I love it - a sock monkey mug!

Just had to share a picture of my sock monkey mug, given to me by my friend, Judy-O.

Whether I'm sippin' hot chocolate, tea or coffee it all tastes yummier in this fun mug.

Thanks a bunch - I love it.

Bottom's up!

A letter from The Duke

Miss Millie was so excited today when she received a letter from The Duke, who lives with Rascally Ray in Florida.

She just loves receiving news from sock monkeys that have left the Ranch to live out their dreams. All the other monkeys were eager to hear what The Duke is up to, so she read the letter out loud to them. 

Seems he's fittin' just fine, but there was a bit of confusion at first.  You see, Rascally Ray was a bit mixed up about why they're called SOCK monkeys.  He thought maybe they were stress relievers until his wife Ginny explained that socks are what they're made from, not what you do to them!

 

Photos from our Sock Monkey Friends

We were tickled pink to receive this delightful sock monkey Christmas greeting from The Andersons today.  That's Samantha, Jessie, Jillie and JoJo enjoying tea and cookies. These sock monkeys live with the Anderson triplets.

 

             And another friend, Ellie sent pictures of three Sock Monkey Ranch monkeys that turned up under the Christmas tree this year...

I love it when the monkeys write home!

Merry Christmas from Sock Monkey Ranch

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from Miss Millie, Dusty, Lucky, Tumbleweed, Betsy, Skippy, Mike, Molly, Lenny Longtail and Little Bit.

 

and a blessed Holiday Season from Grandma Jan!

 

Miss Amelia visits Germany

Recently received a picture from Miss Amelia who was visiting Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. She's just as pretty as a flower and has obviously adapted well to her life with the Thomas family!  Thanks for sharing her travels with us.

 

 

America's Next Top Model?

Sock Monkey Ranch had some very special visitors today, but because of a confidentiality agreement, we are unable to give you names.  Let's just say someone who wasn't Tyra Banks...but looked a lot like her, and someone with a camera who wasn't Nigel Barker, but looked a lot like him stopped by for lemonade on the veranda.

We were all havin' a pleasant visit when the Nigel look-alike  started making this little square thing with his hands and looking at Miss Millie real funny.  Then he asked her if he could "shoot" her.

Well, Miss Millie, being the cowgirl that she is was ready to draw down on him in the middle of the street until he explained that he meant take her picture.

They had lots of fun with different poses, and Ms. Not Tyra Banks selected her favorite pictures from all Miss Millie's frames (that's photography/model talk). She said Miss Millie had "fierce eyes" in this picture.

 Miss Millie is not going to be signed by the top modeling agency in New York, nor will she win a photo layout in Cover Girl, but we're mighty proud of our Sock Monkey Ranch Top Model.

You are unique!

We all come in different shapes and colors, but we're all simply adorable.
(And I'm not just talkin' about monkeys!)

God made each one of us special. Celebrate your uniqueness!

Sock Monkeys in Italy!

McKenna and Kaitlyn live in Germany with their parents. Dad is in the military so these lucky girls get to travel to wonderful places. Of course, they take their Sock Monkey Ranch monkeys (Juliet and Baily) with them.
Juliet's favorite sight was the statue of Juliet in Verona. While there she quoted the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet - playing both parts! And she seemed to be on a constant look out for a Romeo of her very own.

Bailey loved the Tower of Pisa. (Except she thought it was the Tower of Pizza and was just a little bit discouraged because she was very hungry.)

Thanks so much for sharing these pictures with us, girls. It's always fun to get to know our monkeys' new people and hear about their adventures after leaving the ranch.
 

Sock Monkey Ranch Craft Room Makeover

This week I decided if I was going to work in my craft room every day and earn a living from there, that it would be cool if it was an environment I really enjoyed being in...so I did a makeover.

Originally, I had 3 huge bookshelves filled to overflowing with craft supplies. They were dark and heavy and made the room look so small and depressing. I also had a huge entertainment unit that served as home for Miss Millie, Dusty, Cletus Dean and the rest of the Sock Monkey Ranch gang...it, too was overflowing.

BEFORE MAKEOVER

Those of you who know me, know what my craft space usually looks like...chaos. It took me 3 days to do the makeover, but I love it.

AFTER MAKEOVER

I love this mirrored wall. It's fun and whimsical. Mirrors are from IKEA. The table under the mirrors are my packing/shipping and occasionally, my painting and journal making area. Shelves behind that hold my fabric stash. (That's Oliver, my Schnoodle, lounging on the floor.)

A double-wide table with two sewing machines. Now I have room for a friend to come and sew with me!"

And notice the organized shelves. Yes, those are labeled bins...woohoo!

 

 

I've moved Miss Millie and the gang to a new white hutch. They're much cozier and the drawers are used to store extra monkey clothing and accessories. The bottom drawer holds "monkey skins" just waiting to be sewn, stuffed and born.

I'm ready to create!

Seeing Double?

Folks around Sock Monkey Ranch have been seeing double lately.

Miss Mollie                              Miss Millie

I'd like you to meet Miss Mollie (on the left), Miss Millie's little sister. (That's Miss Millie on the right.)

They look so much alike that sometimes they're mistaken for twins. One big difference, however that Miss Mollie has a sweet tooth. Heck, she has a whole mouthful of them, which is why she's insisting on carrying a bag of sugar wherever she goes...weird, huh?

After a brief visit, Miss Mollie was off to live in San Jose, CA with Catherine, who promised to keep her sugar intake under control.

We'll miss that sweet little gal!

Hiking Sodona

Cletus Dean Baker (AKA Tumbleweed) hiked the West Fork Trail in Sodona yesterday.   (I got to go along as his photographer.) What a beautiful place...we've got to go back and do it again, soon! Maybe next time he'll let me be in some of the pictures.

 

Wearable Sock Monkey Art!

My friend, Carrie over at Poet Summer has created another gorgeous sock monkey charm bracelet featuring Sock Monkey Ranch monkeys. 

Pop on over to Poet Summer's Shop and have a look at her amazing work.  Just click on the picture above and it will take you right to her shop.

Lucille Ball and Vitameatavegamin

Ok, I've been dying to post my latest sock monkey on the blog, but I had to wait because a friend custom ordered it for his wife's birthday and I was afraid she might see it.

He wanted a Lucille Ball sock monkey.

Front View



Back view (add a bow to her tail later)



Her cute little hat.

Vitameatavegamin - I used a Watkins vanilla bottle
and filled it with Coke, then made a cool label .

I included a spoon for tasting.



This was one of the most challenging sock monkeys I've made yet, but she was a lot of fun.

Oh, and...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUDY!

It's a Sock Monkey Tea Party!

I'm so excited!  Carrie over at PoetSummer on Etsy has created the most wonderful charm bracelet featuring some of the monkeys from right here on Sock Monkey Ranch!

Sock Monkey Tea Party Charm Bracelet

Pop over and take a look at Carrie's stunning bracelets in every theme you can possibly think of...and if she doesn't have one you want, I bet she'd make one especially for you!

Update from Clovis

Just got a picture via email from Miss Cassie down in Canyon, Texas of Clovis Dean on his new horse, Big Brown.  Miss Cassie says he is settling in just fine and making lots of new friends.

Clovis and his new ride.

I'm sure he'll be spinnin' yarns with the fellers down on his new spread, just like he does when he's here at Sock Monkey Ranch with his brother, Cletus.

Thanks fer the update, Miss Cassie!

Clovis Dean Baker and Cletus Dean Baker

Cletus Dean Baker AKA Tumbleweed (on the right) has been hanging around Sock Monkey Ranch for quite some time, now, but his brother Clovis Dean Baker (on the left) just rolled into the ranch around dusk last night.

He and Cletus spent most of the evenin' sitting round the big old porch of the ranch house swappin' tall tales. I'm not sure which one of them tells the biggest golly-whoppers, but they sure kept the ranch hands in stitches and wonderin' which of the stories were true and which were pure hog-wash.

You can read about how they spent the evening entertaining the ranch hands here: READ MORE

I hear that Ma Baker had a third son...Clarence Dean Baker. (She gives all her boys her maiden name for a middle name...she was Etta Mae Dean before she married Pa Baker.)

I suppose it's only a matter of time before Clarence Dean shows up at the ranch!

Lenny Longtail Goes to the Zoo

My daughter invited me to go to the zoo with her family.  Of course, all of the sock monkeys on the ranch wanted to go, but there was only enough room in my backpack for one.

Lenny Longtail reminded me that of all the monkeys at Sock Monkey Ranch, he was the only one who had never gone out on an adventure.  I pointed out the fact that Lenny couldn't go because he is the only monkey on the ranch who isn't wearing clothes (because I haven't gotten around to making them) and he asked in a perfectly innocent voice, "Do the animals at the zoo wear clothes?"

Well, what could I say?  Lenny hopped in my backpack and away we went.

He had a wonderful time making new friends at the zoo, but after 5 hours of walking, he was one tired, but happy little monkey.

We had a wonderful, but exhausting time.