Owner: Absolutely Small URL:http://absolutelysmall.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:40:49 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: My home base on the web where I share the things I create and the things that influence what I create. Paintings, softies, photographs and whatever else I happen to be making at the moment. Site statistics:Click here
Um...a list! For you! 2007-12-18 16:10:00 I am having a horrible time writing today's blog post. Not because of a lack of ideas, but instead, too many ideas. I am very panicked about not having enough time, and the panic leads me to running around like a headless chicken, leaving a trail of unfinished projects in my wake.Here are some things I would like to write about (but for various reasons, won't go into any of them):1. The new Maira Kalman book. 2. Trouble. Verbalizing. Stuff.3. Art and Craft and the gulf between? Or maybe there is no gulf? They're different, though. Those two.4. Goats!5. Black. Yellow. White. Together! Wow!6. Winter. Bleaghss.7. New buttons. 8. The Cute Manifesto by James Kochalka 9. I think I forgot how to paint.10. Mystery lumps on the dog, keep on a'lumpin. 11. Trying to sign up for Japanese classes online.12. Fast soups.13. Chickenpants photo shoot!14. Play, importance of.15. Shall I go on?16. No, really. Time panicking!17. More fun than writing actual content, this.18. Yoda, speak like, you
The Dark Side 2007-12-14 13:37:00 Introducing the darker side of Chickenpants- Chickenpants Noir! Enhanced mystery and coolness, by way of darkness.Anyway, this particular Chickenpants is named J.J. Bighead Chickenpants. The "Bighead" middle name is obvious, but the J & J stand for Joaquin Jumprope. He is currently employed at the CIA (Chickenpants Intelligence Agency)- he just handles the paperwork in the back office.He's currently using the shop as his breakroom.absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
And the winner is... 2007-12-13 14:03:00 Picked out by random number generator/little brother Alex (who had no idea he was being used as a random number generator- that's how random it was!).Commenter #8, SimplyStrands, you are the winner
! Congratulations to you! Expect an email from me later on for the details.I wish you all could have won. No, really- I hate letting people down. But the random number generator hath text messaged me- it's number 8. How can I argue with that?Thank you everyone for commenting! What a great way to fluff up an ego. I highly recommend it.***So, in other news: Both Cranky Yellow and Plush You have very recently blogged about Absolutely Small plush. Joy! Also, I was super super busy all last weekend making more Chickenpants- new ones are popping up in the shop almost daily right now.These three got the very very last of this special vintage fabric. That's all for now! Thank you everyone, for your support!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
Highlights from the Absolutely Small "Business Plan" 2007-12-21 15:52:00 My chosen way of working on any writing project is to just get the ideas out there, stream of consciousness-like, and ask questions later. As you'll be able to see, that is working REALLY well for the ol' business plan.Drafting up a business plan is like digging my way out of prison with a spoon. A plastic spoon. A flimsy plastic spoon. And not a spork, either. It's a tremendous amount of effort with very little in the way of results. But it must be done. I used to be really, really good at this sort of thing: drafting up plans, searching my navel for the answers to everything, fixing everything with well drafted words. And then, of course, I would forget all that work and all that I had discovered and I would have to write it all up again. Maybe I'm just not into that any more. Maybe it hurts my brain. Words and I don't really speak any more. But! It! Must! Be! Done! I have this great idea that if I could put a little fence around the business, I could live my life more. If it Read more:Business
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Chickenpants Limited for March 2008 Debut! 2008-03-11 15:36:00 It's that time again! This month's Chickenpants Limited print is called "Spring is in the Air". (In this part of the country, it really is: in the form of pollen!) Now for the cut & paste:Chickenpants Limited prints are released every month ineditions of only 30.They're printed on high quality photographic paper. It has a little white border to assist in framing.They measure 5 x 7 inches (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm). Each one is signed and numbered by the artist (me!).*resume human writing*I hope you enjoy it, and that it'll be spring for you soon, too!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:March
Topanga is a muse! 2008-03-07 10:44:00 Pug Sketch Originally uploaded by rosethistleartworksAnd not just for me, it turns out!The very lovely Gina of Rose Thistle Artworks made this wonderful sketch. Here's the original photo:Pretty amazing, huh?Thanks Gina! p.s.: you can check out her shop here...in addition to drawings, she makes some amazing woolitures!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
Mentionables 2008-03-05 12:06:00 Absolutely Small has been mentioned in a couple of very nifty blogs as of late!The Chickenpants were given a lovely writeup on the Crafty Bastards blog.Monday, my Etsy Profile was mentioned on the Etsy Profiles blog. Last week the shop was mentioned on the Shop 66 blog, too. Shop 66 has some really awesome vintage goodies, by the way! Vintage Japanese appliques, pose dolls, cute figurines...good stuff!Thank you everyone for the lovely write-ups! I'll leave you with these photos of my latest creature: Poco.I'll be back later this week with March's Chickenpants Limited print. Happy Wednesday, everyone!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
The Second Chickenpants Movie is Live! 2008-03-03 12:26:00 Introducing the second Chickenpants Adventure-"While The Bachelor's Away, The Chickenpants Will Play"Enjoy! Link to it! Embed it elsewhere! Give it hearts and comments!And here is the actual site address: you for watching!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:Second
Where did the week go? 2008-02-29 11:43:00 The first thing that happened was getting sick. (Me, not the dog. She was just sympathizing. What a good dog!) Which delayed my releasing the new goats into the shop...But, I did wind up doing this custom order, which reminded me of how much fun these cuties are to make...Anyway, here's to a better week next week for all of us!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
Tuesday is the New Monday 2008-02-25 18:20:00 I've just rescheduled it. Because:KA-BOXES-FULL-OF-SHOW-STUFF-BOOM! (there's actually a third very large blue box that is also full...and more in the studio!)A real post once I've dug out from under the show and reassembled the entire house.I'll be back with plush goats.^-^absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:Tuesday
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Why not head to San Francisco tomorrow? 2008-02-23 11:24:00 Because if you do you can catch Absolutely Small in person this Sunday the 24th at the Mission Indie Mart. I'll be there with my whole herd of creatures. Come on by and say hello! Bring your friends. There will be indie fashion, snacks, and oh yeah, drinks.details: Sunday 2/24, 12-5pm @ 12 Galaxies2565 Mission Street @ 23rd Streetwww.12galaxies.comwww.indie-mart.comabsolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:Francisco
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Overwhelm! The Artist's Toolkit for Dealing With It All 2008-02-21 10:34:00 So, before we get to the actual useful information...there have been a couple of changes around here! There's the new banner at the top. And I've put a link for you to join the Absolutely Small List up in the upper right hand corner. The Absolutely Small List is a short monthly email about where you can see my work in person, fun new developments, and general chickenful Absolutely Small news. It's different from the blog in that there will be coupons! It's the only place where I am releasing any sort of discount on my work. So, by all means, please sign up! Just shoot an email to absolutelysmall@yahoo.com, and you're in! (And of course, your info will be super duper double dog top secret, and you can unsubscribe any time, etc etc.) Now, onto the overwhelm!Confession time: I often get compl Read more:Artist
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And the winner is... 2008-02-19 17:43:00 Tall Giraffe, commenter #1! How odd is that that the number one was picked. That's randomness for you, I guess. Thanks to everyone for commenting! These contests are a lot of fun. I really think they should happen more often...hmmm...More creature updates later. I'm working on some seriously prosh goodies here!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:winner
Chickenpants! The Movie! 2008-02-15 11:20:00 Ok, perhaps calling it a "movie" is a bit much. Let's call it a "featurette" or a "filmlet" or a "tiny bit of rough stop animation". Yeah, let's go with that last one. In any case, I am pleased to present the following:I'm Absolutely Small, and I approve this message.Anyway... I have wanted to make stop motion animation movies literally since I was a little kid. (I saw the Muppet Babies do it, and I was hooked. What can I say?) You know how they say a little information is a dangerous thing...well, I found out that I had everything I needed to make a stop motion movie. (except, perhaps, a tripod. Oh well!)And thus, the Chickenpants Adventures were born. Looks like we've managed to knock that contest post ever further towards the bottom of the page. Anyway, there's still time- if you haven'
Claude! 2008-02-14 11:36:00 I hate to knock a contest post off the top...but I also hate not to post. So:Bonjour! Claude
is here, with a fresh baguette for you! Hnuh hnuh hnuh!*ahem*Sorry, got bad French stereotypes caught in my throat there.Anyway, this friendly little chap is named Claude. So friendly is he that he waves "hello". Perpetually. Toujours Claude!He's lingering in the cafe, sipping a thimblefull of espresso.Thank you everyone for all the comments! Please, keep on commenting on the previous post- there's still time! (Of course, feel free to comment here, too!) If the total comment count reaches twenty, I'll award TWO Chickenpants Limited prints to TWO separate peeps. Invite your friends! Comment like there's no tomorrow!Sorry...it wasn't Claude who was drinking all that espresso this morning...it was me!
It's my Etsy-versary! 2008-02-12 11:10:00 One year ago today, I took the leap and opened up my very own Etsy shop. It's been a nail-biting, slow and painful, fast and exciting, crazy oxymoron willy-nilly punctuation learning experience of a year! It has been great. I want to officially thank everyone for all the support, hearts, and of course sales!So, in honor of one year of Etsy-ness, it's time for another raffle! This time it's for a February 2008 Chickenpants Limited print- "Kitchen Invasion".Chickenpants Limited prints are released every month ineditions of only 30. They measure 5 x 7 inches (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm). Each one is signed and numbered by the artist (me!).So, in order to enter to win this cute little print, just leave a comment below. I'll have a random number generator pick a winner on Tuesday, Feb. 19th. Thanks agai
Sweet! 2008-02-08 20:10:00 Here's a new little creature:Every so often comes a creature from the Absolutely Small labs that is so pure, so innocent, so tooth-achingly cute, that they eschew all formal given names and instead take on endearments, and at the same time they form tremendous run on sentences, for the artist simply cannot bring herself to end this indulgent sentence. There we go.This is one of those creatures.It's name: Oh Sweet
ie. It's in the shop, gathering awesomeness as we speak.In other sweet news, Absolutely Small was mentioned on both Cuteable(today) and Softies Central(yesterday).And in other, other sweet news- it hasn't rained all week! And the sunlight is infecting my heart. (In a good way!) So I bought my very first tree ever! It's a peach tree, and I have named it Willy-Nilly. ('cause that's t
Drawing, drawing, drawing. Drawing. Draaaawing... 2008-02-06 15:21:00 If I had more time to draw, I would love to make comics. Not superhero comics, but comics that deal with the little things in life. And probably, they would star chickens. Here's a few pages from my sketchbook- I know they're just about impossible to see, but if you click on them, they get larger, and then they are almost possible to see.Special thanks to Dan for saying "Families love cake". He's always saying things that strike me as funny in a dada-ist sense. Another classic Dan random expression: "I remember no bears." Oh, right: so- I'm trying to draw a lot more. I now actually have the time, I just have to give it to myself.A new obstacle to drawing
: a certain little brother happens to have left a giant keyboard on my kitchen table. And it can make drumrolls and other fabulous sound e
Chickenpants Limited for February 2008-02-04 14:28:00 I am happy to release the next print in the Chickenpants Limited series- Kitchen Invasion! They all crept into the warm kitchen to escape the cold outside. "Hey, a chicken could get used to this..." It's up in the shop as we speak.Thank you everyone for making the first Chickenpants Limited print such a success! There are only a few left, so if you'd fancy owning one of your own, do pop over to the shop.absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:February
This dog would like you to eat some soup. 2008-01-31 17:25:00 Here's my latest. This dog's name is Wanda.Wanda wants to know what you are up to. She also wants to know things like: "What is that thing you are holding? Is it edible? Can we go on a walk now? Will you scratch my belly? Hey, is that a squirrel?"Anyway, on to the soup! The husband and I have been pretty much living off of this and a few other soups this winter. This one in particular is a winner because it is fast. Oh, and it's good, too. I started this current obsession with a recipe from Lauren's blog. Here's my particular take on it. Tortilla Soup (Absolutely Small style!)2 Tab. olive oil3 cloves garlic2 jalapeños, seeded and minced6 c veg. broth (I've tried a bunch of different ones, and the Swanson Organic Veg. broth seems to turn out the best.)2 or so tsp. cuminA few solid shakes o
Illustration Friday- Tales and Legends 2008-01-29 17:16:00 Finally got a change to do IllustrationFriday
again! When I think "tales and legends", naturally the Legend of Zelda comes up. I had to give it a chickeny twist, of course.absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:Tales
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Disco cuteness 2008-01-29 14:17:00 Sorry, but this simply must be posted:Major kudos to Objetsmart for finding it and posting it first!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
Working, working, working 2008-01-28 15:03:00 It seems like I've been working more or less nonstop since I stopped working the day job. Which isn't really shocking. And it isn't really a bad thing, either. For example, I created a bunch of new fellows last week. Here are a few of them:Chickenpants Grande: Rico!Sumomo, the extremely bright dog type creature.Finster the linen owl. Smug is his middle name.The first two are already in the shop. More will be popping up all the time! I like the pink one so much, I even made a little button out of him:That's all for today!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
Shows! 2008-01-25 16:46:00 Just a quick postlet- you can see Absolutely Small at in two real, live shows soon.First of all, there's PLUSHED at Purdue Uni, which is already going on.They currently have all sorts of photos up on their Flickr account- so many awesome plushies there! Oh! And! All the plush in the show will be available for sale on the site Box Wonder. Yay!Secondly, The Main ARTery Gallery in Benicia, California has a few of my paintings in their upcoming Child's Play show, which runs from January 25th - April 19th. Apparently, they will have all sorts of snacky goodness at the opening reception on Feb. 2nd.(Do forgive the crummy photo of the post card- getting the scanner to work is sort of an ordeal right now!)I'll also have a few pieces up at Side Show Studios in Sacramento, CA in February. Alas, no p
Almost Edible Gingerbread Men! 2008-01-22 21:22:00 Every year, I make gingerbread men (and women, bears, and stars) when my whole family gets together. It's one of our little traditions, right up there with staying up until 3 am and watching movies. Every year, my gingerbread men get lavishly decorated by all the cousins, bedecked with gallons of frosting and buckets of candy.And every year, they go largely uneaten.This may have something to do with their ability to chip teeth. Hmmmm.So I set out this year to find a new, better recipe than the one I'd been using. I searched high and low (online, for 20 minutes) to find the best of the best. I came back from my quest with two recipes. Only one proved to be a winner. Let me warn you right now- this is going to be a lengthy post. Before the results, let's look at the recipes themselves! And Read more:Almost
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Because no small mention goes...unmentioned 2008-01-17 13:48:00 Two nice things today: Item number one: Today is my last day at my day job! My time has been served! I am now a free woman. Wooo! It still hasn't really sunk in that I'm not coming back to the beige empire. Daily Photo 1.17.08 Originally uploaded by absolutely smallAvert ye eyes! The beige, it blinds!Item number two: I was quoted in the Storque, Etsy's news blog thing. And they included my Chickenpants Limited print in their "related items" part. Nice! Thank you Etsy!We'll take this thing to the moon! Originally uploaded by absolutely smallHave a lovely weekend, everybody! Me, I'll be baking and cleaning up a storm in preparation for long anticipated and much put off family thing. Maybe this year's gingerbread cookies will be edible! Here's hoping.absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
I just gotta...Bark! 2008-01-16 14:14:00 Rearranging the lyrics of songs and inserting "pug" and other pug related terms is kind of a shared mental illness in my family. Lo and behold- I managed to marry a man who shared the same defect! That's love for you- shared mental illnesses. Aw. What brought on this embarrasing little blog post? Photos of French Bulldog puppies sprawled on their backs? Or was it this pretty black pug? (Variation= Pug in a tangerine hat!)Maybe it's some of the great things I've been seeing on Etsy- like this awesome paper sculpture of a terrier. Or perhaps it's the wicked awesome pug stencil painting. Maybe I just have a thing for Boston Terriers with massive underbites. Hmmm...hard to say for sure. It may just be a combination of bad Musak and all of these things. Definitely, bad Musak crept into the mix
Tutorial: How to make a rock and roll scar 2008-01-15 15:43:00 It's easy! Just follow these steps:1. Get a blackout. 2. Get little brother to bring over two guitars and a ukelele.3. Strum uselessly for awhile.4. Decide that you are cold, blackouts are stupid, and you want to watch tv instead.5. Run to car in the seriously poring rain, carry a maximum of items, almost drop all of them.6. Discover that guitar does not fit easily on lap. Wrestle with it to get door closed.7. Manage to hit husband (TIP: To be more rock and roll, use the terms old man, or old lady if it is your wife) over the head with guitar.8. Do some confused yelling.9. Shut car door- everything is now quite damp.10. Bleed profusely.And there you have it, in just 10 easy steps!absolutelysmall.blogspot.com Read more:Tutorial
Plush me! 2008-03-12 19:34:00 A little interview with me is up on Plush
You! You can check it out at-chambers-interview.htmlAnd, to be nifty, I made this Chickenpants Adventure movie for it, too:(Not that the movie has anything to do with Plush You. But, it does have a pug in a chicken hat.)absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
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