Tis the Season

 It's that time of the year again. Time to list as many ornaments to the 

holiday Etsy shop 

as possible before November.

 I'm a little late this year. This fact is probably not shocking since I haven't been able to keep up with my blog posts, tend to my garden, clean my house, etc.

little one on his first day of kindergarten

 I have been able to get my wee one to kindergarten every morning, pay the bills, make sure laundry is clean and groceries are bought and complete class work when it's due.

 I guess I should be pretty happy that I have managed that!

  

Needless to say  here are the newest pictures of pieces that are being listed to Etsy. Many of them are just updated but there are a few newbies.

 Since I will be listing daily from now until the beginning of Christmas, be forewarned , 

there will probably be many new blog posts. :o)

In the Garden

The very first poppy of 2012

Salvia

The first year blooming for this gorgeous iris

Oriental Poppy: Coral Reef

Peony

Oriental Poppy: Princess Victoria Louise

Foxglove

The flower bed before the show

 I should be working on a number of projects around the house but I also need to get back into the habit of creating posts for the blog... so guess which won out? 

All of my poppies burst this weekend. Unfortunately, it was so hot they didn't last very long. I was lucky enough to get some beautiful photos of this year's show. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did :O)

The flower bed after the show

A Little Chickadee

Here is the finished chickadee. It was done in time to get it to the recipient close to Mother's Day but I forgot I was going to post a photo of it when it was finished. Will be making more little birds soon, some whimsical some similar to this one (hopefully, I will be a little better at posting updates :O)

Finished Chickadee

before antiquing

Up next: My Flower Garden (poppies are blooming!)

Well Hello, Friend!

I'm back!

 I had two classes this semester. (Thank goodness I only had two.) They were extremely needy and required much more of my time than I had expected. That was the bad news, I was so overwhelmed with trying to do well in those classes that I was totally unavailable to my Etsy shop. The good news is, I am finished and now can devote some of my time to getting back to the important tasks at hand. (Gardening, loving on my little one and, of course, creating!)

 

In the Garden: The flower bed is looking GORGEOUS. Lush and Green. Anxiously awaiting my poppies. The Iris are blooming but I'm itching to see those glorious warm shades of poppies glowing in the sunshine. My peony has quite a few buds but it has been an odd spring so I hope they will actually fully mature.

 In the Veggie Garden: The Romaine and Lollo Rosso lettuce are growing like crazy! I can't keep up with it. The Spinach has started taking off, as have the peas and Swiss Chard. The Potatoes look like they are beginning to sprout (at least I can see some leaves breaking the surface ). My tomato seedlings are beyond the seedling state, I have to figure out where to plant these things in a short few weeks!

My husband finished pulling up the grass between the raised beds. Now I need to finish clearing any stray grass, put down weed paper, cover it with a layer of garden soil, plant the Irish moss, line the sides with wood discs and place footprints down the center. The worse part will be waiting for the Irish moss to spread to cover the area!

In the Studio: Trying to get back into the swing of things. I need to start designing all of my Christmas 2012 designs. I only have 3 months to get everything done as school starts up again in September. I am currently finishing a little bird. He will be a chickadee when painted and I'll be sure to post a quick update before he goes off to his new home (he's a Mother's day gift, shhhhh!)

Now, I must be off, I have a home to clean and projects to start. Until next time!

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

A New Look

I am currently taking a marketing class. I decided it was time to really focus on my business since my son starts kindergarten in the fall. I will no longer have an excuse for not applying myself to the business in my "spare time". That said, I am working on the "re-branding" my shop in the few spare moments I currently have. These are the preliminary photos.

So far, I like them although I will probably keep refining the images until I have them just right. The whole idea behind the look is to create a sense of wonder or a magical feeling within the shop.

I have also been collecting some reference material that serves as the inspiration for new elf ornaments this year. I am really focusing on some characters that reflect Christmas of the 50's and 60's. As the designs come to fruition I will post photos. Now, onto Easter preparations.

Hope you have a Very Happy Easter!
Kelly