Guess who came to dinner?

Sandi Henderson is a long time favorite person of mine. Not that I had ever met her...but you know how blogging connects people and you feel like you know them even though you really don't? Well, Sandi has always been one of those people. And when I heard she needed a place to stay while she attended the local creative event, SPARK, it only seemed natural that she should hang out with our crazy family for the weekend.  As soon as I offered, and marked it on my calendar, I realized I just invited a celebrity and a stranger to my house for 4 days. Am I crazy? Basically.

Her first line of fabric,

Ginger Blossom

If you don't know Sandi, here's what you need to know. Creative. Seamstress. Fabric Designer. Artist. Mother. Vintage lover. Maker. Doer of good things. Crazy amazing. If you haven't seen her work, you might have seen it on your daughter's skirt. Or on your neighbor's quilt. Or at your local up-scale fabric store. She is one of those people with a really great story too:  Mother of 2 starts a business selling her children's clothing line and patterns, and naturally segways into fabric design (teaching herself all through her first line of designs) and now is making quite the name for herself in fabric and design.

See her

new book?

Loving it.

And besides all that great stuff...she is a really nice person. Don't you love nice people? She's a fun loving, great mama, beautiful person, and it was so great to spend time with Sandi in person.

Sandi's booth at Quilt Market

We all feel like we know each other from blogging, ya know?  We're all just behind a lot of screens, admiring each other's lives from behind a lot of computer monitors...supporting each other and rooting for each other from afar. But to connect in person...that's the ultimate.

Her latest fabric line,

Meadowsweet

It was so great to have her in our kitchen while we cooked, shared recipes, chatted and ate yummy food.  To find out our families are really similar...from the kinds of food we crave and make to our children's quirky tendancies...was really fun to discover too. We had also had lots to talk about in terms of art and fabric too...but I can't talk about that just yet...more on that later...and soon, very soon (wink, wink).

Images and tutorials from her new book

So this is what I'm thinking...all of this blogging love...just needs to happen in person more often. We (my husband that is) will be making a cinnamon apple tart with apricot glaze this weekend, wanna come over?

Studio News.

This weekend, I had the lovely time of having the lovely Katherine photograph my studio. I'm going to be on KSL this morning (11:10 am on KSL news), and I needed to send in some pictures of my work space.  And though I haven't finished decorating and designing it, it was fun to shoot anyhow. I've had an array of work spaces over the years, and it's fun to look and see how they have evolved...I've had everything from corner of the dining room table to shared computer desk to bedroom. But if I have learned one thing about what I need in a work space, it's two words: "comfortable" and "inspiring." So that is what I am working on. I'll be sure to show more pictures soon! Like when I put up my half wall bulletin surface, and paint the other wall with chalkboard paint. Stay tuned.

But really, if you are local, tune in. I think it will be a really great panel. I'll be speaking with 2 other women and we'll be sharing tips and realities of starting a business at home. (I could say a lot on this topic!!)  And thanks for all your wonderful comments about that topic. I got some really good ideas, and I hope to be addressing those! I'll post the link to the web clip below as soon as I get it.

Thanks so much! See you on T.V.

P.S. I'll be the one who's trying really hard not to look nervous. I haven't been on T.V. since 5th grade morning announcements. This should be about the same thing, right?

EDIT: Here's the link to the video clip. It was fun to do...and not long enough...but I did it. Whew.

Juvenile line.

Can I just tell you. I have the best job in the world. I wake up to 3 ready-to-explore-the-world-children. I get to spend time in my home all day. I get to read picture books as much as I want. I get to draw for kids. I get to see the world like children do all day. Oh, and there are all the other minor things like laundry, dishes, carpooling, budgeting, lessons, mopping, and working late hours after kids are in bed. But truthfully, I can't think of a better job doing what I love to do, at home.

Tonight I was sketching on the floor while the kids were playing, and Addie asked me to draw her. She had just chopped a good 6 inches of her hair into a darling bob, and wanted to pose for me. She loves to pose. Like most kids love to be in front of mommy's camera, Addie loves to pose while I draw. And most times, she comes and finishes the drawing how she likes it. Tonight, she wanted a crown, a bow, a tutu and added the text on her shirt and some flip flops. And to be honest, it looks better after she touched it.

Juvenile line. I've been thinking a lot about how my children draw, and how it reflects how they see the world. And how what I draw and see is so different than what they draw and see. It's an interesting concept: they see so much more, but draw so much less. And truly, that is the art I hope to re-achieve someday. True art is expressing as much as possible in as little as possible. And that 'juvinile line'...a child's expression which exposes in part how they see their world....makes all the difference.

Happy Site Friday

Some eye candy for your weekend.

I've been loving these pillows for a while. Don't they make you happy?

I love smart people. How awesome is this lego paper cutter? Paper and lego's mixed. Now you can craft with your lego lovin' kids. Endless possibilities. (Sorry, the link is to a Japanese site. Anyone know if you can get these in the USA?)

I am basically in love with this print. Found here and here.

Fall colors are my favorite. And this outdoors craft idea via Bloessom kids is charming!

And another brilliant craft idea with instructions here. Theses are cardboard horses on stampede. Stunning art!

Happy weekend everyone! Thanks so much for your comments on my art vs. business post. Such great thoughts from you guys! I love it.

And thanks for your well wishes about the T.V. spot. I've been so busy I don't think I'll have time to be nervous! I'll let you know how to watch it as soon as I get the info.

xo

sarah jane

The delicate balance of art and business.

So I'm going to be on T.V. this Monday morning. I know, pretty crazy. I would normally be really shy and nervous, but I get to speak about a topic that I am super passionate about and one that I hope other women and mother's tuning in will benefit from. I'm going to be on my local news station with 2 other women discussing the realities of starting a business from home, as well as tips to get started. I've been wondering what I'm going to say, and I have some ideas...but I'm looking for more.

Starting my business nearly 3 years ago was a really scary thing. But I was so gung-ho and so driven, those fears never really crept in. I was possibly too naive to know what I was getting into, and maybe that was a good thing! But it's interesting, because when you are a business, you have to start thinking of business-y type things. Things like:  "Will people even buy this stuff?" " How am I going to market myself?" " How am I going to pay for it all?" And pretty soon, all those creative ideas start to get mixed in with very non-creative realities that very often yank those creative juices and throw them to the ground. Thoughts like, "You can't do that! No one has done anything like that before, and it'll get run over." Or, "That would be too costly or take too much time." Or, "Sure you think it's a good idea, but it has to appeal to lots more people than just you!"

Do any of these voice sound familiar? It's interesting: the banter that goes back and forth in my head now that my art isn't just a creative hobby any more. It's my work! And I don't like to call it that, because I really do love it, and it's better to think of it as play, or I get stressed about it.  But let's face it. You love to create! You love getting your hands dirty and just making it is what you do best. And to have a business from that? Heaven. But there is the reality that you are a business...you are ultimately in this to be successful, and you must be concerned about outcome. That is the nature of being self-employed! And if I have learned anything, thinking about outcome always inhibits by ability to create good art. Always. Hands down. But how to purely create without letting the natural worries of being a business creep in, is an art in and of itself.  Allowing yourself to truly express without worry or thought is a lot harder to do when there are people on the other side of the table. But, I also have learned, that it can be incredibly motivating  and can help you open up to that truly creative place.

My answer is Love. Love (the opposite of fear) will wipe away all those business-y concerns that we all have to think about. Love will create your best art. Love will inspire you to create from that genius place. Love will keep you going when times are hard and your aren't having the successes you need. Love will bring other people to you who will love what you do too.

Love, Love, Love. I hear a song coming:)

But isn't it true? We must "lose the fear of being wrong" and only then will we be truly successful because our work will be wonderful and beautiful and real.

So, I would love to know your thoughts. I am going to be giving some advice about starting an at-home business and also the realities of life as a stay-at-home-mom business owner. I hope to be taking the spin of how to keep that creative spirit alive when you are juggling all the aspects of starting a business.

What advice do you have about balancing the creative side and the business side of things? Does having a business interfere with your natural instinct to just create and not care what other people think? And if you don't have a hobby based business, what questions do you have about how to get started or what to be aware of when you do get started?

Thanks you guys! I can't wait to hear your responses. I have a feeling there is a lot to be said on this topic.

Halloween ideas.

I can't believe we are starting to think about Halloween here. Well, maybe I feel like I should be thinking about Halloween with how long it takes me to get costumes done.  I mean, every year I think valiant thoughts like, "This Halloween, I'm going to make my kid's costumes!" And then I realize I have to start so far in advance to make sure that they get done. But, what to do about the last minute requests like, "Oh, I really don't want to be a skeleton! I wanted to be a dragon!" And then my weeks of planning and sewing are in vain. Well, at least in my mind. I haven't yet actually sewed one...I always end up procrastinating or thinking that my kids will keep changing their minds, and so we end up making last minute trips to the store. And I vow to not do that again!

So while I sit and stew over this dilemma that happens every year (do I make the costumes or let the children pick them out at the store), enjoy these cute pictures of Halloween past. Notice: no Sponge Bobs, Bloody Vampires or Hannah Montanas. Kinda wishing I could whip up something as wonderful as that European clown in a cone hat. Kinda darling.

What do you do for Halloween? Hand sewn? Online purchase? Cardboard box and taped toiletpaper rolls? Do share. I'm a bit terrified of procrastinating again!

Book's you'll love: Dotty

With the theme of school starting, I have to introduce you to our family's favorite new book! I mean TRUE favorite. The kind of favorite that had my 5 year old sleeping with this book 2 nights in a row even though it kept poking her in the elbow when she slept. We're big fans.

Julia Denos has been a favorite new illustrator of mine. Personally, I think this book matches her brilliance. Dotty is a book about Ida's first day at school, and how she spends the school year with her imaginary friend Dotty...which is some kind of polka-dotted half-cow, half-lion, half-who knows what! She learns that most of the other kids in her class have imaginary friends too, but as the year wears on, they start to get too big and grown up for their pretend play mates, and Dotty finds herself trying to learn how to handle the fact that she still has one. The ending is so incredibly charming, and sent my children in complete justification for having their imaginary friends (we have Jason, Max and Sally come visit regularly to our house!)

But honestly....just look at the illustrations. Julia has reinvented this fresh vintage-y whimsical style that I appreciate so much. Her freshness and creative take on her characters matches the fun flair in the story. It's a perfect match!

I don't think I have ever read a picture book about imaginary friends. Honestly, I wish I had the idea first! But this is charming, and a PERFECT first day of school gift. I can't decide who likes it more....me or my children. We keep fighting for who gets to read it next!

Happy first days of school to everyone!