Crawling out of the dye vat to type an update...

I've been sucked in. The silk whispers my name - always. I pretend to do other things, like clean the house, watch Days of Our Lives - you know, priority things. But, no. My mind is really developing color schemes and new ways of binding the fabric to get the best merging of colors. To fuel this returning obsession, I bought a book at Barnes and Noble. I should really have stock in that company. Shibori Designs and Techniques. My new favorite book. And that's saying a lot, as I go through at least one book a week... I am 90% of the way through the book already. I am determined to read it from cover to cover before attempting any of the designs - I don't want to miss any important details, and sometimes I just like to torture myself by testing my self control. I will certainly be starting some of these fabulous advanced techniques on the next batch of silk.

On Tuesday I applied for 1st Saturday on Riverstreet. I am returning to selling silk at the art fair. It doesn't take up too much room, compared to say, the 50 ceramic bowls I have sitting in my 3rd bedroom. But I need to sell them to feed the PayPal account, and in return pay my silk supplier. Gotta get my fix. My shopping cart is already full - just waiting on the acceptance letter for 1st Saturday, so that I can click the Complete Purchase button...

I also started an Interior Design I course on Tuesday. Just once a week for 5 weeks, but it is heavenly to not only be back in a classroom, but learning about something I truly enjoy. I already know I'll be signing up for ID II and ID III. That reminds me, I have to delve into the 3rd bedroom in search of graph paper for my homework... Those of you that have seen the room know to send out a search party if you don't hear from me after about a week.

On a happy note -wait, everything above is happy. To cap off the happiness above, my lovely friend Rachel (Wine and Cheese, Please...) game me and my blog(s) an award yesterday. I have received the coveted "When Life Hands You Lemons" award. As a recipient of this amazing award, I must share 5 things about myself, as well as link to 5 other blogs. I'm not sure if I have 5 other blogs to link to, but I'm sure I follow close to that many -and I'll post them below.

So here goes:

5 Facts About Me (that you may or may not know)

1. I love to travel - but I can't stand cheesy tourist traps. I've been to NYC twice and have refused to see the Statue of Liberty, etc both times. Mostly just because I don't like it when people tell me I "have" to do something. I know, I know - it's spiteful and only hurting myself. Yet somehow I live through it. I much prefer to roam around aimlessly and see how the "real people" live.

2. I don't like for people to tell me what to do. I will go out of my way to do the opposite, in fact. It's childish, I realize. I am ok with that.

3. I have 5 siblings, and while they were the bane of my existence growing up, they are some of my favorite people in the world now.

4. I'm almost 37 and I have not only no plans to have biological children, I really don't like the little suckers. I will play with them, and enjoy them, but then I will always give them back. I adore my step daughter, and that is more than enough for me. Feel free to keep asking me when I'm having them and why I don't want them, and then trying to break apart my subconcious in an attempt to understand the horrible things that must've happened to me to cause this dislike of the heathens. Nothing happened. I just have others plans for my life.

5. Speaking of my life - I love it. Would I be happier if I were selling more art? Absolutely. But sales are picking up, along with the economy. So I have complete and utter faith in the fact that sales will continue to increase, and I will be able to afford my silk addiction. Would I like to see friends and family more? Sure. But we do pretty well keeping in touch via internet. So my life is pretty rosy. Fabulous husband, great family and friends, starting to find my niche in the art world. All is good.

So, 5 blogs that deserve the passing on of the 'When Life Hands You Lemons' award.

1. Exploring Bulgaria... and Beyond : yes, I'm biased on this one. It's my sister. But it is fabulous to follow her adventures. And absolutely deserving of the award. She is taking what is otherwise a potentially horrendous event in her life, and making it an adventure for her and her family - and her followers. It might be a private blog though, as it is about her kids and has photos, etc. AND she hasn't updated since APRIL of 2009... Yeah, Big B, that's a not so subtle hint.

2. Wine and Cheese, Please... : Of course, I have to return it to Rachel. She is so entertaining, and keeps me laughing when I read. And her encouragement is always so appreciated!

3. Sagittarius Gallery : Ok, this is an art blog that I try to follow. It's just fun to read about the ups and downs of a painter - and know I'm not the only one going through the craziness involved. Oh, and her work is gorgeous as well!

4. Hatched : This one is new to me. I just started following it yesterday, thanks to Rachel's links! And it is cracking me up. Go check it out. I love anything that makes me giggle. :)

Well, that was close. I got 4 out of 5. When I come up with a 5th, I'll be sure to pass on the love. I know I have another one in my list of followed blogs, I just need to go do some digging.

So congrats to all of the great bloggers out there! Keep up the good work. What else would I do on such a rainy, icky day if I didn't have you to keep me entertained? Oh, yeah. The silk. It is beckoning... I. Must. Dye.

Have a great week everybody!

It's Baaa-aaaack. aka: An update.

Ok, so I've been quiet for the holidays - but the new year is bringing a new drive, and a new direction! Thanks to my sister's upcoming 30th birthday - combined with her return to belly dance, I've been inspired! (Happy Birthday Beth and Marie! -yep, 2 sisters with the same birthday...) Over the holidays I began thinking I should do something for her 30th - and when Michael's sold out of those light up ballerina Christmas hippo yard ornaments, I had to rethink the gift... I discovered that my supplier had recently started selling belly dance veils and hip scarfs. Fortunately, I've delved into the world of belly dance a wee bit, and was able to pick out a few things I thought she would really use. Then I hounded her doggedly in order to get her costume colors, etc. I dyed the scarf and veil (uh, Note to self: fringe tangles horribly in the washing machine - hand wash from now on!) and waited anxiously for the snail mail delivery. Hopefully she will send me some pics of her in her full costume so I can post them here! (hint, hint)

Anyway, once I brave a trip into the abyss that is my supply room and began rummaging through the dye supplies, I got hooked. I pulled out my previously dyed scarves, posted a couple that were good, then began to dye the remaining scarves. Now I'm out of silk and anxiously waiting (again) on the mail man to deliver my next order! I have posted 3 scarves, 4 are sitting in my kitchen floor "setting" and I have one veil and hip scarf to photograph and post in the store. I can't wait to do a few more scarves to try some techniques I've been scheming on - then I'm going to work on a couple of silk paintings. I think some of the oil painting work I've been doing will actually translate to silk pretty well. I love being excited about a project!

Speaking of customer photos (which I sort of did above, but admit that was a cheesy segway) I have a few below from one of my customers! Thanks, Connie, for creating that awesome wall of art in your home! And of course for sending me the pics.

Here's one of my standard scarves - good for the neck, hair, or waist. They're approximately 11" x 58", so can be used for a lot of different things.

And here's a Belly Dance Veil that I made while making Beth's set! Very cool peacock color scheme. Could keep this one for myself...