Scribbles? or Art?

Lately, our daughter has been obsessed with drawing on her Magna-Doodle. While I love this toy (it's been a life saver on more than one occasion), I also have a strong dislike toward it as I can't save any of the masterpieces!

Lyssie is two... and several weeks ago, she came home from a friend's house with a paper plate in hand. Her friend's mom saved the plate because Lyssie had drawn a happy face on it. Now, I love my daughter's drawings, but I was a bit skeptical. After all, we adults have a tendancy to want to make sense of scribbles. But I took a look at the drawing and couldn't believe it. These weren't random scribbles.

Fast forward to a week ago.. Lyssie started picking up her Magna-Doodle again and forcing her grandparents to draw with her. After a week of drawing with her Papa and Nana, she became quite skilled at drawing people and turtles. Of course, this was all on the Magna-Doodle and she would erase them before I could snap a quick photo.

But within the last two days... she's finally started doing them on paper! I'm very excited to show them off here. I think they are wonderful (I know, I'm her mom, so I am a bit biased) and can't wait to see where she goes from here! Click on the photo of her drawing and you can see the images on her paper.

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March showers... well, snow showers

It's cold here! So cold that our rain has turned into snow. It was just a mix of rain and snow earlier... but now it is very large snowflakes. I let our dog outside to take care of business... she wasn't gone for more than a minute or two and she came back with a back covered in snow.

I'm thankful I don't have to leave the house again today. I plan on cleaning my work area so I can sew, sew, sew this weekend! I'm planning for that burst of motivation that will hit me any day now.

I tried to take the kids outside yesterday into the sun and take some photos of a few mermaid tails I've made... the wind almost blew Lyssie over. Needless to say, we came right back inside... and no photos. It's amazing how looks can be deceiving when looking outside!

Another month of weird weather here in Washington. I love this place!

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Triops

For my son's second birthday, we took him to his first concert; They Might Be Giants. We had such a great time... and he's been fan ever since. He owns all of their children's albums (adult albums are owned by his father) and so when they came out with a new one... he had to have it.

One of their songs includes a Triops. This little creature was inspired by the song. Co-designed by my son (my original triops drawing looked nothing like this - he changed it completely). The Triops is the second I-spy creature I've made. Unfortuntely the first one (which has been lovingly named One Eye) was adopted immediately by my son.

I love these little creatures... and I'm sure there will be more in the near future. They are one-of-a-kind as they come from Robbie's busy little mind. I love things that he and I do together!

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Solo in the fabric store

We have family in town right now. This means that today I had the pleasure of fabric shopping without kids. I really don't mind going with the kids, but they always prefer to do other things, so I'm always rushed.

I also figured out that fabric store employees are much more pleasant when I don't have kids in tow. It's a little upsetting that my first pleasant visit to Hancock Fabics was without the kids. And it was obvious. The gal cutting my fabric actually engaged in conversation and seemed genuinely interested in what I make. The check out clerk was equally nice and didn't rush me. It was nice. But why can't that happen when I have kids around? Instead, the cutting person usually doesn't talk to me. And if I try to talk to them, I get the blank stare when I try use a little humor to reduce the tension I always feel. I never guessed it would have been because of my kids. I think my kids are well behaved (maybe most parents do) and they are pretty cute :), so who wouldn't want them around?

Anyhow, I enjoyed my few hours by myself... and I think the store employees did as well.

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Not a lot to say

I've noticed it's been a while since my last posting. I really don't have a lot to say. I haven't really been doing much. I guess after the sewing spree I went on for the wholesale order, I've needed a bit of a break.

I'm still trying to be productive. I am working on finishing the many projects I have that are laying around. I posted a scarf in my On A Whimm shop yesterday. I've been working on finishing the other one I have going. I've also been trying to clean things out a bit... and might be listing some destash items as well.

But, for the most part, I'm feeling very unproductive. I have a bunch of fortune cookies to make (I'll be getting the final supplies for those today). They will go into our EtsyRAIN swag bags that we are giving out at our May 10th craft fair in Edmonds. I'm really looking to this show. It's the first one that this group of artists are collaborating on. We have also scheduled it for the day before Mother's Day. I think it will be a fun event for the family to get their mom's out and spoil them a bit.

We have family coming into town this weekend and I'm hoping by that time I'll feel motivated again to get back into sewing. I have lots of ideas filling my head and I'm hoping with a little extra help with the kids, I'll get the chance to make a few of them come to fruition. So stay tuned!

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Treasuries

The past few days I've needed to grab an Etsy treasury for EtsyRAIN's latest Creative Challenge. Normally, this isn't such a problem... they come up often enough that I can usually find one that works with my schedule. Well, I stayed up late the other night to grab one... only to experience treasury problems which resulted in no treasury for me. They came up again earlier today, but I had to take the boys to school and now they are well over 600. For those that have no clue what I'm talking about... suffice it to say, they won't be coming up again for a while.

So, I checked out Treasury West... not as popular as the main Treasury because I don't think there are any direct links to it... but it would have been a good solution for the time being. But, alas, that one won't come due while I'm home either.

The good news, however, is that I found my items in two treasuries! I captured them so I could share them here. It's been a while since a quilt set was featured, so that was exciting... and many people seem to love the crazy picture of Robbie.

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Must be love

A few months back, I purchased a cute little green Hello Kitty sewing machine. It was on clearance and I really need a back up machine. Plus, I've been wanting to teach Robbie to sew. He often helps me out... helps guide things through the machine as I work the pedal, helps pin, helps remove pins as I'm sewing... in otherwords, he's right there with me. Why not have him help!

Of course, we are far from cutting him loose on the machine... but today we took the first steps in teaching him how to use the little Hello Kitty machine. He did surprising well. We designed a hat figuring it would be one of the easiest, immediate gratification items we could make. And... hats can be a little forgiving at times... especially when they sit on kids heads.

Our first prototype came out really darling. He's modelling it, but it really fits me best. I made the stitched the applique (a dinosaur of course) and he did the rest of the stitching with my help guiding it through the machine. He worked the pedal and was very cautious. It was a good start!

The second hat came out much better in fit. And I absoultely love it on Lyssie. I made the little fringe on top, but Robbie did most of the stitching (I say most because I finished up the rim of the hat so he could go ride his bike outside - end the sewing lesson).

Lyssie was excited to take photos outside wearing the hat. And when I see the photo... the song "it must be love" goes through my head. She's just too cute! Oh... and the hat is not half bad either.

We'll be posting his hats on my On A Whimm site. These hats were made from my scrap pile and were inspired by Telepathy. Check out her hats - they are awesome. I wish I could afford to own one.

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Preparing for a craft show

Tomorrow is the Voyager Middle School Craft Fair. I've been spending the past three days preparing. A smart person would have started sooner (like when I found out about it two weeks ago). But I'm making decent progress. I'm really excited about the crowns and headdresses that I've completed in the past two days (see photo) and I've just spent an hour fray checking a bunch of ribbon ends for a new hula skirt, a bunch of floral headdresses and a veil that I have had in the works for month. I'm not sure all of this stuff will be accompanying me to the show, but it's nice to have things to choose from.

So, here's my process. I'm sure as I do more shows, my process will improve and evolve.

Inventory - this show, I did a quick inventory check a week before the show and made a list of things I needed to make to fill in the gaps (I'm certain this will have to be at least a month ahead of time for the larger shows since I'll need four times as much inventory. After I have my list, I formulate a plan in my head as to the quickest way. I have a day of cutting, a day of preparing embellishments and hand sewn details, a day of sewing together the base pieces, a few days for assembling everything and a day for labeling and pricing. As you can see, I had planned with a lot more days than I actually had. So I doubled up! I'm tired, but it's almost done (just need to price).

Display - So far, every show I've done, I've had a different size display... and the size each time changed from what I originally planned for. Good thing I'm flexible! And I now plan for it. So I have a bunch of various display possibilities. I took an inventory at the same time I did the stock inventory and decided what type of display I needed after making my product list. All this happens in my head. I envision what I want the display to look like. This time, I'm taking just a few of my I-spy Easter eggs. The I-spy bags haven't sold as well at shows as they do online, but since it's getting close to Easter, I'm giving them a try... and I've made a little prop to go with them. He's just a prototype right now, but someday hopefully he'll end up in my shop as well. I don't currently have a photo of him, but I'll try to get one tomorrow.

Comfort & Ease - I like to plan for everything. From receipt book and calculator, to a project and snacks. This also includes having change (which I haven't done yet - I forgot until I started typing - YIKES!). I do most of this preparation the night before - yep, I'm a procrastinator. Last time, I forgot the project to work on. Of course, I was working on getting everything packed up (including the kids) all on my own, so I was bound to forget something. This time, I'll have my husband helping.

And that's it! That's my current process for preparing for craft fairs. Of course, there is more to it. And, I'll update you tomorrow on whether it works or if I fall short. I'm just hoping for a successful show!

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Another Milestone!

Just now, I reached 100 feedback, 100% positive! Now, not all of this feedback is from buyers... it's also from sellers that I have purchased from... but it does tell people that I'm a trustworthy, professional, reliable person.

I'm also nearing 100 sales! It's all very exciting as I've only been on Etsy since July so I think that's pretty fantastic! Of course, I'm hoping to double that number these next 8 months... if I can just find the time to promote the store a little more and keep it updated with all the new products that I have been working on.

Anyhow, it's exciting and I look forward to my next 100. Thank you to all those that have helped me reached this milestone!

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Ahhh... I love Mondays!

I love weekends. I love them because we get to spend family time together. I love them because we often take the time to explore a little bit. I love them because I get a little break.

This weekend we signed my son up for Kindergarten (I can't believe he's getting so big!) and we explored a new park to us, Saint Edward State Park. What a cool park! We'll definitely be back.

Anyhow, I am beginning to love Mondays. I feel a little refreshed (at least in mind and spirit... not always body) and ideas are always swirling around in my head. I love that feeling... even if I don't have time to do anything with them.

This week I'm planning on finishing the last part of the large wholesale order and I am preparing for a last minute craft fair I signed up for. If you are local, please come and check it out!

Voyager Middle School in South Everett "Spring Fair"

11711 4th Ave W. Everett, WA 98204

The exit is 128th, 1 past Mill Creek exit.

Saturday March 8th from 9am to 4pm

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