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Why do I create?

Group of 4 scrappie critters

Another friend, who is a creator like myself posted about why she creates on social media the other day & whilst I commented on her post, I thought that I really ought to share it here too, where people who know me, can read about why I do what I do, because some will no doubt find it interesting.

The simple answer is because I enjoy it, because it makes me happy. I love taking something & making something else from it. The creative process for me is a bit of a puzzle at times, I often start down one path & end up on another, and that entertains me greatly.

I also find it wonderful to know that whilst the process of creating the items I do, brings me joy, they also bring joy to others. To see someone’s face light up when they lay eyes on something I made is wonderful on it’s own. I appreciate every share & comment on social media too. When it gets taken to the next level, where people financially support me, by buying my art, that’s pretty amazing, because that allows me to continue to do what I do & the circle of joy continues.

I admit that I also like the idea that much of what I have created will live on long after I am gone. To leave behind items that are a reflection of my true authentic self, is pretty amazing. Life is fleeing, which is why I believe that if you can find a way to follow your heart, you should do it.

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Branding

Scrappie twoemu creations business cards
branded business cards

They’re here, they’re here, they’re here!!!
My new branded business cards have arrived.

After years without any specific branding & a moment where I made my logo but only used it as a watermark, I went to the next level & now I have my own cards with a scrappie critter logo (made by me) on them!

Yes, I do sew other things, but my creative passion is really with my scrappies & it was well & truely time for me to acknowledge that more openly to others. So tadah!

My little square cards are double sided too, but you’ll have to either order something from me or hit me up in person to get a copy & see what it says :0)

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Postage

Some people might wonder why some artisans like myself, insist on posting items tracked & insured. Most of the time things get to their destination no worries, so why the added expense? Is this just a cash grab?

Personally, I do it because you never know when things might not go to plan. In March, for the first time, I unfortunately had to address a non-delivery situation, for the first time in years.

I posted these two scrappies to Australia at the start of the month & within a few days, I received a successful delivery notification, which was extremely weird. My heart sank when I realized that they had been marked as successfully delivered to an address in Vandreuil-Dorion, Quebec, not even close to where they needed to go.

Fortunately, because I had tracking, I caught the error within a couple of hours, which allowed me to log a ticket & start the process to get them back into the mail stream ASAP. I hate to think what would have happened to them without that tracking though.

Here is a little screenshot of the journey they took, after the fact. Many of the updates only showed up several days after the dates posted, which was a little stressful, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have arrived at their destination without tracking & my ability to flag them as going missing.

Tracking record

In the end artisans like myself have no say in cost to post/ ship items with insurance & tracking. Posting with tracking & insurance protects you & myself.

I’m grateful that in this instance, I didn’t have to go down the route of making a claim & remaking the scrappies that I created, as each one is unique, so it’s near impossible to recreate them exactly, but if this hadn’t ended well, at least there would have been less than a financial burden for myself & my customers.

In the end you try to plan for the unexpected, because you never know when the tables might turn.

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I’m an Auntie

A few weeks back, I became an auntie, again. This time it was my youngest brother, who had his first child, miss M.

My other half’s brother has two kids, so this isn’t my first rodeo in terms of being an auntie, but there’s something also rather special when it’s your little brother having kids & this is his first. There are announcements online that he has made in public forums, one of which went viral with over 18k in likes. If you like hockey give my brother a follow too. He’s a fantastic writer & also does a weekly podcast.

My Brother is a DAD!

The great thing about being an auntie is that you can make all the stuff you wanted to make yours but, were too worn out to to do. So, little Miss M is going to be thoroughly spoilt. It’s a shame that with COVID I am unable to actually get these items to her in person, but maybe in several years time when I do finally get to see her, it will be more memorable? At any rate, I’m happy that the postal system exists.

Playmat for Miss M
Hungry Caterpillar, Flowers & Rainbows themed Playmat/ Blanket

So here’s a little sneak peak of the blanket/ playmat made. I used the Hungry Caterpillar themed cotton spotted fabric I have & some of my lovely smooth minky rainbow & flowers fabric to make this one. It’s just under 40″ square, so it’s a decent sized playmat/ blanket.

I had originally planned to have taggies all around this blanket, but because of it’s size & the fact that I wanted it to be multipurpose (both a colourful playmat & a blanket), I opted for a simpler design.

I look forward to seeing pictures of my little niece with it, I just have to be patient, because, for now it’s still on it’s journey over.

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Instagram

I freely admit that I don’t use social media in the most effective manner. I also don’t like to spend a lot of time in front of my computer trying to remember passwords (haha), wasting time & most importantly energy that I could be using to actually create something for people. I am still trying to get my etsy shop up & running properly, but as yet, it hasn’t happened.

I did find a way to have some of my posts from Instagram appear on my site & you can look through them by selecting the Instagram link above, or just clicking on the link here. Enjoy 🙂