Penelope's Adventures In Bear Making

Hi...Penelope here!   Mom said she was too exhausted from chasing me around all day and couldn't make a post so it was up to me I guess.  I don't know why I would make her exhausted though.  I am completely angelic!

They finally named me.  I am named after a cartoon character from "The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop." Apparently she had a really cool car called the Compact Pussycat.  I would like to have a car someday, but I have to earn the money...so I figured I better learn how to do something.

This is how that went:

Ooooooh what's this?

Make a bear?  I totally got this!

K so it was harder than I thought, but the box is fun to chew on!

I am way better at attacking feet!  I wonder if there is any money in that?

Why....just why!

Oh I will watch her alright, but I refuse to babysit!

The end!

Longevity And Relevance

Some days I feel like a manual typewriter in our computerized world...and some days I wish I had a manual typewriter instead of a computer.  In many ways I secretly suspect I would be happier in my naive bliss.

When you are in a business with a very narrow playing field for a long time you gain certain perspective and insight on things along with the honing of your skill.  You are a savvy business person, and you are kind to your customers and listen to their wants and desires.  You believe you are doing your best to stay competitive, up to the current trends and yet be true to yourself.  You think you are going along and doing just fine.  But then the day inevitably comes when you discover that what you think you know may not be relevant any more.

I am frequently fascinated by how many things seem to matter that never used to.  Like the specific definition of a word, or how changes have come about in how we approach what used to be common place business practices.  Naturally everyone has an opinion and naturally no one agrees.

I feel as if I could get lost in minutia some days.  Did I say this wrong, did I do that wrong?  Is it really wrong since it's my business?   Do collectors really care about these things, or is it just that we, as artists are over thinking it now?  Do I seem like an antique white elephant in the room?  If I do, is it just today or is it everyday?

It's not enough to make my bears and sell them anymore.  Now I have to be a photographer, a writer, and a coder.  I have to worry that someone will think I copied them because I had the same idea at the same time, and I have to be concerned that I am unique enough, when I make traditional bears.  But on top of all that...I have to think about everything in the business end with new perspective too.  The world changed somewhere along the line and I am just getting the memos about it now.

It's exhausting and sometimes I am not surprised I can't get out of my head enough to actually work.  Computers are a wonderful thing in that they have brought us all so much closer together and we can share information so freely now and also that we can reach people the world over that we never would have dreamed of 20 years ago.  But maybe there was something to be said for a little less sharing and closeness?  I don't know.  Maybe I am just getting old.

Small Surprises

Sometimes tiny things show up at your door that you just aren't expecting...

A Magical Sale

With Summer just around the corner, I always think of magic...and what could be more magical than making a wish come true!  So I am offering my blog readers and facebook followers 25% off of all pieces on my website.  If you would like to take advantage of this sale, please send me an e-mail (by clicking the link at the right) with your paypal address and I will send you an invoice.  It's first come, first serve, no reserves and it ends at the stroke of midnight on Saturday PST, so don't be late!

Hugs and wishes!  K. <3

Seeds And Stranger Tides

I was going to make my post this morning, but I didn't quite get that far.  I had a great weekend though.  Saturday we went to see the new Pirates movie.  I love pirates, so naturally I loved it.  I won't give anything away, but I will say this...if you go see it, stay til after the credits because there is one tiny scene after and it's funny!  Plus...lets face it Johnny Depp really is good eye candy, especially in 3-D!

R and I had been debating where to go for our anniversary dinner for weeks.  He isn't a fancy sort of guy, but he will step up for occasions and he was willing to take me somewhere nice so I could wear my pretty new dress that I bought for the show.  At the eleventh hour I decided we would go to Old Chicago for pizza.  It may not have been fancy and I just wore jeans, but it was fun and relaxed and there is something to be said for that.

Sunday I was planning on starting my garden.  A couple weeks ago R tilled it for me, but then we had snow and all sorts of crazy weather.  It was sunny and warm, so I took my seeds and my gloves and out I went.  There was one small corner of the garden he didn't till, because I had flower bulbs in that area so I told him not to.  It was covered with dandelions and I thought I should weed before I got going on the rest.  I was pulling up handful after handful when one of them felt oddly thicker than it should have of.  I realized that with my handful of weeds I was holding a garden snake.  I let out a small scream and half threw, half dropped it. 

Normally garden snakes are as anxious to get away from you as you are anxious for them to get away from you.  But this feisty little character decided to hold his ground and he scrunched himself into a strike position.  I know they can't hurt you very much, but they can bite.  I wasn't having any of that, so I whacked him twice with the shovel and he decided that perhaps retreat really was the better part of valor after all.  For some reason I seem to have an awful lot of snakes.  I never had any for eight years and then suddenly they moved in and I wish I knew how to get rid of them.  If anyone knows...please let me know.  I took down the bird feeder because I knew the fallen seeds were attracting mice and mice attract snakes, but they don't seem to want to move on. 

I had one persistent little guy last year who was determined to live in my garage.  I couldn't catch him either.  He was fast.  I took a tub lid and launched him clear out into the street one night when it was cool and I thought that would have scared him enough that he wouldn't come back, but five days later he was in his usual spot.   But I digress...

Anyway...at that point R returned from his errands and came out to help me.  We managed to get the entire garden planted in one day!  Without his help, it took me a week last year.  I was definitely grateful to him for saving me so much time.  I am not a very good gardener, but I do feel that sense of satisfaction when things grow.

The weekend went by with only one mishap.  I am telling you I am the most clumsy person ever!  I skewered my heel on the coffee table.  (My coffee table has marble and has lots of sharp fancy cast iron on it.)  It hurt but I thought it was ok until I looked down at the kitchen floor and saw a trail of blood.  Sigh~  I should buy stock in Bandaid!

Other than that, I am back to my old self and ready to work on those bears!  I will keep you posted!

I hope you had a lovely and snake free weekend!

Hugs, K. <3

Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up...

This morning we have beautiful blue skies and sunshine.  You would never know that there was rain, hail AND a tornado only a couple miles from my house yesterday.  Luckily it set down in open field and no one was hurt and no damage. 

I am much better today and feeling back to my usual self.  I am  cleaning, doing laundry and waiting for R to come home later.  Today is our 22nd anniversary!  He was out of town last night and since he has such a long day we aren't going to do much tonight except have a little champagne. 

Tomorrow however, we are going out to a nice dinner and then I pre-purchased tickets to go see the new Pirates Of The Caribbean movie at the I-Max.  We are bother pretty excited to see it.  What's more fun than Disney pirates?

In the mean time, I am happy to be hack to normal and once I am done doing housework, I am going to work on those bears! 

I was also excited to see that despite the hail, my lilacs are starting to bloom! 

I hope you all have a glorious day! 

Hugs, K. <3

Lemonade Popsicles

I have to confess I have had the blahs all week.  I am sure you could tell from my post earlier.  I have a mountain of laundry that needs doing and I haven't been able to walk across the house to do it.  There are two bears waiting patiently to be put together and I haven't wanted to do that either.  I haven't wanted to cook or pluck my eyebrows.  I watched TV and didn't know what I watched, I tried to read and couldn't focus.  In fact the only thing I have wanted to do all week is sit in my chair under the quilt and stare at the sky...and eat lemonade popsicles.  They are wonderfully sour.  No sugar in them...perfect for my mood I guess.

I feel as if I have been waiting for the universe to open up and deliver an answer to a question...but I haven't asked anything.  It's almost as if I am depressed or something..but I have never had depression.  I don't feel depressed though...just like I want to hermit myself away from the world.

There are several factors that contributed to this mood.  One of course was not going to the show.  Another huge thing was the weather.  Yesterday alone we had winter storm advisories, tornado and severe thunder storm warnings and every five minutes it changed from sunny to rainy.  And I do mean literally every five minutes.  I want to plant my garden and I can't.  We had frost last week.  This mercurial weather is wreaking havoc on my allergies and my spirit.

Business-wise I feel as if I should be stepping things up in some way...but I don't know what way?  It has become abundantly clear to me that shows have changed a great deal in the few years since I have done one.  The rules have changed and you need more things than you used to.  It's all so complicated now.  From what I understand you have to change up your displays and have signs and lots of types of payment options and  bears with all the bells and whistles and traveling with it all has become more difficult and expensive and...and...and...sigh~

But this morning I woke up to sunshine...it was kind of cold, but consistently sunny.  I felt like eating more than popsicles, I had an idea for a sign and a new bear and I wanted to get my laundry done.  Hurray I was coming out of it!

Then I made the mistake of checking my e-mail.  I had one depressing e-mail from a family member, and one from a friend where I had lavished praise on something they did (I don't pass out false praise ever!  If I love something and tell you, you can believe I truly love it!) but for some inexplicable reason they thought I didn't like it.  I don't understand.  I thought I was quite clear.  It hurts.

So I guess when life hands me more lemons the best thing to do is sit in the chair and stare at the sky and eat lemonade popsicles...and wait for it to pass.