❄ peace + cheer ❄

❆ warmest bear + monkey hugs to you and loved ones! ❆
☃

holiday update tomorroooow!

we are putting on our nosies and ears, being filled with love and sweetness...
the holiday update is tomorrooooow!
time: 6pm central
(4pm pacific/ 5pm mtn/ 7pm eastern)
international friends click here for time conversion.
it will be an intimate update of only a half dozen OOAK bears.

happy holidays! *they are all SOLD, thank you lovely people!

yummy xmas tie dyed mohair

i adore tie dying because the results are always a surprise. this christmas tie dyed mohair turned out simply amazing.. just as i hoped: strawberry patches mingled in a spring to evergreen forest, with a bit of snow and a few touches of plum. i find it to be a four-seasons color combo, so the 2 sweet bears i am making with it will look fab all year round in any setting.

update announcement to happen very soon! have a relaxing saturday :)

holiday bears in progress!

i'm working on new *smaller* sized stick bears for my holiday update happening in the next few days! green "holly" was a special order cousin from my pre-holiday bears update, just to show for comparison how small the newer ones are- the white bear is only 3 1/2 inches! giggles!

there will be more sneak peeks posted here as things progress :)

etsy treasury - in a nutshell

cute treasury featuring Nutello squirrel ePattern!

sock monkey = cozy home

december greetings! today is the 10th, which is PFATT marketplace update. this magical month i am offering a delightful old pair of real vintage sock monkeys, Frida and Franklin! they are from my personal collection and have lived with me many years... so i can give them a good reference, lol! IMHO sock monkeys add a touch of cozy + whimsy anywhere you put them. some nice examples below (let's play "spot the monkey"!)

i like the metal baskets idea

from Real Simple mag.. monkeys as wall art. a good way to free up shelf space!

Mr. Peppermints, one of my creations, gracing the ribbon wall in Jennifer Murphy's colorful studio. so flattered! :)

have fun decorating your home with beloved sock monkeys!

*stay tuned for my holiday bear update on my web site next week* have a swell weekend!

natalie wood

holiday sale Nov 25-28th!

Peng Peng Bears Holiday SALE happening now on my web site! prices marked, enjoy FREE 1st class shipping in USA!

spirit of peace and thanksgiving

"Her eyes are those of the fawn of the forest, questioning the strange things of civilization upon which it gazes for the first time." -Edward Curtis

November is Native American Heritage Month

may your day be filled with the spirit of peace, healing, generosity, and thanks ♥

seven year granola

i've been making our own granola for a while now, a very simple recipe with no oil and just sweetened with honey. though Rob enjoyed it, he requested if i could make it with clusters. well, i figured that to get clusters it's gonna have more sugar and oil to make it stick, right? my cluster curiosity was picqued however, and after a google search i stumbled upon "seven year granola" by The Traveler's Lunchbox. it's accompanied by an hilarious story about the "Lip Lady's secret granola" you must read! when i saw cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg, i hit "bookmark". it's the best granola i have made so far... and Rob agrees! recipe here

**the recipe was way to sweet for me (i want granola, not cookies-lol) so i made some adjustments:

• increase oats to 3 cups
• use half the amount of butter
• reduce brown sugar to 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup (could even go to half cup)
• add about 1/4 cup of ground flax meal
• i went with chopped dates in todays batch

what could be better than the aroma of freshly baked granola on a chilly autumn morning? try not to eat handfuls of it while it cools :)

here they are!

introducing my new extra mini stick bears... a brand new design! they will be available today on my web site~ a pre-holiday mini listing of sorts. hope you like 'em! have a fun weekend :) SOLD OUT, thank you!

new mini bear design

my tiniest stick bears yet! i will be unveiling these sweeties in the next day or so! maybe you can see the theme here? 3 are christmas light colors, one is black like coal, and one snowy white :) so far so cute. **** don't forget tomorrow is PFATT marketplace update!

OMG: miniature tree paintings!

i may be biased, cos the talented gal that did these extraordinary tiny paintings happens to be my best girl friend/ former art college classmate/ cat + dog rescuer ;) she recently opened an etsy shop, Art by Jeanne Hospod, and just stocked it up with new miniature/ micro paintings on canvas + wood. her mini paintings have a grand scale for being so tiny. i'm thinking these tiny tree silhouettes are perfect for:

• autumn/ winter decor (mantel, nook, holiday table setting, office, wherever)
  
• displaying with your peng peng bears and owl sculptures
• affordable original fine art makes a unique gift
• stocking stuffers
• displaying as a group
  
• nature and art lovers

i just bought a few for my home and can't wait to receive them. oh, and today happens to be Jeanne's birthday! hope you can pop by and see her art work today!
xoxo

tie dyed doilies

did everyone remember to set their clocks back today? i woke up this morning at 4:45am and slept in an hour cos it was just too early. i like to get up before sunrise and get the oven going with something fragrant to warm up the house... this morning i made *cinnamon coffee cake (*recipe from my very tattered copy of Vegetarian Nights: Fresh from Hawaii).

next on my to-do list was to dye Rob's old army shirt black. it was gray from when he dyed it black years ago. i also threw in some little sock monkey hats and a doily in the pot. well, the jacket turned out looking the same before i dyed it :( some kind of impervious military material. but not all went to waste... i was delighted to unwrap my delicate 6" square doily and see it transformed from blah white to totally cool black tie dye! here's another neat tie dye i did, orange striped on vintage wide lace doily:

so before you banish those dull doilies to the thrifts, try dying them fun colors! they're usually crochet cotton so they take the dye wonderfully. i used RIT dye for these.

NEW *twilight* buddha + oreo

two new bears have sneaked onto my web site this lovely october evening- twilight buddha bear and oreo stick bear.

something tells me they have sniffed out the candy stash (as evidenced by a few Hershey's Krackel wrappers).

Happy treating!
xoxo

black cloth dolls

this little gal has been on my shelf a few years now. she's a black sock doll i made, still needing hair and proper clothes to suit her personality.. she's temporarily wearing a white doll nightgown, which kinda goes with halloween. you may recall, i made two other black sock dolls in 2009 for the Soul Mates Sock Monkey update:

i just adore the old black cloth dolls, bottle dolls, sock/ stocking dolls, and rag dolls. they just make me smile with all their charm, quirks and individuality. most of all, the great amount of love and skill that went into them.

this amazing group is from the Hatch Collection of Black cloth dolls. i was oh my god-ing looking through their website.

whats not to love?
(a hint of new things to come ♥)

cats of rome

happy national feral cat day! i've saved up these photos of the kitties from our Rome trip just for today :) cats are just everywhere i go, lol! i heard about Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary and made it a point to visit there and was so glad we did. we had a nice long talk with one of the volunteers and said hello to all the cats. the shelter is also a permanent home for a few special-needs cats that were found abandoned.

the adoptable cats are inside the shelter, and the TNR ferals are living outdoors among the ancient city ruins. it was quite a sight to see! all are provided food, care and shelter by dedicated volunteers. Torre Argentina also has a long-distance adoption program to sponsor a cat. thank goodness for cat sanctuaries like this! there are many ways to help the roman kitties, please visit the sanctuary's website www.romancats.com. and tell a friend!

puuuurrrrrrss and hugs xoxo

let's go crazy: $8 any ePattern!

firstly, thank you special cat people who adopted PFATT cats for ferals yesterday. they have all found homes and are in the mail today. and thanks for the lovely comments about them too, it means a lot to me!

there is such a positive vibe in the air... last night was a glorious full moon, today is an indian summer, and tomorrow is *my birthday*! so to keep the good vibrations going i've done something a little crazy: all ePatterns in my etsy shop are now just $8 each! it's an incredible deal considering most of my patterns are really jam packed with info. and i've dusted off PABLITA ePattern.. she is back in the shop after semi-retirement! so let's get sewing for the holidays, no excuses! :) sale has ended, thank you!

PFATT cats to help ferals

(all are SOLD, thank you! i am accepting a few orders, email me)

hi all! my PFATT Marketplace offering this month is a little different you may notice! i made a quartet of primitive cloth cat dolls from a Netty Lacroix pattern (love her work). i originally made one to hang on my front door, then seeing how lovely it turned out i made a few more to share with you! i think it's a nice way to raise awareness for National Feral Cat day on October 16th. they are just $35 each- proceeds go towards TNR of feral kitties in my neighborhood, like this fella:

here he is. i finally got a picture of the elusive orange male who likes to go poo in my yard! i've tried half a dozen times to trap him. normally i can trap a cat with 2 attempts, so he's been a particularly frustrating case. the crust around his eyes concerns me, but otherwise he looks well-fed and has a nice coat (the well-fed part being why he isn't attracted to my baits, argh). my goal is to have him neutered by Halloween. and i've seen a dark tabby slinking around at night and in the dark of early morning... does it ever end? cross your paws and wish me luck!

to adopt a PFATT cat see my listing today.. on where else, the PFATT marketplace :) miiiiaaooow!

dreadlock 2 month update

"dreadlock dollz" photograph by rich beer

i love her look, she's like a real-life raggedy ann ♥

many cultures throughout history wore their hair in locks

well here's my progress at 2 months and 5 days! i stopped brushing my hair august 1st. not a radical difference.. then again it's been so gradual to me. there are 2-3 baby dreads forming in the back. the rest of my hair has separated into noodles, and some shrinkage going on in length. i've decided to go the organic, natural route (aka neglect method) to grow dreads instead of making dreads by backcombing, wax (bad, very bad), twist n' rip or other means. the term "neglect" is misleading because i am caring for my hair of course, but rather it refers to just leaving the hair alone to do its thing.

the only maintenance i do is washing with all-natural dr. bronners bar soap (peppermint is my fave) about every 3 days. no products whatsoever. oh, and some separating of sections larger than an inch. clean, residue-free hair makes happy dreads! during this awkward in between stage, for going out i just put it up in a loose hair clip in 1 second or fancy it up with a flower clip hair accessory. it will be interesting to see what happens by Christmas! xoxo

Update: see my post on my 6 month dreadlock journeys end.

o'weenie wee bear

why hello little lady. this is "pepper", festively dressed in cotton skirt and bow (all removable). she and some special friends are at collins gifts for the all the creatures were stirring 6th annual artist signing + web show.


aaaand, this just in! yet another sweet etsy treasury featuring...can you guess? blu bobo!

half moon and precious star - happy birthday marc bolan

little *half moon* in the autumn sky.... come see the tiny two-toned miss and her wee friends today on my fall bears update!

"oh like the precious star you are..."

today is special for another reason: it's the birthday of my hero, Marc Bolan of T. Rex. (fellow Libra!). From the first time i heard a few chords from Electric Warrior i was transfixed (someone was playing a cassette of it- that gives you an idea how many years ago that was!). Marc's music has deeply touched so many fans and will always be a huge inspiration to me. on a previous trip to the UK during the mid-1990s, i visited his memorial at Golders Green crematorium and "the tree" where he died as a passenger in a car crash just a few weeks before his 30th birthday in 1977. the Bolan tree, which was then in a sad state of decline, has thankfully now been officially recognized as a rock shrine.
Bolan was a small man ("the bopping elf") with a fierce belief in himself, who named his band after the biggest animal on the planet. he was indeed a precious star- our 20th century boy forever.

★ rock on ★

new bears update this friday!

* The Fall bears update will be happening on my website Friday Sept 30th at 12 noon Central! (10am Pacific/ 11am MTN/ 1pm Eastern) *

International friends click here for time conversion.

i will have a few special wee bears as sneak peeked in photo above! xoxo