Halloween Charm Swap

Happy Halloween!!  

Today I am linking up to Vintiquities Workshop Charm Swap post.  Below is the one and only picture I have of my little charm. (silly me) I made 3 sets of these spooky polymer clay houses, five black, five orange, five purple, and all with glittered roofs. 

Below are the fantastic charms I received, 15 in all.  No tricks here, just treats.

With 15 pieces to choose from and a small wrist it was too hard to pick, so I made two charm bracelets.  The larger charms I set aside for future mixed media projects.

For more Halloween treats head on over to Thespa's Vintiquities Workshop **HERE** to see posts from the participants.

Setting the Mood

Simple Halloween decor...candles, metal sign from the craft store and handmade glittered light bulb garland.

Changes in the Air

Hot air balloons in progress, though they look a bit like jellyfish at this point. Made these yesterday while mulling over quite a bit of stuff in my head. The Renaissance Souls book recommends keeping focus on four interests at a time.

Wrote a down of all the interests that are currently vying for my attention, all 33 of them...yeesh!  Categorized them into 15 broad interests and from those I should pick 4 to focus on. One that will make it in the final four is to get my Etsy shop prepped for Christmas.  Etsy has a holiday boot camp specifically to help.  I partnered up with the fantastic Laurel Steven, hoping she can give me a swift kick in the pants when I get lazy.

Speaking of Etsy, have you been there today?  The way it is shopped has changed significantly.  They now have a browsing categories on the left side of the home page.  These are a limited number of categories with a Pinterest style of loading pages. **click HERE to see art**  Searching items still works the same way as it did before but with shoppers more easily led to "browsing pages" is it possible that searching the site as a whole will be used less?  Does it have an effect on a small shop like mine? Possibly, only time will tell if it's positive or negative.

The Renaissance Soul

From Madame Memento's Etsy Shop

I have spent a better part of my adult life looking for that one thing I am supposed to be doing.  Bought into the idea long ago that every one has a purpose. After becoming a mom I modified that belief into one that heads in the direction of : we are supposed to live on purpose making whatever we do in life matter in the moment. Still though I find myself forever distracted and thinking it's still out there, still searching and coming up with ideas of things I would like to do. Sometimes serving up so many ideas on my plate I can't do any of them, can't decide which one is the best one to give my time and attention to, so instead I do nothing.  Isn't it crazy to find yourself immobilized by having too may interests?

That is where this book by Margaret Lobenstine comes in.  In the online course someone had commented  that they didn't even know what creative business they wanted to get into because they had dabbled in so many areas of the arts. How could they pick just one to make a business out of? Another 'flyer' suggested she read Renaissance Souls.   I was intrigued.

The book is geared towards those of us who think we are flighty, non committal,  lazy, or chronically undecided.  Those of us who have beat ourselves down because we thought we were seeking one grand plan, the ideal job or career that would make us happy but routinely find failure in that search. As my kids get older and high school looms around the corner I have been feeling that pang of fear again...I must figure out what I'm going to do, I have to plan, I have to find that one thing and be able to see it through to the end.

A while back I applied and interviewed at a big call center, I bombed the online test and felt a bit defeated.  My best-est cousin Debbie made my day when she said it was OK I didn't get the job, she envisioned that me sitting in a cubicle (even part time) was kind of like putting a butterfly in a shoe box. I'm still stunned at how well she gets me and at how hard I fight to fit in a mold not meant for me.

Where is all this going? Not sure, working through the book, learning to focus or pair down my multitudes of interests and commitments so I can move forward.

Few and Far Between

Posting has been few and far between, I do mean to make it a priority.

These are pictures from two weekends ago, a trip to A&M Farms to continue our apple picking tradition.  It was disappointing that an early frost meant there was only one variety to pick. Luckily Robert loves Golden Delicious.

 

This past week Bob & I built a wood rack to try and deal with all the firewood piled up along the fence from the Ash trees cut down in the spring.  The backyard has a steep slope, so it has taken a few designs to come up with a workable option. Our solution, to build a rack that steps up the slope with cinder block and 4x4's.  At 16 feet long by 6 feet high you'd think we would have made a dent in that pile but alas I need to build another...or I have to figure out how to sell firewood.

I'm also in the middle of  Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons online course.  It is chock full of things to ponder (and do) to make a creative business fly.  Reading the comments in the forums I saw a book suggestion for The Renaissance Soul by Margaret Lobenstine.  I found it at the library and was so intrigued by the introduction it became a must read...more on that later.

Angie