10 things to do today - Day 3

This was my Carey family tree in 2006 drawn by my little cousin Della for my Granny's 70th Birthday. It has grown again since then but I found it again this morning and it makes me smile!

Things to do today

1. Try 3rd time to colour in Yibble doodles on laptop, if no luck then scan originals, colour with ink and rescan.

2. Make more spicey soup. (Olive oil, garlic, 1 heaped table spoon Gara Masala, 2 x onions, 4 grated carrots, 4 handfuls of red split lentils, 2 ham stock cubes, 2.5 pints boiled water)

3. Make more paper flowers * maybe into garland.

4. List 1 new item etsy, relist 2

5. Make more birdie cards, at least 2

6. Make 7 birthday cards (May is a busy month for me for cards.)

7. Find new tutorial to try

8. Do more Yibble doodles

9. Look at wordpress to see if that suits my needs better.

10. Reaserch dog training on internet, P's puppy classes don't start till end of may and he can already sit, stay, down and get treats out of bottle by pawing it down hard and spinning the bottle. He has a hungry mind and is learning fast so I need to learn more ways of keeping him occupied!

I found this wonderful and quite simple tutorial for paper flowers, Kusadama Flowers I had a great time yesterday evening sitting during the rather frighteny thunder storm making a little batch of these up. I used square pink postit notes and double sided tape instead of PVA glue, which meant iI could work faster. I am going to thread them together today and see how that turns out. Give it a go and let me know what you think.

I am still having no luck with photoshopping the Yibbles, I have tried saving as I go along but everytime I get to do about 10 minutes of colouring and then the laptop chucks it :( So I think I will just work on them the old fashioned way and see how I get on.

May you have a productive day, I'm off now to start on more soup :)

10 things to do today - Day 2

"Someday" by yellena


It seems I am not alone in my list mania, it is such a comfort to know there are others out there who get a buzz from scoring things off! Thanks to the focus I found by writing my list here too, I had a very productive evening, very tired but things got done. So now I can share with you the fruits of my labour and much needed kick up the ...

The new blog of interest I found is in honour of my listy love. todolist is collection of hand written lists by various people and the stories behind them. The blog is by writer and editor Sasha Cagen.

"Candy" by Yellena

The new artist of ineterest I found is Yellena, an artist and graphic designer from Central Oregon. "Obsessed with markers, pens, inks, paper, patterns, good design, wallpaper, cacti, vintage fabric, empty journals and anything little." She uses pens, inks and markers to creat these stunning prints. She also has a blog which is well worth a visit.

The new card I made last night which I was meant to list on etsy is made, and quite cute, but I am still in two minds about adding it to my main etsy shop which has all my jewellery on it. I opened another shop a few months ago which was meant to be for cards and prints ect, but it was getting pretty hectic and costly listing in both. What do you think, should I add them to my main shop?

The journaling/ inspirational word for this week is:

glamour (US also glamor), n. an attractive and exciting quality. ORIGIN first meaning 'magic': from GRAMMER, with reference to the magical practices associated with learning in medevil times.

Hmmm, a lot to think about here, as usual my choosing technique is a favorite of mine, flick book open at random page, shut eyes and drop finger! It works for me :)

I found a new tutorial to share with you this week, so I'll work on making it up and letting you know how I got on. This will also tie in with my up and comming competition so that covers a few bases.

I did my etsy and flickr stuff too, and will try and list some new goodies today as well. Head over and check out my sale and let me know what you think, it would be much appreciated feedback.

And now for the sad tale of the Yibbles from last night. I drew, scanned and played, but half way through and at 12.27am my laptop went fizz and shut down :( It seems to struggle when I have lots of layers open in Photoshop, which makes me so sad, it is only 6 months old and I told the guy that I needed it to be able to process at high speed to allow me to work between packages. But alas things don't alays turn out as you would like. Anyway I'll carry on with them today and will hopefully have something finished very soon.

Well I'm off now to walk my daft pup and start on my list for today and I'll pop back later with a list for the rest of the week. Happy Tuesday :)

10 things to do today - Day 1

I have decided that since I have made nothing over the last week that I am going to publish my first blog list and see if that gets me in the mood for some making. As you seasoned visitors here will know by now I love a list and it seems to be a great way for me to stay orginised, motivated and focused. So here goes:

1. Tidy desk, (an absolute must, and need space for all these creations to take place!) DONE

2. Do at least one image in Photoshop with Yibbles KIND OF

3. Find a new blog of interest/ inspiration DONE

4. Find a new artist of interest/ inspiration DONE

5. Make a card to list on Etsy DONE

6. Pick a word to journal about this week DONE

7. List a new item on in the shop DONE

8. Decide on idea for a new competition and prizes KIND OF

9. Hunt down a new crafty tutorial to make this week and share with you all DONE

10. Add some new jewellery photos to Flickr and add tags to some old ones DONE

Do you write lists? What do you write them on? What kinds of things do you have on your lists?

Wish me luck, I'm going to have a busy night!

Etsy Sale

Well, that is me I have finally reached my 100th post! So in honour of this I have opened the sale in the shop. I have also added a few new bracelets and there are new earrings to come this week. I have spent most of today photographing them and getting the listings ready to add over the next few days. I have also decided to change the way I name my items and have gone for French girls names. This way they take on more of an identity and are a little more exciting sounding. What do you think, something a bit different or simple description?

"antoinette"

"aurore"

Happy Tuesday evening, off now to tidy my desk and read my book!

My weekend was a creative one, how can I stop Pablo chewing my shoe laces, how can I divert him from running off with my bath towel, and how can I encourage him to sit for treats! Appart from that I did take some time to sit in the garden and enjoy my lovely tulips which are in full bloom and read in the sunshine. I feel compelled to sit outside in the sunlight here, I think it is because in Scotland you just don't know what the weather will be like over the next few hours.

My little stint in the garden inspired me to make up some card gift packs, using one of the snowdrop photos from my Mums garden. I had run out of white card which I think frames the image well so I decided to cut to size some large linen card I found. They turned out well and the cream compliments the green of the stems I think.

I decided that I needed to give the shop some love too, I have been neglecting it a bit lately so I have been working on some new goodies and I will have all the photographs taken today and should be ready to list tonight. I am excited about these ones I have decided to use a different backgound for these ones, an old map! So in honour of some fresh designs I am going to have a little sale! I am going to get everything organised tonight and I'll do a post when the sale will comence.

A stitch in time

I've had a very exciting day organising and packaging up a special delivery which could possibly hold some great new oppertunities, but mums the word for just now. So when I finished my work work I decided I would hide away in the studio and ignore the housey things needing doing and give this a go.I found this tutorial for Glove Animals on Martha's website and it was so easy to follow. II used an old pair of gloves, one of them was missing a middle finger tip and for the stuffing I used an old cushion filling which I have also been using for the Yibbles. The tutorial came from Miyako Kanamori can be found in her book, "Sock and Glove,"

What should I name him, any ideas?

Back on track

I have had a wonderful day, getting lots of things scored off my list, and you know how happy that always makes me :) I completed one of the commissions I am working on for 100 Thank you cards, and delivered them to the lovely customer this evening. For these cards I used creative hammer wardrobe folding card for a company in England where I get all my card making goodies from, called craftcreations.

I also made some thank you cards of my own on Pablo's behalf! One for my Mum, she gave us a gift of money for Pablo's arrival which I have used to book a place for him on a puppy class, how cute! Another for our friends who have given us their little pup's crate, one for the breeder who we got him from, 2 for friends who gave him little toys and one for bo's Mum who wnet with bo to collect him.

This card I made for my Granny's birthday, she is where I think my creative genes come from. She is a wonderful painter, and taught art for years. For this one I made I made a paper flower and used letter transfers.

And this is a little wedding card for a friend, I used Photoshop and my tablet and pen and did a cake doodle. I really like it, it's plain simple yet fun! I have been working on some designs to use in this style for the shop, but just don't seem to have the time at the moment.

I really enjoy making cards using different styles and techniques depending on the occassion and its the same when I receive them too. Plus it has been great getting the creative juices going again and doing something other than cleaning up and washing :) I found this quote;

"Dreams are postcards from our subconscious, inner self to outer self, right brain trying to cross that moat to the left. Too often they come back unread: "return to sender, addressee unknown." That's a shame because it's a whole other world out there--or in here depending on your point of view. "
Dennis Koenig and Jordan Budde, Northern Exposure, Roots, 1991

I have a vivid memory of a project we did at primary school all about writing and recieving letters, and we al got a ;ittle fold out book with stories and ideas for interesting ways to 'make' a letter. I loved the little book and kept ift for about 10 years then it disappeared :(

What is it about card/ letters that makes you smile?

My Life changed last Thursday

This little creature has changed our lives in ways I never imagined. He is such a delight and has really settled in as part of our little family. He is such good fun and I think he feels right at home with us and he is even answering to his name! But oh how exhausting these last few days have been and I am only now getting a chance to read through the 97 emails I have accumulated in the last 5 days! I have had another card commission to finish but just haven't been able to get to it between playing ball and making sure Pablo isn't eating anything he shouldn't be, my creative pursuits have taken second place!

I think tomorrow I will be able to share the chores with my bo and get some making done. I have some birthday cards, a wedding card and some greetings cards for my etsy shop I want to make tommorow too. Our new routine of getting up at 6 am will start to pay off very soon!

I also want to share with you a new etsy team I have joined, Fashion, Design and Lifestyle, started by missbubbles. The teams mission statement is - "Our goal is to unite similar minded enthusiastic artistic people, who are passionate about style, fashion, life and good taste in every step of their daily lives. We are together in order to develop our skills, share experience and achieve highest individual potential by networking, working on various projects together. " missbubbles has started the teams blog which is definately worth a look, with a very ineteresting post about colour trends for spring/summer 2008 written by Margarida.

Well I'm off now to read all your blogs and catch up with what you have all been up to and I shall return tomorrow afreshed and hopefully with lots of papery goodies to show you!

Refreshed

"Mother Nature- print by annejulie

I am returning from a couple of rough weeks, my last post was the beginning of bugs galore! So I have been resting up and recovering and in the last couple of days trying to catch up on all the things I haven't been able to get one. So today I am starting afresh.

Bow- Original Signed Fine Art Photograph- Alicia Bock

I have run through and cleared a fairly extensive list of immediate things to do, what a great feeling, and now I can get onto the other stuff.

(Sorry about ropey pic, taken on phone last week)
But now on to my exciting news, the iminent arrival of Pablo. We are going to collect him tomorrow night and we are so excited! The preparations and plans and schemes are all coming to fruition. The flat has been cleaned, tidied and gutted, the vet has him on its system, and we have 2 little bowls sitting on the kitchen floor waiting to be filled with puppy treats. We have been trying to find a good breeder for what feels like an age, but the time obviously just wasn't right. So our little family will be 3 from tomorrow!

Being under the weather has given me much needed time to read, doodle, and think and I feel so much better for doing so. I believe that sometimes we get sick for a reason, to stop us in our tracks and take time to look inside and I have had a fare bit of time for that over the last couple of weeks. I have been reading "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N Aron and it is an enlightening read.I have a large list of creative projects I am wanting to start and finish; crafts, writing, knitting and collage. I feel quite refreshed and prepared for a new begining, maybe I was shedding a skin! I'm off now to check through all your blogs and catch up with all your latest advenutes :)

Long Awaited Competition Results

Firstly I would like to thank you all, my new blog friends for taking the time to answer my questions about why you blog and your top tips! Also I would like to thank you for your patience, this would have to be the longest running competition in blogland. I promise I will not do that again, I know myself I would be like... come on......

So here goes the winner of their very own custom made bloggin bracelet is mushroommeadows (I used RANDOM.ORG to generate the winning number). Just send me an email with your postal address and we can discuss what you would like your bracelet to look like :)

Nothing creative of my own to show you all today, I have tummy ache and am a bit of a grump, (Bo has gone out for the evening to get out of the firing line!) I have cleaned the fridge, the oven and blitzed the rest of the kitchen, so now I'm off to sit on the sofa and surf the net. Happy Tuesday to you all and I'll hopefully have an exciting post tomorrow night ..........