Where I've been, and where I'm goin'

Sigh, more time slipped past me. Each day I have things to tell you but by the time I'm done work, and posted on Facebook and done a bunch of other things, I don't get back to my computer. Plus I do most of my 'fun' stuff on the iPad but prefer to type these posts on my computer. And that was part of the problem. My desk was filled with other things and there wasn't a place for my computer and so I found that it would just stay in its case, turned off, day after day.

Now I have cleared some desk space and I tend to leave it on but just put it to sleep. I find that I am more likely to go in and out of it much more often. I guess the iPad has spoiled me because it's never really turned off and comes on so quickly. The scary thought is that all this speedy computer equipment makes my brain want things quicker and I think my attention span is getting smaller. Luckily I'm not like those some of the people on TV shows like the ones they show on Slice or TLC, but still I find myself quitting something because I'm not willing to wait. I'm still a pretty good listener and my mind doesn't wander when others are talking, so there is still some hope for me yet.

Mad Hatter Crochet Top Hat Challenge

The Crochet Crowd put on a Mat Hatter Challenge where they provided a crocheted top hat pattern and then challenged the makers to create anything related to Alice in Wonderland - just under 350 hats were sent in for the challenge and I must admit I am really impressed with the creativity and variety. The instructions were "anything that represents any part of Alice In Wonderland Fairytale. Keep in mind that the story is filled with imagination and that there are so many different elements to the story that can be represented by a Top Hat." Well let me say, they certainly rose up to the challenge. 

Here's a gallery of the submissions (in alphabetical order): Mad Hatters contest

The top 5 hats will win $500 but there were many more prizes given away as well. I honestly don't know how they'll be able to pick just 5 top winners. And by the way, in case you're wondering what happens next - they hats are auctioned off with money going to charity

Evolution of the arts and creativity

I was inspired by these lovely photos on  Art Symphony's  blog post this morning showcasing the lovely portraits of musicians and the emotions and feelings shown in the  photographs which brought to mind hearing people in the 80's say there was no point creating real music anymore because a computer could do it all when synthesizers and computers where coming on 'the scene'. I'm delighted to see that 30 years later, people are still picking up instruments and are still creating music with their own hands, voices and hearts. I see it first hand as my 15 year old step son is inspired by his best friend to play bass guitar, and inspired by his friend's garage band to practice several times a week. I'm so glad those old predictions didn't come true, aren't you?

I suppose this is also true with other art forms too - some felt there was no need for drawing or painting because a computer could create art, but yet man is still inspired to create his own pieces. And once you start thinking about it, it goes past the 80's, all the way back to the industrial revolution doesn't it? We've had machines and equipment doing the work for us not just in music and in art but also for food, clothing etc. Just as people say 'why make bread at home when you can buy it at the store" or "why make your own socks when you can buy a pair for $2"  - many of us still have the burning desire to do it ourselves.

"I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity and they can be shaped by their user" ~ Bill Gates

"We need creativity in order to break free from the temporary structures that have been set up by a particular sequence of experience" ~ Edward de Bono 

My Thinking Place

For some reason I come up with the craziest George Carlin type of questions in the bathroom. Perhaps because I am the least distracted in there without TV or music or even a window. I'm just standing there flossing my teeth or putting on make up when things occur to me.

Sometimes I've gone over recent events and the come out of the bathroom to ask him about something someone said, or an inconsistency to their story but other times I have questions and I really should write them down. Like this one, why is that as people get older they lose pigment in their hair turning it white, but then they'll have hair growing out of strange places that's black? That's a really weird question isn't it?

My husband's begun to fear when I suddenly come out of the bathroom, often still with a toothbrush or floss in my hands and ask him a "how come" question. Sometimes I have to remember the question all the way through my shower - that can be a tough one too. Here's an article about why we have our best ideas in the shower. And here's another one on creativity.

I wonder where old Sherlock Holmes best place to think was?  Probably everywhere!

Resolutions vs Goals

I don't really do resolutions but I do have ongoing goals that I am working on. Many times I write them down in a book and don't look at them. This weekend I spend about 1/3 of it going through a new yearly planner and putting various reminders in it; included in those reminders are to revisit my journal and/ or goal book (I use the Leonie Dawson's Incredible Year Planner) several times throughout the year. But I also thought these very creative reminders were a very good idea - maybe one is less likely to stop seeing them when they look more like artwork?

What type of system works for you?  

Do you believe in resolutions? 

What kind have you kept? 

Done!

7:30 Sunday night and I am finished all the gifts I wanted to make that needed to be mailed. Now anything I start making is either for someone locally, something for my shop or something for me.

And speaking of my shop - two good things happened to me last week. One, a friend of mine with 5500 friends promo'd me on her facebook page. That's nice exposure. I am very grateful. And second, I received an invitation to join EtsyBABY which is an exclusive group that promotes shops specializing in baby items. Being part of EtsyBaby gives me more exposure to my shop and they profile items and promote their members, as well, it's not so easy to get in so getting an invitation is a good thing. I am very grateful and very excited. As soon as I wrap and mail my out-of-town gifts tomorrow, I will start working on my MustHaveThat Etsy store (see right side bar for the link) and figure out a game plan. I have some very good advice to follow from my Number 1 fan - my brother and from Leonie Dawson who offers several how-to business course and planners etc  - so  definitely have my work cut out for me.

 I am very pleased to have completely my hand-made Christmas gifts "on schedule" and look forward to some 'free' time. I say free in quotes, because it's really stuff that I should put first but always struggle with as I always let the minutia of daily life get in the way. If ever I had a resolution that would be it. To make time for creative time NO MATTER WHAT. Which is kinda what I did to finish this last project, I neglected some housework and cut back on the baking/cooking as I had to get that last gift done.

I have also finished shopping  - unless I have forgotten someone - so I am feeling positive about the next 2 weeks.

How about you? Do you celebrate Christmas? 

Are you on schedule for gifts and preparations? 

More on Halloween Costumes

By now many of you may have gone to Halloween parties on the weekend, but if you're still looking for costume ideas, watch this fab video for ideas:

Catchy tune isn't it? 

Grey Gardens, Tim Gunn, The Color Purple, Louis C.K...pretty creative

Also, check out the  "Oh Happy Day" blog  for some great kids ideas - this is one of my favorite kids costumes:

And I like this idea for a dog costume - especially with the glow in the dark bones:

But puppy would have to wear it before Halloween night because it's really not a good idea to have them out on the street on the 31st - too many loud noises, dropped candy and a multiple of other unpredictable occurrences that will most likely not be good for your dog. Even though fireworks are illegal in my community they are still around and go off quite frequently - so many poor dogs that suffer from noise phobia just as my past dog, Jazz, did for over 7 years - and almost every time I hear one go off, I am so grateful that Eco isn't affected at all. Jazz sure did suffer severely and if affected the whole family. 

What costumes did you see that made you laugh this year? 

Did you see any fresh new ideas? 

A Mollie Makes Giveaway!

Squee! I just love Mollie Makes and I really like the designs of Wild Olive - so check out her post where she talks about two of her patterns in the Mollie Makes Christmas book and her giveaway!

What a great way to start the holiday season!

Miniatur Wunderland

Okay, mind is officially blown - after yesterday's post about the train-wrecks of life, you must watch this most amazing and inspiring clip - sent in by my brother:

This is most definitely on my Goals list!!!

In case you're wondering*...

...why I've slowed down on my projects - it has to do with the fact that my arms and hands keep going numb. Sometimes it's my whole arm, from the shoulder all the way to the fingers. Sometimes I try to work through the numbness but it doesn't go away so I must stop and flex my arm and my hand. My doctor sent me for an x-ray and confirmed that no nerves were pinched or compromised in my neck, so next he's sending me for a nerve conductivity test. This is like hitting your funny bone - except someone else has control of when it will happen and they do it multiple times. And, I really wanted to kick the technician in the head (I know! I'm not a violent person - except when someone causes me pain) but the last time I had it done, the ladies were so nice I couldn't do it, but boy I sure wanted to!!!

Two years ago I was told I had mild to moderate carpal tunnel and that my left hand was worse than my right. No one can figure out why the left is worse because I'm so very right handed. All I can think of is that I walk Eco on my left side and maybe all the leash handling is related to it, although I don't recall even getting numb during our daily walks. Holding the embroidery hoop seems to compress something in my thumb and so it goes numb, and both hands can go numb during knitting, somethings I can't even finish the row. I do wear splints at night which definitely seem to help me to sleep through the night and not wake up with numb arms.

When this subject first came up I wanted to do everything possible to avoid the surgery, and changed a bunch of things at my desk. Jp did some research and bought me a computer mouse that uses your thumb to move the curser around instead of your wrist and I think that's helped a lot. Since the initial diagnosis I've talked to several people who had the surgery and said it was a very good thing for them to have done and they were able to resume all the crafts and activities they used to enjoy without the numbness. Today I am more open to the option of surgery for this issue.

So now you know why I don't post as much about what I have been working on. Just in case you were wondering.

** and actually I'm pretty sure you weren't wondering about it since this quote is so very true: 

"You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” 

― Eleanor Roosevelt


PHOTO CREDIT: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001469/

How do you know?

There's a big trend for people to be creative in their spelling of  names or words - especially for businesses or product names or artist names in the rap world, to name a few. But there must also be 1 million English teachers crying everyday at all the poor spelling out there (I usually get busted on these types of posts for grammar, spelling or diction errors ...) and what I'd like to know is - how can you tell when it's a spelling error or intentional?

Take this roadside memorial for example - I realize it was a sad moment for the person who wrote it and goodness knows how much distress they were under but do you think her name was really the "one eyed bandid" or did she not know the spelling of the word? How do you know? Should I laugh or cry?

Kill Comic Sans Game

For all my friends who hate the font Comic Sans - try out this game!
I didn't do so well, so unfortunately the font will probably still be around for a little while longer.

And if you like fonts and want to know some more about this, check out this site. 

This is a thing of beauty

Even if you don't consider yourself a handyman, or handyperson, I'm sure you can appreciate the beauty in this tool chest. The organizational skills are amazing and the craftsmanship is stunning. I am absolutely in awe of the creator's ability to produce such a stunning piece of functional, practical, art. It really is very creative.

What's your Word?

Several years ago I was at my brother's house and I saw a post-it note stuck to his computer which had the word "Focus" written on it. I took that word home with me and set about creating some letters for him, each letter was about 1" thick and about 4" tall and was covered in a crackled, antiqued surface. I sent him the letters and he placed them on his desk where he could see them daily. Many times over the years he's commented on how meaningful those letters, and the word,  are to him - one because I made it for him and two because the word, focus,  is important to him. In the book Eat, Pray, Love when Liz is in Italy during a group dinner, the guests play a game thinking about their word, the word that best described them/best suited to them. Which brings me to the pendant you see at the top of this post -  Jp gave it to  me this  Christmas and "begin' is a very good word to ponder. Begin. Begin your day, begin the year, begin a task, begin to complete the task, begin. What does the word mean to you? Do you have a 'word'?

~~~~~~~

Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain;

again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. 

Marcus Aurelius

 The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney 

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
Henry David Thoreau 

So many fail because they don't get started - they don't go.
 They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin.
Ben Stein 

New Years Day

Today is a nice and calm day, it's beautifully sunny and I'm heading out in a few minutes for a dog walk (it's still cold though, 1 degrees is cold for us West Coasters). We chilled out last night and ate some yummy food (wings and sliders and nuggets). I had a delicious bottle of sparkling Pinot Grigio that was just right for the night.

 

Little Burgers are FUN!

I don't really make resolutions this time of year, and like many other people my ongoing aim is to become better or more - clean more often, take more time for myself, become better at knowing what I want and to stop trying to figure people out (asking 'why did they..." is a clue), spend more time doing and studying yoga and more time practicing meditation. I do have other 'goals' but I'm not ready to share them yet.

And to start the New Year off more creatively, I decided to bling out my dayplanner:

It's hard to see in this photo - the planner is actually more burgundy than red as it appears here, the gems are pink and red,  and the "Eco" dog sticker is velvety. What do you think?

The Invention of New Words

In our house, it's pretty common for Jp(mainly) to come up with new words for things. Here, for example are two of the latest ones:

1) We placed a couple chairs in front of where the kid sleeps to prevent the dog from bugging him while he sleeps. It worked.

And next thing you know - we have a chairicade

2) Jp is having some breakfast, enjoying some of Carol's World Famous Raspberry Jam when some falls on the plate. And then Jp announced, "oh, oh, we need a jambulance"

Fun-nee.

What word have you created? Or heard?