Dawn of the Dollies

I have a confession to make, dear readers. I have been keeping a secret from you. No, this isn't the thing that's been stressing me out lately (that problem is, for the most part, over with). This is a much happier secret.

Lately I've been thinking about my Etsy shop and the direction in which it was going, and I was feeling stuck. I realized that I was focused more on making things that I thought other people would like instead of making things that I enjoy. I was bored with the cutesy pastel stuff. It just isn't me. That's not to say that I don't like the precious, pastelly things--I do like them, and I use them quite a bit. But I don't love them. Making them doesn't necessarily bring me any joy. I have pink hair and I listen to the Sex Pistols, for pete's sake. After much thought I've decided that it's time for a change. Yes, Sugar and Snails will be closing its virtual doors this year. It's a bittersweet end, but it's for the best, because I think my next project will bring me a lot of happiness. So with great excitement I'd like to introduce you to my newest crafty business venture...
Zombie dolls! Oh, come on, you saw it coming. I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but I love these little girls, and I know there's a niche market out there for them. I've always liked combining the cute and cuddly with the dark and macabre, and I think these are the perfect mix. Gross and snuggly at the same time! So you can now find me and my bloody little orphans at the Zombunny Orphanage for the Undead.

Each doll I make will be one-of-a-kind, with their own unique names and personalities. Most of them will be inspired by real people. Friends, family, acquaintances, strangers, people who picked on me in high school, no one is safe from being zombified. In fact, there's already a little me available for adoption. Can you guess which one it is?


Since listing my first three dolls the response has been overwhelmingly positive--in fact, Tara has already been adopted! To me, that's a definite sign that I'm doing the right thing. Thanks so much to Adam for helping me through the anxiety about my Etsy move, to Adam's sister-in-law for encouraging me to sell my zombies in the first place, to PixelbyPixel for helping me design my awesome logo and to Autumn for telling me my zombies are cute. Now I'm off to the fabric store to buy more felt!

Turn that frown upside down

Life hasn't been too happy for me lately. I'm not sure I want to talk about it here just yet, but suffice it to say that Adam and I have been under a lot of stress recently, and probably will be for the next few weeks. I could use some cheering up, so how 'bout a list (in no particular order) of things that have been making me smile? Here we go.


1. Autumn in her Easter dress. The kid may be a tomboy, but I can't help but squeal when I see her in something so deliciously girly. More Easter pictures here.

2. This very funny and very informative bias tape tutorial over at Angry Chicken.

3. This conversation I had with Autumn today.

Her: Why do kids have parents?
Me: Kids have parents because they need adults to love them and take care of them.
Her: But I didn't always have parents.
Me: What do you mean? I've always been your mom.
Her: No, not when I was a baby and I was at the baby doctor.
Me: You mean the hospital?
Her: Yeah that.
Me: I was your mommy then too!
Her: No I mean when all the babies are in a room next to each other, and you picked me out and you buyed me.

Of course even though her thoughts on the origin of babies were completely adorable, I went on to explain to her that babies start out in their mommies' tummies and then come out when they're big enough. She thought this was hilarious, but didn't feel the need to ask any further questions. This was our first "Where do babies come from?" conversation. As she's gotten older and more inquisitive I'd been wondering when the inevitable questions would start, and now here it is. This was the easy one. The more detailed (and less comfortable) conversations will occur as she gets older, I'm sure.

4. Frank's video of Oliver rolling over. So sweet! I watched it three times in a row. Wait, I have to go watch it again. Okay, four times.

5. The pincushion belt I made for The Beast. I officially lost my old pincushion along with all of my pins, so when I came home with a fresh supply I decided to make myself a cushion I can't lose. I used some scrap felt and my favorite Alexander Henry fabric (Skull-finity). I must say he looks quite stylish in it. And yes, those are devil horns on my sewing machine.

6. The weekend. Today the three of us are driving up to Pennsylvania to visit my grandmother. I think all of us could use a little mini vacation. Hopefully the quiet and the fresh air will do us some good.
7. My newest zombie doll, Sarah. She's the cutest zombie ever (well, second cutest) if I do say so myself. I think I'll make a whole army of these. Spattering her with fake blood was a little too much fun.

Well. Seven things! That was easy. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Hello Spring!

So good to see you!

Crap I've learned recently

1. I'm not a fan of While You Were Out, but good lord does Mark Montano know how to get his craft on. I thought Dollar Store Decor was a fun book, but then I picked up The Big-Ass Book of Crafts during an impromptu weekend shopping trip. Oh. Holy. Craft. I want to make every single project in this book. Like, now. I decided to start with something I already had the materials for, so I made the Rolled Magazine Basket on page 281. Countless hours and hundreds of little paper circles later I've got an awesome trash can for our first floor bathroom.A garbage can made from garbage. How poetic.Oh, and the unfinished project makes a spiffy hat. Thanks, Autumn.

2. Our kitchen gets the most sunlight in the house and is therefore the best place to take pictures.

3. I will never, ever get tired of this song. Or this one. Or this one (check out the dresses on those dancers. Love.)

4. Making handmade paper is highly addictive.
5. When you're a young mama with laser beam red hair and (frickin' sweet) calf-length combat boots visiting a particularly stuffy craft fair full of older snooty art collectors, people tend to stare. And point. And whisper.
6. Autumn has, to my dismay, learned how to lie. Not well, but still. While she was taking a bath yesterday I told her it was time to wash her hair, and she shooed me from the room because she wanted to do it herself. I stepped out into the hallway until she called me back in.

Her: Mommy I'm DONE!
Me (walking in): Okay, great job--uh, Autumn, your hair is dry.
Her: No I washed it.
Me: No, you didn't even get it wet.
Her: I dried it.
Me: You washed your hair and then completely dried it by yourself even though there's no towel in here?
Her: Rosie helped me.
Me: You're telling me that your teddy bear helped you wash and dry your hair? Rosie's not even in here.
Her: Well she came in here and helped me and then she left.
Me: Autumn, I think you're telling a lie.
Her: No I'm not!

This went on for another minute or so before the child's pants burst into flames.

Autumn Blogs: When I was at the doctor

Yesterday I went to the doctor. The doctors were so nice. They got some of my blood out from my arm with a tiny needle that hurt a little bit. I holded still on Mommy's lap and they poked me with the needle. My blood got sucked into a little pipe and they gave me a cool band aid. It had little black ducks on it, I think.And then they gave me a sticker! After that we left and got ice cream at the mall. It was chocolate with chocolate sprinkles. I bought a movie at the mall. It was Barbie Mariposa. My blood thing is feeling better now.

Valentiney Goodness

Adam and I had plans to go to dinner last night, but my love has come down with yet another bad cold, not a week after recovering from the first one. He's what we call an overachiever. Nevertheless, we had a very nice family Valentine's Day.
There were pretty pink pillowcase dressesHandmade candy heart barrettes
A new hair color for Mommy
Sugar cookiesSparkling ciderAnd lots of hugs and kisses all around.
One odd thing Adam and I have in common is our love for zombies. Zombie movies, games, art, books, you name it. If it's undead, we think it's cool. My gift to him this year was this doll, a zombified version of myself, tearing out her heart out and offering it to him.Gory? Yes. Weird? Probably. Romantic? Absolutely, if you're us. He loved her and she sits in his office now, alongside Autumn's gift, a decorated frame holding her school picture.Hope you all had a lovely holiday, full of chocolate and flowers and those little heart-shaped paper doily things!

Cough. Sniffle. Ugh.

Don't worry, I'm not dead (yet). January was pretty much a wasted month, 3 weeks of which was spent hacking up a lung (Adam), sweating out a fever (me) and spreading germs (Autumn). So I haven't had much to blog about, unless you'd all like to read about just how much snot a single preschooler can produce in a day, or how poor sweet Adam actually volunteered to sleep on the couch so he wouldn't keep me awake with his coughing. We've been a pretty miserable bunch, to say the least, but we're (mostly) fine now.
I was finally feeling well enough to sew something, so I whipped up a new nightgown for Miss Little in a flannel she picked out herself. She said she wanted jammies with "a Dinosaurus Rex" on them.
Doesn't she look thrilled? I guess the grumpiness hasn't completely worn off yet. The pattern is McCall's M4497, altered to lengthen the top into a dress. It was a quick, easy sew, finished while the prehistoric princess napped.
Dinosaurs are her latest passion. It all started when we took her to the Science Center to see the "Dinosaurs Alive! 3-D" IMAX film. Now every weekend she begs us to take her back to see the huge skeletons and dig for fossils for the millionth time. She has officially proclaimed dinosaurs to be as cool as dragons, "because they growl and stomp their feet."
I love all her various interests, and the unwavering excitement she shows for each one. Whether it's dinosaurs, pirates, fairies or baking, she greets every new opportunity to learn about and interact with our world with such wonderful enthusiasm.

Thank you to everyone who left comments on Autumn's guest blog entry. She was so thrilled to see that people were reading her story. I'd like to make her presence on my blog a regular occurrence, maybe a monthly guest blog entry. She had so much fun creating a story to share and acting it out (all her idea, by the way). I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

I'm off to down some Dayquil, but before I go, great big HUGE congratulations to Frank and his partner on their freaking adorable little ball of cuteness. He is precious.