August 31st

Here I am, back in Blogger mood. It has been an amazing summer and family visits have made it speed along. Now it is August, feels like Autumn and I am well and truly back in card mode.

Mum and I have been busy working in our studios and, thanks to my sister Penny and husband Janis, we now have half the garage set up to display our wares. I am lucky enough to have sold several cards since we set this up. Although you cannot see it in this photo there is a wooden elephant money box on the table so people don't even have to talk to us to pay for the cards.

Since I added Mum a Facebook page for her works of art she has sold two to Australia and one silk screen print to a family member in England. It is working better than the gallery, but my brother and son are coming to visit at the end of September and we hope to sort the garage out a little more, brighten it up and make it more attractive to visitors.

There seems to be a trend for Owls this summer, I have an owl purse and owl back pack, so I bought the Sizzix Owl Die and have made some cards which i think are rather lovely.

My card making takes me a long time because I find myself going through all my stash to chose the right papers, looking through all my dies to chose ones i think might work together. Once i have made one card i very seldom make more of the same because i am keen to get on to the next. That's why i am going to take photo's of my cards just so that i can keep an eye on what i have made in case someone asks for a card of a similar ilk.

I have had a couple of commissions for cards and they have been very well received. On top of that some of Mums neighbours have bought cards. Now i just need to find a more regular outlet so that I can at least try to sell more than I spend.

Retirement is turning out to be busier than work was. I go to Mums every day and work in my craft room while she works in her studio or office. We meet up for coffee and lunch and compare notes and sometimes even manage a cup of tea in the afternoon.
I would like to say that i end up making cards every day, but some days i spend so long looking through what I have that I end up with nothing to show for all the hours spent hiding in my craft room.
Never mind I enjoy what i do even if I am sure that others could do a far better job , and as long as others like the cards enough to buy them I think I have chosen the right thing to do in my retirement.

I recently bought the Roald Dahl CD's to go with my Serif Card Making program. I have made a couple of cards and have a commission for another and i am sure i took some photo's but there were so many on both the cameras i think it might take me a while to find them. Next blog perhaps.