I'm late, I'm late ...

for a very important date ...

(ugh)

the dreaded April 15th approaches ...

(which also happens to be David's birthday - coincidence? I think being born on a day that makes 309,000 Americans tremble is probably not a lucky thing)

I just realized (yes, I am opening my tax documents on April 12th - me bad) that some stores that sent me MISC-1099's pay me through Paypal and so are also included in my 1099K - I hope it doesn't make me look fishy when the IRS does their tallying (although I guess they have thought this all through) ...

note to self - do not do anything that will add to the fishiness of this return like the year I only had a red marker handy and used that or the year I left a mocha-scented stain in the shape of Elvis Costello in the upper right hand corner

and hubs and I are going to a customer's (of his that I have never met) house for dinner this weekend which is also stressful. I shook loose some Emily Post-style etiquette from the deeper recesses of my brain today and called his customer's wife to see if we could bring anything and she said

"just bring whatever you would want us to bring if we came to your house"

which is so not something to tell me because now I am thinking either a new Nook cover (which they may or may not need and I may or may not be able to get to take home with me at the end of the night) or George Clooney, lightly drizzled with maple syrup.

Although I wasted some time deciding whether they'd dig a fabric floral or a smaller but more maneuverable magnetic leather cover in the end I decided it best to play the professional wife of man going to customer's house here and bring wine which I have to admit I know next to nothing about -

yes, I know you probably thought I did, but I only know wine corks- as in where they come from, how they are produced and that the red ones have stains that are very, very hard to work with

and since the kinds I tend to purchase have a handle on top of the box so you can more easily lift it onto the sofa beside you to most easily snuggle with it during particularly intense Celebrity Apprentice episodes - not that I do this ...

(Celebrity Apprentice is my reality show obsession this season - I am without a favorite player right now though - maybe Paul, Sr)

and I always ignore anything with a domesticated animal on the label or with the kind of ornate curling fonts you see in funeral programs - this does not leave me many options - if anyone has a suggestion please let me know, with an emphasis on please.

In the middle of this my nephew called and asked me if I had won the internet yet (is everything a game to this under 36" crowd?) -

and actually looking at my estimated (I should say guess-timated at this point) net income figures I am not so much in a winning position as loitering somewhere around St. James Place.

But at least I'm on the board and in the game - I have passed GO and did not go directly to jail ... yet ... which reminds me - I have to get back to my taxes - have an amazing weekend everyone

(yes, I realize it is only Thursday, but tomorrow night I will be delivering George Clooney that bottle of wine).

I hope your tax returns are stamped and sent and you are snuggled on the sofa with a six pack of red watching Celebrity Apprentice - also let me know which player you are most annoyed with .... xo all

* alice print by the amazing Anne-Julie Aubrey of the Nebulous Kingdom and yes she has a locket or two

the giant sequoias need our help ...

The giant sequoia trees are among the largest and oldest living things on the planet and

the Giant Sequoia National Monument is home to half of all the giant sequoia trees living in the world today.

The Department of Agriculture is considering several plans that would allow logging within Giant Sequoia National Monument (while they are not considering logging the sequoias logging the trees near them will make the Sequoias much more vulnerable). Logging makes a forest drier, more flammable and less able to adapt to changing climate.

The Sierra Club, which was founded 120 years ago to protect this area is asking for a protocal to justify why they’d cut a tree. It is too important to be an arbitrary decision. This should be a no-brainer.

The petition to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is HERE if anyone else is interested.

* redwood trees print by immortal pomegranate

Navigating Change for Makers Part I - giving up the myth of certainty for the gift of faith (or why being a security-junky serves no one, especially not ourselves) Part I

We don't get to know what is going to happen.

(yes, even those of us with a magic eight ball that doesn't conjure up - reply hazy, try again - 99% of the time like mine does)

We don't get to have sure-things and job securities and relationships that are guaranteed to never ever evolve away from us.

(and this sounds like it sucks - but only if you don't think it through to the end I promise)

There may have been a time in our planet's history that those things were available - that with a fixed attitude you could create a fixed outcome - but times have changed - we can't go home again and anchoring ourselves with an abundance of comfort and security on the straight and narrow path actually throws the entire planetary system off-course.

(yes, we are, each and every one of us that important!)

Because the irony is that there is nothing certain about certainty anyway

(we need a new definition please Mr. Webster)

and the only guarantee that really comes with doing the thing that seems the most likely to produce that good safe outcome

is that we get to go through life wondering how things could have been if only we weren’t so fixed on the most sure thing, if only we weren't so determined to hold onto what used to work for us (or even worse what used to work for someone else) -

if only we weren't so scared.

(cue the Jaws music here)

Now the opposite of fear is not courage in its modern definition. Since courage is something that can only evolve by facing fear (in a feel the fear and do it anyway, kind of way) and that isn't how other opposing polarities work after all. You don't get cold by facing up to heat or get silence by being very loud.

(although silence can speak very loudly so I may be on the wrong track with this part)

The root of the word courage is cor (the Latin word for heart) though, so we can work with that one.

Courage originally meant to speak one's mind by speaking one's heart.

As makers we have to do this, we can't not do it, it is who we are and why we are here and without an intrinsic "wholeheartedness" to our work we may as well be living in another century because this one - the one our souls have chosen to fully participate in - will pass us by.

And if you are still thinking this is a bus you would rather leave the station without you I ask that we consider that the uncertainty of this exact period of time is a gift -

that without a big picture to guide us we can do ... well, anything actually!

I have been shaky with uncertainty so many times in the past few months -

(yes, spilling coffee and long held beliefs all over the livingroom, life is messy)

and shaky (remember that DeNiro movie and Oliver Sacks book about the illness where people shook themselves to the point of rigidity) can lead to stillness (a good thing) which leads to action (another good thing) - and perhaps most importantly it evolves into a kind of softening

(or rigidity, it is always up to us after all - but if we do not want to end up in a room with people in white coats throwing plastic balls at our heads - you may have to see the movie to know what the hell I am talking about here - softening is probably the way to go)

a less certain way of being in the world that is well ... pretty damn amazing at times.

Up Next - Navigating for Makers Part II - the gift of uncertain times

*have your cake print by DB Artist

(In my quest to finish up any unfinished business - can unfinished business ever be finished?? - I had a past life telephone reading with an amazing intuitive a friend recommended - I don't want to bore everyone with the details but I do want to say that she said hubs had had many lives in the military and was a high up general and me ...

was I Cleopatra, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman?

well, no I wasn't.

But ... I was ... a whirling dervish

yes, you heard me folks, hubs was a general and I was a whirling dervish - which explains why he calls everything a "mission", is very precise and organized, hates the cold and is obsessed with foot care - it also explains why I like to eat wild mushrooms, my propensity to spin myself into delirium and fondness for tall hats - she also said I have access to fairies from many lives as a midwife which explains the sparkly dust in my studio in the morning)

GIVEAWAY - Suck It Up (the holiday is over) CLOSED

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 4/17!

A little giveaway this week to get us back into the swing of things after the spring holidays.

I have an extra 50 cotton candy pink and white straws for someone's summer barbecue!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact info in a comment below.

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
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Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to U.S. mailing addresses only.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight on 4/15 - good luck to everyone! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS: (CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG):

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 10 


KATIE!

Happy Easter and Happy Passover everyone - have a magical weekend

* rachelle levingston bunny (and yes, she has a locket or two)

5 Things Makers Can Learn from the Home Shopping Network (and those other late night infomercials that are keeping so many people up all night)

I used to have a big problem falling asleep

(which has turned into a big problem staying asleep - ugh)

and was kind of an expert on those As Seen on TV uber-amazing gadgets and gizmos that are so hard to resist and seem so magical at 2am.

I don't get to see this stuff as much these days, but if we're thinking this is just all cheesy stuff we don't have to pay attention to we may be missing something.

Like millions of dollars in somethings.

Now, I wouldn't suggest we turn our makings into an infomercial about the virtues of cubic zirconia, but I do think there are things we could learn and apply to our own ventures from this uber-successful selling concept.

1. The hosts create trust by really believing in the stuff they are selling

Now, I get that some of this is called acting and I'm not saying I really believe that Cindy Crawford gets her amazing skin from her skincare line (although she does make me believe she uses her products) and not from botox and collagen, but the passion these hosts have for their brands is unmistakable.

sometimes this passion comes through with an evangelical fervor that borders on the insane and it may just be the Jersey in me that isn't bothered by this, but if we don't think our stuff is totally amazing and freakin' awesome and get a little crazy about it now and then no one else will either

2. They reveal product features gradually

With infomercials it's always - wait there's more and then wait, there's more again. Whether the more is another little feature or benefit or freebie - it seems like the goodies never end and we would be a damn fool not to buy this stuff.

how can we get the - "wait, there's more" factor - into our makings? what is our "more"? how can we get our customers thinking - "holy crap this is an unbelievable combination of things and I can't live without it!"

3. They focus on solutions to problems

An example is that closet hanger thingamajig. They show you the messy closets, the frustrated woman, the sloppy kids dragging their wrinkled selves about the house. They get us thinking "Oh my God I so relate to this" - I think it's the wrinkled kids that does it. Then they slowly introduce their amazing closet hanger thingamajig that we start thinking we can't live without. It's not about getting rid of our messy closets - it's the solution to everything that clutters up our lives - it's the answer to life itself

how are our makings creating a solution for our customers - we don't have to be quite so over the top about it, our niche market may not be the 2am shopping crowd that we need to keep awake but by thinking in terms of how our makings make people's lives better we are definitely going to make stronger connections

4. They bring in experts

I am not sure exactly what the dirty carpet guy expert is an expert in - but it's clear he's an expert - who is going to argue with a guy with a three piece suit and clipboard and handful of cow manure - I mean it's clear this guy means business and knows about dirty carpets.

who are our experts - well, if you sell pillows it could be those home magazines that should be featuring you so you can be telling the world what the experts think about your stuff - find yourself an expert

5. They are like us ... only better

The hosts are always relatable to the audience ... they are just a little bit better organized, handy, good-looking, etc - but not so much that we hate them. The hosts are totally relatable to their target market.

how are we making ourselves accessible? do you wear your own makings? do you have a blog or facebook so people can get to know you? the more your customers see you as a person and not a "manufacturer" the more they will be able to relate to you - it is each of us presenting ourselves as a real person, warts and all .. well, hopefully we don't have any warts, but if we do, there's always photoshop - that makes this big old impersonal internet into a very personal place where we can get to know each other

So, the next time you are ordering a Lint Lizard or a Sticky Buddy at 2am - stop and think about what it was that made you pull out your credit card at 2am and how can you get your late night online shopper to do that, too?!

* New Polarity Locket Magnetic Wrap Bracelet because wrists need love and magnets, too
** Erupting with Awesome print by YellowHeartArt

BARK Magazine Subscription Giveaway! CLOSED

The nice folks at BARK have offered up a subscription to their wonderful magazine to some lucky reader!

If you have a magical pup in your life you will love this magazine!

HOW TO WIN:

It's easy, peasy - just leave your contact info in a comment 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 U.S. mailing addresses only.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight on 4/8- good luck to everyone! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS (CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG) #5
- SILLYLITTLELADY

New Brass Magnetic Interchangeable Lockets in Polarity Shop - oh yes brass is magnetic now!

The new Polarity Brass Locket is out including a gorgeous collaboration with the amazing Mandy Saile of Bijou's Whimsy. These lockets are all fabricated by me from a recycled car part and include a mirror and 3 interchangeable magnet lids. 10% off all brass lockets thru 4/15 with the coupon code BrassRules!

answers $1.00 - correct answers $2.00 - dumb looks are still free (hiring a coach for your maker business)

There may be enough business coaches out there now for us to each have one of our own.

(personally I'm waiting for someone like my old field hockey coach except maybe she won't spit on me when she screams my name loudly enough to have everyone in the stands looking around the grounds for a four legged calico)

Now I have never hired a business coach so my advice is of the "dumb looks are still free" variety

(if I charged for the kind of tidbits I offer up on this blog you would probably all be thinking I had a screw loose, but since I give my tidbits up for free I am pretty certain you are left thinking, that Cat, she is pretty freakin' clever ... once in awhile)

but not knowing what I am talking about has never stopped me before and from what I have heard from friends it hasn't stopped some of the coaches out there who charge oodles, so here is my advice for hiring a coach for your small business:

1. Nice is not always a good thing. Kind is a good thing - you don't want to work with a meanie, but nice is probably not what you need. You probably need to be pushed to the edge of your comfort zone - to see what you are really capable of - you need to sweat.

2. Expertise in your particular field is not a requirement - if you are a knitter and you feel you need the advice of an expert knitter (or someone who has grown their knitting business in a way you aspire to grow yours) what you are really looking for is a mentor not a coach. A coach needs to be a good coach not a good knitter.

(and sometimes a mentor is exactly what you need)

3. Expertise is required. You need someone who knows what you don't know - don't pay someone to tell you stuff you already know - unless what you really need is a kick in the ass to get you going and you can probably find someone to do that for you for free

(I recommend one of those paper signs taped to your back)

You want vision, systems, knowledge and fresh perceptions about your business niche - if things are too general you probably won't get much out of it.

4. Do your homework - you are hiring this person after all. Check references, understand just what you will be getting - materials, proven systems they have developed, private consultations, group consultations, etc - understand the fees

(I have an Etsy friend who hired a coach who helped - ie sent my friend an url to a loan site - her get a small business loan. The coach then collected 10% of the loan since her contract stated she got a percentage of any debt she was able to broker)

when you are paying someone more for an hour of their time than you make for an hour of your time they need to be worth it.

Ask them to connect the dots between the work they did with a client and the results that client achieved.

5. Trust your gut - find someone you like and want to work with.

6. Don't expect too much - unless you are hiring David Blaine you probably can't expect levitating playing cards and disappearing coins (dammit) - this stuff is hard and there aren't usually any easy answers.

A great coach can make a good player into a great player

(and although I'm not sure Coach Spitzer made me into a great player - she did substitute my fear of getting hit with the hockey stick into a fear of her which definitely greatly improved my game)

and we can all benefit from lots of voices having lots of conversations, so I think this is all a good thing just remember if you are looking in this direction to grow your business that a coach is someone you are hiring not a friend you are having coffee with.

(unless you pay your friends by the hour which I may have to start doing actually - sniffle)

* canvas print of 1969 postage stamp by pastpostage

coming up for air ....

I truly, truly believe that when we are who we truly are we attract what is truly ours

(yes, I just said truly four times in one sentence)

and that when we are not being truly (five) ourselves - the part we were supposed to play in this galactic drama we are working out together goes empty - we don't get an understudy after all - it just sits there all hollow and achy while life rearranges itself around our empty places all the while trying to coax us back into ourselves, into the part we are supposed to be playing - the part we agreed to play when we could see the big picture - calling us to find our voice and use it.

These past few weeks (months?) we have been on an emotional roller coaster around here on several fronts. The challenge as always has been to make sure these new circumstances don't cause us to shut down, contract or stop trusting ourselves and life.

To stay open - even when we want to put up the CLOSED sign and go fishing.

I know that surrender and vulnerability are ground zero for creating anything new, anything lasting, anything real.

To love we have to be willing for our hearts to break, definitely open, but maybe all to pieces, too. It takes courage to make the kind of mistakes that bring us to our knees - maybe we do it to evolve at a quicker pace - maybe we want to wake up faster - maybe we just can't not do it.

All the stuff going on in the world is just mirroring all the stuff going on in our individual lives - I truly (yes, I am going for the world record now) believe that so many people I know are being called to slow down, our priorities realigned and drawn back to center for a reason.

DAVID UPDATE - I didn't intend to update about David, but maybe this is all a little too cryptic without it although this post is definitely not all about David. I will say that he has had alcohol relapses (and this is way too small and insignificant a word for what actually happened which included the police and a BAC of .30 and was followed by heartache, anger and finally numbness) and still has received no medication for his schizophrenia - although he did open up to his case manager that he hears voices in the attic talking about him which could be a huge step.

As I write this we have no idea where he is (he walked out of the first day of his day program yesterday) and what we are going to do next .... when I finally broke down at the hospital and said that he was a danger to himself and others and I would sign that and have him committed I was told "it doesn't work that way" (after I have been told for weeks that it does work that way) and he was asked "are you homicidal?" "are you suicidal?" his negative answers and his signature (and mostly I'm sure, his lack of insurance) got him released ...

For so many years we didn't know him. We knew he was out there, but his problems didn't feel connected to us. Now that we know him everything has changed - we can't unknow him - we can't be unconnected.

And although sometimes it feels like the gains have come at too high a price as we struggle to keep our hearts open (I cannot imagine how a parent could go through this with their child - and anyone who has come out the other side - and I pray we are lucky enough to get an other side - still open and connected with the world is my hero) we know in our deepest places that our seeds have been sown into future gardens that we cannot even begin to imagine; gardens that bloom so brightly they will burn our eyes to look at them.

*amazing underwater photography by elle moss

Thankful Thursday or tickets, tailgates and teeth-skin ... yes, you read that right

Taking a little work break to write a Thankful Thursday post about all the amazingness that has been happening around here.

The first 3 things that come to mind are:

1- I am thankful that my sister scored tickets for James Taylor. Yes, Sweet Baby James. This is the woman who teases me about my love for all things Mellencamp when at least he's still mobile.

Hopefully, her seats are close enough to the stage that she'll be able to hear his bones getting brittle and see the wires holding him up and moving him across the stage. True, when Mellencamp sings "when I fight authority" he's talking about the AARP, but at least he won't crumble to dust if you shake him vigorously ... yet ... just kidding Tori. I love James, too.

2. I am thankful that hubs got a new tailgate from the dealer. Hubby went to some kind of "restaurant" auction (are we opening a restaurant now - I don't ask) and his truck tailgate was stolen ... off his truck ... in the parking lot. Someone just lifted it off (you would think these things would be welded on somehow) and carried it away.

(I think it was his "buckle up, it makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car" sticker)

so anyhoo, he got a temporary dented up one from the junkyard and drove around for awhile with one of those sticker families on the wrong color tailgate. The wrong color didn't bother us, but the sticker family with its tiny little row of ... cats ... was driving Olive nuts.

3. I am thankful that Shark Week repeats are now on youtube so we can spend our evenings alternating between Jon Stewart and learning everything you ever wanted to know about Great Whites before we head out to the beach this summer.

Like did you know that the skin of a Great White is composed of denticles, which are like scales made of tiny teeth. How badass is that? This shark can kill you with its skin.

(which is kind of like me right now, have I told you I have a staph infection ... on my nose ... don't ask)

Also sharks prefer Pottery Barn to Target. Trader Joe's to Whole Foods. And they wish to God we'd stop peeing in the ocean.

OK now back to work for me - I feel compelled to mention that there is a new moon right now in Aries which makes it a perfect time to set our intentions for some new things to be thankful for - true you may not be able to manifest the kind of amazingness we have going on over here in Jersey, but James Taylor could be falling apart performing at a nursing home theater near you ....

*ninja tee from geekthings

you don't have a problem you have a predicament ...

A friend said to me this week - "you don't have a problem,

problems have solutions

you have a predicament

predicaments only have prayers"

(and yes, it did make me google predicament because I didn't realize a predicament, although the word does conjure up dire images of maidens tied to railroad tracks ... that could just be me from too many years watching Underdog or Bullwinkle or Mighty Mouse or whatever that was ...  is that much different than a problem)

predicament (pri-dik-uh-muhnt) noun
catch -22, bind, corner, no win situation

I'll write a post about the particulars at some point, but just not today.

It is amazing how much time and energy and power we invest in trying to solve things that are just not solvable even when we know better ...

So, for the week ahead - I will be asking not for a solution, but just to be shown how to live with what already is. Let's see where this takes me ....

the blessing in disguise ....

Sometimes the things we are dealing with feel so big and so important

that making the right decision feels ...

well, literally like life and death -

and this death could be an actual death and it could be the actual death of a dream and since our dreams are literally the stuff our future selves are created from - the death of a dream is huge

And we find ourselves looking for answers about what to do and no matter how still and how quiet we get the only answer seems to be this uncomfortable feeling that something important is happening here and we had better be paying attention ...

and of course, this feeling is uncomfortable because it is a gift -

(if it was comfortable we wouldn't pay attention to it)

so maybe instead of asking for an answer we should be asking for a journey and the ability to recognize the blessings in disguise as we encounter them ...

* his and hers disguises by yellow heart art

New Wine Cork Earrings in Uncorked and a special coupon code

I made some wine cork button earrings for a special bride's special day and a few more for my shop Uncorked.

10% off any Uncorked purchase thru 3/23 with the coupon code BRISTOL (the bride's name - no, not that Bristol) - have an amazing weekend everyone! xo

you don't have to be a lion to sound like one

if you have to wait
for it to roar out of you,
then wait patiently,
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else

...charles bukowski

(lovin' this today - what with it
being international women's day
and all)

when it's better to receive ... more business lessons from the home front

It is better to give than to receive -

just another "truth" that isn't well ... always quite so truthy.

Recently someone asked David, who had defined his occupation as panhandler only 70 days ago, after paying David $25 for a car wash -

"doesn't it feel better to earn $25 than to be given $25 for doing nothing?"

and of course it does feel better to the person doing the earning, because our society places a value on earning and working and we have all internalized this

(warning short rant ahead - maybe this will change when we all internalize, through the crumbling of institutions and lack of employment that paying to live on this planet and working hard at an unpalatable job just to keep a roof over our heads is part of the old paradigm - life is calling on us to find work that makes us feel alive and joyful and instead of running around in circles looking for jobs similar to the jobs that have left us, we need to do the internal work that will draw our right livelihood to us)

but it is just as giving to receive the gift as it is to give it.

It feels good to give.

If someone offered me $5.00 though I wouldn't take it. I would say "no, I don't need this, you keep it".

If someone offered David $5.00 he would take it. The giver would feel good and it would be David giving that person the gift of feeling good.

This better to receive lesson translates to our business in many ways. Only so much can go out before something has to come back in.

Undervaluing ourselves and our work serves no one.

(save that for our copycats in their race to the bottom with their Chinese metals that are not metal and "making" ie applying toxic glue)

Time and energy given out without time and energy taken in serves no one ... not for long anyway.

Next time we are offered up something from life, let's really, really take it in.

(with grace and gratitude and a really large heaping of ... YES, GIMME MORE OF THAT!)

1. Absorb the wonderful feedback you just received - because you are totally awesome and have been working your ass off and earned it

2. When offered the last cookie ... take it

3. When offered help that you would normally refuse ... accept it and be grateful

(gratitude is like a beacon to the universe to send you more)

And maybe if you have been giving for a long time without receiving, you need to become a greedy little bastard for awhile to balance things out and that is ok, too.

(of course, if you are normally inclined to be a greedy little bastard pretty much the opposite may be true for you, but most creative people I know are too quick to give away their power)

Maybe we can change "it's better to give than to receive" into "it's amazing to give and it's amazing to receive, too".

xo all

thankful thursday - business lessons from the home front

I have had so many aha moments lately

(where the hell is Oprah when we need her?)

and maybe the biggest aha AHA has been that when we know something we cannot unknow it.

Life just doesn't support our playing dumb.

(when we were kids and we got in trouble, my sister would cover her eyes thinking that if she could not see our parents they could not see her - even then it didn't work - well, it probably did work because she was kinda cute, but it shouldn't have worked, dammit)

When we learn something and we resonate with it and we know that it is true for us and we do not live it, well, things have a way of just not working out and at the very least things have a way of being alot harder.

It's like we get off easy with a little dumb luck early on, but then life says - ok this one knows more and then ... more is expected.

Anyhoo, although I know from my business that it is best to set my intention and work/enjoy the process without trying to control exactly how everything is going to happen, somehow I have not been translating this knowing to life with David.

We set our intention, take action in that direction, then trust that life will take care of the details.

I realized that this was exactly what I was not doing with David.

I was totally focused on the 'hows' - how to get him to agree to see a psychiatrist, get him housing, health insurance, etc, etc - how was I ever going to make these things happen - I was failing.

Then it hit me that maybe the 'hows' are not my job. And it hit me that I already know this, but I just haven't been doing it.

So, I set a clear intention for myself, because I can't control any of this (and I definitely can't control David) and have been doing what I can with what I have from the place I am right now.

I started seeing David visiting a psychiatrist, moving into a wonderful place with other dual diagnosis men, getting to the doctor, having a happy life and I started spending an hour a day (total) doing something in these areas.

Life rewards action after all, but I also have alot of other things to take action on and since the hows are not my job I trust that there are stronger, better hands at work here.

(since changing my thinking or I should say since taking actions that support the truths I already embrace with my thinking - David has agreed to see a psychiatrist, is going to social services tomorrow for the first time with his new intensive case manager - yay, it took 2 months, but we got one - and he got his fishing license)

xo all

* shoe print by cookstah

staying "in tension" until our intentions are clear so our arrow flies straight and doesn't do one of those wobbly, bobbly freefalls

If we were archers -

we would gather our energy.

We would pull back our bow.

We would take aim.

We would hold our bow "in tension".

This holding position is important to landing our arrow where we intend it to go; to hit our mark.

(of course, if we are in some kind of life and death battle with that arrow then I guess we just let it fly and hope for the best, but most situations we makers are facing today are not quite so dire)

The same way an archer's "in tension" allows her arrow to hit her target, our own intentions release our energy where we need it to go.

Intentions are not wishes; they are not hopes - wanting to do something is 180 degrees from intending to do it.

Intention releases the potential that makes things happen.

That's why we need to get crystal with what it is we are intending with our maker businesses. Asking ourself, "what is my intention with this?" helps us get clear.

Sometimes our intention is clear but we are held up for some reason.

It is like we have our bow drawn and we are focused on the target, but suddenly the dog barks, the phone rings, the guy next door starts blasting Adele and you know we have to stop and listen to that.

The archer stays focused and holds herself "in tension" through all the noise.

(and sometimes this noise can last a while and sometimes life sends us noise to test our intentions and see how badly we want something or sometimes the noise could be there to delay us because there is something better for us later)

Of course, we always get to choose because it is our life after all - and there is no one thing we just have to do, in reality life has back up plans for our back up plans lined up for us.

Because once that arrow is released, it is released, there is no grabbing it midair

(unless you have some super power that I would be totally jealous to find out about)

and straightening that baby out.

Better to stay "in tension" and get clear (I know our shoulders hurt, but we are strong, WE CAN DO THIS) than send out a wobbler and stab ourselves in the foot.

* the headhunter tee from blackbirdtees

a sneak peek at my new cork necklace line for spring (aka lessons from the slow lane)

I couldn't resist snapping a few quick shots of my new cuties. I will be offering them to customers in a couple weeks and at the trade shows this summer. They are super cute in person - I have a professional photographer taking pics of these and my new locket line next week, so will post more then!

our bodies; our business - as within, so without

I know that to change our outer world we have to change our inner world first.

Peace within leads to peace without. Abundance within leads to abundance without.

I know this.

(sometimes this knowing is like the knowing about exercise, I know what to do, but I don't always do it)

It is all about our mindset.

It's as simple (and as challenging) as that.

The universe literally rearranges itself to reflect our reality.

The same applies to our bodies. I sometimes have neck, shoulder, arm and hand problems

(and stomach lately - although I looked at a chart of the human body to see what is in the places that hurt and have determined that there is nothing there, well, I'm sure there is blood and veins and miles and miles of rolled up intestines - but the chart just shows empty parts - maybe the empty places hurt - which of course could be a metaphysical truth for me, or maybe I need some dietary adjustments ... or most likely both)

My weekend eating schedule goes kind of like this -

me - what time is it? are you hungry yet?

hubs - it's 3:00 - well .... you just ate a pint of guacamole, 2 york peppermint patties, a package of garlic pita chips and 2 butterscotch krimpets. I got full just watching you.

me - *crickets*

me - what time is it?

hubs- 3:05

me - are you hungry yet?

Our bodies are a mirror of our deep, often unconscious, feelings and beliefs.

I once read that people with a strong need to shoulder responsibility build themselves big shoulders and we have enough sloping shoulder family members with no intention or desire to carry any burdens for me to believe this.

After reading Louise Hay many years ago, I never have a pain in the neck without asking myself "who am I allowing to be a pain in the neck? or how am I being a pain in the neck to myself" and see where I need to re-empower myself.

Indigestion - what can't I assimilate?, pain - what am I aching for?, stiffness - what am I being inflexible about?

I have mostly always been dealing with problems on the right side of my body (men, the future, business), but recently my left side (women, the past, home) has been experiencing strange phenomenon

(not the extra-terrestrial kind, I don't think, although I am obsessed with Ancient Aliens - the tv show, so any phenomenon having alien history does not seem that far fetched to me at the moment)

like rashes

(strangely in the shape of California; some days Idaho)

and of course this makes perfect sense for my life at the moment, but it did get me thinking about the right side of our bodies and our businesses.

So maybe the next time we have a right side problem or injury or ache or pain we can ask ourselves how this might relate to our business and what might have come up to be released?

(after writing this I very quickly stubbed my big toe, hard, my right toe and of course this has me thinking about how I am getting in the way of my business or what I am allowing to get in my way, and of course, this is alot to think about so I will just make myself a small large bowl of guacamole and put on my thinking cap)

* sending blessings print by the amazing lori portka

fighting Etsy exhaustion part lV - bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free - wait, is that me or the Statue of Liberty - it's hard to know- we both wear flip flops in the winter, have a sore right arm and really need to sit down

8. Do less

Figure out what isn't working and get rid of it.

80% of your money almost certainly comes from 20% of your makings - what can you streamline? what can you dump?

Multi-tasking is yesterday's news - it doesn't work. What we need is to set an intention and focus on it like a laser beam. Even if it is just so we can experience the energy of completion - that's powerful stuff.

We know the power of niche thinking with our physical makings and then we scatter our mental and physical energy all over the place and exhaust ourselves.

And we need to pay attention to what we are telling our subconscious minds when we hold on to stuff that isn't working.

9. Change how we do things, not what we are doing

Sometimes things are actually working, but we get so tired and overwhelmed we think we have a product problem when what we have is a process problem.

(many creative babies have been thrown out with the dirty bath water - stuff gets dirty, life is messy - change the water, not the baby - unless of course that baby really needs changing - but that's what dads are for)

10. Get clear on what we want

I had a friend tell me about a big opportunity not that long ago and I said "God, I wish I wanted to do that" because I knew I should want to do it, but I was just too damn tired at that moment to even want it.

Once we have put a little bit of space between us and "tired" we need to get clear on what we want - not doing things because we should want to do them will open up a huge space in our lives to fill with the stuff we really do want.

And if we reach the point where we are just too tired to want anything, except maybe a nap and a Nook - well, this is just not the time to divide the "should wants" from the "wants" - take the nap, read your Nook and decide later.

Now the very best model of how to sell things on Etsy (in my humble opinion) is the make it once and sell it again and again model.

(think photographs, illustrations, ebooks, advertising on our blogs, knitting patterns - you get the idea)

There are ways to bring some of this into any maker model though and I'm going to talk about that next week (or possibly the week after - when the giveaway will be back, too - yay! - since I have a couple large orders to get out next week and may take a blog break)

As a David update for anyone following his saga - he is still living with us, most of hubby's family has fallen away (possibly all of his family- we will see who cancels next week) and the truth is - although part of me is resentful about it - I totally get that they have been through this before and it is exhausting.

Hubby knows a wonderful young man who also suffers with schizophrenia and is on some great medication (a new medication that he says no longer makes him feel like he is inside a shell) coming to dinner this weekend. We are hoping to edge the conversation toward David seeing this man's doctor because David has refused all mental health help. I have been advised by someone from psychiatric services that it's not illegal to be "crazy" - that we can't force someone to seek help unless they are clearly a danger and I certainly don't want to live in a world where just anyone can be called crazy and locked up

(because I would clearly be living in a world that consisted of a padded cell and some kind of rash-generating restraints if a mental health professional got hold of my blog - I think I should make some of my posts self-destruct - ha!)

but to require someone with a disease that causes the brain to not be able to recognize the disease exists to "seek" help is crazier than schizophrenia.

In the meantime we are using words like brain trauma (since David has had multiple) and ADD to try and coax him to a psychiatrist. It is like walking on eggshells a firey bed of hot coals since his ability to instantly be aggravated and angry and avoid conversations he doesn't want to have is unequaled - also his memory for what happened in the early 80's, before he got sick and before he started drinking.

(since I can't remember what happened last week or last night this is totally amazing to me and has me looking for an 80's trivial pursuit championship we can get him involved with).

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - spend a little time doing less!

*loving this no one else could fill your shoes tee from Jordan Grace Owens

what to give others ....

guidance, attention,
help (sometimes)
love, always.
criticism, never.


love always,
The Universe

(the universe is pretty smart)


* give it away print by brightside studio

thank you for not littering ..... or whining on wednesday

Dear Person Who Did This -->

you. made. my. night.

and I am stealing this idea for the trash can in hubby's shop.

We were having a bad day - I haven't blogged much about David lately, but today we had some big challenges and had to go to court with him -

I always get nervous in court as if the judge will suddenly pull out our 2009 tax return and demand an explanation of the deductions we took for Olive's doghouse - I still think staff housing is a valid business expense even if that staff has four legs and a mole patrol collar tag

plus I did my eyebrows this morning (yes, more grooming talk, sorry). The bad news? I’ll be spending the next several days looking surprised. The good news? I’m totally prepared if someone tells me a story with a twist ending. Also I saved 25 bucks.

fighting Etsy exhaustion part III - tips for one at a time or small batch makers

When my maker shops on Etsy took off, my small batch and one at a time makings model quickly became a challenge.

The time I used to spend creating something new became time spent reproducing/replacing things that had sold and eventually

(I blame Etsy's cunning little relist button)

to producing things that I had already sold.

This can create a situation where we are so focused on the outcome that we lose sight of how much energy we are investing and stop paying attention to how exhausted we've become.

“you can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned and you’re down to your reflexes. That’s where your roadwork shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, well, you’re going to get found out now, under the bright lights" ... joe frazier

(yes, I realize this quote is off-topic and may even make you more exhausted to contemplate it - but someone just sent it to me and damn it's good
Small batch (and one of a kind) makers need a tight grip on their time.

(something like the death grip Angry Bird addicts have on their handhelds)

1. Unless your item is personalized do not hit the relist button until your next item is made.

Simple thing - hard to do - saves lots of headaches

2. Instead of making 1 of your amazing little whatnots - if possible, make two, often you can make multiples without doubling your production time

3. Limit your time online - clicking is addicting

4. Set up your studio to make your making easier

I recently 'cleaned' my studio ... again ... to make things a little more Ford assembly line-like for myself, but found my hands always reaching toward the places where parts and doodads used to be - it has taken me some time to retrain my muscle memory, but I have been able to save time by getting my workspaces in line with my process.

and yes, you will probably need workspaces - plural -

- constantly taking things out and putting them away is a huge time waster - before I had a studio - I would set up things in drawers within a cabinet and then pull the drawers out onto the table to set up 'areas' for assembly, shipping, photography, etc and then just return the drawers to the cabinet when I was finished with them

5. Get on a schedule

I think, that just like your production area, your schedule needs to fit your life, your energy peaks, etc - this does not have to be a 9-5 thing, but when it's become a 5-9 thing all the time and when the things that you need to do to make your business and your life sustainable- like make time for new work - get lost in the shuffle, you need to get yourself a huge calendar and figure this out.

I like to schedule things in chunks so if something comes up I can move one chunk to another part of the calendar.

Confession - I do not have this all figured out and there are some chunks that have been moving around my calendar for ... weeks ... sigh.

6. Limit your one of a kind or commissioned work - make a production schedule and stick with it

(it is human nature to want things that are not just readily available to everyone - things that are made to order just for us, things we have to plan for - wait in line for; hopefully a cyber line, like your production schedule - things that SCREAM special)

Allowing yourself time for creative work - no matter how many of your amazing whatnots you are selling right now, everything has a life cycle and I can guarantee you that your whatnot will become a whatever at some point - allows your business to grow in a more sustainable way.

It allows you and your brand to be around long after your whatever whatnot has become yesterday's news.

7. Get help

The opposite thinking is that you need to strike while the iron is hot with your amazing whatnot - so farm out the production help that you can while you can - and be ready to move on when the iron cools.

part III continues Friday

(I promise it will be worth dragging your tired self over here to read - unless you have something really important or really fun chunked into your calendar - like a Belgian wax, maybe - yes, you read that right, I do not have my countries that start with B mixed up - it is really just a regular wax that you follow up with a waffle to reward yourself since it hurt so much, but it sounds almost as exotic as the gross kind)

fighting Etsy exhaustion part ll 1/2 - stepping back and refocusing here

A few people have asked me why I am making this series so Etsy-centric when many other things contribute to the exhaustion some of us have been feeling this winter

(and I agree, although I do see Etsy as being an intrinsically exhausting venue to sell our makings)

so I thought I would interrupt this series with some less Etsy-specific thoughts about all of this.

(think of this interruption as a little less annoying than that tv emergency buzz signal and a little more annoying than when someone interrupts your movie-watching with a bag of popcorn)

I have a friend who advises when exhausted:

Do no favors. Do not, under any circumstance engage in another 'act of kindness' unless it is completely 'natural and convenient' for you

This is not about "me time" because that is just not big enough for what we need here - even ME TIME is not enough, not even ME TIME - this is about MUCH MORE than that ...

(cue the marching band)

some things I have found to help:

1. drink more water
2. go outdoors - yes, it's cold - so, what - your toes will thaw out later - just get out there
3. keep your telephone calls to under 3 minutes - no exceptions
4. eat less
5. refuse to hurry
6. laugh

(I have the funniest family on the planet, seriously, after the last week with them, I feel like I have done a thousand sit-ups - now if I only looked like I had done a thousand sit ups ....)

7. put an out of office auto response on your email for awhile
8. sleep
9. listen to music
10. don't start anything new - things started during creative exhaustion have a way of not looking so good when your head clears
11. be grateful

(you probably wouldn't be this tired, if you didn't have a full crazy-ass life which not everybody allows themselves to have and you do, allow it that is, so be grateful)

12. trust

(another door stands visible in plain sight but you are just too damn tired to see it - it's there, you will)

* dandelion by Raceytay

New Polarity Magnetic Bracelets in Shop - when wrist restraints may not be enough

My new style interchangeable magnetic bracelets are fabricated by me from a recycled steel car part with love and propane and are available in either mini (shown above) or regular size with ANY lid designs in my shop Polarity -10% off thru 2/28 with the coupon code GIANTS 

the week the Giants won the Superbowl, I got a gurgle pot and my sister flew back to Portland EARLY

My sister heads back to Portland today ... sniffle
(not sure if I mentioned she was in town this week)

out of town guests who fly out on a Friday and don't have to be back to work until Monday are a bit suspect in my book, but I forgive her for leaving early .. sort of.

She flew out for my birthday and to watch the Giants win the Superbowl surrounded by the peeps who grew up like she did with bobblehead Giants dolls on our dashboards and air-filled Giants rubber tackles on our front lawns

(also a hard plastic baby Jesus sleeping peacefully beside a frayed green lawn chair and a box of Black Cat fireworks)

and could appreciate it.

Not that most of us know anything about football - everytime anyone caught the ball my hubby called it an 'interception' - I guess it was an interception between the quarterback's hands and ... well, landing somewhere else
Anyhoo, my birthday party, held during half-time, for those family members who could tear themselves away from the material girl for the real material girl went something like this -

Picture me rabidly tearing through a huge stack of packages, scraps of wrapping paper flying to the carpet, pieces of tape clinging to my buffalo-chicken stained fingers

(or maybe I just unwrapped a belt and gurgle pot - it is all pretty much a blur to me now - what with the getting older and all - for a few seconds though the gurgle pot came out of its box and into my hand like a Remington Rider single shot pistol - don't ask - my party quickly transitioning from Norman Rockwell to Full Metal Jacket)

My birthday is always the most frenzied thirty seconds of my entire year, not counting Christmas morning and the two or three times hubby and I have sex (ack- just kidding, I'm not that fast with the scotch tape)

People are screaming about the game and by "the game" I mean the bets we made about the really important Superbowl stuff like - will Kelly Clarkson muff up the national anthem - what will be the 1st commercial after the first quarter - what color gatorade will be poured on the winning coach, you get the idea

and by 'people screaming' I mean my brother-in-law screaming at the porch railing that was talking about him again, but that's a story for another day ....

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, my hair caught fire blowing out my birthday candles - no, there weren't that many candles, I was just out of breath from the sex gift opening ... and Giants cheering ... and buffalo-chicken eating ...

The rest of my sister's visit was not as exciting - some days she just sat around my studio reading DIY magazines while I worked ... poor kid ... it is very quiet here today though without her page turning, gum chewing, smartphone flicking, wise-ass self (more sniffles)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend - parts 3 and 4 of my fighting exhaustion series next week, plus lots of new work coming out - you won't want to miss it! xo

thoughts become things ... choose the good ones

"Some think life is a place to seek happiness and fulfillment, Cat, some think it's a place to learn lessons and pay dues.

And so it is for them."

Tallyho,
The Universe

got this in my inbox today - thought I'd share it :)

* I think I can print by happy deliveries

fighting Etsy exhaustion part lll - large batch makers

With large batch production you are producing an inventory rather than waiting for an order.

One of the best parts about making your makings in large batches - and being pro-active rather than reactive

(when you are selling your makings in small batches or one at a time)

is that it creates some production downtime - time that you can spend doing the other things involved in running your maker business.

There is more to making a business than making stuff after all.

The hardest part is that you will need a good handle on what is going to sell (sizes, colors, styles, etc - cue the crystal ball) so that you are making the right stuff or you will have lots of unsold whosee whatsees sitting around your studio (and lost time and money on these unsold makings) and sell out of the things you could be making money on.

(this is pretty much guaranteed to happen from time to time especially as your business grows, but if time to time becomes most of the time you need to figure this stuff out)

Three inventory management sites recommended to me by makers are Stitch Labs, RunInventory and Bizelo.

The amount of inventory you have on hand will vary depending on your business. One ideal way to do your batch production is to batch produce the parts of your work that are not customizable - for example with my cork test tube necklaces I batch produce everything except the images. When a customer orders a necklace I just have to add the specific imagery and wording to the existing necklace. I know a lotion/potion maker that adds fragrance to her makings as ordered.

Thinking about any parts of your production you can steamline this way while still being able to adjust your finished product later, may save you time and money.

Some tips from Etsy batch makers on working smarter and not harder include:

1. Know the popularity of your size breaks -

For example a t-shirt screenprinter might find her sizebreaks to be
2-4-4-2 or sm,m,l,xl -

so when she is producing a dozen shirts for inventory this is the sizebreak she will be screening.

This is not a guarantee that she will always be producing the right pieces but if you are working with sizes, etc that cannot be adjusted later and you take the time to figure this out, you will definitely decrease your inventory headaches.

And save time for the other stuff on our to-do lists like getting that SWAT team ready to mobilize, acquiring street maps covering all of Minnesota, a pot of coffee, 12 jammy dodgers and a fez and if you are not a Dr. Who fan and have no pop culture reference for what I am blathering about here you can skip this part.

2. Stock up smartly - take a look at how often you are doing your making, the seasonality of your business and the popularity of your items

If a store orders 4 of something and I only have 3 pieces in stock - I tell them I have 3 on hand rather than making myself crazy and holding up a shipment to produce a one-off of something I batch produce.

3. Have regular sales to clear out your excess stock - one large batch maker told me she does her batch making (about 75% of her production) one week out of every month and at production time anything that is left in the studio gets counted and overstock goes on sale - often never to be produced again

This "never to be produced again" may not be a good idea for everything that isn't flying off the shelves, but eliminating nonsellers so that you can spend your time producing new work is essential to creating a sustainable business and keeping your heart invested in what you are making which is, ultimately, a life and not just a handmade whosee whatsee -

a life that needs to allow time for things other than your makings - things like guacamole and Woodchuck hard cider (just wish these came with corks I'd be stocked), Angry Birds (it has become my number one goal in life - other than having George Clooney delivered to my door ... wet - to pry certain people away from this game - UGH) and movies at an actual movie theater rather than on your computer while you wrap beads.

And speaking of George Clooney and movies I just saw the Descendents and although I wasn't quite as in love with it as the critics have been, I did have a wonderful little blue-haired woman behind me adding spicy dialogue like

"George really does look more and more like Rosemary every year", "Do they call them Hawaiian shirts in Hawaii or just shirts?", "The president is from Hawaii you know", "I hate walking on sand", "Is that the older Bridges or the younger Bridges?", "He runs like a dingbat" and "He can really do sad". I LOVED HER.

4. Get help - large batch production can make it easier to get help during busy times and at regularly scheduled periods.

Trying to do it all can burn us out ... fast. And part of giving back with our creative venture can be our ability to pass on that creative energy in the form of money to others.

I find that when I pay someone and this payment can take the form of things other than money, but when you want more money to flow in, you have to allow - with a grateful heart - more money to flow out - money is energy and needs to move after all - when I pay someone and focus on the amazing feeling that that gives me and wanting more of that, I get more of that.

Giving ourselves little finish lines helps, too. Because there is no real endzone with any of this. We are never going to arrive, suitcase in hand, hair a mess and needing a back rub .. at our final destination because there is no such place.

The maker life is about the process and the more we embrace that the more we will allow ourselves to be the world-changing, passionate, fearless (as in not letting fear stop us), wealth-creating, change-embracing, idea-generating, grateful, crazy ass artists we are meant to be!

* I like making pretty things print by playonwordart

1. shop: Xenotees
2. shop: Palomas Nest
3. shop: Somethings Hiding Here
4. shop: Monkeys Always Look

Back soon with Exhaustion Busters for One of a Kind or Small Batch Makers