HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hi everyone

First of all, I would like to wish my Blog followers and readers, my Twitter and Facebook friends a very Happy New Year - I hope 2012 is very successful for all of us.

Well, here we are: 2012.  Remember how at the beginning of the century we were all panicked into thinking weird and wonderful things would happen the second the clocks ticked over to 1 January 2000?  Hard to believe we are now 12 years into the 'new' century - and wondering where the time has gone.  I feel I have achieved a lot during that time and especially during 2011 - I gave up my permanent job to devote my time, full-time, to Christmas Pie Crafts.  I also gave it up because my 'day job' had become overwhelming and very stressful and my life seemed to belong to it 24 hours a day from September to July of each year.  The work/life balance almost didn't exist.

Mentally I still seem to be working in 'terms' and after 20 years in education I am sure it will take a while to get out of the frame of mind.  I think the first term was spent doing lots of things that I hadn't planned to do and very little of what I had planned to do.  However, I have enjoyed it and most of all spending time with Richard (normally we were ships that passed in the night) and with friends as well - I have had the time to go on Pamper Days, theatre visits and lunches and it has been great.  Best of all has been going out on evenings when for 20 years I have been teaching - I felt really guilty!  I think I only realised how much my life had changed when Tuesday of this week arrived - the beginning of the Spring term - and I didn't have to get up before the crack of dawn and rush into work to teach, with no time to prepare my lessons.  Yipeeeeee.

I haven't been completely idle over the last week or so though, as I have started my website (as mentioned in my recent post) and I am pleased with my progress so far.  I have decided what my new ranges will be and have begun working on them and also photographing them ready for my website.  Once I have everything in place, I will announce the publication date on here and will also be giving a Blog gift and a Website gift away in the first week of 'going live', so stick with me as you could get something from one of my new ranges.

I have decided to add new ranges to Christmas Pie Crafts as I feel that cards alone are perhaps rather limited.  I love card-making and will continue to make and sell them - in fact one of my new ranges will be card-making workshops, so if you live in the Guildford area and would like to join one of my groups, please contact me as I am hoping to run the first one at the end of January.  I have several other new items that I am adding to the Christmas Pie Craft business and I am really excited about them.  I have based my decisions on looking at what sells at events I have attended over the last year, plus what family and friends have said they buy and like about handmade.  So as well as wishing everyone an amazing 2012, I am hopeful that mine will be absolutely fandabydoozee.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone - I will be back with my usual Sunday evening blog post.

Jill