Proud Of This One!

I had a custom order from my sweet friend, Joann, she wanted a book bound with 11x14 drawing paper to get her art on in! The finished product is covered in a Chinese red fabric with kanji symbols, trimmed in black with a magnetic closure and a handle for carrying. As a bonus I sewed a removable pouch to hold her pencils, it's attached with velcro on the inside. I love this one and will be making a couple for my shop for sure!

(Click to enlarge)
I had an amazing February when it comes to book sales and by the way this month has started it will be an equally fantastic March. I listed a new book yesterday and shared the listing on my Facebook page, it sold in a record 9 minutes! I am blessed. My shop is back down to 11 books and I have yet to get a single one done for the show in June but I've been hitting the binding fast and furious, hopefully after the 4 custom orders I have are finished I'll have a lull to get to both my shop and the show.

Update on my daughter: She is still doing remarkably well, I'm so so proud of her, I think she may be going back to work this upcoming week.  A huge thank you goes out to everyone who have kept her in their thoughts and prayers.

I really like this song :o)

PS This is my 100th post!..............at the Shores

Back to the Work Tables

I've gotten back into my books after a couple weeks of being away. I've managed to get 2 custom orders done and have yet 3 to go. One is for a very good customer in San Antonio, TX it was a butterfly themed journal and the second is for my husband's niece about an hour away, it's for her 9 year old granddaughter who likes to both write and draw so I made the pages alternate between drawing paper and lined paper - she too wanted a butterfly theme.


Last week I sent an application and check to participate in my first art/craft show benefiting the Cleveland Animal Protection League...I sit here wondering just how many books I need to have made for a nice display, I went easy on myself for my first show, it's only a five hour long one. I think I'll visit Vistaprint and get a banner made - they really have good prices on things like that, I get my business cards, swap cards, personalized notecards as well as rack cards from them.  


I have a swap that's been due for a collographed ATC but my first attempt was a complete disaster, I just made a muddy mess - I think I'm still trying to kick start that part of my creativity after the past few weeks I've had. I am so grateful to my partner, Tricia who was so kind in letting me know she isn't sweating it.  

Here's a picture of me, Renee' and my mom as they were getting ready to leave back to Georgia. I miss them both an awful lot. I am still in my pink jammies ;)

Now relax :)

Singing a sweet lullaby ..............at the Shores

Better Day By Day

I must say, I feel a lot better today. I reread my last post with all it's half finished thoughts and sentences and wondered if I should fix it, I decided not to, that was my mind.....fragmented.  

My friends have been an amazing support to me but I'd like to share the beauty of what my daughter's friends truly have been to her. Bryan's funeral has pretty much been paid for through the donations of friends and family - truly an amazing blessing as they had no insurance nor any savings. 

This weekend they will be having a get together to celebrate his life at a local Atlanta club with the cover charge proceeds going to Renee' to help her get on her feet, this is great especially since she has been away from work the past 3 weeks.

Last night she spent her first night alone and called me this morning saying she did fine and she thinks she'll be ok. Today she and her mother-in-law are at church packing up care packets for the local women's shelter, his mother is the epitome of strength and grace, I worry about Renee' less because she is there. 

Lastly, I cannot leave out her brother, my sweet son, who while she was here in Ohio for a week used his key to her apartment to buy some nice things to make her place a little more cozy and homey for when she returned. While I was still down in ATL he and I redid her bathroom with new shower curtain, rug and a few sets of towels...I think it felt so good to do that for his big sister that he had to do more while she was gone. I never knew he had it in him! I mean, he bought pictures for the walls, dish towels and scrubbies for the kitchen, new nightstands, lamps, candles and a new bed frame for her bedroom. I'm not sure when I've ever been more proud of both my kids.  

No pictures in this post, just wanted to share a little loveliness of this world just when sometimes you'd think it's simply gone mad.  

Getting by with a little help from my friends.........at the Shores  

Broken

I've had quite a heartbreaking February so far, it started with a gut wrenching phone call from my daughter in Atlanta, her husband died suddenly at home, my poor girl tried desperately to revive him - I rerun the horror that must have been in her world at that moment. Death is hard, so hard on those left behind. I wish I could make it all better for my sweet girl who now is a young widow at 27. She's been so brave. My mother and I drove her back here to Ohio for a bit to get her away from the place they've known one another since she was 14, they've been sweethearts for so long and finally married last Memorial Day weekend, this will be a test of her strength and faith. She left this morning...I'm sad.

While up here, Renee, my mother and I made a quilt from some of his clothes, hopefully she can wrap up in it on those nights when she feels the pain the most and it gives her a little comfort.  

Friends, please, never ever forget or neglect to tell those you care about that you love them. Life truly is short and there are no guarantees on tomorrow.

Bryan, a favorite of yours....... this one is for you

Feeling regret................at the Shores

Relax....

Last week my husband told me that I don't know how to relax, that I've always got to be doing something. Is this because even while watching TV I have needlework out? Or I bind books like mad? Or need to be elbow deep in paint? I believe he thinks relaxing is vegging in front of the television just staring. I can't do that, it makes me anxious to do nothing. I did try to explain that doing things IS relaxing to me unless it's housework. Ick. My latest relaxing unrelaxing thing is a poppy table topper (pictured above) I've been working on, I'm not big on tablecloths unless I am having a dinner but my dining table is so big it looks incredibly bare with nothing on it so I like a runner or just a topper in the middle with a nice vase of flowers, twigs, greens, whatever I can dig up. Almost a quarter of the way done.

I've also nearly finished with a custom order film themed book. I used some of the Hepburn stencils I had cut for the endpapers, bound it with a long stitch then did weavings on the spine using the exposed threads. 

My goal of 12 books was not met last month *sigh*. Them's the breaks! I'll try to get the others done this month. I am pleased however that 9 of my books have been featured in various treasuries on Etsy...quite flattering! My "Urban Musings" journal has been featured on Zur Designs blog here, it's in lovely company.  

Love this song...Good IS Good :o)

I don’t hold no mystery..........at the Shores