Beetlegirl Design

the other side of xmas

I can still vividly recall how anticlimactic the days following Christmas were to me as a child.  I remember how my parents would settle back in to their quiet activities, and I was never quite sure, amidst the crashing sugar rush, what to do with myself and the realization that it would be an entire year before I would have that fantastic sense of anticipation once again.  Being a wee bit grown as I am, it is now the anticipation of being surrounded by family that defines the holidays for me, and it was the departure of my brother last evening that left me with that childlike sense of post-holiday loss.  But, upon waking this morning (with an aching back and a kicking wee one), I found myself thrilled at the prospect of my usual quiet morning routine.  The fuzzy bunny was equally pleased to wake up in her own cage, and have a kitchen to run to for her daily allotment of carrots.  And so, even though I will pack up the tinsel trees this morning, I am looking forward to a week off to explore the potential of the crafting supplies I received for Christmas, and to ponder what I envision for Beetlegirl Design in the new year.  This next year will be an adventurous one for us, and I continually surprise myself by my sense of calm, despite the number of unknowns.  I think this is due in great part, to my own reluctance to let go of that childlike zeal over anticipation.  Despite knowing that I may not get what I wished for, I am hopeful just the same.

And now, off to cart some boxes down from the closet, and engage in a cinnamon roll sugar rush fueled packing up of the tree.   

Merry Xmas

baby x...the mischievous

The plan was to keep our 20 week ultrasound appointment a secret and surprise our family and friends with the true identity of baby x on Christmas day...but, baby x has other plans.  Despite flitting from here to there during the ultrasound, baby x would not let us know if he was a he or if she was a she.  So, the mystery continues.  What I did discover though, is that baby x has long legs, which explains how I can feel a kick one second, and what I imagine is an elbow jab a second later on the complete opposite side of my stomach.  But, there still seems to be room for the both of us in here, and we are enjoying our Christmas cookies. 

I have posted a few more pictures to my other flickr. 

Twas Twelve Days Before Xmas

Although there are only a few days left during which you can purchase wee beasties from my Etsy shop (with shipping before Christmas), the above pictured wee snails in grass can be found at Monster Art & Clothing in Seattle...And my squirrel for Plush You is still available at Schmancy in Seattle as well.  For those on the other coast, Beetlegirl Design wee beasties are available (as are wee snail postcards) at Gallery Hanahou in New York.  

a little update from the land of b

It is raining outside...cookies are in the oven...the fuzziest and sleepiest of lops is nestled underneath the blanket draped over my lap...and baby x is gently kicking me in the guts.....all seems right with the world, at least my little world, for the moment.  Above is the first and only gift I have bought for baby x thus far.  I had to search a bit to find it, because Eight3One, who designed it, and BuyOlympia, who used to carry it, no longer had any in stock.  But, found it was, and girl or boy alike, this wee one will be outfitted in beetles.  Oh, and stripes; I love stripes.  The next gift...well, that will have to wait a few more weeks until this wee one tells us a bit more about him or herself, other than that the most comfortable positions for me, are the least comfortable for it.  Sorry about the "it;" we are really looking forward to a pronoun around here.  And that really is all there is mention.  As always, everything else in our lives involves far too much speculation and "what if's," and being one who often falls into the pattern of living for the future, I have been trying lately to be more present in the present.  We don't know where we will be this time next year, but I do hope that it will be somewhere where I can listen to the rain, have cookies in the oven, and a bunny at my feet (with the addition of a new wee one at my feet as well).  

Luv-able & Hug-able 2009

Luv-able & Hug-able opens tonight in NY! 

Appearing there will be a few of my wee snails in grass...

And wee snails on a branch...

Luv-able & Hug-able beasties are available for online purchase here. 

(Wee snails in grass are also available in my Etsy shop.)

For the first time, postcard images of my beasties will be available too.  For now, you can find these at Gallery Hanahou.  I hope to offer these through my Etsy shop in the new year.

december bps postcard

This is my December postcard for the Benevolent Postcard Society.  It has already gone the way of snail mail...all the way to England.  I hope its recipient is as fond of it as I am.  I have not made one of my faerie creatures in quite awhile, and once I had completed this wee fellow, I remembered that I, not so long ago, pondered making a three-dimensional version.  Perhaps once all my holiday projects are said and done I might venture on such an undertaking.  It seems as if it would be fairly complicated, which is just up my alley. 

Beetlegirl Design at Luv-able & Hug-able

A few of my wee beasties will be appearing at this year's Luv-able and Hug-able at Gallery Hanahou in New York.  The press release for the show follows:

Luv-able and Hug-able: "medium and mini"   December 3 - January 9

gallery hanahou / 611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC / galleryhanahou.com

The popular NY holiday plush show is returning to gallery hanahou with oodles of handmade plushes for you and yours! Spread warm holiday cheer with adorable, strange, and funny unique plush toys made by more than 50 top plush artists from around the world.

The plushes will be even cuter and more affordable at this year's 3rd annual "Luv-able and Hug-able," with the special theme of "Medium and Mini!": toys that are either just the right size for hugging or small enough to fit in your pocket, swing from a keychain, or be worn on a pin. 

Many favorite artists from the past two years are returning with cuter-than-ever plushes, and gallery hanahou is thrilled to present plushes from a bunch of hug-able new artists too! As in previous years, the gallery will also exhibit plushes by Japanese artists whose original works are rarely available in the US - this year, that also includes designer toy giants Devil Robots and noriya takeyama!

Plushes will be available for immediate take-home, so come early to the December 3rd opening to nab your favorites! Items in the show will also be available online via galleryhanahou.com starting the week following the opening.

and so it begins...

Martha Stewart's Pinecone Elves.

My Pinecone Elf.

Evidence of holiday crafting is already apparent in our wee cozy apartment.  Pinecones, collected last fall from my parents' yard are glittered with snow, and another small pile of pinecones has sprouted into elves.  My early zest for the season is perhaps an effort to make up for the parts of the holidays that I missed while spending Christmas in Paris with my sweetie last year.  As lovely and unforgettable as last Christmas was, nothing can replace those nostalgic activities that have come to define what Christmas is to me.  The wax and wane of my sporatic energy level is also a great part of my early start, and my hope to handcraft a few presents, knowing that time and energy are soon to be relics of the past in this household. 

While the elves required more long evenings of cutting and teeny tiny stitching than I would want to revisit, I do recommend another Martha Stewart craft from December's holiday issue: the Epsom salt covered candles (Sorry, I was unable to find a link).  The effect is lovely, and looks remarkably like snow.

It doesn't even seem to rain in Santa Cruz, but this December the inside of our apartment will have all the evidence of an ice storm and recent snowfall...

my newest wee beastie

It seems only appropriate to write about this on the eve of Thanksgiving, and although I imagine most everyone who visits this blog already knows…I thought it was time to write about it here as well.  This past September, I received the best possible birthday present I will ever receive…the confirmation that all I was feeling was finally a far bit more than psychosomatic, and, yes, that I was pregnant.  This was followed by a few months of quiet and rest (and eating nothing but toast once again), and the holding of our biggest secret.  And now, at four months, although still easily exhausted by my attempts to keep up with myself, I feel as healthy as ever, and I have had the pleasure of hearing the underwater-oceanic heartbeat of this wee beastie, and have had the first moving images of this tiny creature etched forever into my mind. 

What I never expected is that, for me, my wee one is already here.  Present with me at every moment.  Never again in my life, will I be someone’s entire world in the intimate way that I am now.  So, although I am immersed in the endless to-do’s that come with preparing for such an arrival, I feel far more calm than I ever would have anticipated, because, simply put, my life has already changed.

On a sillier note…in terms of unexpecteds, although I had heard of pregnant women becoming teary-eyed at sad things…I have quite the opposite experience…I find myself all teary-eyed at happy things…thinking nostalgic thoughts while listening to music on my Ipod…watching Oprah give money away to strangers on TV…(not to mention those awful holiday commercials for Folgers and Hallmark).  So, if you happen to catch me on a day when my eyes are filled to the brim, you can know that everything is truly okay.