We had some warm mulled cider with cookies and cranberry nut bread. There was a bit of a rush in the morning, and then pretty much a steady stream of visitors except for about a 20 minute break in the early afternoon.

It was great to be able to show folks how I worked. I had a few folks who know me only from the blog drop by – that was totally awesome!

I was really worried that we had gotten started too late, and wondered whether I was being nuts to do this in such a busy season, but I’m really glad we did this.

Holiday Studio Tour Report is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Well, phase 2 happened this weekend. This particular project was brought about because one too many times I’ve gone into the closet in my laundry room that holds all my PFD fabric, blanks AND all my shipping supplies and almost lost my mind because everything was jammed in there! I’m sorry I have no before picture, but just imagine a jumbled mess! Anyway, we bought a couple of cheap melamine storage cabinets from Home Depot and put them in the garage so that we could combine all the less frequently used but still necessary for the business items in one place. So now the closet in my laundry is devoted to undyed fabric and blanks:

And when you open the door from the laundry room to the garage, this is what you see! (cue choirs of angels singing!)

The refrigerator that holds my dyestock, my beloved diet coke, and then 2 cabinets with all sorts of storage!

Behind door #1:

And behind door #2:

I love that I can get free shipping supplies from the USPS for use with Priority Mail shipping, but everything comes in bundles of 10 or 25, so it’s been a pain to store! Now, with one shelf devoted to shipping, everything I need is in one place (except for shopping bags of peanuts that are hung from nails in the rafters).

Here’s a peek from the other direction, showing all my stretcher bars on a shelf above the cupboards (an example of how buying in bulk saves soooo much money, but emphasizes the problem of then having to find a place to store stuff!)

Would you think me strange if you knew how many times I’ve gone to gaze at this magnificence? All this stuff, that I occasionally need, out of my way, but easy to get to and find when I need it!!

Wondrously Organized Storage in my Garage! is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

It sits on my custom storage cart…if you want one of those, well  there’s a tutorial for that over at Lillyella!

Ask Candy | Custom Ironing Board Tutorial is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Yup, my computer woes continue. Now, I’ve been freaked out about this…but not as much as I COULD be. Why?

Wonder hubby understands this stuff. He’s built this computer for me over the years, upgrading components a bit at time. I don’t think that there’s a single thing that’s actually original to the computer besides the actual case, which is ? years old? Something like that. Apparently this is the problem. My 64-bit dual core 4200+ AMDX processor with 8 GB of RAM is a bit too overpowering for the poor old e-machines case, even with the 2  fans we had installed inside. Couple that with a Vista update from hell and the poor thing cried Uncle. Windows 7 is being installed on a new hard drive, we’ll be able to access the old drive with all the programs and files on it, and a new gamers case is on it’s way to our house, with lots of fans to keep it super cool (and hopefully quieter, the noise of the old one drove me batty).

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know that my computer is very important to me! The joy of my little business is I’ve had the resources and reason to buy a little laptop. And (thank GOD!) I set it up to synchronize most of my Candied Fabrics files, so although the screen is small and my ability to photoshop stuff is curtailed, I’ve been able keep on keepin’ on this week. But there’s been lots of time doing things I did NOT plan for in my run up to 2 more shows.

My moment? I work hard to setup  systems so things like broken computers don’t create a huge issue.  But each system, whether it’s a computer backup, or an organized drawer, takes time. It’s a process, deciding how best to set something up, actually DO the setting up, and then maintaining it. I’ve had to look for a couple of things this week that didn’t have homes, so I couldn’t find them (one time it was because it was in hubby’s desk…ahem…). I know that for me, things having a place to be helps me in times of stress and exhaustion. I celebrate that my life was easier this week than it could have been – but I also acknowledge that there’s more to do. I should also acknowledge that being organized is a process, there’ll never be a “done”…but oh, wouldn’t that be nice?

alamodestuff Linda has started a weekly meetup based on taking a moment each week to really notice something as you go about your daily grind life. I need to do this. You may want to too – read more about it here:

One Moment: Being Organized is a Process, not a Product is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Lisa Call just wrote about how having too much of her unfinished work on her design walls, along with piles of fabric from recent finished work was draining her creative strength. Cleaning it all up and putting it away got her back on track (and, funnily enough, she dove back in and finished a few UFO’s!). I think that I have a lot in common with Lisa, in regards to how environment affects the ability to make. Although I don’t have the space for the white walls that she does, I do know that replacing mirrored closet doors with white curtains had a huge effect on how I felt when walking into the studio…with everything neat and tidy, I feel the energy just radiating from the calmness.

I am truly blessed to have the space that I do, and beyond the built in desk that was there when we bought the house, just about everything was either built or installed by me and my husband, or were very cheap things found at big box stores, so please know that you don’t have to have a big budget to make an awesome studio – just the willpower and some handiness!

It never rains, but it pours! MORE good news! is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern