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.

This weekend we drove to Indianapolis to attend the North American Handmade Bike show (which means I win the wife of the year award).  Mark was in heaven and spent the 3 plus hours walking around with a huge nerd grin on his face,  I mostly walked around remarking that bike guys certainly know how to cultivate the funkiest of bodily odors (pooooooo)

It was kinda fun for me to see the similarities between a bike show and a craft show though… I suppose it just depends on what you are into,  chrome bags and handmade bikes or screen printed tee shirts and handmade 2d toys.

This week was mostly spent on making  Easter Bun Buns…..

I love Easter,  it’s the promise of Spring and warmer weather and budding flowers and more importantly it is the holiday that has the best chocolate………..mmmmmmm cadbury’s creme eggs.  I guess we got a while to wait for Easter but fortunatly the choccies have already started appearing in the shops (and in my refridgerator)  yaaaaaaaaay.

booooo hooooooo the vacation is over,  and my god the frigid mid west air hurts 3 times as bad after you’ve been sunning yourself on the beaches of California.   It really was a great vacation though even if it did start a little scary

This is our plane being sprayed with copious amounts of de-icer (I had no idea) I have to admit this freaked me out a little……..they do what?!!? Why?  to stop the engines seizing up in the cold……..oh…….are we sure this is safe? Oh our plane is going to be a little delayed……..why?  because the giant fleet of snow plows have to clear the runway…………hmmmmm ok.   Very, very odd stuff but it made leaving Chicago extra happy.

San Diego was of course brilliant we did the whale watching schooner trip.  Every year between December and March the gray whale migrates to warmer waters (smart whales)  and so you can see them on their trek  I got a few pics

It’s not so easy to get pics so I hope you are suitably impressed.  I love the 2nd pic as I think it looks like a comedy mustache.  But it’s not just whales you can spot,  dolphins swam with our boat for miles (I think I prefered them to the whales)  and sealions swam around trying to have a nosey at us.

We also went to Disneyland this trip I did all the scary rides (except space mountain, something about a rollercoaster in the dark freaks me out) I also was extremely excited about checking out the Tim Burton store

That store was cool, absolutely stuffed to the brim with Tim Burton related Disney crap……I had to get the Jack Skellington mickey mouse ears……so cool.  And I got some pics of my Disney idol

And discovered that Mickey’s closets look just like mine

We also went somewhere I’ve wanted to go for as long as I can remember

Recognise it?   I’ll give you a hint it’s located in…

Horray for Hollywood it’s the Graumann’s chinese theatre and I have always wanted to see the concrete hands and feet of the stars in it’s forecourt…..well one set more than any others (if i’m honest)

Sigh I love Marilyn,  and it was so great to put my hand in her handprint (we have the same size hand) It was also exciting to see that she had dotted her eye with one of her earings……I could have stayed there all day but it was easy to get distracted by the other greats…..I think I took a picture of every concrete slab I added some holiday pics to my flickr if you want to check them out.

So now we are back in the freezing Mid West (it snowed yesterday brrrrrrrr) and I guess it’s a good thing as we are broke and exhausted,  and I have lots of new critter ideas to get started on ……as well as a long overdue artomat update.  Better get to it.

on such a winter’s day…..I sure am.   Aaaaaah I can’t wait to be somewhere a little warmer,  with skies that are a little bluer,  and where I can have a relaxing couple of weeks hanging out on the beach……..sweeeet and while I am out there it’s our 10 year wedding anniversary…….anyone know what the 10 year gift is?  I am keeping my fingers crossed it’s diamonds……teeeheeee just kidding Markie.

I figuered I’d leave you with a new critter to enjoy (told you I’ve stuck to my resolution)  while I am gone,

his name is Blair and he is a very ambitious little critter.  He dreams of fame and fortune and believes he could make for a great spokesperson……..he actually got a toothpaste company’s endorsement but unfortunately he ate his manager……..it’s not Blair’s fault,  he was starving and the onsite catering at the shoot was not to Blair’s liking…….far too many vegetarian choices.   So while he looks for a new manager and campaign (he has his eye on being the Credit Lyonnais lion for the Tour de France)  care too look after him? 

I’m going to add Blair to the shop of course, but I won’t be shipping anything out till after I get back from San Diego……….not that I want to even think about coming back yet……….eeeeeek I can’t wait to be on holiday.

are crap!!!  I mean just in the time space of the 1st to now I’ve already broken most of mine,  so why bother?One that I didn’t break though was to make more critters and here is Bebe the little bear cub, officially the first critter of 09.  

He’s a real sweetheart although probably a little too soft for his own good.  He has one friend Goldie who constantly takes advantage of his gentle disposition,  you know the type….eats his porridge sleeps in his bed that kind of thing…….poor Bebe.

So I hope your new year is going well,  I can’t wait for my vacation although I do hope the critters will behave while I am gone.

I love going to Chicago anytime of the year,  but Christmas time is especially brilliant.  Something about the sparkly lights and the crowded streets  bustling with shoppers laden with bags and towing excited children,  all vying to catch a glimpse of the holiday windows and the numerous trees dotted around the city.  It all makes me feel particularly Christmassy.

I also love going to the christkindlmarket.  It is fast becoming a holiday staple for us to wander around the little German themed market and enjoy a puff dog (yummy sausage roll) and a chocolate covered fruit skewer (heaven on a stick)

Above is a picture of one of the booths and I think you get the idea of how festive and wonderful it is here in Daley Plaza…..plus the whole place has the aroma of mulling spices and hot chocolate..mmmmmmm.  Even the horses are festive in Chicago,  or is that a reindeer?

Another of my favourite Christmassy essentials in Chicago has to be going to Marshall Fields (I am loathe to say Macy’s – I shall never forgive them for destroying the arcade area) I adore their Christmas windows and interior holiday displays,  and I particularly love the giant trumpets outside the store….you know the ones right?

And of course it snowed all day on Saturday,  it really was the most perfect holiday atmosphere……..I can’t believe Christmas is only 4 days away!!!  but I am certainly feeling much more festive now……..

Merry Christmas everyone.

We certainly can today as we had so much snow last night…..

It certainly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas round here,  oh and talking about looking a lot like Christmas check out my holiday decorations

I love my fireplace……..I got these excellent star stung lights  from Ikea in their sale last year (I think they cost a whole dollar)  and they are so cool

I may have to leave them up all year………we will see.  Oh and the tree of course

Geeesh I completely underestimated the size of the tree……..it’s huge!!!!!  I have a huge collection of ornaments but on this tree……you wouldn’t know it,  it has been suggested by a few people that I should make some more to fill in the gaps,  but no!!! I refuse it’s the holidays dammit and I don’t wanna!!!!! Although I did have to break my no stabby rule and  make myself a  little deer,  Oh how I wished I had kept one for myself which meant I had to suck it up and get on with it……Hope you guys are hitting the nog!!! hohoho

finally.   The Holiday show (my last show of the year) was Sunday,  and while it was a lot quieter than previous shows a good time was had by all….. Architectural Artifacts the huge warehouse of cool schtuff and antiquieties that housed the craft fair was so cool,  it was one of those stores that you wander into out of interest and then easily spend the whole day wandering around and still not see everything inside (I love those kind of stores).  Anyway as always here is the obligatory booth shot

I am so glad to  be finished with the crazy crafting routine and now I can enjoy the upcoming holidays and not be thinking about needlefelting at 2 am yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!! (although knowing me I still will)

Anyway another sign that the holidays are coming is the fact that we picked up our Christmas tree yesterday morning.

I love going to our local garden center for a tree…….they turn their whole outdoor lot into a winter wonderland of trees and wreaths and giant pine cones…….it’s so Christmassy and they have at least 6 different choices of type of tree,  we decided on a 6 and a half foot tall Scotch pine  and it is now sitting in my living room waiting to be decorated.   I know what you are thinking now though…….but Lulu don’t you drive a mini cooper?  How on earth did you transport a 6 and a half foot tall tree from the lot to your living room?   Well isn’t it obvious?

Thankfully the garden center is only a few blocks away from our house so no arrests were made.

So today will be a day of Christmas pies and holiday decorating and hot chocolate and trying to stop crazy kitties from climbing the tree and playing with all the baubels…….and no panicking about  needle felting for shows…………..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah Bliss