Cake Sale + Mayumi’s New Job

I’ve been in a cake kind of mood lately, and I need to clear out my earlier cake designs to make space for new goodies, so…[drum roll, please] I’ve marked a handful of adorable desserts 25% off. If you’re setting up a miniature bakery or diner, or if your dolls have a serious sweet tooth, snag these tiny treats before they disappear:

Army of Mice

This week has been absolutely nuts, and I came back from two weekends in a row of St. Louis shows to a long list of custom orders. I’m nearly halfway finished, but I need to take a little break this weekend and work on some projects purely for fun to get my creative mojo flowing again, and to give my brain some much-needed play time. I’ve finished two out of the six Nutmeg mouse dolls for the book, so I might continue working on those (is it terrible that I’ve been fantasizing about sending one of the siblings off to the Peace Corps and perhaps shipping a baby or two to a long-lost relative, just so I don’t have to sculpt so many dolls? heheheh…), but I’m also tempted to work on Mayumi’s living quarters.

Mayumi Takes Over

That’s right–I haven’t filled you in on the latest developments! Mayumi has been a little frustrated at the rate at which I’ve been tackling the book project. Neither of us had anticipated online sales to be this busy so early in the year (not that you’ll hear a peep of complaint from me in that regard), and I’ve had very little time to spend on anything besides maintaining my inventory levels, but I’m determined not to let things grind to a halt in the book department. The good news is that Mayumi has happily agreed to help, and since she spends the majority of her time with the Nutmegs as it is, it just makes sense that she would be the right girl for the job.

At the moment, the Nutmegs have three spare rooms on the main floor, and we’ve decided to turn the larger of the three into a sort of lunch/coffee break area for Mayumi, and the adjoining room, which is much smaller, will house a modest computer desk for her writing. It’s perfect, because the work area has a little window, an office must-have for sanity’s sake, and Mayumi is already picking out wallpaper patterns and choosing potted plants for the break room. Partly, I think she’s just thrilled to have something to do, now that she’s settled into her new life with the Nutmegs, and she’s as eager as I am to propel the book project forward.

For now, Mayumi will be in charge of storyboarding the first mouse tale, and once I’m finished building the last of the necessary props, I’ll shoot each of the scenes and leave the photos in Mayumi’s care. She’ll be in charge of designing the layout for the book, and we’ll work together on polishing the story and design. I’m unbelievably grateful for her help, and Mayumi has cleverly convinced me that she’s obviously in need of a computer and probably some new clothes to wear around the office, so I think she’s making out rather well for herself.