I'm rocking the features this week! Here is another one that really is great. She did an awesome job of making me look good. Take a break and pop over to check it out!
http://2justbyou.blogspot.com/2010/06/feature-for-friday-6410.html
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Groovy Finds
I got an email that my copper swirl earrings have been featured in the Groovy Finds for June! It made my day! Click on the link to check me out and all the other groovy finds!
http://GroovyGalDesignsOnline.com/groovy_finds.html
http://GroovyGalDesignsOnline.com/groovy_finds.html
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Rocky Start to a Vacation
Eyes open. Body immediately upright. Panic. How is it that I can set the coffee pot to brew at the right time but my alarm fails me? Mad dash to Lucia's room. Blurry, bewildered eyes slowly look at me through a less than happy face. It is 7:05 am and our flight leaves at 8:10 am. One hour. Panic gulps the timely coffee. Gather up bags and last minute bobbles. Dress the now upright child. Remember to put a bra on. Suck a puff then mad dash for the car. Dee has volunteered to drop us off. Smiley face check on her side of the ' I owe you one' list.
We run in, straps, bags, hair and child flying around us. "Oh, you just made it. I was just about to close the window," the attendant says to us in a matronly tone. Run. Damn the endless mouse maze of black ribbon isle markers. ID's? Check. Shoes fly. Bags birth smaller bags. Smaller bags birth clear ziplock bags. Electronic bags opened. Dr. Seuss bag wrangled from two year old. Soy milk turns out not to be explosive. The smaller bags converge to reform larger bags, like a school of fish regrouping after a shark swims through for lunch. Up the stairs, down the corridor. Run.
Stop.
"The pilot wants to look at something on the plane. Nothing bad, but he wants to check it out, so there will be a slight delay", the attendant tells the group of us puffy eyed, yet eager passengers. The beginning of a failed attempt at escape. Delay becomes stall, becomes murmurs, becomes boiling blood, becomes near riot. Gasps of frustration and anger heat up the cell phones. "So, well, your flight is not cancelled but... all of you will have to rebook connecting flights. Like a spooked flock of birds taking flight, bodies rise and arrow in the same direction... the counter where suddenly panicked women, type frantically and try to do a daunting task. And then there was one. One very woeful, panicked woman for a full plane of people who had been sitting and waiting for over three hours at this point. Some were going to Paris, some to Florida, some to Madison (us) and some to Georgia.
You see, the thing about the Missoula airport is, it is very small, and there is always someone there you know. Today , for us, it was Wess and his family. Jodi, his wife, and their 6 month old baby girl. A god send if you ask me. We had fun. New toys for baby to play with, courtesy of the Dr. Seuss bag and they had an umbrella stroller that Lucia could push around. Fantastic. Phone numbers exchanged for future play dates and summer barbecues. A silver lining to this morning.
As the storm raged on we grouped together for strength, support, and comfort. Lines, cell phone calls to service people with thick accents, abstract humoring of children. Ba-ha stroller rides through terminals to keep the child from crying. Four hours into this ordeal, we emerge through automatic doors into the day with a new flight plan. A new timeline. A new appreciation for the patience of airline employees.
Cellphone. Friendly pick-up by our friend Tim, who always gets us out of jams. Home. Shower. Back in the truck. Back to the airport. Back to the modes of moving. Check on bags birth. Shoes enjoy a moment of reprieve. Back up the stairs. On the plane. Finally.
On the plane at last, we discover we have been upgraded to first class. Hardly compensation for missing the family dinner that was planned for us upon our timely arrival. Portable DVD, I love you and your inventor. Take off. Little, less than happy eyes, close. Quiet. Coffee please.
We have one connection and arrive in Appleton, Wisconsin. Not our destination. In fact, it is at least an hour and a half from our destination, but at least we are in the right state. I hope Wess and his family didn't have to catch that 6 am flight in god knows where to get to Atlanta. I'm crossing my fingers someone will be there to pick us up as I write down my frustrations on paper in first class. "More coffee please".
Oh, and I stole a blanket, so we're even airline company.
*Note* Someone was there to pick us up. Mary thank you. The rest of the trip was a lot of fun as Lucia spent a week with Grams (grandmas/grandpas) galore and Sam and I enjoyed ourselves at Jazz Fest in New Orleans.
We run in, straps, bags, hair and child flying around us. "Oh, you just made it. I was just about to close the window," the attendant says to us in a matronly tone. Run. Damn the endless mouse maze of black ribbon isle markers. ID's? Check. Shoes fly. Bags birth smaller bags. Smaller bags birth clear ziplock bags. Electronic bags opened. Dr. Seuss bag wrangled from two year old. Soy milk turns out not to be explosive. The smaller bags converge to reform larger bags, like a school of fish regrouping after a shark swims through for lunch. Up the stairs, down the corridor. Run.
Stop.
"The pilot wants to look at something on the plane. Nothing bad, but he wants to check it out, so there will be a slight delay", the attendant tells the group of us puffy eyed, yet eager passengers. The beginning of a failed attempt at escape. Delay becomes stall, becomes murmurs, becomes boiling blood, becomes near riot. Gasps of frustration and anger heat up the cell phones. "So, well, your flight is not cancelled but... all of you will have to rebook connecting flights. Like a spooked flock of birds taking flight, bodies rise and arrow in the same direction... the counter where suddenly panicked women, type frantically and try to do a daunting task. And then there was one. One very woeful, panicked woman for a full plane of people who had been sitting and waiting for over three hours at this point. Some were going to Paris, some to Florida, some to Madison (us) and some to Georgia.
You see, the thing about the Missoula airport is, it is very small, and there is always someone there you know. Today , for us, it was Wess and his family. Jodi, his wife, and their 6 month old baby girl. A god send if you ask me. We had fun. New toys for baby to play with, courtesy of the Dr. Seuss bag and they had an umbrella stroller that Lucia could push around. Fantastic. Phone numbers exchanged for future play dates and summer barbecues. A silver lining to this morning.
As the storm raged on we grouped together for strength, support, and comfort. Lines, cell phone calls to service people with thick accents, abstract humoring of children. Ba-ha stroller rides through terminals to keep the child from crying. Four hours into this ordeal, we emerge through automatic doors into the day with a new flight plan. A new timeline. A new appreciation for the patience of airline employees.
Cellphone. Friendly pick-up by our friend Tim, who always gets us out of jams. Home. Shower. Back in the truck. Back to the airport. Back to the modes of moving. Check on bags birth. Shoes enjoy a moment of reprieve. Back up the stairs. On the plane. Finally.
On the plane at last, we discover we have been upgraded to first class. Hardly compensation for missing the family dinner that was planned for us upon our timely arrival. Portable DVD, I love you and your inventor. Take off. Little, less than happy eyes, close. Quiet. Coffee please.
We have one connection and arrive in Appleton, Wisconsin. Not our destination. In fact, it is at least an hour and a half from our destination, but at least we are in the right state. I hope Wess and his family didn't have to catch that 6 am flight in god knows where to get to Atlanta. I'm crossing my fingers someone will be there to pick us up as I write down my frustrations on paper in first class. "More coffee please".
Oh, and I stole a blanket, so we're even airline company.
*Note* Someone was there to pick us up. Mary thank you. The rest of the trip was a lot of fun as Lucia spent a week with Grams (grandmas/grandpas) galore and Sam and I enjoyed ourselves at Jazz Fest in New Orleans.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Upswing... Now Stay UP Swing!
I have just returned from mailing my ninth and tenth Etsy orders. Yes folks that's right, I have now entered into double digits with my sales! It seems a bit pitiful, but for me, the last couple of weeks have been good for me as far as my shop and sales go. Granted most sales have been to friends and family, I still count it as a small victory. How shall I celebrate? A bottle of champagne? Better make that a five dollar bottle of Brut then. I don't intend to talk myself down here. My custom orders are still steady, and my home sales are steady too, as well as incoming craft show invitaitons. It's the magic of an Etsy sale that has me wanting more.
This last winter, I have been trying my darnedest to make my Etsy shop the best it can be! I bought mannequin heads and necklace busts. I have taken so many pictures that my computer is starting to cuss at me in the all too familiar random bursts of stalemate. I have gone to the critiques and the labs, the forums and the team meetings. I have re-listed and posted new items almost daily. For all of this I have very little to show. Frustrating? Yes. I feel like it's all going to be worth it though. I have always lived by the mantra that the harder you work the more benefits you will reap. I feel like the recent upswing in interest in my shop and my designs as well as a few sales, is a taste of what I can achieve. I want an entrée though, no amuse bouchée here.
I will go back to my picture editing, my packaging, my daily scroll through all of my internet outlets and I will diligently go forth. I can see how far I have come and I can see how far I still have to go. Maybe my next goal will be ten sales a month. That seems reasonable. I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I know I can. Toot toot!
This last winter, I have been trying my darnedest to make my Etsy shop the best it can be! I bought mannequin heads and necklace busts. I have taken so many pictures that my computer is starting to cuss at me in the all too familiar random bursts of stalemate. I have gone to the critiques and the labs, the forums and the team meetings. I have re-listed and posted new items almost daily. For all of this I have very little to show. Frustrating? Yes. I feel like it's all going to be worth it though. I have always lived by the mantra that the harder you work the more benefits you will reap. I feel like the recent upswing in interest in my shop and my designs as well as a few sales, is a taste of what I can achieve. I want an entrée though, no amuse bouchée here.
I will go back to my picture editing, my packaging, my daily scroll through all of my internet outlets and I will diligently go forth. I can see how far I have come and I can see how far I still have to go. Maybe my next goal will be ten sales a month. That seems reasonable. I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I know I can. Toot toot!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Powers of Sunshine
Yesterday was the first day of Spring! It was also National Earth Day for those who didn't know. The sunshine has been out in full force the last week or so and my spirits have lifted like the frost off the ground. The air still has a nip that reminds us that a last dip in temperatures could bring us snow again, but right now I could care less. My bulbs are starting to push their way upwards, except for the ones that the dog and cats have dug under and those are trying to grow in the direction they have been left in. Yesterday, there were two mother deer with their two babies in our neighbor's yard. We live in a city mind you and around a busy part of town. My daughter immediately pointed out the Mom and the "dad" and the babies. It was at dusk so the moment was quite surreal.
I have been inspired to create. I want to make beautiful things. I want to release a winter's worth of pent up emotion and thought. I have been dreaming designs and find myself drawn to my workspace even before my eyes can focus in the morning. I don't sit down, I just look. Sometimes I give a once over to a piece I created in the wee hours of the night before, just to make sure the glass of wine I had while making it didn't impair my judgement of style.
I am battling the inner pull of whether to create art or work in the flower beds that need attention. I need to do both, but find I get neither accomplished to the extent that I desire. The yard is partially cleaned and my jewelry and such is in a state of partially realized creative moments. Today, Sunday, may be the day I am pushed to do both. The television is not on cartoons and my daughter is already poised to run amuck in the freshly thawed, soft earth of the yard. With the man being stabilized in front of the latest madness of March I may find another pair of eyes is just what I need to focus mine on getting the art out. Here comes Spring! The balancing of moods and the magic of muses.
I have been inspired to create. I want to make beautiful things. I want to release a winter's worth of pent up emotion and thought. I have been dreaming designs and find myself drawn to my workspace even before my eyes can focus in the morning. I don't sit down, I just look. Sometimes I give a once over to a piece I created in the wee hours of the night before, just to make sure the glass of wine I had while making it didn't impair my judgement of style.
I am battling the inner pull of whether to create art or work in the flower beds that need attention. I need to do both, but find I get neither accomplished to the extent that I desire. The yard is partially cleaned and my jewelry and such is in a state of partially realized creative moments. Today, Sunday, may be the day I am pushed to do both. The television is not on cartoons and my daughter is already poised to run amuck in the freshly thawed, soft earth of the yard. With the man being stabilized in front of the latest madness of March I may find another pair of eyes is just what I need to focus mine on getting the art out. Here comes Spring! The balancing of moods and the magic of muses.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Starting Something New
So here I am in the blog-o-sphere. I have stepped out and into an unknown. I used to blog a lot when I was pregnant. I blogged about how to handle going to a music festival while preggers and about the joys and pitfalls of starting a family etc. This blog, will focus on my creative side. I make jewelry as a more professional art, but I do it all. I paint, sew, decoupage, flower arrange, home decor, paper craft, woodwork, garden, and anything that my creativity can engulf. I hope to make this blog a positive outlet for myself and my work so please bear with me while I spruce the place up!
Hugs and kisses to you and those you love.
~Kelley
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