Spring?

Could it be? Could the season be turning??? Today has certainly been making me think that this may be the case. Lots of green and yellow and pink felt scraps on the floor of the studio and these little blooms for an order that went out today. (Thank you Blendo Past and Present - that is the name of the shop where these are going.)

In case it isn't as spring-y where you are, perhaps these colors will brighten things up a bit??

Dreamy

I have returned from my adventures!!! The Buyers Market Show in Philly was WONDERFUL (a dream, if you will.) As always, it was wonderful to meet so many great people and to catch up with all of the great friends that I only get to see in real life at this show. Many many MANY thanks to the wonderful shops and galleries that placed orders with me. Pea Soup studio production is in full swing!!!! Here is a little peak at my newly redesigned booth - oh how I love it so!!

So it has been a lot of organizing and getting things back together but I am slowly but surely there - we had a sunny day today (yay!) and I was looking at a little stack of words that I made for a show last fall and thought that they should go into the web shops as they are looking quite sad lying in the studio when they would really love to be up on the wall in a sweet little nursery somewhere - so here is the first one available in the Etsy shop:

Here is a little close up:

The word itself is made of wood, I painted it white and added the little "stitches" and of course the little teeny tiny fairies snuggled up on the letters! There are more to come - stay tuned.

Wishing You . . .

Here's Lucky. I have been making this little guy and his Little Lucky Lady friend for awhile, when I was making a little batch of these dolls for the upcoming holiday, I had a light bulb moment - "He needs a pot of gold!" So, the new addition to Lucky is his little pot of gold. Ah, I think I am in love!

This post is two-fold. One, it is to announce that I am starting to list some St Patty's day pins in the Etsy and DaWanda shops - leprechauns and shamrocks and the like. The other "wish of luck" behind this post is that very early tomorrow morning, I will be leaving for Philadelphia for the Buyers Market of American Craft show. I am SO excited and SO nervous! So, I am wishing all of my fellow artists who are also participating in the show, the very best of luck for a wonderful show! I will be back soon with a report on the show, until then, the best of luck to everyone in their big and little endeavors today!

Love and Hearts and Chocolate and Hugs and Kisses

A very happy Valentines Day to you!

May your day be filled with lots of hugs and chocolate and great friends and great partners and romance and secret admirers . . . . all good Valentine-y stuff!!!

Hot Dog! and Hamburgers too

Hmm . . . once again a post title in reference to a song and once again, if you haven't heard it or haven't heard it in awhile check it out - "Hot Dog" by Led Zeppelin of course.

But the hot dogs and hamburgers I am talking about are two new card designs. I haven't made any new card designs in a very long time and these were sketches in the works for - I want to say years - how is that possible??? There will be more meat-related card designs coming soon but here are the first two.
I like how one hamburger looks very proud of himself and the other is not amused at all? Ah, the subtleties of felt and google eyes.

Sweeter than a honey bee

The title of this post (and this latest project) have this great song happily stuck in my head. The actual song title is "Queen Bee" by wonderful Taj Mahal. It's a great song to listen to and be happy about - especially this time of year!

I have been working day and night, getting ready for the upcoming Buyers Market of American Craft show - I am so excited and nervous and thrilled and did I mention nervous? to be participating for the first time in the February portion of this amazing show. I have been lucky enough to do the Summer show - so this is a huge honor. There is so much preparation going into it - I am a slave to the to-do lists, but it feels so good to be able to put 100% focus on it and hopefully, no matter what happens, I can say - "Well, I gave it my best!"

During breaks of show preparation tasks, I have been sneaking in a little stitching (I couldn't possibly stop that!) I have just finished up a batch of bees - they are the sweet kind that don't sting. They are in the Etsy shop too!

This little fella just told me "Don't be nervous, BEE happy. . . ."

Whew! It's been a mighty long time! Luckily, during my very long absence, I have been busy making and creating and doing and I would like to share what has been on the ol' Pea Soup Studio work desk.

Today for example, I have been working on taking pictures - not just pictures but GOOD pictures. This is certainly not something that comes easy for me!! Other than that mountain I am climbing, I have also begun work on a new ostrich egg, just for fun. The first step of doing a batik on an ostrich shell is prepping the surface, which takes about a half an hour of scrubbing it with a vinegar wash. Naturally, the egg shell is almost like porcelain with a lovely shine, but no dye or wax or even pencil lines would adhere to it. By washing and scrubbing the shell, it now has a lovely matte finish to it - perfect to begin the pencil divisions.

More along the lines of Pea Soup, wool felt lovelies, I have been working on a trio of puppy dogs that I have just finished and have even uploaded one into the Etsy shop. These little guys turned out very cute (I haven't made any dolls in a very long time!) And I amso into the idea of giving them as a gift to a little tot that I made up a little "adoption paper" coloring card to go with them. Too much fun! Here they all are together, with their favorite toys, before they are adopted to their new owners:

Here's there "very offical" adoption card:

And they will soon all be up in the shops very soon! That is all for today. . . back to work I go!