Tuesday, January 22, 2008



An Armada of Whales



Today I felt creative!

I made things for the first time in a loooooooong while.

What you see above is a photo I like to call An Armada of Whales. Basically, I screen printed twenty-four cards to use as thank you notes for the Christmas and birthday gifts I received from my wonderful family. I decided on whales. I'm not sure why, but I think they're cute. Since I screen printed them, I still have the screen, which means I can make more for my Etsy shop.

Then I got really creative. I started my Valentine's Day collection. I made a few screens, and I also made these cards. I call them Lovebird cards.



There's four different backgrounds on them, so I'll be listing them all separately. The first listing will probably go up tomorrow, assuming I get to take the pictures. Hooray!

In my last entry I said I would talk about what made me switch my major from Music Education to Business Administration. So, here it goes.

A year ago, I embarked on an incredible journey. I was an unemployed twenty-one year old college student studying to become a music teacher. I forced myself to get up to go to classes, never enjoying a minute of it. Then, I discovered Etsy. I figured, what do I have to lose? I NEED to make some money. So I opened my shop, Less Than Three Designs. I had NO IDEA how absolutely gratifying it would be and how enamored with Etsy and the handmade process I would become. Since then, I have discovered new processes of creation, learned how to advertise, honed in on better photography skills, and above all, I have made friends. Friends with the same goals that I have: to better themselves through the handmade process. What makes the handmade process so special? Well, I guess it's different for everyone, but personally, I like buying from friends. I like knowing the person that made what I'm using. I like proudly telling people that I have something that's one of a kind and that I know what's in it and how it's made. It's thrilling. I like not supporting unfair labor. I like knowing people are receiving the wages they deserve for the work that they do. I am so in love with the handmade process that my life plans completely changed. I am going to open my own boutique filled with handmade goodness. I plan to consign with artists from Etsy as well as some locals that I know. It's going to be great. The more I think about it, the more I know I've made the right decision. Teaching isn't for me: I don't even really like kids that much. For the first time in four years, I feel like I've made the correct decision regarding my career. Thanks, Etsy! :)

That's about all for now!

With love,
xoxoxo

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow what a great story! and your work is amazing!

LoveMeKnot Creations said...

i like your birds & whales:)