Shop Update Wednesday!

I am quite chuffed with myself at finally getting the shop updated. (Just like I said I would! On the very day that I said I would!) So as a special punishment treat, I thought I'd share a couple of the new arrivals.
Here goes!

First up is the exceptionally happy bird, Ethel. Some people call Ethel's color scheme dated. She prefers the term "vintage" however. I just love how happy she turned out. A lot of my creatures have been downright snarky lately, but not this one!


Next up is the new Chickenpants blank card. It's a variant of this CP Limited print. I'm really hoping to make more Chickenpants related goodies in 2009. Maybe stickers? T-shirts? Hmm. Any ideas?


And last but not least, we have a Wee Bun all bedecked in brown. And looking downright sneaky. What exactly are his plans for that coffee cup?

These are just a few of the new additions to the shop. Hop on over and say hi to the others!

All right, so thank you for indulging my spammyness! Back in a bit with a real, non salesy blog post. I'll be traveling to SF this weekend to visit family. Anyone know of a good place to get real macarons in/around the city? I'm jonesing!

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 12:30 Anyone know of a good place for macarons in SF? I'll be there soon, and am dying for a macaron fix.
• 13:30 Trying not to let 2008 hit me where the dog shoulda bit me: absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
• 16:17 Creating little things that make me laugh.
• 17:32 Lizards in love? tinyurl.com/5cowzs

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Trying not to let 2008 hit me where the dog shoulda bit me

Even though I know it's just another day, and not *actually* that significant, the last day of the year always feels big to me. I'm the sort of person who sets resolutions roughly once a week, so the regular year end ones don't really apply to me.
The last day of the year is filled with promise. You can look back at the year you just crashed into a tree and step away. You haven't messed up the new one yet. It's a blank slate. And I always think, this is going to be the year I get it all together!
I am trying to take some time and pause and rethink some things. I think I really let Absolutely Small run me this last year, and not the other way around. (It was a pretty good year, though!) I'm slowing down for a little bit. I may also be in a bit of a fallow period, creatively. That's ok.
So- big hugs everybody! Let's wrestle 2009 to the ground and make it do our bidding! So to speak. Hyah! (That's the sound of me kicking a year in the shins.) Let's do this thing!

p.s. There's really no easy way to work this in, but I'm trying to update the shop with new goodies every Wednesday. (Yeah, that's taking it easier.) Which means, SHOP UPDATE TOMORROW!

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:43 I used *self restraint* and didn't check my email for two whole days. Now I feel positively overwhelmed!
• 12:39 I changed up my routine to spend more time creating...and now I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Whoops!
• 13:10 OK, I figured it out. I'll...totally reorganize the studio! By which I mean organize it for the first time.
• 22:19 Watching Palace and uploading a few pug shots to flickr.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 23:11 Some guy in our building is singing the world's longest song, complete with lots of warbling. Its annoying & pretty at the same time.
• 23:17 The singing is getting louder. I feel like I'm in the middle of a Bollywood movie. Someone's going to start dancing soon, I know it.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 12:18 Just want to send a general mwah-ha-ha-ha out there. You've been warned, World.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:14 Watching Korean dramas, drinking an eggnog latte, tummy ache, reading blogs...you know, multitasking.
• 16:38 Just got a backbreaking amount of lovely books from the library- hooray!
• 21:34 Alex: This music sounds just like Chicken in the Hair. Me: ...Do you mean Turkey in the Straw? Alex: Something like that.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 22:56 Internet! It's almost snowing! There are flakes!

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:58 So THIS is what they do @ my husband's work all day: prettyprettyprincesscubeprank.blogspot.com/
• 15:09 When 3 houses less than a mile from your house blow up, it's time to quit working for the day. That's my new rule.
• 15:23 We're all ok, and amazingly, no one was killed. Still, makes it hard to focus.
• 15:47 Here's the nitty gritty: www.kcra.com/news/18354980/detail.html It's all a little surreal.
• 19:25 This morning's new Flickr set: Narcissism now! tinyurl.com/9p9zr8

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Behind the Chickenscope- The Making of Legend of Chickenpants

Here's a little short I put together. We filmed some behind the scenes type stuff when making The Legend of Chickenpants, and here it is all strung together.
It's also up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSF_DPUnJ7c&feature=channel_page
But things just don't look as nice there.

Things that keep one up at night

A tree fell through the roof of a dear friend's family's house:
http://www.khsltv.com/news/local/story/Paradise-Family-Escapes-Injury-When-Tree-Falls/PhS6clGfB0yhEt3deOZq8w.cspx
I'm not sure what else to say. They're all ok, thank goodness. But still. Yikes.
Read up and join me in the freakout, won't you?

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:50 Soooo dizzy....
• 15:06 What could possibly be interesting enough for my 600th tweet? Let's just get it over with.
• 15:07 Ahhh, that's better. Now, a link to my blip.tv thing with NEW James Kochalka videos: chickenpants.blip.tv/

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James Kochalka singing at GR2

Finally, finally, finally, I've gotten around to posting these little clips.
They're all up on my Blip.tv channel (http://chickenpants.blip.tv/) right now. And here's one of my favorites:

Dragon Puncher!
(YouTube is being quite poo at the moment and taking forever to upload. So they're not all there yet. And at this rate, may never be!)
*also, did you know you can subscribe to chickenpants videos in itunes? well, you can! http://chickenpants.blip.tv/rss/itunes

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:08 There's a big squirrel demolishing my bird feeder and HE IS NOT AFRAID OF ME. I've run out of things to throw at him. He wins.
• 11:28 What is with all these people who add you, auto DM you, and then unfollow you in 24 hours?
• 12:28 Is there a reason why Blogger is refusing to upload any photos? Or is it just out of spite?
• 13:36 There are pigeons fighting on my porch! First that darn squirrel, now this. Ah, the life of a shut in.
• 16:02 Yay! InvisibleFountain put me in a treasury! tinyurl.com/7gzpeg Nice!
• 16:03 Two blog posts in one day? Someone's procrastinating doing real work... (me) tinyurl.com/3zooga
• 16:29 I did the only practical thing I could with that squirrel. Photograph it. www.flickr.com/photos/smallchick/
• 20:38 Yay! Posted another James Kochalka live song: blip.tv/file/1604858

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You just keep on eating that popcorn

I have to share this with you:

It's ridiculous, but it makes me smile. Which is pretty tough to do today (see these tweets of my old ladyness). So hopefully it will make you smile, too. If you shoot milk/other liquids out of your nose, BONUS!

Goodies from the Shop Update

Oh my goodness is it ever winter. I planned on writing this post days ago. Anyway, here are a few of the lovelies from Friday's shop update. Forgive the photos- I haven't quite figured out the lighting in the new place.

One of the things I'm happiest about is finally getting a Chickenpants card posted to the shop. I don't know why it's taken me so long. Expect to see other varieties in the future! (If you have a request for a particular favorite, let me know!)






One lovely purple & dotted Poppet.







In other Chickenpants news, there's a new Chickenpants Grande in town named Aleene. I think one of the main reasons I don't post too many of these gigantors to the shop is because they are sooo hard to photograph well. Due to you know, the largeness. But they are so much fun in person!







Maria does not want to hear your excuses. Talk to the wing buddy, cause the beak isn't buying it!








Isobel lives in the forest, and obviously has a thing for jumping in and out of piles of leaves.











And that's just a few of the newbies in the shop. I've been relisting all weekend, so things are a little jumbled up in there right now. Look for the ones with only a few views. ^-^

Thanks for reading!

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 18:46 Wish we had some snow...

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:59 Oh my gosh, a free weekend. I feel like a total looser! What is this? Free time? Where did that come from?
• 13:45 Craving some macarons in parisian flavors...sadly, I live in Sacramento, so procuring some is going to take some effort.
• 14:38 I've had really strong hiccups for the past 45 minutes. I'm ready to die now.
• 17:59 Thanks for the hiccup curing tips, everyone! For the record, tweeting about it, walking around Target, and about an hour seems to work, too.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:46 Did I just totally miss renewing my domains? Did Yahoo just charge me $40+ a pop? Uh oh.
• 10:48 DANG IT! That was one expensive bit of procrastination. Think of all the Etsy goodies I could have bought with that money!
• 13:14 Just finished my big shop update: absolutelysmall.etsy.com Who knew that bulk listing things was so tiring? Where's my cookie?
• 17:02 Hooray! It's the weekend!!
• 20:38 Just found out that Cry Baby was written by John Waters. How bout that?

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Updating the shop in 5...4...3..2...

It begins 12pm pst today. Be there or be square!

http://absolutelysmall.etsy.com

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 12:01 Did I miss the virtual labs? Along with my dentist appointment? Dang!
• 12:09 At the virtual lab. And watching the birds on my porch. Yay!
• 12:32 I ♥ new twitter followers! And ♥.
• 13:05 I had a dream that I won a contest run by my aunt and won a one hour conversation with the Dooce.
• 13:35 Going to take the rest of those photos now! We're at 300 + already...this is going to be one heck of a shop update.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:21 Trying out a soy-pumpkin spice latte. We'll see how that goes.
• 10:29 Also, two Bruce Vilanch references in 24 hours? I must be on some sort of late 90's roll!
• 11:43 Just posted: a very very brief Unique Los Angeles recap on my blog: tinyurl.com/3zooga
• 13:11 No, really, I'm cleaning the house. Not at all watching the new FOtC episode. tinyurl.com/3qgg8q
• 16:04 House is 99% clean. Time to photograph some plushies!
• 22:10 Soooo cold...hot chocolate might help. Since two layers of pants, jackets, hats, etc. didn't.
• 22:13 Let's try this blog post again, now with less formatting lameness: tinyurl.com/3zooga Flight of the Conchords Season 2 NOW! Go!

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Season Two Flight of the Conchords Episode one is UP!

It's finally here!!
**the embedded player looks horrible on my site!**
It's online now at FunnyorDie.com.
Enjoy! And best wishes on getting that Doggie Bounce song out of your head afterwards!

Unique Los Angles, the quickie recap

Oh my goodness, I have so much to share with you all!
Things are beyond messy over here. You know how when you were a kid your mom would come into your room, wrinkle up her nose, and declare "This place is a pig sty!"
Well, let's just say mom's head would probably explode if she could see the flat now.
Anyway, that's not what I wanted to share with you. My point was that I can't get to my camera (or usb cables) at the moment, so we'll have to make do.
I met so many great artists and crafters over the weekend. And I must share with you this:

This bit of awesomeness brought to you by The Frantic Meerkat, who you can find on Etsy. I'm the proud owner of a few of her wonderful prints now.

KLEAN Bath & Body was awesome as ever. Her new seasonal fragrances...yum! I can't recommend "Where angels go..." enough. It's a lovely cake-y sort of scent. Fabulous!

Photo by ktafoya.
And there was so much more! But now, I must attend to my pig sty. So I'll leave you with this:

Ba ba ba baaa! That's right, there's a great big gorgeous shop update on the way. Very, very soon. I'm hoping by the end of this week. It's my very next project (after the whole pig sty debacle gets cleared up).
If you want to be among the very first to know, join the mailing list. I think I'll be enclosing a code for a free gift with purchase in there...just for our mailing list subscribers. Just drop an email to absolutelysmall {at} gmail.com with subscribe in the subject line, or just use the handy dandy form up in the top right hand corner of this page.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:29 Having Propay login troubles since Sat. Ugh. Did you know you can't login from a wifi spot where others are using Propay? I didn't.
• 12:45 Trying to get out from under this overflowing email inbox. Emailvalanche! Not to be confused with a Bruce Vilanch.
• 13:32 Holy cow. These Cake Monkey handmade pop tarts are the best thing I think I've ever eaten.
• 22:43 We finally figured out why the dog takes forever to go potty. She has to find a spot with good pug shui.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:17 In Glendale. I need to remember what the heck I'm doing so I can exlain it to someone else. And it's early!

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:47 Good morning (lunchtime) again, Los Angeles!
• 12:59 Just bought a ton of goodies from Klean Bath & Body: tinyurl.com/6rsxf3 -If they smelled any better, they'd be food.
• 14:07 Keep trying to sneak bites of food/ glances @ Twitter, but then folks come by...this is not really a problem. Ignore this tweet.
• 16:48 Chickenpants just got totally ignored by Erik Nakamura. Curse their/my whiteness! And lack of edgyness!
• 17:41 OK wait never mind. He just photographed my booth. Sorry Eric! ♥
• 21:20 Dan was just served a 'Japanese energy drink' - Asahi. Nice.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:41 The wifi is finally up, and I'm hugging my laptop. I missed teh interwebs so!
• 10:47 I heard this song at Mel's last night, and it's been stuck in my head ever since: tinyurl.com/6nyuns
• 14:54 Amazing day for the Chickenpants! I may not have any left by the end of this. This is unprecedented.
• 17:07 So tired! The Post-it show at GR2 is sounding like more and more of a production to go to...

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:00 Good morning Los Angeles!
• 11:20 It's warm outside, I smell like watermelon, and it's December. I ♥ Los Angeles.
• 16:23 All set up @ Unique LA. This place is huge! And full of really amazing booths.
• 17:54 8 minutes till go time. I'm overdressed, yet wacky. And cursing my fat arms.
• 22:06 @ Mel's on Sunset. Not sure if I'm more tired or hungry... Perhaps a tuna melt will help me decide.

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Overdressed?

Or adorable? You decide!

All set up & ready to rock.

Well, ready for a nap. Anyhow, here's part of our Unique LA set up. We've never had a booth with walls before. This photo doesn't really do it justice, but I think it turned out ok.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 12:04 Listening to You Look Nice Today in the car. Weird to be hearing it outside of the studio. Well, it's pretty weird anywhere you listen t ...
• 13:46 Stopped at the worst bathroom along I-5. *shuddering* Now, who's ready for lunch? *more shuddering*
• 15:01 Somewhere in the middle of California. I want to take a nap.
• 16:29 Is it just me, or has This American Life become darker recently? You know what they need? John Hodgeman. Hobos spice up everything.
• 21:28 Hello all you lovely new twitter peeps! I look forward to checking y'all out when I have internet access again.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:15 OK, gird those loins. I've got one day to finish...everything for Unique LA. Here goes!
• 13:29 Trying to decide if I should upload all the new Chickenpants photos to Flickr at once to make life easier...
• 16:21 Chicken - head + running around = me.
• 21:49 OK. It's almost 10 pm and the creature making is officially DONE. Now, to pack. *weeps tears of exhaustion*

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Unique Los Angeles this weekend!

December 13th & 14th! I'll be there! And 200 other vendors! Woo!

It looks like it's going to be great fun, so if you're in the Southern California area, I heartily encourage you to drop by.
I'll be at booth 5012, across from the babies/kids section.
Visit http://www.uniquelosangeles.com/ for all the details.
See you this weekend! (or not!)

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:51 Oh for the love of Pete. Two days till I leave for Unique LA. TWO DAYS? Aieee! Must stop twittering, start working. Poo.
• 18:06 I can feel another all night crafting session coming on. It feels like pain in my shoulder and chocolate.

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Dear family:

Please note we will not be eating regular dinners this week. Also, the kitchen table has been comandered for AbSmall purposes.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:31 It's 11:38...time for a sudden drop in blood sugar!
• 12:12 Must do some actual plush work today, not just computer work. New 10 lb box of polyfil just waiting to be stuffed into plushies.
• 13:09 Ok OK no more faffing around. Lunch eaten, orders packaged, and getting on with it! It being bedazzling a Chickenpants. You know, work.
• 15:11 I'm sooo mad at copycats and the CSPIA right now! CLAIREFURIOUS!

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Chickenpants Mentioned on Poptub!

Towards the end, in the interview with Buns & Chou:

See, we were. Crazy, huh?

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 15:28 Finally up! The Making of Legend of Chickenpants: blip.tv/file/1548648/ A chickumentary!
• 18:24 And now the making of video is on YouTube, too: tinyurl.com/6b76h8 See how it's done in Chickenton!

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 10:12 Whoa! Chickenpants were mentioned in this Poptub video: tinyurl.com/5cmlah
• 11:47 Compressing a special "behind the scenes" Chickenpants feature right now. And eating two eggs over hard.
• 12:03 On today's to do: 1. Check out Indie Sacramento. 2. Buy gems. 3. Bedazzle Chickenpants. 4.Pick up drycleaning.
• 19:08 Full of udon and quite satisfied.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:18 I just fell down the rabbit hole of adding people to my blogger reader. I should be sewing!
• 13:03 Finally uploaded one of the Kochalka live songs from his Tiny Paintings show @ GR2. tinyurl.com/5cowzs
• 19:02 I really like the new MGMT cd. Probably mostly because it sounds like they're saying "bee haunting" in one of the songs.
• 21:59 Obsessing over my display for Unique Los Angeles. Is it good enough???

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 11:38 Just got majorly sidetracked looking at Flickr and daydreaming about Los Angeles.
• 13:44 Updating the blog, or procrastinating? You decide! absolutelysmall.blogspot.com
• 13:58 Still have a few Unique LA tix to hand out! Who wants to go? DM me!

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Seven things, six of them random

First of all, I'll be at Unique Los Angeles next week. It is going to be awesome. I'm working on some brand new Chickenpants featuring Superbuzzy fabrics, and I hope to debut them there. Second of all, I have some extra tickets to give away! I've got six left over. If you're in/ or will be in the LA area and want to go, leave a comment below with your email and I'll mail the tickets to you.
Update 12/10/08 - All the tickets are on their way to Los Angeles now. Thanks! I'll see you there!
*************************************************************
And now, for the other six things.
I've been tagged by the adorable Frizzelstixs to list 6 random things about myself.
So, here goes.
1. I just learned that I will pretty much refuse to work with any other sewing machine than my ancient Singer 834. Learned painfully, whilst my dear old tank was in the shop for a very long time. Thanks June and Mom, but I just couldn't use your machines! This is apparently the only photo I have of it. But mostly, it's a photo of my foot. And a plush foot I was working on.

2. I used to be a major, major, major Star Wars fan. As in I co-wrote a trilogy and tried to grow my hair out for Princess Leia buns. And now, years after the fact, I'm friends with a Princess Leia impersonator. Fun!

3. I don't like winter. AT ALL. And I basically hibernate through it. (Sleep... a lot...like 10-14 hours a day. Depression, eating a lot, play too many video games, avoid working & other humans, yadda yadda.) Guess what? I'm in winter hibernation mode RIGHT NOW. That's right...I should be working. And walking the dog. And eating something other than candy cane Jojos.
4. I was recently bitten, very hard, by a finch.
5. I don't like talking on phones and will do pretty much anything to avoid them. Text messaging is ok, though.
6. I'm wearing pants that have bulldogs in little red baseball caps on them. They're from Target, and they're supposed to be worn by little boys. I like them a lot.

Enjoy this blurry photo of them!

And now for the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Let the tagging commence!
1. Fluffy Flowers
2. Weird Bug Lady
3. Nonesuch Garden
4. Phil Barbato (Let's see if we can get him to post some text!)
5. Moon's Creations
6. Kivett Studio

Chickenpants for a Good Cause

The Plush Team is having a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Chickenpants want to help!
Hamilton Chickenpants is in the shop and ready to move and shake his way into your life.

Here's his bio:
Hamilton Chickenpants is one of Chickenton's leading movers and shakers. He's always thinking up the next big deal. He's quite a shaker on the dance floor, too.
He is number 118 in the grand scheme of Chickenpants. (Meaning he was the 118th one made)
And you can only find him in the Plush Team's Etsy shop.

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little bleats from absolutely small

• 14:20 Forget everything good I've ever said about DSW. They've gone to pot.
• 10:29 My poor finches! Their cage was hurled to the floor, and I never heard a thing. (They live outside) Finch violence!

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Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Is it too soon to use the Chickenpants thank you picture again? Maybe so.

Thank you everyone for making the weekend sale a success!
Thank you Etsy's The Storque for the lovely article!
Thank you Disapproving Rabbits for mentioning Chickenpants on your blog!
Thank you Cranky Yellow for the blog post!

Thank you all for inflating my little airhead to ever greater heights!