Lettergirl

Wednesday Book Club.

"It's not about ideas, it's about making ideas happen." 

While my shop is closed next month, I'm hoping to get the ball rolling on launching a new product and developing a new way of sharing my textile projects with a bigger audience (which is to say, bigger than my daughter and me, as we're the only ones who get to wear them so far).  Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky assumes you have the ideas already (I do!) and just need the right nudge to execute them.  Although it may sound a little dry, it's actually quite inspiring:  concrete ways to change the way you work, especially for creatives.  I am fairly left-brain driven for an artsy girl, always trying to work smarter, more efficiently.  Frankly, I love to prioritize.  But my real goal is to manage my time so that I have more time to create. 

Have you read any helpful business books lately? 

Obi.

When I dressed Purnah for my open house last fall, she looked like she wanted a little something more.  So I started pinning scraps of red fabric on her, vaguely inspired by a Japanese obi (literally, sash). 

All the fabric pieces are leftovers from my mentor-protege experience in 2011-2012.  Many are hand-dyed, one is painted with dye, and another is screenprinted. 

This weekend I finally took the scraps and ironed them onto some reasonably stiff interfacing.  Then I machine-sewed the edges, adding scraps of knit for the ties. 

Now the sash is sitting in my sewing basket, which I keep near the couch for family movies (about the only time I sit still).  Two episodes of Downton = detail quilting on my obi.  Can't wait till it's washed and all roughed up.

Quotation Friday.

In order to do a little more of what I really love, my etsy shop will be closed February 4th-18th.  I'll spend the first week cleaning up the shop: discontinuing some tired designs and getting ready to introduce some new ones; and the second week playing as much as I can:  making, seeing, reading. 

Wednesday Book Club.

Since it's January, and I'm all devoted to restoration-inspiration-investigation, I've got a lot of art/business books on my nightstand.  I checked this one out of the library nine weeks ago and finally got around to paging through it yesterday.  Lots of eye candy (photos of studios in Brooklyn, Stockholm and Tokyo), and interesting (if light) interviews with the artists.

Lucky me.

Lucky me:  the apples don't fall far from the tree around here.  Last week I shared my homemade gift for Juliet; this week is her homemade gift to me. 

Apparently she noticed that I would sit down most Sundays to plan our meals for the week.  And apparently she heard the voice in my head saying, "I wish I had a special notebook just for planning the menu!"

The notebook has three sections:  the first has every single day of 2013 written out for me with a blank area for writing my dinner plans.  The second section is for grocery lists--which comes in handy since I shop at six different stores over the course of every month or two.   (Have I ever mentioned how many restricted diets I take into account when planning our meals?)

The last section is for miscellaneous notes, like recipes to try.  Last year I instituted "Taco Tuesday" where we ate a Mexican-inspired dish on Tuesday (which devolved into taco salad every other Tuesday over the summer).  This year the kids voted for International Night.  When I suggested that anyone eating the international meal would be required to present a fact about that country, they didn't even turn me down (although they did ask for a heads up).

So my girl has a lot of creativity in her.  On some level I might have hoped her passion would be more lucrative (as Tina Fey says, "Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance").  But could my heart have been any more full when I woke up to homemade gifts on Christmas morning?

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Getting organized with Circa notebooks.

Holiday wrap-up, part two: messenger bag.

Getting organized with Circa notebooks.

Yes, I know it's already ten days into the new year.  I'm deep in production mode for post-holiday stamp orders and the first Quote of the Month is already in the mail, but my left brain has really been clamoring for attention:  plan, organize, get my mental house in order so I have the freedom to be creative.  Welcome to my new organizing obsession:  the Circa notebook.

Circa notebooks have these sturdy little disks that allow you to customize the guts of each notebook.  And how I love to customize.

For about a year and a half now, I've been doing a brain purge at the start of each month (or, ideally, near the end of the previous month).  I write down every little thing I can think of that I need or want to accomplish during the month.  I'd been using random spiral notebooks for this task until I discovered the Circa.  Now I have my very own blank sheet of paper alongside a page that lets me sort out everything into manageable tasks.

This way I also have a sense of the big picture.  When I start categorizing all those to-dos, I can shift what's needed to another month (because I have another blank sheet of paper for the next month all ready to go...yay!).  

Between the monthly summaries I've made a two-page spread for each week:

I've actually only made the first three months of the year so far, as I know I'll want to make a few adjustments.  I'm also trying to encourage myself to record my business mileage as it happens, not days (or weeks, or months) later.  If it makes me happy, I'll use it, right?

I've also got sections in the back of this notebook for big picture planning (the whole dang year) and miscellaneous notes.

And, because I had so much fun putting this notebook together, I made a couple more.  One for the notes I'm always gathering at Magic Wand Collective events, and one for new product ideas (trust me, I need a whole notebook for that).  

If you like this notebook and you haven't subscribed to my newsletter yet, better get on it.  There'll be a related free treat in the next issue!  

And the winner is...

I can't help myself.  I picked two winners:

Chel:

I would like to know more about your day-to-day creative life. What does your work day look like? How do you use your creative time? Do you have any tips for those of us looking to really get serious about the creative process in 2013? I am SUPER interested in people's day-to-day schedules, for some reason.

Chel, I've been thinking the same thing:  a few posts about the nitty gritty of my day-to-day; I jotted a note in December to post about the "tools of my trade," and anything about creative focus would be good for me too!

Linda:

There are so many reasons why I would love to receive your gifting this month! I love the art you create and appreciate the words of wisdom you showcase!

Should you update your copyright?!  (Thank you for that!  Please send me your mailing address:  lettergirl66 at gmail dot com)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. It's reassuring to know that mixing it up works for you:  some quotes, some projects, the process/the results, some recipes.  That's the way I roll, and I'm so grateful you take the time to hear what I have to say.  Here's hoping 2013 will be inspiring for all of us.

Holiday wrap-up, part two: messenger bag.

We have a lovely habit in our family of making gifts for each other at Christmas.  With the move to high school, I'd been wanting to make a messenger bag for Juliet.  I handlettered some of her favorite quotes, added doodles, and had the fabric printed at Spoonflower.  I was a little nervous about sewing it up (it was pretty much a one-shot deal), but it flew together in one afternoon (and, yes, that one afternoon was December 23rd). 

I tucked some fabric markers in one of the inside pockets, and she got right to it on the heart.

On my list for February:  figure out how to get these kits in the shop!

Meanwhile, giveaway entries will close tonight.  I am loving your comments!

First giveaway of 2013!

I do love the start of a new year (or the start of summer vacation, or the start of a school year, for that matter).  I've got a list of topics for my "business retreats" this month:  subjects I want to dwell on and brainstorm about.  Near the top of my list is thinking about my online presence:  is this blog enough or should I also have a website?  what changes do I need to make to the blog (updating my photos, for one) and what should I post about more often?  I love keeping a blog, but it would be fuel for my fire to know why you read it. 

Today's giveaway:  A one-year subscription to my 2013 Quote of the Month Club:  A Year of Gratitude.

Comment on this post with anything you'd like me to know about my own blog:  why you read it, what you wish there was more of (or less of!), what first brought you here or why you keep coming back, really anything that could be food for thought when I sit down to think over this blog & the year ahead.  Enter by midnight on Monday, January 7th, and I'll announce the winner here on Tuesday morning.  Good luck!

Holiday wrap-up, part one.

New Year's Day for me:  reading in bed, snuggling while reading aloud, card games, sneaking out with the boy for a late lunch, more reading aloud, board games, a family movie.  None of my typical reflection or planning, just a full day of being present.  The rest of the week I'll take time to look ahead; but for now, here are a few of my favorite projects from the holiday season (part one):