Giving Thanks

If you are reading this I want to thank you for being here and not giving up on my blog.
I have had a bit of a rough year with my little business. My sales have dropped a lot on Etsy. I don't know why, and I may never figure it out.

Never mind that. On this Thanksgiving Day I have so many things to be grateful for I don't even know where to start.

1. I am thankful for my family, my husband, and kids who support and encourage me every day. They are the main source of joy and inspiration in my life.

2. I am thankful for my new job. It does not pay a whole lot of money, but it gets me out of the house and makes me realize how lucky I am. Lucky that I do have a roof over my head, food, and a husband with a real job. When I am in the classroom I know that there are quite a few kids who are struggling at home. Duh, I knew this before I became a substitute teacher. But being in the world outside my studio has been a real eye-opener...

3. I am so thankful for the loyal customers who have stuck with me and bought my dolls over the years. It really warms my heart when I think of the people who come back year after year for gifts. Every order and word of encouragement means the world to me. Especially since Etsy has been so funky this year. Every little order has been a beam of light. You know, wrapping up an order is my favorite thing to do. Christmas or not. Year around, when I wrap up a doll or doll dress, I picture the person opening it. I hope they find as much joy in it as I had when I created that item. Each package carries a little piece of my heart and my hope that people feel the love I put into it. Like those toys you still remember from when you were little because they were so special, I want my toys to be that kind of toy....

4. This may sound silly to you. But recently I bought myself two pairs of expensive jeans. I have not indulged myself like this and bought clothes in quite a while. It appears that once we have children we turn into birds. Like the mama and papa bird, after the baby has hatched, we flit about and spend everything we got (money, resources, energy) on the babes. We get exhausted and look like crap after a while. Our feathers begin to look rather ruffled. We find our happiness lies in watching our hatchlings grow and thrive. Well, since I have to go out the house more often, I realized it was time for some new clothes. And, oh wow, I love these jeans so much. Now I understand why people are willing to spend $60+ on them. This mama bird is very grateful for that.

5. I am grateful every day that I can sew and make art. Each piece of fabric and scrap of wool I turn into art makes me happy. This can be a problem though because one gets in the habit of having too many little pieces of fabric around... This year I am thankful that I have been able to cut down on supplies and learned to be more reasonable. Instead of buying more I have worked patiently through my stash of beautiful supplies. I think it is part of the human condition that we have so much and always want more. It is good to appreciate the things we have and count your blessings. We should do it more than once a year!

I could go on with this list for a while but I will leave it at that.

I hope you have a wonderful day with your family. I thank you for taking the time to read my post!

Cool Kid Doll Clothes

Wow, I can't believe November is already half-way gone. Sorry for not checking in sooner!

Between teaching and dealing with the increased amount of orders coming in for my dollshop I have been staying pretty busy. Looks like folks are finally getting their Christmas shopping done.

Since I needed some new blue jeans, my little mini-me Ulladoll, asked for a new pair for herself. She said my regular model was boring and needed some pockets, at a minimum. I can totally understand. I really don't like carrying purses at all. Sometimes I wonder if I was meant to be boy? I am not a fan of make-up. I have never owned a pair of high-heeled shoes. And if I ever do carry a purse around, I promptly leave it behind...Pants need pockets!

Does it matter to you what brand of jeans you wear? Do your kids insist on certain products?
American brand blue jeans have been the bane of my childhood. I guess it really doesn't matter what country you live in and what time. If you didn't have those brand products when you were not a cool kid. My folks never had the money. So if I wanted any kind of brand item I had to work hard to buy it with my own money. What do the cool kids wear now - I wonder?

So here is the new blue jean design I came up with. It has two cute little pockets. Of course, where there is a pocket there must be germandolls miniature pocket doll. This is the tiniest sweetest little one I ever made. Nearly broke my fingers when sewing that little head on.

Not sure I can sell that design in my Etsyshop. Maybe minus the little red label? No, it does not say Levi's on that label. It is just a plain piece of ribbon. It was a real pain in the neck to put on, but little Ulla being a brand-hog insisted. LOL.