The Tide is Turning

I feel like I might finally be emerging from the chaos and mental funk. The last month has been marked by snow in mid-April, a broken water heater, a trip to the emergency room and a dead opossum in our garden, along with the regular challenges of life. The kids are recovering from the flu and we have a vacation planned for late next week. I finally have hope that life will settle down to a manageable level of chaos and we will have some fun again. (I'm a little afraid to put it in writing though! That old superstitious me coming out I guess.)

My creative time and focus has been a little limited. I did have a bit of energy to make some bookmarks. I love how they turned out. As a hopeless fiber girl, the ribbons and yarns satisfy my need to touch and stroke something soft. I love the way they cascade out of a book. And I don't need to worry about loosing the bookmark in the covers of the bed when I am reading at night. The painted watercolor paper gives me a chance to play with color and the messy nature of paint. I don't usually paint with a brush. I like to use a scrap of cloth and really spread the paint around. Then I also end up with some fun fabric to play with too. Finally the plus sized inchies let me sew away with fabric and thread. The only things missing are thicker embellishments. But I thought beads, buttons and wire wouldn't be the best things to put inside a book.

On another possitive note, I applied for a business license yesterday. Now I can write all these craft supplies off on my taxes! I would really like to make and sell more, not necessarily for the money, but for the joy of creating. Right now, I'm just kind of fumbling along, but I am trying to be easy on myself and take my time. The part I hate is marketing and selling. If somebody else would just do that for me, I would be a happy camper. I have a feeling most artist probably feel the same way. For now, it's baby steps.