Yeah, it's the new year

oh boy- i do really want to keep this blog up, everyone, i really do. i find the major thing holding me back sometimes is not having some sort of picture. why do blogs always need pictures? every post? gotta start carrying around my camera more.
anyway- after the crazyness of christmas- which included swine flu at my house- it's the new year. time to get back to figuring out the balance of work/home/creativity. i find it nearly impossible not to make some sort of resolution at the start of a new year- although i think it has a lot more to do with it being right after christmas than because i got a new calendar. it's just that around christmas we let everything go- the house is a mess, we eat tons of yummy food- after all that you're bound to wake up and say "ok, time to get our shit together".
so that's what i'm doing over here- writing this note, clearing junk out of the house, and working on promoting my little online shop. i guess that's one resolution for me. telling more people about my business. i'm debating about doing an upcoming craft show- trying to decide if i'm ready or not- and mostly ready to make the monetary investment or not- got to spend $ to make # right?
it's getting late so i'll just end with explaining PICTURE for the post- from december, but i got a shout out in the local downtown e-newsletter! it's not much but for a little business like me it's a big deal. i'm so loving being called a "local artist" too! enjoy and happy new year!

Back to Work

Oh, Blog. I'm sorry I don't pay any attention to you. But I've been busy- I've recently started up again working on my "real job" - designing gift wrap. I am trying to fit all of this in between when the kids sleep. Unfortunately they don't sleep nearly enough so I can get everything done that I really want to- which means less sleep on my end. It's quite a juggling act balancing my time and kid time. These totes are my "fun" thing though. Much more relaxing than gift wrap because I am my own client. I can design the bags for me- as opposed to the wraps that I always have to keep a focus on "what sells."
Anyway- I'm designing gift wrap again- It's much easier working on these Christmas wraps and cards when it actually IS Christmas. So much inspiration all around. Everyone has their lights up, which is truly uplifting this dark time of year.
Well, off to draw some reindeer!

Totes Totes Totes!

I finally got some bigger totes in the shop. I personally LOVE big handbags so it feels appropriate to be selling larger ones- bags so big you could almost pack for a weekend in them! I do have two kids though, so every time I go out it is like packing for a weekend: extra clothes, water, snacks. But even if I just go out with my wallet and keys- it's nice to have the room for packages while out shopping- just in case!
Any opinions on tote bag sizes? My hubby thinks I should start doing some wine totes in time for the holiday season. Probably a good idea- the first gift wrap bag I ever designed was a wine tote.
The other tote bag feature I'm trying to decide about is how "green" should these bags be? It's hard to gauge how strongly people feel about a bag being made from recycled cotton/organic cotton/plain old cotton. Do you think they're really willing to pay more for it? hm. Well, off to source some more blank totes! If you have a great source, let me know.

A Little Success!!

This post is going up without a picture, because I'm just too excited to wait until I can get on MY computer (with all of the images etc) tonight. My bags are going to be in a store!!!! I just can't help but be super excited about this. The millions are quite rolling in just yet, but it's so nice just to have people admire your work enough to help get it out there. Many thanks to Gary at Simply. . . for letting me bring my work there. Check his shop out at: www.simplyartandframes.com. In other success news- I got my first Etsy sale! ok ok- it was to my sister. BUT- she paid me full price so it definitely counts.
So now I have to get on the ball and amp up production! There are so many different ideas I want to try out, and the possibilities seem endless. The only thing that doesn't seem endless is time- not so much extra time rolling around in a house with 2 kids and plenty of "house projects" to keep me busy. ah- but this is not the time to worry about that- i'm just going to revel in my little bit of success for a moment. . . . then back to work!

Web 2.0

I'm trying to get a handle on all of this "web 2.0" kind of stuff. Blogging, facebook etc and using these to promote myself. I don't really know what I'm doing. This blog hasn't really gone live- just meaning I haven't told anyone about it quite yet. Sort of wanted to figure it out a little first. But I created a Facebook fan page! Clearly I'm well on my way to success.

Starting Out!

Well, the shop went live yesterday, so the blog is going live today! First: why "Morning Owl Designs"? I'm an early bird- I work much better in the morning, and I've been known to have a "quirky" sense of humor. Basically, I like how it sounds and it fits me. And why start this whole online biz in the first place? a few reasons- my computer broke, and I was without my precious Adobe software for a few months and needed a creative outlet. Too, it seemed like a good idea to make something creative for myself for a change, rather than designing for a specific market- my Morning Owl stuff is designed for me. Then, I was very inspired after reading this blog: www.checkoutgirlcrafts.blogspot.com Melissa changed her whole life around so she could start crafting and just follow this passion she had. Anyway- I've been feeling like it's time for me to just jump in and follow through with a passionate project. So here it is: Morning Owl Designs. Let's see how it goes. . .