Monday, June 26, 2017

2017 Update

Dearest Loves,

Blogging is a curious thing.  It follows Newton's laws of physics, apparently.  When I have been blogging daily, I can update more easily.  When I stop, it gets harder to get back to it.  Well.  I shall do what I do best, and that is TRY TRY AGAIN.

It's been at least a year since I let you in on the plots and schemes of my journey into the world of self-employment and following my dreams.  It's been a rough road, as often happens to dreamers.  But the hard work is always worth it.  The harder I work, the happier I have become, and I do like the growth.  Change of any kind is not easy or simple, and I've had my share of sadistically strained blood pressure levels, headaches, and disappointments.  However, I'm seeing success break through, like a tiny flower bud in the spring, pushing up through the soil (or cracks in concrete) a little at a time and with steadfast determination.

So what's new with Lucy Jane?

I've expanded my online presence beyond the Etsy shop, for one thing.  You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and here again, now that I've got things rolling.  I have a hashtag on Twitter you can follow: #beingLucyJane (or #beinglucyjane, I think both are commonly used in my comments and conversations).  But more importantly than the brand expansion, I've been adding new Funky Friends Factory creations to Lucy Jane's regular offerings.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.













As always, if you want to order your own, please don't hesitate to contact me via any of the many channels I've just described! I can't wait to hear from you! :)

More soon.  Right now I have to get back to the cutting table and the sewing machine.

Love,
Lucy Jane

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Hello Again!

My dear readers, fans, customers, friends,

After a 2.5 year absence, I am so pleased to announce that Lucy Jane Pennybright is back!!!!  The Etsy store has new listings, with more coming as soon as I can complete them; the website will be getting some much needed and much appreciated IT support and a makeover; and finally, new and wonderful Funky Friends Factory plushies are being sewn up and will be looking for loving homes in a short, short time!

The long silence has at last been broken.
I'm so glad to be back.  I have missed you all.

Stay tuned for many and various updates as they happen!
Thanks so much for all of your love and support!!!

Love,
Lucy Jane

Friday, February 1, 2013

And The Winner Is...

Good Morning!  And welcome to February!  I am so happy to meet all of you who have stopped by from the Grow Your Blog party!  I haven't made it to all of the blogs I want to visit, but I will over time.  Over 30 of you entered my giveaway!  Wow!

I'll get right to the good stuff:









Bernadett Rauski of the blog Petite Armoire!

Congratulations, Bernadett!  I will be contacting you for your mailing address!
Thanks to everyone who entered, and don't worry if you didn't win this time- there are other giveaways coming very soon!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Look Who Is New!

I wanted to share this sweet girl for Valentine's Day coming up!  Isn't she wonderful?!


The first one was a custom order that is done and delivered, but there are plenty more where that came from!  I've just listed her in the Etsy shop and am headed back to work on things Irish and Spring themed! I'm also going to be making my way around all of the wonderful blogs in the GYB party! Lots of thunder storms moving through the area today and tomorrow, so it's perfect weather to grab a cup of tea and catch up with you all!

Love,
Lucy Jane

Saturday, January 19, 2013

A Blog Party, A Giveaway, and News!

Hi, all!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  I've been super busy, so I didn't get to post like I'd wanted to, but now that the Holiday Hype is behind us, I hope to get into a better/regular posting schedule.

It's hard to believe that next month will be my 2 year blogaversary!  As I look back, I am SO thankful for everyone's love and support.  This adventure was begun in the midst of a stormy season of personal life, and while I didn't meet all of the goals I had hoped to by this point, there have been a LOT of successes and MUCH growth!  Looking forward, I am doubly as thankful for the love and encouragement and I appreciate each one of you more than I can say!  The adventure is still only beginning!   There are so many good things on the road ahead! :)

Starting with this!


I want to invite you to join in on this FABULOUS blog party, hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags Full.  She is one of the most amazing people I have ever gotten to know through the blogosphere!  If you are visiting from the party, WELCOME and thanks for visiting!  Let me know you are a new follower so I can follow you, too!

How about a Giveaway?! (Sorry for the less-than-stellar photos- I was using my phone's camera.)



This powder blue scarf I crocheted in super soft Homespun® yarn is just in time for the wintery weather! (Unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere, but then you can still use it in just a few months, right?) :)  The doll is about 10" high and I used some of my absolute favorite cotton fabric for her outfit.
Leave a comment for a chance to win them both!  The drawing will be held on Feb. 1st.  Best of luck!

I'm headed back to work in the studio now.  There are so many Funky Friends to be sewn today and all next week!  I have my eye on adding new listings to the Etsy shop within a fortnight, and also getting up some stock for spring festivals.  They will be here before you know it!  So. Much. To. Do!

Thanks again for stopping by!
Love and Blessings,
Lucy Jane

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Couple of "Aha" Moments

It's been interesting, the past few months, coming to the end of some chapters and starting new ones.  Here are some rather profound thoughts that flashed across my brain that I wanted to share with you all...

I borrowed the most recent The Three Musketeers (2011) from the library and was not so much watching it, as frequently and compulsively pausing it and running it frame by frame so that I could study the costumes and their various trims, materials and contours.  Soooo pretty.  (And that's just Athos...)  I realized that should I ever come into a large sum of money, I would spend absolutely ALL of my time constructing period film replicas out of silks and brocades and then I realized, that's probably why I'm not wealthy (yet), is because the Lord in His wisdom knew once I went into a fully equipped costume studio, you lot would likely never see me again! ;)

I finally know what I want to be when I grow up (I can hear you all in a collective and very sarcastic "NO, really?!") but it wasn't always so clear, and anyway, even if you know what you want the end result to be, that's still a far cry from knowing the steps you have to take to actually get to that point, right?  Right.  So I finally have begun to wrap my brain around some of that and I figured out that achieving my dreams will mean giving up living debt free for a little while.  I paid a high price (not just monetarily, but emotionally and etc as well) to get myself out of credit card debt some years ago.  Recent events have forced me back in just a little (not to credit cards, thank heaven, but to family), but the education required to acquire the skills I will need to get the career that I so desperately desire will throw me back into the deep end of owing people money, and I am balking at that like a toddler getting their school immunization shots.  It's got to be done for the greater good, but I DON'T WANNA!  Factoring in tuition, gas money, materials, books and other general expenses, my degree is going to come with a doozy of a price tag.  I realized what else could be done with an equal sum.  There are the obvious things.  Buy a small house outright.  A couple of brand new luxury cars.  But I could travel to England on that.  And stay for an entire summer.  I could get myself and 99 of my closest friends into Dragon*Con with $900 spending cash each.  Or one could also buy 25,000 frappuccinos from Starbucks (close to 69 years worth, if you bought one a day).  If you're a Sci-fi fan, you can even own the Stargate from the SG1 series for that.  Of course, the cost for school isn't going to come all at once.  It will be spread out over 4 or 5 years-ish.  Still.  It's daunting.  There are grants and scholarships, of course.  I plan to find every single one of those that I can.  This is doable, and I will see it done.

As much as I want to go to the premier of first Hobbit movie in costume, it's 3 weeks out and I am nowhere near happy with my current design/materials.  I have decided that this will be much more worth the wait to postpone until next fall (Dragon*Con/Halloween) or even until the big finale third film is released.  This "Aha" moment was bittersweet, because it means not working like mad to get the outfit done by year's end, but all told, I feel really good about shuffling it to a later date so that it will get the time and attention (and therefore quality) that it deserves.  I've moved up a couple of Regency ideas in its place, the sales of which would afford better materials for the Hobbit dress.  Yes, that's a much wiser way to go.  I did come up with something BRILLIANT for the hobbit feet, though.  Short of how they made them for the film(s), of course.  (I don't have access to those quantities of prosthetic latex and molds, yak hair and spirit gum.)

That's about all for now.  I'm back in the studio doing some Christmas orders for the Etsy shop and figuring out some next steps all the way round.  Stay warm and cozy as the weather gets colder, my dears.  I'll see you again soon.
Love,
Lucy Jane

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Warm and Cozy: A Tutorial

I know you thought this would be a post on how to SEW something warm.  Like a coat or blanket or scarf or other some such thing.  But it isn't. Though I have had my eye on learning to make a (toasty warm) Victorian era wool coat with faux fur cuffs and collar at some point.  So much to make; simply not enough lifetimes.  What was I saying?  Oh, yes.  No, this isn't a sewing post.  It's about how to make your own cup of warm chocolatey yumminess in 5 minutes or less! :)

Grab the following:

  • Your favorite mug
  • A packet of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate
  • A kettle of hot water
  • A spoon
  • 20-ish mini marshmallows
  • A can of Redi-whip
  • A jar of chocolate sprinkles
Step 1:
Pour the Hot Chocolate packet into the mug.  Pour hot water over it, leaving about an inch space at the top of the mug.  Stir with spoon until well mixed.


Step 2: Top with mini marshmallows.


Step 3: Make the Redi-whip do that "PPPQQQUUUIIIISSHHHHHH" noise and give yourself a generous glob of whipped cream.  Sprinkle the sprinkles.


And there you have it!  600 calories of chocolate goodness that will warm you to your toesies!