come see me this weekend!

it's this weekend! i promise i will get preview photos up before friday, but in the meantime, i'm busy sewing and cutting, cutting and sewing all kinds of new work to add some color to your fall wardrobe. i'll be introducing at least six new pieces, and maybe more if i decide to just keep the coffee pot crankin' all week. make sure to come see us in booth 3! follow me on twitter and i'll be sure to post photos and updates from the event, and maybe even a coupon code!

in the meantime, i wanted to share this little bit from my friend juliet, over at the broken plate. it's a great tribute, i think, to the wonderful craft community that i am so lucky to be a part of.

I guess my bullshit reason is that I am really proud of what I have been able to do with my silly breaking plates business. I am proud that I am surviving the crappiest economy that I have had to deal with by making things with my own hands out of objects that would be trash. Although I may not break plates forver, I want to remember the time I did forever because, well, it was pretty damn fun. I want to look at this tattoo and remember all of my awesome BEST girls, all the silly fun had at craft shows (spray tan and wine, anyone) and all of the odd calls, seemingly out of the blue, from a magazine that likes my work. Really? Rachael Ray? Crazy. So yes, I wil be a grandma with a tattoo, but when my grandkids ask about I can say “Sit down Deary, let me tell you a story about breaking plates.” The real reason, is that it is awesome.

i get by with a little help

i'm hurtling toward the holiday show season at a pace i had never imagined i could maintain. but with the bean off to school in the mornings, and the little guy being bored into sleep by the sounds of me cutting felt, i'm actually getting things done. no matter how freeing working for yourself is, as anyone who has ever been self-employed can tell you, it is the hardest work you will ever do. i'm pretty sure there is more caffiene than oxygen running through my veins, and my side of the bed has hardly had a dent in it over the last few weeks. but i will get through!

when exhaustion collides with stress, which for me is mostly over having too many ideas of new work and not being able to convince my darling children that they will be happier if they sleep more, often i have to cry for help. luckily, my BEST friends helped picked up my slack for the street team, my mom came over to help me pack and price an entire rubbermaid container of work (woohoo!), mr. bean has been dutifully pricing work and repairing displays, and my sweet friend jill brought me a little handmade finery, a beautiful necklace from pressed glass and silver. and really, not to sound shallow, but jewelry and shoes will always cheer me up.

and crafty bastards, which i am beyond excited about, is next weekend in dc. i'll be sharing booth 3 with my good friend shannon, from sweet pepita, and will be among some of the most amazing crafty talent around. so keep watching, i'll be posting some previews of my new work, soon! if i can stay awake.

vote for me!

full color

loving this! so cheerful! by horst glaesker.

halloween is coming

well, not really, unless you are in your local craft supply store. (in which case thanksgiving and christmas are right around the corner, too.) but these take a while to make, so i'm listing them now. you pick your colors, i'll whip up a one-of-a-kind brooch just for you!

happy birthday, bean.

you go, my little supergirl.

let them eat cake

the bean will be four tomorrow. it sounds weird to say it. it wasn't that long ago that we were pacing around the house, rick watching american splendor and me trying to decide if i was indeed in labor. (ok, i knew i was but somehow was still in denial.) my little girl was so strong from the beginning that the midwife actually jumped at the screams that came out of her with her first breaths. i remember that so clearly. it can't have been four years.

when she started talking about her birthday party three months ago, yes three, she was going to have a princess party. ok, i thought, easy enough. as the big day got closer and closer, the requests got more specific, until eventually they cake had to be a princess rainbow castle cake. now, being the avid color lover that i am, the rainbow part sounded great, and i was lucky enough to find this great tutorial on cake rainbow-ing. i never thought it would work, but it did. and thanks to her gigi, the outside fulfilled the castle and princess requirements.

we planned a simple but fun party... and of course, since i am both an overachiever and one crafty mommy, we had a wand-making session for the party princesses. as i watched the bean skillfully and stubbornly attach 50 some jewels to hers, i marveled at her little hands. hands that didn't need my help. i remember so clearly when those could barely wrap around my finger, and yet here they are. almost-four hands.

i don't know what this year will bring. and while i could probably squint hard and imagine that this bigger and brighter girl is my baby, i know she's ready to do bigger and brighter things. those strong, stubborn little hands have so much potential. so with luck, and some rainbow cake, we start year four.

bring it on.

gettin' much sleep?

image by krisblues

this is the question most new moms are familiar with. usually we'll nod, eyes half-closed and respond with something like, "oh, sure, like 2 or 3 hours at a time." this seems reasonable to us in our sleep-deprived state. the answer is met with a knowing smile, and that's it. conversation over.

i know i got the question a lot when the bean was new, and yes, i'm still getting it now. but this time, i find the one i get more often is, "how is it with two?" i'm not sure what people want to hear, but i always tell the truth. depending on the day, i may say it's a thousand times harder than i ever imagined, or i may tell them that we're getting by.

maybe it's because i'm a sahm this time around, or a wahm i guess, but the only thing i can relate my days to is this. you will understand if you've ever worked retail during the holidays - that feeling of looking up from your work and seeing no end in sight. there's not a minute where at least one doesn't need me, and more often both need me at once. i often feel that in some way i'm neglecting one or the other, and that is a pain i can't quite describe. i know, i know, i'm a total wuss. i don't know how people do this.

as stressful as my days are, sometimes, though, having a second baby has opened my eyes to things i couldn't see with my first. the first time i looked at this little guy next to his big sister, i broke down and cried. it seemed like just yesterday the bean was a tiny screaming little red thing, all colic-y and determined - i knew from the second she let out that primal first scream that she was going to be a force to be reckoned with. at almost 4, she still is more of a force than ever, and the little guy, well, all he wants to do is cuddle.

having a second makes me appreciate every moment more, because i realize how quickly they go by. it's made me re-think many decisions i thought i had made. you might have noticed, my blog and my shop have been a little quieter than usual. i'm slowing down, intentionally, but i'll be back. i've got lots of new work coming bit by bit, and i'm getting ready to kick off the show season at crafty bastards on october 3rd. you can catch my crafty blogs over at BEST, and i'll be here occasionally posting new work and updates from the bean residence.

i hope you enjoy the rest of your summer. i'll see you soon!