Ah, everything is better through my eyes.

You all are too sweet! I'm out of my funk and many thanks to a couple of you for leaving such sweet posts over the past day or so. I needed those :)

I'm back to myself again. My brother is coming over with home made mac and cheese (and my mom) for lunch, I've taken pictures of yarn, and I slept for a good 18 hours yesterday. I was coming down with a bit of a stomach bug the night I wrote my last post, so perhaps that is one reason I was in a funk. Thankfully, I was able to sleep through most of my stomach bug yesterday and woke up MUCH better today.

I vow to spend the rest of my holiday break from work in a good mood, in my PJs, and browsing through cook books for some delicious recipes (one of my favorite activities).

I actually had planned to use my bread machine a few times this week. I got one for Christmas from my sweet boy and it started smoking and smelling of burning plastic the first time I used it. I'm going to give it another shot to see if that was just some first use issues. If it does it again, it's going back to the store. I'll be disappointed, but it won't be the end of the world. I've baked great bread on my own before, but something about the bread machine was appealing... easy... simple. Hopefully it works.

Well, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day outside. Blue skies, cold and crisp, and clear. I think I'll go make some tea, grab a blanket and a cookbook and go sit on my front porch and enjoy it.

Happy New Years Eve everyone!

These Eyes Aren't Mine

EDIT: I think finding some screen, a cool and funky frame, and some bright paint will at least brighten tomorrow - I shall head to the store... in the morning.

I really feel like I've woken up looking through another person's eyes. I've been down today, really down. In fact, I've kind of not cared about a single thing that happened today except for the offloading of several cases of beer and many bottles of wine to the "new" event planners at work. Buhbye wine and beer that take up storage space in my office. It's been nice knowing you.

I'm not sure why I've been down but I'm not seeing the positive in things today. I'm sure it's a combination of things.

It might be that for well over a month I had been looking forward to my time off of work that I could spend relaxing in my PJs with my sweet boy. Due to unforseen circumstances, it looks like I'll be seeing his backside while he's walking out of the room to play video games with his best friend and his nephew all week. I'm not complaining that he gets to see them, I'm just dissapointed that I won't.

Tonight kind of topped it all off when my favorite vintage service platter shattered (not at my hands, which kind of makes it worse). I've looked all over Etsy and Ebay and I can't find another one. When I mentioned to the sweet boy that his breaking it meant he had to go flea market shopping with me to find it, he sounded less than thrilled. He used to at least fake that he liked going.

It's not only that I feel down, I don't want to list new things on Etsy, I don't want to photograph my lovely yarn, or spin my even lovlier wool. I just want to go sit in bed and read. I hate feeling like this and hope to snap out of it soon so I'll be ready to sit and think about New Year's resolutions, shop updates for the new year, future spring cleaning (I'm a nerd and like spring cleaning), winter planning for my summer garden, and so on. I've only got 6 more days off of work and I need to spend those days happy, not in a funk.

Send me good thoughts, crafty and uplifting thoughts. I need them!

Now, to drink some coffee and then go to bed (coffee has no effect on me).

The picture above was taken a couple of years ago during some snow (or maybe just last year, I've lost track). The picture kind of puts into an image how I feel but I also think that the scenery there would brighten my mood if only I could look out my front window and see that.

Sunday Projects

I worked on a few projects today other than the usual Sunday laundry.

I made cookies...

lots and lots of cookies...

and I recreated one of my favorite winter scenes for a Santa hat decorating contest at work.



I think I'll at least have a shot.

Many Things

There are so many things I wish to do with my jewelry business in the near year. So many people are talking of branching out their business. Most of them are referring to finding multiple venues to sell on and while I might look into that, it isn't my only focus. I want to branch out in the type of materials I use.

I've been wanting to up the material quality on my bracelets for some time now and I think with January comes a chance to do that. I want to begin to only offer them in sterling and copper. I also want to being to offer sterling earings. I'll keep the necklaces and brass earrings as they are - I might add in a few silver necklaces, but that isn't going to be my focus... at least I don't think it is.

I've also got some new design ideas up my sleeve (I've already made one into something as seen above). I have not made most of them yet to see how they come across out of my head, but I hope to have to do that over the holidays.

Many exciting things will be coming, that I promise. Goodnight all!

Waiting... not so patiently

The time off of work that I'm taking around Christmas can not come quickly enough. I've been trying to wait patiently for December 23 to come around, but patience just isn't something I have right now. Work has really been wearing me out lately. I've worked many nights over the past four weeks and that is on top of an already 40 hour a week schedule. I've been meeting myself coming and I'm about to crumple in a heap in my office doorway and claim defeat.

I'm basically 2 managers at work - Event Manager and Artist Hospitality/Activities Manager. Those are not my official titles but I think they would make the most sense to those reading my blog. Both of those jobs require a very full schedule during the work day full of communicating with people all over the country, chasing them down most of the time, communicating with just about everyone at work, calling people, writing things down, scheduling things, changing things, paying for things, changing things again, writing more things down, sending things out, making sure the people I sent things out to got those things, oh, change them again so update every single person you know about the change and finally, refusing to change anything else. Days like that, which are many, leave me tired and on the verge of brain dead. Aside from the above, I find myself at work many nights managing receptions, events, meet and greets, artist activities backstage, more receptions, and on and on and on. It's great fun, but it really is a lot for one person to do.

I've been making my case that I can't be both of those positions any longer. If I do really well with one, the other suffers and when I start to pay attention to the other, the first starts to fall through the cracks. I can't help it, it's how it goes. Finally it made sense to everyone else to begin to shift things around and special events are leaving my plate. I had to give something up and I took this job for the experience working with artists and performing arts programming. I gained some amazing experience with the special events, but I'll let someone else gain that experience now.

Take everything I've said and multiply it by 4.5 years and you'll know why I'm ready for my Christmas break. I'll be taking about 2 weeks off of work (with a couple of days in the office thrown in for good measure) and I plan on doing some sleeping, heavy sleeping, knitting, spinning, reading, sleeping, reading, watching movies and sleeping. I'll be surprised if I change out of my comfy clothes for anything at all. I have a fair sized collection of sleep plants with penguins on them and I plan to figure out a way to wear them the entire time I'm on break. Erin in her penguin pants NOT working. It sounds good to me.

And now I shall leave you with a bright, sunny, cheery yellow yarn. Enjoy.

Validation

I used to be the kind of person who needed the approval of others to validate what I do. If I made food, I didn't really know if it was good unless someone told me it was. If I hung up some pictures in a way I liked, it didn't look good until someone told me it did. This went for most things.

As I've grown up, I've moved away from the need for that validation. If I make a necklace I like, I'm going to wear it all over the place whether people like it or not. Same goes for food, decor, and projects at work. I do it my way if that way is the way I like.

However, every now and then, validation comes along when you lease expect it. I have an account on Twitter which allows me to keep up with shops I love on Etsy, friends that were left behind in Texas when I moved north, blog writers I follow and just crafting in general. Today the Twitter account that Etsy manages Twittered (what you call a post on Twitter) about my Desert Breeze necklace. YES - they noticed my sweet, little necklace. And now, hopefully, so will their followers.

No, I did not need the validation that my little necklace is nice from Etsy admin, but it sure does feel warm and fuzzy that I got it anyways. Proof of the post is seen below - you can't click on the link, but I assure you, it linked to my necklace.

Okay - enough excitement.

I sat down at my crafting table last night to make some new earrings for the Walton Arts Center Holiday Bazaar. I started out just remaking some of the more popular earrings but freshening up the look with some new beads. I also made some new designs that I hope do well. All are out of antiqued brass findings since that seems to be my favorite look right now, but that also seems to be my customers favorite look right now.

Sitting at my table has me looking forward to the many days off I'll have around Christmas. I have some new ideas in my head for jewelry designs and I'm dying to have enough time to sit and do them. I want to beef my bracelets up, use more silver, more gemstones, and more vintage beads. I think there is a market for pricier bracelets and I want to test it out. Don't worry, I'll still be making the ones I have now, but new items are good... right? WAIT, that is asking for validation.

I don't do that.

Happy Thursday fellow bloggers.

Just one more

Just one more treasury: It seems as though my winter themed bracelets are doing well as far as treasuries go. Hopefully some of my winter themed necklaces will do the same. I found a batch of photos that I had forgotten about this evening. I'm quite happy that I edited and posted some of the items as one sold right out from under me.

Buhbye last of my Autumn Leaves necklaces.

And hello Berry Cluster -

Treasury Love

It seems a little bracelet of mine has been featured in a couple of treasuries this week. I have listed a few bracelets this month, but other than that, they have not been receiving the attention from me that they used to. These treasuries have inspired me to sit down with my wire and needles and start making them again.

I've been busy

Okay okay, so I haven't been paying attention to my blog in well over a week but I've got a good reason.

This:
See, I've been busy. Spinning is getting easier and easier for me which makes me want to do it more and more. It also helps that people buy it so there is even more motivation behind the spinning. Yes, money for Christmas presents is a strong, strong motivator.

I've also been working on getting my stuff ready to sell up at Walton Arts Center this month. My lovely goodies will be on display with a few other local artists in the gallery up at work during all public performances of A Christmas Carol (closed today), CeCe Winans, and Spamalot. That is a lot of traffic and hopefully I'll sell out of items. Sure, that might mean and empty Etsy shop, but I'll be sure to fill it up again.

I've also been sick all week with a cold. This one has really beat me. I spent many hours at home on the couch when I should have been at work, but I think it's finally on the decline - so wish me well.

Well, I'm off to watch some more storm chasers and spin some more yarn.