Woolnimals

(I'm yawning as I write this...) I'm taking a little vacation to work on some crafts, tidy up my inner space, and go to the ocean. I will be checking email periodically, but generally speaking the less I'm online, the more I can relax into the tangible world of art. I'm hoping to restock my shop considerably for the fall/winter season and get my Tickle Me Pig shop up and running (finally). Wishing you all a couple of weeks of peace, art, and beauty! I'll be taking my camera with me everywhere I go, so expect some ocean pictures soon! As always - Keep Smiling! xoxo

(Image by Taeeun Yoo, via Yoote on Etsy ) I'm caught amid the perfect storm of beautiful sunny days, caffeine, and restfulness (at last!). My inspiration has been humming. The cicadas are finally screaming in the trees and I spend my evenings fully immersed in Lake Champlain dreaming about art projects and freckling in the late afternoon sun. Despite how veritably summer it is, I can already hear the leaves scuttling down the sidewalk as autumn descends in my imagination. My fingers are itching for afternoons of crafting. But I'm giving myself this time to float, to be suspended in a cool hug; to be weightless for a time. I'm considering the possibility that there are a great number of people who would like to learn how to needle felt. I won't say it's easy, but it's something anyone can learn to do. I have a strong background in sculpture, clay, and 3D art, so I took to forming sculptures out of a pile of wool pretty quickly. Kits are a great way to begin, also...

What's that smell? I'm sad to report that my dear adorable skunk has left Vermont for a new home. I'm THRILLED to report that he is going to a fellow lover of skunks. She feeds her wild skunk friends a combination of dried berries and kibble, and they are very happy with this scenario. The picture below was taken by Melissa Brown Bidermann , who is a wonderful photographer as well as amazing ceramicist. Check out her shop at Cedar Pocket on Etsy. These skunks just make me smile every time I look at them! Hooray for skunks! Hooray for people who love skunks! (Image courtesy of Melissa Brown Bidermann - do not distribute without permission)

Wow Oh Wow! I'm so happy with all the lovely comments and entries for this giveaway. It's my first giveaway, so the outpouring of love is just fantastic. I'm so grateful to those of you who put this on your blogs and brought new friends over to my site. I found some wonderful artists and blogs to follow! Hooray! The winner was selected randomly through http://www.random.org/ , and while I wish I could send an owl to each and every one of you, it would probably give me Carpal Tunnel. So here goes: RABBIT LIZA!!! Congratulations! I will be contacting you shortly for shipping information! Thanks again everyone! I will be doing another Giveaway for my 100th sale (coming up soon), so keep checking back!

One last post to share a tiny pig painting I did this past weekend....This little cutie is being mailed to a very special young person.

Oh Possum! Here's my next little project. Possums are really, really hard to capture. They can look a little like a mouse if you're not careful. I think with this guy I'm going to do something unprecedented - I'm going to add HANDS and FEET! I know, it's crazy. He just needs some cute little paws. The tail does not have any wire in it. Anyone who needle felts can appreciate the time it took to make that tail. Hoo boy! My co-worker says there aren't possums in Vermont, which is absolute rubbish. Last week as I was driving home, a Possum ran out in front of my car. "Run" is a bit of a stretch. He rambled out and crossed the road with a single-minded pointedness that tickled me. They're so cute. Coming Soon!

Since I have a full-time job, I'm at work during all of the good daylight hours...leaving uncertain (and often rainy) weekend days as my only option for taking pictures. After reading a tutorial about lightboxes in the Etsy forums, I tried my hand at making one. The weather is so fickle here, that you can never be sure when you'll have good light for photographing. After a lot of frustration and fidgeting with the camera, I think I finally have a decent set up. Linked with Picnik's photo-editing program, things are looking pretty good. Here's an example of my lightbox pictures: I think my next trick is to get another light to have on the other side of the box to eliminate some of the shadows. I also think I need a bigger box - this one is a bit small and the light is pretty intense. For now, in a pinch, I can get decent pictures. I feel kind of ho-hum about them. It's a good start though.

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of comments on my Owl Giveaway! Thank you for all of your lovely feedback - it makes me smile every day. I have been moving really, really slowly lately. My husband is having some stomach issues and we've been managing that as well as house sitting for a friend. I didn't realize how tired I was until I stopped going, and then I just slept and slept. I'm hoping to re-energize at some point and get going with needle felting again (I'm in the middle of a lovely Possum!) but I'm giving myself this little break and trying not to feel bad about it I have been painting a bit. I'm still gearing up to open my new sister shop Tickle Me Pig - and hope to have that up and running by September at the latest. I'm having a blast painting pigs and lions and polar bears and realizing that Hey, maybe I AM good at illustration! Who knew? I hope all of you dears are having wonderful summers! The Giveaway ends this weekend - and I can't wai...

I've been slowly going through my favorite Etsy shops and finding/reading their blogs. I just love reading blogs of other artists. It's inspiring and informative and I feel like I have friends. :) Here are two of my recent favorites: * Oh Chalet - The blog for Cool Ranch Studio , fine purveyors of awesome paintings of pugs, foxes, and other delightful things. * Maybeads - the blog for Maybeads' Etsy Shop . Lauren does amazing lampwork beads. One of her little beads was inspired by my needle felted Koala bear - you can see her post about it here! More to come soon!

Upon return from a lovely four-day weekend, I find myself rejuvenated, freckled, and ready to felt. I seriously thought I would needle felt all weekend, but I went swimming nearly every day and watched a lot of "girl" movies at home in the air conditioning with the cats. The cats don't care much for movies about weddings and proposals and cheerleading, but they enjoyed my company. Yesterday, my husband and I spent the day with his parents at Lake Dunmore. I floated around the lake and squinted up happily at the mountains around me. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. I feel truly at peace and content and ready to work on art again. It's been a while and I peered sheepishly in at my art studio last night...asked all of my ideas to forgive me for ignoring them for so long, and am determined to finish up some projects that have been in the wings for a while and start some new ones. I really needed this break. Keep an eye on the shop this week for some updates and addition...

There are a lot of hairs on her chinny chin chin. I just listed this sweet little pig in my Etsy Shop. I've been adoring pigs lately. I just love them. The fatter and rounder and pinker the better. This little piggie isn't the only thing that's bright pink in my neck of the woods. Yesterday was scalding hot and I took to the cool waters of Lake Champlain for some relief. I managed to cover almost everywhere with sunblock - but missed my back. I have a horrible, terrible sunburn. I feel like a dog with a toothache - grumbly and sore and whimpering. I'm on a mission to find some really awesome aloe. I have been taking a short break from art to do some recovery and reading and relaxing and swimming. All of these things are dearly important. I have a four-day weekend coming up and will be spending some serious time working on new designs for my needle felt and watercolor shop. Don't forget to sign up for my GIVEAWAY in the post beneath this one!!!!

I'm happy to announce I'll be participating in Etsy's annual Christmas in July sale! From July 15th to July 25th all domestic and international orders will include FREE SHIPPING! As usual, all of my items come gift-wrapped, so if you have your eye on something as a holiday or birthday gift, now's the time to take advantage of FREE SHIPPING ! Also, I'm officially announcing my first GIVEAWAY (*applause*)...This Giveaway is a blatant attempt to bring traffic to my shop and expose the world to the ridiculous cuteness of my creatures. It's also a way to say THANK YOU to anyone reading my blatherings on this blog all the time. So here goes... ********************************************************************************* Bird on Wire Studio's FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY FOR THE HECK OF IT! Rules: 1. Comment on this blog with your name and email (required) and you will be entered once. 2. Post this giveaway to your blog, twitter, facebook, etc. and leave me a separat...