the cat in the hat

So, in a fit of insanity, I decided to build a six foot tall Cat in the Hat (out of book pages) while my baby napped a couple weeks ago. For a scarecrow contest. Because reasons. And insanity.

But I did it and now that it's done I LOVE it! I am planning to keep him on display year round and probably decking him out with seasonal decorations. 

I made him with a PVC skeleton and a chicken wire overlay and then layers of book page paper mache and paper clay. I plan on posting a more exhaustive tutorial in the future once I get all the pictures organized.

All his detailing is done with pages of real Dr. Seuss books, especially "The Cat in the Hat" itself, which was a blast!

welcome to the bookerie II

So August 2nd of this year I opened a second shop. I know, crazy. But after uh, two minutes of going to work with my then 7 week old son at our matchbox sized original store I knew the writing was on the wall. Either I quit working in the store completely and just made stuff at home (which was the scenario I opened the first shop to avoid originally) or I needed a new place that was more constant-companion friendly. Like the Tardis. But I digress. I started looking for a space when I was about 5 weeks postpartum and the building owners I talked to were all like, "You just had a kid and now you want to do what?" Crazy, I know.

But after a surprisingly short search, I found a space that was perfect. It was the right size, had an open back room for dedicated studio space, and a little corner nook room to be the little guy's own special playroom. The price was right, the landlords are a darling couple excited to see me succeed, and everything seemed to be laid out right in front of me. The sweet, sweet lady that covered my maternity leave was willing to take over management of our Tulsa store (which has so many wonderful and loyal customers we knew we didn't want to close it unless absolutely necessary) and so that settled it. Baby and I would be the new owners of a shop in small town Oklahoma - Sapulpa, to be exact. 

Above is our front window reading space and below are snaps of the rest of my space. I am so in love with it. I will be posting a studio tour soon too!

welcome to the bookerie!

So as I let you in on a few weeks ago, I opened a shop on Saturday. A real live shop, like with people who shop there and everything. I know there are a lot of shops in the world, but somehow I feel like this is revolutionary. My shop feels like something that's been inside of me for a long time. I've never lived anywhere I could paint the walls or the furniture as an adult and this little room is the one place where everything is exactly where I want it to be.

This is my shop.