Interviewed!

Hi all!
Still super busy but wanted to let you know that I was recently interviewed over at Debbie Gootter's blog Etsy Featured Artists. It was great fun to answer all her questions and I feel really honored to be included with the other awesome artists she's profiled since starting her amazing blog. Thanks Debbie for thinking of me and indulging me in my meandering style of question answering. You're the best!

Check it out, y'all! Not just for my AMAZING interview but for all the other artists too. Plus there's pictures! Who doesn't love pictures?

Happy Halloween Hearts and Puppies!
erika

Will I ever have a day where everything goes my way?

Heads up. . . I'm feeling a bit self-indulgent and mopey. . . you've been warned.

So, really can't talk for long. I'm so royally behind in all I need to get done that it's scary. All my friends are saying, "sure, we've heard that before" but I swear, this is sooooo much worse. I have a show in less than 3 weeks and I'm not even close to ready and what's worse is that, other than to worry, I can't even seem to motivate myself to care. I have no new ideas. No worthwhile creative thoughts. I'm at a complete loss. And now I'm stuck, deer in the headlights style, with a deadline and little product. I'll admit it. . . I'm scared. Scared of the more and more likely failure that will be my show season and scared of what's to come. I have no marketable skills. . . this crafting thing really is it (apart from the even less lucrative music and acting) and I'm just feeling spent. Maybe it will pass. . . I hope it will pass. . . it has to, at least until the end of the year. After that, who knows?

I'm all at sea. . .

Well, I'd better back to work. Wish me luck at actually accomplishing anything.

Hearts and puppies,
erika

Doggies!

We have houseguests! Two adorable dogs from a local no-kill shelter, Pet Matchmaker, have made themselves at home in my new place. We agreed to foster them so that they can get used to living in a home and being around people and I think it's working. . . big time!

Here they are, Sam and Grace aren't they cute?

This one is Sam:

And this is Grace:

She's a little camera shy. . . this is the best shot of her, usually she's running away.

Well, back to the grind! I'm a little behind for holiday season and it's FAST approaching!!!

Hearts and puppies,
erika

The one in which Erika does something right. . . finally!

I burned my first successful, unassisted, screenprinting screen today! Woo hoo! Aw yeah!

Check it out:

"Robot Parade! Robot Parade!"

I'm so happy this worked. I really really needed a win today.

Hearts and puppies,
erika

The logs have taken over my life!

Sorry it's been forever since I've posted a proper post to this blog. With the move and the new job over at Craft Stylish I'm afraid that I've let the boyfriend blog slip to the back of my mind. Well. . . NO MORE! Here I am! And I'm ready to post my brains out!

Things have been crazy busy here. As you can see by the title, the logs have taken over. . .

All I do these days is make logs. And I'm kinda growing to hate them a bit. I know. . . I know. . . they're cute, and as an objective outside observer I love them to bits and pieces but I'm just so sick and tired of making them! I feel like a rockstar who's not allowed to play any song other than her hit. I am Skynard. . . the logs are my Freebird.

I know I should just shut the hell up. The logs are making me money, paying my bills. If you look at the sold items in my Etsy shop you'll see it's almost all logs all the time! And that doesn't even include all the shop orders and inquiries. It's great to have such a popular item and, if I was having them made and not making them all myself, I'd be dancing round town. But I can't figure out how to mass produce them and keep the quality up. And even if I could I can't AFFORD to have them made! I've tried to figure out if I could replace the hand stitching with machine work, but I'm afraid they'll end up looking just kinda blah and boring. What do you think? Does the hand stitching make the log pillow?

Ultimately the most soul crushing aspect of my current situation is that I've not had the chance to actually design anything new in ages. I've turned into a one woman factory instead of an artist. I got into this gig to design and create not to make more logs than the fellas on Axe Men.

AND whenever I DO design something new it goes right on over to CraftStylish. . . and STILL some of those ideas are log inspired. . .

I've got logs on the brain!!!

I'm just so scared that this is all I have. . . that I'm becoming a one trick pony. . . that I'm becoming (have already become?) the Log Lady. . . sigh. . .

Well, I'd better go. . . I have more logs to sew. . .
On the plus side, my Mom has started to help with the sewing which will, hopefully help a lot!

Log Hearts and Log Puppies,
Log erika