New Year, New Things

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's! I have opened a second Etsy shop, and I might open a third one. It all depends on me finding a balance with what's going on and how I want to proceed with everything. I have a lot to tell, so hopefully, you have a cup of coffee to sip while reading. :D First, my new shop is called Kizzie Clips. It carries embroidered felt clips for planners or as bookmarks. Right now, they have a repositionable slider back that allows you to put the clips on the sides of books as well as the tops. I will eventually be able to add a non repositionable back, but that will have to wait until I can get a Sizzix Big Shot and die cut so that I can cover the hole in the back when adding a paper clip. I will also eventually add badge reels for the nurses and administration people for their id badges. With all that, I was having a hard time getting in dolly sewing. That is my first love. So hubby and I decided that since we have 2 living rooms in our house, one upstairs where I work with all the natural light, and a den downstairs where he spends his relaxation time, and the fact that I am pretty much the only person using the living room, we will convert the entire thing to a sewing/embroidery studio for me. When we first moved in, there was a kitchen island that we relocated downstairs as a clothes folding table, as well as a cutting table for me. My fabrics are all around the area down there. That will be relocated again to the living room upstairs for me. We don't need it in the kitchen at all, so that's why it has been repurposed for me. The couch that is in there now, will be relocated downstairs, and the couch down there will be put out in the garage for our daughter as a hang out for her and her friends. I also received a new doll, but need some putty for her eyes. I got a Kaye Wiggs new sized doll. She is a mini Layla with no freckles. I received her a few days after Christmas, having waited for her since April. I am currently in the process of resizing a pattern to make her a dress. I might even try my hand at pattern making. I would also, maybe, open a third Etsy shop with other machine embroidered items. That might have to wait though. I eventually want to get a multi needle machine that I can walk away from and be able to sew while it is embroidering. I have to watch my machine right now, which takes away from sewing. Hence, the time balance issue. I'm starting to find that balance, but it won't be fully realized until the room is entirely finished. Until then, I have several clips to finish, photograph and add to the shop, as well as several outfits that need just a little bit here and there, and then photographed and added as well. The clips are easier to take pictures of, whereas the dolls are a bit harder to get enough light to get rid of shadows. It has been very cold, overcast, and snowing lots here, so the days are not great for that, and I don't have a light tent to make things easier. I will figure something out in the mean time, and hopefully, I can get more productive with less downtime. If you've made it this far, thank you and I hope you all have a wonderful week!