snow day(s)

the snow came, we shoveled and played, we aren't sure if we'll ever get back out of the house. the bean found it amusing until the cold seeped through four layers of clothing, while the little guy preferred to watch it from the comfort of our living room. i can see the value of both of those strategies.

birds on a wire

this bag makes me think of one of my favorite songs, and i want one. they're new work by my friend jen of jennyjen42. check out her shop!

how have i missed this shop?

i am so in love with these bears right now. i've done needle felting, and it's painful, and tricky to get such clean results... i'm so impressed and i want them all! they're by ememem, check out her shop!

haiti

oh, haiti, it's so awful watching events there unfold. i wish there were more that i could do, but for now i'm donating money to the Red Cross. we've already donated what we could, but i will also be donating 25% of sales this week (maybe longer) to the Red Cross International
Response Fund. if you can give, give, or if you'd like to shop, i'll give for you. some of my local friends are giving as well:

10% of sales this week will go to the Red Cross International
Response Fund- yummyandcompany

10% of each sale for one week to Doctors Without Borders/
Médecins Sans Frontières- AtelierAdornments

$5 from each sale this week will go to the Red Cross International Response Fund- thebrokenplate

10% of sales now through 1/20 to American Red
Cross- sweetpepita

10% of sales now through 1/20 to American Red Cross- galla15

10% of all sales until the end of January will be donated to the
American Red Cross to support relief efforts in Haiti- lolamiren

10% of sales now through 1/20 to American Red Cross- dandelionblu

$5 from every sale through the end of January to Doctors Without Borders- tarabu

$5 of every sale till the end of January to Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation- jennyjen42

10% of sales now through 1/20 to American Red Cross- Namoo

you can also give directly to the Red Cross on their website here or donate $10 to haiti relief by texting “haiti” to 90999. thank you!

so inspired by this

amazing papercuts by Jen Stark.

unfinished business... and a new start

this wreath, which the bean and i started last year, was finished on december 23rd of this year. two new stockings were completed at 11:35 on christmas eve, just in time for santa to fill them up. as with many things, my blog included, there just isn't enough time during the busy holiday season. for most people, this is true. with parties to attend, gifts to buy, places to see, the holidays can be crazy stressful and not so much fun. but when your business is based around this already busy time, things can get infinitely more... well, insane.

i have spent the last months thinking about my blog and how i wanted to use it. i'm certainly not the most important blog out there, i know. but it is important to me to give an accurate representation of how my life really plays out. i'd love for this to be a happy-martha-fun-perfect-stylish blog, but that's not my reality. my house is cool, but messy, my studio is worse, i don't always bake the prettiest cookies, and i even forgot to put the advent calendar up until much later than i care to admit.

since i've had my kids, i've often found support in blogs out there, ideas, encouragement, a kind of community. but somehow in the 'branding' of these blogs, the reality of imperfection can be lost. i feel the need to be honest, although i will not show you a picture of my living room at just this moment, thanks. what i will do, for myself and for other moms out there, is be more honest. and i'll start here: sometimes i think this career path is the most insane choice i've ever made. i'm not the only one... i was so happy to see this new york times article which really voiced the reality of this life much more eloquently than i ever could.

the nice thing about having a business based around the holidays is that there is a natural and necessary break from the insanity, and along with the new year creates the perfect time to reflect and plan. 2009 was my first year as a full-time artist, and i've learned a lot. it's been a tremendous and tumultuous time - i mean, i'm not sure what i was thinking trying to pull this off with a newborn! but i made it! and i had fun, and i'm feeling excited and hopeful about the new year.

i am so, so, so grateful to my husband, who supports me through this craziness, and my mom, who helps me out so much whether she's pricing work, distracting the kids or sending over a home-cooked meal. i am thankful for my amazing etsy customers, the wonderful people who come to shows and tell me how happy my work makes them. and i couldn't make it without my friends, the ones who visit or help at shows, and the girls of BEST, who keep me going when i think i can't.

i thank you all, this wonderful community, i love this crazy life. i hope you have an amazing 2010, i can't wait to see what it hold in store for me.

bring on the weekend

ok, so i made it through last weekend, all three shows, and the snow. whew. i'll be heading to pittsburgh this weekend for the wonderful handmade arcade, and my work will also be at

squidfire, thanks to shannon of sweetpepita. if you're in pittsburgh, please stop by and see me, or come visit shannon and my BEST buddies down in canton.

exactly two week until christmas. gulp.

buy handmade and help others

It has been a difficult year for many Marylanders because of the tough economy. Many are without jobs and without food. In an effort to help those in need this holiday season, several BEST members will be donating a percentage of money from the the sales of their handmade items from December 1-14. Buyers will have a unique opportunity to support handmade and help feed hungry Marylanders.

The Maryland Food Bank provides nearly 14 million pounds of food annually to 1,000 Network Partners - including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, low-income day care centers, after-school programs, senior centers, rehabilitation centers, and other feeding programs. They supply food for over 50,000 Marylanders each week who otherwise would go hungry or not eat enough, including families with children, the elderly, the homeless, the homebound, low-income workers, the recently unemployed, and people with AIDS and other health problems. For every $1 contributed to the Maryland Food Bank, they are able to provide 3 meals to Maryland’s needy families and individuals.

From December 1st through 14th, the following participating BEST members will be donating a percentage of their sales:

blockpartypress- 10% of Etsy sales
sweetpepita- 10% of all Etsy sales
jenmenkhaus- 10% of all Etsy sales
glowgirl - 10% of all Etsy sales
yummyandcompany- 10% of all Etsy sales
atelieradornments - 10% of all Etsy sales
lanabella - 10% of all Etsy sales
lolamiren - 10% of all Etsy sales
thebrokenplate - 10% of all Etsy sales
tigerlillyshop - 10% of all Etsy ring sales
greenstarstudio - 10% of all Etsy sales

Take some time to visit these Etsy shops, support handmade and know that when you make a purchase between Dec. 1 - 14, you will be helping to provide food and services to someone in need this holiday season. Here are some other ways to support the MD Food Bank:

* Make a direct monetary donation

* Purchase and donate food through the Food Bank's “Virtual Food Drive”

* Deliver the food directly to the Maryland Food Bank at 2200 Halethorpe Farms Road. Please call 410-737-8282 to arrange your delivery.

* Volunteer Opportunities

(Thanks Tamara, of BlockPartyPress, for organizing this drive & writing this lovely post).