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The Crafty Froggy
Inspiration from Nature
So we took the cub scouts on a geology hike on Saturday to earn their belt loop for that. We took them to Clemmons State Forest. They have a geology trail and a talking tree trail. They have a picnic area and a lake. I love to take photos there. We missed rain off and on all day. So there were lots of beautiful water beads on all the leaves.
Well, keeping up with cub scouts and trying to take serious photos don't really go together but I did manage to get these shots of the forest.
I really love the color green and know it's because it reminds me of life itself.
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Being Thankful for your Gifts
| When I left my last job, a co-worker gave me a card with a quote that inspired me... |  |
 | "Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail..." - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| I have been looking a long time for my inner artistic voice. For a long time, I have struggled to find what is really me and what I feel like I have "copied" from others. I'm starting to finally see who I am artistically. |  |
 | I'm working on several photo projects at the moment. One is my first photo book that is on a subject very close to my heart. The others are portraiture of some very dear friends and their children. I never thought of myself as a portrait photographer, but I'm beginning to see that I could be. I don't just want to be a photographer that poses people in front of a canvas and says "Say Cheese!" I want to capture the essence of people. Like I try to capture the essence of a landscape photo, I want to see it in the photos of people that I take. |
Sending my RACK to Maine!
 | One of my marketing clients, in fact, one of my longest running ones, has agreed to sell my jewelry in his B & B. The Brewster Inn is located in Dexter, Maine. Dexter is located in The Maine Highlands between the Maine Coast ( approximately 40 miles to Belfast) and the mountains and lakes ( approximately 40 miles to Moosehead Lake and Squaw Mountain). The Inn is the former mansion home of State Governor Owen Brewster who was portrayed by Alan Alda in the award winning movie "The Aviator" that co-starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes. In Spring 2008 the Brewster Inn was featured HGTV's “If Walls Could Talk”. I will be selling earrings and a few polymer clay pendants to start with, but will eventually carry a full line there. If you'd like to purchase my earrings and you are planning a vacation in Maine this year, stop by and see Mark and Judith Stephens. The are a great couple from England and will have loads of stories to share. |
Great Quote for the Day
If you haven't been to Cynthia Tinapple's blog, Polymer Clay Daily, go and sign up for her RSS feed immediately. She has such inspiration on her site daily and I just love it.
Today there is a quote on there that I just couldn't help sharing because it spoke so much to me.
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.
- Jim Jarmusch
Here's the link to Cynthia's original post
Where you get it from, where you take it to
How to get your butt in gear!
I am going to get this blog going again... How you ask? With everything else I have going on? The same way I teach my marketing clients to do it.
1. Set a goal
What do you really want?
What is it that you hope to accomplish?
2. Make an action plan
Decide how many steps it will take to reach your goal
Assign a task - This is usually if you have more than one person,
but just for the sake of argument assign it to yourself.
but just for the sake of argument assign it to yourself.
3. Put a date on it.
I've often heard the addage that goals are dreams with a date on them.
Make it a realistic date.
4. Just do it.
Yeah yeah, Nike will probably come and get me for using their tagline, but hey WHATEVER!So stay tuned. I'm bbaaaacccckkkkk!!!!
Learning How to Blog - The Right Way
I subscribe to A LOT of blogs. One of my favorites is a guy named Hendry Lee at http://blogbuildingu.com/ I hope to put into practice one day all the great tips he has about writing a successful blog. So far, I haven't done such a hot job.
So he's running this contest right now to win 1 of 3 WordPress books. I really would like to have one of these books because I would like to know more about optimizing Word Press. (OK, I know all my crafty friends just went HUH?) Yes, I'm a crafter and a geek. 
So if you would like to try to win one of the books yourself or you'd just like to read a really great article about writing a blog, check out his comment on his article, retweet it, and post it to your own blog. You just might get a surprise.
Why is it so hard to sell jewelry online?
I've done really well selling my jewelry at shows and in person but for some reason I can't seem to sell stuff online. I think I'm a pretty good photographer. Maybe I need more interesting backgrounds or more in depth descriptions. Maybe my shipping is too high. I have stuff on artfire http://craftyfroggy.artfire.com and cafepress http://www.cafepress.com/craftyfroggy and I haven't been able to sell stuff on either. Maybe I just need to promote them more. Seems like there's not enough hours in the day to do everything.
Anyone got any advice?
Anyone got any advice?
I Survived the Craft Show
The show went very well. I actually sold stuff. I was amazed!!!!!
Now for something entirely new. I've joined a new artisan community to sell my jewelry and other stuff.
It's Art Fire.com. I just have one item up right now. I've got to get cracking on the photography. To get some stuff on my studio. This will help supplement my store FroggyBead when I finish it. As a marketer, I know you can never been seen in too many places. I'm still a little leary of Etsy. I've heard a lot of complaints, but I do have a friend that sold stuff with no problem. I probably will try my hand at it too eventually, but when one code's one's own website, something has to give somewhere.
Here's my shop on Art Fire. More exciting stuff to come.
Where in the world have I been???
My life has been quite busy with my job, cub scouts, and trying to get stuff ready for a jewelry show on December 6 in Garner, NC.
I will have a plethora of new earrings and some new necklace, bracelet, and earring combinations. I will also have some new polymer clay pendants. I don't have the pics of them yet but I do have one mokume gane beaded necklace that is complete.
Take a look...
The plethora of earrings....
The Copper necklace, bracelet, and earring set
The Mokume Gane Necklace. Mokume Gane is a polymer clay technique. All the blue, pink, and silver beads were handmade by me. I paired them with pearls and silver beads.
This is an earth tone jasper and pearl necklace and earring set
I have a couple of bracelet and earring sets as well. I didn't have enough beads to make them necklaces so I meade these sets...
Pink and Black glass focal beads
Aqua, Blue, and Crimson glass bead set...
I will have a plethora of new earrings and some new necklace, bracelet, and earring combinations. I will also have some new polymer clay pendants. I don't have the pics of them yet but I do have one mokume gane beaded necklace that is complete.
Take a look...
The plethora of earrings....
The Copper necklace, bracelet, and earring set
The Mokume Gane Necklace. Mokume Gane is a polymer clay technique. All the blue, pink, and silver beads were handmade by me. I paired them with pearls and silver beads.
This is an earth tone jasper and pearl necklace and earring set
Pink and Black glass focal beads
Aqua, Blue, and Crimson glass bead set...
Want Peace? Get a Camera
One of the other things I do is photography. I find that I'm never more at peace than when I'm behind the lens of camera. The release of the shutter is like releasing all that is within me. I want to remember the things of beauty that I see and be able to share with others what I see. This little movie is from theVictoria House Restaurantin Blue Ridge, Georgia. I go to the North Georgia Mountains every summer with my cousins. We always have a tea room day where we dine and a tea room and get all girly. This place was wonderful. They had 19th century hats to wear. The service was excellent and the food was to die for. Even if they never buy a service from me. (yes, it's a shameless plug) I'm still glad I have the photos to remember my day there. These photos were done several different ways to show the different moods that could be used in promotional pieces for this restaurant. In my graphic design business, my heart is in helping the small business person who can't afford a big agency, but has a big dream. I can help them and that is my utmost goal. I wish I could get this to be as high res as the actual photos, but alas it is YouTube. I hope you enjoy looking at them.
I hope you enjoy looking at them.