In the studio!

I now have proof that I'm back in the studio! A clean bench!!! This is the one and only time you'll see my bench clean so I had to take a picture.

A couple of days ago I started cleaning and reorganizing different areas of the studio and today it was my bench. I gathered all the little bits and pieces of "stuff", got them organized into bins and little plastic containers, all nicely labeled. Discovered I have enough pearls to last for years and years. Of course I'll probably need the one size I don't have!

By the time I was done, my hands were all wrinkled and dried up from being in and out of water all day and I was tired of the smell of Windex. But there were parts of my studio that were as clean as I could get them. I'm not done but have made a good dent. And I'll start my work with a clean slate.

I have not picked up a hammer yet...

Tomorrow is the day

By the time I got to physical therapy today, I realized that I had really done too much yesterday on my first day back in the studio. And I hadn't even picked up a hammer. Tomorrow is the day for that. I'm going back to the working side of the studio and hoisting my hammer!!!

My wholesale show is less than 3 weeks away and I don't know if I can even hammer yet. It sounds strange but I have been holding off trying because if my arm doesn't work yet, I really don't want to know. It's the one thing that has scared me about this whole process since I know people who are left with continuing arm problems and I make my living with that arm. Realistically, I know I'll be fine but it's just taking so long to get my strength back that it's making me cranky.

Reality is that if I spend one more day working on my never ending paperwork, I'll lose it!!! I'm tired of dealing with numbers and trying to remember what I learned two years ago in my Photoshop class! I need to be playing with metal!!! I have work to do, earrings to replace and orders to work on. I have ideas I want to try!

Most importantly, I just want normal life back again. Enough of this nonsense...

Back to the studio!

Today, with all the fantastic national events happening, a small but important event happened in my life as well. After 2 months and 2 days, I went back to the studio!!!

What a great feeling! It was Julia's first day at work and we spent the day moving, reorganizing and packing things away. Taking inventory to see what needs to be made for samples at the upcoming wholesale show was a little scary. I have a lot of work ahead of me if I'm going to be ready. Especially since I'm still in physical therapy getting my arm back! But I'll be ready! I always am!

It seems very fitting that my first day back was on such a hopeful, positive day for our whole nation! Let's all celebrate!!!

The perfect box!

As I'm sitting here in frigid Michigan alternating between freezing and stripping everything off for a hot flash (brought on by my lovely new cancer fighting drugs), Patricia Hecker sends me a link to the perfect box for women.

Hopefully I'm not breaking all kinds of rules but I'm copying what she wrote as a description of the box since it's hilarious!

Please go buy the box since otherwise I will!

"Description For all my sisters........I present to you ....The Bitch Box!
Yes, you read that correctly! The Bitch Box........perfect for all of us going through 'the change'.......
Nothing prepares one for the emotional upheaval, the internal fires, the ups and downs associated with menopause.
Makes having a period look fun!

This cute box will hold dearly all your medicinal and herbal elixirs to survive PMS and the bitchy days ahead of menopause!
.........Everything except a bottle of tequila!

So if you relate to this box, you owe it to yourself to buy it!
Now!
Yes, NOW!
Like a box of bon bons on the couch while watching soap opera's, or half a pan of macaroni and cheese..or cake batter off the beaters......
make this yours..........

By this point, I hope you're laughing!
You know that 10 minutes later you may be crying, so hit the button now, toss it in your cart, unstrap your bra and throw caution to the wind! In a few days, this fun box will be arriving to your door while you're still in your jammies polishing off the last of the Haagen Dazs!

It's 6" wide, 6 1/4"deep and 6 1/2" tall. It has a sliding lid, 2 tone charming (unswollen) pink feet and sexy black velvet lining the bottom."

PS - She now has another box...

Etsy, part 2

Where would I be without my friends... I certainly wouldn't be writing that I have my Etsy site up and running without their help so big thanks to Patricia and Jon Hecker and Luann Udell. They nicely picked apart what I wrote for my profile, changed it around and left me sounding way better than I would have on my own. Then I borrowed other words from them to just get the darn thing up there!

The next step is to get into the studio and see what I have to sell on Etsy, get it photographed and up on the site! I can't wait to get back to work!

Etsy

I'm feeling old right now. Never, ever did I think that changing with the times would be anything but easy but for some reason I'm spending way too much time kerfluxing about Etsy.

For those who don't know, Etsy is a site online to sell handmade items and supplies. It's a GREAT place to shop and wonderful to know that you're supporting other small craft type businesses. I've gotten great, unique gifts there and of course some wonderful things for myself. Every experience dealing with buying on the site has been positive and the people I've met have been great.

I joined a group on Etsy called EtsyWestMichigan. Suzanne at Bliss Candles (wonderful candles) passed along the information that the group existed when I was buying one of her great candles for my nephew. This group is really active and also actively selling. I swear they all have their act together even though some are very new businesses! So, what is my problem???

They want you to write your "profile", just like on blogger. If you notice, I don't have a profile here either. How in the heck do you write about yourself??? And what are all my policies???

At this point, Etsy is looking overwhelming but I just have to get over it. I want to sell more online and I don't want to sell on my website, so this is the perfect solution. I just have to buck up and get it done... I'll post when I succeed. Wish me luck please!

Oops - the year end stuff got me!

It's been almost a week since I last wrote anything and I didn't even realize it! That's what the year end does to me!

For me the year end means getting all my books ready for taxes. Unfortunately, it's not just my own personal books. It's the books for the Garage Sale Art Fair, the NAIA, my Dad, my personal books and for my business. Yikes!!! The good news is that this is the last year dealing with the NAIA books. That one has always felt like the biggest since it's using software I'm not as comfortable with.

So, since my days have been filled with financial issues and numbers swimming in my head, today I decided to take a break and work on something different. I chose the Garage Sale Art Fair. Now my head is swimming with different numbers!

Booth numbers, number of tables needed, number of postcards each person needs, who wants electricity, who didn't pay the right amount for their particular booth size and on and on. I want to get to the fun part of the garage sale! The wearing of funny hats and watching the crowds swarming around artists and picking up those special little bargains! Watching people walk out carrying bags of great deals and bargains!!!

But, it's not time for that yet. It's time to work on all the financial books so I can get things sent to all the different accountants. Let their heads swim with all the numbers!

I want to make jewelry...