Setting Up Shop

Hello again, blog land. I officially set up my Etsy shop a couple of days ago. It was a pretty overwhelming experience, probably because I was over-thinking it. I have a tendency to make things more difficult than they need to be. Anyway, I have items listed for sale. It's a relief!  You can check it out here. I am having a fun time with this new adventure.

Though I am new to this -- blogging, selling, arting -- I am already discovering how difficult it is to balance everything. There are so many things that require my attention: my husband and son, the shop, this blog, my creating. My family needs to be my top priority, and I don't feel that has been the case the last couple of days. I've been working on the shop and picking up supplies. I want Expositus Spinae to be a success but at what cost?

Maybe I need to start scheduling things. Up to this point, I have been using every available "spare" moment to obsess over my new project. The new plan: schedule time to create and time to do business. The question: how much time is reasonable, practical? I guess I'll figure it out.


Today I made my first Etsy sale. That was an exciting experience! Here it is all wrapped up:

My first Etsy sale, wrapped and ready for delivery.

 I find myself obsessing over the stats. They show how many times my shop and listings have been viewed. I think I should try and avoid looking at those too often.


It's so fun to watch James develop. He's making new sounds. The latest? "Ayayayaya." He draws out the vowels in the cutest way. Today he almost took a step without hanging onto anything. He's so close to walking! He makes laps along the furniture in the living room. He also likes to try and play with Mommy's art supplies. I have proof:

One day he'll figure out how to open those drawers. Then I'll be in real trouble!

Now I am obsessing over this post -- thinking about transitions and the organization of content. I have spent too much time on it, already, so I'm going to call it good-enough.

Until next time!

Introductions

Hi. My name is Sarah and I am addicted to paper. And pens. And paints. And decorative tapes. And --

I could go on and on. I am a stay-at-home wife to a handsome, supportive husband, mama of a beautiful baby boy (who's not quite a year old), and a creator of beautiful, messy things. Currently I am in the middle of wife-ing and mom-ing, writing a fantasy novel, starting an Etsy shop where I'll be selling hand-crafted blank journals, and playing with paint. 

I decided to start (another) blog because I want to be more involved in the online art community. The more I see what other people are doing, the more I feel the desire to join in. I have found that it is so easy to become isolated as a stay-at-home mom. I often keep my art to myself, and it seems that now is as good a time as any to share it.

I've just begun setting up an Etsy shop. Though I don't want this blog to be a marketing platform, I thought it would be fun to let people see what I'm working on. Here's a sample: 

I put into each sketchbook, journal, notebook a lot of time, energy, thought, and love -- so much that I almost don't want to sell them. I want to keep them for me. I like to see them lined up on my desk -- the spines of various colors a constant rainbow. But it's time to let them loose in the world to collect and protect the work of other talented creators. 

So, welcome to my blog. I'm looking forward to sharing my many adventures with you and keeping you updated on the progress of my many projects. I'll try to post regularly but make no guarantees. 

If you've read this far, thank you. I hope you come back! Also, I'd love to hear some of your adventures. What are you up to?

P.S. Thank you to my lovely friend, Zlata, for taking such beautiful photos of the journals I made.