First Custom Finger Puppet

Well, I've done some one-of-a-kind pieces before, but I never imagined I would create the likeness of a historical figure in finger puppet form. A couple weeks back I was approached with a request to create a Teddy Roosevelt wearing a Rough Riders uniform. Why? The request comes from the boyfriend of a young woman who made an awful pun about Teddy RooseFELT. Too. Cute.

Here's the final product:

Here's a photo for reference:

His bandana and hat are my favorite accessories. I'm secretly hoping for more requests. It would be fun to make some literary puppets like the Little Thinkers finger puppets that are so popular.

Newest Foster Friends

Most of my customers are aware that I donate a percentage of my sales to the Oshkosh Area Humane Society, but I don't often speak about my foster pets on the blog, so I thought I'd take the time to share some information about my girls: Muffin and Mable.

I've worked with many small mammals at the shelter and I've fostered a few that I didn't think I could give up, but I've never been this in love. I've had the girls for about a month now, and it's been an amazing experience to watch them blossom into the companion animals they were always meant to be. When I first got them they were very nippy. I was feeling pretty sarcastic when I gave Muffin her name. I didn't think she would ever stop biting, spinning around aggressively or fluffing up her fur in disgust when I would try to pick her up.

Now Muffin never displays aggressive behavior and is really becoming quite loving. Mable was friendly from the moment she arrived, but now that I have been handling her and playing with her each day she is becoming very bonded to me. She loves riding around on my shoulder, nibbling and licking my ears affectionately, and snuggling up to me under the blankets when we're watching TV.

I truly do want the girls to find a home soon so they won't have to travel from place to place anymore, but it's going to be very hard to give them up. The girls were surrendered, living at the shelter for awhile, adopted, and returned. This is their fourth home; I'm hoping the fifth one will be the last. I just keep telling myself that the girls need to go so I can foster another animal I'll fall in love with, but it's hard to think about the future when the present is so joyful.

If you are interested in learning more about the girls or if you know someone that could give the a good home, here is their listing on Petango.

The Essence of Etsy

I just found this fabulous video that rekindled my desire to design and make new things.

OshCon 2009

I haven't been publishing updates as often as I'd like, but this doesn't mean I haven't been busy sewing and selling catnip toys! Last weekend I was an exhibitor at OshCon for the first time. OshCon is a tabletop board game convention held right here in my hometown: Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I have attended previously as a gamer, but this year was my first year as a vendor.

There was a great turnout this year, as you can see:

An intense battle of War of the Ring. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be responsible for defending the free peoples from the shadow forces on a Saturday.

My table was located in the "artist" room, previously referred to as the "gaming widows" room.

Here are some of the colors available for miniature painting. This brought a lot of people into the room which was great for sales.

Some people hard at work painting their minis.

I never noticed this until Adam start photographing my catnip toy adventures, but I seem to always sew with my mouth open.

Here I am sewing at my booth. I had a "make-your-own catnip toy" thing going on, hence the huge pile of felt. People seemed more interested in buying a toy that was already made than creating their own, though. Every time I sewed a Cthulhu catnip toy I sold it, so I was sewing them all day long.

Our friend Phil Krause hard at work selling some books... or cheering about something.

Photos courtesy of Adam Bartlett.

Knock Knocking is having a wreath giveaway!

I have been obsessed with these wreaths. Every few weeks I check back to see if a new wreath yarn wreath has been added. Well now you and I have a chance to win one of these beauties! Please enter the contest knockknocking is having on her blog to try your luck!

Cutest Harvest Ever.

As the summer is fading into autumn, my garden seems to be producing vegetables in smaller and smaller quantities, however, I wasn't expecting to harvest miniature veggies today.

What an adorable little carrot and tiny siamese twin tomatoes!

Shelter Trek Photos

Shelter Trek is the Oshkosh Area Humane Society's biggest fundraiser of the year, last year bringing in over $20,000 for the shelter. I was in attendence, of course, selling my catnip toys. Here are some photos I took of the dogs dressed up in their costumes and the rest of the event.

Here they go! The walkers are off! The walk is held in Menomonee Park each year; it's nice that the walkers can look out over Lake Winnebago as they stroll along with their pets.

These kiddie pools were supposed to be used as communal dog dishes, but I guess you can use it as a bath, too? He's a lab, he's just doing what comes naturally.

This little cutie came over by my booth to say, "hello." She wasn't feeling the headband but her human companion put it back on for the photo.

I don't really know what to say about this photo, except... you knew you had to buy a costume big enough for a Great Dane, right? Maybe they don't make costumes that big.

Our friend Phil's dog, an American Eskimo. Isn't she cute?

This was my favorite costume. Let's just say this little Corgi was laying down most of the time. The shark outfit was extremely ironic.

Will I attend next year? Probably, but I might not attend as a vendor. Most people were fixated on their dogs, so there weren't many people that wanted to bring home a souvenir for their cats. We'll see. :o)

Infection 2009: Oshkosh's First Annual Zombie Walk

This weekend definitely flew by. I was anxiously anticipating this event for the past few weeks as the planning my husband and his friends have been doing grew increasingly hurried and intense.

I woke up on Saturday at 7:30, made cinnamon rolls for the crew of organizers, planners and helpers, and I didn't slow down until the event was over at midnight that evening. It was fun getting to help out in such a wide variety of capacities. I was a greeter, planner, interior designer, ice-fetcher, photographer...

The event was an enormous success! We had over 200 people in attendance and raised almost $900 for Time Cinema.

My favorite part of the evening had to be seeing these catnip toys go to a good home. To make sure they went to someone with a feline companion, they were given out as a prize for a trivia contest, but only cat owners were allowed to participate. The young woman that ended up winning (pictured above, by Lee Marohn) was dressed up as a zombie that was eaten by her cats; I couldn't imagine a more appropriate winner for my chainsaw, molotov cocktail and med pack survival kit.

Shelter Trek 2009

Just a reminder that the Oshkosh Area Humane Society's annual Shelter Trek event is quickly approaching. The pre-registration date is September 9th, so if you'd like to avoid waiting in line I would encourage you to stop by the shelter to take care of your registration early. The actual event will be held on September 12th at Menomonee Park in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Why should you attend Shelter Trek?

It will be a wonderful chance to spend meaningful time with your dog. There will be a costume contest (this year the theme is "Shelter Trek Goes Hollywood"), a tail wag contest, best bark contest, best trick contest, a pet parade, and of course, there will be a dog walk.

Other Dog-Related Activities:

Lure Coursing: Lure coursing is a humane sport where dogs can chase an artificial lure around a set course. The lure is usually a plastic bag on a light line being pulled by a pulley system. This will be provided courtesy of Green Acres Boxer Rescue.

Radar Run: Have you ever wondered how fast your dog can run? The Oshkosh Police Department will be hosting a "clock your dog" event so you can find out!

Dive for a Duck: Your dog will win a prize every time!

Agility: Watch a demo, or give it a try! Low jumps and a tunnel will be available for beginners.

Registration costs $25 which includes the cost of a Shelter Trek t-shirt, free breakfast bars, water and popcorn, a free photo of you and your pet and eligibility to participate in the pet contests. Family members and friends are welcome to come and walk with a registered walker. However, your registration fee would be waived if you can raise $150 in pledges. For every $20 in pledges collected, registered walkers will receive a raffle ticket to enter to win special prizes. A pledge form can be found here.

Is your dog eligible? To be able to bring your dog, they must be current on vaccinations, licensed, leashed and under control. Please do not bring a female dog in heat. Owners must clean up after their pets, but bags will be provided.

Do you have a cat or other pet, or are you unable to bring your dog? You can still attend! There will be a huge variety of vendors selling pet-related merchandise, and it will be a blast to see the dogs dressed up in their costumes. I will be selling my catnip toys, and I hope to see some of you there!

This is the largest fund raiser of the year for OAHS. Please consider walking, collecting pledges, or stopping by to enjoy the festivities!

Cooking with Cari, volume 2: General Tso's Tofu

Here's another dish I reminisce about from my omnivorous past: General Tso's Chicken. As a kid I used to load up an entire plate with General Tso's at Chinese Buffets. While the thought of eating that much fried Chinese food is thoroughly revolting to me now, I miss the texture of the soft, fried breading covering the chicken, and the sticky, delicious sauce in which it was always smothered.

General Tso's Tofu:

What you'll need:

1 container of tofu (I used extra firm, I would recommend at least getting firm)

Enough egg substitute to replace 1 egg (I used EnerG Egg Replacer)

Around 3/4 cup cornstarch

Your favorite oil for frying (I used extra virgin olive oil, but you can use another type of vegetable oil)

3-4 chopped green onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2/3 cup veggie stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons sugar

red pepper to taste (I used dried crushed red pepper because that's what I had around the house, but ideally you would use a fresh red pepper and chop up as many small chunks/strips as you'd like)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

steamed broccoli, and any other steamed veggie you'd like to include. I also used green beans from my garden, which turned out nice).

Your rice of choice.

What you do:

Drain the water out of your tofu and cut it into 1 inch squares. Follow the directions on your egg replacer, but add 3 additional tablespoons of water. Coat all the tofu squares liberally in the egg replacer. When they've all been dipped, sprinkle your 3/4 cup of cornstarch over the wet tofu. Try to get a good layer if you're like me and used to enjoy the battery-coating on traditional General Tso's.

Heat your oil in a pan. Fry up your tofu until it looks golden brown. While you're waiting for the tofu to fry, you can start steaming your vegetables and getting some rice cooking. When your tofu is done you can set it aside and cover it to keep it warm. Drain the oil.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add your green onions, garlic and ginger, and cook for about 2 minutes. Be very careful not to burn the garlic. Then add veggie stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper, and vinegar. Mix 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and pour that into the mixture. This is what's going to give your sauce the thickness. Mix your sauce very well and turn off the heat. Add your fried tofu and steamed vegetables, and serve over your favorite kind of rice.

Good luck! This was pleasantly simple to make. It goes quicker with two people in the kitchen. When I made this my husband fried up the tofu and stirred the sauce and rice while I prepared the tofu and did all the chopping, steaming, measuring and mixing.

Handmade Portraits: Mimi Kirchner

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