Mothers Day is coming..

Mother's Day is only a few weeks away - Sunday, May 12th! Pinterest will be giving me ideas for what to do for mother's day this year. Check out the DIY category if you haven't already i am woefully slow.

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Cardstore has cute cards! You can add a photo and a personalized note Plus you can personalize the card with your own signature, then Cardstore will mail the cards directly to your mom for free.. I love them, especially the personalized name cards. Details : They are $2.49 Mother's Day cards and the shipping is free.. it gets no better..:)   Please note: Be sure to use code: CCF3425 at checkout its only vaild til 5/6/13.

I hope you guys a cute Mother's Day ideas this year. Brunch is always good.

Gift baskets Anyone!

 

 

 

This is a two in one post. So I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought PUMPKIN SPICE..now i need to scream..How cute would this be in a basket with handmade soap etc etc etc...so excited!

Source: theidearoom.net via Jessica on Pinterest

Jealousy is a sign..or Learning to be distinctive in Business

the pressure to be like everyone else is not only in business its in life. So its really important to know what you aren't good at. No-one can do everything well so if you go to a blog and see a GREAT logo, it may be lacking in content. this is a key that this is their strength so they should focus on this area more.

As with your business, learning to listen to little whispers of your strengths helps you with the vision for your company. 

***be you, everyone else is taken******

So often i see many bloggers talk of jealousy of other bloggers without either realizing what they had to do or fail to do to get where they are. Not to mention the fact that you are jealous is generally a key. If you play the oboe generally you are jealous of the piano player. I mean you aren't jealous of someone who has nothing you desire.


The desire is key. Do you desire to be recognized, do you desire to use your gifts, do you desire to make an income. Remember God is an equal opportunity God so if you are desiring something chances are the opportunity has presented itself and perhaps you didnt follow through. 

In addition, there is always a COST involved. Perhaps that business person is unable to make income other ways due to a busy family, or special needs child. or Maybe instead of spending valuable time with family they are on the internet. Either way you only see part.

jealousy may tell you what you need to work on, or that deep down you know you are capable, or that you think you deserve something that maybe you don't OUCH! Either way work it to your advantage..


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Find out the thing that is distinctive about you. Using pinterest you can find out where you style lies.  usually its one thing you can grow on to help you make  your mark.


Do you wear GLASSES
is your hair CURLY
Do you always use RIBBON in your products

Distinctive personality traits help you set yourself from the PACK.

Find out your strength and captialize on that

I have a BIG MOUTH and have been told i was too LOUD forever, but that might be a good trait if you are yelling FIRE, or need to ALERT someone of something. So avoid the comparison trap and stick to your lane in your race.

Speaking of race, please have a moment of prayer for those effected by the tragedy in BOSTON.


be sure to check out this power point i did on style typing...not exhaustive but a start

on sick leave!

I am so sorry to leave you hanging. i have been on sick leave, well i was under the weather..i will be resuming blogging soon. Later....

Feature Artist Friday...Mawusi

I (heart) this shop.

Mawusi by Jane O, creates Ghanaian inspired Accessories and brooches which are stylized and in abstract form. Very funky fresh indeed! (can i still say that?) Click on the images to go directly to the item. Please support her work.  

Lovely.

Abstract

 You can purchase her work here

WHAT"S MY STYLE and using ASANA and Pinterest for your Business

Okay so I know most people who have worked in an office are experienced using Outlook, well with the freedom of the internet more programs have opened up to help you stay organized. This is really important as a crafty person who maybe wants to be a crafty full time person.

Asana is an online project and task management tool which to me is similar to outlook and helps me manage my life better. With so many ideas its hard to pick which ones, so with God's guidance and a little tech help it's getting a little clearer. USING Asana has helped me see which projects need to go with what and what needs to be a separate entity.

The following are tips to focus your brand:

 Group like projects together

Okay so your an illustrator, jewelry matter and web designer. That's GREAT but it confuses people as to what they are looking at. I hate to say CHOOSE A TEAM, but eventually you kind of have to. So which goes better together, design and food, or illustration and graphics? OR if your gonna do different stuff EVERYTHING should have a CONSISTENT THEME. So  you do everything but juggle, fine as long as you know WHAT customer wants what you do. So should you only do one thing?

It depends....(sigh)

FIGURE OUR YOUR STYLE 

If your style is retro and you do retro Illustration fine. But if you do design and you find that your webgraphic skills are targeted to a more tech crowd, but your illustration skills are more whismy and fashion oriented, SCREEECH! Doing a webpage is going to be difficult to target who will buy from you.

I generally dont like putting a techy and a jock at the same party because eventually someone will get their feelings hurt..(why can't we along just get along?)

 USING pinterest to figure out you!

Think consistency. I am learning to use pinterest to get ideas on my style! KEYS WORDS have helped me. What you click on and like give you an indication of where you are going.

 

I like Color, Pattern and boho, THINK, safari.thrifty with flavor. 
NO GRUNGE ALLOWED!

or Anthro with a little more DIVA.

You wont see no cloudy, greys, or neutrals on my page...please look elsewhere. 

So when trying to figure out which of my products or services should be grouped together I will try to find KEY WORDS.  If you need help figuring out your style stay tuned for my Business typing series. 

HEY and that doesnt mean different stuff can't work together but you gotta know how to work it. Till later....#holla 

 

the Courage to be a BAD artist...(art therapy session 1)

Dont be afraid to be a bad artist. When i mean bad i mean not as 'good' as someone else's. so even if your work is terrible relish in it. WHY? Because it is at this point you can finally speak your truth. In infancy stage nothing ever looks so good. Have you seen a newborn baby, you can't tell the mama that little crumpled up bundle isn't cute, no matter WHAT you might think! So it is with life and art, NO one who started anything was terrific. Many times when people are afraid of putting something that's ugly and RAW on the canvas you miss the lesson on how to do it right the next time. YOu also miss your truth, even if it's a mess. Don't be afraid to start small (despise not small beginnings Hab..) just let it flow. You'd be surprised how many 'so called' bad artists actually sold work.

The bumblebee doesn't know it can't fly...

*DONT BE AFRAID OF THE UGLY...THE RAW...

I thought of Kevin Ware's horrendous injury..WOW. it doesn't get more graphic than that. It was so bad they would'nt even replay it. Why? because it was too hard to see. But the doctor HAD to look at it otherwise he would NEVER be healed. Even more he's still optimistic in playing b-ball again. How many of us would STILL be thinking about doing something we loved after that horrible defeat. That takes real heart!( pray for him by the way)

STOP LOOKING AND COMPARING...

 

Now does this mean you never try to improve...no. What im saying is if you look around at everyone's blogs websites etc...comparing what you dont have,you'll never get started. There are people with much less who make great art or who have been told they CAN't do something. like the story of the bumblebee, the bee doesnt KNOW he's not supposed to fly so he does it anyway! So its more about movement and trying something then it always having to be perfect.

If you don't allow yourself to fail you will never figure out how to do it right. Besides you've met people with all the bells and whistles who are not so nice and you really don't want to buy from them because of it. And i've seen people who have a crappy etsy shop, no real 'talent' (whatever that means) but a whole lot of heart actually make sales....So don't be afraid to be bad!  You'll know if you should quit because the desire will no longer be there, if you still do it bad and still love what you do...it aint over yet.

As TD Jakes says...don't let the chatter stop you!
Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net