crafty weekend wrap-up

Ahhh... The Big Crafty... As always, I got swept up in the day and forgot to take better pictures of the event & my booth. At least I got these shots right as the show was about to begin.

And this photo of Alex setting up our booth (and my sister's booth in another photo) was in a local online paper. 

I was given an amazing location that was in the center of the action, but with a little more space around and in front of me than some other booths. I felt really lucky and grateful for that. When it got crazy and crowded during the day my booth never felt claustrophobic like a lot of other locations.

We had the chance to see some old friends and repeat customers (thank you!!!) and meet some new folks as well. Although with it being so hectic and crowded, this show does not lend itself to meeting people. All in all it was a wonderful, wonderful day. I ♥ The Big Crafty.

Alex also represented Sweet Mess Art at the Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa this weekend. Here he is leaving our driveway on the way to the show. I wish I could have been there, but it was too much to bring the kids.  

Overall a great weekend. 
whew!

catching up

Seo and the giant mountain of laundry (at least it is clean) on our bed. 

I had visions of the day after our big show weekend being a sweet family day.
In my imagination the kids would be so grateful to finally have our full attention and the day would be spent just the four of us, cuddling, and playing, and maybe even picking out a tree for the holidays.
BUT... for some reason it just didn't turn out like that. The kids didn't seem grateful to have us back, they seemed frustrated and whiny, and cry-ey~ particularly Seo.  Despite our best efforts to make it fun, it was a challenge. At dinnertime Alex and I clung to each other hugged and just shook our heads in wonderment at the day. I wouldn't trade being their Mom for a second, but there are certainly days and moments where it just. feels. difficult.

Days like this are good lessons in letting go of expectations, you know?

big crafty set up

photo courtesy Justin Rabuck

Setting up for The Big Crafty this morning. We had a wonderful day.... more to come when I am not so crazy exhausted!

blog reader sale

 Our two big holiday shows are this coming weekend:
Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa & The Big Crafty!
We have been bustling to be over-prepared.

Also, I finally got my ornaments up in my shop. I don't expect to sell out of them this weekend (I made a ridiculous amount) but if there is a certain design you want you may want to purchase it before this weekend just in case! See them all HERE.

Also, Lucy asked if I would have the card sets up... I still need to take photos of the actual cards~ but I listed them in the shop anyways.  See them HERE. :)

And lastly ~~~~~ I am offering all of my blog readers a 

20% discount this holiday season

at both my shops starting today! Because you all are the best!

You suffer through my grammatical errors, 

late night ramblings,  

are witness to the growth of my art as a business, 

and you help promote my art.  

Yep, what would I do without you?

Enter the coupon code BLOGREADER in the "coupon code" box at checkout of either of my stores to receive your discount.

♥

Kelcey

giving thanks for what we have.

We ate our Thanksgiving dinner outside with my sister and friends this year. It was a tiny bit chilly~ but oh so fun and joyous.

I like this article "Thanksgving: A Native American Perspective"  by Jacqueline Keeler.
I love the idea of a holiday based on giving thanks... I sincerely wished the origins of our holiday were as simple and pure of heart...

cement truck

 A friend of ours is putting a small addition on his home and Alex spent the morning helping lay the cement floor. The floor has piping that will provide radiant heat for the house. We have the same piping in our house, but it isn't hooked up yet. Someday...
The kids and I got a chance to go watch the excitement for a little while. They were completely entranced by the cement truck and the sloshing cement. They were so content they even held hands for awhile.

A quick hello!
I have been working all day, every day, to get ready for all of the upcoming shows. Everything is looking tight! Like these card packs I have been working on tonight. I have two shows this weekend and then next week I will photograph all the new stuff and get it up in the shop. :)
Lil and Seo have ferocious and horribly gross colds right now ~ so sleeping and trying to get work done have been tricky.  Even as I type this the sounds of the keyboard clicking is waking Seo up. My
poor baby is miserable...

Tonight Alex and I are working side by side, and in an effort to be quiet we each have our own headset on. Alex can't stand the Indigo Girls so it is a treat to be listening to some old-school (high school/early 90's for me) music.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
♥ Kelcey

abundance

I woke up this morning and looked at last night's post and sighed. 

My question "Are you afraid of abundance" in my last post didn't make much sense~ especially out of context. In my sleep deprived state last night I was feeling the weight of all the fullness that is in our life right now.  I was feeling fearful of the potential abundance coming our way from the holiday season. We have been working hard to be prepared for all of the many shows and fairs and online sales.  We have loaded our plate high with responsibilities/opportunities and I have been having moments of feeling overwhelmed.

< --------- See all the shows I am gearing up to do?! 

Last night I felt guilty for feeling overwhelmed~ as if overwhelmed meant ungrateful.  

But, I am grateful. Grateful, and slightly anxious about the unknown. 

As for me: Anxiety and Fear are not welcome guests & I open my arms wide to Abundance.
♥
p.s~ check out THIS sweet feature today!

project #3

30" x 40" painting in progress

project #2

 A Seed & Sky photo-shoot.

A popular fashion website is going to be doing a product review/interview with Seed & Sky sometime this month. They emailed me asking for the CEO, Marketing Director, or Designer to submit ads, photos, and an interview to them as soon as possible. I went looking for examples and inspiration on  their website. Well... things looked good. Really good. The images seriously looked like they jumped off the streets of Hollywood. I quickly realized I don't have any photographs or ads with models which was a problem.
Truth be told, asking me to comment on "fashion" and "fashion trends" brings up horrible insecurities that date back to grade school. Or more specifically, that phase in middle school when I went from not caring what I looked like, to it being very important to be cool and to be fashionable. And I never was cool enough or got it right. The ugly feeling this brings up is not about what I wore (although I cringe at that too), it is the insecurity and trying to be something I wasn't that is uncomfortable to think back on now.

So having this website that has over 600,000 unique visitors each month asking me to discuss current trends and high fashion is daunting. Instead of feeling not worthy and insecure about it though I am simply going to focus on my own fashion aesthetic. My collection is about self expression and beauty. If I focus on that it should go smoothly.

And I am feeling a lot more confident after having a successful photo shoot with two friends today. I am grateful they were willing to be brave and put themselves out there. Aren't they gorgeous? I think so  :)

We did the photo shoot at Allie's house. She has a very unique home and beautiful landscaping. She and her husband built their home themselves. Most of the walls in their home are built with recycled car tires. It may sound weird, but they have done an amazing job. It is a one-of-a-kind place, and it created an interesting backdrop for the photos.

 See the bottles in the wall of their bathroom and how they catch the sunlight? So pretty.

 And here are a few of my favorite shots:

xxx
Kelcey

project #1

Getting a gold line of all my designs up.


I still have a lot of work to do before they all are made, photographed and up in the shop... but it is coming along! The ear wires are 24k and they all look so shiny and pretty. I especially like how the lighter designs look against the gold.
Happy weekending to all!

The Complete Decorated Journal

Look!
My journal page is on the back cover of Gwen Diehn's new edition of The Decorated Page! The book doesn't come out until next Spring, but reading Gwen's description of it (here) made me look forward to the book's release even more. :)

at our local farm

It has been a lovely week of fall weather and cherished time with Alex's Mom. (We miss you already Nene!)
I have a whole bucketful of exciting art projects I have been working on too. I hope to be able to share some of them by the end of the week!

xxx
Kelcey