In My Shop: Chow Bebe Bibs & Plushie Duckies

I have a very dear friend who after a long, hard road to getting pregnant (and staying pregnant), is finally there. I have been so ridiculously excited for her that I have been making loads of stuff for her baby--some stuff that I have made before, some entirely new designs, and one or two things designed by others. Of course, the way I work is that if I am bothering to make one, I might as well make three (or eight). So, some all new baby stuff has landed in my shop--and there is more to come in the next few days.

One of my favorites that I have just put into my shop is that uber-soft organic cotton fleece duckie in the cream color. I ADORE this material and if I had to go into a cocoon at any point, it would be made of this. There will be more items made from this because it is just so frickin lovely that all babies should be born into a world where at least one item they are handed is something made from this material. Seriously. And its eco-friendly.

And some more bibs. I was using Amy Karol's bib pattern--but then decided to make my own design that was a little more modern and curvier and wider through the body so as to provide more coverage to little baby buddah-bellies. And did I mention those are environmentally friendly too?--Yeah, they are since they are made with recycled towels.

So, considering all the baby-gear-creation going on around here, the big picture plan is to put together a little booklet with several Beeper Bebe for Babies patterns in it that will be for sale, at some point, in my shop. And yes, one tutorial will be offered for download here too, so don't change that dial.

Read This: Millions of Cats

You have probably seen this book before at some point in your lives, but I am just here to remind you about it, just in case: Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag. Such a queer and wonderful little story with all these lovely black ink illustrations that manage to capture all the fantastical detail of a man who goes out to find a cat for him and his wife because they are lonely...only to end up coming back with hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.

I have vague memories of reading this book as a child and when I rediscovered it in a small neighborhood bookstore in St Paul, well, I had to buy it for Beeper. He loves the book too, of course. It always makes him laugh incredulously at how the cats drink up the entire pond. And I often find myself thinking when reading it, Does this guy not realize how rank his house will become if he brings home billions of cats?

I also was reminded of this book while our cat, Phoebe was sick and dying because Beeper made a wish at one point that the all the kitties in the world would live forever (and then for good measure, wished that his wish would come true). And all I could think was, Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats. And I imagined the hoards of cats at our door, Phoebe at their head. But back to the book...

I am not sure the key messages you are supposed to take away from this book--perhaps there is something about the need to narrow your options and make choices (as opposed to being so indecisive you bring home the whole damn lot of millions of cats), and there might be something in here as well about vanity since the desire to be considered the prettiest cat did lead to their untimely demise--or was that simply nature self-moderating her population in that cruel way and violent way she does? The book was a Newberry Medal Honor book, in case you would like to know that. Whatever the case, you should read this book. Your library is almost certain to have it--and you can pick it up for $5 or something at the bookstore if you want your own copy. It is one of my all time faves, really.

On a side note, have you noticed how bossy I have become? Read This! Drink This! Eat That! Pretty soon I am going to start ordering you to make what I make too, and then who knows what else...maybe clean my bathroom tile grout?

Drink This: Sunshiney Smoothie

I love the pure and creamy color of this smoothie. It looks nourishing--and it is (almonds, ground flax seed and yogurt see to that). And the taste? Well, I think it tastes like a warm-weather vacation in the midst of winter doldrums--citrus-y and a little tropical and that hint of cinnamon is just enough to make it exotic. And, it is yet another way to use fruit that has gone overly ripe on you and the only way to save its soul is to toss it in the freezer and hope you can find another use for it (find other uses here). Overly ripe pineapple and bananas?--meet Sunshiney Smoothie.

DOWNLOAD SUNSHINEY SMOOTHIE RECIPE

What kinds of smoothies do you make? Got your own personal house blend? Have your own crazy ingredients you like to add to your smoothies? Please share. Really--we'd love to know. A smoothie of the week club would go over just fantastically at my house...

January Lucky Day Give-Away Winner

Yes, that's right dear Queen, darling, you are the winner of the January Lucky Day Give-Away. Your number was plucked from a jar at random by Beeper. And then he decided to draw this alien for you that then became an alien that was swallowed by a rainbow or something...or perhaps that is just the alien's aura. Whatever the case, he is a happy alien, just look at that smile. And there is your name--Queen. So now, you need only contact me with your email address and make plans to get your drawing made by a child to me, either via post or email or perhaps you will send it via the Canadian Mounties or something since you do live in Canada. And also, I do apologize if there are any typos in this entry as I know how anal you are about spelling and how you had to delete your original blog comment because it had a typo in it. And really, do you live in an igloo? When you write, please do let me know because I am dying of curiosity over here.

And as for the rest of you, well, please stay tuned in as there will be more Lucky Day Give-Aways in the coming months. And also, how can I thank you enough for playing along and divulging some of the oddest but most wonderful facts about yourselves--the ability to speak backwards, a pet snail named Brian, petting penguins, secret longings to be a firefighter, dirty underwear stolen by raccoons...I could go on but really, you should just read all the comments in the original blog post, here.

And, random fact about myself? Back in high school, I used to love to wear vintage lingerie as clothing (a la Madonna circa "like a virgin"). I once went to a Billy Idol concert wearing a little pink silk bra, a vintage black half-slip and a men's tuxedo jacket--and found myself in the front row. Billy Idol looked at me at some point in the concert, pulled open one of the many rips in his black t-shirt so you could see his nipple and said to me, I"ll show you mine if you show me yours." Then he sang Flesh for Fantasy. Yes, random fact and for real.

In My Shop: Counting Bean Bags

Two sets of counting bean bags are in my shop now. 10 bright and happy bean bags numbered 1-10, accompanied by a little card with five ideas of what you can do with the bean bags once you have them.

Lucky Day Give-Away For You: Custom Kindie Garden Plushie

Yes, people, it is your lucky day. The first of many to come. Why, pray tell, you ask. Well, because I want to offer one of my unfailingly lovely readers the opportunity to be the very first lucky winner of an all new item I plan to start offering in my Beeper Bebe shop very soon--your very own custom-designed, 100% original, Kindie Garden Plush.

And you know what that is, right? It is a plushie made just for you, a plush realization of a child's drawing of your choice that is all one-of-a-kind. That's right--you select a drawing from a child (your own child, someone else's child, an absolute stranger in elementary school you solicit a drawing from--you choose!), send me a copy and I will make you a plushie version of that drawing. Yes, for real.

The plushies pictured here are some I made from some of my own original artwork from my kindergarten era (the artist at 5--you can see the future of what was to be here), as well as one I made for Beeper this last year when he did his first self-portrait. All of them incorporated recycled materials, in case you were wondering.

Interested? Here's what you need to do: Leave

a comment in this entry telling me something random about you, something most people may not know--could be something important, or something completely irreverent. Just share a little something with me--so we can start to get to know one another better and because I am endlessly curious. And that is the price you must pay to have access to this wonderful opportunity. Easy, right-o?

Leave your comment by the end of the day on Saturday, January 23rd. With the help of my sometimes sweet, often belligerent assistant, Beeper, I will select one lucky winner on Sunday and announce the winner that same day, whereupon the winner will need to contact me to make plans to collect her (or maybe his) fabulous prize.

I can hardly wait to hear from all of you, dear Chez Beeper Bebe readers. I know you will all delight, surprise, and amuse me. Good luck to you.

A Fast Get Away

For those interested, or who were keeping an eye out, the Bitty Birdie was listed some time during the night and sold. She is sitting here on my desk for now, eager to meet her new family. I await word on where she will be flying off to...certainly to someplace where the people are generous and love chickens--which is perfect for her.

Lots of stuff still over in the Craft Hope Etsy shop--take a moment and have a look around. And for those thinking they may still want to donate something--they will be accepting donations until Wednesday evening and then will list all they have and take a moment to regroup and consider how to sustain what has been an overwhelmingly successful project--but one is currently not sustainable for those running it. So the moral of this story is, get your donations in if you have one you want to make and little chickens must be watched at all times or they may make a fast get away in the night.

Bitty Birdie For Haiti

A new little plushie chicken with all the usual accoutrement has been created and the details for its listing has been sent to the Craft Hope for Haiti effort. The posse over at Craft Hope have been inundated with donations so despite all their best round-the-clock efforts, it is taking up to 24 hours for new donations to appear in their Etsy Shop they have set up to benefit Doctors Without Borders in support of Haiti. So, if you are interested in making the above little Birdie yours, all I can tell you is keep an eye on their shop.

And in case you have not been following, you should know that the Craft Hope for Haiti effort has already raised $7000 (in only two days!) from all that has been sold in the Etsy shop. Amazing, I tell you. I feel so proud to be part of this effort, however small my part may be--because it is grass roots and it is all about how a lot of little donations can make a difference. If you have not been over to the shop--go over and check it out. They are constantly updating as new stuff is in and it is selling very quickly.

In fact, I did a little shopping myself. Bought these lovely little organic cotton pink booties for a friend's baby shower that is coming up. They were made and donated by Funchi. So sweet and could be a lovely little heirloom. But best of all, that $28 I spent will all go to help the people of Haiti.

Crafting Some Hope for Haiti

(photo courtesy of Craft Hope)

When something happens in the world, like what has occurred in Haiti, I always feel I have to do something, however small, to help. As citizens of the earth, I believe we owe this one another. The question for me is always, what is the best way for me to help? Then I came across this new to me website/blog--Craft Hope.

Craft Hope is a website that finds opportunities for people to hand-make specific items for those in need. For instance, they recently concluded a project for Margaret's Hope Chest focused on handmade quilts that would be donated homeless children in the Michigan area, where they have been so hard hit by the recession. Through Craft Hope's initiative, 437 (yes, 437, people!) quilts were handmade and donated.

So, now they have set their sights on Haiti and the opportunity here is to donate any handmade item of your own making that will then be offered for sale in a special Craft Hope Etsy shop (go check it out now--items are already in there and for sale). 100% of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to Doctors Without Borders so they might continue their critical work helping the injured in Haiti. You read more about it here.

Perfect for me. I plan to make and donate one of my Bitty Birdies--because they always sell right away and because they are one of my more pricey items, so it will raise more for the project. Mr Beeper is also considering making something to contribute.

So, I would ask all of you who are crafty and who are artists to please consider making something to donate to this effort. It could be anything--a knitted hat, a plushie, a necklace, pottery--anything you might make yourself and that you feel would sell well. You can find all the details about how the Craft Hope Etsy shop will work and how to make a donation, here. I would also ask those of you who are bloggers to consider putting the Craft Hope button (found in their sidebar) in your sidebar with a link to the site, or put up your own post about Craft Hope and the effort to garner handmade donations for this project--as well as to get traffic out to the Craft Hope Etsy shop to purchase what is out there.. The more we spread the word, the more we will help this very important effort.

And one more thing, The Pioneer Woman is donating 10 cents for every comment left on this entry (there are 24,000+ already--you do the math if you think your 10 cents is not worth it)--as well as an opportunity to be the winner of a $500 donation to a charity of your choice that will benefit Haiti. Yup--head over there now. NOTE: This opportunity is closed now--there were about 25,000 comments which meant $2500 to be donated--but Ree ended deciding to donate $2500 to 3 of the top charities mentioned--so there is $2500 going to Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, and CARE. This is in addition to the two $500 giveaways--amazing generosity.

Oh, and thanks to One Pearl Button for pointing me in the direction of both of the above opportunities to help Haiti. So lovely of you.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

--Mother Teresa

Doodle Face Skeleton

Beeper received one of these Magnetic Doodle Face guys from The Small Object for Christmas. This was his first original creation with it--a skeleton body for that sweet little head. No original clothing creations, no frilly neck ruffles ala Bozo the Clown, no spotted animal bodies even. Nope--just bones. What can you do? He's a boy.

Use What You Have: Making Stock & Soup From Bones

Hear me now (if you don't already know): Making your own chicken broth is easy. Really. And way more inexpensive than buying it in cartons or cans at the grocery. Every one should make their own chicken broth because: 1)the aforementioned ease with which it can be made, 2)the taste is immeasurably superior to anything you could buy, and 3)what else are you going to do with all those old chicken bones?

Yeah, that's right. Old chicken bones = delicious broth. Even old freezer burned and desicated looking ones like those pictured above make good broth. I keep a big plastic bag or two in my freezer at all times of the year that I toss chicken bones into--and mainly use them all winter long for making stock, which then becomes all manner of soups. Or, it might become gravy in pan of chicken and biscuits, or it might even add some good flavor to some couscous or something.

So, I really want you to at least try to make your own chicken stock if you have never done it before. It only takes about 15 minutes to prep all the ingredients, and then you just abandon it to simmer on the stove for two hours while you do other things, whatever those may be. And then you come back, taste it, maybe add some salt, drain, and refrigerate. Next day, skim the fat (as above), perhaps set half aside to freeze and use for another day (or I freeze some in ice cube trays and keep these in a bag for easily accessible smaller quantities of broth whenever needed), and use the other half to make some soup right now. Why not?

Because here's my chicken stock recipe for you: DOWNLOAD CHICKEN STOCK RECIPE

No excuses, now. Go make some and report back.

And this is one of the many lovely and warming dishes you can make from your freshly homemade stock: Home-Style Split Pea Soup. Healthy, and it smells like goodness in a bowl. And like all good soups, tastes even better the next day.

Oh, and I just so happen to have another recipe for you here: DOWNLOAD SPLIT PEA SOUP RECIPE

There are so many things you can do with your stock once you make it--like either of these recipes:

• Chicken and Biscuits
• Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

Trust me on this. You will never, ever go back to stock in a can or carton once you start doing this. Bones to broth. Like culinary magic, I tell you.

What All the Cool Kids Are Doing...

(made by Alli at One Pearl Button--see her post about it here)

(made by Minnado)

(made by Kamilee)

(made by Cuddlet)

Just wanted to share some of the photos of what has been turning up in the Beeper Bebe Project Flickr group. What I love most about seeing what you make, are the ways in which you improvise or make the design yours--or perhaps, just make it work with what you have in the house already. Because that is what creating is about, really--not staying between the lines, not coloring the sky blue and the grass green, not being so damn obedient to my instructions. For instance, see the way Cuddlet did not have any thrifted cashmere on hand, so she just used some fleece sort of jersey to make her Beddy-Bye Beasts? Or the way Minnado improvised in the binding of the vintage paper doll book, using the lovely blue ribbon? Bravo.

Have you made something from one of my tutorials or project downloads? If so, you should do what all the cool kids are already doing and join my Flickr group and share.

Handmade Gifts & Lego Drug Cartel

It's not often one gets to write "handmade" and "lego" and "drug cartel" in the same blog heading.  Stick with me here and I'll explain. 

First off, I just wanted to share a few of the lovely handmade gifts my family participated in making this Christmas.  Beeper made a couple of bookmark designs (above) which we then had printed at Overnight Prints for the ridiculously low price of  $4.95 for 25 (I highly recommend this--the results were good, although the delivery of the goods took much longer than the website led us to believe it would).   He then also designed his own mix CD of his favorite songs (also above), and created a cover for it (which I then scanned and printed copies of).  He gave the bookmarks to all of his kindergarten classmates, his afterschool program teachers and family and friends.  The CD was a special gift just for his very best friends. 

And then Mr Beeper constructed this beautiful Lego table for Beeper.  It is actually a tray that is backed with felt so it can sit on any surface and is easily moveable.  I was impressed with the results of this (the man rocks my world).

So, naturally, Beeper has been doing a lot of building with Legos since Christmas--including this building that he has been working on for some time.  He has been slowly adding to it over the past couple of week--an escape ladder to the roof, a safe for valuables hidden inside (not pictured), bars on the windows, helicopter landing pad on the roof, and tricked out SUV parked in the yard.  Hmmm...then one day I started to look more closely at this little "house" and its inhabitants--look for yourself...

And this was when I realized that Beeper was a contractor for the Mexican Drug Cartel.  I mean, look at them!  Isn't it clear?  Doesn't it all make sense?  The safe?  The bars on the windows?  The escape ladder to the helicopter on the roof?  Plus, look at that one in the orange jumpsuit--and the other still wearing his prison garb...shocking, I tell you. 

Tutorial and Pattern: Counting Bean Bags

I have to confess that I am positively in love with these counting bean bags I designed over the holidays (yes, yes, calling making bean bags designing is a bit of a stretch--I know)--I love the white muslin fronts with the bright applique numbers and the way they feel in your hand and their sweet simplicity. They just seem wholesome and good somehow. You get that, right?

Of course, they are bean bags, so they are pretty simple to make, just a few supplies needed--the applique numbers do add an extra bit, but I think they make these little bags what they are. And if you want to make your own set, well, I happen to have put together a little tutorial and pattern for you:

DOWNLOAD COUNTING BEAN BAG TUTORIAL

I know, they are just bean bags, nothing revolutionary about that--but bean bags are versatile and classic. Just a few ideas for how you can put these lovely little sacks of beans to use:

• Pleasantly tactile for babies
• Stacking for toddlers
• Well-sized for gnawing and teething
• Learning numbers and counting for the pre-school set
• Addition or subtraction drills for the elementary school set
• Toss the bean bag in the bowl types of games--you win the number of points appliqued on the bean bag for each you land in the bowl
• Perfectly sized for throwing across the room at people when they either say rude things or you need their attention--also, they won't leave marks on the face.
  
  See what I mean? The possibilities are endless. And if you really do not want to make your own but would like the convenience of a set of these arriving in a nice little package delivered direct to your doorstep--you are in luck because I will be putting a couple of sets up in my shop very soon.

What was and what is yet to come...

Holy cuss. I kind of forgot how much and how many different things I made this year. It's good to put up the retrospective of the year and acknowledge all that I actually managed to get DONE. I think my favorites were the Two-Faced Friend pattern, the Bitty Birdies, the vintage button barrettes, and the plush alphabet magnets. But looking at all I made this past year, kind of made me realize now why some people give me that look of question as to the likelihood of whether I might be some sort of Martha stepford crafter, if you know what I mean.

At the end of one year and the start of another the fact remains though that I just love handmade--both handmaking stuff myself, as well as buying handmade. Few things make me as happy and peaceful as when I am working on some sort of project in my workshop. Sometimes when I am just sitting at my work table, quietly applique-ing numbers onto beanbags or whatever, well, I find myself smiling--yes, just smiling all for me and the happiness handmaking--especially something of my own design--brings me. It's as good as a Prozac chased with 3 glasses of Malbec, I tell you.

And over the past few weeks as I have been furiously working on the completion of Christmas gifts, I have also been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to commit myself to for the coming year...and I want to share the list because some of it pertains to you:

1. Weekly craft projects with Beeper (especially now that I have managed to go down to a part-time work schedule--did I mention that before? Yeah, it's kind of a really big deal since I have never, ever worked anything less than fulltime...)
2. All new monthly tutorials and project downloads for my Chez Beeper Bebe readers (starting tomorrow with my latest...)
3. Monthly give-a-ways to my blog readers--yeah, that's right. Last year I did the Toy Society thing each month--this year, the benefactors of free and randomly-doled out handmade goodness will be one of you!
4. Speaking of the Toy Society--well, I kind of pooped out on my year long commitment for November and December--so, I am going to make those two missed drops up this year and create a special plushie pattern for Bianca and the Toy Society to offer for free
5. At least 4 new pattern designs available for sale in my Etsy shop...what they will be yet, who can say, but I have a notebook filled with ideas already
6. Selling my wares at more craft sales and art fairs--I so missed the No Coast Craft O'Rama this year and am now aiming to be in the Craftstravaganza, as well as No Coast next year, at a minimum (and maybe the PowderHorn Art Fair...)
7. Improved Beeper Bebe purchase packaging--I love packaging and think it adds so much to a purchase that the buyer does not anticipate, but it has the power to delight like nobody's business, non?
8. More handmade attention for my own damn home-- just needs more love and attention to its colorfulness
9. New Beeper Bebe plushie and other toy designs for my shop--the ideas in my notebook are proliferating like rabbits left unchecked and I need to get some of them out of my head and into my shop
10. And just more of what already is--more recipes from Chez Beeper Bebe, more sharing of children's books we love, more sharing of bloggers and crafters that give me a little extra spring in my step...just more of what makes me happy and might make you happy too. I want to share more, and ask more questions of all of you and get to know more of you better than I do--I mean, if you are stopping by here on a regular basis, we should get to know each other better, don't you think? Let's have coffee sometime or something and share what's on our minds and what we are making and what is happening in our lives. Because, really, you--yes, you--you all mean the world to me. Having started this blog and devoted more time to it this past year has been so worth the late nights and lost sleep--the connection I have with you, well, it gives my heart a smile. Connecting like this means something--even if it is only via a comment box on Blogger. I say that like I really think this is silly--but I am serious. Some comments that have been left for me this past year have brought tears of gratitude, and some have made me laught outloud, and many just make me smile--and make me curious to know more about you. So, this year, let's make a point of connecting more.

And hey, Happy New Year to all of you. Thanks for stopping by this past year--I hope to see you around more this year.