Mini Gallery; winter snow, will so soon be melted away...

You are not alone... the camera made me go grrr too...

Because it's never just one thing you have to overcome... I'm posting about my severe hatred of taking pictures and my lack of know how or camera savvy.

When I started out I struggled with the camera.  OK, I'm still working on it.  I have never taken a class.  Apature value and time value still confuse me a bit, but not as much as they used to (thank you JennaDesigns).  I think I've nailed the macro settings and where the photo brackets, or focuses.  I really really HATE editing & adjusting color after the shot.  It's not that difficult to adjust your curves, mess with the saturation and hue.  IF I try to do this... my colors never look true, or the white pages look so bright you can't see them anymore.  So... my photos are a bit dark.  Yes, the table I photo on has a bit to do with that... but I feel as if it's become part of my brand.  It sets my shots out from anyone else's.  So I own the shots that I have taken.  I am good with the "darkness" because I know my colors are as true as you can get with a digital image and monitors may vary a bit. Who else has a gorgeous barn board table with THAT much character?  I get some comments about it every once in a while.  It seems without fail, a day or two later, someone will tell me they love my photos... thank you!  For someone who has NEVER taken a photo class I think I'm doing OK.

Obstacle overcome!  <3  in my mind at least :P

Focus on... StephanieFizer

Sally: Tell us who you are… what makes your crafty passion tick…
Stephanie: My name is Stephanie Fizer and I'm a fulltime illustrator.  Right now I run my Etsy shop (http://stephaniefizer.etsy.com), do some freelance illustration work and teach my e-course, Flourish.  My work is almost entirely digital now, although I love incoporating handmade textures, patterns and brushes. 

Sally: Who, or what inspires your creations?  
Stephanie: Well, I'm inspired by practically everything these days, it seems that I've constantly got new ideas popping in my head.  So many actually, that I can never quite find time for all of them, so they get scribbled down in my idea book until I find time to start developing them.  I'm definitely inspired by nature, I grew up in a rural area so I spent a lot of my childhood wandering through the woods and making up stories about the animals.  I'm also inspired by vintage illustrations and teacups. 

Sally: What item do you like to work on the most and why?  
Stephanie: Well for me, no matter what product is the end result, it all starts with an illustration so my favorite thing is that journey from the first doodly sketch to the actual finished illustration.  But beyond that, I love dreaming up new stationery designs for my shop.  I think the world of email, Facebook and Twitter, we often forget who delightful it is to give and receive snail mail and I hope that my sweet notecards will encourage more people to start writing letters and litlte notes instead of just jotting off a quick email. 

Sally: What do you do besides working on your passion and shop?  
Stephanie: I'm pretty much always working or at least thinking about my work; I thrive on staying busy and find that oddly I am most creative when I have the least time.  But when I do take breaks I'm an avid reader and music listener.  I also love to cook, it's so a wonderful stress relief for me.  I'm a vegetarian and I live in a town that isn't exactly friendly to that diet choice so instead I always search for exciting new veggie recipes to try out here at home.  As I'm typing this, I've got a vegan cinnamon crumb cake baking in the oven!

Sally: What is something that you don’t do well that you’d like to do better?  
Stephanie: I think as a general rule, I avoid doing things that I don't do well, but then I think everyone does that.  As far as my work goes, I'm terrible at hand-lettering and would love to have the time to really study and work on that.  



Sally: Do you have favorite Etsy peeps?  
Stephanie: Yes!  I really dig Belle & Boo, Sarah Jane Studios, Nella Designs and Gorjuss right now.  All lovely, sweet ladies and very talented artists. 

Sally: What’s your fav thing about Etsy?  
Stephanie: I love the sense of community and the face that I can really get to know my buyers.  


Sally: One tip you could give, about life, about Etsy, about the weather…  
Stephanie: More than anything, it's so important to maintain a positive attitude and avoid letting yourself get stressed out, especially about things you just can't control.  There was a time when I would absolutely turn into a bundle of nerves when my Etsy sales were slow or when I didn't have any freelance gigs lined up and I would find myself just languishing in stress and misery.   Now I've learned to just push the nerves out of the way, stop worrying and instead just focus my energy on creating new work and thinking up new ways to promote myself. 

LampLightPottery... inspired by bibs...

I love all the lovely bib necklaces on Etsy, but why should fabric have all the fun?

Inspired by all the wonderful bib necklaces on Etsy, we made our own version.  

So?  What do you think?

tagging meme, lots of goody randomness...

5 Things found in my bag:
*Wallet (my cutie one from Kukubee)
*Phone
*Pen
*Sunglasses
*Lip gloss

5 Things found in my purse:
*License
*Punch cards from the paper store & Cold Stone Creamery
*Library Cards, mine & the kiddos
*Business cards :D
*Receipts from shipping orders :)
Conclusion: I have no cash in my wallet :(  I was hoping for a surprise :D

5 Favorite things in my room:
*My laptop
*My glue & brush, bone folder, and awl
*My stereo
*My huge stack(s) of papers
*My coffee mug

5 Things I always wanted to do:
*Go somewhere warm and not do anything but sleep, eat and walk on the beach... maybe learn to surf too
*Travel Europe
*Sing & play bass in a band... Dave Matthews, if you're looking for someone :D
*Star in a movie
*Find my artistic ability... to be able to draw, I know it's there...

5 Things I am currently into:
*Blogging, blogging, blogging.  I love discovering new people and introducing them to my readers.  It's amazing the connections you make with people all over the world! :D
*Working on my shop a bit more... getting some custom produced items that I love and enjoy.
*Helping my husband with his shop.  I have a feeling when we get his new line all set he'll be swamped with orders!
*Getting excited about spring, family is coming to visit and I'm going to start working in the garden!  woo hoo!
*Twinkies... after watching "Zombieland" all I want is twinkies.

The person who tagged me... http://www.frommaris.com/

Your 5 impressions of her:
*She's super sweet!
*She is really outgoing!
*She loves handmade!
*She isn't afraid to try something new!
*She is innovative!


I'm tagging....

*http://jennadesigns.blogspot.com/
*http://grayflanneldesign.blogspot.com/
*http://bysaralynn.blogspot.com/
*http://simplyinvitingcards.com/blog/
*http://curiouspug.blogspot.com/

Overcoming obstacles, I feel like a ringmaster at times...

We all have obstacles we overcome to make what we are doing easier, more fulfilling, or profitable.  An obstacle of mine is balancing my family and work.  It definitely not my biggest obstacle (I have a harder time keeping myself on task) but I will say it's my most important.  My family comes first, always.  That's why I'm trying so emphatically to make my new life work.  I love to be at home with my children.  The problem here is that they sometimes don't understand that I'm not "playing" when I'm on the computer, or that when I'm in my studio that I can't drop everything to help them build a fort or watch a movie.  OK, sometimes I do drop everything... but if I let them get me distracted every time I started working... ooo, that's a fun game.

So, how do I overcome this obstacle?  Include them in my adventure!  They are as proud of my shop as I am, sometimes more.  My 13 year old is my advisor (see my 100th post).  She helps me decide what goes with what, and helps with color choices.  My 7 year old is my social manager & cheerleader (see "In awe of my daughter" post).  She tells me what to tweet, and gives me ideas to promote my shop.  They work right along side me most times.  I am very fortunate to have a studio with a ping pong table in the middle.  It has transformed into a huge craft area... most times filled with drawings and projects.  They help their dad with his shop too.  I think they like helping dad more... but who wouldn't want to be playing in the mud...  wait for me guys!!!

We take it one day at a time & keep our eyes on the horizon, with love in our hearts.

What are your obstacles?  What have you overcome?

Call for featured Etsians!

I am looking for shops with 

wonderful product line,


original & handmade design,


intriguing photos,

 and most of all a love of talking about it all! 

If you would like to be considered for a feature on this blog, please contact me at nightowlcraftworks@gmail.com with a few sentences on why you would like to be featured on NightOwlCraftworks blog.


Hurry  to get an upcoming spot!

Good luck & thank you for submitting!

Mini Gallery; Getting a bit excited for "Alice in Wonderland"!

craftgawker...

Cool! I submitted my Bumbling Bee Journal to craftgawker, and I was accepted!  Yay!  

For anyone who hasn't heard of craftgawker, it's a free site to submit your work to.  For more info go to the craftgawker about page!

Introducing Velcro, the studio cat...

I think she's up to something...

Click for more pics of the studio on flickr...

Custom work for a special person...

This past week I have been working on a few custom orders.  This one is for BySaraLynn's finance.  She ordered a planner for herself also, they both came out looking VERY nice.  I've been pretty excited to get them done.

Here is the book cloth, binders board, and signatures prepped for construction.  I screen printed onto the book cloth in black textile ink.  The PDF for the signature pages were purchased from droplet.  I fiddled around with it a lot at first... then got the signatures all settled.  The PDF was great to work with.  Fun yet simple.  Perfect really.  I glued, cut, glued some more, poked holes, and started binding the book together.  They came together very smoothly.  

Looking pretty good, don't cha think?

She hasn't gotten them yet... I hope they like them!  :D

My true love story...

Jan 1 2002 I made a New Years Resolution in 2002... I wasn't going to date any guys that year.  I was done, completely gave up.  

Jan 11 2002 So this guy I worked with asked me to get a bite to eat with him.  He got stood-up on New Years and I told myself it wasn't a "date date".  I thought I could go out and maybe get to know him and have a really great friend.  He called me an hour after he was supposed to be there, I thought I had been stood up.  No... I had just given him REALLY bad directions that took him an hour out of his way.  I told him we could skip it and go some other time, but he said he was already out and was really looking forward to going.  It took him 2 1/2 hours to get to my house with the bad directions and  bad weather.  He finally made it and was looking so good in a sweater, and smelled delicious.  He cleans up really nice.  We went to D.P. Dough, a local calzone shop & then to Moonshadows, a bar in college town with cork dartboards... remember, not a "date date".  We had a great time and I made it home safe and happy.  I left my keys in his car... not on purpose!  Really!  He found them the next morning and drove all the way back to my house, 1 1/2 hours again.  I was not there but he did get to meet my grandmother :)  

February 2002 So he moved in.  It only made sense.  He was driving an hour and a half to get to work, come over to see me, drive an hour and a half home, and do it again the next day.  And remember... we worked at the same company.

April 2002 OK, I'm pregnant.  Really?  Pregnant!  How do you go from not dating to pregnant??  We really liked each other.  We were very happy, very, very happy.  I'm not sure what anyone else thought because we were too happy.

July 6 2002
Don't ever try to plan a wedding in two months, really, it's not fun.  Don't expect anything to go right, because nothing ever does.  If you were there you'd know.  I had an oudoor wedding.  It was about 80 with a light breeze.  Perfect weather.  SO... don't tie the real rings to the pillow.  Everyone knows that, right?  If you know me you know you can't tell me anything, so on go the rings.  And, if you've been to my grandmother's house, you know there is a beautiful bridge over the creek that runs through the yard.  The ring bearer decides he is going to run over the bridge with the pillow in one hand, kind of swinging it.  The last thing you want to hear is- ting ting ting and all the air being sucked in by your guests (we were outside so that's pretty impressive).  I immediately closed my eyes and squeezed my fathers arm so hard, I thought I was going to break it.  Yes, the rings fell in the creek.  Again, I say they... FELL IN THE CREEK!  Luckily, my little brother was standing there at the end of the bridge.  I had never seen him move so fast, and probably never will again.  He was right there to find the rings so that I didn't have to faint and be rushed to the emergency room on my wedding day.  After that we had the most beautiful day.  I couldn't stop smiling.

Dec 30 2002
OK, so I can't top that story can I?  Watch me... my brother-in-law was talking to my husband at about 11 pm on the 29th.  He said something to make me laugh... now when your pregnant your supposed to have some warning when the baby is coming.  You hear about women having contractions all day, many many hours later they finally have a baby.  Jeff made me laugh and my water broke.  This did not happen on it's own with Ashley, so I was a little freaked out.  If you have ever seen me when I freak out I laugh more than anything... so I called the mid-wife to tell her we were going to the hospital, I was laughing.  Mike had to take Ashley up to my grandmothers (about 10 minutes round trip), by the time he got back the contractions were 3 minutes apart and I couldn't move very far before another started.  So the ride to the hospital was fun.  Mike thought I was going to break his car.  We got to the hospital and Mike tried to help me out of the car... don't move a woman mid contraction, SHE DOESN'T LIKE IT!  When I was able to move again I ran to the emergency room doors.  I walked in and told the receptionists that my contractions were 3 minutes apart and I needed to get to the delivery rooms.  The nurses tried to find me a wheelchair because for some reason they didn't have any right there... I was down the hall pushing the up button furiously by the time they caught up to me.  So they wheeled me the rest of the way to the desk in the delivery room.  Here I had to get a room, so they stopped my wheelchair by the nurses station.  The nurses thought that this would be a good time to calmly discuss what room I should be in.  I felt like I had a baby in my pantleg of my overalls.  So while they are talking I see an empty room, I got up and walked as fast as I could before my next contraction while undoing my buckles on my overalls.  I got to the room and stripped the rest of the way.  All of this so far only took about 2 hours.  So they got me settled in and the mid wife finally joined us.  She was very surprised that I was completely dilated, remember I was laughing when I called her.  So she did some magic, that shouldn't be shared, and Emily was born at 2:09 am.  Three hours later.

So, in 2002 I vowed not to date.  I got married and had a baby instead.

THIS IS MY 100th POST! dedicated to my best friend...

Sorry for shouting, but it's pretty exciting.  In the beginning I was grasping at straws, trying to figure out what to post, who wants to hear about me & what I have to offer.  Answer!  I don't care!  Ok, I care that you love reading my blog, and I care that you are interested.  But now that I'm hooked on blogging I think I'd blog even if I had no followers and I was talking to myself :D  I'm very grateful for my fans and followers... so I'm not actually talking to myself, I LOVE YOU GUYS!

So, I wanted to blog about something extra special for my 100th post.  It took a few hours to figure it out, but when it hit me I got SOOO excited!  I talk a lot about my husband's shop, and I seem to talk about Emily (my middle girl) a lot, and the baby some.

The person I'd like to dedicate my 100th post to is my oldest daughter, Ashley.  

She is my best friend.  

She is my rock.  

She is my inspiration.  

She is my advisor.  

She is my 13 year old "little girl".
I could go on all day, so I thought some pics of her gorgeous face could say the rest...

She is has such a great spirit.  She loves Etsy more than I do... that's saying a lot! She has her own shop, LittleLelly.  She loves elephants <3  She changes her mind often about the look of her shop, and what she sells.  She wants so much to be a good Etsian and a great part of the community.  She does everything for her shop on her own, taking pics, listing, and packaging.  She is a VERY responsible person!   

She loves to shop on Etsy.  She proudly rocks her clips and jewelry and pouches when she goes to school.  It makes her so proud when someone asks her where she got something and she pimps her Etsy loves to all of her freinds.  She's even talking some of her teachers into starting up Etsy shops!  She's AMAZING!  Single handedly educating her school about our handmade community!

Mini Gallery, Clackity Clack...

I love making things out of stuff from home...

I was reading sei lifestyle blog the other day... and they a GREAT container on there for organizing your goodies.  

photo: sei lifestyle blog

I followed the link to the family fun site it came from... and it started as snack containers!  OK... so that is perfect.  I can make these containers and don't have to worry if they get trashed or thrown away accidentally, and they don't have a lid to lose!!! WIN!  

photo: the shelf in my kitchen

Instead of using a milk carton, I used a 20 oz. plastic soda bottle... perfect for small snacks!  Two things to note... if the edges of the bottle are sharp decorate them with some fun tape!  Duct tape would work great :D Gotta love duct tape!  

photo: my baby nom nom-ing cheerios

The second thing to consider is when you are attaching your Velcro, make sure the soft side is on the inside of the bottle... the side that your little angels are going to be putting their hands against.  Have fun all!!!

xxx's

Sunshine Award!

Spreading some much needed sunshine!  I just found that that my blog has been the recipient of the Sunshine Award! A big THANK YOU to bjwcreative for sending this award my way. Now I get to pass it on to my favorite blogs and spread the warmth.  Sunshine makes all the difference.

The Sunshine Award is going to these wonderful blogs that I follow:

http://froggyfibers.blogspot.com/
http://bysaralynn.blogspot.com/
http://adventuresofsweetsnstuffgrl.blogspot.com/
http://compofcute.blogspot.com/
http://simplyinvitingcards.com/blog/
http://yarnabees.blogspot.com/
http://curiouspug.blogspot.com

So there you go. Now once you have been notified of receiving the award, you need to complete the following:

Please pass this award on to your favorite bloggers! Here are the Rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post
2. Pass the award on to other bloggers
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award

I'm starting a trend! I made a flickr group for my customers!

OK... maybe it isn't a trend yet, because I'm the only one that has a photo up... but!  I've been asking my customers for pictures of their journals or sketchbooks in use, and I would write a post about it on my blog!  I get the best stories from my customers about what they are doing with their journals.  Some use them to plan their weddings, some to document the new baby, or just to sketch in and make lists that don't get lost!!!  I haven't gotten any photos of journals in use... yet.  

That's why I started my flickr group, NightOwlCraftworks Show & Tell!  If you've purchased a journal and want a photo of it in action in the pool, this is your official invitation!  I would love for you to share your stories with all of my wonderful fans!!!  And THANK YOU in advance!  My fans are THE BEST!

xxx's

Featured Etsian... blueberryshoes/ imfromthewoods!

Sally: What brought you to Etsy?

Hollie: The fact that I love creating more than anything, am confident in my craft, hate the 9-5 thing and am very driven when it comes to promoting. Etsy just works out perfectly for my personality. It's a venue that was introduced to me through my good friend ohvotrecoeur :)

Sally: Who or what inspires your creations?
Hollie: -Dark fairy tales and history. Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Mermaid are my favs.
-Fashion: street, couture, futuristic, spaceage, medieval, victorian. I love period clothing. The weirder the better. I adore Alexander McQueen.
-Music: Gaga, Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, The Smiths, Tori Amos, etc)
-Girly Nostalgia: Barbie, old dusty dolls, frill and lace you'd find in grandma's trunk in the attic, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, etc. I love glitter, pink and kittens.
-John William Waterhouse, Alphonse Mucha and Edmund Dulac. They introduced me to pond nymphs, half clad curvy women with long hair and sad eyes.
(see the pics I attatched)
-Life experience, especially the sad parts. I would not create the pieces I do without that bit of longing and sadness. Call me dramatic, but it's true. This is especially applicable for my illustrations. They have a depth about them, and it just wouldn't be there if I had a perfect life. Thank god for hard times, I'm a fan of the maturity it's brought into my life.

Sally: What time of day do you work best and why?
Hollie: Definitely at night! I rarely create a thing in the morning/midday. I like being in the dark. Alot of nights I'll go to bed with my hubby, but jump right back out once he's asleep cause I have an idea I just have to get out. This happens way more than I'd like to admit, lol.


Sally: Who do you market to? Who do you see buying your work?
Hollie: I market to indie types, fashionistas and those who care for the earth and recycling. Sometimes my drawings go to the most random people. Usually people who feel deeply and have that longing I talked about. The bows go to girls and women who love high fashion, Gaga and Japanese street style. So pretty much all people I love! A good amount of young girls love the bows too, which is AWEsome. I'm a huge fan of little girls. They're little princesses I can play dress-up and make believe with :)

Sally: What item do you like to work on the most and why?
Hollie: Definitely the bows. They're tangible, and can be worn as many times as you want. They're like the gift that keeps giving. I absolutely adore hand sewing, bunching the fabric and seeing each piece turn into a cute lil' piece of their own. I love thinking of what outfits they would match and where my customers would wear them. A recent bow went to a girl who was going to wear it to a Gaga concert, and that totally made my day! The illustrations are very emotional to create. I literally have to block everything out around me. No one can be around. I blast my music and get into the zone. It takes me about an hour to do an entire piece and it flies right by. I can't really draw well when the mood hasn't hit. It has to hit me hard and then I know I'll churn out a few pieces that I'm happy with. Music is really important to creating great pieces.

Sally: What are your 3 favorite books?
Hollie: I have so many. But I really love Catcher in the Rye (of course), Handmaid's Tale and Day of the Triffids. I like autobiographical novels with a bitterness and sarcasm about them, medieval or period ficion and then science fiction.

Sally: What is something that you don’t do well that you’d like to do better?
Hollie: Omg I can't draw hands. If you notice my illustrations, all of the hands are hidden. For some reason I have never enjoyed doing hands and thus they're stuck in the 5 yr old drawing style phase. I've never practiced them and so they suck, big time. But I have gotten such great feedback on the pieces WITH hands, that now I know I have to work on them and really include them in more pieces. I have a hard time with arms as well. And I'm pretty bad at drawing men. They look like manly women. It's pretty sad. But I do want to get better at these, cause I'd love to do some really deep maiden and knight pieces!

Sally: If you could interview your main influence who would it be and what would you ask?
Hollie: This is tough. It would be a tie between Morrissey, Lady Gaga, Tori Amos and John William Waterhouse. All I care about is what moves people. I would ask a million questions based on what they love, long for, went through and are moved by. 

Sally: What do you listen to while you work? While you don’t work?
Hollie: I have an itunes list called "Crafty" and I play it everyday. It's filled with songs I never tire of and that continually move me. For sewing I've got alot of old school Madonna, Gaga, Heart, Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Wham!, Smiths, Billie Holiday, YYY, etc. When drawing I listen to stuff like Arcade Fire, Dead Mans Bones, Sunset Rubdown, Gaga.

Sally: Do you have any deals or promos to share?
Hollie: For readers of this interview, buy either a bow or an illustration and recieve a second one half price :) Just type in "Blog Interview" in the notes to seller :)

Crafters ADHD strikes again!

OK, I hope I'm not offending anyone.  It may not be ADHD, but it sure feels like it!  After my complete fail at the whole precious metal clay experiment, I decided I was going old school.  Back to the MUD!  Here's what I came up with...

I know the lighting isn't the best... but I was excited to get these on the blog.  They are going to come out so nice!  I can feel it!  They will dry this week.  Then to the bisque kiln.  Mike & I will have to mix up glazes.  After they come out of the bisque kiln, they get glazed & fired again... and with any luck I'll be attaching hardware & taking some kick butt photos so they can get listed!

Rediscovering my mission, welcome to my blog!

A favorite blog of mine is ScoutieGirl.  A lot of indie crafters may have already heard of it.  If you haven't, I suggest you check it out, in depth!  There is a section that is titled "52 weeks of blogging your passion".  I LOVE blogging, no really, I absolutely LOVE it!  So the first month of the 52 weeks is posted for free on her site.  So here goes... I'm jumping in with both feet so I can be a better blogger and give more back to my wonderful indie community!  Week 1...

What is my mission, what is my passion?  I feel there are 3 parts to my mission...

Part 1, as most of you know... I hope... is that I love to bind my own journals and sketchbooks.  I feel it brings me back to a time when things were not as easily accessible or disposable.  When you write in a Coptic bound journal, it makes whatever you put on those pages "permanent".  To go a step further, if you have blank pages there are no boundaries.  You can let your ideas flow onto the paper fluidly and without restraint.  It's like recording your personal history there on the paper, and someday it will be worth something!  I'd like to share more of my process with my readers so you better understand my passion.

Part 2, my handmade family.  My husband also has an Etsy shop, LampLightPottery.  Kinda fits with our work-at-night theme, huh?  He has his BFA in ceramics and works a full time job as a project analyst in glaze colors.  We have 3 girls.  It has been our dream to open a pottery studio, to sell his pottery, and to teach lessons.  I would love to share more with you about our struggles and successes trying to juggle the family and being able to start our own business.

Part 3, spread the indie love.  Part of loving handmade, is loving the people behind handmade.  I want to continue to feature wonderful Etsy artist & crafters.  I think it is so important to get to know the wonderful people we are buying from and why they do what so many of us are doing.

Now that I have shared my mission with you, I am asking you to share with me.  I would love to hear any comments or feedback on the direction of my blog.  Or if you have any questions for me, go ahead!  Ask away!!!

A busy week, MIA from blogging. oops...

OK, it's been a bit quiet in the blogging front lately.  Sorry everyone, I have been spending some time with my girls while dad was away on business.  He'll be back in a few hours, so time to catch up so we can spend some much needed time together too.

So here is my week in a nutshell...

Last Friday night I attended a great gallery night with my friend Laura (plug for her hubby's band, Beef Tea) at EBCO ArtWorks, featuring SVA (Sheboygan Visual Artists) artists.  It was a wonderful night with food, wine, music, and friends.  Frank Juarez has been the driving force behind SVA since it's conception, and he is doing such a wonderful job bringing Art to the community!  Kudos Frank & all the SVA members.  I had a great time & got out of the house :)  

Me & Laura listening to the band... I'm in the yellow sweater.

Some video of the band... The Water Street Hot Shots :)

Saturday I went to a precious metal clay demo.  I have a whole new respect for the people who work with that clay!  I figured it would be an easy transition because my husband works with clay.  Umm... there is definitely a bit more I have to figure out before buying any MORE of the clay.  Oh my... does that mean another trip to the bead shop?  Darn :D

The rest of the week has been playing with children, and trying to keep up with my shop.  Parent lunch, laundry, girl scouts, dishes, meals, grocery shopping, homework helping, and reading.  In between I tried to keep up with my shop, but it seems like that's a lost cause when Mike is gone on business.  In the future I'll try to schedule a few posts ahead of time for all you loyal lovies who love seeing all the pretty things & finding out what we've been up to :)

P.S. Check out TheRikRakStudio blog for a great giveaway, you could win $25 gift certificate to my shop! Eek!!!  Quick... go enter!!!