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throughout the month of march i'll be doing some wacky one day sales. after the first sale tomorrow, i'll announce the details on twitter and facebook so if you don't already follow me there, you should! 

after much deliberation i ended up just buying a slighty newer, slighty more fancy version of my old camera on ebay. another lumix with a magic leica lens. as much as i would've liked to finally upgrade to a DSLR, i need to save my pennies. it arrived the other day and i couldn't be happier. as user friendly as my old camera, with a slightly better zoom and a larger screen, i'm in LOVE. 

this week i said goodbye to a good old friend. while wandering the japanese garden on monday, my beloved camera would not focus. then a new and alarming error message appeared on her screen. after 6 years of faithful service, i feared the worst. my camera, my lumix, had never let me down. so, we came home and googled. apparently, the camera had a fatal design flaw. many people wrote of having this camera for a year, or even just a week, when this flaw caused the camera to fail. i'd had 6 years. shawn found an instructable on how to fix it. and so he valiantly tried, taking apart the camera, piece by piece. in the end though, it wasn't enough. 

it wasn't the fanciest camera. it wasn't the greatest camera ever made. it had a really great lens and took really great pictures almost all of the time. i carried it with me almost everywhere and it took thousands upon thousands of photos. of things i'd made, flowers, places and people i loved. i'll miss it but i've got a lot of photographs to remember it by. see some of my favorites here.

blogs like color collective and creative holly color are my best friends when i get really stuck for ideas. i'll just go browse when i'm floundering and see if something sparks.  they're both also in my reader and i often save posts of combinations i found interesting for later. this was one of those posts. 

last night i made this. not colors i would ever normally put together but i kinda like it.

we've known we were moving for about a year. and yes, we kind of took the summer off from preparing or even thinking about it but really, we've been getting ready for about a year. and despite that, despite feeling mostly on top of things, when it was a month before moving day there was still so. much. to. do. so much. plus, it was the holidays so i was managing our shops and getting ready for family festivities. about mid-december, i stopped making things for cookoorikoo. the shop was stocked and there just wasn't going to be anything new for a bit.  i had presents to complete, stuff to pack and cookies to bake. 

after the new year, i was feeling the urge to make things but still really didn't have the time. so i did a little bit of supply shopping. i sketched out some new ideas. but i didn't actually make anything. crafters know how hard this is actually is to do. most crafters i know can't really sit still - they are always working on something. ALWAYS. 

i'd be lying if i said i didn't get a little twitchy.

so, last week, we were getting settled and i unpacked the supplies. and i started to make things. here's something i wouldn't have expected - i'm RUSTY. normally i'm a speedy and accurate hand-sewer. not so much right now. its taking time to get it all right. but you know what? that's ok. i'm loving every. single. stitch. not only am i making all the things i had ideas for before we moved, but sorting through the supplies has given me loads of new ideas. everything seems lovely and full of possibility at the moment. 

so, the break felt like torture at the time but honestly, i'd do it again. it may have been the best thing in the world for me.

the adorable and talented michele maule invited me to a little get-together of some artists and crafters this morning at her studio space. so, despite my almost paralyzing fear of NEW PEOPLE*, i went. and it was good. there were 6 of us, all at different points in our crafting/art careers, all with different needs and goals. one thing was clear - we all find working for ourselves difficult. its hard to stay focused and disciplined. its impossible try out the new ideas we've had when we're so focused on making the things that are selling right now. its difficult to just take breaks and experience life. its all a balancing act. so, we're going to get together once a month. we'll be sounding boards for one another, help keep one another on track and focused on the big picture. a perfect plan just as i'm trying to start over in a new place. so, thanks michele!

*people who have met me find this shocking. but yes, i am actually shy. i think years and years of having to shmooze and constantly meet new people at work did this to me. you'd think it'd have the opposite effect but no, it did not.

my shop. i'm a little in love with the new stuff i made and how it all looks together. 

part of tuesday's shop update!

as you know, we've moved. finally. it seems like we've been planning and preparing forever. december was all about the holidays and packing. january was all about packing. i made a few projects just because but i haven't actually made anything new for the shop since early december, when i just put away the bulk of the supplies. but my brain kept working. and i had ideas. loads of ideas actually. and then i found some really great new supplies which resulted in EVEN MORE new ideas. 

we've been busy unpacking but i'm making some time to make new things this weekend. after all, i'll get twitchy if i don't make something soon. so, february 1 i'll be updating the shop with new rings, a few necklaces, some new hair fabulousness, shoe clips and possibly a bird or two! so, check back.