Georgina Studio Tour - a fun and successful show!

What an experience. I was so happy to have participated in this years Georgina Studio Tour. For those of you who aren't familiar with Studio Tours, they are a self guided (and well mapped) driving tour of the areas various studios. I held my show out of my rec room. It was an entirely new experience for me, I haven't really been involved in many "shows" or "sales" so I really wasn't sure what to expect.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dawn. Welcome to doe Studio!"

I spent a lot of time in the weeks leading up to the show preparing stock, getting signs and trying to visualize my set up. I shopped for packaging supplies, goodies for the sweet table, and of course YARN!!! When I should have been cleaning up my house, I was crocheting!! I was really worried that I wouldn't have enough stock! My hubby and I were up until midnight getting everything set up, he was very helpful and had some really amazing display ideas!

"Come on in! Help yourself to some sweets and coffee!"

Thankfully, I had some amazing helpers! My wonderful Mom, Nora, really stepped up and made a stressful time, exciting and fun!! She made the BEST date squares on the planet for the sweet table. I had my share, that's for sure!

"As you enter...the scene unravels!"

We opened the doors at 10am and waited patiently for the crowds to roll in. We started getting worried when at 10:30 we still hadn't had any guests. Thankfully, we after that we had a steady stream of folks from all over. We had visitors from Windsor, Bradford, Brampton, and Toronto. Not just locals, but people from around the province!

"One of many scarf displays"

It was really amazing talking to everyone. The feedback on my work and displays were all positive. I think I was almost as excited to hand out my card as I was to make a sale. My Mom and I were so busy on Saturday that we forgot to eat lunch (thank GOD for the date squares)! We had such a great time!

"Mom, Nora, makes sure all of the guests are welcome!"

Sunday was entirely different! It was my sisters turn to help out! Heather was so much fun to have around and has always been my biggest cheerleader! It was pretty quite for the first few hours, then pretty steady (but not crazy) until about 3 that afternoon. The funny thing is, despite being a "slower" day, I had far more sales on Sunday."My Sister, Heather, modeling her new hat and one of my scarves!"

My biggest sellers were my scarves followed very closely by the hats and pendants! Surprisingly I didn't sell any of my baby blankets, I think it just wasn't the target market!

"The Artist ~ Good times at the Photography display!"

Overall, my sales exceeded my expectations, even if I wasn't sure what I to expect!!! I am already excited to join in the fun again next year!

"The pendant display"

In the meantime, I have been busy making some more stock....and thinking about signing up in a show or two before Christmas! I want to send out a thank you to everyone who came out and especially Suzanne Cotton, who spent many many hours organizing and promoting the event!

"Thanks for coming out! Hope to see you again!"

Shop Swap and Blog

Recently I have been taking part in an Etsy forum thread: Facebook Fan Drive. We go through the posts and "fan" as many FanPages as possible! It has been a lot of fun and I have met some really wonderful people and have found some very amazing shops that I normally would not have found! I am proud to be a part of it.
I am getting more and more fans each day and appreciate each and every one of them!!! Come by and see my Facebook Fan Page.
One of the fantastic ladies I have met, Pattie of Structured Chaos, has organized and is running a Shop Swap and Blog. Basically, participants sign up and are paried up with one or two other shop owners. We send them "samples" of our work and include information out us and our shop. The recipient, then blogs about you and the experience!! This should be fun! I am really looking forward to it! If you are interested in participating, please visit the Structured Chaos blog for more information.

Lots to List!

I have been a busy little bee lately! I have an upcoming Studio Tour that I am getting ready for... see the Georgina Studio Tour site for more information. So my efforts have really been focused on creating some really nice items to display and sell. I have been mostly concentrating on scarves and hats (especially since we know that fall is around the corner!) and have started on a couple of baby blankets.

Here is a small sample of what I have been up to these past few weeks!! I haven't had the chance to get a lot of them up in the shop, but will be making it a priority over the next few days! Check out my scarf and neckwear section of my Etsy shop for even more fabulous finds!

Busy in my garden

Once I returned from summer holidays in the Muskokas of Central Ontario, I decided it was time to get to the garden! (A little late, I know!). After all, I had just received my Fairy Door from Nothin' But Wood. Oh, I had it all planned out! A rocky pathway, moss "gardens" and some small ferns. I got right to it! It came out exactly how I had imagined!! Whimsical, unique and so much fun!!
Nothin' But Wood hand crafts wonderful, whimsical doors and accessories for 'wee garden folk'. He creates and ships from Conception Bay, Newfoundland, on Canada's spectacular East Coast. Please check out Kerry's shop, you won't be disappointed!
I encourage each of you to spend some time browsing through the shops of Etsy...you never know what treasure awaits you.

On the road to recovery ... GTD / Molar Pregnancy Update

Wow...time has flown by. I can't believe it's been almost 8 months since my diagnosis.
From what I remember, my last post on this subject was just before I went in for my PICC line. I won't sugar coat it, my experience with having the PICC put in was horrible. Normally this is a ten minute procedure. I was on the table for 30 minutes (with only local numbing of the arm), covered in blankets to keep me "protected" from the xray machine they used to guide the line through the veins. The doctor, who I am sure had done this procedure hundreds of times, had a hard time getting the guide into my tiny vein, and once that was in, he had an even harder time fishing it up over my shoulder. After about ten minutes and using quite a bit of force, he did it. Hopefully, almost done, I thought. Well, he had a hard time feeding it into the right vein in my chest, I could actually feel it moving around in different veins in my chest. A truly strange and disturbing sensation!! Finally, after 30 minutes and a hundred apologies from the doctor, we were done! My arm was covered in blood and the insertion site was a mess...lots of bruising. They cleaned me up and put on a dressing. My arm, shoulder and chest were throbbing. I met my husband, Greg, in the waiting area. He could tell right away that things hadn't gone well, he said I was white as a sheet. We held hands the whole way home and cried. When was all of this going to end, I kept thinking.
I did everything I was supposed to with regards to care of my PICC line. I made sure I kept it dry, had the dressings changed and line flushed once a week (which meant a one hour drive each way to the hospital every week). I noticed during the second week that my elbow was starting to swell and feel a little hot and itchy. I mentioned it to my PICC nurse who immediately sent me up for ultrasounds on my arm. More bad news, I had a blood clot in my shoulder where the PICC line was inserted, due to the trauma. I started on daily self-administered Fragmin (blood thinner) injections that afternoon, and continued them for a total of 6 weeks.
I want to let anyone know who may be getting a PICC line put in, not to panic. I was told that my experience was very rare, and that normally this procedure goes off without a hitch.
I finished my chemotherapy on June 10th and had the PICC removed the same day (we could see the TINY clot clinging to the line). It was freedom!!
It has taken me a long time, but I am finally starting to feel like I have my strength back. I have been trying my best to look after ME, eating better, taking my vitamins and greens and by exercising every day. The only two visible signs of my experience are the hair thinning (which is slowly starting to grow in) and the chemo burn on my left lower arm (which is permanent). Emotionally, I think I have done pretty well. I have come to terms with the fact that we won't be having any more kids, which was probably the hardest decision we've ever had to make. Actually, our would be due date recently came and went and I (very surprisingly) didn't notice. I think that must be a sign that I am moving forward and making the best of what I already have...a loving husband, a perfect son and the unwavering support and love of my family and friends.
And that's what makes life so amazing!!

See my first Molar pregnancy post or my 2nd Update post for more details on my diagnosis and treatment. If anyone out there needs to talk or wants to comment...please feel free to contact me at dawnemmett@yahoo.ca. I know how lonely and scary a molar pregnancy and GTD can be.

A cloth that is eco-friendly and super cool. Shocking, but true!

There is nothing as satisfying (well, okay, almost nothing) as selling a handful of reusable, eco-friendly multi-purpose, super cool cotton cloths. They are one of my favorite things to whip up, and they serve such a great purpose. I only use Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, which is "responsibly" grown and processed. It's soft and absorbent, and ultra easy care.
There are so many things you can use these for, they truly are multi-functional.

I have designed these cloths with lots of texture and that makes them perfect as face or wash cloths. They scrub gently to remove dead skin, providing gentle exfoliation. To boost their scrubalicious powers, use your favorite face scrub or body sugar. Roll them up and tuck them in a basket in the guest room, very impressive!!
In the kitchen, they are a workhorse! Wipe up dirty faces (I have a 3 year old, so there's lots of those), scrub your dishes, clean your counters, *repeat*! Again the texture and durability of the cotton will get the job done. I have used mine with regular dish soap and natural cleaning products, and they hold up to lots of abuse. Around the house they can also be used for general cleaning and dusting.
In a pinch, I have also used them as a hot pad or trivet, to protect my harvest table and they have also been used to pull a tray full of cookies out of the oven. What can't these babies do?!
When you are done with your cloth, be sure to rinse them thoroughly and allow to dry between uses. When your cloth needs a cleaning itself, toss in the wash with mild detergent (it can go in the dryer too, on the lowest heat setting). Soon you'll have a fresh new cloth, ready to do all of your dirty work!
Click on the color you like to see it's listing: blue, mauve or tan.
If you've got to clean (either the kitchen or yourself), it may as well be FUN!! Enjoy!

Shopping Local

I recently sold two framed photographs to a local business. He is using them as a Silent Auction donation for one of his customers. I really love the idea of supporting local business and artisans wherever possible. Next time you are on Etsy, try the "Shop Local" feature to discover new talented artisans in your area. I have found lots of cool treasures this way!