Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, Part Two

Time to rejoice, people, the coral branches have officially been handed over to their new owner - and no, there isn't a trace of empty nest syndrom in sight in case any of you were wondering.. which I know you weren't because I'm way to scary to have any of you ask me a stupid question like that. Michael, the owner, loves loves loves them and is planning to set them up in his new display case dripping in jewelry within the next few weeks. So for all you Jersey residents, head down to Bodega in Asbury Park in a couple of weeks to see my beautiful work - and yes, they are beautiful.

As for the shop, it took me like 3 hours tuesday night to upload those pictures of the rings, but, according to Google Analytics (which I'm still not sure I'm reading correctly, but, I digress) they created alot of foot traffic which is the whole point. Also, I got a convo today from another Etsy seller telling me she included one of my Built In Grins in her Treasury.. woah. if that's not a compliment, I don't know what is. I'm hoping to get the sales back up though.. I just finished a new pattern for a Jelly Baby that I'm planning to make in Red, Orange, and Yellow. Those won't get posted until a prototype has been made for all three. So far I only have Red... but trust me, he's nothing to sneeze at. He will slay you with his cuteness.

AND in browsing through the craft books in my local Barnes & Noble, I had a brainstorm which, although I'm not totally comfortable talking about right now because I'm hugely paranoid and a complete basket case when it comes to talking about ideas before they're fully baked, I think is going to really sky-rocket the business..

Oh, and if it doesn't, I do have a fall back plan... I'm calling it "Closet Kitsch"
And the rest, guys and gals, I'm leaving to your imagination.

Mondays...

So today's the day I jump back in the saddle. After breakfast, I'll be picking those coral branches back up and showing them who's boss. I'm excited to get started again - I have a good feeling about them this time.

Speaking of good feelings, I sold another item this morning on Etsy - one of my whales with a crown. Looks like I'll be making another one of those later. This whole thing is too exciting for words. I'm printing the new business cards today, as well.. and that's exciting in and of itself.

Part of me wishes I could sit here all day blogging and zoning out and eating peanut butter cups... but the rest of me knows I'm a girl trying to make her way in the world, and that takes work. Though, the peanut butter cups can stay.

Eat Your Vegetables.

So it seems I've sold my first item - Alice, one of my sock monkeys. She's headed off this Saturday to her new home and is quite excited about it. Not as excited as I am to have sold something, but we can't all be as jolly as me, can we?

In other news, I developed a new idea and a new pattern yesterday. It's a peapod with three peas and the one in the middle is a wee bit different than the other two.

Not only is it absolutely adorable, but it's a gentile reminder that it's okay to be different in a world full of mundane assholes. Besides, who doesn't love a good mohawk?

I have another idea I'm going to try out tonight that I think will work out well. I'm going to attempt to list at least one new item a day. I hope it helps to keep the sales coming.

Next Monday I have to start the coral branches back up and I can honestly say that I'm ready for them and their angst-ridden issues this time. Like I said before, at least they don't talk back.

Vacation? I think so.

So the Philly flower show was this past weekend; I drove down there Friday with my Mother and Grandmother, in an attempt to do some intergenerational bonding, and stayed over until Saturday afternoon. I wouldn't say the exhibits were fantastic this year, but the vendors were, and it was exactly what I needed to get away from all of the crap for a few days. I think it put everything back in perspective a bit, and if it didn't, being kidnapped by one of my closest friends Saturday night certainly did. It's nice to be reminded that people care about you and friendships aren't just one-sided.. which seemed to have been the theme last week.

On the up-side, I got quite a bit done yesterday, now that I can acctually focus on what's important, including taking pictures of everything I've made for Etsy (excluding the plush toys) and finishing the 4" coral branches. I started the 7" yesterday as well, had a minor meltdown, but pressed on, determined not to over-think it again. I'm so gun-shy about the boutique owner not liking them, it's fucking with my entire creative process, which is causing me to eat copious amounts of Nutter Butters. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to have to do yoga everyday if I want to continue to fit in my size 4 jeans without a muffin top.

It's like a Circus Sometimes....

Who knew the whales would turn out to be such a good idea - it seems my attachment to the tiny coral collections is acctually a blessing in disguise. The finished products fit it much better with the rest of the items in the store, it's much more cohesive now. Over the weekend I picked up the last few things I need to take pictures of the items and tonight I'm headed to Staples to get tags and a hole punch. It all seems to be coming together so quickly...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm working on the red coral branches that need to be finished by the end of this month. The order is for one 10", two 7", and three 4" branches. I have two out of the three 4" ones completed and am almost finished with the last one. It's more difficult than I thought it would be to create variety and uniqueness between the lot of them and they're an unruly bunch in the base case with something always seeming to go wrong - I keep losing hooks, pictures are disappearing, and the cat keeps trying to wander off with them no matter how many bags I put them in or where I try to hide them. This hasn't been an easy comission from the get go but I'm not one to give up. On the upside, at least they don't talk back.

Real life doesn't seem to be going quite as swimmingly either. I went to see Taken over the weekend and was thoroughly disappointed - I wish someone would have taken him and spared us all an hour and a half. That, coupled with the fact that it never seems to get warm around here, the people I'm dealing with and their problems, and the abhorrent grilled cheese sandwich I had today for lunch, left me starved for satisfaction. I need a vacation from bullshit, from people that think I need coddling even though I seem to be the only one that has it together, from disappointing food, from re-runs of shows that are supposed to be new, and from my cat and her incessant need to play with her god damned stuffed spider.....
sometimes a person just needs to be left alone for a couple of days or buy excessive amounts of Nutter Butters.

The Complications of Coral

So, as I predicted, the red coral branches worked themselves out but there seems to be another minor snag - I can't sell the coral collections. I've only made two so far but I've fallen completely and utterly in love with them which is the most depressing thing ever. I think they would be big sellers if I could manage to get them past the end of my desk...

...which is turning out to be an extremely daunting task. They're perfection. I suppose I'll just have to make kitschy whales for the Etsy shop and keep these for myself like the selfish crafter that I am.

Although I am attempting to do some volunteering with an organization called Soldiers Angels crocheting lap blankets and wheelchair bags for the Veterans. I'm waiting to hear back from their Crochet & Craft team - which will hopefully be in the next 24 to 48 hours. Until then I suppose I'll have to occupy my time trying to crochet whales cute enough to replace the grandeur that is contained in the above pictures.

Progress..

So there seems to be a technical snag with the coral branches and their birth is progressing slowly - I know in my gut it will all work out, it may just take some time. My Grandmother's scarf, on the other hand, didn't take any time at all and is finished.. with an adorable flower applique as the icing on the cake. I'm totally in love with it and want to call her and tell her however I would also have to tell her I got into Mason Gross which, with her tendency to ask the most inane questions, is a conversation that will last for much longer than I can afford it to and will probably end in me wanting to kill her but simply keeping the scarf for myself instead.

Needless to say, I'm putting the call off for as long as possible.

As for the Etsy shop - well, I feel like a total rockstar. I've gotten much more done in the last few days than I thought I would and I really think this thing is progressing nicely. I have a few more things I want to do, some last finishing touches, but like I said, I think it should be up in the next week or two. I even had a new brainstorm yesterday and am putting my new obsession with everything coral reefs to good use. While I think it's totally tackalicious to sell the red coral branches on my Etsy shop, there's nothing at all stopping me from selling what I'm going to call "miniature coral collections." I finished the first one last night and it's beautiful. I'll have to post some pictures in between cooing over it. I swear, these things are going to have some serious superiority complexes by the time they get to their new homes - which is fine by me, people need things with attitude.

Art School.

So.. Mama's goin to art school, kids, to become a Costume Tech.. which means I did manage to convince someone to let me make clothes for a living. Honestly, it's a huge weight off of my shoulders; now I can take a deep breath and concentrate on Etsy and those coral branches...

Speaking of Etsy, I picked up the last few things I needed at the craft store today and depending on how motivated I am and how much sleep I can manage to cut out, the store should actually be up in the next week or two. I would start immediately, but I have a birthday present to make for a friend today, which means more crocheting, more tiny hooks, and more callouses.

Singles Awareness Day? Are you people kidding me?

Whoever came up with the idea of "Singles Awareness Day" should be taken out behind the barn and shot. I mean, c'mon people, yes, its Valentines Day and you're all single and miserable but grow a pair and find a way to deal with it without hiding behind some witty catchphrase! I mean, I'm single (which is shocking I know, but if I've proved anything in the last few months it's that you can't meet someone that looks like Adrian Paul sitting on your couch) but I'm not sitting around today feeling sorry for myself! I'm watching one of my favorite shows and eating chocolate covered strawberries, one of my favorite things, and I refuse to have my day ruined simply because I don't have a date. It's a waste of a perfectly good Saturday.

And now I'll get off my soapbox and back to the point.

I finished that damn coral branch. And to answer your next question, no, it doesn't look like a heart valve - it's perfect, blissfully perfect.

My fingers are all swollen, I have a piercing headache behind my left eye from staring at the tiny stitches for so long (even with my glasses), and my back feels like I'm developing a hump but it's all completely worth it. I'm such a proud mama. The man I'm making them for loves this first one and hopefully it will be the start of something great

Aorta? I'll not allow it.

So.. I finished my book. Honor's Splendour by Julie Garwood - and yes, it's a historical romance novel. Laugh it up, people, go ahead, but it's still better than the crap most people are reading these days. I haven't read in quite some time and I just read a 374 page book in less than a day and it successfully gave me enough time to reason through how I could possibly make that pathetic excuse for a coral branch - which I had just spent the better part of two days working on, mind you - look any better. The conclusion I came to....

Start Over.

Yes, it was that bad.

Don't judge me, I'd like to see you do it.

So now here I am trying to finish it off while watching yet another episode of Hercules (which oddly has Lucy Liu as a guest star, and let me tell you, Girlfriend had some work done between then and now because she looks like a totally different person. Hell, she acctually looks Asian in this episode wich is a dead give away that something's changed).

It's going to be another late night. Thankfully though I have a massive Dr. Pepper and an entire bag of Hershey's Hugs to keep me awake.
I'm going to have this prototype done by tomorrow if it kills me.. which honestly, it just might.

Th Dark Ages

I haven't crocheted a scarf in almost 2 years. They were the first thing I learned to crochet and naturally that meant that I had to make 15 of them in any yarn I could get my hands on just to prove I could. The second I learned to crochet in the round though, I abandoned the scarf like one would an old childhood toy and haven't made one since.

I was commissioned recently to make red coral branches for a boutique in Asbury Park by a very nice man who I completely adore. Unfortunately, after spending much of yesterday trying to make a prototype it suddenly hit me that the object I was working on looked more like a heart valve than anything else. I was heart broken.. hell, I still am. And instantly I found myself looking to make something easy and comforting - something I knew I could do. I started a scarf today with a chained base of 15 sts. I'm double crocheting it using a J hook. It's a beautiful yarn I picked up in Pennsylvania over the weekend; my Grandmother fell in love with it and asked me to make her a scarf out of it. I agreed to do it thinking it nothing more than a bothersome chore to be done when I had a spare minute. I find it funny and completely ironic that it was the first thing I reached for when the coral went to hell.

Tomorrow I work on fixing the valve, or coral as it were. I may have to completely scrap what I have which I am not looking forward to. As of now, I've started a new romance novel which I expect I will be up tonight to finish if only to try and prolong the time between now and when I have to look at that wretched thing in the morning. Here's to burning the midnight oil.