Hannah-Alexander's Mucha Princesses and the Front Page Feature

Good afternoon marshmallows,

This week has lasted much longer than any other this year. It has been busy, stressful, full of excitement, sad, and overjoyed. This post will cover from Easter (the 5th) to now which covers more ground than I could've thought possible so let's get started with the largest event and move down the list: The Disney Mucha Girls designed by Hannah-Alexander that I was converting into cross-stitch patterns are finished!

You can view a larger image and learn more [here].
You can PreOrder them through [here] or [here] but please do not comment on this blog post to make your order because Blogger hates me and won't let me reply to comments. You could also message me via [etsy] directly. They're $20 each or $55 for a set of all three.

At this time Hannah hasn't given me permission to create patterns from her other princesses in the set so all we can do is hope that that changes in the future. So, until the if and when of that happens, these three (Rapunzel, Belle, and Meridia) are the only ones around for you to stitch and love.

The aftermath of posting these patterns has been immense. The first couple hours I sat there, staring at my inbox sadly, wondering and worrying that I had just put all this time and effort into them (with very mentioned help from my sister stitchers to the right) just for nobody to even want them. I replied to people as they came in at the usual flow (much thanks to my usual watchers who always have something nice to say!) and settled in for another project that wasn't going to take off like I hoped. Sure, it was a ton of fun to do! And certainly a challenge to get everything perfect and accurate to the original artwork as close as I and my friends could do. But the realist in me just couldn't see the light.

So I left my post at the laptop and went to watch some TV with my mom and brother while I worked on yet another butterfly. The next day I got a message back from someone I had thanked on Thursday telling me I was on the front page of deviantART for Friday!! That is just about one of the coolest things ever.

I was finding myself physically unable to keep up with the messages coming in; I would thank twenty people and refresh the page to find thirty more had taken their place. I stopped trying to thank everyone adding the patterns to their favorites and have allowed the messages to pile up while I focus on responding to comments, notes, and new watchers (followers on most other websites). In the last three days I have gained 229 watchers which is just astonishing, and the numbers keep going up. I mean, I'm used to having maybe a dozen people add me per month (Princess Peach skewed a lot of my regular numbers) so having a dozen new people to thank every time I open my inbox...! It's beyond my expectations! As I write this I have over 30,000 views on the patterns and over 3,000 favorites - it is not only the fastest growing thing I've ever posted, it's the most viewed and the most favorited! The only thing topping it for my statistics is my very first Daily Deviation which has more comments, and at the rate of things probably not for too much longer.

A Dimensions pattern rejected by my cousins.

The next most exciting event is that both my cousins Lynee and Amelia were proposed to on the 4th, and Lynee found out she was pregnant!! I know you must be saying, "two weddings and a baby are way more exciting than finishing patterns!" but this is an art blog and hence it takes a lower tier. What it does mean for art is that if either of them find a pattern they can't live without I will be making wedding samplers and baby samplers (cross-stitch) which will be large projects in all likelyhood.

There is also the possibility of me taking on a project for people-sized clothing for Amelia. Not all beads! In fact, probably no beads. It'll be sheer fabric and lace if it comes about at all and I'm excited to see if I'm actually going to do it or if she's going to purchase one from someone/where else.

Another exciting thing going on this past week is my friend Cat's Wire did a blog post detailing her own troubles with making Barbie-sized clothing out of beads. You can read about it over on her blog, [here].

You know what that's leading into, right? Yes! I'm going to start prototypes for my own Barbie-sized bead clothing hopefully this month, likely the beginning of May due to those Mucha Girls having such a loud response (no complaints). I'd like to have at least one prototype dress finished by the summer even if it's a non-removable one. I'm going to be working with miniature zippers just 3mm in width and possibly buttons for removable dresses but this isn't top priority. With the money I'm going to make from the Mucha Patterns I'll be able to buy at least one nude silkstone doll and that'll help with a lot of the planning!

O Star Trek Dress, where art thou?

Don't fret about the other projects getting nudged aside. I rotate my workload rather regularly and because of my super-useful way or keeping lists for everything projects aren't forgotten about. Monochrome Eumelia is nearly to the first gradient in her skirt and the Star Trek dress has received more pattern sketches (she looks more like the Next Generation than the Original Series at this stage).

Next week is Tons of Tiny and D.E.S.I.G.N. so keep a look out!
Pinky
Ashley Mae