A Chris-mouse Named "Hate"

Golly wockles, Blog, where have I been the past two weeks?  Well, in large part, working on my novel and crafting.  It's a blizzard of crafting here at Magic House as I prepare gifts for all the family members...all of which will be revealed here on the blog post-holiday, Blog.  But I can show you one gift, this here little Chris-mouse.

Davie spotted a similar mouse at Steins the other day for six bucks.  I said, "Jeez, Davie, I could so make you one!"  Davie said, "It's six bucks!"  I said, "I'll make you an even better one!"  Davie said, "Well...okay..."

As I live with Davie, it's not easy for me to make him surprise gifts, so I thought I'd have to go with this lame, non-surprise one.  Fortunately, however, last Saturday night he went to bed SUPER early, that is, earlier even than his usual time, so I took the opportunity to make him a rather cool surprise gift after all.  Hence I am able to show you this mouse and not even make a lame attempt to keep it sort of secret-y. 

As I was making the mouse, it went through a stage when it seemed like it might not turn out as cool as the one in the store, at least to Davie, who can't fathom my ability to craft things successfully 95% of the time.  He said, "The one in the store was only six bucks!  I'm going to hate this one.  In fact, I'm going to call him 'Hate.'" Now I know that seems alarming, but understand, Davie likes quirky names.

Of course, in the end, the mouse turned out like you see here.  It's groovy, IMHO.  It even has a weighted bottom so it won't tip over no matter how you pose its bendable belled tail.  And, as I had all the supplies I used already on hand, we saved six bucks.

Meanwhile, I am using this mouse as my submission for this month's Creativity Invitation Challenge, which was "Red."  I know it's a bit of a stretch, but I think this mouse explores the connotations of the color red.  Red, combined with a small bell, makes this a Chris-mouse with a festive air (even though he has the name 'Hate').  Even when the red is combined with charcoal gray (Davie's pick), rather than white or green or gold or silver, it still seems Christmas-y. 

So that, Blog, is my story, and I'm sticking to it.  Mostly I was happy with this project because it demonstrated that I can usually back up the statement "I could totally make you one of those," as my family members will learn about a month from now.  YAY!