Smiling Ear-To-Ear...

Well, how excited was I today to come home and read not one but TWO posts from my new blogging friends! Thank you so much for your posts, I'm still grinning so hard my cheeks are slightly sore! It's so exciting to know that someone is "out there" and reading...very exciting! And all the nice compliments too~wow, what a great day!

I thought I would share a little more information about my shop. This is something I've dreamed of doing for quite a while. I opened officially last spring, and getting ready for opening day was incredibly exciting! I fluffed and primped and plumped pillows, straightened signs, painted and embellished like a crazed woman until it was time to open the door. I had maybe two guests that first day, but I was so completely thrilled! It has been so much fun to meet all the people who have come to visit me in person and who've purchased from me online. I have the shop open seasonally, May through August or September and I'm open on Saturdays, as I work full-time out of town at a university. I also sell online at both Etsy and Ebay. I tried a couple of craft shows last fall, and enjoyed those also.

I just love creating things! I love having an idea and then seeing it come to life with paper, glue, paint, scissors, my sewing machine, anything in my art room.

For a long time I thought that creating things for a living was too...Selfish. I thought I was meant to work with the poor and the "underdogs" and spend my life helping others. Well, I tried that. I worked in human services for several years and found it was not what I was made for. It's like after trying for years to squash myself into a human services mold (and getting my degree in psychology), I came to realize that what I need to do is be true to myself. To use the gifts God gave me, not try to force myself to do something that I'm not passionate about, or happy doing. It's still hard to believe that creating pretty things could really be part or maybe all of what I'm meant to do. It's hard to believe that anything that could bring me so much pleasure could be what I SHOULD be doing. I'm still mulling it over, I'm at the beginning of this journey, and there are many obstacles ahead of me, I'm sure. Still, it's wonderful to know that it's a possibility. That maybe my path will really go in that direction.

There is still a lot to think about, a lot of work ahead of me. I'm taking part-time college courses in art to learn the basics, as I've never had any formal training in art....good grief! I've rambled on long enough! I'm like a fountain when it comes to this part of my life, I just can't seem to keep it all inside!

I'm off to begin dinner...Long live the arts!