drum roll please!

INTRODUCING, THE 'ICING ON THE CAKE' LINE BY THE CREPE CONFECTIONARY!

i wanted to drop in for just a moment so that i could share some exciting news! in the coming weeks, i am going to be introducing a new line of handmade crafting and decorating embellishments in the shop. you can expect to see the sweetest of crepe paper ruffles, the sparkliest of glass glitters, and the most whimsical of vintage bits and baubles for all your creative pursuits. i call it the 'icing on the cake' line because it consists of the very bits and pieces i handcraft or gather for use in my own artwork...you know, the sweet little details that really add that final touch to a piece.

so now you too can add some vintage charm to just about anything! i absolutely love crepe paper, and i fold and gather it into almost any imaginable machination. and i use it almost everywhere...gift wrapping, party hats, banners, costumes, as garland on my tinsel tree, and even on the edges of my shelves. it adds just the right touch of antiquated charm, no matter what the use. i even go so far as to create my own fringed festooning, reminiscent of the kind once seen in the old Denison Crepe Paper Company's 'Bogie Book'. and yes, this too will be available for sale in the shop, should you be so tempted...

i will even be offering confectionary kits, including do it yourself party hats and other holiday items, for those of you adventurous enough to give yourself a sweet tooth. i don't know about you, but i love disappearing into my craft cave to toil away on something frivilous. i suppose i want to share that sense of respite and whimsy with those of you willing volunteers out there...enjoy the experience, revel in the process, spend time on the tiniest of details, smile at what you accomplish.

so tie an apron on, grab your glue gun, and let the glitter fly!

Rest In Peace Halloween 2009, i hardly knew ye...

the jack o'lanterns' faces are curling inward, the trees are nearly bare, and there is a new, crisp chill in the early november air here in western new york...

halloween has come and gone, yet again, and i am overwhelmed this year with how quickly it crept up and just how much i heaped onto my own plate. it made for a crazy, hectic, and less enjoyable samhain than i prefer. october was one very busy month for me -- a sister in law got married; another sister in law launched a new cancer research foundation with a rather large, successful benefit; and i took on one too many custom costume requests. the month of october is inevitably a busy one, with my wedding anniversary and my mother's halloween night birthday. so to add these major projects onto an already brimming list of tasks, responsibilities, obligations, and just plain ol' 'i'd really like to's', october 2009 was certifiably nuts.

my niece, sayo, above in her devil princess costume; my husband below her, as 'max' from 'where the wild things are'...

there were many projects i would have liked to have completed to celebrate this year, such as carving more tombstones or finishing the paper mache work on the jack o' lantern head for the scarecrow. instead, i sewed my niece a devil princess costume, my husband a 'max' costume from 'where the wild things are', and a 'queen of treats' custom costume for a client for the shop. i also kept the store stocked and a plethora of orders filled. it would have been nice to have had the time to have gone out and hiked a day or two to enjoy the beautiful wny autumn, or to have done some photo sessions while the trees were full of color. but every year i set my personal bar so high, and the list of objectives gets so long, that i find that it gets harder and harder to find the time to enjoy it all.

needless to say, the lesson learned this halloween 2009 was just how important time management, organization, and learning when its time to say 'no' really is if i am going to successfully run both my life and this small business of mine. around the corner lies christmas, one of my least favorite holidays, specifically because i have found it is just impossible to frantically prepare for two very long days of merriment and enjoy it. nonetheless, i hope those of you reading out there had a haunting halloween...

trick r treat came early for me, and i'm sad to say it was mostly tricks...

today has been frighteningly full of tricks for me...

i will admit that it has been one of those days...i woke with the best of intentions, plugged along at a reasonable pace, checking things off my mental to-do list, making good progress...and then suddenly, everything just seemed to go to hell. with my very long list of objectives/responsibilities before halloween next week, i simply cannot afford to have any surprise disasters. but then, didn't some guy named 'Murphy' write a law about times like these?

the biggest, most significant headache of the day was my brand new sewing machine breaking. my parents bought me a lovely Singer 7470 for my birthday last year, after my last machine broke in a similar, hectic work debacle. it was lovely and new and has a computer and it ran so smoothly. i was busy sewing away, working on my pseudo-niece's halloween costume -- yes, i promised months ago to make her a devil princess costume -- the needle and thread jammed slightly, and when i went to clear it, the machine no longer locks stitches and sews. baffled and frustrated beyond belief, i pulled the machine apart, cleaned the bobbin chamber, and put it all back together. still didn't sew.

sigh. hold back tears.

took everything apart and looked closer. nothing was broken or bent or jammed. i tried calling the 1-800 number for the Singer Customer Service line, and found that they had closed at 4pm. 4pm! what service center closes at 4 o'clock in the afternoon?? the last time this happened, and a machine busted in the midst of a mountain of orders, there was a two month waiting list and $100 minimum fee at every shop in town to examine the machine. i remind myself of that as i

begin to bang my head softly on the machine.

my mom was standing by, since she had graciously agreed to come over and help me put the zipper in (i hate sewing zippers in!). she told me to try calling the sewing center at Joann's and just ask one of the women if they knew what could be wrong, since the machine's manual was of zero help. the lady was quite amiable, and suggested that the machine's timing was thrown off when it jammed. therefore, the top and the bottom stitches were just slipping past each other without locking. wonderful! now how do i fix it?

you can't. only a repairman knows how to adjust the timing. great.

at this point, i couldn't even hold back the tears. i felt so defeated and burnt out. i was just trying to do something nice out of the kindness of my heart because i love halloween, and i want to foster that love in my pseudo-niece and nephew. why does this happen to me, and especially at these most inopportune times? and furthermore, what kind of brand new machine has a common, run of the mill needle jam and then has to be serviced because its timing has been thrown off? do you know how often needles jam? the machine would need to be serviced every other month or more!

so, thankfully, my mother is letting me use her machine to fix my work. and though i have this temporary backup plan, it is so utterly frustrating to have something so simple cause such a nightmare. so who knows how long before the machine can be fixed. the repair shops were all closed by 5 as well, and so i will have to wait until tomorrow to call. keep your fingers crossed for me that it doesn't take a month and a hundred dollars to have it restored to functioning condition...

now that i've wasted enough time venting and whining, i also wanted to share some awesome news that i'm so psyched about. i sold a 'BOO' party hat to a very talented, classy dame who used it as a prop in one of her professional shoots. her aesthetic is tres vintage and so spot on. she has quite the talent for lighting and staging her shots. the overall effect is amazing; her photographs actually appear as though you just uncovered them from a stash of old junk in your grandmother's basement. needless to say, i cannot help but grin and sigh looking through her work. do yourself a favor and check out her blog, Dizzy Dame .

and finally, i sent a shout out through my etsy store for customer photos of my work in their halloween displays. i was hoping to get a ton, so i could see what context other people view my work. well, i got only one response, but the photo is such a charmer! hollie h. sent in a pic of some of my pieces staged in her kitchen. i especially love the party hat on the pig, and the use of the bowls of candy. it is exactly what i had in mind when i began crafting these sweet little treats for people to enjoy at The Crepe Confectionary. so despite the troubling day i had today, i know i'm making people smile with what i do...so i need to just stop, take a deep breath, chant an 'om namah shivayah', and smile along with them...

i've been a wickedly busy witch...

a terror-filled tray of ghastly goodies...

its been a frighteningly full week of flurry and activity here behind the scenes of The Crepe Confectionary. between filling orders for the shop, readying a special, spooky package for my swap partner, and helping with my wonderful sister in law's leukemia benefit, its a wonder i had the energy to crawl into bed last night...and oh yeah, friday was my 5th wedding anniversary!

a creepy coffin full of gothic delights should be making its way to michigan right now...

let's begin with my spine tingling swap package, shall we? i crafted this large coffin gift box out of some cardboard boxes, wrapping it in brown paper and spraying it with a couple of coats of black paint. a gothic gravestone angel, some black roses, and some black satin ribbon adorn the box full of ghastly treats for my Altered Art Junkies Wicked Halloween Swap partner, Debra in michigan. this was my first time participating in an art/craft swap, and i have to say that despite my level of crazy activity and responsibilities this halloween season, i really enjoyed getting a package full of lovely handmade goodies in exchange for my own. it was really neat to see what other people busy their hands with in their creative off time (and i do promise to addend this post soon with pics of what i received from Debra). inside the coffin, i 'upholstered' it with aubergine satin and ribbon trim before adding other handmade tricks and treats. i think my favorite piece ended up being an embellished frame holding a holographic image of a victorian lady that turns evil in the blink of an eye. a tried my hand at sculpting with paper mache clay crete for the first time, in an attempt to sculpt a gravestone angel. honestly, i did not enjoy working with the clay crete, as i found that no matter how careful my mixing and kneading, i could not make the resulting clay smooth. i was really very unhappy with the final texture of the clay, but did find that adding a few coats of acrylic paint helped to minimize that undesirable finish. i also included a canister for her witch's kitchen that i made using a paper mache box and a suitable label. however, for now, i'd like to keep the rest a secret until i know she has received it...

kathleen & my younger brother, craig at her benebration held yesterday at Holiday Valley Ski Resort

the other project consuming my time this past week was my sister in law's first 'benebration' to help launch her foundation for leukemia research, the Gotta Kiss Cancer Goodbye foundation. kathleen was diagnosed with acute lymphoctyic leukemia back in january after an emergency room visit for chest pain. thankfully, her journey thus far has been without complication. however, as a former oncology resident in training, i am full aware of the road that still lies ahead for her. despite her diagnosis, and her life's upheaval, kathleen, being the wonderfully caring and giving person that she is, has begun a foundation to help fight leukemia and fund research. amidst frequent chemotherapy, low white blood cell counts, and side effects, kathleen planned one of the largest, most well-organized charity events i have witnessed. the turn out was astounding (though it is easy to understand why), the donations were plenty, and the love and warmth for kathleen and her family was so evident.

the prize ribbon style badges i made for kathleen's benebration. she gave them to the cancer survivors who were present.

kathleen requested some custom prize ribbon style badges from the shop. she wanted them to say "i KISSED cancer goodbye!", and be made representing her foundation colors -- orange, because it is the color for leukemia, and pink, just because. the glittered, smooching lips are part of her foundation logo. the badges were a big hit. my donation of halloween items from the shop, however, did not (insert chuckle here). kathleen wanted to offer all types of auctions at the event, and boy did she follow through. there was a live auction of high end items (complete with a live auctioneer), a chinese basket auction, a silent auction of items donated from local gift shops, AND an art auction of pieces donated by local artists. i wanted to do my part, so kathleen asked if i would donate some halloween items from The Crepe Confectionary shop for the silent auction. so i whipped up some crafty love for her, boxed it up, and took it down to the benebration.

The Crepe Confectionary display for the silent auction at the "Gotta Kiss Cancer Goodbye" benebration

as someone who loves kathleen dearly, i was thrilled to be able to use my talents to help her cause; but as a new proprietor of a shop, i also knew that this would be an excellent opportunity to showcase my wares and pass out my cards (and kath encouraged this greatly). the display area was tight, but there were plenty of window shoppers. needless to say, when the silent auction closed at 4:30, there was not a single bid on my lot. i was so disappointed...i was hoping it would go for at least a few dollars above the value to contribute to the foundation's start up. not only that, but to know that not a single person had bid on my items was also a blow to my creative self esteem. right away, i began to second guess myself and my abilities, i heard that voice in my head telling me i was crazy to think that i could translate my creative abilities into a career in which could one day support myself and a family.

i did that for about twenty minutes or so, and then i stopped. what i was doing was self-sabotaging, and i recognized it right away. i have a long history of silly sabotage maneuvers in my past, but when i chose to begin walking a different path in life, i saw that this was one character flaw i just had to work on. so what i do, quite honestly, when that little voice in my head starts criticizing and feeling all inferior, is immediately conjure up an opposing little voice (how very george costanza of me, right?). it works like a mantra for me, claming my worries and giving me a moment to put things into perspective. i willfully manufacture a positive attitude in my mind, giving myself that little pep talk i need to pick up and move on to the next task at hand. and of course, i did learn a few things about myself and my business from this experience. i learned that i am capable of cranking out some serious craft in a frighteningly short amount of time when i want to (more like need to). i learned that not every venue or audience is going to be a good fit for you or your product. although i knew i would get adoring compliments (and i did), it was evident that either my customer wasn't in the crowd or it just wasn't the right time or place for what i had to offer. on the bright side, i did make a few new customer connections by handing out my cards. now, had i not donated my efforts and handiwork, it certainly would not have been appropriate to pass out my cards at such an event. craft shows where i'm browsing and shopping? hell yes! benebrations minus the auction donation? hell no.

i took a chance. i crafted my ass off. i contributed to my dear sister in law's smile that day by bringing her good work that she was just smitten with. i further defined my limits and borders as a small, but growing business. i honed my skills, my craft, and my image, and i think that anytime a business owner/craftsperson can do that, it can be invaluable. and finally, i realized, amidst this crazy, hectic pace of life and work and creativity and being, that i am truly, wonderfully happy with my choice to do what i am doing. its not cancer research or internal medicine, i know; been there, done that. but i toiled away happily until 4:30 a.m. and beyond on more than one night this past week, and i haven't done that since my architecture school days. can i do this for the foreseeable future, at this pace, and be happy? yes, i believe quite certainly that i can.