Thankfully Yours…

So much to be thankful for as this year winds down. 

I am thankful for my job.  Both as a mom, and as an artist.  I love that I can stay home and progress forward with what I love.  I do not take any of it for granted.  I do know how lucky I am.

I am thankful for etsy and all that it has opened up for me.  The empowerment it has given me to begin my (very) small business.  So thankful.  Thankful to have met DeAndra and then through her Desiree and to be a part of Dreaming Tree Studio… being a local artist is an amazing opportunity.

I am thankful for my children.  Being a mother of three boys, I don’t alwaysfeel thankful… but I am immensely so.  They are each so unique, so individual.  But they are mine and they bring me such joy. 

I am thankful for my friends.  Both near and far.  I am so appreciative of them and thankful for them. Each has been brought into my life at different seasons… and I know that I wouldn’t be the same person without them. 

I am eternally thankful for my husband.  His consistent support and encouragement to help me seek my passions… even amidst seeking out his own… his selflessness amazes me.  

 

This thanksgiving… take a moment… just to remember the good things in your life.  Let those blessings carry you into the new year!

 

Be Kind…

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
                                                                   ~Plato
 

 

 

6…

Six years ago, one of my biggest dreams came to life… I became a mommy.  It’s hard to believe that he’s turning six years old today.  It’s flown by so quickly… but looking through old photos this morning it really has been 6 full years.  In six years, my boy has traveled all over the country, to Washington State… to Colorado… to Tennessee… to Michigan.  He’s lived in Illinois and in Kentucky.  He’s become a big brother, twice.  He’s started school.  He’s tried a multitude of vegetables he’s hated.  He’s found a selection of foods he’s tolerate.  :)  My boy is growing… we discovered yesterday that his feet have nearly caught up to mine.  He’s only about 18 inches shorter than me. He loves discovery… he is an amazing artist and a good friend.  He’s ever curious… always wanting to know more.

He is my boy.  My cup overflows with him.

Happy Birthday Lukas.   Mommy adores you.

 

In Freedom…

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.     ~Albert Einstein

 

Getting the ideas out!

This last month has been a whirlwind of activity with Sarabee Designs!  Moving into Dreaming Tree Studio, an upcoming *yet to be announced* big event is on the horizon (I should be able to announce next week!!), the holiday season is upon us and orders are coming in by droves!  It’s amazing!  One year ago, my business was just starting to spread it’s wings and I was happy if I got a sale every other week.  Now I’m printing postage and heading to the big blue box every few days!  I’m so amazed by what this small “Let’s see if I can do this” venture has become.   The amount of contacts, both local and abroad I’m making are really encouraging.  

So here I sit today… with the need to bulk up my stock staring me in the face and ideas shooting through my head faster than I keep up with them.   And I must bottleneck them into a consistent stream of thought or they just might start some kind of fist fight in my head… so get in line ideas… time to get some of you out on paper so the rest can continue to grow.  

I have the cutest little pink journal.  A recent gift from my husband.  It has quickly become a sketchbook, a list book, a random idea book.  It’s nowhere near legible for outside onlookers… so no worries about any Slugworths trying to steal my candy genius.  It’s my brain… in cute pink journal form.  I’ve been getting artistic advise from some and it goes in there… random to do and thank yous that need to be made… they too, go in the book.  And then tomorrow, like a mad scientist I’ll be pouring through the pages of chickenscratch, trying to remember what that acronym meant… but mostly, thankful that I wrote it down so that it wouldn’t become another fleeting “could have been”.  

I can guarantee you, your way of getting your thoughts out is better than mine… for you.  Being married to a very organized person has led me to understand that although my husband is a Godsend to me… without him I’d be lost and overbooked in my everyday life.  I’m terrible at forgetting dates and feel like I’m living 15 minutes behind the rest of the world most of the time.  But it’s also led me to the realization that I’m organized creatively.  I can find that 13th hour… I can create that 13th hour!!  Whatever works for you… do it!!  You know you.  Don’t try to work a system that is geared for the person you aren’t.  If it’s keeping a jotting journal like me, then cool… if it’s keeping a detailed list of to-do, go for it… if it’s keeping an open document on your desktop and just adding to it  in sections then live it up!!  But find someway to not let your ideas go to waste!  They came to you for a reason!  Get them out!

 

New beginnings…

I got to stop by today and see Desiree for a few minutes on the Grand Opening Day!  So very exciting!

  She was such a busy little bee!  They may need to invest in a revolving door!  There was traffic the whole time I was there.  So very cool!  It was so neat to see their dream come to fruition and neat to be able to share in just a few moments of that.   After all the hard work, time, planning… it’s paid off!  There’s so much to look at… so much to buy!   It’s a brilliant store… a brilliant idea come to life! Having a display in this store is an absolute honor.

There’s been so many cool things happening lately.  Life affirming things.  I love love love the fall.  Not so much a fan of the time change.  I used to adore that “extra” hour of sleep… but now I have children.  Children who can’t tell time or appreciate the extra cherished moments of rest (or any moments of rest for that matter!).  

 But I do get to catch small moments like this… a quiet moment, coffee in hand with my husband… watching the moon set where we usually see the sun do the same dance.  I love fall.  I don’t mind the cool weather… crisp air and red leaves are totally worth it.  

Autumn is such an unique season… it stands starkly in the face of summer.  Even in the loom of the impending unknown of winter, it dares to be outrageously beautiful.  Wild colors and cool weather that cause us to snuggle closer to our loved ones, but doesn’t completely drive us inside… allowing us to enjoy the sights. 

I love fall.  Love love love.  New things.  Boldness and beauty in the face of the unknown.

 

So grand!

Happy Grand Opening Dreaming Tree Studio!  Desiree and DeAndra, you’ve made it real!  :) Congrats!

 

 

coolest.cake.ever. a gift to Dreaming Tree from the Winchester Opera House

 

Desiree- one of the brilliant owners and myself!

 

 

finishing touches…

I am finishing up one last fingerless mitt and then I’m off to Dreaming Tree  to place some last minute touch-ups on  my display.  I am unfortunately out of printer ink… so that means #1 all my etsy packages will be hand-labeled and I’ll be visting my ever-so-friendly post office for more than just a quick drop off. Ah well.  Such is life.  I will conserve gas and pick up ink while I’m out and not bother driving back and forth and back again.  Green points for me today.  

I am so so so excited for this weekend.  24 hours from right now, Dreaming Tree Studio will be officially opened on Main Street in my little hometown.  Desiree and DeAndra have been working non-stop on this shop and it really shows.  The store is as unique as the handmade items it holds and the time and care that they’ve put in really shows.  Our Main Street has such potential… so many brick n’ mortar shops and family run places.  It’s too empty though and many of the shops are very similar in what they sell… it needs more shops like this one.  Maybe someday it will need a local yarn shop… ahh dreams.  Someday maybe… I did see a little store front for sale just around the corner from Dreaming Tree… now to find a sugar-daddy financier…

For now, I’m thrilled to be one of the many displays within the shop and cannot wait to be in there on Saturday spinning my heart out while the Main Street Christmas Open House rages on!  Come on down and see me if you’re around!  I promise that this shop will NOT disappoint!

 

 

I have a confession…

I’m kinda a blog stalker… In high school I was more than slightly obsessive and if there are two things I have to be thankful didn’t exist in my world then it would be “Twilight” (those poor boys I dated–they had enough expectations to -not- live up to) and blogs.  I could have seriously become a crazed stalker… I think calling someone 8 times and hanging up was all I could handle (this also was without caller ID!).  

Before you worry too much about my mental state this morning… I’m putting my blogsessiveness to good use.  I’m gaining inspiration.  I love craft blogs… I seriously LOVE them.  Right now of course, the ones who I read the most are other spinners and knitters.  I’m finding right now that a select group I’m drawn to are these hardcore, sassy, edgy people who are making some amazing creations.  They have become my superstars… SnowberryandLime, YarnZombie, TravelingRhinos, SpinCycle…they all are very inspiratonal and I love getting a glimpse into their thoughts.  I would seriously ask most of these people for their autographs!

It pushes me forward to make more things… to take more pictures… to dream more vibrantly!  It also makes me want to learn, it makes me want to share…makes me want to be a spinning rockstar too!

 

New Website!

SarabeeDesigns now has an official home on the web!  Check it!

sarabeedesigns.com