GEEKSOAP’s 2012 Beat the [Holiday] Rush SALE!

Posted in Miscellaneous , on October 31, 2012

This November, save 20% off of your entire order at geeksoap.net and BEAT THE HOLIDAY RUSH at the same time!

Be the friend that gives the most geektastic gifts this holiday season… click the flyer below to find out how you can SAVE BIG all November long!

GEEKSOAP Beat the Holiday Rush Flyer
Don’t forget: use code BEATTHERUSH12 at checkout during the month of November to save 20% off of your ENTIRE ORDER! Ensure delivery in time for the holidays and take advantage of big savings, too. Promotion ends December 1.

Christmas shipping delivery not guaranteed on orders placed after December 7, 2012 on domestic U.S. orders. Though GEEKSOAP ships USPS Priority, the U.S. postal service experiences heavy delays this time of year, so it’s best to place your order well in advance just to be safe!

Questions? Don’t hesitate to email me. :)


Handmade Plush Greedo Doll

Posted in Miscellaneous, Plush, Portfolio, Projects, Sewing , on June 24, 2012

I know, I know. It’s been soap soap soap soap soap for so long that you probably forgot that I got my crafting online start by making plush and purses. (I had almost forgotten, too.) But this past week I went back to my “roots” and the days of crafting plushies in my craft dungeon in Calgary, AB and made something extra special for our son.

I’m a teacher so I don’t normally work in the summer, but my teaching contract has a few summer dates tacked on so that I can run professional development training for other teachers. Since the geekling normally goes to daycare built in to my school district, (which is closed for the summer) we had to find him an alternative daycare to go to for these random days. Every day when I would pick him up at this new place, I’d walk in his classroom and find him loving on this big plush Dora the Explorer doll. He was in love with this thing! He carried Dora everywhere, hugging her tight. It was adorable! Of course, Dora belongs to the daycare, and now that I’m finally off for the summer, that meant no more time with the Dora doll. We could’ve just gone out and bought him his own Dora the Explorer doll, but why buy when you can DIY, amirite?!

So then I started thinking. If I’m going to make my kid a big plush doll… why not give it to him for his upcoming first birthday, which is Star Wars themed? And since the party is Star Wars themed, let’s make the doll a character from Star Wars. Those of you that know me can see why Greedo was my first choice; he’s my favorite Star Wars character. I know, I know, it’s not about me, it’s about the kid. BUT, the geekling is going to be brought up RIGHT and be taught about how Greedo shot first, (George Lucas said so!) so I thought it was a good idea to start with a Greedo plush. Besides… we can then act out fan fiction where Han and Greedo didn’t shoot at each other and instead are BFFs and fly around our living room in the Millennium Falcon we made together. Can you just picture the geekling and his plush Greedo in his Millennium Falcon?! I just melted from the cute.

Anyway, I know it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten out the old sewing machine, but it felt like I had never abandoned it for soap when I got it out this past weekend to stitch together my Greedo doll. Thanks for not holding a grudge, sewing machine. I missed you!

Before I could start sewing, though, I needed a pattern. I tweeted a picture via Instagram two weeks back of a little sketch I did on a scrap of paper as I was formulating my plush plan; it was how I pictured a cute and cuddly Greedo doll to look. After getting the thumbs up from followers, I turned the sketch into a large paper pattern. The kid and I ran out one afternoon and picked up a bunch of fleece and felt, and the rest is history. Greedo came together overnight, and I couldn’t be happier with how he turned out. I love him so much that I’m not sure I want to give him away!

Our finished Greedo plush is 2ft tall (!) and made mostly of super soft fleece with some felt features. Fittingly I left the hole for turning & stuffing in Greedo’s head (hahahaha, see what I did there?) and hand stitched his head closed after stuffing. The nose and eyebrow is all one giant unibrow-nose piece that I sewed separately on the face so that I could lightly stuff it to give his nose and brow a bit of depth. As you can see from the pictures, I cut out the two large full-body shapes completely in the jumpsuit blue fleece and then cut other pieces, like the green head, brown shoes, yellow jumpsuit stripes, and brown vest, and sewed them down to the blue fleece form like pieces of a puzzle in the right spots. Then when I was ready to put Greedo all together, I only had to sew the two large blue jumpsuit pieces, instead of dealing with several different pieces. I hope that made sense. TLDR; I sewed down all of the other parts to the blue body outlines first.

I mentioned pictures – you know I took pictures of the whole process, right? Here they are!
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157630236200242″]
(See the whole set on Flickr)

I seriously cannot wait to gift Greedo to the geekling this next week for his birthday! I hope you like how he turned out as much as I do. :) As a side note, I have lots of Greedo-colored fleece and felt left over, so you never know what other Greedo goodness I may make next! I’m totally thinking hand puppet or a mini lovey blanket…


We Made a Millennium Falcon for our 9 Month Old

Posted in Miscellaneous, Portfolio, Projects , on April 4, 2012

Cross post from our family blog:

Because what kid DOESN’T need their very own Millennium Falcon?

I rest my case.

I know it’s April, but this project started back in January and it has just taken that long to find the time to finish. We had bought the geekling this exersaucer thing that came in a huge box shortly after Christmas. Per usual, we put it all together and the kid enjoyed climbing in and on the box more than he did playing with the thing that came in it. This caused Lucas and I to do a lot of reminiscing about our own childhoods, and how much fun it was to make believe with boxes. We pulled out a couple more boxes we had lying around for Liam to play with. It took less than 10 seconds for me to make the jump from pretending one of the boxes was a car to, “How cool would it be to have a Millennium Falcon?” … everyone’s other vehicle, of course.

In no time at all I had formed the body of our Millennium Falcon out of cardboard using the exersaucer box and cutting some additional framework from extra boxes we had stored in the garage from our move back in October. I even had the perfect box to form a geekling-sized cockpit to sit in. We used a lot of packing tape to piece it all together. Then all we had to do was wait for decent weather so I could papier-mâché the whole thing out on the driveway. I’m sure our neighbors thought we were crazy. Or cool, maybe? I’m leaning towards crazy, though.

Anyway, fast forward a few more weeks and all of the papier-mâché was thoroughly dry. The Falcon was looking sweet! Then it was time to paint. We picked up some silver spray paint at the hardware store and I then proceeded to destroy the brand new garage floor with it. Hey, at least the paint on the floor is in the shape of the Millennium Falcon, am I right? Besides, that’s what garage floors are for; a constant reminder of how we did stuff in there, plus the shape is like a badge of awesome that makes me smile every time I get out of the car.

Lucas insisted that the Falcon stay out in the garage for awhile after spray painting, and for good reason; it smelled pretty strong. Our little project aired out for over a month. I’d say it was because it needed plenty of time to air out, but in reality, we just got busy. Fast forward now to this week, my spring break. (Perk of being a teacher.) Number two on my Spring Break To Do List was “Finish painting the Millennium Falcon.” Isn’t that on most peoples’ to do lists? Just a typical weeknight for our family. (For those wondering, number one on my Spring Break To Do List was re-hanging 76 pieces of dinosaur artwork in Liam’s nursery. Check!)

Sure, our Millennium Falcon was satisfactorily silver, but it needed some detail work. I admit I scoured the Internet for good reference material, (I also like that when searching for the Millennium Falcon on Google that I get no less than 70 personal results. That’s because we have so many cool friends with similar interests.) but in the end, I took a lot of artistic liberties with my details. I still think it turned out alright.

For those of you that know us, we tend to take a lot of photographs. Of everything. So you won’t be surprised to find that I took photos all along the way, to document our progress and process in making a Millennium Falcon for our 9 month old son. Because really, how many kids can say they have their very own Millennium Falcon? Mine can’t, but that’s only because he can’t talk yet. But when he can… he’ll be one of a very small number of kids that can say they have their own Millennium Falcon.

Over breakfast this morning I threw together a bandolier for the Schnauzer out of craft foam. He makes a pretty convincing albino wookiee sidekick, amirite?

For the full gallery of 47 fun photos including more cuteness than you can stand + all of the process photos, check out our Flickr gallery here: We Made the Millennium Falcon. The photos go in order to show you how the project progressed.


Holiday 2011 Rush in Full Swing!

Posted in Miscellaneous , on November 20, 2011

So ya, it’s been over 4 months since my last post. Having a baby keeps ya busy, amirite?! However, I’ve been rocking out soap and crochet orders as fast as I can whenever the geekling naps, and the holiday rush is in full swing… did everyone just suddenly realize that Christmas is right around the corner or something?

Incoming shameless plug: Hey, everyone! Christmas is right around the corner! And of course you want to be the one that gives the most geektastic gifts in your circle of friends, so get over to GEEKSOAP and get your order placed ASAP to guarantee timely holiday delivery.

/End spam.

So what’s been happening the past 4.5 months? Well about a month after the geekling was born, as if I needed more on my plate, we decided to buy our first house. And then move 5 days before I went back to work from maternity leave, and a week before my in-laws came to stay with us for a week. Like I said, it’s been just a little intense around here!

Somehow I’m managing a full time teaching job, a new baby, prepping for the holidays and the move/settling in/decorating a new house and all of the responsibilities that come with it, and filling an insanely ridiculous amount of soap orders on the side. Somehow I’ve been successful at all of this so far without feeling too overwhelmed… yet. To help keep it that way, this year you may have noticed that I’ve pared down the GEEKSOAP shop to only focus on my top sellers for the holiday season; this is one of the checks and balances I’ve put in place to ensure that I don’t get in over my head over the next month. I want to make sure that all of my online customers are happy and that I can get orders out in a timely fashion AND still have time for my family. If you’re looking for something that’s currently not available, just drop me a line and I’ll happily get you squared away to make all of your geeky gift-giving dreams come true. :)

Also on the radar is a GEEKSOAP store redesign coming… well, sometime soon-ish. It’s in my head and I’ve got some ideas, but nothing has really been started yet. I hope to make your geeky soap shopping experience even better with the redesign. More on that as I start fleshing the plan out.

Oh! And I almost forgot! I’ve got a super fantastic geeky DIY gift tutorial coming soon that will help you create the perfect last minute gift for the comic book geek in your life. I can’t share yet because I’m giving this amazing handmade gift myself in a couple of weeks, but stay tuned! You are seriously going to love how simple yet AWESOME this gift turns out. And even though I said it’s for the comic book geek in your life, it can easily be modified to suit ANYONE! Yay! See you back here with that tutorial in a few weeks! Until then… good luck with your holiday shopping, and happy (almost) Thanksgiving!


Our Son has Arrived!

Posted in Miscellaneous , on July 13, 2011

As we close in on his 2 week birthday, I figured I should quickly update my craft blog to let anyone left who doesn’t already know… our son was born on June 30, 2011. Welcome, Liam Richard! You can read more about his arrival on our family blog here, which includes plenty of adorable photos.

I’ve updated the maternity leave info pages of the GEEKSOAP and Pink Toque Shop sites to include this info, too, to keep all of my customers and fans in the loop. Thanks for all of your well wishes as we get settled into life with a newborn! :)

love,
Lesley


Baby (Almost) On Board! What this Means for Business

Posted in Miscellaneous, Shows , on May 28, 2011

As most of you know, my husband and I are expecting our first child at the end of June. The official due date of our little geekling is June 29, but you know how babies are… unpredictable! He could be early, he could be late, but no doubt about it… he IS coming. What does that mean for my two small businesses, GEEKSOAP and The Pink Toque Shop?

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not going anywhere! GEEKSOAP and The Pink Toque Shop are not going to disappear, however, I’m sure you understand that some temporary time off will be required to handle the priority that is a brand new baby. As first time parents-to-be, Lucas and I would LOVE to think that we’ve got this under control and we’re fully prepared for what bringing a baby into this world is going to mean for life, the universe and everything, but let’s be honest… we’re 42 shades of clueless.

To be safe, I’m blocking *at least* a month off and plan to have both the GEEKSOAP store and The Pink Toque Shop “closed” – as in, everything being set as “sold out” with a note referencing this blog post for details – for that period of time. I will not be accepting new orders or filling orders from either shop during that period as we become new parents and try to figure out what on earth we’re doing. Email communication may also be sporadic and I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to reply as quickly as normal during this time; I’m sure you understand. :)

As for *when* the month will start and end, that’s as predictable as baby’s due date. If all goes according to plan, I’m going to temporarily “close” both shops a week before our due date with the stipulation that IF the geekling comes earlier than that, the shops will close earlier than that, naturally. I figure a week will give me time to get out any last minute orders that come through before baby arrives.

I’d also like to think that a month is enough time for me to feel like I can handle sneaking in an order or two here and there while the geekling naps, but that assumes A LOT of things… like that I’ll even be able to function. If I don’t feel quite ready or able to handle orders after just a month off, I may need to expand that time off a bit, too. I figure if I get at least 6 weeks off from my job for maternity leave, then taking up to 6 weeks off from my small business jobs shouldn’t be unreasonable if it’s needed.

What about conventions?! What about Gen Con and Dragon Con?
No, I will not be making an appearance at either of these two conventions this year like last year. While that’s sad, I am so happy about our growing family, and there’s always next year for conventions. (Besides, imagine the cosplay possibilities for a one year old next year helping mama out behind the table! SQUEE!) That being said, just because I personally won’t be at Gen Con or Dragon Con this year doesn’t mean my products won’t be there in some way, shape or form. I am currently working hard behind the scenes to complete a few large convention projects that I’ve been commissioned for that will take my place, so you can still come into contact with GEEKSOAP during your geeky convention gallivanting this summer. When the stores come back up after my maternity leave you can be sure there will be some special promotions, too. And because Gen Con is right here in Indianapolis, there’s also the chance I’ll go for a bit on one of the days as a regular convention-goer. If you’re going to be in town for Gen Con let me know and we can hook up! Be sure to be on the lookout for Deodorant Dame at Gen Con – she’ll be loaded with GEEKSOAP goodies at various official Gen Con events, too!

The whole point of sharing this now as opposed to after the geekling is born is so that you’re sensitive to the situation well in advance and I give YOU, my customers, as much notice as possible so I don’t just appear to drop off the face of the planet one day without warning. That wouldn’t be fair to you; I believe communication and transparency is key! I cannot control when the geekling decides to make his debut, so if he comes really early I will have to make changes to accommodate that. I hope to be able to get all orders out before that day, but please understand that babies have a mind of their own and I will be doing my very best for you under the circumstances, whatever they turn out to be.

Really, I’m just trying to be as prepared as possible. This is our first child and we have no idea what we’re in for. If the situation changes, I will be sure to keep you all in the loop as quick as humanly possible, within reason. Remember that my customers and my shops are important to me, too! But I’m sure you understand that baby and our little geeky family takes priority and I’ll be back to making geektastic soap and crochet Cthulhu creations for you all as soon as I truly feel I can handle it. It could be sooner or it could be later than my projected timeline, and either way, you’ll be in the know as soon as I know.

Thanks for being so understanding and patient with me during this unpredictable (and exciting) time! I will be sure to keep you updated on the status of the shops and when I can handle taking orders again. If you’d prefer to get an email notice from me the day that the shops are back online, just enter your email below. I promise your email will not be shared, sold, or used for any purpose other than to send a single shout out to let you know when my products are back. :)

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Love of love (truly, from the bottom of my heart),
Lesley


Buy a Soap, Save Boobies!

Posted in Featured, Miscellaneous, Soapmaking , on February 9, 2011

Back in December, my boss asked me about breast cancer awareness soap and whether I could make her some that she could order to give to the team members of their annual Race for the Cure team that supports her mom, Ginny. I found a suitable mold from my supplier and made a few bars as an example. The team’s motto became “Clean Up for a Cure” with soapy inspiration.

This week I registered to join Ginny’s Crew and help Clean Up for a Cure. Me and my 7 month pregnant belly will be proudly walking in the Komen Indy Race for the Cure in downtown Indianapolis on April 16, 2011. I’m doing all I can to help raise money for breast cancer research and education by inviting my friends and family to walk with us, and encouraging donations towards my personal sponsorship that goes towards the overall team goal for Ginny.

Want to Help?
Starting this week I’m making the breast cancer awareness soaps available for sale at geeksoap.net, and you can buy one (or more!) between now and April 15, 2011. Purchasing a bar is a 100% direct donation towards our team fundraising goal just in time for the Race for the Cure.

Follow our progress on my personal page at the Komen Indy Race for the Cure fundraising site.

When you add a Clean Up for a Cure soap to your cart, you have the option to make your donation anonymous OR you can choose to include your name with the donation. When these soaps are ordered, I will personally go and donate 100% of the soap purchase (all $10!) right to my Race for the Cure fundraising page, and either list your name as the donor (if specified) or list your donation anonymously – however you chose when checking out. And if you choose to have your name included, I will go by the default name on your Paypal account, though you can specify a Twitter handle or nickname in the notes to seller when checking out if you’d rather use that instead. You’ll be able to start seeing donor contributions listed on my Race for the Cure site within 24 hours of purchase.

The best part? 75% of the money raised stays in Indiana for breast cancer education and research. The other 25% goes towards national breast cancer research and advocacy. Which means 100% of your donations are helping to end breast cancer forever!

Please help me reach my personal goal, which helps Ginny’s Crew reach their team goal, which means more help in the battle against breast cancer. You can purchase a Clean Up for a Cure soap OR sponsor the team & I directly in the Race for the Cure this April if you’d like to specify a different amount. No donation amount is too small, and every penny counts! And if you’re local, why not register to come walk with us? We’d love to have you.

The Clean Up for a Cure soaps are made from 100% all natural, vegan friendly ingredients. They weigh roughly 5oz, and are approximately 3″ x 2.5″. Each bar of soap smells of soothing, comforting lavender.

Two Ways to Donate, Three Ways to Support!
Buy Clean Up for a Cure Soaps – 100% of the soap purchase price ($10/each) is immediately put towards my fundraising goal.

Sponsor me directly via my Race for the Cure fundraising page to specify a different donation dollar amount. Remember, no amount is too small, and every penny helps and is appreciated!

Register to participate (walk, run, or sleep!) in the Komen Indy Race for the Cure on April 16, 2011.

Thank You!
Thank you for supporting breast cancer research and our Clean Up for a Cure team – especially Ginny!


Happy Holidays!

Posted in Miscellaneous , on December 27, 2010

Happy Holidays, readers!

It’s been so busy around here at The Pink Toque the last few months! If you recall, back in October I officially opened a second storefront for my crochet wares – specifically, my crochet Cthulhu accessories. Since then, it seemed the holidays snuck up on me, and I was busy working my tail off with GEEKSOAP Christmas orders and cranking out as many crochet Cthulhu toques and scarves as my fingers could handle in between soap pours. The result? GEEKSOAP and The Pink Toque as a whole had an ASTRONOMICALLY successful holiday sales season! I was literally working two full time jobs the last two months in preparation for Christmas; my normal teaching job by day, and then soap and crochet queen by night. There were nights I worked around the clock to keep up with orders and do my best to get everything out ASAP. A HUGE thank you to all of my customers and supporters; I’ve received nothing but praise and super awesome emails from you all as you received your orders and/or as your recipients received the geeky gifts that you purchased for them from one of my stores. It’s made my holiday very special indeed, and all of your love has really warmed my heart. <3

The stores both “closed” on December 21 and will re-open on January 3; I’m finally taking a well deserved break and recuperating from the madness of the holiday rush so that I can restock all of my supplies and products for both stores.  I’m also using this break to focus on creating some new geeky soap designs that I think you’ll like a lot when I release them in early January. :) Thank you so much for making this season so amazingly successful!

On a personal note, you may have heard that my husband and I are expecting our first child in June. We could not be happier to finally be starting a family! Thanks for all of the well wishes we’ve received since we made our announcement public on December 1; this is going to be one geeky baby! We’re expecting the geekling to arrive sometime at the end of June and you can keep up with all of the baby details over on our personal blog. We’ve also put together a baby page on our personal site that we can update along the way to keep our friends and family in the loop with info. We’re really looking forward to the adventure of becoming parents for the first time!

So that’s it around here! So much good stuff on both my small business(es) and personal fronts that I can’t help but be thankful for all of the people who have supported me along the way. I am truly blessed! *love* Look for some new goodies coming to GEEKSOAP in January and thanks for all of your holiday orders. Hope you and yours had an a wonderful Christmas full of awesome and win. Happy New Year!


A New Storefront for The Pink Toque!

Posted in Miscellaneous , on October 4, 2010

The Pink Toque shopI have some exciting news for The Pink Toque! A lot of you know that I’ve been around blogging about my crafty endeavors for over four years now. In fact, it was four years ago this month that I opened my Etsy store and started selling purses, bags and custom plush. When I designed The Cthulhu Toque and its companions the Baby Cthulhu Toque and the Sockthulhu plush, they were sold in the Etsy store, too. Last fall and winter were the first BIG seasons for my Cthulhu crochet creations; though I had designed the toque before then, it didn’t take off until the seasonally cool weather set in. Now that we’re starting to experience some cooler temperatures and we’ve officially said goodbye to summer this year, I’ve been getting requests again to have the Cthulhu Toque available, and I’ve also seen an increase in its pattern sales on Ravelry this past month. I’d been playing with some new Cthulhu crochet designs recently, and so this year I decided to create a new storefront just for my geeky fiber arts creations and release some new accessories there, too!

Introducing… The Pink Toque shop! No longer am I using Etsy to sell any of my stuff. The new shop is in addition to my GEEKSOAP storefront at geeksoap.net – most of you already know that GEEKSOAP is just one storefront of mine that’s strictly my line of original handmade geeky soap, and the Cthulhu Bath Mitt since that logically goes with soap. However, The Pink Toque shop is a new and separate storefront hosted on BigCartel instead of Etsy, and there you’ll find my Cthulhu Toque, the Baby Cthulhu Toque, and some new and exciting crochet designs of mine… such as the Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf and coming soon… Cthulhu Mittens!

Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf Scarfthulhu Cthulhu scarf

Wait, a Scarfthulhu Cthulhu Scarf?! Yes, that’s what I said. Isn’t it awesome? Both ends of this 63″ (over 5 ft!) original scarf feature 100% handmade tentacled Cthulhu goodness that will keep even your soul warm and protected from the elements. Or maybe it squeezes your soul right out of you; I forget. Either way, you can’t deny how cool it will make you look in the cool weather. And paired with the Cthulhu Toque? How can you go wrong?!

So now there are two places you can go to get your hands on some original creations of mine – geeksoap.net for soapy goodness and shop.thepinktoque.com for all of my geeky fiber designs. I think you’ll love the addition of the Scarfthulhu to kick off the additional store with something new, and the mittens will be fun, too! I’m still working out a few kinks with their design, but hope to have them up in the next month or so. That means you’ll soon be able to own an evil yet full and fashionable set of Cthulhu accessories to keep you warm this winter!

Want to keep up with me on Twitter? – @ThePinkToque and @geeksoap
Fan The Pink Toque and GEEKSOAP on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/ThePinkToque

Thanks for spreading the love :) Speaking of spreading the love… did you notice the adorable crochet Cthulhu doll that’s wrapped up in my Scarfthulhu? His name is Oscar, and he’s a creation made by Ruth of CthulhuChick.com. You can snag a Cthulhu doll of your very own in her shop! Oscar has attended two cons with me – Gen Con and Dragon Con – and he always loves a good adventure. At home he has a special place in my soap studio, watching over me as I work. When he’s not keeping an eye on soap, he’s causing mischief all over The Pink Toque shop, so be sure to look for him in the store when you’re there. :)

Remember to look for my creations in two places now! My handmade, vegan friendly geeky soap designs are still at geeksoap.net, and now you can find my original, wearable crochet Cthulhu accessories available at shop.thepinktoque.com. Hope you enjoy!


Venture Brothers Paintings – The Monarch & Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

Posted in Miscellaneous , on September 26, 2010

Hiya!

I know, I know. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but I’ve been busy! (Excuses, excuses.) After Gen Con I started a brand new, amazing job right away, and then Lucas and I just moved closer to my work last weekend. Between the new job (which used to have a long daily commute), continuing to create huge amounts of soap to fulfill customer orders, and our recent move, I’ve not had as much time to create other things or update. Now that we’re finally settled, I’m excited about how inspired I am to get crafty again to create new works of art to decorate our new home.

I LOVE the fact that all of the art on our walls are original prints and artwork by friends and geeky artists, or something I’ve painted myself. My latest creations are acrylic paintings of my favorite animated couple in one of my favorite TV shows of all time, The Venture Brothers. Introducing… The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch! (Note: I have yet to do the solid magenta backgrounds on these that I’m planning, so stay tuned to see them 100% completed and on the wall in our office in a future post!)

I based my paintings on images I found online of the pair, which came from screen captures taken from the show. You can see the images I used on the floor in front of each painting in the first photo. The Dr. Mrs. The Monarch was originally going to be done à la Dr. Girlfriend, but as I worked on her I decided to modify the design to transform her into the Queen Butterfly instead. It seemed fitting; the paintings will soon be hanging above Lucas and I’s matching computer desks next to each other in the new office, and the color scheme of the two together will be more consistent.

It’s been awhile since I’ve painted; I was so tickled with how well these turned out that I may just have to do a few other pieces for the new place. Besides painting, I’m also excited about some digital art I created for our guest bathroom, which I am using to display some geeky-themed soap of mine and @KyleeLane‘s. I envisioned this Andy Warhol-esque design of my Game Cartridge soap and Kylee’s NES Controller soap. I wanted the colors used to match the four colors of the shower curtain and accompanying accessories to tie everything together between the curtain, the walls, and the soap on display. These will be printed at 12″ x 12″ and I created them in Photoshop using photographs I took of our soap. Not bad, hey? I can’t wait to see them up!

In digital scrapbooking news, I’ve even found time to FINALLY update our Family Life 2010 digital scrapbook. Even though it’s been months since I’ve updated, My Memories Suite is always so user friendly and fun that I found myself getting back into the zone and creating new pages quickly to share some of the things that has happened in my family’s life this year. And wow, has 2010 been our year! It’s only September, and already the Family Life 2010 album looks to be on course to surpass last year’s album in length. Which makes sense since there has just been so much good stuff in 2010 and so much that we want to share and remember. :)

So while soap orders still keep pouring in and there are some exciting things for GEEKSOAP on the horizon (Like being approached for an upcoming feature on an NBC TV segment!), I’ve managed to find time to revisit some of my other crafty passions like painting and scrapbooking, too, and I’m loving this inspirational and creative energy flowing through me right now.  And now that it’s fall, I’ve got people wanting to purchase my Cthulhu toques again, so I’ve been craving a little knit and crochet time. I’ve got the toques AND some new Cthulhu accessories coming very soon to their own storefront; look for that in the near future! (Like next week.)

So much good stuff going on in my life right now, it’s hard not to be ecstatic and want to shout it from the rooftops. I am truly blessed with an amazing husband and some amazing friends, family, and customers who just really inspire me with their love and support to keep on creating in all facets of my life. Thank you. I hope you’ll like what you see coming from me in the near future! <3