Missed it by that much...

Four votes. I was four votes behind the crafter who took the final spot in the contest.  I won't lie, I was sad and bummed for a little while.  But I've processed the disappointment and come away with three things.

1- I am glad I entered. It was a big step for me to put myself out there to face possible rejection. Which happened. And guess what? I survived. My family still loves me. I still have talent and abilities, and a strong drive to craft and create to express my artistic side. My life is still going pretty darn good. I learned that a rejection doesn't change the core of who I am and what I have going for me.  Whew, that's a relief...

2- While participating in the contest would have been a lot of fun, it would also have been a lot of pressure. I was a bundle of nerves last week! I don't know that I would have been very much fun to be around for the next 10 weeks if I had made it.  A good reminder that I am not really a person who enjoys that part of competition. Some people thrive on it, some not so much. Still, even knowing that, I wouldn't say no if an opportunity to participate in a different one came my way.

3- Getting my audition piece ready and thinking about projects for specific themes really got my creative juices flowing again. I have a couple of projects that I was getting ready for if I made it that I will still post a little later on. I also looked around my craft room at the sheer number of projects that are already being worked on, and decided that this would be a good time for me to do a little contest all on my own.  A while back I set myself a goal to finish one project a day for a month. This wasn't too realistic given the fact that I have three children and a husband who think they need to eat multiple times a day and have things like clean sock in the drawers and clean towels in the cupboard...  So I am going to try for a better balance by going for one sewing project and one knitting project finished each week.  And if I get a extra one or two done, then great!

3.a- I am also not going to buy any more fabric or yarn until I have done this for at least one month.  I was thinking of committing to that stipulation for the whole summer... but again, I am trying to be realistic about it.

Thanks to everyone who voted for me. I really do appreciate the support. If crafting blogs are at all your thing you should follow the contest, or check it out from time to time, so many talented people with so many fun ideas! Oh yes, mine was the rainbow dress for anyone who didn't already guess that, although I was told repeatedly that the back of Evie's head is very recognizable...

At least Evie will be able to wear her new dress on Sunday. It's been killing her that I wouldn't let her for the past two weeks.