Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope 2010 is happy, healthy, and prosperous for everyone!  2009 had it's ups and downs for me.  The best thing that happened was when I joined ArtFire.com on February 19th.  When I joined I really had no idea how to sell my work online.  Over the first few months I learned more than I could have imagined.  I'm much more comfortable online now, and have a much better business plan.  I feel like I know what I'm doing (to some extent), and can even offer some advice to other newbies.  I also made many new friends online this year, and they've seen me through the good times and the bad.  They've boosted my confidence in myself and my work, and encouraged me to try new things.  As a result of joining ArtFire and becoming CreativeCritters, I also set up a Flickr account, a MySpace page, a Facebook profile, started my own blog, and joined the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild. A year ago I couldn't have imagined doing all this.  2009 has definitely been a busy year for me!

On the down side, Gramma spent 2 weeks in the hospital this spring, and hasn't been the same since.  She requires much more care now.  Much of my day is spent taking care of her needs, as well as all the basic stuff like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, etc.  Of course financial issues always seem to be making their presence  known, this year being harder than last.  One of the reasons I worked so hard to get CreativeCritters established was to bring in that extra money we need so much.  I made quite a few sales this year, and hope to do even better in 2010.  This summer we had the great plumbing disaster and had to have the sewer pipe from the house to the street replaced.  What a mess!  What used to be the back porch is now just a big mud pit, and the side yard is a huge pile of dirt (I'm told it'll settle in 2 or 3 years- lol).  And the worst thing that happened this year was that my Ozzy cat died on December 21st.  That pretty much took away any Christmas spirit we had, and made for some sad holidays.

It's time to look ahead now though.  I got started on my new year this week by beginning to clean and organize EVERYTHING in the house (our stuff, that is).  I've needed to do this for quite some time now.  Part of my incentive, aside from actually being able to find things, is that we'll be getting a kitten or a puppy soon, and I don't want them to get into anything that could hurt them.  Cedric kitty has been helping with the cleaning and organizing.  Ozzy was usually my helper when I did that sort of thing, and I think Cedric feels he needs to help out now.  Part of the reason we're getting another pet is so that Cedric will have a furry friend too.  He really misses Ozzy.  Cedric's never been an only pet, and had a really hard time when my ferret Ziggy died too.  If I could afford it, I'd have quite a few pets.  For now I'll have to be satisfied with 2 or 3 at the most.  So I'd like to start the new year with a clean house, organized craft materials, and a new furry critter to love, (and a bit of money wouldn't hurt either- lol).

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

My tributes to my Ozzy cat

Some of you may have already read my post In Memory of Ozzy Cat.  For those of you who haven't heard, my cat died December 21st.  As a way to cope with his death, and honor his life, I made a special grave marker and a stuffed Ozzy cat.  Keeping my hands and my mind occupied was pretty important.  I still miss him very much, but I think he'd approve of his stuffed likeness.  I used soft black yarn to knit the cat, and lined it with dark brown fleece.  Ozzy had a nearly invisible dark brown undercoat.  I filled his body and front paws with rice to add weight and make him feel more realistic.  Of course I realize this is not a replacement for my Ozzy- it's just to comfort me and allow me to remember the many hours he would sit on my lap and keep me company.  The stuffed cat is just about life size and weighs about 6 or 7 pounds.

For his grave marker I knew I had to make something special.  Ozzy was a very cool cat, and he liked cool things.  I used a stepping stone kit and alphabet stamps to create the message.  I made a little polymer clay sculpture of Ozzy and pressed that into the mix, along with glow in the dark stars and little red hearts.  I made an impression of a paw print to one side as well.  Once the stone was dry I painted the paw print black and filled the letters with glow in the dark paint, then sealed the stone with a high gloss glaze.  I feel like the glow in the dark elements represents Ozzy's glowing spirit.  I'll probably wait until spring to put it on his grave- I don't want to risk having it freeze and crack.

I still plan on making an Ozzy Angel sculpture.  I haven't done any sculpting since he died.  I want to thank everyone who has offered their kindness and sympathy since I lost my kitty.  It truly has helped to ease the pain.  And a special thanks to ButtonWilloe, who made me a very sweet little Ozzy sculpture, and has really been there for me.  By the way, the picture above is from when Ozzy was a little kitten.  He was always such a feisty little man (but never mean).  He was as playful as a kitten until the last few months of his life.  Now he's free to jump and play again.

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

How losing my brother got me started making World of Warcraft plush

I wasn't sure if I was going to write this- wasn't sure if I could.  But this has a lot to do with some of my creations, and I think I owe my brother the recognition for his part in their making.  My older brother, Jeff died 1 year ago on Oct. 28th.  He was only 39 and his passing was sudden and unexpected.  It hit me hard, and I still have a hard time believing that he's gone.  His passing caused my mother and I to reconnect after many years, and through her I learned about a side of Jeff he didn't always share.  I knew about Jeff's love of fantasy, of course, that went back to the days of Dungeons and Dragons, but I didn't know that he had traded D&D for the World of Warcraft.  My mother and younger brother played too, and through them I learned about some of the different characters and their roles in the game.  Jeff had a Tauren character.  When Mother saw some of the work I was doing, she brought up the idea of making plush World of Warcraft characters.  She's also the one who found ArtFire and sent me the link (THANK YOU Mommy!).  As a way to honor Jeff, I decided the first characters I would make would be Taurens.  It took weeks of study about Taurens, and even longer testing out patterns, changing, adapting, and trying again before I came up with a Tauren I was willing to put up for sale.  These patterns are created completely by me, and each character is one of a kind.  The Taurens measure between 14" and 18" and are stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  They're dressed in leather and carry polylmer clay (sculpted by hand) weapons.  I think Jeff would be proud of them.  Recently I've started making Murlocs.  So far I've created 3 different patterns, with options to customize each one.  These monsters measure between 12" and 17" tall and are stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  They have jointed arms and legs, and I use pipe cleaners in their fingers, making them completely poseable.  If Jeff were here, I'd give him one for a pet.  He always liked my comical fantasy sculptures- my Christmas presents always made him laugh.  As I get time, I'll be creating new characters, and delving deeper into Jeff's World of Warcraft.  These are the plushies I have available at the time of this post, however, I'm working on another Murloc right now, and will be listing new characters as I complete them.  Thanks for reading and browsing.

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

I've loved and lost many animals over the years, everything from mice and hamsters to cats, dogs, ferrets, and more. My ferret Ziggy died about 3 years ago. He was an albino and it was love at first site when I picked him up. Rather than gnawing on me like his cage mates did, he gave me the sweetest little ferret kisses. How could I not bring that little character home? I'll admit, I treated the little guy like a king. He had full run of a large part of the house for at least several hours a day, and he had several soft cozy beds (handmade, of course) in his large cage when it was time to sleep. I fed him fresh cooked chicken and gizzards mixed with his ferret food, which he just loved. He liked to walk around the yard in his leash with the handmade harness I sewed (way more comfortable than the store bought ones). I'd let him dig in the dirt and have a grand old time. His best friend was our cat, Cedric. Ziggy liked to jump on the cat's back and ride him like a horse- funniest thing you ever saw! They'd take turns chasing each other around the house, then if Cedric caught Ziggy he'd carry him around (very gently) by the scruff of the neck. Ziggy didn't seem to mind in the least, and as soon as Cedric set him down, they were off again, racing around and just having a great time. Then when they got tired they'd curl up together and Cedric would give the ferret a bath before they went to sleep. The day Ziggy passed away he sat in my lap and gave me kisses and cuddled for a long time. I believe he was saying goodbye. That evening he died in his sleep. He lived a good long life, and I will never forget his bright little spirit. Even the cats kept looking for him more than a month later. Cedric would sit in Ziggy's cage and look so sad- it still brings tears to my eyes. Cedric is a large cat, and really didn't fit in the ferret's bed, but he squished his big butt in there anyway. He really missed his buddy, and that was his way of remembering him. Even Ozzy, who pretended he didn't like Ziggy, missed him and looked for him. All this time later, and I still miss my little Ziggy. I made a sculpture (called Ferret Rider) of a fairy riding an albino ferret- my version of Ziggy frolicking with fairies in Heaven. I have that sculpture on my shop banner as well. You just don't forget your critters.

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Happy Birthday Jeff

This would have been my big brother's 40th birthday. He died last October. It's really hard to see that in print- I still have a hard time believing he's gone. Jeff had Leukemia, and was in the hospital due to complications. It wasn't the first time he'd had issues with his medication, so although I was concerned, it looked like they'd be able to switch medications, and he should be fine. In fact, he was responding well to the new medications, but he was having problems breathing. I called him at the hospital, and although he was only able to talk for a few minutes I told him I loved him before I hung up. I am so glad I did. The next day he was moved to ICU, and the day after he passed away. I really expected him to get better. I thought I'd be able to call him when he got home and we'd chat about his cat and dog, reminisce about Anne, his cat who had passed away several months earlier, and just BS about whatever. I wish I could have seen him more. He lived in Washington state and I live in Ohio, and neither of us could afford to travel. I wish he could see what I'm doing online right now. Jeff was an amazing computer programmer. He knew a computer like nobody else. You had a tech question, you called Jeff. He also loved fantasy. I remember him playing Dungeons and Dragons when we were kids. At that age I didn't know much about the game, but I did like looking through all his D&D books with the cool characters and beasts. Once World of Warcraft came out he became a huge fan. This was perfect for Jeff- it combined computers, a huge online community, and fantasy role playing. Jeff is a big reason why I started making plush World of Warcraft characters. It's a small way I can share a piece of his world. He always enjoyed my artwork and encouraged me to keep at it. There's so much I want to share with him. He was way too young. He could have accomplished so much in this world. Not only am I incredibly sad that he was taken from us, I'm angry that he was never allowed to reach his full potential and live the life he deserved.
He was good big brother. I remember him walking me home from kindergarten, and all his friends were teasing him about it. He completely ignored them and walked me home from school every day. I felt a lot safer with my big brother by my side. He used to take my little brother Mike and I out trick or treating every Halloween. He would try to plan the best route so we'd get the most candy before we got too tired. He was so special- I only hope he knew that. He was very protective of me, Mike, Gramma, and later BJ, my youngest brother. Not many people knew Jeff really well, but those who did were privileged enough to know him personally were lucky indeed. I love him, I miss him, and I still mourn for him. I hope he knows he is not forgotten, and he MATTERED.
Happy birthday Jeff, from your little sister.
-Michelle