Even Yoda needs a teddy bear...

I swear I did not make a teddy bear that looks like Yoda on purpose. My thought process was this: I want to make some sweet things, some happy things. I looked around my bedroom corner studio and saw two wool sweaters I had felted months ago. I had already made a rabbit out of one, and had some leftover sweater, which I thought I cut into a teddy bear's head. Why green? I like green.

I think the best part about sewing plushies is this: you never really know what they are going to look like until you stuff them. I had to laugh when I was done and held him up for inspection. He is Yoda's teddy. I'm guessing Yoda gets tired of all the knuckleheads he meets in the galaxy (you know, the ones that just don't 'get' The Force). The ones that accidentally nick him with their light sabers during Jedi training. After a long day, he waddles through the swamp, back to his version of the Bat Cave, has some split pea soup (or other green food) brushes his teeth and puts on his PJs. Then he picks up Ishi, his beloved teddy bear from childhood, curls up for a good night's sleep and dreams of a Universe that always picks Light over Darkness.

Sleep tight, Yoda and Ishi. Don't let the bedbugs, or alien hordes from another dimension, bite!

A treasure chest!

One of my favorite things to do when I am feeling lower than a gopher's basement is to go thrift shopping. You can imagine how excited I was to find a treasure chest waiting for me. Evidently they had cleared out their costume jewelry display (this was all the stuff that wasn't 'moving') , bagged it up, and stapled the top of the bag so it couldn't be opened. Twenty bucks...hmm. Well, I could see rhinestones, and I love to use those on my dolls/plushies, so I forked it over.

Here's what it looked like when I spread it on the table. Jewels! Arrrgh! Buried treasure!
I discovered some nice old rhinestone pieces, and faux pearls.

Several brooches.

Necklaces.

Odds and ends. More odds and ends than I can show you. Just take my word for it.
And what I refer to as the 'Exactly what do I do with these?' grouping. I just wish I'd had a five-year-old pirate girl (or princess) here to open this with me. It had 'dress up' written all over it.

Believe me, I had twenty dollars worth of fun opening this up and looking at each piece. There are enough beads and bling to keep me busy for long time.

Aye, matey, I do so love thrift shopping.

In between

I have spent the last few days, like many of you, thinking of our friend Renee, and trying to come to grips with the fact that she won't be commenting on my blog, or sending me emails with her loving 'xoxoxo's at the end. I won't be pouring my morning tea, then sitting down to my computer and clicking to see what she has to say, to revel in her wisdom and honesty, and then to read the wonderful comments from so many of her friends. It's strange, this transition. I am just...waiting. I feel discombobulated and muddled (even more than usual). I find myself starting sentences that just fade into the ether. So I hope you all forgive me if I postpone my blog giveaway for a little while. Sometimes it is good to be with yourself, to be alone with your thoughts. It is good to savor memories and then tuck them safely away.

Thank you, Renee

You have given me your friendship.
Perspective.
Unconditional love.
So much laughter.
The blessing of new friends.
And more, that I simply cannot put into words.
My prayers are with you, dear friend, in your last days.
I love you and wish you peace.



Beannachd Dia Dhuit (Blessings of God Be With You)


May the blessing of light be on you - light without and light within.

May the blessed sunlight shine on you like a great peat fire,

so that stranger and friend may come and warm himself at it.

And may light shine out of the two eyes of you,

like a candle set in the window of a house,

bidding the wanderer come in out of the storm.

And may the blessing of the rain be on you,

may it beat upon your Spirit and wash it fair and clean,

and leave there a shining pool where the blue of Heaven shines,

and sometimes a star.

And may the blessing of the earth be on you,

soft under your feet as you pass along the roads,

soft under you as you lie out on it,

tired at the end of day; and may it rest easy over you when, at last, you lie out under it.

May it rest so lightly over you that your soul may be out from under it quickly;

up and off and on its way to God.

And now may the Lord bless you, and bless you kindly.

Amen.

Therapy, thy name is skelly

Here is what happens to you when you've been trapped inside your house for a week because of snow. Lots of skellys. You might be thinking at this point "Pam is a scary girl", but I would have to argue with you. I might be scary, yes, but not because of skellys. Skellys are therapy. While I make them, I am exorcising all sorts of little demons and fears. As a result, my skellys aren't evil, au contraire! They are infused with protective juju.

For example, this skelly fairy has wings I made from a page of a damaged Physician's Desk Reference. While I made her I imagined her as the fairy that keeps you from having headaches. She seems like she would be able to do that nicely.

VivilaThis skelly fairy told me she would love to live in the kitchen. I think she is hoping she gets to swoop down on an unsuspecting mouse, or spider, and scare the dickens out of it.

Tarin

This skelly fairy would be happy to sit on your shoulder and smack away any depressing thoughts trying to sneak into you head. She is quick, this one.

Devina

Skellys are good therapy, I promise. You should try it. The next time your kid grates on your nerves because you've asked him to bring in the trash can at the end of the long, snowy drive, and he gives a performance deserving of an Academy Award nomination ("Mom, it's really COLD out!") - the same kid who was just playing in the snow with the dog - draw a skelly fairy and give it a special power. Like the power to yank the hair of a certain 16-year-old boy to motivate him. Just a little. :)


PS Two things I forgot: these fairies are headed to my etsy shop, and next week I am going to have a giveaway!

Be mine don't make me pine...

Happy Valentine's Day, to all my lovely blogladytes! I hope this day, this week, this year, this life, is filled with love. I hope you get chocolate (or your favorite candy), and if you don't, get thee to the store and treat yourself! Buy yourself flowers, too (or in my DH's case, a new flashlight)!

kj had a great idea (well, she has lots of them, but this is one I am actually ACTING on). She thought it would be nice if we wandered around our houses and took pictures of hearts to share with each other. I liked that idea, and so here is my Valentine to each of you. Thank you for your friendship, and for sharing my little part of the Blogosphere with me! Here goes -

I love this print from Jan Heath of a momma bear and her baby bear in our entry. It greets me every time I walk in the door, or go up the stairs.
This is a metal piece I hung on the wall in the living room, because it is too sunny in there for artwork. I just now noticed the hearts.
This is a heart magnet that I bought a billion years ago in CA at Pic'n'Save when my kids were little. It has been on our refrigerator for a LONG time. It's a good magnet - it's holding up some dogs AND the National Cathedral.
In our dining room is a German prayer that Rick's mom used to say as a dinner blessing. We found this copy at a craft fair (go crafters!). It's hand-lettered in gorgeous inks. The pic doesn't do it justice.
On our dining room shelves, I spotted one of Rick's Mom's Hummel figurines. This little guy is delivering Valentines.
These are some thrift store tins resting on a bookshelf. I love boxes. And butterflies. And hearts.
Upstairs in my bedroom/studio nook, a little Mickey (thrift store, of course) keeps an eye on me.
I found this pin cushion heart in a second-hand store near Caity's college. This is the top of one of my work tables. You can see I am an organized and fastidious person.A pic of Aimee, when she was little, in a heart frame.


A toy I rescued from the giveaway pile. Caity had this for some reason, and I thought he was funny. He's waiting to be used in an assemblage piece. I never noticed the heart on his chest before.
And last, but certainly not least, three little felt hearts from a friend. These make me happy to look at. Here's wishing you a love-filled day. I hope you are surrounded by hearts, too. :)

Spooky Time Jingles and a lovely sunset

Yes, I am getting a little tired of snow. Just a smidge. I like to escape my abode when I choose, not when the snow plows finally make it down our cul-de-sac. But complaining is not an attractive attribute (ha! says WHO?), and so I will go back to marveling at Nature's Glory and enjoying the fact, that for the moment, we have POWER.

And since we have power, I am going to post some pieces that will be on Spooky Time Jingles this month. These aren't all of them, the other ones are busy getting lacquered. That sounds like they are partying together. I may join them.

Yes, the snow is getting to me. Thank you for noticing!

And here is a calming photo of the trees in my backyard. The sun was setting and the colors were just glorious. (Some trees for you, Ces!) Unfortunately, I did not take the tripod, and I was freezing, so they are a little blurry. Just consider them abstract art.

Stay warm, all! If you don't hear from me in a month, send a search party. Be sure they have chocolate, cognac, mac'n'cheese, tuna and dog biscuits (that will cover me, the DH, the boys, the cats and the dogs).

Snowpocalypse

Okay, I admit it. I thought they were exaggerating. I mean, DC goes nuts when there is going to be ANY snow. Bread and milk disappear off the shelves as if we were going to be without food, water and power for months. So I was a little skeptical. Especially when I went to bed on Friday night, and there were only a couple of inches of snow. But when I woke up, it looked like this:Luckily, I grew up in Southern California. We're used to disasters (earthquakes, fires, floods, locusts), and I got in the habit very early of always have food, water, flashlights, candles and wine on hand. So we were fine. But it was epic...even Sophie thought so.

Snow Day!

What a lovely snow to wake up to. That AND no school today (although honestly, I think they could have had school, but this is the Mid-Atlantic and not upstate New York, we're just not as prepared, I guess).

I found my boots and Sophie and I took a walk around the place. It was one of those snows that stuck to all the branches.

I am completely spoiled, living with the woods in back of the house.
And I have next-door-neighbors that have two horses. I do none of the work, and get all of the pleasure.
This is a bush that has red branches (Becca?). I can't remember the name, a type of birch, maybe?

This little pine looks like a Christmas card.
While I slowly trudged, Sophie ran around like a maniac. She chased birds (real and imaginary). She rolled in the snow. She raced under the bushes to scare pretend rabbits. Now she is tuckered out.

She got in touch with her husky side. :) Now I am going to have another cup of tea and get to work on some plushies. And of course, I have some skellys up my sleeve (not actually up my sleeve, but you know what I mean). Happy Hump Day!