Magic Mice and More...

When people see my Wee Ones (and when I say Wee Ones now I'm including the Liten Venn Small Friends as well - it's just faster to say Wee Ones all inclusive :)) ~ a question I am often asked is, "Do you make pet toys, too?"  To date I have said, "They are on the list!"

It would have been easy to just throw something together and call it a dog toy or a cat toy, but I wanted to put some thought into it and produce a fun, safe, quality product.  I don't know if you guys do this, but I tend to try something new when I have the least amount of time in which to do it.  You know - like trying new recipes when I'm hosting a dinner party in six hours...

So it makes perfect sense that  in the midst of my preparation for Project Hello (I've made 50 Wee Ones for the event Saturday so far), that I would decide to develop a new line of pet toys to debut there, right? Of course, I'm frantically designing, sewing, developing catch phrases and information for the catnip toys and dog chew-upons; as well as narrowing down the choices to one animal rescue organization to donate a percentage of the sales to.

The first of the catnip toys, Magic Mice, came easy.  I mean, what cat doesn't enjoy munching on a good mouse?  These toys are made of soft fleece, double-stitched for durability (after that, your cat is own her own!) and stuffed with non-allergenic polyfill laced with ~ get this ~ home-grown Colorado catnip.  Kitty-tested and approved by my own cat, the very particular A-choo.  She gives her [slightly high] stamp of approval.  

Dog Chew-upons are in the works.  (Which, by the way, will be squeakerless.  No potential choking hazards for my puppy pals!)  Do you think I'll have them ready to debut by Saturday?  Stay tuned to my Facebook Page to see!

P.S. And be looking for the new line of "I Heart my Cat" and "I Heart my Dog" toys in my Etsy shop next week!

Sundays

I think the answer to unblocking my creativity is to totally remove myself from my work space. To actually stay away from my studio.

Movie night out last night (literally out – an outdoor double feature in my son and daughter in law’s side yard!); a relaxing morning walk in the park today with my mister and my dog and a scrumptious breakfast prepared by aforesaid mister… All of which has served to relax me, make room in my head for some ideas and remind me that awhile back I had promised myself to take Sundays off. Everyone really does need down time to renew, refresh and not burn out!

I am also reminded that when I was growing up Sundays moved at a relaxed, slow pace. Stores were closed; the only one working on Sunday was our minister. Sundays meant church, followed by a big noon meal, visits with family, “The Wonderful World of Disney” at 6:00 and popcorn for supper. A little different from Sundays of 2009... So the mister and I are making an effort to slow down our Sundays. Our church is nature, so we walk together. A late morning breakfast is our noon meal. Watching “CBS Sunday Morning” (which we tape) is our “Disney.” And rather than family visits, we visit each other – something we don’t take time for during the week.

And because a little free time not only sparks my energy level, but also my imagination, I jot down ideas to implement on Monday. Take the catnip pictured here, for instance. I did a little clean-up in my garden-on-the-deck this morning (fall is definitely in the air) and decided it was time (perhaps past time) to harvest my catnip. I grow it every year for my cat, A-choo. During the summer she likes to roll around on the leaves I bring in and drop on the floor for her. As summer winds down, I harvest what is left of the catnip; I dry it; smush it up with a pestle and mortar; store it in a covered bowl; sew little pouches; stuff them with the catnip and there ya’ go ~ A-choo and her friends are set for the winter.

Three people have suggested I should add a line of pet toys to my shop. I have been designing dog toys in my head and now I’m expanding… (she jots a note) ~ this year A-choo will be sharing with a wider audience. ;-)