It's official! My blog has a new home.
Click here to read my new blog.
Click here to view my new website (which I'm still tweaking, so look for changes there over the next week or two).
Thank you!
Jul 01, 2013
Jun 27, 2013
Saying goodbye (and hello).
The past year has contained a few business-y goodbyes for me: first my workspace: goodbye basement, hello studio; then my business name: goodbye Dreamland, hello Gina Sekelsky Studio LLC; now my blog: goodbye Typepad, hello Wordpress. (If you go to that link, there's not much there yet. I'm still working on my first post...it's a bit daunting.)
All of these goodbyes have been moving me in a positive direction, but they're still bittersweet. I worked in the basement for TEN years, and even though I started feeling really claustrophobic down there by the end, it was still the site of many (many) creative moments. It's where I painted my first handstitched garment, where I made hundreds of holiday cards and wrote thousands of stamps.
And I'm still second-guessing the name switch, to some extent. I am glad I did it, I feel more settled somehow. But a few long-time clients have mentioned that they miss it...and that makes me miss it too.
But the move to my new blog site? I can get behind that 100%. A clean slate, a fresh start, a chance to be more intentional when I'm posting. Remember the comments from January's giveaway? I really took your words to heart. Now the question is, how can I maintain that drive -- when I'm busy, when I'm tired, when I can't think of what to write, when it's two years from now?
There are only a handful of blogs I read with any regularity, and it's easy to pinpoint what keeps me coming back. (In fact, after I wrote that, I went and looked at all three of them, got a little distracted and now it's ten minutes later.) I want my blog to be one that you read. I want to inspire you and encourage you and show you neat stuff I've made. And have a written/visual history of my creative life. I want to let you in to my world a bit more, since I am constantly juggling my work life/family life/personal life. And you are too, right? So why not write about that the next time I'm sharing a recipe or a quotation that matters to me?
I'll post the forwarding address again when it's all official. Thank you for spending the last five years with me, and here's to continuing our conversation!
Jun 24, 2013
Open Studio Hours this Tuesday.
Visit me at the studio this Tuesday from 11am-2pm. Bring your lunch and we can get all caught up, or just pop in to say hello and see what's new.
2500 University Ave West, No. D6 in St. Paul
Open Studio Hours are the last Tuesday of every month. Hope to see you!
Jun 20, 2013
Wednesday Book Club (on Thursday).
I'm nearly finished with Feed, which I started because my daughter read it (or, more accurately, devoured it) for her Honors English 9 class. Once past the frequent use of the word "like" and all the swear words (not my thing), I'm devouring it too. I do like young adult lit; add a dystopian theme and I'm hooked. Plus I needed to break out of the box after the last book I read, Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. (It was bitter! and sweet!)
With only about 20 pages to go, I feel like I'm on the backside of a hill, careening towards a turbid pool of muck at the bottom. And yet, I also think that would be more satisfying than if the main character changed directions and redeemed himself (allowing me to land in a field of daisies instead). Muck is more thought-provoking. America, is this where you are really headed?
But since I haven't finished it yet, that's not a spoiler, right?
The Summer Reading Program has begun...get ready to send your book lists August 15-31. Happy reading!
Jun 18, 2013
Quote of the Month Club revisited.
One of my favorite things about sending out the Quote of the Month Club each month? Seeing all the cards lined up on my worktable....
Jun 14, 2013
Jun 12, 2013
New in the shop: printable PDFs!
Make your own greeting cards, print artwork for your walls, the sky's the limit with my new printable PDFs:
I have more quotes on the way, but if you have a favorite, let me know & I just may add it to the list.
Two more days to enter this week's giveaway!
Jun 10, 2013
Best of the "old" blog: a giveaway (and a plea for help).
Later this month I'll be saying goodbye to this blog address, and hello to my new site: ginasekelsky.com . Rich Inner Life will still be available for you to access the old content (at least for awhile), but I'd like to revisit the best posts on my new blog. Any suggestions?
I know I'll include the skirt, and the heart word cloud, and my book scrapbook, and lots of quotations. I'd love to know if there's a particular post that brought you here or inspired you to try something.
Leave a comment on this post by Thursday night, and on Friday morning I'll draw one winner, who'll receive their choice of any address stamp in my shop: any design, in self-inking or red rubber. Be sure to include your favorite (or most helpful) post from my blog in your comment. It can be a link, the title of the post, or just a description of what the post was about. You don't need to write an essay (unless you want to!), just remind me of some posts I may have forgotten about so I can bring those ideas over to the new blog.
Jun 05, 2013
Wednesday Book Club.
Gluten-Free Girl Every Day
Here is a book I checked out from the library and had to buy for myself almost instantly.
I picked it up at the library on Friday afternoon, woke up early on Saturday, and settled myself down on the parlor couch with a cup of tea and some scraps of paper to mark recipes I'd like to try. So many slips of paper tucked in to mark pages that it was silly not to have my very own copy.
I don't read Shauna's blog daily, I do more of a once-a-month check-in. Although her photography is gorgeous (and makes you want to cook right away), too many of her recipes won't work with the restricted diets in our house and I just don't always have the energy to adjust/modify/play. Also, her cooking philosophy is very spontaneous; I can admire that from afar, but I need (and enjoy) a meal philosophy that's plan-plan-plan.
And a note for anyone who doesn't need to/want to eat gluten-free: it really doesn't matter with this book. Many of the recipes are "naturally" gluten-free (that is, they don't contain gluten-substitutes), and the photography alone is worth a peek.
I love to read cookbooks. Have any on your nightstand (or kitchen counter)?
Jun 03, 2013
Summer Reading Program 2013.
When I was a kid, I always took part in the Summer Reading Program at our local library -- you know, read 20 books and earn a prize at the end of the summer. Over the weekend my daughter asked if it was time to sign up at the library yet, and the wheels started turning for this year's version of the Summer Reading Program for Grown-ups. Won't you join me?
The Details
Read any five books this summer and write a short paragraph review of each (a few sentences will do it). Your books can be fiction or non-fiction. (I even count cookbooks!)
The Deadline
Send me your list via email August 15-31st: gina {at} ginasekelsky {dot} com.
The Prize
Everyone who sends a book list (complete with mini-reviews) will receive 5 quotation bookmarks, handwritten by me. One prize per reader, please.
Stay tuned for updates throughout the summer (plus a sneak peek at what I'm reading).
Recent Comments