Whining Wednesday - without the actual ... well, whining

I can't really whine because I am way too much a glass half full

(with vodka)

kind of girl these days, so let's just call this a Wednesday fireside chat

(because it's Wednesday and hot enough to start a fire)

Chat 1 - My bud Sherry Truitt's excellent research into what does and does not work with our banner ad advertising "campaigns" has me realizing that I have not done any extensive research in a long time.

(maybe since I was a child when I put a wet washcloth on a piece of bread and lay it in the back of the broom closet to see if I could grow mold - I could - I also once took the telephone apart)

Remember when we did research instead of googling things? Now, we suspect that someone else has already done the research and it would be a waste of our time to re-search, so we search google for five minutes and either get our answer or give up.

But, Sherry has inspired me and I am going to research something .... not sure what yet, but the idea of little graphs and charts

(with maybe some action figures thrown in from my happy meal collection)

really gets my juices flowing ... it has to be something I can do in pencil, too ... I really need a reason to use my graphite.

Chat 2 - OK, so was anyone else stunned to see Nicole get voted off Work of Art?! I was speechless. I had to do a couple laps around my studio to make sure I was still on planet Earth.

Granted that nature piece was not her best work ... but still ...

Chat 3 - On Friday I will have my first acupuncture treatment - I am curious if anyone has done this.

My bud Kristen Tercek recommended a local healer she and her hubby have seen a couple times named Shelby Sickles. I am thinking with a name like that she has to be good.

<---- (kind of like these guys)

I will let everyone know how that goes. Have been having the tingling in arm and fingers and shoulder pain for a while again, so hoping this "energy reset" will help.

(editor's note- so after I wrote this I was warned about acupuncture bruising and have been thinking that bruises all over my neck before a show is probably not a good idea - maybe I will have to do a little research about this - better grab my Speed Racer action figure and a sharpened number 2 for this one ... )

Chat 4 - I am off to Vegas in a few days. My sister is meeting me there to help me at Pool and we have already decided that if we are going to lose money, it is going to be through shopping - hoping some of those cash and carry tables will have a minimum purchase of ... well ... one item ... - and not through a poorly played hand of blackjack.

(neither of us are gamblers, unless you count our willingness to use public restrooms and eat street food)

Also hoping that what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas and I come home with a few new wholesale accounts.

Well, got nothing else. Busy making jewelry and packing things up and trying to stay cool through this hottest summer on record!

Take 10 Tuesday - the lazy-girl summer version where we get to 7 this week

1. Are you all in? over at Illuminated Mind

2. It's not time to scale back the gulf oil clean up - is it? over at TreeHugger

3. How much of yourself do you have to reveal to succeed? over at thinktraffic


4. An assistant orders a sandwich at D.A. Wagner

5. Carmen Torbus announces a scholarship contest

6. Brenda shares some tips for selling handknits on Etsy at Phydeaux Designs

7. Rachel's new blog is filled with total gorgeous inspiration!

8. 55 quotes to inspire creativity, innovation and action over at awake at the wheel

authenticity print by emilyleypaper

Enthusiasm is the beautiful beginning that changes everything ... hell, yeah

On Saturday night, after weeks of deliberation, I finally purchased Danielle LaPorte's Firestarter Sessions to see if they could get me a bit more "fired up" for my upcoming wholesale shows.

I scrolled within seconds to the following paragraph - in a 192 page ebook with maybe 350 (?) paragraphs. (HELLO!)

"Enthusiasm is the genuine Yes! that will uncork your genius, signal your muses to come down, and magnetize the resources you need to be within your reach. Enthusiasm is the beautiful beginning that changes everything." - Danielle LaPorte

If you know what I sell you can see why these words jumped right off the page and into my head and heart! KABAM!

It felt truly like a gigantic YES! from the universe just for me at exactly the moment I needed it (almost knocked me right out of bed).

(or am I like the guy who buys the red Honda and then sees red Hondas everywhere?)

Anyhoo, wishing you a week filled with the kind of magical synchronicities that will knock you right out of bed, too ...

lovin' this winking, gunning cat by retrowhale

Friday Finds - Inspiration is Everywhere!

These wonderful little totems from Donald Corey are designed to create a visual reminder of our goals.

The cricket represents 'Luck', the spider 'Power' and the lightning bug, 'Creativity'."

These pieces have me thinking of all the ways we can tell stories with our own work.

So, instead of calling that blue necklace we've been working on 'blue necklace' maybe a name like .. 'clarity' would allow our buyer to see how wearing our work can bring the ideals of our intention into their own life when wearing it.


Could these clothes hangers by Anna Thomas be any more perfect?
The simplicity and brilliance just takes my breathe away!

How can our own work shout something so amazing, so simply?

Damn that is a great intention to work on.

And how brilliant is this Red Bull "airdrop" freebie marketing campaign on this college campus?


This project was developed as an interactive experience.

The objective was to break the passiveness of the experience of free product samples and involve the students in an interactive experience where they would become a part of the campaign itself.

How can we make our own customers part of our campaign? This one has really got me thinking!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and remember that inspiration is everywhere!

Recycled Book Book-Rack DIY Upcycled Tutorial

By now I am sure you are thinking that I am obsessed with drilling into books, but I really do love my books and hate to put holes in them ....

(maybe I need a 12 step)

Here an old book easily makes a great little bookrack that you are going to love!

This also allows you to stand up some books on a shelf that may be a bit too narrow for them.

what you need:

a hard cover book that you have already read
2 hardware handles (not sure what these are called, I got them in the hardware store near the drawer pulls and hinges)
4 bolts
drill, drill bit that is larger than your handle hardware

1. measure your hardware and mark your drilling holes
2. drill slowly and firmly
3. drop in your handle hardware
4. bolt underneath and on top
5. add some books



And some amazing Etsy finds for you bibliophiles:


1. Leather Journal by Julie Boyles
2. Great Rules of Writing Wood Notepad by Quotes and Notes
3. Unblocked Tee by Citrus Tree
4. Keep Calm and Read On by KeepCalm Shop
5. Eco-friendly Chalkboard by HalfpintSalvage

Take 10 Tuesday - the lazy girl summer version where we get to 7 this week

1. Carmen drops a love bomb (we are totally doing this!)

2. More Than Lemonade Part I and Part II- Sherry Truitt gets real on advertising - excellent

3. Why Entrepreneurs Need Community by Glen Stansberry for Awake at the Wheel.

4. step away from the karma, choosing not to get involved at Danielle LaPorte (this is a little older, but I just saw it - if you are not reading Danielle, you probably will be).

I had jury duty a couple years ago after getting out of it a few times

(a very hard thing to do here in New Jersey)

and I got to be the jury foreman - because I was sitting in seat #1 and the judge asked me a couple questions and determined I was not a total idiot (just a couple questions, so it was easy for me to fool him). It was nothing life or death, very cut and dry and only lasted a couple days and I loved it - a very interesting experience.

5. The cool kids and why that's a flawed idea by Sister Diane at CraftyPod

6. Sheena Iengar podcast on the art of choosing at TED

7. The Law of Anti-Attraction by Sonia Simone.

choose photograph by anwaar on flickr

Why The World Wants Needs Our Passion - the why of our business ...

"don’t ask what the world needs. ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - howard thurman

So, I truly, truly believe that it is the passion in people that draws us to them and draws us to the things they have created - our energy seeking out energy that makes us feel good - that makes us feel more alive -

the law of attraction thing that doesn't involve diamonds and maseratis.

As I get ready for my first wholesale shows I had gotten myself a bit stressed out about the sales part of all of this (and all the other parts, but this particular part at this particular moment).

I am not any kind of "sales" person in the sense that I can flatter, cajole or close the sale.

Ever notice how hard it is at a craft show to just say the words -"can I wrap this up for you?" ... ugh ... I used to be better at that when I sold things I didn't create.

I think the more personal the work we sell gets, the harder this gets for some of us.

As I am saying "can I wrap this up for you?" - I am hearing "do you like me?" - damn this stuff is hard)

Anyhoo, I realized just this morning that I have actually been looking at this entire situation backwards. The question isn't what am I losing by not having a salesperson and how do I bring that to the table - well, that question does need to be addressed and I will get to that one, but the bigger question is what advantage do I have as the maker that the salesperson in the booth next to me does not have?

Well ... I have the why of this whole thing because I am the why. I have the passion!

Now, how I translate this passion into actual words that will reach the other person - because I can't just jump around and act all ... well ... passionate ...

(this would probably get rather exhausting and might even earn me a quick trip to one of those famous Las Vegas institutions for people who are a little too passionate - like those prophetizing the end of the world on street corners or selling other things on street corners)

so I am thinking the key to all of this goes back to my why and connecting that why to those store owners who have their own whys for their own businesses.

For example I think that most people (when given the choice and the story - the why - the passion - of the maker providing that passion is about more than making money) want to buy handmade.

(and I should note I am not saying there is anything wrong with the maker wanting to make money too, of course, if we are selling our makings we want to make money, but a higher calling does create a higher energy)

And I think that most people want to buy sustainable, eco friendly goods provided that 1. they do not have to go to any incredibly heroic lengths to do so, 2. that you do not make them feel bad about not doing so - no green-guilt please, I just hate that and I'm sure others do, too and 3. that the items are truly cool and beautiful and not just "green". It isn't enough to be made from something already out there or something organic or something "green". It has to stand on its own two feet. My work does. So this is the kind of stuff I will be talking about with these store owners - why their customers will want to buy my stuff from them!

Oh, and I will be saying "can I write up an order for you?" or even better, if I am feeling very brave (please, please let me be feeling very brave) "did you want the show special or to choose your own selection?"

As a side note, well 2 side notes actually: I went to the chiropractor and he did an ultrasound treatment on my forearm/elbow area for tendonitis and it totally cured my posion ivy which just happened to be in exactly the same place on my arm for almost a month (in less than 5 minutes) so you may be reading about this in medical journals oneday.

(if there is anyone out there who reads medical journals and Olive Bites blog)

I should add that a friend had also given me Louise Hays book, "You Can Heal Your Life" . The book's suggested cause for poison ivy is “feeling defenseless and open to attack.” Her suggestion for a new thought pattern to cure this is: “I am powerful, safe, and secure. All is well.”

So, maybe the combination of ultrasound and ultrasound thinking has finally cured this thing.

Also has anyone seen an eggplant like this one - we have 3 of these growing in the garden - what the hell is going on with our eggplant?? (I added the rootbeer for a size comparison)

They look like some kind of genetic engineering experiment gone wrong- I wonder what Louise Hays would say about this?



mad, passionate love print by theloveshop and learn it print by iamserious both are available in their etsy shops