a place for everything

I am hopeful that everything will eventually find its place once the dust settles and my crafty space is reorganized, but there is one little pumpkin who has already made it clear that his needs must be met first.

mom, dontchoo think a nice bed and snackie shelf will be perfect here under your desk so i can keep u company while u work? :)

messopotamia

So long as there are little pathways and rabbit tunnels for Baxter to navigate his world, I think by now tiny chumley is hardly ever phased at what goes on in his house.  But right now the mounds of stuff are even more moundy than usual, thanks to my determined and much needed effort to make the time to reorganize and restructure my crafty space.

Even though stuff is everywhere, I can hardly find a thing at the moment, save for a little four legged boy who patiently waits for the day when his mom is done moving stuff and making noise with the vacuum cleaner.  With any luck (and a little help from IKEA), Baxter and I will resume our crafty adventures sometime next week, but in the meanwhile, my patient boy makes do, playing and living in messopotamia.

oooh mom can me n duk duk play hide n seek with chocobot n lil pink puppy in here? there are so many more places to hide now!!

get crafty: 0.00002 leagues under the sea photography

Hey, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter reporting to you today from my very own backyard, cuz somebuddies have asked how it was we took that underwater picture of me bobbing for a carrot from yesterday. So today I am showing u the setup we used, which is quite simple really because all u really need are two stools and a glass dish with handles.  U know, for like they kind they use for baking, or in my mom's case, for dyeing silk in the microwave.  Although she has not yet used this dish for that particular purpose yet and it is still fresh and new from HomeGoods.  Which is why I could use it for bobbing for carrots.

Anyhoo all u need to do is suspend the dish between the two stools, make sure the set up is nice n sturdy, fill it with water, chop up some carrots and stick your camera under the dish and voila! But be careful not to have your camera too close to the edge of the dish unless u have a waterproof one cuz bobbing for carrots can be a very wet affair.  Like this, let me show u.

Yep all that water has to go somewhere and sometimes it goes all over the floor which might mean it could get all over your camera and that could be a big boo hoo.  So take it from me n my mom, anticipate the path of your pup's carrot bob and stay very far away from it.  Unless u have a waterproof camera, know what I mean?

Well I hope u enjoyed today's photography lesson and are inspired to make your own underwater adventure moment.  And if u do, please feel free to share your underwater pictures or a link to them on my facebook fan page so we can all see.  :)

This is Baxter your roving rover reporter wishing you the snackiest of snackies! :)

get crafty: the big little

Today, a peekypoo at a project that the little kielbasa and I have been messing with all week long,  Not that it took a lot of time to do, so much as it took some time to shop (at Home Goods - yippee!) , and shop some more (at the art supply store - second yippee!), and well, of course if I am going to be out and about, shop at the nearby thrift stores (third yippee's a charm!). 

The result of all this shopping and ten minutes of effort?  A very giant kielbasa boy, all done on a tiny budget! :)


ooooh, sniffed the little kielbasa when he examined the finished product, finally a me as big as i think i am!

two lamps and a skunk

Tiny chumley was disappointed when he found out he couldn't help me rewire the lamps I scored at the thrift shop yesterday, and glumly stretched out on a stairstep, occasionally heaving a sigh of displeasure by pressing one ear back then the other.

me so booooooored! his little brown eyes declared as they watched me make a giant mess on the foyer floor. isn't there anything to do today?

I got up to give Baxter a skritch.  Poor baby dog, I thought,  you're being such a good boy and it's really not fair that you don't have anything new to play with when I've got my new toys, is it? How bout we pull out Mister Skunky P Eeeew?

oooo i hear crinkling!! gimme gimme gimme! perked the little kielbasa when I came back with his prize. 

And happy both were we, working separately yet keeping each other company, til finally we both finished what we set out to do.

short stacked

Okay, I know. I had such resolve when we first decided to adopt Baxter.  No more than four beds, three of them inherited from his brothers before him, and one new bed.  Not a lot of toys and no way will this dog's stuff ever need to take up more space than the drawer underneath our washing machine.  My plan? Respect through austerity. 

Fast forward three or so years and yes, tiny chumley's beds and his toys are everywhere now, multiplied like little mischievous bunnies. Add to that the plentitude of blankies that Baxter can call his own, the overflowing bin of duds and clothes and head gear and, most recently, vintage eyewear and neckties that make up his wardrobe, and add his growing food and water bowl collection and what do you get?  Well, thankfully, one little doxie who is still as respectul and sweet as ever.

Which is why I guess I still want to make his home, his world, a more perfect and doxie accessible place. Now that Baxter can encounter a bed and blankie and toys practically every 15 feet in the house and can enjoy them as a nattily dressed dog about town, my attentions have apparently turned to things that help him monitor his world from a higher position that his stubby little legs will allow, and to the things that help him get up there. Upholstered benches and ottomans, which I like to call his kitty perches because he'll climb up on them and watch the world from his window, and the stools that act as steps to allow him to gracefully and safely get from floor to kitty perch and back again.  Because the little kielbasa is too kielbasa sized for those miniscule doggie stair step things, and because ramps take up way too much space for their single purposed endeavors.

And so, for now let's just say Baxter is well on his way to fine collection of kitty perches, thanks in part to an ottoman we already owned prior to Baxter's adoption and a bench and stool scored long ago from Marshalls, but lately, because these hands and paws were made for crafting.  Today, a peekypoo at the craftier side of his collection, made larger by two just these past couple of days when I finally finished regluing and reinforcing his $5 needlepoint flea market score, and after I salvaged the brass feet from a rickety thrift store find to make him a completely new happy kielbasa sized  perch using some fabu fabric and velvet that I discharge dyed and turned into piping.

Yeah, it's a tall world out there.  Somebody's gotta help the little kielbasa see it. :)

etsy fresh: tomodachi japan relief doxie & bunny block print

A special run of happy block prints to share today, pressed from an image I carved this past weekend of the little kielbasa and his buddy bunnito bunnalini, and posted fresh to Etsy to join other friends in helping with tsunami relief. Aptly titled, "tomodachi", the japanese word for friends.

oooh, mom i hope these sell out so i can help u make more, squeed the little kielbasa when he sniffed at the cheery display of all the prints, cuz i really want to help the dachshunds and bunnies and duks and everybuddy in japan!

 

pretty in pink

It seems there are many days in Baxter's happy go lucky life where things take a sudden and interesting turn. Like yesterday, when he spent most of the morning staring at me.  Wishing, I think, that I would be more interesting. Or at least, way more susceptible to his telepathic powers of cuteness. Which I am most certain were trying to convince me to leave my sewing machine in order to serve him up a nice big tasty rawhide bone. Or, as he would later try to convince me with his twinkly eyes, at least perhaps a tiny little smackerel of something tasty?

By early afternoon, the little kielbasa had given up all hope of extra snackie love, and retired to his kitty perch to warm his sausagey body and his rumbly little tummy.

Seeing that this little wiener dog was sound asleep by the time I finished sewing, I figured I would quietly go upstairs with my freshly made purse to take a few simple pics to submit with an upcoming show application.

But no sooner had I gotten to our bedroom did I hear the the thunder of little paws. Baxter skidded into my feet, and a tiny trailing wind caught up shortly thereafter, stirring up dust that glinted in the afternoon sun.

u weren't gonna take pictures without me, were u, mom?? he seemed to happily inquire as he sniffed about the things I brought upstairs.

And just like that, things took an interesting turn for the both of us. :)

etsy fresh: calling all royal doxies

Well hello, it's me, Baxter, here to show you these super pretty sparkly rhinestone crowns that me and duk duk are selling to fund Project Monkeys in Space. Need a unique valentine's day present for the special girl doxie in your life? Want to help your doxie dress the part she already plays? Just love sparkly treasure?  Hop on over to the Project Monkeys in Space section of my mom's etsy shop and get your crown today before they're all gone!  And feel good knowing that every crown u buy helps put a monkey in outer space.

My name is Baxter, and I thank u for your support. :) 

crowning glory

dear diary,
well diary, as you might be aware, duk duk and i have been working on project monkeys in space for like forever now. well, mostly doing fundraising in the form of saving our kibble n worms so we can buy the monkeys cuz i hear they cost a lot. well, the good ones anyway, the trainable kind that u can use as a butt-ler afterwards, and not the grouchy kind that might throw monkey poo at u if u know what i mean.

anyways, me and duk duk kinda got the munchies yesterday night after mom n dad went to bed and, well, let's just say the funding for project monkeys in space kinda suffered a setback of epic proportions.

so duk duk and i were stuck trying to think of ways we could earn more kibble fast and wouldn't u know that mom said her little ontrapuhnoors - wait apparently that's not spelled right - entrepreneurs should consider a fundraiser. and wouldn't u know she had just the thing we could sell.

ooo, i was thinking, sign us up! maybe mom made greeting cards of the poopie snake i made the other day, or even better, castings so we could paint them gold and offer them as paper weights. and this time duk duk could be the model cuz he could be the duk that laid the golden poopie in our ad campaign.

but, no such luck. mom came back with a half dozen sparkly girly crown things and said "looky at these pretty little treasures! there are only a half dozen of them all together in three different designs, and i just know there are six lucky doxie girls out there who would love having their very own, very well made, very sparkly princess crowns. and i can even help you and duk duk with the ribbon and instructions on how to tie it on their heads so everything stays neatly in place! it can be your very own project mister universe!"

mom was so excited i really didn't have the heart to say anything but i think u can tell by my face what i was thinkin when it came time to start taking pictures for our ad campaign.



yeah, this is me in the Princess Diana. and yeah, u know what duk duk was doin when mom wasn't looking.  laughing his feathers off.

but don't worry, diary.  moments later i remembered that this was all for a good cause and i got really into it. cuz at sixteen bucks, plus shipping, i'm thinking we'll be able to turn a few little doxies into the queens and princesses they really are and we can buy like a whole zoo of monkeys! and i hate to admit, but these things really are very pretty!

well, mom said duk duk and i could use tomorrow's post to tell u more about our crowns so i best get ready for it. duk duk already set up our email to take questions and everything. i am so excited!! :)

toodley-doo!
b.

roxie fabric

Often times in the past when I went on a bizcation trip with Robin to New York, I would get overwhelmed by the selection of goodies before me and lose focus on what it was I should be getting. And don't get me wrong, I'd still be getting stuff, but I would amass a load of goodies that I couldn't use immediately, buy one off treasures that would sit, waiting for the day when I had enough other buddy components to make something kalyxcraftoperrific. Which wasn't too bad a thing to do, only now I really am hurtin for storage space.

But luckily, I was fairly focused this trip, and found, amongst other things, super fabrics and trims to augment what I already have, to make purses and other flights of fancy, including a fabulous dud for a special wire haired girl name Roxie.

Tiny chumley was, of course, his helpful little self when it came to putting together options for Roxie's dapper doxie dud.

yep, definitely something in pink orange and maroon, cuz look how good these colors look with me on top of everything! and may i please have a snackie?

dapper doxie dud: secret space boy

Yippee, the first dapper doxie dud for the new year, a rough n rumble teal packcloth harness for the rough n tumble super dog and Baxter's blog buddy, Ammo.

ooo. baxter's eyes did glint as he spied this dud. are u sure this isn't for me? cuz it totally fits me AND it's got super cool spaceboy flannel inside.

No baby dog, but you'll be getting a new blaze orange dud soon and you can have whatever flannel lining you want!

the long and short purse

Somebody at last weekend's show asked me what my inspiration was for making the purse style that seems to come naturally from my fingertips, and quite honestly, I had to say I didn't know. Whether in plaid or velvet, wool, or textural hand dye, this shape just seems right, time and time again.

But, in retrospect, there is something oddly familiar about the purse form that has become my standard, and I think it you can guess how my art may well imitate my life. One little chumley at a time.

there's no business like show business

There's never a dull moment when show day arrives, except maybe for the little kielbasa, who sat like a twenty two pound meat loaf on my legs while Robin and I casually discussed what seemed like anything but our plans for the day ahead while we got ready to leave for the show. There's no point in over planning, we've both discovered, though I am often still the one that seems to be inclined to overpack stuff, just in case we need it.

Besides the extreme heat and cold, doing an outdoor show is always an adventure, to say the least. Last year, it was all about being located in the apparent - and accumulated - pooping grounds of the homeowner's dog, and this year, it was the previous night's pretty smattering of snow which randomly plopped out of the overhead trees and melted on our goods as the sun rose in the sky. Minor setbacks, really, as winging it seems to play such a major role such affairs. We always manage to have a blast no matter what happens, and thankfully, the people we meet do, too.

Folks started streaming in before we were really ready, and so no pristine booth shots, but a few happy disheveled scenes that I was able to take between the waves of folks needing to checkout. A busy, busy day, but as always, so fun!



PS - yippee! Harriet the extremely long legged dachshund will have a forever home this Christmas, purchased as she was to be a thoughtful gift for someone lives in a complex that doesn't allow pets. Bye bye, Harriet, I just know you'll be very much loved! :)

me likey dat & get crafty: my outdoor lighted doxie

Hey folks, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter reporting to you today in the almost dark from here in my front yard. As you all might be aware, I've been keeping an eye out for Santa cuz I was hoping he would bring my present early this year and for that to happen I figure I need all the help I can get. Which is why I'm really excited about the lighted Christmas Doxie my mom wired up for me. Nothin says Santa stop here like slightly bigger than life sized lighted version of me pointing at my front door, right? I really like his festive green wreath that he's wearing around his neck. Something tells me I would look really good wearing that, too. But mom says electricity and boys like me don't mix very well.

Well speaking of Santa, duk duk told me I should really write him a letter so he really knows what I want, so I am going to turn over my report now to mom. This is Baxter your roving rover reporter saying hi mom!



Hee hee, um, thanks Baxter. First off, super thanks to Joey & Maggie for sharing the original lighted doxie back in July. And for posting the budget version that came as a zero instruction, light it yourself frame only. That's what I bought, keeping my fingers crossed that it would all work out. Which it pretty much did, so I thought I'd share some lessons learned and tips for anyone tempted to do the same (like me, who hopes to do one every year til all our boys past and present can light the holiday night.)

First, the wally world shopping list.
1) 18ft rope light in clear
2) the smallest zip ties they carry - four inch I think? one pack, but consider two because they're pretty cheap, under a buck each. I bought 1 pack and had only like 5 left - not much room for mess up or detail zip tie work

If doing the neck wreath
3) 100 mini light string in green for the wreath (I'm wondering if 50 lights would have been fine, but wally world didn't have this size)
4) One or two packs of replacement mini bulbs in red
5) A multi plug stake timer, cuz mini light string will not plug into the rope light

If doing the bowtie
3) Colored duct tape

How to & hints:
1) Decide which way the doxie will face to establish the front. This is the side that rope light will be attached to. Personally I like to work with the strings lit, so if you're like me, just plan on working near an outlet or extension cord.

2) Starting with the receptacle end of the rope light (the end that isn't the one you plug into an outlet), start at the outermost foot under the tail and work the underbelly first, zip tying as you go to affix the rope to the frame and making sure to be generous with the zip ties when turning corners or making tight turns. Snip exposed zip tails after tightening.

3) For this first doxie, I avoided lighting certain parts- like the hamhock leg line that splits the two hind legs for feasibility reasons and the odd secondary straight line at the chest for artistic reasons . I also avoided doing the bowtie because I didn't think I had the electrical means to splice in a different color rope light. But I have an after thought on this, so more on that in step 7.

4) Continue working your way around the doxie, thinking of it in terms of making a continuous line drawing - loop de loop the nose and eye and ear and have faith that the zip ties are long enough to do the job because they are. In the doubled parts, you might just need an extra hand to keep it all together/do the pulling, or really strong teeth. (I never said anything about looking dignified while making this, did I?). The finish line is obviously the same as the starting line, so you'll know when you're done.

5) Wind the green light string loosely around the neck over and over and over til you've used it all up, being mindful to end with the plug in back. Loose (but not too loose) helps minimize the number of wraps and also gives the wreath a fuller look. Too loose and it'll look, amorphous. Too taut and it could look like spikes - which might not be a bad thing if that's the look you want - oooh, can you imagine that in the bigger lightbulb? Yeah that would be totally cool. Whoops I digress.

6) Swap out a few of the green bulbs with red ones and voila! Done!

7)There will be a surplus of rope light - maybe three feet or so. I wrapped mine in the duct tape I had on hand which happened to be red, thinking it would obscure the light, but lo and behold, I got red rope light essentially. So here's the eureka and there might actually be enough rope light to do it - try doing the bow tie as you work your way around the doxie, remembering what I said about loop de loops, and wrap it in colored duct tape! Ditto for the eyes if you want colored ones of those as well. Alternatively, you should still be able to get at least a collar line our of the surplus length, just be sure you're able to zip tie a straight line as needed for it.

So that's it! I'm really excited about the duct tape idea. One of these years Baxter's lighted doppleganger just might be wearing his very own lighted orange dapper doxie dud! :) Happy Monday!!

ps - think i'm gonna do a little red tape at the nose, for a little baxter the red nosed doxie action. and cover that red taped slack so it's not so, uh, well, cecelia mentions it in her comments! :)

up on the rooftop, woof woof woof!

Tiny chumley couldn't help but crash my etsy photo shoot today, curious as he was at the hubbub that was happening just out of his line of sight.

whatchoo doin up there? got anythin for me? his nose did inquire while his toes tippy tip toed around my little table.

"Nope, there's nothing you'd really want up here, little friend," I told him. "All this stuff I need to photograph today is for humans. You know, like for Christmas? But you're right, before I upload all this stuff to Etsy, maybe it's time we took a break."

And we both pranced off into the kitchen to search for something snackielicious.

welding elf & thrify treasures

For me, the creative process doesn't always work the same in every instance. Sometimes, I start with an idea and find the materials, and other times - most times lately - the materials find me, and then I have an idea. And yes, our house is full of materials.

Days, even years can go by before things get made, because of a lack of time, inspiration, or skill, and sometimes all three. As was the case with the Christmas wreath I knew I wanted. Ever since leaving the land of normal, I have always known I wanted something interesting to hang on our front door during the holiday season. Eons ago we did the fresh evergreen wreath, transitioned to the more practical fake but festively festooned wreath, and in more recent years have switched between nothing and the last minute ol burgundy (most recently bright red) plastic velvet bow cuz I once again ran out of time to make anything cool.

But not this year. And I owe it all to my new welding elf, our friend and Robin's son, Takato himself. Who happened to be taking a welding class this semester, the same time that I scored a six buck bag of silverware from the flea market. Who took my bag of goodies and delivered this wonderful creation to our doorstep this weekend.



Complete and total wooty woot, right? I'm so proud of his first crafty welding adventure, I can't wait to make more stuff of my own so I can contribute to the mig welder we both want him to have. So he can always be my occasional welding elf, and we both can watch where his creative journeys might take him.

Now, I'm still thinkin of doing a bit more adornment work on the wreath, and I am sure one day the flea market or thrift store gods will shine upon me that which I need, like maybe some vintagey 50s glass ball ornaments or a luxe piece of wide red ribbon, but until then, Takato and I found some super stuff at the flea market before he had to make the long journey home. Wooden bowls for more hat stands, a little wooden shoe form, and a few bits of jewelry. Combined with all the stuff I scored this week at the thrift stores and last week's flea visit, tiny chumley's curious nose had a field day investigating all the new and strange smells. And yet it's just another day, here in the happy life of this little doxie. :)

get crafty: harriet the extremely long legged dachshund

Whee! Double posties today, cuz I couldn't wait til I got back home to share what I made here at Robin's house. Meet Harriet, the extremely long legged dachshund, who will be on display in our booth along with all sorts of other wonderful handmade goodies at today's holiday bazaar. The three or so foot tallish Miss Harriet is a spin on a stuffed animal found in the very cool book, Sew Me, Love Me: Best Stuffed Friends to Make, something that will definitely go on my Christmas list this year, to hopefully help me work down all my mountains of fabric scraps and make tiny chumley's world a little less like living in the Grand Canyons.

Happy Sunday!! :)

adventures in metalworking: lord of the bracelets

So Big Boyfriend is away, visiting family while tiny chumley and I hold down the fort. So far, I've been pretty good with the dishes, and I've even managed to take in the mail and newspaper rather than call to have it all held for when our pack is back together and life is as it should be. Everything is relatively normal, save for the facts that we miss him, that chumley shifts into extra barky protector mode at the slightest noise, and of course, that I lose all track of time doing all things crafty.

Messin with metals with enough time to spare to load them on Etsy was the name of the game yesterday. Tiny bits of metal shavings flew everywhere while I drilled and hammered the day away. Background noise for Baxter, really, who spent most of his day lazing in the sun, and peering out at all the critters attracted by the sprinkler outside.

As his luck would have it, by the time I finished my projects and looked over to my sleepy boy, my mind didn't go down the same pathway that it did a year before. This year, no unneutered adventures in felting, but rather a regal look for my sleepy little friend. This year, I give you Baxter, elfin Lord of the Bracelets!



Oh yeah, here's a peekypoo at what I just loaded over at the kalyxcraftopia Etsy shop. Pretty baubles inspired by the prom, but with a very modern metals twist. Because everybody can use a little happy on their wrist. :)

and pigs flew over the moon

hey what's that i smell -
might there be a souvenir
for me those bags??

- baxter, 3.75 years old, sniffing the air as his mom unpacked some of her supply goodies from the NYC portion of her trip.







Talk to me about my trips to New York City and there almost always be three things you'll hear about. The fabulous food, the moments of inspiration, and the shopping. Of course the shopping. Most definitely the shopping. Most of the time there's a story about how Robin and I bought an entire roll or three or four of this or that in the garment district and lugged it down the street to the closest avenue and tried for minutes to hail a cab that would accept both us and our unruly belongings. And I'll gush at how we found wonderful shirtings for song or sumptuous velvets and unusual woolens perfect for making who knows what. But not this time. This time, this trip to NYC, pigs most definitely flew. Not a yard of fabric did we purchase, not a single fabric store did we grace with our ever entertaining shopping ways.

But fear not, our single shopping day in NYC was still spent in and around the garment district, focused as we were on finding wonderful trims and beads and metal findings and supplies. Our craft, I've come to realize with verbal clarity, is not only built on fabric, but ornamentation. And our success lies in having tons and tons of both from which we can mix and match and create to our hearts' content.

And so Robin and I had a blast, spending hours in the bead and trim stores, and soaking up the information so generously offered while we filled our basket with cool vintagey filigrees and jewelry making supplies at the metals store.

A peek at some of the goodies I brought home, most of which will eventually find their way on to purses and serged cashmere scarves, but some that will work their way into new experiments in adornment that I can't wait to start when summer finally says goodbye.