My Favorite Colors

I think I go through phases involving my favorite color combinations and that's probably reflected in my work.  At the moment I absolutely LOVE orange and turquoise together :

What are some of your favorite color combos?

Getting married November 7th

I've been quite a bit busier than usual trying to get everything organized.   Well, my mom is doing the majority of the organizing as far as catering, layout, tent rentals etc. but that leaves me with dress + jewelry shopping for everyone, honeymoon reservations, picking colors, cake inspiration, guest favors, etc etc.  I've absolutely loved going through all the wedding amazing-ness on Etsy - I'm really trying to have a mostly hand made wedding.  It's obviously in the fall, it's outside and I'm hoping there will still be some leaves on the trees.  The colors are orange and pale aqua.  That's my favorite combination in my artwork right now so it's what's inspiring the whole color scheme.  Richard and I bought a house together over 3  years ago, so I guess this is just making everything official lol  - it will be nice to have a ring on my finger.  It's going to be a very small wedding, family only - the kids will be our bridesmaids/groomsmen.  It works out well that way, 2 girls and 2 boys (3 are mine and 1 is his).  And they're all around the same age - between 17 and 21.   Wow, that makes me feel older seeing that in writing.  I got married and had my kids super duper young though so I spent my entire 20's raising children (as did Richard). Now that they are older and pretty much on their own I get the opportunity to recreate myself and focus on who I am and who I want to be and I get to do  it while married to my best friend :).  I'm really looking forward to this next chapter in our lives.

Fresh Daisy Art

I love all the pretty little spring flowers popping up every where now. Here's some fresh art I'm working on =) :




Where Dreams Begin




Meadow - this isn't in my shop yet but will be this week :)

Just got home from work

Nothing particularly eventful to write about. It's been raining most of the week but it's not been cold. I actually love rain. My perfect day is a rainy day at home wearing comfy clothes and listening to it fall. *sigh* heavenly :)


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Featured Etsy Blogger for March

I'm a member of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team and we feature a member every month for all team members to blog about. This month it's Design By Nora. Nora has some fabulously cute earrings and some wonderful pocketbooks. The purses are the creation of her talented Uncle Naz who has had his own leather purse business for 30 years now. Without further ado, here are the goodies she has in her shop :


I love these cute little post earrings - what happy colors. She also has these same colors available as star post earrrings. Super cute!







Here are 2 examples of Uncle Naz's beautifully crafted purses. I'm loving this orange color :





And what a great look for spring :



So go over to Nora's shop and see what she has to offer - I'm sure you'll find something fabulous!

Your Dream Job?

So, while I was procrastinating this morning, I came across the questions -

' What would your dream job be?

How much would you make a year?

What kind of benefits would you have?

How is your dream job different than your current job?'

This really got me to thinking. What is my dream job? Am I doing it? What more do I want/need in my life? And most importantly, if it's not what I have now, what do I need to do to make it so? I think we (or is it just me?) get so caught up in thinking that we aren't there yet. That next year or five years or 10 years from now we'll have these things we want. Is it human nature to feel like we aren't satisfied yet? That happiness lies in some future time or place?

To answer the above and to help me learn more about myself....What would my dream job be?

Hmmm, if I had answered that 2 years ago, it would have been to earn a living doing something creative. Well, I'm doing that now. But since I've been a photographer, I still felt success was somewhere ahead in the future. When I get a bunch of wholesale accounts I'll be happy with my job, when I have 20 Etsy sales a week, I'll be happy with my job, when I can afford to buy all the beautiful handmade things I want instead of bargain shopping (clothes, make up, cleaning products, jewelry, lotion, etc - all the wonderful Etsy shop lovelies) I'll be happy with my job. Mulling over these questions this morning though, I'm realizing that maybe all the ingredients are there already. Am I so caught up in the seduction of 'some time in the future' that I don't recognize what's right in front of me? I don't believe in God, but I do believe that the universe sees to it that things fall into place for us. That if we want something and focus strongly on it that it will be brought into our lives. The thing is that we may have this certain path in our head that it's supposed to follow but the universe may see a different path toward the same destination that we haven't thought of yet. We can't see the big picture when things are falling into place, all we can see is that the way we thought it would be by now isn't happening yet.

I was doing my photography full time for several months and then we ( Richard and I ) came to realization that if we are going to be able to make our mortgage payment I was going to have to get another job in addition to my photography. I thought this was the end of the world at first. It was like FINALLY I was doing something wonderful and creative and now I'm going to have to get a second job and all that's going to be left behind. The way the job market is now I just knew I would end up with a job I hate and it would leave me way to exhausted for any kind of creative thinking. Well.....that didn't happen. I actually got a job that I love. It's a retail job at a clothing store but I absolutely love it. I now get a discount on super cute clothes - they aren't the wonderful handmade clothes that I wanted but I still get to expand my wardrobe and dress in a way that says 'me'. It has also inspired me to get a sewing machine so I can alter my clothes some and make them more unique which is more the way I want to dress. This will also give them a bit of that handmade aspect I want. So even though I can't afford to buy my amazing handmade Etsy clothes, I can have a less expensive alternative now.

Back to the questions - what kind of benefits would the job have? Well, having health insurance is right there at the top of course. When I was a photographer for a school photography company, I actually had my own health insurance for the first time in my life (by 'my own', I mean not provided by my ex-husband or by my parents). I was so proud of that health insurance card with my name on it. When I dropped the job and started doing my own photography, I didn't have that little card anymore which was a step back instead of forward. Well, guess what? My retail job also comes with health insurance. That's a huge benefit in my mind and something I would never be able to afford if I was just doing art. This is another benefit of taking that job that I was absolutely against taking. See how the universe works lol...it was just making things fall into place for me even though I couldn't see it at the time.

How much would you make in a year? Ok, there's the biggie. I don't want to be a starving artist, I don't want to worry about bills every month. I don't want to leave the house that we moved into and love because we can't afford to make the mortgage payments. I definitely wasn't making enough just doing art to make a substantial contribution to our bills. And when I got this job, it was just minimum wage and barely even made a difference. But after working there for 4 months, I just got promoted to 2nd assistant manager which means a big pay increase - well a about $1.50 more per hour but that's still going to help a lot. Plus I became full time instead of part time so that will also contribute to a bigger check. I just finished my training the day before yesterday and my next paycheck should show big difference. I've done gallery exhibits the past 2 months, so I will have a check from Three Flights Up at the beginning of April. I have some artwork that sold at Bliss Home (the store that carries my work) so that should be a check from them at some point in the near future. Plus the Market Square Farmer's Market will be starting in May and that was an extra $75- $150 a week last year since I set up a booth every Saturday. So maybe things are starting to smooth out financially? I still won't be able to afford handmade clothes but I will be able to hopefully afford handmade laundry detergent and lotion and soap and the occasional pretty jewelry or handbag and maybe even shop Etsy for everyone's b'day presents, etc. That 'handmade life' that was out of reach may be made possible because I have this retail job that I was so against taking in the first place. They're also really good about letting me have days off when I need them (i.e., the Saturdays I need for the Farmer's Market and the First Fridays I need for exhibit openings ).

So the last question is 'How is your dream job different than your current job?' I don't know? Is it different? Maybe this combination of jobs is my dream job. I'll have to think about that one some more. That is a revelation to me and something I'm going to have to get my head around if that's the case. It would mean not putting stock in some future time or waiting until everything falls in place before I'm really happy. It would mean that the future is here and to keep doing what I'm doing is where I want to be. Grasping this would be life changing for me.

We FINALLY had some snow...

It was just a dusting of snow, you probably wouldn't even call it snow if you lived up North lol. It was fluffy and beautiful and inspiring though. I worked that day at Cato (my day job now), came home and took no less than 85 photos . Here are a few of them :






I only have one in my Etsy shop at the moment but I'll be putting the other ones up as I go along this week. The ironic part is that I'd decided to totally launch into spring with my shop photos lol. We just never get snow though so I wanted to get these in there while it's still winter :).

Are you on Facebook?

Do you love it? It's such a great waster of time lol. I was just on there doodling around and I thought - hey, I really should be posting on my sadly neglected blog. I just put a bunch of photos of my kids and Richard if you want to go have a looksee :) ... Jen's Facebook Page I'm always so curious about people I meet online and what they look like. I think everyone has a mental picture of the people they interact with here.

I drove about an hour to Knoxville today, I picked up a canvas that I'm entering in the Dogwood Arts Festival competition. If it wins it will represent the whole festival in their posters and things. There will be an exhibition of all the artwork chosen and the public will pick the representative art. The winner will get $2000 as well as the status of their artwork being on limited edition posters, etc of the festival. It's a big deal to win it as far as getting your name out there. I'm totally hoping I'll win! This is my entry :

It's actually all beautiful and glowy in person, it looks almost zen-like for lack of a better word lol. I'm doing it on a 30"x30" gallery wrapped canvas so it will be really big!

Hope everyone is enjoying the new year and not freezing their butts off! It's 6 degrees right now here and for TN that's pretty extreme cold ..brrrrrrr.

2009

I'm so glad the new year is here! Did everyone make resolutions? I don't really call them resolutions, more like goals for the year I suppose. I have way to many to put them on my blog but here's the condensed version:

• Do a painting every week
• Be more assertive about your needs
• Make a daily list the night before of things to accomplish the next day
• Keep better records of art sales
• Do a photo a day (at least one)
• Offer gift certificates and matting in your Etsy shop
• Open a vintage shop on Etsy
• Fine more venues to sell your artwork online and locally
• Keep up with your Etsy teams requirements (Etsy Bloggers Street Team & Design Style Guide)

Plus a cazillion house goals - pull up the disgusting purple carpet downstairs, do stained concrete floors, install concrete counter tops, paint downstairs, paint the hallway upstairs, etc etc etc. THAT list is pretty endless lol.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and the new year makes all your dreams a reality.

Sorry I got way off track with posting...

I've been really busy trying to get some wholesale accounts going for my photography/artwork. I've decided that that's where the money is to be made rather than a couple of sales a week in my Etsy shop or selling at the Farmer's Market on the weekends. I have a shop in Knoxville that's going to be carrying my artwork and the owner really encouraged me to go that route. And let me say that getting this shop was huge for me. It's just consignment but it's a REALLY great shop. The couple that own it are in the process of opening their third shop right now and that's where I'm going to be. The ironic part is that when I first started to sell my photography, their shop was one of those out of reach things in my mind. I would have LOVED to sell there but I thought there was no way it could ever happen. And they ended up approaching me at my booth at the Farmer's Market about a month ago and said they would love to have me. I was so happy. And that's why I really think I can make this wholesale thing happen. I want it just as bad as I wanted that other shop and just as bad as I wanted to do my gallery exhibit and those things happened for me. I'm just single mindedly pursuing it right now to the exclusion of other things it seems like. I'm very inspired right now and very excited. I've decided to sell on canvas instead of paper for my wholesale line so that there's no conflict with my Etsy shop. I can't wait to see how my photos look on canvas. I've set up another website and blog that are focused on wholesale as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

Featured Etsy Team Member

I featured a team member from the Interior Design Street Team last Sunday, this Sunday I'm featuring another fellow Etsian from the Etsy Bloggers Street Team. Maybe Sunday is going to become my "Featured Artist Day" lol. I try to set aside different days to focus on different aspects of my online life and Sunday has turned into team day/post in blog day. The featured artist that was chosen by the Etsy Bloggers this month is......*drumroll please*....... A Keeper's Jackpot. She is a fabulous jewelry artistan at Etsy. Here are some examples of her work :

This is a wonderfully chunky necklace in shades of gray. I love the colors and the dramatic appeal. It reminds of peaceful rainy day complete with puddles and storm clouds.







Below is a beautifully intricate bracelet. I love the colors of the beads combined with the silver wire.




Next we have the aptly titled 'Root Beer Earrings'. I think they would look amazing with anything that's the color of the minty green bracelet above.



Below we have another fantabulous pair of earrings in my favorite shade of green. These are so pretty and fresh, perfect for summer.



And last, but certainly not least, these very unique earrings made from tree bark. I don't believe I've seen anything like these on Etsy.....they are natural and beautifully made.





I hope you enjoyed your tour of A Keeper's Jackpot :). Pop in and give her shop a visit, I'm sure it would make her happy. She has lots more wonderful creations for you to browse!

Life is Challenging

Overlooked


Quote for the Week:

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results."

-Anonymous
Delta Dawn


I feel challenged right now with our circumstances which tends to give me a bad, downer attitude. We're really trying to make things work out - working from home together, paying our bills, making sure all our teenagers have plenty of food to eat. It just seems like things haven't come together well for us the last couple of weeks. Or they've come together but just barely. The economy probably has a lot to do with it, the fact that buying art is an optional rather than a necessity. I've decided to view this time period as a challenge and keep a good perspective on it all. I really want to focus on the good things that we have now instead of worrying about the things we don't have yet.



Pointless Sentiment

Featured Artist - Funky Chicken Designs

I'm starting a new feature today - I'll be featuring artists from the various Etsy Teams I'm a member of. Today's featured artist is Funky Chicken Design and she's on the Etsy Interior Design Team. Her primary focus is light switch plate covers although she does pillows as well some adorable push pins and magnets. I also spotted this incredibly awesome magazine bowl in her shop that was obviously very labor/time intensive to make.



This bowl and the frame below were done using recycled magazines. Michelle, the shop owner at Funky Chicken Design, is a big believer in recycling as she uses recycled packaging when mailing out her fabulous creations as well.


Here is a frame done using similar materials. Very intricate and colorful.

She obviously enjoys working with paper and decoupage is her primary art of choice :). Here are a couple of my favorite light switch plates from her shop. She has a ton of styles and color schemes to chose from, you're sure to find something for every room of your home.




She also has items for your home office including pushpins and magnets. Here's some oh so cool pushpins. Once again she has several different ones to chose from.



Here are just a couple more items from her shop - a nightlight perfect for your rockabilly boudoir and a gorgeous pillow that would be right at home in your bedroom or your living room.


So head on over to Funky Chicken Design and pick up some cool items for your abode :)!

A Rainy Sunday Morning...

'Fade to Gray'



We had a full house this weekend - Chloe (my 17 year old who we always have), Erik (Richard's 16 yr old son who we have every other weekend or so), and Mia ( my 15 year old who lives with her Dad and who is supposed to come every weekend but has been sporadic about it this summer), + Chloe's assorted friends and boyfriend who was in and out. Chloe and her boyfriend Nicky apparently have gotten a puppy, well, Nicky got a puppy and Chloe's taking care of it a lot I should say. It's adorably cute but not something we want at our house because our Golden Retriever is getting ready to have puppies next week. Then we're getting both our dogs spayed because this was an unplanned pregnancy. Sesame , the Golden Retriever , is just a little over a year old and has only went into heat once. We let her out for like 30 seconds to go to the bathroom and a German Shepard that had been hanging around immediately jumped her and had his way with her. She is undeniably, hugely pregnant right now. I know she'll be glad to get it over with, she has absolutely no energy right now. Richard took her to the vet Friday morning and got her some prenatal vitamins which will hopefully help.


'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head'


I must go and make a big Sunday breakfast now, everybody's starting to get up. It's an awesome rainy Sunday here in TN, what a great day for sleeping in :). I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend !

'Rainy Day Feeling'

New Website!

'Cream'



So, I'm in the process of setting up a new website, it's not quite ready to go yet...it's going to be really cool and pretty though. I'm working with an amazing website designer named Richard Johnson - I really love his ideas :). More to come on that later.

Nothing really exciting or fun has happened this week, I've been a little under the weather it seems like. I had some issues with UPS sending me some of my photos for a big order completely bent and beat up. There were seriously indentions of a cart wheel on the outside of the envelope....I'm going to put a picture in here so you can see what they did. If this were a South Park episode I would have said 'those bastards' lol. And of course it was an order that needed to be there by July 15, that I had put a rush delivery on and everything. My printing company handled it beautifully though. All I had to do was send photos of the damage and they replaced all 3 photos absolutely free of charge ( large 16"x 16" photos) AND they arrived the very next day. Pretty darn amazing :). I will love them forever and recommend them to anyone who asks :). Look at what UPS did :




outside of envelope - see the cart wheel track in the corner?!



back of one of the photos

Went to the Famer's Market Saturday..

'The Study of Botany



I had a great day at the farmer's market in Knoxville today. It started out really soggy but ended up with beautiful blue skies. Fluffy white clouds included :). I should have taken some photos but I kept my camera in the car due to aforementioned sogginess :). I meet so many awesome people there - I really could just sit there and people watch. Of course selling my photographs is an added bonus lol. I'll have to post some photos of my booth soon. Just a photo or two of new artwork today.



'Daydream Believer'

Quote for Today...

'You're the Biggest Part of Me'


" The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want."

~ Ben Stein


' In Love '

Quote for Today...

"Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work."
- Rita Mae Brown


I think this applies in so many ways to having a shop or working for yourself. Don't hope more than you work....this says to me not be so worried about having sales or who is coming to your shop that you forget why you even wanted this life in the first place. You wanted it to be creative on a daily basis. To enjoy your photography or your painting or your jewelry making (pick your own creative passion) - if you spend all your time hoping instead of creating then you've lost your focus. Trusting your instinct, well, that goes without saying. Without that, creativity is pretty much impossible.