Making a Great Start to a New Year

It was so wonderful having my children and husband home for the holiday. It was a relaxing time filled with much love, food, family and friends. Just the way it should be.

Now they are back at work and school respectively. So it is time for me to focus back on my work. Time to think about the year ahead and what it is I wish to accomplish. First off, I need to start with an organized room. I know this may seem silly to some since all I am going to do is make a mess of it, but starting with a clean room is like starting with a clear head for me. One must get all the cobwebs out if one is to create beautiful things.

I found that when I was getting ready for my first sale last fall, that my craft room exploded to include the dinning room and living room. Very messy and very hard to have people over and not be slightly embarrassed. To remedy this, I purchased a secondhand dinning table to add to my room and hopefully keep my projects contained. Well, at least the messy ones!

Here are a few photos of my craft room.

This is of course my desk. Yes it is from Ikea for those who are wondering. We have had these shelving units for years. They have moved with us and we have used them in many different configurations. The cart is new and I love that I will be able to move it around the room as needed instead of getting stuff out and not putting it back. Their home travels with them, kinda like a turtle.

This is my little library corner. (This table used to be my only work surface.) Here supplies are organized and my books to be worked on are on display. I'm happy to have been able to give the blue prints of my house a home here. I like the look of it with all the old books. I hope to be able to work on my paper roses here.

Here is my new table, waiting for a project. It is approximately 8 feet long and absolutely perfect for crafting. You may be wondering what kind of weird art I found for above the table. Well it is my new magnetic memo board.

Isn't it lovely! I made this from the old paint lids leftover from painting the house. The board I found in a closet. I think at one time it was part of a shelf. I just glued the lids on the board, added eye hooks and picture wire to the top and that's it! The knob was there from the old memo board that was there. I decided to keep the knob and move the much smaller board to the kitchen. I can't wait to fill this up with project ideas and inspiration.

The last part of my room that I would like to show you is my bistro set.

No room of mine is complete without a comfy place to have my tea! In the summer I like to move it outside to the balcony. But since it is winter here most of the year, this is where it usually is. The light coming in the window is always heart warming.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at my creative space. I wish to spend more time here this year making beautiful things from discarded items. Check back often to see what it is I'm up to or enter your email address to get a message whenever there is a new posting. (Tip: you don't always see the spot to enter it on mobile devices. Select full view, it's on the right)

Thanks for stopping by,

Betty

December Already?

December is a month that always seems to take me by surprise. For most of the year it is always in the distance but then it is suddenly December and it goes by so quickly.  Already it is the third and there is so much that needs to be done!

Lucky for me my darling husband saw paperwhites at the store a few weeks back and bought some for me. Thanks to some houseguests, I was able to get motivated to plant them. They are starting to grow now and by Christmas will be in full bloom. Paperwhites are definitely one of my favourite things about the season.  They are very fragrant and look so elegant, standing tall all green and white.

My children love our Santa advent calendar (bought from Ikea a few years back). They don't even want a candy treat inside, just a secret message that hopefully leads to a fun activity. I've been recycling the same messages but they don't seem to mind. The joy on their faces as they take turns reading the messages is another of my favourite things.

Living away from family means that the first week of December is Christmas card writing time. I like to include the girls school photo as most people on my list we don't see often.  This year I thought, well why don't I make them? I'm not 'working' so I should have lots of time. Well, they are almost ready to be mailed out (tomorrow fingers crossed). I decided to make the folded paper page trees that I had made into ornaments for the sale. Instead of adding a hanger I glued it to a kraft paper card that I had stamped with snowflakes. Very simple and fun to make. For a select few, I've included an ornament inside.

Well, I better go finish these off and start getting the house cleaned up.  We don't have a tree up yet and you can't have Christmas without a tree!

Old Books

One of the many benefits of my attending the Evergreen Artisan Market was meeting some wonderful people. It was amazing meeting so many kind, creative people.

One of these ladies by the name of Annette, has given me the most wonderful gift. She has had these old textbooks taking up space at her place for some time but didn't have the heart to just pitch them. I feel so lucky to be in possession of such wonderful books. Over the winter I hope to slowly turn these unused and out of date textbooks into beautiful works of art to be enjoyed again.

I have been saving all of the hardcovers from the books I have used in the hopes of turning them into useful objects such as purses and notebooks.  One of the textbooks in the pile that I have received has caught my eye.  It is the most beautiful little economics book in the most wonderful shade of blue. I have hopes of turning this little treasure into a cute little clutch purse.

As I slowly clean up all my crafting mess, I think I will take a wee break from paper for a bit and try a bit of sewing.

Recovering

Wow, what a busy time the last two months have been! It's hard to believe that the Evergreen Artisan Market has come and gone. It's time to reflect on what worked and what changes to make for next year.  Yes, I'm going to do it again!

Here is a picture of me at my booth. Unfortunately I didn't have the forethought to have someone take one at the beginning of the show, when I was all fresh and bright-eyed.  This picture was taken by my daughter at the end of the two days, all tired and ready to go home.

The biggest thing I learnt from my experience is that Prince Albert is not the place to sell my wreaths. So to rectify this, I'm busy trying to set up an Etsy Shop. I have been hesitating doing this for a while. I'm not sure why I've been hesitating, just scared I guess.  I just have to figure out the shipping and then my shop will be open for business.  I'll let you know when I get the courage to click that final OPEN button. 

Overall the Market was a great experience. I met some amazing people and made a little money. It's neat to think that some of my ornaments will be hanging in homes around town this holiday season. 

Evergreen Artisan Market

The Evergreen Artisan Market is only a week away! I have been extremely busy designing and building my display, and making product to fill it.  Since this is to be my first time selling my crafts I have little idea of what will sell. So I am trying to have a variety of things at different price points.  One of the hard things for me is to know when to stop. I have lots of ideas in my head but there is definitely no time to make all of them.  

My crafts have taken over my house.  Things are very messy but with the show getting closer I hope to shift my focus to finishing projects and cleaning up.  Everything needs to be packed up so it can be taken to the Rawlinson Center to set up next Friday.  Wow, November 7th is coming fast. 

Here are a few pictures of more products and a peek at the display I have set-up in my dining room.  This is not how things will be at the show but it gives you an idea of what I've been working on. If you are on FaceBook and/or Instagram follow me there for updates from the Evergreen Artisan Market. 

Fireplace

It has proven difficult to get good photos of my fireplace but here is a close-up before/after picture for you. I am very happy with the way that it has turned out. I can't wait to decorate it for Christmas. I have lots of ideas. I will try to get lots of pictures.

It

Product Photos

I've been busy designing my booth for the Evergreen Artisan Market. I've have a lot of ideas but time and money are going to play important roles.  I'm happy with how things are going but I'm going to have to try to be more productive over the next few weeks. The sale is only a month away!

The fireplace is pretty much done (just needs some dusting).  I hope to post some pics this week.

I put together a few promotional photos for the sale today.  What do you think?