Knee deep in cardstock

What I've been up to:

Sweet little Valentine... part of a set of 12 that I made for Creative and Crafty's business launch party.

I love this card. In fact, I almost hid it away so I could pull it out periodically and admire it's pink and brown sweetness. But no - I included it's XOXO goodness in the samples for the launch party. And of course it sold. Such a bittersweet moment.

I had the most fun making this little beauty. My shamrock may be blue, but it's so lucky it'll make you yearn for green M&M's!

I have finally emerged to take a breath of air from my cardstock hideaway. The smell of acid-free paper permeates my brain matter. Yes, acid free. No tripping on the cardstock. That would just be too cool, wouldn't it? I'd get a little jolt out of my creative process. But alas, my moment of reprieve is short lived. Fortunately, the launch party was a fabulous success, and since then, Creative and Crafty's rounded up another order of 24 Valentines and 6 other custom card requests.

I have a horrid success rate managing my own home business for several reasons. One, I've never shown passion for any of those businesses. Creative Memories, Leaving Prints, Arbonne - those all consisted of selling other people's crap. Each business required a huge time and money investment on my part just to get started, and once I was in, I was several hundred (and in the case of Arbonne - a few thousand) dollars in the whole. But Creative and Crafty is my dream child. I'm selling my work. My art. My dreams. My ideas. They're not made in China. It's not someone else's product.. It's mine. Of course I hope I'm featured as one Oprah's Favorite Things within the next 5 years, but if I'm not, I'd still keep making cards and dreaming up unique ways to say "Happy Birthday."

My friends, I have discovered what I want to be when I grow up. And it feels sooooo deliciously yummy.