The costumes are (mostly) finished, and the kids couldn't wait another moment and begged last night to put them on. So naturally, we had a photo shoot!



Peter, or as we call him, P3T3R, is a robot. He didn't want to put on the gray sweats that go with his costume, so use your imagination there. He chose where the "buttons" go - pretty much everything on his costume is recycled! His helmet is really a shade for lightbulbs, and the buttons are all lids from milk and orange juice containers. The big red one (which Peter says is the STOP! button) is from grated cheese. It was so fun to make and even better, he really participated in its creation.



Angela is WordGirl, which meant I also had to make an entire costume for her monkey sidekick, Captain Huggy Face. it's okay... WordGirl is the best educational show since the Electric Company (the 70's one please, not the new one)! We finally got some good action shots with her and Captain Huggy Face!



Sophia is Judy Moody and her amazing hair transformation is nothing more than me folding her hair in half and clipping the ends in her face so she has Judy's messy bangs. Her hair is normally down to her behind. She looks like a different kid! She was fascinated, posed her pants off, and then begged me to put her hair back to normal again. She's doing the pose from the cover of the first book which she has next to her. "I Ate A Shark" (the "A" wound up under her armpit) is a shirt Judy makes in the book.





P.S. If you are not familiar with WordGirl, check out this clip - the show is just awesome!

And see Captain Huggy Face dance here.

Hello, peoples. Fall has kicked my behind to the curb and back again.

I have been too busy to sit down, too busy to post, too busy to paint (and that has me actually crying at times), too busy to return calls and emails. This school year has brought about a schedule unlike anything we've ever had before, and the weight of it all now falls on my shoulders because of our schedules. I keep thinking things will taper off, and they don't, so the answer is for me to have more help. I joke all the time about how I need a Temporary Secretary; now we're trying to figure out what I can outsource. (Paul's suggestion: like laundry!) I think to myself, You were able to paint when you had preemies and a one-year-old, you can do this! I just need to figure out how not to do *everything* and save my energies for what's vital.

I'm thinking of doing NaBloPoMo again so that I will write every day in November. It will force me to sit, breathe, have some tea, and visit that creative space for a while. There will be links, there will be answers, there will be art, and there will a showing of my artwork by the end of November I'll be gearing up for as well. So check in and hang in there with me as I figure this stuff out.

Note: the image above is about 15-16 years old. It's an illustration I did for my college's literary magazine, The Lion's Eye. I found it the other day while cleaning out an old portfolio. Scary that I still painted like me, even back then!

This summer was a great summer for new babies! I spent my spare (!) time whipping up some small friends to go to the newest additions to our circle. I love amigurumi because they're quick to make up, easy to modify/make up your own pattern, and because the kids totally love them. The cuteness factor again is also a big encouragement.



Patterns:

Bunnies: available on Ravelry, free pattern.

Little rabbit: I modified the the pattern by crocheting around in a lace sort of pattern to make a dress. I also made longer legs instead of little balls for feet so she could stand up. This was the companion bunny to go with the yellow one - the baby got the soft yellow bunny, and the big sister got this sweet brown one. According to their mom, she says that it has superpowers. ;)

Coffee cup: Peter is a rather uncomplicated lad. He likes, in no particular order: trucks, art, and food. He plans to be a baker who also drives trucks and paints when he grows up. Sounds good to me, especially if he makes deliveries to my house. This pattern was so darned cute and when I showed it to him, he asked for it right away. He also has an amigurumi donut to go with it, which will be coming in a later post.

Any other great amigurumi links to share?