olive bites home of uncorked + polarity

choosy with choices - cut, concretize, categorize and condition

2012-01-26T08:17:00.001-05:00

I have been listening to a TED talk while eating lunch lately and really loved this one and thought I'd share it - my favorite line to take away may be "choices should mean something to the chooser and not the choice maker" - the studies shown also make it a good listen for makers ...

2012 Affirmation # 5 - if you can't be a good example ... at least be a warning.

2012-01-24T09:00:00.004-05:00

"learn to dance or the angels won't know what to do with you" ... saint augustine

I have been around the block a time or two.

(not in a bad way if you know what I mean and not in any way that involves running shoes and a water bottle - in fact if you see me running these days, it is pretty much guaranteed there is a large dog behind me or a small dog in front of me, but one way or the other it is pretty certain that a dog is involved somehow)

I have worked jobs with very long, stressful hours with alot of responsibility and headaches. I have had businesses that went places and some that went no place and all the work and craziness that was involved with all of that. But I was always able to separate my job title or business adventure from myself.

I was never really in it all the way.

And now I am.

In it all the way.

In a what you see is what you get, this gets so personal we know each other's underwear colors

(and styles - why do so many of us wear boyshorts?)

kind of way that is so terribly amazing and terribly rewarding and terribly exhausting.

So, I affirm we all give ourselves a break in 2012, take a little bit better care of ourselves (some of us alot better care of ourselves), dance a little more, work a little less and if we can't be a good example of what to do at least we can be a good example of what not to do

(this has always worked very well for me actually)

and maybe coax a few other makers to join us ....

* dance print by wallfry

** what I have learned this week about schizophrenia - alot - way too much to write about, but a very important thing is that schizophrenia often involves anosognosia which is a long scary word (doesn't it just look like a word you don't want to get to know, like the word chocolate, that one has always been trouble for me, too) for a person's inability to recognize or understand the nature of his illness, like with alzheimer's disease - it's not about denial - so interventions don't work, normal reasoning doesn't work and this little twist called "lack of insight" is like having the Himalayas between David and wellness.

the girl next door or you make a better door than you do a window or ... any song by Jim Morrison

2012-01-19T20:43:00.000-05:00

I read that people with white doors (front doors) are most likely to have a tidy house, abhor mesess and like a clean and clinical, modern decor whereas people with green doors tend toward the exact opposite aesthetic and even have a tendency to be hoarders.

(yes, I have a green front door but I only hoard the really important stuff like magazines from the year everyone in my family was born - yes, I mean everyone, unused 35mm film - you never know - used Mallomar boxes - I find they reseal very nicely, make handy little containers and seeing them makes me happy during the summer months when the cookies are gone from the grocery store shelves - it's the little things, folks)

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor? ... Mother Teresa

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door ... Ralph Waldo Emerson

When one door is closed, don't you know, another is open ... Bob Marley

Ten men waiting for me at the door?
Send one of them home, I'm tired ... Mae West

* for some reason the homegrown chaos has me obsessing over doors this week - the top picture is a door from an old hotel in Cape May that I snatched up to divide off my dining room (which is more of a dining nook actually) - the picture above is an old door, painted with an old bicycle shop logo that I have attached to an old white dresser (you might notice a few mistakes with the bicycle drawing - ack!)

xo =^..^=

putting the chiweagle controversy to bed once and for all ...

2012-01-16T15:55:00.002-05:00

Sooo ... anyhoo ... Olive has been anxious

(ie pacing the studio and pawing at the mouse)

for me to make this announcement - her DNA results are in!

You may remember that back in the day a certain unnamed, nontrusting family member accused Olive of fabricating her heritage when this photo
<----- appeared in a google image search. This is not Olive. This is Dottie.

Dottie is a Chiweagle (chihuahah/beagle) and since Olive has always claimed to be a Boggle (boston terrier/beagle) but looks more like Dottie than Olive's Boggle buddy Ruby - we were all left wondering ...

(plus she is always googling Paris Hilton when I forget to power down my laptop)

Not that we have any problem with chihuahahs or particular fondness for boston terriers - since our pre-Olive days were filled with labrador retrievers - but we just don't like to be played for fools here. I mean we, of course, would love her no matter what, but the number of bacon slices, playdates and woofpurr toys in her future has been hanging in the balance while we have been waiting on the results ...

Anyhoo, the official lab-certified results are in and Olive is (drumroll please) 45% Beagle, 45% Boston Terrier ... and 10% Australian Shephard.

So, Olive has been totally vindicated

(obviously, we have forgiven her for not mentioning her rascally Australian Shephard great grandpa since we all have one of those in our family trees and he most likely gave her that wild eyed look we love and Aussie accent)

and for everyone who has supported Olive during this controversial time- she wants me to tell you that your ~~hot naked man~~ fruit basket is in the mail!

boggle buddies 4ever (ruby and olive)

2012 Affirmations # 4 - there are no mistakes

2012-01-16T08:33:00.002-05:00

I once had an art teacher say, "allow chaos, knowing that order will eventually emerge".

Trust our instincts.

Release perfectionism and criticism; surrender to the process.

Follow the energy and keep adding to the energy.

Fearlessness is probably at the foundation of everything amazing that has ever been born - it doesn't mean recklessness and is maybe the opposite of recklessness. We learn to take responsibility for our choices. We learn our craft and practice it. We choose to be courageous and to open our hearts to life itself.

"the painting rises from the brush strokes as the poem rises from the words - the meaning comes later" ... joan miro

Affirming that there are no mistakes allows us to take risks that perfectionism would never allow. It allows something larger to express through us. We flow with the fierce urge to create, to make, to work with what is and allow it to express what could be.

The idea of "working with what is" and "allowing" are major themes in my life right now both professionally and personally - although I don't keep the two all that separate these days and trying to would probably create a Sybil-like alter ego

(maybe one named Dog who would figure this all out for me or maybe hubs would just have one more pooch to walk and Olive a little competition to kill her plushies quickly by ripping out their squeakers)

*jim morrison quote print above from sacred and profane

David came to our house from rehab this weekend. I have been watching hubs (a man predisposed by nature to say the wrong thing for the right reasons) struggle to say the right thing. Sometimes there are no right things. As I write this he has taken David to work with him for the day ... just holding in our hearts the words "the painting arises from the brushstrokes" and allowing ...

xo =^..^=

2012 Affirmations # 3 - Simplicity

2012-01-13T07:09:00.000-05:00

Simple and easy are not the same thing.

Easy is the instant solution - do this and you get that - the magic bullet - that isn't always so magical.

Simple is more organic. More complex. Simple is something we seek with our hearts as much as our heads.

This year I am affirming simplicity by making the choices to clear clutter (inner and outer), making the time to meditate (got off track over the holidays and felt the loss of grounding immediately) and making the things that are most meaningful to me a priority.

Simplicity is not about reducing ourselves to a smaller size - it is about clearing the clutter and chaos to create the space to grow into our true selves.

* beauty in simplicity print by bubby and bean

2012 Affirmations - # 2 relaxation

2012-01-12T08:58:00.001-05:00

"every now and then go away and have a little relaxation - to remain constantly at work will diminish your judgement - go some distance away because work will be in perspective" ... leonardo davinci

(some words of wisdom from the master)

A good affirmation for this might be - I take time away from my business and responsibilities. I take time to relax.

I take time for me.

* relax hand screened tee by jonnycobra

2012 Affirmations - faith builders for our reluctant minds - # 1 finding solutions by staying open

2012-01-11T14:07:00.001-05:00

I just re-started A Course in Miracles - some of you may be familiar with it. I took this course a few years ago, but like so much else in my life, it went unfinished, so I decided to start again from the beginning.

We also have some family drama which I have not really talked about on here. Some of you may have seen the video or heard the story about a homeless man being beaten up and the kids filming it and proudly putting his beating on youtube. It was all over the internet and television just before Christmas.

We even woke up one morning to see Anderson Cooper talking about it.

The man in the video is my husband's brother. He has been mentally ill, unmedicated, alcoholic, in and out of jail and homeless for decades. We had not seen him in many years.

My husband and I brought him to a rehab center in Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve for a 21 day program - he is being released on Saturday and at this point we have no idea what we will be doing when we pick him up. It is a stressful, crazy time.

Probably part of the reason that little blue book showed up in my life again.

So, I am starting my 2012 affirmations by affirming that I create wonderful solutions by being open to new ideas.

I focus on solutions instead of problems - I choose to see every problem as an opportunity.

Affirmations are a wonderful way to speak abundance into our lives. They are the faith builders (and I am not talking religion here) that encourage our hearts and coax our reluctant minds of the truths that are larger than the life we have experienced in the past.

So rather than focus on the "problem" which keeps us tangled in the energy of "problem"

(which might work if the problem is small and easy to fix, but this focus just seems to make big problems even bigger)

we focus our attention on opening our hearts and minds to the possibility that something or someone can bring about solutions that are greater than anything we can imagine when we are mired in the problem. We are not here to force solutions - but to trust enough to let them unfold naturally.

Trust ... letting things unfold unforced - these are not things that come naturally to me - but I am trying them on for now - the side effects are a little scary at the moment.

(and I don't usually take any medication with side effects - unless they include rapid weight-loss)

* 99 problem print by sweet perversion

... well ... cowboys are pretty cool though ...

2012-01-05T10:16:00.001-05:00

Vines grow towards light by elongating their stems and attaching themselves to whatever support is available.

I once got a stubborn patch of ivy in our backyard to grow exactly where I wanted it to grow by trimming branches of an overhanging tree to allow sunlight into just the right area and adding an old fence post.

For a short period of time I blew my own mind with my sense of power over this wayward patch

(kind of like the first time you trick your kids into doing something you want them to do by convincing them you do not want them to do it)

- but soon began to look closer at the un-naturalness (and yes, this is totally a word - if you need to use it in your next game of bananagrams, go ahead - just be sure to offer up this post and not an actual dictionary as proof of its wordiness) of what I had created and think ... hmmm ... maybe there is something to be said for the beauty of things that grow organically.

I am thinking the same way about our businesses lately.

Last year I set out to get a certain specific percentage of my business income from wholesale selling and increase sales by X dollars.

Well ... I did increase sales by X dollars (although maybe I should say x dollars - ha!) and this increase did come through wholesale selling -

although not in the traditional wholesale structure of "store places large order which makes deep discounts to store possible", but more of a "store places one order at a time which I make and ship to buyer one at a time and store still gets deep discount kind of wholesale selling" ... sigh

Of course, the bottom line is that I got what I set out to get but just not in the way I set out to get it. So the movement, which I tried to force into a particular direction, grew in a different direction which although unintended was maybe a more natural direction ... for me ... for now.

More proof that our inner state of being and our outer success is irrevocably connected - the reason we set goals at all is because of who we become as we’re reaching them ... whether we do or not. If we do, it is just the beginning of another journey; if we don't, it is just the start of another journey ... there is no end zone in crafty, maker land - it is all process so we had better be loving it.

(which I am ... most ... of the time)

My metaphyscal friend, who is all about setting intentions containing the word "effortless" as in "good things flow to me effortlessly", said that maybe I have some inner work to do to truly believe that things should be easier - that I likely have deep-seated beliefs in the fact that money comes through hard work ...

Of course I really do believe that money comes from hard work and from setting the right intentions and from walking through those open doors and from elbowing our way into those doors that are only slightly ajar and from bulldozing our way through the closed doors ... but only sometimes ... because sometimes the bulldozing gets us in, but like my wayward ivy, doesn't really get us where we need to be.

* mama don't let your babies ... print by KZukowski

the gift of no-gifts or my eyes have been opened to the need for a little romantic something with a bow on it this time of year

2012-01-03T16:29:00.001-05:00

(whisper typing while hubby sleeps)

If I want a romantic gift from hubs I have to

1. find it
2. buy it
3. give him the receipt
4. be reimbursed by him from our joint checking account

(this reimbursement often takes the form of a check signed by me and written to our credit card company)

this usually doesn't bother me, but lately I am wondering if I should be requiring a little more from him ...

I am not talking diamond earrings here, but something maybe a little bit efforty.

To be fair, he did make us pancakes on Christmas morning

of course his family called within exactly the 3.7 minutes it took for him to do this and I heard him saying that he was "making breakfast" .. which of course he was .. but he said it very matter-of-factly as if to imply that he does this making breakfast thing frequently ... which he does if you consider frequently something done along the same time frame as replacing your muffler - has anyone ever replaced one of those things anyway - other than a run over your neighbor's mailbox type of situation - not that this has ever happened to me, well at least not more than once ...

and this year we had agreed to the no-gift Christmas due to our bathroom/kitchen renovation costs but I still kind of expected a little something and thought this no-gift agreement was going to be a wee bit flexible and there would still be something with my name on it under the tree.

(there wasn't, well except for all the packages to hubs where my name followed the word FROM)

I know I do not have the right to be pissed about this since I signed the no-gift agreement, although by signed I mean nodded when hubs suggested this while I was semi-conscious after a day spent inhaling flux and E6000.

It kind of seemed like a good idea at the time.

I thought because I am not a romantic, mushy kind of girl that this would be ok with me. It wasn't. When I brought up to hubby that I was bothered he said to just go out and buy myself something like I usually do, but now this entire find it, buy it, reimburse it thing is just not going to cut it anymore.

So, I have discovered the real gift of the no-gift agreement is to find out that I really do need gifts and I will be cancelling the no-gift agreement before my birthday which is in 4 weeks and 4 days (not that I am counting or anything) or paramedics may need to be called to identify hub's body.

(he is now awake - despite my whisper typing - reading this over my shoulder and says "just don't let them do anything weird with my body" which of course, I won't ... unless it's funny)

UPDATE - since I wrote this post on Sunday night, hubs has fixed my bicycle tire, bought me a box of mallomars, my favorite blueberry poptarts (very hard to find the unfrosted kind I like) and a Sephora gift card so it looks like the paramedics will not be needed - but check back in 4 weeks and 2 days just to be sure ...

* rock me adadeus print by lisa barbero

10 Thoughts to Kick Off 2012 ... slowly, I am kicking things off slowly this year (picture that field goal kicker in a slo-mo replay because that's about the energy level I am working with at the moment)

2012-01-01T14:22:00.005-05:00

1. Banish results oriented thinking to the back of the closet

When we start seeing very clearly that our thoughts can create our reality we might find ourselves getting a little too attached to the results -

(which may be the surest way to muck things up)

When I was back in the craziness this holiday season there was this little voice that kept ~~whispering~~ screaming at me - "are we really doing this ... again? didn't we set up the processes and practices and the right thinking to create a better way this time? how the hell did this happen?"

And although logically I knew

(or the teeny, tiny little part of my brain that still thinks logically knew - I may have destroyed most of my logical thinking with the copious amounts of diet pepsi and york peppermint patties I was consuming)

that I always make about 50% of my annual income in a very short period of time and there is just no way for this to happen in my little one-woman business without things getting insane, I really felt I had failed when things got totally crazy and exhausting ... again.

Of course, there was no failure, there was simply a lesson for me in losing my attachment to the results ...

creating our own reality does not have to be followed by - "and so this is all our fault".

Sometimes sh*t just happens.

Like the fact that although I was somewhat prepared for last minute wholesale orders which mostly didn't happen, I was totally unprepared for a site I sell on called Daily Grommet to explode from 1-2 sales a day to up to 40.

(and before you assume I am planning a trip to Hawaii to spend my millions I should admit this is a wholesale, drop-ship situation with my commissioned artwork mini-lockets - the most work and least profitable of all my makings and that I had to enter every customer's address into paypal to print my shipping labels - this fact alone was adding an hour to my workday, not to mention the 3-4 hours a night fabricating the little suckers)

It was nice to get a check from them yesterday though :)

(and as unexpected as this rash on my neck right now which I have self-diagnosed as a third chakra communication problem or possibly a laundry detergent irritation, of course I am practically a doctor ... well, I didn't actually go to medical school, but I do wash my hands ... alot)

* a better man calendar by splendid and sound

Back Wednesday with 2012 Thought #2 ... notice I am not using the word resolution since I have resolved to remain unresolved for now

Happy Almost 2012!

2011-12-27T10:20:00.000-05:00

In the midst of much family drama here, so taking a blog break until next week to get my act together

(I guess my countdown to 2012 will be a countback which makes more sense for me anyway these days)

... hope everyone had a nice holiday! xo all

* 2012 calendar by alex wijnen

.. you get on my wall RIGHT THIS MINUTE ....

2011-12-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

First, I'm alive - my limbs still move ... sort of ... my brain still works ... occasionally - I am almost caught up with my life which moves way too fast for a life that never actually ... goes anywhere.

My house is a disaster - my diet has consisted of the kind of cellophane wrapped mistakes only available in the messiest convenience stores in the Jersey suburbs - my back has spent the last couple weeks bent over one work table or another with an icepack jammed in my bra

(my apologies for the visual - I hope the kids have left the room)

I am counting down the days, minutes and seconds until that last order is on its way and crossing every part of my anatomy that every package makes it to its proper destination in its proper time frame

(and yes, it makes it a little harder to work with my eyes crossed, but that's what it's all about for me people - doing what it takes, whatever it takes to get the job done even if I risk permanent damage to my optic nerve, that's just how I roll)

I will be back this weekend with some giveaway winner announcements and a sneakpeak ahead to my 2nd Annual Countdown to 2012 series you will not want to miss.

(although I guess technically this cannot be a 2nd annual countdown to 2012 since last year was a countdown to 2011, but you know I like the idea of consistency with my blog postings .... not)

In the meantime, drink your milk boys and girls - it's time to finish this shipping season up with a little ass-kicking!

Order any item this weekend in Uncorked and Polarity and get an upgrade to U.S. priority shipping at no extra cost - guaranteed to arrive by Christmas!

(unless your mailman, my mailman or some mailman in between my mailman and your mailman mucks this up somehow)

* awesome print by modern styleographer

tastes like chicken ....

2011-12-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

gotta make stuff - back in a few days - have a nice week everyone

don't forget to enter zJayne's giveaway HERE - which has been extended thru 12/16!!

nickeled and dimed or why an abundance mindset can't support scarcity actions

2011-11-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hubs and I are both self-employed, so health insurance is a big expense for us

(more than our mortgage actually).

We have had the same insurance for many years and for a long time the rates stayed the same unless one of us had one of those big birthdays, but the last couple years the rates have increased at random times.

Sooo, a couple months ago we received an increase notice ... again ... and I called them to see if they had any comparable but less expensive plans and long story short (actually longer story long) I switched us to a cheaper policy with a $1000 deductible - my thinking was that we would be saving $1200 and had rarely had any medical expenses (other than a few biggies last year that would not be repeated) and even if we did - we would still be saving money

and in theory this was all true.

But in actuality, what happened was that the very month I switched the insurance hubby spent the night in the hospital which cost $9500 - yes, you read that right - one night in the hospital with tests = $9500.

(no jacuzzi, turn down service or chocolate on his pillow either)

My decision to switch policies which looked like a no brainer cost us $1000 in one month rather than $1200 over 12 months which would have been easier to budget, create money to pay for, create time to shop around for something better .... and well, just stomach.

This kind of thing has happened to me before. Switch cell phone plans to save money and end up paying more somehow, buy a slightly cheaper whoseewhatsee to save a couple dollars and it never works as well, take plastic bottles to the cash recycling center to make 20 bucks instead of putting them out at the curb and get into a car accident (not my fault) with an uninsured driver that costs me out of pocket my $500 deductible.

I could go on and on.

Whenever I set out to do something solely as a way to save money it almost always backfires on me.

Now, I am not sure it works this way for everyone. I think different people are here to learn different things (some people need to learn to save money or to spend less).

The lesson for me which life has been hitting me over the head with for years is to trust that the money will be there to pay for the things I need to pay for and to value myself in the process.

I didn't come from a family that said, "you can do it, if you believe you can", "buy quality", yada, yada.

My mother was more pragmatic - she always told me that I wanted too much, that I was headed for disappointment, that I needed to love what I already had (not something to be discounted by the way), to buy the lower priced items so you could get more.

It was the kind of scarcity mindset that she took away from her own life story and although this wasn't my story

these are the lessons encoded in my maternal DNA and there is always that little voice

(who do you think you are?)

when I really go for it telling me to be careful - "are you really going to buy that - shouldn't you check around first for a better price? do you really need all these cell phone minutes? those maple cabinets? why are you paying someone to do that when you can do that yourself?"

Maybe the reason the little steps to save pennies don't work is that we are applying scarcity thinking when we have already adapted an abundance mindset. We can not truly believe that life is supportive of us and then be willing to fight each other to our deaths over a $2.00 waffle maker.

(although I have been known to throw it down over a $2.00 waffle - this family really needs to learn to let go of my Eggo).

GIVEAWAY - zJayne 6 First Aid Recycled Wristlet Pouches! CLOSED

2011-11-28T07:31:00.004-05:00

And the winner is - chosen by random.org

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max:142
Result:
81

= Rain!

Congrats Rain and thanks to everyone who took the time to enter!

zJayne is the home of the incredible Cleveland artist Jane Pierce - maker of some of the most amazing eco friendly recycled goodies on the planet!

zJayne features earth friendly handmade organic lavender sachets for the dryer, closets and more, pouches, recycled market bags, art made from repurposed t-shirt materials and reclaimed jewels.

You have seen her work everywhere including Rachel Ray and Better Homes and Gardens!

We are so lucky to have one of her amazing upcycled wristlet sets for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive this zJayne 6-pack of Red Cross wristlets - perfect for holiday parties, especially little aspirin filled New Year's Eve goodie bags, glovebox first aid kits and more!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just pop over to zJayne and let Jane know in a comment below which item is your favorite!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight on ~~Sunday December 11th! Good Luck! EXTENDED TO 12/16!~~ WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 12/18!

Oh Yes, It's FREE - there's no parking at the mall, so keep your butt parked in your barcalounger this weekend

2011-11-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh Yes, She Did ...

1st in my Uncorked shop get a FREE Cork Snowflake Necklace with ANY purchase

AND in my Polarity Shop get a FREE Snowflake Lid Set with ANY purchase

AND get FREE Shipping with a $50+ purchase

(includes purchases combined between my 2 shops

and shipped together)

who said the only thing FREE is bad advice?

actually I still charge for that ....

* specials thru midnight Monday, 11/28

Happy Thanksgiving - wishing everyone a grateful heart and a full belly today!

2011-11-24T10:43:00.000-05:00

* cooking is love made visible - print by say it sweet

Recycled Tutorial - Wire Hanger Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar

2011-11-22T18:14:00.002-05:00

It's almost time to begin the countdown that ends with Merry Christmas!

And you can make an amazing little upcycled advent calendar in about 5 minutes with a wire hanger and a raid of your craft drawer!

Start your countdown with your letters, beads, balls, etc on the left side of your tree and move one over every day.

I think this little guy will be perfect on everyone's desk or bedtable!

you will need:

a wire hanger, some kind of base for your tree (wood, foam), beads, letters, etc - wire clippers and a drill

This one is of course, easy peasy. Form a tree with your hanger, cut off the hook, mark your holes for the base, drill the holes, add your beads, balls, etc, push in your wires and glue those babies in. This could be a great project for your family to make on Thanksgiving - if you add the correct number of beads (I didn't) you could start it the next day!

GIVEAWAY - The Candy Thief - Gorgeous Handmade Headband - CLOSED

2011-11-21T07:00:00.003-05:00

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK!

I bought one of Casey Dwyer's gorgeous headbands last year and I love it and I know you will, too!

Casey's amazing shop The Candy Thief had its beginnings in the corner of a tiny attic apartment in the spring of 2006. Since then her one woman operation has moved its headquarters to a full scale fiber arts studio!

The Candy Thief is dedicated to bringing a high level of creativity and craftswomanship to the marketplace. Each piece is designed with function and flare in mind

(and gorgeousness, did I say gorgeousness?)

We are so lucky to have one of The Candy Thief's wonderful makings for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive The Candy Thief's beautiful Bathilde Band!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post
Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight on ~~Sunday November 27th!~~ Good Luck!

New Rings in My Polarity Shop - All Available in Both Sizes!

2011-11-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Finally was able to get some pictures taken of my new rings in my Polarity shop.

live it or leave it

2011-11-16T09:23:00.001-05:00

I was in an office yesterday with a framed (and dusty) mission statement on the wall.

It was HUGE.

It rambled on about how important every customer is to them and how they will work hard to exceed our expectations, yadda, yadda, yadda.

It was obvious though that the mission statement had lost its mission.

I was left waiting. The place was dirty. The employees were talking loudly to each other and not wanting to make eye contact with me. The curtain was wrapped around a plant in a way that had the ficus screaming at me

(yes, I hear plants)

"HELP, I am being choked and this curtain has been here for ... months!"

In short, this was an office badly in need of some authenticity (and leadership and common sense and lots of other things, but it is the lack of authenticity that I took with me).

We have to be living it.

The difference between standing for something and saying we stand for something is the difference between authenticity and the usual business crap we have been listening to for the last 30 years and nobody even hears anymore.

Our authenticity is what cuts through the noise and gets us noticed.

Last week I said "different is better than better" and I think it is. But I also think authentic beats different. Because without authentic

(the place where our brand's DNA meets our customers' needs, wants and desires or maybe we will just say desires because that sounds more ... well, just 'more' - giving people what they desire - I like that, that's what we should be doing)

different is ... well, it's just not enough.

Having an authentic brand isn't about whether our thingamajig is cheaper or better than someone else's thingamajig

(unless our brand is all about being the cheapest or being the best - which for our sanity I hope it isn't)

it's about the kind of relationship that emerges when we are who we say we are - it allows our customer to be themselves, too.

It creates a connection that creates loyalty and even allows us to make mistakes sometimes - a kind of jumping off point.

It sounds easy and it is, but it isn't at the same time. It is hard work. It takes courage and a willingness to release trying to be everything to everybody.

(and I hope we have all given up on that already - it's a doomed business model)

So, after unwrapping the plant and leaving that office without saying a word I have nothing but gratitude to them for the lesson they offered up ... and, I'm sure the place that eventually gets my business will be grateful to them, too.

* if you can't stand the heat print by blimp cat studio

(I should add that most likely the reason I took away the authenticity lesson from this situation is that I am dealing with one of my own trying to decide between my usual chicken charity giveaway Thanksgiving weekend in my shops vs. the free-shipping that the changes on Etsy has me considering - maybe thinking in terms of what my customers desire will help me figure this out)

Upcycled Holiday Gift Ideas - Week # 7

2011-11-14T18:00:00.001-05:00

This week 3 easy, peasy upcycles.

You may not have the goods on hand to create exactly these pieces, but they may get you thinking about things that you do have and ways to rework them!

The level turned coat rack above (add hooks, knobs and hanging hardware on back) makes a great gift for someone's entry way.

These giant old casters will make someone a great pair of industrial bookends. I was originally going to screw them into a book or board, but thought I would give them as is since that would make them more versatile.

(attach directly to furniture, hold more or less books, etc)

I realize this type of thing isn't for everyone, I won't be giving an old pair of casters to my mother-in-law for instance, but there is someone on my gift list with a work table of books needing a good home.

This vintage suitcase and Anthropologie faux-vintage metal painted shelf racks will make an amazing shelf. The suitcase can be displayed opened or closed.

If your vintage suitcase has a musty smell - I have found that airing them out outdoors and then putting a bar of soap inside a sock inside the suitcase usually works. If the smell is very strong you may need to place a small bag of charcoal inside the suitcase for a few days or some newspapers (change them every couple days) until the odor is gone.

Hubby and I are going out tonight for a "we both forgot our anniversary" night on the town so I have been getting ready as I posted this causing my toenail polish to go all the way down to the knuckle and also on the carpet and maybe just a little on the baseboards - but that's just more festive, I think ...

we are determined to party until they start stacking the chairs upside down on the tables – the universal sign for "you have had enough, go home now" ... or at least until 9:00 ....

xo all

olive rants .....

2011-11-12T19:08:00.003-05:00

Drove up to the ATM. Rolled down my window. Put in my card.

Got $100. Magic. Me likey.

But, I got my card back even though I still had a check to deposit.

Went to put the card in again and it slipped out of my fingers and bounced. Under. My. Car.

By now, of course there was someone behind me. Tapping. His. Steering. Wheel.

I pulled forward and by some miracle he didn't ...

Got my card and stood there, trying to figure out how to make a deposit. Finally the ATM spit out an envelope so hard it flew under the tapper's car.

I'm clearly not smart (or fast) enough for this whole process.

(whimpered for my mommy)

Made eye contact with the tapper.

Indicated with sign language that I was about to slide my arm under the front of his car. He indicated back by throwing his hands in the air something that looked like either

#1. I understand, go ahead or
#2. I understand, go ahead, make my day, I would love an excuse to accidentally on purpose run you over - I decided he had kind eyes and probably wouldn't want to explain an ATM hit and run to the small boy seated next to him.

I tried to reach the envelope. Couldn't reach it. Went back to the machine.

Realized too late it helps if you don't hit "continue" before typing a dollar amount for your deposit. Transaction denied. Got my card back.

Put my card in again. The ATM shot out another envelope, but I was ready this time so I caught it. Between my teeth. Really, they are enormous. Resisted the urge to bite it into tiny pieces and throw them up in the air all over myself like lunatic confetti.

Finally got our tax refund check deposited. Yes, you read that right. Tax. Refund Check. In November. For $47.00 - Just. Don't. Ask.

* one of those days print by tinoiseau

thanking our vets today

2011-11-11T06:06:00.000-05:00

Have a nice weekend everyone.

New Artist Collaboration Lockets Will be In My Polarity Locket Shop Soon!

2011-11-10T07:57:00.002-05:00

1. HamjArt NURTURE (Mother) Set
2. LavennzOsy ENCHANT Set
3. LittleSonrisa MAGIC Set
4. ShayneoftheDead CRYPTIC Set
5. LavennzOsy HARMONY Set
6. SSCPhotography SAN FRANCISCO Focus Set
7. TheShabbyPhotographer FREE Set

why it's ok to be wrong .... and not in an "i'm ok, you're ok" stuart smalley kind of way either

2011-11-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

It is easier to be amazing when we give up the fear of being wrong.

(maybe it's the only way to be amazing actually)

And this should be easy because life is not a contest and no one wins and no one gets famous (for more than a second) and no one is ... well, no one is ... right actually, but somehow (like most of the really important stuff) it isn't easy.

Sometimes trying to be right feels like the smart thing to do, the less risky thing, the safer thing ... but maybe it's not really any of those things.

And maybe eliminating the criteria of what is "right" and making the only criteria what brings us joy - what we love to do or what we have never done before - can keep us in the present moment - the only place we are ever in the presence of something greater than ourselves.

The place the magic happens.

Being wrong is a risk - we could look stupid, we could lose something, we could ... well we could really blow it, maybe big time.

(although when we get real with ourselves what we have to lose most of the time is more about ego and less about any real loss)

And being always right or being smugly right or doing work that is right or righter than someone else's work -

maybe work that is different is more impactful than work that is better - we would probably never say someone was the best potter or seamstress or metalworker because what would that mean anyway?

but we would remember the potter or seamstress or metalworker that showed us something different or made us feel something different and I am not talking regretsy kind of different, but if that's where we need to start to get to amazing then wth let's go with that

or making right in any way a criteria for our creative work is fear based.

It is also that inward polarity that takes our focus from the outside world and puts our attention (and intention) on ourselves and what we are going to get - attention, applause, money, etc, rather than what we are going to give - which is our amazingness, passion, enthusiasm and talent to the world!

(which will inevitably lead to attention and applause and money and most importantly happiness and I offer a complete money back guarantee on all of this - as I do with all my posts actually, of course, I pay out in milkbones - which are like dog money - this is a dog blog after all)

Being right is sometimes about looking backwards to prove where we've been, to prove that we know better - the risk of being wrong isn't about where we've been or about where we're going ... it's just about the now.

The place we have to be as makers.

(and this is not a post about the lessons learned from failure - the real value in failure is that it builds the stength in us to take more risks!)

Yup, it's a process. Yup, it's work. Yup, no one can tell you where taking a risk will land you and yup, it may be on your ass (that's why most of us have extra padding there), but not to risk being wrong when there is even the tiniest chance of being amazing is maybe the only real risk anyway.

* everything will be ok print by PrintedInc

Holiday Upcycled Gift Countdown Week # 7 - STEAMPUNK - Faucet Necklaces

2011-11-08T06:00:00.006-05:00

This week's handmade gift ideas are total awesomeness for those lovers of clunky and recycled jewelry on your gift list!

These beauties are made with 2" faucet knobs (one old and one not so old that I sanded to distress) and lots of cool doodads I picked up in the discontinued bins.

you will need: faucet knobs (valves? handles? whatever these things are actually called), heavy chain and jump rings (I just used some of the heavy chain for the jump rings), doodads, pliers, glue

These will vary depending on your aesthetic and supplies, but the basic idea is to glue a doodad into the center - for both of these I had to do a little damage breaking off the attachments on the ends of the center doodads (one is girly bling and the other is tomboy blang just like the girls I am giving these babies to), add some heavy chain that has big rings (you need to be able to open the rings over the faucet knob ends to attach - maybe bring the faucet knob to the store with you) and some extra doodad dangles.

(and yes, the words "doodad dangles" just needed to be said by someone somewhere sometime ... seriously)

The results are some serious faucet awesomeness I am calling "the farrah".

(DISCLAIMER 11/9/11 - in a little twist of synchronicity I walked into a Barnes and Noble to waste a few minutes waiting for a take-out order at the Chili's next-door and discovered that GreenCraft magazine has a very similar tutorial this month to this one - so even though I searched google images and Etsy for anything too similar prior to posting this and truly did not see this magazine first - I just wanted to add this disclaimer because if the tutorial is in a magazine it is almost for certain some artist is making this for sale somewhere so I just wanted to be extra sure to mention that this tutorial - as almost all tutorials you will ever come across - is for personal use only and not intended to make items for sale)

GIVEAWAY - Charlotte's Web Book and GreenCycleDesigns Book Paper Flowers! CLOSED

2011-11-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

WINNER
WILL BE
DRAWN
THIS WEEK!

This week's giveaway is a special one!

We have one of my all-time favorite books

(hint - that's some pig!)

Charlotte's Web and a GORGEOUS paper flower bouquet created from the pages of another copy of Charlotte's Web by the amazing paper artist and recycler Tara Ackerman of Green Cycle Designs!

(her name is Tara and she is a green-aholic)

Tara says, "Anything that can be saved and used again, MUST! Green Cycle Designs is the manifestation of my childhood dream. Based in Plantation Florida, GCD is quality eco-friendly home decor and jewelry done right. We are focused on promoting a green yet fashionable lifestyle, without breaking the bank in the process."

(I love that and am sure Charlotte and Wilbur would approve)

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive the Charlotte's Web book bouquet from Green Cycle Designs and the actual book!

HOW TO WIN:
It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight on ~~Sunday November 20th!~~ Good Luck!

some pics and purchases from last month's asheville trip - aren't olive and her best friend ruby the cutest sweater wearing boggles evah!

2011-11-03T17:25:00.001-04:00

Make an Upcycled Ruler Frame - Holiday Gift Countdown - Week # 6

2011-11-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

By now you can see that I am using alot of vintage pieces for holiday gifts this year

(this makes a great reason for flea marketing in the summer - you can only hoard so much stuff personally if you do not want to end up on one of those tv shows fighting to hold on to your collection of somebody else's bowling trophies and climbing over piles of old magazines to eat a slice of frozen pizza in bed with your cats)

you can make this gorgeous yardstick frame/mat from new rulers, too, but the old yardsticks make it a totally one of a kind piece for your lucky recipient!

you will need: 3 colorful yardsticks (enough to mat 2 11X11 Ikea frames), saw, adhesive, sandpaper

I decided after playing around with the rulers a bit that I wanted to keep the glass under the rulers and leave them with the framed black edge of the Ikea frame.

1. lay out your rulers
2. saw rulers to size (be patient and careful with this if you are using a little wobbly handsaw like I did)
3. lay out the pieces and then glue them into place.

I was originally thinking I would glue the ruler pieces to the glass, but decided in the end it would be better to glue them to each other and to the inner frame.

* onion print by f2images

To get your own yardsticks - check out the Etsy listings HERE

maybe it's better to seek out some criticism .... the kind that offers up just a little love bite though, not the kind that requires stitches

2011-11-01T07:00:00.002-04:00

It is usually easy to find people to tell you how great your idea or thingamajiggie is and how you can absolutely sell that great idea or thingamajiggie - "they'd sure as hell buy one" they say - although they likely never will ...

(unless of course, you are in my family - the "do you really want the truth?" clan of solemn pronouncers of doom and gloom, yes - that's where I get it)

sometimes though - it is best to ask people

what they don't like.

So, instead of seeking approval, maybe asking, "what is wrong with this? how can I make it better?" could be more likely to get something real ... and maybe helpful ... and maybe valid.

It also requires the person who's opinion you value

(and if you don't value their opinion, then please do not ask them)

to really look and listen to what you are showing them.

You can, of course, totally disregard their answers, but if you are really looking for feedback - this approach may yield you some important talking, thinking and action points that you hadn't thought about.

(a final note about asking someone else about your work - remember an important life lesson here - you can only be to someone what they see you as - and yes, I realize I am dangling a participle here, but stay with me - what people see has more to do with what is behind their eyes than in front of them, so keep that in mind - this is not an exercise in giving your power away - but solo workers need the power of collaboration sometimes, too)

* if you're gonna shoot print by petek design

happy halloween!

2011-10-31T07:35:00.001-04:00

hope you get lots of candy ....... xo

* love live halloween block by danita

stop waiting for THE opportunity, the one you have IS the opportunity

2011-10-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

We may be waiting on the perfect job for the perfect customer

(the job that will make us a household name like Windex or Brillo or ... uh, wait, not them, like Martha, yeah that's better like Martha or the project that will keep us busy with something challenging for awhile)

the problem with waiting is that it leaves us ... well, waiting. It is a pretty reactive place to be.

And I am not talking about going out and making it happen in this post

(although yes, we do have to do that sometimes, although maybe not as often as you might think)

but about just taking the job that you have in your hand, the one that you have done before, the one that you could do in your sleep, the one that is on your work table right now and making that job THE job.

Get out of that ego place that tells us that we are not doing enough - be joyful about that bird in hand.

*bird in the hand print by Tammy Olson

NOTE - I wrote this post several weeks ago and for some reason never posted it. I pulled it out today because I still feel it is valid and timely and hope someone will resonate with it.

The truth for me these days, is that there are so many bigger things going on in the world that talking about business right now feels very small potatoes

(as my grandma would have said - sniffle)

and I feel a certain sense of disconnect with it. At least in terms of posting about growing our businesses - what I really want to be writing about is this incredible opportunity we have as creators to be helping the world evolve into something better ... and maybe I will ....

xo

Upcycled Wood & String Name Plaques - Handmade Holiday Gift Countdown Week 5

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

You have probably seen these wood letters in the craft store and this is one easy-peasy way to make them uber cool!

You will need: the letters to spell someone's name or initials, wire brads (I used 3/4" X 17), colored string, hammer, I got away without drilling starter holes- but you could split the wood, so if you have a drill it might be a good idea, sawtooth hangers

1. Add a sawtooth hanger to the back of each letter (I didn't do this step until the end and you do not want to do that)
2. Nail in your brads - placing one each time the line of the letter changes direction - you may need to glue the brads in
3. Tie on your string and follow the brads. Tie it off.

Voila! I think these are super cute and turn those cheesy letters into something adorable.

GIVEAWAY - Christine's Beadworks Amazing Custom Bottle Cap Recycled CUFF! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK!

2011-10-24T07:45:00.013-04:00

AND THE LUCKY WINNER IS:
Chosen by random.org
True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 273
Result: 113

Trisha! Congratulations Trisha and thank you to everyone who entered - please think of Christine for your holiday shopping everyone!

Christine's Beadworks is the totally amazing Michigan shop of maker Christine Wilson.

To Christine, design is one part inspiration, one part craftsmanship and several parts perseverance. She says, "If you enjoy what you are doing, you'll find the time, energy and skills to make it work."

Christine has a deep admiration for design, but it's the construction that really captures her imagination.

(her love and passion for process is so evident in her incredibly beautiful and detailed work!)

"The building of the piece from the selection of color to the layering of elements brings true joy into my designs. It would be impossible for me to imagine it without touching and doing it at the same time."

(don't we love that)

She utilizes unusual stones and artwork in her designs as well as recycled materials. Christine love's bottlecaps! There is something about these little miniature works of advertising artistry that have captured her imagination. She says, "So much is said in such a small space; they are a true testament to the power of simplicity in design. I'm proud to reclaim them from an inglorious end in a landfill and to enhance their artistry with my own."

We are so lucky to have one of Christine's amazing pieces for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a CUSTOM cuff from Christine! Your choice of bottle cap (if she can find the cap) and your choice for the cuff from the belts she has on hand!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just pop over to Christine's Beadworks and then pop back here and let Christine know in the comments below which of her amazing goodies is your fave!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post (5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog (5) Like me on Facebook (5) Like Christine on Facebook
Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight, Sunday, ~~November 5th!~~ Good Luck! CLOSED

New Cork Rings in the Shop This Week!

2011-10-21T16:20:00.000-04:00

Have a great weekend everyone! xo

Candle in the Wind Part lll - what to do when that flame is becoming a flicker

2011-10-20T19:00:00.001-04:00

Soo ... even though I think in its early stages burnout

(or maybe we will just call it burn down - because it is the down but not out stage of business passion)

is a totally good thing - a part of the ebb that leads to the flow and cannot totally be avoided when you truly care about what you are doing.

The trick is to catch it when it is a tap on the shoulder

(ahem ... Ms. Cat, do you really think we should be doing that again - I am b-o-r-e-d)

and not wait until we have already hit the brick wall; car totaled, in the shop and being sweated over by a guy with MOTHER tattooed on his left arm.

So, when that litle voice starts whispering to you that if you have to wrap one more bead, center one more mound of clay, crochet one more stitch - you will need to be hospitalized - it is time to take action.

1. And sometimes this action can be inaction in the form of time away from your makings. Spend time away from work - turn off the computer, get out of your studio and do something else (how much time away you need depends on how close to that brick wall you find yourself - don't rush it)

2. Make something new that you will never, ever sell I think it makes us less creative to only make things we can make money with. It is always good to exercise your artistic muscles in new and unexpected ways.

3. Change your process - change your tools, change your schedule, change your suppliers - if you normally do steps in large batches, try making a piece from start to finish with a focus on each step, if you normally do things from start to finish - try doing each step in large batches, you might be surprised how little changes in process or technique can create big changes in your thinking.

4. New places = new inspiration - Janell of Dancing Mooney says, "just when I thought I was bored to death with making jewelry, I came across an amazing vintage supplies shop that instantly sparked my creativity again ..."

4. Change your materials -Julie Boyles says "Early in the summer it became clear to me that how I was doing things wasn't working for me anymore. The journals and cases I made had become very much like work, and it got to the point if I had to color and antique ONE more piece of leather I might fall apart. So I made a big change. I upgraded the leathers I'm working with, and have my passion and excitement back again. Whew. Every new piece I do is a thrill!"

5. Do something else - you are not supposed to be doing the same thing forever - knowledge comes from experience and experience is in the past, so yes, it's safe, but it's also already out of date - do something else. Kathy Jeffords says (after doing something else), "what I'm doing now IS me, as much as the big eyed girls are. Because my bottom line, my brand, ME is that I want to make people smile, I want to create a world filled with possibilities and positivity and I want to tell stories."

6. Rearrange your creative space - it is easier to make beautiful things in a beautiful place - don't cheap out on this.

7. Connect with other creative people - this is HUGE. If you can meet with other people regularly, people who are not afraid to tell you why they do not like things (you totally do not have to listen to them) - people who think big and want to do amazing work - you can really shorten your burn-down periods (and help other creatives shorten theirs).

8. Get some sleep (enuf said)
9. Get some exercise (ugh- enuf said)

10. Focus on the present moment. When our attention is fragmented - we are fragmented and fragmented creatives will not be creating anything that will make anyone gasp or anyone's heart beat faster - which is kind of our job actually.

Keep your thoughts in the present moment as much as possible. When you are painting - paint, when you are doing the dishes - do the dishes, stay focused.

It is important that we recognize the creative power of our thoughts through all of this and stay positive. It is a power far beyond our knowledge (because knowledge is rooted in the past) and our real power is in the present moment (when we are in the presence of something bigger than ourselves).

Life will only offer up so much to us when we are enmeshed in negative thinking (ie fear), since thoughts are things, spread like disease and are the stuff that wars and days spent in bed with the covers over our heads are made of.

We are where our attention takes us, actually we are our attention. We are either making the world better here or crippling the planet - I am totally serious - we are that important.

And when we stay in the present moment life will offer up everything we need to know about what to do next - the answer will always come as our first spontaneous impulse. Be attentive.

I think the more passion we have for our makings the harder we fall when that passion wanes. Will we lose the joy with our makings when we start a business relationship with them? Yes, we will (many times).

But we can move from that place into a deeper place. Or we will find a way to do it differently that is more aligned with your heart.

We will not be making these makings forever my friends - we are bigger than our makings and it is our job to be fearless.

* I know a girl print by TheMemoryGallery

(NOTE - I have included quotes that were left as comments on my last 2 posts in this series from some amazing makers because these girls said it much better than I can - I hope they don't mind)

Being a Candle in the Wind or keeping the passionate spark for our business burning without burning ourselves out - Part ll

2011-10-19T08:47:00.032-04:00

So, I was totally going into Part ll of this series by talking about the kind of things we can do to prevent passion burnout, sort of
...
(because I don't think burnout is really preventable when we are doing work that demands our passionate connection

and is actually part of the ebb and flow of the creative process - the place that creates the space to do something new, paints us into a corner, forces us into the uncomfortable and unfamiliar and often turns out to be exactly where we need to go at exactly the moment we need to go there)

... things that are remarkably similar to those things that keep the passion going in our other relationship - things like time apart (from our regular makings), changes in our routine and studio (I can often give myself a second wind and whole new outlook just from rearranging the furniture in my studio space), connecting with other creatives, diversifying our makings, bringing in some fresh blood, etc and I will talk about these things, but am moving them into Part III which I have just decided there has to be, because I think Part II needs to be about us and our branding.

First thing to remember about your business and your brand is that it is a living, breathing "being" and other people's perception of us factors into it

(yes, I hate that part, too)

And it moves in strange ways. It's not about vertical movement - the ladder is gone (who the hell stole that ladder - I really want to thank that guy!) - that's not the way businesses grow anymore - at least I don't think so, at least not maker businesses.

(which are different than non-maker businesses in so many ways, it would take me days and days to write about all of them)

We grow like weeds and vines and have to think like Billy Joel here we're not "moving up" - we're "moving out"

(of boxes and comfort zones)

Your business moves like a game of chess. You go sideways, you go forward, you slide over on the diagonal, you even go backwards when that makes sense

(and sometimes even when it doesn't but you just need to catch your breath and you totally get to do that because this isn't really a game and no one is keeping score here)

And because this business that is you is going to be around a long time and move in so many ways and in so many places - you really need to get clear on your brand.

You need to know what you stand for here because you need to be able to change - change is good - and you need to be able to stay true to your brand because your brand is you. And if your brand is you this is actually an easy thing to do and a terribly hard thing to do ... at the same time.

What makes you different? What makes you remarkable? What is your “secret recipe”? (wait, don't tell me) - How do you add value to the people who buy from you? How do you add value to the people who interact with you? Is your brand consistent, is it authentic and honest?

(note - you will not see me rocking any major (or minor) bling or writing about hair care products or the power of crystals because they don't represent my brand and the reason I know they do not represent my brand is that they do not represent me and I am my brand)

So, if we are clear on our brand - what we do that makes us special and more importantly why we do it, any changes will make sense for us.

And if we are going to keep that "falling in love" passion for our businesses things are going to need to change now and then and yes, we can totally change things, and need to because this thing is alive, and we can totally still stay true to ourselves and our brand.

Often when you've lost that lovin' feeling it is a process problem. You need to make some changes to your process - which we will talk about in Part III on Friday.

In the meantime, if you are feeling a lack of passion for things just remember that very feeling (or lack of feeling) is a wonderful gift to us and the universe is stirring up a little (or a lot) of discontentment within us to spark the changes we need to make!

* candle in the wind photo by adesigna on flickr

Part lll of Being a Candle in the Wind on Friday

DISCLAIMER - Since I just got an email from someone saying this post made them feel bad because they really are just making stuff they like to make and trying to sell that stuff and they are not a brand and what I would say to that is first - you must take everything I say as just something someone out there is saying because I most often do not know what I am talking about.

And second - I would say that if you have a business you have a brand - it may be scattered and inconsistent at this point, but there is still a "why" behind what you do - why you choose to make the makings you make and why you sell them.

This is all a process and none of us gets this stuff right all the time, but if you are not having fun anymore whether you have sold 9 or 90 or 900 of your whatchamacallits, it may be helpful to get clear on what you are doing and why you are doing it and what makes you special (your brand) before making any changes.

Soda Crate Upcycled Tutorial - Soda Crate to Magnet Board - Xmas Countdown Week #4

2011-10-17T18:00:00.003-04:00

Soda crates are super-easy to find online and at flea markets and this is another simple upcycle to turn one into an awesome magnet board organization shelf. Makes an especially cool gift for a teenager this holiday season!

(you can also make this with a cork bottom - just use foam under the cork to add stability and thickness for your pushpins!)

you will need : an old soda crate, sheetmetal (available at any hardware store or big box home center), foamboard, glue, sawtooth hangers, glazier points, ruler, drill, bottle caps

Measure the inner area of the bottom section of your crate - note - you can also use a soda crate with one opening and fill the entire area - cut pieces of foam core to fill the inner edge, glue foam core edges together and slide into bottom opening, cut sheetmetal to fit, add glazier points with flathead screwdriver, add sawtooth hangers to back, flatten bottle caps with a mallet

(optional, but I never miss a chance to hammer anything with a mallet - trust me, get yourself a mallet)

glue magnets to back of caps - I added little wood backings that I had from scrap cuttings and screwed my caps to them

To get yourself a soda crate check out these wonderful sellers on Etsy HERE

your relationship with your other ball and chain (at least if you are a jewelry maker) ...

2011-10-16T16:30:00.000-04:00

Being a professional maker - which means making things that you sell -

no matter how many of those things you are actually selling

is kind of like having another marriage -

(or a first marriage for you singletons or another civil union for those who are unjustly unable to even get married in the first place)

a marriage - that hopefully started with the falling in love part -

maybe love at first sight

(which I am pretty sure I have never experienced with man or makings)

or maybe the love that grows on you over time until you are thinking "hey, I think I've got something here"

(which I find to be true of both man and makings ... *winks at hubs*)

And that marriage started out with passion with a capital P - it was red hot - you could have fried an egg on your brain it was working so hard

(or maybe that was when you were on drugs, I forget, but there was some egg frying at some point, I'm sure).

I mean we were up all night with this stuff - our heads and hands full of ideas. We couldn't sleep. We couldn't eat (well, except for me, I can always eat, actually). We were creating.

This is what we will call the "falling in love" part of building a business, the fun part, the part where dreams are made flesh in the form of ingenious and original little whoseewhatsees (yes, I said whoseewhatsee).

But, alas just like any marriage this honeymoon phase is destined to give way eventually to the "you must work at it - this stuff is work, did you think you were going to get to party like it's 1999 forever" part of building our business -

the part that separates the men from the boys, the one night stands from the relationships, the divorce lawyers from the 25 year anniversary dinners.

And this working part of our business is just as important as the working part of a marriage until ... well, until it just isn't working anymore ...

which is the reason you need a brand and not a business, a brand and not a product, a brand that is all about you - so when the working part isn't working for you anymore

(this is not a death til us part kind of marriage after all)

you can saunter off (yes, I said saunter) in a new direction and take your people (ie cohorts, friends, customers) with you while still staying true to your brand because you are your brand.

You are your brand, right? That is a kind of important part of my theory here because when the working part is just not working for you, you need to be able to make changes. A creative without that passionate honeymoon phase to fire 'em up once in a while (this is an open marriage after all) will find the work to be well ... work. And when your makings become just work to you, well, people can tell and most importantly you can tell.

When artists become business people who are left to be artists?

(disclaimer - I ~~stole~~ borrowed this line from an HBO mini series about doctors, but I think it applies equally to creatives)

Passion must come first or we are just business people who make things.

(and that sounds like an awful thing to be and would look just crappy on your business card)

And, keeping that passionate spark lit in the midst of production and business thinking can be a challenge; maybe the biggest challenge of your business.

Part II later this week - Being a Candle in the Wind

* just because I love you card by TheWallaroo

if I stand on my tippy toes ....

2011-10-14T14:54:00.001-04:00

... I can see the weekend from here ...

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

A few of my lockets are being relaunched on Daily Grommet with free shipping this weekend. The lockets include Danitashop, Rachel Demsick (getreadysetgo), Dilkabear, Gollybard, Kathy Jeffords (DreamyGiraffe), Jodie Hurt, Jennifer Mullin and House of Six Cats all in the mini size!

Check it out here - just forward past the awful part where I speak (I filmed this last year for the original launch and it is very cringe-worthy).

xo

Upcycled Tutorial - Plastic Tube Necklace - Xmas Gift Countdown Week # 3

2011-10-12T08:00:00.003-04:00

This week an awesome changeable design necklace you can make for an amazing holiday gift!

The paper inside the plastic tubing easily switches out for different looks and you can package this with a few slips of colorful scrapbook paper.

You will need: clear plastic malleable tubing from the hardware store, end plugs (you can use plastic, but I have used cork, of course), eyehooks, cording, (2) sliprings, design paper

1. cut tubing to the size you would like (I've cut mine to 2.5")
2. screw eyehooks into your end caps
3. add slipring and tie on your cording
4. cut paper to size (I've cut mine to 1.5")
5. roll paper and push into the center, add your ends
6. cut and tie off your cording (I have added hardware to mine)

This makes a great kid's project, too - if you can get the kids making your holiday gifts for you, you will be way ahead of the game during the holiday rush

(and by way ahead of the game, I mean passed out on the couch, feet up, pinot empty on the coffee table, gifts wrapped and under the tree)

NOTE - If you need a little plastic tubing and a couple little corks to make one of these, hit the Let's Chat link on right and I will pop them in the mail to you at no cost - you will just need to add the cording and paper!

the bermuda triangle for makers ....

2011-10-11T18:05:00.002-04:00

You may or may not have ever seen the triangle of customer expectations and it may or may not have ever actually been called this, but I think it is kind of catchy and one of those 'made to stick' phrases you will be talking about at the dinner table tonight

or maybe save it for when you are trying to get your kids to sleep- it might work better then.

(in case you haven't seen it or thought about how it might relate to your maker business, I have updated it for us here to be a little more memorable - in a marching band, geeky kind of way)

This is what your customer wants. They want it fast, they want it great and they want it cheap. And this is exactly what you cannot give them if you want to stay in business.

They can have 2 out of 3 and in fact you probably have to provide 2 out of 3, but provide all 3 and you will be doomed.

*cue the dramatic music*

(yes, doomed - this may sound a little melodramatic, but you will not last long providing excellent, fast and cheap makings, trust me)

So you can make 'em good and cheap, but not fast

or good and fast but not cheap

or fast and cheap but not good ... you get the idea.

I remember this chart from my days at a 'real job'. They handed it out on an orange 'slow moving vehicle' triangle that is for some reason burned into my brain.

(yes, the same brain that cannot remember if I fed the dog or where I put my keys or if I bought my hubby an anniversary card ... seriously what the hell happened to that card? and I have to keep this guy happy or we will have no one to cook for us or kill the stinkbugs)

So, I will leave everyone to ponder over the triangle's wisdom - keeping it short and sweet this week after last week's mini-rant against shop local got me quite a few emails from unhappy campers thinking I had misunderstood the concept - you would think I had ranted against babies and kittens for pete's sake - which I am planning to rant against next week actually ... especially those damn kittens ....

Giveaway - XENOTEES Fork Tea Towel! Some total handmade amazingness for your kitchen! CLOSED

2011-10-10T07:00:00.002-04:00

AND THE WINNER IS:

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 482
Result: 295

Powered by RANDOM.ORG = Bee W Bedard! Congrats Brenda!!

The girl who put the tee in eTsy is now putting the tea in eTsy!

Noelle Burke is Xenotees - the amazing Philadelphia artist and screenprinter who is one of the nicest and most talented people I know!

Everything in Xenotees amazing shop is professionally screen printed by Noelle and her hubby Neil, in their cozy little Pennsylvania workshop.

They only print on products that are ethically produced & they use as many eco-friendly processes as possible. Xenotees is dedicated to being as green as possible & they recycle voraciously! Oh, and their designs are 100% original - no clip-art here folks!

Noelle makes the most amazingly gorgeous, soft and original t's (I am addicted to mine as well as my scarves) wine bags, tea towels and scarves!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive this amazing Xenotees tea towel!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just pop over to Xenotees and then pop back here and let Noelle know in the comments below which of her amazing goodies is your fave!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight, ~~Sunday, October 23rd!~~ Good Luck!

Upcycled Tutorial - Drawer Repurposed into a Map Shelf - Xmas Gift Countdown Week 2

2011-10-05T19:38:00.002-04:00

This week's easy peasy upcycled gift is a beautiful little shelf repurposed from an old drawer.

There are really countless things you can make shelves with, but an old drawer creates lots of little cubbies and crannies for your whatnots and the background can easily be fitted with something amazing!

(in this case a vintage map of Europe)

you will need: drawer, map, spray adhesive, scissors, tape measure, yardstick, hammer, sawtooth hangers

This is one of those measure twice, cut once projects - so measure your openings (easiest with a tape measure) and then mark and measure your map (easiest with a yardstick) - the idea is to have the map look like one solid piece when hanging so cut your interior pieces so they line up with each other.

Layout your cut pieces into the drawer and make any adjustments with your scissors or a razor knife. Remove your pieces. Spray your interior wood working from the top down. Lay out your paper (this stuff dries fast so work quickly, to adjust - lift and don't try to slide). When you have it positioned in the right place press it into place - I used an old VHS tape because ...

well, what else can we do with them ....

Add a couple sawtooth hangers to the back and you have a wonderful (and huge ... everyone loves big presents) gift for someone special.

(Note- if you decide to do this project and need a couple sawtooth hangers just drop me an email through the link at right and I will pop a couple in the mail to you at no cost - I have hundreds)

A series of these shelves on a wall would be amazing. To find a vintage map, check THIS link

no matter how flat you make a pancake ....

2011-10-04T10:48:00.001-04:00

I love my local brick and mortars

and believe me my love and support requires some effort on my part because I live in a very small town where stores sometimes sell ... well, a whole lot of crap actually.

And, I understand that these store owners are working with a limited budget these days and an even more limited customer base and they sometimes need some creative thinking to survive and sometimes that creative thinking requires a strange combination of the things my town needs (?) - we have an Irish Gift Shop/Electrical Supply Store (there was a psychic in there for a few months - not sure why she couldn't tell it wasn't going to work out for her there) - we used to have a video store/dry cleaner, an ice cream store/tanning salon and a print shop/dog food store.

Although my all-time favorite local combination store is in a surrounding town and called Crickets and Cream.

They sell - you guessed it- crickets (ie reptile food) and creams (handmade) - they also practice a little holistic medicine (ie witchcraft) and I was once talked into a chair in the middle of the store where the one sister waved some smoke around me to clear my aura for a better look while the other sister helped a little boy and his mother buy some breakfast for his pet lizard, Harry. It was wonderful.

Anyhoo, since I have spent money in all these stores and even shop in my local grocery store every other shopping trip

(if you could see this store and then see the amazing Trader Joe's that has gone up an hour away, you would totally feel my pain with this, but I know if the locals treat our local grocer as a Seven Eleven, it will close down and that’s all we will end up with)

I totally get and agree with the shop local movement … to an extent ...

I would love to support local gift shops … and do … when they sell the things I want to buy - I am not going to buy a China made something or other (which I just assume everything not handmade to be) just to purchase something at a local gift shop unless they can tell me the name of the woman who made that something or other and a bit about her wages and working conditions (and if she ever gets to see her children).

I am 100% behind shopping local when it comes to food and think all our food should be produced locally on small farms (large farms and in particular cattle farms are environmental disasters)

(and I do not throw the word disaster around lightly, believe me, well... except when it comes to my hair ... and my closets ... and my studio ...)

with minimal environmental transportation side effects and maximum freshness.

But on my recent trips to Portland and Asheville I have to admit that all the bombardment of shop local signs in the store windows made me feel, well, a little like heading back to my town’s Irish Gift Shop and spending my money there.

It feels a little less than welcoming to a visitor; like some exclusive club a girl from the suburbs like me doesn’t get to belong to- it sometimes felt a little like a place I didn’t want to give my money to.

(yes, I know I am dangling a participle here- we’ll just ignore my bad grammar, as always)

I may be a little jaded from stores who tell me they really want to carry my lines, but only buy from local artists and from Etsy’s push to promote shop local

(huh- isn’t it an internet as in "world wide web" shopping site)

I know 99% of my sales leave my home state and 28% leave the U.S., so shopping local is not something internet shoppers are looking for or why would they be on the internet in the first place, no one wants to pay shipping costs - if we could get it at our local mom and pop we would.

When shop local knocks heads with shop handmade I will be shopping handmade and whether those hands were working in Australia or one block from my house doesn‘t affect my buying.

Now mass produced goods are a whole other story.

We need a local manufacturing focus supported by a local buying focus which I truly believe will happen once big companies really understand through their bottom line that their jobless consumers can’t afford to consume without a paycheck (and realize China's business tax rates are going up).

I think there is room for everyone though, so I will shop local when they sell what I want and always when they sell what I need or love and can't live without

(please figure this out local store owner!)

but continue to spend my money supporting handmade makings everywhere.

I know that all of us and in particular people living in cities that they love tend to become very location-centric in their thinking and I really do get the pluses in this, but there may also be just a couple minuses to think about ... no matter how flat you make a pancake you're always gonna have two sides

(to quote my grandma)

tgif ....

2011-09-30T08:08:00.000-04:00

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Hubby and I are hijacking Kella and Chris's vacation to Asheville, NC -

(I've never been to North Carolina, only through North Carolina)

They kindly invited us down for a long weekend

(ie we begged and pleaded and sent Olive to their house with her sad face)

to a house they rented for the week on a lake (?) - I think a lake - are there lakes in North Carolina? I'm sure totally amazing lakes!

It is going to be a long drive tonight and tomorrow and then straight back on Tuesday, but worth it for 2 days of a mini-vacation.

I hope everyone else's weekend is just as wonderful and that Olive & I survive the car trip (hubby has packed his AC/DC's and Black Sabbath - ugh!)

*lilly in asheville notecard by Jen Obata (I am re-titling it cat in asheville for this weekend Jen, I hope you don't mind!)

xo all

Upcycled Tutorial - Vintage Children's Block Initial Necklace - Xmas Gift Countdown Begins!

2011-09-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

I thought I would begin my annual upcycled holiday gift tutorial guide

(whoa say that 3 times, I dare ya')

early this year so I might actually finish it!

Everyone loves personalized gifts with their inital - and this is an easy, peasy one to make!

(the only kind of tutorial I do, because let's face it folks those long, complicated tutorials may look amazing, but are you ever really going to make them?!)

you will need:

vintage blocks (new blocks will just look cheesy- we need some vintage wabi-sabi for this one), chain or necklace cording, washers, eyehooks, slip rings, charms, beads, doodads

you may need a drill for your eyehook starter holes, I didn't, but I do lift a 20 lb terrier/beagle 482 times a day, so have one handy just in case

determine which block letter you want visible for the wearer, measure and mark your center, drill starter hole, add eyehook and washer, tighten with pliers, add chain or cording to top, repeat on bottom andding charm or doodad to the bottom

(note - if your name starts with a V and you get a Christmas present from me, please close your eyes at this point)

I added an amazing and gigantic lobster clasp to this one! My block is approx 1.25" with a 30" chain- smaller block/smaller chain- if you want to make one of these and need a 30" ballchain pop me an email and I will pop one in the mail to you.

To find some amazing vintage blocks to make these gifts check out these Etsy sellers:

1. agentobsolete
2. vintagebyalexkeller
3. brooklynretro

I have another tutorial using a child's block you may want to try HERE

GIVEAWAY Pawtisserie Dog Bakery $25.00 Gift Certificate! CLOSED

2011-09-26T07:00:00.003-04:00

AND THE WINNER IS:
True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 182
Result:
109
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

= Cstironkat
- I hope Kouga and Milele like their goodies!

Pawtisserie Dog Bakery is the amazing shop of Erin- a Jersey girl (yay!) with a big love of dogs (double yay!).

Her love for baking organic dog treats came about once Erin and her hubby adopted their dog, Ruby. They wanted her to have high quality, human grade ingredients in what she ate. Erin began baking treats for her, then for pets of family and friends, and then poof! Into an online store!

We are so lucky to have a gift certificate to Erin's amazing shop for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $25.00 Gift Certificate at Pawtisserie!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight on ~~Sunday 10/9~~! Good Luck!

maybe we're not lazy, maybe we're not unorganized (well maybe we're a little unorganized) - maybe we're just trying to do too much

2011-09-21T16:17:00.000-04:00

a short rant - at a certain point even the master juggler

(that guy in the Guinness World Record Book with the 47 flaming plates on a stick, who may or may not be missing an ear)

piles on one too many plates and finds his maximum juggling capacity

(hopefully before losing that second ear).

And this maximum juggling capacity is a personal thing.

Your maximum and my maximum are probably two different maximums.

(and now that I have just typed the word maximum so many times, the spelling just looks ... wrong - I hate when that happens)

* wastes 2 minutes googling maximum *

And yes, I get that these lessons are all about setting priorities and asking for help and saying no and

... I guess we had better figure it out before those flaming plates hit us over the head.

(there are some kick-ass earrings out there - it would be a sad thing if we never get to wear them ....)

* stacey had big plans print by happytownusa

you can't handle the truth .... or if the lawyers really looked like Matthew McConaughey this would be a whole other thing

2011-09-18T10:19:00.004-04:00

... so I just rented out my couch

(not my actual couch, that we sit on and lie on and Olive sheds so much hair on that before we purchased it we asked the guy in the store if we could throw a little dog hair on it so we could visualize it in our actual livingroom ... but a vintage couch that is part of my vintage rental business - did I tell you I started a vintage rental business? no? well, I will just keep you all guessing about what the hell I am talking about then)

and checked my mailbox on the way back in the house and find a little white notice that says (cue the Jaws music here) JURY DUTY ... AGAIN, I thought I got out of it!

Now, I have been called to jury duty many times and the last time - I got on a case, was named ~~foreman~~ forewoman, found the guy guilty in less than 45 minutes and was home in 3 days.

But, I was a little more decisive in those days - things a little more black and white to me when I was younger - now that things are a little more grey it may be harder.

(yes, I like to spell it with an "e", the British way, makes me feel special and a little more refined - I have also stopped cursing .. sort of . .mostly .. sometimes. My brother stopped cursing last year when he started teaching music to children and I thought if he can do it, I can too, but it is a hard habit to unlearn)

When we were kids and my sister and I used bad words

(which we did as fast as we could learn them)

my grandmother would say "stop - say it another way" and make us take the curse word out of the sentence, so my sister's favorite 4th grade zinger would end up something like "your 'rearend' is grass", then my grandmother would nod her approval and go back to watching her stories.

Anyhoo - back to JURY DUTY ...

since I have been making more and more questionable (ie bad) decisions lately. I have begun to doubt myself. I can't even make a decision about where to go to lunch without it turning into the most trying ordeal anyone around me has ever experienced.

If someone asks - "what do you want to go eat?" - I brainfreeze. I will not decide. Hubby, unfortunately, has taken the brunt of this indecisiveness so when I told him I pulled jury duty, he said:

"If you make it on a jury it will end up being a hung jury ... because everyone else will hang themselves while you decide."

This from the ace decision-maker who went to Barnes and Noble before our trip to get magazines for both of us; proceeded to spend an hour picking out such bone-chilling, can't put it down reading material for himself as the Farmer's Almanac 2012 (I'm sure he almost had a coronary when he saw this baby was finally available), Dirtbike Digest, The Small Farmer's Guide to Livestock (Olive did not like the looks of this one) and The Model Car Builder (he wants to get 'back into them' - I do not like the looks of this one) - then grabbed the first thing he could lay his hands on for me - something with pirates on the cover - because

"I know you like pirates"

(I like pirates?!)

"No, I was saying 'talk like a pirate day' is coming up and I am going to give away some pirate jewelry. I didn't say I like pirates."

hubby *crickets*

(lost in article on the best model car glue for 2012)

Anyhoo, will let everyone know what is decided with jury duty - I am going to try again to get it postponed until January when I am slow

(and there is some potential for a snowday)

Also if you follow me on Twitter- watch for my pirate tweets tomorrow to win some pirate jewelry!

Upcycled Tutorial - Hanging Chair Bookrack

2011-09-17T14:42:00.000-04:00

Now, I know this isn't really a tutorial, but I haven't posted a tutorial in awhile

(saving the best ones for my annual Xmas countdown series which starts next month)

but thought I would throw up a couple pics of this amazing old chair I bought at a local flea for $5.00.

I hung it on some bicycle hanging hardware from Ikea and now have an adorable mini-bookcase for some of my vintage Trixie Belden books.

I have 3 of these chairs (all different) that I am going to hang in the stairwell (which is pretty high) and will post pics of this when I get a chance to get them up there

(I have to do this when hubby isn't around because he hates the idea - he will love it once it is up though ... as long as - a. he doesn't have to hang it, b. it isn't in "the way" - and c. it doesn't fall on anyone's head - all possibly do-able - of course, I can't really guarantee that last one)

I have seen people make towel racks and things by dismantling this type of chair, but I couldn't bear to make any permanent changes to this one - it is just too perfect!

new work in shops ....

2011-09-16T09:10:00.000-04:00

some new work in my Etsy shops recently including Alice cork necklace, when elephants fly ring (even better than a flying pig, I think), anti-social butterfly recycled wine cork corkboard (a sort of rant), a new locket with the amazing Gollybard (lock and key), a new locket with the amazing Lori Portka (the sun shines) and a locket with the amazing Laura Evans of oohprettyshiny (eiffel tower) - have a wonderful weekend all - feels like autumn here this morning!

xo

does this blog make me look fat ....

2011-09-15T19:18:00.002-04:00

... sometimes I don't know when to stop ... with blog posts, with guacamole, with the number of times I laugh at the car radio display when I'm listening to the 60's station and the screen isn't big enough for the whole title so it just says "Build Me Up Butt" ...

and I was about to print Bumbershoot pics that made me look

pretty freakin' awful

(notice how I say 'made me look' because obviously my sister, who took these photos, has somehow doctored them, because she is pretty clever and slightly devious in a way that only a little sister can be, somehow adding 10 lbs to me in the photos not to mention 10 years and a slightly yellow cast to my skin, that has me rethinking my liquor intake - maybe this wine-for-cork as tax-write-off diet is not a very good plan for me anymore)

then I stopped myself - wth this is my blog I don't have to print crappy pictures of myself, even when I have nothing else to post ... luckily I have my own little photoshop expert (ie Olive) to take a little action before posting them - trust me it's better this way ...

(my display looked pretty good for all the borrowings I collected on the west coast to fill it although maybe too cluttered now that I look at it in the photos - of course these could be doctored, too ...)

have a nice weekend everyone! xo

taking action vs. waiting until the path is clear to us ...

2011-09-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Oprah always says when you don't know what to do ... do nothing.

This has always worked for her I guess. But, I suspect Oprah is able to get very clear, very fast and this "do nothing" period doesn't last very long for her.

(for me, I have a strong suspicion that doing nothing until I am clear on what I want to do would result in many many afternoons, weeks and maybe even years of ... well.. doing nothing)

I think it may usually be better to take some kind of action even if we need to change or reverse course later on. There aren't that many decisions that are so final, we can't redecide them to get a happier outcome.

Taking action allows us to focus. It gives our attention an intention. I usually find the best actions are those where I am less attached to the outcome and just seeking the experience - the outcome has a way of working out better for me when I haven't decided exactly what it should be.

Taking action allows us to decide. Deciding creates direction. It breaks our usual patterns of doing the things we think we should be doing or the things we have always done in the ways we have always done them.

Lingering in indecison and inaction can make us depressed - it can make things seem larger and more important than they really are - it can turn our feet into cement combat boots and our brains into mashed potatoes.

(and not the amazing kind with the white cheddar, butter and chives either)

Since 2011 is my year of deciding - I decided to do some shows this summer (mostly wholesale) that I hadn't done before. Shows that involved traveling by plane (this has always made me a little queasy, although I mostly love airports)- often alone and spending money that I would normally be uncomfortable spending since it took me so long to make and the outcome was so unclear.

Yesterday, seeing the kids waiting for the school bus and the leaves beginning to pile up in my front yard (and also noting my bank account balance) I was kind of regretting some of my choices. I feel like I missed the summer and now am headed right into my busiest retail season (I do 60% of my annual sales between Halloween and Christmas) with a head cold/sinus infection thing, exhausted and kind of pissed I never got to wear my awesome gladiator sandals and it's almost time to break out the Uggs (ugh)...

I am still glad I took action though (although my actions will be a bit different next time) and I still think deciding is better than waiting for something to happen or someone to come along and "discover" or "save" us ...

(and I think this is the same lesson for those of us who voted for Obama - and for the people who deny global warming because they are waiting for the rapture - no one is coming along to save us, it is up to us and that this is good news, great news actually ...)

We're all busy but we're not all engaged. Taking action locks us into full on engagement with ourselves. We connect. Maybe not right away when we’re just getting our feet wet - this action stuff doesn't have to be giant steps toward big, huge things. But eventually it brings us closer to ourselves - we learn what we want (or what we don't want) - it brings connection

... and autumn - which is my favorite season actually and as for my gladiator sandals I think I have decided to wear them until Christmas even if I need to wear my new wool socks with them - which I bought at an alpaca farm in Oregon last week with wool supplied by this guy - is this the most amazing face you have ever seen?! and to think I might have missed meeting him ...

* in the waiting room print by broke bot

Giveaway SUMIKOSHOP Handmade Jewelry $30.00 Gift Certificate! CLOSED

2011-09-12T07:00:00.004-04:00

AND THE WINNER IS:

Chosen by random. org
True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:129 Result: 7
I am amazed! Congrats I am amazed!

The giveaway is back with a bang!

SumikoShop is the gorgeous handmade jewelry shop of the amazingly talented Evelyn - the 29 year old maker and mother of a beautiful boy named Brian.

Evelyn lives and works in a tourist town by the sea in gorgeous Italy.

Many of her items are one of a kind and others are made in limited quantities. Her accessories are mostly female and whimsical. She sometimes mixes vintage with modern materials to create simple everyday pieces that are just magical!

We are so lucky to have your choice of SumikoShop's gorgeous work for this week's giveaway.

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $30.00 Gift Certificate at SumikoShop!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight on ~~Sunday 9/25!~~ Good Luck!

10 years ....

2011-09-11T08:46:00.001-04:00

I am back from Seattle and Portland - the last of my big travel shows done for the year (thank goodness) - I haven't done a music festival in years

(my thinking was that people do not go there to shop; now this is my 'knowing')

girl at show (pointing at item with price marked) : "how much is this?"

me : "that's twenty four"

girl : "dollars?"

(it was that kind of show)

but it paid for my trip which included a day in Seattle when I wasn't working and 4 days in Portland visiting my sister and her family, so I am definitely not complaining. A great big thank you to Bill from House of Six Cats who loaned me 2 tables and my niece Miranda (locket2you) who loaned me everything else.

Today is back to work for me and a day of remembrance for all of us ..... there are some wonderful tributes here

I have been trying to think of the good things that have come out of 9/11, but have been having trouble with that one ... in the immediate aftermath, before it all became politicized and the people who profit from our fear set to work to capitalize on it, we came together around the world in a wonderful way .. so I am going to keep that feeling in my heart today ... that sense of connection.

xo all
the giveaway will be back tomorrow folks

It's Bumbershoot time!

2011-09-02T08:14:00.000-04:00

..setting up at Bumbershoot today in Seattle! If you are coming, stop by and say "hi" - I will be near the fountain!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend all!

xo

Please vote for Kella and Chris HERE Suburban Camping Co - they are competing against established stores (who are offering specials and giveaways to people voting for them- is this legal?) and need our votes!!!

some facts about the Canadian tar sands ...

2011-08-31T03:46:00.005-04:00

Tar Sands Action's sit-ins in Washington DC are succeeding in informing people about the Canadian tar sands and the extreme price we pay for gathering oil from them.

The protest revolves around the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project, which would speed the flow of crude oil from the tar sands to US refineries.

Approx. 20% of US oil comes from Canada and 40% of Canada's oil production is from tar sands.

So what are tar sands and why should we care? Tar sands, or oil sands are a mix of clay, sand, water and oil and particularly bitumen, which is a heavy, viscous material. Unlike drilled oil, tar sands have to be mined to get at the bitumen and refine it into oil.

Bitumen is highly carcinogenic and requires extensive processing to make it thin enough to flow through pipes. Four tons of sand and soil are removed and dumped for every one barrel of oil gained from tar sands

(Al Gore wrote a great book about the devastation from soil removal- not his book An Inconvenient Truth, but an older book, I believe from before he was Vice President, the title is slipping my mind - like alot of things these days- but if you google it, it is a great read)

and three barrels of water to extract just one barrel of oil. More than 400 million gallons of water per day ends up dumped in toxic tailing pools which leak 3 million gallons of contaminated water daily.

Tar sands oil production emits 3 times more carbon dioxide per barrel than traditional oil production and the tar sands of Alberta, Canada are located under Canada's Boreal forest which is one of the largest intact ecosystems remaining on the planet. Removing the carbon-storing forest ecosystem to get at the tar sands will be more and more detrimental.

By 2020 the Tar Sands will release twice as many greenhouse gases than currently produced by all the cars and trucks in Canada!

Local production negatively impacts birds and caribou and moose and the indigenous people ... and all of us.

If the U.S. government approves the pipeline, renowned climatologist James Hansen says it will be "game over" for the global climate.

There is a petition to Obama to stop this pipeline HERE
and to focus on developing clean, safe energy.

BTW if you haven't seen Bill Nye tackle this brain-dead climate skeptic at FOX news (again) you will love this

this could be it folks ....

2011-08-26T08:11:00.005-04:00

I mean, an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week? in New Jersey?

Global warming?

(Al?)

Well, maybe ... but my take on this is that God is seriously pissed off about all this Jersey TV - Housewives, Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious - she got one look at Snookie and said ... enough, already

(note to God - remember me, I'm the girl with the flat hair)

BTW at the post office the other day a bald man told me he has worked at the Jerseylicious salon for 15 years

(first he complimented another customer's hair, then looked at my hair and said ... nothing)

and only the mother and daughter on the show actually work there, everyone else is fake - I've never seen the show, so don't know how extensive this "fake people" thing is, but it sounds serious folks ...

As I am typing this my brother just called me and said his town is having mandatory evacuations and they need a place to go ... with their 5 cats and 2 birds - OMG

Then a friend called and said they are having an earthquake/hurricane party tonight and we are invited. I asked if I should bring some takeout

(and my brother, sister in law, 2 birds and 5 cats .. I kind of just whispered this part though)

and she said "I have a pot roast."

(grandma? sniffle)

Uh, isn't it still August? Who just happens to have a pot roast in August? But then she said the kicker that pretty much assured my participation

"I'll show you my new Dyson", she added

I mean a pot roast and a dyson demonstration just screams PAR-TAY in Jersey folks - unlike Snookie and the Situation this is how we really roll.

Off to clean my bathroom in case we have house guests this weekend .... stay safe and dry everyone.

xo

Olive Begs for Votes - no-bipartisan bickering with this one

2011-08-22T17:43:00.002-04:00

Kella and Chris's new biz The Suburban Camping Company is a top 3 finalist in Daily Candy's annual Start Small, Think Big Contest!

The winner gets some expert business advice and since they are primarily getting their business advice from me they really need to win this thing!

If everyone could click over and give them a vote - you can vote anytime between now and Sept. 13th (and even every day) - we will be bestie best friends forever.

And of course I will totally do you a favor back - a biggie - email that old boyfriend and tell him off, prank call your mother-in-law - clean out that litter box, yes even those of you with multiple cat households - I am there for you - this is that serious!

Here is the link to VOTE for them!

(they are in the center of the bottom row)

I hate these popularity things - maybe because we are a super small family with slow clicker fingers and sporadic internet service ... plus we are very sore losers.

xo

Dig Yourself a Hole ....

2011-08-18T08:55:00.002-04:00

I saw this quote on Seth and thought someone who doesn't read Seth (if there is such a person) might feel inspired by it today, too.

"Dig yourself a hole

Make big promises.

Burn your boats.

Set yourself up in a place where you have few options and the stakes are high.

Focused energy and serious intent will push you to do your best work. You have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide."

*do not fear print from iota illustration

Techie Textie Kids - what's too much?

2011-08-18T04:44:00.002-04:00

My local school is lobbying for our kids attention this year by embracing technology in ever increasing ways - homework on the computer, iPads in the classroom, classroom Facebooks.

A few years ago we all thought more technology was a good thing - kids had to know this stuff or they wouldn't be ready for "the real world", right? They had to learn this stuff young.

Now we're not so sure anymore. It feels like kids know too much of this stuff and the other stuff is starting to get lost in the shuffle. I read that the average child and teen spends over 7 hours a day in front of some kind of screen - and this doesn't include texting!

(and that most teenagers sleep with their phones ... or within arms length of their phone - just what kind of middle of the night emergency text requires this kind of diligence I am not certain, but when Jason dumps Amber everyone will know about it before breakfast .. thank goodness)

My teacher friend says kids will do anything to text during class and catches someone daily - pretend searching their backpack while checking their email and sending a fast text - aren't their friends in school, too?

When I am walking Olive around other dog walkers I am usually the only person without a phone to my ear - now this may be due to some degree to my inability to walk and chew gum at the same time (not that I actually chew gum except on airplanes) but I am always thinking who the hell is everyone talking to?

One day last spring I was in line at the post office just as the high school bus dropped off the kids right outside the post office window - every single kid getting off that bus immediately flipped open their phones .. every single one. None of the kids talked to each other (and I live in a very small town so they all absolutely knew each other).

Wrists flipped in unison like the Rockettes at Christmas.

(it was sort of amazing in a scary Stepford, robotic, the world is clearly ending so shoot me now, kind of way)

I've seen toddlers routinely given mommy's iPhone when they need to be quieted down; promoting fixation on techie devices at younger and younger ages.

(of course, I will admit to giving my daughter my car keys to play with ... ie chew on ... at such times ... and she hasn't developed a car key fixation, but I still think this iPhone thing could be trouble later as most quick fixes turn out to be ... )

School is about to start up again folks, maybe it has already where you live, and it is up parents where all of this is heading. We need to pull the plug whenever possible. Family dinners help.

Research has shown that the dinner table is one of the key places that young people learn how to engage in real conversation.

(and argue and have civilized and uncivilized debates and learn to come together after things fall apart)

Maybe family dinners can save us.

(just have 'em drop their cellphones at the dining room door)

*shut down computer print by bitso truth

10 Lessons Learned from Wholesale Trade Shows Part III

2011-08-16T15:40:00.000-04:00

See Part I here
and Part II here

6. You Probably Need to Do a Show More Than Once to Make the Most Impact

(you need to be doing the right show though)

It was clear that the sellers who were doing the most business had been doing the show for many years.

(how many NEW accounts they were getting is impossible for me to know though)

I guess it instills buyer confidence to see a seller back at the show - makers wouldn't return if they didn't do well would they?

Well, I'm not so sure about that actually and different sellers have different ideas of what 'doing well' at a show is due to their different expenses, price points, expectations, etc.

I could do a show again if I lost money, but I wouldn't do a show again just to establish myself unless I had alot of confidence in that show or a good reason to stick with it.

(like happy hour in the afternoons - that was kind of nice)

7. You Need to be Thinking Like a Buyer

My lines need some explaining. I have my elevator pitches down by now because it is not immediately apparent when looking at my displays what the hell I am selling.

(although I try my best!)

So, I have to take time talking about my makings. This is a balancing act though, because it is not something all buyers care about. What they really want to hear is how this will sell in their shops and I found the more time I spent talking about their shops -

(this also helped weed out people who were not really buyers and there were alot of those at both shows)

asking them what price points did best for the jewelry that sold well for them, etc - that I connected with them. And that connection is the key to the relationship, I think.

8. In Order For These Shows to Be Worthwhile You Need to Get Reorders

If these shops are all one time orders then this is alot of work for not a lot of money, especially when you factor in airfare, hotel rooms, display, shipping and food

(I admit we ate pretty darn well because after standing in the booth all day I was starving by dinner and felt deserving of something especially yummy)

so, you need to be supplying your stores with the materials they need to sell your stuff - how will the stores display it, what kind of materials can you give them to help them sell it? I gave all shops clipboards with the type of display info their customers need to see to buy.

No one around me had any huge orders - no one got "discovered".

(and if you are doing a show hoping to be 'discovered', well, you could be very disappointed, most of the buyers walking these shows were mom and pop stores and being discovered is kind of like being rescued - it can happen, but we'd better know how to swim just in case it doesn't)

<--- this was a nice place to go at the end of the day I have to admit - trying to get hubs to throw something like this together on our roof

9. It is Very Hard to Look Dynamic and Approachable While Doing Nothing

Wholesale shows are not like retail shows - they don't have the same kind of energy; there is alot of downtime. It doesn't come in huge chunks, usually, although the first and last couple hours were killers.

You are like the goalie who has to be totally alert even while the game is on the other side of the field - it is hard.

(luckily my almost-OCD gives me things to do at times like this that help keep me on my toes - like count earrings in the booth across from me - 47 pairs btw)

10. Niche Products May Need Niche Shows

Shows are expensive (the least expensive part is often the booth fee) and there are many ways to develop wholesale relationships - more about this in my next series on wholesale selling - without exhibiting at them.

If your product has a very tight niche your challenge may be to find shows your target shops might frequent and they may not be general handmade wholesale shows.

Hope this series has been helpful to someone- I'll write more on this experience in a few weeks when I have a better grip on the outcome. I did get some sales reps which was a primary goal for me, so I'll also post on how all of that works out, too!

More Lessons Learned at the California Gift Show

2011-08-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

See Part I here

#3. Alot of makers selling wholesale do not sell retail.

This surprised me because the idea of a 100% wholesale income seems challenging, but maybe my price points are lower than many makers. I was told by quite a few sellers that the headaches of selling retail are not worth it to them. Also I heard quite a bit of anti-Etsy ramblings

(and I feel only people on Etsy are allowed to rant against Etsy - this is the same way I feel about New Jersey)

about the junk sold there. And, of course, we all know there is alot of junk on Etsy (and I don't mean the good junk called vintage), but there is alot of amazing stuff on Etsy, too and the truth is the cutting edge stuff - well, for better or worse, it's all on Etsy.

And I did have a couple sellers tell me they look on Etsy for ideas and I was hoping by ideas they meant inspiration and not any ideas resembling "oh, I should make that".

Some also said they didn't sell on Etsy because it wasn't worth the hassles of taking new photos all the time and that they thought they would be copied if they put their work there (both valid issues).

I don't think I can go cold turkey off my retail sales (although maybe Etsy's new relevancy search will change my mind about this), but it was inspiring to see people making it work for them with just wholesale sales.

#4. Rules get broken at big wholesale shows, too.

I thought that unlike retail craft shows where we all see "makers" whose makings have everything but a Made in China sticker on the bottom - a big wholesale handmade show would be pretty much exempt from this.

Sometimes I can see where show organizers can be fooled, but if putting an NFL metal charm on a chain is handmade enough for a premier handmade show someone needs to give me a new definition of handmade.

This type of thing was definitely the exception though.

#5. People do amazing work.

The work at both shows was amazing. The displays were amazing. The people were amazing. I often saw work that made me think - what the hell am I doing here? - and displays that made me tired just thinking about all the work and money that went into them.

(make sure your act is together before doing one of these shows - not to scare anyone, but you kind of need to be amazing or have amazing packaging and an amazing display and it kind of helps to have all of these things, but we knew this already, right?)

These shows are located within larger gift shows that are not handmade so buyers have walked through an incredible collection of colorful, exotic and stunning giftware - think almost everything sold in Bloomingdale's and Target, Fred Segal and Urban Outfitters before they get to your booth. We need to sizzle.

(luckily I had my day-glo orange roots to help me stand out in California - I did get my hair fixed in the one day I had home before Chicago though so they didn't help me there)

More lessons next week. Have a wonderful weekend all!

xo

10 Things I Learned from Exhibiting at Last Month's Wholesale Tradeshows

2011-08-11T16:20:00.002-04:00

Last month I exhibited at Beckman's Handmade at the California Gift Show and the Chicago Market - if anyone is thinking about exhibiting at these shows and has any questions that I might be able to help with don't hesitate to contact me by email.

I am still processing some lessons, but some things I have already learned are :

1. Wholesale selling requires an entirely new vocabulary - customers are now buyers (this is easy to remember if you continue to think of the customer as the end user, so your buyer's customer is your customer, too)

sales are now orders
(again, easy to remember if you continue to think of the sale as the final transaction with the end user or customer)

Most of the wholesale lingo I already knew and you probably do, too if you have done any research on wholesale selling, but a couple terms I heard last month that I was unfamiliar with were:

"Open to Buy" - this is the amount of money the store has budgeted for new purchases that they have not yet spent. Some buyers told me their "open to buy" dollars were very limited and they needed to make good choices.

This was when I would talk about my online success with my lines in a very competitive marketplace and delve a little deeper into what sells best in their shop -

my entire reason for developing wholesale accounts is to build an ongoing relationship and create multiple orders from them, not just get a onetime order, so I want to be a good fit for them so we can both make money!

"RTV" - which I thought for a second was some kind of recreational vehicle television system actually means return-to-vendor. Stores obviously want RTV's if merchandise arrives damaged, but what about if it gets damaged in the store or is just not selling?

From the shopowner's point of view they want sellers with RTV's that benefit them, but from the seller's point of view it may be hard to accept returns on handmade items damaged in the store or nonsellers.

I have always offered wholesale tradeout on my locket lids allowing them to swap out nonsellers for new options. I decided to be as flexible as possible with my RTV policies at these shows.

I would rather swap out things that are not selling and keep a relationship going with a good shop than have them mark the items at half off just to move them out and then never order from me again. Plus I have found that offering this option instills confidence and allows the buyer to make quicker decisions -

(I have a large selection that can make decision making hard for buyers and this way they feel they are covered if they make some wrong choices in the beginning)

I have also found buyers seldom take me up on this offer. This is definitely not something you need to do, it may not work for you, but something to think about.

2. Setting minimum order dollars is challenging

I know that gift shop owners (unless they have a very specific niche) need a certain amount of my jewelry (this is especially true of picture jewelry) to have a broad enough variety to sell well with their walk-in customers.

The store buyers told me that in the current economy they want proven sellers or very small volume orders for new unproven items.

So, we had to kind of meet in the middle somewhere. I set a minimum of $250.00. Most of the sellers around me had minimums of $250.00 and often significantly higher price points than mine -

so I realized I was forcing the buyer to buy more items and also maybe losing any lower price point advantage I had, but I decided to stick to it because I know in my heart that orders for less than this will probably not generate a long lasting wholesale relationship and I was clear with my intention going into these shows that was what I wanted.

I will continue this post tomorrow or maybe next week - I am trying to blog less this summer (you might have noticed) to focus on this new direction for my studio and also to have some extra family time plus I've got these wholesale orders to fill ...

xo

(yes, that awesome old truck is part of my display - my lockets are fabricated from car parts after all - and yes, many people commented on it and wanted it .. badly .. and were pretty much begging me to sell it to them - I didn't want to make them any more jealous by telling them I have two - if my makings were half as popular as that truck I'd be bringing home the big bucks folks)

how are you? fine, I hope ...

2011-08-09T16:56:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to post for an hour and a half - I've lost 2 posts, 3 pounds and a demented boggle (ie beagle/boston terrier, ie mutt) who fled the room when I screamed NOT AGAIN! at blogger ... sigh

I have no energy left to rewrite what was about to be my most phenomenal post ever - the kind of post that would be picked up by some blogger super-mega-group and catapult my blog readership into the stratosphere ...

oh well at least I have poptarts .. and you guys, you guys and poptarts make everything better

The only thing left to write about is my post office visit today - where

1. the postal clerk Joe told another customer that I was a painter

(huh?)

I just smiled and didn't correct him - I mean wth I did paint the kitchen once

but when I got up to the window I said "Joe, why did you tell that guy I was a painter?" and he said "I thought you were a painter" and I said "no, I'm not"

and he said "well, I thought you were a painter because you always have paint on your hands"

and I was all "huh? - paint on my hands, I always have paint on my hands? I don't always have paint on my hands Joe!"

and then I held up my hands ... and saw ... paint - wth ...

and 2. a sort-of neighbor asked me how my day was going and I told him I was very busy because I just did back to back shows and need to catch up and get back in the groove. And as soon as I didn't just say "fine", he looked all kind of annoyed that he asked.

Then I got all kind of annoyed because what kind of question is "how is your day going so far?" anyway? That's not something you ask someone if you just want them to say "fine."

That question is too specific and has too many syllables and demands an answer. Next time just ask me, "How are you?" So I can just say "fine" and not annoy you.

Ugh!

*hi, how are you? print by thebigharumph

the present moment ... taking what you love and making it what you do

2011-08-08T06:58:00.001-04:00

I have been feeling pulled in alot of different directions lately - and this pulling

(totally self-imposed thinking of course, no one is actually making my body into salt water taffy)

is creating a state of busy-ness that is not a comfortable place for me. I can text and tweet with the best of them (sort of), but I also know I can't live in this perpetual state of distraction and lack of center.

I know all the answers are given to us in the present moment and this is exactly the place I am having trouble accessing lately.

So, this week, even as I fill my wholesale orders from my recent shows

(and production work is often a great way for me to get back into the present moment - especially when brazing because it is hard to be scattered when working with fire)

I will be taking more time for things that center me and getting back into my meditation practice which is the last thing I should let go of, but always seems to be the first thing to go when things get crazy.

Finding the pieces of what we love to do and making them into what we do is where our heart and happiness lies, I think ...

Summer is fading folks, let's not waste another minute of it ...

*I have everything I need and always will print by choosing beauty

All Occasion Cork Necklaces for Gift Shops!

2011-08-07T10:31:00.000-04:00

Some pics of my new all-occasion cork necklace racks for florists, gft shops, etc. The category buttons are changeable on the metal test tube rack. How cute are these mini cork necklaces for birthdays, anniversaries and more!

home sweet home ....

2011-08-04T16:27:00.002-04:00

Back from Chicago last night with a grateful heart for all I have learned these past few weeks and I am now getting caught up with work and life ... hoping to get my blog back on track this Monday, I miss everyone.

xo - Cat :)

* home is in my mind print by the amazing Danita and yes, we make a locket together, too

Olive Takes a Bite Out of L.A.!

2011-07-27T17:19:00.002-04:00

Some pics from Cali! Back from L.A. last night and I am on my way to Chicago tomorrow ... so I guess this makes me kind of a world traveler ... kind of ...

me and my brother Vinnie (not my cousin Vinnie, my brother Vinnie and no, everyone in New Jersey is not named Vinnie)

xo all - will try to write from the windy city

alive and kicking and flying to L.A. in the morning ....

2011-07-19T22:13:00.003-04:00

I never, ever play hookey like this - really, truly - I was the girl who went to school every day even on picture day when I had somehow managed to slam my lower lip into a closing car door and had 6 stitches the size and color of a fuzzy caterpillar - the creepy, crawly, huge, black gypsy moth kind - across my face, got teased and ran into the girl's room in tears until my bestest friend painted a magic marker gypsy moth caterpillar on her own face to make me feel better.

I am flying to L.A. in the morning

(yes, I like the sound of that - it is so not me, to be flying to L.A. in the morning, maybe driving to Camden in the morning, that is more like me - but I admit I like the sound of it and I found many occasions to say it today, it is really quite amazing how often it came up

- at the post office - when the girl asked me if I was mailing anything hazardous, liquid or fragile

girl - "are you mailing anything hazardous, liquid or fragile?"
me - "no, but I am flying to L.A. in the morning."

- at the grocery store when the old lady accidentally banged into my ankle with her cart

old lady - "oops"
me - "I am flying to L.A. in the morning"

- to the pizza delivery boy while stopping Olive from knocking him off the front steps

pizza boy - " uh, does she bite?"
me - "no, but I am flying to L.A. in the morning"

it just sounds good, doesn't it and I think it only works with L.A. because next week I am going to Chicago and it doesn't have the same kind of bling about it, you know)

So tonight while I should be pouring shampoos and conditioners and liquid whatnots into little plastic bottles and then putting those little plastic bottles into a one quart clear bag which I am pretty certain I do not have anyway - I have spent the evening staring at my hairline and eating Bagel Bites, periodically opening the empty Bagel Bites carton to see if maybe more cheese stalactites were forming on the underside of the lid ... yum.

There is a little bit of a problem with my hairline - and by hairline I mean the "part" in my hair which I guess is not really my hairline, but it sounds less confusing than saying "part" somehow because I made the last minute decision to color my roots ... myself.

So, I bought one of those root touch up kits that actually GUARANTEES it will match your haircolor - how is this possible I wondered, but I knew they wouldn't say it if it weren't true, right - so I bought the medium blonde, brushed it onto my roots, waited 10 minutes, washed it out and I now have ... red roots, actually orange roots, I have orange roots, not medium blonde roots, orange roots ...

and I am flying to L.A. in the morning

Wish me luck folks - I will post pics from the California Gift Show - if you are in the neighborhood - I am in the Olive Bites booth, I will be the girl with the orange roots ....

xo all

forewarned is forearmed - a little heads up to the fish of the Atlantic Ocean

2011-07-05T09:00:00.002-04:00

Nah, I haven't really gone fishing.

(you can exhale now Mr. Big Billy Bass)

I am getting ready for Beckman's Handmade Wholesale Shows in LA and Chicago and needing to exhale myself a bit before I head into that - yikes!

Have a great week all - enjoy your summer!

xo

*gone fishin screenprint by dmeyerdesigns

Happy 4th of July - from one firecracker to another ...

2011-07-04T08:07:00.001-04:00

I am going to put the giveaways on hold for the summer and revive them after Labor Day! The final 2 winners are:

Cubit's Winner is (chosen at random.org):
True Random Number Generator
Min: 1 Max: 405 Result: 11 = Kaytee!

and the winner of the Inbook giveaway is:
True Random Number Generator
Min: 1 Max: 514 Result: 403 = Resolute Twig!

Congrats and thank you to everyone else who took the time to enter!

* photo by Grundlepuck

the last 168 hours ... - part ll

2011-07-01T06:00:00.008-04:00

... sooo, I'm heading for Brooklyn and just about get to the Garden State Parkway which is about 10 minutes from my house when suddenly the skies turn black and a storm of pretty much Biblical proportions hits out of nowhere.

(a blinding rain, hail, end of the world type situation where sensible people pull over somewhere and wait it out, note - I am not a sensible person)

Actually pulling over is not really an option so I just inch along blindly with everyone else, hoping no one is dumb enough to actually stop and cause a 20 car pile up.

Within a few minutes either the skies have cleared or I have driven through the storm HALLELUJAH! - because the sun is shining again.

I relax.

I try to remember how long the Panera Bread ice tea in my console has been in my car and whether or not it is still safe to drink.

I recheck my mapquest directions and keep driving - thankful to be heading north when all the Friday traffic is heading south ...

until the traffic isn't anymore and I am inching along again.

I get on a highway somewhere at exit 5 or 7 and my mapquest directions tell me to get off at exit 28A, which I am thinking sounds pretty far since I am already passing a Welcome to Brooklyn sign but at least I'm in Brooklyn

(ex-home of the Dodgers, the bridge my great-grandfather once bought - for $17 and a pack of Lucky Strikes, Prospect Park, Coney Island, Junior's Cheesecake, Nathan's Hotdogs ... and Etsy)

so I feel some relief, but am still a little uneasy because the traffic looks endless and I have alot of exits to go before I hit 28A - by now it is about 6:00 (so much for girl math).

After another 30 minutes or so I am at about exit 15 and pass a Thanks for Visiting Brooklyn sign or a You Are Leaving Brooklyn sign or a Welcome to Queens sign or it may have just said You Have Gone Too Far Idiot - Turn Around NOW.

(if I was a cartoon, you would’ve heard the sound of a single percussive tinkle as I blinked at that sign)

I call my daughter and ask her to sign onto twitter and tweet the team that I will be late. I take the next exit, cursing out mapquest, pull into a parking lot and plug the Etsy address into my GPS.

(yes, I have a GPS and I know you are thinking, uh, why didn't you use that - well because #1. it screws up in cities and #2. it can't be programmed until the car is turned off - I guess the designers at Ford never stopped to think that one of their vehicles might have a person in them besides the driver who could safely program the thing while the car is moving, not that I had such a person, of course)

The good news is that I am out of the bumper to bumper stuff and moving along - the bad news is that sometimes my GPS is telling me to make a right when there is no right and sometimes it is telling me to make a left onto a oneway street going right and I have no phone number to call anyone and I am not exactly sure I am in Brooklyn anymore.

(where's Toto or wait Olive ... where's Olive ...)

I get stuck in traffic again at the Pace University graduation, where groups of tall, gorgeous women in blue graduation gowns are all over the street - if anyone knows where this would be let me know. Then I am in Chinatown, which even I know is not in Brooklyn, I think, and on Canal Street and seeing signs for the Holland Tunnel. It is 7:30.

I am now sitting in traffic for the tunnel and feel some strange sense of calmness surrounded by the other New Jersey license plates. I call my daughter and ask if anyone has tweeted her back (not that I thought anyone would be checking twitter messages). She says no so I tell her to just delete her tweet as I inch my way into the tunnel.

(back to New Jersey and into another traffic jam heading to the shore for the weekend)

I got home around 11:00. Hubby asked how the meeting went without glancing up from his book, which kind of annoyed me, so I just said fine, pretend strangled him behind his back and went to bed.

(plus I was a little pissed he hadn't insisted on playing Hoke to my version of Miss Daisy's declining years and prevented this entire fiasco)

So, that is the story of how Cat almost got to visit Etsy -

(and yes, I like to talk about myself in the 3rd person, except I usually say 'the Cat' ... drives Olive crazy)

the next day hubby had a breathing problem and chest pain at work and we ended up in the emergency room where he would spend the next 2 days - well, not in the emergency room although it felt like 2 days in the emergency room, but in the hospital, having every test in the book including a stress test that he totally aced - he is 100% OK thankfully - and being waited on hand and foot ... poor Olive ....

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - I will post the winner of the last 2 giveaways of the season on Monday morning! (to steal one from Sherry - kiss the ones you love)

xo

* wounded and abandoned umbrellas by cat eye photography
* traffic jam by lolas room
* let's find some beautiful place to get lost by I screen you screen

the last 168 hours ... AKA the girl math controversy - part l

2011-06-30T08:46:00.010-04:00

yes, I'm still alive and kicking, all 112 lbs of me

(or was that what I weighed in ~~4th grade~~. high school, although I can still wear the same earrings I wore back then, please don't hate me, so that pretty much guarantees I am still the same size - I think this is called girl math)

anyhoo ...

Friday June 24th (picture me typing this on an old black Royal, pencil behind my ear, slugging back a nasty looking mug of black coffee) - I wake up thinking about team EcoEtsy's meet up -

(for those of you who are not so up on things like this, and if that is you, please get up on things like this because I can't keep stopping to explain things to you (smiles sweetly), this is a new way of saying "meeting" but without any actual meeting-like things going on, such as note-taking, yawning and daydreaming about the coffee and donuts at end of said meeting)

at Etsy headquarters at 6:00.

Since 2011 is my "year of deciding" I had decided to see just how last minute I could make my decision about whether or not to go to this meet up - I like to live on the edge.

(this is the same part of me that likes to go skydiving and mountain climbing and parasailing or wait, that's not me, that's some other girl, but that's how I kind of see myself)

A Friday late afternoon drive into Brooklyn (ok, who am I kidding, any drive into Brooklyn) followed by a Friday night, in the summer, drive back to the shore (if you've ever done this you can feel my pain, if you haven't just picture bumper to bumper traffic; cars stretched out in front of you as far as the eye can see with people who look slightly like Snookie and the Situation screaming obscenities at each other or making out on the hood of their car, not sure which would be worse) did not sound good.

Of course, the actual "meet-up" part in the middle of all this driving would make it all worth it - I would get to meet some amazing people, force myself out of my comfort zone and get to see the actual, physical Etsy.

Anyhoo, back to Friday morning

(and yes, this is going to be one of those long drawn out posts, grab a cup of tea or maybe one of those mega-caffeinated drinks to stay awake here)

I wake up feeling very ~~sleepy~~ positive. I check my morning email and there is a message from Tarot.com about a free one card tarot reading - I type in the words - "should I go to the meet up?"

(yes, this is how a year of deciding is done people)

Then I swish the cards around with my mouse and pick one.

Of course, I have forgotten what card comes up - maybe the 3 of cups? - whatever it is the meaning is a group of like minded people and the picture looks like they are having a party - so I'm thinking this is amazing, quickly favorite the site for more year of deciding decision making later on, and decide to go.

I mapquest the directions and try to figure out how many people will show up. The team has, I think, about 400 world-wide members so I take a guess at 15 (girl math again) and decide (without another Tarot reading because I couldn't get another free one until tomorrow plus I have to do some actual deciding on my own after all) to make 30 EcoEtsy cork necklaces - my thinking here is that since I didn't RSVP I better not show up empty handed.

Of course the hours are getting later, the skies grayer and I have to work fast. At about 2pm I am in my bathroom with a hairdryer hoping for some miracle dry-time results. Now, I am not claiming brain surgery here and this is a process I could likely teach to an 8 year old (and if I had one and a respirator to fit her, she would have been in that bathroom instead of me - extreme times call for extreme measures folks), but it takes time and this living by the seat of my pants lifestyle I have going on is challenging, again please don't hate me for this.

The necklaces are dry enough to go into the test tubes without sealing themselves to the glass like your grandma's dentures (which I hope for her sake ... and yours ... are in there pretty tight) and I finally get into my car at 4:00 - mapquest has told me I need 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there so (again using girl math) I quickly calculate an additional 40 minutes or 50% more time for traffic ...

it was something like this except I used my right index finger and the air in front of my face or maybe an abacus I am kind of old ---->

Well, the morning is flying and I have to get ~~ready to watch the Casey Anthony trial~~ to work so will finish this up tomorrow ... one heads up about the outcome - girl math sucks folks.

GIVEAWAY - Cubit's - organic, rare and heirloom seeds! CLOSED

2011-06-27T06:00:00.003-04:00

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 7/4!

Cubit's is the wonderful organic seed shop of Toronto foodie Laura Watt.

Laura is an artist and gardener and food blogger and her wonderful shop Cubit's is an amazing source for high quality organic, rare and heirloom seeds.

She believes that everyone can grow their own delicious organic produce -

and that people who have a good relationship with their food are happier!

We are so lucky to have a giveaway for her amazing seeds!!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $24.00 Gift Certificate at Cubit's Organics!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by Sunday, ~~July 3rd!~~ Good Luck!

Happy Friday All and olive shares a video

2011-06-24T06:30:00.001-04:00

Olive loves this pup Ricochet and since Ricochet is doing some fundraising Olive insisted

(ie refused to get off the couch, otherwise known as her bed)

I share this one. There is a little lesson in here about letting go of our expectations of others (yes, even our pups ... sniffle) so they can grow into themselves.

Last week's giveaway winner for Ophelia's Apothecary's $35.00 gift certificate chosen by random.org is = Min: 1
Max: 564 Result: 264 Ana Carina
- congrats Ana and thank you to everyone who took the time to enter!

Enjoy this first weekend of summer everyone!

Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Heart Is ... the gift of investing in ourselves

2011-06-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Back when I had a "real job" at a desk that wasn't located within 10 feet of a washing machine, with a weekly paycheck and a dental plan, I didn't think much about investing money into it.

(it was more about getting money out of it)

I mean, I bought books related to my job and clothes so I would fit in and look the part,

(even the uncomfortable shoes that were way too uncool to be that uncomfortable)

and I took classes when the company paid for them - but it usually ended there.

I didn't think of these things as investing in myself.

(although of course, they were)

When we land, are pushed or jump into the world of the self-employed we need to evolve out of this employee-mindset.

(a mindset that is all about someone else taking care of us and getting as much money out of our venture as possible while putting as little money in as possible - the old employee paradigm that can keep us stuck)

It is easier to put money into our business when the return on investment is obvious and fast - a new piece of equipment that obviously speeds things up for us, a new app that streamlines certain routine tasks, buying things in bulk that we use all the time - it may be harder to put money into things that don't always have such visible returns right away.

Things like classes and books and ebooks and seminars are the kinds of investments in our business (and ourselves) that adjust our mindset from employee thinking to self-employed thinking

and

send vibrations out into the ethers that we are ready to invest in ourselves, that we trust our business will be around long enough to recoup the return on investment - that we aren't going anywhere - that we will be sticking around awhile ...

Maybe this summer would be a good time to invest in something that supports the long term goals of our business.

"As for the future, your task is not to predict it, but to enable it.”
... antoine de saint-exupéry (love that one)

*the past is the future - wood block print by lucius art

GIVEAWAY - Inbook - Upcycled Book iPhone / iPod Charging Dock! CLOSED

2011-06-20T06:43:00.007-04:00

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY!
know I said last week was my last giveaway until fall, but ... I changed my mind!

(which is totally allowed because this is my blog, although I did have to talk it over with Olive first)

I love books and I love upcycled books, so when I had the chance to grab us an amazing upcycled book charging dock from Inbook for your iPod or iPhone (Maccies pay attention here) I had to take it!

It looks like a mild-mannered book on a table or a desk, you almost don't notice that it's a charger.

No more dropping the cord behind the desk! The charging cord is well secured into the book, and it's designed to be compatible with all iPods and iPhones (iPhone 3G, 3GS & iPhone 4G).

Rich Neeley creates these in his studio in Southern California and I think these are super clever and would look amazing in anyone's home. He also has a great book selection.

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $57.00 Inbook gift certificate to choose your Inbook charging dock!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact information below!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog
(5) Facebook this post
(5) Follow Rich on facebook

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:
Enter by midnight, ~~Sunday, June 26th!~~ Good Luck!

Happy Friday- new work in my Uncorked and Polarity shops & a giveaway winner!

2011-06-17T07:00:00.001-04:00

I made time -

(yes, I am "making time" now, please don't hate me, I still can't make a decent egg salad sandwich)

to get some new work into both shops this week including 2 new beaded lockets - a) another locket with the amazing Rachelle Levingston b) a new locket with the amazing (and patient) Caragh Buxton and c) a fishing fanatic keychain with the incredible watercolor artist (and Rachelle's dad) Richard Beck!

The winner of last week's giveaway for Mary's Granddaughter's wonderful moleskin journal as chosen by random.org is:
Min: 1 Max: 371 = 319! Carolyn McIntyre! Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter. My current giveaway is the last one for the summer when the internet gets lazy and I do, too - so don't miss entering this one!

I wrote a shop critique of a wonderful natural woodworking shop Earnest Efforts HERE that might have some info other makers can use.

Hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend filled with sunshine and laughter ...

(and kittens and puppies and bunnies and ... yes, I've gone soft, don't tell anyone)

xo all

Allowing the Still Point ... when to stop looking

2011-06-14T18:27:00.003-04:00

Maybe this sounds familiar to you - once I have found what I am looking for on my computer - many times I can't stop looking.

and I am fairly certain this "can't stop looking" thing will only get us into trouble - the kind of trouble that starts with a carpal tunnel injury and ends with our arrest on charges of peeping tommery because we just "can't stop looking"

I continue to search for more and more information until I am satisfied (rarely) or overwhelmed or something else catches my ever-shortening attention span and I begin another search.

What happens when we fill ourselves with more and more information without allowing the "still point" - the time and the space to absorb what we learn?

I think as artists we instinctively need to grow through experience and not through this "looking" thing -

and I think we instinctively reach for a connection.

It's why so many of us have blogs and talk to other makers in an attempt to make this big old internet a smaller more connected place - a place where the stuff that is real gets separated from the stuff that is not real - the place where we absorb; the place with a still point.

I would bet that one day some neurologist will discover that far from making our children smarter - by plopping their diaper clad butts in front of a laptop at 3 years old - we are changing their neural makeup -

forcing their brains, in an effort to keep up with this speed of information, to grow in unintended ways, leaving other parts of the brain to languish -

maybe the parts that would have created something much more amazing than anything a computer can show us - and that something will maybe never get created because those brain cells, the ones that make us artists, the ones that make us human, the ones that lead us to form connections with other people never had a chance - they were overrun by the brain cells that multiplied faster than rabbits in an effort to 'keep up' ... maybe this is the real computer virus ...

(sorry to be a downer Dora or maybe a downer Dora the Explorer as my niece would say)

I hope everyone is making some plans to unplug this summer - it is the perfect time for it - maybe seeking out other ways to gather information besides Google would be a good place to start since Google gets me in trouble - searches are like potato chips to me now, I just want more and more ...

xo

(also the perfect time to eat healthier and get outdoors and away from our computers - in fact, this was driven home to me just last week when I came to the sad realization that I was getting winded trying to unclog the nozzle on my spray butter ... luckily I could Google the problem and get the damn thing working)

*stillness mixed media print by mae chevrette

LAST Giveaway Until Labor Day - one week only - Ophelia's Apothecary $35.00 Gift Certificate! CLOSED

2011-06-13T06:39:00.004-04:00

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED FRIDAY!

Ophelia's Apothecary is the wonderful little Kansas shop where all kinds of amazing potions and lotions and handmade aromatherapy products to nourish mind and body.

They have a wonderful assortment of amazing goodies and I think you will loove this shop.

This will be my last giveaway until fall and it's a short one so don't miss entering below!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a $35.00 Ophelia's Apothecary gift certificate!

Upcycling Flea Market Finds for Your Garden or don't be afraid to mess with the old stuff

2011-06-09T06:00:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was my favorite local flea - which was disappointing because it had alot more new junk than old junk this year but I did manage to find a couple nice oldies but goodies

including a boardwalk faucet (imagine how many sandy feet this baby has rinsed off), some vintage spools (I buy these once in a while for my display - they make great hangers), a Partridge Family lunchbox for only 15 bucks (a bargain and my daughter collects them) and these 3 amazing pinball games from the 30's that I had never seen before.

Sometimes these old finds seem too precious to actually use and maybe once in a while they are, but mostly things are made to be useful

(the same goes for people)

so don't hesitate to make some old thing into something else.

Adding some clear beads and fishing thread to the faucet (remove head, thread through, tie off the beads and trim thread) adds a little whimsy to a potted plant.

Winding some wire hangers around the spool

(I used a little fire to make this work, but you can totally do this without it)

to form wings and a dragonfly body and attach it to an old metal garden stake and you've got another upcycled garden doodad.

There are some gorgeous handmade gardening goodies on Etsy, too!

1. monkeys always look
2. simply pretty prints
3. blossom farm
4. glazed over
5. kat gallery
6. pumpkin ridge pottery

Chris and Kella Launch Suburban Camping Company! plus a little Seth on "shipping" which reminded me of their venture and Meditation part lll

2011-06-08T07:06:00.005-04:00

Kella and Chris MacPhee have launched their amazing new business called Suburban Camping Company - operating in the NJ area at the moment - they bring the outdoor camping experience to any backyard and they make that experience amazing - "they offer the smell of burnt marshmallows, the feel of wet grass and the sound of storytelling"

I just love it!
Hubby and I are going to schedule the Tent for Two for our anniversary in August. It features a vintage-style tent set up in our backyard with a comfy bed and lots of old school camping props, drinks and even breakfast in bed - it is pure genius!

They have lots of family and kids packages including a wonderful little send off party for Harry Potter's final episode with cots and sleeping bags and an outdoor movie set-up - I'll post more on these later, but check out their site HERE!

(we will probably rent the movie, too - we have to decide which movie we want to watch on a gigantic outdoor screen - what is the best anniversary movie - probably something classic - maybe Kate Hepburn I love her)

Now I have really dropped the ball on this meditation series and I thought for certain week 3 (week 5 now) was the week these instructions talked about inward vs. outward meditation, but it turns out week 3 simply introduces the addition of 3 cleansing breaths

(which you must step outdoors to do - or at least stick your head out the window)

so after we have finished our meditation - in my case when my oven alarm sounds letting me know my time is up - we go outside and take 3 deep, slow cleansing breaths. This is a release and renewal step that helps with grounding. Even when things are really crazy we can always find time for this grounding step and something about deep breathing fresh air always helps me think straight. Next week our inward / outward focus with this thing gets introduced.

Seth's talk about "shipping" -

(what we do for a living is not 'be creative' what we do for a living is 'ship')

at the 99% conference is something makers will just love and reminded me of what Kella and Chris are doing with their new business! I think you will like it.

* breathe print at TwoPaperdollsShop

How Big is that Pig - stopping human antibiotic use in animals

2011-06-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Last week the NRDC filed suit (along with some other groups including the Union of Concerned Scientists) to force the FDA to do its job.

(which according to its website is to :

protect the public health by assuring that foods are safe, wholesome, sanitary and properly labeled; human and veterinary drugs, and vaccines and other biological products and medical devices intended for human use are safe and effective)

Even though the FDA has known for decades that giving human antibiotics to healthy animals can create monster bacteria that threaten human health they have done nothing.

(nada)

Antibiotics are obviously a good thing and have saved us from diseases that were once death sentence. But now, multi-drug resistant infections are on the rise at the same time the development of new antibiotics, due to cost constraints, are at an all-time low.

70% of all antibiotics in the U.S. are being wasted on healthy cows, pigs and chickens for things like growth promotion (!) creating drug-resistant superbugs that put everyone at risk.

We all know by now not to take and not to give our children unnecessary antibiotics and our doctors carefully weigh their options before prescribing them to us, but The National Academy of Sciences has stated:

"a decrease in the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in human medicine alone is not enough. Substantial efforts must be made to decrease inappropriate overuse of antimicrobials in animals and agriculture as well."

All 27 member states of the European Union have banned the use of important human antibiotics for growth promotion in animals. Hundreds of the world's leading consumer and public health agencies have demanded this practice come to an end.

Here is the petition we can sign to ask FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to ban the use of antibiotics in healthy animals. I can't believe after so many years we are still talking about this issue and nothing has been done- hopefully this lawsuit will have some real teeth in it.