6-29-08 - Well, no new and fancy blog location yet as I can't seem to find time to get it all nice and pretty for you all. So, you will have to learn to love this little one here for the time being. 

There are SO MANY NEW things in the store now. And that's not even including the totally wonderful note cards that I've been working on... even ones that can be personalized with your name. Orale! Once those little babies have been photographed, then I can offer them to you. I really think you'll like them.  Oh, and for those who place orders this summer, I might even through in a sample of those personalized note cards for you to check out.  So order something today?  On a personal and rather sad note, my tia Virginia passed away a little over a week ago. I loved her dearly and grew up being told I was just like her. For so long we called her Auntie V but for the longest time when I was little, I was saying Aunt TV and wondered why we called her a TV.  She always bought us the super-sugary cereals like Count Chocula and Boo Berry when we visited her in Silver City. I used to giggle to say Piggly Wiggly, the name of the store she worked at for so many years. She never married nor had children but treated me and my brothers like her own. I love her very much and will miss her even more. She traveled so much throughout her life and it looks like she's continuing to journey. Tell your loved ones you love them... while you can. Life is too short to keep it to yourself!

Abrazos!

4-10-08 - How do you know if you're on the right track when you can't make up your mind which direction you want to go.  I really want to make VL a one-stop shop for goodies with a sabor Latino (Latino flavor).  I've been seeking out cosas (things) made by or designed by Latino artists or with the aforementioned sabor.  I've found some new goods and will be adding them as soon as they arrive.  I'm really excited about this since now there's more for your shopping pleasure and, honestly, less that I will have to personally make. Time is in such shortage right now that I've been worried about keeping up. But all is good.

This leads me back to the "right track" mentioned earlier...  I have a deep love of paper and paper goods. It actually puts my fabric addiction to shame. I've been working on a gift wrap and paper goods line (think gift bags, tags, invites, favors and even paper ware like plates, napkins and the sort).  I've come to find this also takes a lot of time. Sourcing printers (preferably those using recycled, tree-free and environmentally friendly processes) and working out design and/or art acquisition is not easy stuff.  So herein lies my conundrum...which venture should I put my most energy into. I love both. Do I have to choose?  Can I do both...and still be decent mom...and still pay the bills?

3-25-08 - It's amazing how long it takes to make updates as well as keeping up with orders and looking for more business...especially with a new baby in the house. My newest little man was born a couple days before Christmas and I'm still trying to get a work schedule worked out, especially added to the schedule needs of  two other kids. But all is good and I'm working on some really cool stuff for babies (gee, wonder where that inspiration came from) and collage handbags. I will be moving this blog to an outside site soon to facilitate quicker updates. More information to come...stay tuned.

8-1-07 - So there was this terrible I-can't-keep-my-eyes-open to make stuff time going on for a while. I mean, my bod was trying to fall asleep whenever I stood still for more than a second.  Well, the mystery was solved when I found out that... yup... I'm pregnant with munchkin #3!!!  Yikes!  But, I must admit it felt good to have a reason for the exhaustion and weight gain... and have it not be something goofy like a thyroid issue.  So, we're expecting this little "jefe" December 27th.  And, in honor of trying to keep as healthy as possible during this time, I'm cutting back on the production of items that have toxic elements to them during production (i.e. resin, soldering, industrial glues). So, I have instead been working on a lot of goodies using fabric, acrylic paint and decoupage medium. I think you'll like what I've come up with.  There are a lot of new items on the site and I'm now on the hunt for others like myself who may want to consign their goodies... Less for me to make, more cool stuff for me to offer you. Sounds like a good plan to me. Orale! 

4-1-07 - Time is at a premium and I find that the less time I have to do all I want to accomplish, the more crazy I feel inside. That's one reason behind me scaling back on the products I make myself and looking to carry more goods designed and made by others. So, hopefully new item from other artists/crafters/designers will be available here. In all honesty, that's what Vista Latina was supposed to be from day one. 

6-12-06 - I''m almost freakin' done with the site redo. I worked hard on it this past weekend, literally falling asleep at my keyboard in the wee hours of the morning (yeah, the last page I worked on at that point was a mess!). Now I've been getting a lot inquiries regarding wholesale and while I'm also working on  "secret" wholesale pages with pricing and online ordering for those interested folks, that is still a week or two from completion. So those of you to whom that applies, please be patient with the "old fashioned" order system of email, fax or phone call.

6-1-06 - I've discovered a fantastic site:  pandora.com. It's a site built based on the catagoization that was done under the Music Genome--where over 10,000 songs are catagorized by genre, musicality, tonality, and the like. You enter the song or artist you like and create a "station" where you listen to selections from other bands that you may enjoy based on the song or artist you created the station for.  It's great!!

3-14-06 - Egads! I finally switched web hosts!  What a mess. Finally getting most of the kinks ironed out with existing design but can't wait to get cleaner design up soon.  Actually, I'd love to hire an "expert" to design something really delicious but that's money that's earmarked for equipment and printing.  Alas.

12-3-05 - Where the heck has the year gone. I've keeping VERY busy with a bunch of orders. It's fantastic and exhausting at the same time. I've been making everything as ordered and it's been a challenge to keep up. But, I'm getting better and faster at making the goodies everyone is ordering. I've also been filling multiple orders for a wonderful museum in Puerto Rico and that is very exciting. It's great to know that my little creations are literally across the country, and with eBay sales in Europe and Australia, I love to be able to say that I sell globally. Okay, now if someone in Iceland or Nimibia would just place an order... just kidding.

I'm working on a bunch of new products. Being human, I get bored too of doing the same thing over and over so I've come up with new stuff for 2006. Along with items I'm creating, I'm working on getting other creators to consign their items here. More fun stuff for customer's enjoyment and more exposure for crafters/artists that don't have a big audience yet but should. Win, win!

8-12-05 - The updates have been posted to the site. So many new things...still too little time to make everything. there has been quite a lot of activity via eBay and I'm grateful for that. It's allowed me to reach out so much further into the cyber ether. I'm needing to take this venture to the next level if I ever hope to pay my bills with it. I'm calling on local stores and maybe some not-so-local stores to see if I can get some of my babies onto their shelves. Pray for me. I am also needing to get into trade shows but I don't know when I can realistically pull that magic off. (Oops, ended that sentence with a preposition!) Anywhooooooo...

7-22-05 - YEAH! My baby girlie is ONE year old today! Happy Birthday angel girl!

6-18-05 - Geez! Where on eBay can I purchase more hours in a day! I could really use them. I've been scrambling to get site updated and between all my others endeavors, including putting a lot of stuff up for sale on eBay. Thanks to the hubby for all his work in doing the listings and other such management (can we say slave labor?), I just don't have enough time. I've come to the conclusion that eating takes up a lot of precious time during the day. If I could figure out how to get around it, then I'd so much extra time to create new things that I'd be crazy with happiness. Okay, maybe not that extreme.

1-10-05 - Survived the holidays and I'm looking forward to getting more of the fun stuff I've been making onto this site. I wish I could get a sample of everything I make for the art shows I attend but then this site would be crazy huge. And as it is, I can't seem to keep up with what's already here.

11-26-04 - Well, it's been quite a while since this update but I'm happy to report that my newest "mini me" made it into the world perfect and healthy. She weighed in at 8 lbs. even with peach fuzz for hair. My mom tells me I didn't start off gifted in the hair department either but I have crazy thick hair now so there's hope for my little cue ball. As for my endeavors since her birth, I've been adjusting to having two little darlins' around and it's definitely more of a challenge this time around since my 3-yr-old needs more attention now that baby is getting so much. But, he's a great big-brother. And, she's a happy, easy baby. Whew! Thank goodness.

It's now into the last laps of holiday gift making and in some cases buying. I've joined a holiday card exchange so I best be getting those cards made and into the mail! I can't wait to receive my share.

07-11-04 - I'm on the final countdown to baby #2. Please, everyone pray that I go into labor NOW! I am so ready to be done. It's hot and sticky here in lovely little Tucson with the onset of the monsoons. Here I am at 3am working on updating some stuff on this site because it's the coolest part of the day and my grumpy potential is at its lowest. Keep a lookout for some new cool purses, wallets and check book covers I'm making and will be adding to the site soon. I'm really excited about them!

05-25-04 - I'm as big as a house and I still have 2 months to go until the baby comes. I'm working on trying to get my products into more retail locations to offset what I'm not doing in the way of arts/crafts shows. I hope that I'm able to find success with that approach. Oh, and in case I haven't already mentioned it, I'm now a Mary Kay Consultant so if you're looking for a consultant or just want to find out how to best take care of the skin God gave you, get in touch with me and I can help you out. You can order 24/7 via my Mary Kay website at www.marykay.com/saharms or call me at (520) 721-4722. Free shipping in the continental US and cool free gifts with purchases over $40. Shameless plug? Yes, of course.

04-03-04 - I just did a craft show a few days ago and it wiped me out. Being 6 months pregnant can really wear on body. I'm starting to work on the gift wrap line so if anyone has connections to a printer that can handle such items, please refer them to me!

03-18-04 - MARATHON UPDATING GOIN' ON! I've added a whole mess of stuff to the site. Yes, I've been a busy little beaver and burning the midnight oil. I want to get this update done before the end of today and before I leave for four days to San Diego to attend a Mary Kay career conference. Yes, I also market Mary Kay... 'cuz I just don't have enough to do with Vista Latina and a two-year-old. (Sense the sarcasm?). No, I just want to make sure I can continue to dictate my schedule with my son and soon-to-arrive daughter. But, ya know, if you folks would buy lots of stuff from either enterprise, then I could maybe cut it down to one job. Just a thought. Well, blessings to all.

03-03-04 - I'm going to be slimming down on the number of outdoor arts/crafts shows I attend from now through the end of summer as I am expecting baby #2 (a girl due July 22) and can't really handle all the schlepping. But to make sure I still have a retail presence other than this site, I have rented space in the Creative Ventures craft mall at 522 N. 4th Avenue in Tucson. There one can find a nice assortment of the jewelry, note cards, home accessories, switch plate covers, journals and trinket boxes I usually carry in my crafts booths. These items will soon be on the website as well.

01-24-04 - Today has been a very sad day for me and my hubby. We had to say "good bye" to my baby, Kolbie. She was my "baby dog" that I've had almost all of my adult life. The poor soul became afflicted with a spinal tumor that rendered her hind legs useless for the most part. We tried her on steroids to see if they would have any miraculous affect but alas, they didn't do enough. There was the option of perhaps major back surgery but that would have been so terrible for her at her age (14) and still no guarantee that she would regain use of her legs. We could see that everyday that went on and with repeated pee accidents on the carpet, something that horrified and embarrassed Kolbie as she was normally careful never to make a mess, she was becoming more and more sad. We couldn't subject her to any more frustration and what seemed like depression on her part so we did the best thing we could think of... we euthanized her. She was my first baby and I took her everywhere with me. She was such a wonderful creature and I and my husband will miss her dearly. My only consolation now is knowing that she is no longer suffering and that I will get to see her again someday when it's my time to join her. God bless her. God blessed me for lending her to me...

01-01-04 - FELIZ AN~O NUEVO! HAPPY NEW YEYAR! Jeez! Where the heck have I been? Swamped in craft shows and farmers markets and coming up with A LOT of new stuff. I got nifty new digital camera so now I can get my new creations and those fun things I've found from other artists and publishers up on the site within a short period of time. Finally! I've also been working on a physical retail location and thought I had found a great place (cute, located amongst other artists and CHEAP). But, as I did more thinking I realized that I really needed to heed the most important points in selecting a retail location: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Chiche? Yes, but important and especially in a town like Tucson where it's difficult to market to a generally thrifty customer base. I'm constantly asked where me "regular store" is when I'm at outdoor markets and therefore feel that with the right location, planning and financing, I can make a little place of my own a viable concern. But everything in its own good time.

12-16-03 - Whew! I'm exhausted! Did the street fair and had good sales. But, I must admit, if I had to fork out the full space fee, I would have made a paltry amount. So, I'm mixed on whether I'd do it again with the same line up of products I sold. I'll have to give it more thought.

12-10-03 - I'm scramblin' to make mucho for the upcoming 4th Avenue Street Fair (Dec. 12-14). This street fair occurs twice a year (late Fall and Spring) and is a big deal here in Tucson. I've got a chance to set up a booth (thanks Craig @ Creative Ventures) and hope the experience is a good one. I'm a little torn about doing this winter's fair 'cuz the Bizarre Bazaar West is happening on the 14th in Los Angeles and I REALLY, REALLY wanted to be a vendor there. But, I really can't pass up the chance to try out the Street Fair.

06-25-03 - Well, I finally have a few items available to order. Shopping cart still in the works. I've also been crazy busy helping to put together a craft show in Tucson that will take place October 3-4. It's called The Desert Peddler Boutique and will hopefully go off well.

05-10-03 - Hoping to go "live" soon, even if I haven't worked out the issue of a shopping cart. Having to learn web design along with starting and trying to grow a business can be a bit overwhelming. Especially when my boss, my 19-month-old little man had other designs on my time and attention.

01/05/03 - I'd have to say that the website construction, or rather re-construction could not possibly go any slower if I actually tried to do so. I stay up late working on it and on making products to offer the world and wonder, how the heck did I get here. Well, it can all be blamed on paper, or rather, my love of it. Just ask my husband how much of this fire hazard I have around. And it is this love of paper that lead me to seek out stationary and gift wrap that had a Latin flavor to it, Mexican or otherwise. I found a couple of things, and I mean a couple. But, that definately wasn't enough. So, I started hunting high and low for stuff that would feed my need and as I collected the various resources (after countless hours of web surfing, driving around and faxing all over the Americas) I decided that I should bring them all together in one place and make them available to others. I just knew that I couldn't be the only person out there that would like to find notecards, giftwrap and the like that reflected Latinos and their art, customs and even kitcsh. So, Vista Latina was born. Due to a serious lack of funds, I started making some things myself and kept that wish list of items that I wanted to order from various vendors on the back burner. In the zest of making products myself, I sidetracked a bit from the stationary and giftwrap and have also ventured into jewelry, soap, magnets and various other objects de arte. So, it's now Vista Latina has a little bit of everything... but no kitchen sinks.