Ornaments Are In The Shop

All of the ornaments are now in the shop!  The narwhals are sold out, but if I get all of these orders packed up with time to spare, I might make another batch.  Thank you so much to everyone who has bought one already-- you guys are amazing!

Flamingos!

I haven't shown a "real" picture of the finished flamingos yet, because I wanted to give the first one to Elsie for her birthday.  I make her an ornament every year (I guess it's sorta become a tradition) and I didn't want to spoil any surprises.  The flamingos are one of my favorites this year-- the velvety bodies and soft feathers are what my vintage ornament dreams are made of.  Plus, that picture of their feathery bottoms kills me.  (They will all have crowns, FYI.  These just hadn't gotten them yet!)

As I was putting ornaments on my own Christmas tree the other day, I realized I have a real thing for birds on my Christmas tree.  I have so many different kinds and I'm sure that's why I'm extra excited about the flamingos (AND SWANS!) this year.  If you follow me on IG, you've probably already seen a peek at the swan, but they will be available for purchase on Tuesday.  I'm thinking 11am CST, so you can check the shop around that time if you are looking to snag something.  :)

I hope you are having a great weekend!  Johnny and I just realized that our anniversary is coming up here in about a week, so we've started planning a special little getaway.  I'm so ready!

Practice Makes Perfect or Something Like That

As I make and remake these little animals, I'm constantly reminded that being "good" at something is maybe a little bit of talent, but it's a lot of practice.  I spent a couple of hours last night tweaking a bunny pattern and in the end it was just kind of a flop (har har).  But it's okay!  Not everything I dream up in my head translates the way I expect it to, and the more I do this thing I'm doing, the more I learn and the better I become.  I wrote this post a long time ago about how I used to just think certain people got to be "good" at things and for some reason, I didn't feel like I was good at anything... until I figured out that the world isn't chock-full of lucky ducks.  It's lots of people who work hard at what they love.  And I like that.

So, here's a "real" glimpse of what my studio looks like right now.  A friend came over last week and said, "So your studio just kinda stays like this until after the rush, huh?"  That is exactly right.  If you were to come over from October-mid December, this is pretty much what it would look like.  :)

I'm tentatively planning my shop update for Tuesday (11/26) and more will be added Wednesday (11/27).  I decided this year it would be nice to give as many people a chance of snagging an ornament as possible, so breaking it up into 2 days will hopefully help that!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far!

New Ornaments

These are a few of the ornament shapes I've been working on recently.  I'm not sure what the entire collection will look like when it's released, but it's been fun developing new animals.  I'm happy to report that I have a flamingo body that I am satisfied with-- that one took me a few tries!  The deer, horses, and narwhals will definitely be returning, as well as one or two more new things.  I'm thinking a velvet penguin might be next on the list, or maybe even a swan...

Any time I finish an animal Poesy will come over and say, "Did you make this for meeee??  Awww, I love him so much!  He's sooooo cuuuute!  Can you make me sumthing, mama??"  *melt*  She gets to keep that bear... obviously.  ;)

On Being A Maker

Being a maker means being one step ahead.  You always need to be plotting for the next season and planning for the next holiday, well before anyone else even has to consider it.  Right now I'm chugging away on my Christmas ornaments as I'm simultaneously prepping every little thing for the girls' Halloween costumes.  It's a strange world to live in and I know many of you can relate.  Whether you offer a product or are a blogging extraordinaire, being one step ahead is an important thing.

I'm extremely excited to have an extra set of hands helping me with my ornaments this year.  I've done every season of everything by myself ALWAYS, so the thought of someone alongside me, stitching up animals twice as fast, is something my brain hasn't totally been able to wrap itself around!  It's going to be wonderful!!

I've also been knocking out my custom orders along with planning the new holiday collection.  These koalas traveled all the way to Australia.  I love that!

For all of you makers and bloggers out there, do you enjoy the planning ahead, or do you wish you could just be "in" the season?  I used to have a hard time with it, but now it's become my version of normal and I quite enjoy it.