Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Funnel Dogs, Craft Fairs and Such......

Today we took our little Bichon, Chauncey, to the vet because he had been licking his right paw incessantly. Well...it appears he has a compulsion to do so...for whatever reason...and so to stop him and let it heal...he now wears one of those awful collars. So it looks like he has a funnel around his head....
He is not adjusting awfully well.....and we still have tonite to go through. I really hope that he gets used to it....it saddens me terribly to see him like that.

On to other things.....the craft fair.....that was

So after being so terribly organized (with the help of my mate) I was ready to go at 5pm on Saturday night....a totally new position for me to be in. My children will tell you that Mom always was up until 4am the night before trying to make that one last ornament which invariably didn't sell. So we relaxed on Saturday night and watched the temperature drop, the wind pick up and the snow turn horizontal and drift around our street. When we woke up Sunday morning we could not see the North Shore and the snow and wind were still horizontal and the temperature was hovering at -11 without the wind chill. However, not one to quit when committed, we loaded up the car and SLOWLY made our way over to the venue on the North Shore to find that many others had braved the elements to do the same thing. We crafters are a sturdy lot!!!
It was cold, but we managed to find our table and set up everything. Only 2 ornaments needed repair due to transportation damage, which was a miracle. A few changes had to be made on the table because I hadn't tried out the design in a practical fashion...mostly theoretical....but it was nothing that couldn't be changed on the fly.
After we set up....I got more coffee....and then I sat....and watched everyone.....chatted a bit....and the day wore on. I sold nothing....nada...not a thing. So I made a few observations....
  • Kamloops is just not ready for me as an artist.
  • what I do is not a craft anymore...it is art.
  • what I do is unique
  • several people loved my work, but didn't buy....and loved the idea of making a children's book out of what I do. (Encouragement is always good!)
  • there is STILL no one in my area who does what I do.
  • I am going to spend the next year improving, writing, experimenting and having fun
  • I will target a higher end show and maybe small gift shops
  • and finally....a comment was made to me that people in Kamloops will ALWAYS go to something that costs little or nothing to get into....as a form of entertainment....they don't go to buy so much as to see what's there. A different concept to be sure...but then it's the venue, large and full of a mixture of crafts and commercial ventures. One needs to have a show that specializes in nothing but handcrafted items....so we will see what we will see ....next year.
On the whole it was an interesting experience....I wasn't particularly upset about the non-sales....because I went into the fair with the attitude of experimentation....and if things sold... fine and if not...that was fine too. To see the new ornaments that I added to the mix, go here
and click on Nutfolkery II. The other work that was on my table is in the other folders on that site, with the exception of my Christmas photo cards. I would like to post them...just haven't figured out how to do it. I took photos of local snowy scenery around Kamloops (and my backyard!) and printed the photos onto glossy fronted cards and added original sentiments and non-original clipart appropriate to the pictures. I did the designing of them last year, but decided to try to sell them this year. I'm thinking that maybe I may not continue down that route....but time will tell.
So there you have it.....all the excitment....all the buildup....all the work....for nought...financially....but a true learning experience in showing direction.

And finally.....
All you Lower Mainland people ....for goodness sake....stop whinging about the snow and cold. Try being up here where it is presently -24 with snow on the ground....like this
and this.....
and you have to do this......
and it's STILL -24 outside....you know...that's when your NOSE HAIRS FREEZE!!! (However, I do sympathize with your power outages....but you know..it's all that WET snow!!) How can you tell I'm a former coastal resident.
..and I will not gloat to Stella and King D because their time is coming back there.....it's not a case of if the snow will come....but when....

On that note...the furnace is turned down for the night and my studio is getting cold....time to curl up under the duvet with DH with Funnel Dog on my feet!!

Slainte!!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Freak out time......aaahhhh!!

So I head to the computer this morning to check out the inventory of photo cards I have on file.....that I made last year and want to sell this year.
I bring up Printmaster ( the new version that I installed when we got the new computer) and go to Import.....and there is....... NOTHING!!!
It's one of those times when you absolutely KNOW that you did something, but can't figure out how you did it. I KNOW I saved the Project Files from the old version of Printmaster.....now did I save them to CD....or did I save them to the "Old E Drive" which is now on my new C Drive?? Ahhhh.... therein lies the question.

I spent the better part of 2 hours searching through my files (and everyone elses!!), my laptop files, and any CD that had been burned as backup during the transfer to the new 'puter. I was beginning to feel desperate......even thoughts of backing out of the craft fair had entered my mind....I mean these cards make up a good portion of my stock. There was a short period of euphoria when we discovered that several CD's had been knocked down behind the filing cabinet....but that was dashed when they were all what they purported to be on the outside label....darn!!

My mate tried to get me to leave the chair and let him look, but I declined vehemently.......I KNEW they were somewhere.....they just had to be......didn't they?
I was on the verge of tears.....(I get that way sometimes )...

I glanced down between the filing cabinet and the desk and there was something there....."D., can you come and reach in and see what this is??" I called.
Sigh...it was just a slip of paper.....but wait!!
D. says "Oh look, there's a couple of CD's back here as well......(as he pulled them out) ...and one of them says PRINTMASTER PROJECTS!!" Yaaaaayyyy!!!

Crisis averted......panic attack quelled......NOW I can go and get dressed!!!

Slainte

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Coming up for air.....gasp!!

I have spent the last little while, buried in my workshop, surfacing this past weekend to play a concert with the KSO. However, I am buried again and I have finally sorted out a few things.
  • a refurbished design for my table at the craft fair this weekend. Suffice to say it involves a vase with branches, berries, and lots of glue...oh...and a basket with rocks and moss.....and 2 tableclothes, a Christmas table runner with tassels and a lovely crystal bowl engraved with First Nations artwork....and a lazy Susan. Now that should get the imaginations working overtime!! I will post a picture after the craft fair, as I plan to get my mate to take pics of it for posterity!!!
  • I have taken stock and have a good many ornaments of the Nutfolkery variety that are on pedestals or clamp to tree branches.....so I am presently making more of the hanging variety. (You know....to hang on those branches in the vase...with the berries and the glue..in the basket with the rocks and moss.....etc. etc. etc....?). After I get all the ornaments done, I plan having my mate take pics for my Picture Trail page...so I will mention here when the new pics are posted. Hopefully it won't be long.
  • I will work tomorrow and Thursday and then leave Friday for getting things organized and in order...and packed up. Whatever is left undone on Thursday night will remain undone. I have learned over the years that last minute late night projects invariably NEVER sell and were a waste of time and energy not to mention the lack of sleep involved. I have been averaging around 4-5 hours or more of work daily... spread throughout the day and evening (I even have my TV shows on in my workshop ....thanks to the travelling offspring...and yes, I do watch some of them....although I can listen a lot and figure out what's going on without watching).
So....I blog tonite to say that although I haven't blogged for a while, I plan on making observations of my craft fair experiences after the weekend. I will be glad when it's all done....I'm tired and I want to just be able to sit and read for a while without feeling that I have to rush downstairs and start working. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do.....but as it gets closer to show time....it gets more stressful....one never feels that enough is done.

So I'm finished for tonite and I will be down tomorrow morning to start again.

Off to the teapot!!!

Slainte!!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Happy Birthday Mom.....

So....I noticed as I was posting the previous blog that the date had turned to November 11.

To most people this is Remembrance Day...or Armistice Day as it was when I grew up.

To me...it is my mother's birthday....she would have been 95 this year. She died October 29, 2003.

She always remembered her birthday as the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year.

She was a gracious lady whose smile and generosity was legendary.

I miss her. Happy Birthday Mom.

I am woman......I am calm.....

I discovered something about myself today.
I am calm.....or so it seems.....
I have been working for a week or so on two tiny penguins and an even tinier baby....making them just as good as I possibly can....
Tonight I dropped one....the daddy penguin....and broke off his beak.
....and I can't find it.....
I managed to find a piece of cooked clay and reformed his beak and glued it back on.....
I sanded it....and it came off again......
So I glued it back on.....and there he sits on his back with his beak in the air....awaiting a paint job....
I am calm.....
I am amazed that I am calm...
Who knew????

Slainte

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Pain, Pain go away......(in a whining mode)

For about 2 years now, I have been routinely taking 2 Tylenol Arthritis every morning for pain, both FM and arthritis pain. I have to take it on an empty stomach because of the way it works....apparently.....so ....as soon as I get up, I take it, along with a Glucosamine supplement.

Today was one of those days, (I'm sure most of us have had them) where you have to fast from 10pm in order to have a blood test at 8am (or later). So I packaged up my pills to take before we had brekkers at Denny's after the bloodletting. Needless to say, I forgot to take them....thereby causing me to wait until my stomach tells me it's empty....(you know...that aching, growly feeling) before I can take the pills again.

We decided to do some errands while we were out....Save On (for prescription drop off) Costco, Home Hardware and then back to Save On (for prescription pick-up) and shopping.

It has been a long time since I had forgotten to take my pills in the morning, but it has happened and I've managed ok. However....this morning, it hit home just how debilitated I have become without the Tylenol. By the time we reached home again, I was moving VERY slowly, with a cane, wincing, and generally in total agony from shoulder to foot.

If there is ANYTHING that will encourage me to keep changing my lifestyle and losing weight etc., etc., etc., it should be the memory of this morning. It MUST get better, because, quite frankly, it can't get any worse.....or maybe it can.....but maybe the wording is MUST NOT get any worse.

So, I will take the pills shortly and then life will improve markedly

Here endeth my whine....

Slainte!