What About Today?

Some of you may have noticed that nothing has been posted here in a while. For this, and the lack of explanation I sincerely apologize. So I thought I'd provide that now.

In April I applied to a self-employment program offered by the government and administered by regional business centers. It has pretty strict restrictions about qualifications and disqualifications, and to get in one of the main things is not having done anything in the way of starting a business yet. So after I applied, I stopped listing new items in my etsy shop, put my blog posts on hold, and stopped giving updates on my facebook fanpage. I was thisclose to getting into the program, but in the end the presence of an etsy shop with sales disqualified me. :(

During the time that I was going through all of this, I was also reviewing just what it is that I'm trying to do with February Jones, got a part-time job, starting taking my step-daughter to her first season of house league soccer games and practices, began planning my life over the next few months because my fiancee will begin collecting employment insurance and using the next year to plan out his dreams and fins something that he loves to do... So as it turns out, I really needed that time-out to prepare for more changes that are on their way in my life.

Some people are completely paralyzed by the prospect of living a life with less security- no drug or dental plans, no mainstream career path, no regular 9-5 job, and a fluctuating income. But I think that sometimes people put too much emphasis on working away their hours and days just so that they can have a safety net for the future. What about today? What's the point in ensuring that your future is taken care of if you don't ever get the opportunity to enjoy the present moment in which you find yourself? There's nothing wrong with eschewing an all-work-and-no-play career path in favor of working at your local coffee shop, or in my case local lighting fixture store. It means that I have a low pressure flexible job that provides me with the mental serenity to continue exploring my interests and developing those passions which make me truly come alive. And that's what life is about... Living.

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."

-The Buddha

Invest in your todays so that you have something worthwhile to bring into your tomorrows.

I live each day with heart and enthusiasm and my hours are filled with laughter, love, smiles, and passion. When I go to bed exhausted it is because I have worked hard day following a dream that makes me feel fulfilled, or because I have been busy all day making sure that my family has what it needs to be a happy one (whether that entails slicing up a massive watermelon, scrubbing the kitchen floors, hanging the laundry out to dry, or planning out our expenses so that we can afford a day trip to take 11-year-old Abigail somewhere she's never been before).

A happy life requires more than just money and 2 weeks of vacation to recharge. I encourage you to find more ways to ensure your enjoyment of life in the the present, and I hope you'll stop by the blog every now and then to peek in on my adventures. What do you do to make sure that you enjoy and invest in your todays? I'd love to hear about it in the comments :)

*Maria

Giveaway!

Just a little post to let you about a February Jones Giveaway that is being hosted by Adore By Nat. I'll be providing a pair of Silver/Gold Quantum Squiggle earrings for this giveaway, as featured in the photo. Follow this link (Adore By Nat Giveaway) or click on the photo to get to Adore By Nat's blog and enter. And while you're over there, go ahead and read my interview for the Saturday Artisan which is also a regular feature on Nat's blog.

Good luck to those of you who enter!
*Maria

Custom Order Adventure!

Who doesn't love getting something UNIQUE that's JUST WHAT THEY WANTED? That's why I love creating custom orders so much. It's awesome to be able to provide for something exactly what they're looking for and to be able to do it in a way that really makes their request one of a kind (or OOAK in many handcrafting circles).

I'd like to share with you one particular custom adventure that I went on recently.

An Etsy shopper contacted me about putting together a custom set of "The Spirit" Bubble Danglers for her. She loved the characters Denny Colt (The Spirit) and Ellen Dolan and was hoping that I could create 4 pairs of earrings for her- 2 pairs featuring Denny, and 2 pairs featuring Ellen. She wanted to be able to create lots of mix and match combinations with them. After coming up dry for source material at my local comic shop The Dragon (the only Spirit comics available were really collector items and not what we needed for this project) my customer checked hers and found some imagery that she really liked so she shipped the comic my way. I set up a custom listing on Etsy that my customer could use to check up on the progress of her order- every time there were new images or something for her to approve, I updated her listing and sent her a message ('convo' if you're an Etsy user). Two weeks later (such is life with shipments that have to cross the US/Canada border) I had the comic in my hands and was ready to get to work!

I managed to find 4 pairs of co-ordinating images, got them prepped and updated the listing.

My customer's approval showed up quickly in the form of...

"Omg those are so great! I'm all excited now! Total yes on them all!"

So I proceeded to bond them to my glass stones, finish all of the backs, and add the jewelry findings to turn them into earrings. I sent her a process update during this phase, and the last photo to be uploaded in the listing was the finished product:

(Bubble Danglers are terribly hard to photograph because they are so round and shiny!)

Being able to create things like this is one of the things that I love about being a member of the handmade community. Sometimes it simply doesn't matter how many places you check for an item you're looking for, and instead you have to start shopping for a creator who can bring your idea to life. I love the opportunity to connect with people that comes from being able to offer customizable options in a way that big manufacturer's can't.

The next time you're trying to find the perfect gift for someone, or even the perfect something for yourself, remember there are tons of talented people out there who would probably love the chance to make your dream item- and who'd do a darn good job of it too. And hey! I'm one of 'em! :)

*Maria

Pinterest!

If you haven't discovered the website "Pinterest" I highly recommend that you check it out! This is what it looks like:

The basic idea is that you can create different 'Pinboards' which act just like a bulletin board you might have in your home office or studio. As you surf the internet and come across things that you might want to remember, instead of bookmarking the page and losing it in whatever bookmarking system you have (verbal descriptions in bookmarks just didn't cut it for me) you can 'pin' the page and select an image that will appear on your chosen 'pinboard' for easy access to the page. You can use this system to organize gifts that you want to purchase for people, to keep track of creative DIY yourself projects that you want to try, inspiration for your home, ideas for an upcoming event like a wedding... basically anything that you want! Each time that you pin something, you can tag it for easy searching and include a comment/description/reason you've pinned the image. Other users can also leave comments on the images that you've pinned, or if they like what they see they can 'repin' it to their own pinboard. Cool beans!!

If you're an Etsy user and like making treasuries, this place is like heaven! Every pinboard is a treasury with no limit on how many things you can put in it.

Pinterest is still in beta, so you have to wait a little bit to receive your invite once you request it, but it's worth it! And you can browse what other users have pinned without having an account yourself so you can still have fun while you're waiting. It's the coolest system that I've seen for organizing and sharing information that you find online. There's also a social aspect to the site, but since I've only been using it for a few days I'm still learning.

Are any of you Pinterest users? What do you use it for? What sort of themes might people find if they check out your pinboards? Let us know in the comments.

Try it out, and happy pinning!

*Maria

[Insert Cliche Good/Bad Idiom Here]

I vended at a show this past Sunday, and my high hopes and excitement were chipped away at all day until the show ended and I closed my cash box having made only 2 sales.... About 350 people had come through the show. Needless to say, I was disappointed. But I could have been much more upset, and interestingly, (because I have a consistently positive outlook) I kinda wanted to be an angry sourpuss, lamenting all of the things that hadn't gone my way that day. But no matter how hard I tried to be a Debbie Downer, the good things about my day kept creeping up on me which made it very difficult to maintain the negative attitude that I so wanted to enshroud myself in.

"Every cloud has a silver lining"

"There are two sides to every coin"

"Take the bad with the good"

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water"

No matter how hard I tried to focus on the failures of the day...

- "350 people and I only sold 2 items?! To the SAME person!" 

- "Why didn't the vendor who was supposed to be beside me show up? Now there's just a void there and its negative energy is tainting my vending space!" 

- "I want to grab some food, but what if I miss the ONLY other sale I might get today?"

- "Those people giving away free cupcake samples right in front of me are making everyone miss my table!"

...they just didn't really seem to matter when stacked up against the good things that occurred...

-I gave out lots of business cards!

-People always enjoy seeing those Beastly Baby Booties, and it makes me feel great to create something that generates such an instant and positive response.

-I met another Etsy friend! It was her first show, and her table setup looked AMAZING! I was so happy to meet her in person.

-Someone was browsing through my creations and after discovering that I made each and every one told me that I was 'just amazing'. :)

-The vendor behind me was super-friendly and let me know about a job opportunity (I'm currently seeking outside employment until my business starts generating millions) and told me how personable I was. Then she kept giving me chocolate squares. Mmmmm.... chocolate...

-I received tons of compliments on the work that I create and could talk about how some of my items were developed.

-I was photographed for the local 'Snap!' newspaper!

-The journalist who was shooting pictures was looking at a pair of Quantum Teardrops, when I said they were inspired by quantum physics, she said "Oh I get it, like this is sort of like an atom and these represent the orbits..." I get thrilled when people can see the inspiration translated into the design.

-Another Etsy friend came to the show to say hi and check out everyone's presentation (she's getting ready to attend her first show) and happened to bring along with her my one customer for the day...

There's more that I could add to that list, but I think I've made my point. Even though I was really upset that this particular show experience was a bit of a loss on paper (when you factor in table costs, transportation, etc- and weigh that against the meager sales I achieved...) it was still a great day no matter how hard I tried to perceive it as a really really bad one.

Some people say it's easier to think negative thoughts, or believe negative things- but I discovered that it's only easier to do that if you're in the habit of doing it anyway and you've already been consistently ignoring the good stuff in your life. But I'm not like that, and for as long as I can remember I have always been taught to "look on the bright side" and "not let it get you down" and to "seek the positives". It has become such a regular practice for me that it's basically impossible for me wallow in the world of pessimism. EVEN WHEN THAT'S THE ONLY THING I WANT TO DO.

So my advice to you is to really foster a positive outlook and learn to find the things that are great about unsavory situations. With a little practice and metal stick-to-it-iveness, you too can save yourself from being your own worst enemy ;)

*Maria

Crocodile Stitch Statement Necklace

I have been seeing this crocodile crochet stitch everywhere! I love the way that it looks, it reminds me of dragon scales (other people say fish scales or flower petals, but that's not nearly as much fun as dragon scales). One of my favourite occurences of this stitch is in Dainty Loops Etsy shop- she makes necklaces like this one that are smaller and more delicate and absolutely stunning. I've been wanting to try making my own for a long while. Mine turned out bigger (statement sized) because I used size 4 worsted weight yarn- not exactly your most chic and delicate kind, rather closer to the opposite. But it was what I had lying around, and this morning I decided it was time to learn this stitch. So a few mock ups, rip-aparts, grumbles and adaptations later, I had this chunky and delightful new piece to wear.

I'd love to share the pattern, but...
a) I don't know how to explain exactly what I did,
b) It is practically impossible to find written out instructions for this stitch online, and
c) I don't want to step on Dainty Loops toes.

So here's what I do have for you.

If you want a necklace like this of your own, please visit Dainty Loops Etsy shop here: Dainty Loops on Etsy where you'll find tons of different colours and other amazing crocheted wonders.

If you want to try this stitch out for yourself and play with it, these were the resources that I used:
- Teresa's video on her Art of Crochet blog
- Jennifer's Crocodile Stitch 2 part video on YouTube: Part 1 and Part 2

I'd love to hear about your experiences trying it out, or even if you just love things created with this stitch :)

*Maria

Crochet Rainbow Fingerless Gloves - Free Pattern

Last night I decided that it was time for another pair of fingerless gloves, or armwarmers, or gauntlets... Every now and then you have to make something just for you- it's kind of like an insurance policy against losing interest in your favourite crafts. If I'm constantly making things for other people it can start to feel like only work, and the last thing a creative entrepreneur needs is to get sick of the things you want to make for a living. You also need to try stuff out to see if it might become a new item in your shop :)

I've always had issues with fingerless gloves- I have very small wrists so sometimes things that I buy are too big, and things that I make for myself are too small for others. These fingerless gloves measure about 8" in circumference at their narrowest point around the wrist. If you follow this free pattern look for the stars that mark the places where I decrease to get this wrist size. You may choose to include the decrease or not- the nice thing about this pattern is that it's pretty intuitive, and you can try these on as you're creating them and alter them as you think you need to. The decreases occur around the thumb as it connects to the wrist. There is also a portion of the pattern that includes increases as your arm gets wider. Again, these can be included or not- just judge based on how the glove fits you as you proceed.

Alright! Here we go!

Striped (Rainbow) Fingerless Gloves

Supplies:
-at least 2 balls (contrasting colours) of size 4 medium worsted weight yarn (I've used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in 6 colours, 3.5 oz (100 g), 170 yards (156 m) )
-size I (size 9 or 5.5mm) crochet hook
-scissors
-darning needle

*Colour change tip: When I change colours, I yarn over with both threads and complete the stitch with only the new thread. Holding on to the old colour and the tail of the new colour, crochet underneath those two threads and complete the stitch above those two colours. This way, the yarn gets woven into the back of the stitch and saves you from having to weave in the ends when you are finished the glove.

Ch 26, join with slst to first ch.
Round 1: Ch 1, sc 26. Add marker if you like to see precisely where the round begins/ends, because you will now work in the round (no more slst to the beginning of the round, you'll just continue with sc)
Round 2: Sc 26.
Round 3-5: Repeat round 2.
Round 6: Sc in next 2 sts, ch 7, skip 2 sts and sc in 3rd and every st until end of round.
Round 7-8: Sc

Round 9: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 10: Sc
Round 11: Sc2tog twice*, sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round.
Round 12: Sc
Round 13: Sc2tog twice*, sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round.
Round 14: Sc
Round 15: Sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round
Round 16: Sc

Round 17: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 18-23: Sc
Round 24: (Sc in next 5 sts, 2sc in next st*) repeat to end of round.
Round 25: Sc

Round 26: Change colour, sc in back loop only or whole round.
Round 27: Sc
Round 28: (Sc 7, 2sc in next st*) repeat once, then sc to end of round.
Round 29-33: Sc

Round 34: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 35-40: Sc

Round 41: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 42-47: Sc

You can make the last colour longer if you like, but these ones reach about a half inch below my elbow, and I have long arms. If you try out this pattern I'd love to hear how it goes! Please let me know if you share it, or leave a link if you blog about a pair you tried out! If it works out nicely for you and you want to sell them, please credit my blog with the pattern.

Happy crafting!

*Maria