A Week of Goodbyes

Last week was filled with quite a few goodbyes.
No worries, they were all good (well, one was a bit bittersweet, but I'll get to that).

My most exciting news...I had my first etsy sale!

Persephone was so excited to find out she'd been adopted! She could hardly wait to get into her box!

(Forgive the sad cell phone pic...she refused to even give me time to pull out the big camera).

Chloe and Porridge were sad to say goodbye to their sister...until the next day when they discovered they had also been adopted!

This little monster never even gave me a chance to take a farewell picture. He couldn't wait to get out and start seeing the world!

It makes me so happy to see several of my little creations off to their new homes. I so hope they'll be loved.

My final goodbye of the week was my house. We'd been trying to sell it for a year now, and it finally sold.
We spent every day last week moving out. It was exhausting.
It was really hard saying goodbye to that house. I had a tough time doing the final walkthrough to make sure everything was gone.
It was mine and my husband's first home together, and the home our family began in.
It's a huge relief to have that burden off our shoulders, but it still makes me a bit sad.

Oh well, I know letting that house go only means that greater things are in store for us in the future.
It looks like 2013 is going to be all about letting go and starting with a clean slate. I'm excited to see what possibilities this will open up for me and my family.

(Side note: Thanks to the crazy long hours I had to work packing our stuff, my monster progress was slowed down a lot. Hopefully this week will be much calmer and I'll be able to actually get some things done in the studio!)

I know what we're gonna do today!

I love that cartoon Phineas and Ferb.

I have seven dolls in progress right now!
Faces are sewn, bodies are sewn...and they all just picked the fabrics they want for their arms and legs.
As Phineas would say, "I know what we're gonna do today."

What's all this for?
I'm determined I'm finally going to open an online shop and I'm building up some inventory to do it.
I'm excited. I've only been dreaming of doing this for a few years!

Sock Monkey

Finished the sock monkey commission!
I think she came out pretty cute (and the person I made her for loves her, so even better!)

I'm working away on the pony now. She's giving me a headache (which is why I'm writing this post and not sewing! Lol)
I'd show you progress pictures, but she just looks like a crazy inside out creature right now!
Hopefully she'll look more pony like by the end of this week. :)

This little face got a layer of paint also.
She hasn't decided who she wants to be yet, but I'm hoping she'll agree to something Halloweenish ;)
I think right now she'll just be happy with a body!

Too many things in progress!

I was so happy when I left for vacation.
I had managed to finish off all my projects and had a nice clean desk.

When I got back, I enjoyed the freedom for a couple of days.
I was imagining all the things I could start on and was trying to decide what direction I should go in.

It didn't take long for that to change. ;)

Exciting news though...I got my first two commissions!
I'm considering this my first step towards finally opening an etsy shop.
I've only been dreaming of doing it for forever now.

Here's some photos of what I'm currently working on...

This first guy is a commissioned sock monkey.
He's a bit grumpy right now because he has no face. I don't really blame him.
I'd probably be grumpy too.

 

Next is a pair of eyes belonging to my second commission.

They'll belong to a Rainbow Dash inspired pony.

I've got most of the pattern drawn out so I'll be starting on her as soon as the monkey gets his face.

 

 

This little doll face is patienly waiting to be painted and given a body.

I told her she had to wait until the pony is done.

Thankfully, she seems pretty laid back about the situation. :)

 

 

This little cheshire kitty is sitting in my sketchbook right now, hoping to be turned into a painting.

I have a feeling he's going to expect to become a plushie also.

Demanding little creature.

 

 

And finally, an in progress painting.

This was actually drawn by my husband.

When our son was born, we worked together and painted a huge mural in his nursery.

My husband drew it all and I did the painting.

We had so much fun working on it together...we actually dreamed of doing murals for other people for awhile.

I decided we should try something a little more simple and had him start drawing pictures on canvas for me to paint. I think it's coming out very cute. :)

 

 

I'm not sure if I ever actually shared our son's nursery on this blog. There are SO many pictures of it, that it would take me forever to upload them so I'll just be lazy and link to the craftster post I made about it a few years ago. If you're curious to see it, just look here!

 

 

As you can see, I have lots to do!

Guess I better get back to work.

Hopefully I'll return soon with some finished pictures.

 

Anyone else have too many projects going?

A Love/Hate Relationship

I'm curious, do you guys have a love/hate relationship with your projects?

I love making things, but I find I go through a cycle with my creations...

When I first start on the project, I'm super excited and it's all that I can think about.
Somewhere in the middle, I start getting bored and feeling like I'll never finish it and I just want to be done with the whole thing...
And then suddenly, it starts coming together and I get so excited about it that I work obsessively to finish it.

Anyway, I've been a bit quiet lately because I've just hit the obsessive creating part of the cycle with my current doll.
I was bad last week about it...I didn't even want to get dressed because it would take away from my creating time! (The only exception is if one of my kids need me...they always take priority, of course!)

Here she is in all her pinned together, headless glory!
I can't wait to see how she turns out when she's all finished.
She's a very special gift for an old friend of mine. :)

In other news, Bliss has gone off to participate in the craft show at our local fair.
I'm not getting my hopes up to win anything, but I can't help but feel nervous.
This will be the first time any of my creations have ever been on display for anyone.
I know, it's just a silly little local fair, but still!

Bliss

Today has been such a wonderful day.

I think it's pretty obvious I adore my two kids.
They make me laugh with their silly antics.
They constantly inspire me with their personalities...but they also wear me out!

Today both kids spent the day at my mother-in-law's home.
After weeks of being on the go constantly, my husband and I finally found we had a day together with NO responsibilities.
It was pure bliss.

We went out to lunch at a nice restaurant and strolled around the local outdoor mall
(and nearly melted from the terribly painful heat!).
We finally ended up in Barnes and Noble.
I gathered a stack of artsy books and we found a quiet corner to read and drink overpriced coffee.
I feel SO much better.

It's funny how much we took these "date days" for granted before we had kids.

I'm now back in my art room, waiting for the kids to get home, and doing as much of this as I can before they do...

I am beyond excited about my current project.
It's something I've been dreaming about for years and it's finally coming together.
I can not wait to share it with you guys...
I'm actually so excited, I don't even want to show it until it's completed!

I have so many ideas brewing right now and I'm just dying to start putting it all together.
Hopefully I can rework how I handle my days to make more time for creating.
In the meantime, here's some sketchbook doodles.

Anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend?
Or working on any exciting projects?
I'd love to hear about it!

Work, work, work

Things have been a whirlwind since I wrote last.
I love being a mother to two, but it sure does keep me busy!

Look how big my babies are getting!

I had to spend one week sitting at our house while repairs were being done (so we can put it up for sale!) and then I had to spend the following week at my mom's house while she had repairs done. Those handymen were nice guys, but I was so sick of them after two weeks!

We took a nice mini vacation to St. Louis.
It was lots of fun!
It was the first vacation we've had since we became a family of four...and I'm discovering that it doesn't quite feel like a "vacation" when you're a mom!
I was relieved to get back home to normal days again.
I hated to see my husband go back to work, but it was nice to have quiet days at home with baby Summer again.

In all this, my camera gave up on me.
I took it to the repair shop only to learn that it wasn't worth putting the money into it to fix.
Sure, it was just a point and shoot, but it was one of the nicer models and it certainly wasn't cheap. I'm very disappointed it only lasted a year and a half.
I've picked out a camera to replace it with, but it looks like it'll be my birthday (in September) before I have any hope of buying it.
Luckily, my husband took pity on me and bought me a cheap little camera to get me by.
I simply can not survive without a camera at my side!
For the low price, it's really not a bad little camera. I think I can manage until September.

I have a few little monsters to photograph for you guys...hopefully I can make time for it tomorrow!

Until then, you get a couple of work in progress pictures (a.k.a. "look at Mandy's messy desk!")

This ugly pile are the glove monsters patiently waiting to come to life.

It amuses me to have body parts laying all over my desk!
This is a new doll I've been working on for awhile.
I'm pretty excited to see how she turns out.

What is everyone else up to?
Having a nice summer? Working on anything exciting?
I'd love to hear from you. :)