Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Inspiration of the Week - She's Batty Designs and Batty's Bath

Welcome to my new weekly feature, my Inspiration of the Week. Every week I am going to do a blog post on a fellow artisan who I find inspiring, whether it be because of their creations, or their integrity, or their soul.

My first feature is on the amazing Jamie S - the heart and soul behind She's Batty Designs and the newest one stop pamper shop, Batty's Bath (opening soon).
I asked Jamie to tell me her 10 favourite things in the world, and what follows is written by her. The photographs peppered through are items from She's Batty Designs on Etsy.

1. Drew - my man bear! Yes, I said man bear. That's my pet name for him and he'll be totally embarrassed to see my pet name for him on a blog, but he's starting to accept it. Heck, even some of our friends address our mail "Jamie and Drewbear" lol. In all seriousness though, I don't know what I'd do without him. He's my best friend and my hubby. He carries me around when I can walk because of AS, he treats the dogs like their his own (I had two of them before we lived together), he makes me laugh all the time, gives the best snuggles, and can make pancakes!.. something that still baffles me lol.

2. Our pets - Noel, Princess, Sassy and Murtle. They each mean so much to me and have their own "rescue" story that would take up too room here but their stories are posted at my flickr account.

3. My family. I have the best parents and the best siblings. I couldn't ask for a more supportive group of people.

4. My friends. Although I only keep a few friends really close, that's all I need. They are my support group and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

5. Sugar! I'm a total sugar junky. I start with a bowl of sugar cereal in the morning and the "hits" just continue from there. I think my fav "sugary" treat right now is spiked hot chocolate :)

6. Paper! Paper is very much a passion of mine. I can't get enough of it (my studio and the pile of receipts for paper can account for that haha). It's also what inspired me to start my first business, She's Batty Designs.

7. Soap making! I've recently fallen in love with soap making. I'm totally pampering myself and my family with lots of nourishing and deliciously scented soaps and bath products. Soon I'll be able to pamper a lot more people when my second Etsy shop, Batty's Bath, opens. (Here's the Batty's Bath Blog link so you can follow my progress).

8. Halloween! I can't believe halloween didn't make my list until #8 but it is a really big obsession of mine. I love everything halloween-ie and halloween related! I celebrate halloween in a BIG way every year and leave most of the same decorations up for Christmas! I'm also the guild master of the Ghouls Guild on Artfire.

9. All other creative obsessions .... I have a lot of them so it was hard to narrow it down but I'll throw the rest of them under #9. I've studied fine art in school and have been an avid crafter all my life. I've also picked up a fair amount of graphic design skills so there's never a shortage of ways for me to express my creativity. My favorite outlets (after paper and soap making) are photography, sculpture, graphic design, screen printing, and jewelry making.

10. All my wonderful plurk friends!! Thank you so much for featuring me on your blog and for "plurking" with me ;) My "online life" would be pretty dull without all of you entertaining me! I also have to thank all of you for being a tremendous support and inspiration for me! I couldn't do all I do without the help of my plurkies! :D



That is a fabulous list of favourite things!
I think it gives a pretty good idea why I find Jamie, aka Batty, such an inspiration. She has so much talent and energy. She seems to always be creating something new and her cards are simply amazing.
Batty is one of those people that it is an absolute pleasure to know, she stands up for what she believes in and supports her friends even when suffering pain.
It is an absolute pleasure to feature Batty on my blog, and I hope that everyone who reads this takes the time to browse her shop, you are sure to find something perfect for yourself or someone you find inspirational.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Getting back into it.

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. My offline life has been extremely busy, including major surgery on my man. I also had a couple of days where I had no internet or phone - you don't know what you've got until its gone!
So this is a short post, to let you all know I haven't forgotten about you. And I will get back into one of my favourite blogging activities, promoting fellow artisans.
I will also be doing a new giveaway, but I will probably wait until the silly season is over!
My creative mojo has taken a little break, but will hopefully be back soon.
So until the next blog...