Being listed in an Etsy Treasury is like being accepted into a new community of friends. I was rather surprised last night when I did a search of my shop and found Blackbird Creative was listed in a number of treasuries! Now I understand why I got a sudden rush of custom orders and sales! Thanks Etsiers! Feeling the love!!!!
Check our listings in the following treasuries!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c50c5e411178eef179f6df5/marie-antoinette-her-life-and-her-love?index=1
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c51bcb3bb2d6d910b9c926b/lavender-blue?index=0
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c4ca57aea126d9149b23900/farm-fresh?index=2
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c46ec035aaf6d917cfb2077/boudoir-basics?index=3
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c478ef7ea5f8eef9a3bb942/saturday-at-the-farmers-market?index=4
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c45a82ac9fe8eef167bef18/we-are-gathered-here-today?index=7
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c44f132c9fe8eef80a5db18/boy-i-didnt-see-that-coming?index=8
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c4503a83f476d91bcac4828/summer-time-in-the-country-and-the-livin?index=9
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c1a4aaacb686d91dc956f95/ready-to-be-loved-again?index=12
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c2ab3c73d6d8eef8f36ad44/turn-the-page?index=15
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c26987818cd6d915dec641f/loteria-mexicana?index=16
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c16c1ee17146d9156d2901c/country-road-take-me-home?index=17
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bfe81f58ccc8eefd3d9aac7/1950?index=19
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
You have this fantasy of living in a Pottery Barn catalog, sipping iced sun tea while lounging on the day bed on the sleeping porch. A gentle breeze blows through and your bunting flags wave overhead. In the corner there's a wooden box filled with dominoes and a deck of playing cards sits on the table, aching to be shuffled, waiting for a game of solitaire. The scent of lavender and mint and onions from the surrounding fields fills the air. It's hot outside, but a dry heat that you know will cool to a more temperate air later in the evening and you'll be able to enjoy a delicious meal outdoors. But for now, you just want to sit and read a book in the shade, sipping on your tea.Here it is, the middle of July, and I feel the summer slipping away from me. Those lazy days of summer. Just can't get enough!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Stressed Out/ Blissed Out
When life gets overwhelming, it helps to get back to basics. I learned this lesson a long time ago, and I feel that lately I may just be reliving this experience.
When I was a freelance writer, I had a pretty tight schedule. Since I also held an office job, was a single mom of four children and a first-time home owner of a 100 year old home (read: much maintenance--on my own!), I had to be on top of my game.
So, my days would go like this: wake up at 6:00 am and do an hour of yoga, get the kids up and ready for school, head out to the office, put in my 9-5 and then get the kids from after school care. We'd all get home, I'd cook dinner, help the kiddos with homework and chores/ baths/ night time rituals and then I would sit down to my computer to begin writing. Often times, I'd be up until midnight or later working on assignments.
That is, usually, I was on top of my game. I shared custody with my ex-husband, who lived only a few blocks away. The kids were with me five days and then with him for five days, and during my "off" time, I did not always keep to my schedule. Because I didn't have the kids, I gained about five extra hours a day, essentially.
"This is great," I remember thinking. "I have so much time to focus on my writing!"
Well....not exactly. My once rigid schedule turned into this: up at 7:00 for an hour of yoga, ride my bike to the office. Put in my 9-5 or 6 or 7. Meet friends at the neighborhood pub du jour for a drink and a sandwich. End up staying until 10 or 11. Get home and tell myself I would focus on writing--- "tomorrow."
This usually repeated itself over the next three days and on day five, I'd really crack down, feel the pressure and produce my work. It worked. I produced. And it was good. But....I was not proud of myself for handling my schedule the way I did.
I would play mind tricks with myself, telling myself that, because I had so much "extra" time, I could wait until later to write that article/ do the laundry/ do my yoga. And now, I feel as if I am falling into this same mind trap. Since I've been a "stay-at-home" worker/ mom again, I haven't stuck to any schedule at all.
And now with looming deadlines, I'm starting to feel a little pressure, a little stressed out, if you will.
*************************************************************************************
This past weekend, we went to the Lavender You-Cut Festival at Lakeside Lavender Farm in Nampa. As we walked up the long drive, the scent of lavender wafted over us and I began to feel somewhat relaxed.
There were a lot people, for sure--mostly middle aged women living out their French Country fantasies and the husbands who escorted them (and that description fits me, too!) There were lots of bees, too, as you can imagine, with over 1500 lavender bushes. But the bees were happy and drunk on nectar and didn't seem to mind us chopping away at the flowers.
We enjoyed the day in the hot, hot sun, and with the humidity, it felt a little like Iowa to me! At the end of it all, we indulged in homemade lavender ice cream while we listened to the jazz-fusion band hired to entertain everyone. In all, it was a good day.
*********************************************************************************
Today I finished a project I've been working on...bunting flag. This one (below) is called "Bliss" because it portrays inspirational words (such as bliss, joy, hope, love...) on some of the pendants. Also because these little flags make me happy! I tell you, it's the little things in life that make it such a big deal!
When I was a freelance writer, I had a pretty tight schedule. Since I also held an office job, was a single mom of four children and a first-time home owner of a 100 year old home (read: much maintenance--on my own!), I had to be on top of my game.
So, my days would go like this: wake up at 6:00 am and do an hour of yoga, get the kids up and ready for school, head out to the office, put in my 9-5 and then get the kids from after school care. We'd all get home, I'd cook dinner, help the kiddos with homework and chores/ baths/ night time rituals and then I would sit down to my computer to begin writing. Often times, I'd be up until midnight or later working on assignments.
That is, usually, I was on top of my game. I shared custody with my ex-husband, who lived only a few blocks away. The kids were with me five days and then with him for five days, and during my "off" time, I did not always keep to my schedule. Because I didn't have the kids, I gained about five extra hours a day, essentially.
"This is great," I remember thinking. "I have so much time to focus on my writing!"
Well....not exactly. My once rigid schedule turned into this: up at 7:00 for an hour of yoga, ride my bike to the office. Put in my 9-5 or 6 or 7. Meet friends at the neighborhood pub du jour for a drink and a sandwich. End up staying until 10 or 11. Get home and tell myself I would focus on writing--- "tomorrow."
This usually repeated itself over the next three days and on day five, I'd really crack down, feel the pressure and produce my work. It worked. I produced. And it was good. But....I was not proud of myself for handling my schedule the way I did.
I would play mind tricks with myself, telling myself that, because I had so much "extra" time, I could wait until later to write that article/ do the laundry/ do my yoga. And now, I feel as if I am falling into this same mind trap. Since I've been a "stay-at-home" worker/ mom again, I haven't stuck to any schedule at all.
And now with looming deadlines, I'm starting to feel a little pressure, a little stressed out, if you will.
*************************************************************************************
This past weekend, we went to the Lavender You-Cut Festival at Lakeside Lavender Farm in Nampa. As we walked up the long drive, the scent of lavender wafted over us and I began to feel somewhat relaxed.
There were a lot people, for sure--mostly middle aged women living out their French Country fantasies and the husbands who escorted them (and that description fits me, too!) There were lots of bees, too, as you can imagine, with over 1500 lavender bushes. But the bees were happy and drunk on nectar and didn't seem to mind us chopping away at the flowers.
We enjoyed the day in the hot, hot sun, and with the humidity, it felt a little like Iowa to me! At the end of it all, we indulged in homemade lavender ice cream while we listened to the jazz-fusion band hired to entertain everyone. In all, it was a good day.
*********************************************************************************
Today I finished a project I've been working on...bunting flag. This one (below) is called "Bliss" because it portrays inspirational words (such as bliss, joy, hope, love...) on some of the pendants. Also because these little flags make me happy! I tell you, it's the little things in life that make it such a big deal!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
How The Other Half Lives
Barry has been busy, too! One of the things that attracted me to Barry was his frugality. He'd get up early on the weekends to go tag sale-ing. Little did I know that it REALLY meant he's a closet hoarder! LOL!
After years of collecting junk at tag sales, flea markets and auctions, he began tinkering with the stuff and was inspired when he read an article about a similar artist in my latest issue of Flea Market Style magazine. Suddenly all that "junk" lying around the basement and on his work bench in the back yard looks charming!
I set up an Etsy shop for him today. Check out his first listing: "iHeart BYBot."
You can check it out here: www.bybots.etsy.com
After years of collecting junk at tag sales, flea markets and auctions, he began tinkering with the stuff and was inspired when he read an article about a similar artist in my latest issue of Flea Market Style magazine. Suddenly all that "junk" lying around the basement and on his work bench in the back yard looks charming!
I set up an Etsy shop for him today. Check out his first listing: "iHeart BYBot."
You can check it out here: www.bybots.etsy.com
BYBots: Back yard robots. Made from found objects, JB weld, soldering techniques. What Barry does when not driving school buses or selling ads for Metro Woman Directory. (In fact, as I write this, he is in the back yard fusing together an old tea kettle and vintage welders goggles.)
Confessions of a Francophile
Phew...I've been busy these past few days! First, we've been asked to participate in a craft fair at a retirement community. Yes, it's a small deal, but it's kind of a big deal for us considering the craft fair is a Christmas in July event and I have no real Christmas inventory to speak of! So, I've been cranking out things like cards, gift tags and (hopefully soon!) prettily-scented pine cone fire starters.
Second, I've been scratching my Franco Itch. While it's true I can trace my roots back to the mother-land, it's not so much that I'm a Francophile. Seriously. (No, really!)
It's just over the years, I've seemed to amass quite a few French-inspired home decor items; an Eiffel Tower lamp and a wine rack, a set of Frenchie stamps, a good french recipe book, rustic french-country prints, etc... Either I like the way they look, or people give them to me as gifts. (It must be the vibes I'm sending out the Universe.)
And I look around on Etsy and other crafter's sites and see that French country is very popular right now. It is such a great look, I have to admit. Which makes it easy for me to indulge in this stuff.
I've been real excited about this weekend's Lavender Festival at Lakeside Lavender Farm here in Nampa. I've been talking about going for weeks now, and I've even driven by just to get a sneak peak of what we are in for. In the meantime, I've been busy sewing these pretty little sachets to fill with the flowers once I get them home and can dry them!
These sachets are made of muslin and are hand-stamped with said Frenchie stamp and different colored inks. Each one is unique. Some have liberty print muslin backs, others are plain muslin backs. Some have twine ribbon closures, others have fancy wire ribbon ties.
I wanted to share some photographs of what I've completed so far, just as a preview. I'll list them on Etsy when the time is right. But for now, I must get back to the sewing machine!
Second, I've been scratching my Franco Itch. While it's true I can trace my roots back to the mother-land, it's not so much that I'm a Francophile. Seriously. (No, really!)
It's just over the years, I've seemed to amass quite a few French-inspired home decor items; an Eiffel Tower lamp and a wine rack, a set of Frenchie stamps, a good french recipe book, rustic french-country prints, etc... Either I like the way they look, or people give them to me as gifts. (It must be the vibes I'm sending out the Universe.)
And I look around on Etsy and other crafter's sites and see that French country is very popular right now. It is such a great look, I have to admit. Which makes it easy for me to indulge in this stuff.I've been real excited about this weekend's Lavender Festival at Lakeside Lavender Farm here in Nampa. I've been talking about going for weeks now, and I've even driven by just to get a sneak peak of what we are in for. In the meantime, I've been busy sewing these pretty little sachets to fill with the flowers once I get them home and can dry them!
These sachets are made of muslin and are hand-stamped with said Frenchie stamp and different colored inks. Each one is unique. Some have liberty print muslin backs, others are plain muslin backs. Some have twine ribbon closures, others have fancy wire ribbon ties.
I wanted to share some photographs of what I've completed so far, just as a preview. I'll list them on Etsy when the time is right. But for now, I must get back to the sewing machine!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Burlap
I'm not giving up my sources, but man...did they come through today in a big way! I am now the proud owner of 12 burlap coffee sacks, and I just need to figure out what I can do with them...other than sell them on my Etsy shop. I was thinking of reupholstering my dining chairs--yes, the ones I just reupholstered less than one month ago with a very lovely chrysanthemum fabric.
The big trend I've been seeing with burlap is pillows. While I think they are cute and all, I just want to be more creative than that. I'll search the web and see what inspires me. Besides, burlap doesn't strike me as a very comfy fabric to rest my head against. At any rate, the burlap is great to have because it is so very trendy right now.
The big trend I've been seeing with burlap is pillows. While I think they are cute and all, I just want to be more creative than that. I'll search the web and see what inspires me. Besides, burlap doesn't strike me as a very comfy fabric to rest my head against. At any rate, the burlap is great to have because it is so very trendy right now.
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