cookie chang creations: handmade by ramey holsman

Mushrooms + Lunar Boy Gallery = LOVE

2011-11-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

On a recent trip back to my beautiful, green, wonderful Pacific Northwest, my mate Jessica (aka eekasan) and I ducked into Lunar Boy Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. I had a handful of my latest miniature works -- hand-carved wooden mushrooms in situ (with "moss' and "trees" and original illustration backdrops) -- framed with jenga pieces!

Our timing couldn't have been better. They had an opening scheduled for that Saturday and promptly put all five of my pieces up for the event.

If you're in the Astoria area, stop by Lunar Boy (240 11th Street, Astoria, OR 97103) and have a gander. I'll be sending more creations their way soon. You can also view and/or purchase online --> HERE!

Visit cookiechang.etsy.com and give cookie some love on facebook!

Lucia Debrazi is Sleeping with the Fishes TRAILER

2011-10-20T02:09:00.000-07:00

A little teaser as I work on my latest project.

Full length movie coming in 2012! All props (carved wooden mushrooms, etc.), characters, sets created by Ramey Holsman (aka cookie chang).
Contact me for commissions!
SHOP http://cookiechang.etsy.com/
VISIT http://cookiechang.com/
BLOG http://cookiechang.blogspot.com/
all images and sound copyright ©2011 Ramey Holsman

cookie chang commercial

2011-08-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest project! A stop motion animation promoting my artwork. I'll write more about creating all the props, characters, sets (including carved wooden mushrooms) later.

Music: "cookie chang kicks it like an art machine" written and recorded by Ramey Holsman

Contact me for commissions! And visit cookiechang.etsy.com

Kpie voice and easel paintings by Kate Cooper kpie88.etsy.com.

all images and sound copyright ©2011 Ramey Holsman

Lucia Debrazi is sleeping with the fishes.

2011-07-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

"Lucia Debrazi is sleeping with the fishes." ©ramey holsman

I love my little sister. Well, I love ALL three of my sisters, but Melly is my crafting and overall creative BUDDY. She inspires and encourages me with her creativity and various projects . . . and each week she and her best mate Jeri give a crafting challenge on their blog, Weekly JeM. I don't always get a chance to do each challenge specifically, so I try to bend what I'm working on to make sense with theirs.

This week was a S-T-R-E-T-C-H!! The challenge was "to be creative with something that starts with the letter 'B'." So what does an altered doll with hand-stamped and painted anchovies in an anchovy tin have to do with the letter "B"? Well, the Spanish equivalent to an anchovy is a "Boquerone!" See what I mean? S-T-R-E-T-C-H.

I'd been toying with this idea after making homemade pizzas recently. Anchovies always used to scare me, but now I love them! And the tins are classic. So I washed one and thought of ways to use it. The famous "Godfather" line kept going through my head every time I looked at it . . . "Luca Debrazi is sleeping with the fishes."

So here's how I started. First, we needed some "fishes."

I sketched an anchovy on a rubber block, carved it, made adjustments here and there, then stamped 'em out on card stock and painted each one with metallic enamel paints. They felt right at home in the tin . . .

Then I got into my secret stash of bendy dolls and altered accordingly. I don't have a secret stash of bendy boy dolls, so this is how Lucia Debrazi "got made."

I'm not quite done with this project. So if you don't stay tuned, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse . . .

While you're waiting, check out my art shop! cookiechang.etsy.com

Dad's Daughter Part 2: Git Me a Gate.

2011-06-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

New gate from the front.

As this has been one of the driest springs on record here in Jolly Olde England, I'm taking full advantage of the sun and dry weather . . . and have completed the majority of projects I could only dream of doing during the harsh winter months. Take our side gate. No, PLEASE, take our side gate! Can you say 20+ year old, rotted wood held together by 20+ coats of paint?

old gate back in 2009

I actually took this photo two summers ago after trying to breathe the last breath of life into it with red and black gloss. By the time I took the crow bar to it yesterday, we were having to lift it with the door handle any time we went in or out. Pain in der bottom.

Soooo . . . I took some measurements, drew up a little plan, hopped into my trusty Corsa and headed down to Mid Sussex Timber. I was after some good ol' 2x4s and featheredge boards. That's it, I was determined to reuse everything else from the old gate, including hinges, springs and latches. (And I did!)

I do have to say builders' joints (at least here), clearly don't get too many women through their doors. I take it in stride, but guys, don't ignore me for a full 2 minutes when I'm standing at the counter right in front of you. It's not only rude, it makes you look stupid. At least the man who helped me choose the straightest boards and put them in the car for me didn't act like he was from the dark ages. Plus, he clued me in to a really great deal on some rough 2x4s -- 75 pence per meter -- and even cut them down to 1.8mtr lengths at no extra charge.

New gate from the back

I knew exactly how I was going to construct the new gate, the ONLY problem I ran into was not having a skill saw. Let me tell you, it is not easy cutting a straight 45 degree angle through a 2x4 with a jigsaw. But I made it work. OK, it's not completely perfect, and I'm seriously considering adding a skill saw to my tool kit, but it is one sturdy gate and I happen to be terribly proud of it!

As I decided to go with the standard 1.8mtr board lengths, there was a 5 inch gap at the top (which was bugging Kpie), so I cut a scrap piece of MDF from our recent loft conversion, screwed it to the door frame and slapped some black gloss on it. Bob's your uncle. And the new gate just got two coats of satin "antique pine" stain, so let's hope it lasts for another 20+ years!

Father's Day is quickly approaching and I just want to say again, "Thank you for teaching me to hammer a nail when I was just knee high to a cricket Dad. I LOVE YOU!"

(Stop by my etsy shop to check out some of my art. The minute it starts to rain I'll be up in our tree house studio creating more!)

the hapa haole hoco hula hut

2011-05-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of Dad's Daughter: Shed and Shed Byproducts . . . Well, the paint has been chosen and applied and our new shed (now named "the hapa haole hoco hula hut") is well on its way to finding its own personality! Sure, it has to do some work along the way, housing shovels and weed-eaters, paint and wood scraps, but we'll be adding all kinds of other things to make it a proper clubhouse too -- starting with the chimnea just outside the front door and some repositioned garden art I painted two years ago.

Getting there...

Interior painted white to seal the wood and bring a little more light inside.

Poppy's still feeling guilty for killing a bumblebee and smashing a potato plant!

I did some extra work on the picket fence, giving it a coat of paint and lobbing off the tops that accentuated (even more) its uneven installation. But hey, it's living its third life now after taking it down when I replaced it with the new panels. According to our neighbor, it's as old as the hills and oak, so I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. Besides, as a Pacific Northwest native, I'm continuously shocked by the price of timber in the UK! So I also turned some of it into an enclosure for our compost pile.

The bike shed got the same paint as the hapa haole hoco hula hut and its little birch branch handle shined up nicely with two coats of varnish.

Bike shed made from the roof and door of the old shed.

All in all, I'm pretty derned pleased with this project! Stay tuned for the next one.
And don't forget to visit cookiechang.etsy.com

Dad's Daughter, Part 1: Shed and Shed Byproducts

2011-05-16T03:08:00.000-07:00

I was busy busy last week! Monday started with ordering a basic overlap 7' x 5' wooden shed at ilikesheds.com to replace the 20+ year old one we inherited when we bought this house. It was, as they say in this neck of the woods, "knackered." I'd replaced the roof two years ago, which gave its demise a little reprieve (and another 5,000 spiders a place to call home), but we'd squeezed as much life out of it as we were going to and it was time to replace it.

What I wasn't expecting was ilikesheds.com to give me a delivery date of Saturday. They advertised an 8-10 day delivery time, so I had to beat cheeks and get a whole bunch 'o stuff done if I was going to be ready for its speedy arrival. But what really scared me was not knowing if I could actually pull off putting one of these puppies together properly. (I'm trying not to show too much of the wonky fencing I put up prior to the shed roof two years ago.)

I learned early on from my father that if you're not sure how to do something, you can do as much research as you want, but there's nothing like just jumping in and getting your hands on something to really understand what you're working with. My way to do that was to see how it was put up by, well, tearing it down! So, here's how it went . . .

old shed after replacing the roof two years ago

Monday Afternoon:

1.) Pulled everything out of the shed and drove a carload of recyclable items to the tip (dump).

2.) Ripped off felting (tar paper) and removed all but two screws from each roof board (8' x 3.25'), then asked Kpie for help to ease them down. These were still in perfect condition after two years, so I set them aside and imagined ways to use them while disassembling the rest of the shed panels.

Tuesday:

1.) Finished breaking up the old shed panels – setting aside the door and any usable support beams that still had life in them – then tied all the boards into manageable bundles and fit them ALL in my tiny Vauxhall Corsa.

2.) Tearing the floor apart was a little more difficult than I'd anticipated. Waterlogged corners ripped apart easily, but water resistant MDF is one tough cookie and I had to rely on my little sledge hammer and crow bar to break the rest of it down into small enough chunks to fit into the spaces left in the car. Then it was off to the tip in Crawley.

3.) After a little lunch and a game of "kick the ball 'til I goes crazy" with Poppy, I began prying all the concrete slabs up to see what I had to work with for the foundation. The ground was incredibly sloped and uneven and it was easy to see why the shed had become so distorted in the end. I managed to level four slabs and decided to call it a day.

Wednesday & Thursday:

I love dreams. I woke up Wednesday morning knowing exactly what I was going to do with those roof boards. They were destined to become a new bike shed on the patio! A little sketch and some simple mathematics later and I had my jigsaw and drill out for the next two days. I'm pleased to say that every last bit of material (wood, old shed door, screws, hinges, felting, wood glue and paint), I'd either salvaged from the shed or tucked away from our recent loft conversion. I didn't have to go to the store for any bit of this!

weathershield undercoat – final colors to be decided

lid up and top half removable for easy access

The finished bike shed is large enough to fit two bikes diagonally, along with a few other bikey bits and bobs. The top half slides off for easy access and the hinged stand has a hook and chain just in case a gust of wind blows the lid back. (After getting smashed on the shoulder when a shed panel blew over on Monday, I thought a little safety paranoia wasn't such a bad idea.) The handle is a piece of curved birch branch from the Ashdown. I'll take it off and varnish it while the final coat of paint goes on. We'll decide on colors in the next day or two -- update to follow.

new shed floor on concrete slabs

Friday:

Back to filling and leveling the ground for those concrete blocks . . . BACKBREAKING WORK! But I gotter done and after a well-deserved cold one, home delivery tandoori king prawn jalfrezzi from our favorite takeaway, Ruchi, and a sound sleep . . .

Saturday:

Bright and early 6:55am delivery of our new flat-pack shed! These guys had started in Nottinghamshire at 2am and already made three deliveries by the time they got to us. They even helped me carry the roof board and floor panel down to the end of the garden. Nice.

corner pieces added after this photo was taken

I decided to give the neighbors a break and started assembling everything a couple hours later. By the time Kpie returned at 3:30pm I had four walls up and we both put the roofing on together! All done by 6pm . . . and I don't need to explain that I couldn't move on Sunday. But hey, we've got a new shed/clubhouse. Stay tuned for paint and further clubhouse embellishments – including a cozy campfire spot.

And Dad, thanks for teaching me how to hit a nail when I was just knee high to a cricket ;-). A hammer for every grrl!!!

Check out my art and art byproducts at cookiechang.etsy.com.

Props for Dr. Sketchy Brighton

2010-11-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

For several weeks now I've had this idea bouncing around my noggin of making actual toadstools (amanita muscaria) for November's Dr. Sketchy Brighton. I finally came up with the theme "The Dark Forest" just so they would make sense! Chicken or egg? Dark forest or toadstool? Who cares. I actually did it!

It all came together when I was walking Poppy in the Ashdown Forest early last week and found two freshly cut wood rounds.

After drying them up against the radiator for several days, and giving the bark a good filing and dusting off, I was able to start. As with most things I create, I like to use materials I have at hand, so I'm pleased to say that these cost less than a fiver a piece to make. And they're sturdy little buggers too!

I have a "secret" place where I've been collecting scrap wood for a few years now, and it's on one of the busiest streets in the North Laines of Brighton. When I'm in town, I always have a little stroll past North Road Timber and pick up as many free offcuts as I can carry. They stack them neatly outside for little magpies to carry off. So, the tops, bases and "stems" were all free! A trip to the 99p Store yielded metal bowls, pillows and rockin' green mop heads that became the "moss."

I started looping on finding red upholstery vinyl for the mushroom tops – no, seriously LOOPing – and spent many hours trying to find the best price on ebay and everywhere else online. Can I just say how expensive two meters of red upholstery vinyl is once you add postage? Yikes. Then it occurred to me that I was going to have to address the quintessential white spots of the toadstool. To sew or not to sew? To loop on white upholstery vinyl, or not to loop on white upholstery vinyl?

CANVAS!! FABRIC PAINT! I had both. And now it became a matter of working out how to design and sew it to make it work. (Did I mention I've never made anything like this before?)

Painting on canvas (heat-fixed paint) gave me exactly the effect I was after. And sewing it was a breeze. I'm pretty sure I would have made an expensive mess of the vinyl.

The other key was to think everything through, ensuring that it was all done in the right order. What to paint when, what to screw to what . . .

And then came the stuffing. Good lord, one little toadstool needs a lot of innards! The 99p pillow was only the start. But I will say that two of these guys did a great job of getting rid of all those paint covered t-shirts, old socks and a few other odds and ends . . .

And believe it or not, they're actually quite comfortable! Be sure to come to Dr. Sketchy Brighton's event on Sunday, November 28, 2010 (3-6pm) to see them in action. They'll give our fabulous models somewhere comfy to sit . . . in The Dark Forest.

and here they are in action at Dr. Sketchy Brighton!

art4art Dr. Sketchy Brighton prizes

2010-09-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the day is nearly upon us . . . I can't believe my first Dr. Sketchy Brighton event is tomorrow! Here's the grand prize I've been working on – a one-of-a-kind "shorty" art doll.

I scored a huge box of these dolls (ebay my ebay) who started their lives as really boring "action" type dudes with camo/firefighter/worker clothes. I've cut their arms and legs down to make them a little more squat and better balanced to stand on their own; painted their boots, altered and added clothing, drawn facial hair and hawked the heck out of 'em!

amanita muscaria iron-on patch

Next month I'm hoping to collaborate on their clothing with Clare at red mutha. Only way to find out is to get down to Latest MusicBar and win your very own at our Dia de los Muertos show! (Well, we might just have some for sale in our prospective online shops too ;-) Stay tuned . . .

one blue eye, one brown eye

Weigukin RULES!!!

2010-08-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

Diggin' me some Kokoba love in her etsy treasury for all things Korean! She featured my "Let's Fight Garlic Breath Together" art card and pinback button (badge). You can buy your very own right here! Kamsahamnida, numbers grrl!

Another Dr. Sketchy Brighton Project . . .

2010-08-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

This was a little moving "thank you card" to drsketchy.com for naming Brighton the "Branch of the Fortnight" (Aug. 9-21, 2010). Just some simple stop motion shots of my naughty skool grrlz, wind-up dollz and photo backdrops of Brighton!

drsketchybrighton.com

creating dolls for dr sketchy brighton

2010-08-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

I've been a little out of control lately, putting Dr. Sketchy Brighton back on the UK map! In addition to meeting some stellar people and getting everything organized, I've been able to get my art on too.

Since this is my first event, I didn't have any photos or videos to post, so I had to thumb through all my cerebral folders to come up with a way to present our Back to Skool event visually. Hmmm . . . back to skool? What could be more fun than naughty, sneaky, stinky St. Trinian's SKOOL GRRLZ? Uh, nothing.

And this is where ebay my ebay comes in! When in creative limbo, do an ebay search. Weird advice? Not for me. Nothing gets my creative mojo back faster than looking at strange items on ebay and imagining even stranger things I can turn them into.

Enter a big box of bendable MAJORETTES. A little paint here, some ink there, a whittled down bamboo skewer and VOILA! Dr. Sketchy Brighton Skool Grrlz.

Did somebody say a box full of wind-up soldiers? KER-POW! Paint, ink, masking tape, bamboo skewer . . . DANCING Dr. Sketchy Brighton Skool Grrlz! (Watch the video to see the "dance.")

I know it's much more realistic to have real humans in photos and videos, and I'm sure I'll be posting loads of those in the very near future, but something tells me we haven't seen the last of these little plastic entities. They're already kicking holes in their boxes screaming to get out . . .

By the way, did I mention we give prizes at our Dr. Sketchy Brighton events? Any guesses what some of those prizes might be?

grouchy pink grrl does it again . . .

2010-04-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

. . . only this time she's been BURIED IN BETSY'S CLOSET! Marianna, the terribly hip creator of Betsy's Closet contacted me through cookiechang.etsy.com and asked if she could feature my sweatbands in her latest entry, Hiding in the Gym. How could I possibly say no?

So thanks to Marianna for giving cookie chang a shout out! If you're interested in purchasing said sweatbands, check 'em out here:
black sweatband with art patch GROUCHY PINK GRRL
and
very pink sweatband with kissy kiss art patch

And while we're on the subject of cookie chang . . . I recently listed some great new products -- 1" magnets on collector art cards. They sound unassuming, but just you wait 'til you have one of your very own! There are 24 to choose from -- all images of my original mixed media paintings from 2000 to present. Choices choices.

May I suggest a starter of "marvin"? My take on Bjork. Her cheeky grin will assure you that any tiptoed midnight fridge fests will be kept strictly between the two of you!

grouchy pink grrl makes an etsy treasury!

2009-09-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh, uh-oh, Punky Brewster, we'll always be the best of frie-ends...

Hey, I haven't thought about Punky in . . . forever! But Britt (brittg.etsy.com) has and she's put together an adorable etsy treasury of items she thinks "could be for a modernized Punky Brewster," including my very own grouchy pink grrl sweatband (which you can purchase here)!

Thanks Britt! =(V)

cookiechang.etsy.com makes a top five!

2009-06-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Cheers Melissa Carter (CASEmethod.etsy.com)! She listed cookiechang.etsy.com as her top five etsy shops! Have a look HERE.

follow the carrot brick road . . .

2009-05-26T06:10:00.001-07:00

Spring done sprung! To celebrate, kpie and I are putting up a new fence in our garden, painting older fence panels and gates . . . and making garden art. Here's the first of what I hope will be several to liven up our porch and garden area.

I'm currently painting several coats of clear acrylic to weatherize this painting -- which, in a former life, was a cabinet front. I primed it with a flat latex (emulsion), sketched out a basic design with a Sharpie (the garden theme accidentally bounced out); then painted it with acrylics, oil sticks and ink. I'll be securing it to a fence post along the porch to break up the panels.

It measures 23"x27" and I'm calling it, Follow the Carrot Brick Road. More to follow!

all images ©copyright ramey n. holsman

instructions for your hand-painted art patch

2009-05-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you for purchasing your very own hand-painted, original ART PATCH by me, Ramey Holsman (aka cookie chang)! I'm repeating the instructions that came on the label and adding some aftercare tips here . . .

IRON-ON INSTRUCTIONS: Always pre-wash clothing (t-shirt, coat, trousers) before adhering art patch. DO NOT USE fabric softener. Hats and bags may be a little more tricky to wash, just make sure the item is clean or new. The iron-on backing is "HeatnBond Ultrahold," and states it will adhere to most surfaces.

1. Peel off backing paper.

2. Position on desired material, adhesive side down.

3. Place clean, blank paper (bond works best), on top of patch and firmly press pre-heated iron (WOOL, low setting, no steam) for 8-10 seconds. Allow to cool before testing. If a corner or side is not properly attached, press iron down for another few seconds and allow to cool before testing again.

AFTERCARE:
After properly ironing on your art patch, you want to take care of it so it lasts! All of my art patches are hand painted with fabric paints and inks, then heat fixed for permanency -- which means you can machine wash them, but make sure it is always COLD water, then line dry. (The adhesive is heat sensitive, so if you put it in a hot dryer, the adhesive will heat as well and the patch will most likely fall off.)

Often when you take the item of clothing out of the wash, the art patch may well look like this -- all wrinkly (sometimes even more than shown):

That's OK. Gently flatten it by hand as best as you can, then set your iron on WOOL (one notch over is fine):

Place a clean piece of white paper over the top of your art patch. Regular bond works best:

Once your iron is heated, firmly press for approximately 3-5 seconds. This will flatten the patch and strengthen the adhesive bond. DO NOT iron the patch without a clean piece of paper between the iron and patch.

Don't over do it on the time. Just iron long enough to flatten out the patch, then line dry as usual -- no dryers! Your art patch should last and last . . .

And of course, be sure to check cookiechang.etsy.com often to see what new creations are waiting there for you!

a gorse is a gorse of course of course . . .

2009-04-17T08:47:00.001-07:00

The proverbial "they" say you learn something new every day. I'm not sure if that's true for all 365 days of the year, but I'm pretty pleased with what I learned today. Or rather, what I put into action after learning last night.

As my past posts will tell you, I jump back and forth between art and wild mushrooms here. More art than wild mushrooms – mainly due to the tiny seasonal window of picking opportunities. But this spring my foraging eyes have lifted off the ground and followed my nose up a few feet to one of the sweetest smells in the Ashdown Forest – and one that certainly baffled this Pacific Northwest grrl's nose the first time I smelled it.

"What is that?" sniff sniff. "Coconuts?" sniff. Honey?" sniff sniff. "Citrus-Flower-Coconut-Grass? WHAT IS THAT SMELL?!"

Then my nose led me to the prettiest bright yellow flowers growing amongst . . . the scariest looking thorny leaves I have ever seen! But of course I felt compelled to find out if they tasted as wonderful as they smelled.

So I discovered a wonderful site last night whilst searching out information on GORSE FLOWERS! It's called eatweeds.co.uk which I've bookmarked for future foraging information. They had a delightfully simple and fresh gorse flower cordial recipe that had me up and moving early this morning preparing to gather enough of the little yellow flowers to make a double batch of the stuff.

So today I picked GORSE FLOWERS . . . in the pouring rain and serenaded by a lone cuckoo (the first I've heard this Spring). I filled a 12 litre bucket about a fifth of the way up with flowers and snacked on a few in between snagging my fingers on the sharp thorny leaves. Once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy and only took about 40 minutes for 8 good sized handfuls.

The eatweeds.co.uk recipe was extremely easy to follow (check it out) and I've ended up with more than a litre (double recipe) – some of which I've made into ice cubes for easy storage . . . and for experimenting over the next few weeks! I'm thinkin' martini?

Meanwhile, I'm finishing off a sublime glass of ice cold gorse flower cordial and sparkling water (1 part cordial to 4 parts water). It is the perfect spring tonic! If you're lucky enough to have gorse growing nearby I highly recommend trying it yourself.

(NOTE: Always make sure you know exactly what you're picking before you put it in your mouth!)

art patches – the moving gallery

2009-03-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

My most recent project started after trying my hand at screen printing. I did a couple large designs, but will get back to them once I've made a little more room in my studio. The process got me thinking on the lines of wearable art. What I came up with were these little art patches!

First I do really quick pencil sketches on raw canvas. I never know what cheeky little characters are going to pop out! And in fact, some of these sketches have become designs for my larger t-shirt patches:

Next, I draw the outlines with this wonderful glass pen – last year's birthday gift from my friends Jacky and Rachel. (Thank you so much! I love it.) It's perfect for drawing on canvas with a water-based fabric paint:

Then I fill in the backgrounds with white. I use a combination of my glass pen and a brush:

Next, the colors go in! I use a combination of fabric paints and inks:

After heat-fixing the paintings with an iron (low heat for 4 minutes), I sew around each edge, cut them out and over-lock the edges. The final step is ironing a fabric adhesive on the back. The backing paper peels off and the patch can be ironed on to any clean fabric (without fabric softener). I was thrilled to find they adhered perfectly to sweatbands!

You can purchase this one now in my etsy shop cookiechang.etsy.com:

gO!bama! new products on etsy

2009-01-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

Hey hey! We've got a new President today! I'll be watching the whole Inauguration do on BBC1 in just a couple hours . . . but before that, I had to post my newest items at cookiechang.etsy.com.

To mark this very special occasion, I've created gO!bama buttons (badges) and you can mix and match from six different colors.

Also, check out my "have a dream" buttons, featuring my digital illustrations of Barack Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now, you could probably live without these, but why would you want to? Especially when it's such a great deal! I mean, where else can you buy 3 high quality, handmade, 1" metal pinback buttons with full-color, laminated, original designs such as these for only $2.50? Well, cookiechang.etsy.com of course!

Happy Inauguration Day 2009 and congratulations to the 44th President of the US of A!

mert hoody doll on etsy treasury with banksy!

2009-01-11T02:51:00.000-08:00

Hey, just a quick THANK YOU to Isabelle (ptitebaloue.etsy.com) for including my mert hoody doll with crumfiti action pack in her fabulous treasury! You can only view it HERE 'til Monday, 12 January 2009. But if you don't make it by then, at least have a look at this screen shot -- note I'm on the same page as banksy. Whoop whoop! =(V)

NEW ITEMS on etsy!

2009-01-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

Yo yo. After a wonderful visit with my famdamily in the Portland area, and Christmas, Boxing Day and the New Year back in Jolly Old England, I'm back in the proverbial cookie chang saddle and ready to rock 'n roll!

When I returned, just before Christmas, I came back to a huge button (badge) order from purple-heart.com. Seems Claudia has a penchant for selling the "holy cow" out of cookie chang 1 inch badges, so orders are coming in fast and furious!

The biggest sellers, by far, have been my KEEP BRIGHTON WEIRD line -- including the Brighton PAVILION and WEST PIER designs. Now I'm not sure why I waited so long to put them up in my etsy shop, but they're there now, so order away! (Mix and match 3 for $2.50 + shipping.) You can also contact me if you're interested in wholesale pricing to carry them in your store.

The other great sellers have been my illustrated high top badges. What a bargain -- 4 buttons for $3.30 + shipping! And, as ever, my fond fare thee well to RESIDENT Bush have been selling off the shelves. Get yours today so you're proudly wearing one when he finally vacates the White House and OBAMA strides in! (3 for $2.50 + shipping)

And finally . . . last, but not least, I send a shout out to my main mama -- FRIDA KAHLO!!! the lil' frida LIMITED EDITION DOLL is now available! She comes complete with a full-color, handmade takeaway box, lil' frida doll 1" badge and collector card -- all for $22.00 + shipping.

All my dolls are ON SALE right now in my etsy shop. Have a little gander!

Happy New Year! =(V)

red mutha fashion fair in brighton

2008-11-21T00:48:00.000-08:00

Guess what I've been busy doing the past few weeks? That's right! Getting ready for the RED MUTHA FASHION FAIR at FABRICA GALLERY on Duke Street, Brighton! In fact, I'm just packing up ye olde Corsa, as ver sprechen, and getting ready to drive down to set up.

In addition to all my original designer badges (buttons), which are selling like hotcakes at purple-heart.com and red mutha, I'm introducing the new lil'Frida doll, who will be sharing center stage with the mamey beergarden doll. If I sell out, don't worry, I'll be taking orders and can get them to you within just a few days!

Original paintings, ACEOs, crumz bottlecap clips, necklaces, brooches, postcard packs, one-of-a-kind art toyz and the all new 4-colour crumzine . . . all original, handmade creations by moi, Ramey Holsman. It's cookie chang's TAKEAWAY ART!

If you're in Brighton this weekend, pop down to Fabrica Gallery and get a head start on your holiday shopping! It runs Saturday, 22 November from 10am-7pm (happy birthday, mert!); and Sunday, 23 November from 11am-5pm. 50 designers, DJs, FREE ENTRY and a bar!

And if you can't make it to Brighton (for obvious geographical reasons), visit cookiechang.etsy.com to get'cher cookie on!

mamey beergarden opens in brighton

2008-10-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

kissmekwik! the mamey beergarden doll cloned herself overnight and a whole gaggle of them hopped off the stage and are now roaming the streets of brighton's kemptown! OK, maybe not the streets, but they're definitely wreaking havoc in one uber hip gift shop known as kissmekwik.

Perched amongst quirky, kitschy, queeny cards, badges, notebooks, mugs and a plethora of brilliant gifts, mamey and her beehive are in their element and ready to jump off the shelf and into your christmas stocking.

Each doll is made by hand, signed, numbered (limited edition 300) and packaged in a full-colour "takeaway" art box with a collector card and 1" mamey button (badge).

If you're not able to make it to brighton, pick one up from my etsy shop.

And if you can make it to brighton, kissmekwik is located at:
4 george street • brighton • bn2 1rh
phone: 01273 571 757
www.kissmekwik.co.uk
they're open mon-fri and saturdays when they feel like it!

cookie chang in brighton & lewes

2008-10-06T02:49:00.000-07:00

cookie chang is now in 5 shops -- 3 in Brighton and 2 in Lewes! In BRIGHTON the crumz, "keep brighton weird" and various other original designer 1" badges (buttons) are in red mutha and purple-heart.com in the North Laines. Both are open 7 days a week, so you can get your cookie chang on whenever you're in town.

kolkata, brighton's fair trade gift shop, features cookie badges Sundays from 12-4pm during their Lazy Sunday Market.

And now the crumz are running around LEWES, getting all excited for the 5th of November -- bonfire night! may's general stores and the lewes tourist information centre are both carrying the brand new bonfire crumz badge pack, which includes a full-colour postcard, 7 full-colour bonfire crumz badges, a crumzine and free magnet -- retailing for £4.50. Whatta bargain!

These are the only two retail shops in the world where you can buy this product! But never fear, if you can't get to Lewes, East Sussex, UK and can't live without the bonfire crumz, you can purchase them at my etsy shop. Get them while they last!

=(V) <-- click the fortune cookie to buy yours today! BRIGHTON:
red mutha • 92 trafalgar street (north laines) BN1 2ER
01273 603 976 • redmutha.com
purple-heart.com • 22 gardener street (north laines) BN1 1UP
01273 696 935 • purple-heart.com
kolkata • 8 grantham road (5 ways) BN1 6EE
01273 565 105 • kolkatafairtrade.co.uk

LEWES:
may's general stores • 49 cliffe high street • BN7 2AN
01273 473 787 • maysgeneralstores.co.uk
lewes tourist information centre • 187 high street • BN7 2DE
01273 483 448 • lewes.gov.uk/leisure/1497.asp

FARE THEE WELL DIPSH*T!

2008-09-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

Oops. I didn't want to, I HAD to. This is my latest listing in my etsy shop -- 1" metal button/badges telling you how I really feel. If you REALLY feel the same way, why not get some of your very own? You get 3 for $2.50 (US Dollars) + $2.40 shipping to the US or $1.00 shipping to the UK. I know that sounds like a lot, but with the exchange rate, it actually costs a little more than that to send them. To make the deal a little sweeter, if you order 2 sets (a total of 6), I won't charge for the extra postage!

Come on, you know you've been looking for a button ("badge" as they're called in the UK) that says this very thing. Wear one and share the rest with your friends. They even come on individual 4-color cards . . . and they're selling like hotcakes in Brighton! If you're in the Brighton area, visit RED MUTHA on Trafalgar in the North Laines, or KOLKATA at 8 Grantham Road (BN1 6EE) on Sundays from 12-4pm. I might even be there chatting with Mariana or Maria or Siobhan!

=(V) <-- click the fortune cookie to view this item in my etsy shop!

cookie in kolkata!

2008-09-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

There's a wonderful gift store nestled in a cute little neighborhood a few streets north of the London Road Railway Station in Brighton. Located at 8 Grantham Road, BN1 6EE, Kolkata features handmade, fair-trade products including: clothing, jewelry, embroidered cards and tiny key chain bags, hats, toys and paintings from Kolkata India.

And now, on Sundays from 12-4pm, Kolkata is welcoming a handful of artists and craftspeople from the surrounding Brighton area (many from etsy) to sell their handmade wares in the Lazy Sunday Market – and that, mes amis, will include cookie chang!

At the moment I'll be displaying my 1" crumz and "keep brighton weird" badges (pin back buttons), as well as my zine, meet the crumz – a B&W, 16 page story of cookie chang, featuring each crumz' profile. But soon I hope to include a few more items – postcards, aceos, crumz bottlecap clips and dolls!

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say, "Hey!" to owner Siobhan and the ever-charming Mariana and Maria. And If you can't make it to Brighton, visit my etsy shop and check out the goods for yourself!
=(V)

boletus not into temptation

2008-08-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

I know I seem to be bouncing between cookie news and fungal reports from the Ashdown Forest a lot lately. And I realize there isn't an obvious connection between the two -- except for, well, me. But don't I at least get a few points for consistent inconsistency?

Either way, we had a fantastic day of picking yesterday! Our friend Paul joined us for his first foray into the vegetarian version of hunting . . . and he showed us both up by finding the first porcini (boletus edulis) of the season -- fabulous!

I got a nice little handful of hedgehogs (hydnum repandum), a smaller handful still of chanterelle buttons (cantharellus cibarius) I'd hidden under leaves to mature from my last harvest a few days ago, and a bagful of bay boletes (xerocomus badius)!

In fact, after lunch at a nearby pub (mushroomer's code of secrecy prohibits me from disclosing this location), we said goodbye to Paul, who had to get back to London, and I drove kpie and poppy home, then headed back out to pick for another four hours.

Needless to say, we had a wild mushroom risotto FEAST last night! OH YAH! =(V)

cookie chang and red mutha

2008-08-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

YOO HOO!!! cookie has her first retail outlet! That's right, folks, if you've got a hankering for some cookie chang badges ("buttons" to my stateside peeps) and you're any where near 92 Trafalgar Street in Brighton, then git yer bum into RED MUTHA and scream, "I NEED COOKIE!!!!" You might even get lucky and meet Red herself. She's da bomb – and the shop is as chock full of gorgeous "one-off, customised, recycled garments for those who dare to wear them!" Plus loads of other great stuff . . . now including cookie chang badges! Likewise, check out red mutha's myspace page . . . hey, while you're at it, check out cookie's myspace too!

Priced at just 60p for one or 2 for £1, you can kit out your bags, shirts, hats, coats, ties, knickers, shoes and anything else that takes your fancy with these little 1" babies.

If you're a little too far from Brighton to visit RED MUTHA and gotta get your cookie on, visit my etsy shop to buy them online! I'll be listing them all in the next couple of days . . . cookiechang.etsy.com.

Here's a peek at just a few of the designs . . .

(Shout out to Mariana for contacting Red Mutha in the first place!)

shrooomin' august!

2008-08-12T07:06:00.001-07:00

I know I should be really disappointed that the weather has been so crappy in the southeast corner of the UK, like . . . for the entire SUMMER. But I just can't be! 1.) I don't really like hot weather and get far too sticky and grouchy; and 2.) It's brought out the only thing that rivals my obsession with making art and cookie chang . . . MUSHROOMS!!!!!

So this morning when I took Poppy to the Ashdown Forest I figured I'd slog through the mud on our loop while she chased creatures up trees and rolled in any number of suspiciously stinky spots on the trail. And that's how it was going . . . until I spotted a very familiar little glimmer on the embankment to my left. CHANTERELLES!!!!

Now this is my third mushroom season here in Jolly Olde, and I have only ever found a tiny handful of these little golden nuggets. I have to face facts that it will never be the same as the deep old growth Hemlock, Spruce and Douglas Firs of Oregon where I could easily trek out with 10 pounds of Pacific Golden Chanterelles (cantharellus formosus) on my back. But I gotta make do with what we have on our doorstep here . . . .

. . . and what we do seem to have in abundance is hedgehog mushrooms -- hydnum repandum! (Sounds like something Harry Potter might say.) And they are as delicious as chanterelles -- if not a little more meaty and equally exciting to find!

When I spotted these little guys on a leaf covered knoll, I thought at first they were older, faded chanterelles. But having found my first hedgehog mushroom last year, I've since learned they are often mistaken for one another. Either way, I was ecstatic with the find -- two handfuls! "That will make a nice, nutty addition to our dinner tonight," I thought.

But as I tromped deeper into the woods, following the stream Poppy was happily submerging herself in, I stumbled upon the MOTHERLOAD! This photo doesn't even show them all. Rather than a "nice little addition" to our meal, pied de mouton will be the main course!

=(V)

cookie at brighton's west pier market

2008-07-24T00:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't made any new posts lately because I've been very busy for the past two months getting cookie ready to launch down at Brighton's West Pier Market. After a very blustery weekend and a failed attempt last Saturday, I checked the Met Office for Brighton's weather forecast, packed the car up and headed down bright and early yesterday morning. With just a light breeze off the sea and the sun poking through the mist, I set up my stand with the beautiful, eerie skeleton of Brighton's West Pier as a backdrop.

OK, so I didn't make a fortune (cookie) -- which may have been a little anticlimactic -- but what made up for it were the amazing PEOPLE I met. And to me, that was everything. My neighbor stall owners were helpful, encouraging, friendly and very welcoming.

Though the weather was stunning, there weren't a lot of people down on the pier, and everyone agreed it was a particularly slow day but that I shouldn't let it discourage me from coming back. Who knows, maybe it had something to do with it being a Wednesday, or maybe people were just shocked that we finally had a summer's day in England and it took them a while to remember where the beach was.

Either way, I'm not judging anything from just one day. I'll be back down on Saturday! (Let's be realistic, if everyone had an office space like this, that wouldn't be a very difficult decision to make, would it?)

Lady Day

2008-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Just did this today -- oil stick and pencil on board. I'm not sure why I keep painting Billie Holiday, but every few years she just pops up.

I guess I can think of worse things to do with my time...

(image ©2008 ramey n. holsman)

Viva Frida! (and Shrinky Dinks!)

2008-06-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

In May, mel.e sent me a packet of Shrinky Dinks for my birthday. (I'd requested them because my stash was left behind when I moved from the US to the UK almost three years ago.) So this week, while kpie was away on biz, I indulged in a few late nights with a pile 'o art supplies spread out over the coffee table and reacquainted myself with Shrinky Dinks.

"Viva Frida!" is my ode to my favorite grrl artist ever -- Frida Kahlo. I drew her with a fine line Sharpie on the glossy side, then had to think "backwards" when shading and coloring on the sanded side with colored pencils. I'm quite pleased with the outcome! Frida's mounted on two wooden dominoes which I've glued together. I used wood filler on the sides, then sanded and painted acrylics and gel pens (another gift from mel.e).

I ordered a good handful of milagros from elsol.etsy.com in San Antonio and included the little silver flaming heart, so when you wear this necklace, Frida's heart beats next to yours . . . ahhhh.

Up next will be "Fighting Basquiat," my tribute to Jean Michel Basquiat -- hands down, my favorite boy artist ever. The Shrinky Dink part is done, but the rest is still rattling around in my noggin. Inspiration . . . .

NEW! crumfiti uk POSTCARD & BADGE pack!

2008-06-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

check it out! cookiechang.etsy.com
Includes: all 7 crumfiti postcards, 1 crumz badge (pin-back button)
and FREE MAGNET in a glossy, 4-color pack ...are you kidding?
Get yours today!

hapa rules!

2008-05-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

I just have to take a minute to give a huge shout out to Mike and Nancy who sent me the most amazing gift today. part asian • 100% hapa is an inspired creation by kip fulbeck. It's a 262 page book of portraits of "hapas" and their corresponding, hand-written answers to the question, "What are you?"

For those of you who don't know what "hapa" is, it's described on kip's website redsushi.com as: "Once a derogatory label derived from the Hawaiian word for “half,” Hapa has since been embraced as a term of pride by many whose mixed racial heritage includes Asian or Pacific Island descent."

Being a hapa myself (dad's Korean, mom's Irish/Scottish) and growing up as a child in the 60s-70s, I never dreamed I would see a book like this! And you know what? My reaction was something I neither expected, nor could control. I cried. I even laughed at myself for crying . . . while crying.

Now I don't particularly view myself as being a "wounded individual" for having experienced racism in my life -- or for never fitting in as one race or the other. I've always marched to the BWWONG of my own gong -- so to speak. And besides, my parents always, always told my sisters and me to be proud of who we are. I guess my reaction to opening this book and immediately knowing the language Kip used, seeing the faces of my fellow tribe of hapas and reading their quirky, insightful, poetic answers to the question, "What are you?" touched the core of ME and who I AM.

Yeah, I guess that's why I cried. Seeing the faces of my fellow tribe of hapas and knowing I can finally tick one box.

Now I realize I started this blog to "blab" or "blag" about cookiechang.com and cookie's crumz and all the art projects I've been working on and everything you can buy at cookiechang.etsy.com . . . so I'm going to wrap this up by reminding you why there's a cookie chang in the first place. It's nothing mind-blowing or earth-shattering. I just liked the name. And because "cookie" and "chang" go together like, well, Irish and Korean!

Anyway, one last little plug for this book . . . even if you aren't hapa, you're gonna know one. BUY THIS BOOK for yourself or the hapa in your life! They're on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk and I'm sure at plenty of local bookstores.

I loved this grrl'z answer to "What are you?"

"I am a monster! Raa! And I have a pet dragon (quail). Well . . . I'm actually a Pepsi Twist. No. I'm a dark, dark black hole that sucks the universe. I'm an alien! (With pink sneakers!!)
PINK POWER"

hapa rules!!!!!

cookie chang MAGNETS join the BRIGHTON FESTIVAL!!!

2008-05-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

I got up early this morning to drive down to Brighton. My mission? To disperse FREE cookie chang MAGNETS!! The Brighton Festival is happening through May, so it only seemed fitting that free magnets advertising my handmade art be an unofficial part of this amazing month-long festival devoted to visual and performing arts!

So did you find one? I left them on magnetic friendly surfaces all over the North Laines. In fact I'm here right now, drinking a faaabulous cup o' joe, looking down Kensington Street, where this photo was taken.

If you found one in your shop and would like to carry my products or artwork, leave me a comment and I will gladly contact you.

If you're not a shop owner and found one on the street, please leave a comment as well. I'd love to know where you found yours.

And please don't forget to visit my etsy shop: cookiechang.etsy.com. Don't be put off by the US dollar pricing. Paypal will convert it for you. Besides, the dollar sucks right now, so you can basically halve the price ($8.00 = £4.00). That means REALLY GOOD DEALS on ORIGINAL HANDMADE ART and art byproducts.

OK, now on to the seafront to leave the rest of my magnets . . . . Maybe I'll see you down there?

Could it have been any more gorgeous today? mel.e took in some sites:

Prickly Prunella grabbed some rays:

Mamey Beergarden checked out the Royal Pavilion:

. . . and hit an all-time low in the loo. Oh Mamey, ya gotta stop cheatin' yourself!

Chicken of the Woods in May. Heh?

2008-05-07T03:46:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday as Poppy and I walked through the woods just down from our house in East Grinstead. There, on a muddy little stream bank, lay a log teaming with fresh, juicy Chicken of the Woods (laetiporus sulphureous)! Translated, this means MUSHROOMS! On May 6th? Who knew?

The earliest I've found them in Oregon was late late summer. But mostly I've found them in the autumn while picking Chanterelles (cantharellus cibarius). I guess like most similarities between the US and UK, you just have to tweak a little here and twist a little there to fit one into the other. (Well, kinda sorta.) At least we share many of the same edible species.

Poor Poppy. She thought she was on her way to chase squirrels up trees all afternoon. But as soon as I spied this log (where I'd seen little orange blobs only a week before), I flipped us around and back up the tree-lined incline home for the camera, a paper bag and my brand new Carluccio's Mushroom Knife -- an inspired birthday present from our wonderful friends Janne and Christine!

Is it not just the sexiest mushroom knife ever? And the only thing more exciting than finding Chicken of the Woods at the beginning of May was using it for the first time! Was it actually Antonio Carluccio who designed this masterpiece? I don't know, but it's brilliant! Brush, blade and little tweezers -- all in one perfectly balanced, wood-handled tool . . . and that rhymes with COOL.

And now back to the laetiporus sulphureous . . . . When discovering these mushrooms in the past, I'd have to trim only the outer edges, leaving the tough and chewy majority on the stump. Not these babies. They were moist and springy and, well, perfect really!

Now all I have to do is decide how to cook them.

what the...

2008-05-05T04:21:00.000-07:00

I wish these people would stop pestering me to post their videos! I agreed to do it initially because I thought they needed a creative outlet (plus I felt a little sorry for them -- for obvious reasons), but now it's getting downright creepy.

bone-joor!

2008-05-05T04:01:00.000-07:00

Some people really shouldn't be allowed passports. Can I get an "amen?"

bday toys

2008-05-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

The amazing kpie just gave me the most gorgeous birthday present! (A MACBOOK!) I neither expected, nor deserved it . . . but am eternally thankful and vow to continue my creative quest with ultimate fervor!

In addition to faaaabulous programs like CS3, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc. (with which I will be spending a considerable amount of time reacquainting myself -- and learning), it also has a very dangerous little application called Photo Booth. Really, you can tell me to stop anytime . . . .

moooooooo!

2008-05-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

What the hell? I feel like a cow drifting down a never- ending stream of molasses- consciousness and honey-bunches-of-freudian-oats . . . or something weird like that. Just when I thought blogspot was the last networky, bloggy, shoppy, websitey thing I was going to do to promote my art, etsy goes and sends me an email saying that there's this etsylove.ning.com site. mooooooo . . . gotta git me some a dem oats . . . .

Hey, but you know what? I dig me some etsy folk! And are there some talented peeps out there, or what? I even made friends with some of them. (Awww.)

OK, so I did spend the entire day messing around with my profile format instead of cutting out magnets and signing ACEOs, but as you can see, I was able to fit in an hour+ walk with little ms. poppy pants -- who can't be more tuckered out!

So, go check out the site and my profile! And, um, if you're reading this at blogspot first, just pretend you didn't notice that I'm plagiarizing myself by running this in both places.

street magnets! a kinda "how-to"

2008-04-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

I lied when I said that I haven't done ANYTHING to market my cookie chang products. Last fall I had this idea to do what the crumz were already doing -- graffiti. But, being a 42 year old woman in a new country, I thought it might not be too smart to get busted drawing on public buildings . . . and anyway, what the crumz are doing is "virtual crumfiti" not "actual graffiti."

So I said to myself, "Self, what if you could leave your mark around town without actually defacing property?" And what magically popped into my head? MAGNETS!

Being a natural cheapo-minded artist, I fit a bunch of 1" circular designs on an A4 page, printed it out on my inkjet printer, painstakingly cut out little "www.cookiechang.com" labels to affix to the back of each, laminated the page, cut each out with my 1" circle punch and stuck a little magnet to the backs. Fantastic idea, right? Uh, not in rainy olde England is wasn't!

One beautiful sunny day kpie and I put them up all over Lewes and Brighton. I skipped home, certain that the next day I would check my web stats and find thousands of new hits! Well, I did get a few extra from my efforts . . . until it rained . . . and rained and rained. When it finally let up I scoured the places we'd put them, only to find soggy, smeared paper and peeling lamination.

POOP!

Now, several months later, I've discovered a better way . . . and I want to share it! I've been getting postcards and ACEOs printed online at vistaprint.com (or vistaprint.co.uk) for several months now. They're all over the world and well-known for their free business cards. You can get 250 for free, but apparently they have vistaprint info on the back. Smart marketing on their part! But if you're like me, you want the thrill of seeing ONLY your designs on printed material.

So I got on their mailing list. They send one promo a day -- all advertising FREE products. Now if I've learned one thing in this lifetime, it's that nothing is FREE. But sometimes you can get a damn good deal if you pay attention!

Get on vistaprint's mailing list and take the time to look at the promos when you need something printed. Some of the postcard offers give you free uploads, free B&W printing on the backs and free glossy finishes. If you're willing to wait 21 days, you'll only end up paying £3.70 + VAT for 100 standard postcards.

I digress. We're talking about MAGNETS, not postcards. But the idea is the same. Vistaprint's magnets are 4-colour process on vinyl magnet sheets and don't fall to bits when it rains! I spent considerably more than £3.70 + VAT, but did some work to make sure I got 6 different designs on the large size (same size as the standard postcard), and cut them out with an x-acto knife. Voila! 100 sheets magically became 600 bright, colourful magnets which advertise my etsy site and my website! Easy peasy! The whole thing cost me £65.00 . . . but are FREE to you if you find one.

Now all you have to do is look for them on the streets! The crumz are busy putting them up from Seattle to Portland to Brighton to Lewes . . . to a metallic urban surface near you! Let me know where you found yours.

cookie do whatcha make of it. (heh?)

2008-04-29T02:49:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy, dreary day in Southeast England and my youngest sister (mert) is no doubt tucked up safe and sound in her bed in Seattle after her long flight home yesterday. For the two faaabulous weeks she was here with us, I did very little work on cookie . . . so today I followed my other little sister's (mel.e) lead and got me a spot on blogspot.

Since I launched my website (cookiechang.com) and opened my etsy shop (cookiechang.etsy.com) last May, I have admittedly done little to promote them. And how stupid! I spend so much time creating things: making dolls, painting, illustrating, writing, yada yada yada . . . how is anyone going to know they exist and are available to purchase if I don't actively tell them? Duh.

Joining the UKTeam on etsy has been really helpful and I'm learning about the importance of networking sites, etc. Talk about time consuming though! It's hard to divide my time between creating and producing art and promoting it -- but, as I'm learning, there ain't one without t'other.

So I'll end this entry with a couple pictures of my recent work.

This is my Mamey Beergarden doll. Look familiar? Like someone else we might know? You can have her for your very own by clicking on my etsy link on the right!

I've also had limited edition ACEOs of some of my paintings printed. In case you don't know what an ACEO is, it stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals and must always be 2.5" by 3.5" -- the same size as baseball and other trading cards. They're meant to be an affordable way to collect art. And at just $8.00 for 4 signed edition prints on etsy, I'd say that's pretty affordable!

You can also visit cookiechang.com and learn about cookie's "crumz" -- the naughty little characters who like to do their virtual crumfiti on various landmarks in the UK. You can even hear their voices (god knows I do).