Humblearts Journal

Where to Begin?

Roadblocks, what is holding me back from going forward?

Pretty easy to answer:

1. time

2. space to create (the beads have taken over my studio)

3. overwhelmed by my out-of-date mailing list.

Easy to handle:

15 minutes, 3 times a day:

1. work on cleaning up and arranging my studio - make room for illustration. 

2. use the market guides to update my mailing list.

3. start by sketching 15 minutes each day.

While I was camping I discovered that I love to go outside and sketch in the mornings.  I feel like it's a great way to start the day.

Something in your life seems overwhelming?  Remember you can eat an elephant one bite at a time.  Gross, okay, well you can climb a mountain one step at a time.  Break down your goal into baby steps and go for it.  Anyone else out there reaching for a creative dream?  I'd love to hear about your story and cheer you along.

Where will life take you?

I miss my humblearts blog.  I've been so busy with beads, I haven't had time for anything else.  As an illustrator still trying to make my way in the door, I have to find that balance between needing to work to the pay the bills and finding time to work towards the goals that I want to accomplish.

We went camping this weekend and had a rather hairy experience on the Frio Rio.  It looked safe enough, but I was quickly caught in a current and completely unable to get control of where my body would go.  I was swept down the river.  Isn't that life?  We think we are headed in one direction and suddenly circumstances take hold and we are left looking back over our shoulder at the shore wondering how we made it so far downstream without even thinking.  Now as life would have it, just like on the river, eventually you'll get pushed to the side of the riverbank or a branch will come along to grab hold of or maybe it's someone with a little more foresight and a inner tube who will get you back on track.

Has life swept you away?  Do you see your dreams off in the distance as responsibilities and reality push you further down stream?  Is that dream that you've been carrying around worth a little determination and sacrifice?  Those are only questions we can answer for ourselves.

For me, I need to carve out the time each day to make my way back to shore.  What will it take?  A set goal, a plan and babysteps until I have some real momentum of my own going.

6 Weird Things

Thanks to Roz and Dee...

Only six, hmm which ones to choose.  There are so many...

1. I'm almost as excited about the new season of Lost as I am about going to New York.  That's probably more sad than weird.

2. I love Mary Kay products, just love them.

3.  I can't sleep with socks on.

4.  I became a Christian after having a dream about how much God loves us.  A dream changed the entire course of my life, that's weird, huh? 

5. I don't drive.

6.  Oh this is a good one, I went out today with one eyebrow plucked and one looking like a wild hairy jungle.  (not to worry, both the beasts have been tamed.)

Now the hard part, here are the 6 I'm tagging:

and the rules:

Mom, Liz, Courtney, Jenny, and Amy.  Okay that's 5, but it seems everyone else is already playing along.  : )

Directions:

"Each person who gets tagged needs to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as clearly state this rule. After you state your 6 weird things, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says “you’re tagged” in their comments and tell them to read your blog for information as to what it means."

And speaking of weird, don't trade your cows in for magic beans.  Magic beads, maybe.

 

my kingdom for a pair of mittens!

I'm on a quest to find gloves or mittens for my trip to New York.  I'm worried about freezing, I've gone native.  When it's 40 degrees here I'm shivering under a blanket.  This is not such an easy task, as the stores here now have bathing suits, not winter attire. 

I'm almost ready.  I was stressing out before the weekend, but had a few very productive days and feel almost caught up. 

Here are a some sketches from our homework assignment:

free time, where art thou?

I'm still here, with just a minute to spare. 

I've been busy making beads like there is no tomorrow.  I was way behind on filling orders, there were just too many.  A good problem to have, but it has been causing some missed sleep! 

In between the beads, I've been working on my assignment for the NY conference next week.  I'm taking a part 2 class with Tomie. : )  Jack and the Beanstalk was our homework.  I'll post some of them after the conference. 

I'm so excited about going, I can't even tell you.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with the PBJ's!  Plus, I just happen to love New York and can't wait to visit the city again.  It melts my brain. 

Now I'm going to go try to find a zzz's.  Happy Creating!

Business Links

Here are some art & craft related business links that you might find helpful:

Art Biz Blog's topics on websites & blog marketing.

CraftMemo for keeping track of your materials, inventory and projects.  I haven't used it, but it looks interesting.

Luann Udell's always informative blog has tips on getting started in your arts & crafts business.  It has 18 in the series, here is #18, you can find the first one on the right-hand side and work your way up or start at #18 and work your down.   

My website has put away the holiday finery and has been simplified and refined for beads only.  Look for updates on Monday with some new beads and auctions.

Playing Around

Happy New Year!  I hope it's filled with promise and exciting adventures. 

I have a new notebook for all my great ideas this coming year and a new day planner that will be filled with some fun days looming in the near future.  I even picked up a few storage boxes for my art supplies, as I need to get my studio organized.

No goals or resolutions this year.  I like Roz's themes.  So if I had to pick one, it's Play.  I'm going to spend more time playing around this year.  With the little tangents that my heart desires, such as dolls, to playing more with my girls,  (H. wants to learn how to play kick-ball) to playing and having fun with my artwork.  Life is so short and there are far too many people worrying about the grown-up stuff, I think I'll spend 2007 indulging my inner child.  I hope you do too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our celebration doesn't start until this evening, so while I'm sitting here dreaming about turkey and pumpkin pie I thought I'd show you my leaf cookies and blog about my Thanksgiving day sale.

I love making sugar cookies.  The best part is decorating, so I cheat and buy refrigerated cookie dough.  I have my favorite butter frosting recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook my great grandmother gave to me.  After I frost them I dip them in sugar, so they are sparkly and just a little too sweet.  (Thank goodness I only make them once or twice a year!)

Click on over to humblebeads.com for my two-day sale, 20% off everything today and tomorrow.  Lots of cute gifts in my holiday shop.

Enjoy the day with your loved ones!

Yep, it's "ruff" being sick. 

Things I've been up to:

filling orders, slow and steady.

working on things for our upcoming conference.

writing stories while snuggled on the couch, thanks to my palm pilot.

sketching ideas for puzzles to submit to magazines and sketches for new samples.

I can't believe it's already mid-October.  I'm heading to Austin next weekend for their SCBWI conference.  I have to put up my October bead of the month, along with new auctions and I have lots of loose strings to tie up with sketches that are ready to come to life.  It will be a busy two weeks.  I have no time to be under the weather.  Here's to your health and to mine!

if walls could talk...

What?

What is that studio? 

You want me to clean you? 

You feel neglected? 

What? You want me to add a little sparkle to you? 

You want the papers put away and tables cleaned off? 

Is that it girl?  You need to be organized? 

Ahh, look at you wagging your tail, okay girl.  Let's get you cleaned up...

Is your workspace a little worse for wear?  Mine too.  It's a little out of hand actually.  Here are some tips for cleaning up a space that looks like a natural disaster has occurred.

1. Clean from right to left around the room.  Clean off the top of the spaces first, working your way down. (Thanks Mom)

2.  Have 3 bags or boxes.  One trash, one put away, one give away.

3.  Overwhelmed?  Just clean one corner first or one table.  Start somewhere, it's not as bad as you think.

4.  Don't buy things to organize before you clean up.  Purge, get rid of the old and abused.  Really think about how you want to use your space.  Look around, do you already have containers you could re-purpose?  In other words, shopping is not cleaning, don't get them confused!  (I do sometimes.)

4.  Wall of inspiration.  Every studio needs one.  A place to pin up photos, cards, or whatever else gets your visual motor running. 

5.  You can't blog and clean at same time.  So guess what that means?