My Teeter Totter Day

Yesterday was one of those days -- up, then down.

First thing in the morning, I was greeted by the nicest news -- I'm the featured "Crafter of the Month" on someone's blog: http://kimbuktu.net/artisanspotlightaugust.html
I met this gal on Etsy and found that we had built a church near her. As we've chatted, we talked about places we knew in the area and realized we had some nice things in common. I felt so privileged to have her choose me to be her featured crafter! So I was up.

Then I went and picked up mail. Down. I have applied to my first juried craft shows -- and got my first rejection letter. It was a disappointment, but it was also a frustration. Undoubtedly, they were trying to be kind about a rejection, but in doing so, they were completely vague, and I don't really know why I wasn't selected. There are some things I can change, some I can't. For instance, I haven't been using table skirts in my displays and I've noticed that many shows want that. I've started making some, but they weren't in my display photo -- if THAT was the problem, it's something I'm changing. If they have a quota on jewelry vendors and their quota was full, that's something I can't change this time, but I would know that I need to make an effort to get my applications in earlier. And I would know that it wasn't that my work was sub-standard. If my jewelry isn't at the level they're looking for, it would be good to know -- and I will try to find other venues. And because I've never applied to juried shows before, maybe I just need to do something about better photos. So the rejection letter itself was somewhat discouraging, but the frustration of not knowing why is worse. I wish I knew.

Then, as I continued to sort through the mail, I was "up" again -- I had ordered some new beads which had arrived. I buy most of my beads from Ebay, and usually buy from the same sellers. This time, I tried someone new -- it's always a little scary. But I was totally thrilled with the beads!! They were exactly what I was looking for and seem to be of a very nice quality. My order for pearls also arrived -- I got 2 colors that I've been using in earrings, but got them in a new size with an eye toward developing a couple new necklace designs. So my creative juices are really rolling! And I can hardly wait to "play" with these new beads!

Now, for me, these "teeter totter" moments do not mean big mood swings or erratic behavior -- just the gentle ups and downs in the rolling meadows of life. The ups bring me joy, the downs challenge me to "fix it" which is my bent when something isn't quite right. So today, I sat down and applied to 2 more craft shows -- 1 juried, 1 not. And I'm still waiting to hear from an application I sent just over a week ago. We'll see what happens.