Fresh out of the pot

Yesterdays glowing results of a few hours over simmering pots of dye. I love these intense colors, especially the nearly day-glo lime. Colors were custom mixed by me; a bit of this, a pinch of that. Newly dyed mohair always gets me motivated. Like seeing flowers pop up in spring.

Down by the River

"(one) does not forget at night, or his nature does not, that he has beheld this vision of serenity and purity once at least during the day." - Walden, Henry David Thoreau

This morning in the woods, by the muddy river bank, I came across an array of little "hand" prints by our forest friends. Opossum, deer, raccoon... I wonder what rendezvous they had under the half moon.

the Spirit Bears say...

Many little mouths to feed in my studio! I don't mind taking care of them, but hope they find homes before they form a permanent attachment to me.

'scuse me while I get my jar of cocoa flavored pixie dust sprinkles...

Splash!

Here they are! Six new Spirit Bears await you in my Etsy shop.
Introducing a new type of creature: bear-of-the-sea.
Currently there are a total of 10 6 Spirit bears, so the shop is neatly stocked up.

$ave on shipping when you buy 2 or more.

Have a fabulous day!

Spring Snow

*Wouldn't it be neat if snow in spring was colorful like this?*

You should have heard Rob when he pulled back the curtains this morning: "it SNOWED!". Um, good morning 1st day of spring? Well, I ran out of daylight to take pics of the new Spirit Bears, so was unable to get them in my shop today. Good news is they are indeed DONE and will be listed Sunday :)
I'll be sure to send out an email announcement when they're up, so you can relax and enjoy your Sunday - just check your inbox though! :o)

It's been a long while since I posted anything in "collectors corner". I'm always incredibly flattered whenever I receive pics of my creations gracing your home and HUG. There are so many great ones, even though I am slow to post them here! Here's little panda "Domino" from my Valentine's update, sharing clothes with a vintage troll. Tracy is their mommy, and she's an avid vintage toy collector. I've been stalking her vintage troll collection on her blog, 'cos in case you didn't know, I used to have a serious troll addiction.

(photos by Tracy)

Doesn't it make you want to go play? :)
Have sweet dreams of many mohair things.

What a Day for a Daydream

Happy belated St. Patty's! Things were gettin' greenified in my studio yesterday. I hand-dyed the most amazing intense shade o' green mohair, that I've been making into mini Spirit Bears and one special round-headed bear. The mohair is of the dense straight short pile variety (read: pain in the butt to make mini's from and I have a blister on my finger to prove it) but I am one to be known to make bears from any kind of mohair; super long, sparse, dense, curly, wavy, ratty, bristle-y, etc. Variety is the spice of life!

I played with new ways to dangle beads from my latest Spirit bears. A few are looking like bear-fishies or, Bear-of-the-sea :) I hope you will enjoy!

So keep an eye out in my Etsy shop on Spring Exquinox...that's this Saturday (BTW, we are expecting SNOW then ???? crazy!) for *NEW* One of a Kind Spirit Bears... in the spirit of spring!

Daydreaming and basking in the 65 degree warmth in Chicago, xo, pp

Spring Forward

Set your clocks forward today! Well, spring home projects will soon be underway: painting, building a deck, eliminating more of "the yard" by planting native wildflowers and tall grasses (the no-dig method), hanging a clothes line... ah simple pleasures!

Have you all seen Food, Inc? Rob and I watched it last night for the first time. We live without a TV, cable, etc, so we just wait til things come out on DVD. After seeing this documentary, I'm totally spurred on to start a veggie garden. What also inspired me was seeing this family's amazing urban homestead in Pasadena, California, an "edible eden" if you will:



I can't wait to build the raised beds for veggies, and to see what "springs" up this spring! What will you be planting this spring? Something tasty?

Spirit Bear Necklace in Etsy Blog!

This is wild! Back-to-back Etsy features. I feel the love!
I noticed tonight that Fiddlestix Spirit Bear necklace had a surge of views and hearts, and was delighted to discover (via Craft Cult) that my necklace was featured in Etsy's blog, the Storque! Topic was "Results of blog reader survey" (a very insightful read BTW) and the last result posted was "the most popular spirit animal". Is that crazy or what?! I'm so flattered to be included in that article... Thanks Etsy admin!

Even though Fiddlestix has won many admirers, he IS currently available :)
Have a super weekend!

Pablita in Pink Etsy Treasury

Anyone remember Paburo? He was perhaps the first of my round-headed bears back in 2003 and I just couldn't stop making them. Pablita ePattern is one of those round headed sweeties, so you can make your own! This morning I was so pleased to hear that Pablita is featured in Etsy Treasury "In the Pink" curated by Jillatay - Clay & Magic by Jill Taylor. Do check it out before the Treasury expires this Saturday.

And did I mention all my bear ePatterns are now just $10? Hooray! Let spring sewing commence!

P.S. I have a new bear pattern up my sleeve (oh, for a few months now) and will have it launched this month. That's a promise!

Kaleidoscope of Colors

Kalos (short for *kaleidoscope*) ellie is my March offering on PFATT Marketplace! Kalos wears a teensy Chinese doll hat (removable). Hand dyed/ tie dyed mohair in a myriad of colors. New design + One of a kind. SOLD

Sanibelle + Sunset... inspired by sea and sun :) Both are hand dyed, multi-step process (mohair was white to begin with). One of a kinds, just posted on my web site last night. Hurry and scoop them up! both SOLD

Into the Wild (and I'm talking about mohair too)

just for comparison sake:

Here's the final installment of our Sanibel, Florida adventure! The Bailey Tract refuge, the 'wildest' area we visited, for sure. Self-guided walking tour only; no fences, barriers, cars or bikes. You're on your own (and we loved it!). At the onset of our walk, the sky darkened rapidly, a swirling wind was blowing with hawks circling overhead. Oh no, tropical downpour? We couldn't decide whether to run back to the car or continue walking. Luckily just a few drops fell and the clouds passed. A highlight during our walk was encountering a resting alligator...alas my mission is complete! (FYI, I used the zoom on my camera for the alligator, and all the animal shots during our trip). Sanibel, a special place I'd love to visit again :)

Hope you enjoyed the posts about our trip! The only other time I've been to Florida was in the 80's, the height of my goth phase, squeezed in a car with the family + much younger cousins. The highlight of that trip was a sun-blister on my face and skull jewelry I got in Disney World. If you catch my drift.
I owe a huge thanks to my man Rob, trip planner extraordinaire and being my assistant at the bear shows. It wouldn't be possible without him :)

So from dangerous big alligator to harmless mini Spirit Bears! I just posted 4 NEW one-of-a-kinds in the shop this morning. These odd-shaped cuties are waiting to bring you good luck!

Also, I'll be posting 2 NEW crazy-color-dyed mohair bears on my web site today!! Will be sending out an e-mail announcement to my special mailing list when they're up. Aaaand, TOMORROW, which is the 10th.. you know what that means: a new PFATT Marketplace update! There will be a very unique elephant, a *new* smaller design in glorious multicolored mohair! It's been a long time since I made an ellie, so I hope this one~and the new bears today~ tickles your heart :)

Sanibel: Sunrise, Sunset

Foggy morning to brilliant sunset, one magical day on the beach at Sanibel Island. Zero street lights, traffic lights or billboards. Nature lovers paradise :) We stayed in a tiny efficiency cabin right on the beach. I've never seen so many shells, and some were alive! Even though it was too cold to swim, we had a lovely time just enjoying the serenity. Shelling is a popular thing to do on this beach, live shelling is prohibited. Here's my little collection:

Going through all the photographs takes a lot longer than I thought. So stay tuned for the final installment of our trip... which will include a crocodile!

Swamps and Giant Birds

Something to warm up this first day of March! Here's some post-Tampa bear show adventures. Right after the show ended, we headed south to Naples then to Sanibel Island.

This is the Florida we wanted to see:

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Florida.
The raised boardwalk trail winds through several distinct ancient habitats. A truly magical, majestic place. Not a single bug bite!

This gave me a chuckle. Fortunate I guess, that we did not come across any bear poo.

J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, Florida.
We walked the trail day one, then explored further on bikes day two. Costs $1 to enter. Birds galore! Do click this picture to enjoy it large:

Tomorrow I will show you more of "natural" Florida! Sea shells, sand and sunsets... (sigh)