The pen is mightier...

Ahh, but the real question is... which pen?! 

 I'm definitely a fan of sharpie.  They are awesome.   

http://blog.sharpie.com/

Gel pens are pretty snazzy.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/44112283/set-of-10-fruity-gel-ink-colors-popcorn

 And a really cool pencils for doodles are essential.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52896574/set-of-five-tiny-twig-pencils-with-green

Colored pencils?  Even better!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52382020/vintage-wood-covered-crayon-pencils-in

Choose your weapon & leave a comment ;D

I want to know what you like to use for your doodles, drawings, or journaling <3

GOAL! Oh... I mean GOALS!

Goals, goals.  Every success needs goals right?  I am a goal setting superstar... I am NOT a goal completing superstar.  We're going to try to resolve this right here and now!!!  I'm going to make some goals, and I'm giving my readers permission to bug me about where I am in my goals.  I am going to format my goals in a neat little list, because it's fun to cross stuff off of lists.  My list is in no particular order...

• Get through ScoutieGirl's "52 weeks of blogging your passion" e-book.  Yes, I bought it, and yes... I LOVE IT!  I'm in week 4, "Lofty Goals".  
• Finish my daughter's quilt, and consider selling the pdf for the pattern in my shop, I'm giving myself 6 weeks from today to finish the quilt... the pdf might be a bit longer, I will post pics when it's done and you guys can tell me what you think!

• Learn how to take my drawings and convert them to a drawing program and editing them for use screen printing covers... I'd like to do this within a month of this post.  I played with this a little last night for practice.  What do you think?

• Become an expert canner by the end of this summer... I'd love for my family to eat from our garden for as long as I can stretch it.  I made jams last year.  I'm hoping to do more jams and maybe some spaghetti sauce, and pickled beets.
• Starting this week, I'd like to take one night a week to leave the house and get some "me" time... yes for me this is a goal :)  I wanted to last night, but it wasn't in the cards.  My husband is working on the syrup shed so we can get some maple syrup done this year.  Our neighbor is helping us with this... they've done it for years.
• I'd like to be selling 15 journals a month by June.  I know part of this goal is making the journals to sell, so this one is a two-fer.  If I could list a journal every other day, that would be lovely!  I have a stack of covers I'll be working on some more today.  Hopefully I'll get some listings up today or tomorrow.

What are your goals?  

In awe of my daughter...

My Emily is one of the sweetest kids you'll ever meet.  She has a knack for including everyone in what is going on around her.  She has been waiting, and waiting, and waiting, to be able to open her very own Etsy shop.  I have a shop and my 12 year old daughter has a shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlelelly).  So when my husband started his shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lamplightpottery) she was very disappointed.  She has helped all of us with our shops, whether it's getting packages together, playing with the baby for 5 more minutes so I can get something glued, or pounding out clay for buttons.

She made a drawing last night and handed it to me and said, mommy you can put this on your Etsy shop to make your shop better.  She did it! She hit the nerve that sparked action!  It probably helped that she put her little hand on the small of my back when she said it.  That always gets me, when she tries to comfort and empathize with me.  It always reminds me how quickly they grow up, and how we NEED to cherish every single moment with our children.

As soon as she was tucked into bed I listed her print... then I twittered the listing... and I hoped and prayed that some kind person would want my little girls beautiful piece of artwork!  Then it happened... my twitter BLEW UP!  And I'm not talking any little thing.  I could've stayed up all night reading all the nice things people were saying about my little girl!  It didn't take long before someone bought it!  Then I had people getting upset because they wanted the print also, so I decided that if we did limited edition prints that it would make everyone happy.  I only wanted to do 5, because at 99 cents I think I'm probably losing a dollar or two :)  She wanted to sell her picture for 99 cents, so that's what we did and this was more about her than my pocket book.  Tonight we will be talking about pricing her work.  So as I was printing out the sold items I checked my twitter one last time... ETSY TWEETED HER LISTING!  I almost fell over!  I walked away from the computer with my jaw to the floor!  I did not sit back down at the computer, because like I said I could've talked about her all night... and I would've had to walk around today with a coffee IV.

So, after all was said and done she sold 3 and we are trading 2.  When I woke her this morning and told her that she sold her print, she says to me.  Well I better get to work!  The kid cracks me up!  Every morning it's a struggle to get her going and ready for school, but this morning I just watched everyone flit around me and get ready for school.

While they were getting ready I had a few seconds to sit down and check my Google Analytics (the thing that tells me who visits my shop and other great info).  It is amazing the hits my shop page got!  In just a few hours the shop got 19 times the views it usually gets!  I was yelling at my husband to come look!  So I said to him, look at all of these views and I didn't get one sale!  I should've known better!  Right before she left for school she said to me, are you jealous because you didn't sell any journals?  Aww, I know!  Cute, right!  I told her that I was jealous, but that I was very proud and happy for her!

She skipped off to school with stories to tell, a note in her book bag telling all the states he sold prints in, and loving that she has her own "shop" section in my shop.  She'll be adding more this afternoon.  We are truly an Etsy family!