You're Invited ...

My Etsy Shop! [And Libby still, of course.]

Back in 2007, I had little ones.

My oldest had just started Kindergarten. My youngest I still toted around in an infant carrier. My middle had just gotten potty trained officially. We had just moved from Corpus Christi, TX to Kansas City, MO. My husband had just started a new job. I already had my own site ... but was introduced to Etsy. Etsy had traffic - unlike my own site. Etsy made it easy to have an online "shop" - unlike my own site. I gave it a try, opening up my own shop 4 years ago today. It was NOT a smashing success at first ... but it was a leap of faith. It was making myself more "public" ... since, let's admit it, my own site only was visited by my family & friends. It was as off the beaten path as you could get.

And this ... is what 4 years later looks like. Big kids. Everyone is potty trained [most of the time]. No infant seats - just booster seats. Libby is in Pre-Kindergarten! In 4 years I've gone from people asking me "Where do you find the time?"to ... [now that I have 3 kids in school 5 days a week] "What do you do with all your time?" My oh my things have changed.

4 years has also given me time to grown into my own skin. I have fine tuned what I want to do. I've had some trial & errors. Have had some amazing opportunities including two custom 3 foot x 3 foot quote canvases.  I've sold note cards & have added prints. I've had 188 sales to date. My shop has raised $1,781 that I didn't keep. $1,011 went to the Foundation for Inclusive Religious Education [F.I.R.E.] & this past April $770 was given to the Resource Center at our children's school, funding a Language Program. I've learned how to share our Autism journey with others because I learned that ignorance is not bliss. I realized that painting messages that create a moment of hope, strength or compassion for somebody are what I can do to make the world a kinder more loving place for my kids to grow up in ... especially the one for whom the world isn't always easy. But to be honest, seeing that the world isn't easy for him probably hurts the rest of us more than it does him. He's not always aware, but we are & it can be heart breaking. Our family having Autism has given me a purpose & a direction. It has sort of become my mission - to replace 1 hurtful moment with a happier one. Even when it's not Autism Awareness Month.

Life is about constant change - with the hope of improvement. That pretty much sums up the past 4 years. :)

So, now that my obligatory 4 year wrap up is done ... it's time to get on with the party. :)

First of all, no one has touched the cake. Please help yourself to a piece of the Strawberry Layer Cake. I made it from scratch. Even the cream [so no, it is not fat free]. :)

And what would a party be without a GAME? A no fun one, that's what! So the game is ... go to my shop. If you were to win either a 4x4, 5x5 or a 5x7 canvas ... which one would you choose? Then leave a comment below & let me know. If I draw your name ... you'll win it [unless it's sold in which case you can pick another?]. This game is only for the 4x4, 5x5 & 5x7 canvases ... One entry per person. Contest ends Monday 9/26 at midnight.

And since there will only be 1 winner ... I have a treat for everyone else. A coupon code to be used in my Etsy shop - to get 15% off any item/s in the store! Coupon code [4YEARSALE] is good now, but expires after Friday, 9/30 ... that way if you don't win the give-away & you had your heart set on something, you have a few days that you can still get it with your party discount. :)

THANK YOU for being my biggest fans! :) PARTY ON!