saturday night fun

Tonight is my first night at home in such a long time.  While enjoying the peaceful night, I randomly decided to make this lil fried egg for fun:

Cute, huh?  The free pattern is from the lovely blog of Ana Paula Rimoli (find it here: http://amigurumipatterns.blogspot.com/).

I've been stuck working on a crochet lamb for a friend.  I bought the pattern from a fellow Etsian and it has definitely been a challenge!  There are some unusual stitches within the pattern and although it's been frustrating at times (and resulted in me unraveling precious work I thought I completed or having to start completely over), I think it's been good practice and has helped me work through some unfamiliar crochet territory.  I hope it'll look great when it's finally done!  I finished the main body parts and am just working on the arms, legs, and ears at this point.  Then I get to assemble it!  *fingers crossed*

Because of the lamb, and my general laziness, I haven't made progress on my Etsy shop at all.  The weeklong road trip to Portland and Seattle last week really took its toll on me and I've been sluggish and dragging my feet all week.  I really need to get on track next week!  I'm still aiming for a September shop opening and hope that will be true.  I was convinced before that I wanted so much stuff to be perfect before I opened, but now that just seems silly.  I can't promote any work without anything posted!  Duh. I want to work on a small inventory to have on hand and I'll post those things, then gradually work on new items and add those every few days or so.  I can always work on other things once I have items posted - like improving my overall shop look, getting business cards, etc.  I'm not sure why I keep holding back.  I really just need to make items to sell, take good pictures, and create my shop policies.  It doesn't have to be perfect right away but I have to have at least *something* in the shop to promote.

The goals for next week are to make some jewelry (some designs which I've had in my head for a while) and figure out how to work my sewing machine.  Once I get that working, then I can work on plushies, bags, etc.  It's always slow to get going each day but I think once I start the process on Monday, I'll be motivated to keep going!  My desk (aka work area) needs a major cleaning anyway.

say hello to my new lil friend

Say hello to Mr. Lizard!  He's my new little plushie friend.  Bf saw a pattern for him in my 'Cute Dolls' book by Aranzi Aronzo and asked me to make him.  He's made from anti-pill fleece (rather than jersey as the book suggests) and I filled his tummy and tail full of some pellets so he'd be able to sit upright a bit easier.  He doesn't have an official name yet but Mr. Lizard might stick - any suggestions are welcomed!

Because I used a pattern, I won't be selling him on Etsy, but making this plushie reminded me how fun it is to make new little friends!  I have to work some more on my drawings but I hope to make a lot of fun little friends and bring them to life for my Etsy shop.  I've also been tackling with a necklace design I can't seem to get right (it's pretty but doesn't function properly as it constantly gets tangled and doesn't sit right when I wear it).  I hope to fix that today.

Oh, and know what else is funny?  Bf has been so inspired by seeing cute things on Etsy that he's started to sketch his own drawings for plushies, too.  He's created quite the series of characters and now we have the materials to make them, so no doubt he'll be cutting out some patterns soon and having me help him sew them together.  I hope I can figure out the sewing machine soon so he can sew them himself!  When did our household become this crafty?? :)

first week of freedom!

We successfully moved my sister into her new apartment on Saturday - phew!  It was a long day but ended with a Taco Bell dinner in her new dining area.  Surprisingly, it wasn't as rough of a day as we feared it might be, what a relief.

Today, bf and I finally got to go to the fabric store and pick out different materials for all of the crafties we're planning.  He's finally going to bring his sketches to life in plushie form (with my help, of course)!  I've planned some cute animal plushies and bags for my Etsy shop, but it's mostly ideas in my head so I'll need to sketch them out soon.  We have so many different types of fabric, I'm not sure where to even start!

This week marks the first week in months that I'm actually free.  Free from studying, free from stress...it's really a surreal feeling (and I wish my brain would realize it so I'd stop having nightmares about the Bar, yuck).  After so many weeks of having school hanging over my head, then the Bar and then even after, I had to worry about re-taking the MPRE but now, nothing.  Finally I can work on all my crafts and Etsy shop and I'm not sure where to even begin and it almost feels...wrong, haha.  It's been so long since I've had the freedom to do anything I wanted without having to follow a schedule.  It's really a special feeling and I am so thankful to my bf for supporting me/us financially while I'm officially unemployed but hoping to get my business up and running.  It's sort of scary not to have a steady income especially since I have so much debt but I'm grateful for the opportunity to do what I love and take a small break from the 'real world' and share my crafties with you!

To avoid being lazy, I really need to make a daily schedule so I stay on track.  Although I don't have a real job lined up, I want to make sure I take care of things for the shop because it's essentially my job at least for a few months until I know the Bar results.  There's a lot to do:  making items for the shop which will include jewelry, plushies, bags, lots of fun stuff; learning how to use my sewing machine; organizing and setting up the shop; taking photos of the items; listing the items; working on packaging; networking; and ordering my mini Moo cards.  And I'm sure there are other miscellaneous things I'll need to do along the way.  I can't wait to work on everything and document my progress along the way!  I'm still aiming for a September shop opening so I hope I can keep up with that goal.

On top of all of this, I also promised some cute crochet amigurumi for my friends and some plushies for bf per his request, plus the apartment also needs major cleaning and reorganizing.  And I haven't seen the gym in months.  On a more serious level, even though I have no clue how the Bar even went, I've decided it would be in my best interest to begin re-studying each topic per week starting in September just in case I didn't pass (which I won't even know until mid-November).  Rather than waiting until then and cramming for February 2011, I will be a happier person if I was already well on the way of studying even if just for a few hours each day.  It isn't so exciting but it will keep me busy and well-rounded while I work on crafts and keep up the house.

Before all this can begin, though, I have to prepare for our road trip (which starts on Thursday)!  We're headed to Portland and Seattle for some food, beads, zoos, minor league baseball games, and touristy things.  I'm not really looking forward to the long drive or being away from our hammies and hermies, but it will be so nice to get away and be on vacation.  I'm planning on making amigurumi during the drive and sketching ideas for crafties.  I'm going to take a ton of pictures, too, to document our adventures!  I'm hoping to be inspired during the trip with new ideas for jewelry designs and cute animals for plushies, woohoo :)

Things will be pretty busy before then while we get ready, and while I'm looking forward to the trip, it will be nice to be back toward the end of the month and get my life into order at home to begin the next phase of my life :)  I can't wait to share my jewelry and crafties!