Booga Booga!

Holidays.  Dreams and nightmares.

Since I've been creating little critters the holidays have proven to be both challenging and delightful.  Some seasonal ideas really hit the mark; some don't quite make the cut and are delegated to the "donation" shelf. Because even if a plushie isn't exactly what I had in mind, it still can bring a smile to a child's face.  I'm big on Toys for Tots!  And however frustrating it is to spend time on a prototype (or two) and realize the idea just isn't going to fly; it is all part of the game.

But then there are the ones that do.  I just know in my gut when an idea is going to work ~ like my friend here ~ Stinky the Dead Cat. Some holidays bring out the more creative side of me than others.  Halloween is one such holiday.  Last year was my first year creating Wee Monsters, et al, and not only was I surprised by how much fun I had bringing them to life ~ I was equally surprised by how popular they were!  And then ~ blow me over with a feather ~ people started requesting them all year long.  (You guys are warped.  But in a good way! *wink*)

So this year I knew to start early with the current designs and take an hour here and there to work on some new ones.  I gave it considerable thought before entering into the Dead Zone ~ not knowing if that would be too sensitive or not.  Then I remembered that Halloween is closely associated with Day of the Dead (November 1 and 2) ~ so why not?

Enter Dead Seymour the Wee Monkey.

There are more dead creatures hanging out in my head.  I just hope I have time to create them all...  Holy cow!  It's October 1st already!

Hello New York!!!!

You just never know what The Universe is going to send your way, so more than ever I am keeping my eyes open and practicing saying "yes." There's a lot to be gained and very little to lose by nodding your head and taking a chance.

The timing of my latest nod couldn't have been more perfect. In the last month I (as "freckles") have decided to develop a line of my own original "friends." The Wee Ones are now original concepts and designs ~ and let me tell ya' ~ the ideas never stop. (Especially when my friends start chiming in! ha!) The six developed so far you see here ~ Esmeralda the Cat, Randy Dawg, Honey Bear, Georgette the Monkey, Simon Owl and Pipin the Bunny.

At about the same time these guys were being created, I came to know wonderful Stephanie of Stoopher & Boots. Stephanie is opening a gift shop in New York City on May 1 and has invited a few of my Wee Ones (as well as some photographs but that is a story for another blog *wink*) to join her shop! I'm so excited and extremely grateful for the opportunity!

This week will be a busy one, running final designs and thoughts past Stephanie and getting them all ready to ship off to the Big Apple!

Thinking back a few months to the beginning of the year, I had an undeniable feeling - a very strong feeling - that 2010 was going to be a very, very good year. I'm here to say ~ trust your intuition!!!