Things That Go Bump In Your Head

I don't keep the same hours most of the rest of the world keeps. Even as a baby I didn't like to sleep at night from what my Mother tells me. The problem with being on a different schedule than everyone else is that people make noise around the neighborhood or you have to get up to be somewhere during those daylight hours so I don't always get as much sleep as I should.

This week has been like that, so last night about 9:30 it caught up with me and I laid down for a nap. I fell asleep almost instantly which also is out of character because I have chronic insomnia and it takes me about an hour to go to sleep. I had the oddest dream.

From all the dreams I can recollect I have never had one quite like this one. The dream started out in my Grandmother's attic room but it wasn't decorated the same as hers was. I remember there being distince peach and taupe colors. There were three beds and I laid down on the biggest, most comfortable looking of the the three that had a quilt and a pillow with a lacy pillow case to have a nap. Now I know what you're thinking....no this isn't a Goldilocks with the bears thing. My husband laid down to nap with me but he fell asleep right away and didn't wake up during anything that happened within the landscape of the dream. While still in the dream I was awakened in the dark by a noise. I couldn't see anything and for whatever reason I didn't turn on the light. I could hear all kinds of odd noises like people were moving around and whispering to one another but I couldn't really tell who they were, how many or what they were doing or saying. I felt a vague sense of danger and fear, but nothing ever really happened.

Then my dog decided he had to go outside and woke me up, so I never finished the dream. I am sure it's symbolic of something, but I can't quite figure out what. The thing I found most odd about it was the fact that since my mind created the dream, shouldn't I have known what was going on in the dark?

I am sure that it wasn't representative of concerns that people were talking about me behind my back because I have never really cared if people talk about me or not. I am also very much in control of what I do, so I don't think it was concerns over not knowing what I am doing in some repsect.

If anyone has anything insightful to shed light on this (pun intended) I would be interested in hearing it.

I Can't See The Forest For The Trees

Every Sunday I enjoy looking through the ads in the paper. Last Sunday the Kohls flier had some bottle bush trees on sale for half price. I really REALLY love bottle brush trees.

It all started because I had a collection of snowmen. I would put them all on my mantle downstairs at Christmas time. I had some old bottle brush trees that were the right size to compliment my snowmen so I rolled them in crystal glitter and added them to the mantle one year. Each year I would find the trees here and there and add to my collection. Eventually I decided I loved the trees more than the snowmen. The trees became the focus and snowmen are now the accents. I also use a lot of them in my Christmas pieces.

I really wanted the trees from Kohls, but I was afraid if I went into the store I would get swept up in the shoes and jewelry and sweaters...oh my! I didn't want to spend terribly much this week, so I decided to order them from their website instead. They had three sizes in two colors. The smallest cost 3.50 and the largest 7.00. So I ordered several small ones, a few medium and two large. It didn't tell the size on the website but I figured for the price they couldn't be very big...not more than 2-6 inches.

Today I got a confirmation that my order was about to be shipped. Then I got another confirmation...and another! I was concerned something had gone wrong because the site had frozen up when I placed the order. I was afraid I was getting a triplicate order and maybe even charged three times. I called customer service and got this very funny guy. We laughed quite a bit over the course of the conversation, and he checked to see what was going on. He said finally that the reason I got three shipping notices was because the order was split into three boxes! I was very surprised that my little trees were coming in so many boxes. As it turns out...they are 11", 14" and 18" tall! I about croaked, I am going to have an entire forest when they arrive!

I guess the moral of this story is always find out how big the items you are ordering are before you order them! After having a "down" kind of day, this was the first part of a really great ending to the day.

The second part was my other blog. I was all set to feature someone but they didn't get pictures to me today, so I needed someone rather fast to write about. I made a thread on Etsy asking for anyone who wanted to be featured. I was surprised that it took a little bit to have anyone respond, but the first person who responded turned out to be perfect. I only started this blog this week but so far the happiness people have gotten from what I write about them gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside. It really is better to give than to receive. Even if you can't see it right away because you're surrounded by a forest of trees! *giggles*

Caught In The Web

I am usually pretty optimistic, but I have to tell you my enthusiasm is flagging today. Not a single woo has passed these lips! I think I am suffering from internet burn out. Trying to run a business on the web is exhausting. It's very competitive because every creative person has an outlet now to display and sell their items. While I think that's great, and wish we had that option decades ago...trying to stand out from the crowd is time consuming.

The self promotion is never ending. If you are on Etsy you need to chat in the forums so that people see you, include you in treasuries and get to know you. Twitter is another good tool, but you need to find a balance between personal tweets and posting links so as to maintain good etiquette and not turn people off by posting nothing but links. I remove people from my following list who do that because I like a little personal interaction along with the sales pitches.

I currently have items for sale on my website, Etsy, Dawanda, Bearpile and very soon... Lollishops. All those shops have to be maintained. On top of that The Lollishops Guild, Mohair Divas, Toy Collector, my blog, Plumdrop and Flickr have to be updated every time I have new pictures of items...*collapses on the floor*

On top of the time and cost of supplies to make my pieces, I have to spend hours setting up displays to take photos, take the photos themselves, crop the photos and adjust the color to display the item as close as possible to real life, upload the photos to the endless sites I am on, announce the photos and then if the item sells I have to package it up safely, drive to the post office and usually wait an hour in line to mail it. (And people wonder why artists charge so much for shipping.)

The end result of all this extra work is that I have quite a few less hours a a week to devote to making new things, spending time with my loved ones, reading, cleaning and workin the flab off my backside from sitting in the computer chair.

IT'S MADNESS I TELL YOU! *giggles* The truth is all this effort isn't producing satisfying returns like shows used to. So in order to maintain my sanity and be able to fit in my chair, I have made a very big decision. I think I am going to start spending the money to advertise in magazines after the first of the year. I am getting a new snazzy camera for Christmas so I will be able to take even better pictures! Advertising is very expensive, but it reaches a huge audience and I think in the long run it will save my sanity.

Every time that I have advertised in the past I have generated really great sales. I should have just kept doing it. This time however, I am going to invest in some main stream publications as well as the bear publications. So watch for those ads, I will keep you updated on when they will be coming out and where. And keep in mind that when I start to do this, it may become difficult to get my work. So if you have been thinking about getting one of my things for yourself as a little present, now might be the time.

~*~ Rich Chocolate Velvet Rose Presentation Box ~*~

I was very busy last night working on this little box! You can see it on Etsy by clicking the link below:



Click Here

Woo!

So tonight I discovered that I am a woo girl. I didn't realize there was a specific name for it, and apparently it's not something people look particularily favorably on. The truth is I have been a woo girl for a long time, but it's not something most people know. I confess, I can get pretty enthusiasic at any given time and shout out a well placed "woo", I do own a pink cowboy hat, and I have been known to wear Ugg boots with shorts or a slip nightgown. So yes, I have hit the triple crown of woo-ness! I am even married to a yeah dude.

But I don't think there is anything wrong with self expression and enthusiasm. In fact the new blog I have started is sort of my way of giving a big woo to all the talented people I run across while strollin down the virtual highway. I am having so much fun with it already and I have only featured two people. It's almost more fun to write about other people and why I like their stuff than it is to write about myself...I said almost. I am a Leo and we are known to be slightly vain. *Grins cheekily* But we are always generous to a fault, and I can tell you it is definitely more rewarding to write about others.

So the next time you see a woo girl in the wild, treat her kindly...she is just expressing her joy to be alive. Maybe she will include you in that joy!

A Rose By Any Other Name

Sometimes life works in very mysterious ways. Yesterday I completed the set up of my new blog The Rose Colored Monocle. I set it up because I wanted to feature other artist's work. I put out a call to several places on the net for people who might like to be featured. I decided to leave it up to fate and the first person to respond would be my first feature. Amy from The B-Line was the first person to answer. She makes lovely jewelry and things, but the thing that really caught my attention was some rose rings. I love rose rings and have been trying to find one that would fit over my large Irish peasant stock bones! So I went to bed thinking I would call the first post "A Rose By Any Other Name."

Now here is where it gets weird...I woke up and had a conversation on Etsy from JulieChristie who makes lovely glass items. (Go check her out!) She featured Little Garbanzo in a treasury in Treasury West on Etsy named of all things...A Rose By Any Other Name Is Still A Rose! I guess that's proof positive that what you do in this world does come back to you...sometimes very fast, and in ways that make you hum the Twilight Zone Theme! Go check out the treasury, it's beautiful, and don't forget to visit the links above to see Julie's work and my new blog!

Click here to visit the treasury

~*~ Catch A Falling Star ~*~

I managed to make something sort of unique. I love the whole idea behind star jars and I have recently become fascinated with terrariums. So I combined the idea. The moss in this jar is not alive however, it's preserved so there is no care required!

I have it listed on Etsy, click below to visit it:

Click here