this will have to suffice

It's raining and the sun is hiding.  Watching this video created by They Might be Giants & needle felt artist Hine Mizushima will have to suffice. 

Camera Camera Case from Hiné Mizushima on Vimeo.

And then there's this video (so funny and sweet). To see more artwork by Hine Mizushima, you can have a look HERE.

kokeshi doll

Something beautiful to start the new year.

Dot.

FUN!

Give it Away

A little bit of joyful sweetness for you today from Renee and Jeremy...

Ashes and Snow

from Ashes and Snow by Gregory Colbert

Gregory Colbert's website for his exhibit Ashes and Snow is extraordinary.  

from Ashes and Snow by Gregory Colbert

Swimming Pool

Swimming pool from Alexandra Hetmerova on Vimeo.

A sweet little something for your enjoyment
(and it's appropriate for children, in case you were wondering!)

An Announcement

Dearest all -- 

I have an announcement to make.  My fingers tremble and my heart beats madly 

from excitement, anticipation, joy and a little bit of fear as I type this...

This has been brewing for a year now..

 

It's been exciting and difficult to keep a secret, but I can finally announce that...

In the January 2013 Hawthorn Press will be releasing a book on creating peg dolls... written by... me!

The book will have instructions & patterns for creating a good number of the dolls you've seen on my blog plus many new dolls I've created.  Please stay tuned... I'll be keeping you posted with more details about in-person signing-events, how to arrange for me to sign your books if you cannot make it to a signing-event, plus a blog-tour and give-aways to celebrate the release.

It's going to be a beautiful book (192 pages of peg-doll-love), and worth the wait, I hope!  Are you as excited as I am?

xo
MB

Mudbug

During the last month of school, my older son's class was working on a natural science unit about crustaceans.  For their studies, the third grade teachers brought in a passel of live crayfish, and as the final days of school approached, a call was put out that the crayfish would need homes.  Guess who brought one home on the last day of school?

Little Mr. was terribly excited about his new pet (and so was the cat.) Mr. Bloom and I were less excited.

Still, I love the tiny scraps of paper I found around the house with little sketches of crayfish, and I enjoy all the information my son has been sharing with me.  Some facts about crayfish (also known as crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs and yabbies):

-- Crayfish are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom such as brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter against predators.

-- There are over 540 species worldwide of crayfish.

-- Our crayfish is of the genus Pacifastacus,  native to western North America.

-- Most U.S. species of crayfish can grow up to 6 inches and they have a life span of about 2-3 years.

-- They are omnivorous and will eat small fish, shrimp and plants.  We feed ours an aquatic plant called elodia.

-- Crayfish are commonly used at bait by fishermen and are also used for preparing popular regional dishes in the U.S., Mexico, Spain, France, Scandinavian countries, Russia, Australia, China, and Nigeria.

 

 

Into the Hermitage: Rima Staines

Soup & Pipe by Rima Staines

The work of Rima Staines leaves me a bit speechless.  I'll spare you my blitherings & blatherings, and instead send you directly to Rima's blog, The Hermitage, where you can read her own words about her work.

Orla Wren - The Fish And The Doll from Tui on Vimeo.


 Besides Rima's soul-stirring images, there is an animated video by Rima which I wanted to share with you.  Meditative and... magic.

Red Riding Hood's Grandmother by Rima Staines

Rima's work is also available for purchase at her etsy shop here...

It's a Big World, Baby

How much do I love this little video?  A whole lot!  I hope you love it, too...

Do You Need a Little Bit of Sunshine Today?

A music video of the song "Sunny Day," from Elizabeth Mitchell's 2010 album of the same name...  

Happy Sunny Day to you!

Taking Care of Mother Earth by Stopping Junkmail

Did you know that by going to catalogchoice.org you can stop junk mail and catalogs?  So far they've had 20 million people sign up for junk mail suppressions which has saved more than 105 million gallons of water, prevented 714 million pounds of solid waste, avoided 219 million pounds of greenhouse gas and saved more than 700, 000 trees.  Especially at this time of year, when unwanted holiday catalogs start rolling in, I am reminded of how big a problem this is and how important it is to do my part.

Catalog Choice is a free, non-profit service to stop junk mail and save natural resources.  I'm so glad they're doing this... aren't you?

Symmetry

Symmetry from Everynone on Vimeo.

Nose-Bead Removal Tutorial

Hello dearest one & all! I've missed visiting with you this past week...  My hectic summer has finally caught up with me and so, between daily swim lessons for Little Mr. B. and various summer-time adventures (all of which has wreaked havoc on Wee Blooms nap schedule) I cannot think straight, let alone sit down at the computer to tend this happy little blog space.

Wee Bloom is sleeping at the moment, but I'm not sure for how much longer, and so I'll leave you with this -- one of the best tutorials I've seen in a long time.  It was written by Danielle of the blog Most Days I Win.  I fear it puts all of my fancy craft tutorials to shame.  This post (and really, all of Danielle's posts) are funny, sweet and wise.  I hope you enjoy reading this tutorial as much as I did, and I also hope you never have cause to refer to it again for the purpose it was intended!

Kewpie Doll

The other night I said to Little Mr. B., "Our baby is like a Kewpie Doll, except he's noisy and he smells funky." Little Mr. (who has never heard of Kewpie Dolls) looked at me with a puzzled expression and queried, "Puke-y doll?" which was very apt given how much this baby spits up...

Bad Family Photos

We were a family of three for a long time, so it felt like a rite of passage to take our annual holiday photo as a family of four. Taking our family photo this year was a big event and we had a lot of fun... but most entertaining has been looking over the photos and inserting "thought-bubbles" above Baby Bloom's head. Take, for example the photo below:

"They look like a nice family, but I'm not sure I belong here... Maybe if I stop drooling they'll let me really be in the photo. Meanwhile, I wish that kid in the red shirt would stop using me as a sofa cushion." Yes, this really is an unfortunate photo. And, no, this particular photo will *not* be featured on our holiday card.

After taking some "proper" photos, we got silly and started rolling around on the floor...

Hey, little baby, please let go of those (fragile & expensive) wire frame glasses...


Ouch...

"Hey, where are you going? Come back!"

"How did I get stuck up here, suspended at the top of this photo? Could someone please get me down?"

Wordless Wednesday

8 Surprising Things About Me

Here's more fun from my friend Kathy over at Everyday Bliss. Kathy has started a new meme called, "8 Surprising Things About Me." Here are Kathy's rules of engagement:

Tag 6 friends/bloggers. People who are tagged (& choose to participate) will write these rules in their own blogs & share eight things about themselves that others might not know. At the end of the their blog post, they will tag six people and list their (blog) names. They will then leave a comment on the blogs of the people they’ve chosen, telling them they’ve been tagged and encouraging them to come over and read the eight things they’ve written on their blog.
Here are my "8 Surprising Things":
1 -- I am terrible at bowling. My nickname when I go bowling is "Gutterball Queen." But the last time we went bowling with Sweet Husband & Child, we had the bumpers up and I bowled the best game of my life. My new nickname is "Bankshot Betty." I am also terrible at ice skating.

2 -- I hate being photographed in my glasses (I do, however, love my geek-chic, tortoise-shell frames.) I will gladly be photographed in my sunglasses (I think everyone looks good in sunglasses -- they lend an aura of glamor and mystery.)

3 -- I would drink coffee all day if I could.

4 -- I think gasoline should be taxed to the point at which it costs at least $7/gallon. It might make some people in this country more conscious about the vehicles they choose to drive (or not to drive) and would (I suspect) create more support for better public-transit infrastructure.

5 -- I own a pair of red cowboy boots and am not afraid to wear them.

6 -- My favorite kitchen implements are my fluted tart pans. Just saying (or even thinking) the words "fluted tart pan" makes me smile. A good spatula is very useful, as is a dutch oven, a paella pan, a baking sheet, a sauce pan or a stock pot. It's hard to prepare a meal without a sharp knife, but, for me, nothing else holds the charm of fluted tart pans. And yes, just in case you were wondering, my fluted tart pans do have removable bottoms, which, if you use a little imagination, sounds naughty (but it's not...)

7-- I am obsessed with the Harry Potter series. Order of the Phoenix was one of the first books I ever read to Sweet Child. The book arrived 2 weeks after he did, so I read it to him.

8 -- I heard a song today on my car radio by Tom Waites. I like songs by Tom Waites. I haven't listened to music by Tom Waites in a while. I think I'll listen to music by Tom Waites more often. And speaking of music, I wish I could play the accordian...

* * *
Now you know.

'Tis the Season

When I look down and I see the tips of my toes polished red... I know it's summertime!

My other favorite signs of summer? Plums, watermelon & corn, peonies, foxglove, & dahlias... What are your favorite signs of summer?

Oh, the Joy

Oh, the joy...

Of bubble-wrap...

Freshly popped!