Paint, stitch, ink, repeat.

I am busy. You may have guessed that by my lack of presence on this blog. Though I have been neglectful I do have some news and work to share with you. 

As I've been mentioning, I have been working on my crafting business and creating a new line of screened tea towels, greeting cards, and embroidered pillows. I will be participating in three craft sales over the next three weeks. As of right now I am nowhere near ready and am nervous but I am doing my best to stay focused and I know that by next Saturday (the first  day of sales) that I will be ready. 

So, the first show. It's the Hippo Craft Fair!

 

The fair takes place in Toronto near Christie and St. Clair Ave. To stay up to date on the information about the fair you can visit their facebook page here. If you're in the hood just drop on by!

The second show is this year's Speakeasy Holiday Sale!

Now, I am no spring chicken at this show. In fact, I'd say I the speakeasy team feels like home to me. It's such a great show to participate in and I'm pumped to have my third display of goods. The sale takes place at the Gladstone Hotel at the corner of Queen Street West and Gladstone Ave. in Toronto. 

 

The third show is the Broadlands Winter Festival and Craft Show! 

 

This show is for all you folks north east of Toronto. From the information the planners have provided it is looking to be much more than just an opportunity to pick up some awesome handiwork, so if you plan on coming to this show don't forget your passport to fun! I'm hoping to get in on some gingerbread action myself.

It's not over yet, my friends! I have more for you to see. I have created two teeny weeny itty bitty paintings for a great show that is opening this Saturday the 19th of November at INDEXG gallery just north of the Gladstone Hotel on Gladstone ave.

 

The idea behind the show is that each participant creates art on one of many identical wood blocks provided by the gallery. They are about the size of a fudgy awesome brownie, hence the name. It's all in the name of making affordable art. None of the art at the show will be over $100 and may even be priced as low as $30. From the preview images on the event's blog it's working out to be a really unique show. The show is opening this Saturday the 19th from 3-6, running until the 18th of December. New artists always welcome throughout the month, so if you've got an itch to paint something tiny just email mail@indexg.com to arrange a brownie pick up and get to work!  

 Here are mine. Tres cute, n'est pas?

Phew! I think that's enough for the evening. More soon, and next time I will show off some product! I hope to see you at one of these shows!

 

Got my balls in the air.

I live my life open to imagination and happiness

through my unique view of the world.

I am fearless, optimistic, and take on any challenge,

always growing, learning, and bettering myself.

I wear my heart on my sleeve

and show my true colours.

This, folks, is my brand spanking new, one of a kind mantra. It's a great example of the fantastic-ness I was able to absorb from my class. Not only did I learn about the financial side of my work, I also learned about myself as a person. How was I able to do anything without defined values that I live my life by and align my work to? It was by far one of the hardest things I've had to do, but I feel much more grounded knowing exactly what I deem most important in everything. When I get frustrated, overwhelmed, or down-trodden, from now on I will go back to my mantra to remind myself why I do what I do in the first place. I am still working on my mission statement and vision but those will also help too. The fact is that it's gettin', it's gettin', it's gettin' kinda hectic in here. All good, of course. I have secured three craft shows so far for the holiday season, which means that I've got to start producing things to sell. This time, I'm working to make money too and I think *fingers crossed* it may finally happen this time. 

Here's a shot of some rough work...

...that I refine into final line work....

...and then inked and ready for screen.

I am really looking forward to throwing myself into screen printing. It's new, it's exciting, and it's inspiring to me. This is just the beginning, really, and I can't wait to really explore it. I'm also continuing my embroidery, and continue to add new stitches to my arsenal. I'm hoping to get a bunch of decorative pillows completed to sell over the holidays. Here's a quick preview... what do you think so far?

Now, this is where the mantra comes in handy. The craft shows and prepping for them is not the only project on the go. Perhaps I'm feeling inspired by my new day job (that I actually really like) but I've taken on three more projects (albeit two are fairly small). I'm going to HAVE to put my nose to the grindstone, simply because I promised I would. I'm hoping that everything goes peaches and cream and that I can keep my balls in the air. 

I just said balls.