random bits

So I'm thinking this will be one of my last posts till... July; I'm just too big and achy to sit at the computer writing and reading things. I've put the shop in vague vacation mode -- meaning only ready-made goodies, and a tiny handful of made-to-order ones, are available and ready-to-ship. Some of the more popular ones -- like Tabby satchel, Sailor Ghost, the Ghostlets and dollhouse rooms -- are quite effortful, so I am requesting that Etsy customers please contact me first before purchasing.

I was mildly peeved to learn that deactivating an item on Etsy does not affect its listing period, which means that you still have to pay for an item that's not visible in your shop. So I'm keeping them visible. On principle.

In the meantime, here are some things that have been happening in my little world. First, and super wonderfully, I received several pictures from one of the loveliest customers ever. She'd given her little girl lilac Guppy and Sailor Animal Girl for her 6th birthday, and had remembered how I'd spoken of goody adoption heartache. So I was super thrilled to receive an email from her telling me that little Em "LOVES them"!

"She wanted to bring them to dinner, but I insisted that they stay in the hotel as we were going to go to an amusement center after dinner, and I didn't want them to get lost or dirty, so she decided to tuck them in and let them sleep since they must be so tired. I took a picture of them because I knew I just had to show you, and then when she saw me take their picture, she wanted to get in one too!... Really, what a great, memorable birthday".

Isn't that awesome?? Em is so precious -- you can see Gup and Sailor Girl absolutely adore her, and are so at home with her. Thank you SOO much K!!!

In other shop-related news, it looks like I have competition now haha... Becky was terribly keen to learn how to make her own collage pins, so I showed her! Well, I helped her with the parts that involved sharp things (and knuckle-breaking effort), but she did the rest herself, and I think her first effort is quite laudable, don't you? Now she's thinking of starting her own shop...

Actually, as you may already know, the kids are a great inspiration to me, like with Ro and her flying fish. This tiger is a character Becky created and has used in numerous instances -- here, for example, he is illustrating her Chinese language animal report.

The illustration in the corner shows a tiger's paw -- it says tigers sweat through their paws just like our domestic cats; a feline's sweat glands are located only in their foot pads. As an aside, I'm always in awe of Becky's prowess with Mandarin -- mine sucked and it was a miracle I got a passing grade in my O-Levels!

This is one of Ro's latest characters -- a cat named Sooty. Also doll-worthy I think.

A 4-year-old's to-do list.

Here she is doing one of our daily activities -- feeding the birds off of our backyard roof. They have come to expect us as soon as they see us at the window. It's the least we can do since their habitat was decimated.

While helping to tidy up the incredible mess they made their room, the kids came across this large cardstock doll I'd made for Rebecca when she was a toddler. It is actually the original Bikbik. She is in her underwear because I'd made her a whole bunch of paper outfits for Rebecca to dress her up in -- outfits that she herself wore.

Like her denim overalls and stripey sweater, which Ro now wears.

And her adorable Baby Gap apple dress and bodysuit.

And her footed sleepsuit, which Ro wore, and which is now going into the baby's layette. 

Speaking of Baby, I'm 37 weeks now, and due, well, any time. That tummy kinda says it all lol!

Gratuitous shot of Ming.

It's the school holidays now, which means our days are busy with activities. Here's wishing all of you lots of cuddles and joyful, love-filled days -- I'll pop into Blogland as often as I can, and catch up with you soon :)