Twelve by Twelve Reveal Day

Today's the day for the final Twelve by Twelve reveal day.  Make sure to check out all the "Sweet" quilts as I'm feeling a little bittersweet.

Crafting for Christmas

What a busy month it has been.  The craziness begins in late October around here as we get ready for Halloween, followed closely by two birthdays.  Then, of course, comes Thanksgiving.  This year,  Thanksgiving weekend was also filled with the EtsyRAIN Handmade Holiday show in Seattle. The next weekend (actually Thursday-Sunday) was the Bainbridge Island Studio Tour. And finally, I did the Fremont First Friday Art Walk this last Friday.  And every spare moment in there I was creating.

Above is a photo of my space during the Bainbridge Studio Tour.  We were at the American Legion Hall so I'm sure you can see the bingo board behind my booth.  I did my best to give it a homey feel.  I even stole a bookshelf out of our pantry and a kitchen cabinet from the garage.  Every time I redesign the space.  This year it only took me about four hours.  I was the volunteer studio host, so I was the first to arrive (and breakdown all the chairs and tables from Bingo) and the last to leave.  I brought a few things to work on, but spent most of the time fiddling with things.  The best compliment was that it felt like stepping in my living room. Unfortunately, my living room is currently no where near that clean.

It was a fun weekend seeing old friends and customers and new friends.  I met two wonderful ladies who want me to do a creative party for them and their friends.  I am going to bring all the supplies and we are going to create some mini mixed media quilts.  I'm very excited about the opportunity.  I also met another woman who invited me to come over to the Fremont First Friday Art Walk.  I dragged my husband with me and we had a grand time sharing my work with a whole new crowd.  Now I'm done with shows and I only need to worry about my Etsy shop for the next few months.  Adam has made me  promise that I will work on my inventory all year instead of waiting until Halloween and working nonstop for a month.  I think the family was missing having MOM around even though I was technically here.

I made a lot of new things for the shows this year.  I finished most of the large journals I started. I do have about 10 beaded covers done, but ran out of paper to sew together in the insides.  Luckily that shouldn't take too long once I find a chance to work on them.  I also created smaller journals.  They come with either watercolor paper or regular bond paper.  I listed the remaining ones in my Etsy shop, but I'm thinking many of them will turn into gifts at the end of next week.  I also had to make Treasure Tea Boxes, two of every color.  I did sell out of blue and could have used more, so I will keep that in mind for next year.  The Mixed Media Art Quilt Kits were also a hit.  One couple bought enough for the whole family to do together on Christmas afternoon.  I love that idea!

Another fun idea I had was Stocking Stuffer Art.  I left some of my little art quilts unmounted instead of making them into cards.  They are just fun little pieces of art.  You can frame them yourself, turn them into pins or magnets or decorate a package.  They could be ornaments or just little gifts to make someone smile.  Today's task has been to work on listing the remaining ones in the shop.  I really do love working with all this color.  Each little piece makes me smile.  The only problem is that there is so much that I want to do and the time is flying way to fast.