...from the desk of...

I have mixed feelings about March. I'll be honest, its not my favorite month. In fact, if Spring and all its good graces were *not* floating through the air throughout Portland I think I would be in a pretty sorry state about entering into a new month. However, we do have flowers blooming (chin up little camper!), and other than that there have been many, many little treasures showing up in my days this past few that remind me good things are indeed in the works.

One of these glimmers has been the kind and exciting inclusion of the above Black Umbrellas in the Bugs and Fishes blog. See Lupin's article on loveliness here! I owe her a debt of gratitude not only for her continued support and sweet words but also for some inspiration. I am working on some colorful designs for April, and of course the Gocco should be back in action this Spring season, but though I want to bring new designs into the shop I had been at a loss as to what to do for March. After showing up on Lupin's blog I've been thinking- wouldn't it be fun to end the winter with tea, cocoa, and steamy drinks that first got me started on Etsy? Yes, themes are good, and I'm thinking March for ouou will be the Month of Tea. I may even try my first ever *BLOG GIVE-AWAY*!

Otherwise I'm happy to say that the shop seems to be holding its own. I just recently packed up and shipped out the last of the hand-drawn ACEO size Valentines- all sold in just a month! I'm really grateful for everyone who showed their support for those, whether or not you count the Gocco prints it was the first time I've offerend original pen & ink drawings. Two of the designs were of tea, so I'm hopeful to get another line going and begin listing soon. Before that, though, will be new printed cards~ they're at the end of their production this weekend. It has been since last Spring that I've had a new A4 card design... Oh what a month March will be!

~On the Homefront~
My nephews are still going through the throes of teething. This means a couple things; first, that my sister is dealing with some pretty irratic sleep (that's a nice way of saying "no sleep for mama") and also, days consist of pretty short attention span for all of us, babies making teeth included. SL has gotten not one but two teeth, while MNJ is growing ever more adventurous in the gnawing preoccupation.

The thing about the last few weeks is there is certainly an up-tempo in keeping them entertained and the rest of the house going. The good news is it seems as though the packaging, printing, cutting, assembling, listing, wrapping, burnishing involved in my Etsy life breaks down into a hundred little tasks, and these hundreds of little tasks spread throughout the day...? It's a good feeling to know that it may be a lot of work, but it is working.