Humblearts Journal

The back and forth

 

Oh my, I just got accepted to a lovely holiday show.  The first week of December.  You do realize that is only 4 weeks away.  Grab onto your beads folks, we are now taking off into the pre-holiday jewelry making frenzy.  I can do it.  There have been years I've done big shows 2 weeks apart. And traveled to Michigan for Thanksgiving in between them.   So this year, will be a piece of cake.  (yes, that's me laughing hysterically.)

Our conference is next weekend.  Just name tags to make, Friday night dinner to reserve, stuff a few more folders and then Friday go and check out the campus to make sure everything is set up right.  Not too bad. I couldn't do it without our army of volunteers and a spectacular conference coordinator.  God bless volunteers!

Other things on my wish list of things to work on this month:

1. Weekly auctions

2. New beads for website and holiday boutique open for November and December. 

3. send beads to a magazine that has asked for samples

4. Take jewelry to the gallery for holiday sales.

5.  work on prints for a holiday cookie print exchange and take new prints to the gallery.

The thing is, I can do any kinds of crazy nonsense for a limited amount of time.  So working 60 hours a week is fine, as long as I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and a nice pile of cash to spend on Christmas presents and my trip to New York when all is said and done!!! 

Okay, I have beads to make, off I go...

Time Machine?

Okay, so seriously I spent the whole day under the delusion that it was Tuesday.  Where the heck did my week go???  I have been piled under an unending stream of bead orders.  Which is fabulous.  I'm trying my hardest to keep up.  In the spare minutes of the day I've been sketching and working on illustrations.  Yes, believe it or not I am still illustrating.  Although by my blog lately you wouldn't know it. 

Have you seen this book: An Egg is Quiet written by Dianna Aston & illustrated by Sylvia Long?  What a beautiful book.  The illustrations are breath-taking.  Who knew eggs were so sublime?  Dianna spoke at our SCBWI meeting this weekend.  She told us to write about the things that haunt us, those memories or thoughts that are always with us.  I love that idea. 

And how is the SCBWI stuff going you may ask?  Well I have to say that I love being RA.  It's a good amount of work, but fun and everyone here is so supportive.  Here is our blog/newsletter if you haven't had a chance to see it.  I'm looking forward to the national conference next month!

Note to self: spend some time dreaming today, even if it's only for 10 minutes. 

May's To-Do

I thought I'd get back to the monthly to-do list, since they help me keep on track!

Beady stuff:

Sell beads at the Bead Society Meeting this week.

Finish making beads for a beadstore.

Send out two articles that are long overdue.

Bead Cruise Stuff:

Pick our next cruise.

Send out press releases.

Illustration Stuff:

Teach kids how to make Magic Books at the McNay Family Day.

Finish 2 dummies, 1 picture book, 1 easy reader and send them out.

2 finished pieces of artwork as samples for the dummies.

Update website.

Make another promotional postcard to send out.

Update my mailing list.

SCBWI Stuff:

Host our annual Critiquenic

Secure our location for our Fall Conference

Send out postcards for our upcoming events

Look into the possibility of hosting an Illustrator's Retreat.

For Fun:

Make a raised bed garden.

Mulch the flower beds.

Enter this contest.

Purple - this coming week.  Teal - the third week in May.  Green - the last week and half of May. 

How Many Hours in a Day?

"Don't say you don't have enough time.  You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein."   -H. Jackson Brown

I need to get organized. I'm drowning in paperwork and piles and all sorts of not so fun things. 

I'll keep my very long list to myself this month.  I'm juggling the Bead Cruise, making beads and filling orders, SCBWI stuff and trying to talk myself into dedicating a little time each day to illustration.  I have each part blocked off in a journal with to-do lists that have things that need to be done immediately, weekly, monthly and long-term.  That's helping to keep it under control.  Do you think I could talk someone into being my intern, ala Kramer on Seinfeld?

Okay, now here is where you get to peek into the insanity that goes on in my head.  It's Jesse's birthday on the 13th, so I want to have a fun party with a few of our friends on Saturday.  We are going to have a Vegas Night Party.  I'm going to make a cake that looks like two dice (die).  We are going to play poker and eat all sorts of salty bad-for-you snacks!  And Sunday we'll have lunch and cake with his family. All 17 of them, if everyone shows up.  Yikes, he has 6 brothers and sisters.   I'm more than happy to throw two parties for Jesse.  He's so overworked and under appreciated.

Now here it is, the part that tips the scale.  The girls want to be in the school talent show.  We talked about it and came up with the idea to do a puppet show.  Shakespeare's sock puppet theatre.  Well, not sock puppets.  We are going to make handmade puppets.  We are going to do a very quick verison of a Midsummer's Night Dream. It's the girls' favorite.  So we have to work up a little play and have it practiced enough to try out at the end of the month.  Should be fun. Then we have until May to make the props and puppets.  Ah, cardboard, you are always a dear friend!  Tomorrow is the first day of Spring Break, so this will be our project to keep the kids entertained during the week.  Good timing actually.

I'm going to be retiring my HumbleHome blog to use the space for SCBWI stuff.  The only problem, should I just delete it?  I have the photos and could scrapbook with them instead of the blog.  Maybe I should copy and print out my favorite entries.  It's hard to see it go, it's like a diary.  But I don't want to keep up two personal blogs, so it needs to go.  Any suggestions or thoughts?

Studio Friday - Fear

Studio Friday's topic this week is fear. 

I'm afraid I'll never meet the expectations that I set for myself. 

And now that I've said that, it's time to work on letting that go.  I am flawed and lovely.  Full of great ideas and always pressed for time.  My life is mundane and yet miracles surround me everyday.  I plan too much and never finish.  I am just me. I try my hardest, sometimes I flourish, other times I'd like to run for cover. 

The monthly to-do is floating around in my head.  I don't think I'll worry about it much this month.  February is officially a catch up month for me. I have projects that need to be finished, lose ends to tie up.

Articles that need to be sent out.  1 & 2

Postcards for an event in March.

Sponsor stuff for the Bead Cruise.

Press Release for my Bead of the Month.

My little day to day lists are full of things to finish.  It's hard to look at the bigger picture this month, when so many things need to be cleared out of the way.

Oh I have something official to share with you.  I think I'll wait until tomorrow to let the cat of the bag.  I know, shame on me for keeping cats stuffed in bags, but you'll just have to wait. 

Nothing to do

Well, it's January 12th and you are wondering where is my monthly to-do list to see what amazing feats I will try to accomplish in 31 days! 

There isn't one for this month.  I'm flying by the seat of pants, hanging on for dear life.  I've actually been under the weather and haven't been able to work as much as I'd like.

I did manage to update my humblearts website and order new postcards for my next promo mailing.  Which is the image above.

Here is a rough list, to help me think things through:

Finish magazine illustration

Take photos for article (this weekend)

Make spring jewelry samples

Send promo materials to rep and call store that wants my work. (next week)

Update humblebeads website

Send out more flyers for bead cruise.  We only have 13 spaces left, I'm so happy about this!

Put up a little shop on my humblearts site for my prints.

I feel so much better.  Just writing it down takes it from being that sinking feeling of "oh I have so much to do", to an "okay, this is what I need to do" kind of resolve.  I then ask myself what is the most important thing on this list and go from there. 

December's To-Do

Wow, and here it is the middle of December.  But I couldn't pass up my monthly to-do.

finish getting ready for Bead Society show

photos for magazine article

Christmas cards sent out!

Presents made

Organize my studio

Clearance sale

Make a marketing plan for 2006

sketches for Spring jewelry line

this week, next week, last week of the month.

Pre-Holiday To-Do's

Ah, this month's to-do list is short and sweet.

1. Finish samples for my website. (by Saturday)

2. Update website: optimize for searches, add new links, find more listings and places to submit for reviews. (1 hour everyday)

3.  Start google adwords for my holiday boutique. (next week)

4.  Call my gallery and new store to set up appointments for holiday work.  (tomorrow)

5.  Find 2 new places to contact about selling my jewelry.  Send promo materials, follow up with a phone call.

Let go of everything else.  Bead Cruise registration ends on November 21st.  The SCBWI conference is next weekend.  So there are lots of little ends to tie up for both of those events. 

The gallery will be selling my work at a holiday sale at the local art museum and I won't be doing an event until next month with the Bead Society.  It will be a different pace this year, but I'm not going to do shows, just to do a show.  I'm tired of being disappointed trying to sell my work to the wrong market.  I don't have to do everything today, some successes can wait until the time is right.  It's tough to trust that my needs will be taken care of, that it's okay to slow down and listen to that inner voice that says wait - when I really want to go running forth into unknown disasters of my own making.  I need to find a place of peace in my own heart and let that peace be my guide for which steps to take next.  You see, we can waste months, even years, doing busy work, trying to get ahead when there is the possibility of just one simple step to get you to where your next adventure lies.  For me, it's writing a book, how I can I write a book if I don't leave any time for myself for that creative process?  It's not just one selling season, not just this month or next that I'm thinking of; I'm ready for a life change and that means taking chances that are not on the beaten path. 

Be brave, face your life head on and know that there is a purpose and a plan for you, a plan for your good and for you to prosper.  Walk in peace this month.

October's Long List

I can't believe it's October 6th already.  I certainly have been playing around and now it's time to get down to business.  Amid the beads in the oven, press releases and samples mailed out, events and orders, I need to make time for my family.  I will not work from the time the girls get home from school until they go off to bed.  I will probably pull some all nighters creating enough inventory to keep up and I know I'll have to hire someone to help out next month.  For now, watch me in my amazing balancing act, single handedly juggling a growing business and my home life. 

October's To Do:

Put together my press kit, which includes a bio, press release, tip sheet, a few photos of me and my work and published articles.

Add a press page to my website

Make samples for holiday boutique, photograph and create online boutique.

Send out press releases for Holiday Boutique to places online, HGTV spot locally and humblebeads press release to bead magazines, along with samples.

Mail out postcards for humblebeads.com & HGTV debut

Send press kit with sample & price sheets to 5 galleries/stores.

Selling beads at bead society meeting Oct. 12th

Houston Street Fair in SA, Oct. 29th.

Sending out bead cruise flyers and online promos will still be a weekly effort.

I'm looking forward to crossing off each thing this month!  And then on the 29th I am having the biggest party to celebrate my HGTV spot and all my hard work for this month. 

Acorn above, is a felted bead with seed bead cap on a blackened brass chain.  And my banner, a self-portrait as a beady squirrel.

September's To-Do

Here is a pendant I made using one of my Monet beads.  Just thought I'd share.

It's a new month already.  It's my sister Jessi's birthday.  Happy day sis!

This month, I want to get this list done.  I'm so, so tired of having the same things here every month.

Finish outline for Bead Studio book, submit querry to Lark Books.

Send out article to Step by Step Beads.

Send tearsheets to a few magazines that I'd like to work with.

Put together small packets to send out to 5 galleries.

Finish a few fancy necklaces to submit to Lark Book necklace competition.

Work on my dummy book every friday.

Okay, this is along with filling orders and selling on ebay.  Which is going great, I have to say!  Now the hard part, actually doing this work and not getting side tracked on projects that waste my time.