to be 5

Last weekend we stayed for dinner after the Saturday night church service. It was already past 8:30pm so it was dark. In the backseat I heard a little voice say,

"huh, trees DON'T lie down at night."

Their New Home

 

I received a lovely email from one of my loyal customers and she sent me this photo she took of my dolls that she has collected. They look so cute together if I do say so myself. I think my favorite is the middle one. I may need to make one like her for myself. 

Thank you Cindy for sharing!

Finish Well

H always urges me on to "finish well!" when we run together. Today he completed his first marathon, 26.2 miles, and he certainly did finish well. 

Here he comes!

He picks Tootie up ~ much to her surprise.

And carries her off to the finish line.

Boo! The scariest costume of all ~ a little Republican.

Leaving the house.

Tootie asked to be an elephant this year. Honestly, the Republican thing had nothing to do with it. It really was her idea. I thought it was an excellent suggestion since I figured it would be an easy costume to make and it was. I bought  2 pairs of gray sweatpants and a matching gray hoodie. I used one pair of pants to cut up for the ears,the trunk and the tail. The trunk and ears are attached to the waistband I cut off the sacrificed pants. The tail is attached simply with a safety pin.

She was thrilled with it. She got a big kick out of having to lift the trunk up in order to eat her candy.

Tootie in action.

Andrea ~ last one for Half the Sky

 
Bid here!

I just finished Andrea this afternoon. 10% of the proceeds of this doll will be going to the Half the Sky Foundation. The other 90%, will be going to me. I do need to start pulling my weight around here. :) Speaking of which, Lollishops will be opening soon. Lollishops is an online juried venue where I will be able to sell and manage my own store similar to etsy. From their site:

LolliShops is a juried, online selling venue for talented artists, collectors of vintage and art supply vendors. LolliShops will appeal to those who love...

Elegant Whimsy
Romantic Inspirations
Fanciful Creations
... artists will enjoy setting up their own, customizable store fronts while LolliShops patrons enjoy feeling like a kid in a Candy Store!

I suppose I would fit under Fanciful Creations? I dunno. I'm a little new to this whole frou frou thing. I think they're slated to open in time for the holiday shopping rush. Between now and then I'll be frantically working to stock the shop. 

~ a peek at my livingroom/photography space. That's Tootie sitting on the couch watching TV right behind the backdrop. ~

Don't forget to check Andrea's eBay listing. Thanks!

Another doll!

Bid now!

Japlo is approximately 22 inches tall and 16 inches from fingertip to fingertip. The name Japlo is a girl name in Liberian Kru that means beautiful girl. She is made in honor of my friend's upcoming adoption of 3 children, siblings, from Liberia. 10% of the sale of this doll will go to Half the Sky and the rest of the proceeds will be donated toward my friend's adoption expenses. Adopting 3 children at once can be daunting but I am certain they are perfect for the challenge ahead of them and where anything is lacking God will provide.

I really had fun making Japlo. The fabric is one of my favorites. I love the colors and the simplicity of the design. 

Please support their adoption and Half the Sky's incredible work! Bid generously!! 

Half the Sky Auction!!!

Bid now!

Every year a wonderful organization, Half the Sky Foundation, has an eBay auction to raise money and awareness of orphaned children in China. Every year I create a doll for their eBay auction. 

This year I have a doll I named MeiMei (little sister). She is approximately 22 inches tall and 16 inches from fingertip to fingertip. Her dress is has an adorable small flower print in blue, pink and brown that features a pocket to place tiny treasures. In her hair are handmade fabric flowers on either side of her little sprout pigtails. Her shoes are made to look like traditional mary jane's in felt and are removable. She has her own little "MeiMei" doll that I recently had printed via Spoonflower. She is stuffed with all new material.

MeiMei, as well as every doll I make, is a One Of A Kind original doll and is handmade by me -- Susan Mentrak. Please note that she has a couple buttons and 2 fabric flowers that are hand sewn and therefore not intended for children that still put things in their mouths such as those under the age of three.

I am proud to donate 100% of the auction to Half the Sky Foundation. Please support their incredible work and bid generously!! Click here to see her eBay listing.

Perfect Narcissism

I got my fabric back from Spoonflower the other day. I was so excited to see the envelope sitting in my mailbox. I opened it very slowly in order to keep up the suspense. It turned out beautiful for a first go round. I see where I want to tweak a couple areas but overall I am extremely pleased. Not bad for someone like me who has never designed tiled pattern for fabric.

It's intriguing to imagine what the public will be able to do with this new concept of print your own fabric. The possibilities are limitless ~ no more relying on what buyers think you should want. I wonder how this, along with companies like cafepress and ponoko, will revolutionize not just the craft industry but world retail markets. *As a sidenote when I looked up ponoko just know I see that they're promoting a Seminar at MIT about this very idea*:

Mass customization today is emerging from a pilot stage into a scalable and sustainable business strategy. We recently have seen a strong increase in investments and success stories of companies doing mass customization on a larger scale. The objective of the 2008 seminar is to take an intensive look at the success factors and "how to do it” aspects of mass customization and personalization.

Golly. I sure wish I could go. Not that I'd understand half of it but still. Cool.

Another side to this is the ramifications of mass customization consumerism is going to have on our society. That could be a whole other seminar. Think about how much our society has changed simply due to how transient we are and our loss of small town community. People used to live in the same small community for generations. Everyone knew everyone. And if everyone knows everyone than one is less likely to speak or act out of line. There would be social consequences for doing so. Fast forward to today. Not only are we transient but we have the anonymity of the internet. One can post or say what they want without fear of retribution or consequences ~ why bother if one is going to move every couple years or simply get a new ISP#? I think this is one of the main issues that is fueling a culture war that is being played out in this year's election. The traditionalists vs. the progressives. How then is mass customization going change our society?* Spending? Uber Individualism and Perfect Narcissism? Is this the evolution of Reality TV in which now everything is in the hands of the consumer? These are really big questions. I'm losing you aren't I?

What was I saying again? Oh yah, my Spoonflower fabric. So cool. So flippin cool. I find myself touching it to remind myself how it's going to change the world.