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As much as I love to draw, I cannot resist making things from clay and from fabric.
I guess that all of the girls in high school today will laugh at the fact that when I was a teenager, still loved to play with dolls and toys I was often making clothes or houses for them.
Of course, it was partly because of the fact that there were many kids around me – and then it seemed to me that I was made to care and entertain relatives’ and friends’ children.
Don’t get me wrong: most of the time I was doing this gladly, and kids are good excuse for these games.
We’ve had many joyful days and I still love to dwell in the world of fantasy and toys.
My parents are also creative people and they influenced me a lot.
There is still somewhere in the attic an old puppet theater. My father once started to make it as a gift to my mother, but it ended not finished.
Sometimes I remember about it and I want to finish it together with Dad, but it seems that every time is not “the right moment”.
Maybe I don’t want to go too far from the childhood, as I enjoy making toys even today.

Let me introduce you to some that I still keep.
Here it is one of the very first I’ve made – it’s almost 13-14 years-old, I believe:

At that time I was drawing constantly, even applied for a school of Fine Arts. I intended to study Metal & Plastic Arts, but I couldn’t pass the first exam (graphics) and I didn’t go to the second one with the clay modeling, where I was sure I could be way better at.
Anyway, even today this little bear is keeping well the leftovers of my once huge collection of pencils. Some of them are so short now, you cannot even see them.

And what about this little piggy that we have here? Well, this guy also has a story to tell. He was made together with another one, and the other went as a present to a friend’s baby.

This one stayed at home as I considered it not so successful, but lately I found him and improved it a bit by adding the smile and the pants.

There will be a sequel.

There is something strange about all these cats in my works.
In fact, if you say that I probably like cats than dogs, it won’t be fair and right.
I was a cat owner for eleven years, but dog owner for much more.
For my long-lived and unforgettable friend Sheila I have written here before, and Lovejoy is still alive and kicking and lives with my parents and my brother.
Let me not even remind myself of Frodo, who was one of a kind and who left both of us with Michel inconsolable (Michel promised to write the whole story one day, when his heart lets him do it).
I love all kind of animals, of course. But this way or another, somehow cats are coming out more often under my fingers – and that’s a fact.

Well, this one is really special.
I drew it two days ago, when I was in need of something specific and engaging for the front side of my own business cards.
How could I miss the chance to show it off the the whole Internet?
Do you like it?
At least I know I do!

I remember the times when every free minute meant for us to grab the bikes and go on traveling adventures outside Sofia.
Nice, but didn’t happen for a long time. Michel is still ill, and this is going on for more than ten days.
Even Batman himself couldn’t help in this case, despite sending to us all week his own branded lemons:

From solidarity I am at home too, saving the people around from the flu virus, so all I can do is looking around and finding old and new things that could show in my blog. Like this greeting, good for Twitter-fans:

Here is another one, much smaller, made with some help from one little two-years-and-a half-old fairy:

Nia seems to draw far better than me, actually.
Don’t believe me?
Well, judge by yourselves:

I think she’s very good. Maybe one day she’ll laugh on this picture, but I like it and I wish her to develop a good skill.

That’s the common wish these days.
You can hear people saying it on the streets, in the shops, online… the same old sentence, but for sure the meaning it’s not the same for everybody.
Is it easy to make the people you love happy?
I like very much to make presents.
Always choosing very carefully, concerning the recipient.
But this Christmas for the first time I got one gift rejected (not a good feeling at all).
During the years I’ve received many stupid, not useful things – presents that I didn’t like or want.
But never I refused to take them.
I think that accepting things is as important as to give things. Maybe even more important.
For it is wonderful to give from yourself, but is more valuable to know how to accept from the others.
I am also still learning…

Truth is, for many, many people these days are neither happy or holidays.
For me, “holiday” and “feast” are words that mean to dance, to sing, to play games, to exchange gifts.
But in my country the “tradition” seems to be to spend the holidays at home, around the table and in front of the TV.
After them everybody is groaning and moaning and is feeling bad from too much food and drink, and I am sure that only a few people will do something different.
But there is one more thing – I believe, that the holiday spirit comes from the people, not from the date in the calendar.

So, Internet, that’s my greeting:

Have unforgettable holidays – let them be the way you want to make them!

Оh, and that’s what I did for my brother, wishing him own sweet home:

Here they are – this year’s cookies. I don’t know what’s the problem with them, but they just don’t want to stay in the tin box untill Christmas.

So, it’s a good thing that I’ve got them pictured, at least this way i am able to show them to you.
Every year I think about making at least twice more than these. From the other hand, no matter how many cookies I’ve made, they are never enough, because
I love to give almost all of them to friends and loved ones.

About the recipe… well, I like to improvise. Finding the right recipe, using the same products, but mix them measuring everything with my eye and instinct, and frankly, I am probably lucky, because I very rarely fail, even with our old and whimsy oven.
For example, I was dying for brownies yesterday evening. Since I am not planning a trip to England in the next few days, I decided to make myself some.
Here is the proof:

…is what I always do when I’ve got a pen or crayon around.
Of course, the modern technologies could not be skipped. After I’ve mentioned many times in front of the right people HOW MUCH do I want to try use a tablet, well, I finally got one as a gift for my birthday. This was last year, actually.
Till now the tablet is cover with dust. And I feel guilty for NOT having time for play.

This is result from the two-minutes play with the tablet. I couldn’t dare to show it, if it wasn’t Michel, who made me by bugging my conscious for not writing here at all.
Here is another small thing from me, made with ordinary pen:

Actually, this rabbit is done during this year’s Future Publishing conference where I happened to be as an editor of the Bulgarian version of .net magazine.
Most people write down notes, I usually like to draw. This way I listen even better.
I still hope that one day will have the skills and patience needed to make from this scratch a fine illustration in Adobe Illustrator…

Here is one of the best surprises I’ve got for my birthday from a friend.

I love the books of Tove Jansson and these strange heroes.

The cake was not only perfectly made, but also very, very delicious piece of kitchen art.

My brother gave me this big pencil.
It’s a joke with the name of this website, which sounds like the word “pencil” in Bulgarian.

I guess he is just trying to tell me, that is time for me to give drawing more space in my life.

Yes, my day. I love the whole October – best time of the year.
The day is so bright with all the kind people smiling and calling to wish me nice things, that I would like to ask if it could be like this every day.

Feel happy, so i wanted to share few music greetings from me to all of the nice people out there:

So classic:

(and the same with High Quality, only not loud enough)

Something from The 80′s

and another, modern one:

Thanks to all of you!

This is the best time of the year concerning colors.

I am very fond of pebbles. Sea ones, river ones, rounded or edgy, every little one with its own from and personality.
Recently I found something wonderful online – alphabet from pebbles.

ClotildeOlyff probably made hard work to collect all of these, but her efforts were worth while.
Her alphabet is nice and well-done, even if not the only try with this idea (here is another try that I found, only not so good).

Meanwhile these days I miss very much the sea. Suffering from the usual nostalgia, I will show off few of my pebbles’ photos.

Probably not so interesting from a typographical point of view.
But let’s say they are iconic.

I know, that my next sentence is a big cliche, but whatever, I mean it – Nature is a true magician!

That’s it. Even nowadays I just cannot go home from somewhere without at least a handful of pebbles…