New Home! New Projects!

Guys. I've been so busy over these past few months: running my biz in addition to spending a few days a week doing landscape architecture work and then everything else. Even though this space has been a ghost town, I have been doing lots of diy projects behind the scenes, but for some reason haven't felt compelled to share. I think I got overwhelmed with the internet in general - everything moves so quickly and I got tired of feeling dissatisfied if a project I totally loved didn't take off on pinterest or something? And I realize that sounds really stupid... But either way! A break felt like the right thing to do at the time and I figured I'd come back to sharing more regularly when it felt right again. And guess what?!

I'm just about to move into a new apartment (yeah, in that friggin adorable Victorian above) and I'm SO excited to get in there and do it up, and share the process here, too. I have a few project ideas milling around in my head and have already started drawing up multiple floor plans with potential furniture arrangements. I haven't measured any of the rooms, yet, so my plans are not to scale. We'll see if my pieces fit according to my estimates... Wish me luck!

Check back again, soon! I'll be sharing a bunch of stuff over the next few months. ;)

10 Things My Dog Taught Me About Life

This past week marked 6 months since I brought my sweet, silly, crazy puppy home from the shelter. We've gone through a lot together since those first couple weeks; housebreaking, teething, first Christmas, and our first trip to the beach. She's learned so much about her new pack (me and my family), how to be a good puppy when she wants to be, and how to be bold when she wants attention. She's also taught me lots of good life lessons, and I'm grateful when she reminds me of things that I may lose track of during my usual routine.

1. Wake up with enthusiasm
This girl wakes up every day with a start and bounds down the hall, excited to be alive another day. It's hard to be in a bad mood first thing in the morning after watching her practically leap with joy. Each day that I wake up healthy, with a roof over my head and another chance to go after my dreams is a good day.



2. Appreciate what you already have
All I have to do to get her interested in the toys she already has is put them in a basket and she'll go digging through it like it's Christmas morning! Sometimes you just have to repackage and fix up the stuff you've already got to find some new enthusiasm.

3. Be unapologetic about who you are
She doesn't try to be anything she's not. I wish I had a little more of that sometimes.

4. Take breaks
There's nothing like a cat-nap dog-nap or a brisk walk in the middle of the day. It's ok to take breaks.



5. Look around, enjoy the scenery
I've never known a dog who likes looking around so much! She's perfectly content sitting outside, watching birds, looking into the distance, and sniffing the air. She reminds me to slow down and enjoy where I'm at.

6. Seek out your joy
Baci is so funny - she goes browsing, practically window shopping looking for things/trouble she can get into. I can't count how many times I've caught her in my closet sniffing around for stuff to steal and play with! It drives me crazy, but reminds me to continue to seek out the things I want, too. 



7. Chase the chickens AKA Break the rules
Ok, don't do that - she did it once, and while I scolded her for it, I'm sure it was exhilarating at the time! Throw caution to the wind and break the rules once in a while.

8. Have an approachable, positive attitude
There's nothing like some puppy dog eye contact and happy tail wagging to get people to want to stop and say hi. I can't do the tail wagging thing, but I can do my best to show a happy, approachable attitude when I'm out and about. Especially since I have resting bitchface sometimes...

9. Get creative
This little chickadee is so good at making her own fun - she even throws her toys for herself! Make your own fun.



10. Never leave your socks on the floor
They will get chewed up.

So there you have my top ten life lessons taught to me by this funny little dachshund mix. She continues to teach me new things every day, like the best way to get her out from under my bed when she's stolen one of my shoes. :) What about you - have you had a pet that taught you any good life lessons?

Have a great weekend!

See ya, 2014!

Hello! I hope your holiday was relaxing! I've been taking a bit of a break from the computer since Christmas; working on a few projects around the house, reading books (just started Julia Child's My Life in France and I'm loving it), reorganizing my workspace, and thinking about my goals for 2015. I love this time of year because it feels like I have a chance to take a breath and regroup. This past year has been a crazy one! Thanksgiving marked the 1 year anniversary of when I quit my day job to pursue my dreams of self employment, so I pretty much started 2014 with a blank slate. My life has changed so much in the past 12 months and many of the transitions weren't easy. Things didn't always turn out as I'd hoped and I spent quite a bit of this year being hard on myself, thinking things like, "I should be further along by now." But looking back, I can see that I really have come a long way, even if I didn't end up where I thought I should be. I jumped head-first into lots of new (and sometimes scary) situations and put myself out there more than before. I've stepped out of my comfort zone too many times to count and some really good things have come of it.

I'm not writing this to give myself a public pat on the back, but more to encourage you to appreciate how far you've come this past year, too. Maybe you, like me, haven't quite reached all of the lofty goals you made for yourself this time last year, but if you've taken steps in the right direction that's something to be proud of, too.

Happy New Year, friends! I'm excited to start in on a whole new batch of challenges in 2015 and approach my small business and blog goals with new enthusiasm. I'm not going to stop setting big goals, but I will work on being a little nicer to myself in the process.

*Photo of Ann Miller via Valentino Vamp

New Ornaments, Fabrics, Etc!

Hey there! The busy season has already started and before I get swept away filling orders and sharing new holiday DIYs, I wanted to stop by to share a few updates, shop and otherwise!



Remember the retro ornament gift tags I shared last week? I shared them on Facebook and my good friend Ann suggested I make some actual ornaments out of my ornament designs. As per usual, I immediately got swept up into idea and spent the next two (or three or four) evenings working out a design and refining the technique (and sanding, sealing, printing, leafing, drilling, and sealing some more)! And now here they are! Mixed media (screen print on wood with gold leaf) ornaments. They're available in sets of three in my shop and on Etsy. I hope you like them!



I have some new fabrics in the shop, too. Kebab and Flower Grid. All of the colors coordinate with my other fabric prints. I'm looking forward to sewing something up with these guys.



In non-shop news, my Etsy Craft Entrepreneurship class has been going so well! There's only one class meeting left! I can't believe how fast the past 5 weeks have gone. I've been having a great time meeting local artisans and helping them get their shops up and running.



My pup Baci is growing super fast. She's almost 6 months old. In the past few weeks she's been teething like crazy and losing the last of her baby teeth. I feel like our housebreaking training may be coming to a close (thank goodness).

In addition to the usual shop updates and blog diys I'm just about to jump into a bedroom makeover project! I'm currently working out the design details, but I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get started. Keep an eye out for those posts on the blog, coming soon!

My Pound Puppy

I haven't officially shared the newest member of the Vitamini team with you! So without further adieu, let me introduce you to Baci, my sweet dachshund pup!



I adopted her from the local SPCA last month where she was with her 7 brothers and sisters. She was the first and only one I looked at, but I knew immediately that she was mine. She threw up in my hand as I was driving her home from the shelter, so I guess you can say we were bonded from the start! It was a quick and dirty welcome into the life of a pet owner. :) 



Here's the photo of her from the SPCA website. Awww! She's 4 months old as of yesterday. She's smart, stubborn, sweet, silly, and makes me laugh every day. In the past month we've gone though a lot: her spay surgery, two (!) bee stings and consequent allergic reactions, crate training, house breaking, learning to walk with a leash, learning to play nicely with other dogs. It's been a lot of work on my end, but I'm more than cool with it. I'm so happy to finally have the dog I've waited to get since I graduated from college (10 years ago, now, yikes!).



If you're curious about her name, Baci means kisses in Italian. If you met her in person you'd see how fitting her name is. She's very loving and will lick your entire face if you let her! If you've spent any time in Italy you may know there's a delicious Italian chocolate called Baci.



A few interesting facts about her:

• She sleeps on her back
• She gets hiccups at least twice a day
• Grass, leaves, and bark (ie: anything on the ground) are her favorite snacks
• Ice cubes are her favorite toy
• She watches tv

Follow me on Instagram if you'd like to see more updates. I'm doing my best not to flood my feed with puppy pictures but I can't make any promises...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Life, lately.

It's Friday! I have no idea where this week went! I'm busy getting ready for Renegade SF next weekend so I've been in production mode over here in the Vitamini studios. I have a few brand new products I'm working on that I can't wait to share with you!

In addition to all of this busy work, I'm moving at the end of the month! Maybe you've noticed more country shots in my Instagram feed? It's because I'll be living there soon! I'll miss the Los Gatos living that I've grown accustomed to, but I'm really looking forward to having more space for my business. The scenery isn't half bad, either. I took this double-exposed photo of the Monterey County hills mixed with a Los Gatos sunset. It's kinda where my head's at lately.  Here are a few other shots from my world lately.
 
New prints coming to the shop! That means lots and lots of trimming...


Can't resist a cactus.

 
Delicious coffee from my favorite local shop, Verve.


I'm making a bunch of paper flowers to take with me to Renegade. These graphic poppies may be my new favorite! Come visit my booth (#212) at Renegade to see them in person. They'll be for sale, too! Have a lovely weekend!

The New American Dream.

My mom went on a trip a couple weeks ago and brought the issue of Spirit (Southwest's magazine) home for me and said I just had to read this one article. I finally got around to it this morning, and it was such a great read I thought you would enjoy it, too.

"The New American Dream" by Taffy Brodesser-Akner is about entrepreneurs who traded in the corporate desk job and created more fulfilling careers for themselves.

"The changing economy is spurring a radical new approach to living, and to earning a living. And for a growing number of creative entrepreneurs, that approach seems to be working."

I was so happy to find that the entire article is online. Check it out!



Now I'll spill the beans on what's been going on in the past few months and why this article really hit home for me. I quit my job right before Thanksgiving. I had known for a long time that I needed to rearrange things in my life. Juggling my Etsy business, craft blog, full-time job, and whatever tiny bit of a social life I could manage had worked fine over the past 5 years, but I knew I didn't want another 5 years of it. Additionally, recent health problem in the family (my mom's stroke last year and my dad's heart disease and battle with cancer) had reminded me that HEY, LIFE'S SHORT! Finally, after many stressed-out evenings and lots of tears I decided to make a change. A very scary change for a practical gal like myself. I walked away from my job of over 5 years (and the steady paycheck, health benefits, and stability that it provided) in favor of going it on my own.

What I've been up to since then: you may have noticed, but I'm expanding my line of handmade gifts and stationery. I've been working on my own shop website outside of Etsy and hope to start adding new wholesale accounts. I also will be working on some sponsored posts here on the blog and possibly some advertising. Cause, you know, a girl's gotta pay her bills!

Do I have it all figured out yet? No way. Is it scary? Hell, yes. Am I happy? More than I've been in a very long time.

So that's that! I hadn't planned on writing this post at all, but when I read the article this morning it just made sense to share. And now I don't know why I waited this long.

Oh, wait, I do know why. It was because I was scared. But I'm working on that.