It's Electric...

There's an epidemic around here. An obsession really.
It's electronics. If you'll notice in the above photo, this is pre-dawn. My children are obsessed with iProducts.

Amos' first official sentence, "I want Manny!"

Loosely translated that's: "Give me your phone so I can play the Handy Manny app, Lady!"

That's three iProducts at once, and I'm sure the iPad's just out of frame.

We were plumb amazed when little A could turn on and slide to unlock the iPhone at like 9 months. And not from being taught.

On the bright side, they're playing some cool apps like Memory, Puzzles, Color Learning, Letters, etc. And hey, at least the t.v.'s off.

Look out Yaya! It's contagious!

(Oh, and those are some cute home sewn Valentine jammies somebody stitched you, you lucky Valentine!)

Love. Hope you have heaps of it.

There's a photo I would love to use as a Happy Valentine to you, beloved readers. It's of sweet Dizzy's tiny baby derriere. Y'all, he had (and still has really) a perfect little heart shaped arse. And I have a fabulous photo of it, which I can't bring myself to post. But if he ever crosses me, I may change my mind. I'm just sayin'.


So, in lieu of the hearty hiney...

Owl Be Your Valentine...

So it's not exactly a pot. But it is a jar. That head comes right off and you could store all sorts of V-Day goodies in there. Plus, it means his head revolves a full 360 degrees, all spooky like a real owl.

I decided with every piece I make these days I'm going to do something I've never done before. The first pot I made was a bowl and I cut and chopped and added and carved the heck outta that thing. So, second pot, I made a jar. And I thought, "I've never made an owl jar before." So I did it.


I hope you are all feeling the love today! The fella and I had a lovely V-Day date on Saturday (since he's working for the Big Guy tonight (teaches Bible Study)). We did dinner and a movie and began the "Big Baby Name Hash Out of Ought Eleven." We should have waited to hash until we at least know who's in there. Half the hashing...you know?

What are your V-Day plans...hopes...dreams? Hope they all come true.
Hope heaps of sweets are showered upon you.
Sweet treats, sweet words, sweet nothings, sweet lovin'...the whole bit.

Sassy Susie Homemaker

While back...say, 4 months or so...my sister asked me to make and donate some items to her kids' school auction. Taking cues from cute boutiques I frequent and of course, anthropology, I decided aprons would be just the thing.

I've shared my beliefs on this subject before:
"I believe that if you must go into the kitchen, and if you must cook stuff - you can at least look super duper girlie while doing so."



So...better late than never (they're on their way Kel). I made two super girlie aprons, complete with terry cloth overlays for the wiping of schmutz.

Love love love the spoon/fork fabric.
Thank you cutie Courtney for modeling these and acting out the wiping of schmutz!

I also made two bibless half aprons that were all terry cloth with sweet little fabric belt/ties. Pretty cute.

Now if you simply must have one of these, you'll have to hike your hiney to Seattle to attend the auction. Or I could make you one special, since they're not in the shop as yet.

Scenes of my Pottery Past

Did I mention that I used to be a potter? Well, I was. And it was crazy.

You see, about 2 weeks after I found out I was carrying our first child, I did a big time wholesale show - and it went well. I booked orders for more than a year. So I drove home from Philly and went to work.

I worked 14-16 hour days making, glazing, and firing pots the whole time I was pregnant with Eli. It was glorious and it sucked.

Then he got borned. Maternity leave? Psh. (First it's worth mentioning that stopped to unload my kiln load of pots on my way to the hospital to birth him, contractions and all). I was back in the studio before my Mama went home the week after he was born. I was a machine and it was not good.

I mean we survived it. But just barely.
We made do. I made pots with Eli strapped to my body. And I toted him to the pottery co-op to do all the glazing and gas firings. He loaded kilns with me. He napped while they fired. He got bathed in the glaze sink. He basically spent his first year in a pottery studio.

The glazing process took about a week of 12 hour days. And the firings were at least 18 hours, manning a gas kiln with flames shooting out of it. What a trooper he was.

I mean that's a lot of pots.

All of this to say - this go round is not going to be like that. The machine is broken. Think Amish. No electricity. No motorized parts. One pot at a time my friends. One pot at a time.

That makes me sound like I'm in Potters Anonymous. Ooo - that reminded me of this time I was in a cool shop with my friend Jodie, when she remembered that she had money to give me for some pottery I made for her. She yelled across the store, "Hey - I have the money I owe you for that pot."

Awkward.

But I digress...

I'm really excited about getting my hands in clay again. I can't tell you what it is about it that I love, but whenever I can't do it for a while, the first time I'm back at the wheel it's like, "Ahhhhh. This is what I've been missing." I certainly can't go at it like I used to - but I'm kind of excited about having to mix things up. I'm going to make all new pots in all new ways. Get excited.

Everybody's Doing It

Now that there's clay around, everybody wants to get their hands on it.

Makes a mama happy.

Ninety Nine and...One Hundred

Big Day. There's been a super milestone.

I have just filled orders for my ninety ninth and one hundredth Super Kid Cape!For Super Milo.
And Super Esme!

And! They're going to London! Two British Super Kids! Love it!

And, along with the 100th cape, I recently had my 100th etsy order, and am staring down 200 posts on this humble blog. Thanks to all of you lovely readers and shoppers! What a fun year!

Oh - an get this. On Super Bowl Sunday my etsy shop had over 1000 page views - 379 visitors (up until that day my max visitors per day was like 77)! My cheese wedge onesie was featured in so many treasuries I lost count. Thank you Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers!

Doot doot do dooooo.

That was me tooting my own horn.

Snowman in a Fish Bowl

During saturday afternoon naps, Eric looked up from his basketball game and I from my book to see Yaya out in the front yard attempting to hoist a sizable middle ball onto the bottom ball of her snowman in the making.

Oh look. Yaya's making a snowman. Who knew?
Sweet Eric took pity on her and went out to help. What a good son-in-law.

Eli, once he woke up, and I however, did not go help. We watched the snowman show from the comfort and warmth of our living room.

Nice new haircut there young man.

Working hard.

I love this shot. Nice work guys!

So proud of their workmanship. As well they should be.

Only once the snowman was finished and Yaya and Eric were pooped, did Eli decide he wanted to go outside.

And he got replaced by baby A, fresh from his nap.