This IS happily ever after.

It's been wonderful to cruise around blogland this morning and see all the super-secret Christmas projects that everyone's been working on. And in retrospect I'm feeling a little bad I don't have more to show you. Truth is I didn't do a lot of Christmas making this year. And it's the happiest one yet. So, here's the story.

I grew up in the 80's. As a girl in the 80's we were constantly told we could do anything we wanted. We could be astronauts, presidents, scientists, whatever we wanted. There was also the, I think, unspoken message that we could be everything at the same time - have a successful career, kids, hobbies, travel.... But you know what? You can't. You just can't do it all. I'd love to sew my children clothes and have a big vegetable garden and homeschool my kids and volunteer but I know I don't have energy for everything. Either you try and become stressed out or you pick and choose very carefully which projects get your energy. My family needs me to work and I'm pretty lucky to have a really good job, so that gets a lot of my energy. But rather than try to do it all at home, too, we have a nanny, who, as well as taking care of the kids during the day, does more than her fair share of the cleaning and laundry in our house. It saves our sanity. After work its all about family. You will rarely find any of us going out after supper on a weeknight. That's family time and it's precious. I only see my kids 4 or so hours a day during the week, so I don't trade that time for anything. So, lesson #1: You can't do it all.

I've spent a lot of time trying to come to terms with the fact that I can't have it all, but you know what, once I let go of that need to have someone else's perfect life I became sooo much happier. Lesson #2: Quit comparing yourself to others. You'll be much happier.

Lesson #3: Enjoy Every Moment. I am watching my daughter yawn and marvelling at the rows of little white teeth. And as she sits beside me saying "hab a supper" I marvel at how well she pieces together words to communicate these days even though I know that it means I'll soon have to interrupt what I'm doing to tend to her needs. Beauty is all around you if only you open your eyes. THIS IS happily ever after.

So, back to Christmas. I didn't step into a mall once this year. Not once. About 1/3 of our Christmas gifts were bought on etsy. Online is quick and easy, and there's some really cool stuff out there that you just wouldn't find at a mall. Another 1/3 was bought on a massive one day trip by my husband in December. Usually we both take a day off work and take one day and get it all done but this year he was on his own. And he did splendidly. In a blizzard that closed highways. Several more items were picked up my me on my lunch hours at stores within walking distance from my office. I did make a couple of ornaments and one special Christmas gift. And it was the most relaxing, joyful stressfree Christmas ever. So, I feel pretty content about not making all of our Christmas gifts this year even though I really would love to have done it. I just don't need to do everything anymore.

Pictures to come in a following post, I promise. We had a big 2 year old birthday on the 23rd and I have been working on some personal projects that I can't wait to show you...just need to get out to the garage with some frames and spray paint...

Thoughts on Christmas.

It's my favourite time of the holidays. The precious couple of minutes Christmas morning before everyone else gets up. The house is all quiet and still but there's anticipation in the air.

It's the stillness I like. I think I need that bit of calm to recharge and be able to take on the day.

I had a whole post written about my thoughts on Christmas but it all seems hardly appropriate now, as I wait for the rest of the family to stir. There is a magic to the season, and for me it has to do with gathering and sharing with family.

Well, it seems the quiet is over and the fun is about to begin! So I will tease you with just one picture. This the back of an ornament I gave to my sister. It's called "Home is where the heart is."

Work in Progress!

Here's a work in progress I'm deep in the middle of. And this one will have to be finished soon or else. My baby's got a birthday later this week and this is something special I'm cooking up for her.


This is the back. For some reason my mac won't let me move the photos around so this one is first even though that doesn't make sense.



Cutting up many many leaves. This kid lives in the garden so that's pretty much where the theme comes from.



Many many leaves and lots of stitching. And I love it!






More pictures to come, promise!

In + spirare

I just posted a new treasury for you all! The theme is inspiration. What inspires you?

Inspiration is breathing in and creating is breathing out. For us creative types we just can't even help it. If you direct your attention to it there is inspiration everywhere, from the way the light hits the trees, a bird's song, the color of the sky and clouds, a phrase you heard once, an idea whose time has come.

gisele

p.s. screen shot to come, as always.

We have a Winner!!

And we have a winner!


Chosen at random by an impartial third party with eyes closed,


a winner was chosen by the highly precise method of pulling a name from a bowl...
And the winner is:
Deb from Two Cheeky Monkeys has won the giveaway. I am excited to see my package go all the way to Australia - the other side of the earth as I tell the kids. I hope you love it, Deb.

Blog Giveaway!

I finished these 2 ornaments a couple of weeks ago but just managed to get pictures today. And just for fun I'd like to give them away to one lucky blog reader. I've really been enjoying blogging this year and wanted to give back to the community.

They're about an inch and a half across, made and stuffed with reclaimed wool sweater felt. All of the thread is hand-dyed except the blue/red/green variegated thread which is vintage crocheting thread. The ribbon came from a package I ordered from a seller on etsy, so I have no idea what it is. It feels old, though.

But wait, there's more!! I also have a copy of the Handmade Nation book. (I have no affiliation with the Handmade Nation people, I bought this book, and am wanting to pass it on to someone else who wants to read it.) This is chock full of pictures and stories of people who make things. Your fingers will be twitching to go make things after you read this!

OK, so it's really easy to enter. All you have to do is post a comment on my blog and I'll draw randomly next Sunday (Dec 13th) at noon for the winner. But that's not all! You can also enter by twittering or facebooking about it, mentioning it on your blog, stopping random people on the street to tell them, etc. Just be sure to come back here and post a comment for each additional thing you did to get another entry. Got it?

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that Silver Sisters now has a facebook fan page. Become a fan and then leave a comment here for another way to enter.

I’m in an unreasonably good mood today.
I’ve been reading some lovely posts about creating an enjoyable pace of life.
I’ve been thinking about my shop some, and about my art some. I’m starting to feel less like a newbie on etsy. Like making and selling might actually work for me. I’ve dipped my toes in and the water is warm.

It’s about this time of year that I start to feel a little antsy. I am evaluating things and want to change everything. I’ve been through this cycle enough years in a row to know to be careful, though. The rule is no major changes in November. I hate November. I always want to quit my job, leave my family and move somewhere really far away to start over. But it’s just November whispering in my ear.

(wip, see here.)

December is too busy with holidays to do anything major – but watch out January! In January I usually pick up a gigantic new hobby like jewelery making or painting or quilting. I get supplies for my birthday in February and then sink my teeth in. By April we’re planning and preparing for summer and then summer trips and spending time outside and I fret about not having any time for the things I love to do.

(gosh, this is an old pic now, of the family the summer before last. What a great trip!)

So, my plan this year is to create more art. I don’t quite know what it’ll be, but there’ll be a needle and colored thread involved, probably old felted sweaters and it’ll for sure be something useful. But I think it’ll be more “arty” and less “crafty” which maybe means I’ll be taking more chances.

One of my goals is to refine my process for listing on etsy. I am hoping that with my new camera I’ll spend less time editing photos – that takes the most time when listing. I am working on a copy and paste kind of description for at least part of the descriptions, so that I am editing instead of writing new copy each time. Listing takes a lot of time, and is the bottleneck, I find.

So I guess I’ve decided I’m here for the long haul and I can’t wait to get creating.

(last winter at a Christmas party touring the horse barns. This is the first batch of photos with the dreaded green line that prompted my getting a new camera a whole year later. )