happy joy merry go round my mind

here is my christmas post

1. i'm feeling quite neurotic as of late so i couldn't help but shoot this

tin of mints that my father had in the office

2. i knitted this cowl for AroundNBrightlyWound but asking my brother to model it was

not the most profitable thing. but it did make him happy as can be which

is far better than money. he hasn't taken it off since monday- except for sleep and shower.

3. of course i found some suitcases to clean and draw on- i can't stop this madness

5. i found myself inside this guitar with my fancy old skool magnifying glass6. i gave all of my family memebers XENOTEES for christmas. not a frown to be found.

collections of animals has never been so cool7. i made another bag. lime green candy apple messenger.

i keep sleeping but still i'm tired. i'm over christmas- the whole production and craziness with no chance to enjoy the moments of life. maybe it's just me? i'm not grumpy about it

i'm just OVER IT!

forget the presents, feed me my family.

hope you all are getting some down time

some quality time

some sanity.

merry happy joy merry go round my mind!

-r-

NEW MERCH!

allllll-RIGHT:
today i cleaned about 25 pieces of luggage. i figured i would get them all prepped for painting, upcycling etc. the colors and pieces are just all kinds of joy, though i must admit that it's a bit overwhelming. i have decided to take out one piece at a time so my head can focus on each piece and give it exactly what it deserves.

i'm so super geeked about the new ink delivery i have found so i can get way more detailed in my designs. the bag above was a custom order for a girl who wanted her tatoo to be the design on her piece. it was so incredible to work with my new tools- i just opened the wardrobe to narnia......

next up is a photo i took of hannah- i think she is deep in thought about what GetReadySetGo will have in it's shop come january........

yes, we are all wondering around here- myself included.... how much new? how much old?
well, my crafty hands need to get sketching in my moleskine and firm up some new drawerRINGS. i love black pilot pens extra fine point pens- ohhhhhhh how i drool over them when i sketch!

that's my update. see ya on the flip side guys.

SIT BACK & ENJOY THE SHOW

so i'm getting by....

hannah came and rescued me from mechanical breakdown and death of my artistic side. that's what friends are for right?

well, the garage is full full FULL up of new stuff- new stock! lots of colors, lots of new designs ...... ooooooooh i am super pumped.
now i am going to sit back and
ENJOY THE SHOWWWWWWWWW!
my SHOW is life!

2 movies, my knitting needles and sleeping in tomm.
PERFECTION- well, close to it

later kids. later onnnnnnn. later when i'm not gone????
also, please go do your ears and soul a favor--- listen to my best friend annie........ i promise- she will do you good.
http://www.anniestela.com/
~me~

creative machine incapable of repaying.....

here's to everyone... buyers, sellers, browsers, addicts

how it feels on the inside- which is numb....

i saw a woman last weekend at my father's surprise 50th birthday party (daddy if you are reading this, i love you and cherish every moment we share together). both she and her husband have played a huge encouraging roll in my endevour to further my photography business (my other job alongside luggagemania). i inevitably had 3 pieces of my luggage so the questions came. and my gushing followed. over etsy and how it's changed my life etc. a few days later i received an email from her. she had checked out my shop and coined me as "a creative machine"

no doubt it was a compliment but it struck a chord. staring at that phrase i felt like i had the machine part down, but the creative part was lost in the woods. i decided it was time to go searching for that part that makes us artists tick- that creativity we thrive on.....

well, my trip got completely ripped to shreds!

last night, or rather morning, at 2am i found myself on the floor of my workspace in a pile of tape and shipping labels, my hands covered in permanent marker and i was gone. after packing up 13 pieces of luggage in the past 24 hours i could barely remember my name. right now, as i write this incoherent ramble, i'm thinking about that creative drive.... how to get it back, how to be less of a machine? i'm not in need of answers...... i know they will come. i'm in need of balance..... but that too will come.

be creative- keep it up kids

don't be a machine.

now i am going to finish poster-sketching my treasury- which is painful at this point because i have left soooo many INCREDIBLY TALENTED ARTISTS out- for that i am sad- i am more than sad. how did this happen? how did i get to a point where i feel so incapable of EVER even coming close to repaying all those who have made me a part of their cube? i returned from picking up my dear friend from the airport to see that i had 13 new convos- none of which i have been able to return. it's left me feeling cold.

and tonight, in florida, it's actually cold enough where you can see your breath in white puffs against the black sky.

i am so incredibly thankful and so incredibly incapable.

i'm holdin' on to what i know.

and that is how i will get by tonight

and tommorow

and the next day.....