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It’s strange. A week ago I was having a huge amount of anxiety about the whole thing, but now that everything has been scheduled and there is a plan somewhat in place, I am just focused on recovering from whatever happens.

What were your first messages about trust?I was told that I shouldn't talk with or trust strangers. It was ok to trust people in my family and immediate community. Trust is very fragile and if I wanted freedom as a teenager, I needed to be trustworthy. What I wasn't told was what do I do if someone in my family or immediate community viloated trust. Then, who do I trust? "I can't talk to strangers," but they will always be strangers if I don't talk to them.Over the weekend, we talked about this very subject at my coaching conference. What was also amazing to me was the disussion about cultural discourse and trust. Aside from my parents, what messages did I receive about trust from my religion, my geographical location, from my community? I always thought that trust was universal. That either you trust someone or you don't or they trust you or they don't. I am finding that it just isn't that simple.There is more to the onion that the first layer.

A good friend of mine is getting married in August and I'm a bridesmaid. The bride-to-be suggested that we make some garlands out of fabric. We wanted to make something charming and very long (40 feet!), but we also wanted them to be easy and quick. I have always loved the "chains" that result from chain piecing and thought this method would make a great garland. I didn't think that regular cotton thread would be strong enough to support the weight of 40 feet of garland so I used invisible thread which is made out of super strong nylon and has always reminded me of fishing line. It's really hard to break, and as the name suggests, it's invisible.

Preparation for the bebe? Hmmm….perhaps. It could be the fact that I woke up with heartburn and a nagging pain in my back. I think I had a dream about bacon….which is what inspired me to get my butt out of bed and make us some breakfast.

I spent my time doing the usual house stuff like laundry, cleaning and some organizing, but after all of that I managed to paint a bit. I thought I would share some of the process with you all here in web land. The painting has been growing over the last week or so into what I like to think is so very close to being finished.

Personally, I haven't had much luck with thrift stores in 2008, and I'm not quite sure why. My mother-in-law, meanwhile, has found several great pieces at the thrift stores in her area, from Pyrex to Cathrineholm, all in nice condition. She also found the cute oversized wooden dominoes in the picture. Aren't they sweet?

Okie dokie, before embarking on any adventure contained herein, you must agree that neither KJ and/or The Dreamy Giraffe and/or anyone affiliated, related or associated with either of the aforementioned parties are responsible for any eyestrain you may experience due to embarking on any adventure contained herein.

I've known Jelene for awhile now and am a fan of her artwork and creations! Her work is always so colorful and so much fun to see! Please read the interview and check out her beautiful work!Your Shop Name: Jelene's Pop ShopShop Address: http://jelene.etsy.com/ Can you tell me a bit about yourself? What are your other interests besides creating super cute art?Besides art, I love going to the arts/crafts store weekly, looking at vintage comic books, watching my 7 goldfish, boating at Lake Murray, playing with my nephews and watching movies.What are your favourite materials to work with?

For now these are just experiments I've been working on. I don't know if I should try making some of these to sell in my etsy shop. There are some kinks I need to work out, but could books like these potentially be etsy worthy? Tell me what you think!

Copyright 2006-2007 Delight Networks. Powered by PHP Link Directory Skinned by Premium Web DirectoryAbout DelightfulBlogs | Site Map | Blogs A to ZVisit all the Delight sites:Delight.com :: One Stylish Deal for One Day We hope you enjoy discovering new blogs at Delightfulblogs.com. We've assembled a select group of blogs that have been chosen by our team of editors in a number of categories that we hope will help you find what you are looking for in a fast and easy format. There are now over 3,000 blogs in the database (thanks everyone!!!) including a lots of fashion blogs, shopping blogs, design blogs, blogs about family life, sports, food, travel and a wide range of other well written blogs.

Sieben Morgen means seven sunrises in german, the home of printmaker, Tinee Kleinschroth. And I'm loving her work that just came to my attention at Dawanda today. All her prints are hand-pulled, blending her own colors using fine artist oil colors and a transparent printing medium. There's a sincerity and uniqueness to her work which I'm sure you'll agree. She also keeps an inspiring blog, 7morgen.blogspot.com. Shop link: en.dawanda.com/shop/SiebenMorgen.

There's a new crop of decorators out there offering what is called e-decorating and I believe it may well be the next big thing in design. I took on some e-clients a few years ago, I met them through decor8 and offered them consulting (for a fee) via email and telephone. It was so much fun but quite time consuming so I decided to step back for a bit. I'm still trying to figure out if it is something that I would like to do again, I see so much value in it as I love the idea of being available to all -- not just greater Boston. I also completely 'get' that people have busy schedules and a limited budget and need to connect to someone for decorating help via the web - fast and easy. I think many would love to tap into the brains of some of our favorite decorators (or bloggers!) for their personal opinions about our space or for much more... help in pulling together a complete room simply through email. Someone to look at our photos, review our floor plan, make suggestions, send us a few mood boards to select from, and email lots of product links our way. Doesn't that sound heavenly? Home Refiner.Well this service exists and it's called e-decorating. Did you know that the Betsy Burnham offers a similar service called Instant Space (I've heard that it is amazing)? It is still out of reach for most when it comes to pricing, it's not something all can fit into their budget since prices range from $895-1,495 per room. Of course, hiring Burnham's firm to design in real time would cost way more than her through-the-mail decorating service, so it is a great way to save money if you look at it from that perspective. And c'mon. It's Betsy Burnham. I would hire her in a second just for the tips as I'm sure she could teach me a thing or two, or ten thousand.Then there are other amazing designers out there who are a lot more affordable like Vanessa De Vargas who runs the LA-based design firm Turquoise. You know Vanessa because she writes here on decor8 from time to time. She just launched an e-decorating service that is doing quite well. Everyone loves Vanessa. The girl is just contagious, from her personality to her style and ability to connect to 'real' people on budgets. I love that about her. She doesn't refer her clients to $700 lamps, if they want something from IKEA she'll find them a $30 pendant and because she knows how to pull a room together, that $30 light will rock like it's $700. Her rates range from $450-500 per room. Considering the time and energy it takes to do this work, she is keeping it real without losing money herself. I think her prices are quite good.I simply cannot mention e-decorating and not highlight the lovely Elfya Van Muylem, lead designer and founder of NYC-based Home Refiner. This lady is amazing on so many levels. I blogged about her diy videos back in February if the name sounds familiar. Above is a photo of a package she sent over that usually goes to her prospective virtual clients. I had a phone conversation with Elfya a few months ago and she was enthusiastic, professional, and extremely knowledgeable. I thought her presentation via mail was just great, and the package contained client worksheets and questions so she could better understand personal tastes and needs. I'm not exactly sure of her rates, but I heard she is within reach. And you know something that is totally unrelated but shows how classy Elfya is? Her website. You have to click here, turn up the sound, and listen to the gorgeous music. I've been listening the entire time of writing this post, I think you'll really like it. It shows me that she has layers to her personality, she's emotional, warm, connected, I like that. And her taste in music is great.So ladies and gents, what do you think about e-decorating? Is it something you'd consider? What would you call an 'affordable' per room fee? What do you expect as a client?(photography by holly becker)

But the buzz that we're most excited to hear is from the folks planning to use, or already using, Spoonflower for projects. As usual, I'm doing my best to keep up with the conversation here, but today I want to bring particular attention to a terrific design for kid's fabric being developed by Mamma Made. Cool, eh?

Not only have I lowered ALL my prices in my shop, Daydream Art Studios, this week, I am also offering you, dear blog reader, a coupon for free shipping in the US. Just enter coupon code: ES SHIP 01 in "message to seller" in checkout and wait for a revised invoice before paying. As always, every purchase earns a free surprise ooak gift, and all necklaces come in a drawstring canvas bag.

This was going to be just vector art printed, cut and pasted on to a painted board and then collaged with other elements but I got in photoshop and couldn't pull out until it was finished. Now I can't imagine it looking better if I did my plan A. Maybe I'll try it anyway.

cartoonist, illustrations and crap

Illuminating life's pathHolly over at the superb Decor8 blog had a reader who inquired about "...how to find your calling in the design world." Holly put it out to the blog readers to offer suggestions, which got my mind turning! I wanted to share my response here, as well... Here are my thoughts:Other than design, there isn't a subject I'm more passionate about than finding your "calling", "life's path", or "destiny". I've been fortunate enough to find mine, but it was a curvy road- not a straight path!At the risk of sounding WAY "out there" (I'm not, I promise!), I have to say: I'm someone who believes in connection. I think there's a reason for what happens in every single moment of every day. (I think there’s a reason you’re reading this right now.) I also think if you stripped down the diversions in your life, you would discover that every person was born with specific talents to contribute to the world. I feel these talents are what connect us together to create an interdependent society that can sustain itself. The problem with this potential for utopia seems to be the "distractions" we encounter along the way... What are the distractions that prevent us from finding our true calling? They are varied and numerous! Money is a huge distraction. It's a necessity, of course, but it can also be a destiny-blocker. I had a cushy corporate job, but I was using about 5% of my true talent and I was successfully "faking" the other 95%. After a few years of this, I hit the proverbial rock-bottom. There came a day when I said (out loud): "I would rather sell our house and everything I have than do this another day." I quit my job the next day and began designing full-time... I didn't have to sell off everything in the end- but I was willing. Are you there yet? Are you willing to sacrifice some things of comfort to do what you love? Will you put your life in a state of upheaval to fight for this dream? If you can answer "yes" to these, then you've already found your true calling. That dream that you'd fight for is your gift and your calling- do it!Another distraction on your road to "you" could be your parents and friends' thoughts about who you should be. Although other people's input can open your eyes to facets of yourself that you may never have considered, their input could also be leading you down THEIR path- not yours.If you take nothing else away from what I'm writing here, take this: Stop asking for permission to be who you are! Do not allow others to tell you that you can't do something or can't succeed. Also, do not allow yourSELF to tell you this, either!See, my big barrier was myself. I thought I had to go back to college to get a design degree to do what I loved. I was SO wrong. The truth is, if your dream is to be a decorator you don't need a degree or certification for this career. You do need innate talent and business skills... both of which came from my parents, not the university. If I would have waited for the university to tell me that I was an "official" decorator, I'd still be there now! (Don't confuse interior decorating with interior design, which does require a degree for certification.) Stop waiting for outside verification of your abilities and start refining them and sharing them now! Another way to remove the barriers to finding your path is to erase the outside influences for a while and be QUIET with yourself. Turn off the TV and computer for a week and sit. Your mind will eventually lead you to what you are most interested in when it is stripped of superficial guidance. Write down what you start thinking about or what you start doing during this time... you will be able to make the connections when you re-visit this journal later. This is a wonderful exercise to find your natural interests and talents!On the opposite end of the exercise above is the distraction of looking too hard. This one is easy. It's the same story you hear about people who are looking for their soulmate: The minute they stop trying so hard, it happens! If you are frustrating yourself in your quest for your destiny, you won't be in the right state of mind to see your little opportunities and "signs" along the way. Look for your calling, but don't obsess over it. Along those lines, don't dismiss the people and things you are experiencing before your big "life epiphany". Everyone you are coming in contact with now is a piece of your puzzle. I can't count how many people that were put in my path before my career change that were somehow a part of my success afterwards. Remember... a completed puzzle is made up of many tiny pieces. Your "pieces" are the moments you are living right NOW. Speaking of life's "moments"... I mentioned above that I never had to sell off things to sustain myself after I began designing full-time. How did I do that? I didn't plan it on a spreadsheet, create a sales forecast, or do a powerpoint. So why was I able to be successful on my own, without the corporate check?The answer is: I have no idea! What I DO know is that after I began practicing my true talents and sharing the gift of decorating with others through my business, my life took on an inertia that wasn't there before. I became opportunistic of every moment and recognized there were chances for success in each one. I treated each moment and each person as if they would make or break me. That's when the business grew FAST- like "magic". This is described by athletes as "flow" or "being in the zone". I believe it to be God's affirmation that you are doing what you were born to do. Doors will open for you, "coincidences" will occur frequently, opportunities will come your way, and authentic success is yours. Authentic success should always be your goal in finding your calling. This isn't necessarily monetary success. It's REAL satisfaction with your work, your contribution to others, and your "self". It makes you feel like the best version of who you are- right now, in THIS moment. You only have THIS moment, so authentic success is never absolute. There are other moments to come, and more ways to learn, grow and give along the way.That's the beauty of finding your life's path- it's a PATH, not a destination. The creation of yourself never ends, so get yourself on your path and begin enjoying the magic along the way! :) ---- <P> This is a cool blog that I discovered the other day. She has wonderful ideas!

Combine your photos, videos, audio and text to create stunning multimedia scrapbooks.1Grab your photos and videos from all of your favorite sites or upload them from your computer.2Create your multimedia scrapblog by mixing things up with a bunch of creative elements.3Share your creations with family and friends or post them directly to your favorite sites. --- I discovered this website today. Looks like fun to play with!

so you knew i helped out in my friends children's shop, right ?...well i do and last week we created what i think can be called the best window display we have ever done..and its to celebrate 3 years since the shop threw open its doors.. so we decided on a storybook theme and got some vintage kids books and gently stuck them all over the walls and floor,(we will be re-using these in other projects soon) we then stacked books and used them to display products from the shop..and we strung up a washing line to display some clothes....and viola..the best window display ever in the world ever..or so we think...makes me want to cover a wall in my house with old books...what do you think ?