A Good Day! (or Two)

The past few days have been very exciting...on Saturday Shelby made an unexpected trip home (gave me three loads of laundry to do but I was happy to do it if it meant spending a few hours with her), I'm even making progress with the dreaded "end-of-visit" anxiety...no tears when she left this time! In addition to that, we FINALLY took the plunge and upgraded my crappy crappy CRAPPY computer, I now have a fancy one with tons of memory and disk space. The whining and crying over my snail of a computer are things of the past...I can now post my "picture of the day" in literally seconds instead of 45 minutes. And...if that wasn't enough to make me a happy girl, I got this package of fabulous felt from Colonial Crafts in the mail Saturday afternoon...I love all the colors! I'll be making little felt Christmas houses until my fingers fall off... Later that day, we ran to an estate sale and I found this wonderful Mary statue (in addition to a few other religious treasures)...they had another like it that was in pristine condition but something about this worn Mary spoke to me, isn't she lovely?
Today's big news is that this complimentary issue of Somerset Studio was waiting for me when I got home from work. I briefly mentioned in an earlier post that I wasn't sure what was being published but I had a hunch it was my love, hope, faith lotto cards. I say I wasn't sure because I was never notified that I was being published in Somerset Studio but I got an email asking me if I wanted a complimentary issue or a voucher for an issue. I sent 4 pieces of "art" to Stampington in hopes of being published. I was notifed by Sew Somerset that one piece would be in the Winter issue (soon to be arriving on my doorstep) and a second piece would be published in the Summer issue (out in June)...so I naturally assumed that there was some sort of mix-up; however, a rep for Somerset Studio assured me a third piece being published...and here they are, mine are the three lotto cards: If you happen to pick up a copy make sure to check me out!
I'll leave you with a few items I've been working on for my store...I'm hoping to get it good and stocked for holiday shopping so I can relax and enjoy the next few months but so far I'm not having much luck!

Have a good week!

Rachel

Where's Autumn?

Unfortunately we've jumped from Summer right into Winter here in Minnesota. This is what we woke up to Saturday morning, the snow didn't stick around very long but the temperatures totally destroyed my pumpkins and tomatoes. Then... ...this is what we woke up to this morning. It was a much heavier snowfall than Saturday and it was perfect for snowballs (Sebastian and I threw a few before he caught the bus to school). This morning the meteorologists were claiming we'd get back up in the 60's by the weekend but this afternoon they were saying we'd remain in the low 40's or high 30's through the week and into the weekend. So much for the corn maze at the apple orchard!
All this snow puts me in the Christmas mood and that means crafting...it's been REALLY slow in my Etsy store for the past month or two but things may be picking up...I listed this little album Sunday morning and it sold (along with two others) by Sunday evening.

I also listed this one earlier this afternoon...I got some more great news Friday, I already knew one of my albums is going to be featured in the November/December issue of Sew Somerset (on sale early November) but I also found out that some more of my "artwork" will be featured in the November issue of Somerset Studio, not sure what item it is and I can't explain why I don't know which item it is without this post ending up being 6 pages long, but I'll definitely post it all when I get my issues in the mail! Can't wait!

Inspiration Journal

There are a few blogs that I read on a pretty regular basis, most of which are artist's blogs and let me tell you, I am in awe of the talent of these women. A few of these blogs had posts detailing swaps between these crafty ladies and, WOW, some of the goodies they swapped made my heart race. So, I came up with the brilliant idea of searching for swaps I could join...not the best idea I've ever had...
I found a site that is all about swaps, every kind of swap you could imagine and some you couldn't. So I found a few that were right up my alley and joined in...I took great care to make sure the items I made for my partner were top notch and went above and beyond what was required to make sure my partner was thoroughly pleased with her treasure. Each day I waited eagerly for the mail delivery and my first swap package finally arrived. I ripped into it with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning but when I saw my treasure (and I use that term losely) I think I nearly cried....but I told myself not to lose hope, the next package would contain something magnificent. The next package came and the next but they all had the same outcome as the first...utter disappointment. The last swap was for an altered journal, I figured how could this go wrong? I waited and waited and finally got an email from my swap partner letting me know she would be late sending my treasure. Ugh! When it finally arrived...Yep, you guessed it...MORE DISAPPOINTMENT. The actual journal was nice but the "alterations" were hideous at best (wish I would have snapped a picture or two). So I immediately ripped everything off the front and back and decided to alter the journal for myself...at least I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

A little vintage lace, a page from a vintage bird book and a few other vintage goodies and the ugly journal is transformed.

I've decided to use this as a little inspiration journal...and needless to say, I won't be joining in anymore swaps from that site!

Art Journals and Other Goodies

Lately I've been obsessed with making these little journals for my etsy shop. I keep telling myself that I can't buy anymore vintage trims, buttons and trinkets until I use up the huge supply I have now...but I seem to be one of those people that want to keep everything for myself, I always grab some supplies for a item I'm making for my shop then think to myself...I can't use this on something to sell, I want to use this on something I make for myself. Well, I've been forcing myself to use some of those items and here are the end results...(although I still have a few items I can't bear to part with!)

The "X" on the button isn't thread, it was actually made that way...the "X" is metal.

This is a "he said/she said" book that has preprinted questionnaires in various categories (food, first date, favorites, etc.) for both him and her to fill out. My husband and I did this and I was really surprised at his answers. You may think you know how someone will respond but then again, you may be way off track!

This is one of my favorites (sometimes I secretly hope items I have listed in my store don't sell, then I don't feel so bad keeping them for myself...like this one!)

And here are some cute shabby and primitive hearts I made. They'd be good for Valentine's Day decor but I leave mine hanging all year round.

Well I've got to hit the showers...Sunday is the day Tom and I visit our local Goodwill stores and we've got to get there early to get in on the good deals. Sundays and Mondays are the days they have half off depending on the color of the price tag, I think today is half off the green items. If you haven't visited your local Goodwill store check it out...you'd be surprised at the treasures you can find, not to mention that the money they raise helps charitable causes. Hope you all had a nice valentines day.