So Much Work!

*Warning, general crabbiness and whining ahead* There is so much work to be done for this website! Everything takes 10 times longer than I think it will and days go by when I can't do anything work related.

Anyway I apparently don't have enough on my plate cause I started taking this 30 Sale a Day Challenge course to help me focus on my business and I highly recommend it. And guess what it's FREE!

 http://www.creativehiveco.com/a-sale-a-day-challenge/

You can work at your own pace. There are all some worksheets to download and fill out and questions to answer. I won't lie it's hard (at least for me) I really have to push myself to do these exercises but it's so worth it! Mei who designed this course is an awesome person. I belong to a Private Facebook Group of hers and it's full of great helpful people. Also Mei is active in the group and answers questions too. I follow several "social media business people" and the content Mei has really connects with me.

 So today was supposed to be my super secret soft website launch date. Yeah, that didn't happen. Yep, and I'm stressed about it too. Now I'm not sure exactly when it will launch, but my newsletter subscribers will be the first to know by a day or two, then everyone else will find out.

I've been stressing about lots of things but particularly my product photos. A couple of days ago I set up my lightbox and started shooting and was so unhappy with my photos, like seriously in a funk about it, so much so I just sat around stressing about it. Yesterday I got off my butt and shot a whole new round of photos which are better and starting to grow on me, but not perfect like I imagined in my head. Well I'm not perfect so why should my photos be?! I'll never get anything done if I keep expecting perfect, so I'm slowly learning that not perfect but trying my best is good enough.

Thanks for reading through my crabbiness and I promise to have something more upbeat next time.

I'm Still Here...

...even though it may not seem that way. My mom had knee replacement surgery and is doing well. She's able to do a lot for herself now what makes it so much easier on me. The first week was really stressful for us both. I don't think I'm a very good caretaker, but I do try so I guess that's what counts. The 5 months I took care of my step dad about did me in so it was hard to pull the energy together to help my mom.

My mom or my brother usually do the cooking and we all eat together. I'm not a great cook, as a matter of fact I really enjoy watching cooking shows but hate cooking myself. So it's been a struggle to feed everyone. (My brother is working a lot of late hours at work learning a new computer tracking system). Thank goodness some lovely church friends of my mom's dropped by with casseroles and helped us get through.

I've had to put projects on hold again cause I just can't deal with my mom and other family issues and taking care of the entire house, shopping, cooking, dealing with my own medical issues and doing this large penguin order, etc right now. My stress and anxiety level is a bit high right now but I'm managing. I guess I sound like a whiner but really I'm just exhausted. I had much more energy 4 years ago when my mom had her first knee done.

I have 80 of the 300 penguins completely finished!

Here's what I have left to do.

I ran out of the ribbon for the hanging loops and have not been able to find it anywhere. Tomorrow I'm taking a run out to the far away Hobby Lobby cause I hear they have it. Fingers crossed!

I received a package from Fed Ex this morning. From my mom for Mother's Day. She is just the sweetest!

It's that a pretty box? What's inside?

Cookies from Harry and David. My mom rocks!

Well now you know what's going on with me and I hope soon to have more to show than penguins.

My Pup Lita Has Been Sick.

My poor baby had a bad infection that required minor surgery. She was sedated and knocked out which is always a worry for small dogs. She came through the procedure fine and her vet (who is the best btw!) made sure she could come home the same day and also blasted some plaque off her teeth while she was already out. Lita was in lots of pain and ended up having her butt shaved which she is very embarrassed about. She spent most of last week sleeping and laying around like this.

This week she is back to normal which makes me realize that she hasn't been normal for a while. I was just too stressed and busy with family matters and the upcoming holidays to notice. I feel like the worst dog mom ever that she had to suffer so long! I will not let that happen again! It's been quite the adventure here in Sassyland.

Retail Therapy

After I went to the hospital yesterday I felt like this.

So I decided some retail therapy might perk me up a bit.

 Adding more to my small paint collection and

glitter glue for faerie wings.

Fun Halloween fabrics for dolls and plushies.

Awesome spooky fabric for my large Art Dolls.

Yarn for hair for the doll below.

Prettier now that she's got her eyebrows

and lashes on.

Teeny tiny evenly spaced stitches are

oddly calming after a stress filled day.

Messy Studio and WIP

A flurry of creativity plus some shelves coming down have created quite the mess in my studio. The shelves above my computer/printing desk have brackets that are super loose. So I had to remove everything off the shelves so they didn't fall on top of me. Now all of the toys and binders and books and fun stuff are piled on my felt table. Add to that a new box of felt has arrived with no where to go, plus me digging thru things and a huge mess is born.

Lovely isn't it?

 I'm very stressed about this and tried to straighten up but I just kept making piles of new items with nowhere to go! I eventually fled to the comfort and calmness of my living room and made a nice felt mess in there. LOL! Hoping that soon my son will be nice and help his mom out and get my shelves back up.

New plush design sneak peek. Not an owl this time.