hee pigeons...

One day, while playing with an "I Spy" bag toy, my oldest boy says, "Look Mom, a HEE PIGEON!" (What?!) I went to him and asked what a "HEE PIGEON" was. He pointed to the clothespin inside the toy and said, "A HEE PIGEON."

So... now in our house we refer to all clothespins as HEE PIGEONS. I don't know that I understand why, other than that's what they are called by my children. I hang my pants to dry with HEE PIGEONS. We clip our chips and bags with HEE PIGEONS. I clip my receipts with HEE PIGEONS. We hang schoolwork on the refrigerator with HEE PIGEONS.

I've decided to share our fondness for HEE PIGEONS with you! My collection of HEE PIGEONS can be found in my Etsy shop: Sweetest Little Things.



(I do not recommend using decorated HEE PIGEONS for hanging wet laundry.)

This is Halloween!

I wish I could say the weather is cooling and turning for fall... but it's not. It's still a bit warm here. Despite that, we're busy preparing for Halloween! Many miniatures have made their way into my Etsy shop and are available for purchase.

Made From Books Long Forgotten

The book was maybe somebody's favorite that had been read over and over again, passed along from a friend, or endured a family move across the country. The book had been handled many times and eventually wore out. What is one to do with this old worn out tattered book? Often times it's left in a box in the attic to be forgotten. Sometimes it is donated or left out to sell in a yard sale. Just because it's old and tattered, missing a page or two, or even just falling to pieces does not mean that this cherished piece of literature is JUNK.

A couple of weeks ago I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting Michelle, a girl with a passion for giving new life to these treasures. She created Attic Journals. Handcrafted in Portland, Oregon and sold across the country Attic Journals are made from hardbound vintage books, children's books, and cookbooks.

Take a moment to check out Attic Journals and other upcycled products Michelle has to offer.

Celebrating Birthdays!

What better way to say "Happy Birthday" than with these totally unique cards available in my Etsy Shop... and now in my new ArtFire Studio! Each card is an actual matte photograph displayed in a blank greeting card and costs only $3.00 (plus shipping.) If you love sock monkeys, or just original cards in themselves, I have many cards to choose from. Bulk discount rates are available upon request if purchasing for your display or collection. Contact me on these websites for more details.

wordless wednesday

Spring is Here!

Spring is here and it's about time for the Great Bunny Race! ...not sure exactly what it is, but sock monkeys love it and rave about it!

If you thought sock monkeys were mischevious you should see what this mini has been up to lately! She has recently discovered one of the yarn baskets. Her favorite color is pink so I expect I'll find here here for a while!

New cards have been recently added to my Etsy shop... come check them out! There is a good variety of themes and most are 'all occasion'. You could buy one for someone you know, or just for yourself to frame and have something fun to add to your collection!

Polymer Clay Sock Monkeys

Feeling pretty creative and having a hundred-thousand ideas swimming around in my brain, I couldn't wait to set my alarm for 4am to get these started!

I LOVE sock monkeys and I LOVE snowmen (respectively) and thought this just might be the perfect combination of the two.

Keep an eye on my shop for new items added in the very near future. The Sock Monkey Friends collection is sure to grow rather quickly and my goal is to have a healthy supply of inventory in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

If you haven't yet, please visit my Etsy shop: http://www.hoffeeandanuffin.etsy.com/

Sheena

Ramones Sheena is a Punk Rocker

Well the kids are all hopped

up and ready to go

They're ready to go now

They've got their surfboards

And they're going to the

discotheque a go go

But she just couldn't stay

She had to break away

Well New York City really has it all

Oh yeah, oh yeah

Sheena is a punk rocker

Sheena is a punk rocker

Sheena is a punk rocker now

She's a punk punk, a punk rocker

Punk punk, a punk rocker

Punk punk, a punk rocker

Sock Monkeys on Vacation

We have returned home from our vacation with some great MONKEY pictures to share with you... Buttons and the Number One Monkey traveled with us (and boy was the van packed!!!) The highlight of the trip for everyone was spending three days at Disneyland.

I really do enjoy Walt's spirit and feel his dream was a great one to be shared by everybody. Hopefully when my children grow up,

they'll have an understanding of what Disneyland meant to Walt Disney.

AVAILABLE NOW!
VISIT MY ETSY SHOP FOR PHOTO CARDS OF SOCK MONKEYS ON VACATION.

Mini Monkeys!

Hard to come by, we managed to get our hands on some Mini Red Heel socks! (Thanks, Mom!) In memory of my grandma, our mini monkeys were made up this week. I'd like to think she would have been proud of the things we do... okay, I know she would have been! She always encouraged creativity and NEVER said "you can't". She is the primary source of inspiration for the things I do, and my memories of her are with me as I create every item I make.

Love~Love~Love

I try to do something crafty with my children when it comes to every holiday. For Valentine's Day we HAD to run with the heart theme... and talk about who we would send Valentines to. To Grandma's of course!

Here's what we do with potatoes when they look like this. Mommy carves shapes to make stamps out of them! This time a little heart-shaped metal cookie cutter came in handy so all I had to do was cut around the shape and remove the excess potato. Acrylic paints are great to work with because they blend well, work on different types of surfaces, and are easy to clean up. By the end of our craft session the boys are usually covered in their "body art", then it's off to take a bubble bath! (These painted hearts will later be cut up and sewn onto cardstock for our Valentines notes.)

After clean up, mommy makes lunch. What kid doesn't love a cheesy quesadilla? I enjoy the opportunity to use my big, chunky heart-shaped cutter for these (and sometimes PB&J's!) The boys think it's a real treat, and they snack on the scraps of tortilla while waiting for lunch. Served up with sliced apples and milk this makes a healthy meal for the kids. Okay... mom likes it, too!

Meet Grace

This is Grace. She is an example of custom orders I make.

The Valentine's monkey now has a friend to sit with! (She's no longer alone with the Red Heel boys...)

Overflowing with Creative Energy

If only I could have all the hours in the day I need to do all the things I need to do. (I'm sure I'm speaking for all of us here!)

On a much needed outing this this week I found some GREAT socks which became the center of my latest focus: Valentine's Sock Monkeys!

Later to be: Fourth of July Sock Monkeys and Christmas Sock Monkeys. The socks are red, but have the look of "heather" found in red heel socks. Although they don't sport the white and red heels, they are my second favorite style of socks in the Sock Drawers. So far I have ONE monkey made up. Soon, she'll have others of her kind to talk to, but for now she's stuck sitting patiently with the Red Heel boys!

Having a two and four year old in the house (boys!) means only that anything interesting laying around the house is sure to come into their posession. This does not exclude sewing supplies! Last fall I found a great tin which I now keep smaller tins of needles, buttons, thread, and scissors in. The pincushion I had was of a larger sewing box and the boys were CONSTANTLY playing with the pins and removing them and losing them in the carpet! My quick solution was to roll up a nearby piece of felt, tied with a ribbon and yarn, then dropped into the tin. It worked... mostly. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted an actual, small pincushion for my pins and needles! I have a giant crock full of fabric scraps. I consulted the pile. The courderoy (from a pair of pants I had) always speaks out to me... it's always so comforting. And there was this pink wool sweater I recovered from a thrift store... I loved the color and texture of it so much it's been used for SEVERAL projects and it paired up nicely with the brown courderoy. This with a few cute buttons was the start of my latest obsession! I had to make more!

Obviously they had to be Sock Monkey related. I now have them listed in my Etsy shop for purchase.