Etsy Treasury!

WOOHOO! I have been featured in a treasury on Etsy! I am very excited. Chantal aka Sewingkat2 made the treasury, and I feel honored to be included in with so many beautiful artworks!
Here is a screenshot for posterity:
That is the bag I posted about last night! Now I feel very inspired to go in the studio and get to work!!

OOps I forgot to update my blog!!

Oh Hello! I am still here! Posted this today:



I am not feeling very witty tonight. As a matter of fact, I have found the whole blog-posting thing to feel really forced for me. Maybe if I tell a silly secret I will loosen up and feel a little more natural... Here goes;

I exercise by watching Herclues on Netflix and doing all the fighting moves they are doing throught the show. I wish I would have thought of this exercise routine before I watched all of the Xenas, but Hercules seems to be pretty much exactly like Xena, so I think I will like it. :)

OK, I think that helped. I will blog more often, and then I will feel more comfortable writing. Perhaps I will tell a story next time.

Me, the library, and Womans Day

I am in this months issue of Womans Day! Just my name, and a mention of my essay published at womansday.com, but I am in there. MY name. Me. Womans Day!

The essay was written about my local library. (The Almond 20th Century Club Library! in Almond, NY) I love it there. I volunteer there occasionally, and have found myself committed to the next 40 years of running the annual rummage sale. Fine with me. The people in this community are so special, and doing the rummage sale allows me the opportunity to get to know them a bit more. :)

so, here is a link to the essay
my essay is the last one, at the bottom of the page "Fix it For Free"

I promise I won't let the fact that I am a PUBLISHED AUTHOR go to my head... Well, maybe just for today. Or just until the next issue is on the stands and mine is gone. Until then, I will be the crazy lady at the front of the store making you see my name on page 20 of March 2010 Womans Day issue!!!

WOOHOOO!!!!!!

Busy Busy Busy!

Ok, I have been working on some purses for the local shop I sell in, The Lost Lake Gallery in Dansville, NY. I also just completed a custom order for my friend Libby from Maylees Garden soaps
My family has gone crazy for her soap, and I am afraid we can no longer live without it. This is the first winter I have spent in NY with happy skin, and I am convinced it is because we switched to this natural soap.
Here is her bag!:

It is mid-winter break here in a couple of weeks, and I know I will get very little done during that time, so I am trying to work work work and get caught up before then! So, back to work!

What a great week

I thought this would be one of the lost weeks because it started with a school holiday, so there was a day short for work to begin with. But, it turned out to be great! I acomplished a custom order, a new bag design, and a near-complete design of another product. The kids discovered roller skating in the house, and it has just been a good sounding place to be lately! Lots of giggles nad sibling-friendships forming. How nice.

More than one executive decision was reached this week regarding my business. I am definitely going to do some art/craft shows this summer. I have already signed up for one. A few more are being considered. There are 3 or 4 within driving distance on my birthday! All of them are juried, and I am a little nervous.

Entering the land of blog

Well, I am here blogging. What do I have to say? I can tell about my purses. I can tell about my family...

I was seriously hit with inspiration this week. It may be because I finally broke free from my plague of bad luck. In mid December, my sewing machine broke. Then my iron stayed cold.
The brakes on my van began to engage themselves. The microwave started humming LOUDLY. The furnace was running, but the house was cold. I stayed strong and was able to cope, until I opened my dresser drawer and the bottom fell out. UGH... All of this happened in a 3 week period. The three weeks surrounding Christmas.

But, not all hope was lost. I received some generous Christmas gifts from family that helped me work through it all.

A friend helped me with my furnace and my oven. We can live without a microwave. The sewing machine and iron have both been replaced, and the van was fixed. It was all better....

Then the deer ran out in the road and picked us for it's suicidal mission. The repair estimate came to $1500. UGH UGH UGH

But, last week there were no problems. It was smooth sailing. I followed my diet, I exercised a lot, and even got in two trips to the sledding hill! So, this week began with good spirits. And I rode that optimism all through the week. My work goal was to complete 4 purses, which I did. They turned out great, and I think each of them could be considered my best work. Then, today, at 5 pm I was able to pick my van up from the repair shop. It was a good week all around. I can't wait for Monday when I can do it all again. I think I even get a free ski trip this weekend! How cool is that?

Here are the bags I made this week: