Aunt Mayme's Attic

One of the things I love the most about my online shop, Aunt Mayme’s Attic, is the opportunity to stretch my creativity.  Sometimes I get hurried, realizing that my shop is a little empty, and I get busy to make a bunch of things. I tell myself that I “need to get XXX amount of items done by XXX” in order to feel fulfilled.  Oh, the insanity!

But once in a great, great while, a small voice kicks in and says “Make something creative”, and I am given this opportunity to do something totally creative without a lot of rush involved.  The planning, the ideas, the steps—the “All that it is”.  I’m sure you creatives can feel this.  It’s a sense of fulfillment that can’t be compared to anything else.

So it was with my Hippie Chic Laptop Tote Bag.

When I purchased the vintage pillow sham that the tote is made from, I knew right away what it would be, how it would look and all that went with it.  I just needed the time to slow my mind down and do it.  That small voice kept encouraging me, giving me the space I needed to create, and come up with something that I felt was my “Aunt Mayme’s Attic Flagship Piece”.

So a while back, I had that chance.  Possibly some of you have read the tutorial I created when I was making this.  It was more of an online journal through a creative journey that I was experiencing.  In case if you didn’t, you can read the journey here:  Pink Laptop Tote  And I knew the amount of love and time that went into it would hopefully call for a fair price. The materials were quite expensive (suede leather handles aren’t cheap!)  and I kept my labor quite low.  Too low, I must admit, because it took a little over four hours to make, with the design, planning, obtaining materials, embellishments and sewing it all.

Well, I posted it with a price, half worrying if someone would think my work was good enough to purchase, and the other half thinking it was priced too high.  What price is creativity?   Although it took a while, I wasn’t in a hurry to sell it and felt that the “right person” would come along at the right time and when they did, I’d be willing to let it go.  Just a few days ago, that person came along.

It’s a little bittersweet to think this will be no longer near me.  It held such meaning for me, such creativity and every single piece of it bears my heart and soul.  There is no other!  I do have another sham and could try to replicate it, but something is always lost when that is done.  Have you ever tried to copy something that was so perfect the first time, and yet when you did, you knew it was a little “less than”?  I know I have.  It’s something in our hearts that say “Hold onto this a little longer, as it will go away”.

But all is not to cry about!  There is a “silver lining” behind this “cloud”.  I am shipping it to the buyer who not only lives in the state of my homeland, the county of my homeland, the town of my homeland, but also is about 12 miles from where I grew up!

Now, could this have been any more perfect?  So this encourages me to slow down more, expand my creativity and just be at peace with what I do.  And let The Universe do the rest.