cute colorful etsy treasuries

what do you do to pass the time with a sick child in the middle of the night?  you create an etsy treasury, of course!  these are just a few of many from my favorites list.  get well soon, little one.

Etsy Treasury: All Souls Day

I LOVE curating treasuries on etsy. it's like window shopping and creating an inspiration board all-in-one. i typed in "soul" and found some interesting items. then narrowed it down with a black-white-and-orange theme. hope you enjoy some halloween inspired goodies! check it out by clicking HERE. happy fall!

Etsy Treasury

The Sound of Music

I love making Etsy Treasuries. I've only made two so far, this being my second attempt. So much fun to see beautiful items grouped together in some kind of theme. Go check it out on Etsy.com and make one of your own! It's like making a little inspiration board to share with others. You can pick your favorite items or search for a specific theme. The one above was inspired by the music note ring and then from there I just typed in "music" and then added "black" and "red" to narrow it down. Fun fun! Of course, Etsy can be a dangerous place for artists (for anyone, really) because there is everything anyone could ever want (almost!). I will have to share my latest haul with ya'll, but that will be for another post. ;)

Art Angels

wow, just when i think, "i give up! i can't do this artist/mom thing anymore--one of us has got to go!" art angels come to my rescue. whether in the form of kind and encouraging words from fellow mom/artists or sweet handmade artmail gifts (see above! thank you, catherine!!), the timing couldn't have been more perfect. and the message is clear: i am a mom and an artist and i cannot separate one from the other. and there will be a time when i can spend endless hours in the studio, but that time isn't now. now is the time to enjoy watching my children grow and enjoy and savor the best moments and saving them to memory so i can get through the rough spots. and if i have a few minutes here and there, i can sew a few pages in an art journal or jot some ideas down in an idea book to save for a future me (again, thank you, catherine!) ;)

or make some pretty post-it note mail labels (ala julie of the adventures of bluegirlxo)

or if i'm just in a rut and feeling kind of blue, i can make a treasury on Etsy (my first one! they're hard to get. if you don't want to stalk the treasury and wait for a spot to open up, you can always make a practice one here)

art will always be here. but these days of chubby toes and giggles and first steps will be gone in a blink of an eye. i will always have time for art but i won't always have these little bitty babies (my oldest are already in high school and my middle child, my first baby, is in second grade going on middle school!).

a little triumph tonite: sureya went to bed at 9 without much fuss! let's see how long she stays asleep (knock on wood!) here's to relaxing art-filled evenings and babies who sleep through the night! (10:17pm...i hear some crying, i spoke too soon!..maybe she'll just go back to sleep? ah, the joys of motherhood! can't a mom just be done at the end of the day and "clock out" like everyone else?)

i know, she'll be all grown up before i know it. and some days, i feel like it couldn't come sooner! here's to another long night. but i know there's light at the end of the tunnel. and a little baby that needs her mama right now.