staring at my overgrown backyard and not doing one thing about it

My sewing room (I need a more encompassing name for it, other than "craft room", help me please) overlooks my backyard. This can be a good thing, though right now it's not so pretty actually. If I look to my right I only see a giant green tarp which is covering all the scrap that belongs to my landlords, we moved in with the promise it'd be gone by now. Hopefully soon, as it blocks my light and is a huge eye sore. If I look straight ahead and ignore my peripheral vision it get much nicer looking, though it's a bit overgrown. I've been so busy with indoor creative creations that i've totally neglected going outside much. I'm already in Fall/Winter mode I suppose, it's time to break out the winter clothes and put the heavier duvet on the bed. Hot Cocoa I can feel you getting closer by the day...

Here are two new creations that are already in the shop. Meet Penelope and the Little Village Pillow...

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oh me, oh my, oh my deer

Here is a new painting titled "Oh My Deer" that I finished last night while my old man was at a death metal show with his buddy:) I'm quite fond of this one. Measures 8 x 5.5 inches (20.32cm x 13.97cm) Acrylic paint, ink on vintage book cover. I think I'll add an optional ribbon to the back for hanging, so you can either hang on a nail or hang from the ribbon. I'll get this up in the shop later today. I'm in the midst of a cleaning overhaul of my craft room, which is a sun porch off of the kitchen. It's quite perfect for what I do, perhaps a tad small though. I'm missing a couple key functional furniture pieces though which makes organizing a little messier than i'd like. Piles of folded fabric will have to do for now. It's a long rectangle of a room with no upper wall space because of all the windows, which is great for the sunlight. In the Winter & Spring the natural light is amazing. During the Summer the grape vines grow and block most of that natural light, which I miss actually, but the grapes are ripe and delicious now, so they're forgiven. But when taking listing photos, I daydream of that natural light. I've got some crafty ideas brewing right now, with the holiday shopping season approaching it's important for me to get my shop items up early and keeping them replenished with new fresh items.

Here are a few of my goals-

*I'm going to sell gift certificates in different amounts. Nice handmade versions along with a digital copy too.

*have over 100 items in shop by November. More pillows, brooches, paintings.

*Journals

*Cameo paintings

*Holiday cards - I have some cute ideas for winter themed paintings

*prints from original paintings

So much fun stuff to do!

Anyone else want to share their goals for their shop or just in general?
Bouncing around ideas is inspiring for sure.

Take care,
Sarah

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final product

It's Saturday and my plans for the day are shaping up, I got up a bit earlier today and finished listing and tidying up my shop. Plans for the day are as follows. I'm going to work of two larger size paintings today, do some house cleaning, go for a walk, post office, get supplies for homemade sushi night (best sushi in Portland), finish up listing photos and such. My camera is really taking a dive I must say, only the macro setting seems to be working, which is a real drag when photos are integral to my shop. I just don't have the money to replace anything at this point, so i'm hoping it's just a moody technology quirk. Fingers crossed.
Onto the fun stuff- Here's a peek at the final product from the last two days of painting and stitching...all are up in the shop now.

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shop update

I have a bunch of new brooches that i'm working on getting listed tonight. I have an Autumnal Showcase spot starting at 9pm I believe, it's 8pm as I write this:) Lots of posting. Here's a sneak peek at them in an early stage!

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back home & lots of painting about to happen

We were out of town for the weekend, just got back last night...Had good times
with family, my bridal shower, lots of wedding plans happening and Jacob got two days in the studio. This all happened in the span of four days and we were pretty exhausted. I love the reinvigorated energy though of leaving town and coming home. It's a good way to boost my productivity and creativity. Had a good amount of sales while gone, so i'm feeling good about the next batch of brooches I'm making. I'll be getting them posted on Friday night, I have an Autumnal Showcase coming up on Saturday, so it's a good opportunity for visibility. Ok, I better get to work. If any family or friends are reading this, i'll get some photos up here soon of the festivities from Sunday:)

Ah, one of my bunny brooches made Front Page yesterday morn', yippee!



Love,
Sarah

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knee deep in brooches

Here is a peek at my new brooches. Plan to have them all in the shop by midday tomorrow:) I'm quite smitten, quite busy and making a cup of tea to keep me able to work for a few more hours before I lay myself down to sleep. I'm on a time crunch as I'm gearing up for a trip this weekend.







I ordered business cards for my shop/blog and according to UPS they are in Portland as I type this, should get them in the morning hopefully! Can't wait to see them, I'll show you once I get them in my hand and scanned.

top of the evening to you,
sarah

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my new love...brooches

So i've discovered a new outlet for my sometimes impatient inner crafter. Brooches. Not your traditional Grandma brooches, these puppies are hand painted and a one of a kind piece of wearable art. I was thinking about how to incorporate wearable art more into my shop. But whenever adding something new, I do think about the space issues of storing things, so these small little wonders are perfect. I tried my hand at an embroidered one, but the rest are painted. For the painted ones, I use acrylic paint on dark brown faux leather. I seal the paint with a protective gloss coating.
I then cut each piece out with my wonderful scallop scissors, add a layer of forest green wool (which is a recycled army blanket) and another layer of pleather. This fake leather is the best, it's left over from me recovering my kitchen table chairs. I recommend this to everybody that needs to recover a chair seat. This stuffs wipes clean in a flash and is very durable. Perfect for peeps with messy little ones:)
These are already up in the shop -






My to do list for the day:
*Finish RSVP and info cards for the wedding invitations & get them printed
*Set up sewing table (i finally found a great user friendly table that fits)
*Work on songs
*Paint some more brooches

If I do all that today i'll be sitting pretty. My old man is in the studio recording right now, so I get long stretches of time where I can be creative, in my pajamas and my hair up in a bun. Wait, that's me most days.

My mom and I were talking about babies last night and she said "I don't think I got to brush my hair the whole first year after you were born", that leaves a funny image in my head. Reminds me of this great illustration by Amanda Kindregan I saw the other day. Check out her shop here.

Onwards,
Sarah

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The Daydreamer

A new one up in the shop:)
I don't have many words going on in my head right now, perhaps tomorrow.

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i want these/i love these

I stumbled upon these adorable mittens this morning on Etsy and needed to share. Check out the Seealso shop here.

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prolific Sunday and Monday, new stuff

I've had a nice creative downpour the last couple days, I've been working more hours than I even realize and have to force myself to sleep. Got to see some old friends that were passing through town on Sunday, two different sets of friends. I hadn't left the house in days, so it was a nice change of pace to go to brunch with my old boss Judy from Motormouthmedia, her husband Marc and Kara (who is the new tour publicist, that use to be me). Yummy bacon & eggs with latkes. Thank you Miss Judy for breakfast! Then we met up with my very much pregnant belly friend Paula and her husband Des from Salt Lake City. This was also a planned "move to Portland assault". I'm determined to get a few of my friends up here. I'm working hard on Sherrie & Tony, I'm fairly confident they'll cave at some point. They're of the artsy ilk and need to get out of Los Angeles, a city that likes to take your creative energy and well, kill it. I'm afraid Gary and Mark will not budge, they enjoy LA in all it's seedy glory.

Onto the new work, they are all up in the shop now:)

Little Miss Fox


Miriam the Bunny


Polly and Henry

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new painting, autumn and monster dolls

I'm happy to say that my Sophie Pillow made it to the front page of Etsy. Nice surprise to wake up and see a lot of traffic in the shop. Small steps make a big difference over the long run. I'm working on few things simultaneously right now, a new painting which i'm very happy with so far, finishing up the wedding invitations (which i can't wait to share how adorable and awesome they are), finishing up 2 pillows that I abandoned for a week and a half, some online design overhauls (mainly band stuff, but also for the shop),
and laundry. Laundering curtains more specifically, I think that would be a good transition into autumn project. I'm so excited for the fall season, wood fires and hot chocolate will be very welcome in my house!

So here is the new painting i'm working on, I hope to finish it tonite and get it in the shop tonite or in the morning. Depends how easy the listing photos come about. It's laying on a great piece of vintage green furry fabric that I scored at the thrift store yesterday. I'm going to make a few dolls out of. I'm thinking monsters or dinosaurs of some sort, great for my little brother who is seven, of course i'll post some photos of how those turn out.
Have a great Monday folks!

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pencil drawing for my invitations

After painting yesterday I got inspired to paint the picture for our invitations, instead of my original idea which was a photograph. So happy I did! It's hard for crafty gals to find quality wedding products that are affordable and fits their vibe. Here is my first sketch, I don't want to show the finished product because it'll spoil it for those receivers who read my blog. Once they're in the mail, i'll post the final version, they are so cute!

Me & My Old Man

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Let there be paint!

I was at the craft store yesterday and got inspired to buy some
paints. Completely out of the blue too, I was walking down the aisle
and the colors started screaming out to me..."Sarah, buy me and paint
something". Well, I did just that. I painted while watching TV, after episodes of
Without A Trace and Jon & Kate plus 8, my final product made me quite excited.

This couple is available in the shop here now. Disclaimer **this looks suspiciously like my ex-boyfriend, not on purpose I promise.**

Then this lady came about this afternoon. She'll be in the shop tomorrow.


toodles,
sarah

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A hint to say "thank you" and "hey" more often

I started a few different photographic series of domestic
still life's of things around my home, things i love, or
things that are just plain good or cute. So it makes sense
for them to be a more portable piece of art...Cards!
I love making things that are ultra functional in an artistic
way. So me needing to keep in better touch the old fashioned
way or to send a thank you note to Aunt Mildred, I can do it
with my own creation, very crafty indeed.

These are all Limited Edition sets.
...
This card is from my 'Bird in a Nest' photo and they're in the shop
here. Sets of 8 will be available later tomorrow or the next day.
...

This is 'Wooden Spoons'. I love wooden spoons, I get very excited to find one that
surpasses my expectations of a spoon. Crazy...yes. My favorite spoon at home
is from Scandinavia, it has the best shape, rounded on one side and a corner
on the other for scraping. Very user friendly and made from good wood. It makes
me happy every time i use it, this is what "things" in our life should do!

These guys below should be in the shop in the next couple days, i'm staggering my listings.

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