Christmas in October, Halloween in February

One of the few specific Halloween memories I have from when I was a Wee Little Ninja Writer is of my mother asking me after trick or treating "so, what do you want for Christmas?" Back then, I laughed and teased her that Thanksgiving hadn't even arrived yet! How was I supposed to know what I wanted*.

Now, I'm no longer a Wee Little Ninja Writer, I'm Full Sized Ninja Writer and I've been thinking about Christmas since August. August! Should my mother find out about this, I'll never hear the end of the teasing! However, I'm willing to take that risk, to deal with the laughter of my family, because if I didn't start thinking about Christmas back in August, I'd have some major issues.

I can see why Santa needs the whole year to make stuff for everyone**. I don't have billions of people to make toys for, but I have quite a few, and I'm going to need all of the time that I have to get everything done. Sock monkey making has ramped up to Extreme proportions, because November 13th, we'll be at a craft fair at the Epworth Methodist Church in Pawtucket from 9am-2pm.

This will be the very first craft fair that I've gone to as a seller and not a buyer, so I'm not exactly sure how many monkeys or what kind of monkeys to bring. I'm excited, but we don't have a lot of time to get everything ready. Eek! I have lots of Ninja Monkeys in the works (a Monkeyville Specialty) along with lots of others. Including these guys:

I haven't named them... I'm not sure if I should, but it feels wrong not to. These guys are sitting in the Monkeyville toy box right now, waiting for hang tags. Ninjas, reindeer, babies, and a few other monkeys will be joining them soon I hope!

It feels like the holidays are next week, but thankfully, I have a bit more time than that to prepare for them. The preparations for Christmas have taken over the ones for Halloween, but that doesn't mean that the Halloween monkeys won't be done.

Once Christmas is over, the next big holiday to look forward to is Valentine's Day. I've never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day for numerous reasons, so this year instead of hearts, flowers, and little kids in diapers shooting arrows, it's going to be zombies, skeletons, and more zombies.

I like zombies. I like zombie sock monkeys even more. They're cute, they're gory, and they're snuggly. What could be better?

It's going to be Valentine's Day for those that don't like Valentine's Day! Sure, candy and flowers are okay (I guess, I've never actually received either for Valentine's Day) but zombies are just all around... cooler. Skeletons too. Plus, it's hard not to love a sock monkey who wears his heart on the outside of his chest. At least it is for me. It's hard for me not to love any sock monkey. No, I don't have a problem. I am not a sock monkey hoarder... really... *looks innocent while hiding over 35 monkeys from view*.

Eli Monkey tried to give me a hand the other day. Though neither of us realized exactly how much five pounds of stuffing really is. The box is about a foot and a half square... not so bad really. However, I wasn't expecting the stuffing to expand to at least twice that size once the box was opened. Eek! Five pounds of stuffing is A LOT!

Eli Monkey tried, without much success, to contain the stuffing. That will end up being a lot of monkeys! Sirus Monkey, intelligently, watched from a far, while Eli made a bit of a monkey of himself***.Eli joined Sirus pretty quickly, once work was started and fingers were required. Soon, I will have my very own mini-army of Ninja Sock Monkeys. 

I won't use them to take over the world. I swear. *Innocent look*.

 

Okay, we're ready. Bring on Christmas!

*I'm sure it was, depending on the year: a typewriter, word processor^, or computer.
** I would like a new full time, non-contract job this year please.
***Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
^Imagine the screen of a Really Old computer attached to a typewriter. Exciting new features included: spell check, cut, copy, paste, and the ability to delete words without retyping an entire page. Life was good.

Sock Monkey Monday: So Much To Do!

I think every week I say that it's been an incredibly busy week here in Monkeyville. This week was no different. With Halloween closing in, there's lots of Monkeys to work on, some special order monkeys to finish, and I had a couple experiments I wanted to fit in too.

I didn't get as much accomplished as I thought I would, but I still got a fair bit done. First, there was the new Sock Monkey Photo Studio to set up. The new area is Excellent! It's finally possible to take photos of the monkeys when it's raining!

Ezra and Phrixus decided to be the first monkeys to pose. The new area is so much brighter that the details on both monkeys is easy too see.

It's even possible to see the gears that are on Ezra's chest. I've tried to get decent photos of these before, but it's tough to photograph the different layers.

This is my favorite shot of the day. I love the Gratuitous Monkey Bum shot, and with Phrixus, it's even better because of the wings.

Laertes and Earl got their photos taken again too. I'll have to update their Etsy pages soon. 

 I have to say, I love the new Photo Studio as well as the camera. 

It hasn't been all photos here in Monkeyville though, the Magic Monkey Making Machine has been going steadily all week too, and while most of the orders are in progress, I did get the third (!) Phantom of the Opera Monkey completed. 

This phantom is for a two year old, so he's specifically made to stand up to lots of cuddles, and without all of the easy to swallow parts that the original Phantom has.

The cloudy, moonstone eye has been replaced with a light blue felt eye, and the expression is much happier as well.

After the Phantom was done, it was time for a break from Monkey Making and to try something a bit different.

It's a glove bunny! While this little guy wasn't too hard to make, I think I'll stick to using socks. The gloves are much hard to sew well, and to get all of the limbs the same length, etc. The gloves just don't make good stuffed animals the way the socks do.

However, today during my monkey break (Leela the sock monkey was being difficult), I attempted to make something out of actual fabric. Not t-shirt, gloves, or socks, but fleece.

It's a Boolet! Compared to the bunny, this was Really Easy to make, the hardest part was getting the face right. I'm glad that the Boolet worked well because I have plans for some holiday things later that pretty much require me being able to make things out of regular fabric like fleece instead of socks. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to those things, I have lots and lots of orders to fill, so time will tell.

Squee!

This weekend has been a Very Good weekend here in Monkeyville. In fact, it's almost as if someone is listening to my thoughts and decided to at least make the sock monkey related ones come true. I put the very first Halloween monkey up in the Etsy shop on Friday. It's a ghost monkey named Elvis.

Technically, Sirius was the first Halloween Monkey, but he was snatched up too fast to make it to the Etsy shop. Elvis made it, and just like his namesake, Elvis the ghost made a big splash!

Under the sheet, Elvis is both gory and cute.

First, Elvis the Ghost Monkey wasn't just in one treasury, he was in *two*! Then, this happened:

That's a screen capture of the front page of Etsy when I opened it Friday night. Holy Super Squee!!!

Elvis was on the front page of Etsy!!! Yay! That's Incredibly Exciting! There aren't enough exclamation points in the world to express how happy this had made me, because sock animals don't frequently make it to the front page of Etsy (it's more artistic things/clothing) and I never thought *I'd* have something that made it there!

Of course, now I have to work Really Hard and get more than just two monkeys up in the Etsy store. That's okay though, because last night, I finished Earl.

Freshly risen from the grave, because he's a bit mad at the way the Dixie Chicks treated him.

No brains this time, just a bleeding heart, some drool, and a hungry look in his bloodshot eyes.

Detail on the bleeding heart. I really liked the way that turned out. The bloodshot eyes were totally Ninja Muse's idea.

 Those socks just screamed to be made into a zombie sock monkey. They're quite fuzzy and cuddly too. Earl really isn't a bad little zombie. In fact, he's a really nice monkey just looking for some love.

Why is he named Earl?

Of course, Earl the Zombie Monkey isn't anything like the Earl in the song. He's a nice little monkey, and getting along quiet well with the other monkeys in the house.

Earl is up on Etsy now too, keeping Laertes and Elvis company. I have lots of other Halloween monkeys in the works, so I should really get to work.

This is Halloween

It's Monkeyville's first Halloween! This is Very Exciting, because there at lots and lots of great monkeys planned. It's a bit hard around the day job and all of the orders, but the very first Halloween monkey is finished, and there are lots more to come.

Sirius the werewolf!

Sirius is wearing little pants and a T-shirt sewn by me. His chest fur is soft, and the rest of him is cuddly. He's child friendly for kids three and up (wouldn't want anyone to get a hairball from all that fur!). The details of his face are eco-fi felt and embroidered. Sorry, but the pumpkin, chair, and cobwebs aren't included with him. Sirius will be making his debut in the Monkeyville store fairly soon. Hopefully along with a few friends, because the Monkeyville Etsy shop is quite empty right now. Zombies, werewolves, skeletons, oh my!

It's not just Halloween Monkeys that are on their way though, special Christmas Monkeys are coming too! I have to start work on those now, so that they'll be ready in plenty of time for the holidays.

Still No Jack...

Laptop Jack is still sick, so unfortunately I can't do a really good Sock Monkey Monday today. All of the photo editing software is on Laptop Jack. Almost every major component in Laptop Jack has been replaced, with no results.

Thankfully, the guy from the repair company is very nice about having to repeatedly come to my house, and have none of his work actually do anything. He's also cool with Boo getting in the way while he's trying to work. This would annoy me, especially when a kitty tail knocked over the box holding all of the screws, but Scott the repair man doesn't seem to mind too much. I've been saying this for about two weeks now, but the end of this week, Laptop Jack should be up and running again. If he is, there will be a good Sock Monkey Monday next week.

I do have some photos to share. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to get out and take photos in the areas around Monkeyville, so please excuse the desk background. A clean desk is a sign of someone who doesn't work, just remember that!

First up, Belfry:

I really like the way Belfry's face came out. He's just so expressive. I think that style will be showing up on many more monkeys to come!

Next up, Sebastian:

This is silly, but I don't have a clue where that photo was taken. I know it was in my house, but I don't have anything black and that height... weird.

Sebastian is completely traditional. I was worried that Sirus Monkey might get a bit upset, and think that since he's not native to Monkeyville, he's not as special (okay, so I'm way too attached to my toys). However, Sirus gave his approval.

Sirus Monkey, looking bashful, but happy posed with Sebastian. I think they're cousins. There does seem to be a strong family resemblance. Also, it's very rare for Sirus Monkey to actually look happy in photos, so I'm glad that he didn't look sad in this one!

Even though Laptop Jack is sick, there are still orders to get out. The Ninjas and I named this little guy Waldo:

He was for a friend from work's granddaughter (he was a birthday surprise!) He's been renamed Red Monkey by his new best friend.

I have had four fish named Fishy. Red Monkey sounds good to me!
Now, the Ninjas and I have been fighting against the Evil Pirates of the world for a good year now. Some days are easier than others, because the Evil Pirates are very good at trying to put a stop to Ninja Time (9pm, every night) by slowly attacking the Ninja computers one by one. In Laptop Jack's case, they got him good. Not only did they break his memory, but when Laptop Jack wouldn't let that stop him, they also broke his motherboard (twice)! Sneaky Pirates, they put a defective graphics card in him, which has made Laptop Jack Very Sick.

Not all Pirates are evil though. Sock Monkeys aren't evil, so Pirate Sock Monkeys certainly can't be evil. The Sock Monkey goodness wins out over any possible pirate-y evilness.

The cannon is about two minutes up the street from my house. It was all gray stone colored, but it was just recently painted. When I drove by and saw it, I just had to use it for a SoMoPho! Pirate Monkey, cannon... it just had to be done.

The cannon happens to be outside of the VFW, and while I was shooting (and trying my best not to squish their flowers), a woman walked up to me and said "I drink, a lot, but not enough for this to make sense. What are you doing?"

I think she got a good laugh when I explained that I make sock monkeys, and when I saw the cannon, I just had to stop and use it for a photo with a pirate monkey. She shook her head and walked away. Sometimes, I forget how silly it looks for an adult to be photographing sock monkeys in random places.

I also finished the Very Big order I was working on. I wish I had more time to get more photos of these guys, but I didn't. I had to get them in their boxes before the holiday.

It's Dog the Bounty Hunter and his crew. I really like how these guys turned out. I have to say, I'll always have a soft spot for Beth now. She was the one that I spent the most time with by far. Sewing that chest was a challenge, but I was so happy that it came out symmetrical! I got to try lots of different thing with these guys, and expanded beyond my normal materials of socks and felt.

This fall, I'm hoping that I can get a spot in one of the local fairs the Village Artisan's Collaborative will be having. Since these will be in October and November, I've been trying to think of seasonally appropriate monkeys. Not just the typical Monkeyville ones, but some monkeys that would really make Monkeyville stand out from the other sock monkeys out there. The monkEmos like Laertes are part of that. Then, there's this guy:

Here lies poor old Fred
A great big rock fell on his head.

 Fred should have a headache from that rock, but I don't think he needs to worry about headaches anymore, because Fred is the very first....

 Monkeyville Zombie Monkey!!! Who knew that guts and mold could be so cute?

Now, there are some things all good zombies must have.

1. Exposed Brains:

Brains-- check!

2. A blank, nobody's home stare:

 Dead looking stare-- check!

3. Some missing flesh:

 Missing flesh, and exposed organs-check! Bonus for the moldy lung!

4. Last but not least, mold. All zombies are a bit moldy. 

 Moldy lung and moldy tongue-- check! (I feel the need to mention that the little red thing in the background is my desk vacuum. It's a robot, just like my calculator.)

 

Fred was going to go to the Monkeyville Shop on Etsy, but he's been adopted already! In fact, instead of going into the shop, Fred will be going all the way to Australia. That sort of makes me wish I was a Zombie Sock Monkey.

However, Fred is just the first Zombie, and definitely not the last. I have lots of socks that are more colorful, and that look even more like diseased zombie flesh, so there will be plenty more zombie monkeys to come.

Hopefully, this will be the last improvised Sock Monkey Monday, and Laptop Jack will be back next week. At least, I REALLY hope it is. I'm a bit lost without my Laptop Jack.