Heya, Reader! It's good to see ya.

Listen to the audio version HERE! 🔉

When I was sick with con crud back in January, I was confined more often than not to my bed. And this...little shit! Had many...many ideas for how I should spend my time. In hindsight, maybe he was reminding me to rest up, but that is so doubtful because 1) he's an orange 2) he is teeming with little shit energy.

---

Rediscovering
A Favorite Craft

This past weekend, I hosted an exclusive stream for my Ko-Fi monthly members. I was going off the cuff again, and I wound up pulling out my old Perler bead set that I'd had in storage for a while. While I was initially interested in putting together hearts to try to rush things out for St. Valentine's Day, I wound up making fruit towards the end of the stream since...well, let's be honest, I was hopping on late.

As I was putting everything together, I discovered—rather, rediscovered—something: a childlike joy. Simplicity. It was just me, these tiny beads, and my brain whirring as I tried to refine broad concepts into simple shapes that could translate.

With every piece I finished, there was this joy that cropped up, including a kind of catharsis that I'd been missing for a while. I allowed myself to experiment, dropping beads and making mistakes along the way, yeah, but there was also that dopamine that surged whenever I finished melting the beads together.

Watch the VOD HERE!

I dunno! Something about it was just really enjoyable, and I found myself wanting to continue making little "irl pixel" fruits even after the camera stopped rolling. I'll be posting them up in the shop after I run some experiments and explore customization options. I might start off with magnets or keychains for simplicity's sake, but I plan on making bundles (fruit baskets) and stuff too.

---

I think that's it for now! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope to chat with you again soon! Actually--before I go, what's a craft or hobby you've rediscovered, or do you think you'd like to pick up again? I'm curious to know!