My Blog is Blooming!!

Well, my brain is kind of fried of creativity at the moment. 

Today (Wednesday) I have decided to do nothing related to art.

(Other than paint on layers of latex once every 3 hours)

I feel like I've been creative non-stop since my July sculpture class. 

Today after I got home from class I made some fabulous shepherds pie and sat down to watch a marathon of The Big Bang Theory. 

I started that at about 6 and it has gone swimmingly for the past 2 hours :) 

So for this Thursdays post I decided I would rather skip the projects and just talk. 

Recently, as I am sure most of you have seen or heard me talk about, my blog and Etsy shop have taken off with in the past few days! 

I've had more orders than ever for scarves, pumpkins, tin signs, and custom designs. 

Not only have I grown through the Etsy store but I've also been featured on a few blogs for my blue island and my pumpkins! Through these features and other blog stuff I've gotten to meet so many amazing women that are willing to help me navigate the world of blogging! 

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to a few of the women that have really taken a chance on me and shared some much needed wisdom for the blog and the store. 

Bonnie and Trish at Uncommon Designs have been some of the biggest influences in my blog life. 

Bonnie is a member of the church I grew up going to and so my family and hers have had a connection for a long time. However, I never had a personal relationship with her until about 6 months ago when I found her blog and started asking her for advice. 

Uncommon Designs  is a truly great blog where Bonnie and Trish share their craft projects and tutorials, while also posting inspiration from fellow crafters. 

They host many link up parties allowing people to share their blog and projects easily. 

I truly doubt that if it weren't for Bonnie and Trish at Uncommon that my blog would have every gotten off the ground. I know I have so much more growing todo but looking at where I have come over the past few months in SO SO amazing!

Here are a few of my favorite projects shared by Trish and Bonnie

  The fabric leaves - one of their tutorials

And these Linen Kitchen Towels from their etsy store

Another amazing women who has given me some much needed advice on how to up my "likes" on facebook and sales on etsy is Allie from dilly dAllie.
I found her through working at Razzberry Fizz, we sold a few of her objects in the store and I was always amazed by the craftsmanship that each piece showed.
To be honest I started out pretty jealous that because of school I couldn't be the one crafting things for the store, but out of my curiosity a great friendship has started.
I reached out to Allie to ask her questions about how she has gained such a loyal clientele through her shop. She graciously responded with more than I ever could have asked for and has willingly answered many questions.

These are a few examples of my favorite work of hers from the Fall!

Another blogger that has been HUGE in my blog life is Ashley Ann at Under the Sycamore.

While her blog isn't what I would consider craft oriented she is one of the biggest reasons why I feel like I can share my life openly with my readers.
I've only correspond with her once, but that doesn't mean her words haven't affected me.
The posts that she shares with the public are so touching. I really feel like I have learned so much about being a Godly wife and mother just from reading her stories.
(Don't worry I don't plan on having kids for a good long time, but I know that when Reed and I do start a family that I will be referring back to some of Ashley Anns posts).
I tell people all the time that when I grow up I would love to have the heart for my family, the Lord, and art the way Ashley Ann exudes it through her writing.
She is also one of the reasons while I felt the need to invest in a better camera.
I want to document mine and Reeds life to the best of my ability so that I can share it in the future!
I have so many favorite posts from her but this is just one that has stuck with me for a while :)

In this post Ashley Ann opened up about sharing her supplies with her kids.
As an artist I know how precious supplies can be and how hard it is to share them.
I hope that when I have children of my own that I will be able to encourage them and teach them to appreciate creating as much as I do!


Find her post here

Annnnd finally the last blog I'm going to thank tonight is Claire from Polka Dot Pretties
Claire and I haven't gotten to know each other extremely well, YET, but I will be working with her in the near future for a few fun surprises :)
She has a super sweet blog that covers everything from family, baking, crafts, and tutorials.
I am super excited to be working with her and can't wait to share with you what we come up with!

From roaming around Claires blog I've found some awesome tutorials, here is one that I am going to have to try!! A customized camera strap!




I know that was a lot of writing, but I felt like I needed to thank these women and let my readers know some of my back ground storie.
Blogging isn't easy, it gets hard to balance with school.
However, once I get started it is a huge release and hopefully it is something that I can continue to grow  through!

Thank all of you so much for your constant encouragement! I love reading your comments here and on facebook. Ultimately if it wasn't for you then my blog wouldn't be going in the direction its headed!!