A Storybook Photoshoot

 

 I've always had stories running around in my head.

They never get out though.
They just lurk and then, every so often, demand to be brought to life.

That's easier said than done though, right? How many of us share the dream of writing a book one day? But where to start?

 What makes me think I could even write one?? I mean, my spelling is atrocious, my grasp of grammar is worse and . . . well, I didn't even finish high school . . .

Here's the thing. My parents separated when I was 11. (And then divorced a few years later.)

There were several turbulent years after that. Lots of moving, lots of new schools. Pretty tough stuff for a shy introvert. I moved here just before I turned 16 and finished grade 10 in our little private school. I would have had to finish high school in a huge public school. One known to be rather rough at the time.

 I couldn't do it. My mom promised I wouldn't have to go back if  and only if, I found myself a job. Not long after, while out for breakfast one day, I applied for a job and got it! That, for the most part, was the end of formal schooling for me. (Poor mom. I found out years later that she'd figured I wouldn't have the courage to get a job. She'd thought it was a safe promise to make. . .)

So. Stories in my head, and a story I kept telling myself about why I couldn't write them down.

Stories want to be told. My stories found another way. They snuck up on me through my photography. The Photoshop Artistry course and then the more advanced Awake class I'm taking, began to show me another way to tell a story, one told with digital artistry.

But it didn't stop there. Stories still nagged me to write them down.

So now I am.

I'm combining photography, digital art and words into an 'illustrated' short children's story and Nelena and her girls agreed to be my models for the project.

I hope it will be a good story but, even if it isn't, at least I won't have to regret not trying . . .  (If there are any English teachers out there interested in editing an amateur's work . . . drop me a line. I'll need all the help I can get! ;) )

The first 'illustration' is at the top of this post. I'm also sharing other images taken during our storybook photoshoot. It took the whole day, with Holly doing hair and makeup for these three lovely ladies (the girls got blush and lip gloss!), but my, was it ever fun!

This is the  above image before I worked some digital magic on it . . .

The day began with hair and makeup.

It's not all glamour as this girl can tell you . . .

But she soon got into the swing of things.

Her big sister hung out with me while I created the wreaths for their hair.

Once we got to our beautiful garden, (not mine, this one belongs to my dear friend Nicole) it was time to get into character.

How exactly do fairies act??

Let's think about it with tea and cookies . . . or in this case, apple juice and cookies.

 

 

No photoshoots are problem free.

"You're worried about my wreath when there are wasps flying around my head?!!"

The girls were game to climb a ladder in hopes of seeing themselves fly in their story. Of course there's always a spotter close at hand!

Then it's time for a little fun!

 

We got many, many beautiful images, ones I hope will make lovely illustrations for my story one day.

Until then I'll leave you with these . . .

 

 

A big thank you to Holly, Nelena and the girls for helping me with this dream!

Going on a 'Staycation'

(original tea image courtesy Pixabay. A little added photoshop artistry, me)

It's nearly the end of February, a time of year Henry and I begin to long for warm weather. He starts itching to get out his boat and fishing rod and I'm knee deep in seed catalogs and drooling over all those fabulous gardening boards on Pinterest.

We had hoped to take a trip down to the coast (B.C.'s west coast), lounge around in our favourite Bed and Breakfast, visit with my sisters, and go on a few adventures but . . . truck repairs, dentist visits and new glasses have put that out of reach for the time being.

What to do, what to do . . . 

Normally I would plan a lovely 'Staycation' at home that would include adventures here at home, working on a big project or lots of learning about some new project I'm hoping to do.

But this year???

This year I'm tired. There's been lots going on for months and, although my post shingles pain is mostly under control these days, I feel rather worn out.

 I have something totally different planned for this 'staycation' This year it's going to be all about resting and relaxing. Poor Henry's still going to have to go to work, so all his relaxing and resting will happen in the evenings. (not to worry though, he had a lovely golf holiday last fall)

Me???

I'm going to be madly getting stuff ready for the ultimate 'at home' retreat week. I'm cleaning and fluffing and staging lovely vignettes around the house. I'm going to bake all my favourite cookies, squares and cakes and pop them in the freezer so I'll (okay, we'll . . . I might share a few things . . .) have tasty treats all week with out any effort from me. Some of those cookies won't even see the inside of an oven. They'll just be yummy dough. If I'm really, really smart I'll put together a few things to make quick meals next week but, and I hate to say it, I'm pretty sure there will just be a whole lot of 'Help Yourself' suppers instead.

There will be piles of books beside the bed, movie marathons and . . . I may not even change out of my pj's!

I do have a few things booked that will get me dressed and out of the house, so I won't be a total hermit. For the most part though, I'm going to pretend I live in Regency England and not 'At Home' when people come to call. Or in this day and age, email, Facebook and text . . . ;D

Sigh, I can't wait. But now I'm off to wash the sheets and scrub the bathroom. There's nothing cozier than a bed with crisp, freshly washed bedding that's piled high with pillows and extra blankets. Add in a sparkling bathroom complete with fluffy towels and fresh flowers???

Bliss.

See you all in March!

Following Your Dreams

Today I wanted to share this amazing video from Brooke Shaden where she talks about pushing fear out of the way to follow your dreams.


It really speaks to me today. . .

Don't forget, today is the last day to enter the Calendar Giveaway. (The deadline is anytime before I post the winner. . . ;D)

I will be posting the winner later on this evening, so enter now!

It's a New Year!

Hello 2014!

I like to start the New Year with some type of plant project and this year is no exception. I received two amaryllis bulbs a few weeks ago and finally found the time to plant them.

                                     


I've been reading a few blogs today and many of them talk about what their new goals, resolutions or words are for the New Year.

I'm not too big on resolutions, I think they often set you up to fail.

Words for the year can be fun though. Last year Barb's at Keeping With The Times was work and if you check out her beautiful blog you'll see she worked hard  . .

I've set goals for myself in the past although not necessarily because it's the new year.

Towards the end of October I decided to work towards one last goal for the year. I was going to give my all to the coming Christmas sale. There was to be no excuses for not doing my very best in all aspects of the sale, both in the making and the marketing.

In the end. . . I was very proud of what I accomplished. Although attendance was not what I hoped, it wasn't because I fell short somewhere. It just was what it was.

  And I'm okay with that.

I'm not quite sure yet what I'm going to focus on in the year ahead. . . 

Well. . . that's not quite true. . .

I know I want to make my sweet, laid back, very accommodating husband Henry my first priority for a change.

Over the years, kids, bus driving, Ladies Aid and many, many projects have managed to sneak ahead of him when it came to priorities.

My kids are grown (although two of them still live at home) and I'm not driving the bus or running Ladies Aid anymore.

Projects though. . . Oh my . . . I don't know how it happens, but a project can take over my life to the point that I become deaf and blind to everything. else. going. on. around me.

And Henry just smiles and says "Whatever makes you happy dear. . ."

Well, this year what will make me happy is to make HIM happy.

 Now all I have to do is figure out the very best way to do that.

He likes to tell me that I should be catering to his every need, at all times . . . tongue in cheek to be sure, but . . .

What if ???  And  . . . how would that look?

I'm not sure yet, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out.

There are a few other things I want to work on this year but I've decided not to stress myself out by making a public declaration. I'm just going to pray and try to do a little better each day without beating myself up when I don't measure up.

I did think it would be fun to try a 365 photography project this year though, so I'm joining Kelly from FocusingOnLife in her Year in Photos project on Flickr.

Here's what I took today:

I had planned to announce a giveaway today as well but I'm not quite ready, so you'll have to tune in tomorrow for all the details and the chance to enter. (Aren't I sneaky. . .  ;D)

I hope you all had a lovely time ringing in the New Year.

Travel Tuesdays. The End of the Road?

This past weekend we had a Christmas Open House here at A Life of Whimsey.

We had been preparing for it for quite some time and last week was crammed full as we worked feverishly to get everything done.

Without my kids it wouldn't have gotten done!

Holly and I sewed, planted, created and baked.

Morgan came over with his tools and beautified some of my old windows. His girlfriend Kim baked three dozen delicious tarts.

Holly, Jesse and I took Jada and spent several hours delivering flyers on a snowy, chilly day late last week.

6 o'clock arrived. Apple cider and hot chocolate simmered on the stove. Whipped cream and all manner of sprinkles stood nearby. Cookies, cakes and pastries adored the three tired class cake stand.

All was in readiness for that first person to walk through the door.

All that is, except for me. I still hadn't priced things, designed and printed up special tags for my products or embellished my vintage windows the way I had planned.

I hadn't showered! And despite what Holly said, I really needed a shower.

Several lovely, talented young ladies joined my sale. Shelly and Marla from Made by Five, Elizabeth from The Olive Tree project, Cindy from Junebabycrochet and Kim who makes the most beautiful scarves.

The sale was open for business. It was a quiet evening. Several ladies dropped by and enjoyed a hot beverage and baked goods while they shopped.

Saturday morning came and we all hoped for a busier day. It stayed quiet all day.

So here's the thing . . .

Selling stuff is tricky. You can do your very best work but it doesn't mean much if no one comes to see it. That's true for every business whether large or small. The only thing that's different between the two is scale. ( well, not the only thing . . . ;D)

People don't come for a myriad of reasons. They were sick, forgot, had unexpected company, unexpected expenses or were just too tired to leave the house that day.

I get that. It happens to me all the time as well.

At what point though, does a business owner look at the bottom line and say . . .  I love doing all this stuff but I am not actually making any money at it?

A new business takes a few years before things really start rolling of course and it requires a lot of hard work, energy. time and passion to be successful. So what do you do if you start running out of some of these things??

Well, if you're me, you try harder . . .

But, this quote starts haunting you. . .

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

I'm not sure what the future holds but it's possible that this may be the end of the road for one of my dreams.

Thankfully, dreams are never in short supply at my house.

 Maybe it's time to pursue a new one.

How do you know when it's time to let a dream go go?

We do Nothing in our Own strength . . .

It's exciting, crazy times here as Holly and I get ready for this Friday's Ladies Night Out.

We are teaching two classes, Terrariums and Clay Tags, as well as having a table filled with concrete leaves, terrariums and an assortment of other items we've been working on for all the ladies to peruse.

I am blessed with a husband who just wants me to do what makes me happy. (with the occasional load of laundry!)

However, if I only did what makes me happy, which is to create beautiful things, our tiny house would be filled to bursting in no time. This gives me a reason to create beautiful things for others to enjoy and if I was able to just give these things away, it would make for a simple and rather laid back life.

Since we aren't independently wealthy, I have to find another way to do things.

That's how my gardening business Growing Wisdom and now Whimsey Design's vintage and garden inspired goods came into being. If I can earn money sharing my garden knowledge and pretty handmade things I can dream and create everyday without resorting to mac and cheese for supper every night. 

Running a business requires a pretty extensive set of skills, several of which do not come naturally! Organization and consistent bookkeeping being at the top of the list.

Stuff like that can keep me up at night as I wander around online or hit the library searching for the knowledge I lack. I have become acutely aware of my strengths and weaknesses.

 Every so often the enormity of what I'm trying to do causes me to break out in a cold sweat . . .

How thankful I am that I'm not doing this in my own strength . . .

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

And then there's my family . . .

They cheerfully pitch in and help out with whatever mad scheme I've got going. Most of the time.
Frequently Once in a blue moon they'll roll their eyes, sigh, turn off my computer and lead me to bed, reminding me that tomorrow's another day.

Every once in a while I'll listen to them.

Guess what the UPS Man Brought. . .

I was stirring the spaghetti sauce for dinner last night and saw the UPS truck pull up in front of my neighbor's house.

"Hmmm... I wonder if that's for me?? No, of course not, the UPS man is always delivering things to the neighbors."

Wait, what . . . hang on, he's coming to MY house!

I ran to the front door, threw the bags full of recycle stuff out of the way and excitedly opened the door.

What could it be???

I didn't order. . . oh wait! Yes I did! And it got here in a week??

Look what I got. . .

 
Ooooh . .  all my newly made marketing materials . .

Business cards, product cards, postcards and a small banner!

I decided to use postcards rather than brochures. They are less expensive and up until now at least, I haven't actually handed out that many brochures. People seem to like the postcards better

Look! They match my website and blog now!

My business card, the large product tag as well as two smaller product tags that I had printed on one card.

All I have to do now is cut 500 cards in half, punch holes in all my product tags and add some twine. 

Sounds like I need to put on a good movie and get to work!

I am so thrilled with how my business site, blog and marketing materials have all come together.

A big thank you to Jana from Little Web Writing Hood for a beautiful job well done.

Thanks again Jana!

*And to all of you? Sorry for the lavish use of exclamation and question marks today. It's been a long time coming ( I kept trying to do it all myself. Bad idea!) and I just couldn't help myself!!!

Bursting at the Seams.

We are bursting at the seams these days.

Plants have taken over nearly every corner of the house, not to mention all the other things we've been madly working on for next week's sale.

Things are coming to a head. I was planning to start moving plants into the greenhouse over the next few days but it looks like we're going to have one more very cold night. Since next week's forecast is excellent, Monday is the day.

And not a moment too soon!

Now it's time to get back to work!