This is not a blog post

I am still on blogging vacation while my life undergoes a walkabout. Just sharing some photos that I've taken lately.




My iPod changes clothes frequently. This is a slightly heavier paper with 3D glitter spots, and I had a hard time getting it to snap shut.



I've seen several of those small fabric houses online, but no birdhouses, so I made one.





I appliquéd this golf course scene onto a golf towel, meant for Valentine's Day gift.




I hand-screen printed my OHIO ROCKS design onto this green tote along with a silver metallic decal. Then I faded the edges a bit with some black spray paint. I like it, but the perfectionist in me isn't happy with the screenprint quality.



I made these two pillows from my bridesmaid dresses for two friends' weddings. I matched them to the style of wedding they had- the pink was soft and romantic, the orange was sleek and sophisticated. The girls loved them.

On a personal side note, I am continuing to adjust okay. I have landed a great little apartment near my work, and am looking forward to moving in next weekend. And every moment has been busy with the paperwork, phone calls, account changes, needed to change your life, interspersed with bright fun moments spent with friends that keep me going.

Blogging Break

I just wanted to tell everyone that I will be taking a little blog/craft vacation, while I am sadly separating from my husband and finding a new apartment. It has been a shocking and fast-moving few weeks. I have come to think it is for the best in the end, but it will take time for life to settle down, and certainly means many new changes for me ahead. But, I don't want this change in my life to end the success of the blog and art here, nor to halt the direction we were headed. So I hope to return soon and keep this a major part of my life and time. And maybe this means a new set of chances ahead as well. :-) Thank you all for reading, and don't think that this girl is down and out!

I came across this quote, and it really spoke to me of my situation:

"When there has been so much love and happiness for someone, it is natural to be reluctant to close such a wonderful chapter in our lives.

For moving forward is rarely accomplished without considerable grief and sadness.

And while our sorrow may be profound, the clouds will clear, and the sun will shine on us again.

And in that warm, bright light we will find ourselves facing a glorious future.

A future of exciting challenges and infinite possibility, in which the horizon will stretch out before us, rimmed in the heavenly glow of the sunrise of our tomorrow."

(Strangely enough from The Prince and Me which was on TV the day after I moved. It isn't a great movie, but what can I say, I do love Julia Stiles.)

Questions

"Questions"

by Jannypie

Original mixed media painting on canvas

Jannypie Hearts: Pottery Barn's new Nest line

Pottery Barn has a new set of accessories called "Nest... at home" that might be my new happy place.

While the "Nesting" decor trend has been in full swing for quite some time, to those of us who truly love nature-inspired design (and have a well-known lifelong affinity for bird life), this will never be out of place.

Did you know that I took ornithology in high school? The trimester system let us have long class sessions, where we travelled around the Mohican State Park area in central Ohio, keeping bird watching notebooks and identifying songs and species. The most memorable sighting for me was a White-Winged Crossbill, the normal range for which is largely in Canada. This only fed my love of all things feathered, which started with owls as a little girl.


Pottery Barn's embroidered set with blue eggs in a nest and matching bird pillow is one of my favorite picks- it looks like watercolor paintings on the pillows. So delicately gorgeous.

(Bonus: There's a video on the site about hand-stitched embroidery!)

I am loving all of these selections! The birdbath serving bowls are crying out "Please DIY me!!"

P.S. Don't you think these would look great in a room with a wooden Our Nest sign and a Pillared Nest Holder??

*Sigh* Beautiful...

Thanks Karla!

jannypie hearts is a regular feature here where i share my absolute favorite finds and inspirations. for more things hearted, visit the jannypie hearts category, or subscribe to my shared reads feed!

Announcement of website expansion

Dearest Readers,

The rumors are true, jannypie crafts will soon be growing! After almost 3 years of blissful blogging, I have the need to expand my blog to maximize my offerings to readers. First thing to know is:

You don't have to do anything right now!

I'm letting you know now so that you can follow the changes and know when it is allllll ready for you!

Next thing to know is, my site will now be called Indiefinable Creations, but I will be keeping my Jannypie profile as the author.

/ in' de. fīne'. able / : (adj) independent of a single definition or style
: (n) one who is indefinable.

Indiefinable Creations finally embraces my wide ranges of styles, creations and interests. Rather than denying all that I can do and focusing on one area to be successful, I'm accepting it, identifying it, naming it. Maybe visitors will be confused and leave. But maybe we'll all be surprised and find out that other people have varying interests too, and stay to discover. (I'm hoping it's the second one.)
So, what's happening:

• Making the move to Wordpress. Many of the best features from my blog are getting lost in the archives, so I wanted the ability to bring the brightest stars up front for new visitors to find, and for regulars to access.
• Complete tutorial pages. A few of my tutorials are spread out across posts, and some are shorties that ended up being more popular than I had expected. These will brought all together, be easier to follow, and I'm adding some great features to make them really pop!
• Category sections will organize content. Because of my wide variety of creations and styles, I'll be bringing much better organization to my content. You'll be easily able to go straight to Crafts, Blog Design, Downloads, Resources, etc.
• Posts can be sorted by style, in addition to category, such as Cutesy, Grungy, Geeky.
• More stuff for you to look at: the new site will have much more content, with About Me sections, portfolios, top lists of resources that I use online, and more.
• I'm offering new services as well, packages for the non-internet-savvy based on blog and small business setup, design, optimization and use.
• Inspiration and community sections to highlight my favorites around the web and support my communities.
• A wealth of indie favorites, including handmade artists (locally and online), Columbus businesses, grassroots podcasts and authors, websites and maybe even products.
  

So there are some features for you to read and get excited about while I'm working, and I'm hoping that the support you all have given for so long will help me make this transition. I'm nervous (of course) but the way things have been coming together is really making me more confident that these changes are going to bring a lot of good stuff your way. Truly!

Moving to Wordpress is taking a long time because I'm making sure everything is done right (plus, it's a royal pain in the badunkadunk to customize!). In the mean time, feel free to visit and bookmark the site:

http://indiefinable.com

Special Note: Prior to launching the site, I'll be offering a preview to members who sign up for the email newsletter, which will include a free gift in exchange for completing a visitor feedback survey. So add your email if you are interested!