The Not So Fairy-Fairy Garden

"Here lies Neil.  He slipped on a banana peel and kicked the bucket. "

Lines like this were abundant this morning.   My mom and I participated in a Fairy Garden workshop at Mischler's Florist and Greenhouses.

The instructor was kind, creative, encouraging and funny.  He also happens to be my talented father.

For $20 you get the pot, the dirt, three plants, sticks, rocks, mulch, and moss along with a fairy. You may also purchase from the cute Fairy Nook, any other trinkets to go into your garden. I went with a Halloween theme and took advantage of a root turned upside down that looks like an old spooky tree. 

My favorite parts are the spider hanging from the root and the black cat peeking from behind the plant. I chose one succulent and two house plants (probably not the best idea based on water consumption, but I can make it work).

I understand there may be two spots left for tomorrow morning, Saturday September 28th at 10 a.m. It's totally worth it you should try. 

You'll be hooked.

363/366: {this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

I'm breaking the rules!  This is the eagle that has adorned a bar that we have in our living room.  This was made by my Dad a long long time ago.  I don't remember a house without this bar.  I can remember where it was in most of our homes.  I've never asked my Dad where he found this eagle or why he used it.  But can't imagine the bar without it.

This photo was taken from across the room with my new super cool telephoto lens.  I think I've gotten all the lenses I need for this camera.  I'm good for a while.

At least I think so...wink.

(Three more posts...until my blog break.)

182/366: Sunday Morn with My Pops

The first Sunday of the month is my favorite Sunday.

It means Flea Market with my dad!  We go early.  Real early.  I like it that way.

We are home around 10 if we go slow, or 9:15 when we focus.  I've talked about the flea market here, and although neither of the boys were interested today, it was still a learning experience.

Each time I go, I learn more about decoys.  One can never know enough about decoys.  You never know when it will come in handy.  Hunting, Jeopardy, Trivial Pursuit...useless knowledge to impress a neighbor.

I got a couple things for the Etsy shop and a couple things for the boys.

But, more importantly, some quality time with my Pops.

Niche

My dad and I had a conversation yesterday in his backyard (ohhh, I should show you photos, it is lovely) about what my niche was. He asked if I was talking about my product niche or my target market niche. Originally, I thought just my product, but before he finished his sentence (which actually was some time, my Dad LOVES to talk) I changed my answer to 'both'.

I joined Twitter a couple days ago and installed SiteMeter on this blog. I thought, since I haven't had a sale in 28 days, what the heck. Nothing to lose, Twitter is free and is the fastest, easiest site to set up. I now have 148 people following me. That means, 148 people are able to see what I post - limit of 140 characters. I post updates on my blog, I post new items I list on Etsy, but try not to overwhelm folks with constant "buy from me" posts, as I am noticing on Twitter. And since joining Twitter, I believe my blog hits have multiplied immensely. (Join me @washmycloth on Twitter - Twitter is fun to say, isn't it? Close second to crotch-eting).

I need to focus, let's call the above paragraph my 'Ode to Dan', my Dad. It is nice to have a little background and out loud brainstorming, right?

So, onto my product niche. I have no idea what it is. I can do a bunch of things, but not sure what I do the best, or what I like to do the best. I love making the felted purses, but they take a lot of time. Love weaving, but that takes much much longer than any little purse. I love the blanquilts and embroidering on them, but piecing the top together doesn't bring out the best 'Carrie'. I get a little frustrated. Could it be that I am working on the floor on a pink rug with only a pair of scissors, swatting tiny cars away and my arm or hand or torso as my measuring tool and it is 11 pm when I get the urge to work on something other than watching tv?

I digress, Ode to Dan. When considering a niche, I am also thinking "what can I make and sell low to get high volume of sales?" There are folks on Etsy that list new items daily. Product that you set yourself up to make multiples at one project time. I just can't do that. Some would say (not me, for sure) that makes my work more unique or valuable - but the sales aren't supporting that theory.

I spoke a couple posts about my orders from Yummy Goods, if you haven't seen this blog where Melissa shows photos of her shop, you should. Anyway, the colors I am working with now, are great. Lime green, bright sea blue, hot pink, happy colors. But now, I have little hanks* of cotton yarn that aren't big enough for much...except for little flowers.

Niche? Probably not, but they make me happy for now.

* I am laughing out loud because prior to the letter H, I had SK...I knew something wasn't quite right. Maybe my niche is renaming things and changing their pronunciations.