the stress...

the Deluxe show nears and the crazyness of preparation ensues!  only 4 more days!  and 23 more zippers!  yikes.
speaking of, check out the Gypsy Bird artist profile on the Deluxe site here:)
(my logo didn't show up for some reason...blurgh)

http://www.deluxeok.net/archives/1674

i'm drinking so many venti skinny vanilla lattes, staying up too late, and getting lots(ish) done.  also working 10-13 hour days at Sock Land...so, that's fun.  oy.

i'm doing my normal thing of freaking out and wondering if this is what i should be doing.  which spirals into super stress and wondering just what in the heck my purpose in this life is...you know that over-evaluating thing i do.  but all i can do for now is keep sewing my lovely clutches, blast some Florence + the Machine and hope the show goes well!

welp, i'm exhausted and not thinking straight...so i'll leave you with a quote:  "Don't you dare give up."
it's what the voice in my head repeats over and over and over lately.
cheers folks!

productivity

sewing sewing sewing! 
being productive and doing my best not to fall into distraction. 
hard to do with so many thoughts and dreams running through my head....
but the show is quickly approaching, and i must stay focused!
(i even turned down a steak dinner at my brother's tonight...so you know i'm serious!)

also, listening to (and LOVING) Florence + the Machine's new album, Ceremonials.  so amazing!  deep, a little dark, and so emo.  perfect.

alright, back to the ironing board....

just like that...

and BOOM...it's winter!  the temp dropped approximately 20 degrees today.  but i'm sure tomorrow will be back up in the 70's.  :)  that's Oklahoma!

just a few new things to share.  GypsyBird Design made it into Deluxe again this year!  so excited!  and crazy-stressed trying to get bags made, plus a few new little items that i'm gonna test out.  this is going to be another great show!  check it out December 10 from 11a-5p at the Fairgrounds!

also...i'm finding out the new thing is nail art.  i have been so inspired by the nail projects on Refinery29, so i decided to give it a whirl.  this was me trying to keep my cool at 1am, on the third attempt of mastering the "ombre nail"..so it's not perfect.  but i still like it!  (terrible photo...stupid Blackberry camera.)

and in other news, i got new specs.  (ground-breaking info, i know.)
but whatever, i'm pretty excited.  i got these from Warby Parker - they have a buy a pair-give a pair philosophy (kinda like Toms shoes), so for every pair purchased (only $95 for single lens Rx!), they donate a pair to a person in need.  good stuff.  here's what i got:

LOVE!

well, back to the sewing machine i go.  nice to catch up! 
cheers!

is it fall yet?

the sweltering heat is getting to me.  correction:  it got to me in June when OK was already reaching 100+ temps.  oy.  the heat continues...and it is completely miserable.  (shall i use that as an excuse that i haven't been blogging/sewing/making my life?  sure!)

but life is trucking along.  i've spent the summer either cooling off in my brother's paradise-pool, or hermited up in my house reading Martha Grimes mysteries.  those things and working in Sock Land, of course. 

i've applied for the Deluxe show again.  fingers crossed that i make it in again this year!  the show is in December, so i must get busy and create some new product...just in case. 

so...off to sketch ideas, or cut fabric...or maybe count sheep.  it's getting late!
farewell and stay tuned!

time flies....

yes, yes...it's been a while once again.  i won't dwell on my lack of writing productivity...it's the same story- real work/Sock Land is crazy busy, i've been busy and tired...yada yada yada.
but, life is good!  it's 4th of July weekend (cannot believe the year is halfway done), and i'm sitting in the sweltering Oklahoma heat on my newly revamped patio, and thinking of all the things i'd like to do this weekend.  relax, read, spend time with the fam, and SEW.  i'm applying for an end-of-summer arts market, so i need some new product, and lots of it!  i'll share what i get on with at the end of the long weekend!   stay tuned.  (yes, i've said this before and not come through with posting anything...this time is different, i swear!)

and, as previously promised, here are some pics from my art journal...which has been my only creative outlet the last few months. 
(apologies- my Blackberry doesn't take the highest quality photos...but i can't seem to find my camera, so this must do for now.)

"leave no black plume as a token of the slime thy soul has spoken. leave my loneliness unbroken, quit as those who quit before.  take the talon from my heart and see that i can care no more..."  -Edgar Allen Poe

 

let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  -Marcel Proust



"hope is the thing with feathers..."  -Emily Dickinson



a little obsessed with the whole gypsy thing right now.  Stevie Nicks, Florence Welch, and other random gypsy-esque girls.  P.S. anyone watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding on TLC?  crazy and amazing!

and finally, a lovely handmade bookmark by my sweet, talented mama.  it saves my place in my art journal...surrounded by loving thoughts.

it's not the death of a blog...

i'm just uninspired!  and in pain.  i broke my foot a month ago, which led to a surgery where i had to have a screw put in a joint/bone (ouch).  in all honesty, you'd think that with all the endless hours of sitting on my couch with my foot elevated, i'd have had the time to do some blogging.  but i definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind.  i admit, i've abandoned my dear blog.  but i think of it often, if that counts....?
i've also abandoned any further work on Gypsy Bird...a borken foot is not conducive to a sewing extravaganza.  blurgh...
i have watched hours and hours of 30 Rock episodes on netflix.com.  that show is so great.  gotta love the endless negativism of Liz Lemon.  and i admit, i've been reading lots of vampire books.  gotta keep up with that obsession!  and i've started a new thing with art-journaling.  it's interesting, and a great way to get creative while sitting on your kiester.  i'll post pics of some of my pages if i get brave enough to share...it's a bit like a diary. 

but, i'm getting back on track here.  well, i'm trying....we'll see what happens next!  in the meantime, would you like to see some fairly disgusting pics of my broken foot?  scroll down if so...if not- well, i apologize.  :)  this is all that's been going on with my life!  (p.s.- please pardon my hobbit feet...this injury happened pre-spring pedicure.) 

day of injury...shall i explain HOW this happened?  Sock Land hosted a 1 minute free throw competition in celebration of March Madness.  in 1 minute, i was hit in the face with a basketball, and then in flustered humiliation, i tripped, rolled my foot and broke the joint of my 5th metatarsal.  but i got up and attempted a few more shots!  and missed.  i am not an athlete.





evening of day 1.  swelling is spreading out and bruising. 

day 2.  further swelling, bruising and general disgustingness.



day after the surgery.  in a very uncomfortable splint.  note: see my laptop on the left?  that's Jack D's arm in a shot from 30 Rock.  :)  told you i'd been watching!



a week after surgery.  splint removed - stitches about to get taken out.  so sick!

looks like some kind of freak show huh?  really, i know these are so gross...but it's a bit fascinating i think?  and here's an update...i finally gave myself a pedicure, thank God!  i look almost human again.

well, sadly this is all i have for now.  i'll have something artistic or maybe i'll attempt funny next time.  til then!

p.s. i must say GO THUNDER!  i'm typing this while watching the final moments of game 5...OKC Thunder kicks the Nuggets!  great game...great team! 

to friends....

just a quick post to get back in the swing of things.  here's an uplifting quote i came across last night:

"let us be grateful to people who make us happy;  they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-Marcel Proust

how lovely....

ahhhh.....

today feels...sort of, perfect.  i feel (dare i say it) happy!  inspired.  kind of serene.  the weather has just been amazing this week.  and although during the week i sit in a cube inside a building with no windows for 9 hours a day, it's still been comforting to know the sun is shining and the weather is nice.  i woke up very late this Sunday morning to a sort of cloudy day, but it's still bright and warm.  the house is quiet, save for the whirring of ceiling fans and purring of kitties.  oh how i wish this was my every day life! 

my two fabulous artist buddies and i spent yesterday afternoon dyeing.  oh, dyeing fabric that is.  it was so great to finally get out all of my dyes and chemicals and silk that i haven't touched since Grad school.  Mom and i have talked about dyeing about one hundred times, but it just hasn't happened.  so finally the motivation struck, and the gals and i hung out in my back yard in crazy aprons/lab coats & rubber gloves, and made a mess, experimented with colors, and made some really beautiful fabric!  doesn't get better.

and now i sit and think...what am i going to do with the dyed fabric?  linings for bags?  not sure if china silk will hold up for long-term use.  but with the right amount and weight of interfacing it might be okay.  i'm also thinking of using the little "test" pieces for appliques on exteriors of bags.  or just making some fun mini-fiber art pieces.  doing some embroidery/applique/beading....
who knows.  i'll post pics when inspiration strikes!

revamp....

new design for the blog!  needed a bit of renovation i think.....

time flies....

how does more than a month go by so quickly?  real life (and laziness) has certainly gotten in the way of my creative and blogging adventures.  but that's how it goes.  must press on and make more of an effort.  make any effort at all really! 

so i sit here on a sunny Sunday morning, sabotaging my diet by eating loads of Valentines chocolates and thinking of all the things i want to do.  (let me first clarify that i do not have a "valentine" for myself...my sweet sister-in-law and bro gave me yummy Ghiradelli chocolates.  mmm, caramel filled milk chocolate.  i'm sure i'll have a delightful  batch of chocolate-induced acne after this little slip...eh, it's worth it!)  it's an improvement that i'm thinking of  things i want to do, rather than need to do, i think.  so it's a new start.  once again.  we'll see how long the inspiration lasts!  maybe it's the sunshine?  after blizzards, below freezing temps, and lots of clouds the past 2 weeks, it's supposed to be sunny and in the 60's this week (yep, that's Oklahoma!).  so hopefully the jump into spring will provide some lasting motivation!

and now, i would like to confess...i have a sickness:  a desperate compulsion to purchase every book i think would be interesting to read.  i recently decided to move the 3-foot stack of books that are just waiting to be read, from towering next to my bed into my already stuffed bookshelves.  in hindsight, i  realize this might be a problem, because now i forget i have all these books to read, and continue to buy more.  damn you, amazon.com! (no no, i didn't mean it!  i love you amazon!)  so i made a list today:  29 novels, and 19 how-to/self-help/diet/religion/business/inspiration books on my to-read list.  daunting.  time to give the tv a break and get to reading!

and sewing.  my studio beckons.  my poor Bernina is literally collecting dust.  shameful!  so once again, it's re-activation time.  create, read, move...live. 

off to do one of those things!

real life....

taking care of real life stuff so far this week...bills, bills, bills...cleaning, organizing, un-Christmas-decorating, budgeting, blah.  and watching a little too much tv maybe.  The Bachelor is bananas...really, a girl with fangs?  we all know i am a lady with an appreciation for vampire stories and nonsense...but FANGS?  wow. 

anyway, just wanted to hit you up with another quote i came across tonight in one of my crazy sketchbooks....enjoy!

"sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn that anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you."

-David Whyte

thanks for tuning in!  this weekend i'll be doing more sewing, and updating the blog, the site, and Etsy!

check back!

gypsybirddesign.etsy.com is here!!!

finally...finally my etsy site is up and running!  please check it out at gypsybirddesign.etsy.com!!!
honestly, it's not as easy as you would think to get that all going. but nevermind...it's up...the bags are there...go and shop!  :)

thank you for anyone who's been patient and checking my site again and again.  i am so happy to have e-commerce now!  please check out what i currently have available, and keep checking back as inventory is always revolving, because i am always sewing!!!

if you've seen a bag someone else has that you want for yourself or a loved one, but you don't see anything like it on my etsy site, please email me and let me know what you're looking for!!!  many of my pieces are one-of-a-kind, but sometimes i have additional fabric and can make just what you are looking for!  always feel free to drop me a line with any questions or thoughts!

i've also updated gypsybirddesign.com with some new pics, new graphics, and new links!

thank you for looking, reading, shopping and loving GypsyBird Design!!!