Reinvent Yourself

Last week I shared with you how I reinvented the designs I create, the materials I work with and how I run my business. Today I'm sharing some ideas to reinvent your Yourself.

Reinventing yourself can be exciting and scary, and making changes can be uncomfortable. But a new path will help you grow as an artist and a person.

Here are some easy tips to follow to reinvent yourself:

Go at your own pace - You are doing this for yourself, take your time, find the best possible solutions for yourself, and then make changes slowly.

Do your research - There are many options, ideas, and opportunities learn everything you can so you can make good choices.

Listen to yourself - It is easy to let outside influences distract you, but you know what is best for you, you know the answers, let your gut guide you in your new direction.

Ease into your new direction - You don't have to make all your changes all at once, try a few things until you know exactly what you want to do.

These steps are easily translated into starting a new project or even new product development. Go out and discover something new about yourself, and enjoy all the new things you will discover.

"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition." Alan Alda

Fun Facts about Color

Fun facts about color you may not know.

RED - The most commonly found color in national flags.

YELLOW - In ancient France the doors of criminals were painted yellow.

GREEN - Brides in the middle ages used to wear green to symbolize fertility.

PURPLE - Widows used to wear purple to mourn their husbands death in Thailand.

BLUE - The Pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore blue for protection against evil.

Do you know any other fun facts about color? Please share.

Blog / Shop News

BLOG News

You may notice a theme on my blog this past week and for the weeks ahead, their will be several posts about color. Here in the Midwest it has been a little gloomy and in my attempt to add color in the world around me I thought I would share it with you too.

Last week I had a post about Color Associations and in Photo's to Inspire it was all about purple. I also had a guest post from Esty seller LavenderFields who shared her colorful jewelry. Add a little color to your day and check them out.

Coming up next week their will be more color in my posts and pictures to see. Stop by everyday to be inspired.

SHOP News

I have started to take some pictures of my new items and I posted a few on my Etsy site. Here are some shots of new pieces coming this week.

I hope you are ready for a bright and happy spring.

Have a great week!

Write a "Found Poem"

I love checking out the work of the people who follow my blog. A couple of day ago Patty started following my blog, and I went to her blog called A Diary Left Open. She is a wonderful writer and I enjoyed reading her blog. Patty had a post about writing a "Found Poem" and with her permission I am sharing it with you today. Grab your journal and some magazines you are going to want to give this a try.
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How to Write a "Found Poem" - By Patty Mooney

I think of February as "The Love Month," because it is the month that contains Valentine's Day, "The Big Day of Love" - I have decided to devote the month to the theme of love. Today's post is all about how to write a found poem. I'll show you my technique (not that there's much of one.)
Prior to giving away those old Vanity Fairs and Rolling Stones, what I like to do is leaf through the pages and see if any of the stories catch my eye. What I'm looking for are juicy nouns and verbs... If I find something I like, then I circle phrases that leap out, very quickly, without thinking about it. I then string these phrases together to create a "Found Poem." Here's one called "What Women Love." Men, take note.

A note to people who may not think they like poetry. You should give it a chance by reading a poem - start with a short one - several times. It's the same theory you use when listening to new music. You may not like or understand it at first, but after listening to it several times, it makes sense and you really start enjoying it. If you read a poem at least three or four times, you will start to "see" ideas and images that you hadn't noticed the first time around. Give it a go.

What Women Love

First, make the truffles.
Don't wait till your wedding.
Serve them upside down
smothered in fudge.
Garnish with berries or powdered sugar
using a rubber spatula, allowing the whites
to drip away.
Offer cold vodka or champagne,
a mild sour cream that doesn't conflict,
creamy roe from the youngest, smallest sturgeon
in the cold waters of the Caspian Sea.
Females have a particular attraction
like choosing between a Renoir and a Matisse.
A chocolate dessert that kills.
Serve straight up on ice.
You need spoons
mother of pearl, tortoise shell.

Also check out her other blog A Life In Business.

Thanks Patty for letting me share this on my blog!
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I could not wait to give this a try and here is my first attempt at creating a "Found Poem".

A Secret

A revealing discovery
Unexpected Combinations
Unapologetically bold

Look closely
Prepare to be inspired
From ordinary to extraordinary

Dramatic results
A question answered
A secret kept

Give this a try, you will be amazed how much fun it is to let your mind be creative putting together random phrases. Share your poem in the comments for everyone to read.

Artist Inspirations - LavenderField

Join me in welcoming Victoria from LavenderField, as she shares what inspires her to create her unique and beautiful jewelry. Thanks Victoria for being a guest blogger!

I create jewelry in unusual, yet eye-pleasing designs and colors using a combination of crochet, gemstones, beads, and other findings (including clay beads that I make myself).

I'd say my biggest inspiration is colors! Even colors I don't particularly like can suddenly become attractive to me when combined with the right shades which compliment each other. It's like "a little bit of nice and a little bit of not so nice" to obtain a good balance.

I also find inspiration in a lot of other places, but at the end of the day if you want to be unique it all comes down to creating an original product of your own imagination.

At the beginning I was afraid of being unique, but I went ahead and took the plunge anyway, and now I'm receiving so many compliments and lots of good energy being thrown my way, so I'm really enjoying this uniqueness at my art. It expresses me and my own style, and not someone else's, and it seems to me that people admire me for that. I read somewhere recently something that goes like "do it afraid, courage will come later", and if I think about it, this is actually how I've lived my whole life. I sort of dive into things without analyzing the situation or consequences, and then take it from there. I think that as long as you follow your heart you know you're on the right track.

Having an organized space to work in is essential for me, and when things start cluttering up I need to just STOP everything, put stuff back in place, and only then can I continue! I love having a lot of space as well as a lot of supplies in a wide variety of styles. Since I'm not one to put my ideas down on paper, when an idea pops into mind I want to have the necessary supplies and tools readily available right there and then!

You can find my work at my Etsy shop, right here: http://www.lavenderfield.etsy.com/

I also have a blog right here: www.thiswayhandmade.com, and a page that I use as a means of promoting my work, right here: www.squidoo.com/crochetbubble

Have you Reinvented yourself lately?

When I started selling online over a year ago, I changed what I make, the material I work with, and how I run my business.

I am a self taught artist, who works with sterling silver and gemstones, well I used to be. I knew I wanted to sell online, and I knew this was the opportunity to try something new. I did not know what my new direction was going to be or even how to get started, but I did some research online and found Etsy, changing the way I do business.

Figuring out what I wanted to make was the next step. One day while picking up some items at the hardware store I stumbled on the washer isle. It was thrilling, I realized I could make jewelry with the hardware and it would still look like silver.

I reinvented myself that day in the hardware store. I could not stop the ideas from coming to me. I love to go to the hardware store now, and now that I have found a store with recycled hardware I find a variety of new items all the time.

Reinventing my designs, my materials, and my business, has changed me as an artists. I enjoy coming up with new ideas, being online, and learning new things. I love all these changes and this new version of myself, each day is a new adventure.

Have you reinvented anything about yourself lately?

Photo's to Inspire - Purple

During the Month of February color will be the theme of several of my posts. So starting this week and all the weeks in February the Flickr Photo collections will feature on one color. This week is one of my favorite colors purple. Be inspired.

Purple Thistle by Madam Mim

Purple leaf by jo mclure

Deep purple by desicoconut

Purple by Saquaro Pictures

Sunrise over Kamas 36/365 by Jer Kunz

A Passion For Purple by Limbo Poet

Purple Orchid by Accretion Point

What visual images or colors inspire you? Let me know and I will pull together a Flickr collection, and share that you are the source of inspiration for the week they are posted.

15 Minutes

Do you ever go through your day and realize you got nothing done? I do!

Last year I wrote a few posts about time and time challenges, like How Much Time and Tracking Time. In each one I shared my challenges and ideas to use time wisely. I adapted several of those ideas into my schedule, and it made a difference.

What do you do when you have a big project and still have to do your other work as well? Here is another trick I read about recently - try doing a little everyday.

Incorporate your project into your schedule in 15 minutes blocks of time everyday. Your may find that when you start working, you will want to add more time and that's great, go for it. If not, at least you got in 15 minutes dedicated to your project. Commit to this and your project will be on track in no time.

This is what I plan to do for two big projects I need to get done in the next few months. I am going to start with 15 minutes and build up my time as I go.

Do you have any big projects you need to get going? Having trouble getting started? Add 15 minutes to your calendar starting today.