Someone Call the Mechanic, I've Stalled!!!

Yup... I've stalled... Broke down... Constantly pacing and jittery as hell... Once again I think I've taken on too much (flexed my brave muscle a little too hard), and I think I've burnt myself out leading to another era of depression... Yipee...Now I can feel myself starting to withdraw from the world, and everything is getting that much harder to do again...

Thankfully, some things are wrapping up for me, so I can relax a little bit (hopefully), and get back to what I truly enjoy. Creating!! I got turned down from another store, which really didn't help the terrible week I seem to be having (lots of family stuff going on right now).

But, even though I'd much rather just lie here and wallow, I'm standing up again!! I'm taking the weekend off from thinking about money, or making money with all my cool stuff, and just create. For some reason (don't remember why), I didn't sign up for the market this week, so I have an open weekend ahead of me. I can catch up on sleep, relax, sketch, paint, write, and do whatever I want!

You know what this is?! SELF-CARE!!! Once again I've neglected self-care, and didn't say no, even when I probably should of, and everything just piled up on me. So this weekend I'm digging myself out of all the crap I've buried myself in, and just chillaxing. Maybe I'll go Market Shopping for next year? Who knows!! I am for sure living this weekend on a whim.

I'm also thinking of removing shipping charges for my Etsy shop, just to get myself going!! I've started my Facebook page and finally actually invited people to look at it. And speaking of Etsy, I totally just revamped, re-priced, and removed all shipping charges. Just to get me started. I JUST WANT THAT FIRST SALE!!!!!

Ugh... Anyways, I guess I'm not in as huge a slump as I thought, but I have to say I'm incredibly excited to not have anything to do this weekend. I'll probably do a few sketches, and for sure start sewing a larger bag together for etsy. It's not as big as I originally wanted (ran out of yarn and REALLY need that first sale to keep putting in money), but it's still a lot bigger than my purses/clutches. It also has multiple woven strands of different colours as well.

Oh!!! I also figured out how to weave really neat patterns on my loom. ...some of them I don't like, checkers and diamonds... But I think I can really do something cool and this kind of feels like the next step for it.

So, I wouldn't say that life is looking up, per se, but I have experienced some interesting new techniques that I'm pretty excited to try.

Ciao for now!!! Talk soon!!!

Me weaving in a historically correct outfit:)

My loom on display (and my crazy Mom and Aunt touching it when the sign says not too:P)

Whoops!! Missed a day!!

Oops!!! I already missed a day! To be fair though, I was insanely busy. First Farmer's Market can be marked as a success. Monetary-wise? Nope!! I lost $20 plus gas by going there, but experience? PRICELESS!! ...and hot... Apparently I need SPF 2000 and will be going to my local drug store to find some... UGH!!

As I may have already mentioned, I am of a STRONG Scottish heritage with VERY fair skin. When I was a kid I used to tan wonderfully, but then puberty hit and hhheeeellllloooo sun burns and freckles. Freckles aren't so bad, but the sun burn... OUCH!!! Totally feeling that today!!

But enough about that!! I've had a busy crafty weekend!! Last we spoke it was Friday, and I was FREAKING OUT about Sunday. Well, now I've come through to the other side and I'm still alive!!

The weekend started with Saturday... Turning down a trip to the lake with my hubby and my dogs (:'() to tie up all the loose ends for the next day. And, because I was heading that way anyways, I thought I'd drop by Plato's Closet (and there's a reason I'm naming them specifically) and try to sell off some jeans since it's a consignment store.

So off I went with my tub of jeans, piece of artwork to drop (remember craftivism drop was today), and my list of last minute stuff to do. My first stop was Plato's. First off, even though it's a consignment store, it feels like a regular store in the mall where you're being judged on EVERYTHING. So I dropped off my bin, and they said that they would let me know when they were done, but it would be about half an hour. Sounds good. Mmmmaaayyybbbeee 15 minutes later I saw they were done with my jeans. Turns out they "only accept skinny jeans"... Because that's the ONLY type of jeans that women wear. I took the $2.80, because apparently one pair of shorts I had were short and skanky enough, and my jeans and I walked next door to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. When I dumped that bin of jeans into the bin I was actually THANKED, and given a coupon. And more importantly treated like a human.

So, unless you aspire to be like Mean Girls, DO NOT SHOP AT PLATO'S CLOSET!!! You will regret it.

Anyways thought, when I'm super pissed I tend to do crazy things. So after that I went to the mall, bought a bikini, and dropped my painting in a La Vie En Rose change room. Something I would probably not had the guts to do beforehand. YAY for being angry!!! Then  I grabbed the rest of the stuff I needed for the next day (won't bore you with the details), and went home.

The day of the Farmers Market dawned wet and possibly stormy. It had been cancelled the week before due to the weather (it was intense), but this week the weather held!!

So, like I mentioned before, I didn't really sell anything (my Mom bought a couple of sketches that she really liked), but I met a lot of the other vendours and had some good conversations with people about my product and what I was doing. People seemed excited, but I didn't really have all that much selection, so no takers. 

But that was ok, because I sat on my loom all day, and now I have the start of a small purse/bag for Canada Day. 

Anyways, I'm sticking with the whole "You only fail if you don't try" saying and I'll be right back at 'er next weekend. WITH some sort of shade, and a lot more sunscreen:P

C'ioa for now!!! I'll post again tomorrow to make up for yesterday:P

A Brave New World

Good morning!!!

Has anyone read this book? It's terrible, don't do it. I had to read it in high school and I don't even think that I finished it. It's the expression I love. Trying something new? It's a brave new world!!!

This has kind of been my motto throughout all throughout the last 6 months. It's a brave new world!! Countless times I have stepped out of my comfort zone and, mostly, been rewarded. I took another HUGE step yesterday, by actually wearing what I'm making. That's right, I wore my yellow scarf I made as a head wrap. It looked awesome!! I was terrified to leave the house, but it looked awesome!!

Which is leading me to want to work even harder (and get more wool) because yeah, this is something that people would actually want to wear, and they're versatile!! LOVE IT!!

My big thing is that I keep running out of my product... Aka yarn!! It's kind of mind blowing how much yarn this thing eats up!! A normal size ball will only last for 1 product for a not very wide scarf/headband/whatever my heart can think of.

I've also been pretty busy on the sketching front!! The only thing that I really took away from the critique I went to was to slow down. So, I'm taking my time now and adding in (at least I think I am) a little more small details. It's HARD!!! I rush through everything naturally, so slowing down is almost physically painful for me!! But I have done it, and as a result, my pics are looking better then ever! It's pretty exciting!

Other than that I'm pretty much just continuing to rock out in style school. There's something super fulfilling about dressing to your personality. I mean, to an extent I've always kinda done it, but not really, and DEFINITELY not at work!

Until next time (I promise to have a more food for thoughtish post:P)

Flyin by the Seat of my Pants

HOLY MOLY IT'S WEDNESDAY!!! Tonight is literally the only night I'll have at home to myself, and that's only because I cancelled an event I was supposed to go to... UGH...

So, what have I been doing?? Well, Monday night was my first ever art critique... Ugh... Everyone was super nice, but I feel like I'm still digesting everything... When I said that everything that I had done so far was self taught, it was almost discounted... Like I should go and take some classes right now... If I wanted to take classes I would have by now, I just don't have time. Another suggestion was to join a group. Yeah, this might be fun, but right now I really prefer to work on my skills by myself... Ugh... Just been bugging me ya know:P

Anyways, so that was Monday night and my first ever professional critique. Not too sure if I'd do another. I didn't get home until pretty late on Monday, but as a huge bonus I didn't work until noon yesterday (Tuesday) so I got to sleep off a bit of my unhappiness with life recently.

Now, Monday was also the official start of my Style School, and our power song outfit challenge. This is basically listening to a pre-selected song and picking out an outfit that goes with it. This has really been stoking me up all week and I've really been having fun with it. On Monday the song was Katy Perry's "Roar", to which I responded with my beloved orange top and some semi-shimmery black pants. I REALLY wasn't feeling it at all to be honest. I was SUPER worried about my crit that evening, but whatevs right:P Yesterday, however, I dawned the most colourful outfit I've worn in a lllooonnnggg time! It was super fun! And super weird. I'm not used to giving what I wear more than a once over to make sure there's no terrible stains on it.

Today, however, I had some real fun with it! The song was "I Will Survive," which some of you may or may not know, is sung by a talking pug named Frank on Men in Black 2. My natural reaction to this song? Suit up MIB style!! So much fun!! There's a pic of it down below:P

This whole clothing thing is a whole new side of creative that I haven't even begun to explore! I'm having a real hoot! Who knew right? This was totally something out of left field that I wanted to try out, not  expecting all this. We are also doing exercises to find out what's inside (true personality) so that it can match the outside. First off we had to petition family and friends to come up with three words that best describe us. The response was amazing!! I made a wordcloud for a pump up:P

Anyways, I'm having a super time experiencing and playing with this new type of creativity:) Now to plan my Born to be Wild outfit for tomorrow:D

Men in Black style... With bare feet:P

Feeling Colourful!!

What others think of me:P

Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire

Whew!! Still slogging down that ole road!!

Another busy weekend has come and gone, and it's Monday again... Ugh... As everyone knows, I HATE Mondays. Like a lot. Ugh... Anyways, there's a couple things going on today that are making my Monday slightly better!

First and foremost, Style School has kicked off officially!! Yay!! This is super exciting, and I've been looking forward to it for a lllooonnnnggg time!! ...it has also become very apparent that I need to figure out how to accessorize... Like badly!!

This, however, is not what I'm currently panicking about. I also have my very first Art Critique tonight... AHH!!! I know that I've mentioned it previously, but it seems to have come up wwwaaayyy too fast. Whew!! I still have no idea which piece to bring... Like none... Ugh... I asked my sister on Friday evening which one she liked best, and she picked my tree pic.

Now, if you recall, this was something I sketched out after having a complete and total meltdown. What does this pic mean to me? You might not be able to see it in my artwork, still a rookie here, but I think that it's something that calms me. I love to sketch and paint nature, or things that I think are old and have some history. LOVE history. Hm... Going further into introspection, maybe this is why I'm so obsessed with drawing The Forks. Anyways, my house was built in 1923, and is one of the oldest houses in the neighbourhood. I can only assume that the tree has been there almost as long. That's what drew me to it (no pun intended :P) I guess. Thinking about who planted it, or who watched it grow. How the neighbourhood has changed since it was planted/planted itself. How my little house has changed in that long period of time. Interesting to think about, isn't it?

I think I just solved my own question about my artwork. The bulk of it is history related, which elicits REALLY strong emotions in me that I draw. ...and I just really like large bodies of water... It's a thing, I'm OK with it.

Aside from this being possibly the most scatter-brained post to date, it's also been VERY insightful for me. When I started typing I had no idea why I drew that tree. I didn't know what the concept behind my art was. But, even though I didn't know outright, the answer really doesn't surprise me. It's kind of soothing in a way, and exciting to know that I can change it whenever I want and go in any direction I chose. This is just for me.

I'll let you know how she goes!!! Now I'm not nearly as nervous :)