Mock Set-up for the Deepwood show

This weekend we enjoyed the nice weather but I also set up my display to make sure I have everything I'm going to need. At this point everything is priced, and situated but I still have 2 more pairs of earrings to finish and 7 Austen necklaces to make. Then I'll pack up everything and look forward to the show Sept. 16 & 17.

F-a-b-u-l-o-u-s

The photo shoot was so much fun. All of my models looked absolutely beautiful! I picked this photo for the booth banner and my design book. I have a little more work to do on it in PhotoShop, but you can see what counts now.

Thanks to all the ladies (Kathleen, Meghan, Angela, Kathy, Ana, Anne, Kara, Nameun, and Kay)! You look amazing and made my new enameled designs look pretty good too. I appreciate all your love, encouragement, and support over the years.

$5 French Market

I have found an Etsy shop that creates amazing handcrafted French inspired tags, gifts, and more. Every listing in the shop is an affordable $5. By the time I buy the paper, stamps, ribbon, and glitter I’m way over $5 and out of time. This shop’s concept is amazing to me and the creativity involved is above and beyond. I just love that anyone can afford these handcrafted goodies with so much style. $5 French Market is definitely worth checking out, admiring, and finding a lovely goodie you can’t live without.

strike a post

In a week I’ll be having a photo shoot! I’m really excited and hope it turns out how I’m picturing it. The photo shoot is of 9 special ladies who have encouraged and supported me in my jewelry business. They will be wearing earrings and necklaces from my collection and I’ll be using the photo to create a large vinyl banner for my display and the cover of my designs book (created with MyPublisher). My plan is to take tons of pictures in a short amount of time so that I have several to choose from. Everyone will get to approve the final selection, and then I’ll get to play with PhotoShop to process it. I was inspired to do this after doing a show in the Sellwood district of Portland, Oregon. I met a fabulous crafter there, owner of Hortense and Eloise, and she had a beautiful vertically hanging vinyl banner as her backdrop. It added so much professionalism and it was so eye catching that it stayed in my mind. The designer is very creative and specializes in vintage inspired stuffed bears and bunnies, and children’s aprons. She also has a knack for jewelry design and fixing up old homes; she's multi-talented. She is so funny and sweet, the type of person you could talk to for hours and I wish her all the success and fortune possible. Check out her shop, Christmas is coming up and her prices are fantastic.

Plans, plans, and more plans

It seems like I’m always planning something, big or small makes no difference; my mind is always thinking up something and the planning commences. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the last year though is to not invest too much into my own plans. I’ve come to realize time and time again in my life and through others’ lives that our plans aren’t always the best. God has bigger and brighter plans for us in His timing and His will. I had an inteview today for a position that looks really good, I know I could do a great job, and I’m ready for a change, but this time I’m not going to be so invested in case it’s not God’s plan for me. I will be dissapointed of coarse, but I’m not resolved to thinking it’s the only direction I could go. If I’m not offered the job it’s for a reason bigger than I can conceive. So I’m going to do my best in the interview, learn more about myself through the experience, and wait to see what God wants to do with it. As I’m faced with a possible change, I’m content with whatever direction I’m taken.

Arts Festival in the Forest

If you’re looking for a free event with art, food, culture, entertainment, and more; check out Arts Festival in the Forest. It’s happening August 13 & 14, 10am – 5pm at the Mary S. Young Park in West Linn, Oregon. Photographer Jason Jantzi will be exhibiting his work. He has a talented eye for capturing images and he offers a wide selection. You can also visit his site or Facebook page to follow his work. I think the weather is going to be perfect for such an event, and it’s family friendly!

the BIG picture

I’m busy, you’re busy, we’re all busy, right? But that’s why we need to keep the ‘big picture’ in mind. This last weekend was really nice. The weather was lovely and after a Friday night wedding the weekend was pretty open. Saturday was a low-key day, spent some time with my family and some time working off my checklist. Sunday was a full day of family fun and I enjoyed every minute. I often feel anxious about all the things I’m not getting done or need to do but I allowed myself to enjoy the present company and this precious time we had together. So while day to day I’m going through life (small picture), I don’t want to lose sight of the ‘big picture’, my purpose, and what I hold dearest to my heart, God and my family. My husband, daughter, and I drove up to Portland and grabbed delicious snacks at Coffee People (best banana shakes ever) and then we headed for Multnomah Falls. Apparently everyone had the same good idea, but we entered in a round about way and found a good parking spot and hiked a bit up to the fall. It was so much fun and we loved watching our 5 year old hike the path and act all grown up (pumping her arms for the exercise). Then we stopped in Troutdale to have Subway before going over to Blue Lake. Again, everyone had the same idea but it wasn’t congested and Sawyer loved the water feature and playing in the lake. After her lips turned as blue as the lake she was done and slept well on the drive home. The whole day was so nice and I hope a lasting memory for our daughter. She’s starting Kindergarten this fall but before I know it she’ll be graduating high school so I don’t want to miss out or regret time spent elsewhere. I’m trying to keep the big picture in mind every day.

Organization or Vexation

People that know me even just a little, can sense that I’m an organized person. Some may call it OCD, but I can’t seem to be disorganized so why fight it. This summer has been busier than expected and I have several things in the hopper. Some of the things I do to stay on track and meet my goals are: posting deadlines, tasks, and reminders in my Outlook calendar; keeping an orderly to-do list with due dates and details; communicate my goals and deadlines with loved ones so they don’t schedule impromptu events on me; and lastly I try to do something each day to work towards my goals even if it’s not enough to check something off my list. My husband is truly amazed by my extensive checklists, he’d be more amazed if he read the detail involved but I spare him and accept the general compliment. The truth is, I can’t enjoy planning or preparing for something if I don’t feel organized about it. Once I get my thoughts down on paper and do the logistical part of planning, I can really enjoy the fun creative parts. I start big; who, what, where, when, how, etc. and then drill down into each and so on. And because my money doesn’t grown on trees, I have to take that into consideration also and plan ahead so that I don’t break the bank when buying items for an event. I often daydream about how much I could get done if I wasn’t at work all day. So when I am at home I want to make the most of my time and not miss out on life. Once my daughter goes to bed, and my husband gets on his laptop to work, I get to work also and use my 2 hours before bedtime the best that I can. It’s much easier to get started by referring to my ready checklists and digging in, all the decisions and planning has been done so I don’t have to waste time contemplating the details when it’s time to have fun creating them.

Obsessed with burlap

Okay, I'm never really obsessed with anything (except for Pride & Prejudice) but I have been loving the look of burlap. As I prepare for the Deepwood Estates Vintage Flea Market show in September I've decided to revamp my canopy display. I can fit 3 six foot tables in a 'U' shape under the canopy and I want each tablecloth to have burlap on it in some way. My sewing skills are less than mediocre but they're doable so I started out by flipping my table upside-down and traced the burlap to make a fitted tablecloth. It's not perfect but burlap is very forgiving and the best part of it was that my 5 year old daughter helped with every step. Each year I look forward to the projects we can do together. So the fitted table cloth is a light cream burlap and it looks great. This weekend I finished the second table. I used the standard brown burlap to pleat around the edge of a door. There are only pleats in the front but the burlap covers all the sides of the table. There's even a ruffle so that I didn't have to cut the dusty burlap. I hammered upholstery nails symmetrically around it, and this one also turned out great! I have a little of the brown burlap left so instead of buying more I'll make do with it for the third table. I think it would work best to sew a 6 foot piece of burlap just on the top of an existing white table cloth so that it's not completely burlap and has some shimmery polyester too. The white, browns, and cream are great neutrals with my other display pieces and I can't wait to do a mock set-up with my canopy. The curtains I sewed for the canopy will add some sophistication to the entire look. I have just over a month to finish up everything, getting ready for this large event is very exciting.