1. Where are you located globally?

I’m in central Connecticut.

2. Where are you found online?

www.perideaudesigns.com/blog

www.twitter.com/perideaudesigns

www.flickr.com/perideaudesigns

www.facebook.com/perideaudesigns

www.perideaudesigns.com

3. What is your favorite thing to make?

I really enjoy making invitations. Just the thought of knowing these will be distributed to people who will celebrate someone’s special day that will only come once, makes it the most rewarding. You only get 1 first birthday and knowing I had a hand in helping make that day special validates why I started this business.

4. When you’re making it…

a. what do you love most about it?

Knowing my products are going to good homes and great people. There are quite a few repeat customers who return for the next birthday or next holiday and that makes me so happy. My goal is to establish a relationship with each customer to not only better understand their needs but to differentiate myself from chain stores. My business is me, not a facade I hide behind.

b. is there some part you really can’t stand?

As I’m sure most entrepreneurs would say, the business side is more daunting and time consuming I had ever imagined. It has paid off two-fold but it can wear on you which is why I’m working extremely hard to find a balance.

5. Do you consider yourself process or product oriented?

Interesting question…I would say process because without a solid process in place you will not have a great product.

Thanks so much Bridgett! I just love to see you grow your business on twitter! Every time I turn around, you’re giving back to the handmade community in another way! Her latest venture is a really cool free printable: a blog topic worksheet. Not only is it beautiful and useful, but she’s got some awesome tips on blog post prep and some really simple SEO tips from Tara Gentile (aka Scoutie Girl).

I was lucky enough to win one of her blog scavenger hunt prizes about 2 months ago. I won some personalized notecards and a really cool modern initial art print. Now the notecards – those I had made for me me me! BUT neither of my boys would have gotten a thrill over the print, but I do know a little girl (here are some pix of the gifts  I made for her when she was still being grown!) who just turned two who loves pink, so I had Bridgett personalize it for Miss Maren!

Makers Must: Bridgett Edwards of Perideau Designs is a post from: Candied Fabrics

which is………Vicki Welsh! Who has  kicked down all sorts of doors which is leading up to the biggest door ever – RETIREMENT! In fact, she’s just 3 weeks away from retiring, and she’s having a giveaway of some fabulous hand dyed goodies to celebrate (go enter, and tell her I sent you, if you don’t already follow her!)

And because no post is complete without a picture:

Here’s some quArt of mine using my windows and doors motif.

Winner announced! is a post from: Candied Fabrics

Are you familiar with the work of the photographer Jennifer Squires? She’s a fellow artist over at Art Wall Online whose work is peaceful & still. SHe works with a very subdued color palette and natural images that are so much more than yet another outdoor scene. Katie Stephenson described Jennifer’s work perfectly in her interview as “quiet simplicity”.

I’m a big fan of Jennifer’s blog, she does a great job of featuring other photographers work, and she creates a fantastic free downloadable computer wallpaper each month. She also has a shop in Etsy. I’m a lucky duck, once again, last month she was looking for people to send a review copy of her newest photograph to – and she chose me! So I now own my very own Jennifer Squires, this beautiful photograph called “Elviage Pearl”:

There is an incredibly subtle horizon line that I don’t truly see on my monitor, but is perfectly just barely there in the print itself. There is a subtle shimmer to the whole print that keeps this work from being just a stark black and white print. My frequent readers know how much I struggle with photography – what Jennifer does with a camera is so much more than photography – I don’t even bother to ever wonder if I could ever take a photo like that – this is her art, and I’m so glad she’s shared some with me. Thank you Jennifer!

Inspiration: Jennifer Squires is a post from: Candied Fabrics

Why do we have so much invested in this one day of the week?  We allow ourselves to relax more, be more happy, have more fun and be more free, and we do this all because it is Friday.  What is it about this one day that gives us all this cause for celebration and relief?

<This is where you’re thinking “well, duh, it’s because tomorrow is the weekend and I don’t have to come to this dumb job that I hate and deal with my jerk boss who is less qualified then an ant to…”>

I know the reasons why people celebrate this day.  What I am really after here is this: why can’t we treat every day like it was a Friday?  Think about how much happier we would be if we found a reason to be happy and to live life as we wanted to EVERY day.

I had an aha! moment several years ago. I had switched from an academic schedule to a year round job, and realized how much we had been putting off something until…summer…christmas vacation…summer…christmas vacation…you get the drift. With my new schedule I no longer had those long blocks of time, and I realized how much we had been wishing our lives away. I now TRY to live each day as best I can…I try not to let yet another week go by where I’ve been worn down by the grind of laundry, homework, chores, job, dishes, and I’ve got no room for things that give me joy. There will always be laundry and dishes…but that need to create a certain something, well that is fleeting. Everyday should have a bit of Friday, let’s not rush through each week to get there!

For some reason, I never finished this post, and after not posting today and feeling totally exhausted but wanting to get something posted, I found this draft – and realized that I need to listen to myself! My older son has been ignoring some things at school, I’ve been to busy to notice, and they’ve now caught up with him – and me! Scrambling to get a big project finish as well as some makeup Math pushed through, I found myself wishing some time away. But I need to STOP, or I’ll blink and he’ll be in 8th grade, 9th grade…

I need some inspiration right now, and I need go no further than Megan herself! I was lucky enough to win her “Intro to Blogging” giveaway, and chose her “Olive and Lavender” photo. It is so perfect for me! The light, the mist, the flowers and the tree, it’s a wonderfully composed piece of Sonoman goodness that reminds me of a wonderful week I spent surround by olive trees in Crete!

Much more than a photo, this is an incredible archival print on soft watercolor paper – the colors are so crisp, the white so bright, the paper so think and rich – it is so lovely, I am truly lucky to have been gifted this! This is how Megan describes the scene:

In the light of dawn, shaded by a low olive tree, the lavender field shines with the morning dew. As the sun hits the blossoms the air is filled with the rich smell of fresh lavender. Bees are starting their days work as the birds fly around overhead… If only we could start every day like this one.

But wait – she also included a second smaller print, called “The Way”

In the lavender field there are paths that lead this way and that. The fun of it is that each path takes you in a different direction and you get to decide which one you want to take. This particular path was the way I decided to go that day. And, to quote Robert Frost, “that has made all of the difference”. (from his poem ‘Road Less Traveled’)

Thanks so much Megan, for this much needed breath of beauty, as well as the reminder that I CAN’T wish my life away, even when Liam has too much to do and not enough time to do it in, and I’m a horrible Mom for letting it get this bad!

Megan’s contact info (click over for some major “Oohing &Ahhing”)

• Blog: http://blissnbeauty.wordpress.com/
• Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/meganrhodes
• Website: http://www.meganrhodes.com/

Where do I find the time? is a post from: Candied Fabrics

Next – I finally had time and weather combine last weekend to get some dyeing done. 3 of the folks who won my giveaway waaaaay back in November finally have their own custom dyed fabric:
And, you may remember I made a pink  & purple freshly picked shirt for the Mom of a young lady who loves those colors before Christmas. I’ve just now ironed a dress dyed for her as well – it’ll be a Valentine present!

Some Belated Thanks! is a post from: Candied Fabrics