Randomness

I've had a weird week. Lots of puttering around, not really being able to focus or get my head in a good place. So, instead of trying to write a focused post, here's some random things that are making me happy.

On my desk. New washi tape, yay! I can't wait to play with it. 

And my new 2012 calendar. It's in the shop here. 

Hand painted yarns drying, almost ready to be reskeined and put in the yarn shop. 

Something about rumpled beds make me happy. It just says, "crawl in and get comfy".

Sew Happy!

Sorry for the cheesy pun but I'm sew happy that this week is over! This week was just plain silly and to try to recoup I'm instating a "NO COMPUTER" policy for this weekend. I don't know if I'll be able to do it but I'm sure going to try my damndest. What am I going to DO without the computer this weekend you ask? Well, first I'm going to tackle the mountains of dirty diapers that need to be washed, then I'm going to do some cooking and some eating, perhaps do some knitting, plan a Valentine's party for my daughter's class, I'm definitely going to read and I may try out one or both of these new patterns I just downloaded. (KwikSew 3669 and KwikSew 3659)

I'm in desperate need of some new clothes. Even though I've lost almost all of my pregnancy weight, almost none of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. My body has changed you guys. I've always been a plus size, curvy gal but there are new curves where I didn't think one could have curves. My husband and I are on a major money diet right now so I've decided I need to put some of this fabric I've got to good use. I haven't had the best success with sewing clothes for myself in the past (again because of the curviness) but I'm really ready to give it another shot...I'm seriously tired of my baggy sweatpants. Does anyone have good suggestions for learning to sew clothes that fit?

Alright, so after 5 tonight I'm saying adios for the weekend and if you catch me online after that...Please scold me! Hopefully I'll be back Monday refreshed with lots accomplished! Wish me luck!

Oh yeah, the above illustration is available in the shop. I think it's going to become some project bags soon too...Wouldn't that be fun!?

Giveaway!

My sincerest, heartfelt apologies for my neglecting of this poor blog for so long. I can finally announce that we're expecting our 2nd child in August and thus the reason for my absence. The nausea and sheer exhaustion were enough to put me in serious hibernation for such a long time. It's slowly, slowly getting better and I'm starting to feel a bit like myself again.

I've been promising this giveaway for such a long time and I'm finally getting around to posting about it. I've had a very limited edition series of prints and original drawings available here at the Shiny Squirrel since December. To celebrate (a bit late) I'll be giving away a set of the "girls" shown above. To enter just leave a comment and I'll pick someone at random to receive the prints. (Worth $60!) Deadline is next Thurs. the 5th of February. (OMG, I can't believe next week is February already, somebody slow this ride down!)

A Day in History

The benefits of working at home today included being able to stream the historic events right to my desktop. Not much work was done this morning (hopefully the boss isn't reading) as I watched with pride history being made. The past eight years almost seem like a dream and today the awakening. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said by thousands of others so I'll leave it by saying today was a good day and hopefully a new beginning for America.

Hibernating

It's been far too long since I've written a proper post so I thought it was about darn time. I'm honestly doing a bit of hibernating these days. I feel a bit like a bear who's retreated to his warm cave for the duration of winter. Curled up in bed with a book and some knitting is about the extent of my activities these days. An occasional trip to the kitchen to forage breaks up the monotony but that's about it. I'm in a bit of a post-holiday slump I think. I feel like everything is stuck in the snow, from the cars to my motivation. And there's so. much. snow. The tires are spinning but they just can't get any traction. Maybe that's okay, maybe this is exactly what I need right now. A nice long break to clear my head, refocus and start afresh is the ticket I think. Taking a cue from mother nature to slow down and just be still for awhile. So the shops will remain closed for a time, not sure how long but at least for the foreseeable future.

But, in an effort to not disappear completely I'm going to (try) to post a couple of times a week. I'll most definitely be back later in the week with a giveaway that I promised such a long time ago.

Housekeeping

I just did some much needed updating to the "Must Reads" link list over there to the right. The list of blogs that I read everyday keeps growing and growing. So, if you have a moment check out some of those there blogs. They're all folks that I greatly admire for their talent and creativity.

Creative Block

I fee like I've hit a brick wall today. I don't know if it's the dreary weather that's doing it but I just feel "blah". The day job has been sapping my energy and I'm just sitting here spinning my wheels and getting no-where. Even my computer has picked up on the mood around here and is refusing to send emails because my box is too full. And my office has gotten messy to the point that I'm digging through piles to find things, Time to clean. Ugh. I've got so many ideas running around in my head it seems like they've created a nice log-jam and absolutely nothing is getting through. Trying to manage the need to be creative to earn my paycheck and the want to be creative making my own things is usually a challenge that I enjoy but not today. I just want to curl up with a good book and not think about anything. Okay, I'm done whining for the day. Maybe some hot, homemade soup would do me some good. I think I'll make a trip to the store.

**Made some deliciously creamy chicken noodle soup and served it over mashed potatoes. Seriously the best cure for the mid-week blahs ever! The whole family agreed it was the perfect fare for this wet, cold day. **

Weekend in Pictures

As far as weekends go this one was pretty good...

Halloween lollipop cookies were made. They were rather droopy
looking but tasted delicious.
Then again, you can't really go wrong with anything on a stick.

Leaves were swept off the deck,
Sparkly shoes were scored at a garage sale for 50 cents,
Halloween PJs were made for my little witch,

and gratuitous pug pictures were taken.

Pretty successful I think. The husband and I were even able to have some time alone, which didn't happen hardly ever when we lived in Chicago. We saw a hockey game with my brother and even went to a movie. Wow, when I write it all down, this weekend was pretty jam-packed. No wonder I'm ready for bed.

No progress was made on the shop but there was a lot of shop-related thinking and I think I have some good ideas for new stuff. The house is finally shaping up enough where I think I can start focusing on making things again.

Thanks so much to all who responded to my last post. If anything, I'm just so glad I'm not the only one who has had trouble with responding to comments on blogger. Hopefully they'll come up with a solution in the future. In the meantime, I suppose we'll all make do. :)

We're Busy Bees

Sorry I've been a bit absent the last week, there are lots of big goings on in the JuneCraft household that I can't disclose just quite yet. There hasn't been much time for crafting but I have been working on patterns and drawings for new prints. The pretty new print above is destined to be fabric and probably a gocco print. There are lots of new things in the works for the shop but it'll be a little while before I do another update. (Again because of the mysterious goings on I mentioned) I'm shooting for sometime in August for a smallish update and September for a larger one.

I've also been working on figuring out the logistics of carrying larger amounts of fabric in the shop and for now it just doesn't make financial sense. Mostly because there are soooo many patterns that I want to print. I'll have such a hard time committing to four or five patterns that I would have to in order to print larger quantities. For now I'll continue to order and list smaller amounts (FQs) here and there which will allow me to have lots of patterns and continually update the shop with new stuff. Of course if anyone would like larger amounts we can do a custom order no problem, the same also goes for anything sold out. I'm hoping when Spoonflower comes out of beta things will be much easier, fabric will come quicker, things may get cheaper and hopefully there will be more fabric choices at some point. (I would LOVE to do some linens!)

I must get back to work work but I'll check in again sometime soon!

Favorite Shoes

Last night my husband and I had what he called a "shoe party". It was not nearly as fun as it sounds, mostly because it involved tossing out sad, old shoes that we don't wear anymore. Or in my case those shoes that I buy with the best intentions and just never wear, like that pair of patent red pumps, or the pixie pirate boots. I should really know better! As we were sorting our shoes into "keep" and "toss" piles the husband came across the above shoes. Now most people would take one look at these shoes, which are no longer safe to wear in the rain due to the gaping holes , and promptly throw them in the trash. However, my wonderful, understanding husband gave me a grin and put them into my "keep" pile without even asking. It's just that these shoes are my absolute favorite shoes and he knows it. I don't wear them that often anymore but when I do put them on it's like reconnecting with an old friend, it's like not a day has past since we last spoke. They're special, I guess for some reason or another. I bought them right after my daugther was born and they're the shoes I wore every day when we first moved to Chicago. For some reason these shoes were the only ones that I could wear that didn't make my feet scream with agony after the hike to the train and back every day. At some point after the holes devloped I actually bought a replacement pair that still look brand new because they've only been worn a few times. They just didn't hold a candle to the original pair.

Short story long, this got me to thinking about shoes. Most of my shoes I can recall exactly where I bought them and where I was in my life at the time. They all have some sort of sentimental value and are all hard to get rid of. So, I'm wondering if everyone has this attachment to their shoes. Do you have a favorite pair that should have been thrown away but you just can't bear to? What are your favorite shoes and why? I want to hear your shoe stories!

Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th and continues to have a wonderful long weekend!

Adieu June

Thank you June for the sunshine, the warm breezes, the lovely flowers and the even lovelier birthdays. It was an incredible month and always my favorite. Until next time, Adieu.

Also, thanks so much for the great comments and suggestions on organizing my creative mess. I think the general consensus is that being a creative person it's kind of a futile effort to "organize" in the traditional sense. I think embracing our inner "magpie" as Meridian Ariel so fittingly termed it is a good thing. It does make it a lot more fun later to sort through all the past ideas, like little bits of treasure. There were some very good thoughts however on making those ideas easier to find. A few of my favorites were:

• Using a blackboard above your work area to make lists, or jot down important ideas

• Using photobooks (the sticky kind) to corral loose bits of paper. This is such a great idea, because you can move things around as you please and toss out dud or used ideas at will.

• Keeping a small notebook in lots of different places so you always have somewhere to jot down ideas.

(ie: beside the bed, in the car, in your purse, on your desk, etc.)

As for the print giveaway, I'll be announcing the random winner tomorrow evening. See you all then!

At Polaroid Speed

Things have been busy here... Hectic work hours followed by lots of hours of crafting. I'll have loads of pretty things to show you starting next week. I've been cranking out fabric designs, ideas for new prints and more. We're heading to Iowa for the weekend to spend some much needed time with our families and celebrate the multiple June birthdays. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'll be back next week with goodies. For now, here's a few random polaroids, Enjoy!

In Progress...

Things around here have been a bit slow this week, what with birthdays and hectic work schedules. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's just utterly impossible to do all the things I would like to do and just need to learn to prioritize better. Right now things are in a sad state of "In Progress", like the pretty sock above. The poor thing has been "In Progress" for weeks now, not to mention the two other finished socks that still need mates. The "In Progress" list grows and grows (2 quilts, summer clothes for Brodi, a dress for me, a sweater, three pairs of socks, gocco prints, and on and on) and I wonder when it will ever be finished... Maybe never. I think I'm okay with that. It does keep things interesting and there's always some little project for me to pick up and work on in those fleating, quiet moments. However, winning the lottery would be nice. I could stay home and craft to my hearts content! Although, one probably has to actually play the lottery to win. -Sigh- But, when all is said and done, I have to say I've never been happier. Now is probably one of the best times in my life and I can only hope it keeps getting better! Thanks to my dear friends that pushed me to start my Etsy shop (I'm truly sorry we don't see more of eachother - Again with the hectic schedules!) and the wonderful folks that have purchased things from said shop. You're all the sweetest and I'm so lucky to have you!

When Life Hands you Moldy Lemons...

There are good crafting days and there are bad crafting days. Today was one of the later. I was on vacation from my day job to get some things done around the house and have some much needed alone time. The Pika Package deadline is rapidly approaching and today was also to be for getting my submission ready to go. I knew I was in for it when my only Riso pen broke this morning and it was just all downhill from there. Granted I did get a few things accomplished, just not what I had hoped. However, there is a new digital print ready to go into the shop! This was one of the disasters today that turned out alright. It was a horrible Gocco experience that I turned into a great digital one. In fact, I love that it turned out this way, I'm thrilled with this print! This is a limited edition run of ten. A few will be heading to Pikaland and a few will go into the shop. Enjoy!

I Feel Summer Creeping In...

Very, very slowly summer is arriving. We had an incredibly beautiful Monday, it was 80 degrees and windy. Perfect for kite flying and rock hunting on the beach. Since then, it's been in the 50s and dreary. This has made it very difficult to get motivated to do anything besides curling up in my favorite chair with a cup of tea and a good gothic romance novel. So, for the time being, the photo above with have to suffice and remind me that summer really will be here soon.

In other news, I received my Spoonflower beta invite today! Woo-Hoo! My toes are tingling with excitement and my brain is racing with ideas. This truly opens up so many avenues for me. I'm thinking of custom fabric for coins purses, dolls, pillow, the list goes on and on. What will be my first custom fabric? I've been holding onto this doggie illustration for something special, it could make a really cute summer jumper for Brodi. I may have to have a yard printed.