Life Lately

Life has been a bit stressful in our neck of the woods. If you follow my other blog Adventures with our '76 Layton Trailer you'll quickly see why the stress level here is at sky high levels. We have a looming deadline of June 12 to complete it all by for our trip to the Olympic National Forest! Yikeez! Here's a pic of hubby fiddeling I think with paper.

I spy with my little eye...a 2 yr. old!

At the beginning of May I participated in an online vampire themed Ravelry swap.

Here's my awesome little swap package! I was definitely very spoiled by my swappee. And she included the most delicious homemade Oreo truffles!!

My swap package went to my swap partner in France. I sewed a 16" hex frame knitting bag I found the knitting bag tutorial for it at U-Handblog. It was pretty easy and fun to sew.

Other than this swap package, the trailer has been consuming our time. It is quite a large undertaking. Larger than we originally anticipated. It has put a hault on any puppet making or listing of a new load of vintage goodies in both my Etsy shops. It's been a scary month! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Bicycle Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

Wow! I haven't posted for over a month and here I only post to enter a fun Grosgrain giveaway. I guess I'm a lame blog owner! But if you're on Ravelry, I've been over there quite a bit for the Love Bites Vamp Swap and watching a few indie dyers rav groups for new and awesome yarn, including pirate inspired colors (Jack Sparrow and Black Pearl) and Lord of the Rings inspired yarn color ways. All are pretty pretty! Maybe someday soon I'll come back on a regular basis. Spring is in the air, maybe that will help awaken my seasonally depressed side. See you soon and enjoy another awesome Grosgrain giveaway!

Bicycle Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

Shop Update

Just added this pretty little lady to the shop... Penda...she loves Valentine heart candy, smelling fresh roses and hearing a great love story.

Does your sweetheart need a sweetheart? Coming up for March...several different green sock puppets and a green Chura puppet!!

The Creative Writing Process

When I first had my puppet idea I knew they would need a special story to go along with how happy they just naturally seem to always look. I started with my prototype puppet (which I am just now realizing that I don't have a picture of) and took him to a couple of dinners or get-togethers with a few stories in mind. He was only given one arm, tiny pupils and never went through the proper photoshoot/interview process like all the other Chura's have. I still don't know his name! Poor guy!

Oh here...I found this photo...

There he is, highest on the rack, with Cheka (adopted), Goma and Marmor (both waiting for adoption) and a little sock puppet squeezed in. He started out with no arms, I debated that whole body part for a few weeks...arms? no arms? In the end I decided on arms obviously.

I worked out a wonderful little story that had horrible responses to it. The ultimate decider was my 5-yr-old who said it was too sad of a story. Why then do I say it is wonderful?? Because it's dark but has a happy ending, in sense...so here it goes...

"On the Orkney Islands north of Scotland there lived these little woodland creatures calls trows. Trows, who are a close cousin to the trolls of Scandinavian countries, have large ears and large noses and enjoy living in houses in mounds or hills. These trows were captured by ear snatchers and kept in tiny wood cages. Since then, they have been rescued and are ready and waiting for an adoption into a very loving home. Now, unlike dogs and cats who get dirtier and dirtier when you don't take care of them, trows get brighter and brighter with neglect which is why they at their bightest and prettiest when you first adopt them. With more and more love, each trow with get just a little bit dingier and much more happier to be in such a loving home."

If one is smart enough, like my 5-yr-old happens to be, they will put two-and-two together and see that these puppets don't have large ears like they do their large noses, and one might ask "What happened to his ears?" Well, if you listened to the story, you might recall that they were captured by ear snatchers. "What are ear snatcher?" Well, they are people who take trow ears. "Yeah, I don't like that story." And that was basically how the conversation went. Thus story #1 was declined...or was that #2...either way, the current story is the third attempt at giving my puppets A STORY! Which, if you all have looked at a Chura listing, you would know their story goes something like this...

"Everyone knows that if you are really lucky, you can find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow; but did you know that if you are really, really lucky, you can find a tiny portal at the OTHER end of the rainbow into the magical Land of Wexes? The Land of Wexes is a beautiful world we humans can only get a tiny glimpse of during certain candy commercials. For in this land, small colorful candies fall from cotton candy clouds which are then gathered up by sweet, fun loving little Churas. On rare occasion during a rainbow, Churas will be drawn to the sparkling moisture of our raindrops because they look like the shinier candies that are the tastiest in the land, and will find their way through the magical portal to our world. Some make it back home in time for supper and others get stuck here when the rainbow fades away with the shining rays of our sun."

Thus...being such a happier story...was approved!

New Puppets in the Works

Well, my first month of puppets for adoption was quite a success in my eyes! A dozen may not seem very impressive, but for a first time shop, I'm gonna say it is. Especially since it was December which is typically my most chaotic month of the year mentally AND I watch a baby 5 days a week for 40+ hours ON TOP OF raising two of my own. All-in-all...a success!
Now that the New Year has been around for 15 days, I started some new puppet color combinations. Above we have blue fur with red head/arms and striped lining as wells as white fur with blue fur head BUT...satin arms! I'm gonna make her (yes a her) a little fancy cuz she's wearing satin gloves to match her fur. I think I'm gonna give her a pearl necklace to go with her Hawaiian print lining fab.
This orange fur with yellow head/arms turned into this fellow below...His name is Jukali short for jua kali or fierce sun.

In the next day or two I should have these socks turned into new sock puppets. They need felt in their mouth, eyes and hair. Then they will each need to go through their own personal photo shoot and interview before being listed in the Etsy shop for sale. And when I say interview, I only ask them what their name is.

I also created a new listing for custom Chura Puppets. My production is not exactly up to speed, you know, with two kids, babysitting a baby and maintaining a house, I'm not exactly sure what my "speed" should be. I'm still learning that part of this new business. Should my goal be six new Chura Puppets a week? Is that pushing it? Or should I aim for just one or two? Today I listed two making my average one a week for the year. (haha...there's only been two weeks in this year so far.) I don't see that as good. We shall see....

Next up...my creative story process and how I came up with "the other end of the rainbow."