It's all about a sign....

It thought it would be fun to share what I think may have eased 

my nervousness before the Patchwork event last week. 

I was so worried about preparing a booth, 

sharing with a friend and coordinating our styles.

And in the end, I realized... 

it was all just an extension of what I normally do,

 when I take a table at an event! 

But with a cool sign! 

I wanted to share how I made this pendant sign, 

because I see so many versions of these at shows, 

and I think they are really a sweet way to identify a booth.

When I saw these fabrics, I went crazy~ the perfect addition 

to my colors, and logo for the booth.

I bought a yard of each, but used probably only a quarter yard for the sign pendants. 

I was sooooo happy to have left over for some outdoor cushions, 

since I'm spray painting some fun color onto my bistro table in the yard.

I measured and cut the triangles with a sharp scissor, 

but a rotary cutter would give an even cleaner edge.

And... heat bond... what a wonderful invention!

Basically Heat bond is a transfer glue sheet that allows you

 to not "have" to sew on certain types of projects.

(Although, a zig-zag stitch would have made it look 

even cooler and more finished.)

I chose a typeface on my computer and ran the letters out large 

for me to lightly trace. 

I used white duck cloth for the inner pendant piece. 

After ironing the heat bond onto the one side of the white pendant material, 

I then ironed the white pendant onto the patterned fabric, and voila! 

A sweet pendant letter.

A sharpie marker worked really well to draw the letters on. 

I was afraid of bleed, but it held the ink well. 

(Of course, sewing fabric letters on, would have looked fabulous- but you know....)

Okay- so here I am in all my nervousness...

Here's the side of my display area. 

It was a fun show with great vendors, a lot of traffic, 

and a touch of nervousness.

linking up to StudioJRU... where there are always some fun artists to visit.

Thanks for stopping for a peek at what I've been up to.

Preparation & Fear.. with a CAPITAL P & F

Just when 

the caterpillar 

thought the world 

was over, 

it became 

a butterfly

~ proverb

Don't laugh everyone, but I am going to write a brief post this time...  really!

I found that sweet quote above, and was thinking about it 

all week in the middle of my madness.

I've been prepping for PATCHWORK Indie Arts & Crafts, 

(as you know from my past couple of posts). 

I don't know why it is that I get so nervous- you'd think I'd be 

getting used to this process by now. 

This particular event, I am sharing a "B O O T H" 

with a vendor that I met at a previous show~ 

zazu faure

She makes the sweetest and hip plush designs out of reclaimed materials. 

I bought a kitty for my daughter, before she had a cat of her own. 

She set it in the window of her apartment, and now 

her real kitty and plush, share the window together. 

Fabulous creations by Zazu.

So back to my meltdown... 

it's not planning the items that scare me, it's not meeting new people, 

it's not the setting up and tearing down... 

This time... it's the concept of a BOOTH that's scaring the begeebies out of me! 

I've attended so many shows, where the space is so planned out and done so well.

This will be a totally new experience- out of the comfort zone for sure!

The good news, is that I am anticipating learning a bunch 

to help me along with the next one.

And when the event is over, 

I'm hoping to be a butterfly, 

or at the very least, 

a much smarter caterpillar...

making the fun stuff! 

Hearts & birdie houses at www.twig2neststudio.etsy.com

 And yes, the wine was good- 

I needed the cork for texture on my hearts, 

so I had to drink it.

Linking up again with Studio JRU~ 

Enjoy taking a sneak peek, at the work of many talented artistes

In honor of mom...

 

"Mother's hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever..."

On this day of 

c e l e b r a t i n g  m o t h e r' s...

 I wanted to make a gratitude list to my momma.  

It's amazing when you think about how much influence 

a strong, dedicated, homemaking, independent raising, 

and loving woman can have on your life.

thank-you mom for teaching me...

to be independent,

to have a goal and persevere,

to use coupons and shop daily,

to cook and bake, 

to love your family with clean clothes, clean floors, and good home made food,

to paint, and paint, and paint,

to garden, 

to send cards (although timely would be better)

to paint, paint, and paint, again, (walls of course)

to love your children and support them in each and every one of their own ways,

to be active and not sit on a sofa for long,

to use bleach and not do too much laundry at home,

and most of all...

to love your children and your family unconditionally.

love you mom!

(and love all of my mom friends.. who know about the secret code of being a mom...)

(hint: it starts with L)

the kids love their nanny too!

Gifts... Giving & Receiving

And the winner is........ The lovely Jacqueline

Last week was a week of unexpected gifts. I found myself on the  

r e c e i v i n g  end of a few blog giveaways, 

while having a little giveaway of my own right here.

What an wonderful feeling to win something, 

let alone, from a couple of the blog spaces and artists

 that I admire.

(And right before Mother's Day- couldn't have timed it any better!)

On the other hand... what a  d e l i g h t  to be able to give a gift to someone else!!

Thank-you everyone who entered the giveaway.

I am continually amazed to find such sweet, supportive comments here. 

I am so grateful for the continued support and the time you all take 

to drop those seeds of encouragement.

It was hard to choose only one winner.. and so it is, 

that Jacqueline, a fellow flyer from Malaysia, 

will be receiving my little birdie house. 

Jacqueline has a lovely line of creations that she sews by hand. The words 

s w e e t,  l o v e l y,  w o n d e r f u l  a n d   m e r r y

are the embodiment of Jacqueline as well as her creations.

I'll be doing another birdie house giveaway in a couple of weeks-- stay tuned for details.

 

Little Birdie House

Below, was the blog giveaway that came from Jennifer at StudioJRU 

via her shop at DaySpring. 

I am an admirer of her work, and have been longing to purchase one of her pieces. 

I've looked and looked and couldn't decide. I love them all! 

So, I was fortunate to win one~ choice made! 

It came this week and was as fabulous as I was expecting it to be. 

Thank-you Jennifer, Deidra, Johnna, & Mandy. 

The lovely Jennifer 

Below is an art piece from a sweet blog written by Miranda. 

Her post at Easter, was most meaningful and inspired the painting, 

 I am going to be entrusted to care for.

Thank-you thank-you Miranda!

The lovely Miranda

And finally, these lovely handmade eggs, were a gift from 

Sheila of the CAST team on etsy. 

What an lovely group of people!

I am finding the connection to teams on etsy to be invaluable. 

I can't believe her handiwork- it's just beautiful! Thanks so much Sheila!

The lovely Sheila

By the middle of last week I was feeling like I should 

go to Las Vegas or buy lotto tickets. 

I've never won anything in my life, and here I had 3 lovely gifts in one week!

Gratitude to the max!!

In between all of the receiving and giving, I worked on a few new plate designs.

My favorite being...mom  l o v e 

...inspired by, thoughts of my children ~ 

 grown-up and getting more and more on their own ~

leaving the nest, and starting to fly ~

makes me very proud and happy with a smidge of sad, deep down inside.

And it is with "Mother's Day Love" that I leave you, 

with wishes for a joyful and happy celebration 

of all Mother's, on this very special Sunday!

Linking up to StudioJRU sneak peek fridays... 

Stop on by to see some fabulous creative blogs and other artist studio's.

Seeds of G R O W T H... and a G I V E A W A Y!

"We come from the earth, 

we return to the earth, 

and in between we

 g a r d e n."

anonymous

So, for the past year, I've been planting some seeds. 

I've been working the soil of my creative journey. 

Some days turning the dirt and adding lots of nutrients, 

and other days just looking at the soil, 

pulling some weeds, 

and wondering when the sprouts are going to shoot up.

Lately, I've been seeing some sprouts. 

I am starting to see a few glimmers of those colorful flowers 

that I so desperately want to grow.

 I do  b e l i e v e  

the flowers 

are really, really starting to grow!

... and I am encouraged.

a list of my  s p r o u t  sightings...

~ I'm seeing some increase in my etsy sales

(Every time an order comes through, I'm like a child at Christmas- 

the sales seem like they are creeping in slowly, but creeping in, is good. 

I feel a lot like a snail in the soil sometimes!

I've started to "renew" and add items more often- as well as join a couple of etsy teams,

which I think is another contributing factor to the visibility. 

Meeting new people on a team, and supporting each other through team treasuries, 

giveaways, & team blogs, I think has definitely been a boost. 

I am sooo thankful to the people that have included me in a treasury, or a feature, or their blog. )

~ I'm seeing increased visibility

(I'm starting to notice that my work is being recognized at shows, the more I attend repeatedly- 

I had a couple of people looking for me- yea!

Also I am noticing that the wonderful connections and friendships from ecourses, blogging, blog hops, 

giveaways, and social networks that have been continually taking root. 

This is the most wonderful area in this crazy journey of creating art. 

I cherish each and every connection that has been made, and am trying to recognize and support 

each and every sweet person that is on their own creative journey beside me.

It's amazing to see some who have arrived to the place of enormous growth- completely in B L O O M.

It inspires and encourages me always. 

It's amazing to see some who are on a parallel path and others who are just getting started. 

I am inspired by and in awe of each and every one!)

~I'm starting to approach shops  and bigger shows

(Finally being B R A V E and approaching a few shops to see if I can get 

any of my work in another venue- got a couple of consignments started. 

Also doing a show in a couple of weeks that is a much larger venue than I am used to...  

Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Show. 

Talk about butterflies and preparation! yikes!

Hey if any of you are in So. Cal and are attending, 

or are exhibiting there- give me a shout out in the comments- I'd love to meet you. ) 

~I'm starting to see a path

(As I am starting to see a path, it feels right, to acknowledge this grateful list of sprouts. 

There is so much soil I want to cultivate, and yet sometimes 

it's good to just stop, 

look for the growth, 

and see the colors as they start to reveal themselves.)

what is on your "sprout list" ?

what new things are happening for you?

Feel free to leave a comment today and I will enter you into my giveaway 

to  C E L E B R A T E  

s  e e d s   o f   g r o w t h

s p r i n g

&  g r a t e f u l n e s s

To enter to win (one of my little birdie houses shown above)

Leave a comment on my blog~ it's as simple as that!

Drawing will be on Friday!

2 entries if you are already a follower or if you become a blog follower.

Thank-you faithful followers!