Etsy Inspiration

Thanks to the inspiration from another artist mama friend, I am opening an Etsy shop to sell my handcrafted clothing and accessories, as well as vintage goodies I find. The shop is the perfect excuse to make time to create art; wearable and otherwise more often. I used to make and sell jewelery and clothing on a fairly regular basis, and my kids are now big enough to keep busy, help create, or at least not eat the beads used in my creations, so it's time to get busy and use that Fashion Design and Merchandising education that's been getting dusty in a closet. It also eases some of the guilt associated with purchasing yet another fabulous wool coat or embroidered purse when I have a closet full. If I buy it for myself, it looks bad, but if I buy it for my Etsy shop, I am a business woman helping contribute to my family, while offering to share beautiful treasures with other people. And, if something I love that happens to be in my size doesn't sell, then darn, I'll have to keep it for myself.

The shop should be up and running within a week or so, but the set up process has given me some eye opening information. Apparently, I am vintage. Now, I usually associate the term “vintage” with something my great grandmother might have owned, but apparently vintage is something 20 years or older. Since I graduated high school in 1989, this makes my 80's teen style vintage. Ouch.

I'll be sure to post when my shop is open for business, but in the mean time, check out my friend's fabulous shop- http://www.rubymanchester17.etsy.com/

Pulling Weeds

I have pulled a whole lot of weeds in the last few days, and my hands are showing the evidence. I've tried using gloves, but they always end up with dirt on the inside somehow, which is really annoying to me, so I just go without. As a result, my nails are stained no matter how I try to get the dirt out from underneath them, and my fingers are calloused and scratched. My hands are looking and feeling a bit manly, but at least they are small, and not hairy.

Every time I go out, I pull, and I pull; it's sort of addicting, but the weeds seem to keep coming. Someday, I have faith that the plants of my choice will crowd out those grassy weeds that produce fox tails and other irritating stickers which eventually end up stuck in the feet, ears and coats of my animals, causing problems and spreading into more weeds. In the mean time, I pull, trying to catch them before they go to seed, trying to pull when the ground is still soft from recent rains. I plant new baby vinca, poppies, rosemary and sage to fill in the weedy ground. When I throw the weed clots over the fence, the goats come running. Depending on their moods, they will devour them, or snub them. Whatever they ignore, the chickens peck and scratch through. I'm glad they are enjoying my weeding, and turning it into a feeding. Nature is so resourceful.

Spring!

Spring is in the air! I love this time of year, and it's promise of new beginnings. It's amazing- a little rain, a little sun, and viola- little green grassy shoots pop out of what was rocky, dusty hillside last summer, and what was muddy muck a few weeks ago. The wildflowers are starting to bloom, and so are the trees. My allergies might start kicking up anytime, when the pollen starts joining the spring in the air, but I still can't help loving the beauty of the season. It's so full of hope, and these days we could all use a little hopefulness. The sight of a tiny dandelion that forced it's way through a crack in the pavement to spread its' leaves, open its' petals and bloom always makes me smile, because life goes on, no matter what. Those pretty and resilient little weeds remind me of what a wise woman told me years ago, during a really dark period of my life. She said, “You've got to bloom where you're planted honey.” And, she was right.