The Waiting Game Sparks a New Project

There's big news a-brewing with us, but I feel like we are the boy who cried wolf!  We get our hopes up about a new job in a new city...but I think this time it's going to happen.  Daniel has applied for a job at a resort in Palm Springs and I am so ecstatic for him that he feels again like there is some movement in his career.  He sacrificed some opportunities to make sure that I finished my degree and I am so grateful!

So...if the interviewing process goes well, the job still wouldn't start until September, and although I was so excited about getting back into the workforce, we decided to hold off my job search until this interview plays out.

When the dust of this decision settled, Daniel went to work, and I sat in our meticulously clean apartment (turns out boredom ignites the housekeeper in me),  that same old can't-sit-still feeling started gnawing at my stomach, and I started to think about what I could do this summer to stay busy.

And the art project of the decade was born...

If you read my blog, you know I love to paper craft.  I've posted some of my projects before.  I especially like to work on canvas because I like the contrast of texture.  I mostly craft for my own home, but when I was bored over Christmas break, I started doing some kids/nursery art with the intention of giving them away as gifts.  But a few weeks ago, the idea came to me that they just might sell on etsy.  (This is still unproven...but I'm working on opening my shop.)

But selling meant I had to deliver a product that I could be proud of.  At first I thought I would sell the canvas panel on its own and allow the buyer to frame it.  I wanted to take pictures of the product in a frame for the listing so I headed out to buy three frames for the photo shoot.  But it's a nightmare and/or super expensive to find a 6x6 frame.  You basically have to have them custom made.  I could just see the negative feedback now and I don't want to open that kind of store.

I was about to give up on the project, when in the middle of the night the crazy idea came to me that maybe I could make the frames myself.  I have had so many snags and road blocks with this idea but I am proud to say that I have overcome them and I am now making high-quality custom frames in my apartment.  I have tried out different types of wood, different models and sizes, different saws, but now I think I have the process down and I would be so happy even if I just made one sale.  It has been such a fun project!

So now for some pictures...

I am going to finish the frames with stain or paint, but I just wanted you to see them.  Some are a little crooked because I just set the frame on top for now.

These are the two I did over Christmas break so you've probably seen them before.

These are my zoo animals...the blue gingham is hard to see so I'll have to photograph it in a different light.

And this little trio is my latest creation so I'm a little obsessed/attached to it.  

Right now I'm using a hand miter saw which makes frame making a little tedious.  First I bought a small power saw, but when I got it home, I realized I had nowhere safe to use it, but maybe in Palm Springs we'll rent a house or a place with a garage so I can set it up there.  

This is my saw.  I have some other wood-working tools as well, but the real magic is in the paper!

P.S.  My store's name is itty bitty witty.  Whitney gave me permission to use it. ;)