Save Handmade

I have taken notice of a big problem and wanted to share it with those of you who may be unaware. I've been mulling this over for the past few days, just itching to do a blog post about it when I found time. In pondering all those big toy recalls of the recent past..the lead found in toys, & not to mention the yucky phthalates and BPA in other toys and baby bottles - I can appreciate the efforts. BUT, a new law has been passed that intends to address these problems. It's called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, and it states that anything sold for use by children younger than the age of 12 must be first tested for lead and be phthalate-free. Wouldn't that be wonderful??

Well, there's just one major problem. It applies to handmade goods, as well. Like the stuff I make...and the bazillions of great wares on Etsy. At a cost of up to $1500 per item, lead testing would eliminate most handmade children's items. It would be devastating to folks like me who rely on our little hobby/trade to make some extra dollars! My other concern, in addition to folks like me going out of business, is that this regulation will take away the right of choice -- in regard to the types of toys and clothing we buy for our children. If handmade is illegal, then parents will be stuck purchasing mass produced items, with no no option for purchasing clever, unique, and safe handmade stuffs from me, on Etsy, etc. I don't like this at all!

Please take some simple steps to make your voice heard. It's important for all of us who make, sell, and buy handmade! Go here to do what you can!

Hi's.

My blogging license should be revoked. I'm officially a very terrible blogger. The boy has just recovered from our second round of Croup, and I promise to break down in tears the next time I hear him barking {couging} like a seal. Today is beautiful, and he is healthy, so while the gal played at preschool, we swung. My camera was precariously propped in the yard to catch this photo.

The tail is making it's rounds. Its travel itinerary is drawing to a close, so if you'd like to play, let me know and I'll start another round. Tails were added and very speedily depleted from the shop . There are more to come as I creatively try to create some magic with my family's X-mas spending funds.

I'm reading up a storm. And, I have a new little addiction. Oh, and Kenzie actually won the pumkin junkin' contest (child's division)!

That's me in a nutshell. What's up with you?

a light in the tunnel

Today's weather report feels partly remorseful for yesterday's blog post with a 78% chance that Kenzie will be sent home from preschool for being ill. There's also a 99.4% chance for strong gusts of a baby not sleeping through the night tonight. either.

Thanks for the insights ladies. It's also a delight to see some new commenters. When I'm not so whiney about the time-suck-that-is-my-life, I'll very much enjoy following those links to discover new blogs.

The strange photos are the result of a accidental borrowing of a library toy block. Rylan stole it by stuffing it way under his chubby body in the stroller. I found it and have been shooting odd shots through the hole. The shots are fitting, given that the numerous "been there, done that" comments are indeed "a light in the tunnel..."



Thanks again for the wisdoms. I shall redirect the woe-is-me's and proceed down this life, I love... to include a better blogging effort. And, perhaps more tunnel shots using our stolen treasure. :)

Where is Pippy the Skunk?

Two of my clan went on a father-daughter camping trip -in the rain- last weekend. And, I had lofty goals. I got so little done around the demanding babe - yet I've still got the grins from the little accomplishments.

I've got fresh pics of my sillies throughout the home now, and I like very much the feeling of newness everywhere I look.



I've always loved this montage. It's something I started in California - and it's how Kenzie knew her family, even though we infrequently saw them. It's solely black and whites, wonkily arranged in an organic form. The big photos are 8x10, so it's really quite large as a whole. The montage is the view from our front door when you glance up the staircase. It's the last thing the kids see as we walk them to bed. They can tell Nana's, Poppy & "Unca" Chance goodnight, each night on the way by. The photos have all been taken by myself or Doug. Some of them aren't even the most fabulous shots, but they all have a special memory or feeling we are trying to preserve for another moment. I swap fresh ones in ..and keep the outdated collection in an album dating back to Kenzie's birth. I think it's one of my most brilliant ideas. ever.



In mulling over the changing seasons -- I must admit I'm feeling gloomy about fall and winter already. In effort to keep myself from sinking into that pit, I'm going to make a better effort here at this blogging thing. I definitely feel like celebrating the small stuff more, ..when.. I actually celebrate it with a blog post. Those little daily doodles might just freshen up the naked trees and dirty snow, when that time comes. Blogging seems to give me a fresher perspective when little things are new.. just as the updated montage has done for the house. Completed projects, inspirations, fresh posts. It's so satisfying.

I've also been piddling with some artwork...but due to licensing contracts...I won't be able to share it until it goes live. Pooh. That's what I need to master --> the art of the unbloggable. Hmnnn. It feels like daily, I organize a post in my mind and the next thing I know I'm distracted by a certain 4 year olds exclamation (an example was heard as I was typing that last sentence) "MoOOOooM. Where's Pippy the Skunk?"

Huh, where IS Pippy the skunk, and who the hell is THAT anyway??
Suddenly, my lofty blogging goal is sidetracked by the mundane.

Today's weather report feels partly whiney with a 89% chance of manic household childproofing. 0% chance at creativity.

How do YOU do it? So many of you manage lovely blogs full of creative daily whimsies while I'm distracted in pooey diapers and missing skunks. Do tell how you make each day lovely on your blog despite the same challenges. Because now that Pippy the Skunk has crawled out of a pile of Moon Sand and is now busily mutilating Mum's plants, it's time to go feed a certain baby some mushy baby food. And, the blog must wait. "I" must wait. But, hopefully, your wisdoms will be inspiring to this tired Mama.... I'm ready. Lay it on me. Please.

Six things making me happy...

I was tagged by Andi to proclaim for the world, the six things making me most happy these days. Without further ado:

1. Ahem, this gives me something to type on my blog! My mind has been a bit numb, or maybe it's just dull, these days. Not much has been blog-worthy.

2. The little dude just cut his first tooth. And, we didn't even notice...until it was DONE. Since he still doesn't sleep through the night, this felt somewhat miraculous?


3. Ed Emberley's Complete FunPrint Drawing Book. Kenzie is making some amazing fingerprint creatures. Moments of peace = bliss. {for the both of us}


4. Living in a neighborhood chock full o' kids. This past weekend they were all gone..and my husband and I sighed in desperation when we found ourselves as the only playmates for Ms. Kenzie. I love our neighborhood. Especially now that all the kids are back.


5. The weather has been beautiful. It feels so nice to be outside.


6. Planning trips. We're not sure where we'll land yet..but we're so lucky to be able to land somewhere...

..and I could go on... books & the time to read them, friends, watching good movies with the hubs, yummy easy meals-planned-for-me, Dinoraur Tales, etc. There's lot's to be thrilled about.

What's making you happy?

Permission

Here I am on a recent camping trip - playing with my son... well, he's actually down by my knees on the blanket. Looks like I got a bit distracted by his toy mirror and my camera. That's the Mayflies laundry in the background there. He.he. We had another excellent camping adventure with Alicia's little family. It was terribly nice to just.shut.off.



We came back on Monday, but I can't seem to catch up. That is perhaps the theme of my summer. I continue to do little journaling projects along-side Echoes. But, my scanner needs an attitude adjustment and I've been unable to scan them with any resemblance to the actual piece. I've also decided to play along with Grace's "Summer Is" Flickr Group. For some reason, if I can just manage one thing a day..one silly picture loaded SOMEWHERE.. I feel better about the whole daily outcome. I've just given myself permission to qualify these little moments as "achievements."

So, now I've done blogged and posted a picture to Flickr. It almost takes the sleepiness away from being awakened 6 times by the wee little Rylan last night. I hope he's on the verge of something major developmentally to explain that. tired. nonsense.

Happy weekend everyone!

Perfectly perfect

The great weekend weather afforded lots of this and other enjoyable acts. How did it treat you?

Good times

Rachel's super cool wall. I'm smitten with it..

In a better late than never post, I wanted to exclaim that I'm still riding my Monday-night-of-fun-high... Man, I needed that. Well, maybe I didn't really need the 2.5 mojitos in such a short time span - but, the giggling comes back to me as I dump photos from my camera. My blurry - almost unrecognizable photos - are great evidence that laughing was out-of-control...

Um, yeah... there was a lot of hootin'. For a complete list (because it will take me another week to write this post with proper linking action of who was there -- see Rachel's blog.



This week has been a whirlwind of household projects while my girl is at camp for 3 hours each morning. I did a spray-paint makeover on all my kitchen hardware, primed and painted a commissioned armoire thingy-majig for Rylan's room (but still need to complete the accent coloring, and am ANXIOUSLY awaiting a new carpet installation (TODAY!). Am pleased to have narrowly dodged an expensive bullet & I have talked an insurance adjuster into a new roof too. It's been a great week!



Anyway, Thanks, girls, for the fun... It was my {drunken, tummy filled} pleasure!

Yawn.

Just a shout out to all my fellow (& tired) Midwesterners. You OK???
We're fine, of course. But, if I wasn't nursing the babe last night, I was being jarred awake by tornado sirens.



This is the scene I spent a great deal of time looking at last night...desperately wishing we had finished the basement.

As I headed down to there that first time last night, I collected a few "can't live without it items." I found myself carrying the baby, my daughter's "pooh" (security blanket), my camera, and the Mac. Only after we got downstairs did I notice my husband had only carried down a few flashlights (good thinking) & -- get this -- a beer.

So, in summary: if a tornado had taken our home, at least my husband would have had a good buzz, my daughter could sleep, & I could blog about it.

Clearly, we need to work on our disaster plan???

Craft Blog on Maternity Leave

The problem with focusing this blog on "creating" ..is that I feel like there isn't anything to blog about when I've so little time to be creative.

Well, I made this little cute little critter, so I think that counts as bloggable material?



And, perhaps you'll remember his little shirt? It was our handmade gift made by the big sister. As you can imagine, she's terribly proud when he wears it. She insists he wears it a lot.



Rylan is now a month old. It seems like I was JUST whining about still being pregnant, and now a month of his life has FLOWN BY! Well, except for the nights - that is. The nights seem like they will never end sometimes. (little guy is a zen baby in the daylight, but a grunting, farting, can't-lay-flat-on-his-back, gas machine at night.) Imagine that.



As you can tell, I've been on a bit of a blog detox lately. It's not only difficult typing with a baby dangling from you...but I've found it supremely difficult to entertain the Kenzie gal and sync up any "breaks" with blog reading and writing. Many apologies for my lack of commenting too! It seems that when I do find time to read, I'm holding a baby and I'm not stellar at the one-handed typing. Many thanks to those of you who've checked in on our status. Those inquiries have brought me many smiles.



Amazingly, I've noticed a positive outcome from less time spent online. Although I miss it... (& I don't know how many times I've considered giving up sleeping all together and coming down to peruse blogs when the babe is keeping me up!) But, I've truly noticed that my mind feels less scattered. I also find that I'm feeling more inspired in daily life to be active and available - rather than just reading about how everyone else is! The past month has just been a really nice time for my little family.



Look at him... can you blame me for being distracted?

Countdown

I just came to make this post and noticed that somehow I inadvertently forgot to publish my last one. Someone get this baby out of me NOW. It's clearly draining every last brain cell I've got. I've lost my wallet TWICE in the past week. Both times I've discovered the loss at the post office, so my friendly postal workers have to think I'm completely nuts. I even r.s.v.p.'d two days after the deadline for Kenzie's classmate's birthday party.

Speaking of.... it's fascinating to me that our little gift was found extremely impressive. Apparently, no one had ever thought to wrap a gift like this. Seriously??
They are either totally non-creative's...or really good liars.


I photographed this for a triptych set, but the cropping action ruined all my shots. :(

We've got 12 days left in the final countdown! Eeek!! 12 days until we become a family of four. And yet, even though it's simple math and clearly a topic much on my mind -- every time someone asks I have to re-do the Math in my head...
February 27th minus the 15th = 12 days!!! Aye. Aye. aye.
I don't remember being this "dumb" with Kenzie.

I'm pretty uncomfortable. My left ankle has started swelling. (Huh???)
Kenzie has just moved back into her orange & hardwood heaven . So, the nursery is now free from her furniture and ready for decorating. I really want to hang the pictures in the nursery but I need find a dresser and commit to furniture placement before doing so. And, I'm tired of looking for a dresser that's adorable, yet fitting of either sex. I'm thinking I'll (maybe) wait? The nesting never stops though and I have many projects to complete, of course. I've made a fair amount of baby gear in the past few weeks (nursing covers, burpies, bibs) but I figure those pictures might be best shared when a babe is here to model them. :) I also can't wait for the babe to model THIS from Beki!!

I also just had a good giggle at the first photos that have popped up of the traveling tail. It seems little Bridget gave it some twirling action at House #1. Cute stuff!

Happy weekending...

7 weird things

I'm bored now that I've taken a hiatus from making tails and tutus at such a frenetic pace. To entertain myself, I've taken the liberty of sharing 7 weird things about me. I enjoy reading these about other people, and it gives me something blog-able..when I've got nothing else to share. :)

Here goes..
1) I was born during a tornado. In a linen closet.

2) In my teens, I was the last person three people talked to - who a short while later, committed suicide. All were separate incidents. One of them intended to take me with him, but I escaped on foot to where his car couldn't drive. He left a note stating his intentions.
And yes, all that drama has a wee bit to do with why I have a Master's in Counseling today.

3) I used to be a contract worker for Missouri Division of Family Services (DFS). While doing intensive in-home counseling with at-risk families: I had the bad timing to be in middle of a session and.. present for a drug bust. I worked with a family who purposefully overfed their kid, one who taught fire safety by burning their child, another who purposefully lead poisoned their kids, another who "hoarded" trash & whose walls were literally pulsing with cockroaches. (to name a few of my most heinous cases). I worked in rough 'hoods a lot & also heard gun shots frequently. I resigned from this job to move to California, but on my very last case & on Thanksgiving Day: I got a page from a mentally challenged youth who said his dad was beating him. Upon reaching the home to stabilize the crisis at 10:30 p.m. (yes, that was my job. FUN, eh??) the child was injured & so fearful that I grabbed him at the door and removed him promptly from the premises. (um...that wasn't part of my job). Turns out, according to the police, his dad was waiting in his bedroom for my entrance into the apartment. With a shotgun.

(okay, enough with the dramatic life threatening oddities, eh? Fortunately, that's all I got.)

4) The photo kinda shows what happened to me while pregnant (so far). The fact that my body can do this strikes me as supremely weird. But, I'm so thankful.
Overview at 12 weeks as compared to 36 weeks.

5) I can't remember the last time I took any type of medicine & I have an extremely high pain tolerance. I really wanted to try natural childbirth with Kenzie.. I'm SO not claiming that I could take the pain, but find it ironic that I won't ever find out if I could. Now watch...this time I'll actually need some pain meds during the C-section recovery. :)

6.)Beating dead horses is my expertise. I will research the cr*p out stuff, and in the end go with my gut feeling. Currently making me crazy: Bisphenol A .

7. I hate to wear shoes … so unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t. When I have to wear them, I go for flip-flops. I wear clogs mostly in the winter time, but it's been weeks since I've worn a pair of socks. I retrieved my paper this morning (after the snow had melted)... barefoot.

What's up?

wow. let's do a quick recap on all that's transpired around here:

**Major tutu and tail orders in & out!! I'm calling a halt to that nonsense at my etsy shop. I'll keep shipping (because Mr. Postman comes to my front door most times!) But, I can't keep up with the pleas for tails. So, for now, I'm flattered by the tail craze - but making myself nuts. I call it quits until after the babe is here and we settle down. Thank you very much.

**Major case of the flu, promptly required two days spent in bed. I'm still "talking like a crocodile," according to my daughter. Thankfully, it happened over the weekend and my husband was home to make life easier on me. The flu doesn't really mix well with being 36 weeks pregnant, eh?

**A bunch of binge spending on cute birdie stuff for the baby room, here , here, here..., & here! The bird theme kind of came out of nowhere, was encouraged by Alicia's painting, and... Sheesh, I think that's enough bird stuff for now??

**Something is damaged on my "nester." As result, now, NEITHER of my kids have bedrooms. We'd finished the floors and painting in the nursery - only to move on and start hardwooding Kenzie's room. She's in a spare room, and all her room furniture is in piles in the nursery. Aye. aye. aye. And, I can't get into the nursery to hang up all this cute bird stuff I've been buying. Hopefully the shambles will be alleviated before the kidlet arrives. As if...the baby will actually be sleeping in the nursery upon it's arrival. I'm just being silly, really. Picking some names may be a better place to expend my energies??

**22 days left until I have this babe!! My C-section date has been ahem, elusive. I got rescheduled a few times and am now getting screwed out of getting to deliver two weeks early. Ah well..I surmise the extra baking time will be great for the wee one. But, I'm ready to be the singular inhabitant of my body. ASAP.

**Can I just say yesterday was wonderful? 70 degree weather in the middle of February? It was a momentary cure of my SAD and we spent the day wandering around walking trails & taking pictures. Loved it. But, I'm not such a big fan of paybacks. The rain and chill today is a little much. I'll spend some time reliving yesterday through pictures.

Sigh.

Awoke feeling panicky as I checked the TV ticker for school cancellations...Phone ringing prolongs the panic but then washes it away as my MIL calls to invite Kenzie to breakfast and then a movie. School was canceled on Tuesday due to a broken heater, and then again today. My To Do list is long. I love grandparents.

And phenomenal progress is being made....
Snow days aren't so bad after all.

Our New Years Plans

I've been quoted in the newspaper, probably two handfuls of times in my life. Each time - I always manage to say something flippant and smart-assy:



My words are here. Sure hope we didn't forget to invite anyone....

A Whiny Frozen Day

My world is encased in ice, preschool is canceled, my daughter found some unwrapped Christmas gifts, & I've just discovered my garage refrigerator isn't working. I've tried flipping every breaker and GFI switch I can, and the problem remains.
All that was once frozen, is now thawed.

Which is ironic isn't it? My front yard isn't supposed to be frozen, but it is. My frozen goods, are mush. Hmnn.... What's for dinner??

I also spent a great deal of time making this little image (minus the pixelated last name) for my Christmas card, only to discover that it does not print correctly as a 4x6".



As result I'm feeling a bit scrooge-like .

Fortunately we have things like this to entertain us. Turning my family into elves is fun. And, heck I even get to look skinnier!!

Okay, if you skipped the links...go back to scrooge and elf your own family!
(And, can someone tell me how to save the images of these to my Mac and/or how you can save the image of a entire webpage???)

overkill?

As cooler temperatures are upon us, I find myself feeling sad about these flowers. Mind you..these are the same flowers that I've complained about all summer long. We went a bit overboard with the impatiens and they've just overtaken the front flower beds. There are actually other plants - and even landscape lights - buried underneath them. They are so thick that the glow of the light is barely visible at night!



We are known as the "house with the flowers" to much of the 'hood. Next year - we'll do impatiens again, but probably only red, or maybe red and white....and about HALF the amount of flowers. I've been trimming these guys back all summer long.



I really love them from inside the house when it's nice enough to leave the door and windows ajar. I can see them from many different spots in the house. Their sudden burst of color is a really nice view. Especially the red, as red plays a pretty big part in my household decor.



I'm eager for fall...but that most certainly marks the end to my lovely view....

P.S. Thanks for the interest in the skirts. I'm a bit hard to photograph these days, but if I have an exceptionally good hair day - I may just give it a shot...

choking hazard

I've been playing with the Picnik website like a good beta tester and am just loving some of the new toys. This is one of the only non-project photos I have posted at flickr (and therefore is quite easy to find) so I used it to test drive some of Picnik's new tools:

I converted the color photo into a Polaroid and then I "painted" it into black and white... everywhere except for the colorful buttons.

This photo of Kenzie playing with buttons, gets a lot of interest at flickr. People take the time to comment (and even flickr mail me) very detailed stories about the memories that this picture elicits for them. I, too, remember sifting through my mothers buttons as a young gal. (Sadly, my Mom mailed her entire vintage button and sewing goods stash to me while we lived in San Diego .but. IT NEVER ARRIVED!!! I still cannot fathom where that ended up).

The photo above was also taken in San Diego. Kenzie is sitting on the floor in our office, which leads me to assume I gave her these buttons to sort while I did a bit 'o work. On days where our nanny did not come - I had to rely on choking hazards for entertainment!

Things I am working on now:
1. skirts. I've found that handmade skirts are easy to manipulate around my new bulge(s). And, people keep telling me that they are cute. So, I'm on a skirt making binge. :)

2. nesting. Actually, it's my husband who seems to be nesting, but I'm happy to go along for the ride. But, it continues to be a tangential thing for us. We accomplish a project which causes us to envision another, and on..and on...and on... As result we also have some major spare furniture and I need to get organized for a garage sale soon or contribute to Freecycle. Hmmnn. Anyone in my area using Freecycle? I love it, but I'm always 2.5 minutes too late on the good junk!

3. art. That basket I mentioned a couple posts ago... is really cool as a spiral. I'm going to make it enormous and turn it into wall art. I'm actually thinking about polka dotting an entry way wall (that's probably 25' tall!) with a trail of several different sized dots. But, man....those suckers take a long while to make.

4. guest blogging. For our local paper. If it actually happens & I write anything clever, I'll be sure to link to it.

5. tutus. yup, I still make them. Would you believe that those of us who voted for the black one... were right? Black tutus are selling like cRaZy!! I desperately want to make something OTHER than tutus. I need to make that happen soon...

Of course all these little projects seem to be moving at a snail's pace as I also tackle work, motherhood, babymaking, household chores, reading, etc. Life is full and busy. We're going camping with a handful of other couples this Fri-Sunday. I can't wait to escape into a primitive campsite by the lake... The only thing I might complain about is having to leave the tent to empty my seemingly pea sized bladder a zillion times each night!!

Tootin' our horn

As distraction, from the negativity from my last post.. I swiped this meme from Mayfly.

1. Do you promote your blog?

No I don’t. I'm very shy about my blogging habit. Some of my friends "get it." Most of the others, however give the distinct impression that it is a very self-indulgent activity. It kind of goes along with that "Ah, she's a housewife who sits at home all day, eating bonbons ...and blogging" kind of assumption.

Oddly, I'm a fairly self confident person in most regards. But, I do feel less self-assured about my creativity & skills. When I do tell folks about my blog - I feel like I'm claiming to be a better artist than I am. So, I kind of keep it to myself. I think this self-doubt was born in my undergraduate BFA program. Critiques HURT!

2. How often do you check hits?

Embarrassingly frequently. At least once a day. I try to remain aware of who's visiting my Kenzie's doodles site and how they got there. I'm always on the ready to make that blog "private" and for that reason - I'm watchful of the stats. A bit on the neurotic side of watchful, that is...

3. Do you stick to one topic?

I'm primarily a project blogger on Mama's Doodles and a mommy blogger on Kenzie's doodles. Every once in awhile I cross the boundaries on both sites. I wanted to keep Kenzie's stuff separate since I suck at scrapbooking, and consider the blog her only lifebook. For that reason alone - I run the two sites. I tend to have other non-project oriented thoughts that I'd like to post here on mama's doodles, but time doesn't afford me the ability to do it.

What the hell do I do for the second kiddo? Does this mean I have to start a third blog??

4. Who knows that you have a blog?

All of my family knows, because while we lived in California - it was an excellent vehicle for keeping them involved in our lives. Ahem, it does seem that they quickly lost interest though. A select few of my friends know, as I don't openly admit it. My husband actually tells more people about the blog than I do. And, it embarrasses the hell out of me when he does.

5. How many blogs do you read?

It astounded me to learn that I subscribe to 127 blogs through bloglines. However, I don't do well at eliminating links as they die or change, so a significant number of those are bogus. There are two timeframes per day that I can read blogs. Which means - I'm terrible at commenting, unless there is something I really want to say.

6. Are you a fast reader?

Yes. Very. However, I only "read" posts at blogs that I find consistently interesting. Of the vast majority - I just glance at the pretty pictures and move on.

7. Do you customize your blog or do anything technical?

Yes, I also like to run headfirst straight into brick walls. I find that both are equally fun and give me great headaches. I'm not very good or sophisticated with my Html though (as you can see).

8. Do you blog anonymously?

No, but I wish I had thought about doing so when I started. I use our first names only and try not to overtly announce our actual location.

9. To what extent do you censor yourself?

Since my family could visit at any moment, I can’t really rant or even be honest sometimes. I also don't want to spew negativity on my daughter's blog.

Ultimately, I think this keeps my blog a generally friendly & happy place to be. My life is good though, so it's not all a terrible lie. :)

10. The best thing about blogging?

Connecting. I have a very large core group of long-time friends, (some of which belong to me and some were acquired through my husband. But, because we run in so many social circles, I feel like we don't know the majority of those people intimately. Nor will we ever - if we keep up our current social calendar.

My blog has created a new and unique support network of like-minded people. I’m inspired daily - to create, to think. Thank you, to each of you. The experience is very valuable to me!


Kenzie tootin' our horn(s)

A Bowl

...am using Little Hut's inspiration on how to make a bowl out of magazine pages. I hope to make this a big bowl(ish)-basket to sit on a new bench in my foyer. I wish I'd gotten more done during my daughter's nap today - because my husband is gonna think I'm nuts when he gets home and sees the WIP.

***

This mindless little activity has also given me pause to think. I know this discussion has been had many times, and I don't wish to re-ignite the debate.. really. But, I'm pretty vocal and I'm not going to ignore what I just saw.

Dear Copycat:
Today I visited your blog - that I don't often visit. I found it many moons ago via my statcounter which reflected that you shared my link on your site. You also "favorited" a few things of mine on flickr, but left no comments. So, you may not have known it - but I noticed you were watching me, & taking notes. I also noticed you'd removed my link from your site today. Hmnn. That's interesting given the fact that you've pretty blatantly just copied a product that so far is pretty unique to me, ME, Me!

So, assuming you still come by this space - I'd like to offer you the following about copying:
1. give credit where it's due. People are flattered when you do this (usually), not pissed at the shadiness of your misleading presentation.
2. Don't imply that it's your own idea.. a "product of your imagination" as you called it. I mean, what if the real imagination sees it and throws you under the bus?
3. Don't ever sell anything that is a blatant copy. You haven't yet. But, just don't (as your words implied you might).
4. And, really, did you have to make it so obvious? There is a rainbow of colors, a zillion means of embellishment. Um..or I don't know - maybe using a different animal that's not been done before?

Yes, I am miffed by what I saw. But, if you'd just follow the advice above - I may be thinking you're super cool rather than... the really ugly thoughts I'm trying not to type out loud right now.

I plan to leave you a comment on your site - when I can get my act together and not be so mad. I'd be thrilled to see that you've changed your song...