New Crib on the Horizon

Today I worked on making a wooden crib, that I desperately needed for my new baby room.  The crib that I have, that I purchased years ago was too small for the room.  Well, I set out today to make one, spindle by spindle.  I am fairly happy with the results, even though it is not quite finished.  Still needs a little sanding and marks erased. Of course, there is still the bedding to do.  This won't take much time.  Hope to have it all finished by tomorrow evening.  \I will add this new line to the furniture I sell, once I perfect it a little more.  The new baby room pictures should be out shortly.  So stay tuned.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Patio is finally done

Today was pretty productive.  I finished the patio that had been sitting for a couple of weeks.  I also have another living room set that will be available for sale on Etsy tomorrow.  Here are pictures of the patio.

Inspiration through Paula Deen and Fantasia

Well yesterday was September 11th.  I am always concerned that something crazy may happen on this day.  Luckily it went off without a hitch.  At least in my world.  I attended "For Sisters Only" (F.S.O.) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  This is a two day function where vendors and artists come together to offer new products and great performances (not all of them were so great).  In between performances I read my Paula Deen Memoirs. I always look for inspiration from people I admire.  Trying to operate a small business sometimes seems daunting, so you look to people who have done it successfully.  You realize they pay their dues along the way and it is not so perfect in their world, although it seems that way today.  Paula Deen had an incredibly hard life once she turned 18 and it didn't seem to get better until she was well into her 40's.  It is amazing how far she has come. 

Although I enjoyed my time at F.S.O, the whole time I was wishing I was at home making food and furniture for Barbie.  Luckily this morning I got up, finished up some food items and got them posted on Etsy.  Yesterday I received a nice note from an Etsy customer who loved the chair she just received from me. What's more she requested a matching piece.  Yeah!  This is a sign of success for a small business, a happy customer wanting more! 

So today I am headed back to F.S.O.  Fantasia is performing today.  I must see her.  She is also very inspirational to me.  Everytime she sings I find myself tearing up.  Although she is currently working through some life issues, the fact that she realized a dream of singing and has come so far, is amazing.  Tonight I hope I am not too tired to come back and continue my quest to be a successful doll business owner!

What is your dream?  Are you working on it?  Who inspires you?

Making Cheerios til Midnight for Barbie

Last night I was up til midnight making Barbie some Cheerios.  She had secretly told me that she had forgotten to go to the store and the kids were expecting cereal for breakfast.  I decided to help her out and just make some homemade.  The kids would never be able to tell the difference.  Of course I didn't add the milk yet (but I will), because I didn't want the kids to awake to soggy cereal.  I HATE soggy cereal!

Thrift Store Finds

This past Saturday was thrift store shopping day. Sometimes you will find some really good Barbie stuff in the toy areas.  Other times you have to put your creative cap on and find items throughout the store that can be used for Barbie.  After 2 stores I decided to stop.  I had already spent most of my doll budget earlier in the week, so I had to exercise some restraint.  Don't you just hate that!  but I did find a few nice items. These all came from Goodwill.

New Kid from Sisters In Style

Yesterday I stopped by Walmart with my former sister-in-law. I had decided not to go by the toy section, because I had spent enough money for the day. Unfortunately (or fortunately), when I went to look for my sister-in-law, she was in a section right near the dolls. You know I just had to take a quick peek. Doll addicts just can't help themselves. I scanned the shelves and was surprised to see some new items. Some of the Walmarts and Targets do not carry up-to-date Barbie items. The Sisters in Style has a few new dolls. As I looked further down, I saw this cute little guy from the S.I.S. line. I couldn't help myself. I had to have him. I have learned over the years that if you see a doll or doll item that you really like, you better get it, or you spend time months or years from now on ebay trying to find it. [I still have nightmares about some of the Happy Family stuff I missed out on].

So here's Julian. He's a cutey. He has already been assigned a new family.

Inspired once again

I admit I have not done well keeping up with my blogging. I have been dealing with an illness, that was totally consuming. It was difficult for me to even think about working with dolls or doing anything else creative. As I was coming out of my sickness fog, after 7 months of pain and realizing that tomorrow wasn't a given, I decided to take a peek at my You Tube account a couple of weeks ago. Boy was I shocked! People, to the tune of over 16,000, had viewed my Barbie videos. That was pretty shocking because I had struggled over the last year trying to get numbers. I was immediately propelled to get busy. The next day I miraculously got the energy to clean and organize my craft room and start doing scenes again. I have been going full for force since them. I reactivated my Etsy sell shop (www.etsy.com/vansdolltreasures.com) and worked on 3 scenes simultaneously. I had never done that before! On the latest video I even attempted Stop Motion Video. Where was all this energy coming from? I don't know and I stopped asking and just took advantage. Even when I went for my monthly doctor appt, he was dumbfounded at my turnabout, because the numbers really didn't support it. He said, we'll base it on how you feel, and not on the numbers. Yeah!!! Otherwise, he would have probably thrown me in the hospital. Update: I had another appt a week ago, and the numbers were better. I have to thank all those viewers to my YouTube site. Of course, there were other factors that helped my energy level, but I must admit everything came together as soon as I saw that people had found me and were interested in what I had to offer.