2022 in review!

It's a tradition on my blog to look back at the end of the year and pick out a few creative highlights! Hope you enjoy! 

JANUARY
January kicked off with a stamp release from Impression Obsession - I also published a new paper bead design, a small coffee cup bead! 

My favorite January event was the entrance of the Winnie The Pooh book into the public domain. Winnie the Pooh is my favorite thing ever, and it is a thrill to be able to now "collaborate" with the original artist to include him into my product lines. 

FEBRUARY
As a personal goal for the year, I started learning the process of surface pattern design with several online courses. The things I learned allowed me to expand my design business this year!

MARCH

I continue sourcing and also providing tutorials for Splitcoaststampers - here was one I did this month using a colored pencil layering technique.

APRIL

April was a busy month! It began with a day trip to retrieve the contents of a friend's mother's craft (mainly beading) room - she was very similar to me in her interest, and that full Suburban load of beads and other items has been a huge blessing!

In April, Impression Obsession announced that they would no longer be pressing red rubber stamps. Having spent the last 10 years building a stamp line there of over 1200 items that announcement was a huge shock, one that I'm still wrapping my head around. I had known for several months beforehand, one reason I pushed to learn surface pattern design as a way of repurposing my art. I began designing papers and stencils behind the scenes, to prepare for a massive pivot.

April also marked another Benton County Art Walk, my "baby".

I had a display at our local library, celebrating 125 portrait orders!

I had a drawing published in this annual: 

MAY

I scored this antique drafting table on a local auction site for $10! It is about 80 years old, and very sturdy. It's a great addition to my basement now as a cutting table.

I gained some clarity in my design style - I enjoy mixing vintage things with my own handmade things... I find that I do it in my paper designs as well as jewelry and sewing. Nice to have some direction for my brand! This was a little haul from a thrift/antique shopping day with my son.

JUNE

In June I opened a Society6 shop! Not surprising, my Pooh designs have been most popular.

JULY

A local art group invited me to teach a colored pencil workshop, and we focused on features for animal portraits...

After a couple of months of sorting out the changes, Impression Obsession emerged again with new product lines! Clear stamps and dies continued, and we added papers and stencils! Many of these are my designs, and I am so proud to have my name on them.

AUGUST

I added glue pins to my Etsy stock - there are a couple of craft-themed ones (sewing, stamping, scrapbooking) as well as Pooh and Eeyore themed ones. They've been a best-seller this year!

SEPTEMBER

This is a small thing, but I updated my insert cards for Etsy orders. The heart image is beads on one side and a pencil on the other (it now has been updated with a thread and stitch line along the pencil! Get it all in there!).

OCTOBER

We joke about the blur that is Septoctember... this year was no different! I participated as a vendor in our large local festival (Heritage Days) and then turned around to prepare for a holiday show 3 weeks later. 

I added some "soft goods" to my inventory and taught myself to sew some different bag styles. I've always resisted using patterns, so I bought one to learn the theory and then was able to ditch it and go my own way. I tend to react to Septoctember by burrowing into a new hobby, and I've enjoyed this one! I am using vintage and reclaimed fabrics so it fits my brand, and each one is unique. 

NOVEMBER

With shows done, I had portraits to finish and quite a few charm bracelets commissioned for Christmas gifts. Here's one of each! 

DECEMBER

Our annual Falliday Fest event over at Splitcoaststampers was delayed into December but we exceeded our numbers from last year and enjoyed preparing for the holidays. I coordinated the tutorial entries and provided a challenge and tutorial for the event. Here's one of my challenge samples!

Changes and upcoming things:

One thing I'm very excited about as a marriage of sewing and surface pattern design is having some of my art and designs translated onto fabric! I want to make bags that feature my art and I'm looking forward to branding and field testing different fabrics and and patterns. I will keep you posted, of course! 

I did not add any original art to my portfolio last year and I think that burnout might be a factor as well as some lingering trauma from having a piece stolen. Hopefully I will be able to move forward with new art in the new year.

I hope my creative efforts have brought a little comfort and inspiration into your world - I know that I have appreciated your visits and kind words here in this little space of mine, though I haven't been as faithful to blog as in years past! All the best to you in 2023. Thank you for looking back with me!

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