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My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

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7M views 13K replies 477 participants last post by  teaklight12 
#1 ·
Beginning this Blog

I recently was referred to this site by Steve Good, who has a wonderful, comprehensive scroll saw forum and blog page. Although I have been doing woodworking for almost fifteen years, I have finally reached a point in my life where I am able to make it the main focus of my activities. Since my life revolves around my woodworking and business, I believe that this blog will reflect that very clearly, although it will also be somewhat personal. But I think that woodworking is very personal anyway.

It has been a long journey to get to this point. There have been many good times and some not-so-good ones, but I appreciate every single step because I think that if even one thing was different, I would not be where I am today or who I am inside. It isn't only the positive events in our lives that make us what we are. Many times it is the negative things that mold and shape us and teach us to look at things in a certain way. I try to remember that when things are tough and move ahead.

I have learned that there is only one thing we can be certain of in life: change. Whether things are good or bad, we need to hold on and appreciate the moment, as we can be certain that things will be different before long. This helps us to not only appreciate the good days and things we have now, but also hang on when things are not so good, as we know that they will be different soon. I like this philosophy.

I liked reading about the new contest offered by this site in the newsletter. Fluidity. It is a perfect theme for projects because our existence itself is fluid. I am anxious to see what interpretations are going to be, as I am sure everyone else is. It will be an adventure for all of us for sure.

So why am I starting this blog? The other day I received a call from a customer who had a question for me. He kept saying how surprised he was that I answered my own phone. I have worked as a Contributing Editor for Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine for the past 13+ years and I guess in the scroll saw community, many people have heard of me. It seemed so odd to me that he would think I would have a secretary or staff. We kind of laughed about it, but it really got me thinking about his interpretation of my life. We all tend to form opinions of others from very limited information. We see the outside of a person as they are presented to us and many times are very quick to categorize that person in our minds. I do it myself.

But in my years of talking with and dealing with many people from many different places, I have come to realize that people are like icebergs. We only see the tip of them and below the surface is a vast, complex side of them that is the basis of their actions and thinking.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has traveled a journey. No two people have traveled identical paths. Thus, we are all unique in our thoughts, actions and creative processes. I enjoy hearing others stories. I think that listening to others and hearing their experiences helps us to understand each other. With that understanding, we learn.

I have used the phrase "Knowledge Is Power" in my signature since I have been on the web. Once someone told me that they thought it was quite arrogant of me to say that. He thought that I was implying that I knew more than anyone else and he found that offensive. I told him he couldn't be more wrong. My interpretation of the phrase is that our QUEST for knowledge EMPOWERS us to make better decisions about things in our lives. We are never finished learning. I learn every single day from my friends, colleagues, fellow woodworkers and students. We never know when we will learn something new. Sometimes you can learn from even a seemingly insignificant event. I feel the key is that we need to be open to learning.

Everyone has a story.

So I will close today with those thoughts. I don't know how often I will post here, but I hope to make it a habit. I don't know if anyone will even read this, but somehow it doesn't matter. Writing is a key in self-awareness. By writing things down we categorize our actions and it helps (me anyway) to keep my life organized. Organization leads to peace as far as I am concerned.

I am quite overwhelmed with the scope of the site here. I am still getting my footings and lurking around. I think for the first several days or maybe even weeks I will be more of a passive observer while I find my comfortable position among the others here. I want to upload the new things I am working on here. Like everyone else, I am anxious to see the response they get. I love seeing others projects and could spend my days just looking.

Although it is quite intimidating, the forum looks like it is full of friendly, knowledgeable and wonderfully creative people.

I think I am going to like it here.
 
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#12,465 ·
Some Bunny's Been Busy Designing!

My goodness! What a fun and productive weekend I had. I think I must be a little crazy because it seems the more directions I am going in at once, the more things I want to do. It may sound 'corny' but I feel so, so fortunate to be able to work doing something I love every single day. You must all think I am kidding when I say I can't wait to wake up and get started each day, but that is truly the case.

On Saturday night, I probably only slept for a couple of hours because my head was so busy thinking of new ideas, I couldn't shut it down. After fighting it for a couple of hours and tossing and turning, I decided to give in to it and just got out of bed and started drawing. I figured that I could take a nap the next day (but that didn't happen!) and I actually accomplished a great deal. With that drawing under my belt, I spent the rest of the day tidying up the house, making soup and even packaging up all my orders that need to go out today. I usually do that in the morning, but I figured I was on a roll - so why not?

I finished all of these things with much of the day left, and I was finally able to sit down and nearly complete my "Day 2" of Lynne Andrews' 12 Days of Christmas ornaments that I am working on this year. They are nearly done and will be finished up today and sent out tomorrow - right on schedule! :)

I hit a 'stopping point' at about 9pm. I had added the layer of JoSonja's Opal Dust on them and it really needs to dry overnight before sealing, so it was a good time for me to leave them alone and take a break. But they look good up to this point. I was thrilled to get all the lettering under my belt:

Food Dishware Green Tableware Ingredient


While many like to do the lettering using marker, I chose to do it with a small paint brush and paint. I know it may not look as perfect as the marker ones and will take a bit longer to do, but I feel that not only will it help build my painting skills, but it also looks really nice and 'hand painted'. And that is part of the charm of these ornaments, I believe.

Here is a picture of the backs:

Green Dishware Ingredient Yellow Cuisine


Of course, these photos show the ornaments without the opal dust applied. I will have finished photos of that tomorrow. I also need to add some of the tiny crystal rhinestones to give them that finished look. But I am almost there!

As I sat down last night and finished things up, I really felt like I accomplished a lot. Things are going pretty well and there is lots that I have to look forward to creating in the near future.

I couldn't wind down though, so I started working on another large embroidery project from Di van Niekirk. Since I finished my "A Perfect World" sampler (Panel 14 of 17 pictured here) I have been itching to do another. Di is 'retiring' and closing her store (good for her, but I will MISS her!) so I purchased another sampler panel that is similar to this.

Botany Textile Creative arts Rectangle Art


If you would like to see all of the panel photographs, you are invited to check out my Picasa photo album here: A Perfect World Embroidery Photos by Sheila Landry.

I am also in the process of designing some simple kits to offer of my own embroidery designs. I have some materials on order for the first of these kits and will share them as they progress. I have had lots of you ask about them and I am happy to make them, it is just finding the hours in the day to do so that bogs me down. But following along with Di's kits are very relaxing for me, (I don't have to THINK!) and I find it is a great way to 'unwind' at the end of the day. I have felt lost since I finished my big sampler up last year. It took me a year to complete. I still have a third panel as well from Di, but I feel that by the time I am done with these, I should be proficient enough to keep working on my own designs. It is going to be so much fun!

So that is how my busy weekend went. I even had time to make a lovely pot of beef vegetable soup with barley. I froze some but will have several dinners of it throughout this week when I am again busy and don't have time to cook properly. I certainly love soup and they are predicting more snow storms for the next few days so I am set.

Whether I have power or not, I will be happy!

Today I hope to get 'cutting' on my new design. I also have some other quick painting designs that I am creating for Easter. Here is a little 'teaser' of my work for today:

Nose Head Ear Gesture Font


(As I look at this large, I think I need to give him a smaller nose!)

With that said, I had better get "hopping" and get moving on all of this stuff. The next few days will be truly exciting to see them coming to life. I hope you come back to visit here and see them!

Have a wonderful and creative week ahead! Happy Monday! :D
 

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#12,466 ·
Some Bunny's Been Busy Designing!

My goodness! What a fun and productive weekend I had. I think I must be a little crazy because it seems the more directions I am going in at once, the more things I want to do. It may sound 'corny' but I feel so, so fortunate to be able to work doing something I love every single day. You must all think I am kidding when I say I can't wait to wake up and get started each day, but that is truly the case.

On Saturday night, I probably only slept for a couple of hours because my head was so busy thinking of new ideas, I couldn't shut it down. After fighting it for a couple of hours and tossing and turning, I decided to give in to it and just got out of bed and started drawing. I figured that I could take a nap the next day (but that didn't happen!) and I actually accomplished a great deal. With that drawing under my belt, I spent the rest of the day tidying up the house, making soup and even packaging up all my orders that need to go out today. I usually do that in the morning, but I figured I was on a roll - so why not?

I finished all of these things with much of the day left, and I was finally able to sit down and nearly complete my "Day 2" of Lynne Andrews' 12 Days of Christmas ornaments that I am working on this year. They are nearly done and will be finished up today and sent out tomorrow - right on schedule! :)

I hit a 'stopping point' at about 9pm. I had added the layer of JoSonja's Opal Dust on them and it really needs to dry overnight before sealing, so it was a good time for me to leave them alone and take a break. But they look good up to this point. I was thrilled to get all the lettering under my belt:

Food Dishware Green Tableware Ingredient


While many like to do the lettering using marker, I chose to do it with a small paint brush and paint. I know it may not look as perfect as the marker ones and will take a bit longer to do, but I feel that not only will it help build my painting skills, but it also looks really nice and 'hand painted'. And that is part of the charm of these ornaments, I believe.

Here is a picture of the backs:

Green Dishware Ingredient Yellow Cuisine


Of course, these photos show the ornaments without the opal dust applied. I will have finished photos of that tomorrow. I also need to add some of the tiny crystal rhinestones to give them that finished look. But I am almost there!

As I sat down last night and finished things up, I really felt like I accomplished a lot. Things are going pretty well and there is lots that I have to look forward to creating in the near future.

I couldn't wind down though, so I started working on another large embroidery project from Di van Niekirk. Since I finished my "A Perfect World" sampler (Panel 14 of 17 pictured here) I have been itching to do another. Di is 'retiring' and closing her store (good for her, but I will MISS her!) so I purchased another sampler panel that is similar to this.

Botany Textile Creative arts Rectangle Art


If you would like to see all of the panel photographs, you are invited to check out my Picasa photo album here: A Perfect World Embroidery Photos by Sheila Landry.

I am also in the process of designing some simple kits to offer of my own embroidery designs. I have some materials on order for the first of these kits and will share them as they progress. I have had lots of you ask about them and I am happy to make them, it is just finding the hours in the day to do so that bogs me down. But following along with Di's kits are very relaxing for me, (I don't have to THINK!) and I find it is a great way to 'unwind' at the end of the day. I have felt lost since I finished my big sampler up last year. It took me a year to complete. I still have a third panel as well from Di, but I feel that by the time I am done with these, I should be proficient enough to keep working on my own designs. It is going to be so much fun!

So that is how my busy weekend went. I even had time to make a lovely pot of beef vegetable soup with barley. I froze some but will have several dinners of it throughout this week when I am again busy and don't have time to cook properly. I certainly love soup and they are predicting more snow storms for the next few days so I am set.

Whether I have power or not, I will be happy!

Today I hope to get 'cutting' on my new design. I also have some other quick painting designs that I am creating for Easter. Here is a little 'teaser' of my work for today:

Nose Head Ear Gesture Font


(As I look at this large, I think I need to give him a smaller nose!)

With that said, I had better get "hopping" and get moving on all of this stuff. The next few days will be truly exciting to see them coming to life. I hope you come back to visit here and see them!

Have a wonderful and creative week ahead! Happy Monday! :D
Beautiful work Sheila. They really look like they've been made out of shortcake. Wonder how they taste.
Waiting to see the final photos.
 

Attachments

#12,470 ·
12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 Completed!

Winter has finally arrived here in Nova Scotia. For the past two months, I think everyone around us here has held their breath and waited for the inevitable freezing temperatures, wind and snow. But up until yesterday, their dread has been pretty much unfounded.

Oh, we have had some snow and ice, but nothing to really complain about. A few inches here and there. A few storms that brushed by us and missed us by a whisker. Nothing that really lasted for more than a couple of days. Whatever accumulation we had would soon disappear and pale in comparison to the mountains of snow that was piled on us last year. As the calendar marched on and with January safely behind us, even I began to think that winter would bypass Nova Scotia altogether this year, as spring is quickly approaching. We would soon be heading to the shore to escape the warmer and more humid air inland. It would be here before we knew it.

But after all, this IS Canada. Did we really think that we would go through an entire year without the one or two healthy snowstorms? I think not. Not this year, anyway.

Our day started off nice enough. It was grey, but there was more grayish green grass than snow on the ground. Actually, there was only a very small amount left from last weeks' squall that hit. New England got hit hard, but for some reason, the storm, like several others that preceded it, only gently brushed by, leaving a slippery mess and then melting off the next few days. But as Keith and I did our daily errands (store, gym, post office) each time we emerged from someplace it was getting worse. At first just a few flakes. Then more. By the time we were at our final destination for the day, it was coming down hard and blowing nearly sideways. Places were already closing, as they rightfully should. There was no use keeping people working when things were getting so treacherous outside. Few were out anyway and I was very happy to be home, as by the time we arrived there, the snow was quickly accumulating and the storm was in full force.

We were prepared though and I wasn't worried. We had extra water, candles and blankets. If our power went out, we would be fine. Just another winter day in Canada. It brought back a feeling of 'normalcy' that had been missing the past month. It almost felt good.

I had a bowl of the good soup that I made the day before and hunkered down for the rest of the day. I have been working in so many directions this past month or so and I was anxious to finish the next stage of the project that I have been working on and will take me the entire year to complete - the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments sets that I was making that were designed by Lynne Andrews. It was great to close another chapter on it.

For those of you who may have not read before, I decided to make six sets of these lovely ornaments - five sets would be given as gifts and one set would be for myself. Since they are quite detailed and painted on both sides, I decided to give only the "Day 1" ornament at Christmas time and then I would paint one "Day" each month (times six) and mail them off to those receiving them as they were finished. This would result (in theory) of me sending the last ornament(s) in December of this year - just in time for Christmas 2016. It will be the gift that keeps on giving and will keep Christmas in their hearts for the entire year. Besides - making 72 ornaments was pretty much impossible for me to do. This allows me to make something really nice for my family members that would be a keepsake that they can have forever.

I painted most of the remaining part of the day yesterday, and I did, indeed finish up Day 2. I had shown them the other day as they were 'in progress' and I was working on the lettering. While Lynne's instructions call for using a marker for the lettering, I decided to challenge myself and use a brush to paint the wording on each ornament. I knew it would take much longer, but I do like the look of the painting lettering better and I thought it would be a nice 'skill builder' for me as well. (Yes - I am crazy!) I don't regret my choice, as I AM getting better and faster at the lettering. Just think how fast I will be by the time I am done with them all!

Here is the brush I use for the lettering:

Writing implement Office supplies Tints and shades Font Electric blue


It is my absolute favorite and has about 10 hairs on it. I have had this particular brush for probably over 10 years. I have a spare if I need one, but I don't see this one wearing much and hops it lasts another ten. It goes to show how having quality supplies and caring for them properly can make them last.

I am very proud of the finished ornaments:

Font Badge Circle Jewellery Fashion accessory


They are as elegant and beautiful as Day 1:

Badge Jewellery Body jewelry Medal Font


It will be fun and rewarding to see the set grow each month, and it will also be a joy to be able to send them to both my children, Keith's mom and my "Canadian parents" and my dear friend of many, many years (I call him my 'adopted son') Leldon and his family. All of them are so special to me and it is pure joy to create these beautiful pieces for them.

Our Facebook group is growing and thriving as well. For those who aren't aware, I created a support group for people who not only want to make these lovely ornaments, but also those who just want to watch us and cheer us on. It has been a wonderful experience and I have made many new friends and already learned so much from my fellow artists. It is fascinating to see the different variations and methods that others use to create their ornaments. I invite any of you to come and join us. It is called the "12 Days of Christmas Ornaments by Lynne Andrews - We are making them!" and it is full of fun, creativity and lots of positive energy. I think you will like it and some of you may want to even jump in and paint with us. Some were initially worried about 'keeping up' with everyone else, but there is no need for that. Since I am plodding along at only one "Day" per month, I will probably be the caboose of that group - finishing last. But there is no time frame to finish and no pressure on anyone. We are all there just to have fun and be creative and support each other. It is like a wonderful cyber-class that has its door open all the time and is completely free. It has turned into a wonderful opportunity for everyone.

I hope to see you there. I hope you enjoy seeing updates as well. I really think it is turning out to be one of the best ideas I have come up with to date, and I am so proud of everyone there.

So that will do it for today. I have some scrolling to do and I also have my new projects to play around with. It is all going to be fun.

In the end, we wound up with about a foot of snow. It is calm outside and actually very pretty. It feels like winter once again and I am sitting here cuddled in a blanket with the cats draped around me. All is well.

I hope you have a wonderful day today.

Tableware Dishware Serveware Souvenir Badge


Happy Tuesday to you! Keep safe, warm, happy AND creative!
 

Attachments

#12,471 ·
12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 Completed!

Winter has finally arrived here in Nova Scotia. For the past two months, I think everyone around us here has held their breath and waited for the inevitable freezing temperatures, wind and snow. But up until yesterday, their dread has been pretty much unfounded.

Oh, we have had some snow and ice, but nothing to really complain about. A few inches here and there. A few storms that brushed by us and missed us by a whisker. Nothing that really lasted for more than a couple of days. Whatever accumulation we had would soon disappear and pale in comparison to the mountains of snow that was piled on us last year. As the calendar marched on and with January safely behind us, even I began to think that winter would bypass Nova Scotia altogether this year, as spring is quickly approaching. We would soon be heading to the shore to escape the warmer and more humid air inland. It would be here before we knew it.

But after all, this IS Canada. Did we really think that we would go through an entire year without the one or two healthy snowstorms? I think not. Not this year, anyway.

Our day started off nice enough. It was grey, but there was more grayish green grass than snow on the ground. Actually, there was only a very small amount left from last weeks' squall that hit. New England got hit hard, but for some reason, the storm, like several others that preceded it, only gently brushed by, leaving a slippery mess and then melting off the next few days. But as Keith and I did our daily errands (store, gym, post office) each time we emerged from someplace it was getting worse. At first just a few flakes. Then more. By the time we were at our final destination for the day, it was coming down hard and blowing nearly sideways. Places were already closing, as they rightfully should. There was no use keeping people working when things were getting so treacherous outside. Few were out anyway and I was very happy to be home, as by the time we arrived there, the snow was quickly accumulating and the storm was in full force.

We were prepared though and I wasn't worried. We had extra water, candles and blankets. If our power went out, we would be fine. Just another winter day in Canada. It brought back a feeling of 'normalcy' that had been missing the past month. It almost felt good.

I had a bowl of the good soup that I made the day before and hunkered down for the rest of the day. I have been working in so many directions this past month or so and I was anxious to finish the next stage of the project that I have been working on and will take me the entire year to complete - the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments sets that I was making that were designed by Lynne Andrews. It was great to close another chapter on it.

For those of you who may have not read before, I decided to make six sets of these lovely ornaments - five sets would be given as gifts and one set would be for myself. Since they are quite detailed and painted on both sides, I decided to give only the "Day 1" ornament at Christmas time and then I would paint one "Day" each month (times six) and mail them off to those receiving them as they were finished. This would result (in theory) of me sending the last ornament(s) in December of this year - just in time for Christmas 2016. It will be the gift that keeps on giving and will keep Christmas in their hearts for the entire year. Besides - making 72 ornaments was pretty much impossible for me to do. This allows me to make something really nice for my family members that would be a keepsake that they can have forever.

I painted most of the remaining part of the day yesterday, and I did, indeed finish up Day 2. I had shown them the other day as they were 'in progress' and I was working on the lettering. While Lynne's instructions call for using a marker for the lettering, I decided to challenge myself and use a brush to paint the wording on each ornament. I knew it would take much longer, but I do like the look of the painting lettering better and I thought it would be a nice 'skill builder' for me as well. (Yes - I am crazy!) I don't regret my choice, as I AM getting better and faster at the lettering. Just think how fast I will be by the time I am done with them all!

Here is the brush I use for the lettering:

Writing implement Office supplies Tints and shades Font Electric blue


It is my absolute favorite and has about 10 hairs on it. I have had this particular brush for probably over 10 years. I have a spare if I need one, but I don't see this one wearing much and hops it lasts another ten. It goes to show how having quality supplies and caring for them properly can make them last.

I am very proud of the finished ornaments:

Font Badge Circle Jewellery Fashion accessory


They are as elegant and beautiful as Day 1:

Badge Jewellery Body jewelry Medal Font


It will be fun and rewarding to see the set grow each month, and it will also be a joy to be able to send them to both my children, Keith's mom and my "Canadian parents" and my dear friend of many, many years (I call him my 'adopted son') Leldon and his family. All of them are so special to me and it is pure joy to create these beautiful pieces for them.

Our Facebook group is growing and thriving as well. For those who aren't aware, I created a support group for people who not only want to make these lovely ornaments, but also those who just want to watch us and cheer us on. It has been a wonderful experience and I have made many new friends and already learned so much from my fellow artists. It is fascinating to see the different variations and methods that others use to create their ornaments. I invite any of you to come and join us. It is called the "12 Days of Christmas Ornaments by Lynne Andrews - We are making them!" and it is full of fun, creativity and lots of positive energy. I think you will like it and some of you may want to even jump in and paint with us. Some were initially worried about 'keeping up' with everyone else, but there is no need for that. Since I am plodding along at only one "Day" per month, I will probably be the caboose of that group - finishing last. But there is no time frame to finish and no pressure on anyone. We are all there just to have fun and be creative and support each other. It is like a wonderful cyber-class that has its door open all the time and is completely free. It has turned into a wonderful opportunity for everyone.

I hope to see you there. I hope you enjoy seeing updates as well. I really think it is turning out to be one of the best ideas I have come up with to date, and I am so proud of everyone there.

So that will do it for today. I have some scrolling to do and I also have my new projects to play around with. It is all going to be fun.

In the end, we wound up with about a foot of snow. It is calm outside and actually very pretty. It feels like winter once again and I am sitting here cuddled in a blanket with the cats draped around me. All is well.

I hope you have a wonderful day today.

Tableware Dishware Serveware Souvenir Badge


Happy Tuesday to you! Keep safe, warm, happy AND creative!
You paint a visual picture as beautifully as you paint your projects!
You defiantly are a very gifted gal in journalism, painting and wood working!~Suzanne
 

Attachments

#12,473 ·
Playing "Catch-Up"

These past few weeks have been quite busy. While I have always been pretty busy and had several things on the go at once, it seems that lately things have taken on a different 'tone' of busy. It is hard to describe. It is just a different 'feel' as to the things that have demanded my time. It is exciting and I will admit a little bit scary at the same time. When I take the time to actually asses things and consider what is going on, I realize that these new demands are just part of a growing business. Because of that, I think it is important to handle them in a way that will benefit both ourselves and our customers. That isn't always the easiest thing to do.

It comes down to making choices. My grandmother used to say we were like a pie - the more slices we have the smaller the pieces. I like that analogy because it really does hold a lot of merit. We all have the same 24 hours each day to accomplish. I remember as a young child that I was in awe of the accomplishments that some made so early in their lives. When I first read that Mozart was only in his mid-30's when he died, I was amazed that all of that beautiful music was created in such a short lifetime. (I am listening to Mozart now, which is why it came to mind.) That is only one example of the many prolific artists, scientists and creative people that we consider successful. What set them apart from us? Was it ONLY their level of creativity? Or was it a mixture of creativity, time management and (yes) chance?

My biggest complaint in my life these days is "not enough hours in the day." As our little business grows, so do the mundane tasks that take us away from the creative ones. Doing our daily mail has gone from maybe one or two pieces per week to anywhere from 50 and up. I am so thrilled to not only be selling patterns, but also my wood surfaces as well. With the high cost of postage these days, both Keith and I are surprised that so many of our customers still want their patterns sent through the mail. We never mind, and we have the printing situation well under control as far as a cost effective and efficient system which allows us to offer full color, high quality patterns at the same cost as PDF files, but it does take us a little longer to package and ship everything. It is just part of the process.

When I am cutting wood (which is a lot lately) I have lots of time to think about other projects that I want to make. The more I cut, the more I think and therefore the more that I have planned for future projects. This is a wonderful thing for a designer, as I can't remember the last time I was trying to think of what to make next. My bigger 'problem' these day (which is NOT a problem - that was sarcasm) is to decide which project to make NEXT. There is now a backlog of new projects ideas in my mind that I am realizing will take me several years to implement. That is if I stopped thinking of new things this very moment (it WON'T happen!)

Add to that the many, many wonderful new products that are available for artists and being creative (thank you, DecoArt, Derwent, Faber Castell, Martin Weber and all the art and fiber supply companies!) and I think I am going to be busy for a long, long time.

I guess I am what one would call a "Multi-Media Artist." I used to define myself as either a "Woodworker" or a "Painter". It was simpler back then. There were those who did woodworking and those who painted. The two art forms were clearly segregated and it was rare to come across someone who did both. But things have changed quite a bit. Painting has expanded to mean anything from Decoupage, Stenciling, and renovation of old furniture to working with traditional acrylics, oils, pencils, watercolors, markers and just about any other medium that artists can get their hands on. Woodworking has also expanded from scroll sawing to intarsia, wood turning and just about anything else that can be made with 'tools'. There is much cross over into different media as well, as people are looking for and exploring ways to enhance and embellish their projects to make them unique. I think it is fabulous!

For myself, I find that sometimes I begin to feel overloaded. While I am used to having several projects on the go at any given time, lately I have felt this what I will call 'desperation' to make the things I am seeing in my head. The clock is ticking and I feel like a child at an ice cream buffet that doesn't know which flavor to taste first. I have so many wonderful supplies at my home here and many of them have barely been used. My biggest conundrum is finding the time to do everything while still keeping the ship here floating. What a challenge that has proven to be!

It wasn't really until the late afternoon yesterday that this really came to light for me. I was actually 'caught up' on my orders, with everything ordered out the door and all my external deadlines met. That hasn't happened in weeks. But as I sat in my living room trying to decide what to do next, I still felt the aftermath of that "I have to get things done" feeling. Surprisingly, it isn't like a switch that one can turn on and off. It is as if my adrenaline needed to take time to reach lower and 'normal' levels after being so hyped up for weeks. I mentioned to Keith, who was going out for the evening, that even though I was all caught up with things, I still felt 'anxious'. It puzzled me.

I suppose I can assimilate it to a freight train. When going full steam, you can't really stop it on a dime. It takes time to slow down and stop and I needed to respect that. I forced myself to slow down last night. I had made some dinner and phoned a friend for a bit. I then picked up a new piece of embroidery that I am making for myself and put on an old movie and settled in with the cats for a quiet evening.

It felt wonderful.

Keith thinks I am crazy when he sees my embroidery projects. I think he fails to see the purpose of hand stitching something. But to me, I love the detail of it and I also like that it is being creative with absolutely no pressure on me whatsoever. Not even from myself. If I make a mistake, I simply cut the thread, pull it out and try again. I can pick it up and work for five minutes or five hours - whatever I feel like - without lots of preparation or set up. It helps my mind slow down at the end of a crazy busy day (which has been most of them lately) and it allows me to relax and actually sleep better. That is really powerful stuff.

We all have our things that we feel relax us and help us shut down. I think we really need that in our lives. These past few weeks I have found myself staying up later and later to keep 'going' only to have fitful sleep and waking up only slightly later than normal and feeling a bit tired most of the day. It is not a healthy or productive cycle, as something eventually will give.

When I started my business, I vowed to do whatever it takes to make it successful. That was so many years ago that working 'all the time' has become somewhat of a habit. Even to the point of writing here in the morning, although I do feel it is very much like therapy for me, as it helps me map out my day. But as our business grows and the tasks to run it grow and multiply, I think that it is more important than ever to remember to allow ourselves time to relax (what does that word mean anymore?) and refresh our mind and souls as well as our bodies. Otherwise we will eventually burn out. It is inevitable.

So we do our best with the time we have and everything else will just have to fall into place. Sounds easy. ;)

Today I have a nice little pile of new things to work on. I created these pieces as both a pattern for my woodworking followers and as surfaces for my painting followers. I will spend the next couple of days 'playing' with them and having fun showing you all how I can bring them to life!

Candle Wax Cup Wood Table


Wait until you see what I have in store for them! I have been thinking about them for weeks!

Keith also has a new pattern up on the site.

Wood Rectangle Font Poster Art


This SLDK407 Jeremiah 29:11 Bible verse plaque pattern isd part of his Large Sectional Bible Verse Plaques series. he is working on more designs to add into this group as well. As with all of his plaques of this nature, you can purchase just one individual plaque or mix and match for a better price for multiples. I have watched him take many days to make this beautiful design! He spent many, many hours drawing, changing and re-drawing the elements and lettering to look just perfect. I cna't believe how many times he changed things. But the result really shows all of his hard work, as the design and lettering flows so beautifully. Don't you agree?

We are getting another light blanket of snow as I write. It is the fluffy, gentle flakes like we see in movies. So quiet and pretty. It is nice to take the time to enjoy it and take it all in. Sometimes it is good to 'just be.'

Have a wonderful Thursday! The weekend is right around the corner. Remember to take time to feed your soul.
 

Attachments

#12,474 ·
Playing "Catch-Up"

These past few weeks have been quite busy. While I have always been pretty busy and had several things on the go at once, it seems that lately things have taken on a different 'tone' of busy. It is hard to describe. It is just a different 'feel' as to the things that have demanded my time. It is exciting and I will admit a little bit scary at the same time. When I take the time to actually asses things and consider what is going on, I realize that these new demands are just part of a growing business. Because of that, I think it is important to handle them in a way that will benefit both ourselves and our customers. That isn't always the easiest thing to do.

It comes down to making choices. My grandmother used to say we were like a pie - the more slices we have the smaller the pieces. I like that analogy because it really does hold a lot of merit. We all have the same 24 hours each day to accomplish. I remember as a young child that I was in awe of the accomplishments that some made so early in their lives. When I first read that Mozart was only in his mid-30's when he died, I was amazed that all of that beautiful music was created in such a short lifetime. (I am listening to Mozart now, which is why it came to mind.) That is only one example of the many prolific artists, scientists and creative people that we consider successful. What set them apart from us? Was it ONLY their level of creativity? Or was it a mixture of creativity, time management and (yes) chance?

My biggest complaint in my life these days is "not enough hours in the day." As our little business grows, so do the mundane tasks that take us away from the creative ones. Doing our daily mail has gone from maybe one or two pieces per week to anywhere from 50 and up. I am so thrilled to not only be selling patterns, but also my wood surfaces as well. With the high cost of postage these days, both Keith and I are surprised that so many of our customers still want their patterns sent through the mail. We never mind, and we have the printing situation well under control as far as a cost effective and efficient system which allows us to offer full color, high quality patterns at the same cost as PDF files, but it does take us a little longer to package and ship everything. It is just part of the process.

When I am cutting wood (which is a lot lately) I have lots of time to think about other projects that I want to make. The more I cut, the more I think and therefore the more that I have planned for future projects. This is a wonderful thing for a designer, as I can't remember the last time I was trying to think of what to make next. My bigger 'problem' these day (which is NOT a problem - that was sarcasm) is to decide which project to make NEXT. There is now a backlog of new projects ideas in my mind that I am realizing will take me several years to implement. That is if I stopped thinking of new things this very moment (it WON'T happen!)

Add to that the many, many wonderful new products that are available for artists and being creative (thank you, DecoArt, Derwent, Faber Castell, Martin Weber and all the art and fiber supply companies!) and I think I am going to be busy for a long, long time.

I guess I am what one would call a "Multi-Media Artist." I used to define myself as either a "Woodworker" or a "Painter". It was simpler back then. There were those who did woodworking and those who painted. The two art forms were clearly segregated and it was rare to come across someone who did both. But things have changed quite a bit. Painting has expanded to mean anything from Decoupage, Stenciling, and renovation of old furniture to working with traditional acrylics, oils, pencils, watercolors, markers and just about any other medium that artists can get their hands on. Woodworking has also expanded from scroll sawing to intarsia, wood turning and just about anything else that can be made with 'tools'. There is much cross over into different media as well, as people are looking for and exploring ways to enhance and embellish their projects to make them unique. I think it is fabulous!

For myself, I find that sometimes I begin to feel overloaded. While I am used to having several projects on the go at any given time, lately I have felt this what I will call 'desperation' to make the things I am seeing in my head. The clock is ticking and I feel like a child at an ice cream buffet that doesn't know which flavor to taste first. I have so many wonderful supplies at my home here and many of them have barely been used. My biggest conundrum is finding the time to do everything while still keeping the ship here floating. What a challenge that has proven to be!

It wasn't really until the late afternoon yesterday that this really came to light for me. I was actually 'caught up' on my orders, with everything ordered out the door and all my external deadlines met. That hasn't happened in weeks. But as I sat in my living room trying to decide what to do next, I still felt the aftermath of that "I have to get things done" feeling. Surprisingly, it isn't like a switch that one can turn on and off. It is as if my adrenaline needed to take time to reach lower and 'normal' levels after being so hyped up for weeks. I mentioned to Keith, who was going out for the evening, that even though I was all caught up with things, I still felt 'anxious'. It puzzled me.

I suppose I can assimilate it to a freight train. When going full steam, you can't really stop it on a dime. It takes time to slow down and stop and I needed to respect that. I forced myself to slow down last night. I had made some dinner and phoned a friend for a bit. I then picked up a new piece of embroidery that I am making for myself and put on an old movie and settled in with the cats for a quiet evening.

It felt wonderful.

Keith thinks I am crazy when he sees my embroidery projects. I think he fails to see the purpose of hand stitching something. But to me, I love the detail of it and I also like that it is being creative with absolutely no pressure on me whatsoever. Not even from myself. If I make a mistake, I simply cut the thread, pull it out and try again. I can pick it up and work for five minutes or five hours - whatever I feel like - without lots of preparation or set up. It helps my mind slow down at the end of a crazy busy day (which has been most of them lately) and it allows me to relax and actually sleep better. That is really powerful stuff.

We all have our things that we feel relax us and help us shut down. I think we really need that in our lives. These past few weeks I have found myself staying up later and later to keep 'going' only to have fitful sleep and waking up only slightly later than normal and feeling a bit tired most of the day. It is not a healthy or productive cycle, as something eventually will give.

When I started my business, I vowed to do whatever it takes to make it successful. That was so many years ago that working 'all the time' has become somewhat of a habit. Even to the point of writing here in the morning, although I do feel it is very much like therapy for me, as it helps me map out my day. But as our business grows and the tasks to run it grow and multiply, I think that it is more important than ever to remember to allow ourselves time to relax (what does that word mean anymore?) and refresh our mind and souls as well as our bodies. Otherwise we will eventually burn out. It is inevitable.

So we do our best with the time we have and everything else will just have to fall into place. Sounds easy. ;)

Today I have a nice little pile of new things to work on. I created these pieces as both a pattern for my woodworking followers and as surfaces for my painting followers. I will spend the next couple of days 'playing' with them and having fun showing you all how I can bring them to life!

Candle Wax Cup Wood Table


Wait until you see what I have in store for them! I have been thinking about them for weeks!

Keith also has a new pattern up on the site.

Wood Rectangle Font Poster Art


This SLDK407 Jeremiah 29:11 Bible verse plaque pattern isd part of his Large Sectional Bible Verse Plaques series. he is working on more designs to add into this group as well. As with all of his plaques of this nature, you can purchase just one individual plaque or mix and match for a better price for multiples. I have watched him take many days to make this beautiful design! He spent many, many hours drawing, changing and re-drawing the elements and lettering to look just perfect. I cna't believe how many times he changed things. But the result really shows all of his hard work, as the design and lettering flows so beautifully. Don't you agree?

We are getting another light blanket of snow as I write. It is the fluffy, gentle flakes like we see in movies. So quiet and pretty. It is nice to take the time to enjoy it and take it all in. Sometimes it is good to 'just be.'

Have a wonderful Thursday! The weekend is right around the corner. Remember to take time to feed your soul.
Another beautiful plaque by Keith! Your pile of work looks very interesting. Looking forward to seeing the end result. Can't believe we are looking towards Easter already! Spring is in the air here with the flowers popping up.
 

Attachments

#12,476 ·
Old Fashioned Foiled Eggs

I am a sucker for nostalgia. It seems the older I get, the more I enjoy seeing things that remind me of 'days gone by'. It isn't as if I want to live in the past, but I think that those old fashioned items bring back many of the memories that I associate with them. Memories of people and places and perhaps times when I had a bit less responsibility and life (for me, anyway) was a little simpler. It is somewhat comforting seeing these things and remembering.

The other day when I was at a Winners store near me, I saw (and ultimately purchased) a foil-covered Easter Bunny piece. I had remembered items like this from my youth and I thought it would make a wonderful centerpiece for my spring table. there were some other foiled items as well, but they were a bit pricey. I thought the splurge on the bunny was all my pocketbook could handle at the moment, and was happy with that.

Yesterday I sat down to work on my next couple of projects that I had been showing you the past few days. When I pulled out my supplies, I found that I had an extra box of faux eggs that I had intended to repaint and use for my own decorating. This box was pre-colored, but the colors were rather 'blah' and I thought I would be able to figure out something much nicer. To my dismay, many of them had cracked and they looked even worse. I was ready to throw them out:

Food Ingredient Fruit Plant Natural foods


Then I had an idea . . .

What if I covered them in foil like my new bunny and used them that way? I think that would be pretty cool! But I didn't want them all silver, I wanted them to be in pretty colors to match my new bunny.

I thought about all the different kinds of paint that I had here and in searching through my supplies, I came across my DecoArt Glass Stains. They would be PERFECT for this project! Not only are they semi-transparent, but they are also made to adhere to slick, non-porous surfaces (like the foil!) and should work well. I crossed my fingers and got started 'playing' . . .

I cut a piece of foil a bit larger than the egg. I GENTLY crumpled it and uncrumpled it to give it some texture and laid the egg in the center:

Blue Body jewelry Jewellery Electric blue Egg


I then got out my bottle of Aleen's Tacky Glue. I knew I needed something that was thick and had some body to it so the foil would sitck.

Beverage can Tin Liquid Aluminum can Fluid


I covered all sides of the egg with the glue (the crack in it wouldn't even matter!) :

Liquid Drinkware Fluid Solution Drink


. . . and I spread it around the egg using first an old paint brush, and then I figured that it was easier just to use my fingers. (No pictures of that - I didn't want glue on my camera!) I left the glue semi-thick so that it could 'grab' the foil.

Food Fluid Finger Natural material Nail


I then gently rolled the egg in the foil and cut off the excess. I didn't want lumps in the egg. There were a couple of places that I cut a little 'short' where I saw the egg sticking out, but I just put some glue on a small, irrigular piece of foil and patched the hole. You would never be able to tell where that was!

Fluid Amber Liquid Jewellery Fashion accessory


I then rolled the egg on a hard surface to flatten the foil as much as possible:

Gesture Finger Nail Nickel Thumb


This also helped the glue stick. After letting it 'dry' for a bit (about an hour) I went back and made sure there were no loose 'flaps' where the foil overlapped. If there were, I gently cut them again with sharp scissors. If need be, I added little patches where the foil shifted, but this wasn't necessary except in a few places.

Once the six eggs I covered were dry, I was ready to add color. I picked six pretty colors of the DecoArt Glass Stain to use. For my project, I used the transparent ones:

Hand Liquid Solution Bottle Fluid


I simply used my deerfoot stippler to tap on the color. I loved the effect! Even the 'darker' colors looked pretty and bright!

Liquid Fluid Purple Finger Cosmetics


(HINT: You can always add another coat after the first is dry if you want more intense color!)

I used a variety of colors and I was THRILLED with the effect. Even the ugly, broken eggs had new life added to them!

Green Christmas ornament Light Blue Yellow


I then had ANOTHER idea . . .

What if I tried to cover my SLDPK211 Bunny Ornament Cutout using the same method??

Dishware Drinkware Table Aluminum can Beverage can


It WORKED!!!! It took a little more trimming and patching around the detailed areas, but was not hard at all! :D

Organism Gesture Finger Font Creative arts


While it kind of side tracked me from my task at hand, I felt this was a wonderfully productive day! I changed a piece of damaged 'trash' to a pretty 'treasure' and gave it new life!

Food Egg Egg Natural material Nail


I am so excited about this because it has the three elements of a successful project - Easy, cost effective and BEAUTIFUL!

Here is a photo of my new eggs and bunny with the bunny I had purchased:

Natural foods Serveware Terrestrial plant Art Glass


Don't they look spectacular together???

I suppose I can mention that you may want to spray the pieces with a GLOSS clear coat if you like. I didn't spray mine yet because I wanted them to dry overnight. I imagine you would just need a light coat for protection.

Thank you to DecoArt for offering so many amazing products! I am really beginning to think you have 'something for everything'!!

Now on to completing my new surfaces and patterns as I intended to do yesterday. I wonder what other surprises I will think of while doing them? I guess you will have to check back . . . .

Happy Friday to you all!

Fruit Plant Art Toy Natural foods
 

Attachments

#12,477 ·
Old Fashioned Foiled Eggs

I am a sucker for nostalgia. It seems the older I get, the more I enjoy seeing things that remind me of 'days gone by'. It isn't as if I want to live in the past, but I think that those old fashioned items bring back many of the memories that I associate with them. Memories of people and places and perhaps times when I had a bit less responsibility and life (for me, anyway) was a little simpler. It is somewhat comforting seeing these things and remembering.

The other day when I was at a Winners store near me, I saw (and ultimately purchased) a foil-covered Easter Bunny piece. I had remembered items like this from my youth and I thought it would make a wonderful centerpiece for my spring table. there were some other foiled items as well, but they were a bit pricey. I thought the splurge on the bunny was all my pocketbook could handle at the moment, and was happy with that.

Yesterday I sat down to work on my next couple of projects that I had been showing you the past few days. When I pulled out my supplies, I found that I had an extra box of faux eggs that I had intended to repaint and use for my own decorating. This box was pre-colored, but the colors were rather 'blah' and I thought I would be able to figure out something much nicer. To my dismay, many of them had cracked and they looked even worse. I was ready to throw them out:

Food Ingredient Fruit Plant Natural foods


Then I had an idea . . .

What if I covered them in foil like my new bunny and used them that way? I think that would be pretty cool! But I didn't want them all silver, I wanted them to be in pretty colors to match my new bunny.

I thought about all the different kinds of paint that I had here and in searching through my supplies, I came across my DecoArt Glass Stains. They would be PERFECT for this project! Not only are they semi-transparent, but they are also made to adhere to slick, non-porous surfaces (like the foil!) and should work well. I crossed my fingers and got started 'playing' . . .

I cut a piece of foil a bit larger than the egg. I GENTLY crumpled it and uncrumpled it to give it some texture and laid the egg in the center:

Blue Body jewelry Jewellery Electric blue Egg


I then got out my bottle of Aleen's Tacky Glue. I knew I needed something that was thick and had some body to it so the foil would sitck.

Beverage can Tin Liquid Aluminum can Fluid


I covered all sides of the egg with the glue (the crack in it wouldn't even matter!) :

Liquid Drinkware Fluid Solution Drink


. . . and I spread it around the egg using first an old paint brush, and then I figured that it was easier just to use my fingers. (No pictures of that - I didn't want glue on my camera!) I left the glue semi-thick so that it could 'grab' the foil.

Food Fluid Finger Natural material Nail


I then gently rolled the egg in the foil and cut off the excess. I didn't want lumps in the egg. There were a couple of places that I cut a little 'short' where I saw the egg sticking out, but I just put some glue on a small, irrigular piece of foil and patched the hole. You would never be able to tell where that was!

Fluid Amber Liquid Jewellery Fashion accessory


I then rolled the egg on a hard surface to flatten the foil as much as possible:

Gesture Finger Nail Nickel Thumb


This also helped the glue stick. After letting it 'dry' for a bit (about an hour) I went back and made sure there were no loose 'flaps' where the foil overlapped. If there were, I gently cut them again with sharp scissors. If need be, I added little patches where the foil shifted, but this wasn't necessary except in a few places.

Once the six eggs I covered were dry, I was ready to add color. I picked six pretty colors of the DecoArt Glass Stain to use. For my project, I used the transparent ones:

Hand Liquid Solution Bottle Fluid


I simply used my deerfoot stippler to tap on the color. I loved the effect! Even the 'darker' colors looked pretty and bright!

Liquid Fluid Purple Finger Cosmetics


(HINT: You can always add another coat after the first is dry if you want more intense color!)

I used a variety of colors and I was THRILLED with the effect. Even the ugly, broken eggs had new life added to them!

Green Christmas ornament Light Blue Yellow


I then had ANOTHER idea . . .

What if I tried to cover my SLDPK211 Bunny Ornament Cutout using the same method??

Dishware Drinkware Table Aluminum can Beverage can


It WORKED!!!! It took a little more trimming and patching around the detailed areas, but was not hard at all! :D

Organism Gesture Finger Font Creative arts


While it kind of side tracked me from my task at hand, I felt this was a wonderfully productive day! I changed a piece of damaged 'trash' to a pretty 'treasure' and gave it new life!

Food Egg Egg Natural material Nail


I am so excited about this because it has the three elements of a successful project - Easy, cost effective and BEAUTIFUL!

Here is a photo of my new eggs and bunny with the bunny I had purchased:

Natural foods Serveware Terrestrial plant Art Glass


Don't they look spectacular together???

I suppose I can mention that you may want to spray the pieces with a GLOSS clear coat if you like. I didn't spray mine yet because I wanted them to dry overnight. I imagine you would just need a light coat for protection.

Thank you to DecoArt for offering so many amazing products! I am really beginning to think you have 'something for everything'!!

Now on to completing my new surfaces and patterns as I intended to do yesterday. I wonder what other surprises I will think of while doing them? I guess you will have to check back . . . .

Happy Friday to you all!

Fruit Plant Art Toy Natural foods
Still having fun and making things look beautiful, and recycling also. Looks like you will be ready for Easter
with time to spare. Thank you for sharing.
 

Attachments

#12,479 ·
Some Assembly Required

I feel like I have been on the 'slow train' lately. I am not sure exactly why that is. It seems like I am doing something from the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to sleep.

The days are passing much quicker than I would like them to. I look up at the clock and first it it mid-afternoon, then dinner time and then nearly midnight. How can time pass so quickly? I don't remember it being like that in the past.

Perhaps it is that my head is thinking up new things much faster than my hands can make them. The list of my 'to do' projects just keeps getting longer every day. Even I (who does not fancy math very much) know that if I add several things to my list each day and it takes one or more days to tick them off, I will fall behind. There is just so much that I want to accomplish!

Then I add to things my obsession for organization. (Although looking around here this morning one would wonder what the heck I am talking about!) Since we live in a small place, keeping things in order is imperative to keeping ourselves functional and making the best use of our time. Some of you have mentioned that you feel I am very organized - which most of the time, I am - but that doesn't just 'happen'. It is something that needs to be continually maintained and kept in check, or things can get out of hand very quickly. While those extra minutes of putting things back in their place don't seem like a big deal, they can save you a lot of headaches in the end. There is nothing I detest more than wasting time trying to locate something I know I have. It is frustrating and throws me off track and I look at it as a true waste of time. I admit to you all that not once, but TWICE in the past month or so this happened to me. I couldn't locate a particular supply that I had tucked away. The problem was that I didn't put it in its rightful place because I was busy, in a hurry or just plain lazy. I paid the price for it by having to search through the many, many boxes of things I have here. I really was disappointed in myself.

Every once in a while, I try to re-organize and re-shuffle things so that not only am I sure that everything is in its proper place, but it refreshes my old, feeble mind as to what I have. Re-visiting our 'stash' every now and then is a good thing, as it helps us remember those forgotten ideas and refreshes us as to just what supplies we have. That helps me not to buy stuff that I already have. (Yes - I do that too! <sigh!>)

With all that said, the weekend went by very, very quickly. On Friday I we spent the day with Keith's mom - as she had us over for a wonderful dinner. Since I hadn't been out of the house all week, I truly enjoyed the outing. It was nice to see four different walls for a bit. I love going over there because like myself, Keith's mom loves creating and she does beautiful counted cross stitch embroidery. You wouldn't believe the masterpieces she has created! Her house is full of lovely hand-stitched pictures. She always brings her smaller pieces with when she comes to visit here and she never minds if I bring things to work on when I go there. We can sit and talk for hours - all the while our hands busy creating. This Friday I brought my next set of "Day 3" ornaments from my Lynne Andrews 12 Days of Christmas. After all - March is only a few weeks away and I while my "Day 2" ornaments should all be arriving this week, I don't want to get behind on "Day 3". It will be interesting to see if I am able to stay on schedule all year long. I hope so!

On Saturday and yesterday I worked on my many different bunnies. The pattern set that I am creating is not a difficult one, but it has many pieces in it. Making all the versions of the pattern for the packet photos simply takes a bit of time, and I spent most of the weekend (when I wasn't cooking or cleaning) painting the pieces for the final photos. I am nearly done, and later today or tomorrow I need to do the final assembly and write the instructions. They are coming along quite nicely.

Product Textile Pink Art Wood


I love the pretty spring colors! It really makes me happy just looking at them. I can't wait to assemble everything together and see how it looks!

Today I will be cutting orders once again. While I tend to overstock things, I have been fortunate in that the orders keep on steadily coming in. It has really been a lift to my business and it has been nice to meet so many new people and friends as customers. It is all good.

With that said, I want to get at it. I haven't been on the computer as much lately because I have been so busy 'doing'. If I take a little longer to answer your emails or questions, I hope you understand why. I try to sit down at the end of the day and clear out my email box, but some days I am just too tired. I do get to it the next morning though. That is the best I can do.

It is hazy and sunny here today in Nova Scotia. We had quite a bit of snow over the weekend and most of the businesses are closed today. Not because of the snow, but there is a civic holiday (I think!) and things like stores, the gym, the bank and I think the post office are closed. It is a good excuse to stay in and get some things done. Eventually, the slow train will get to the station!

I hope you all have a wonderful day. Happy Monday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,480 ·
Some Assembly Required

I feel like I have been on the 'slow train' lately. I am not sure exactly why that is. It seems like I am doing something from the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to sleep.

The days are passing much quicker than I would like them to. I look up at the clock and first it it mid-afternoon, then dinner time and then nearly midnight. How can time pass so quickly? I don't remember it being like that in the past.

Perhaps it is that my head is thinking up new things much faster than my hands can make them. The list of my 'to do' projects just keeps getting longer every day. Even I (who does not fancy math very much) know that if I add several things to my list each day and it takes one or more days to tick them off, I will fall behind. There is just so much that I want to accomplish!

Then I add to things my obsession for organization. (Although looking around here this morning one would wonder what the heck I am talking about!) Since we live in a small place, keeping things in order is imperative to keeping ourselves functional and making the best use of our time. Some of you have mentioned that you feel I am very organized - which most of the time, I am - but that doesn't just 'happen'. It is something that needs to be continually maintained and kept in check, or things can get out of hand very quickly. While those extra minutes of putting things back in their place don't seem like a big deal, they can save you a lot of headaches in the end. There is nothing I detest more than wasting time trying to locate something I know I have. It is frustrating and throws me off track and I look at it as a true waste of time. I admit to you all that not once, but TWICE in the past month or so this happened to me. I couldn't locate a particular supply that I had tucked away. The problem was that I didn't put it in its rightful place because I was busy, in a hurry or just plain lazy. I paid the price for it by having to search through the many, many boxes of things I have here. I really was disappointed in myself.

Every once in a while, I try to re-organize and re-shuffle things so that not only am I sure that everything is in its proper place, but it refreshes my old, feeble mind as to what I have. Re-visiting our 'stash' every now and then is a good thing, as it helps us remember those forgotten ideas and refreshes us as to just what supplies we have. That helps me not to buy stuff that I already have. (Yes - I do that too! <sigh!>)

With all that said, the weekend went by very, very quickly. On Friday I we spent the day with Keith's mom - as she had us over for a wonderful dinner. Since I hadn't been out of the house all week, I truly enjoyed the outing. It was nice to see four different walls for a bit. I love going over there because like myself, Keith's mom loves creating and she does beautiful counted cross stitch embroidery. You wouldn't believe the masterpieces she has created! Her house is full of lovely hand-stitched pictures. She always brings her smaller pieces with when she comes to visit here and she never minds if I bring things to work on when I go there. We can sit and talk for hours - all the while our hands busy creating. This Friday I brought my next set of "Day 3" ornaments from my Lynne Andrews 12 Days of Christmas. After all - March is only a few weeks away and I while my "Day 2" ornaments should all be arriving this week, I don't want to get behind on "Day 3". It will be interesting to see if I am able to stay on schedule all year long. I hope so!

On Saturday and yesterday I worked on my many different bunnies. The pattern set that I am creating is not a difficult one, but it has many pieces in it. Making all the versions of the pattern for the packet photos simply takes a bit of time, and I spent most of the weekend (when I wasn't cooking or cleaning) painting the pieces for the final photos. I am nearly done, and later today or tomorrow I need to do the final assembly and write the instructions. They are coming along quite nicely.

Product Textile Pink Art Wood


I love the pretty spring colors! It really makes me happy just looking at them. I can't wait to assemble everything together and see how it looks!

Today I will be cutting orders once again. While I tend to overstock things, I have been fortunate in that the orders keep on steadily coming in. It has really been a lift to my business and it has been nice to meet so many new people and friends as customers. It is all good.

With that said, I want to get at it. I haven't been on the computer as much lately because I have been so busy 'doing'. If I take a little longer to answer your emails or questions, I hope you understand why. I try to sit down at the end of the day and clear out my email box, but some days I am just too tired. I do get to it the next morning though. That is the best I can do.

It is hazy and sunny here today in Nova Scotia. We had quite a bit of snow over the weekend and most of the businesses are closed today. Not because of the snow, but there is a civic holiday (I think!) and things like stores, the gym, the bank and I think the post office are closed. It is a good excuse to stay in and get some things done. Eventually, the slow train will get to the station!

I hope you all have a wonderful day. Happy Monday to you all!
Foggy and hazy hear in Kentucky as well. Wish you & Keith a gr8 week
 

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#12,484 ·
BUNNIES!!!!

I took the day off from 'social media' yesterday for the most part because I was on a roll. I was in the process of finishing up sanding and packaging several wood orders that I wanted to get to the post by the time the truck came for pickup in the afternoon. (Check!) I was also doing some drawing for a wonderful fellow designer and I wanted to get some things to her so she could get on with her own designing. She is creating some rubber stamps of her drawings and I am helping her out with the graphics. (Check!) I also wanted to finish up my latest project, which I showed you all some hints of in the past few entries. (Check!) It was a full day to be sure. I just felt that it would be much easier if I were truly focused on the tasks at hand - and I was.

By around 9pm, everything that I wanted to do (for the most part) was done. I had a simple dinner and got out my embroidery supplies to settle down before heading to bed. I made some peppermint tea, set up a good show on the TV and settled in to do some relaxing work. I did clear out most of the day's mail at that time that I hadn't go to until later. I was all set.

My moment of "Zen" lasted about 15 to 20 minutes though. We had a very stormy day yesterday with very strong winds. As things got quiet here, I could hear the wind howling outside, along with the rain. Keith was at his mom's for the evening working on some stuff in her basement. The cats were aware of it as well, as every time there was a huge gust, they awoke from their respective slumbers and kind of looked around. Finally, things just went black. Once again the power went out.

In the seven years I have lived here, we have only lost power probably five times. Three of those times have been within the last week. While the winter here has been pretty mild by Canada standards, we have certainly had our brutal days. It seemed inevitable that we would lose it yesterday. At least I was prepared.

I lit my lamp and sipped my still hot tea and read for a while. Keith came in completely soaked not too long after. We made sure everything was safe, retrieved our recycle bin from the neighbor's lawn, and called it a night. Within an hour or so everything came back on and the rest of the night was uneventful.

This morning the storm has certainly passed. It is grey out and quiet and looks dull, as all of our snow has melted. It is certainly not one of the 'pretty' times of year. But it is part of living in an area with four seasons and we need to take it as it comes. This season will also pass.

I (once again) have lots of emails to catch up on when I am done here. If you messaged me or emailed me, I ask you to be patient. While stepping away from social media for a day has its positive side, it also has its cost. I will do my best to catch up this morning.

Now for the new designs . . .

I am very happy at how they came out. Last night before I settled down I took a composite photo of everything in the pattern set all completed. I think it makes a wonderful presentation:

Tableware Drinkware Table Cup Serveware


I decided to sell the pattern as an 'all inclusive' set rather than split everything up. I just think that is the best way to do things. It will consist of a plate holder for cookies or even a cake, a pillar candle holder, some napkin rings, and an egg display plate. All painting instructions will be included in the pattern as well. You have choices as to whether you want to paint your bunnies as silhouettes, using soft pastel colors, or a bit more realistically. You can do whatever you like.

And for my painting followers, I am going to be offering ALL these pieces as pre-cut kits so you can also have fun with them. The large plate can be painted as I did it, or even used for your own spring design. Not only are these adorable bunnies good for Easter, but spring and summer as well. I hope you like them.

Today I will be writing out the pattern packet and it appears that we will be updating the site by tomorrow. Everything should be posted by then and I will have links to the pattern and the wood pieces as soon as they are available. Today I will also be working on one more type of egg tutorial for you all to decorate some eggs. I had an idea and I think it will be fun.

Thank you to those who were concerned about my absence. I appreciate the notes a great deal. Sometimes I just have to jump off the grid a bit in order to get some things done. yesterday was just one of those days.

It is mid-week already and soon the weekend will be upon us. Time is marching much quicker than I like, as usual. But soon spring and summer will be here and I think that will make people much happier. Me - I don't mind any season. I just take it as it comes and try to enjoy each day.

Happy Wednesday to you all!
 

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#12,485 ·
BUNNIES!!!!

I took the day off from 'social media' yesterday for the most part because I was on a roll. I was in the process of finishing up sanding and packaging several wood orders that I wanted to get to the post by the time the truck came for pickup in the afternoon. (Check!) I was also doing some drawing for a wonderful fellow designer and I wanted to get some things to her so she could get on with her own designing. She is creating some rubber stamps of her drawings and I am helping her out with the graphics. (Check!) I also wanted to finish up my latest project, which I showed you all some hints of in the past few entries. (Check!) It was a full day to be sure. I just felt that it would be much easier if I were truly focused on the tasks at hand - and I was.

By around 9pm, everything that I wanted to do (for the most part) was done. I had a simple dinner and got out my embroidery supplies to settle down before heading to bed. I made some peppermint tea, set up a good show on the TV and settled in to do some relaxing work. I did clear out most of the day's mail at that time that I hadn't go to until later. I was all set.

My moment of "Zen" lasted about 15 to 20 minutes though. We had a very stormy day yesterday with very strong winds. As things got quiet here, I could hear the wind howling outside, along with the rain. Keith was at his mom's for the evening working on some stuff in her basement. The cats were aware of it as well, as every time there was a huge gust, they awoke from their respective slumbers and kind of looked around. Finally, things just went black. Once again the power went out.

In the seven years I have lived here, we have only lost power probably five times. Three of those times have been within the last week. While the winter here has been pretty mild by Canada standards, we have certainly had our brutal days. It seemed inevitable that we would lose it yesterday. At least I was prepared.

I lit my lamp and sipped my still hot tea and read for a while. Keith came in completely soaked not too long after. We made sure everything was safe, retrieved our recycle bin from the neighbor's lawn, and called it a night. Within an hour or so everything came back on and the rest of the night was uneventful.

This morning the storm has certainly passed. It is grey out and quiet and looks dull, as all of our snow has melted. It is certainly not one of the 'pretty' times of year. But it is part of living in an area with four seasons and we need to take it as it comes. This season will also pass.

I (once again) have lots of emails to catch up on when I am done here. If you messaged me or emailed me, I ask you to be patient. While stepping away from social media for a day has its positive side, it also has its cost. I will do my best to catch up this morning.

Now for the new designs . . .

I am very happy at how they came out. Last night before I settled down I took a composite photo of everything in the pattern set all completed. I think it makes a wonderful presentation:

Tableware Drinkware Table Cup Serveware


I decided to sell the pattern as an 'all inclusive' set rather than split everything up. I just think that is the best way to do things. It will consist of a plate holder for cookies or even a cake, a pillar candle holder, some napkin rings, and an egg display plate. All painting instructions will be included in the pattern as well. You have choices as to whether you want to paint your bunnies as silhouettes, using soft pastel colors, or a bit more realistically. You can do whatever you like.

And for my painting followers, I am going to be offering ALL these pieces as pre-cut kits so you can also have fun with them. The large plate can be painted as I did it, or even used for your own spring design. Not only are these adorable bunnies good for Easter, but spring and summer as well. I hope you like them.

Today I will be writing out the pattern packet and it appears that we will be updating the site by tomorrow. Everything should be posted by then and I will have links to the pattern and the wood pieces as soon as they are available. Today I will also be working on one more type of egg tutorial for you all to decorate some eggs. I had an idea and I think it will be fun.

Thank you to those who were concerned about my absence. I appreciate the notes a great deal. Sometimes I just have to jump off the grid a bit in order to get some things done. yesterday was just one of those days.

It is mid-week already and soon the weekend will be upon us. Time is marching much quicker than I like, as usual. But soon spring and summer will be here and I think that will make people much happier. Me - I don't mind any season. I just take it as it comes and try to enjoy each day.

Happy Wednesday to you all!
Hoppy Wednesday to you as well. :)
 

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#12,492 ·
New Things!

Today is going to be one of those posts where everything comes together at once. I guess that is typical when I do projects such as what I just completed. It seemed like I was here, there and everywhere and then suddenly - "BAM" (that's for you, Mary! ;) ) everything falls together nicely!

Well- sort of, anyway! (If it were only that easy!)

We managed to get everything completed and up on the site yesterday. I was proud because I even had my pattern packet finished BEFORE the update. Lately I have been lagging a bit behind and did the update first and then finished the pattern. It helped get things out there quickly but I didn't like the pressure it put on me. But I was able to keep up with things this time and although it took most of the day, we got things posted, the patterns completed and the newsletter out to our customers. All in all I think it was a good day.

I'll continue today by doing a little 'show and tell' of our new stuff for those of you who don't subscribe to see what things we have. I find that some people prefer to check out our new things this way (through my blog here) and that is fine. I don't want anyone getting mailings from us who don't want them. I try to respect everyone's wishes on that.

First of all, Keith has two new large Biblical plaques that he created. I think they both came out beautiful and I can attest to the many hours of work that he put into them. I realize that some people think he just types out fonts and makes them into a pattern for his word art plaques, but they couldn't be farther from the truth. Each letter is shaped and re-shaped so that it not only flows into the design correctly, but it is able to be cut on the scroll saw safely without pieces falling out. Nothing could be worse for a scroll sawyer than to invest time in an 'impossible' project! There are many, many poorly designed patterns on the market or offered for free that just don't make sense. These past two weeks I watched Keith painstakingly pick at these plaques. I believe he must have about 20 versions of each on his computer, fine tuning each version along the way. I know many of you appreciate this work that he does and we thank you for that. I think it really makes a difference in the final project and I hope you all agree.

The first plaque is a phrase from Jeremiah 29:11:

Wood Rectangle Font Poster Art


It is product SLDK407 on our site.

The second one is from Joshuea 1:9:

Rectangle Wood Publication Font Pattern


That pattern is SLDK408 on our site. I think both of them are beautiful additions to the series.

As for myself, I created the pattern for all of the bunny accessories that I showed this past week or so. I decided to put them all into one pattern (SLD523) to make all the pieces, since there are similar in shape.

White Textile Yellow Pink Creative arts


My instructions also include full painting instructions along with the cutting and assembly instructions.

For my painting followers who don't cut wood, I am offering the wood kits for all the pieces.

The 10.5" wide platter (SLDPK136) can be ordered WITH the holes for holding eggs:

Font Pattern Terrestrial animal Circle Art


or WITHOUT the holes to paint your own design or paint it like my sample:

Font Art Illustration Symbol Logo


I also am offering the 5" wide Candle Holder (SLDPK137):

Vertebrate Mammal Font Tail Logo


As well as a set of six Napkin Holders (SLDPK138)

Font Poster Circle Pattern Illustration


As a bonus, I am giving the $8.95 pattern away for free if anyone orders any three of the surfaces. I thought it would be nice to do.

We also have new pattern specials on our Pattern Specials page. These are all Easter and spring themed projects. I hope there is something for everyone to enjoy!

As for me, I am taking the weekend 'off''. (Not really - many of you know me better!) I am off to visit today and I will be working on my 12 Days of Christmas ornaments as well as a new embroidery project that I started last week. This is another "Sampler" panel by Di van Niekerk. It is from her book "Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork" and has lots of new techniques. I really have MISSED having some needlework on the go and I like following along someone else's directions. It is a great way for me to unwind and relax after a busy day and I can pick it up for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours. I still plan to create my own original designs and kits to sell in the future, but this year has started off so busy that I just have to wait a little longer. But it will come. In the mean time, here is a sneak peek at the first panel:

Textile Plant Creative arts Terrestrial plant Art


I am nearly done with it, except my spider web needs a 'resident'. Di used a silver earring spider for her piece, but I think I will embroider my own. It think it will be fun.

I decided to name my piece "Every Flower is a Soul" after the quote by Gerard de Nerval - "Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature." We are all blossoming each and every day of our lives as we live an learn. I think it is appropriate.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Today the sun is shining beautifully and it promises to be a wonderful day ahead. It appears that spring has come early to our area, and I don't think I will argue with that.

I wish you all the best for your weekend ahead! Have fun and do something to feed your soul!

Happy Friday!
 

Attachments

#12,493 ·
New Things!

Today is going to be one of those posts where everything comes together at once. I guess that is typical when I do projects such as what I just completed. It seemed like I was here, there and everywhere and then suddenly - "BAM" (that's for you, Mary! ;) ) everything falls together nicely!

Well- sort of, anyway! (If it were only that easy!)

We managed to get everything completed and up on the site yesterday. I was proud because I even had my pattern packet finished BEFORE the update. Lately I have been lagging a bit behind and did the update first and then finished the pattern. It helped get things out there quickly but I didn't like the pressure it put on me. But I was able to keep up with things this time and although it took most of the day, we got things posted, the patterns completed and the newsletter out to our customers. All in all I think it was a good day.

I'll continue today by doing a little 'show and tell' of our new stuff for those of you who don't subscribe to see what things we have. I find that some people prefer to check out our new things this way (through my blog here) and that is fine. I don't want anyone getting mailings from us who don't want them. I try to respect everyone's wishes on that.

First of all, Keith has two new large Biblical plaques that he created. I think they both came out beautiful and I can attest to the many hours of work that he put into them. I realize that some people think he just types out fonts and makes them into a pattern for his word art plaques, but they couldn't be farther from the truth. Each letter is shaped and re-shaped so that it not only flows into the design correctly, but it is able to be cut on the scroll saw safely without pieces falling out. Nothing could be worse for a scroll sawyer than to invest time in an 'impossible' project! There are many, many poorly designed patterns on the market or offered for free that just don't make sense. These past two weeks I watched Keith painstakingly pick at these plaques. I believe he must have about 20 versions of each on his computer, fine tuning each version along the way. I know many of you appreciate this work that he does and we thank you for that. I think it really makes a difference in the final project and I hope you all agree.

The first plaque is a phrase from Jeremiah 29:11:

Wood Rectangle Font Poster Art


It is product SLDK407 on our site.

The second one is from Joshuea 1:9:

Rectangle Wood Publication Font Pattern


That pattern is SLDK408 on our site. I think both of them are beautiful additions to the series.

As for myself, I created the pattern for all of the bunny accessories that I showed this past week or so. I decided to put them all into one pattern (SLD523) to make all the pieces, since there are similar in shape.

White Textile Yellow Pink Creative arts


My instructions also include full painting instructions along with the cutting and assembly instructions.

For my painting followers who don't cut wood, I am offering the wood kits for all the pieces.

The 10.5" wide platter (SLDPK136) can be ordered WITH the holes for holding eggs:

Font Pattern Terrestrial animal Circle Art


or WITHOUT the holes to paint your own design or paint it like my sample:

Font Art Illustration Symbol Logo


I also am offering the 5" wide Candle Holder (SLDPK137):

Vertebrate Mammal Font Tail Logo


As well as a set of six Napkin Holders (SLDPK138)

Font Poster Circle Pattern Illustration


As a bonus, I am giving the $8.95 pattern away for free if anyone orders any three of the surfaces. I thought it would be nice to do.

We also have new pattern specials on our Pattern Specials page. These are all Easter and spring themed projects. I hope there is something for everyone to enjoy!

As for me, I am taking the weekend 'off''. (Not really - many of you know me better!) I am off to visit today and I will be working on my 12 Days of Christmas ornaments as well as a new embroidery project that I started last week. This is another "Sampler" panel by Di van Niekerk. It is from her book "Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork" and has lots of new techniques. I really have MISSED having some needlework on the go and I like following along someone else's directions. It is a great way for me to unwind and relax after a busy day and I can pick it up for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours. I still plan to create my own original designs and kits to sell in the future, but this year has started off so busy that I just have to wait a little longer. But it will come. In the mean time, here is a sneak peek at the first panel:

Textile Plant Creative arts Terrestrial plant Art


I am nearly done with it, except my spider web needs a 'resident'. Di used a silver earring spider for her piece, but I think I will embroider my own. It think it will be fun.

I decided to name my piece "Every Flower is a Soul" after the quote by Gerard de Nerval - "Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature." We are all blossoming each and every day of our lives as we live an learn. I think it is appropriate.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Today the sun is shining beautifully and it promises to be a wonderful day ahead. It appears that spring has come early to our area, and I don't think I will argue with that.

I wish you all the best for your weekend ahead! Have fun and do something to feed your soul!

Happy Friday!
Lovely work as usual Sheila.
There's one other "product" of yours that I'm sure many of us appreciate, even though it is not in your catalogue. Your support and encouragement for all of your readers, and for other artists and crafters (as well as Keith). It's a generous gift, so thank you.
 

Attachments

#12,496 ·
Along Came a (Little, Fat) Spider!

As usual, the weekend went by much too quickly. We had a 'visiting day' on Friday, and I had earmarked Saturday for cutting orders. Sunday was to be my day to 'relax', but that didn't really happen. (It never really does!) I am not complaining though, as I did accomplish a lot and I was able to spend the latter part of the evening finishing up my Panel 1 on my latest embroidery project.

So much is going on lately in my life it seems. The growth of our business is really becoming more and more evident as each day/week/month passes. That is wonderful news for us because we have worked so hard for many years to achieve success. Slowly and surely things are changing.

A lot of times, changes mean discomfort. We are naturally creatures of habit and for the most part we like a routine. When things disrupt that rhythm it sometimes throws us for a loop. I think that how we deal with changes will certainly dictate how our future will be. Either we need to adjust with the changes or find ourselves trying to figure things out. It can be a bit intimidating.

As I look at the pile of boxes that will be taken to the post office today to be shipped, I am really proud of what we have accomplished so far. Even though I have been much busier in producing wood kits for our customers, I am happy to say that I send each box out knowing that the quality of what I ship is better than ever. Not that it was bad before, but as we do something over and over again, it seems natural that we find a better way to do thing, as we learn as we go. I think in that respect that I have improved quite a bit over the years. It really makes me feel good about what I am offering to my customers.

We got some promising news over the weekend as well regarding our life in general. I don't want to say much about it yet, as it is still in the planning stages, but there are going to be some changes over the year which will be quite significant for Keith and I and we believe will make our lives much better. I don't mean to sound cryptic about it, but I can't help but be excited and even though I can't really discuss it now, it gives me a sense of hope and happiness for a great step up for us. I promise to talke about it more as things progress. It is all good.

I am happy that so many of you are interested in seeing my embroidery projects. I always get nice feedback when I show them here in my blog. I really believe that creative people like many different types of creating, and few that I know are focused only on one venue. I still plan to begin creating some small embroidery kits to sell as soon as time permits. I have so many ideas of my own designs that I want to share and I know that by offering the supplies that many of you would be interested. It is so much fun.

Keith often says that my 'time off' closely resembles my work time. Isn't that a wonderful thing? I suppose it shows how much I truly love what I do and it shows that most of my day is spent doing something that I really and truly love. I am very fortunate.

Last night I was able to finish Panel 1 on my latest embroidery project. This is a kit by Di van Neikerk from her fourth book. I named the project "Every Flower Has a Soul" because each of these flowers seemed to speak to me. I find it pure joy and relaxation to sit down at the end of a busy day and just stitch. Having a project like this on the go is so relaxing. I can pick it up for five minutes or five hours and because I am following someone else's directions, it takes little thought on my part. There is some freedom in following others' directions - especially when they are so well-written. I am sure that those of you who craft (which is most of you, I expect) can attest to that. And when I see the end result, I feel pleased and accomplished. It reminds me why I love to create in the first place.

All I needed to do was make a little, fat spider. The book had a metal spider earring that it added to the web, but I chose to create a stumpwork (dimensional) spider instead. So here is the photo of the finished panel:

Flower Plant Textile Purple Terrestrial plant


He came out pretty cute, I think. He is just a bit smaller than my finger nail:

Textile Creative arts Terrestrial plant Rectangle Art


I created him on a separate piece of fabric and cut him out and gathered the excess so he is slightly puffy. I then embroidered his legs right on the panel after he was attached. It gave a really need effect.

I truly love this type of creating. It is so much fun and so relaxing to me.

Plant Organism Creative arts Art Terrestrial plant


(Try as I did, the light was just not great for good photos. I will do better later on and add them in then.)

Today I will be painting on my "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments by Lynne Andrews. I am working on Day 3 and hope to send them out at the beginning of March.

It is a bright and beautifully warm February day here in Nova Scotia. So odd for our area for this time of year. It is very much like spring and even though it is much too early to think of that, there is hope that winter is pretty much behind us. Even though I like winter, I think after last year when it lingered so long, I am happy to have the snowy season so short this year.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I wish you all a wonderful week ahead. Happy Monday to you!
 

Attachments

#12,497 ·
Along Came a (Little, Fat) Spider!

As usual, the weekend went by much too quickly. We had a 'visiting day' on Friday, and I had earmarked Saturday for cutting orders. Sunday was to be my day to 'relax', but that didn't really happen. (It never really does!) I am not complaining though, as I did accomplish a lot and I was able to spend the latter part of the evening finishing up my Panel 1 on my latest embroidery project.

So much is going on lately in my life it seems. The growth of our business is really becoming more and more evident as each day/week/month passes. That is wonderful news for us because we have worked so hard for many years to achieve success. Slowly and surely things are changing.

A lot of times, changes mean discomfort. We are naturally creatures of habit and for the most part we like a routine. When things disrupt that rhythm it sometimes throws us for a loop. I think that how we deal with changes will certainly dictate how our future will be. Either we need to adjust with the changes or find ourselves trying to figure things out. It can be a bit intimidating.

As I look at the pile of boxes that will be taken to the post office today to be shipped, I am really proud of what we have accomplished so far. Even though I have been much busier in producing wood kits for our customers, I am happy to say that I send each box out knowing that the quality of what I ship is better than ever. Not that it was bad before, but as we do something over and over again, it seems natural that we find a better way to do thing, as we learn as we go. I think in that respect that I have improved quite a bit over the years. It really makes me feel good about what I am offering to my customers.

We got some promising news over the weekend as well regarding our life in general. I don't want to say much about it yet, as it is still in the planning stages, but there are going to be some changes over the year which will be quite significant for Keith and I and we believe will make our lives much better. I don't mean to sound cryptic about it, but I can't help but be excited and even though I can't really discuss it now, it gives me a sense of hope and happiness for a great step up for us. I promise to talke about it more as things progress. It is all good.

I am happy that so many of you are interested in seeing my embroidery projects. I always get nice feedback when I show them here in my blog. I really believe that creative people like many different types of creating, and few that I know are focused only on one venue. I still plan to begin creating some small embroidery kits to sell as soon as time permits. I have so many ideas of my own designs that I want to share and I know that by offering the supplies that many of you would be interested. It is so much fun.

Keith often says that my 'time off' closely resembles my work time. Isn't that a wonderful thing? I suppose it shows how much I truly love what I do and it shows that most of my day is spent doing something that I really and truly love. I am very fortunate.

Last night I was able to finish Panel 1 on my latest embroidery project. This is a kit by Di van Neikerk from her fourth book. I named the project "Every Flower Has a Soul" because each of these flowers seemed to speak to me. I find it pure joy and relaxation to sit down at the end of a busy day and just stitch. Having a project like this on the go is so relaxing. I can pick it up for five minutes or five hours and because I am following someone else's directions, it takes little thought on my part. There is some freedom in following others' directions - especially when they are so well-written. I am sure that those of you who craft (which is most of you, I expect) can attest to that. And when I see the end result, I feel pleased and accomplished. It reminds me why I love to create in the first place.

All I needed to do was make a little, fat spider. The book had a metal spider earring that it added to the web, but I chose to create a stumpwork (dimensional) spider instead. So here is the photo of the finished panel:

Flower Plant Textile Purple Terrestrial plant


He came out pretty cute, I think. He is just a bit smaller than my finger nail:

Textile Creative arts Terrestrial plant Rectangle Art


I created him on a separate piece of fabric and cut him out and gathered the excess so he is slightly puffy. I then embroidered his legs right on the panel after he was attached. It gave a really need effect.

I truly love this type of creating. It is so much fun and so relaxing to me.

Plant Organism Creative arts Art Terrestrial plant


(Try as I did, the light was just not great for good photos. I will do better later on and add them in then.)

Today I will be painting on my "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments by Lynne Andrews. I am working on Day 3 and hope to send them out at the beginning of March.

It is a bright and beautifully warm February day here in Nova Scotia. So odd for our area for this time of year. It is very much like spring and even though it is much too early to think of that, there is hope that winter is pretty much behind us. Even though I like winter, I think after last year when it lingered so long, I am happy to have the snowy season so short this year.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I wish you all a wonderful week ahead. Happy Monday to you!
I think your embroidered spider is a much better idea than a metal one. He turned out beautifully! Enjoy your Spring day :)
 

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#12,500 ·
#12,501 ·
#12,504 ·
Some More Embroidery - Panel 2 Completed

I am going to keep my post short today. (I know - I always say that!) I had planned on doing some drawing yesterday, but we kind of changed plans and that didn't really happen. I never really mind when things change up like that, as a little bit of being spontaneous is good for us. Many times things are even better than we anticipated. I think that was the case here.

We decided to invite Keith's mom over at the last minute, as we always enjoy her visit. It was a dreary and stormy day outside and it was nice to have some company. We have a nice relationship and she always brings some crafts to work on. That is the good thing about family - they take you as you are and it is never a fuss to have her drop in at any time.

The only thing that changed was that I didn't spend my time at the computer, but instead doing other things. While I had the choice of either painting on my "12 Days" ornaments or working on my embroidery piece, I decided that I wanted to move ahead with the needlework. I am excited about this piece and I think the several months' absence that I had from doing needlework has me longing to do more.

I am happy to say that I finished up Panel 2 of the piece, and even started on Panel 3. This one is going along really quickly, I think. Much quicker than my "A Perfect World" piece that I completed last year. I don't know if it is because it is an easier piece to make or if my skill has improved or perhaps a little of both. I do know that I really, really enjoy creating this lovely project and I soon hope to be doing some designing of my own. I want to offer not only the instructions, but also some small kits to encourage others to join me in this form of creativity.

I am not thrilled with the photos, as the lighting isn't great today. I didn't want to take the time to get my light box out, as I will take better photos later (I promise!) but you will get the main idea of how the work is coming.

Here is a photo of the finished panel #2:

Flower Plant Petal Botany Textile


It is cut and fun and I am proud of it. I loved creating the little snail using all silk thread:

Plant Bird Textile Grey Wood


I think he came out adorable!

The wildflower on the left is called Wild Sorghum:

Flower Creative arts Twig Art Flowering plant


It's leaves and stems are comprised of delicate chain stitches and the flowers themselves are French knots and pistil stitching.

Together the three look so pretty! They make a nice little vignette themselves and the panel is adorable.

Flower Plant Petal Creative arts Rectangle


On to panel #3!!

I plan to spend my weekend working on some new scroll sawing patterns as well as painting patterns. I plan on working on this embroidery when I get the chance and also I need to finish up my "12 Days" ornaments for day 3. I hope to ship them out on Monday or Tuesday.

It makes for a busy weekend. I hope to possibly get some cooking or baking worked into that as well. I know the days will pass quickly.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, too. It is still springlike here in Nova Scotia. Once again we dodged the bullet of the storms that hit both Canada and the US. Perhaps after the long and snowy winter last year, the weather gods are giving us a break. I can only hope so, as I am kind of looking forward to warmer weather and having my car back with me again. I need to keep busy so the time will go quickly.

Happy Friday to you all! I wish you a fun and creative weekend! Have fun and find time to play and enjoy life!

"Your successes and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties." - Helen Keller
 

Attachments

#12,505 ·
Some More Embroidery - Panel 2 Completed

I am going to keep my post short today. (I know - I always say that!) I had planned on doing some drawing yesterday, but we kind of changed plans and that didn't really happen. I never really mind when things change up like that, as a little bit of being spontaneous is good for us. Many times things are even better than we anticipated. I think that was the case here.

We decided to invite Keith's mom over at the last minute, as we always enjoy her visit. It was a dreary and stormy day outside and it was nice to have some company. We have a nice relationship and she always brings some crafts to work on. That is the good thing about family - they take you as you are and it is never a fuss to have her drop in at any time.

The only thing that changed was that I didn't spend my time at the computer, but instead doing other things. While I had the choice of either painting on my "12 Days" ornaments or working on my embroidery piece, I decided that I wanted to move ahead with the needlework. I am excited about this piece and I think the several months' absence that I had from doing needlework has me longing to do more.

I am happy to say that I finished up Panel 2 of the piece, and even started on Panel 3. This one is going along really quickly, I think. Much quicker than my "A Perfect World" piece that I completed last year. I don't know if it is because it is an easier piece to make or if my skill has improved or perhaps a little of both. I do know that I really, really enjoy creating this lovely project and I soon hope to be doing some designing of my own. I want to offer not only the instructions, but also some small kits to encourage others to join me in this form of creativity.

I am not thrilled with the photos, as the lighting isn't great today. I didn't want to take the time to get my light box out, as I will take better photos later (I promise!) but you will get the main idea of how the work is coming.

Here is a photo of the finished panel #2:

Flower Plant Petal Botany Textile


It is cut and fun and I am proud of it. I loved creating the little snail using all silk thread:

Plant Bird Textile Grey Wood


I think he came out adorable!

The wildflower on the left is called Wild Sorghum:

Flower Creative arts Twig Art Flowering plant


It's leaves and stems are comprised of delicate chain stitches and the flowers themselves are French knots and pistil stitching.

Together the three look so pretty! They make a nice little vignette themselves and the panel is adorable.

Flower Plant Petal Creative arts Rectangle


On to panel #3!!

I plan to spend my weekend working on some new scroll sawing patterns as well as painting patterns. I plan on working on this embroidery when I get the chance and also I need to finish up my "12 Days" ornaments for day 3. I hope to ship them out on Monday or Tuesday.

It makes for a busy weekend. I hope to possibly get some cooking or baking worked into that as well. I know the days will pass quickly.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, too. It is still springlike here in Nova Scotia. Once again we dodged the bullet of the storms that hit both Canada and the US. Perhaps after the long and snowy winter last year, the weather gods are giving us a break. I can only hope so, as I am kind of looking forward to warmer weather and having my car back with me again. I need to keep busy so the time will go quickly.

Happy Friday to you all! I wish you a fun and creative weekend! Have fun and find time to play and enjoy life!

"Your successes and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties." - Helen Keller
Great work Sheila. Beautiful.
 

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#12,509 ·
Leap Day Monday

I am always looking for more time, it seems. Once every four years my wish comes true - we get an extra day to do things. Today is leap day and many consider it an 'extra' day. I will gladly take it!

This year has been so busy from the start for me. I can't believe that we are through the first two months already. Time is certainly moving quickly - even more so than usual. I suppose it helps that I sit here on this February 29th with my window open slightly. I am enjoying the fresh air that is being brought in and the beautiful sunny morning. This is certainly not a 'typical' winter for us here in Nova Scotia. We have had a few days of snow, but nothing that lasted very long. For the most part, it was a grey and rainy end to last year and beginning to this one. Certainly it was nothing like the mountains of snow we had last year. Even though I never really mind winter, I think I will take this for now. There is so much I want to get done and I think I am ready for some nice days. I think everyone is.

The weekend seemed to just fly by again. Keith and I had some personal things to do on Saturday and we treated ourselves to a nice dinner that evening. When we got home, I did some more work on my embroidery project and made good headway. I finished the next flower on panel 3 (the Narcissist) and was happy with that. But I will show you that soon.

Yesterday I took the day to do some things around the house and I wanted to work on my Day 3 of Lynne Andrews' "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments. I am happy to say that they are nearly done and will be shipping out in the next day or so. I am right on schedule.

Here is a photo of the front of them:

Tableware Dishware Serveware Porcelain Cup


At this point I still had a bit more to do as each of the hens was holding a sprig of holly in their beaks. Then I had to add the hologram Opal Dust to the centers and crystal rhinestones, which needed to be done last. The backs look like this:

Food Baked goods Recipe Cuisine Ingredient


These are pretty much completed, as I took the photos after the hologram glitter was added. I think they came out really nice.

For those that aren't aware, I created a wonderful Facebook group for those of us making Lynne's Ornaments as well as those who want to cheer us on and watch. You can access it here and join if you wish:

12 Day of Christmas ornaments by Lynne Andrews - We are Making Them!

Just put in a request to join and we will be happy to add you. We love the group and even if you aren't painting, you can learn a lot of nice tips and tricks from those who are.

Today I am changing my hat and once again doing some designing for the scroll saw. I have some nice ideas to draw up that I think others will like. As usual, it will be a busy day.

I am going to keep this short today and get to it. I hope you like seeing the progress on my ornaments. I am so happy that I am able to keep on schedule with them. So far, so good. Now if I can keep it up for the entire year. . .

Happy Leap Day Monday to you all!
 

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#12,510 ·
Day 3 of my "12 Days of Christmas" Project Complete!

It is hard to believe that it is MARCH already! Here in Nova Scotia, it is definitely coming 'in like a lamb' as we have sunshine and warm temperatures and a slight breeze. It really feels good to have the windows opened and allow the fresh air inside. Even if we do see another spot of winter, I am grateful for these little breaks. It is a nice indication of what is yet to come.

I spent yesterday working on some new designs as well as finishing up my "Day 3" of my Lynne Andrews' 12 Days of Christmas pattern. (You can get her Christmas Blessings pattern book for these ornaments HERE and the wood surfaces for the ornaments HERE on my own site.) For those who don't know, I am creating SIX sets of these beautiful ornaments (five sets for gifts and one for myself!) and painting a 'day' each month and mailing them out each month so that by December, all my recipients will have the full set for decorating. It is the only way I can manage to get them all done and it is fun to send something throughout the year. :)

With each ornament that I complete, I fall more in love with this pattern. Lynne really outdid herself with this concept and I am thrilled to see each one come to life. Without further writing, I will show you the final photos of "Day 3" . . .

Here is the finished front of the ornament:

Badge Body jewelry Emblem Medal Font


Each of the ornament has red hot-fix rhinestone 'berries' that I purchased from Rhinestone Canada. I LOVE their beautiful and inexpensive stones! There are so many places to use them! They are one of my favorite companies to buy from!

Here is the back of Day 3. Each of Lynne's ornaments is done on both sides, and equally beautiful:

Font Badge Jewellery Circle Bottle cap


Here is an angled shot of the front of the ornament showing the JoSonja's Opal Dust that is on them. You can't see it in the regular, head-on photos, but it really looks amazing as it picks up the light beautifully. Think how awesome these will look on a lit tree!

Tableware Dishware Badge Font Circle


And the back . . .

Bottle cap Font Circle Sweetness Jewellery


And here are all six of mine. They look pretty cool all together.

Dishware Tableware Circle Serveware Pattern


I couldn't help to take a photo of my set so far. They look so wonderful altogether:

Badge Emblem Jewellery Circle Fashion accessory


Here are the backs of all three:

Badge Bottle cap Font Jewellery Medal


As I see my set(s) grow, I am more and more pleased with how these come out. My ornaments are all painted using beautiful DecoArt products. Those of you who read often know that I am a big fan of their products and I expect I will be for life. Lynne's book showed the colors in Delta paints, but we have created conversion charts that are available so you can easily use your DecoArt Americana paint.

For those of you who would like to maybe makes these ornaments too or just watch, I set up a Facebook Suppor Group so we can cheer each other on and help each other stay motivated. It is like a very loose online class where we all have the same goal. There is no time frame, as everyone is going at their own pace according to their needs and lifestyles. We like to think it is fun and no pressure and the members there have certainly motivated me to stay on track. I love it! You can join us here:

12 Days of Christmas Ornaments by Lynne Andrews

You need to be "approved" but that is only to keep out spammers. :)

For the rest of the day, I will be going back to my woodworking side and creating some new scroll saw patterns for our update later this week. I promise to give you all some hints tomorrow as to what I am working on, and I hope to get cutting by then as well.

I hope you all enjoy seeing the progression of these ornaments and I hope you come and join us if you are considering making them yourself. It is much more fun to compare notes with fellow painters and I have met some wonderful new friends through this project. It really is what creating should be all about! :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday today. I hope you are warm and happy and enjoying the day. I know I will be.
 

Attachments

#12,511 ·
Day 3 of my "12 Days of Christmas" Project Complete!

It is hard to believe that it is MARCH already! Here in Nova Scotia, it is definitely coming 'in like a lamb' as we have sunshine and warm temperatures and a slight breeze. It really feels good to have the windows opened and allow the fresh air inside. Even if we do see another spot of winter, I am grateful for these little breaks. It is a nice indication of what is yet to come.

I spent yesterday working on some new designs as well as finishing up my "Day 3" of my Lynne Andrews' 12 Days of Christmas pattern. (You can get her Christmas Blessings pattern book for these ornaments HERE and the wood surfaces for the ornaments HERE on my own site.) For those who don't know, I am creating SIX sets of these beautiful ornaments (five sets for gifts and one for myself!) and painting a 'day' each month and mailing them out each month so that by December, all my recipients will have the full set for decorating. It is the only way I can manage to get them all done and it is fun to send something throughout the year. :)

With each ornament that I complete, I fall more in love with this pattern. Lynne really outdid herself with this concept and I am thrilled to see each one come to life. Without further writing, I will show you the final photos of "Day 3" . . .

Here is the finished front of the ornament:

Badge Body jewelry Emblem Medal Font


Each of the ornament has red hot-fix rhinestone 'berries' that I purchased from Rhinestone Canada. I LOVE their beautiful and inexpensive stones! There are so many places to use them! They are one of my favorite companies to buy from!

Here is the back of Day 3. Each of Lynne's ornaments is done on both sides, and equally beautiful:

Font Badge Jewellery Circle Bottle cap


Here is an angled shot of the front of the ornament showing the JoSonja's Opal Dust that is on them. You can't see it in the regular, head-on photos, but it really looks amazing as it picks up the light beautifully. Think how awesome these will look on a lit tree!

Tableware Dishware Badge Font Circle


And the back . . .

Bottle cap Font Circle Sweetness Jewellery


And here are all six of mine. They look pretty cool all together.

Dishware Tableware Circle Serveware Pattern


I couldn't help to take a photo of my set so far. They look so wonderful altogether:

Badge Emblem Jewellery Circle Fashion accessory


Here are the backs of all three:

Badge Bottle cap Font Jewellery Medal


As I see my set(s) grow, I am more and more pleased with how these come out. My ornaments are all painted using beautiful DecoArt products. Those of you who read often know that I am a big fan of their products and I expect I will be for life. Lynne's book showed the colors in Delta paints, but we have created conversion charts that are available so you can easily use your DecoArt Americana paint.

For those of you who would like to maybe makes these ornaments too or just watch, I set up a Facebook Suppor Group so we can cheer each other on and help each other stay motivated. It is like a very loose online class where we all have the same goal. There is no time frame, as everyone is going at their own pace according to their needs and lifestyles. We like to think it is fun and no pressure and the members there have certainly motivated me to stay on track. I love it! You can join us here:

12 Days of Christmas Ornaments by Lynne Andrews

You need to be "approved" but that is only to keep out spammers. :)

For the rest of the day, I will be going back to my woodworking side and creating some new scroll saw patterns for our update later this week. I promise to give you all some hints tomorrow as to what I am working on, and I hope to get cutting by then as well.

I hope you all enjoy seeing the progression of these ornaments and I hope you come and join us if you are considering making them yourself. It is much more fun to compare notes with fellow painters and I have met some wonderful new friends through this project. It really is what creating should be all about! :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday today. I hope you are warm and happy and enjoying the day. I know I will be.
Beautiful ornaments and beautifully painted. The JoSonja Opal dust looks great. I like JoSonja's paints for anything that I'm going to glaze layers.
 

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#12,513 ·
Wearing my Woodworking Hat

Oh - I seem to be so late at getting to my blogs these days! I find that I wind up spending the mornings visiting my artistic friends' pages and seeing what they posted through the night. That usually takes me away to other places and gives me MORE ideas of new things to create. It is a vicious circle! ;)

I spent the day yesterday finishing up drawing my new patterns for the scroll saw projects I am making and I actually got MOST of them cut out. With all the errands and stuff that I had to do (office work, etc.) I didn't really even start cutting until almost 5pm! YIKES!! But I got through things a lot quicker than I thought and I am really pleased with the new projects. They always look much better in life than on paper, don't they?

I am doing three similar designs with different wildlife animals. I found a beautiful piece of bird's eye/curly maple that would work extremely well with this type of design. While I love using highly figured wood, there are some designs that are just too detailed to allow us to appreciate that fact. But since these designs are a bit simpler, they show the grain beautifully and I think they were a great choice.

I still have a few pieces to cut for each of these, and I didn't get to do any sanding or finishing, but here is how they look right now and so far I am pretty happy:

Wood Sculpture Creative arts Art Font


After all the intricate, 'micro-surgery' cutting that I have been doing of late, these were a fun change. They are much larger than my usual designs, as each of these pieces measures about 14" wide. It is definitely out of my comfort zone to cut something so long, and although I felt awkward in the beginning, by the third piece, I was buzzing right through things, and right on my line. The best part about this design was that most of the subjects were trees, so deviating from the line didn't make a lick of difference. It really is a nice piece to acclimate yourself to this type of cutting and they are great pieces for someone newer to scroll sawing.

Today I will cut the final pieces for these projects and then sand, finish and assemble them. Then comes the writing of the patterns and getting them on the site. We want to do a site update tomorrow, so I want them ready for that.

Keith has also been busy making new patterns. He has three new designs that are already posted up on the site, so if you like them, you can get them right away. He has two new plaque pattern sets for you to enjoy.

The first one is SLDK656 Live, Learn and Hope plaque pattern set:

Brown Handwriting Font Rectangle Wood


And here is the second version - SLDK657 Live, Love and Laugh:



He also has a new napkin holder/plaque set that features some beautiful running horses. (SLDK592 - Wild Horses Napkin Holder and Plaque set):

Horse Rectangle Wood Art Font


I think they all came out really nice!

It is fun to have my 'woodwork designers' hat' on! It seems that it has been a while since I have done that. I am really having fun with these projects and I can't wait to see them finished up. Then on to new things . . .

I awoke to a light blanket of snow this morning - much to my surprise. It has been so warm here that I kind of thought I would not see more snow until the autumn. But I should have known better! It is now nearly 10am and the snow is mostly gone. I don't think we will get much more, but one never knows. Such is life here in Nova Scotia. I suppose there is the possibility of colder weather at any time.

I wish you all a wonderful day today. The weekend is just on the horizon for those of you who work a five day week. Hope is in sight! ;)

Have a great Thursday! Enjoy yourselves and do something creative!
 

Attachments

#12,514 ·
Wearing my Woodworking Hat

Oh - I seem to be so late at getting to my blogs these days! I find that I wind up spending the mornings visiting my artistic friends' pages and seeing what they posted through the night. That usually takes me away to other places and gives me MORE ideas of new things to create. It is a vicious circle! ;)

I spent the day yesterday finishing up drawing my new patterns for the scroll saw projects I am making and I actually got MOST of them cut out. With all the errands and stuff that I had to do (office work, etc.) I didn't really even start cutting until almost 5pm! YIKES!! But I got through things a lot quicker than I thought and I am really pleased with the new projects. They always look much better in life than on paper, don't they?

I am doing three similar designs with different wildlife animals. I found a beautiful piece of bird's eye/curly maple that would work extremely well with this type of design. While I love using highly figured wood, there are some designs that are just too detailed to allow us to appreciate that fact. But since these designs are a bit simpler, they show the grain beautifully and I think they were a great choice.

I still have a few pieces to cut for each of these, and I didn't get to do any sanding or finishing, but here is how they look right now and so far I am pretty happy:

Wood Sculpture Creative arts Art Font


After all the intricate, 'micro-surgery' cutting that I have been doing of late, these were a fun change. They are much larger than my usual designs, as each of these pieces measures about 14" wide. It is definitely out of my comfort zone to cut something so long, and although I felt awkward in the beginning, by the third piece, I was buzzing right through things, and right on my line. The best part about this design was that most of the subjects were trees, so deviating from the line didn't make a lick of difference. It really is a nice piece to acclimate yourself to this type of cutting and they are great pieces for someone newer to scroll sawing.

Today I will cut the final pieces for these projects and then sand, finish and assemble them. Then comes the writing of the patterns and getting them on the site. We want to do a site update tomorrow, so I want them ready for that.

Keith has also been busy making new patterns. He has three new designs that are already posted up on the site, so if you like them, you can get them right away. He has two new plaque pattern sets for you to enjoy.

The first one is SLDK656 Live, Learn and Hope plaque pattern set:

Brown Handwriting Font Rectangle Wood


And here is the second version - SLDK657 Live, Love and Laugh:



He also has a new napkin holder/plaque set that features some beautiful running horses. (SLDK592 - Wild Horses Napkin Holder and Plaque set):

Horse Rectangle Wood Art Font


I think they all came out really nice!

It is fun to have my 'woodwork designers' hat' on! It seems that it has been a while since I have done that. I am really having fun with these projects and I can't wait to see them finished up. Then on to new things . . .

I awoke to a light blanket of snow this morning - much to my surprise. It has been so warm here that I kind of thought I would not see more snow until the autumn. But I should have known better! It is now nearly 10am and the snow is mostly gone. I don't think we will get much more, but one never knows. Such is life here in Nova Scotia. I suppose there is the possibility of colder weather at any time.

I wish you all a wonderful day today. The weekend is just on the horizon for those of you who work a five day week. Hope is in sight! ;)

Have a great Thursday! Enjoy yourselves and do something creative!
All the new designs look great. Love the curly maple on your nature project. A very versatile design. I can think of a few places where it could be used. Looking forward to seeing the finished project.
 

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#12,517 ·
Three New Scroll Saw Designs

Sometimes I feel as if I have triplets. In a way, I do. (Or even quadruplets or quintuplets - depending on how you look at it!) There are just so many aspects of creating that I enjoy, that it is difficult to stick to only one medium. I love painting and drawing, but I also love embroidery and woodworking as well. Then there are paper craft and even sewing. I have so many ideas that cross over into other areas that it is hard to decide which ones I want to do at any given moment. I want to do them ALL!

I suppose there could be worse habits . . .

I do find comfort in that most people I know who are creative are similar. Seldom do I find someone who chooses only one way to be creative. It does happen though, and I feel that is fine, but I think that seeing that there are others around who are just as crazy and multi-faceted as I am in choosing which medium to use to be creative is comforting. I am not that weird or strange after all.

I really think that loving many types of creating is one reason why I always seem so full of ideas. There always seems to be "something" that I just can't wait to create. And jumping from painting to drawing to scroll sawing to needlework not only keeps me busy, it makes me happy as well. I love each type of designing and I am always anxious to start my new project(s). I think it really keeps it fun and exciting, and I hope it shows in my work.

This week, I designed some new scroll saw patterns that I hope will be fun and versatile. I had someone suggest that I make more small towel holders like the SLD106 Moose Towel Holder that I created several years ago. I loved that this design was not only functional, but also didn't take a week to make and was very versatile as well. So I went to work and created a few different versions of this little towel holder that I hope everyone will enjoy.

The three variations that I initially came up with are as follows:

SLD524 - Deer Towel Holder pattern:

Wood Table Creative arts Fawn Natural material


SLD525 Bear Towel Holder pattern:

Wood Fawn Creative arts Sculpture Art


and SLD526 Elk Towel Holder Pattern:

Product Wood Creative arts Art Rectangle


(All three links will work once I post the product on our site later on today)

But as usual - I am trying to give a little something 'extra' in the patterns. Each pattern will include THREE different types of 'arms' for the towel holders - a deep set (shown), a shallow set and also a slotted set so that they can use these little towel holders to hold paper towels. Each pattern packet will also include the instructions and line work for a matching plaque. This will make these designs usable for a larger variety of applications and hopefully will give additional value to my customers.

They are fun to cut and easy to assemble and I think they came out really nice. Today I am finishing up the instructions and making the packets and they will be available on the website by this evening. We also plan to send out our newsletter today as well. It will be a busy day for us.

It is beautifully sunny, albeit a bit cold today. The snow from yesterday is once again a memory and it looks more like spring out there than winter. What a strange year for us!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and are able to spend some time to do something creative. I always find myself happier when I am 'making things' and I hope you all enjoy that as well. Have fun, relax, and enjoy yourself. Life is too short to do otherwise.

Happy Friday to you all!
 

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#12,518 ·
Three New Scroll Saw Designs

Sometimes I feel as if I have triplets. In a way, I do. (Or even quadruplets or quintuplets - depending on how you look at it!) There are just so many aspects of creating that I enjoy, that it is difficult to stick to only one medium. I love painting and drawing, but I also love embroidery and woodworking as well. Then there are paper craft and even sewing. I have so many ideas that cross over into other areas that it is hard to decide which ones I want to do at any given moment. I want to do them ALL!

I suppose there could be worse habits . . .

I do find comfort in that most people I know who are creative are similar. Seldom do I find someone who chooses only one way to be creative. It does happen though, and I feel that is fine, but I think that seeing that there are others around who are just as crazy and multi-faceted as I am in choosing which medium to use to be creative is comforting. I am not that weird or strange after all.

I really think that loving many types of creating is one reason why I always seem so full of ideas. There always seems to be "something" that I just can't wait to create. And jumping from painting to drawing to scroll sawing to needlework not only keeps me busy, it makes me happy as well. I love each type of designing and I am always anxious to start my new project(s). I think it really keeps it fun and exciting, and I hope it shows in my work.

This week, I designed some new scroll saw patterns that I hope will be fun and versatile. I had someone suggest that I make more small towel holders like the SLD106 Moose Towel Holder that I created several years ago. I loved that this design was not only functional, but also didn't take a week to make and was very versatile as well. So I went to work and created a few different versions of this little towel holder that I hope everyone will enjoy.

The three variations that I initially came up with are as follows:

SLD524 - Deer Towel Holder pattern:

Wood Table Creative arts Fawn Natural material


SLD525 Bear Towel Holder pattern:

Wood Fawn Creative arts Sculpture Art


and SLD526 Elk Towel Holder Pattern:

Product Wood Creative arts Art Rectangle


(All three links will work once I post the product on our site later on today)

But as usual - I am trying to give a little something 'extra' in the patterns. Each pattern will include THREE different types of 'arms' for the towel holders - a deep set (shown), a shallow set and also a slotted set so that they can use these little towel holders to hold paper towels. Each pattern packet will also include the instructions and line work for a matching plaque. This will make these designs usable for a larger variety of applications and hopefully will give additional value to my customers.

They are fun to cut and easy to assemble and I think they came out really nice. Today I am finishing up the instructions and making the packets and they will be available on the website by this evening. We also plan to send out our newsletter today as well. It will be a busy day for us.

It is beautifully sunny, albeit a bit cold today. The snow from yesterday is once again a memory and it looks more like spring out there than winter. What a strange year for us!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and are able to spend some time to do something creative. I always find myself happier when I am 'making things' and I hope you all enjoy that as well. Have fun, relax, and enjoy yourself. Life is too short to do otherwise.

Happy Friday to you all!
Good morning Sheila,
I have been hoarding a really nice piece of bird's eye maple waiting for the right pattern to show it off and I do think I have found the pattern(s). Thank you for all of the hard work that you and Keith do for us scrollers. It is appreciated.
Rick
 

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#12,521 ·
Playing with Needles

Am I getting lazy? It seems that I haven't finished posting my blogs as early as I usually do lately. I have been sleeping in a little later than usual these past couple of days because I feel that I am getting a slight cold. Keith has had the start of it all weekend and we jokingly call it "Man Sick" because we know that no illness that a woman could ever have could be so terrible so it deserved its own name. But now it seems that the Man Sickness has come to me and I am going to do my best to fight it off. If I have to be a bit lazy - so be it. In the long run it will make things better.

I spent the weekend catching up on orders and having some fun. We got our update to our site finished on Friday and all the patterns were posted. I couldn't wait to get at some new designing that I wanted to work on. I had some orders to do over the weekend and spent most of Saturday leisurely cutting wood. I like when I am not pressed for time and even though I can do production work fairly quickly, it was a nice change to just relax and cut.

By the time I was finished with everything for the evening, I wasn't in the mood to work on my own designs. But I wanted to do something. It was easier for me to pick up my embroidery piece by Di van Niekerk which I am calling "Every Flower has a Soul" and work on that. As usual, I got lost in it and I actually managed to complete Panel 3.

Flower Plant Botany Petal Terrestrial plant


I really like how it turned out, and I learned another stitch for the little flower pots - the Whipped Spider Web stitch. In creating it, you actually 'weave' the little basket using a single strand of silk thread. The outcome is a pretty little ribbed basket that looks really nice. :)

The flowers in the panel Lillies, which are creating using organza ribbon, (The buds are organza stitched over silk, which allows the yellow to show through the sheer organza.)

Flower Plant Botany Petal Terrestrial plant


The second set of flowers are Narcissis. I had stitched them with one layer of silk ribbon and felt they looked flat and unimpressive, so I did them again with a second layer, which gave them the fuller, puffier look that I wanted. I was glad I took the extra effort!

Flower Plant Petal Terrestrial plant Creative arts


All of the leaves are created using silk ribbon. I was especially proud of the wired stem on the Lily, but you can't see it much once all is done. I had stitched it with a Detatched Blanket stitch using one thin strand of silk thread. It took a while, but came out perfect. :)

The final character for this panel was a tiny ladybird. The picture is pretty close, but it was stitched in a Padded Satin Stitch using a single strand of silk. I added little Piston Stitch antenna. I think it came out cute! :)

Plant Terrestrial plant Insect Creative arts Art


I realized only now that I need to put some Seed Stitches for the ground. I will do that next time.

I love the dimension of this type of embroidery, don't you?

Flower Ingredient Cuisine Creative arts Petal


On Sunday I finished my orders and did begin a new project. This will be a 'multi-media' project experiment that I will be creating. I am taking the same idea and making a stitched picture of it, as well as a painting and a scroll saw pattern. (Something for EVERYONE!)

I began the stitching version last night using my pretty silk colors by Valdani Threads. They have beautiful products and I think when I create my kits, I will use all the specialty threads from them. They are all hand-dyed and colorfast, which is a definite plus. :)

Creative arts Art Circle Font Pattern


I hope you will enjoy seeing this next series of projects materialize. I always think of things in so many different media types that it isn't always easy for me to decide which direction to head. There is no law saying I can't do something in multiple methods, is there? It will be fun to see how they all come out.

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! Happy Monday to you!
 

Attachments

#12,522 ·
Playing with Needles

Am I getting lazy? It seems that I haven't finished posting my blogs as early as I usually do lately. I have been sleeping in a little later than usual these past couple of days because I feel that I am getting a slight cold. Keith has had the start of it all weekend and we jokingly call it "Man Sick" because we know that no illness that a woman could ever have could be so terrible so it deserved its own name. But now it seems that the Man Sickness has come to me and I am going to do my best to fight it off. If I have to be a bit lazy - so be it. In the long run it will make things better.

I spent the weekend catching up on orders and having some fun. We got our update to our site finished on Friday and all the patterns were posted. I couldn't wait to get at some new designing that I wanted to work on. I had some orders to do over the weekend and spent most of Saturday leisurely cutting wood. I like when I am not pressed for time and even though I can do production work fairly quickly, it was a nice change to just relax and cut.

By the time I was finished with everything for the evening, I wasn't in the mood to work on my own designs. But I wanted to do something. It was easier for me to pick up my embroidery piece by Di van Niekerk which I am calling "Every Flower has a Soul" and work on that. As usual, I got lost in it and I actually managed to complete Panel 3.

Flower Plant Botany Petal Terrestrial plant


I really like how it turned out, and I learned another stitch for the little flower pots - the Whipped Spider Web stitch. In creating it, you actually 'weave' the little basket using a single strand of silk thread. The outcome is a pretty little ribbed basket that looks really nice. :)

The flowers in the panel Lillies, which are creating using organza ribbon, (The buds are organza stitched over silk, which allows the yellow to show through the sheer organza.)

Flower Plant Botany Petal Terrestrial plant


The second set of flowers are Narcissis. I had stitched them with one layer of silk ribbon and felt they looked flat and unimpressive, so I did them again with a second layer, which gave them the fuller, puffier look that I wanted. I was glad I took the extra effort!

Flower Plant Petal Terrestrial plant Creative arts


All of the leaves are created using silk ribbon. I was especially proud of the wired stem on the Lily, but you can't see it much once all is done. I had stitched it with a Detatched Blanket stitch using one thin strand of silk thread. It took a while, but came out perfect. :)

The final character for this panel was a tiny ladybird. The picture is pretty close, but it was stitched in a Padded Satin Stitch using a single strand of silk. I added little Piston Stitch antenna. I think it came out cute! :)

Plant Terrestrial plant Insect Creative arts Art


I realized only now that I need to put some Seed Stitches for the ground. I will do that next time.

I love the dimension of this type of embroidery, don't you?

Flower Ingredient Cuisine Creative arts Petal


On Sunday I finished my orders and did begin a new project. This will be a 'multi-media' project experiment that I will be creating. I am taking the same idea and making a stitched picture of it, as well as a painting and a scroll saw pattern. (Something for EVERYONE!)

I began the stitching version last night using my pretty silk colors by Valdani Threads. They have beautiful products and I think when I create my kits, I will use all the specialty threads from them. They are all hand-dyed and colorfast, which is a definite plus. :)

Creative arts Art Circle Font Pattern


I hope you will enjoy seeing this next series of projects materialize. I always think of things in so many different media types that it isn't always easy for me to decide which direction to head. There is no law saying I can't do something in multiple methods, is there? It will be fun to see how they all come out.

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! Happy Monday to you!
Sheila,

This embroidery project is going to be sensational when completed, (even though I'm not thrilled with ladybugs since we are overrun by their cousins-Asian beetles).

I'm so glad you're willing to share it here.

L/W
 

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#12,524 ·
A Horse of a Different Color

The past couple of days have had me down with a cold. It hasn't been a terrible cold, but enough to make me tired and move a lot slower than I would like to do. Fortunately, it has come at a time when things are slowing down a little for me. While there is never a 'good' time for being sick, I am glad this wasn't a month or so ago when I was in the midst of cutting the hundreds of ornaments that have been ordered from me. (I always try to look on the positive side of things.)

While I have been moving slower, it doesn't mean that I am not accomplishing anything. With the variety of ways that I have to create, it seems that I can always find something to do that will keep me feeling productive - even when I am not feeling my best.

Those of you who read frequently know that besides woodworking and painting, I have also developed an obsession for embroidery. While I used to do Crewel and Cross Stitch kits as a child, the internet has introduced me to a whole new world of needlework that I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. I find myself winding down at the end of the day by perusing through Pinterest and admiring the amazing needlework that has stood the test of time. I am in awe.

Seeing pieces like that makes my head spin. Until recently, I never heard of things like "stumpwork" and "needle painting" or "silk painting". But as I explore these venues of artistry, I long to create my own renditions of work, using many of the incredibly beautiful supplies that I have hoarded in the past couple of years.

Like any obsession, it didn't happen over night. At first it was admiration for the art itself, and then for the materials used to create the art, and then it quickly blossomed into a lust for all the fibers, colors and textures that fiber art has to offer. Pinterest can do that to you, you know. I know I have a great deal of company when I get 'lost' in their myriad of eye candy. I know that 'just one minute' takes on an entirely different definition when one is referring to browsing Pinterest. It rarely is just that. For the minutes turn into hours very quickly as we are lead down enchanted trails of our favorite foods, colors and of course - crafts. But I suppose there are worse addictions.

Which brings us to today's post . . .

For several months I have toyed with the idea of creating embroidery kits of my own. It seems when I show my pieces here, many people are very interested in this 'lost art' and show interest. I am not sure if it is just them being 'polite' or of there is a genuine interest in learning, but it got the wheels turning in my head and started me thinking about it.

It isn't as if I have lots of idle time to do this, but I do notice when I post my creations that they do get many 'likes' and lots of attention. I believe that there is truly interest there in some form and it encourages me to 'test the water.' Add to that when I have gone searching for available kits, there are very few to choose from. I am not sure if that is good or bad. There are loads of cross stitch kits, but very few that use the techniques that I am using (needle painting, stumpwork, etc.) and I am thinking that offering these kits may fill a need.

Since I am going to be doing my own work and designs anyway, I think it may be worth a try. If it fails, so be it. At least then I would know.

The other day I showed you a little design that I was working on. I am thinking this will be the first one that I will make into a 'kit' and write instructions on for teaching purposes. It is something that I have been contemplating for several months now and I thought it was time that I jump in and see how it goes. I am sure this venture will take a while to complete. As with anything new, there are paths to clear and many decisions to be made. Figuring out just how to go about things will be a challenge in itself, but one that I feel that I am up for.

I have spent the last couple of days working on this little seahorse:

Bird Textile Creative arts Art Feather


He is being stitched using all silk threads of different weights by Valdani. Their threads are all hand-dyed and colorfast and I had actually purchased a great variety of them last year for designing purposes.

I finished my little guy last night and I was quite pleased with him.

Plant Natural material Feather Creative arts Tree


The pretty touch of glass beads really added to him.

My sample was stitched on plain cotton fabric. Had I known he would come out so nice, I would have used the linen that I intended to use for his background. Last year, I had also purchased some high-quality fabric dyes in order to dye my own silk ribbon as well as the linen backgrounds. Yesterday I played around a bit and got a nice piece done for my seahorse:

Paint Rectangle Textile Wood Creative arts


It is difficult to see now, but there is a opalescent shimmer to the blues and a gold shimmer to the brown "sand". I used mica powders to achieve this look and it is incredibly subtle and lovely.

So now I am ready to stitch the seahorse again - this time on the hand-painted linen background.

I don't know where this new avenue will take me. It may wind up as a dead end business-wise and not prove lucrative for me at all. But one thing I learned from being in business all these years is that sometimes you have to take risks and see where they will take you. Otherwise you will never know. Since I have had these thoughts in my head for several years now, I feel it is time to test the water and see what happens. The investment that I will be making will not be large, other than my time, and I am doing something that I enjoy to relax anyway.

In the words of Johnny Depp: "I like the challenge of trying different things and wondering if it is going to work or if I am going to fall flat on my face."

We will just have to see how things turn out.

Insect Twig Woolen Tree Wool


Have a wonderful Thursday!
 

Attachments

#12,525 ·
A Horse of a Different Color

The past couple of days have had me down with a cold. It hasn't been a terrible cold, but enough to make me tired and move a lot slower than I would like to do. Fortunately, it has come at a time when things are slowing down a little for me. While there is never a 'good' time for being sick, I am glad this wasn't a month or so ago when I was in the midst of cutting the hundreds of ornaments that have been ordered from me. (I always try to look on the positive side of things.)

While I have been moving slower, it doesn't mean that I am not accomplishing anything. With the variety of ways that I have to create, it seems that I can always find something to do that will keep me feeling productive - even when I am not feeling my best.

Those of you who read frequently know that besides woodworking and painting, I have also developed an obsession for embroidery. While I used to do Crewel and Cross Stitch kits as a child, the internet has introduced me to a whole new world of needlework that I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. I find myself winding down at the end of the day by perusing through Pinterest and admiring the amazing needlework that has stood the test of time. I am in awe.

Seeing pieces like that makes my head spin. Until recently, I never heard of things like "stumpwork" and "needle painting" or "silk painting". But as I explore these venues of artistry, I long to create my own renditions of work, using many of the incredibly beautiful supplies that I have hoarded in the past couple of years.

Like any obsession, it didn't happen over night. At first it was admiration for the art itself, and then for the materials used to create the art, and then it quickly blossomed into a lust for all the fibers, colors and textures that fiber art has to offer. Pinterest can do that to you, you know. I know I have a great deal of company when I get 'lost' in their myriad of eye candy. I know that 'just one minute' takes on an entirely different definition when one is referring to browsing Pinterest. It rarely is just that. For the minutes turn into hours very quickly as we are lead down enchanted trails of our favorite foods, colors and of course - crafts. But I suppose there are worse addictions.

Which brings us to today's post . . .

For several months I have toyed with the idea of creating embroidery kits of my own. It seems when I show my pieces here, many people are very interested in this 'lost art' and show interest. I am not sure if it is just them being 'polite' or of there is a genuine interest in learning, but it got the wheels turning in my head and started me thinking about it.

It isn't as if I have lots of idle time to do this, but I do notice when I post my creations that they do get many 'likes' and lots of attention. I believe that there is truly interest there in some form and it encourages me to 'test the water.' Add to that when I have gone searching for available kits, there are very few to choose from. I am not sure if that is good or bad. There are loads of cross stitch kits, but very few that use the techniques that I am using (needle painting, stumpwork, etc.) and I am thinking that offering these kits may fill a need.

Since I am going to be doing my own work and designs anyway, I think it may be worth a try. If it fails, so be it. At least then I would know.

The other day I showed you a little design that I was working on. I am thinking this will be the first one that I will make into a 'kit' and write instructions on for teaching purposes. It is something that I have been contemplating for several months now and I thought it was time that I jump in and see how it goes. I am sure this venture will take a while to complete. As with anything new, there are paths to clear and many decisions to be made. Figuring out just how to go about things will be a challenge in itself, but one that I feel that I am up for.

I have spent the last couple of days working on this little seahorse:

Bird Textile Creative arts Art Feather


He is being stitched using all silk threads of different weights by Valdani. Their threads are all hand-dyed and colorfast and I had actually purchased a great variety of them last year for designing purposes.

I finished my little guy last night and I was quite pleased with him.

Plant Natural material Feather Creative arts Tree


The pretty touch of glass beads really added to him.

My sample was stitched on plain cotton fabric. Had I known he would come out so nice, I would have used the linen that I intended to use for his background. Last year, I had also purchased some high-quality fabric dyes in order to dye my own silk ribbon as well as the linen backgrounds. Yesterday I played around a bit and got a nice piece done for my seahorse:

Paint Rectangle Textile Wood Creative arts


It is difficult to see now, but there is a opalescent shimmer to the blues and a gold shimmer to the brown "sand". I used mica powders to achieve this look and it is incredibly subtle and lovely.

So now I am ready to stitch the seahorse again - this time on the hand-painted linen background.

I don't know where this new avenue will take me. It may wind up as a dead end business-wise and not prove lucrative for me at all. But one thing I learned from being in business all these years is that sometimes you have to take risks and see where they will take you. Otherwise you will never know. Since I have had these thoughts in my head for several years now, I feel it is time to test the water and see what happens. The investment that I will be making will not be large, other than my time, and I am doing something that I enjoy to relax anyway.

In the words of Johnny Depp: "I like the challenge of trying different things and wondering if it is going to work or if I am going to fall flat on my face."

We will just have to see how things turn out.

Insect Twig Woolen Tree Wool


Have a wonderful Thursday!
Sorry to hear you have been unwell, Sheila.

Glad you are getting better and finding new outlets for your skill and creativity. This looks really good.
 

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#12,529 ·
Congratulations to my Friend

I read somewhere yesterday on Facebook that 'resting isn't wasting time - it is your body repairing itself.' (If it is on Facebook - it must be true, right? ;) ) I tried to take that to heart because I actually accomplished very little yesterday. I kind of spent the day milling around.

When Keith went to do the daily errands of going to the store and post office, I found myself fighting to keep my eyes open. I hadn't really slept very much the previous night and I gave in to having a mid-afternoon nap. But as soon as I laid down and tried to sleep the phone rang, the cat decided to get sick, and I finally just gave up. It wasn't meant to be.

But you all don't want to read about that. It is just a cold and hopefully I will be back to 'normal' in a day or so. It is by no means a tragic illness or anything that won't be overcome soon. I somehow feel the need however to explain my lack of production here these past few days so I apologize for sounding whiny or like I am complaining. This too shall pass.

Let's change the subject . . .

I did want to share with you some positive news about my friend Leldon. You may have heard me speak of him on occasion, as he is one of the best friends I have in the world. Leldon lives in Alabama and I have known him since he was about 14 years old, when he first began doing woodworking shows. That was over 15 years ago and we have remained friends all this time. I have loved seeing him grow into a young man and he now has a family and a cute little son and another child on the way. He is like my 'adopted son' because he is just my oldest son's age, but he is more like a peer.

In any case, I have loved seeing Leldon's success over the years regarding his woodworking. I like to send my own customers to him when they are looking for our designs finished and pre-cut because I know he will give them beautiful work at a fair price.

Lately, Leldon has been doing a lot of work for a shop in his area called "Southern Accents". He free-lances for the owner and has been called upon to make some pretty nice things. Last summer, he created a 12 foot tall replica of the state of Alabama for one of the shows there which was made of old barnwood and each of Alabama's counties was done separately. It was amazing. Here is a photo of what it looked like:

Rectangle World Textile Creative arts Art


Last month, at the last minute Leldon was asked again to do some things for the Yellowhammer Forum which was hosting some of the Republican candidates. He had less than a week to make this beautiful sign and display and it came out wonderful. Here is a photo of Leldon and Sheena in front of it:

Smile World Black Wood Art


You can read about the adventure in Leldon's own words at his blog HERE. It was great to hear that people are appreciating him so much and I really love seeing him get ahead. I hope you go check out his site and blog and work. I think you will enjoy seeing someone who works so hard and is so talented get recognition. I know I am proud of him.

One final thing that I want to mention today is that Keith has a new pattern available up on our site.

Brown Rectangle Wood Font Tints and shades


His SLD658 Give Us This Day plaque pattern is a great design year- round that is easy to make, yet attractive. It would be a wonderful gift for Easter or anytime. We hope you like it.

I hope to knock this out once and for all this weekend and feel a bit more like myself. I have so much that I want to accomplish, but I need to give myself a little time. I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead. It began snowing here about half an hour ago, but it is wet snow and not sticking much. We really have been fortunate this winter.

Happy Friday to you all! Have a creative weekend!
 

Attachments

#12,530 ·
Congratulations to my Friend

I read somewhere yesterday on Facebook that 'resting isn't wasting time - it is your body repairing itself.' (If it is on Facebook - it must be true, right? ;) ) I tried to take that to heart because I actually accomplished very little yesterday. I kind of spent the day milling around.

When Keith went to do the daily errands of going to the store and post office, I found myself fighting to keep my eyes open. I hadn't really slept very much the previous night and I gave in to having a mid-afternoon nap. But as soon as I laid down and tried to sleep the phone rang, the cat decided to get sick, and I finally just gave up. It wasn't meant to be.

But you all don't want to read about that. It is just a cold and hopefully I will be back to 'normal' in a day or so. It is by no means a tragic illness or anything that won't be overcome soon. I somehow feel the need however to explain my lack of production here these past few days so I apologize for sounding whiny or like I am complaining. This too shall pass.

Let's change the subject . . .

I did want to share with you some positive news about my friend Leldon. You may have heard me speak of him on occasion, as he is one of the best friends I have in the world. Leldon lives in Alabama and I have known him since he was about 14 years old, when he first began doing woodworking shows. That was over 15 years ago and we have remained friends all this time. I have loved seeing him grow into a young man and he now has a family and a cute little son and another child on the way. He is like my 'adopted son' because he is just my oldest son's age, but he is more like a peer.

In any case, I have loved seeing Leldon's success over the years regarding his woodworking. I like to send my own customers to him when they are looking for our designs finished and pre-cut because I know he will give them beautiful work at a fair price.

Lately, Leldon has been doing a lot of work for a shop in his area called "Southern Accents". He free-lances for the owner and has been called upon to make some pretty nice things. Last summer, he created a 12 foot tall replica of the state of Alabama for one of the shows there which was made of old barnwood and each of Alabama's counties was done separately. It was amazing. Here is a photo of what it looked like:

Rectangle World Textile Creative arts Art


Last month, at the last minute Leldon was asked again to do some things for the Yellowhammer Forum which was hosting some of the Republican candidates. He had less than a week to make this beautiful sign and display and it came out wonderful. Here is a photo of Leldon and Sheena in front of it:

Smile World Black Wood Art


You can read about the adventure in Leldon's own words at his blog HERE. It was great to hear that people are appreciating him so much and I really love seeing him get ahead. I hope you go check out his site and blog and work. I think you will enjoy seeing someone who works so hard and is so talented get recognition. I know I am proud of him.

One final thing that I want to mention today is that Keith has a new pattern available up on our site.

Brown Rectangle Wood Font Tints and shades


His SLD658 Give Us This Day plaque pattern is a great design year- round that is easy to make, yet attractive. It would be a wonderful gift for Easter or anytime. We hope you like it.

I hope to knock this out once and for all this weekend and feel a bit more like myself. I have so much that I want to accomplish, but I need to give myself a little time. I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead. It began snowing here about half an hour ago, but it is wet snow and not sticking much. We really have been fortunate this winter.

Happy Friday to you all! Have a creative weekend!
Thank you my friend, you are the best! :)
 

Attachments

#12,533 ·
Checking In . . .

I try to keep my posts here positive and I think I am successful in doing that for these six years that I have been writing. But sometimes life just throws us a curve ball and we have to take a step back from things. I haven't written this week because I have been down with a cold/flu. I have had lots of nice messages and notes from my readers wondering what was up, as they are used to me blogging nearly every day. I just wanted to explain to you all why I am not here.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday and she thought it was more of a flu virus that could take several weeks to pass. I wasn't given antibiotics, but rather a nose spray that contained a steriod and would help the congestion in my sinuses and also help prevent things from turning into pneumonia.

I admit that I have been pretty wiped out by this thing, and I have spend much of my day(s) resting and napping, which is what I should be doing. But I wanted to let you all know that I am still here and soon I will be back to my usual creative self and back on track again.

This is so out of character for me. But I am smart enough to respect what my body is telling me and I want to get better faster, so if laying low is the answer, than so be it. I will lay low.

One thing I am learning from this is how LONG the days can feel when I am not creating. I am usually complaining to you all how quickly the days are going by, yet when I am idle or 'resting' they seem to last the length of three days. Funny how that works. ;)

Today I still have no voice (I lost it the other day) and I am coughing more, so I hope I am turning a corner. The doc says if I didn't see improvement in a week to come back, so she feels it will be a long process.

I promise to be back as soon as possible. Not only do I miss my creating, but I miss my social connection with you all. You have become a large part of my life and I love hearing what you are all up to and seeing what you are working on.

In the mean time, I have my "Staff" of nurses - Coco, Richard and Pancakes (whom we like to call "Nurse Biggles"). They are constantly by my side, as is Keith who is also fighting a bug himself and we are all taking care of each other in our little infested place here. We will prevail. :)

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and hope you have fun doing beautiful and creative things. Spring is on its way!

Happy Friday to you!

Cat Felidae Carnivore Whiskers Small to medium-sized cats


(Nurse Biggles on duty!) ;)
 

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#12,534 ·
Checking In . . .

I try to keep my posts here positive and I think I am successful in doing that for these six years that I have been writing. But sometimes life just throws us a curve ball and we have to take a step back from things. I haven't written this week because I have been down with a cold/flu. I have had lots of nice messages and notes from my readers wondering what was up, as they are used to me blogging nearly every day. I just wanted to explain to you all why I am not here.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday and she thought it was more of a flu virus that could take several weeks to pass. I wasn't given antibiotics, but rather a nose spray that contained a steriod and would help the congestion in my sinuses and also help prevent things from turning into pneumonia.

I admit that I have been pretty wiped out by this thing, and I have spend much of my day(s) resting and napping, which is what I should be doing. But I wanted to let you all know that I am still here and soon I will be back to my usual creative self and back on track again.

This is so out of character for me. But I am smart enough to respect what my body is telling me and I want to get better faster, so if laying low is the answer, than so be it. I will lay low.

One thing I am learning from this is how LONG the days can feel when I am not creating. I am usually complaining to you all how quickly the days are going by, yet when I am idle or 'resting' they seem to last the length of three days. Funny how that works. ;)

Today I still have no voice (I lost it the other day) and I am coughing more, so I hope I am turning a corner. The doc says if I didn't see improvement in a week to come back, so she feels it will be a long process.

I promise to be back as soon as possible. Not only do I miss my creating, but I miss my social connection with you all. You have become a large part of my life and I love hearing what you are all up to and seeing what you are working on.

In the mean time, I have my "Staff" of nurses - Coco, Richard and Pancakes (whom we like to call "Nurse Biggles"). They are constantly by my side, as is Keith who is also fighting a bug himself and we are all taking care of each other in our little infested place here. We will prevail. :)

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and hope you have fun doing beautiful and creative things. Spring is on its way!

Happy Friday to you!

Cat Felidae Carnivore Whiskers Small to medium-sized cats


(Nurse Biggles on duty!) ;)
Probably the best nurse on the planet.. They always make you feel better
 

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#12,540 ·
Scenes from the ER

These last couple of weeks have been kind of a blur. What started with Keith's being 'man sick' (our term for when he gets ill - which isn't often) had spread to me and even the cats have had their sick moments. I suppose it was probably time, as we both hadn't had any real illnesses in what seems like years. Perhaps it was due to the mild on-again-off-again winter we have been experiencing. Maybe there just wasn't enough of a hard freeze to kill everything off that usually gets killed off by the cold. Who knows, though? One thing is for sure - we aren't alone in our battle, as many, many of our friends and customers have had bouts with similar cold and flu-like symptoms. This one was a doozie.

I haven't been writing here much because I typically try to stay in a positive direction with my blog. I keep the focus on creating and if I am having an 'off' day now and again, I don't mention it and find something else that is positive and creative to discuss here. I like it that way, as not only does it keep me going in a positive direction, but it also may help you all think about some good things to focus on and plan.

Last week and the weekend were tough though. While I thought I was getting better, on Tuesday I lost my voice completely. I called into the 'on call' doctor in our area and was able to get an appointment Wednesday. At that time, there was not a lot of congestion or coughing, and I had no fever so she only gave me a steriod nose spray for my sinuses. But then the 'cold' began to settle into congestion in my lungs and a cough. My sinuses were also swelling and my face became painful at any time that I allowed the over the counter pain killers to wear off. It was time to go back in. Unfortunately, this was on a Saturday night and with the next day being Sunday, the hours at the 'on call' were limited. I tried to get an appointment there and failed to do so, as the lines were busy as soon as they were opened. Living in rural Canada, the next step of action was to head to the hospital to the emergency room to see the doctor on call there. It was our only choice.

We headed to Yarmouth at nearly 1pm. We had waited to see if I could get the appointment at the local center, which didn't open phone lines until 12:30. As I mentioned, that didn't work so there was little choice but to take the 45 minute drive and go to the hospital. When we arrived, the ER was full. There were barely seats for us. We knew it would be a long wait and upon approaching the hospital while driving we saw a helicoptor landing on the pad there. That meant there was another emergency ahead of us.

It took us about an hour to get through the preliminary Triage process - where I was evaluated and 'graded' according to urgency. By the time I was done with that, there were two vacant seats in the corner of the room and we gladly took them. I would spend the next 9+ hours there waiting for my turn.

It was a tough day in the ER. When we came, there was a nice volunteer lady that was encouraging and checking on people while they waited. She was there about half the time and when her shift ended at around 5pm, no one replaced her.

You learn a lot by sitting and observing. I found for myself that my initial feelings of 'oh no' when I saw the many people gradually changed to empathy and compassion. It wasn't just about 'me'. Everyone here had their own story and was suffering their own pain. Even though I was miserable and feeling like my head would explode, I saw that there were others that were worse off than myself. One lady fell and broke her wrist and ankle. Another had a sick child. I thought of the days when my own children were young and I realized how much worse I would feel if I were here with one of them instead of for myself.

Around 7 or 8 I was able to convince Keith to take a drive and go get some dinner. He hadn't eaten anything substantial all day. I wasn't hungry at all and kept a bottle of water, but I asked him to bring me a plain bagel. I knew if he thought I needed something it would convince him to go and take care of himself too. I felt bad that he had to sit there all day with me. I know that is what we do for loved ones, but it is hard to shake that feeling anyway.

During the hour he was gone, I began talking with a chatty lady who had arrived with her husband just after us. I had (blissfully!) found a stray tylenol in my purse and had taken it just before Keith had left and it took the edge off of the pain in my head. We talked for an hour and I heard her story of how her husband had to have an EKG and they were right behind us in line. He had blood work in the morning and had not eaten since breakfast. She was hoping they would be out of there by 10 so he could have a bite before his fast for the test.

We all have a story.

Talking to her made the time go quickly. She was pleasant and it turned out she used to tole paint. She loved hearing about my job and said she just got a coloring book for Christmas and loved it. It relaxed her and was very enjoyable. She told me about her grown children and I told her about mine. It was nice that even though I looked like crap and had no makeup on at all she was surprised that I was 54 years old and had adult kids. Surprisingly, it made me feel better.

We surmised that there was another emergency that had halted the regular inflow of the ER, as there was a new set of Paramedics milling in the hallway. It made me think about things and it also reminded me that it isn't always just about 'me'.

Eventually (around 8:30) the man in front of me was called in. This was after a nearly 2 hour lull in progression. The crisis was apparently over for now, and many of the people waiting actually clapped when we heard his name. We were genuinely happy for him, as he seemed to be suffering from the same ailment as I had and looked a bit miserable.

My own name was called a few minutes later - again to some clapping. It was odd to have strangers cheering us on, and I am sure that part of the joy was the relief that things were once again moving in a good direction. There was hope.

My doctor was there immediately when I got to the 'other side'. She moved quickly and was absolutely wonderful. She asked questions, listened to the answers and mentioned that she also had a sinus infection and understood how painful it was. I could see her eye was as red as mine was, and I was impressed with her compassion and empathy. I had had her before one time when I was there and she was the same - professional yet personal.

I suppose my point for today's post is this - sometimes things take time.

We live in a world of millions of people. Everyone can't be 'first'. While I am sure that there are flaws in the system, I think for the most part, people are doing their best to help. Healthcare is a very difficult job to do. It takes a very special and giving type of individual to take care of others day in and day out. I think we all need to remember that.

Sure - I felt pretty miserable. But when I looked around, I saw there were others who were much worse off than I was. I offered half of my bagel to the chatty ladies' husband, but he declined. He probably thought I was weird. I had the urge to allow the lady with the small child go ahead of me, but she wasn't around when I was called and I was truly exhausted. When we were leaving, we saw them in the lobby of the hospital and she was walking the boy who looked much calmer. He would be fine.

Part of living in a society means that we need to realize that it always isn't about just "us". I think that sometimes we have to forego our own comfort for others who are more in need. I truely hope that all of those who were in that room yesterday got the care they needed. I do commend the nurses and doctors who work there as well. I don't know how they deal with it every day. They are heros in my eyes.

Today I feel slightly better already. I had my first dose of anti-biotic last night and have to get more pills today. The doc said it will take probably three days to start really feeling better, so I am laying low for these next couple to let my body heal. I just wanted to check in with you all and thank everyone for the wonderful wishes and messages you have sent me. It truly makes me feel loved.

I also want to show you a new pattern that Keith put up on the site on Saturday. It is a clock with butterflies and very pretty.

Watch Analog watch Pollinator Table Clock


SLDK660 Butterflies Desk Clock pattern by Keith Fenton.

As for me, I have been thinking about what I am designing next. After a rest, I will get started on some new patterns for both painting and scroll sawing. I think you will like them.

I promise to get back in the swing of things soon. I also promise to rest until I feel better. I truly need that and I hope that I can overcome this cold/flu once and for all. I just wanted to check in here and let you all know that I am on the mend. I also wanted to express my gratitude for my family and friends and for living in a society where we have healthcare services available to us. There are so many that do not. I never want to take that for granted.

I will be back on a regular basis shortly. Until then, have a wonderful day! Happy Monday to you!
 

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#12,541 ·
Scenes from the ER

These last couple of weeks have been kind of a blur. What started with Keith's being 'man sick' (our term for when he gets ill - which isn't often) had spread to me and even the cats have had their sick moments. I suppose it was probably time, as we both hadn't had any real illnesses in what seems like years. Perhaps it was due to the mild on-again-off-again winter we have been experiencing. Maybe there just wasn't enough of a hard freeze to kill everything off that usually gets killed off by the cold. Who knows, though? One thing is for sure - we aren't alone in our battle, as many, many of our friends and customers have had bouts with similar cold and flu-like symptoms. This one was a doozie.

I haven't been writing here much because I typically try to stay in a positive direction with my blog. I keep the focus on creating and if I am having an 'off' day now and again, I don't mention it and find something else that is positive and creative to discuss here. I like it that way, as not only does it keep me going in a positive direction, but it also may help you all think about some good things to focus on and plan.

Last week and the weekend were tough though. While I thought I was getting better, on Tuesday I lost my voice completely. I called into the 'on call' doctor in our area and was able to get an appointment Wednesday. At that time, there was not a lot of congestion or coughing, and I had no fever so she only gave me a steriod nose spray for my sinuses. But then the 'cold' began to settle into congestion in my lungs and a cough. My sinuses were also swelling and my face became painful at any time that I allowed the over the counter pain killers to wear off. It was time to go back in. Unfortunately, this was on a Saturday night and with the next day being Sunday, the hours at the 'on call' were limited. I tried to get an appointment there and failed to do so, as the lines were busy as soon as they were opened. Living in rural Canada, the next step of action was to head to the hospital to the emergency room to see the doctor on call there. It was our only choice.

We headed to Yarmouth at nearly 1pm. We had waited to see if I could get the appointment at the local center, which didn't open phone lines until 12:30. As I mentioned, that didn't work so there was little choice but to take the 45 minute drive and go to the hospital. When we arrived, the ER was full. There were barely seats for us. We knew it would be a long wait and upon approaching the hospital while driving we saw a helicoptor landing on the pad there. That meant there was another emergency ahead of us.

It took us about an hour to get through the preliminary Triage process - where I was evaluated and 'graded' according to urgency. By the time I was done with that, there were two vacant seats in the corner of the room and we gladly took them. I would spend the next 9+ hours there waiting for my turn.

It was a tough day in the ER. When we came, there was a nice volunteer lady that was encouraging and checking on people while they waited. She was there about half the time and when her shift ended at around 5pm, no one replaced her.

You learn a lot by sitting and observing. I found for myself that my initial feelings of 'oh no' when I saw the many people gradually changed to empathy and compassion. It wasn't just about 'me'. Everyone here had their own story and was suffering their own pain. Even though I was miserable and feeling like my head would explode, I saw that there were others that were worse off than myself. One lady fell and broke her wrist and ankle. Another had a sick child. I thought of the days when my own children were young and I realized how much worse I would feel if I were here with one of them instead of for myself.

Around 7 or 8 I was able to convince Keith to take a drive and go get some dinner. He hadn't eaten anything substantial all day. I wasn't hungry at all and kept a bottle of water, but I asked him to bring me a plain bagel. I knew if he thought I needed something it would convince him to go and take care of himself too. I felt bad that he had to sit there all day with me. I know that is what we do for loved ones, but it is hard to shake that feeling anyway.

During the hour he was gone, I began talking with a chatty lady who had arrived with her husband just after us. I had (blissfully!) found a stray tylenol in my purse and had taken it just before Keith had left and it took the edge off of the pain in my head. We talked for an hour and I heard her story of how her husband had to have an EKG and they were right behind us in line. He had blood work in the morning and had not eaten since breakfast. She was hoping they would be out of there by 10 so he could have a bite before his fast for the test.

We all have a story.

Talking to her made the time go quickly. She was pleasant and it turned out she used to tole paint. She loved hearing about my job and said she just got a coloring book for Christmas and loved it. It relaxed her and was very enjoyable. She told me about her grown children and I told her about mine. It was nice that even though I looked like crap and had no makeup on at all she was surprised that I was 54 years old and had adult kids. Surprisingly, it made me feel better.

We surmised that there was another emergency that had halted the regular inflow of the ER, as there was a new set of Paramedics milling in the hallway. It made me think about things and it also reminded me that it isn't always just about 'me'.

Eventually (around 8:30) the man in front of me was called in. This was after a nearly 2 hour lull in progression. The crisis was apparently over for now, and many of the people waiting actually clapped when we heard his name. We were genuinely happy for him, as he seemed to be suffering from the same ailment as I had and looked a bit miserable.

My own name was called a few minutes later - again to some clapping. It was odd to have strangers cheering us on, and I am sure that part of the joy was the relief that things were once again moving in a good direction. There was hope.

My doctor was there immediately when I got to the 'other side'. She moved quickly and was absolutely wonderful. She asked questions, listened to the answers and mentioned that she also had a sinus infection and understood how painful it was. I could see her eye was as red as mine was, and I was impressed with her compassion and empathy. I had had her before one time when I was there and she was the same - professional yet personal.

I suppose my point for today's post is this - sometimes things take time.

We live in a world of millions of people. Everyone can't be 'first'. While I am sure that there are flaws in the system, I think for the most part, people are doing their best to help. Healthcare is a very difficult job to do. It takes a very special and giving type of individual to take care of others day in and day out. I think we all need to remember that.

Sure - I felt pretty miserable. But when I looked around, I saw there were others who were much worse off than I was. I offered half of my bagel to the chatty ladies' husband, but he declined. He probably thought I was weird. I had the urge to allow the lady with the small child go ahead of me, but she wasn't around when I was called and I was truly exhausted. When we were leaving, we saw them in the lobby of the hospital and she was walking the boy who looked much calmer. He would be fine.

Part of living in a society means that we need to realize that it always isn't about just "us". I think that sometimes we have to forego our own comfort for others who are more in need. I truely hope that all of those who were in that room yesterday got the care they needed. I do commend the nurses and doctors who work there as well. I don't know how they deal with it every day. They are heros in my eyes.

Today I feel slightly better already. I had my first dose of anti-biotic last night and have to get more pills today. The doc said it will take probably three days to start really feeling better, so I am laying low for these next couple to let my body heal. I just wanted to check in with you all and thank everyone for the wonderful wishes and messages you have sent me. It truly makes me feel loved.

I also want to show you a new pattern that Keith put up on the site on Saturday. It is a clock with butterflies and very pretty.

Watch Analog watch Pollinator Table Clock


SLDK660 Butterflies Desk Clock pattern by Keith Fenton.

As for me, I have been thinking about what I am designing next. After a rest, I will get started on some new patterns for both painting and scroll sawing. I think you will like them.

I promise to get back in the swing of things soon. I also promise to rest until I feel better. I truly need that and I hope that I can overcome this cold/flu once and for all. I just wanted to check in here and let you all know that I am on the mend. I also wanted to express my gratitude for my family and friends and for living in a society where we have healthcare services available to us. There are so many that do not. I never want to take that for granted.

I will be back on a regular basis shortly. Until then, have a wonderful day! Happy Monday to you!
Good morning Sheila,
I hope that both you and Keith get feeling better soon. Don't rush back as soon as you start feeling better.
Rick
 

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#12,547 ·
Slowly Coming Back - Baby Steps

It seems like forever since I have blogged here. After posting nearly every day for over six years, having two weeks off can feel like an eternity. At least to me it does.

The past week or so I have been busy resting. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, and in my case it definitely is. It takes a bit of effort for me to do 'nothing.' Because I am usually running at full throttle, I find it very difficult to find the 'off' button as far as being active. But for these past couple of weeks, I have had little choice, as whatever illness I acquired has been particularly draining and I have had little energy or ambition to do much of anything at all. It feels so out of character for me, but was out of my hands.

I have read on social media that many of my friends and customers have had various versions of the same illness that seems to be plaguing me. From reading their posts, I surmised that the degree of illness that I am experiencing seems to be falling somewhere in the middle of the scale as far as severity. This is far more than any other cold/flu that I have encountered, yet I feel I am much better off than some of them from what I have read from their stories. No matter what though, I realize that this is something that needs to be respected and that it takes a bit of time to overcome. While I view myself as quite a patient person, I need to remind myself of that in this case and allow it to run its course. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will not wake up one morning and feel 'all better', but that I will rather experience improvement in small increments - baby steps if you will - and I have learned to appreciate any movement whatsoever in that direction. All in good time.

In the mean time I feel the need to at least 'check in' with you all and let you know that I am still alive, and that while I had a small setback the other night in the form of coughing fits, those now have seemed to have passed and I see some improvement every day.

I still have a couple days worth of medication to take, so I am hopeful that by the time I am done I am back at the helm here and ready to get back to working and creating. The mere fact that I am getting 'antsy' is a good sign, as for the past couple of weeks I stepped out of character and found myself content to just sit and watch movies while dozing with a cat or two draped over my lap. But I feel that phase coming to an end.

Today I awoke feeling not as far from 'normal'. While I am still on the antibiotics, I have stopped taking most everything else. That has helped lift the hazy cloud that I have had hanging over me these past weeks and I am thinking a bit more clearly.

I am seeing signs of my ambition returning as well, as I am beginning to get excited over a couple of ideas that I had hatched while being ill. As I feel my energy slowly returning, I also feel my enthusiasm rising. I am beginning to feel much like myself again. I was wondering if I ever would.

It may still take me a couple of days to get back into the swing of things. When I do, I promise to go slowly. I need to respect what my body tells it and when it says time to rest, I certainly will do so. I don't want to push too hard and suffer a relapse.

But I do feel that it is time to move forward. While my body was healing, my brain was certainly not idle. If anything, slowing down for these weeks allowed me to sort my thoughts and plan some things out that look to bring promise to our business as well as the future. I have several new exciting ideas to develop and I think I may be on to something fun. Had I not fallen ill, these ideas may have slipped by in the whirlwind of thoughts that usually go through my head. So maybe there was a purpose for this break after all.

I don't really have a photo of these new ideas to share with you yet. They are still on the drawing board. But I will share one of one of my 'staff' of nurses taking a well-needed break.

Cat Carnivore Felidae Comfort Whiskers


That's "Nurse Pancakes". He has been loyally by my side throughout the duration. He and Richard have taken turns sitting on me for the past couple of weeks. I am rarely without one or the other on top of my lap and legs - sometimes both. I believe that they knew that it would be the only way to keep me from jumping up every couple of minutes to do something. They are much smarter than we give them credit for being. I am grateful to have them in my life.

Thank you all for the well wishes you have sent me. I may not have been able to answer them all, but they did make me feel missed and loved. I will be back in a day or two and hopefully begin posting regularly again soon. I am excited to share my new ideas with you all and see how they are received. I think you will like them.

Have a wonderful day and a great week ahead. Happy Monday to you all!
 

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#12,548 ·
Slowly Coming Back - Baby Steps

It seems like forever since I have blogged here. After posting nearly every day for over six years, having two weeks off can feel like an eternity. At least to me it does.

The past week or so I have been busy resting. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, and in my case it definitely is. It takes a bit of effort for me to do 'nothing.' Because I am usually running at full throttle, I find it very difficult to find the 'off' button as far as being active. But for these past couple of weeks, I have had little choice, as whatever illness I acquired has been particularly draining and I have had little energy or ambition to do much of anything at all. It feels so out of character for me, but was out of my hands.

I have read on social media that many of my friends and customers have had various versions of the same illness that seems to be plaguing me. From reading their posts, I surmised that the degree of illness that I am experiencing seems to be falling somewhere in the middle of the scale as far as severity. This is far more than any other cold/flu that I have encountered, yet I feel I am much better off than some of them from what I have read from their stories. No matter what though, I realize that this is something that needs to be respected and that it takes a bit of time to overcome. While I view myself as quite a patient person, I need to remind myself of that in this case and allow it to run its course. I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will not wake up one morning and feel 'all better', but that I will rather experience improvement in small increments - baby steps if you will - and I have learned to appreciate any movement whatsoever in that direction. All in good time.

In the mean time I feel the need to at least 'check in' with you all and let you know that I am still alive, and that while I had a small setback the other night in the form of coughing fits, those now have seemed to have passed and I see some improvement every day.

I still have a couple days worth of medication to take, so I am hopeful that by the time I am done I am back at the helm here and ready to get back to working and creating. The mere fact that I am getting 'antsy' is a good sign, as for the past couple of weeks I stepped out of character and found myself content to just sit and watch movies while dozing with a cat or two draped over my lap. But I feel that phase coming to an end.

Today I awoke feeling not as far from 'normal'. While I am still on the antibiotics, I have stopped taking most everything else. That has helped lift the hazy cloud that I have had hanging over me these past weeks and I am thinking a bit more clearly.

I am seeing signs of my ambition returning as well, as I am beginning to get excited over a couple of ideas that I had hatched while being ill. As I feel my energy slowly returning, I also feel my enthusiasm rising. I am beginning to feel much like myself again. I was wondering if I ever would.

It may still take me a couple of days to get back into the swing of things. When I do, I promise to go slowly. I need to respect what my body tells it and when it says time to rest, I certainly will do so. I don't want to push too hard and suffer a relapse.

But I do feel that it is time to move forward. While my body was healing, my brain was certainly not idle. If anything, slowing down for these weeks allowed me to sort my thoughts and plan some things out that look to bring promise to our business as well as the future. I have several new exciting ideas to develop and I think I may be on to something fun. Had I not fallen ill, these ideas may have slipped by in the whirlwind of thoughts that usually go through my head. So maybe there was a purpose for this break after all.

I don't really have a photo of these new ideas to share with you yet. They are still on the drawing board. But I will share one of one of my 'staff' of nurses taking a well-needed break.

Cat Carnivore Felidae Comfort Whiskers


That's "Nurse Pancakes". He has been loyally by my side throughout the duration. He and Richard have taken turns sitting on me for the past couple of weeks. I am rarely without one or the other on top of my lap and legs - sometimes both. I believe that they knew that it would be the only way to keep me from jumping up every couple of minutes to do something. They are much smarter than we give them credit for being. I am grateful to have them in my life.

Thank you all for the well wishes you have sent me. I may not have been able to answer them all, but they did make me feel missed and loved. I will be back in a day or two and hopefully begin posting regularly again soon. I am excited to share my new ideas with you all and see how they are received. I think you will like them.

Have a wonderful day and a great week ahead. Happy Monday to you all!
You'll be 100% soon, and you'll be full throttle. Finish the chicken soup. :)
 

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#12,557 ·
Back to the Routine

I'm Baaaaaack!

While I felt the break was much-needed, I can't tell you how good it feels to be back to a routine again. I don't think I had a time in the six years that I have been writing when I had so much time off. I certainly haven't been as sick as I was these past few weeks. It seems as if the entire month of March was a blur of cold remedies, doctors and naps. It is so out of character for me! But I am glad to say that I feel pretty safe in saying "I am on the other side of this" and pretty much back to normal.

I could have probably posted a bit more last week, but I promised everyone as well as myself that I would take it slow and not push too hard. Blogging here takes probably about an hour or more each day and I thought that the time was better spent catching up to things and resting. Besides - I try to remain positive and focus on being creative here and I am sure that you all didn't want to read about my ailments. I thought it best to wait until I have some new things to share with you. (And boy! Do I ever!)

Leave it to me to find something positive in being sick for three weeks! But I certainly think I did. The time off allowed me to rest my head as well as my body and while I was doing so, I came up with some ideas for several different kinds of projects that I am designing. I also am working with some other designers on their own projects and providing some new painting surfaces for them to work on. Oh - and I have a project that I am doing for Interactive Artist Magazine that I will be finishing up later this week or early next week. It is all wonderful and offers so many great new opportunities for me to work in different medias and expand the business.

For today's post, I will give you a sneak peek at some of the things I am doing. I'll elaborate on each of them more in upcoming posts as this one will be the length of a book otherwise. I also have a day full of cutting orders and I need to get going on that as early as I can, so I want to keep this post as short as possible. So let's get to the previews:

First off, I though of an entire new line of patterns for my scrolling followers. While this one may take a few more weeks to really get ready to launch, I promise if you are all patient with me I don't think you will get disappointed. I am starting with a robin and a crocus, but I have many more elements left to add. I think it will be just the thing to welcome in the spring and summer months and beyond:

Bird White Gesture Beak Petal


Next up, I FINALLY got a chance to break out my new Mission Gold Watercolor paints and play around with them. Those of you who paint know how "different" it is to paint with watercolors, and while I attended one class over 15 years ago, I haven't really experimented with them since. I used some of the time I was off to do some research and watch some YouTube videos and teach myself the basics of this amazing medium. Last week, after I was feeling better, I was brave enough to actually give them a try and I am not unhappy with the results. I just painted some samples from pictures I found on the computer, but in the process I did lots of mixing and worked on shading and values and I feel that I am kind of getting the hang of them. I am just about ready to start my own design with them, too and that will be coming the the following days. I hope you like what I did so far:

Food Recipe Ingredient Creative arts Seafood


Next up was needlework. While for the most part when I was off, I wasn't up to doing much, I did have a couple of days when I was able to sit and embroider for a bit. I had shown you my seahorse design previously, and I decided to re-do it on the piece of fabric that I hand-dyed for the kits I am going to be making. I took more photos while doing this and I really was able to do a better job the second time around. There will be several more elements to this first kit that I will be creating, and it will take a little more time, but it will come eventually and hopefully it will be something that you will all like. I have so many ideas to share using this medium and I can't wait to see them come to reality.

Bird Textile Wood Creative arts Feather


And finally - I have been working on my "12 Days" ornaments. I am still on my goal of getting them out the door the first week of each month and I will hopefully have my "Day 4" ornaments completed by tomorrow. They are so much fun to do and everyone on my list seems to really enjoy getting them each month!

Table Dishware Gear Font Art


Add to the above that I have been collaborating with several friend who design and working on wood pieces, graphics and other creative ventures as well as doing my taxes (for TWO countries - both the USA and Canada) and when I look back I see that I got pretty much accomplished. I suppose the month wasn't wasted after all!

One final thing that being out of commission reminded me of was of how fortunate I am to have the life I do. As I recovered from my flu/cold and felt better each day, I once again remembered how much I appreciate not only my work that I do, but also my health. So many of you who are both customers and friends sent so many nice notes and good thoughts. It really made me feel good to know that what I do here has a positive impact on others. I couldn't ask for more.

With that said, I need to sign off for today and get to my work today. I have lots of things to cut and I want to get an early start so I can do some painting later on this afternoon.

Thank you all who are such a wonderful support to me in all of my endeavors. Your friendships and encouragement imakes my life full of love and joy! I appreciate you all so much! I hope to bring that right back to you by inspiring your creativity.

Have a wonderful Monday!
 

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#12,558 ·
Back to the Routine

I'm Baaaaaack!

While I felt the break was much-needed, I can't tell you how good it feels to be back to a routine again. I don't think I had a time in the six years that I have been writing when I had so much time off. I certainly haven't been as sick as I was these past few weeks. It seems as if the entire month of March was a blur of cold remedies, doctors and naps. It is so out of character for me! But I am glad to say that I feel pretty safe in saying "I am on the other side of this" and pretty much back to normal.

I could have probably posted a bit more last week, but I promised everyone as well as myself that I would take it slow and not push too hard. Blogging here takes probably about an hour or more each day and I thought that the time was better spent catching up to things and resting. Besides - I try to remain positive and focus on being creative here and I am sure that you all didn't want to read about my ailments. I thought it best to wait until I have some new things to share with you. (And boy! Do I ever!)

Leave it to me to find something positive in being sick for three weeks! But I certainly think I did. The time off allowed me to rest my head as well as my body and while I was doing so, I came up with some ideas for several different kinds of projects that I am designing. I also am working with some other designers on their own projects and providing some new painting surfaces for them to work on. Oh - and I have a project that I am doing for Interactive Artist Magazine that I will be finishing up later this week or early next week. It is all wonderful and offers so many great new opportunities for me to work in different medias and expand the business.

For today's post, I will give you a sneak peek at some of the things I am doing. I'll elaborate on each of them more in upcoming posts as this one will be the length of a book otherwise. I also have a day full of cutting orders and I need to get going on that as early as I can, so I want to keep this post as short as possible. So let's get to the previews:

First off, I though of an entire new line of patterns for my scrolling followers. While this one may take a few more weeks to really get ready to launch, I promise if you are all patient with me I don't think you will get disappointed. I am starting with a robin and a crocus, but I have many more elements left to add. I think it will be just the thing to welcome in the spring and summer months and beyond:

Bird White Gesture Beak Petal


Next up, I FINALLY got a chance to break out my new Mission Gold Watercolor paints and play around with them. Those of you who paint know how "different" it is to paint with watercolors, and while I attended one class over 15 years ago, I haven't really experimented with them since. I used some of the time I was off to do some research and watch some YouTube videos and teach myself the basics of this amazing medium. Last week, after I was feeling better, I was brave enough to actually give them a try and I am not unhappy with the results. I just painted some samples from pictures I found on the computer, but in the process I did lots of mixing and worked on shading and values and I feel that I am kind of getting the hang of them. I am just about ready to start my own design with them, too and that will be coming the the following days. I hope you like what I did so far:

Food Recipe Ingredient Creative arts Seafood


Next up was needlework. While for the most part when I was off, I wasn't up to doing much, I did have a couple of days when I was able to sit and embroider for a bit. I had shown you my seahorse design previously, and I decided to re-do it on the piece of fabric that I hand-dyed for the kits I am going to be making. I took more photos while doing this and I really was able to do a better job the second time around. There will be several more elements to this first kit that I will be creating, and it will take a little more time, but it will come eventually and hopefully it will be something that you will all like. I have so many ideas to share using this medium and I can't wait to see them come to reality.

Bird Textile Wood Creative arts Feather


And finally - I have been working on my "12 Days" ornaments. I am still on my goal of getting them out the door the first week of each month and I will hopefully have my "Day 4" ornaments completed by tomorrow. They are so much fun to do and everyone on my list seems to really enjoy getting them each month!

Table Dishware Gear Font Art


Add to the above that I have been collaborating with several friend who design and working on wood pieces, graphics and other creative ventures as well as doing my taxes (for TWO countries - both the USA and Canada) and when I look back I see that I got pretty much accomplished. I suppose the month wasn't wasted after all!

One final thing that being out of commission reminded me of was of how fortunate I am to have the life I do. As I recovered from my flu/cold and felt better each day, I once again remembered how much I appreciate not only my work that I do, but also my health. So many of you who are both customers and friends sent so many nice notes and good thoughts. It really made me feel good to know that what I do here has a positive impact on others. I couldn't ask for more.

With that said, I need to sign off for today and get to my work today. I have lots of things to cut and I want to get an early start so I can do some painting later on this afternoon.

Thank you all who are such a wonderful support to me in all of my endeavors. Your friendships and encouragement imakes my life full of love and joy! I appreciate you all so much! I hope to bring that right back to you by inspiring your creativity.

Have a wonderful Monday!
Good to hear you're feeling better. Carry on Sheila.
 

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#12,562 ·
Back to "Normal"

"Things happen for a reason."

I have heard that saying for probably most of my life. I used to think it was something people just said to placate others when things weren't going as they had planned, but the older I get, the more that I feel that perhaps there is some merit to it after all. Maybe it is that I just want it to be that way, so that in my mind I can organize and make sense of things that cause chaos in our lives. It is hard to tell.

These past few weeks have certainly been different for me. If nothing else, just the lack of posting my blog here really was a change for me. After six years of daily posting, it has become quite a habit. (Perhaps I have been living with cats so long that I am picking up on their characteristics. I like 'routine'.) Not posting has felt really strange. I have mentioned many times that I am here not only to share things with you, but also to add some structure to my life. I find that mapping out my day here each morning really does help me reach my goals and accomplish much more than if I only had to answer to my self. The simple act of writing things down here for you all to see instills a sense of responsibility not only to myself, but to you all as well. And while you are a very forgiving audience and don't hold me to completing every single task I state that I will do (thank you for that!) I find myself pushing a little harder when I otherwise would run out of steam, just so I have something to show the following day. It really is a good way to keep myself on schedule and in line.

Along the way, we all learn. By sharing techniques and ideas and new products and ways to do things, I feel we all benefit from each other and encourage each other to grow and try new things. It is all good. I missed that interaction with you this past month or so. It is good to be back.

Yesterday I had my first really full day of work. While the past several weeks have really slowed down with orders, it seems that these last couple of days things have once again picked up. I couldn't help but notice the serendipity of that. Had I been busy over the weeks I was ill, I would have had the added guilt of not being able to fill my orders. I had to fight the urge to worry about it and take each "quiet day" as a gift. (Here's a secret - I even caught myself thinking "good" when I checked for orders one day and there were none other than a few PDF patterns! Who would have thought??) But now that I am back in commission, I am happy to have the work.

I spent all day cutting yesterday. These are the orders going out:

Wood Tableware Food Cuisine Plate


I did a FEW extra pieces, but not many. By the time I cleaned everything up after 7pm, I had a couple of additional orders that I will be cutting today.

Yes! Things are back to "normal"!

Once again I hope to get some painting time tonight. I also need to finish up the designs that I showed you all yesterday. So many directions to head into! The days just got shorter again! <smile>

It feels great to be busy and back at it. While I did need the rest, I found that the hours seemed much longer than usual. Funny how that works.

We have a dusting of snow on the ground this morning. I am hoping to get my car out by next week or so and hope that this is pretty much the end of it. After all, it is April. Winter had its chance.

Have a wonderful day today. I hope you find something to feed your creative souls. I know I will!

Happy Tuesday!
 

Attachments

#12,563 ·
Back to "Normal"

"Things happen for a reason."

I have heard that saying for probably most of my life. I used to think it was something people just said to placate others when things weren't going as they had planned, but the older I get, the more that I feel that perhaps there is some merit to it after all. Maybe it is that I just want it to be that way, so that in my mind I can organize and make sense of things that cause chaos in our lives. It is hard to tell.

These past few weeks have certainly been different for me. If nothing else, just the lack of posting my blog here really was a change for me. After six years of daily posting, it has become quite a habit. (Perhaps I have been living with cats so long that I am picking up on their characteristics. I like 'routine'.) Not posting has felt really strange. I have mentioned many times that I am here not only to share things with you, but also to add some structure to my life. I find that mapping out my day here each morning really does help me reach my goals and accomplish much more than if I only had to answer to my self. The simple act of writing things down here for you all to see instills a sense of responsibility not only to myself, but to you all as well. And while you are a very forgiving audience and don't hold me to completing every single task I state that I will do (thank you for that!) I find myself pushing a little harder when I otherwise would run out of steam, just so I have something to show the following day. It really is a good way to keep myself on schedule and in line.

Along the way, we all learn. By sharing techniques and ideas and new products and ways to do things, I feel we all benefit from each other and encourage each other to grow and try new things. It is all good. I missed that interaction with you this past month or so. It is good to be back.

Yesterday I had my first really full day of work. While the past several weeks have really slowed down with orders, it seems that these last couple of days things have once again picked up. I couldn't help but notice the serendipity of that. Had I been busy over the weeks I was ill, I would have had the added guilt of not being able to fill my orders. I had to fight the urge to worry about it and take each "quiet day" as a gift. (Here's a secret - I even caught myself thinking "good" when I checked for orders one day and there were none other than a few PDF patterns! Who would have thought??) But now that I am back in commission, I am happy to have the work.

I spent all day cutting yesterday. These are the orders going out:

Wood Tableware Food Cuisine Plate


I did a FEW extra pieces, but not many. By the time I cleaned everything up after 7pm, I had a couple of additional orders that I will be cutting today.

Yes! Things are back to "normal"!

Once again I hope to get some painting time tonight. I also need to finish up the designs that I showed you all yesterday. So many directions to head into! The days just got shorter again! <smile>

It feels great to be busy and back at it. While I did need the rest, I found that the hours seemed much longer than usual. Funny how that works.

We have a dusting of snow on the ground this morning. I am hoping to get my car out by next week or so and hope that this is pretty much the end of it. After all, it is April. Winter had its chance.

Have a wonderful day today. I hope you find something to feed your creative souls. I know I will!

Happy Tuesday!
Good morning Sheila. It is great to have you back. Hope Keith is feeling better too. I really missed having my coffee while reading your post.
Rick
 

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#12,568 ·
Developing Your Own Sense of Style

I did a funny thing yesterday. I wrote a blog in the morning and while I posted it on Lumberjocks (the woodworking site) I forgot to post it on my own site, Facebook, or any of the other places that I usually share it. I suppose I am not quite back to 'normal' after all!

I am finding that getting back into stride is a little bit more of a process than I would have thought. It seems that sometimes once our general routine is changed or suspended, it isn't always easy to go back to how things were. New habits and routines are formed and it takes a conscious effort to decided which direction to head - the old or the 'new'.

While I was down with my cold, I didn't really feel like creating. That alone tells you how sick I was. With all the excitement of the many projects that I have planned, I found my energy level was so low that I had little drive or ambition to do much. I did what was required and little more. I also took several naps. I think this was necessary though, as I was not sleeping very well at night, so I would wake up tired.

But as I began feeling better and still wasn't up for painting or drawing or cutting on the scroll saw, I began watching many of the instructional videos on the internet which taught various techniques in several different medias. Not only did this make good use of my time, but it introduced me to many new ways of creating and showed me some alternative ways to do things that I was already familiar with doing. It was not only inspiring, but I feel that it made me even more excited about what I do. There is always something new to learn.

Little by little, as I got better my enthusiasm once again returned. I have more ideas than ever for new projects and I can't wait to get to all of them. I think you will like them as well.

This experience reminded me just how valuable it is to learn from several different teachers. The cumulative knowledge you gain from several teaching the same technique will not only give you the greatest amount of resources to pull on, but it will also help you develop a style of your own, by picking and choosing your favorite methods or techniques to create.

We all have our favorite genre or teacher. But when we are creating our own designs, we don't want to be a cookie cutter copy of those we admire. We want to develop our own unique style and we want to be recognized not for copying someone else, but for our own individuality and direction. For most of us, it takes years of learning and sampling from many different individuals and our own style develops over a lengthy process. It doesn't happen overnight.

I began designing painting and scroll saw patterns when I began thinking beyond the patterns that were in front of me. After I learned the basic techniques, I began to deviate from the patterns little by little. Before long, I found that I didn't really need patterns at all, and took the step of creating my own designs. To me, this was a satisfying extension of an already enjoyable past time. It began at a very early age and it has evolved over many years of making things. It is, I feel, what I was meant to do.

I understand that designing is not for everyone. I have known many, many very talented artists and craftspeople who will only create from a pattern. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Without people like that, I wouldn't have a business. I, myself like to do that from time to time when my brain is weary. Besides - there are so many wonderful designers that I admire and I love to create their work. I don't think I will ever stop making the designs of others or buying patterns. It is part of what makes me "me".

Yesterday I spent the bulk of the day cutting again. I was fortunate to have some more wood kits ordered, and it was not a hardship to spend the day at the saw. As usual, I had my headphones on and my favorite music playing and I was in my "happy place". Keith even helped with dinner, which was a big bonus!

After dinner, I cleaned things up and it was probably close to 9pm before I settled. But I wanted to work on my "Day 4" ornaments from Lynne Andrews' "12 Days of Christmas" project that I am making. For those who haven't read, I am making six sets for some close friends and family (and one for me!) and painting one "Day" a month to send to them throughout the year. The 12th ornament will be done in December - just in time for Christmas. (You can join my Facebook group that I started to join in or just watch our progress here: 12 Days of Christmas Ornaments by Lynne Andrews - We are Making Them! It is a wonderful group and we are really enjoying the process.

I am getting close to finishing up my Day 4 ornaments and hopefully I will do so in the next couple of days. I love them and I think they are looking really nice:

Dishware Tableware Table Serveware Art


The entire set is going to be beautiful together! (ALL of Lynne's designs are amazing!)

I have cut probably over 2000 of these ornaments for the members of the group and I must say, doing so has improved my scroll sawing skills a great deal. Those of you who scroll know that cutting a 'perfect' circle can be a challenge, but after doing a couple of thousand of them, it is just about second nature to me. I have very few 'boo-boos' and I am very proud of the quality of the pieces that I offer. It is all good.

I am going to sign off for now, as I need to get my orders packed so I can post them today. Then I have the day to work on a new project that I am designing for an online magazine. More to come on that tomorrow. :) Hopefully I will remember to post today's entry everywhere it should be!

It is bright and sunny here in Nova Scotia today, albeit a bit cool. But I love the sunshine and I look forward to what the day will bring. I hope you all have a wonderful day too. Remember to sample all that the world has to offer. It will enrich your lives and help you develop your own sense of style.

Happy Wednesday to you all!
 

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#12,569 ·
Overcoming Self-Doubt

As an artist, I am filled with self-doubt.

I am not saying that to gain your pity or sympathy, or to fish for compliments, but I truly feel that way. It isn't that I don't like or enjoy what I create. Most of the time, I am pretty satisfied with my accomplishments. The longer that I do this (create and design) the more I understand that there are very, very few people who are able to pick up a certain type of media and create a "masterpiece" with little effort. As with most things in this life, excellence is the result of many hours, days and months of practice and education. One thing I did learn early in my life is "If it is that easy, everyone would be doing it."

I still believe that today.

I often use the analogy that people are like icebergs. It is one of my favorite because it is so applicable to so many aspects of our lives. We only see a small portion of what makes up other individuals, and even though we feel we may know someone intimately, we only see a fraction of them at any given time. And that is only if they allow us to do so.

I feel the same applies to artists and creative people. Most of us don't put our work or creations out into the world until we choose a time that we feel comfortable in doing so. We hide our failures and wait until our work is somewhat acceptable until we feel we are able to show it. I believe the reason behind this is because art and emotional and is created with so much emotion and it is difficult for us to bear our souls to the world for creating art in any form - be it scroll sawing or painting, or needlework or any other type of media - is very judgment. Any artist can tell you that they can receive many compliments on a certain piece, but usually the critique that they recall the most is the not so positive one. I think that is human nature.

Being artists, it is helpful to grow a thick skin and to realize that people don't always like the same thing. (Wouldn't the world be boring if they did?) We need to do what we want to do and filter out the negatives and put on blinders so we can clearly follow our vision. We need to accept that things take time and we not only have to learn to expect (many) failures, but to also embrace them and not look upon them as something negative, but as the opportunity to further our progress and learn from them.

I know - that is easier said than done!

Recently, I purchased a beautiful set of Mission Gold Watercolor paints. (You can find a GREAT price for them here on Amazon - much less than I paid: Mission Gold Watercolor 36 set with Palette.)

Audio equipment Musical instrument accessory Gadget Machine Font


I had seen some pretty watercolors on Pinterest and thought how much I would love to create using that media. I had little experience in using them. Probably 15 years ago I took one class through my painting group in the Chicago area and I found them to be oh, so difficult to use.

I am what you call a "tight painter". I like details and I see no problem with painting every single individual hair on an animal, one at a time. I do this with a brush that has about three hairs on it and I like the amount of control that acrylic paint offers for this purpose.

Watercolors are however a different animal altogether. By their nature, they are wild and free and flowing. They reconstitute after they 'dry' meaning there is a danger of muddying and lifting the paint if it is overworked (which is something I sometimes can do as a tight painter). The entire process of painting with them is as different from acrylics as night and day. They can be a real challenge.

So why would I want to subject myself to the torture of learning this new process?

The answer is easy - I want to keep growing and improving as an artist and designer.

The longer I do what I do, the more I find I need and want to learn. To me, the destination isn't always the reward, but the pleasure in the journey itself is what feeds my soul. The process of learning is where I believe my addiction lies. It makes me feel alive and fresh and it is the source of all the thousands of ideas that are swimming around in my head. Each new avenue that I explore opens up yet another world of possibilities and I get so excited about them, that I love to share. Therefore I not only am a pupil, but also a teacher as well. I do believe that the best teachers are still learning themselves.

So after looking at the box of beautiful colors and laying them out in the palette as you see, it took me another three weeks to muster up the courage to try them. (That self-doubt can be a killer!) I don't know why I fear them so, but while I longed to play and create with them, there was a large part of me that didn't want to "mess them up" or "waste" my expensive watercolor paper that I have started to hoard. How silly is that?

I spent much of my time when I wasn't feeling great over the past few weeks seeking out and watching instructional videos on this evasive medium. From the many different teachers, I learned many different tips, methods and techniques just from watching. It got to a point where I no longer was satisfied to SEE others paint with these, I needed to actually try them myself.

I tentatively began painting, just trying something on my own to test the colors:

Flower Petal Gesture Paint Art


While it is OK for a first effort, it really wasn't impressive to me. I loved the bold colors of the watercolors, but achieving value changes 'lights' was more of a challenge than I thought. So I watched more videos and I learned more about how to do that.

My next efforts were a bit better.

Food Recipe Ingredient Creative arts Seafood


I first painted the shell, trying to achieve the soft colors from the vibrant colors of paint. I was much happier with that, and found that I really was enjoying learning to mix a bit. As an acrylic painter with 300+ colors to choose from, mixing was something that was very unfamiliar to me. But it wasn't that difficult after all. In fact, it was far easier to get the looks that I desired when doing so. Baby steps.

The octopus was a self-challenge of value. I found that doing this semi-monochromatic painting really helped me in learning to control the light and darkness of the paint. There was a bit of mixing done here, but not a great deal. The focus was more on value than color.

As a result of these two practice paintings, I felt good enough to try something a little more complicated. I found a photo of a seahorse and I want to see how realistic I can make it look using this process and layering the colors of the paint. So far, it is coming out good:

Eye Jaw Art Eyelash Creative arts


It is like doing 'micro-surgery' but it is looking pretty nice for a novice.

Remember, this is NOT my comfort zone of painting. I got tired last night and decided (wisely) to stop until later on today. If I learned anything over the years, I know to quit when I get tired. It saves me a lot of frustration and heartache.

I guess the moral of this post is that as an artist, I need to put my fears and self-doubt behind me and try new things - even if I feel that I may fail. If I do, there is probably something that I will learn from that failure, and then the next time I attempt it, it will be a little easier because I will be a little wiser. There is no teacher like experience. It is nearly impossible to improve ourselves if we are afraid to head to uncharted waters and at least try. I think that this applies to many, many aspects of our lives. We have more control over ourselves than we realize. There are some days when we just have to block out the doubters (and our own self-doubt) and do what our heart wants us to do. Not only will it build our self-confidence for the future, but it will make us happier today. Even if we fail we will probably learn something for next time. And that is something that only experience can teach.

I wish you all a wonderful day today. I hope you try something new and exciting that you have been wanting to try. You will be amazed at how exhilirated it will make you feel!

Happy Thursday to you all!
 

Attachments

#12,570 ·
Overcoming Self-Doubt

As an artist, I am filled with self-doubt.

I am not saying that to gain your pity or sympathy, or to fish for compliments, but I truly feel that way. It isn't that I don't like or enjoy what I create. Most of the time, I am pretty satisfied with my accomplishments. The longer that I do this (create and design) the more I understand that there are very, very few people who are able to pick up a certain type of media and create a "masterpiece" with little effort. As with most things in this life, excellence is the result of many hours, days and months of practice and education. One thing I did learn early in my life is "If it is that easy, everyone would be doing it."

I still believe that today.

I often use the analogy that people are like icebergs. It is one of my favorite because it is so applicable to so many aspects of our lives. We only see a small portion of what makes up other individuals, and even though we feel we may know someone intimately, we only see a fraction of them at any given time. And that is only if they allow us to do so.

I feel the same applies to artists and creative people. Most of us don't put our work or creations out into the world until we choose a time that we feel comfortable in doing so. We hide our failures and wait until our work is somewhat acceptable until we feel we are able to show it. I believe the reason behind this is because art and emotional and is created with so much emotion and it is difficult for us to bear our souls to the world for creating art in any form - be it scroll sawing or painting, or needlework or any other type of media - is very judgment. Any artist can tell you that they can receive many compliments on a certain piece, but usually the critique that they recall the most is the not so positive one. I think that is human nature.

Being artists, it is helpful to grow a thick skin and to realize that people don't always like the same thing. (Wouldn't the world be boring if they did?) We need to do what we want to do and filter out the negatives and put on blinders so we can clearly follow our vision. We need to accept that things take time and we not only have to learn to expect (many) failures, but to also embrace them and not look upon them as something negative, but as the opportunity to further our progress and learn from them.

I know - that is easier said than done!

Recently, I purchased a beautiful set of Mission Gold Watercolor paints. (You can find a GREAT price for them here on Amazon - much less than I paid: Mission Gold Watercolor 36 set with Palette.)

Audio equipment Musical instrument accessory Gadget Machine Font


I had seen some pretty watercolors on Pinterest and thought how much I would love to create using that media. I had little experience in using them. Probably 15 years ago I took one class through my painting group in the Chicago area and I found them to be oh, so difficult to use.

I am what you call a "tight painter". I like details and I see no problem with painting every single individual hair on an animal, one at a time. I do this with a brush that has about three hairs on it and I like the amount of control that acrylic paint offers for this purpose.

Watercolors are however a different animal altogether. By their nature, they are wild and free and flowing. They reconstitute after they 'dry' meaning there is a danger of muddying and lifting the paint if it is overworked (which is something I sometimes can do as a tight painter). The entire process of painting with them is as different from acrylics as night and day. They can be a real challenge.

So why would I want to subject myself to the torture of learning this new process?

The answer is easy - I want to keep growing and improving as an artist and designer.

The longer I do what I do, the more I find I need and want to learn. To me, the destination isn't always the reward, but the pleasure in the journey itself is what feeds my soul. The process of learning is where I believe my addiction lies. It makes me feel alive and fresh and it is the source of all the thousands of ideas that are swimming around in my head. Each new avenue that I explore opens up yet another world of possibilities and I get so excited about them, that I love to share. Therefore I not only am a pupil, but also a teacher as well. I do believe that the best teachers are still learning themselves.

So after looking at the box of beautiful colors and laying them out in the palette as you see, it took me another three weeks to muster up the courage to try them. (That self-doubt can be a killer!) I don't know why I fear them so, but while I longed to play and create with them, there was a large part of me that didn't want to "mess them up" or "waste" my expensive watercolor paper that I have started to hoard. How silly is that?

I spent much of my time when I wasn't feeling great over the past few weeks seeking out and watching instructional videos on this evasive medium. From the many different teachers, I learned many different tips, methods and techniques just from watching. It got to a point where I no longer was satisfied to SEE others paint with these, I needed to actually try them myself.

I tentatively began painting, just trying something on my own to test the colors:

Flower Petal Gesture Paint Art


While it is OK for a first effort, it really wasn't impressive to me. I loved the bold colors of the watercolors, but achieving value changes 'lights' was more of a challenge than I thought. So I watched more videos and I learned more about how to do that.

My next efforts were a bit better.

Food Recipe Ingredient Creative arts Seafood


I first painted the shell, trying to achieve the soft colors from the vibrant colors of paint. I was much happier with that, and found that I really was enjoying learning to mix a bit. As an acrylic painter with 300+ colors to choose from, mixing was something that was very unfamiliar to me. But it wasn't that difficult after all. In fact, it was far easier to get the looks that I desired when doing so. Baby steps.

The octopus was a self-challenge of value. I found that doing this semi-monochromatic painting really helped me in learning to control the light and darkness of the paint. There was a bit of mixing done here, but not a great deal. The focus was more on value than color.

As a result of these two practice paintings, I felt good enough to try something a little more complicated. I found a photo of a seahorse and I want to see how realistic I can make it look using this process and layering the colors of the paint. So far, it is coming out good:

Eye Jaw Art Eyelash Creative arts


It is like doing 'micro-surgery' but it is looking pretty nice for a novice.

Remember, this is NOT my comfort zone of painting. I got tired last night and decided (wisely) to stop until later on today. If I learned anything over the years, I know to quit when I get tired. It saves me a lot of frustration and heartache.

I guess the moral of this post is that as an artist, I need to put my fears and self-doubt behind me and try new things - even if I feel that I may fail. If I do, there is probably something that I will learn from that failure, and then the next time I attempt it, it will be a little easier because I will be a little wiser. There is no teacher like experience. It is nearly impossible to improve ourselves if we are afraid to head to uncharted waters and at least try. I think that this applies to many, many aspects of our lives. We have more control over ourselves than we realize. There are some days when we just have to block out the doubters (and our own self-doubt) and do what our heart wants us to do. Not only will it build our self-confidence for the future, but it will make us happier today. Even if we fail we will probably learn something for next time. And that is something that only experience can teach.

I wish you all a wonderful day today. I hope you try something new and exciting that you have been wanting to try. You will be amazed at how exhilirated it will make you feel!

Happy Thursday to you all!
Excellent work, and I think sometimes you under estimate your artistic talents and abilities, but I didn't.
 

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