Global Garden

And Another One

Flowers and Ladybugs and Polka Dots- Oh My!

Wait until you see how I am going to put these three fabrics together!

I've Been Busy

Finally, I feel like I'm getting something done. These are a few things I've finished up lately.

Reversible dress- has matching capri pants in the red floral and dots.

Scalloped eyelet bodice came out sew sweet!

Dress reverse to the same floral as the pants.

Dress reverses to the striped fabric.

Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the sweetest little aqua and lavender paisley set before sending it on it's way.

Grey's and Son

Yay oh yay! Tonight is the return of Grey's Anatomy! And Ugly Betty! I'll take a pass on Lost. I just had a funny conversation with my 21 year old son. He recently discovered Grey's and has been catching up on the previous seasons on-line. He says his friends laugh at him for watching Grey's. "But hey", he says "there's three really hot chicks on there". He is, of course, counting Addison since he hasn't caught up yet. What tickled me is that for the first time in like 15 years we are watching the same show- even if he's watching for the "hot chicks".

Happy Earth Day

This & That

It's been a hectic several days and I been neglecting my posts. I'm sewing like mad trying to finish up all the custom orders that came my way right before I got the new job, which proves the old adage when it rains it pours. In a good way of course. Once the customs are done I'll be able to create in a more leisurely manner and just whatever tickles my fancy at the time. No more pressure to sell, yay, just the pleasure of doing what I love and selling it just to support my creative obsessions.

What Do You See...

...in the left side-bar? Between the "bloom" picture and the "dandelions Etsy mini". Do you see some pretty pictures that link to cool Etsy shops? Or do you see the empty boxes with the dreaded red X? Leave me a comment, for once I hope I'm the only one seeing them.

Omphaloskepsis

-noun
Contemplation of one's navel as part of a mystical exercise.

Over The Hump

I've made it over the hump in my first week on the new job, come on, Friday! I am beat. It's been 22 years since I have had to learn a new job from the bottom up. And while I am still at the University, and know alot (ALOT) of the inside stuff, I have a ton to learn.

Grant and assessment administration is uncharted waters for me, coming from academic faculty and student support. I do have to admit though that I'm having fun putting together an office from the four walls in, and end-of-the-fiscal-year budget restraints are putting my creative skills to work. It's fun too that it's a brand new position in a new department so I get to make it up as I go. Flying by the seat of my pants, hey, I am gooood at that!

Connections

Two recent discoveries have me feeling particularly connected to the world beyond my little sphere. I met a gal, don't remember if we first chatted through Etsy or our blogs, they are sort of intertwined. But we have been exchanging stories about our respective disabled sons- my 24 year old with Friedreich's Ataxia(FA) and her 5 year old with Cerebral Palsy.

Then I discovered The Mom Blogs with a whole blogroll related to parenting special needs children. Wow, what a wealth of information, love, sharing, and downright understanding. My son's diagnosis came before the information super highway and finding medical information, not to mention community was nearly impossible. I haven't found one yet specifically about FA but if I don't they will find me.

Driving In Circles

I was getting really tired of hanging out in the promo forums trying to get folks to look at my Etsy shop. I mean they are there trying to get me to look at their shops. It was getting really redundant and not producing any sales.

So... okay, everyone seems to have a blog, thought I'd give that a try. I wasn't sure what I was doing and often still get things right quite by accident, but I have this blog. I spend time on it every day, tweaking and updating and adding little widgets. And now I seem to spend all my time in the promo forums trying to get people to look at my blog!

Reborns

Beautiful reborn baby dolls on Etsy.

What's Missing?

Yay me!

I'm starting a new job Monday, whoohoo. After taking a year off from a real job and then working part-time for the past 5 months, it's back to the real world. I wasn't really looking for anything but this position just kind of came out of nowhere. It sounded like something intriguing although I didn't think my interest in it would be taken seriously. Surprise, surprise.

I still don't think I'll catch many sunrises but I will miss sitting with my coffee, Etsy, blogging, etc. all morning, and leisurely lunching with Mom or my RCA gals but a real paycheck is going to be a good thing! So, when (not if) you see me hanging around the forums at 1:00a.m. tell me to go to bed.

Critique...

...my blog. I'd love to know what you think, I'm pretty sure I would, about the content, the look and overall feel. What would you add? Subtract?

Love to hear from you.

Charmed

-adjective
Marked by good fortune or privilege.

Color Practice

Anyone that knows me knows I am all about cool colors. I surround myself with green, blue and purple- preferably all three at once. So, I've set myself a little goal to step outside my color comfort zone and try something new, starting with this little Etsy favorites collection. Links to individual listings are below.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5669141

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10711209

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8147183

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9759992

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6550834

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6937416

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10695774

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7747146

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8113452

Craft Fairs

Have I mentioned my mixed feelings about doing craft fairs and boutiques? Today was my first in a long time and I did okay. Made back my table money and some for my pocket. Did I make enough to be worthwhile? Yes and no. I made enough to be worth the time I spent there- setting up, selling, packing up, etc. When I think about the prep time before the event- getting displays put together, pricing things, making signs, the actual inventory (although I'd be creating it anyway)- probably not worth what I made.

Will I be doing it again? Yep, no doubt, for several reasons. Meeting my fellow crafters and artisans is always great, I met a fellow Etsian today, that was cool. Sharing upcoming events is informative, grumbling about the current crumby market reminds me I'm not the only one. Meeting my customers face-to-face is the best. I love what I do and I love sharing it. I don't hoard my skills and knowledge, I love explaining how I created something and encouraging someone to try it. So yeah, this one is done, I'll have an early night tonight and a day of rest tomorrow, then start gearing up for the next one. Maybe I'll see you there!

Treasury West

Wow, I was gathering Etsy favorites thinking it would be nice, albeit unlikely, to get hold of a Treasury spot. I finished my gathering, popped over to look at the Treasuries, then went about doing something elsewhere in the house. I came back to my computer about an hour later and VOILA it was waiting for me to assign a name to my Treasury! I am thrilled with how it turned out.

Sedona

I was honored to have my Sedona necklace pictured in the Fall 2006 issue of Belle Armoire magazine. Once this weekend's craft faire is passed and I get caught up with half a dozen custom outfit orders, I am going to run a tutorial on this piece. I'm going to be working it up in my signature color palette of blue, green and purple. Pick your colors and check back soon to follow along.

Puppy Love

I was peeking through Fuzzy Logic's blog, admiring her beautiful Mastiffs and figured I should share some puppy love. I went to the shelter a few years ago looking for a male lab-mix and came home with Blue. Not a lab, not a male. About three months old at the time, she leaned up against the bars of the pen and turned her goofy blue eye on me and I fell in love. She's not the smartest dog in the park but she makes up for it in character, personality and love. Blue loves strawberries-n-cream frapuccino, riding in the car, hogging the bed, and her daddy.

This is Blue's everyday collar, I made it for her a couple years ago. It's the one she always wears with her tags. She's about due for a new one, which I'll finish up sometime soon, but this one has held up remarkably well.

Stoked

Woohoo! I am lovin' my third column even if it's naked right now! Thanks so much to Amanda at Blogger Buster for the great tutorial, she made it sooo simple.
Now that I have my nifty left column I'm thinking I'll offer up some ad space- free for now since this is a wee fledgling of a blog. Details to come...

Karma

Argh! So I was playing with my blog trying to add meta tags without fully understanding what I was doing. Suddenly it was gone! Not all of it, my posts were still there. But my colors (which I agonize over) my links, all of my little widgets... everything except the actual posts and archives just poofed. I am so un-savvy about all e-things that every step of my blog has been one forward and two back. I was torn between crying and throwing up but as I was at work I could do neither.
I managed eventually to get it all back, except my lovely colors. I have no more understanding of how and why it came back than I do of how and why it went away, but I am sooo glad it did.
Lesson learned: Blogging at work = Bad Karma.