Summer Arts, Music, and Rain Festival

All of the late nights and hard work came to an end last weekend when the much anticipated Summer Arts and Music Festival took place along a winding river in the redwoods.  And for the first time in over 20 years of the festival's history, it rained all weekend!

Still, Cara Mia Bella was there with a mini-gallery and card shop.  My sister was there with her skills in promotion and business, and together we did our best to spread sunshine on a rainy day.  These photos were taken when the sun briefly shone its face.

There were 3 stages of eclectic music and over 150 arts and crafts vendors. We had the good fortune of being right next to one of the stages, so we enjoyed live music the entire time.

 I played the role of saleswoman with grace and ease (which is saying a lot for this usually introverted hermit artist!).  I knew that the only way to make up for the rain was to do my best, and so I put everything into shining and selling.  And even though the selling didn't match what I expected, the networking surpassed anything I thought I could accomplish.  I connected with some really great people who may open new and prosperous doors for Cara Mia Bella!

After the festival, I needed a week to unpack, organize, clean up, and give my family some much needed attention.  Now, I am ready to jump back in to blogging, Paint Party Friday this week, and adding lots of new products to my Etsy shop, as well as visiting all of my great blog friends that I've missed over the last few weeks. I have this experience under my belt, and I feel confident in my moving forward with business and art.  The secret to getting it all done is organizing and scheduling...and staying positive through it all.  After all, the rainbow comes after the rain...