Interweave Sponsor Post

I try not to post too many commercial post but this one caught my eye and I really wanted to share it. I love Interweave Magazines and I am going to stock up on a few digital issues while they are on sale. So I just wanted to share it with you all. (I do receive a small percentage of the sale if you make a purchase when you click through my links. You don't have to use my links though.)

Shop the $1.99 Digital Magazine Sale at Interweave
$1.99 Digital Magazine Sale ends on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Some exclusions apply. Prices are as marked.

Flowers

Taking a small break from inspiration Monday today to stop and smell the flowers. 

Color Story Friday

Silhouette September Promotion

Portrait Bundle:

• Silhouette Portrait machine
• Sewable Fabric Interfacing
• Clean cut Fabric Interfacing
• Fabric Blade
  
  $149.99
  ​Save over $100! 

 Use Coupon Code "RAMBLINGS" to save

 Use Coupon Code "RAMBLINGS" to save

Inspiration Monday Follow Your Dreams

Today's Inspiration Monday post is all about growing your Handmade Business and following your dreams. I am going to share with you three must read books to grow your business, a few inspirational blog post to help you learn to follow your dreams, and a video that I hope will inspire you to take the steps toward following my dreams.

First I want to share three of my favorite books for the handmade entrepreneur. These books are a great resource for you if you are just starting out or even if you have been in business for a while and just need a few fresh ideas to add a little spark to your business.

 You can find more information about each of these books below and if you would like to purchase these the links will take you to the Amazon site. ( these are affiliate links and I will receive a small percentage of the purchase price.)
1. The Handmade Marketplace, 2nd Edition: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and Online
2.Grow Your Handmade Business: How to Envision, Develop, and Sustain a Successful Creative Business
3.Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business

I would also like to share a few blog post from some of my favorite bloggers with you about following your dreams, and building a better business or blog. These post may be long but they each have loads of valuable information.

The first post I would like to share is The Art of Chasing Your Dreams by Alisa Burke. This post is full of wonderful videos full of inspiration and hope for you if you are really trying to chase your dreams.She also has a couple of post about The Art of Blogging that I think are great reads as well. Here is one and two.

I know that I am like most creatives when it comes to managing my time better and I found a very helpful post about managing your time with block scheduling from Ali Edwards. The Blog post is titles Thoughts On Block Scheduling, It is a really must read post.

I also know if you are anything like me it is not just your time that needs organization. My studio is always in need of better organization that my mind can be free from all the clutter and visual clutter. There is a great blog series that has been around for a couple of years and I have found myself revisiting it to keep me motivated to keep my space more cohesive to working in. This series if from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer of Balzer Designs, It is a week long series to help you clean up and clean out your creative space.

All you have to do is click on the image above to read all about it. 

Creativebug - the story of a creative startup from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Just remember that following your dream is worth it, so don't give up. 

Surface Pattern Blog Hop

Last month I took a wonderful class over at Creative Live. This class helped me in a lot of ways when it came to learning how to use illustrator properly and how to create a cohesive collection of surface patterns for multiple applications.

Today I wanted to show you what I made in class. Each one of these items are made as separate assignments. 

I learned about creating mood boards and creating color stories from my photographs. I completed a mini collection of six patterns and a collection of 20 elements that I have used to create a digital scrapbook kit that you can download from my Etsy Shop. 

The course information can be found here on the Course page. This class is available for you to purchase for anytime access and is a great addition to any of your continuing education library. You can download the class to watch it at anytime.

I really feel like the things that I learned in this course really have helped me to work more smoothly and efficiently. I would recommend  this course to anyone that has an interest in surface pattern design as Bonnie talks you through the process step by step and really gives some great insight into the industry. 

If you would like to find out more about Bonnie you can find her all over the web at: 

Blog: http://www.goinghometoroost.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goinghometoroost

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gohometoroost

Instagram: http://instagram.com/goinghometoroost

The Roost Tribe is a great thing that Bonnie has stated a couple of years ago now and for only a small monthly subscription rate you get a great community as well as some unique things each month that you can use on your blog or on any of your creative projects. 

I would like to thank Bonnie for offering my readers a FREE month of the Roost Tribe just click here to access this great offer. 

Yesterday's Blogger

Rachael Mckeeman

The Next Blogger on the hop is:

Monday September 15th

Emily | http://freshpaperstudios.com/blog

If you would like to see the whole hop and catch up on other post you night have missed please visit

the main blog hop post over at Going Home to Roost.

Etsy Shop Update

I have been busy over in my Etsy shop adding new items and a couple of new digital downloads. 

The first is Faith Hope and Love Journal Cards it is a sheet of 3x4 cards for project life and other pocket scrapbooking projects. 

The second one Faith Hope and Love Cards and More is a sheet with a couple of cards and work art and elements for scrapbooking or art journaling. You can also print these out onto sticker paper and then cut them out for all types of other uses. 

Playing Tourist in My Hometown

Inspiration Monday

Good Sunday Morning to You

Color Story Friday

These flowers just make me feel happy.  I love the bright colors and I like to know that even though fall is just around the corner these beautiful flowers are there and give just a splash of color to the day. The colors from this can really work their way in to a fall color palette with the oranges and reds as well and the yellows ans even the dark green. I hope that this adds just a little bit of happiness to your day.

Spoonflower Weekly Contest.

I have been entering the Spoonflower weekly contests off and on for the past couple of years and I really was just playing around. The past few contest I have used what I learned in the Make It In Design Summer School as well as the Creative Live Class by Bonnie Christine of Going Home to Roost. Well I was super excited to see my design featured in email blast this week. Mine is the one in the bottom right corner. 

August in Review

Inspiration Monday