Yee Haw!

I was so excited to see that there were new listings at Ramonster's new Etsy shop- I quickly nabbed a hobby horse (or Stick Pony, as she calls them) for Max. He's been galloping around the house lately, so I thought this would be the perfect time. It arrived in a big box, which was just as interesting for a 2 year old as the contents were. It is even better in person- the photos just don't do them justice. As a disclaimer, Ramonsters fabulous designer is Kathie Sever- my cousin. She even embroidered Max's name on the horses bandana. So cute! At first he wasn't sure what to do with it. It spent a few days just hanging out, looking cool in out living room. Then starting a couple days ago, he looks for it- saddles up, and "Yee Haw!" Off he goes!

So, Kathie does not just make stick ponies. Kathie is pretty amazing- an artist extraordinaire. She does incredibly detailed embroidery for custom shirts and dresses. She also is working on a collaborative childrens book, - you can watch the progress on their blog- The Back and Forth Project. She's embroidering the illustrations- really cool. And this blog isn't just about the book, but every Friday they have "Friend Friday" and share other people's back and forth projects. Back and forth quilt- even a back and forth diorama! Really inspirational.

Her most fascinating current project for me is the Future Craft Collective. From their blog:
The future craft collective is about inspiring children to get crafty, to create beauty, while simultaneously teaching them ways of minimizing our impact on this earth. It's about understanding ways of recycling, reducing, reusing, and at the same time, making some really cool stuff.

The classes that she teaches to children and adults- boys and girls- look like so much fun. It makes me wish I lived in Austin to take one myself. Or really, wish she lived in Portland. Yeah, she should move to Portland.