Guess what I am celebrating?

Hello internet friends,

Life is full of ups and downs, am I right? We have our good days and our bad days. For me, today is a very good day and I'll tell you why in a minute. But first, I want to talk about is how we cope when we have our bad days.

Some people drink and I'm not saying you shouldn't. (you shouldn't) Some people take drugs and I'm saying you shouldn't. (you really shouldn't) Some people rant on facebook. (um...) Well, what I'm saying is there are many ways in which people cope with difficult situations and I want to tell you that there is one way, and it's a good one, which has helped me time and time again.

The past few months have been rough for me. I had to deal with a situation in my real life which I wasn't equipped for. I'm not going to deny that I didn't cope with it badly at first. I over thought, over worried, over obsessed and many times I just kept dwelling on the negatives. Whoever came up with the saying "there is nothing to fear but fear itself" sure knew what he was talking about! Oh, how I feared. I no longer knew what to think, how to think. I lost my confidence and I mostly felt sad a lot. Then one day I was sitting in a coffee shop with a cup of tea (2 teaspoons of sugar, no milk) and I had a big giant cry. I wasn't even prepared to cry so I had no tissue on me. But it was a really gut wrenching cry and good thing it was anonymous because no one I knew was at the coffee shop so I need not assure anyone I was alright. Anyway, on reflection, I thought it was a good, necessary cry because after blowing my snot all over my sleeves, I went home and asked myself, what next?

Which turned out to be a very good question to ask because I decided what next would be to make my bags because I was done crying. I started out making something I had made many times before - I think it was a sling bag. You know, something familiar and not too much thinking required? After I had made the sling bag, I made a clutch. After I had made the clutch, I made a zipper sling bag. I put my energy and soul in my bag making and suddenly I realised I didn't feel so sad anymore. I had energy and I stopped fearing so much. (yes, I still fear a little but not overwhelmingly so)

I'm not saying making bags will make your problems disappear. My problems remained but I changed. I became calmer, less hysterical, softer even and mostly, I could think clearly. And when I could think clearly, I was able to handle my problems better. I guess it did me good when I channeled all my focus into something that required a lot of detailed attention. There's something so magical when you create, especially with your hands. From pieces of fabric, you make a bag. Of course the same magic could happen if you do other creative stuff like quilting, beading (my next favourite), painting, drawing, bookbinding, etc. So listen, give it a try. The next time you feel the blues, create something. Don't know what to create? You could always make a bag using my bag patterns. <cough cough>

And here comes the sales pitch.

Oh, I was going to share some good news with you. I just discovered I have hit 500 sales at my Etsy shop. It has really taken me such a long time to hit this figure that I am so delirious with happiness. So much so that in my delirium, I created a coupon ILOVEJANE50 (all caps) for a 50% discount in my Etsy shop. (coupon expires on November 13th 2013 - it's Etsy time so I don't know which timezone that is) I have a total of 9 patterns to my name now so it shouldn't be hard to find something to suit you. My patterns are mostly for beginners and what great timing with Christmas round the corner. Use this coupon while you can because I know I'm never going to be this generous again. Okay, maybe when I hit 1,000 sales but that's going to take a few more years.

p.s. just so you know I didn't come up with the sob story to get you guys to buy my patterns. it's straight from the heart and making bags has saved me many times. i hope it changes yours.