Turning Point

The last 24 hours have been the most bizarre, emotional, and inspiring ones I've had in years.

I made a friend out of a former enemy.

I gained closure on an experience that broke me down and made me question who I am and why I wasn't valuable as a person.

I realized a friend, was just a friend, and would never be more.
And that is exactly how it should be.

I'll be working on this embroidery pattern this week. With Spring Break coming up my 'to read' and 'to craft' list is growing rapidly.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/juneatnoon

Quick Check In

I won the two books on ebay that I bid on! I'll post pics as soon as they arrive. I will typically use old and interesting books in art projects but these are SO amazing I don't think I want to alter them at all!

This weekend I hope to complete a few new embroidery projects. I've been meaning to experiment with using beads, felt and fabric in them so I hope to have time to do that. Here's one of my favorites from etsy!

Oh, and Happy 'Drink Green Beer' Day!

A Mind-Blowing Weekend

A friend brought over a movie he was sure I'd like this Saturday and he couldn't have been more dead on! I'm a fan of the obscure and strange and a 1976 fantsy musical pornography of Alice in Wonderland couldn't be better suited for me.
It is X-Rated so don't try to watch this if your not a fan of some extreme close ups and 70's bush. If you don't mind that then this is definitely an interesting film!

The second mind blower was the book, Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstader. Originally published in 1979 it's a massive 700+ page work dedicated to exploring the patterns and symbols in the thinking of mathematician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. My friend left his copy at my place and I only had to read the 20 page preface before I ran to Amazon to order myself a copy. I'll review it in full once finished (probably a while from now!) Has anyone else read/heard of it? I was really surprised I hadn't!

Ebay - The Bane of my Existance

First of all my prediction about excessive soreness from yesterday's workout was entirely accurate. It's not AS bad as I anticipated though and I know if I continue incorporating that DVD into my weekly routine that it will give me big results. I'm excited!

So, to best use the excuse of being to sore to walk, I've spent almost all day at work on flickr, ebay and etsy gaining ideas for future crafts. I ordered this book:

Which of course entails a trip to the craft store this weekend to stock up on Polymer clay supplies (never worked with clay before!).

I've also bid on 2 antique medical books and an antique science kit on ebay. I'd link to them directly but I'm SO excited about them and don't want anyone snagging them from me :p Hopefully I can show them off soon!

For all of you clay kids - any tips or advice would be much appreciated! Especially if you have any online links to site that talk about the craft.
Love you all :)

I died.

A little bit this morning.

I work out 5-6 days a week. This can be difficult since I work at 7:30 a.m. and put in 8-14 hour days, so I get up at 5 a.m. (also, very difficult).

I've been going to the gym across town and focusing on cardio since the New Year but I really needed to start toning up so I've been working out with Jillian Michael's dvd's. For the last 2 weeks I've done the 30 day shred a few times a week and love it mostly because it's a quick, 20-minute workout that's extremely effective. I decided to amp it up a bit and tried her 40 minute 'No More Trouble Zones' dvd this morning.

I can honestly say that I will probably be as sore tomorrow from this workout as I was after hiking 150 miles of the Appalachian Trail with my Dad for a week.

I want to hear from you!

I've had so many new followers to my blog this week and I'd love to ask you all a few questions! Most of you are fellow artisians and sell on etsy (or similar venues). How long have you been selling your crafts for? Do you sell offline as well? (I'm interested in doing my first craft show and would love to hear your experiences!) Also, what offine marketing do you do?

It seems many sellers are getting discouraged right now with slow sales and lack of activity. Since I've officially started my 3rd year on Etsy I can say that it's not unusual. Spring is notoriously slow as people are cutting back after the holiday season, and starting to go outside more to enjoy the nice weather. I'd like to use this time to market locally and really start focusing on the Fall season when sales start to pick up again.

We are all in this together! Let's share some advice/tips and help each other out a bit.

Heart Factory, $18, by PearsonMaron
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62321553/heart-factory

New Magical Vial Line Debuting Today!

"One of the secrets of real magic is that it is controlled by the mind. The more things in your ritual to help your mind associate with your goal, the more powerful your ritual may be." - Scott Cunningham, renowned pagan/wiccan author.

All of my magical vials have been inspired by the best-selling book, The Secret.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_(book)

They are ways to remind you on a constant basis what your goals are in life and how your mentality and positive thinking can help bring those desires into your life.

Love Potion

Getting past your past

Increasing psychic/mental abilities