Spring Happenings...

i've been as busy as a bee, soaking up as much of the burgeoning spring season as i can and celebrating it!  it's funny really, because it seems like just last week that i was quietly pining for the snow mounds to melt and the skies to turn blue...and all of a sudden, my wish came true! 

sparkling new bunny ornaments for sale in the shop

plenty of new items have been added to the shop to help you bring some spring sparkle to your home this season.  i've been glittering eggs and ornaments, and birthday party hats are getting hot again as well!  i attribute my recent 'spring' in creativity to the return of the sun.  i feel like i have a million ideas for new pieces and product lines, but just not enough hours in the day.  so, i make certain to have my sketch journal attached to my person as much as possible so that i can jot down ideas or sketch out possible designs.

having a smart phone handy is awfully nice too, since i can take pictures of nearly anything that inspires me (like the crocuses that jack and i snapped above when out on our walk this afternoon), but my impulse is usually to reach for a pencil and my pad before reaching into my pocket to grab my camera phone...i swear there is something inside me that makes me want to resist actually using technology in my day to day.  i mean, i'm aware of all the great apps and programs and websites and gadgets out there that could help me streamline my business and my creative process, but i spend my days imagining the past and trying to replicate it in the present...sometimes it just doesn't jive, you know?  lol...

however, i will admit that i finally broke down and embraced the wonderfulness that is QuickBooks...and, i'm pretty happy to declare that it has saved. my. life. it took me two very long, arduous weeks of receipt organizing and data input, but it feels sooo good to account for everything i've done thus far with The Crepe Confectionary.  it makes me feel legitimate as a business owner, and it allows me to measure my successes and failures in a very meaningful way.  i'm still getting the hang of the program's user interface, but i have found features that i love, such as reports that show me how much each of my customers has spent with me or tallies of how many of each product has been sold.  if you're a crafter ready to take the plunge and make your 'biz' official, i highly recommend procuring yourself your own QuickBooks account.  you will thank me for it, trust me!

a 1st birthday cutie in her Crepe Confectionary party hat

spring is also bringing with it a ton of new opportunities for The Crepe Confectionary, both creative and financial.  for instance, i'm in the midst of a number of photography projects with a couple of photographers from around the country, wherein my creations will be featured in various shoots.  i'm thrilled about these creative collaborations, and can't wait to expand my horizons as a folk artist.  i was also very pleased to be informed recently that my work has been featured on Meyer Imports' blog site.  if you're not already familiar with Meyer Imports, i greatly encourage you to take a clicky-click on over to their site.  this import company is responsible for bringing us some of the highest quality glitters around, and i am proud to say that they are my main supplier of german glass glitters.  they carry a number of other crafty items as well, such as small diorama kits, mushrooms, and scrap pictures. 

Meyer Imports silver glass glitter, the highest quality glitter i have found

and in one last, final bit of news, i have begun playing with my tumblr account.  if you're not aware of what tumblr is, head on over to tumblr.com and have a look see for yourself.  its a 'micro-blogging' platform that allows you to quickly and easily post pictures, videos, links, quotes...anything, really.  its a more visual platform than a regular blogging site such as blogger or typepad, and i like how i can post things there that inspire or interest me, and i don't have to feel obligated to write a blog post to accompany it.  you can find me here:

crepeconfectionary.tumblr.com

what i post on tumblr is what makes me smile, giggle, gasp, think...its all the stuff that sometimes isn't fit to post here...lol. 

i hope you are all finding ways to welcome spring into your lives...may you feel refreshed and invigorated!

cheers!

Out with the cold, in with the woo...

its still snowing here, off and on from day to day, but its beginning to seem like the frozen grip of our icy seasonal temperatures is finally starting to ease and the mounds of snow are now melting...thankfully.  i love where i live, partly because i can enjoy the transformation that occurs with each change of season, but winter is the only one that cannot seem to pass quickly enough for me or my spirit!

i am heartened that spring is just a mere twenty days away...but it also helps to find little ways to help alleviate the spring fever that sets in right about this time each year.  for instance, i splurge a little more often (if i can get away with it) on fresh flowers or plants to place about the house.  this weekend, my wegman's had the most beautifully colored bunches of fresh Stock (Matthiolo incana) flowers.  i chose the pale blushy pink ones that you see above, and gathered them up with some delicate baby's breath.  they've been placed on the coffee table in the family room, and you can smell their romantic fragrance every time you walk into the room...(sigh).  it really does help to lift one's mood, to bend over and place your nose amongst such delicately perfumed blooms.  i mean, how can you not help but smile?

you know what else helps even the most horrible cases of spring fever?  getting out of town!  and this lucky girl gets to go here in just a few short weeks:

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/San-Francisco-Posters_i995008_.htm

san franciso is one of my favorite cities to be in...its just so groovy and laidback, and it totally appeals to the hippy in me (obviously).  so come late april, i'll be back there, touring Napa wineries, riding trolley cars, strolling the haight, climbing mt. tamalpais, and chilling at the wave organ.  there are a ton of 'need to see' places on my san francisco wish list, but i'm really looking for the unique, out of the way, only the locals and 'those in the know would know about' places...are there tiny little shops full of dresdens and millinery someplace nearby?  quiet little boutiques brimming with crafting treasures tucked into those hills?  perhaps a forgotten little antique place full of old photos and books near chinatown? 

i'm looking for input folks!  if you love san francisco as much as i, i would love to hear your favorite places to see, eat, shop, enjoy...leave me a comment below and help a girl out!  and, try to remember that all winters end, no matter how cold and icy!

spring fever

when i was a little girl in grammar school (second grade, actually), i wrote an impromptu poem entitled 'spring fever'. somehow, the nun who was the principle at the time saw it, and decided it would be a good idea to have me read it to the entire school over the intercom...right away.

and thus began my public speaking career...lol. i was reminded of this little episode when i noticed not one, but four (!), robins in the tree outside my house this past week. what a welcome sight! one of the things i love about living in a place like buffalo is that we get to experience all four seasons. while my favorite is fall, i really look forward to watching the transformation that occurs as each season fades into the next. thankfully, big, scary, snowbound buffalo enjoyed a mild winter, and now, it looks like we are about to begin our spring...thank you, mother nature!

so with this unexpectedly early visit from spring, i've been a busy chick...spring cleaning? check. seedlings started for the garden? check. easter items for the shop? check. now, if only the sun would keep melting the snow in the yard, i can begin my spring cleanup outside too...

in the meantime, i have enough custom orders to keep me happily busied in the studio. a couple of weeks ago, i was invited to a birthday dinner for my very good friend's mom. not wanting to show up empty-handed, i decided to whip up a birthday party hat just for her. well, it was so well-received, i decided to post it in the shop. that led to three custom orders in a matter of days! needless to say, i think i need to get to work on expanding my birthday line a lot sooner than planned.

amongst these custom confections was a frilly, pink birthday banner for a little girl named 'olive' and a new, sparkly 'happy birthday' banner (also for olive...boy, that girl is going to have one heck of a birthday party!). both are available through the shop, so stop in and take a peek. the frilly 'olive' banner was very much like the one i was commissioned to make for a surprise family reunion a few months ago for a dear customer in texas. she had just located a long lost sister, and she wanted to surprise her with a custom confection for their first meeting. i was so touched and honored to be able to participate in such a momentous occasion! in fact, i thought i would share with you a picture of lee with her sister carla...

needless to say, i admit that i am suffering from a serious case of spring fever...the sun is shining, we can see more blue skies, and i am itching to get outdoors. what about you? are you jonesing for the sunshine and fresh air like i am? do you have any special rituals or practices that you do to ring in the season? do you like to change up your decor, like i do? are you in the midst of your winter sowing for the garden?



whatever it is you do, wherever you are, i hope the sun, the warmth, and the flowers find you soon...