Well, hello there! How are you all doing this week? I have to admit, the only bummer for me with these emails is that I don’t feel like we get to connect as much as we do on my Facebook group. Please feel free to email back anytime! The email comes straight to me. :)
This past week on the lake has been beautiful and sad and exciting all at the same time. The beautiful part was the weather. It’s been warm and sunny and so very calm – not a stitch of wind or breeze even at the beach on Sunday! My tomatoes have had a bit more time to finish ripening on the vine. They are so close to that delicious juicy red, I’m crossing my fingers for no frosts before they make it. I’ve relocated all of my more fragile plants to my little greenhouse the hubby made for me this past spring out of recycled windows we gathered from neighbors and friends. We had two nights of frost warnings so everything else got little blankies to keep them insulated and warm. So far, so good – everything is looking happy and healthy!
The sadness came from a disagreement with a friend. Have you ever had a misunderstanding that changed the dynamic of a friendship? It’s a hard adjustment and I truly still hope everything works out. Only time will tell. In the meantime, I’ve been writing in my journal a lot to resolve my own feelings of sadness over the situation. It really does help to get it all down on paper that is for my eyes only. I do this often when I have a conflict within my heart or head. It doesn’t guarantee the perfect outcome but it does give me the opportunity to get all of my feelings out on the page and stay more calm. What helps you when you’re having a conflict that isn’t resolved? I’d love to hear your ideas for keeping your zen!
The sweetie person and I had a wonderful Halloween. Although we missed being with friends this year – and the weather was GORGEOUS for it – we still made the best of our day. We got some things done around the property, went for a late afternoon hike, and watched a live Zoom version of Rocky Horror Picture Show featuring Tim Curry himself (wow) and Little Nell (original Columbia), Colleen Ballinger (actress and comedian) and the Dresden Dolls with Amanda Palmer. There were tons of other all stars and it was a delight to see everyone go off script to banter and play with Curry (who had a stroke several years ago) to keep the action going. I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween too!
The exciting news is that I have started a new challenge for myself with my shop this month (and through the holidays). I’m going to design and create one new product a day from November 1st to January 1st. I did this two years ago and had so much fun! It was also really fun to hear all of your ideas and to make designs that you came up with throughout the process as well as my own design ideas. We’re 3 days in and I’ve got two new products to share with you (scroll to the bottom) and one more that will launch tonight (you’ll see it here first).
I’m thrilled to share these new hand-drawn gift wrapping options with you. A few years ago, I had to travel with all of our Christmas gifts to our “Camping Christmas” destination. I knew that if I put ribbons and bows on the packages, they would all get smashed and squished and look atrocious by the time we arrived. I had an aha moment and decided to hand draw art on the paper to make it more special and give it something better than a bow or ribbon. It went over wonderfully! People were afraid to tear the paper and several people kept their paper to put in a frame for later. Since then, I’ve dreamed of recreating those hand-drawn images on my iPad so that I could have them printed on gift wrap for my boutique and now it’s come true! My first two gift wrap designs are named “Cozy Fire” and “Baubles” – both hand drawn by me with my Apple pencil (it allows me to draw directly on to the iPad screen as if it’s a real pencil or pen or even paintbrush).
The third item was a request from a friend to recreate the Raven design with a gray backdrop. I chose a soft gray since I’m loving soft colors these days and it’s a nice contrast with the raven. I named this new design “Quoth the Raven” since he was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Raven. He’s available on throw pillows – rectangular or square – for now but I have a feeling he’ll pop back up on some clothing or other new items soon, keep an eye out. I love these pillows because they go really well with both a gothic decor and a more cheerful farmhouse decor too!
I hope you all have a safe and wonderful week ahead. I’ll be back next week with more new designs!
*hugs and kisses*
~Blume
My new drawings are new products this week! Quoth the Raven Throw Pillow, and two new gift wrap options - Cozy Fire and Baubles. Click on the image to see more info about each item.
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