Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

Back To Reality…

February 22nd, 2010

Well, time to get back to reality. Vacation week is over. :( Man, it was so hard to wake up this morning! I have a busy week ahead of me. Two wholesale orders to finish up and some decluttering to do. Not to mention I still need to get a move on with crafting for my upcoming show, and finish designing my blog and website. Never seems to be enough time in the day to do what I want. One of my goals for this year was to start crafting more and begin my journey to find my true calling in the crafty/artsy world. But I haven’t even had a moments time to even think about starting a new project. Will I ever? There is so much I want to do, but I’m stuck here doing all the upkeep to keep me afloat like taking care of the house, ordering supplies, answering emails, writing newsletters, adding patterns to Crafty Ave, packing up orders… it never ends! I think one of my problems is keeping focus. I really need to set a firm schedule and stick to it. Oh, and limit my time on facebook! lol I should also try to keep my internet research/browsing marathons to once a week instead of whenever I feel like it. I seem to get sucked into the internet a little more than I should.

Complaining aside, I’m really excited about redoing my craft room. I took a trip to Ikea on Saturday, and it got my gears rolling again. I literally spent the entire day thinking about my room and trying to manage the space better while having it look more clean and organized. I was ready to do whatever it takes, and completely redo everything. But, at the end of the day, I finally realized that there really is no better way to do it than what I have already started. No other arrangement is going to give me more space; except for one minor adjustment to my desk. So, it won’t be a big change, but at least I don’t have to break my budget to make it look nicer! I bought an interesting shelf from Ikea to replace my peg board display, and I plan to rearrange my desks for more space. The biggest task will be clearing everything out that I don’t use. I still have scrapbooking and candle making supplies that I haven’t touched in over a year, plus a ton of other random things. Time to clear out! I need to have an inspiring craft room… not a storage room! But for today, its back to the daily grind. At least I have art league to look forward to tomorrow night!

PS. Do any of you have any tips for managing your work, or carving out free time for crafting?

Happy Spring!

March 20th, 2009

flowersb

Hooray, it’s the first day of Spring! I hope you enjoy your day! :0)

flowers

It’s Blooming!

March 6th, 2009

My goldfish plant is in bloom! I’m so excited, because this is the first plant that has survived a single winter in our home. I manage to kill every plant we get. I think I was cursed with a “death thumb” instead of a green one! lol But this cute plant has managed to escape it; it’s blooming again! :0) Hooray!

Goldfish Plant

Now I can look at it everyday and remember that there is something to look forward to… beaches, warm air, running around in the grass… notice the snow beyond my window in the picture? I am sooo sick of it!!! I’m just dreaming of a warmer day…

A New Beginning..

February 20th, 2009

Welcome to my new blog… finally!! I have been in love with reading and browsing blogs for a long time now, and I’ve just finally decided to create my own. I hope you enjoy it!

2009 is a new beginning for me. I don’t know what it is; but I feel like I have been renewed of faith and inspiration in my life. I’m excited for what’s to come…

I’ve been working from home since around 2001, when my first daughter was born. I have built six websites, four of which are still open today. Because of the many websites, I was never able to focus my attention on just one and make it grow. I have a graphics website, a primitives website, a “company” website, a wholesale website… and I’ve had others. I guess you can say I was at a bit of a loss as to what exactly I wanted to do. But it was there all along, I just couldn’t see it. I always knew since a child that I wanted to be an “artist”; but I’ve had the guilt of not making enough money to contribute to the family. So, as a result I kept coming up with my “next bright idea”. They all were/are great ideas, but if I had just focused my attention on just one, I could have been more successful as an artist. It’s not to say that my businesses aren’t successful, because they all are in their own way… but it is very stressful and time consuming to have multiple businesses. Because of this, the artist side of me has suffered.

I’ve come to realize that all I ever really needed was my Rags-n-Tags website… my very first website. It focuses on the art that I love most: fabric sculpture. And, although I am in love with primitives, and always will be; I am inspired by bright, modern, and funky things too. Which is why I’ve decided to open Twiddle-Lee. Twiddle-Lee will be my “alter ego” website, where I can showcase any other crafts I make that aren’t primitive.

So, here I am complaining that I’ve built too many websites, and I’m building another. But, the difference is, this year, my resolution is to keep my focus mainly on crafting and being ME! To do this, I have put some plans in place to reduce my “business work”. For one, I will no longer be offering graphics services (although a select few projects once in a while would be fun!). I will be leaving Peddler Graphics up, but in time will update it to only include my graphic collections and contact info. I was tempted to just close the site; but I wanted my customers to be able to find me easily if they needed updates to their graphics. Yes, that means I am still here for you if you need me! :)  Create a Prim has got me thinking… for a while I was really ready to sell the business. I put so much time into it; I have no time for crafting or personal things. But, I love the website, and can’t bare to see it go; so I’m trying to work with it. I’ll hopefully be hiring a programmer to automate some of the things that need to be done. I’ll be reducing the supplies I sell, so there’s less bulk in my craft room; and less packing to be done. With these and some other changes, I hope to free up a lot of my time for crafting and doing what I love! If it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to move on to plan B and consider again the thought of selling it.

As for Rags Wholesale, I am still undecided. I started to build a new updated site for my wholesale goodies, but haven’t finished it yet - as I am now spending all my time re-designing Rags-n-Tags and building Twiddle-Lee. I think in the end, I will end up leaving it up, but only offering a select few items at a time.

So, hopefully instead of computer and business work, I will be crafting my time away like I wanted to all along!