Well the leaves weren’t all brown (does autumn ever really happen in California?) but the skies were kinda grey (I don’t think I had ever seen rain in California before but I’ve certainly seen it now) and we did go for lots of walks……………so 2 out of 3 ain’t bad huh?

In truth we got very lucky with the weather the week in San Diego was beautiful,  nothing but blue skies all the way.  And I got to reconnect with the love of my life…………….The Hotel Del

And we had the best room ever,  a complete view of the hotel from the front windows and the pacific and the beach from the side…….it was lovely waking up every morning (not something I would ever say) and falling asleep to the sound of the sea was something I would love to get very used to.

San Francisco had lots of highs and lows (barump bum ding) It was around this time the weather changed so we saw lots of rains.  It kinda reminded me of British summertime very overcast and rainy but not particularly cold………This didn’t stop us having a great time though,  we ate sushi from conveyor boats in Japan town

yummmmmm and did I tell you how much I love Japan town?  Everything is super kawaii it’s ridiculous,  the motto in Japan appears to be be if it doesn’t have a face,  what’s the point?  I stocked up on much cuteness.

And checked out the sealions everyday

I am glad to be home though……….as I found out the exciting news that I am going to be doing the Valentine Craftacular at the High Noon in Madison

eeeeeek so exciting,  but I gotta get busy as critter stock is very low,  and I am thinking of new critter boxes to make in honour of the show.

The best part  of being home……

Floyd was thrilled with his vacation hat……..can’t you tell?

But all I caught was some silly love bugs

They are pretty cute but they have a pretty effective little bite……….buggers!!!

I also made some Valentine candies

So basically I am just excited to be going to California tomorrow.  The snow is still thick on the ground here,  and it’s bloomin’ freezing to boot,  the thought of spending some time outdoors on the beach makes me jump for joy.  Making the valentine’s goodies did make  me excited for spring and Easter and warmer weather though………..alright see you in two weeks.

And all through the house,  not a critter was being felted………..not even a mouse (and I love them the most!!!)

It is looking an awful lot like Christmas around these parts though

I love my Christmassy mantel,  and this year the cats have shown absolutely no interest in the tree at all……….I figure they just think mama has finally flipped and it’s best to simply ignore the evidence……….phew!!!

Last night my neighbourhood had a  luminaria display and it made for a lovely if  a little chilly walk

But that was the perfect excuse to warm up with some Christmas pies when we got home………….mmmmmmmmmm

God I love Christmas,  it’s the most yummy time of the year………….

Happy Holidays everyone!!!  Hope Santa brings you everything you asked for………..

So I’m back from Cleveland after a completely fabulous weekend at the Bazaar Bizarre,  thank you so much for coming and shopping and being so sweet to the critters and me,  I can’t even begin to tell you how warm and fuzzy you all made me feel………but I can show you……

First of course is the always essential booth shot,  this piccie was before the show doors opened and I am glad Markie went around and took it from that side as there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to do it when the shoppers flooded in

and it was like that all day,  I swear the whole of Cleveland was in that building……… completely amazing

Lots of critters decided to call Cleveland home and squeaked out for new family, I could tell everyone was going to be very happy in Cleveland hopefully they will all be well behaved.

And now for the goodies

I love everything I got but there was so many things I wanted it hurt……The Cleveland cards are from Oddball Press and Markie picked them to be his Christmas cards this year……which is probably going to confuse the heck out of the British recipients I can just hear them now……..Ohio?  I thought they were in Illinois?  eh?  where are they?  so anyway……..the zipper pouch with the sheepies is by oblinaknit and the feathery hair clip is by Kaki Brzytwa……..many thanks for the night out girls you were the most fun booth mates EVER!!!!!!   The little concrete acorn is by the oak leaves and they had the most beautiful booth of terrariums and whimsy that I am sure I will be scouring their etsy shop everyday for new goodies but I pounced immediately on the acorn at first sight………good job as almost everything they owned was gone in a matter of hours.

Thanks to everyone again for the love and support and Happy Holidays!!!

Twice the fun,  and twice the piccies to share with you……

First is how my booth looked at the Craftacular in Madison……..my friend Mindy helped me out,  that’s her in the piccie (thank you Mindy) and we had a great time at the show….  thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth and gave critters homes and made us feel so welcome. Every year I am blown away at the support of the organisers, shoppers and the other vendors it really is my favorite show and I consider myself very fortunate to take part in it.

Meanwhile in Chicago

Markie was setting up at the Bucktown Bazzar……..Markie is vey competative,  so he was sending me emails along the lines of “my booth look better than your booth” of course he was wrong,  but I could tell he was having a great time in Bucktown  when he sent me a piccie of Marty’s new dad

So the other great thing about twice the shows…………

Twice the goodies.   I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the stuff I  bought and traded……….see that giant pink ruffle puffball ornament how awesome is that?  It’s made by Sarah Lopez and I kick myself I didn’t pick up a card from her, the earrings are by lula and deedee I love how her work is made by reusing the beads from vintage jewelery and making them fresh and funky again (they are also some of the nicest people you will ever meet).  The photo blocks are by Stella Lily and they speak for themselves so pretty,  The bike t-shirt I got for Markie to thank him for doing the Bucktown show unaided it’s  from baretree apparel and he loved it.  I also got the most beautiful hand made glass necklace from Doug Prell Glass………it’s so pretty and completely unique.

So this Saturday I will be at The Congress Park Vendor Fair  between 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m  at Congress Park Elementary School, 9311 Shields Ave, Brookfield, IL 60513

So if you are in the area please come on over and wish the critters Happy Holidays………

Did you hear that?  That’s what I was told this past weekend at the Red Sled Christmas show in La Grange.   Basically 3 wee girls were given the choice of critters or a trip to build a bear………I was fearful that the critters were going to be rejected for the mighty build a bear…….. but they won……….yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay for the critters,  I tell ya they were squeaking with delight at that news.

Red Sled was a brilliant start to my Holiday Shows and I would like to thank everyone for coming and shopping and being so sweet to me and the critters,  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the love and support,  and knowing that the critters have wonderful new homes makes me sigh with relief and contentment.  I gotta tell ya though the weather was absolutely wonderful well in the 70s and it felt very odd to be putting up the Christmas trees on my booth…..although wouldn’t it be wonderful if it stayed like that in December too………..fingers crossed,  although I won’t hold my breath.

Here is the obligatory booth shot

Ladies and gentlemen……..drumroll please………

On Saturday November 28th,  Lulu of Lulu’s Stabby Critters will be attempting the impossible.    That’s right she will be doing the impossible feat of being two places at the same time!!!!   Gasp, what? who? where? It’s not possible, it can’t be done……I hear from the crowd.   Well yes it can (thanks to the brilliance of her hubby)  On Saturday November 28th Lulu’s Stabby Critters can be found not only at the Craftacular in Madison, Wi but also at the Bucktown Bazzar in Chicago, Il.

I’m not sure why I agreed to do 2 shows at the same time………it seemed like a good idea at the time.  I mean logistically it seems possible.  Mark can go to Chicago and take care of the critters there while I drive of to Madison….. easy.   But what i forgot about was the fact that dividing and conquering also means dividing up the critter stock……….waaaaaaaaaaah.   So needless to say I’m going to be VERY busy in the next couple of weeks……..yowzers I’m a mad woman,  or at least I will be by November 28th.

The St Cornelius Fall Fest was brilliant fun……it was my first experience of an outdoor street fair and the organizers were totally on it….

I really loved having my own little tent,   and it meant I could finally display mobiles………yaaaaaaaay,  I’m still working on how to do that for indoor booths,  but hopefully I’ll work it out this year.  Alright back to work .. ……which will be tough as I’ve just discovered the brilliantly hilarious regretsy.com now I really am addicted to looking at crap.

nah not really.  It’s just I’m in a little bit of a potter frenzy these days,  you see we finally made it to the Harry Potter exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago  this past weekend…….and eeeeeeeek it was great

The museum really did a top notch job at presenting all the film props,  they even hired a whole bunch of British people to tell the stories of the artifacts which definitely added to the fun.  We managed to illicit a few stolen iphone pics inside the exhibit but my hubby still hasn’t downloaded them…..haruuuuumph,  I think he’s afraid I’ll post the piccie of him and buckbeak.

And more proof I have been good really?  hmmmm,  well then let me share my 2 newest critters.

Tommy the little torro and

Winston the bulldog,  both inspired by my recent vacation.   I guess i want to make a critter for my Scottish trip but I need to order wool………dontcha just hate when that happens?  i just know he’s going to be rattling around in my brain till I finally do make him.

And other than that all has been quiet in critter land……..I have been thinking about boring things like  a new sofa and possibly a bed but it’s very hard to persuade my hubby to spend money on such things especially seeing as how he could buy a bigger tv instead……….honestly how dumb are men?

Yup so here it is my 2 year blog aversary,  which means I’m giving you guys the chance to win a little gift from me

A cute little peeper,  a rose and a pair of hairclips………you likeeeee?

Anyway my blogaversary  set my mind to thinking of birthday parties, high teas and all things fun.  You know if I could pick the perfect dining/party guests living or dead  I’d pick Lewis Carrol (writer of Alice in wonderland),  L. Frank Baum (he of Oz fame)  and J. M Barrie (peter pan creator) can you imagine the stories and party games these guys would come up with………eeeeeek it gives me goosebumps just thinking about how brilliant it would be.

So anyway wanna win the schwag?   Then tell me who would be your perfect party guests (living or dead) and why and I’ll pick my favourite selection to win……..contest is closed April 4th and winner will be announced April 6th.    So put your thinking caps on……

sometimes comes from peculiar places,  take these lil’ guys…..

I got the idea to make little mice hair clips because (as you know) I adore mice and so I started browsing around etsy for some unique and unusual micey goodies……and then it occured to me what I hoped to find, something for my hair…….but alas it was not to be found.  After first being a little disappointed it hit me……doh!!!! make ‘em myself so here we go…..I love ‘em they look completely wacky in my hair

I also got a most excellent cheshire cat ceramic on ebay for cheap (yaaaaaaaaaay gotta love ebay) but it got my mind to thinking of all things Alice….. and as you know we can learn a lot of things from the flowers which is how these came about

And no need to paint them red as they already are,  although I will probably make them in lots of other colours too (sorry Queen of hearts).

So in a few days (5 to be exact) it will be Stabbies blogaversary and I’m thinking of doing a little giveway to my loyal readers (i.e you) so stay tuned to find out what’s in store.  And speaking of birthdays today is my mum’s birthday,  so Happy Birthday mum!!!!!!  hope the champers is on ice.