the adventures of mr fox and mrs polar bear

I stumbled upon these very cute photos on Flickr a while ago and quickly became a fan of Mr Fox and his friend Mrs Polar Bear.











They are photographed by tommy toast and he tells you all about their lives and daily adventures, along with other creatures from the "land of bed". I like his story telling.

Moments after uttering "Hand me my harmonica", Mr Fox was hot on the trail of Mr Completely Bonkers Raccoon - the Pied Piper! His ears pricked, and using his extraordinary sense of smell, the chase had begun.

Mrs PB, who had finally located her ear plugs, followed close behind. It took some time. Every so often Mrs Polar Bear's shrieking or humming would put him off track, but as the amplitude began to increase (proportionately to the square of their distance from the Piper), pursing his lips Mr Fox began to blow!

Beginning with Carnival of the Animals.. the little bears turned, looked and began to edge towards him, but the the Raccoon who could be heard but not seen reposted with Hall of the Mountain King. Mr Fox was losing them! He had to pull out all the stops. There was only one tune that could save them now. He was going to have to give the rendition of his life.

Only one tune could do it, and the one tune did it. Mr Fox's recital of Land of Hope and Glory was truly awe inspiring!

Vive la fox!

They are working on the global domination of Mr Fox and Mrs Polar Bear, along with their friend Mr Shaun, and you can help.

Cut out the images and take pictures of them in your town or on vacation with you. (You get bonus points for Holy Grail locations).

How cute is this? I don't know why, but I love something even more when it has little cut-out lines next to it.

little green things

I am ready for spring to come. Usually each year I am a little sad when winter leaves. People are always so ready to get rid of it, complaining about the cold when winter is not even halfway through. I never understood that and enjoy the quiet sparse grey days of winter. I like home bound activities and winter is a season that compliments my homebody nature.

The winter in Portland this year has been a proper winter. Lots of cold and even lots of snow. Usually in Portland when it snows it is a big deal, blog posts and twitters are busy with the reports. This year, it is old hat by now. This morning I drove to work with snowflakes as big as chicken feathers floating down and I wasn't giddy with it. It was pleasant, but did not seem to be a noteworthy event.

So, spring is due to arrive soon. I have been craving pretty stuff. I want to see some new things and I long for some sunshine and sweet green leafy items.

I know terrariums are all the rage right now and I do like them, but I am rather smitten with Jenny's project of potting small succulent plants. She makes great terrariums, too. I like the idea of using old vintage teacups and small pottery items to create a collection of succulents.



I also noticed this nice big planter on the table in the home of another Portland artist, Tess of Egg Press. Design Sponge did a showing of her home and it is beautiful. You can see more here.


So, maybe I will get to the nursery and make up some little pots of green things. It should be warm enough to start some gardening soon, fingers crossed.

and the winner is.....

Thanks to everyone who entered. This was really fun for me to see some comments from new people and to hear what you are working on. I hope to do more giveaways in the future.

wanna make some thing about it

Hey folks,

Only one more day to enter the Project Planning Journal Giveaway. Enter here.

PonyBoy Press Giveaway!

Hello Everyone,

It is a Friday early evening and all is quiet in internet land. I just decided that this would be a good time to do my very first giveaway!

What you will win is this lovely Project Planner Journal. These planning journals give you a space to draw your idea and a space to write about it. Very handy and a good way to keep up on all your crafty and decor ideas.


In order to win this handmade (bound with embroidery thread and gocco printed) Make Something Project Planner, all you have to do is leave a comment here and tell me about a project that has been on your to do list for a while. You don't need to divulge any trade secrets, just a general idea of a project you have been meaning to do for a while. My personal list keeps growing and growing!

The winner will be picked at random next Saturday, Feb 28th. You have till Friday, Feb 27th, at midnight to enter. Feel free to pass on the giveaway by letting your friends know.

Yay, I am excited about this. Looking forward to hearing your comments.

{edit: If you are leaving an anonymous message, please make sure to leave your name and email address}

valentines banner

I decided this year that I wanted to make a flag banner for Valentines Day. Although my significant other is not that big on the day, I thought he would like the decoration of the house since we would be dining at home. Plus I can then use it other years.

A woman I work with told me a couple years ago that she decorated the house for Valentines Day every year and I was very amused. I thought it was a neat thing to do (she doesn't do it now that her kids are in college), but it did seem odd to me. It wasn't like we ignored it in my family, but we never had decorations. This year I decided that decorating might be a good way to make the day festive without spending lots of money.


I got a pendant template on some website and used it in photoshop. I used the same template and copied 2 on one page. I cut them with extra space at the top and folded them over. I then taped them and strung with small vintage white ric rac.

I got this unopened package of vintage Valentines on Etsy. I can't bear to open it. I love it all together. I am guessing eventually I will open it up, but for now I will just display it as is.


I guess the display isn't as valentiney as I imagined. I really don't own much stuff in this color scheme. Maybe the mister will bring me some flowers to add to the display.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day!

felted love letter and musings about magazines

It might be a little late to get something like this together for Valentines Day, but I had to share it with you all. The project is from LucyKate Crafts and there is a full tutorial here. I just love this and am very excited to try it sometime. A letter + felt + sewing = the perfect combination!

I saw this because I went on to the Craft Magazine site today. They just announced that they are ceasing production on Craft Magazine. I am not a huge fan of craft magazines, only because I have so many projects already on my to-do list that a magazine full of them only overloads my brain. Also, I am not a follow the instructions kind of person. However, I am sad to see it go and sad about the many many magazines that have called it quits in the last year.

It makes me sad. Magazines are one of those simple inexpensive pleasures in life. I have always loved a good magazine. As a teenager I dreamed of being an editor of Seventeen or something like that. As a twenty-something I dreamed of starting a magazine about life for renters like the short-lived Seventies magazine Apartment Living Magazine (I still think this is a good idea - tips on dealing with landlords, small spaces, simple repairs, etc).

By making zines I got a little closer to being a magazine editor and by creating graphics and content for the web site at my day job I am also doing work similar to what I dreamed of.....but still...nothing is as satisfying as a glossy colorful gorgeous magazine.

Here is hoping that that some will survive. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. Maybe more expensive magazines with little advertising and certainly more available on websites......I think I may go subscribe to some magazines right now. I hope I pick the ones that won't quit next week!

made in japan

I got this great package a couple days ago from Popdrome Service. They are a collective of three zinesters making zines and crafts in Tokyo. The zines are all in Japanese. It is a shame I can't read them, but they look great! We did a trade because I totally fell in love with their little Riot Lady stuffie pins. I love the Make Zines Not War ones, too, of course. Everything I got is great and, of course, it was really fun to get a package from Japan!

make your place

There is a new book out from Microcosm Publishing that is based on several zines. It is called Make Your Place - Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills.

First off, it is adorable. I mean, really, the cover could not have been designed better to make me want it and the illustrations inside are so great. This book charms you into taking it home and you are only better off for giving in.

Make Your Place is filled with how-to help for things like making your own cleaning supplies, getting rid of bugs, gardening and making salves and other ointments. It would be a great gift for a young adult first out on their own or anyone who wants to do it all themselves.

The book claims that is help for people who want to live more simply, well....I guess that would depend on what you mean by simple. Getting all these ingredients that I have never had the need for and mixing up buckets of homemade cleansers isn't really more simple then picking something up at the store - but I am guessing it would be more rewarding in a few different ways.

Valentine freebie from me to you- Valentine Match Boxes

I have spent most of the day today working on my first freebie. I got the idea to this a couple weeks ago and it pretty much turned out just as I planned, which is good, since I spent all day on it.


Make some Valentines match boxes for a unique and inexpensive gift. You can get a pack of 10 boxes for a couple bucks. Look for them in the grocery store where the charcoal is or sometimes they are near the utility cords.


I have included enough for 7 match books. I printed these on 44 lb matte presentation paper. The paper doesn't need to be that thick, but that was the best quality paper I had on hand.

If you wanna make your own designs, the size you need is about 1.4375 x 2.089. You could also decorate them by hand instead of making the decorations on the computer.


You can download the free pdf from here. I hope you all like them. Happy February! Let me know if you make them. I am excited about my first freebie. Also, there are some more picture of them on Flickr.