Secret Holiday

I don't want to rush the winter but...

 

 

I am very happy it is fall. 

The times they are a-changin'

For the past few months I've been really enjoying shooting with film again. At first, when I would attend a family gathering or go on a little adventure with friends I would take along a small toy camera but also my digital slr, like a security blanket. But lately I've started taking along my trustee old Canon AE1 (and sometimes that toy camera, too), and leaving the slr at home. It has felt really good having more restrictions on the number of photos I can take, and also not being able to see what each shot looks like immediately after taking it. I've had to wait a good four weeks or so to process a couple rolls, and the anticipation was killing me a little, but I loved it too. Honestly, I never even learned how to use my slr properly. I can't get it to do anything I want when it's not on auto. I have forgotten a lot about shooting film, but it's been fun diving back into it. I've also been shooting with expired film, which takes some of the pressure off because you kind of know going into it that the photos could turn out awesome, or none of them will turn out at all. It helps me to just go with it and see what happens. I like taking those kind of chances.

At the moment I am still finishing up some custom bird orders, but I'm also letting things die down a little and working more at the candy shop. I'll also be putting a few hours in every week at the art supply store in town (working with Justin!). I am very much looking forward to this. Doing so many custom orders can be really exhausting at times. 

I'm coming to realize a pattern in myself, or maybe I've noticed it before but I am just now accepting and embracing it: I am really good at working hard for about four months at a time, plugging away, taking orders, emailing consistently, sewing and sewing some more, and then I get burnt out, and I just want a steady pay check that someone else is in charge of. I like the idea of coming to terms with this. I think it makes sense for me. So, for now, I am going to enjoy working a lot at the local shops. And in a couple months or so, that will probably start to get a little old, and I'll miss working at home as much as I usually do, so I'll cut my hours back and get back to sewing up a storm. 

In the mean time I will absolutely still be making stuff. I can't stop entirely! But I'm also excited about taking it easy. And really enjoying taking photos again (casual segway). I loved taking photos in high school, and early college. Honestly, it was the photo classes in college that ruined it for me. And the fact that my school dove head first into digital and kind of left analog in the dust, and I just wasn't feeling it. I stopped shooting altogether for a while. It feels good to get my feet wet again. Please expect lots of posts consisting of a million photos to follow :) (click each photo to enlarge)

Fern Animals

I shipped out a pair of custom Fern Animals today - the last to be made in a while. It feels good to take a break from things sometimes. Especially when that thing is something you have been making nearly non-stop for the past five or so years. That's hundreds upon hundreds of Animals! :)

 

This pair was made as part of a two year wedding anniversary gift. Embroidery with the couples monogram and wedding date was requested, so I hid my "signature" on the underbelly of each Fern :)

I bet I'll give in and make more Fern Animals once we get closer to the holidays (I do love making them to hang as ornaments), but for now, a break feels nice. 

Benjamin & Ruth

I just listed a new pair of Love Birds in my Etsy shop tonight: Benjamin and Ruth. I am completely in love with them! Is it okay for me to say that about something I made? I ought to be in love with my creation, right?  Well, either way, I am going to have a hard time parting with these two, but I am also super excited for someone to snatch them up and love them as much as I do (and hopefully let them perch atop a wedding cake too!)

These have easily become my favorite birds out of all the birds I have made. AND little Ruth here is Love Bird No.100!! I kind of can't believe I have already made one hundred of these! But I am ready to make a hundred more! In celebration of the hundredth bird, there will be a little secret surprise stuck in the box for the lucky customer :)

But for tonight, Benjamin and Ruth are sitting on the mantel in my living room, ready to ship out to a wedding or anniversary or birthday or a just-because party. I will savor every last moment I have to gaze at them. Have I gushed too much about these? Yes, this is a bit ridiculous, isn't it? Ah well...

Historic Trade Banners

 

 

My good friend Jessica shared this link with me today and I just had to pass it on. These old hand painted banners are amazing. Thanks Jessica!