Miller August 2023 Update!

What a month!! So much has happened though we tried to stay home more and get focused on our various projects. Our health, again, took about a week and a half of time this month so we lost time trying to adapt. There are still a lot of things in their middle steps but by next month they should be rolling out. We are still learning and working on portioning the amount of work we can do and is actually possible within a set amount of time. Our ideas go far beyond what is humanly capable in 24hrs. But we still think we made significant progress with what we could do so let’s go through it!

At the beginning of the month, I participated in a workshop with Finding Our Voices at Who Gives a SCRAP! and it was quite an experience. I really enjoyed the creative process (which was with watercolors this time), speaking to and hearing from others, as well as learning from the other ladies who attended. Met a lovely lady named Teresa and she’s now my friend! I hope to see her again at the next workshop. John was going to join but plans changed and he decided to start reading the book "The Body Keeps the Score" which is highly informative on Trauma. (We also recommend this book) The watercolor workshop really got me back into watercolors and I've been wanting to work with it more and more.

Worked with some scraps to create these. Will be using them in other projects too.

While we are still on the topic of Who Gives a SCRAP!...we did a full board refresh! We will try to do this once a month to give a new selection to look at.

Artist Trading Card Display Looking Good!

Some cards may return as they cycle around but generally will try to put up brand-new cards in that area. This month we unfortunately didn’t bring as many kits as I wanted but I had to spend most of my time organizing the materials and utensils at home. In such a small place, the cleaning-up process is a frequent and necessary step that takes up a lot of time. We are also out of paper lunch bags so if anyone is open to donating some we can increase the number left at trade displays next month! My goal is to create a proportionate amount for each display's activity. For this location, I am aiming for about 100 a month and I have a few sets prepped and sitting aside waiting for paper bags. It’s also on our list to update and add to the look of the display month by month as time and energy allow. More ideas are in the works.

We really wish we could stop by the store more, however, our car needs new brakes and we just don’t have money to cover it. So we are mostly limiting the amount of times we head out and use our vehicle. Our other option is to find another car completely as this car also has issues in the winter and the brakes don’t work. (We’ve slid into active intersections too many times to allow ourselves to drive our car during the winter months). So please forgive our lack of being out and about!

Excited to share that we have a SECOND Trade Display! Swing by The Next Us at 525 N Cascade Ave to see what art is up for trade as well as have access to UNIQUE free ATC kits offered here. This location will start with about 20 per location each month. However, if the kits start flying we will definitely up the amount! Our friend Candice, who is in charge of Crafter’s Clique, will have her own unique kits where you can stop by on Saturdays 4 pm-6 pm to unwind and create! She also has craft plans you can follow or just head over and enjoy the materials that are available. Everything is free and waiting for you to stop by and enjoy with us! No need to bring any materials (unless you have a project you are working on and want to just work on it while around other crafty people). Find a spot, sit down, and have FUN! Very laid back and welcoming. John and I will try to make these every week if we can so we hope to see you there too!

Moving on to…we have a THIRD display made! Now it’s looking for a location to be installed. I wanted to make some variation displays to match different areas. We have the frame with clothespins, we have a small one with string art, and now one with pockets! This version will not only have clothespins to attach cards but also slots to add in small kits for people to grab. We initially made this to introduce the board in celebration of our 5th wedding anniversary! 8-18-18!<3 Though we weren’t able to celebrate on our actual day, our scheduled date day was amazing~ <3

A sample layout we planned on doing for the Artisan Market! We weren't able to get a picture in time at the market before everything started falling over but we are proud of some general improvements from the last event!

We brought a trade display to celebrate at the Artisan Market that occurred on August 18th (our Anniversary day!), but we didn’t get to stay the whole time. We worked nonstop the week off, to only be able to display for about an hour. The winds were a little too strong for the products we brought so sadly we had to pack up. Looking forward to the next craft fair as with each attempt we are learning more! This year we have been focusing on our presentation, advertising, and marketing our products so the more practice the better. We looked around at the products we have made in our home and we have such a LARGE inventory. Hoping to get them out and seen!

I keep forgetting to take pictures. So this was the only time I remembered to take pictures.

Our Monthly ATC Event went well! We had five new attendees come to visit and create with us! Great to hear that there are others in Colorado Springs who have made ATCs before and are looking for places to trade their cards. A lady stopped by and she shared her lovely cards with us so now we have a few of hers up for grabs in our Trade Binder. The next event will be Sept 29th from 3:30-5:30 at PPLD’s East Library and will look at making Specialty cards! Time to take art making to another level~

John's and Candice's cards. I forgot to take pictures of our new attendees' artwork. I will have planned on scanning all current cards in the binder when I can. Many creative people have stopped by!

Trade Binder will be accessible during our ATC Monthly Events and at Who Gives a SCRAP Art Swap events. We will also bring them to the crafting events held at the Next Us if we can make it. So make sure you catch us at these locations if you want to see which cards are available.

Speaking of WGAS Art Swap! This month’s event was a little bit of chaos. A little girl decided to have her birthday party there so this time there were quite a few kids running around. John and I forgot how stressful kids are at that age with their abundant energy which wore us out within the first 15 minutes. One little girl, I don't think who was with that group, spent most of the time talking and drawing with us. Amethyst drew us art and gave us little gifts she picked out from the Art Swap that she originally was going to take home. She even built a box for us to take it home in! Amethyst was very sweet and we hope she enjoyed creating with us! We are very pleased we were able to provide a fun activity for the kids to enjoy. Looking forward to next month’s event that will be at Rockrimmon on Sept, 9th from 1pm-4pm (Please verify the times prior to the day).

Ooh, and we would love to share that we had an interview with Shoutout Colorado! Swing by to read about us and our business. Read it here.

Lastly~

We are doing a full website revamp!! This is still a bit of a work in progress as we unravel the details for each page. The past few months we were still working with seeing how our website would be used and how it would be viewed. Now with enough research to work with, we wanted to try and reposition how everything is laid out and understood. We would greatly appreciate any feedback on our website, issues you’ve seen, things you like things that work well, etc. We understand that most don't process all this information the same as we do so we wanted to try and make it flow easier.

Please take a few minutes to click around and see everything we’ve been doing! Lots more plans in the works so we are going to be holed up for another month (mostly) to get everything up to where we want it. Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by and reading our update and hope to see you soon! =)