Libby's Bake Shop * NOW OPEN

After months of anticipation, Libby's BAKE SHOP is now open.

Conveniently located in the corner between the dresser & the changing table.

Here you'll find fast service along with amazing food & drink.

Libby's BAKE SHOP became an overnight success with its unique dessert...

... the Baked Hot Chocolate.

Our patrons have found Libby's BAKE SHOP to be a relaxing place to read or even catch up on some work.  [Free Wi-Fi is available!]

Our patrons make themselves at home, as does the staff.

 

If there's anything better than the atmosphere, it's the food.

Miss Libby, herself, tastes everything before her guests.

It's how she ensures the perfect blend of ingredients.

Here, everyone is treated like family.

At Libby's BAKE SHOP, we think you'll find she has a leg up on the competition.

We hope y'all drop by soon!  

Plum Tree Blossoms & Leopard Prints

Last week, Dana's sister Cara asked if I'd be interested in helping her out with a couple of Birthday gifts.  She bought this for Dana ... and the other things she had some ideas for.  She needed something girly for a 4 year old whose room was pink & green.  So we decided on a rose letter plaque.

The other gift she needed was for her 91 year old Grandma.  I've heard a lot about their grandma through Dana & was excited about the chance to make something for her.  

I always LOVED making things for my Grandma.  I think the reason was I always had to work extra hard to come up with something that would knock her socks off.  :)  She had 87 years worth of Birthdays, which adds up ... to a lot of presents.  It was always fun to come up with something new & exciting that she'd never had or seen before.  

For her 85th Birthday, I made my Grandma this sassy leopard print tote bag.  

 

[Photo on the right is of her just a week or 2 after her 85th Birthday,

when she joined my parents on a trip down to Corpus Christi to visit us]

 

This was the Birthday that she asked to ride on a Harley.  She always did something BIG for her milestone Birthdays.  But her Harley ride made me realize just how much she still had a wild side.  So I celebrated that with painting her a leopard print tote bag.  Not every 85 year old needs a leopard print tote bag ... but it seemed to fit her personality quite well & thought it would help show that off.  You know what they say ... if you've got it, flaunt it.  

Anyway... I jumped at the chance to make a 91st Birthday gift.  How fun is that?  Cara told me a few things to help guide me.  Her grandma loves purple, spring & hanging things on her door.  Dana had just sent me photos of her plum tree in bloom last spring, knowing it might inspire me to paint some ... and it did.  

I covered the plaque with the plum tree blossoms on top of a purple background.  I painted the word "Welcome" since it was going on the door.  I loved the way it turned out & get excited thinking of her opening it up.  I hope it knocks her socks off!  ;)

Thanks again, Cara!  I hope all the Birthday Girls love their new things! 

Out with the Old...In with the New

I know things have been pretty girly around here lately... I promise some new boy designs are coming soon. {Click on photos to zoom in, the dress has some cute details goin' on!}

The one "Smocked Dress" canvas I did sort of sparked an idea to do many of them... all different. I think they'd be sooooo cute for sisters (each picking out a different dress). Another idea, however, would be to line up three of them above a crib or bed, with a girls FIRST, MIDDLE & LAST name each on a canvas. When I get a 3rd one done, I"ll have to make a "display" to show as an example. I've been flooded with ideas lately... I've got notes jotted down all over the place. So expect some new, exciting things very soon!

I also made 1 more pink rose plaque... & I loved the way it turned out. My best ideas usually come at the last minute, in the form of a "Plan B". The monogram was to have a dark pink border, but at the last minute remembered that the nursery was mainly brown & green - with hints of pink. So I painted over the dark pink with brown, not knowing how it was going to look. I absolutely LOVE it with the hint of brown. Love it, love it, love it. I hope Miss Viv loves it, too. :)

Lastly... in the next couple days I'm going to take a huge leap of faith. I'm too chicken to do it yet, but I'll be doing it by 9/3 (before the next month's payment is due). I will be shutting the doors of my cREaTe website. It is not a step back, it's actually a step forward. I'll be moving over to Etsy officially. (Please read my next post "Etsy 101" if you have no idea what it is) I think there are just a lot more opportunities for growth & success over on Etsy.

For starters... I feel like my cREaTe website is a place where I sit around & wait for custom orders. Then it's a shotgun effect when I get an order. If I don't have the materials in my stockpile, I have to run to the store. Sometimes I have to wait for a day that 2 of the 3 kids are in school so that it's easier to manage the shopping trip. Then I come home... and have to wait for the right time to work on it. Preferrably when the kids are resting, napping, or sleeping. That doesn't, however, necessarily mean it's when I'm in the best "cREaTive mood". In a nutshell... my time to cREaTe doesn't always come at the best times for me.

As I mentioned earlier in the post, I've been SO EXCITED with all these new ideas that I've been getting. I think part of it comes from getting rid of some stuff at the Tag Sale. I think that was cleansing for me. Out with the old, in with the new! :) But I also think some of the excitement came from knowing that on Etsy I get to make whatever I want, whenever I want. I LOVE THAT.

I see a cute girl on the front of a pattern for smocked dresses & it sparks a new design idea for painting one. I DID IT. It sparked a new idea for me, to start a "line" of adorable little girls' dresses... I DID IT. I see more objects around the house that inspire project after project. I WRITE IT DOWN BECAUSE I WILL DO IT. I am enjoying the freedom.

So if you've checked out my page on Etsy... you've probably noticed a lot of baby & children's things. I haven't changed my tune yet, it's just what I'm enjoying at the moment. I am also trying to find my "place" on Etsy & learn who my audience is. In typical Rachel fashion, I am sort of flying by the seat of my pants. :) I am just following my heart, listening to my intuition, and am trusting my instincts. I am confident this is a step in the right direction.

It's a little scary to close down MY VERY OWN PLACE on the web. I also have put so much work into it. Every single page on my site started out as a blank white page. I put everything into it: text, color, graphics, links... I became quite the Web Designer. :) I'll also have past customers who will no longer be able to find me. And worst of all... I'm having to give up my favorite E-MAIL ADDRESS! :( I'm not leaving, I'm just moving... and being a military wife, I sure am used to that. It's always bittersweet moving... you have to say goodbye to all that is comfy & cozy & predictable. But you move on, excited about all the new possibilities & friendships to be made. When one door closes, another one opens... and I definitely think this is the one leading to more opportunities for success, growth & cREaTivity.

So please bookmark my new address... here at my cREaTe blog (you're on it) & here on Etsy. And if you want to go say your goodbyes, you can go here & have one last look around the place cREaTe has called home for almost 4 years.  :( 

*New Design*

I've been BUSY. Getting ready to go on a trip... and I have 5 projects I had to knock out. One of the projects didn't get done, but my deadline's a week away, so I think I'm okay!

Here is a plaque I just finished... SO BOY! I love the colors, the font & the NAME. I can't wait to give it to the little guy!

the letter C & some yogurt

I bought this letter C about a month ago. I also bought a cute square of artichoke fabric. I thought it'd be cute to cover the C in the fabric.

I didn't think it all out enough [that happens] because I was rushed, I had 3 kids with me, 2 of them were trying to give me ideas & pointing out hideous fabrics & ribbons, 1 of them was standing up in the cart, etc. Anyway, after I got home I decided it was just going to look like a Kindergarten project (no offense Bretty). I didn't know how to make the fabric go all around the rounded areas (& the letter C has a lot of those) & look nice. I thought about just cutting the fabric into the letter C & using spray adhesive to stick it to the wood. But I just pictured all sorts of frayed, jagged bits. The visual I had was not good. I even did some "research" on the internet wondering if any crafter or blogger out there had any ideas on how to cover a wooden letter with fabric. No one does it.

So I sat on the project a few weeks, sort of mad at myself 'til I came up with a solution. Meanwhile my friend MC's Birthday gift just got later & later (June 2). I had a few cartons of yogurt that expired on her Birthday. I told myself as long as as the yogurt still tasted good, that it was okay & I wasn't that late. A couple weeks past & I tried some yogurt - still good.

Well, now I still have 1 carton of yogurt in the fridge & I won't touch it. :) It's that late. Yet I have it in there as a reminder. So I revisited the letter C last night. As I sat staring at my studio walls with the C on the workbench in front of me, I got finally got an idea. And a thought occurred to me yet again... why do I think I can work with fabric? I PAINT. Stick to what you know girl.

After being mad at myself & the letter C, I'm finally happy. It's finished & in its bubble envelope & ready to be shipped off as a belated Birthday gift. And hopefully it'll reach her before she reaches this post. :) If not... surprise!

(& I'm now going to throw the yogurt out...)