you know.. in his own way.. kind of.. Anyway, Rock on little guy.

A vegetarian T-Rex. Maybe we're not slaves to nature after all. Or maybe carrots are just that good. The gentle reptile to my right is a little different than my previous work. Slightly more muppety/cartoony, and more complex. He was created using many little swatches of crocheted fabric sewn together. I would love to try another dinosaur since this one was a great learning piece.

All the pictures were taken at the beautiful, amazing, and just a little big magical - Prospect Park. Field trip to Coney Island next? What?

Coming soon!

2009-07-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Everyone on Earth,

Green Elevator Industries is coming soon.

Love,

Steffany and Megan