after these messages...

I'm outta here for a few days, folks. I'll be visiting with some friends in Philly. While I feel bad about stepping away from the studio right now that things are so busy, I do need this little getaway and am super-excited (ridiculously so) to see these folks. It is going to be an awesome weekend! By the way, if you happen to find yourself in the South End in Boston over the weekend, please check out the Open Studios at 450 Harrison Ave. Matt will be there in Studio 419 on both Saturday and Sunday, May 17th - 18th, from 10 AM to 6 PM. In addition to the fabulous paintings and prints he has been working on lately, he will also have a few of my softies available for sale. Hope you guys can check it out. There are a lot of truly talented artists in that area so it's worth checking out if you're out and about. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

why hello there, springtime!

Hey folks! Hope you are enjoying this lovely weather. Just dropping by to say hello. Life is busy; things are great. I was hoping to update the shop this Friday but only have a couple of pieces ready. Being as I prefer to do big updates rather than little ones, since it is pretty time-consuming to update, the next shop update will be on Friday, May 23rd (@3 PM EST). I am planning to go all out with that one. After that, the shop will be quiet for a while, but there are other things in the works, which I will get to in due time. In the meanwhile, thank you kind folks for stopping by and please do check in. I promise to be a better blogger and post more frequently, pretty this place up a bit.

pinky the bunny

What's pink and sassy and likes it grassy? Available at the shop.

going abroad!

This little trio of mieces is going to Ireland, and they are so ridiculously excited about it. They weren't quite as over the top as these folks, but believe me, they were anxiously awaiting Orla to come pick them up for their impending journey. I should have made them little teeny passports. (Dang! Wish I had thought of that a few days ago.)

the fruit bats

As a child, when we used to visit our family in Puerto Rico, I used to particularly love, albeit in a combination of frightened and fascinated, visiting my paternal grandfather, Irené, who lived in what was essentially a wooden shack on a cliff surrounded by jungle. I remember being baffled by his home since he had no plumbing, no indoor bathroom, and his electricity was limited as it came from a small generator underneath the tiny two-room house. It felt like visiting "The Land of the Lost" when we would go there, and I would imagine that the 5-foot long iguanas strolling about the path in front of the house were actually small dinosaurs. My parents would go picking oranges with my grandfather (when he was well enough to walk), and I would stay by the house and play with the stray dogs or pick hibiscus flowers and put them in my ponytails (don't ask). If we stayed on too long, the fruit bats would come out as the sun was setting, which freaked me out as I wasn't exactly acquainted with bats much less used to having them whiz about me. My father made it worse by telling me that they would get tangled up in my hair. So I was afraid of bats for a long time, until I saw one up close at the zoo on a class trip. Then I became totally enamored with them and wanted one as a pet because they were so darn cute. Anyway, I guess this is a long way of saying these bats are the totally friendly, won't-get-tangled-in-your-hair because-they-are-SO-not-after-your-blood variety, and they want to be your friend. Irené and Felita will be up in the shop at 3PM EST.

reminder

Hey guys! Just wanted to remind you good folks that my shop update will be tomorrow, Friday afternoon, at 3PM Eastern Standard Time. There will be a variety of critters included in this update. My new designs will be in the following update, in two weeks. Things are pretty busy around here these days, and I have been scheming and planning. I am reconfiguring the way things work, or rather, how I work. I will have some news about the shop for you all shortly. Please tune in tomorrow for the update.

oops!

Uh, guys, please don’t hate me for this, but today’s intended update needs to be postponed until Friday. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone. There have been some technical difficulties over here, but more so than that this delay is because of 1) my mismanagement of time and 2) my insane perfectionism when it comes to what I make and sell and how I sell it. I haven’t finished the big surprise, and I don’t want to update until I can include that with the other items (some of which are still not 100% finished yet anyway). So please bear with me, folks. I want to make everyone happy, but sometimes that is not possible. Please do drop by on Friday, same place, same time. I promise it will be worth the two-day wait!

munch!

Oh look! It's the first mantis of the Spring! And it's, uhhhhhhh, snacking on a bunny....

These two guys here are going to be the prizes for a contest that my father-in-law is hosting for his final class of the semester. The class is on corporations, and the mantis is supposed to represent "predatory fiduciaries," while the bunny is supposed to represent the "friendly" variety. By the way, did I mention this contest will entail singing? The students have to compose and perform their own songs all about fiduciaries. Seriously, my father-in-law rocks.

This is the second year that I have made the prizes for this contest, I am happy to say. Last year, it was a little last minute, but this year, I had plenty of time to calmly work on this duo. I have to admit, I am pretty happy with the results and hope that the prize-winning students love them to bits. For a better photo of the mantis on its own, please go here.

Oh, and speaking of insect softies, I am sure that most of you are already well familiar with her works, but I just have to gush about her because I love her work so much. Weirdbuglady has been blowing me away with her amazing creations lately. If you haven't already checked out her fantastic blog, please go do so right now. I promise, you will LOVE it. She is all sorts of awesome! Happy Monday everyone!

welcome to my messy mess

Hi folks! Just wanted to touch base and let you know that I am working away on stuff for the shop's next update, April 23rd @ 3 PM. The photo above is just a taste of what will be available. I am working on some mice and ducks and other goodies, too, including several finger puppets and a big surprise. I'll try to post photos of the finished pieces on here as I can. In the meanwhile, please drop by the shop to see what's available. I have received several emails from folks who want a sneak peek as to what's available and I really am not able to provide that right now (since I don't have things 100% completed, much less properly photographed). I'm very thankful and appreciate the interest, but I hope you understand. It's very time consuming for me to email everyone photos individually, which is what I have been doing lately, and it's not proving to be as efficient as I would like. Besides, that's why I have the blog and my Flickr account, so please do drop by and check out what I'm up to. Thanks! :)

and now for the finger puppet portion of our show

These and a bunch more not pictured will be included in tomorrow's shop update. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I missed a few days of work (I spent the better part of today at the doctor's office for a follow-up visit) and have not been able to finish the button-jointed bunnies and lambs, so those will be up next week. I may put up the trio I did manage to finish. Anyhoo, please drop by tomorrow and have a look.