I was married 32 years to my high school sweetheart.  During a great deal of my marriage I worked in the insurance industry while raising my family.  After I found myself unemployed at the onset of the recession I found a job working in the Davidson County school system. I've spent the past four years working for a special education pre-k teacher's assistant during the school year.  Now that school is out I plan on spending the majority of my time studying every available source to find out how to get my Etsy Shop up and running.  Not just up and running but how to make it profitable.  

I ordered a great kit from another Etsy shop called Homemade Success.  It's called The Complete Etsy Kit.  I have also found a number of helpful blogs on the Etsy site as well as a couple of forums that help people such as myself.  Those having a hard time getting their feet off the ground.

 I have been very pleased with what a close knit community Etsy  is.  It is crafts people and artisans helping each other, and admiring each other.  I have been very pleased with that aspect of my experience so far.  

I have spent a good deal of time racking my brain trying to think of other things that I could add to my shop other than my drawings.  In high school and college I did many crafts, and enjoyed them immensely. 

My daughter moved into a new apartment in January.  She had often talked about wanting to get a letter "B" to put in her new place, so I bought an extremely large one while shopping with a friend.  It didn't take long to paint it, and not only did she love it, but everyone I showed it to loved it as well.  

I've been painting some smaller letters.  Painting with characters on them.  Characters that would appeal to children.  I'll be finished by the 
end of the weekend.  I'm going to put my first letters in my shop and see  
how they are received.  Then I will start adding more as I complete them.
I'm thinking that I'll take custom orders once I get rolling also, but that will come later.   

I'm going to continue to think back to times gone by and try to remember what other types of crafts and such might be good to add to my shop.  I have two drawings to do this summer.  I must make room for those.  Drawing is my first love, one day I will sell my drawings, but for now I will find crafts to get "the ball rolling".  And then, I can move on from there.   

Mama Wolf: Here Comes Summer

Mama Wolf: Here Comes Summer: Cliff Richard's 'Here Comes Summer' is blaring out of the radio, the sun is shining, and the crescent is alive with little kidlets chasing...

I've always enjoyed architecture and house plans, so much that at one point during college I considered majoring in architecture.  When my children were small we lived in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Nashville, with many styles of architecture from years ago.  I loved to take pictures of the different homes in our area and draw them in my spare time.  I belonged to the Nashville Art League at the time and would put the piece's in our art gallery and send notes to the homeowners letting them know that I had drawn a picture of their home.  Many times they would write me a note back telling me the history of the home.  It was wonderful. I was honored to have link to history of the neighborhood and to Nashville.
   I was asked many times why I didn't create a book using the notes that I received and the pictures that I drew.  At the time I was doing it I never even thought about it.  I guess I could have, and some people may say I should have.  But, I didn't.  I can't go back and change anything at this point, I can only move forward from where I am now.  I do still love architecture, and I love the architecture of old Nashville.  As this city evolves I am always hopeful that enough of the Old City remains, so that no one ever truly looses site of where we came from and what it is that brought us to this place.