Congrats to Samantha (comment #6) as the winner of the 2012 Calendar!

Sounds like 2011 was a good year for many of you, and we’re all looking forward to some really awesome stuff in 2012! Let’s hear it for new beginnings! (and if you are feeling sad and really wanted a calendar, go ahead and get one for yourself using the coupon code 25in2012 and get 25% off! Good through the end of the week — January 14 12pm EST)

I’m giving away a 2012 calendar to a lucky reader this week! The calendar features 12 watercolor paintings of wild edible plants, it measures 4-1/2″ x 11″, spiral bound and ready to hang. {They are available to purchase here, there’s as printable version, too!}

Entries are open through Monday January 9 at 12 noon EST (entries are closed). Just leave a comment on this post to be entered & tell me your favorite thing about 2011 and what you’re most looking forward to in 2012.

For me, my favorite favorite most amazing thing in 2011 was beginning to have conversations with my little one. For reals, she’s a PERSON with THOUGHTS and feelings and dreams and joys and hurts and questions questions questions. It’s so amazing to finally be able to hear all about them. She’s still working on her sentence structure (”does I have a sister?” was the best question yesterday. My answer? “no, you don’t have a sister” and her reply was “no, I don’t. She’s at work.” Hah! I guess “work” is where people are when you can’t see them? Pretty good).

And what are we looking forward to in 2012? All sorts of big things. Growing my business in ways I have only dreamed of. Making real plans, accountability, scheming and ACTING on these plans! Yes, so I suppose what I’m looking forward to in 2012 is action! Last year was a looking-inward hibernating sort of year, just reveling in our little family life and developing a rhythm to that. This year we’re adding to that rhythm and it already feels really good. Yay 2012!

**update: the winner is Samantha! Congrats and thanks to all of you for playing along!**

New originals have been unearthed! These were painted earlier in the year; prints coming soon, as well as more originals from prints already in the shop. Click the images or here to buy.

Another new painting, plus a set of postcards now in the shop.

I’m cooking up some exciting things in the studio these days. Go ahead and sign up for the newsletter and you’ll be in on all the super-awesome secret stuff (and by secret I mean a coupon code for holiday shopping!) SIGN UP HERE — but don’t worry if you’re already on the list, you’ll get it all too! Eeeeee!!!!

Also — everything in the shop now ships for FREE (yes, that’s free shipping! on everything!) through the end of the year. I guess I’m just feeling generous? Yippee!

Maybe it was the October snow? But I’m ready for the (winter) holidays!

our little monkey on her 2nd Halloween

]]> http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/11/3110/feed/ 1 http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/07/pressing-the-restart-button/ http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/2011/07/pressing-the-restart-button/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:00:26 +0000 Laurie May http://www.lauriecoyledesigns.com/blog/?p=3024

There’s something in the air these days.

and no, it’s not just pollen or humidity

I’m talking about the idea of stepping back, unplugging and slowing down.

I mentioned the idea of re-evaluating a few weeks ago, and the idea has been growing and growing in my mind. I need some time to think, to breathe, to make space. I need space in my house, both my physical/literal house, but also my metaphorical/sipritual house. Things are getting pretty jumbled up in there. It’s been over a year now since Natalie joined our family, and I need to take stock of how we’re living. What we’re spending our days on, how we move and grow in our home, how we take care of ourselves and each other, and seemingly less important these days (but really something I’d like to become more important again) how we make money and how we work, what we DO. Because really, how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, right? I think I read that on an inspirational magnet somewhere…. but it’s so true!

here are a few of the blog posts that resound with me lately:

Christine at Lavendar & Limes went on vacation
&
Maeg at Edison Rex went on walkabout (and won’t be back at her blog/business till September — inspiring!)

So… I’m thinking of following in their footsteps. I already closed my Etsy shop for my staycation, and I think it might have to stay closed until I either have new work to add to it, or have a new brand/business to reopen it with. I’m not making any promises or grand statements or creating any self-imposed time limits on this one. I think I’ve learned my lesson with that. But I think I will be back, and I imagine I will be looking for more accountability from y’all. This isn’t even another I’m-not-going-to-blog post, but it is something of a “get out of blogging free” card, if you catch my meaning. I’m unplugging, and we’ll see where it goes from there. I feel better already. Don’t you?

Does this idea make sense to you? Does it call to you? Then do it! Unplug! Make art! Make space! Play and create and lounge and read and do yoga and garden and cook and nap and go to bed early and stop comparing yourself with bloggers/facebook friends/famous people — just be you and enjoy your life, today. Have an average day!

I am so thrilled and flattered to be Maeg Yosef’s (aka Edison Rex) Art Crush of the week! Check out the interview I did with her here!

And the winner is…. Jean!! {I am so excited to send this off to you, Jean!}

Here’s her favorite holiday crafting memory:

Jean has a wonderful craft business going, Woolart, but I really hope this book helps her out in her pursuits of more craftiness in her future. We had the pleasure of seeing Jean at the BerkshrieMade Holiday Craft Show a few weeks ago, and got some awesome fulled booties for Natalie, an ADORABLE owl hat and a cute cute diorama ornament from her! I trust she’ll have more goods for sale in her Etsy shop soon… as soon as she gets a little free time from running her new farm in Maine, that is!

As for me and my favorite holiday crafting memories? One of mine is quite similar to Jean’s, actually! Every year my brothers and cousins and I would gather at my Grandma’s house a week or two before Christmas to decorate gingerbread cookies, as described in this post from last year, including listening to “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” and the Chipmunk’s Christmas album.

that's me, gazing up on my brother's cookie decorating. Circa 1984?

I also loved making these little paper Easter baskets with my other Grandma every year. We would cut out little eggs from colored construction paper, to place inside our baskets made of paper stapled together to make a pouch, decorated with a drawn-on basket-weave pattern. I really thought those were the bees knees. I’m totally planning to make them every year with Natalie when she can, you know, wield a pair of scissors, or, um, talk.

So this one time, I became friends with a very lovely and inspiring girl named Kari. We used to go out to “business” lunches when we both worked in jobs we didn’t like very much; we’d dream about starting our own businesses and being crafty everyday, and we’d talk about crazy things like having babies or writing books. Then we got the chance to work together in jobs we liked very much, and we kept on dreaming and got crafty together, Kari inspired me to develop my Etsy shop and product line, and we were always reading design and craft blogs while on our breaks. Then the store we worked at closed, and we had to move on to other things.

So maybe you can imagine that this year was a very big year for both of us, having different kinds of babies! You know about mine, but do you know about Kari’s BOOK? She wrote “The Handmade Marketplace“, which was ranked #1 Craft Book of the year by Amazon! Yay Kari!

It is chock full of all kinds of useful information about starting and running a crafty business, and selling your crafts locally, globally and online. Oh did I mention that I’m in it? Yeah, well, that was a fun perk to being friends with the author; as I’ve just been getting my business going these last few years, I was so thrilled to be included alongside so many amazing artists, crafters and bloggers such as Mati Rose McDonough, Diane Gilleland, Emily Martin, Grace Bonney, and Holly Becker; I think I did an ok job offering the “beginner’s perspective”, though. hehe.

So that’s the background. That all leads up to the fact that I am going to give away a copy of the book! It would be a wonderful gift for the crafty girl or guy in your life, or to yourself if you have ever entertained the thought of starting up your very own little craft biz!

**TO ENTER**

Just leave a comment here about a favorite holiday craft memory. This could be anything: a special handmade birthday gift from a friend; something you and your mom made together every year when you were a kid (my mom was a stellar snow-sculpture-maker!); or maybe even a baking project you embarked on (collapsed gingerbread house, anyone?). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator.

Entries will close at 12 noon EST Friday December 17. Good luck!

******

Oh and as a side note, Kari is offering her second e-course starting in January! Fresh Start will be four weeks of exploring your crafty business goals and ways to achieve them, while giving you valuable tools that will help make your dreams come true along the way! {Also, she is writing a follow-up book! It’s true! We are such lucky little crafters!}

This just in! The Eat More Veg 2011 Calendar is now available in a downloadable/printable PDF version for only $5! Super great, that is. And then there’s no waiting around for me to mail it to you! {but the pre-printed spiral-bound version is still available here, if you’re into that sort of thing}

You just print it yourself on your desktop printer on some nice cardstock or matte photo paper, cut it (two months appear on each page), and hang it up! There are detailed instructions included, plus some ideas for mounting and binding. Find it for sale here.  :::hint: It makes a great gift! ::::::