Another Sunny Day...

Very happy to wake up to yet another sunny day here in New England! Let’s hope it’s a productive one. I’ve been feeling so blah and un-motivated these last few weeks. Between having the flu, laryngitis and then another cold I haven’t been very productive. I have a bunch of crocheted monsters to finish up and lots of new yarn to start new ones with. I do have to admit though that I’m a little burnt out with crocheting. That being said, I think I should take a short break from it to work on other projects. I did start a new painting a few days ago after realizing that I haven’t painted in a year and a half. This is very unusual for me as painting is my passion first and foremost. I’ve also started a new project for my Lil BoogeyMen ArtFire studio which I’m very excited about. I’ve started making “sock monsters”! I’ve seen various sock “creatures” on various crafting sites and fell in love with them. I’ve always been somewhat of a hoarder when it comes to funky looking socks and in going through my rather large collection I managed to find 20-30 pairs that I’ve never worn. These will now be turned into monsters and if all goes as planned they will be up in the studio over the next few weeks!

Before I start my day of monster making I did want to mention something that I’m extremely excited about. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a wonderful shop on Etsy – MsBittyKnacks and began following her blog where she does an artist feature every few weeks. Well, I was lucky enough to be chosen as her featured artist this time around! She has done a lovely write up about me and my Lil BoogeyMen. You can read it here – MsBittyKnacks. Also, please do take a moment to check out her Etsy shop as she has some incredible handmade goodies!

It's Not Shopping If You Buy 10 Items Or Less -or- Honest I Don't Have A Problem

Confessions Of A Yarnoholic:

OK so I might have a slight problem with purchasing yarn. On my most recent yarn purchasing excursion I visited both A.C. Moore and Michael’s.  I bought yarn at both stores and came home with a grand total of 17 new skeins of yarn and a few other goodies from Michael’s I couldn’t resist. You see this is such a problem because I already have in my possession enough yarn to open my own store! I have at least 6 rather good sized boxes of yarn that I do not want. I would donate these boxes except for the fact that there is nowhere local to donate them and they would cost me $20 a piece to ship which I simply cannot afford. I also have one large overflowing plastic bin, a large basket, various bags full and 2 – 3 drawer bins full. Wow – That sounds worse as I type it out than it did in my head!! 

The thing is I’m a VERY thrifty and sneaky shopper. 95% of the yarn I buy is what I like to call “generic” yarn (costing no more than $9 a skein) and the other 5% is the good stuff – the stuff I have to save up for ($22 a hank and up) and only buy every few months. My 17 skein trip the other day only cost me a smidge over $50 – I think I did pretty good!! By sneaky shopper I mean just that – sneaky. I only shop during the day on weekdays so I have plenty of time to come home and hide my purchases before anyone else gets home. So yeah, the more I go back and reread this the more I realize how crazy I must sound! Although if you were to ask me I could justify each and every yarn purchase I have ever made. I think that just the fact that I feel the need to be able to justify it in the first place is a pretty clear indicator that yes my yarn habit is becoming a problem! Although I could think of worse things to become addicted to and I think this actually keeps me out of trouble! My purchases as of late are for the sole purpose of “monster” making which not only keeps me busy but is generating a little extra income for me. OK am I convincing anyone that it has not become a problem cause I don’t think I’ve yet convinced myself! As far as my habits go “it’s not shopping if you buy 10 items or less” which is exactly what I did the other day…I did only buy 10 items in each store! Maybe it’s time for an intervention J

The ABC's of Me

Stumbled across this on a blog (can't remember who's) the other day and thought it would be fun...

A. Age: Just about 36

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you hate:  Housework…Housework can’t kill you but why take the chance

D. Dogs: Want one in a bad kinda way…I’ve always had one my whole adult life but it’s been 8 years since I had to give my Grandma my dog cause I moved and couldn’t bring her…Sadly she had to be put down about a month ago.

E. Essential start to your day: Meds and a diet soda to swallow them with.

F. Favorite color: I have three of them…Green, Orange and Purple

G. Gold or silver: Silver…No question.

H. Height: Just under 5’ 10”

I. Instruments you play: Alas I am not musically inclined although I did play the flute in high school…Always wanted to learn piano and guitar but never could quite figure either of them out…

J. Job title: Full – Time Slacker

K. Kids: One awesome son who just turned 18 last month..

L. Live: New Hampshire for now…With any luck California someday…

M. Mom’s name: Debbie

N. Nicknames: WendiByrd, Wendi Lady, Auntie Wendi and some that I just won’t mention as a vein pops from my forehead everytime I hear them…

O. Overnight hospital stays: Regular hospital or psychiatric?!  Too many to count!!

P. Pet peeve: People that chew with their mouths open cause really? No one needs to see that and we definitely don’t wanna hear it…Oh yeah and people who can’t speak proper English…I hate the work ain’t…There goes that vein again…

Q. Quote from a movie: “Can you stand on your head?”  And “ If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”

R. Right or left handed: Right although I’d prefer it if I were a lefty..

S. Siblings: My younger brother David whom I miss very much as he lives on the opposite end of the country

T. Time you wake up: Depends on if I’ve even been to sleep in the first place..Weekdays between 6 and 9 and Weekends between 10 and 12

U. Underwear: whatever cute designed cotton underwear I can find

V. Vegetables you dislike: Hmmmm…..I really do love just about every vege I can think of….Oh yeah scratch that…I HATE raw onions…G-ross

W. What makes you run late: I’m actually never late….Mostly cause I usually have nowhere to go!

X. X-Rays you’ve had:  Lots…Back, knees, ankle, butt bone, neck and wrist to name a few…

Y. Yummy food you make:  Baked Stuffed Shells

Z. Zoo – favorite animal: Liger….Pretty fond of the Platypus too…

Hello and Welcome :)

Hello and welcome to all things Lil BoogeyMen! What are lil boogeymen, you ask? Well, they are hand crocheted “monsters” made by myself, Wendi B., each one with its own “personality” and unique name. I made the first of the boogeymen collection back in November 2010, after learning to crochet the month prior, and was hooked (no pun intended!) right away. The more I made the more I fell in love and before I knew it everyone was either asking for one or asking me why I wasn’t selling these little guys. Well, as much as I would love to just give them away I did realize that in order to pay for my ever growing yarn habit as well as to afford to continue making my little monsters I was going to have to sell them. So in February I opened the Lil BoogeyMen Etsy shop. Etsy, for me, has been slow going, time consuming, and rather expensive. I was also finding that many of my potential customers didn’t want to open an Etsy account just to make one purchase. So after much research and a lot of going back and forth in my head I finally decided to open up an ArtFire Studio where, for one,  you don’t need an account to make a purchase. The Lil BoogeyMen studio has been up less than a week now and while I have had no sales as of yet my lil guys are getting more views than they were on Etsy. I have decided, for now, to keep both shops open although I will gradually pull everything from Etsy and move it to ArtFire and as such all new inventory will go on ArtFire. Don’t get me wrong here; Etsy is great for a lot of people, just not for me. I will however continue to buy from Etsy as I believe wholeheartedly in supporting those who produce handcrafted items, plus it’s where I purchase the safety eyes for my monsters in bulk and for a lot less money than my local chain craft store!