it's coming along

What I have so far:

It kind of looks like a bird, but that wasn't my intention.

I'm just using my practice papers, and playing with different shapes, sizes and techniques.

I really wish I could take my day off to just quill all the live long day...however, I have an OSHA meeting Wednesday evening!! sucky.

quilly-dilly

First off, I'd like to post an updated picture of my new do. I, as usual, LOVED my new haircut straight out of the chair. Then, got it wind-blown, slept on it, and worked an early shift at work-all the while running my hands through my hair in exasperation (I had to completely re-merchandise my cheese section...it was causing me all kinds of grief). I was also not used to having bangs, and so continued to brush them from my brow...also out of stress.

Just a few hours into my shift, I caught a glimpse of my reflection. Oh my...what a mess!! I looked as if I was wearing a hair helmet!! It was awful and I couldn't wait to leave the eyes of the public and crawl under my cozy covers!

But I had a birthday party to attend. I took a 2 mile run (nearly 2 miles), took a shower, and then took a nap. I woke up to a great little hair do!! The one I wanted, in fact! I guess I lucked out, and even this cut will put up with my wash-and-wear ways! Thank goodness!!

I got to wear my cute headband, too.

Now, to the real business at hand...my new favorite love: Quilling!

I got my package yesterday (of course, b/c I didn't have any time to open it until after work today!!). My new quilling tools.

I have a really cool little practice piece in the works, but as my week has been going, my camera battery is currently charging since it crapped out as I was about to shoot what I have so far.

I managed a shot early on, in the pre-adhesion stages:

It's so much cooler than this now, I can't wait to shoot it and post it tomorrow!!

I am in love with this craft and can't believe I hadn't been doing it already!! And it's a fairly portable craft! Now that I've been practicing a bit, I think I will start turning my sketches into 3D pieces.

Stay tuned...I can't wait to get stuff ready for the shop!

before/after: the hair edition

I know. I wanted to get my blog back to the art/craft blog it was set up to be, but come on...I got my hair cut!!

If you've been following along, I have been growing my hair out. From my long locks, I went to the adorable pixie cut that I have rocked for years (yes...I did ROCK IT!).

But Hubby loved my long hair so much, and I love Hubby so much, that I decided to grow it out. Only, to make it a little more interesting, and more likely that I stick it out until it actually gets long, I decided to grow it to donate it.

But OH MY! it takes a long time for hair to grow 10 usable inches!!

I can't remember exactly when I last got my hair cut, but I believe I got it cut one last time after our trip to Vegas (last November) but before my last birthday (this past March).

At any rate...

this was my hair, this morning:

and now

Keep in mind, this is fresh from the salon. Well...actually, I had been out shopping a bit, and thus in the wind. Although, that doesn't seem to matter. She said, 'well, if you want the bangs, then you're gonna have to...' this is where she stops b/c she knows how early I get up. She knows how I HATE using product or, really, a brush even.

I think it makes me look older, right now. This is where I get totally honest...I think I have really liked my hair right out of the chair maybe once in my life. Today I sat under the dryer for the first time ever! It's all the blow drying that really makes me not sure about each and every cut I've ever had. But give it a day to flatten a bit and become my style and I know I'll love it.

I've never had bangs. I already like it more than I did when I started this post!!

craft fairs: to do, or not to do?

I know that, in order to get your stuff out there in the world, you need as much exposure as you can muster. Of course, for arts and crafters, that means craft fairs. And what better time of year to find a slew of fairs, than 'the holidays'. The holidays, being that stretch of time beginning with the first wisps of cool air leading up to Halloween, followed by the only large non-denominational holiday of Thanksgiving, ending in the generally over-the-top gift rave of Christmas...which of course just sort of blends into New Year's.

Well, that time is upon us now. And my shop has sat dormant out there in cyberspace for the past year! My last sales were for last Christmas, when I listed everything at rock bottom prices with the intention of closing shop at year's end.

But I just couldn't do it. I love crafting and I love that people still love handmade gifts. I love being a part of a creative community. And I love being able to use crafting as a sort of therapy to relieve all of life's stress.

So, now...it's craft fair time. But do I want to do it? Do I have it in me?

Two years ago we did the annual fair at the farm where my sister works. It was fun. But it was cold and we were out in a building out back and down a hill. Possibly missing out on some foot traffic, but sheltered from the cold wind.

The next year, we tried again, but requested a table in the pavilion...open to the elements, but close to the other crafters and the general store (where the food and hot chocolate are!). To be honest, I think this one was a spring or summer fair...especially judging by the way I'm dressed! This time I had more paper bowls and journals and less cards. Neither time was particularly profitable for me, but we got a deal on the table since we shared and we got a farm member discount.

Auntie and I had also done a second Christmas craft fair after the first one we did at the farm. We sold nothing, and the space was cramped. We weren't happy at all. But...I got an invite to be a part of that one again. And I just feel like it's a good way to not only get exposure to actual shoppers, but also get me motivated to make product.

My sister has, of course, invited me to be a part of the fair at the farm again, in November. I just can't decide.

Getting back into it, slowly

I'm having some success easing back into being crafty. The real issue I'm having is not sacrificing other important things in the process. Today, I worked out for the first time in months...MONTHS! I was within 10 pounds of my goal, but I've slid back to gaining 15 pounds from my goal. So, I'm hoping to get back into my workouts in addition to getting back into etsy.

Hubby's been working almost non-stop since losing his full-time job. I was hoping he could use the 'extra time' (we thought he'd have extra time!) to get his own business running. In the meantime, all of his working has started to inspire me to get back on track. I've found a new craft and I'm hoping to make some beautiful things for the holidays. I'll see how it goes and decide what to do from there, I guess.

But for now, I have a friend's baby shower coming up in November. Now, normally i don't do baby showers. I don't like babies and I don't like all the mommies and their baby talk and stories about the 'miracle' (gag) of birth! But I like my friend. This will be my second baby shower as an adult. The first one was also only attended by me because the mommy-to-be was a good friend. This mom is hip and fun and kind of crunchy. I want to give her something handmade, because she is definitely the type of person who would appreciate that. I'm thinking of this shadow box with origami elephants. My mom collects elephants, so one year I made these for her...and then she framed them, and I thought, 'wow! that's really cute.' So, I made some more and went the extra yard to actually frame it. The issue: will it go with her decor in her nursery? I think she's doing greens...and frogs...can this blend in with that sort of thing? Although, I'm also thinking of getting her this pug bank. I had wanted to get it for the first friend, but it didn't make sense...this friend actually has a pug. Is it bad to not get her anything practical for the baby?? I almost want to buy her a bottle of wine!

My sister's birthday is coming up fast, too. We're planning on going out for afternoon tea. My sisters and Auntie go out for tea pretty often, and on occasion, I've tagged along. In fact, this year, we did it for my other sister's birthday, I prepared a homemade tea for my birthday, and last year (November) we also had a homemade tea at Auntie's house for her birthday! Man! this group likes tea! We dress up for the event, and it's a good time. The gift I bought, arrived yesterday...I'm kind of excited about it, and hope she likes it (don't read that part, Renee!) :)

Well, I have my lists of stuff to do, so I better get to it. Just trying to get back into the habit of regular blogging, along with everything else!

clean(-er) studio plus a hair dilemma

So, yesterday was not what I would call a day 'off'. Hubby's parents were going to pay for his muffler to be fixed while they were in town (as a birthday gift), but it turned out that the garage needed to order a part...so that got pushed back. He tried to do it Monday, but problems arose when they found the pipes to be so rusted that part of it broke...and then they were unable to fix it, anyway. Since we both had Wednesday off (well, he had a meeting in the middle of the day), we decided there's no time like the present, so off a few towns over we went to drop his car for the day. I slept until 6:30! Unfortunately, it was b/c i had had a few too many the night before and was a bit hung over.

At any rate, we stopped for coffee (I had chocolate milk, instead...feeling like coffee was maybe not the right choice for my churning stomach), dropped his car at the muffler place, went next door to get ink for his printer (since he just realized he ran out and needed some for some stuff for his meeting), then back home for a few hours. While he worked, I cleaned. After his meeting, we went to open a new bank account. We've been at Bank of America since Nantucket...it was one of only two bank choices on the island!... but we've been meaning to join a local bank. Unfortunately, that causes problems when we're away and need to use ATM's...this bank refunds our fees!! Not the point...

While at the bank, the woman filling out our forms and checking our id and whatnot, stops and says, 'you're license expired.' Of course it did! he just had a birthday...and the RMV doesn't send out an notifications like that anymore! So, after the bank we headed straight to the RMV...which is when hubby got the call with the estimate for his car...about $100 LESS than my mechanic quoted! And they said his muffler was fine, they just welded the broken pipe.

Soooo....after he gets his license taken care of, we head back home for a quick check of emails and a pit stop, but decide that since his car would be ready in about an hour, we'd just go back to the bakery for a cup of coffee and head back to Midas. Since, if Laurie and/or Ian are there, we always stop and chat a bit.

The rest of the night was dinner and tv and sitting on the sofa.

So, here's the studio.

Mostly, my desk was a dumping ground for bits of started projects. I tend to take piles of stuff upstairs to work on, don't have the room or time to finish them, and so the pile just gets plopped back downstairs. My 'paper making station' had turned into piles and piles of scraps. I ended up getting rid of two trash bags full of stuff!! Which is sad, b/c the end results don't look that impressive!

The main thing is that I can actually work at my desk now. And, things are put away. I threw away so much crap, that now my extra table is being used to hold all the empty boxes I now have! I have my finished stuff together in cases, there too. It's not exactly 'finished' and perfect, but I am not the type to finish a project like that in one day...i get tired of cleaning VERY quickly!

Now, I can start working on my new ideas/projects for my etsy shop and maybe feel proud about it again!! And start blogging about creative things again, instead of work!! (yuck!)

And in other news:

My hair. Seems to have stopped growing. It seems like everyone has my old haircut these days, and it makes me long for the times when people would comment on how cute my hair was. Now, I think they wonder if I own a brush.

This is my hair now...though it's pulled back into a 'ponytail'. I still have to wear a headband, b/c the front is still too short to stay back. and it just curls all over! I have little ringlets in the back!! There's just no length!

But here's what I'm thinking: it has to get thinned out. I look like Richard Simmons some days, and that's not cool! I just don't want to lose any length...or this could take forever. I don't want this to happen.

But, maybe thinned out, I could get this look?

Though, I have never had bangs, really, but always thought I wanted them...so, maybe this?

My main problem...i get up at 3:30 a.m. most mornings, for work. I don't shower in the morning, and I don't do product. Luckily, I seem to have some natural curl and body, my hairdresser KNOWS I don't do product, and she's been cutting my hair for years so I totally trust her. My dilemma is whether I should try to get in the week before we go on our trip (and I'm cutting it close to even being able to get in this close),so that i have fresh hair. Or, just suck it up until we get back, in case something terrible happens in the chair.

I know, I know...what a terrible life that THIS is my dilemma! It's just one of many, trust me!

So, any opinions on the do's?? I really like the bangs, but I have a cowlick(?) that may keep that from happening. :(

I've decided!

A long, long time ago, when I was just a small child (well, maybe not 'small', but young), I found some strips of paper with my mothers crafting things. When I asked what they were for, she showed me one of the most beautiful things ever...QUILLING.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilling) <-- (I can't seem to do links as I used to. new format has me stumped...so not a technology person! :( I can make frowny faces and arrows, though)

I can probably trace my love of paper all the way back to that moment. For as long as I can remember, I truly have been IN LOVE with paper. I used to buy little pads of paper in all the gifts shops...and many times I wouldn't use the paper except for very special notes to very special people. Otherwise, I would just keep them to look at, and leaf through. I just love the feel of it!! I even remember getting a great set of monogrammed stationery from my grandma as a birthday gift in grade school (in a box she made!).(Am I kind of making myself sound crazy, right now?)

I found this blog of gorgeous things...

(source:http://allinweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/amazing-quilling-art.html )

So what's the big decision? Well, I've been struggling with my etsy shop for some time. I do love crafting. I do love paper. I do have a ton of paper piling up. I don't have a lot of time or motivation to get to the studio. But I want to keep my shop open. I want to be able to create something beautiful. And I want to be able to play with my papers.

Quilling melds all of my loves and it brings me back to my childhood. I mean, it's like a 3-D version of my doodles!! Being an artistic person who can't draw is a real bummer!! So, I lean towards swirls and circles in my sketching. I even took a calligraphy class in 6th grade...penmanship as art!!

And, oh my!! the possibilities!

So, I'm excited again.

This was my first attempt, from last week. I used a toothpick, since i don't have the proper quilling tools, yet; and, i cut strips of paper from the pile of scraps I have everywhere in my studio.

Today, I'm planning on cleaning and organizing that mess so that I can have a fresh clean space! I'm carving time out of my schedule to craft. I'm slowly getting back into the etsy thing, and hoping to (maybe) get some stuff together and try to hit the holiday craft show scene again. Fingers crossed, I haven't (AGAIN) waited too long!