If my life were a Western movie title, this past week would have been The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I think I’ve only ever seen snippets of the movie, or maybe I’ve seen the whole thing once, a long time ago. The title is so iconic, though, and definitely sums up what life has been like around here. While the movie premise doesn’t really fit, if I had enemies, number one would be bacteria/germs and number two, time. Or maybe it’s the kitties and the kids.
Let’s start with THE GOOD.
I found out that I got into a craft market! It will be the first time I’ve sold anything in person in many years! The last time I think must have been before Brighton was born, over ten years ago! So I have been obsessively watching YouTube videos on how to set up my booth even though the market is still months away! And I’ve also finally purchased some new shop supplies that will become handy with producing a larger quantity of items, as well as supplies to make some new products.
I’ve also discovered just how many artists/illustrators create similarly cute and amazing stuff. Many of them are Asian/Chinese and love either cats or dogs. And I’m pretty sure all of them are quite a bit younger than I am and do not have kids, so have more time and energy to devote to their businesses.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and I don’t believe that just because of my age I can no longer do certain things. But having other humans that you are responsible for certainly means there is a little less time to devote to things that you might want to do. And there are mothers who are able to get sh*t done while balancing being a great mom, but I’m not one of those. Hence the decade long hiatus from in-person selling and focusing on growing my business. But I am finally making some creative moves again and am enjoying the process.
The new channels I’ve subscribed to recently are:
Katie Mai is an American illustrator/artist who works traditionally and digitally. I found her somehow after googling “outdoor craft show setup”, most likely by a similar video recommend. She participated in a few notable craft fairs, including this one, and I really love the DIY display that her dad helped her build. I will be enlisting Matt’s help for sure with my display.
Another American illustrator, Megan Wang is based in New York. She has two tuxedo cats and creates a lot of art based on them. I love this washi tape and these stickers that she has in her shop.
I found her videos very easy to watch and love seeing how other people talk to their pets on camera.
Cecile of CCs Art Cafe, is another pet owner – this time a dog – and Asian American artist. Her dog, Boba is super adorable and is also featured a lot in her art. I love that she was a traditionally trained artist who also works digitally and also loves other mediums. The clay charms that she made for her most recent craft market are to die for!
I think I first found Anna on Etsy and then discovered that she had a YouTube channel. She is also a dog owner and animal lover but instead features a lot of foxes in her artwork. Based in Austria, she has the most amazing studio that you can see here.
Catherine Kay of Katnipp Studios is a UK artist who has found great success on Etsy and on YouTube. Her work is extremely kawaii but probably the one I resonate the least with. I’m more interested in how she got to where she is rather than her art. Her stuff is very sweet but just a little too pastel and overly cutesy for me.
Now, THE BAD:
Two out of three of our kiddos managed to get sick in the past week – which is never fun – but also meant that at least one of them was home during the school week and so, not a whole lot gets done. Or rather, I don’t get a whole lot done work-wise. Housework can wait, and often does – anyone else have endless baskets of laundry waiting to be emptied? – although I do hate to leave a sink full of dishes. Now that our kiddos are a bit older, they are not as needy, but they still require attention and being fed, and when they are home, they just tend to create more mess.
And when I’ve skipped a few days of workouts, I start to feel it in my body and mind… ie. I get grumpy.
It doesn’t help it when I’ve indulged in a delicious homemade copycat Big Mac and wine!
And THE UGLY:
Three out of four kitties have also been dealing with something making them itchy and scratching themselves up. Most likely it was from our foster cat, Cookie, who had ear mites before coming to us. She was treated several times for it, but probably didn’t fully get rid of them and so passed it on to first Cool Ranch, and now Sweet Chili Heat.
I’ve had to administer ear drops twice a day for two of them for the past five days and am looking forward to stopping soon. At least Cookie is fairly agreeable, while Cool Ranch is nearing the end of his patience.
The one tradeoff of fostering cats is that if you already own cats, the foster can often bring something new into the mix. I think with almost all of the cats we’ve fostered or babysat, our kitties ended up getting hit with some kind of issue that brought us to the vet. Sigh. Such is life!
As long as we’re helping at least one cat while we can, so be it. If I could make a fortune while helping kitties, all the better! So I’m off to create some new things for the shop!
