to you!

I have a great feeling about this week. A pessimist by nature, I try really hard to stay positive, but some days trying isn't necessary. One deep breath and I know it's good to be alive. Can you feel it too?

Noticing Project photographs are appearing in our mailbox. Hooray! Read the details here if you'd like to play along, but just to clarify: we're asking for ONE photo apiece, no more than 450 pixels wide. But listen now. If you don't know how to resize your photo, please don't let that stop you. We can resize if need be. We usually post over there in the evening, so if your image isn't up immediately, don't be discouraged. Check back in the morning and you'll see it. THANK YOU for playing along and viewing all the lovely noticed moments!

Also, I'm planning a Shop Mayfly update next Tuesday, May 6. I'm going to work hard this week to make it happen. I hope you might take a peek that day.

Have a great week, nice peeps!

Posted by Alicia at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Happy first day of Spring, everyone! (or Fall down there in the South.) Yippee! I can tell you without a doubt, this is the happiest I've ever been about the arrival of Spring. Old age is making me lose my tolerance for the cold. And it's a beeeea-utiful day to boot.

This is Maura. She's in my shop today along with a few other goodies. And don't forget the Welcome Spring Sale ends Saturday.


Is there not a single Willy Wonka fan out there? Anyone? Seriously? No?

**crickets**

Anyway, I promise next week I'll stop hounding you to buy things. It's going to be gift week for me. I have gobs of gifts to make including a wedding gift, a hostess gift, little girlie birthday gifts, and a few baby gifts. (Um, Angela? Is Milo off to college yet? I swear I'm still working on his present.)

I'm calling it a week. Even Brian has the day off tomorrow. Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend! Much love to you all.

Posted by Alicia at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Hello! Hello!

Thank you, everyone. You are all so kind to lend an ear and a get-well wish. Wellness has returned. We're back- back to laughing, drawing, playing, working on projects, sleeping well, cooking, eating. What a relief. After a loooong evening in the Urgent Care clinic, poor little N was diagnosed with rotavirus. That is bad. Don't get that. She's better now and it seems she's trying to make up for lost calories. It's 9:45 am and she's had two bowls of cereal, two sweet rolls, a granola bar, and a pear. And she just said, "Is it lunchtime yet?"

I had cobbler and coffee. Yum.

There's no school this week for Spring Break. It's too rainy for the St. Patrick's Day parade, so we're here at home listening to the sporadic thunder and planning some indoor activities.

************

I have two shop announcements:

Heather and I are planning a Welcome Spring sale in the Noticing Project Shop starting this Wednesday. Think rock-bottom, last chance pricing. We hope you'll stop in.

Also I will be having a (very) small Shop Mayfly update this Thursday about noon. There will be one blond baby doll in there if you're interested.

************

Have a great week!

Posted by Alicia at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

These young ladies are leaving me today.

Left to right: Annie is off to Virginia. Elsa is going to Virginia as well. Liesl is headed all the way to New Zealand. And little Sarah is going to Washington.

Safe travels, little sweeties. May the postal system be kind to you.

Posted by Alicia at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Hi everyone. I lied. I said over there ----------> in my sidebar that I'd do one more shop update next week. Unfortunately, I think it's just too much. It's time to call it quits for the holidays and concentrate on other things.

For those of you who ordered Baby Dolls, they're almost done. I've been stitching on heads and faces today, and tomorrow I'll be sewing the wee dresses. I will ship the out-of-town dolls first thing Monday morning and then I hope to have all the in-town dolls ready to deliver later in the week.

I think I'll take a break from the doll factory this afternoon and work on this new Advent Calendar a la Martha. A few baby socks, a little rick-rack, some line and pegs and poof! New tradition. The activity tucked in each sock will be nature, family, and giving oriented. There are tons of great ideas floating around out there. I'm striving to keep the season calm and meaningful. Our first activity tomorrow will be picking out our tree. Yippee!

Have a great weekend! xo.

p.s. Have you heard the great news?

Posted by Alicia at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Happy Friday! I looked out the studio window this morning and saw this heart looking back. I had to run out in my flannels to take a photo.

This isn't my only reason to feel happy this morning. Shari has included me in her holiday gift guide interviews and it's up today. Honestly, I'm a little nervous. But thrilled and flattered! I hope you have a moment to go take a look and of course read all the other incredible interviews. I am completely honored to be in the company of these artists.

Thank you Shari! Thank you.

(I'm also planning on a small shop update this afternoon. See the shop link in the sidebar? I'm going to start listing the next update over there so I don't have to blather on about it each time.)

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! Looks like we've got just a smidge of leaf raking and mulching ahead of us...

Posted by Alicia at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Here we are on update day yet again, with less than I anticipated. An unexpected Royally Crappy Day® fell upon us yesterday, and instead of finishing up the last Simple Bird and sewing some wintry Little Girlie Purses assembly line style, we (N and I) spent the morning, the entire morning, in the pediatrician's office. No worries though. She's fine- She really is. Other than the coughing, you wouldn't even know the kid has a bug. Happy as a lark, this one. I'm taking my cues from her. I'm turning it around today: coffee. baking pumpkin bread. tidying up. music. I'll just add the last bird painting and the little bags sometime soon. (I'll let you know.)

But, please go check out the Shop after 11 am anyway. There are Baby Dolls to order, two Simple Birds (Emily gets dibs on the cardinal), and one remaining Artist Tote. I hope you see something you like. Any holiday gift contenders in there? If you have any questions, please email me. Pricing this handmade stuff is such a pickle- especially these dolls. I need them to be worth my time, but not seem too expensive. I know if you've ever sold any art or craft, you know what I'm talking about.

And you know what? My sweet mother-in-law is coming this weekend to wrangle children so Brian and I can finally paint our bedroom. It's been in-process for at least 6 months now. Then I'll finally get to hang my new photographs. I'll be taking a little blog break until Tuesday to scrape, spackle, sand and paint, decorate and hang. Weeeee!

Thank you in advance if purchase something. And have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs to you all.

Posted by Alicia at 08:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Hello there! I hope you're having a smooth start to the new week. It's beautiful again here today but super windy. I'm hoping the strong breeze will sweep away the elm leaves and save us from the job. It makes me think of Amy's lovely post from this time last year.

I'm moving the shop update by just one day. Tuesday is Brian's birthday, and I want to spend a nice, quiet evening with him. Plus Wednesdays are not good for spending much time at the computer, so THURSDAY, November 8th it is. I'll shoot for 11 am (cst).

I also wanted to explain my plans for the baby dolls that I'll feature this time. Part of the fun of these girls is that they can resemble the child for whom they're intended. Therefore, I'm going to do them on a custom order basis. I'll commit to a limited number (a VERY limited number- they take a lot of time!) and if you're interested, you'll prepay and specify skin tone, hair type and color, and eye color. Then I'll make each to order and ship them by Saturday, December 1st. That way, they'll arrive in plenty of time for the holidays!

There will also be some other items including a few new Simple Birds this time around. See you back here on Thursday?! Remember to BUY HANDMADE for the holidays.

Posted by Alicia at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

I am over the moon with the response to my shop! You have all been so sweet and encouraging. Thank you. And double thank you to those of you who purchased something. You sure know how to make a girl feel good. Your packages will ship today- Enjoy!

If there's anything left that you're interested in, you better go snatch it up. I'm planning on pulling the remaining items off this Friday. Everything has been spoken for by family, that is, IF it doesn't sell online. Of course I'd rather it all sells, so go for it! : )

I'm scheduling the next update for Wednesday, November 7th. I want to have some more paintings and other ready-to-ship items to offer, but I'm also going to include the custom baby dolls for "pre-order". I'll explain when the time comes.

These photographs are from a pumpkin carving party we attended Saturday night. I didn't carve one- we just helped J carve his. But after seeing how serious everyone was, I'm already scheming for next year. (Have I ever mentioned that Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday? Well, it is.)

Have a great (spooky) week!

Posted by Alicia at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Hello!

My little Shop Mayfly is open. I'm nervous and excited and relieved that it's finally time. Like I said yesterday, I hoped there would be more to offer, but my days have suddenly filled with mural jobs, and I just haven't had much time in the studio. But I feel like this amount of work may just be the nice quiet start that I need to dip my toes into the vast ocean of Etsy sales. I'll let you know here when I'm going to add more items.

There are several Simple Bird paintings, included the one that started it all. The response you all gave me about that silly little cardinal made me believe that I might actually have the nerve to sell some artwork. Thank you for that. It only feels right to let her finally go. I have some ideas brewing for new paintings of birds, slightly more daring and conceptual. Slightly. I'll show you soon.

There are a few Artist Totes too. They are roomy and long-handled and the front pockets are designed to hold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sketchbook perfectly. I've been wanting to make myself one of these for ages, and I thought they just might appeal to other artsy folks like yourselves. One good quality, hardcover sketchbook is included, but they would also hold one of your own favorite notebooks. One of these, perhaps. I LOVE these bags. I'll be making more soon!

So thank you for stopping by and if you decide to purchase something- THANK YOU in advance. I wish I could say I'm off to relax now, but I have a few more very busy days ahead.

Bye, friends! Have a wonderful weekend.

Posted by Alicia at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Simple Bird paintings waiting to be photographed.

Hello, friends. Tomorrow is the Shop Mayfly opening day! It's not going to be quite the quantity of goods I had hoped, but I think it will do. There will be a few painted and sewn items. I'm shooting for 1:00 pm (CST) to have it all up and ready. I've never loaded items to Etsy before; bear with me if it is a little bumpy this first time.

So please come by and visit- you'll recognize me. I'll be the girl sitting all fidgety on the couch with a big nervous smile, quite possibly drinking a glass of wine at an inappropriately early time of day.

Posted by Alicia at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

** the good **
Friday night pizza with friends and a quick walk through the art fair.
A sudden downpour that makes us run for the car, whooping and laughing the whole way.
(fun for us, but maybe not so much for the artists.)
Painting Saturday for the sweetest clients ever- I'm working on the inside of a playhouse. It's going to be SO cute! I'll post pictures when it's done.
A little yard work before dinner.
A sputnik fire to celebrate the last day of summer.

** the bad **
Little N gets tangled in her tiny lawn chair, does a face plant onto the patio, develops a huge goose egg on her forehead and scares us all royally. (she's just fine now.)
Waking up early Sunday with ANOTHER raging migraine, which is unscathed by a fancy migraine pill.
Packing up the family to take Mom to urgent care.
A shot in the butt of something that doesn't help much, but that makes me sleepy enough to keep more fancy migraine medicine down.
Missing valuable mural painting time sick in bed.
(It's been an unusually bad migraine month for me.)

This is the one I really hate: I'm going to have to push back the shop opening. The new date is Thursday, October 18. As soon as I committed myself to the first date, my time filled up with painting jobs. (Yay and Oy!) I have realized after studying my calendar that there is just no way to finish it all in time. I can't pass the murals by when they appear; they're too unpredictable. That's the beauty of being in control of your own online shop, right?

** and to end with more good **

When I squatted down to take the photo, I half expected a little elf to scurry off.

Happy Autumn, everyone! Well, or Spring- depending on where you are. ; ) Here's to the good outweighing the bad!

Posted by Alicia at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)

Yes, yes! Some of you figured it out. I am throwing my hat in the ever-expanding ring of handmade goodness at Etsy. First up- a small group of Simple Birds, some Little Girlie Purses and a few other things I hope to pull together before the opening. I am excited to sell my artwork at an established online location yet at a pace I set for myself.

So mark the date: Monday, October 1. Come over and visit me that day, if only to give me a virtual pat on the back. I've also been tinkering with my website in general. I'm not done over there yet (html is hard and makes my eyes cross), but go take a look. These are my first steps towards my new professional goal: BE an artist. I guess it is really time to take a deep, calming breath and face my fear of mediocrity head on.

Wish me luck!

Posted by Alicia at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)