Whimsical by Shelley

Thanksgiving is the time that we reflect on all that we are thankful for, and I've got so much to be thankful for this past year. I have a healthy and happy family, fantastic friends and a supportive community. This year, I have to add, having the opportunity to expand my creative business to that list. The past several months have seen many additions to both Etsy stores and Zazzle, several new cakes, the revival of this blog as well as branching out into the world of stock photography. I am excited to see where it all goes in 2011. But before we jump ahead to a new year, we can't forget that the holidays are still before us, along with shopping, shopping, shopping. Black Friday, and more recently Cyber Monday, are two of my favorite days. Like everyone else, I'm drawn to the great deals but I also love the bustle of the holiday season. I absolutely adore finding little gifts that will speak to the person I'm shopping for... send some magic their way. That means even ...

My how time flies. With school in session, the creativity hasn't ceased but the time to write about it seems to always disappear quickly. In September, I made a Toy Story cake. October brought several new cupcake flavors and a lot of organizing. The rest of the fall has been  focused enjoying the time of year with Halloween and football games and creating a good array of crafts for the upcoming holiday season.

School is right around the corner for my kiddos. It seems like summer just started. And if you live in the Pac NW that is literal with regards to the weather as well. But the sun is finally out and we have a few more weeks to laze away in the mornings until the alarm clock has to be reinstated and the backpacks stuffed with supplies. This is Braden's senior year. Bittersweet... but focusing on the sweet is the game plan. One of the best things about it is that I get to take his senior pictures. He was always a cute kid (said his mother), but he's grown into an extremely handsome man. I'm very proud of him.

August has been quite the month so far. Not only has it actually brought summer to the Pacific Northwest (finally), it also brought a nice little get away  to Wyoming with enough relaxation and rejuvenation to kick my creative projects into high gear before school and all it's activities start up again. This week brought the return of the frozen cheesecakes. I made a Bailey's chocolate chip cheese cake with a sugar cookie crust. It's been 9 years since I've made one of these and it needs fine tuning again. Good thing I've got many willing taste testers. In the cre8ivegifts store on Etsy, there are new cell phone charms. I will also be uploading bookmarks and wine charms in the next week. As well as, new photos at cre8ivepix. I hope to begin setting up shop at some of the local farmer's markets and craft fairs this month. But I'm most excited about the Beliving in You Zazzle store. Moving my designs over from Cafepress is the most time consuming thin...

There's not much that keeps me from crafting, baking and creativity in general. However, baseball is one of those things. We have two kids in regular little league and one kiddo who plays for a tournament team that has more games during a much longer season. And while I love baseball, this could mean 3 games in 3 different towns on any given day and conceivably a game every day during May and June and All Star Tournaments in July. Craziness. It also means that I have a lot to do where my creative work is concerned to catch up. Here is catching up looks like... Graphic design  Since Cafepress changed the way they do business a year ago, I've been gradually moving my newer designs to Zazzle instead. I have over 800 designs at CP but will probably only move about 200 of them and put any new creations at Zazzle as well.  Zazzle isn't as popular as CP yet and I don't love what I feel are limitations, but I have hopes that once I get my designs listed, it will be better....

The trouble with making cakes and being a mom of boys is that once you've run the gamut of sports and other boy themes you have to really get creative. Braden is 17 and up until this year has been the recipient of those very same sports cakes. I wanted to do something different. Braden has a great sense of humor so we decided it should be something fun. My next hurdle was making a cake with B in the house. I like to surprise the kids by not letting them see the process until the finished product is ready. Sometimes that is easier said than done. This time I had to wait until the family moved outside to play with fireworks to sneak in baking time. Something I've learned along the way is that no cake is ever without crisis. Be it your favorite fondant turning out funky or the mysterous cracked rolling pin broken by that pest named "not me" and his brother "I don't know." This time it was my own fault though... I had forgotten that I...

Computers are funny things. Computer software to be exact. Years ago when I first started designing for my Cafepress store Believing In You , I used a downloaded version of Printmaster. It was obsolete but it was getting the job done. Recently, I decided to upgrade the program through the Broderbund site, not because I don't have better programs, but because all my design templates were already in a Printmaster file type. Easier right? Sure. That is until the big computer meltdown of '09. Getting my designs, my fonts, and my program back have been a series of firey rings to jump through, but today I finally got it all back in working order (with special thanks to my hubs - the in residence computer whiz - for helping). All so that I could create two designs. I have been wanting to add Vampire Diva and Werewolf Diva designs to my line since last year and have finally gotten it done. I probably could have re-created them a year ago, but having to do the work to find my origina...

Two days ago I posted on my facebook wall that I was done being creative for the day and was going outside to play. Funny thing about going outside to play… it usually gives me more work to do in the form of photos to edit. (-: The kids and I went to Lucia Falls and Moulton Falls Park, which were both beautiful and relatively empty of people. The water was cold but not as cold as you might expect for mountain run off in June. However, not warm enough to swim. And it’s all fun and games until someone falls in the river. In this case it was the little guy who now has a battle wound in the form of a scraped knee and a new story to add to his collection of adventures. Several new shots, one scraped knee, a mile or two of hiking and lots of laughs add up to a pretty good afternoon.

Traveling to Goldendale, WA or through the Columbia River Gorge anytime for that matter always extends a wide array of beautiful things to capture with my camera. It's rare that I come home with less than 100 shots and often have a really hard time choosing which I love best. This time was no different. Along with the amazing wild flowers, we also wandered around in wind turbine country which was cool and creepy all at the same time. A bit into our drive we stumbled across an old wagon that was nestled in the corner of a pasture down a side road. Here are a few of my favorite shots, some of which will be available on Etsy.

End of the t-ball season is here. We had a party yesterday and the kids got trophies, pictures and pizza. Lots of fun! After much deliberating  with Tagen about cupcake ideas and changing our minds several times, we settled on easy, which turned out to be anything but. But I did learn how to paint cookies which I'm positive I'll do again in the very near future. In the end the cupcakes turned out cute and I am in search of a new buttercream recipe.

As I wait for the cupcakes to bake, I thought I would upload some of my previous cake and cupcake pictures. Here are some of my favorites...

My world is a never-ending creative work in progress. Whether I'm taking pictures, making a cake, painting, there is always some (or many) projects I'm working on and while I've always documented them through social media but I've decided to put them all into one place. Inspiration for other multi-passionate creators. Whimsical by Shelley, the name, is pretty self explanatory. Over the years I've repeatedly heard "pick a niche" or  "I hear you are that creative girl, what are you working on now?"  That's me. No niche is sometimes a good niche. I have stores for my photography and one for everything else. Both are growing.  Whimsical by Shelley Photography  & Mass Whimsical Gifts and Printables My next project is cupcakes for my 5 year old's end of the baseball season party. After a bit of research and changing my mind a dozen times on what to do, I think I've settled on a plan. To be continued.... (-: