Surprise!

Suzette in photo booth having her portrait taken

Last night, as we walked Pooch for his evening Business Trip, Marble Man noticed a box on the porch. The UPS driver often doesn't ring the doorbell when he delivers a package, so I was surprised to find there was something up there. The label told me it was from my friend, Constance, from Rochambeau: an amazing creator of beautiful handbags. I opened up the box, and lost my breath when I found inside one of her gorgeous floralina doll purses! She has a hidden zipper in the back of her skirt, and a little beveled mirror inside. Looks like I need to talk Marble Man into taking me out on the town so I can get all girlied up and take Suzette out to show her off!

Thank you, dear friend. I'm on my way to being a Rochambeau collector!

Lelani at rest

Another Year Older

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a wonderful surprise when the doorbell rang early in the morning: there on the doorstep was a florist, a lovely man holding a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. I almost never get flowers! I thanked him and went to the kitchen, searching for the card on the way. I'd assumed they were from Marble Man, but lo and behold, this was not so. "Happy birthday from W & J", Marble Man's brother and sister-in-law. How lovely! Peonies, lilies, foxgloves, and roses - all my top faves. They smell heavenly and I'm sure I'll get many days of enjoyment from them being near. Thank you so much!

Since we don't go out to eat anymore, we celebrated this past weekend so Marble Man could make a scrumptious dinner for me on Saturday (Wiener schnitzel, roasted veggies and sweet potatoes, with an apple cranberry-galette for dessert). Wowie, zowie, it was amazing. I'm so lucky I married someone who likes to cook (and eat!).

All this care and attention has me thinking about how lucky I am in general. I have a nice home, a job I love, and a man who cares enough to make every day special. I've had to make many choices in my life, some really smart, some questionable, even downright poor. But my lucky choice of husband set the tone for the rest of my life. I am ever grateful for the way the stars aligned on that particularly magical night we met. Thank you, Marble Man, for making every day a celebration.

Photographing Frenzy

A week after starting my new Etsy.com store, I'm still photographing all the merchandise I've stockpiled over the years. I have 40 new listings at the store with about 21 more queued up to add next week. Over the past 2 years I haven't focused on the selling aspect of making art, just the creative process. I'm frankly a little shocked by how much I've made. With Mother's Day around the corner, hopefully someone will browse the shop and feel their Mom can't live without a necklace or scarf.

I've transformed the living room into a temporary photo booth. The furniture in front of the picture window is shoved back and I hauled out some grids from my craft show booth structure for a three-sided booth. Add a bolt of black silk, another of white, and "voila!" Instant photo shoot. Depending on the item being shot, I flip the black fabric back to expose the white, or vice a versa. It's not perfect, but it's the only spot in the house that gets a decent amount of light. Seems to be working out OK.

Photo booth set up to shoot a scarflet

Since the exposures aren't ideal, I spend a bit of time with iphoto and Gimp manipulating the shots. I'm getting pretty good at it. Marble Man and I are competing for computer time now. Hey...this is FUN!

The 2nd day of my store being open, I got a love note from Etsy.com congratulating me on my sale. (What? I got a sale already?!? Let's go to Disney World!) Hugely excited, I contacted the buyer, thanked her and explained when I'd ship her purchase. Then she emailed me back to say she'd clicked on "BUY" by mistake; she thought the item was beautiful, but she didn't want it. Bummer, man! After that I decided I won't get that excited again. What a let-down. In the meantime, I click "refresh" and enjoy seeing the number of hits climbing upward. At least people are looking.