SoMoMo 27: BRRRRR!!!

There was a HUGE storm here in Monkeyville, which buried everything under a lot of snow. 

A LOT of snow.... EEK!!!

Eli and Sirus knew they couldn't do the job all on their own, so they asked one of their monkey friends for help.
The worked and worked until their monkey paws were sore, and in the end, the car was freed from the snow.

Such good little monkeys deserved a special treat! 

Sirus's special hot chocolate! But first, to get the blood flowing, some buttershots. YUM!!!

Warm snuggles for cold monkeys.

SoMoMo 24: Cookies for Santa!

Eli and Sirus were both very excited that Santa was coming this year. Santa was pretty kick arse already, because I got exactly what I asked for in my letter the DAY AFTER I wrote it! Thus, the monkeys needed to make some really good cookies as a thank you. They decided to make Sirus Monkey's Very Special peppermint cookies.

First step: unwrap and grind the candy canes.

Eli took charge of that step.

Second Step: Get the dry ingredients together:

Sirus says these are a secret... which is kind of true. It's Betty Crocker's secret at least.

Step three: Combine everything.

Eli was starting to get impatient.

Step four: Wait.

Very Impatient.


I think Santa liked the cookies, because both monkeys got exactly what they asked for this year.

SoMoMo 20: Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

 Last week, Eli and Sirus did laundry. This week, it was time for the monkeys to get clean.

The Sock Monkey equivalent of a do not disturb sign.



Cannon ball!!! Eli hopped right into the warm, sudsy tub.


Sirus on the other hand, is "surface wash only" so he was far more reluctant to just jump in.



Ahhhhhh.....


Drip, drip, drip....



Sirus took a bath in a less wet way, and used his wash cloth to get clean. It wasn't as effective, but it meant his seams stayed intact.


True love-- cuddling while waiting to dry.

Note: It's been very difficult for me to get the SoMoMo entries done every day with Christmas coming the end of this week. Sometimes, I'm just not home, sometimes, I'm just out of ideas. I'm trying though!!!
 

SoMoMo 18: Happy Birthday!

*Imagine that in the Frosty the Snowman's voice*

It's an Incredibly Important Birthday here in Monkeyville, it's the birthday of the Very First Monkeyville monkey ever, George! George is such a special monkey that all of the monkeys got together to celebrate.

The birthday boy among all of his sock monkey friends. Some Monkeyville monkeys, some store bought ones.

Monkeyville has come a long way in a year. However, George will always hold a special place in this monkey makers heart.

George's birthday cake was a banana cake from a local bakery. Just right for sock monkeys!

SoMoMo 16: A Favorite Pastime

Eli and Sirus took a break from their busy monkey lives to catch up on one of their very favorite pastimes. 

Both monkeys LOVE reading, and are getting very excited to participate in the upcoming Twelve in 12 challenge! Twelve in 12 is a challenge to read a book a month for 12 months. It's designed to get people (and monkeys) to realize that reading can fit into a busy schedule. Both Monkeys know that reading is important to keep their brains healthy, and they're looking forward to reading their monthly books.


Can't talk. Reading.


While Sirus re-read one of his favorite books-- The City of Dreaming Books, Eli took the opportunity to raid the bookcase for a book he hadn't read yet-- Junk Science.

SoMoMo 15: Letters to Santa

Tonight, Sirus introduced Eli to one of the first of many coming Christmas traditions-- writing letters to Santa.


Eli was worried his letter wasn't going to be very good, but he was sweet and asked for Santa to say hi to Mrs. Claus for him, and thank you to all of the hard working elves.

He was worried that Santa wouldn't know who he was, but Sirus reassured him that Santa knows where all the good little Monkeys live, even the ones that haven't had Christmas before.

Sirus has had more experience in writing to Santa, so his letter was less formal but very heart felt.

It's been an incredibly long time since I've written a letter to Santa, but I think I would write one like Sirus's if I could.

Dear Santa,  This year, I have almost everything that I could want. The only things that I'm hoping for is that I get a new day job very quickly next year, and that this Christmas is a very good one for us all.

SoMoMo 14: Loose Ends

 I have just a little bit over two weeks of the day job left. I should be nervous, but I'm actually really excited about all of the Monkeyville things I'm going to be able to get done. There will be some Awesome monkeys for Valentine's Day.

For right now though, I want to share some photos of the Jack Skellington Monkey revised.
 

 He has a tail now, because he was looking way too much like a doll before. He goes to his new home Very Soon!


I love the way his tail is just slightly curled. It fits him so well.

Of all the Christmas movies out there, The Nightmare Before Christmas is my very favorite, though A Christmas Story isn't far behind. According to a personality test based on what Christmas Special you like best, this means that I'm anti green and red, and I'm kind of a hard ass.

All of the decorations in my house are blue and white. The only green things are the tree (fake), and a couple fake pine decorations that are mostly covered in sparkly blue poinsettias.

 I highly suggest reading the test itself, because it's quite interesting and fun. You can find it here:  Frosty vs. Rudolph

SoMoMo 13: May the Monkey Be With You

Oh yes, there is now a Monkeyville version of Obi Wan. He's *so close* to being done, he just needs his lightsaber finished and wee little boots.

Obi Wan sits nicely with Barnaby, who is equipped in his teams favorite colors.

In the lower left is my knee. Awesome Jammies-- I have them.

SoMoMo12: A Monkey's Work is Never Done

Today was chore day here in Monkeyville. Yuck, but it needed to be done. Thankfully, Eli and Sirus were willing to pitch in. 


Eli took over emptying the washer.

While Sirus, who isn't machine washable loaded the dryer. It was safer that way.

It was tough, but Sirus managed to get the quarters in the machine.

No fingers means he had to use the two hand method.

"I get to push the button!"


*Insert time passage music here*

Time to get the clothes out!

Eli preferred to sit in the nice warm basket and fold.


What good little monkeys I have!!!

Now, for some Extreme Boo Cuteness. Those with a weakness for cuteness may wish to look away now.

It was cold here last week.

Rawr!

Cower before the Cutest Blanket Monster Ever!

Yay! New Toy!


Isis cuteness:

She was mad and wouldn't look at me.

Pan Cuteness:


This has sort of turned into a Cute Kitty Entry.... Oops.

SoMoMo 11: This is Halloween...

 Oh, wait, no it isn't. Well, it sort of is.

Jack. Skellington. Sock. Monkey.

Also, this has to have been the hardest sock monkey to make ever. Though honestly, not too much of him is really sock. As much as I hate to admit it... he's more a doll than a monkey...

Smug little guy, isn't he?

His legs and arms (the ONLY machine sewn bits) are made from linen. His body is sock, but everything except his head is covered in the linen fabric. His feet and hands are sock, and his bow tie is felt.


He poses himself quite nicely.

The whole monkey took over seven hours to make, because So Much of him had to be sewn by hand, and there's so many details.

I want to keep him SO BAD, but there's no way I could make another one of these. I'll miss him greatly when he goes off to his new home.

I initially started making this guy out of a pair of black socks, but it just didn't look right at all. He was too fat, too... un-Jack-ish. It was more of a monkey with some Jack-like details than a Jack Skellington monkey.

Which reminds me, this guy doesn't have a tail. I may put a skinny one on him just to make him a bit more like a monkey than a doll, since I don't make dolls.

 

SoMoMo 10: Ho, ho, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 I REALLY need elves. Really bad. Of course, since I'm not Santa, I don't have access to loads of elves. I do however, I have access to lots and lots of sock monkeys.

Sirus took over the sewing bit of things for a little while.

While Eli and Cosmo worked on the other end of things.

Eli cut the fabric that Sirus would sew, while Cosmo helped assemble Barnaby and Obi Wan.

I wanted to get so much more done tonight, but I just can't. I've been working 18 hour days between the day job and Monkeyville, and I need sleep!

SoMoMo 9: Flock of Ninjas

One night, Ninja Muse and I were discussing what you would call a group of Ninjas. Ninja Muse came up with flock, and from now on, it's a flock of Ninjas. I make so many Ninjas that I think I'm going to start putting them in distinct flocks. I even put a section for them in the Etsy shop.

The first true Flock of Ninjas. Righty (blue) is already on his way to his new home!

The Etsy store has been Incredibly busy lately too. I try to keep an eye on that while I'm at the day job, and today I was just checking in to see if Max was getting any attention, and much to my surprise, two monkeys sold. Max is all boxed up to go to his new home. That's it for reindeer this year. There's just no time for me to make any more since the only things on them that aren't sewn by hand are the arms and legs.

Each night, the first thing that gets done (after dinner) is packing up the monkeys to go to their new home, then photographing the next round to go up for adoption. There are several Ninjas and five more regular monkeys to go into the shop. Including Jesse:

He's a very happy monkey. Also very squishable.

Then there's Oswald:

I'm trying to get more creative with my monkey posing to make them standout in the huge list of sock monkeys on Etsy.

Finally, Jordan:

I really like those socks, because the design could be gears or it could be snowflakes. Someday, I'll do a kid friendly Steampunk sock monkey. Someday, but not until well AFTER Christmas!

I've also been very hard at work on making the custom orders. Sometimes, it feels like I'm just not getting anything done, but I think it's just a lot to do. It's supposed to snow really bad here this weekend, so I'm going spend all that time working on getting Barnaby and Obi Wan done.

Light sabers are hard to make.

SoMoMo 8: You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello...

 Even though Hanukkah ends tonight, Christmas is coming. That means Monkeyville Monkeys are starting to rack up the frequent flyer miles.

Sorento, Captain Longsocks, Olive the Other Reindeer, and Dorothy (her box is under Sorento's) all getting ready to fly to their new homes! Mr. Postman, please deliver my boxes soon! Those are the last ones!

Of course, those planes fly both ways!

What have we here? I see a tiny nose in there!

He was a bit nervous, but he got braver once the monkeys moved out of the way.

That cute little nose is attached to a cute little head and cute little body too! It's a Pogo!


Eli Monkey came over to investigate the newest member of the household. It wasn't long before like any only child, he was pouting at the idea of not being the cutest anymore.

Spoiled boy.

Thankfully, the Pogo (no name yet) was sweet and friendly, and tried to make Eli feel a bit better.

The size difference made it a bit hard for the Pogo to hug Eli, but he made a good effort!

Eventually, Eli Monkey realized he was acting spoiled and decided to get to know the newest member of the household.

I think Eli was upset that Pogos are made from sweaters, not socks.

Pogos are forest creatures, so for now, our little Pogo is spending his time playing in our Christmas tree. It's not real like the ones in Pogo forest, but the icicles aren't cold either!

These are the CUTEST little...  um... creatures ever. They're made from sweaters (SOFT!!!) and are adorable and cuddly. Trust me, you want one of these little guys, and you can get them at Pogoshop on Etsy.