A Few Gifts Given and Recieved

I thought I'd show some of the handmade things I made and gave as gifts. Well, I'll only be showing two things, because I thought I had taken pictures of other stuff I made, but apparently I was mistaken.

These are re-usable shopping bags I made using this wonderful free pattern here http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/show/261. (If you are into sewing you have to check out this site. It's fabulous.)

I also made matching travel sized tissue covers using this tutorial here. But, alas, apparently did not take pictures...except in my deluded imagination. They're kinda boring to look at anyway, but were simple to make and therefore a nice addition to the shopping bags.

In a previous post I showed a pic of a dreidel plushie I made. I made up a half dozen of those and sent them off to Brooklyn, N.Y. Where apparently they were well received. I got a cute picture in return of some adorable children with some wooden dreidels beside them...and one of my soft plushie ones as well.

Some other things I sewed were also all of the "practice runs" of everything I made as well. Which I am keeping for my own use. Including a couple things I practiced, but never made anymore beyond the just one. I had hoped to get a lot more sewing done and make even more things for people. But a flare up of my chronic fatigue syndrome slowed me down. But I am so grateful that before that flare up my health and energy was far better than it had been in ages. So I really did get a lot more done than I probably would ever have done. And it was nice to feel great for a couple weeks in a row.

Something else I wish I had taken a photo of and gave as a gift (but did not make) was an antique Kodak Brownie camera from 1916. It was not in working condition, as the aperture was broken, but it looks really cool. Great for home decor that will look great with the receiver's vintage suitcase collection I think.


Here are the gifts I received. There's some sewing stuff, including a pattern for a laptop cover from sewswanky.com which is a cool little shop here in Cedar City. With my new rotary cutters and mat I'll be able to whip out more bags like I showed above in faster time.

The little markers are a stocking stuffer (even though we didn't have stockings this year) from Santa (aka, *me*...for the last couple years I've been doing little stocking stuffers that are not candy for our family...but this year it consisted solely of these cute markers).

And on the far left is a gift from my dad. You have to understand that my dad doesn't give gifts usually. My mom picks out gifts and says they're from both her and dad. But this year my dad bought me a gift. They're these aerosol spray cans that can be used with any paint. You just pour the paint in the jar and start spray painting. My dad knows I have a lot of little craft things I've been planning on painting. So this is a pretty nifty and thoughtful gift. And I can't wait to try it out. And it's extra nice that my dad thought of me when he saw these and decided to give them to me.

And now a close up the last thing. I am now venturing into joining the rest of modern society by having my first mp3 player. And best of all...it's Pink! Sweet.

I plan on using it a lot while I am doing my crafts and sewing...and ironing that the sewing requires. It was while I was ironing that I decided I really needed an mp3 player.

I also can now buy music with "IMVU credits" that I've earned from virtual products I've made for the 3D chat world of IMVU. So I don't have to pull out a credit card if I want to buy music online for my mp3. I've bought four songs from there already.

But I'll probably also may be listening to a lot of audio books on there as well. And maybe venture into the world of podcasts too. Who knows.

How to Scare a Guy Away

I had a guy from one of these social networking sites send me a message and ask me if I was "naughty or nice this year?" I got the impression he hoped I would say I was being naughty.

Here was my reply...

I've become a more, I suppose you could say, philosophical person. So...
I was a person who pondered my thoughts and actions. Where my thoughts and actions caused me to feel bad (also known as "being naughty") I noticed that I was not living in truth. And I could find a way to stop such thoughts and such actions. And doing that was very nice, for me and others. So even when I was being "naughty" I used it as a springboard to make it into something nice. And I looked into what are the lessons to be learned from everything, even the bad things I've done, to see the "blessing" in everything. So everything bad becomes good.

Hmm...the guy hasn't written me back. What a surprise. With a response like that he probably went and ran far away from his computer to get far from me, even if he was hoping for me to respond that I was nice.

So I guess Santa made a check mark against me on the "was naughty" list, not so much for what I said (because it is true, I have been trying to do just that), but because I got a sort of mischievously devious kick out of doing it. :)

Temple Wall

One of my favorite stores in town that had wonderful home decor has closed.
But I just got an email from the owners saying that they've opened up a new online store focusing on LDS artwork and accessories. And I thought I'd share it since a great many of my friends and family are LDS. :) Most of the artwork is fabulous photography of LDS temples, but they have some other things as well. And they will be adding more.
I'm hoping they'll be adding this one photograph they had in the store of the door knob to the Salt Lake Temple. Somehow the way the picture looked combined with the ways they had it framed just was really beautiful.

Here's the link to their website http://www.templewall.com

And here's a sneak peak of some of what they have.

Hanukkah Cuteness

When I was a little girl, one holiday season I ended up being given a dreidel. A dreidel is a four sided top that is often played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
How a little Mormon girl who was surrounded entirely by Mormon's, and no one of any other religions, ends up with a dreidel as a gift I don't know. But it was a neat toy that I really liked.

It was also one of my first introductions to Hebrew and Judaism (unless you count stories read from the Old Testament in primary/Sunday school). As an adult, about eight years ago I think, I started to have a growing interest in Jewish traditions and art.

So anyway, this year as I've been picking up the art of sewing I decided while looking a lots of holiday patterns and instructions for making all sorts of soft toys, I decided a soft toy driedel would be really cute.

So off I went to search the internet for info on how to do that. To my surprise there wasn't any. But to my even bigger surprise I decided to make my own pattern, and succeeded quite nicely!

Isn't it cute? Okay, it doesn't spin very well. But it's a stuffed soft toy, it's meant to be cute...not useful.

One of my newest friends, Asher, is Jewish, so I plan on making some more of these up for his kids for Hanukkah...and maybe some for him and his wife too. Hey, grown ups can have soft plushie toys too! (Since Asher will probably read this we'll see what he thinks about that...lol.) I know I'm keeping one for myself. :)

I've also posted instructions on how to make these on a crafting website here http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/hanukkah_dreidel_plushie so others can make them too.

Oh, and just in case anyone reading this is looking for more Hanukkah crafts, Ms. Martha Stewart has a few here. (I really liked the wooden driedels covered in glitter to be used for holiday decor.)

A Day Of Gratitude

I got an email yesterday which had a link to this article
http://www.sedona.com/whatyouhavetobethankfulfor.aspx about a Dr. Robert Emmons who has been studying gratitude and has found that practicing gratitude on a regular and deliberate basis can improve your health, physical fitness, optimism, help you cope with illness, deal with stress and anxiety better, and have better success at achieving your goals, etc.

No wonder I always felt like my life was running smoother when I regularly wrote in my gratitude journal (I'm still meaning to get back into the habit of doing that again).

(Emmons has also written a book called Thanks, which a preview of it can be read here...in fact, I've read just enough that I think I might want to buy it.)


So thankfulness and gratitude aren't just for the day where we bring out the big turkey and all the other yummy stuff. But of course for today I am more aware of taking the time to consider what I am thankful for...

Today I am grateful that for my little sister being able to come down here for Thanksgiving.

I am grateful for a roof over my head. Something that I can take for granted so easily sometimes.

I am grateful for shedding layers of fear, shame, worry, etc. like a reptile or insect might shed its outer skin as it grows.

I am grateful for selling over 200 virtual tea products I created for a virtual world in just two days time. (I know, I'm a nerd.) That's definitely a record. And I am so grateful for the group of women I worked with to make these virtual items we sold in a special promotional event together. To be part of a team that was so supportive and to share in our creative efforts, increase our skills because we had each others input and knowledge shared amongst us, and more.

I am so very grateful that I am overcoming my fear of sewing and of making monumental mistakes when I sew. (I've made three things now...and made monumental mistakes on all three items, but could laugh, smile, or just be at peace about it. Okay, there were times I just got frustrated too, like when I made the same mistake twice, but I didn't blow my head off or turn on the waterworks.)

I am eternally grateful that I opened up my heart to an old high school friend and told her how much she made a Huge positive impact on my life...that she was the catalyst for some of the first real changes I started making in my life. And to see how my telling her so helped her out as well.

I am grateful that I had the energy to make the bathroom all sparkly and shiny, go shopping, and that, even though I was tired, I was able to make my now traditional for Thanksgiving day dessert of panna cotta (an Italian gelatin dessert made with gelatin, heavy cream and vanilla...shown on the left with a raspberry-cranberry sauce), mashed potatoes (that's hard work when you're doing it by hand), and stuffing, and misc. stuff.

I am so grateful that I finally realized how I was badly deficient in magnesium and that now that I've been taking it more reguarly my health is much better.

I am grateful that dealing with negative thoughts also has freed up a lot of energy that had been being channeled towards being tense, stressed, anxious, etc. and so now instead I am less tired than I used to be.

And really...I am thankful for....turkey. How can I not be?


P.S. I wanted to show off our funny little tropical decor twist to our Thanksgiving. We had two kinds of cranberry sauce, rasberry-cranberry and also orange-cranberry, but we didn't want to mix the two kinds up. So we quickly pulled out some little paper parasols and used them to differentiate the two kinds of sauces. :)

Today's Self-Discovery

Being able to admit I am wrong means I am teachable. I am open.

Instead of being rigid and inflexible and uptight, I instead become open, peaceful...and I gain greater understanding than I would have when before I strongly defended my position and therefore was closed off to a better way of seeing, knowing, and being.

Watermill at Onden

"If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water...

Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend."

~Bruce Lee

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

Ukyio-e (pictures of the floating world) by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

Altered Vision

Cool vintage eyeglasses I found while out thrifting.

"To see a thing uncoloured by one's own personal preferences and desires is to see it in its own pristine simplicity." ~Bruce Lee


How do you view the world? Are your "glasses" rose-colored? Green? Brownish-gray? Perhaps a cheerful yellow, like sunshine? Do they make you see sharper or more fuzzy? Can you really be sure that that the glasses you view the world through make things more clear? Do you wear different glasses on different days? Sometimes seeing the world "this" way...and on another day seeing them like "that" instead.

But more importantly than all that...Maybe someday do you think you could discover that you don't need those glasses at all...and you can take them off and really see the world more clearly? Without artifice to tell you what it really is?

From Falling To Pieces...To Finding Peace

So today I thought I'd take on a new project. I've been wanting to learn how to sew. I know the bare basics. But frankly, I've been far too intimidated in the past to have a desire to really dabble in sewing. But today I decided is the day I am really going to do it. I picked out what is supposed to be an easy sewing project too. Should only take an hour or two. But here it is many, many hours later (it's now one in the morning and I think I started at four p.m.)...I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but it's absolutely, completely obvious that I have *majorly, completely, absolutely* botched the whole thing up. It's a mess and needs to be rescued.

But here's the amazing thing. I'm fine. I'm calm. I am almost totally at peace.

This is unusual.

Before learning effective ways to deal with negative thinking I'd either a) have become a blubbering mess, bawling and crying over my frustration at how confused I am, how messed up my little project is, etc. or b) just frustrated, fed up, and giving up. Or a combination of both. If it were the first thing I'd be worse off than the poor little project I'm working on. I'd have fallen to pieces.

Having worked on negative beliefs such as I shouldn't make mistakes, that making mistakes is bad, I'm an idiot for making mistakes, others will dislike me intensely if I make mistakes (lots of illogical beliefs like this one haunted me in the past), etc. has so I am now instead curious about my current reactions. It's so interesting to see me be calm, when in the past I would have been so extremely upset. My reaction is kind of like, "Hmm, will you look at that. I'm not tearing my hair out, wanting to scream or yell (at myself, the fabric, the sewing machine, or any other person or thing). Well, what do you know."

It's certainly a refreshing feeling. Instead of feeling ragged and raw, I feel instead more like I've been spending a summer afternoon relaxing on a porch, sipping from a tall glass of cool lemonade. (I know, odd analogy since it's fall, but there you have it.)

So cheers! Here's to projects falling to pieces and feeling at peace. :)

Dazzled by Zazzle

Okay, so in an earlier post I was writing about a shirt I made on www.cafepress. Well I decided tonight to start playing around with another online t-shirt site, www.zazzle.com and I have been having sooo much fun there. I still like cafepress, but zazzle is very different.

I took the same image design with the quote "Don't believe everything you think" that I had used at cafepress and put them on a couple things on zazzle (but if you'd like to have that image on other zazzle products I think I have it set up so you can just easily choose what other product you want it on).

But then I created a whole new image..."Once Upon A Slipper" which I've put on a key chain and magnet so far.
And then...I put the "once upon a slipper" image on a pair of shoes! The shoes have to get "approved" first before they can be put up for sale (unlike most of the other stuff). And I think they are so adorable! My first designer shoes! (Yeah, and they're expensive too...so I probably won't be getting a pair myself. I made them mostly for the fun of it.)

Here's a little flash widget thingy showing off the things I've made (I believe it self-updates, so any new things I add will maybe eventually shown on it as well).


create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Okay, I've got to bed...I'm supposed to work in the morning.

Open Source Sewing

I just found the coolest website. I've heard of open source software, and I know the idea of other things being made "open source" but it had never occurred to me to make open source sewing projects. But that's just what this site http://www.burdastyle.com is. Since I've been getting back into sewing (I still haven't done much sewing yet, but the sincere desire to sew is there...something that frankly startles me to find myself interested in sewing), this is a great find.

I've found an eye mask pattern...I've been searching for something like this for a long time! Yay! At a quick glance it apparently it lacks good instructions though. Still, it's a start.

I also found a hand warmers pattern (aka fingerless gloves), which is great since I have poor circulation at at times which leaves my hands freezing even if the rest of me feels just fine. I've done a couple of these in the past that were basically just a tube shape with a hole in the side for the thumb, but this is a better pattern, as it actually has a section for the thumb instead of just a slit in the side.

I also like this simple top and bottoms for nightwear, which the top could easily be used as a tank top/camisole for day wear as well. Even though this is supposed to be an easy project, for me when I start thinking of making anything that's clothing like shirts, dresses, etc, I start telling myself it's really hard and I can't do it. So here's an opportunity to work on some negative thinking again. And back in junior high school for my sewing class I had to make a nightgown, and it turned out just fine...so there's proof that I shouldn't worry so much.

And even though it's of a slightly higher level of difficulty I like this "Azalea" dress. So if I become ambitious enough and brave enough I might try it too.

Vintage Wallpaper & Bingo Card Pockets

I spent some time the other day making these two little "pockets" out of vintage bingo cards on one side and vintage wallpaper on the other sewn together. And lace and other bits and bobs used to create a sort of collage art on both sides of the pocket as well. They have lace handles so you can hang them on a doorknob or anywhere else you can hang things, and then tuck things like love notes or whatever you like inside.

Dream Pocket
The first one is my "dream" pocket hanger. On one side is the bingo card with a "price tag" that says "dream" on it, a rose made of ribbon placed within a slide thing, lace, etc. And on the back side is the vintage wallpaper. Glued to it is a little doily folded in half so it forms a little pocket as well, and it has the word "dream" taken from a dictionary page tucked in it, and a paragraph clipped out of a copy of the Simple Abundance book is pasted onto a cute bit of ribbon with pink roses on it, and the word Dream is written on the wallpaper as well.


Dress: A Reflection of Your Mood Pocket
This next one is my "dress" pocket hanger. On one side is a page from the book Simple Abundance with a quote on it. And just underneath is a scoop shaped pocket made from cute pink, vintage wallpaper. Part of an old children's dictionary with the definition for the word dress has been glued onto the wallpaper. And a little rose made from ribbon is glued on as well. Along the bottom is a fringe of pink pom-poms.

On the back side is a bingo card. With clip outs of words and cute images from an old children's dictionary, a bit of ribbon, and little white flowers.

I had so much fun making these that I'm sure to make some more.

Journey Within

"The only journey is the journey within."
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

I love this photo that my dear friend, Kim Curtis, took of me. It reminds me of the peace I have found when I go within. Whether it's through writing my thoughts down in a notebook or journal, quietly sitting by myself (or with myself as Iyanla Vanzant might say) in quiet contemplation, doing The Work with myself or my friend Mike, or other methods like the Work, spending time with nature, praying, etc. All have resulted in amazing experiences, lessons, discoveries and so much more that have changed and transformed me, helped me to grow and become a better person. It's the best journey I have ever been on.

The unselfishness of giving to oneself?

I sometimes think I am a selfish person because I don't deliberately seek out ways to serve others. In my church serving others is something that is often emphasized. We have service projects to help those in need (and I rarely participate in these). I often hear my friends say when they have been given blessings that they have been told that in order to be happy they should serve others more.

I feel like I spend a lot of my time serving me. And by this I spend a lot of my time working to grow, nurture, and otherwise improve myself.

This morning though it occurred to me that maybe improving myself *is* a way of serving others. Through improving myself I have felt my heart become more open, I have become more calm, less judgmental (I would have said in the past that I was rarely judgmental, but as Debbie Ford has said, the acronym for DENIAL is Don't Even kNow I Am Lying...opening up to the fact that I Am judgmental was the only way to becoming less judgmental), I am more present and in the moment rather than distracted or daydreaming, etc. I think by these changes of becoming a better person I am better able to serve others in small ways perhaps.

Certainly by having my heart more open rather than closed off to others I can be more loving to them.

A calm person is more soothing to be around than a frazzled one...in fact one's own nerves can become more frazzled when around a frazzled person. So perhaps I can give the gift of a calm presence, and help them discover the calm within themselves by simply being calm myself.

Another change in myself resulting from my working to improve myself is I smile more often. And maybe that smile will have an impact on somebody who is having a bad day, and so maybe in that small way I am being of service to them.

I also find it easier to talk to people in the past. In the past I was so "shy" that I often clammed up when people would try to talk to me. I still do sometimes, but less than I have in the past. And I would act uncomfortable because I was. And basically conversations were often short, abrupt, and didn't last very long. But now I feel a lot more at ease talking with people. I can actually Look at them while we are talking, instead of avoiding their gaze. And I can see how a pleasant conversation with someone can really be all that you need in that moment. A little gift that was perfect because it made you smile and feel *connected* with someone when maybe moments before you felt all alone.

I have learned in my life that sometimes the small things mean a lot. And I shouldn't be so dismissive of them. They say the flapping of a butterfly's wings can change the weather pattern in the whole world. The ability to give a smile, a kind word, a presence of calmness...all gained from focusing on one's self...is it really something I should be so dismissive of after all?

And I do have people I know who say things to me like, "You help me out in ways that you will ever know." And as I look on bewildered because I truly have know idea how I am possibly helping them, I also know that they are speaking the truth from their hearts.

So I'll continue to nurture myself and encourage myself to improve and grow...never knowing how these kind acts to myself may also end up leading to becoming kind acts to others. Maybe this form of selfishly serving myself isn't always so selfish after all.

Perhaps ideally I would also go out and do some more obvious act of serving like making a quilt for someone in need, or bake a casserole for someone who is ill, volunteer at some charity, or things like that. But at least I can also be open to seeing the small ways I serve others as well through giving to myself.

I suddenly remembered this story just now, that a friend of mine has posted on her profile of one of those social community websites, and is also often passed around through email.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.' The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' 'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.' Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

So I need to remember that I am a crackpot as well and to appreciate the flowers on my side of the path as well.

photo by jellofishy

Once Upon A Suitcase (or two or three)

Okay, so as mentioned in another post or two, I love vintage suitcases. Some may say it's an addiction. It all started with just one. A small one. But that's all it took. I brought it home and put some of those reproduction travel labels on it. And I was hooked...hard.

Since then I've even managed to get one of my friends hooked as well. We have very different suppliers though. I usually get my fix at thrift stores. While she's more uptown and will often get hers from eBay. Although she has bought a few off of me as well.

Yep. I'm not just a vintage suitcase addict...I'm a dealer. I sell them to help pay for my own habit when I need a suitcase fix. Even though they're smaller I personally find the little train cases (also called cosmetic cases) give me the sweetest high when I spy one.

Over to the left you can see a pic where the light is being shed on some of my scandalous suitcase activities. Yes it's the truth caught in pixels by a digital camera. The one's shown here are for sale...by me.

One clerk at the thrift store where I'm a regular, after seeing me buy my fifth suitcase from the store in just a few months time asked me, "What do you do with all of these suitcases again?" Another time when I was leaving the thrift store with one of these suitcase finds even the assistant manager, Dan, mentioned that my behavior...constantly purchasing old suitcases...was very "suspicious."

People see me carrying suitcases, always different ones, from the car and into my home, or from the car and into the store I sell them at and they ask me..."Are you going on vacation?"

I've gone beyond just suitcases though. Other cases catch my fancy as well. See in the pic I posted...the little mini brown suitcase on top and which the lamp is sitting on really isn't a suitcase, It's a barware case (probably had a martini shaker and such in it, for making your drinks shaken, not stirred). But it's cute. Cute!? See what a problem this is for me? Thinking cases are cute? It's a serious problem indeed.

But even worse, you may have seen the rusty old tool box in my previous post too. Yes, my habit has spread to old tool boxes as well. I've managed to keep only one of them at home for myself though. The others I'm trying to sell to other fanatics like me. I met another box and cases addict recently and didn't even have to sweet talk her into buying one of my toolboxes. She looked longingly at another as she left the store. I've seen it before. She's a hardcore case addict. She'll be back.

And though I don't own any myself, I've caught myself looking longingly at old steamer trunks and other old chests. There's even an old cardboard footlocker at the store I sell at with a soldier's name stenciled on it with rusty hinges that taunts me sometimes.

In my own room I have a stack of about five of these babies sitting at the foot of my bed (they store my collection of vintage linens. Ah, the vintage pillowcases, the dozens of them I have...uh, that's another story). The suitcases in my room are all blue...blue is a more common color when it comes to vintage suitcases I have found. Or maybe that's just how it is in Cedar City. Brown ones are more popular sellers. Maybe because they give off a more sepia toned, old world, Hemingway vibe. I save the best stuff for my customers. And keep the more common ones for me. Except now and then when I find a sweet one I just can't let go.

Heed my warning and beware the lure of vintage suitcases.

Don't Vote

Really? ;)

Watch this video. (If you can though don't listen to Borat's last comments at the very end...seriously. Unless you want to hear something perverted...then go ahead.)



My favorite part was the comment about the Baldwin brothers. And hey, was that Will Wheaton?

Halloween '08

Happy Halloween!

My friend Talisha was nice enough to take a picture of me in this years Halloween costume when I went and visited her at work.

I thought that the green walls would look good with Halloween colors of orange and black and so added embellishments to the pic in those colors even though they don't match my outfit.

I'm calling this look eclectic sweet punk chic. Vintage 1950's prom dress, denim jacket, vintage 1950's spike high heels, hot pink fishnet tights, antique silver mesh purse, and miscellaneous jewelry. Oh, and of course, pink hair (this time I tried something different, I powdered my hair with blush...what you normally put on your cheeks...with okay results. But at least this year I wasn't coughing up pink spit from that horrible hairspray stuff like I did from a previous year.

I went shopping for thrifty treasures wearing this outfit. A lot of people liked the dress. Some liked the tights. And it was pretty fun. But it didn't take long before the very cute shoes became an ultra pain to wear. I usually wear low heels, not high heels, let alone skinny spike high heels. So I wandered all over the store carrying my shoes (getting my feet pretty dirty) as I found the greatest stuff! I am very excited about some of what I found.

So here are some of my Halloween treasures.

First I fount this awesome, rusty, and huge old treasure box...er, tool box. It's full of all sorts of nuts, bolts, a few tools, and lots of...bark. Little bits of bark from a pine tree. Go figure. But because the rusty color is kind of Fall like I may end up using it in the Fall/Thanksgiving window at the store that I will be doing tomorrow to replace the Halloween one.

Then I have all these little goodies. A train case (to those who know of my suitcase addiction you know I am thrilled to have found this). A bag of pink sparkly felt that I have plans for making into something sweet. A tole painted tray of roses. A little wood tote (will probably paint white and line with some vintage wallpaper I have). A little white wood cart that looks like carved tulips (it will look pretty good in the garden area of the store). A vintage Sunbeam mixer with the milk glass bowls. Two old bread pans. An interesting tray. Some really pretty ribbon with purple flowers on them. An old LDS song book. I don't think I'll get the song book back though. My mom got hold of it and is singing songs from it even as I type. :) It has lots of songs she remembers singing when she was a teen. A children's book from the 60's with quaint illustrations. A Final Fantasy VII book written in Japanese. And a book on scrapbooking. And a pair of modern Japanse sandals. (You can't have them Talisha...lol.)

Which Jane Austen Character Am I?

I just took this quiz and here are my results.

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Maybe I should put on my Regency style dress on for my Halloween costume...too bad I do not have a bonnet to go with it.

Or I could go with my previous plan and wear my vintage 1950's prom dress and show my decidedly unsensible side.

Willing to let go of Perfection

I have been recovering from a disease, a disease for the desire for perfection that results in becoming stuck, frozen, and immobile any time I realize I cannot do things perfectly. In the past I found the easiest way to get unstuck was to turn around in the complete opposite direction as I'd been going in...this could also be known as Quitting.

Yesterday I found another alternative "treatment", an alternative I knew about and sometimes forgot about, but even when I did remember I often did not take advantage of it anyway. And that solution, that cure to my disease that froze me into a state of immobility...is to let go of perfection, to be willing to just get things done even if it means I don't have the beautiful, wonderful, fabulous, looks like it came out of a sweet dream quality, I wish it would have.

This time I was willing to accept the alternative treatment more fully as a friend helped me understand how I reacted when I clung to this disease, why I did, and who I would be without it. (note: here in this post the word disease = unrealistic and/or negative thoughts)

If you've seen my post below about some things I have recently listed for sale on etsy, that is the direct result of learning/choosing how to let go of perfection and be willing to experience that imperfection. I have seriously been putting off this task for months because I knew I could not make the photos, the descriptions, etc. meet up to my "perfect" standard. (Which would probably mean to try to make it look like it came out from a magazine.)

I would love for the pics I took to be better than just in focus and the lighting decent...I would love the pics to be so amazing that you hardly want to look away from them and you itch to buy the items shown. I'll look at other pics on etsy or on some of my favorite blogs or online stores and wish I could accomplish things like they do. And sometimes I try...and then I Freeze! So for the sake of getting things done, for the sake of peace of mind and sanity, for the good of my health, my heart, and the good of my bank account, and so much more, I am willing to let perfection go. I will always strive to improve and do better than before. But striving for the impossible to the point where I make myself sick over it, or I actually lose my job over it (bye bye job writing for a local newspaper because I was terrified of not being perfect), and all the other many ways this disease has impacted my life is just not something I am willing to put up with from myself anymore. I think I deserve better. I think I deserve to have a life. And without "perfection" I think I have a chance of having one...one that is happy, peaceful, and carefree.

So the work I do won't look as wonderful as if it came out of a magazine. But it will be a good job. And it will get done.

The first step is to admit you have a problem. The second is to let it go...

Suddenly etsy...

I've finally got around to listing a very few things on etsy.com again. (If you're by any chance interested in checking the items out you can click on the pics and they should take you to my etsy shop).

First are some vintage bingo cards and markers that I've managed to successfully sell on etsy before. The red (alright, it's kind of orange), white, and blue coloring makes them fun for any body wanting to use them for an Americana themed collage art.




Next I have some vintage and very kawaii (that's Japanese for cute) hair barrettes, with yellow kitty cats, turquoise strawberries, pink apples, blue stars, and peach hearts. I think they'd be great for someone who's into the Japanese Street Fashion look or any other funky style. or of course you could be normal and just give them to a sweet little girl to wear in her hair.




And last (for now), a funky vintage beaded purse almost just like one I remember from my childhood.



I have a confession to make regarding the beaded purse...the one like this that we had when I was a little kid, only it was bright orange...well I used to pick the plastic beads off of them and chew them...hey I was four or five. I chewed on those little pegs from the "You sunk my battleship!" game too. This may only paritally account for why I am so weird today.

That's all I've listed for today, but there will be more later. In fact, you might see somethings I actually made myself, and not just vintage things. Something more shabby chic like even maybe.

Beauty of Spirit in Clothing

If you like Christian clothing then you've got to check out the clothing company at www.C28.com. This is probably one of the coolest Christian clothing lines out there that doesn't end up being cheesy, dorky, too cutesy, etc. Their t-shirts and other products are Art (in my opinion) with a message.

I really love this t-shirt shown on the left, with this quote on it, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you..." - Psalm 42:5-6

And right now they are having a sale on select items (including the tee shown on the left...it's only $10) right now until Saturday. So this moment is one of the best times to check them out.

Now if there were only a Mormon t-shirt clothing that made stuff as great as this (or maybe there is and I just don't know about it).

Don't Believe Everything You Think

Okay so I'm posting three times in one evening...maybe it makes up for the times I didn't post...or maybe it's just annoying. But I forgot I was going to post this last night and so there you have it.

This was one of my latest projects I did yesterday...

I took one of my favorite quotes, "Don't Believe Everything You Think" ('cause sometimes we get caught in a rut of believing stuff that just isn't so and makes us stuck in our lives) and using this funky font that kinda reminds me of the steampunk style, made it into a graphic and applied it to apparel on CafePress.com.

Although it's just simple text I think it turned out pretty cool.

If you'd like to see the other products it's on (mostly other kinds of shirts) you can see them at
http://www.cafepress.com/QuestionThinker

Cake Love - A Man With Passion

Reading on one of my dear childhood friends blog about her attempts to bake a cake from a recipe book by Warren Brown reminded me of when I first saw this man who went from being a lawyer to baking cakes being interviewed on tv. I love reading and hearing about people who are passionately following their dreams. Usually I end up reading about women following their dreams of opening their "business of bliss" who inspire me to think maybe someday I can do that myself. But Warren Brown is one of the men who I have heard about that inspires me as well.

So I found his business's website Cake Love and in the "about Cake Love area" of the website I re-read the story of how he started this biz. If you love cakes, or you enjoy hearing stories about those who have dropped living a life of what success is "supposed" to look like based on what the world tells them is success, you might enjoy reading it as well. And well, Warren Brown is pretty cute as well so you can check that out as well. :) http://www.cakelove.com/about_story.php

I <3 Google Reader

In the past I have always checked my friends blogs infrequently. Although normally at least a little technical savvy, I never could figure out how to "subscribe" to them with the RSS feed thing or any other way that it's possible...okay, I admit I never really tried or I likely would have figured it out. But thankfully one day I was checking out my cousin's blog where she said she was probably the last person on earth to know about Google Reader to help her keep track of the blogs she reads. No Katrine...I was the last person on earth to know about Google Reader. So I Google'd it and in a few moments I had everyone's blogs entered in and I can now check on whether a new blog post has been made as easily as I check my email. So now if you feared I rarely read your blogs you can now fear I will read them far too often.

Miracles of Transformation Do Occur

One of the books I've been reading is The Gift of Change by Marianne Williamson.
I came across this part here which I really felt summed up a lot of what I've discovered to be true.

"Miracles of transformation do occur, and they can occur in each of us.
Whenever our outer world remains stuck, it is incumbent upon us to look, not outward, but inward. It is a call to find the places in ourselves where we are holding on to old ways--where we blame others rather than taking personal responsibility for our woes: where we judge others instead of blessing them; where we are hard rather than vulnerable and open and kind. These issues hold the hidden keys to unlocking our unsolved personal mysteries. To achieve breakthroughs in the external world, we had best achieve internal ones. For the level of consciousness is the level of cause; addressing problems at their cause means addressing them inside our own selves. Addressing problems only on the level of their effects--in the outside world--is failing to address them deeply at all."

oh, sheep!

Once again I forgot to check the Cedar City calendar. This place is always full events that I forget about. Such as parades. Which because I forget about them I don't realize I need to leave for work early so I can deal with traffic issues...And not be late as a result.

Today I at least thankfully left five minutes early. Otherwise I would have been held back by over a thousand of sheep plodding along Main Street for probably 20 minutes or more. As it was I just barely missed being surrounded by them.

I was driving along and was startled to see the flashing lights of police vehicles and wondered what was going on. As I got closer I exclaimed, "Oh, sheep!" as I remembered it's the annual Livestock and Heritage Festival. Thankfully I was able to turn on a street to the just right in front of the slowly oncoming cop cars and...sheep. As it was I then had to deal with other vehicles trying to avoid the sheep and was five to ten minutes late. But at least it wasn't the twenty to thirty minutes late it could have been as I watched the multitude of white fluffy creatures move on by. :)

Photo: Watje11

A poster I made...

I just found out that Rachel Ashwell, of the Shabby Chic business, has a blog on blogger.http://rachelashwellshabbychic.blogspot.com I am happy to add this to my list of blogs to read as I've loved perusing her books in the past.

So anyway, the people in my church found me again. They apparently misplaced me for awhile. I had been called to be on the Enrichment Night Committee over a year ago. (For those that don't know Enrichment Night is a time for women to get together and learn new things, whether it be skills or spiritual things, etc.) But shortly thereafter I never heard from them again and I was never informed of any further meetings beyond the first two or ever asked to help out again. I guess that's what happens when you don't attend church regularly. But apparently there is a new Relief Society presidency and they have promised, or was that a threat :) that they Would be calling me to let me know about the meetings and asking me to help out.

So I present to you the first things I have done for my church's next Enrichment Night activity.
(Name of the ward I go to has been blurred out to protect the paranoid...namely me.)
It's kind of boring, but at least it's also kinda cute. And it was easy to make. I just printed the words out on cardstock of different colors, cut out the shapes, adhere them to posterboard, and put on glitter (the messiest part).

Attitude of Gratitude #1

It used to be a regular practice of mine to keep a gratitude journal. For many months now I've lapsed from keeping that up. But life always seemed to flow smoother (despite the bumps) and be more pleasing when I wrote regularly. So I thought, for today at least, to write down what I'm grateful for here in my blog.

I am grateful for my health. For the past few years I have struggled with health problems. I've had times that were so bad that it literally took every bit of strength and determination I had to just get out of bed in order to make it to the bathroom, and I'd come back to bed and collapse. Slowly I learned about various nutrition supplements that have helped, but never completely. I've learned to not take my health so much for granted. This past month however I've seen dramatic changes in my health for the better. I still struggle, tire easily and faster than most. But I've accomplished so much in this past month without becoming bed ridden that it's close to miraculous. I am very blessed.

I am grateful for learning about the power my thoughts have upon me. I attribute my better health in large part to learning how to deal with the pervasive negative thoughts I've carried around with me most of my life, that permeated me from my mind and into my body and soul. Robbing me of energy, peace, and good health. I've experienced such dramatic changes in my thinking over several months, and I feel those changes emotionally and physically too. Perhaps I have a long way to go. But if negative thoughts could be weighed I'd say I've lost at least a half ton of negative thinking already. I am extremely grateful to have learned that not everything I have believed about myself and other is true. And that through learning that I have more love within.

I am grateful for letting go of clutter. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post I had a yard sale and took most of what was left over to the charitable thrift store, Deseret Industries. Every now and then, in this society since many of us tend to gather more than we need, it's important to let go. It's a time of removing old layers no longer needed, to reveal the fresh and new underneath. Although sometimes I struggle with letting go, afraid that somehow I'll make the wrong choices, still it's liberating. Lightening my load. I believe that sometimes with letting go of physical things we also let go of thoughts and beliefs we had attached to those items as well. Letting go of objects that remind us of painful times, for example, can be a symbolic ritual of letting go of the painful thoughts and emotions regarding those times as well.

I am grateful for this furry little animal that just climbed onto my lap right now. This cat reminds me not to take myself to seriously (she seems to take herself pretty seriously...or maybe that's just me projecting my own stuff onto her). I am grateful to her coming to me and Insisting I show her some affection when she so desires I do so. At this time in my life I probably give more of myself to this gray bundle of fur than to anyone else. She teaches me patience and kindness...and just makes me laugh now and then.

I am grateful for creativity. Creativity is such an important part of my life. So much of what I do, even a lot of the ordinary and mundane things, I somehow put a spin of creativity into it, or at least I would like to. I seem to often be happiest when I am challenging my mind with how can I do this better, make this look cooler, what would be unique and look wonderful, etc. I don't often succeed at coming up with anything, but I at least like to try. Whether I am taking some baking soda, dish soap, and essential oils to make my own cleaning products to clean the sink with or re-arranging a store display in the hopes of making the place more inviting, comfortable, or beautiful or making a crazy collage out of old bingo cards and other ephemera the expression of creativity brings so much joy to me.

Okay, I think that's five...the amount I would normally do. I'll try to remember to do some more gratitude entries in the future.

Yesterday Was T-shirts

So yesterday I daydreamed about...t-shirts. Designing t-shirts. I have a couple designs on www.cafepress.com that I did many, many years ago. I shan't show them to you because they're terrible...but I leave them up on cafepress because every now and then they sell.

In the past year I've been learning to use an image editing program called The GIMP which is like PhotoShop, but it's under a general public license, which means it's Free. And I've been getting so I'm decent at using it and becoming more creative with it. So I'm thinking, why not make some new designs that are better than my old ones for cafepress or any one of those other businesses like it out there.

So I spent much of the day reading up on t-shirts, image editing programs like Gimp and Inkscape (another free program that I downloaded today), learning about vector art, and downloading brushes and fonts and such. I even joined an online forum that's all about t-shirts. Yup. Another day where I got really useful stuff done (yeah right). But at least I expanded my horizons a bit more and had fun with it.

I'm not sure if by tomorrow I will have forgotten all about the t-shirts or not. Well, I won't forget completely...rather thoughts about it may be misplaced for a week or more. And in the meantime I'll find some other thing to occupy my mind and hands.

Book Finds! And Serene Photos.

Okay so over the weekend I probably got rid of at least fifty books (probably more) by donating them to the local Deseret Industries thrift store...only to today go there and end up buying some more. But only a few! And one of which I've been wanting a copy of forever! (It's the Shabby Chic book shown on the far right...it's been written in, but that only adds to it's charm...plus I only got it for $1.50...a steal. If I had got it from amazon.com I would have had to pay that plus shipping.)

I'm not as excited about the Martha Stewart book, but for $1.00 and the original price being $17.99 I decided not to pass it up. I know I'll get some Good Things out of (sorry, couldn't resist).

And the Williams-Sonoma Entertaining book had so many good recipes in it that I just really, really wanted it. I want to make the Tomato Tart on page 225 sometime soon. And there are some recipes I'd like to try out for Thanksgiving...but I'm not really sure that will happen.

A few weeks ago I went to the annual Presbyterian church rummage sale, and afterwards decided to go to the Canyon Park somewhat nearby and sat watching and listening to nature. While I may not be as gifted as my numerous photographer friends and family (how is it so many people I know are great photographers?) I thought these pics I took on the spur of the moment aren't half bad. (You can click on them to view them larger.) So I thought I'd get around to uploading them and sharing them. The usually small river is just a small stream at the moment. But I still think it looks very pretty, and very serene.

“There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.” ~ Washington Irving

Letting go...sort of.

Recently the consignment store I help out with did a major clear out of merchandise consignors had in the store. And a lot of my own things that I had on consignment there were cleared out as well...some of it to my sadness (although honestly some of it really had to go, had been around too long, didn't fit the store's image, and/or was just a buying mistake in the first place).

I tried to part with some of it via a yard sale, but as it was a spur of the moment thing there wasn't really any time to do much in the way of advertising. (Although I think the signs I made were great...and I did get a lot of comments on them...how often do you drive by and see a suitcase sitting on the side of the road with a yard sale sign affixed to it?) And I'm kinda off the beaten track as well. So much of it got hauled off to charity after the yard sale was over.

But there were some things I just haven't seemed to be able to part with (even though I hardly have room for most of what I have). Yesterday as I sorted through things, trying to convince myself to part with even more, I decided to take two little vintage plates that got rejected from the store and put them on the wall in my room. (They look really great with my little Hello Kitty robot thingy doll, don't they?)

I still have a box full of stuff I haven't yet been able to convince myself to part with. But at least I can boast that a whole van full of stuff though is now gone...with a mix of things that had been in the store and from my personal belongings. It feels both good and sad at the same time to let so much of it go. But it feels like this is a time in my life where I'm ready to move on, new chapter, new stage in my life. And letting go of material things I no longer need is an important part of that. I've been letting go of much mental clutter over many months. It's time for some of that physical clutter to go too.

One more van full of stuff donated to charity...and I should be good. ;)

eclectic dreams

For those who really know me, they know I have eclectic tastes, styles, and...dreams. I dream of doing and being many things. I'm constantly daydreaming about new ideas, new wishes, new business/career ideas, things to make, home decor ideas, new ways of viewing the world, thoughts, life, etc, etc, etc.

So here for the first time I venture into putting all those thoughts, dreams, etc. into full public view. Get a peek into the chaotic mind/world of this daydreamer.

Explore my world, as I explore it myself as well. Learn about me as I learn about me. See what I think about, dream about, explore. From the mundane, to the philosophical, to the purely frivolous, and perhaps at times to the pure silliness as well.

“Writing, like dreams, confronts, pushes you up against the evasions, self-deceptions, investments in opinions and interpretations, the clutter that blinds, that disguises that underlying, all-encompassing design. . .”
Toni Cade Bambara