Hello, all :)
It's been a busy couple of weeks since last I posted in Ye Olde Blogge. I've shipped out my first few orders for Whifferdill (woo-hoooo!!) and we've been busy setting up the new space. I am in love with the new craft room. It's bright and cheerful and there's plenty of space for storage as well as enough work surface with another table added to the mix. Now I have enough room to spread out and make myself dizzy flying around the room in my rolly chair. Fun (albeit somewhat nauseous) times!
This past weekend was a blast - Kev and I met up with friends at the Bull City Burger and Brewery Oktoberfest Saturday night. If you live in or near Durham, you have GOT to go try their burgers. Everything that can possibly be made in-house is. Down to the durn pickles. And their meat and veggies are all locally sourced. And let me tell you, it makes a huge difference. Amazing stuff. Oh, and Kevin says their beer is amazing as well. And he would know. The man is an expert on beer.
Sunday was flipping fabulous as well. Two gorgeous gals and I met up and went on a jungle safari! Well, as close as you can get to a jungle safari in NC's piedmont. Outside of Mebane is a place called the Conservator's Center. And they have cats. Big cats. And some smaller cats. Oh, and two lemurs. And I got to roar at lions per our guide's request for a volunteer to help her get the kitties to do "roll call". Yeah. I roared my head off. And the lions did start up. But then I started laughing at the end of each roar and they were like "What the heck is that? That sounds like some crazy monkey..." So, uh, it wasn't a complete success. But it was definitely a fun experience. The Conservator's Center is absolutely worth checking out.
This week has been pretty quiet. I've been putzing in the craft room and made a new wreath. It started out being a somewhat generic fall wreath with orange and red and yellow felt flowers. But I just wasn't happy with the colors and arrangement. So I tweaked it and it wound up being only orange, copper, and brown - basically pumpkin pie colors. And I freaking love it.
That's really a good illustration of my creative process. Very few times do I actually come out with something that doesn't surprise me somewhat. I like to kind of go with the flow and see what happens. Play it a little fast and loose. Sometimes it works and I wind up with an item that makes me happy. One that has charm and personality. And sometimes it doesn't work. And I tear my hair out and growl at it. Then I'll shut it away where I can't see it, but I know that it's there. Quietly mocking me. Chuckling under its breath. Sometimes I'll hear the faint call of "na-na-na-boo-boo" from inside the closet. But that's okay. Because I know that at some point I'll come back to it, tear out the parts that offend me, re-paint it, re-work it, and mold it into something that makes me happy-to-the-core.
That's right, Ugly Picture Frame. Your time will come. Soon. I'm coming for you.
Yep. I talk smack to my craft items. Don't judge.
Love and hugs,
Ru
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Summer Sun
Hey all!
Just wanted to give you a quick peek at the new craft space. We're still in the midst of painting, but I'm too excited to wait to post pics of the finished project. I'm weird. I know this. I'm also impatient. I know this too. But here are some snapshots!!
Just wanted to give you a quick peek at the new craft space. We're still in the midst of painting, but I'm too excited to wait to post pics of the finished project. I'm weird. I know this. I'm also impatient. I know this too. But here are some snapshots!!
I love this color. The room was a really pretty lavender, but I wanted something a little lighter and brighter. And this pale yellow totally fits the bill.
Two windows let in a lot of sunshine!
"What's this?" you ask......
"Why, it's a DOUBLE CLOSET!!!" I reply while dancing a jig. Oh, the storage possibilities....
Yep, I think this was a good color choice. Now to finish painting, and then get everything of a crafty nature moved upstairs...and then organized. A huuuuuuge thank you to my husband for spending his afternoons this week painting the ceiling and trim and painting the walls twice. He is, in a word, amazing. Thank you, sweetpea :)
I think I'll keep him around for a while longer.
Love and hugs,
Ru
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Autumnal Bliss
Yes, I know it's not fall yet. And yes, I know that currently it is 91 degrees outside. But a cold front is coming through tonight and next week will have highs around 77....I can smell it coming. Both literally and figuratively since I am burning a Yankee candle called Apple Pumpkin in the living room right now and it smells like every good thing fall has to offer. Which is quite a long list of good things. Sweaters, pumpkin bread, apple cider, boots, crunchy leaves, piling more blankets on the bed, open windows, the smell of wood fires, cornucopias, mums...the list could go on and on, really. The point is, autumn is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited! This coming week I'll be focusing on all things fall while I'm in the studio. I've got some ideas for fall-themed items that will hopefully knock your wool socks off. I will also be drinking copious amounts of apple cider and shoveling entire loaves of pumpkin bread in my mouth while trying to make these items. Should be interesting. I'll keep you posted :)
In other studio news, I've picked the color for the new studio space upstairs - Valspar's Summer Sun. It's a creamy, dreamy, buttery yellow that isn't too bright. The wonderful hubs has already painted the ceiling and trim a bright white and will commence painting the walls early next week. So hopefully I will be moving in by the end of the week!! Here's an inkling of what it will look like. Unfortunately, I had to go with a dining room for the example because the people at Valspar think that folks don't paint their offices or studios...but whatevs.
In other studio news, I've picked the color for the new studio space upstairs - Valspar's Summer Sun. It's a creamy, dreamy, buttery yellow that isn't too bright. The wonderful hubs has already painted the ceiling and trim a bright white and will commence painting the walls early next week. So hopefully I will be moving in by the end of the week!! Here's an inkling of what it will look like. Unfortunately, I had to go with a dining room for the example because the people at Valspar think that folks don't paint their offices or studios...but whatevs.
As for the 5K training....well....it's been a little slow. As in pretty much nonexistent in the past 2 weeks. With the mad rush to open up the shop and the emotionally-and-physically-drained aftermath of that mad rush, I simply didn't have the time or energy to go out and walk/jog. But I think I'm fully recovered (as I sit here typing this in my pajamas at 4:55 on a Saturday afternoon...) and Monday I'll start back up with a walk after breakfast. In brisk weather. There might be the barest whisper of a nip in the air! I might even have to wear workout pants instead of shorts!! Sigh. Oh, fall. I'd marry you if I weren't already married (to an amazing, wonderful, and simply perfect-for-me dude). So we'll just keep this strictly platonic.
Love and pumpkin-scented hugs,
Ru
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Opening Day :)
Hey all!
So around lunch time today, I hit the "Open Shop" button on Etsy after months of thinking about it and planning it and making items and figuring out sales tax and hoping and praying (and more praying...). It's been a pretty momentous day for me. Lots of emotions, but the biggest one is a sense of accomplishment. And that is a freaking fabulous feeling (alliteration, anyone?)!!! The second biggest is thankfulness - to my husband, to my family, to my friends, and to a couple of complete strangers who took the time to answer questions I had and to give me encouragement. I know opening a business in this economy is probably...well...insane. But my thoughts are that if I can make it work now, when there's not a lot of extra money floating around out there, then when good economic times roll around again, it'll be that much easier. So hopefully I will make it. If not, then I chalk this up to experience and put it on my resume.
I spent the morning Skyping with my sister getting her input on item descriptions (which she was very helpful with - thanks Leigh Ann!). This afternoon will be spent cleaning up the craft room (which is a disaster area at the moment) and obsessively checking my Etsy stats every 2 minutes to see how many people have seen the shop and whether or not there are any orders. Oh, hold on...gotta go check those right quick...Oh zowee. 22 page views! In less than an hour! Good stuff :)
Oh! We are going to move the craft room from the wee space it occupies now (an 11 x 9 room between the living room and our bedroom) to the largest upstairs bedroom! I have officially run out of room for materials and finished items. And the actual work space gets cluttered so quickly (b/c there's nowhere else to put anything) and it's hard to work in the midst of all that clutter. So Kevin will be painting the upstairs room this week and hopefully next week we will move everything into the new room. I'm having a hard time deciding on what color to paint it. I'm torn between a turquoise blue and a creamy yellow. I think I'm leaning towards the yellow - a cheerful, sunshiny yellow. I could work in a yellow room...what do you guys think?
It's time to check the stats again.....29 page views!!! 7 more than one paragraph ago! So exciting. And yes, I know I'm an odd duck.
Quack.
And here's the link to Whifferdill on Etsy...
http://www.whifferdill.etsy.com
Love and hugs,
Ru
So around lunch time today, I hit the "Open Shop" button on Etsy after months of thinking about it and planning it and making items and figuring out sales tax and hoping and praying (and more praying...). It's been a pretty momentous day for me. Lots of emotions, but the biggest one is a sense of accomplishment. And that is a freaking fabulous feeling (alliteration, anyone?)!!! The second biggest is thankfulness - to my husband, to my family, to my friends, and to a couple of complete strangers who took the time to answer questions I had and to give me encouragement. I know opening a business in this economy is probably...well...insane. But my thoughts are that if I can make it work now, when there's not a lot of extra money floating around out there, then when good economic times roll around again, it'll be that much easier. So hopefully I will make it. If not, then I chalk this up to experience and put it on my resume.
I spent the morning Skyping with my sister getting her input on item descriptions (which she was very helpful with - thanks Leigh Ann!). This afternoon will be spent cleaning up the craft room (which is a disaster area at the moment) and obsessively checking my Etsy stats every 2 minutes to see how many people have seen the shop and whether or not there are any orders. Oh, hold on...gotta go check those right quick...Oh zowee. 22 page views! In less than an hour! Good stuff :)
Oh! We are going to move the craft room from the wee space it occupies now (an 11 x 9 room between the living room and our bedroom) to the largest upstairs bedroom! I have officially run out of room for materials and finished items. And the actual work space gets cluttered so quickly (b/c there's nowhere else to put anything) and it's hard to work in the midst of all that clutter. So Kevin will be painting the upstairs room this week and hopefully next week we will move everything into the new room. I'm having a hard time deciding on what color to paint it. I'm torn between a turquoise blue and a creamy yellow. I think I'm leaning towards the yellow - a cheerful, sunshiny yellow. I could work in a yellow room...what do you guys think?
It's time to check the stats again.....29 page views!!! 7 more than one paragraph ago! So exciting. And yes, I know I'm an odd duck.
Quack.
And here's the link to Whifferdill on Etsy...
http://www.whifferdill.etsy.com
Love and hugs,
Ru
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