joybucket

c'mon now

2010-02-04T13:59:00.000-05:00

Dude.

C'mon now. Why in the world are you still checking here? Don't miss the party. Join me over at my snazzy new place.

http://joybucket.wordpress.com/

You still here?

2010-01-17T00:25:00.001-05:00

http://www.joybucket.wordpress.com

Just a little friendly reminder to update your bookmarks and feeds. please?

MOVED!!!

2010-01-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

In with the new...

Check out my new digs.

http://joybucket.wordpress.com/

Please update you feeds and bookmarks. Pretty please? I think you'll like it over there. Drop me a comment too over there so I know you got this little note.

I'll be talking to myself if you don't show up. :(

Tree Hunting

2009-12-06T22:01:00.001-05:00

We headed out to the tree farm today. I think this was the fastest we've ever picked one out. We walked up to the very first tree we saw and all agreed. Even the farm worker was a bit surprised and commented how fast we were.

The last photo is out of focus. My camera doesn't auto-focus consistently (one too many drops). That is an example of my manual focus talent. It appears I'm in need of some stronger glasses. Bugger.

For those who got a Christmas card from us last year - I am sorry but we're not doing anything as fun or creative. We went to Meijer and picked a pre-packaged boxed card this year. I like them and hope you do too.

Lazy Morning

2009-12-05T14:03:00.002-05:00

stuff

2009-11-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

Best quote from last year's Christmas season:
Mommy, I want you to get me a special surprise for Christmas. Something I don't know about and something I'll like...and I'm not talking about those special kind of surprises like a hug or telling me you love me.

This year she wants a new paints, new books and a doctor's kit.

Jeff Vader (the dog) is doing well with obedience training. He's a funny dog. I've never seen a large dog jump like a toy poodle straight up in the air when excited until I met him. It's crazy. I need to get video of it.

Will my house ever be clean all at the same time?

I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet. Last year I was almost done at this time. I haven't done our Christmas card either and it's stressing me out. How do I top last year? I can't. What to do...what to do...

Next weekend we will get our tree. I have a goal to have the house clean and orderly by then. Why the house needs to be clean for the tree I don't know. It's one of my rules I made up in my head.

I want to post more to this blog. Wanting to and actual doing can be two very different things. This randomized post is a start I suppose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

We're hanging out watching Mythbusters on this fine Thanksgiving morning. Nothing like a lazy PJ day with the family. I'm not complicated.

This year I've learned to appreciate the basics. There is so much to be thankful for. God has given me a great life.

Hope you have a great day. Eat lots and lots! I plan to.

If you are interested I have reduced the price of my dolls as a special for the holidays.

gobble gobble

2010 Fabric Calendar

2009-11-19T15:16:00.004-05:00

Vote for my design! Please?? I entered a design in Spoonflower's Calendar challenge. Mine is a modern twist on the traditional fabric tea-towels. Go here to vote.

I think it printed up really nice - the colors are crisp and vivid. Great job again Spoonflower!

Since I had the basic design I figured I'd make a basic repeat out of it. I ordered a test swatch. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one turns out."

The contest was to create a calendar to be displayed as a fabric wall hanging similar to traditional tea-towels. I wanted one that was more modern than typical tea-towel calendars so...that's what I designed. I think this would make a great gift, not that I'm biased or anything but I really do. The price is right at about $12. It is designed to fit a Fat quarter exactly so choose that option when ordering. You may need to sew a seam at the top depending upon how you would want to display it.

You can purchase it here.

edited: It's not quite ready to be purchased but it will be soon.EDIT #2 - It's now available. So, if you want a calendar for Christmas they're available.

Hand Stitched Embroidery Swap Finished

2009-11-14T12:43:00.001-05:00

I'm late for the official deadline on this swap. Jeff Vader ate the first hoop.

This is my fish fabric design which you can buy here.

Hanging Out

2009-11-02T21:16:00.001-05:00

Jeff Vader is settling in.

I've been sick with a cold for over a week. So annoying. It would be better to be sick sick and get it over with. I'm only getting the bare minimum done around here.

Tootie, however, is stepping up and being so helpful and grown-up. She's absolutely amazing and I can't believe I get the privilege of being her Mama.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:04:00.000-04:00

Thinking Arby's and a cat.

Fishy Fish Fish

2009-10-27T13:21:00.000-04:00

I've been busy creating fish fabric for the Spoonflower weekly challenge. Please watch on their blog for when it's time to vote for my fabric and vote for me! Pretty please?

I ordered test swatches and once I proof them and make some tweaks then I'll have them up for sale.

New Dog, Big Dog. Jeff

2009-10-12T22:17:00.003-04:00

Here he is, our newest member of the family. Tootie calls him New Dog or Big Dog. I wanted to name him Jeff Vader -- taken from this Eddie Izzard bit.

He looks like a Jeff Vader. He's very deer-like and fine featured and not at all ferocious. He is large, however, and it appears he is going to get much larger. Jeff is 11 months old now and is eye-level with the kitchen counter. He's built like a freight train -- his body seems to go on forever and there is a lack of communication between what his hind end is doing with the rest of his body.

He was terrified of the stairs at first so the past couple days we've been practicing very slowly, one paw at a time how to navigate them properly. His biggest problem was getting his hind end in control. He kept wanting to kick. As of today he is doing them solo but he still goes realllllly slow, as we showed him, one step at a time.

So now when I mention Jeff Vader (not really his name in RL) you'll know who I'm talking about.

The Winners Are...

2009-10-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

If your name (from the comments in the previous post) is listed below you won a pin!

Digital Misfit
Wendy
Regina
Janice
Jelabrilo
Mary

Please email me with your mailing info. so I can send you your pin. My email is joybucket @ gmail . com (remove spaces).
Thanks all who played along with me!

Giveaway Goodies

2009-10-05T21:06:00.000-04:00

I promised a giveaway so here it is...
I made some little kokeshi doll pins out of my fabric, see them above. I'm giving away 6 of them. If you would like to be in a drawing to win one of these little girls then write a comment on this post. If you write about this giveaway on your blog and link back to me and include the link so I can follow it in the comment I will enter your name twice. I'm doing it the old fashioned way with little bits of paper and a hat. I'll have Tootie draw out the winning 6 names. So, you got it? Leave a comment below and I'll enter you once. Include a link to a post (either blog or message board) inviting others to check it out I'll enter your name a second time. Happy days! I'm off to watch the movie Always with my hunky husband. OH, I almost forgot. The deadline for entering will be Midnight Sunday the 11th. I will draw names and announce the winners on Monday, Oct 12th.

Three Dolls

2009-10-02T14:19:00.003-04:00

I have 3 new dolls available in my Etsy shop. The first one above is Nora and she is my favorite. I like everything about her; how she sits, how her arms flop at the sides, how her head is tilted. So cute, if I do say so myself. :D
This is Tallulah-Jean who I imagine her to be one that is Tomboyish, climbing trees and skipping stones in foo foo dresses. Her legs from the knees down are sculpted out of paperclay and she can stand up on her own without support. SOLD
Finally, is Katrina. She's my only doll that has a sculpted torso. Both her arms and legs are jointed with buttons.
Please go take a look at the shop. Click on the links above to see more photos of each doll. I also updated my Shop Policies page which you may get a kick out of or think I'm totally bizarre. What can I say? I'm self entertaining.
I have more goodies in the coming days to post in my shop--small things, not sculpted dolls. Yet. It'll take me some time to finish more of those. I also have a blog give-away planned. Stay tuned...

Paperclay doll in process

2009-09-12T20:32:00.000-04:00

Huge feet are weighing her down. Don't jump.

Little Bird Awakes - DQS7

2009-09-07T20:13:00.006-04:00

I'm pretty much finished with my Doll Quilt Swap 07 (DQS7) quiltie. All that is left is to bind it up and mail it off. I've titled this quilt "Little Bird Awakes: She Sang So Strong Her Little Reality Tore In Two" which is a mighty big name for a small 19"x 19" quilt.

I started with wanting to do lots of circles. I've had circles on the brain for awhile now. I just began making circles figuring the theme would come to me as I worked. As I laid them out I liked the rhythm they made juxtaposed to each other. I thought, "hey that looks like what it would look like if one could see words all piled up." Who's words? I wanted something small and cute - a little chirpy bird. Some of the tiniest birds can make big noises - especially at the crack of dawn on the one day I get to sleep in.

Here's the story I came up with: A cute little spunk of a chirpy bird has finally awakened from being asleep all winter. It appears as if she is in a perfect bubble. Now that she is awake her eyes are open to all that is going on around her. She is overwhelmed and does the one thing, the only thing she knows how to do. She begins to sing. It's tentative and quiet at first. As she goes she begins to gain more and more confidence and pretty soon she singing her heart out. All that singing piles up and begins to pull at the fabric of her world. The fibers that knit her world together begin to fray due to the weight of the music. Eventually, the tension is too much and her present reality is torn in two. Behind it a new one is revealed. Now her song can fall into it as well.

That's what it's about -- one tiny bird with a big mouth. I hope my swap partner likes it.

During the making process I got to the point where I knew I wanted to cut the quilt in half so I could add that inner ~~peace~~ piece. I had a really hard time doing it. I had to give myself a little pep talk before running my blade down through. I whispered, "You've gotta do it. Come on, do it already. Chicken. Hear that? balk balk balk."

As you can see I did it and now it's done. I was hoping that by doing the DQS7 it would jumpstart me into my creative world again. That it has. I'm glad I did it. What's next?

A Bit of Beta, bitte?

2009-08-29T19:22:00.005-04:00

Spoonflower, the wonderful print on demand fabric service, has launched it's Beta test of their Marketplace. This means that if you are in their test group you may buy and offer for sale designs that they will print. Once they get the bugs worked out during this Beta stage it will then be opened up to the general public and hopefully this will be soon. Currently, one can only buy the fabric design that is uploaded - one can't buy other people's designs.

This is what I wanted to do from the beginning. I really had no desire to keep inventory of fabric to sell. I would much rather take a commission for the design and let Spoonflower handle everything else; printing, money transaction, shipping, etc.

So!, if you are in the small group that volunteered for the Spoonflower Marketplace Beta test I have 2 designs up for sale. One is "Kokeshi Girls"* which is pictured above. The other is "Joybucket Dolls" * which is pictured below. They really are lovely in real life and the color detail is exquisite.

*The links will only work if you are signed in as a member of the Beta Marketplace. (I think.)

Yes!

2009-08-24T21:19:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is the last day of summer break. Please join me in a little music tribute for this occasion.

To get the full of effect play all of them at once to experience the emotion I'm feeling at the mere thought of it.

Doll Quilt 07 and Studio WIP

2009-08-20T20:55:00.002-04:00

Seems like my life is always in a state of WIP (work in progress).

With Both Feet

2009-08-15T23:18:00.002-04:00

Summer is almost over. School starts Aug. 26th.
I signed myself up for Doll Quilt Swap 7. I thought it would be a good way to jump-start me back into the creative world again. It has. It has also forced me to clean out my much neglected studio.
I dragged Tootie all over the North end of town today looking for affordable lighting to put in the studio. I settled on overhead fluorescents. I know, not eye appealing but c'mon they're practical. I hung them up myself tonight. They'll probably fall on my head.
I am never going to play Scrabble, Farmtown or Mafia Wars with you nor do I care what shoe I am, what my ghetto name is or the color of my aura. Okay?
I need a bowl of cereal.

Today at Sue School

2009-07-03T22:37:00.002-04:00

I'm surrounded by girls all day. They call me Miss Sue. What they do with me is called "Sue School". Today we decorated cupcakes for the 4th. They ate them all of course.

Summer Days

2009-06-25T22:09:00.002-04:00

I made a pie. I took the photo as evidence that I did indeed do this miraculous feat.

It's the 7 & 6 year old missing teeth club.

I turned 40 this week.

And the best news I just got tonight. I found out I was approved for a grant I applied for to buy all the equipment needed to implement a QuickStart program. I can't wait. The kids around the neighborhood are going to love it.

First Day of Summer

2009-06-10T21:43:00.003-04:00

Today we kicked off our first official day of summer break. I am spending my summer with my daughter - age 6, my neighbor's daughter - age 7, and my friend's girls ages 6 and 8. I've turned my garage into a giant classroom/playroom and we are going to live out of there most of the summer. Today, being the first day, we made up rules which are as follows:

1. Treat others how you want to be treated.

2. No Complaining, Backtalk, Tattling, or Manipulation. See rule #1.

Infractions are to be paid immediately with either 20 sit-ups or 1 lap around the yard (I have a big yard). There will be no warnings. I am not immune and have already done a lap for calling the dog "stinker" which was deemed name calling and falls under #1.

Our biggest project the girls want to tackle is to put on a skit for the neighborhood on the 4th of July. I haven't found the right skit yet. Suggestions are welcome please. Please?

A Loss For Words

2009-06-04T22:37:00.005-04:00

For the first time in 5 years of keeping a weblog I have don't have the zeal and desire to compose regular posts. I've been doing this gig for 5 years. What is the average shelf life of a blog anyway? I've been hanging out on facebook and once I post there I don't have the energy to come over here and post something clever. Maybe as video killed the radio star, facebook killed the blog?

I'm not packing it up just yet. I'll probably make some changes to the design and spruce things up a bit. That always gets me jazzed just like when I move furniture around it makes me want to have people over and entertain.

So, that's what's going on with the blog. As for me and my family, well...

Tootie checking out a donation of felt board characters

Tootie is finishing her last couple days of Kindergarten. She is growing and changing at an alarming rate. The Tooth Fairy has been very busy in the Joybucket house. Sometimes I look at her and see a young woman and sometimes I see my chubby, scared 10 month old on the first day we met.

Our church Spring 2009

My husband and I have been busy starting a new Church. It is both the hardest AND of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. I'm about to turn 40 (in 18 days). It is high time I figure out what and Who I stand for and get about putting my feet and hands towards that end. I have been devoting a majority of my time lately on this new little thing God has knitted together. It's quite amazing, really, to see what He has already done.

That is what I've been doing. This summer I anticipate many hours at the pool, some science experiments, long walks, driveway firepit gatherings, clothes stained with a combination of bubble liquid/sand/chalk, backyard skits and perhaps a talent show too. Oh, the glorious age of being 6!

Welcome Welcome

2009-05-19T17:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome everyone from Little Birdie Secrets! If you came here looking for the Peek-A-Boo Bunting Stroller Quilt check out the right sidebar. There is an image titled "Simple Stroller Quilt Tutorial". Click on that image and it will enlarge and you will be able to download it.

Thank you so much for stopping by. My inbox was deluged and I've been overwhelmed with email requests. I created a flickr group so everyone can show off there creations. Please join! I can't wait to see what you make.

Susan

Upcycling and Reverse Applique

2009-04-05T23:19:00.002-04:00

This t-shirt had become too short for Toots yet it still fit everywhere else. I've been wanting to try a reverse applique and snagged this out of the donation pile.

First, I turned the shirt inside out and machine basted it around the edge of the doll outline. Make sure the fabric you are appliqueing is wrong side up (I could see through the fabric). Then turn in right side out. I top stitched using the basting stitch as a guide.

I cut away leaving @ an eighth of an inch to reveal the applique.

I pinked the arms and sewed it on top. I like the contrast between the two. It will unravel with wear and get thready.

As you can see from the first photo I added legs by sewing them where they meet the dress and left them to dangle. I added a 10 inch wide gathered strip of my fabric that was printed through Spoonflower and that was that. Now she has another shirt to play in.

Facebook

2009-04-02T09:54:00.003-04:00

I created a page on Facebook. I posted 2 of my tutorials and have started a discussion board. Check it out. Click on the image to go to the page.

Now on Etsy

2009-03-30T22:38:00.002-04:00

I have my Etsy shop up and running again. Anyone need some fabric? I'll be posting new designs once I get them printed up. Naturally, I'll share here as well.

I also recently learned how to make rounded corners in Photoshop. I'm so fancy schmancy now, I'm a bit smug.

Like Her Mama

2009-03-26T15:28:00.001-04:00

Tootie has taken to sculpting from a step-by-step book her Grandma gave her.

Little Thing Magazine:: Spring 2009

2009-03-24T09:04:00.005-04:00

Back in January I got an email requesting an interview and some photos of my work for a Chinese magazine called Little Thing. Naturally, I said yes! Yesterday it arrived. The magazine is beautiful and chock full of beautiful and creative images. The paper is a nice heavy stock too. Tootie says it smells good so there's that as well.

I wish I could read Chinese. It all looks so wonderful. I'm digging the fashion although I do think I'll pass on the Hobo beekeeper look. I'm pretty sure I can't pull that off.

I was included in a section about papiermache artists. I am honored to see I'm in fine company. Included (above) is artist Nicola aka greenphoenix. Her work is lovely. Again, I wish I could read the interview so I learn more about her.

Also featured are; baozi whose flickr album is here and Brazilian artist Carol Wisnievski da Cunha (Carol W.) whose Etsy shop can be found here.

The magazine included several vintage jewelry designers as well: Kari Beth,Ayssa Chandler, After17, and Beth Quinn.

In the way back is a tutorial on how to make a mini terrariums. So flippin cute. I'll take some photos and post later this week.

Here's a detail shot for those who can read it. Please let me know if I come across as some yahooooo. As you can see I put my fancy pants on for the occasion - so maybe the yahooo-iness title is appropriate. That's fine. I'll own it. Life's too short not to be free to be oneself.

You never know what you'll get.

2009-03-20T10:10:00.004-04:00

I made a dress for Tootie. Only, I don't know how to sew or read a pattern. I make it up as a go along.

I sew like I cook, directions are suggestions - surely they don't really mean that. The outcome is always a surprise if you follow that philosophy. I hope for happy mistakes.

This is the dress for Tootie. As you can see it turned out to be a shirt for me.

It is well

2009-03-19T09:38:00.002-04:00

The history of the hymn "It is Well With My Soul" popped up in my email this morning from Page CXVI. Here's what it said,

"It is Well" was written by Horatio Spafford after losing his son to
scarlet fever, all of his real estate investments to the Great Chicago
Fire, and his 4 remaining children to the sinking of a boat.

Curious for more information I found The Library of Congress exhibit: The American Colony In Jerusalem and an entry on Wikipedia.

This is what I'm thinking about this morning.

There, I said it: post #1

2009-03-16T22:18:00.004-04:00

I am stealing this idea from Banzai Chronicles. He does a post every once in a while titled "There, I said it" which I find hilarious.

Here it goes:

Expressionless big eyed little girl paintings, unicorns, birds in cages, owls and mushrooms; please, for the love people it's gotta stop.

There, I said it.

Birthday Girl

2009-03-14T11:08:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was Tootie's birthday. She is now an official 6 year old.

Tootie tried out her new skates as Sadie, our doberman, kept a wary eye. Sadie was not overly keen on the balloons. She wandered into the shot above and you can see she is making her there's-monkey-business-going-on-and-I-don't-like-it look.

After dinner Tootie had a chance to try the skates out for real. I can't believe how grown up she is getting. I know I say that every year and every year I really mean it. She is smart, creative, quick witted and a tad little Miss Smartypants.

She was very frustrated that she kept falling so I told her that she shouldn't expect to be perfect the first time out.

She responded, "Jesus is perfect".

"Yes."

"Who were his parents?"

"Um, Mary was his Mother and he had an adoptive Dad, Joseph."

"Who is his other Dad?"

"God."

"But Jesus is God."

"Yes."

"So, he's his own Dad?"

Oh, the paradox of the Trinity. My girlie, the 6 year old thinker.

Sadie

2009-03-12T18:36:00.001-04:00

She is a very intense dog.

Fabric

2009-03-09T15:03:00.002-04:00

I tweaked the "Girls" fabric design and got it back from Spoonflower. I really like how it turned out. The color is so much brighter and the details show up better. I fixed the registration problem. Overall I'm pretty well pleased.

Detail

More fabric. This was made with photos of my dolls which I repeated in photoshop. Fun fun

Almost 6

2009-03-08T21:12:00.004-04:00

My daughter is in her Puppy Phase. She drew this from a calendar photo of doberman puppies. She has taught herself how to draw by looking at the thing she's drawing and not her paper. I think she is really good for an almost 6 year old but then again, I'm her Mama.

We traveled out of town this weekend to meet up with the other families who we traveled with 5 years ago to adopt our daughters from China. Tootie has came down with a cold so she wasn't being herself, poor thing. She began coming out of her shell in the last few hours we were together. Oh, the delight in being an introvert.

Almost March

2009-02-26T09:18:00.002-05:00

The weather is starting to turn and sun has been making more of an appearance. We played outside yesterday and the dog was crazy wild and ran in circles around me. She has become quite the sausage with her winter weight.

I'm moving my studio space again. Now that the weather is warmer the upstairs room over the garage isn't cold. I like it. It has a big window that looks out onto our big front tree. I feel like I'm in a treehouse up there.

I need to go through my fabric stash. It needs a major organization overhaul. ugh.

Tootie has taken to arguing with the TV, mainly commercials. It's funny to eavesdrop on her. "No it won't! You're just saying that because you want me to buy it!" Noggin isn't immune to her criticism either. There's a bit that says something about Mother Earth and she always yells back, "The earth isn't my Mother! It can't love me. It's dirt! It's an object!" That's my girl.

$4,000,000,000,000

I'm researching disaster preparedness. No, I'm not a foil-hatted doomsday seer. I'm on our block watch committee and the local Police Dept. wants to promote preparedness training. After seeing what my parents went through it's caused me to take it more seriously. My parents had their house destroyed 2 years ago in a tornado.

I have a book that, for whatever reason, Tootie gravitates to it. She carries it around with her. She pretends to read it to the dog. She seems to be able to find it no matter where I put it. I move it from one bookself to another just to see if I can hide it from her. No. She sniffs it out. This has been going on for a couple years.

I'm off to review some books for my book club.

State of the Blog

2009-02-21T10:42:00.007-05:00

I've been blogging since 2004. First on Diaryland (aka gussiegoose) and then on LiveJournal. I moved over to Blogger in 2005. The first blogs I read were infertility/adoption blogs. The writing was excellent and it filled a need I had to connect with other women who were going through the same experiences I was at the time.

Things seemed so much simpler back then or at least my life at that time it was simpler. I had a toddler. I was mostly house bound due to nap schedules which I revolved my life around. Everything was smaller then. My entries were much different than today. I posted more often. I had more time and my writing showed it.

After I wrote this I checked my Bloglines and see this post. Check it out. Or don't if you just can't or shouldn't fit another thing in.

During that time a met a group of really great, smart and amazingly funny women. We formed a little community and called ourselves The Killer Ladybugs. It lasted a couple years then the busy-ness of life moved us on to other things.

I hardly ~~ever~~ never read infertility/adoption blogs anymore. Once I started making dolls my focus shifted to craft and art blogs. This is where I've been ever since. I don't read much of anything though recently. I just don't have time. I can barely find time to post a single blog entry let alone form a coherent sentence TO post.

It seems as if my brain cells aren't firing at the same rate as they did several years ago. Maybe I'm overstimulating them with having my hands in so many different things. That's always been my lifelong problem: I want to do everything.

I haven't shared here yet but my husband and I, along with a handful of others, have started a new Church. We're beginning from scratch and it is a huge amount of work. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not. It's actually really fun and exciting but not exactly blog fodder. I suppose I could post about driving around looking for vacant spaces to rent or going to Kinko's to copy announcements and sermon outlines...

All this to say, I will try to post more but I'm not making any promises. Maybe I should go back to posting bullet point random stream of consciousness. At least it would be something instead of nothing.

Ebb & Flow

2009-02-20T20:54:00.002-05:00

This is my family room in midst of transition. This is the wall my desk has been on but I didn't really like my work in the same space as the family room. I have moved it to the back room which is where my giant classroom sized chalkboard lives.

The art is a quilt top I found at a garage sale for $5. It's made of what appears to be old shirts for the small squares. The large yellow squares have handwriting scrawled on them.

H doesn't like this table here. Out it will go and in will come another couch from the other room. I'm sure it will all be moved around again in a couple months.

Here's looking into my kitchen from my foyer.

Tootie lost 2 teeth this week.

My Girl Loves Tape

2009-02-13T23:15:00.002-05:00

This is Jim the dog. His velvet was starting to wear off in spots so she trimmed numerous black pipe-cleaners to create fuzz. She then glued the fuzz on. Not satisfied, she turned to tape. Tape is like crack apparently to a 5 almost 6 year old.

She saw me taking a photo and quickly slipped in the Valentine's Day card she made for our dog. She is really proud of that card.

WIP: Paint Begins

2009-02-06T21:12:00.002-05:00

My posts have been sparse lately. I've got a million things going - or so it seems. I flit from one thing to the next. I need to be disciplined and remain on task. Although if I do the rest of my spinning plates will crash to the ground. Maybe I need to get rid of a couple spinning plates.

WIP: Three

2009-02-05T20:45:00.000-05:00

Slow But Steady

2009-01-22T15:30:00.001-05:00

My desk yesterday:

Onward

2009-01-19T19:41:00.003-05:00

View of desk 2:30pm

The doll mold is coming along nicely. You can follow it's progress on my flickr set here.

Nothing much to report so I'll share a story about a little friend of Tootie's. We'll call her Sarah. She is 4 years old. While Sarah was at her Grandma's house her Grandma noticed a chunk of hair on the counter next to a pair of scissors so she asked Sarah if she cut her hair. To which she replied, "yes". Grandma then asked why she would do that. This is Sarah's reply:

"Well, now if I runaway or if someone steals me you will have my DNA."

She's a quick thinker that Sarah. BTW, her father is a police detective. This same child was over last night. I noticed the lid was off the Aquaphor container and there was a big finger hole dug into it. I looked at Sarah and asked her, "So, after you stuck your finger in there what did you do with the cream that was on your finger?"

Her reply, "oh, I just wiped it on your curtains." mmmmkay then.

word.

2009-01-16T13:46:00.002-05:00

Here's the view currently from my desk.

My husband has begun something new in the Mentrak household ~ the word of the day game. It goes like this: He picks a random word from the dictionary and emails it to me. Sometime over the course of the day I have to seque that word properly into a sentence. I, in return, pick one for him and he follows suit.

My word today: foible

His word: caravan

Work In Progress

2009-01-15T22:50:00.003-05:00

Step 1 ~ sculpt in clay.

This is Anna. She cut her bangs herself.

2009-01-14T17:25:00.002-05:00

It's snowing. I love how quiet it is when the snow falls. The quiet won't last ~ Wow, Wow, Wubbzy! is about to come on. So much for poetic stillness. :\

We've got the wood stove going and I have a pot of chili on the stove.

It appears that the tooth fairy may be making a visit to our house tonight. sigh. They never stop growing do they?

There's a handwriting meme going around. It's been around for a couple years and it seems to be making a comeback amongst my acquaintances. Feel free to join in. I'm not tagging anyone.

Write the following down:
1. Your name and flickr id
2. left or right handed
3. favorite letters to write
4. least favorite letters to write
5. the lazy (or traditional: quick) brown fox jumped/s over the sleeping (lazy) dog
6. tag 5 people

Mine kind of looks like a crazy person's in comparison to some I've seen.

WIP

2009-01-13T22:22:00.002-05:00

I'm working again. It feels good.

Here's my desk taken this evening right before dinner. I found Tootie cutting foam shapes right before I took this photo. She wasn't cutting out anything in particular, just cutting for the sake of cutting. I can relate. Foam does make a small great noise when you put scissors to it.

Into a Groove

2009-01-12T18:44:00.005-05:00

Things are starting to settle back into place after the New York Times article about Spoonflower hit. The article as well as 2 other publicity opportunities hit completely out of the blue all at the same time and so it was a bit nutty around here the past couple days.

Now there's a nice quiet that has settled in our home. The Christmas decorations are gone. I've done some major clearing of clutter and the surfaces are clear. My living areas look fresh and promising ~ waiting for the new hellos the year will bring.

I am hopeful for this year of 2009. This is the year I turn 40. I've always wondered what I will be like when I'm 40. This year I get to find out. It's already proving to be quite interesting.

Welcome! Hello!

2009-01-07T20:41:00.011-05:00

updated: I'm having trouble getting the paypal "add to cart" buttons to work correctly. They were working this morning and now they lead to the paypal frontpage. If you would like to buy fabric please email me. joybucket @ gmail . com (remove the spaces)

Hello! I'm glad you've stumbled across my little space in the blogosphere. If you learned about me through the New York Times article about Spoonflower and are visiting for the first time, welcome. Let's take a little tour, shall we?

My name is Susan Mentrak and I am a doll artist (primarily). I make attempts at fabric design, pattern design and the occasional painting. The doll above and in my banner is Little Red. She was created to illustrate the famous Brother's Grimm tale. I sculpted her head using papiermache. The rest of her body is fabric. She also has button-jointed legs so she can either sit or stand. You can see more of her and my other dolls like her in my flickr set.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these dolls I will gladly make one for you. Please email me: joybucket AT gmail DOT com and we can discuss the details. I create each one to be unique, one of a kind, mini works of art. I don't carry an ongoing inventory. Therefore, each one requires 6 to 8 weeks for me to complete once an order has been placed.

If you don't want to wait I do have postcards that you can purchase here.

"But where is that fabric from Spoonflower?", you ask. Well, I'm glad you brought that up. I wanted to make small dolls like the easy sew dolls from when I was a kid in the 70's. So I printed up these little girlies.

This is the first fabric I got from Spoonflower and I was impressed with it's quality. Also, how cool is it to be able to print what ever you want on fabric?
I liked the pattern the dolls created so much I created a smaller version. The photo below is off in color. The blue is really more teal-gray and is similar to the larger doll fabric above. Each doll in the pattern is @ 2 inches tall.

I named the fabric pattern "girls" which was not extremely creative. It's just what I happened to type in when I saved the file. Spoonflower automatically names the fabric design with whatever is listed as the file so "girls" it is.

I hadn't really considered selling the fabric until I began getting requests for it. I am offering the "girls" fabric pattern for sale as fat quarters which measure 17"x 21". There is an additional 1.5" white border on one side. Since this fabric is printed on demand each order will ship approximately 3 weeks after payment. More details on how to purchase this fabric can be found here.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my work. Please stop back again. If you have a blog please leave a comment so I can visit you. I love meeting new people.

I Spy Christmas Card 2008

2008-12-25T00:08:00.004-05:00

You'll have to click on the photo to find some things.

Find the following:

Tootie
Sadie (our dog)
Susan (me)
Chinook helicopter
Joybucket doll
Portrait of Susan & Henry
GOP logo
Rudolph’s Nose
Pineapple
4 Butterflies

Merry Christmas everyone!!

tootism

2008-12-19T22:34:00.002-05:00

"Mommy, I want you to get me a special surprise for Christmas. Something I don't know about and something I'll like."

small pause

"... and I'm not talking about those special kind of surprises like a hug or telling me you love me."

Thanks for voting! and Christmas shopping

2008-12-15T19:42:00.004-05:00

Thanks everyone who voted for my design on Spoonflower! If you are interested in purchasing that design then head on over to Spoonflower's Etsy shop. It will be available through them for one week.

Rachel Walsh's "Blooms in Red" came in close second. Go check out her work, it's beautiful.

This week's contest is tough. I'm loving the chair design.

I'm really diggin learning how to do fabric design. It's addicting. I have such a huge learning curve to overcome that it takes me forever. I suppose it'll get quicker over time. I may just have to take a class at my alma mater.

Hope everyone's having a holiday season so far. Just 10 more days...

Any ideas for a 5 and a half year old? So far she's getting from us and Grandparents:

A marble run
Lincoln Logs
How to Draw books
New Playdoh and some accessories
A toy train
She asked for another set of cardboard building blocks so she can make bigger structures. We bought the set she has when she was 2 and it has been one of the most played with toys she has.

This is probably plenty but I would like to hear other suggestions. What do you think?

Fa la la la la la. la. la. .

2008-12-14T00:29:00.002-05:00

This is such a strange time. I'm not working on any sewing or art or dolls or anything creative. I've been putting all of my energy into my little bean. She is maturing so fast. She's starting to take upon herself responsibilities in the house. If she sees that something needs to be done she does it. It makes a Mama proud.

I think I'll go watch her sleep for a while.

Tootism

2008-12-09T10:42:00.004-05:00

"Mommy, I'm going to count all the way up to zero. Ready?

(lots of wiggling, smirking and general attempts at not laughing)

Get it? I counted all the way up to zero. Wanna see me do it again?"

~ Tootie, age 5

Vote for Joybucket! Please?

2008-12-08T08:01:00.003-05:00

Spoonflower has picked my fabric for their Fabric-of-the-week contest. Could you do me a huge favor and vote for mine now? My design is named "Girls" by JoyBucket. If my design wins I get 5 yards of free fabric plus the design will go on sale at their Etsy shop for one week. The rules for the contest can be read here.

Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T10:22:00.004-05:00

Lithograph, Home To Thanksgiving, published by Currier and Ives. Artist,George H. Durrie 1867.

wrappadappadoo* Reusable Gift Wrap Tutorial

2008-11-17T18:37:00.008-05:00

I got the idea for this about a week before Christmas last year. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Did I want to make a bunch up and sell them? ~~no.~~ heck, no. That would last about 5 minutes of excitement then it'd be a chore to try and do. ugh. I thought it would be more fun if you got to play along too. Plus it's more economical and Green for you, me, everyone. So I wrote up a super simple tutorial that shows step by step what to do. If you can sew in a fairly straight line and use pinking shears than you can make this!

Click on any image to view on flickr then click on tab "all sizes" above the photo to see larger.

Directions for the center ribbon style:

Click here to see this tutorial as a set on my Flickr page.

Make lots of them and give them away. Better yet, design some Christmas, Hanukkah, Baby, or Birthday fabric using Spoonflower and create a completely personal one!

Last Christmas I gave one as a gift. I used the reusable gift-wrap as the gift-wrap. Inside was an empty box with a little note explaining that the gift was actually on the outside. I should have designed and printed a mini-tutorial and stuck it in there so she could keep one and make one to give. Kind of like friendship yeast bread. It's the gift the keeps on giving.

I created a flickr group so you can share your creations. Please join! I can't wait to see what you guys do with this. Let me know what you think.

Continued from yesterday

2008-11-07T19:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was fun and exciting and all that but the best thing that happened wasn't the helicopter or watching H speak or seeing how excited all the kids were. The best BEST part was one brief sentence by a 5th grade boy that melted H's heart and put a lump in his throat.

He came up to H, introduced himself and said proudly, "I'm adopted too."

He was adopted from Ethiopia 18 months ago. He will be 11 next week.

Prelude to Veterans' Day - In Photos

2008-11-06T16:46:00.005-05:00

H landing the Chinook on the school's playground.

Yep, that'd be my daughter. Can you see her in mid-jump? Every time the kids would applaud she'd run around in a circle or jump up and down. It was as if she was doing a little interpretive dance for each question he answered. She was just a tad excited about her Dad being there.

Nooooo! That's very sensitive equipment, not a jungle gym! Where's your teacher? Oh look, she's busy texting.

The obligatory Chinook touring through the back end photo or otherwise known as The Chinook poops children photo.

H trying to catch up on paperwork while Tootie prepares to tackle him.

Overall, it was a splendid day.

Spoonflower Homepage

2008-11-05T09:49:00.001-05:00

My dolls made from the fabric I designed via Spoonflower is featured on Spoonflower's homepage. Below is the screenshoot. I added the little arrow, of course.

to be 5

2008-10-28T14:35:00.003-04:00

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

2008-10-27T11:04:00.003-04:00

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

2008-10-19T19:48:00.002-04:00

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.

2008-10-18T19:53:00.006-04:00

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

2008-10-16T15:56:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-10-13T11:02:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2008-10-10T21:03:00.005-04:00

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

2008-10-03T20:09:00.005-04:00

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.

Morning Houseguest

2008-09-20T20:01:00.002-04:00

H opened the blinds in our bedroom this morning only to discover this little guy ~ a bat sleeping between the storm window and screen. H poked him with a chopstick through the screen and he went on his way. I think I'd be on my way too if someone poked me with a chopstick.

sneak peek

2008-09-18T10:11:00.005-04:00

This is a detail of what I've been working on. I just sent it off to Spoonflower last night. I can't wait to get it back.

Although I've been relatively silent here it doesn't mean I haven't been working. There's a new online selling venue called Lollishops that will be opening Novemberish. It is in response to Etsy. Etsy is fine and works great for some but there are some drawbacks. It's easy to get lost in the crowd there. Lollishops is more targeted to a specific demographic AND the vendors are invited so the customer doesn't have to wade through so much stuff to find their treasure.

I'm excited about this new venture. Never in a million years did I think I'd be in a community whose tagline was "the frou frou friendly marketplace" yet here I am. I've been girly girl all this time and am just now realizing it.

Country Living Fair - meet and greet

2008-09-12T20:59:00.007-04:00

This was the Earth Angels tent at the Country Living Fair. It was crazy busy in there! I went specifically to meet several artists from this tent. I was delighted to meet soft sculpture artist Jody Battaglia. She was very lovely and gracious with my many questions. She was so kind to pose for me too. Isn't she cute? I don't mean that in a patronizing way, I truly mean it. She seems like someone that could easily be a go-to friend. Do you know what I mean by that? Sure you do. Everyone has to have some go-to friends.

Here is a detail of her table.

I met Jen O'Connor who manages their work and is the founder of Earth Angels. She was very busy doing a fantastic job of greeting customers, managing her artists and basically juggling a million things at one time.

Another artist I met who was a wonderful encourager was Stacey Bear. Her paintings absolutely need to been seen in person to fully appreciate her eye for detail and proficiency. She, like Jody, was so generous with her time and helpful advice. Sadly, I didn't take any photos of her or her work.

I also met a couple editors from Country Living. They were warm and also encouraging. They treated me as if I was a guest visiting their home. Actually, everyone I met oozed hospitality. It was refreshing especially on such a dreary rainy day. I'm happy I went.

Country Living Fair

2008-09-11T22:29:00.003-04:00

I'm going to this tomorrow. I can't wait. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get home.

A Rather Unfortunate Typo

2008-08-20T15:58:00.003-04:00

Sometimes spell-check just isn't enough. Photo taken at a local botanical park. This stone is one of many that tells a story as you walk along it's path.

Currently on my desk

2008-08-19T23:24:00.003-04:00

You can see in the background a fun little garage sale find. It is two figures carved out of wood. I still need to fix it but when it works you twirl the string and the bear dances while the dude plays the guitar. I couldn't pass it up for 10 cents.

The doll is for a silent auction that is this Friday. I better get moving on it. The auction is to raise money for friends of mine who are adopting 3 boys from Liberia. They were originally referred one child then learned that he had 2 more siblings. Soon they will have 4 under 4.

the dress

2008-08-18T21:31:00.010-04:00

I made my first dress using a pattern out of a Japanese sewing book. The top is from an old sheet and the bottom is cut off from a woman's dress I got at a garage sale. Tootie loves playing in it although she believes it needs more flowers appliquéd all over it. It's a silly dress.

You never know what you may find.

2008-08-17T22:22:00.002-04:00

I went to my first auction and picked up this chalkboard for $10. I didn't exactly "pick it up" though. Once I bid on it and won the excitement quickly wore off because I realized I had no way of getting a 10ft x 4 ft, 50+lb board home. It's not exactly something I could quickly throw into my hatchback. I stood there thinking,

"oh, heck (only I didn't say heck) now what."

There were a bunch of them for sale and they were bought by 2 other people. 4 of them were bought for $1 total so he only paid .25 each*. They were all new in the box too. We all looked at each other blankly. I asked if any of them had a truck and thankfully one did. I gave him $10 to haul it home for me. So really I paid $20 total which is still a good deal.

But now, what am I going to do with it?

I'm glad I tucked my bidding number in my purse. I could now be the proud owner of a cafeteria sized ice cube maker or choir bleachers. At first I didn't know what the choir bleachers were. I thought that they were really tiny tables for short people.

*If you know me in RL and are in the market for a very large chalkboard I know where to get one. Email me or check on Craig's list in the next week or so. He's going to resell them.

2008-08-05T21:01:00.000-04:00

4 weeks of swim lessons are officially over, much to Tootie's relief.

***************

This morning she said to me:

"Mom, I let Sadie out because she was getting all activated by the squirrels in the backyard."

***************

I must get back to our big August Spring cleaning bonanza. Now that H is home we've been on an organization kick. I think we're getting ready for the new upcoming school year. It'll be nice to get back into a regular routine again. I don't know about you, but I've always thought of the Fall, or rather, the 1st of September being the New Year more than January 1st is. The end of summer - beginning of Fall is my favorite time of year. I always loved the anticipation of a new school year. I suppose that has always stayed with me.

bulleted

2008-08-05T20:59:00.000-04:00

Tootie's room is now uncluttered and clean. whew.

The rest of the house is torn apart.

Trash day is on Tuesday.

My neighbor 3 houses down put a girl's banana seat bike out on the curb.

I saw it and went running toward it like a moth to a flame.

It was pink.

It was big enough for a small adult like me!

H saw me going for it and yelled, "No. No. NO. No. NOOOOO."

I got halfway there, realized he was right and turned around.

I did give it one more look over my shoulder.

It had a basket too.

The trash-picking man picked it up later that night.

I could have been like Elaine on Seinfeld.

Although that one was a Schwinn Stingray.�

The one in the trash was not.

If it was? I'd have been all over that.

But it wasn't.

oh happy happy

2008-07-29T21:02:00.000-04:00

Hello?

Um, remember me? I'm the one who used to do all sorts of arty crafty things then take photos and write all about it.

Well, ahem, as you can see not too much of that has been going on. Nothing really since I went to Florida. There is one big main reason for this and this one big main reason is finally coming home tomorrow! H has been away for 10 long weeks and tomorrow! he will be home.

Whew.

When I told Tootie that Daddy was coming home she asked, "for always?". Then she stated that we should make something "because that's what people do when other people they love come home, right?"

I have a lot of admiration for single parents after my brief 10 week stint. Single parenting is not fun. It is long and tiring and unending. It's hard to take care of everything -- the housework, the cooking, the shopping, the yardwork, parenting -- y'know, everyday stuff. The everything.

However, tomorrow TOMORROW! Life is returning back to normal. Hopefully the arting and crafting will recommence soon.

(The photo was taken 3 years ago when Tootie was 2.5 years old. H had been away for 2 weeks.)

stuff

2008-07-02T21:03:00.001-04:00

It feels like I've been running some sort of marathon ever since I got home. I keep ticking off each chore like another mile -- laundry, grocery, housework, yardwork, Dr. appointments, firewood stacking. Check, check, check. I really want to get into my studio and work again but the needs of daily life trump it.

I went and did my MRI and had a follow up appointment. The MRI came back normal. I am now sporting the official diagnosis of Definite Meniere's Disease. I have a choice of either radically changing my diet forever by continuing with the low sodium thing or I can take a diuretic pill and not be as rigid with the limited sodium intake. I haven't had the prescription filled yet because I think I'm going to pick door number one. I want to see how I do without it and if I still have problems then I'll take the pill. I might as well try.

That photo was taken from my couch in our living room which looks into the dining room. You can see the making of Tootie's fort in the foreground. That's a chip clip she's using to keep the blanket up. Sadie supervised.

Home

2008-06-26T21:06:00.001-04:00

Thanks everyone, btw, for the birthday wishes. I had a lovely day.

We got home yesterday evening to thunderstorms and late late night tornado sirens which freaked the dog but barely woke a certain sleepy headed 5 year old. Today was hot and muggy. Ahhh, the Midwest in it's summertime glory.

Tootie and I stumbled through the day trying to jump back into a routine. Everything is misplaced and unorganized. I've got traveler's funk that has made me wander through my day like I'm in a pinball machine - pinging off the first thing that grabs my attention then pinging back again when something else pops up. I don't like it. I suppose I should make a priority list so I can regain more order.

One of the things we pinged into was our mulberry tree in the backyard. We were wandering around and Tootie was the one that spotted the mother lode first. I used the words "mother lode" and she had to ask what that meant. I told her "a lot". Now "mother lode" is a part of her lexicon.

39

2008-06-22T21:08:00.000-04:00

Today I turn 39. I've been thinking about what I've learned thus far in my 39 years and decided to write a little list. Maybe I'll look back and chuckle over it in 10 years. When I state "you" I am referring to myself not *you* the reader.

1. Most people are not thinking about you. Most people spend 90% of their time thinking about themselves and what other people are thinking of them. Once I realized this it was a huge relief. I could just be myself and not worry about what people are thinking.
2. Relationships are what doing life is all about. Peace and rest is hard to achieve if a relationship is off kilter.
3. Saying "I'm sorry" and admitting wrong-doing is much easier as soon as it happens. The more time goes by the harder and stinkier it becomes.
4. Someone somewhere is experiencing far worse than what you are currently experiencing. Be thankful for what you've got.
5. The people that irritate you the most are in your life for a reason. My friend calls them "Sandpaper people" and they will wear away your rough edges.
6. You are probably a Sandpaper person to someone.
7. Don't be afraid to fail. Again. And again. And again.
8. Be the fool. Don't be afraid to be a fool -- stand out, look different or take a risk. You'll end up doing nothing if you're too afraid to do anything.
9. Be kind even when you don't feel like it.
10. If you don't think you should be doing something chances are you're right. Always go with your gut.

So, happy birthday to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

it is what it is*

2008-06-12T21:09:00.001-04:00

I have nothing worthwhile to say at the moment or so it seems. We're still down in retirement land o'golf cart. We saw an ambulance go by and my Mom said, "That's a new house going on the market." ouch. I've been spending my days going to the pool, watching TV, going for golf cart rides and hitting golf balls. Not exactly the most riveting blog fodder. I have also begun a low sodium diet.

Several blog posts ago I mentioned that I wasn't feeling good. I did have a cold but I was not revealing everything. Since April I have had three episodes of sudden hearing loss along with dizziness, a fullness feeling in my ear and tinnitus. After some tests (quite interesting they were) I have the diagnosis of Probable Meniere's Disease. I Googled the heck out of Meniere's and discovered (along with other scariness) that a low sodium diet can greatly improve/decrease the symptoms of Meniere's. So a low sodium diet is what I'm doing.

Man. It's kicking my butt. Do you realize how much sodium is in everything? Every. Thing. A low sodium diet means 400 - 1000mg a day. One slice of pizza alone can have around 900mg! I bought two low sodium cookbooks and am slowly relearning how to eat in a healthy way. It's a good thing actually. Lots of fresh veggies, legumes, fruit, and a whole spectrum of spices other than salt which is what everyone should be eating right? Right? Is that crickets I hear? I think I just lost half of my readers.

Oh, the photo. I should explain. That's me. It looks like I'm at a golf range. Nope. I'm actually about to club a large bear that, sadly, was cut off by the camera frame. You should have seen it, it was spectacular. Actually, that too is a lie. I made that up. It was unicorn riding on a rainbow.

*My husband HATES this expression. Whenever he hears it he asks "what does that mean?" I usually reply "what *is* the meaning of "is"?

Like multi-colored Christmas lights

2008-05-14T21:11:00.000-04:00

A string of variousnessimous:

My studio is a mess. Someone should do something about that.

I have recently become acquainted with Johnny Paycheck's son John Paycheck. He is delightful and looks a lot like his Dad from what I can see from the internet.

~~I'm thinking of switching from Etsy to Big Cartel.~~ Done. I thought of it. Now I need to do it.

I did a ton of yard work yesterday. Thrilling for you isn't it?

I signed us up for the pool for the summer. Tootie has official guppy status.

I laughed aloud at the ridiculousness that we as a society would embrace Twitter and that people actually use it as well as read it.

I signed up for Twitter.

I am a slacker at tagging my posts with a category. Must go back and tag. fun fun.

I went to the library today to see the archives of the book club I am in. My book club was founded in 1900. really. It is an extraordinary group. They pick one subject for the year and each person reads a book on that subject, writes a paper then presents that paper to the group on her assigned night. Papers are to be 30 minutes in length. Next year our subject is African Literature. Some of the papers are in the archives. Each year the group prints up a booklet that lists the subject matter, various quotes and facts of subject, the presenters and books as well as the by laws, club flower, colors and song. The library has all the booklets except the first year 1900-1901. I didn't have near enough time to pour over the wealth of information. I plan on returning with my digital camera.

Das ist genug. Gute Nacht meine Freunde!

Quamut revisited

2008-05-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

After my last post I have discovered a couple things about the website Quamut. I have been in touch with their people who actually contacted me first
to apologize for not informing me sooner about the use of my tutorial on their site. They explained that they are currently in the process of contacting all the designers, that I was to be contacted within the next couple weeks
and that I would be compensated. So, yay! and kudos to them for apologizing. That's not something that is experienced very often anymore*. Here's a quote from their About page,

"Quamut (loosely derived from the Latin for how-to and pronounced "kwa-mut") publishes expert-written how-to guides known as on topics ranging from to
and estate planning to embroidery. Quamut.com features more than 1,000
topic-specific Quamuts and is adding hundreds of new Quamuts daily."

Thanks to those who commented on my last post. They are owned by B&N which in turn also Lark Books and Sterling Press -- one big happy. Anyway, they do have permission and are following copyright laws.

I'm going to file it in my bookmarks along with Craftzine.com, WhipUp and Craftster. I wonder if it will gain popularity. I'm also curious to see the actual printed tutorials they have on display in the B&N stores. It'll be fun to see mine in print form. I do like how they've designed them. Hmmmm, I wonder if I can strike a deal with my wrappa*dappa*do* tutorial?

*This American Life just did an episode titled "Mistakes Were Made" about non-apology apologies. That Sarah Vowell... I love her and TAL. I wish I had Showtime to see their TV show.

Hither and yon - an expression that's due for a comeback.

2008-05-05T21:14:00.005-04:00

Hey, I found my work here! I had never heard of quamut before. Apparently, it's owned by Barnes & Noble. I wrote this tutorial up for a book called Pretty Little Pincushions by Lark Books and got paid a one time fee which was great at the time. I don't think Quamut is breaking any copyright laws, it's just weird for me to stumble across something I created and see it for sale.

Also seen this past weekend, Decor8 blog featured me and my dolls on Friday! So, welcome all Decor8 readers. Grab some joe, take a look around and stay awhile. Um, that didn't type out quite how I meant it. I meant coffee people, jeesh. Or joe, I suppose but it'd probably have to be a joe you know really really well. Otherwise? It may be awkward.

Don't forget Emmaline my first eBay sale of a papiermache* doll is going on. Her auction ends this Friday. Here's the link to it. I see that there are many people watching yet only one bid so far. The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last. It's going to be fun to watch at the end. Or not. Maybe that lone bidder will be one happy camper.

I'm a little sad that she's going to be leaving my studio desk. I've grown found of Miss Emmaline. I think it's her little round face and red polka dot collar. I am be happy that she will be going to someone who is fond of her as well.

*whenever I type papiermache Word doesn't like it and gives it a big red underscore. It's suggestion when I right clink is "supermachine, stomacher or impeacher". All good suggestions, Word. I'll have to keep those in mind.

Emmaline

2008-05-02T21:23:00.001-04:00

I placed Emmaline up on Ebay.

I named her after the poem by A. A. Milne called "Before Tea". It's one of my favorite poems and tells of a little girl that has disappeared and her friends have been looking for her. When she returns they ask where she's been. They think they ran her off because her hands weren't clean. She responds, "Sillies, I went and saw the Queen. She says my hands are purfickly clean!"

Emmaline is one of my new papiermache dolls. She will be the first to ever leave my home. I'm excited about making these new dolls and have ideas for more.

Thanks everyone for dropping by and supporting me. I wouldn't be half as motivated to work without you!

Smooches all around!

Sues.

And the winner is...

2008-04-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

TRACIE!!

Tootie reached high into a hat, pulled out the little slip of paper and said, "T won!"

Thanks everyone for playing and leaving a comment. I'm sorry I can't send something to each of you. Maybe I'll do this again or you will be lucky on someone else's blog. At least you tried, eh? If Tracie hadn't tried she wouldn't have won now would she have?

Emmaline Preview

2008-04-29T21:34:00.000-04:00

I have been flitfully (is that a word?) busy doing this and that. This is the That. The house paintings are the This. I don't know how to categorize everything else. Um, I've sort of dug myself in a hole by limiting it to two. I'm really up to this and that and that and that and this and this too.

"That's No Ordinary Rabbit."

2008-04-28T21:36:00.000-04:00

We spent a good part of this weekend working in the yard as I'm sure most of you did. We had 10 cubic yards of dirt delivered which H has been hauling around in a wheelbarrow. I bought some shrubbery. Very nice ones. And not
too expensive. Anyone know what movie? Hint: I bought them from Roger the Shrubber (link to audio file - fair warning).

Today was cold and put a damper on further yard work. I spent the day inside puttering around in my studio. I dug out my shrinky dinks to make buttons. I'd post pictures but they didn't turn out all that and a bag of chips. I did manage to start a very small fire in the toaster oven during the shrinky part of the dinks. Well! The directions say to put them on a piece of brown paper grocery bag...Let's just say I won't be making the money with the dinks.

I have more ideas for my house paintings and it involves Tootie's toys. You'll have to wait for the reveal on that one.

What else?

I would like to sell the first papiermache doll I made but I'm not sure which platform she should go on. Etsy? or eBay? What do you think? Pros and cons -- any experienced etsy/ebay people out there?

*************

Oh, if you guess which movie I was quoting in the first paragraph I'll have Tootie draw your name out of a hat and the winner will get a mini 4 pack of my postcards. Your answer doesn't have to be right, just leave a comment to be included in the drawing. We'll pick on Wednesday, April 30th after 6pm.

Dwell

2008-04-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

I'm painting again. It's been a long while since I have but suddenly I feel inspired. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's that my daughter is more self sufficient. I dunno. But I'm painting again.

Forever it seems that I've been fascinated with new home communities and developments. Not that I want to own one myself. I'm not sure why they're so fascinating to me. I think it's the rhythm of the houses in contrast to the plain land. Around here everything is built on old farmland. No trees in sight. This just adds to the contrast. Now with the mortgage thing going on I wonder how many families in these homes can really afford them? Are they hollow and empty? What do these people do for a living? Do they have relationships with their neighbors?

I'm going to try - note, I'm not promising anything - to paint everyday. If I get a painting done a week that'd be wunderbar. It's good practice. I'm stepping out and am taking a risk -- I'm going to post these for sale as I make them. I figure I have that etsy shop now, I might as well put it to use.

So, here's my first one. The painted part measures 7.5" x 8". It is painted with gouache. Since this is a new endeavor for me I've priced it relatively low.

Etsy listing here.

Thanks!

Do Be a Do Be

2008-04-24T21:38:00.000-04:00

About 7 years ago I had one of those philosophical "what am I supposed to do" moments. I felt like God said "make dolls" which, at the time, I thought was stupid. I thought I must have eaten some bad cheese because - clearly - I had much better things I was supposed to do with my time than to make stupid dolls.

So I didn't do it. I chased after other things that other people were doing that looked very exciting but it wasn't me.

Finally, 4 years later, in 2005 I made my first doll and Joybucket was born. And that is that.

I'm digging what I'm doing. I've met some very lovely people that I would have never come across. Who knows what I'll be doing in the future. Right now, this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

The one thing I've learned? Don't try to be someone you're not. Do I walk this out everyday? No.

I have a little poem I made up that runs through my head to remind me of this fact.

If You Are A Do Be Than

Do be the best

Do Be

Do.

Don't be
a New Be

or a

Doh Be Doh.

But be the best

Do Be

to do be

a Do Be

do be

do.

Hello, I'm Susan* and I make dolls.

*aka Major Goofball

adventures with an early reader.

2008-04-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

"Mommy, I know how to spell know like you know something. It's just like no the opposite of yes."

"Well, you would think that but it's actually a bit of a tricky word. It has a silent K in the front and ends with a W."

"oh."

About 10 minutes later.

"Mommy! I know how to spell gnat! N-A-T!"

"Yeah, you would think. But, um, gnat starts with a silent G."

What are the chances she would pick two random words that are oddballs?

*********************************

For those wanting to know when I'll open my etsy shop - I'm just waiting on envelopes that should arrive next week.

Good-bye. Hello.

2007-12-31T16:49:00.003-05:00

I haven't made New Year resolutions in the past but this year I have several. I'm not sure if they're necessarily resolutions or goals. I'm debating on whether or not to post them publicly. Yeah, I know I'm a big chicken. I need to think about it for awhile although awhile for me may be June or July. Let's just say I want to expand my horizons creatively. Is that vague enough? Reminds me a bit of a Senior painting major's thesis statement. Where's the beef? Or my former boss would ask, "how do you measure it?...can't be a goal unless it's measurable." More details later...(I think).

The new year is about to arrive. I would like to thank each and everyone of you who stop by. You are the one's who keep me motivated. I cherish each and every comment. You guys fuel me to want to do more. And do it better. So, thank you.

May each of you have a year full of family, friends and laughter. I'm waxing corny here but I do mean it. This past year I almost lost my parents, Aunt & Uncle in a tornado. The scare I had with my ankle was sobering as well. 2007 has made me very thankful for simple things. Hopefully, that sentiment will last way into 2008 at least.

Love and all that other stuff,

Susan
xx

Cradle Consumerism

2007-12-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

In the mist of all this materialistic mania that the holiday season brings I thought I'd have a little chat with Tootie about the real meaning of Christmas. I ended with telling her that it's not about how many gifts you get and that it's better to give than to receive.

Without hesitating she said, "Are you really sure about that?"

The never ending email escalator.

2007-12-07T16:43:00.001-05:00

I am so sorry I've been neglecting to post regularly. I could use the old excuse that I've been busy. (I have!) I could say I've been limiting my time on the computer (I have!) I could say I've been baking and decorating and practically becoming Martha herself decked in perfect goodness all the way down to her LL Bean Wellies. (Not even close to being true!) I could tell you all those things but you wouldn't know it if I didn't log into my typepad account and post it for you. There lies the problem.

I'm going to share something about myself that two close friends on separate occasions have lovingly pointed out that I need to work on. I don't show a reaction to things very well. This makes it hard for people to read me since I don't give anything to read. I will be told something and in response I'm silent. I had one friend finally yell at me, "do something! Anything! I can't tell what you're thinking!" It's quite disconcerting, apparently. Honestly, I'm not doing it on purpose. I just take a while to process what's going on.

It transfers over onto my blog and email as well. I read every comment and email (well, maybe not all my junk mail). If I don't make myself reply immediately, sadly, I may never get to it. What happens is I think about it. I think about things for a long time and by the time I'm ready to reply I have a dozen new emails to begin thinking about. I regret ever getting a gmail account. It claims "Never delete a message again!" Not a good thing for a person like me. I've got 390 unread emails currently. I mark them as unread if I intend to read them again or need to reply. sigh.

Maybe this could be one of my New Year's resolutions (if I did make New Year resolutions).

joybucket

c'mon now

You still here?

MOVED!!!

Tree Hunting

Lazy Morning

stuff

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010 Fabric Calendar

Hand Stitched Embroidery Swap Finished

Hanging Out

Happy Halloween!

Fishy Fish Fish

New Dog, Big Dog. Jeff

The Winners Are...

Giveaway Goodies

Three Dolls

Paperclay doll in process

Little Bird Awakes - DQS7

A Bit of Beta, bitte?

Yes!

Doll Quilt 07 and Studio WIP

With Both Feet

Today at Sue School

Summer Days

First Day of Summer

A Loss For Words

Welcome Welcome

Upcycling and Reverse Applique

Facebook

Now on Etsy

Like Her Mama

Little Thing Magazine:: Spring 2009

You never know what you'll get.

It is well

There, I said it: post #1

Birthday Girl

Sadie

Fabric

Almost 6

Almost March

State of the Blog

Ebb & Flow

My Girl Loves Tape

WIP: Paint Begins

WIP: Three

Slow But Steady

Onward

word.

Work In Progress

WIP

Into a Groove

Welcome! Hello!

I Spy Christmas Card 2008

tootism

Thanks for voting! and Christmas shopping

Fa la la la la la. la. la. .

Tootism

Vote for Joybucket! Please?

Happy Thanksgiving

wrappa*dappa*doo* Reusable Gift Wrap Tutorial

Continued from yesterday

Prelude to Veterans' Day - In Photos

Spoonflower Homepage

to be 5

Their New Home

Finish Well

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

Andrea ~ last one for Half the Sky

Another doll!

Half the Sky Auction!!!

Perfect Narcissism

Morning Houseguest

sneak peek

Country Living Fair - meet and greet

Country Living Fair

A Rather Unfortunate Typo

Currently on my desk

the dress

You never know what you may find.

wrappadappadoo* Reusable Gift Wrap Tutorial