the most awesome things ever...

you know what the BEST possible gift would be for a gal who loves plush (almost) as much as she loves her dog, whom she loves (almost) as much as she loves her husband, on their first wedding anniversary?

you dont?

i do. this....
that's us... as Plush.

HOLY CRINKLE CUT FRIES!

this beautiful awesomeness is the work of my dear internet friend, Leeanna (only recently did she become my dear "in real life" friend too, when we were able to hang at PlushYou in Seattle). What seems like a million years ago, I started emailing with dear Leeanna (whose shop name is Plush Goodness... and boy is it ever); i honestly don't remember what precipitated the emails, or who did the writing first. What i DO remember is that right away i felt a kindred spirit thing going on on the other end of the wireless waves. I felt like I'd known her for years, and i really liked her work, to boot! Not too long after, Leeanna commissioned me to make a Knitimal version of their dog, Waffle (whose photo is below because i just love her to pieces and she's Mason's internet-girlfriend, and we're pretty sure Waffle is part wirehaired dachshund).


But i digress..
Anyway, I feel like it was somewhere around there that she told me she'd made a plush version of her husband and herself for her niece, and when i saw the pictures of them, i was totally sold (i was pretty sold before the pictures anyway). I asked Leeanna if she'd consider doing Plush-Catures (has her hubby coined them... oh, shout out to Ben; "hi ben!"... he's pretty cool himself) of AJ & i. She said yes. I did a back flip. I said, what about Mason? of course. Double back flip. For our anniversary? You got it. Triple Backflip.

Then came the waiting.
How would I wait for our anniversary to come around? I was excited enough already, plus the promise of awesome new plush? i didnt think i could make it. OR, keep it a secret from AJ!

Luckily... that time finally came, and well, I think the surprise went well...

I sent along photos, and invited her to check out our private wedding blog (for pics dating back over a decade); Leeanna asked some very good questions, designed to get the most out of her subjects. I provided her with nuggets of info and color preferences and little things that would make the pieces REALLY ring true.

Like for example, the extra careful attention paid to Mason's double coat. You can't really see it here, but the legs have two layers of fleece "fur" that actually move and wisp like Mason's hair. She captured his two tone ears and really got his majestic tail. And there's gorgeous stitching on the body to accent his blond highlights and dark brown lowlights. (he's not a diva... i just diva-fy him).

AJ's wearing his favorite colors & cool stripy socks (a must have in my boy's collection!). She totally captured his giant, wonderful smile. We both love his ears. Again, you cant see the detail here, but the jeans look SO real. The gold stitching on the pockets and fly front are impeccable. And, i'm told, Leeanna used reclaimed denim & other materials because she knew we'd want it that way. That's how we roll.

me? well, i'm easy. All i need is a t-shirt with the neck cut out (check), a comfy pair of jeans (check) and a pair of crocs (double check.. how flippin cute are they!?). She got my two tone hair & my favorite colors... and notice my smile is more of a smirk than a big full on smile?

yep. that's good detail.

So, know that we were the first ones to set this trend, but if you're interested in being Plushed, visit her shop and drop her a line. We've already decided she's going to make a new set of Us's for our anniversary every, oh, 10 years or so.

****Leeanna, we love ya. These are AMAZING****

Come & get em! Knitimal ornaments at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation today! 9:30 - 5pm

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year one: a lot like day one, but with different colored scarves

I'm not one for tradition. I mean, traditions I believe in, maybe, but anything else is just silly. I've heard of brides saving the top of their wedding cake to eat on their anniversary--- we had donuts and bagels, and while their ARE things in our freezer that are over a year old, a Dunkin Donuts double chocolate and an Einstein Brothers potato bagel would never have lasted that long. Not in this carb-loving house.

I know some brides save their bouquet to make potpourri with--- my bouquet was a stack of lovingly cut tracings of my favorite people's hands. And it has lived in a vase in our living room for a year.

I know some brides rush to the cleaners to get their dresses out of storage, to see if they still fit in them--- I didn't have a dress. I dont really "do" dresses. I wore a grey sweater... in fact, we both wore grey sweaters. With matching orange scarves. Our wedding was sweet and simple, and afterward, we went for a long stroll around Annapolis... in November. We were thinking practicality.

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our one year anniversary was this past tuesday.

I teach Tuesday nights, and while i flirted with the idea of canceling class so that we could go out on our actual anniversary, it didn't feel right... i really like my students.

So, we decided we'd celebrate on Wednesday night instead, which was fine with me... it'd give me the whole day to "primp" (which, I'm sure you realize, i didnt do. I spent the day making Knitimal Ornaments). We knew we were going Pazo for our dinner (thanks to AJ's placing in the City Paper Comics Contest... fat ol' gift certificate to the amazing Pazo tapas restaurant in Fells Point... if you haven't gone, go); AJ made the reservation and told them it was our anniversary, because it was and because they asked. We semi-secretly wondered if it would amount to anything. We're both artists. Free stuff is always good stuff.

We'd only been to Pazo once before, and it was on someone else's very generous dime. I remembered it being super swanky, and with a dress code.

Anyway, I lamented the "dress" code, because honestly, it takes a lot to get me in a dress. And if you follow me on Twitter, you know I also spent the day lamenting about having to put on a dress. I'm not really a dress person, but it was our anniversary and you know, you have to look nice if you're gonna go out and be all fancy (especially if you only do it once a year!).

I had just showered and pulled the dress in question out of a ball of previously rejected and not ever hung back up clothes in the corner of my closet (Ugh. Now i have iron too), when AJ got home and said "Is there a dress code for tonight?". I said "i was going to wear the black dress" and he said "oh, i was thinking we could wear our sweaters".

o. m. g.

the sweaters!

YES, of COURSE we'd wear our sweaters.

THIS is why I married this man.

So, there we were in our sweaters & green scarves, this year. Semi recreating this photo, which we took before we left the house on our Wedding Day:

And for those wondering (because i totally would be): Dinner was amazing. So amazing that my hubby, who loathes (hunny, can i say "loathes"? how bout "is really not a fan of") fish, said the BEST part of dinner was the medium rare Tuna & the scallops. (the Tuna with Avocado Salsa Verde is AMAZING. go to Pazo and get it). Our server, Tara, was a sweetheart. There was a very loud table of some sort of business type people with a guy leading cheers right behind us (i should also note that we had the entire top section of the restaurant to ourselves, save for them), and everyone in the restaurant seemed annoyed and intrigued by him, to the point that the hostess, upon our leaving, asked us if we had done any cheering with him. It didn't really bother us much... it was more interesting than anything, but Tara came over at one point and apologized for them and said they'd be buying us dessert. She came back over a while later with two glasses of champagne and told us that she'd decided that since the loud guy had agreed to get us something, she thought it better to get him to give us champagne since it was worth more and that SHE would buy us dessert.

ah, free stuff.

happy anniversary, mr. greenstar!

*******
note: i couldn't decide on which picture i liked best... our "album cover", our "demure love" or our "holiday card", so i used em all. This is the combined result of a camera on self timer and a squirmy dachshund that insists on licking your mouth or nose whenever cameras are pointed his way.

Felt Frog & Pig: Love Story for the Decades

today is our one year wedding anniversary. of course, its hard for either of us to look at our relationship as only "one year old", especially because i know we both feel like we've known each other and loved one another our entire lives.

when i was younger (and even not so young) i was in love with Kermit the Frog.
No, really.
Seriously, truly in love with him.
Like, I wanted to marry him, in love.

I never understood why Kermit & Miss Piggy were an item. I didn't see how she could make him happy; she seemed really overbearing and loud; she was bossy and bold; she had tons of thick blonde hair and always seemed to storm off in a huff if she didn't get her way.

Kermit--- i would love you in a way Piggy couldn't.

Now, of course, i never married Kermit (though i think about it still...), but i also never stopped loving him. As I got older, i started to understand their relationship more. Piggy WAS bold, but she was a perfect catalyst for meek Kermit-- she pushed him to do things and take risks. She was loud, but it was only because Kermie was so quiet. She wanted things her way... but I saw her compromise too. Maybe they were made for each other, afterall.

***********

A year and some months ago, AJ & i took a trip to DC to see the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian. It was beautiful. I wept. I felt inspired. We both marveled at his genius--- at the love & passion and integrity Henson poured into everything he made. We were in awe of the work we knew had made us "different" and had helped to sculpt us as young artists and impassioned people.

At some point in the day I decided I didn't want to wait anymore for "the perfect moment", or until we had "enough money" or "enough time"; we'd been talking about getting married for years and we both knew we were supposed to be together; why wait any longer? We were walking in through mall, after the show, on our way to the DC Zoo, when I just said "will you marry me? Let's get married. Let's just do it". I knew I'd taken some of the "boy power" out of the whole proposal thing... but that's just how I am; i don't believe in convention--- i see something I want, and i get it. Call me overbearing or bossy, but I was tired of waiting, and I knew AJ was waiting for "the right time". I wanted him to know it WAS the right time... in fact, we'd waited too long already. Kermit & Piggy never worried about other people. Hell, they got married despite my belief that they belonged together!

***********

We put together this wedding blog as a way of sharing our adventure with our family & friends and picked November 10th as the day we'd have the ceremony performed, mostly because it was a day I already had off and AJ was able to get the day off. We wanted to have a night away, and the 10th was the most viable day for it. I liked the idea of sharing November with Thanksgiving and my parent's anniversary... but honestly, November is a very busy month for me and getting it done sooner than later just worked.

I sang "Somebody's Getting Married" (from the Muppets Take Manhattan) and used that as our wedding day post on the blog. I couldn't help feel like the Muppets were responsible in a few different ways... I mean, Kermit & Piggy taught me about love, right? And I guess, if I'm being totally honest... AJ & I do kinda have a Kermit & Piggy thing going on.

************

A year has passed and I am reflecting on the day we said "I do". Remembering too, how much i loved the sentiment expressed in the song from Kermit & Piggy's wedding... "he makes her happy... she makes him happy... she makes me happy... he makes me happy, that's all I need to know". And he does. And it is.

I sat down to write this post and got a message from a friend; a tweet, actually, wishing us and Sesame Street a happy anniversary. I assumed it was a generalization, until I read this article. Turns out, 40 years ago today, Sesame Street premiered. Jim Henson's brilliance was launched into the mainstream, and 10 years later I would start watching it, learning from it. I would meet the Muppets too. And 16 years after that, I'd meet AJ. And at an exhibit celebrating his life and work, we'd decide to get married, for real, on November 10th, just because it fit in our schedules.

And a year later, to the day, we'd be sharing our anniversary with Sesame Street.

How cool is that?
About as cool as we are, that's how.

Making Peace with the formerly "offensive" yarn.

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I'm guessing this started off as a good idea.

As you can see, we're VERY engaged in our work here. Hope to see you tomorrow or Saturday at the Harford Day School Arts Festival!

Harford Day School: Festival of the Arts

Alright, here it is!
The first show of the Fall (read: earliest chance to get your paws on all the goods before anyone else can).
So, if you're looking for something to do this weekend, I suggest you come and see me here...

The 8th Annual Arts Festival, a juried exhibit and sale, will be held November 6 and 7, 2009 on the campus of Harford Day School. More than sixty artists will be at the show to present original, handcrafted work in a variety of media.

The festivities will begin with a Preview Party for adults on Friday, November 6. Guests that attend the Preview Party will be the first to preview and purchase artwork while enjoying the food from many of our best local restaurants. Some of the participating restaurants last year were: DuClaw Brewing Co., Bonefish Grill, Manor Tavern, Bill Bateman's Raw Bar and Grill, Damon's Grill, Scotto's, Sizzling Bombay, and Josef's. Consistent with this year's Caribbean theme, Lenny Rogers from Trinidad will entertain the party-goers on the steel drum. Maui Wowi will serve island drinks from a Tiki Bar, and a lucky raffle winner will go home with a Caribbean vacation. Preview Party tickets are $65 each. If you would like to receive an invitation to this exciting event or would like information on sponsorship opportunities, please visit the website.

Knitimal Holiday Cards!

I know it isn't even Halloween yet, but my hubby and i like to get our Holiday cards made, made out, and mailed out before December has gotten too much on us. And with that in mind, I figured I may as well see if i could help out any other Early Birds!

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Make the Holidays just a little cuter with this set of Knitimal™ greeting cards.

Based on my original illustrations, these cards are reproduced in robust black on crisp, clean bright white card stock (made from 70% post consumer product). Each card has been carefully hand cut.

Cards can be given just as they are-- black and white-- OR you can color them! Its a great way to include the kids in the family gift giving! Or, of course, your recipient can color them themselves...

There are four designs, and the set includes 3 of each.
Set comes with 12 white envelopes & is packaged tied up with a sweet ribbon.

cards measure: 4.25 x 5.5" each

The insides of the cards are blank... So you can say exactly what YOU want to say!
Backs of the cards feature my name & business info.

Happy Holidays!

get your set here.

Plush You wrap up & photo album!

Well, I've been back from Seattle for over a week, but just haven't had the time to do what I thought would be a post good enough to do justice to the amazing trip & the equally amazing impetus for the trip: Plush You 2009! I decided I'd break the trip down into important "sections" and cover each one separately--- most important of all? Plush You of course!



(pictured: me, Jenni of SLC Studio, Leeanna of Plush Goodness & Marcy of MoonsCreations)
The show was amazing. I finally got to meet some of my fellow Etsy Plush Team members, who prior to the opening were just witty messages & photos of their work online. These are some KICK ASS women, let me tell ya. Not only is their work beautiful, and meticulously crafted, but they are fun, fun, fun. See, it DOES take cool people to make cool stuff. Here we are flashing our Plush Team Gang Sign. Aren't we tough?


(pictured: Plush Goodness, by Leeanna!)
There was just SO much work to be seen... on average, every one of the over 100 artists had 3 pieces in the 4 different venues for Plush You (which doesnt even include the Plush You Jewels over at Fancy). That's a lot of art, my friends. I took a million pictures, and wanted to buy it all.


I couldn't buy it all... but i could buy these two pieces, by Sewing Stars & Boo-Ba.

It's taken me eons, but I've finally gotten all my photos from Plush You 2009 up on my flickr... enjoy!

Blog Guilt

I've been quite absent.
I can explain.
I was in Seattle for 2 weeks.
I sprained my foot.
I am swamped with deadlines.
It takes SO long to resize all these pictures...

I want to resize them.
I will resize them.

I have so much to tell you about.

Please forgive me.
I will make it up to you.
soon.
Promise...

(here, have a baby lemur in the meantime)