The Afterglow

I have reclaimed my life and my house from the constant dollhouse construction of the last two months. The auction is over.

Our pet project and all the dolls went to a lovely lady with a 17-month old future co-op attendee for $1300. Not too shabby!

As for the rest of the night, we raised just over $150,000 for the school. No shab there, either.

However, in classic 'me' form, I never took a photo of the house once it was finished. My excuse this time is that I was so eager to get it out of the house and we were so last minute in getting it on site that there was no time for photo ops. But there was, I'm just forgetful like that. I'm sure there's some subconcious I-don't-want-to-be-reminded-of-how-hard-we-worked-on-something-that-was-so-awesome-that-we-ended-up-giving-away type of explanation, too. It's that bittersweet letting go that we all must get used to, right?

I did manage to get pictures of all my dolls, though. Redemption!

So, in order of their making (not that they necessarily got better toward the end):

That's one lucky 17-month old!

I think next year we'll let someone else have a turn.

Water for the Thirsty

We have a seasonal creek near our house that usually runs from sometime around October to sometime around March. This year, so far, it's been sadly dry and silent. Rainless winters are bad for lots of people for lots of reasons, but we've been particularly missing those fun rubber-clad creek escapades.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who woke up happy this morning, having had the steady patter of rain as my dream soundtrack. But I was even happier when I opened our front door and heard our creek roaring proudly.

Get your boots and umbrellas, kids. This may not last long.

Journey of the Dolls, Volume 2

I'll go ahead and say it, I've been shirking my blogging responsibilities. My list of priorities has recently gotten much longer, and the new ones have a rapidly approaching deadline. Allow me to explain (and brace yourselves, this might be a long one).

My head has been swimming for the last two months or so with preparations for the auction for Mazzy's Nursery School. A yearly event that casts a long, foggy shadow over January and February and is a major test of our "cooperativeness". Sure, the kids can get along at school, but can 75 or so parents coordinate and communicate well enough to pull off a 300+ guest event? If it all goes well, we'll pull enough money out of the guests for four teachers' salaries & benefits and maybe a little extra to help maintain the 19th century schoolhouse. Last year we raised enough for solar panels.

The economy? What? Okay, yes, it's the worst of times, but we're working on the theory that if you bring enough parents and extended families and friends together and give them enough good food and wine and show them enough cute pictures of their kids, they'll cave. You wait, they'll cave. I'll report back on that.

For now, though, I want to show you my personal contribution to all this madness. This year is the second time I've taken the reigns on Mazzy's 'class project.' Last year Jon and I made an 8-foot teepee that went for $1500. I spent so much time making it, and it turned out amazing, but I had to let it go and I never even took a picture of it. I won't make that mistake again, so here's this year's work-in-progress.

Two weeks ago, we had two 4' x 8' sheets of plywood. Jon's been slowly transforming them into a 3' x 2' dollhouse version of the co-op schoolhouse. We have nine days to get a roof on it and paint it. I'll report back on that, too.


A dollhouse is no fun without dolls, so I've been working on those. I was inspired by Amy's dollmaking, and after several failed attempts at making my own doll pattern, I went with a modified version of The Black Apple doll.

I had Amy paint their faces, and now I get to pick out their clothes and sew and stuff them.

Like this:

Again, nine days.


Wish us luck.

Mystic Crystal Revelations

Forgive me for indulging, but it's my Birthday Eve, so I went on a little hunt for something significant to share.
The first place I turned was to Rob Brezsny (a one-stop shop for all manner of freakiness), and he told me this:

"The seed cannot sprout upwards without simultaneously sending roots into the ground," says an ancient Egyptian proverb. Keep that thought in mind as you head into the thick of your new phase of growth, Aquarius. What part of you needs to deepen as you rise up? What growth needs to unfold in the hidden places as you gravitate toward the light? How can you go about balancing and stabilizing your ascension with a downward penetration?

(That's what she said;)

Check your own horoscope if you're into it. And since we're on the subject of planet alignment, take a gaze at the night sky this evening to behold a big, bright Jupiter hanging around the moon.

Finally, if you're looking for a reason to celebrate this fine winter weekend (who needs a reason?!) I'm happy to share my birthday with you.

Let's Make a Loom

I made a loom last weekend and it was so easy I thought I'd share it for any of you who are cooped up in the house and need an activity.
All you need to get started is a small board, some nails, a hammer and a little helper to hand you the nails.

Hammer an equal number of nails in rows on each side of the board. Keep them pretty close together.
It should look something like this......

Then take some yarn and start at one end and string it on around two nails, across to other side, around two nails, across to other side.....

Fasten the loose ends to the back with tape or tie them off onto the end nails. Next you need to find something to do the actual weaving with. You could use a knitting needle, Popsicle stick or anything else that might work. We found an arrowhead that was just perfect for the job. Attach some yarn to your weaving tool of choice and start going. It's over, under, over, under and on and on until you get to the end then turn around and keep going....over...under....

You're Weaving!!!! Hours of fun.

1.20.09

Well, if the inauguration isn't a perfect reason to start drinking Mimosas at 10 AM, then I don't know what is.

First-Ever Sale On NOW!!

There are so many good reasons for us to hold our first sale, but here are ten of the best ones:

1. Only four more days until the Obama administration brings in "A New Birth of Freedom"!!!

2. We love you.

3. We're all trying to save money, but shouldn't have to sacrifice cuteness and originality.

4. We love you. Yes, you.

5. There is a chance we might be forced out of business in February. (Have you not heard? Click here and here to see what you can do to help.)

6. We might have gotten a little overexcited in our preparations for Holiday sales.

7. We were taking inventory anyway, so we thought "What the hell?"

8. We need to clear the way for some new designs.

9. We really do love you.

10. We're just in really good moods.

So, everything in the shop is at least 20% off. Guitars are 30% 0ff and prints are 33.333333% off! The prices are already reduced for everybody's convenience, so put your calculator away and stock up!!

P.S. You may notice the Hand-Stitched Guitar listing has not been changed. This is because it's hand-stitched. We're nice, but we're not crazy.

Double P.S. If you're one of the 150 passengers that survived yesterday's Hudson River landing, convo us and receive an additional discount. If you're the pilot or crew, we'll dress your kids (or grandkids) for free. That was bad-ass.