Monday, February 1, 2016

My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #1689: Welcome February!

It is hard to believe that the first month of the year is under our belts already. It seems like it was just December only a few days ago! Here in Nova Scotia, we have been (so far!) spared the fierce winter that we have become used to experiencing. Oh – we have had some snow, but it is nothing like what we experienced last year where we had storm after storm. I remember driving to Halifax at the end of April and still seeing small, stubborn piles of snow that did not want to seem to die. It was a brutal year for sure. 



But so far, both our autumn and winter seasons have been mild. I am hoping that will mean that we will have a decent spring and summer as well. While I certainly don’t think we will escape winter completely, we sure have been fortunate so far in dodging a storm or two! 



The weekend also went by very quickly. I had several deadlines to meet and it seems that I just made it under the wire for them. Some of them were self-imposed and others were for commitments that I had made for designing. I wonder why I always wind up hanging on to those last seconds as I am completing these types of tasks. I don’t do it on purpose, but as things come up and my schedule changes, I tend to shuffle things and change my priorities and take care of things that need to be done “first”. There is no such thing as a hard and fast schedule for me. I don’t think that is all bad, though, as I do think that being flexible is the only way to survive as an independent designer. You have to learn to go with the flow…



I am happy to say though that I not only finished my project that I was working on for Toletown, but I also was able to make a couple of short videos with some painting and woodworking techniques. The finished project for Toletown is a group of three Victorian cones made from Roc-Lon fabric. They are fun, easy and beautiful to create:



I am really pleased with the beautiful, deep colors and my video (available at Toletown throughout the month of February) shows exactly how I achieved these bright and vivid colors using DecoArt paint and mediums. You can see the options of joining Toletown here (http://www.toletown.com/membership/)  It is economical and very much worth the cost. The membership includes two full classes per month (with videos to accompany them) and a ‘Quick Paint’ packet, as well as the many other features of the site. I really spent a lot of time making this packet so it would be easy to understand to even new painters. I included over 50 color step-by-step photos so that even those new to painting can quickly and easily follow along. It was fun to create and I hope everyone likes it. 



I also created a video showing how to glue my SLDPK129 Elegant Bevel-Cut ornaments together for the “12 Days” Facebook Group that we formed. Many of the ladies haven’t seen ornaments such as this and I thought showing a short video would be appropriate.  It also applies to ANY of the self-framing ornaments, plaques or candle trays that I design so it is a great resource for woodworkers as well. You can view the video here on my YouTube channel:



Gluing Bevel Cut Ornaments



I hope everyone likes it, although I was a bit rusty with filming. 



Today is the start of the new week and a day for me to tie up some more loose ends. While my immediate deadlines have been met, I still have some orders to get out and some personal deadlines as well. We are also planning a site update in the next day or so, so please stay tuned for that. 



The year is off to a busy start, with no slowing down in site. It is a wonderful place to be though and I am so thrilled for all that lies ahead. I wish you all a wonderful start to your week as well. May you find happiness in doing something positive and creative! 





Happy Monday to you all! 



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