2011 Sleep Goblin Ornament

I have been quietly re-opening my Etsy shop for business over the last few weeks.  You might have noticed some activity on the store's Facebook page if you follow that.  I also started a Google+ page, just to cover all my bases.  So if any of you want some custom stuff made by Christmas, now is a great time to let me know so it can be done in time!

But the more important thing I have to tell you is that the 2011 ornament is done!  Well, designed.  I still need to "mass produce" them.  They're themed after the carol 12 Days of Christmas, specifically a partridge in a pear tree.  It took a long time to figure this one out.  I had originally planned on doing it last year, but it just didn't come together.  This year I had a brilliant idea for layered paintings, but I couldn't figure out how to incorporate the partridge in a way that made me happy.  I still love the layer idea, but it will have to wait for something else.

A pear tree painting inside an ornament.

After debating between sculpted paper, cross stitch, and felt, I finally settled on felt.  I had to figure out how make a 3d bird plush, which I'd never done before.  Normally I just sew two flat pieces together and put some stuffing inside.  I did some research and found out the partridge referred to was most likely a red-legged partridge, so I tried to make it look like that.  They have a lot of color changes in their feathers, so it's not perfect, but I'm cool with it.  Then I threw in some real twigs with some felt leaves and pears, and done!

If you like it, you can pre-order it for $10 through the end of November, and then the prices go up to more accurately reflect the time and effort put into them.  Also, if you're missing any previous year's designs, I found a bunch of half finished things that I'm going to try to finish up and put in the shop so I can be rid of them.  Keep an eye out for those as well!

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Weaving 101

I'm soooo excited!! As mentioned before, on Saturday I bought a loom. It's not a huge thing (you have to work up to that kind of commitment!). It's a 20" Knitters Loom by Ashford, a type of rigid heddle. Except it's only kinda rigid, because it can fold in half for easy transport. I'm in love. It's made almost entirely out of wood, and it feels so nice in my hands.

It came with complete instructions, beginning to end, for how to make a scarf. So I did. I'm very impressed with myself.

Weaving is so mesmerizing. It's like an itch that no amount of scratching will make go away. I hope it stays that way, because I had so much fun making that scarf. I just love pushing the shuttle back and forth, beating the threads... it's awesome. Besides, if I get goodat this, I'm going to sell all kinds of things! Placemats, coasters, small rugs. You name it! I'm taking pre-orders :)

Computer Ups and Downs

You know how I've had to occasionally take my baby (aka iMac) into the Genius Bar while I prayed for an hour that the dude there could bring it back to life? Yeah... we're there again. Except this time there's no Genius Bar, and I had to leave it at the Mac Shac which has no carpet, just a concrete floor full of stains like there used to be carpet glued to it. I dropped it off Friday, and have yet to hear from them... but, it's still under warranty, so whatever they have to do won't cost me anything. I'm really hoping they just replace all the RAM stuff, because at this poing I firmly believe that's been the problem all along.

So I've been without the computer that houses all my photos for quite some time. I may have just dropped it off Friday, but it's been very sick for a while, and I've been too phobic to call Apple about it. Thus, no pictures for blog updates. Well... that, and I've been extremely lethargic.

I do have a new lappy though! So far, it's pretty sweet, and it's beefy enough to run the Sims 2, so the old lappy and the old "gaming pc" were shipped off to friends in need. That was a toy I bought myself. Even more exciting is the toy that DS's mommy got me for Christmas that came last week - a Wacom tablet!!!!! Yeah, I'm stoked. Super stoked. You should probably add that tablet to the list of reasons I haven't been blogging. I've spent the last several nights curled up with the tablet and Corel Painter Essentials and just going to town. Generally speaking, this has not been helpful to getting stuff done for my business, as that requires tangible creativity (oh yeah, I'm now the proud owner of a California business license. woot!). However, last night I managed to finally finish something that's been on my to do list for months.

Yeah! Gift Certificates to my store!! You want one don't you? Buy a bunch for your friends!

2008 Sleep Goblin Ornament

The new ornaments are going up in the store as we speak! This year's design features little trees made of feathers. Particularly, pheasant feathers, which are just lovely. There are also a few turkey feather designs.