Speaking of Thanks. . .

I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

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I was super-surprised and duper-delighted by a very unexpected gift this week. The lovely and talented (and oh-so-generous) Dixie, of North Dixie Designs, just graced me with the most wonderful

tomato-headed gal! Wheeee!!

Just look at her saucy awesomeness!

I could just eat her up (with a big ole pot of meatballs)!

And those leafy hands! Sweet!

Not only does this amazing Tomato Queen reign supreme over all things marinara, Dixie threw in a more-than-generous supply of fabric goodness! Look at all those pokey dots! Lucky lucky lucky me!

Thank you Sweet Dixie! Thank you so much!

(Please forgive my excessive use of exclamation points.

I get over-excited sometimes.)

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Well, I know one thing that'll top

my Thankful List this Thanksgiving.

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Wishing you all a blessed Thankgiving

with long Thankful Lists of your own.

Chrome Domes

Dylan and I differ on our opinions as to the cuteness of bald dollies. I'm a big fan of the chrome dome. Him, not so much.

Oh well, we can't agree on everything.

So compromises are struck.

This bald beauty is for me-

While this be-hooded babe is for him-

Shhhh. . . I told him that there's hair under her hood, but in actuality she's bald too!

She who wields the paintbrush,

rules the world!

Mwah-ha-ha!

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Does that make me passive aggressive?

Little Kid Art

Looking for a kid-sized sweater for a chilly little visitor this past weekend, led me to the trunk that I keep my kids' memorabilia in. I have this big ole trunk that I made some years back to keep and protect the stories written, awards won, birthday cards from grandma, and of course, my very favorite thing, their Little Kid Art. Many of my favorites have been scanned, framed, and now grace my studio walls. I thought I'd share some of them with you.

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This one's a "very big tarantula spider" made by my youngest when he was itty bitty. I can almost still see his sweet little hands gripping that green marker and carefully counting spider eyes.

This happy redhead was made by my eldest when she was barely 3.

At 16, she continues to be an amazing artist.

I LOVE this one-spotted three-legged dog.

And just look at that sad tiger face!

Don't you just love kid art??

Glitter Days

Oh yes, it's that time of year again. Time to bust out the most tenacious craft supply of them all: GLITTER!

Once it leaves the confines of it's sealed container, all bets are off. Just when you think you've seen the last of it, there it is again, adorning your face with its disco magic.

To say that Dylan is not a fan of the sparkly stuff would be an understatement. His machismo is already compromised by the fact that he plays with dollies for a living, but having runaway pixie dust sparkling on his otherwise manly cheeks is just too much.

But even Dylan agrees that a proper Snow Princess needs a bit of the shiny stuff for that extra frosty touch.

We've had frosty car windows a time or two in the past month, but no real cold yet. It stays pretty mild here on the Oregon coast, so I'm afraid REAL snow people have been thus far out of the question. Maybe this year we'll make that trip up into the mountains that we keep talking about. Obstacles always present themselves though. Like our complete and total ingnorance regarding those enigmatic snow chains. Or a notable lack of shoes that aren't sandles.

Oh well, at least we can amuse ourselves with the antics of pretend snowpeople. And bonus, no runny noses!

Oh my! It's November already??

November? Really? Already?

I've been blissfully unaware of the encroaching holidaze until this week. But this week's batch snapped me out of it.

It was all this elf could do to sit still for her picture.

She's been jumping around, cheerleader-like,

shouting spontaneous rhymes about joy and stuff.

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2-5-7-11!

Gingerbread smells like heaven!

and

6-12-4-3!

When are we gonna get a tree?

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Hey, I didn't say she was any good at it.

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Even the formerly pink flamingo has gotten into the spirit.

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Did you know that flamingos get their pink color from eating a particular type of shrimp? It's true! Without that diet, they'd be naturally white.

(And who said this wasn't an educational blog?)

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I wonder where my wayward bird

got all those candy canes.

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Of course, the highlight of the week for all the dollies was the appearance of The Big Guy himself (although it looks like he could use some cookies).

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Everybody made such a fuss over him! They even presented him with a key to the city. We're not really sure which city they're imagining, but it's the thought that counts. .

Naturally, everybody had to get their picture taken with Santa.

Say "Plum pudding!"