Tag Archives: inspiration

Introducing: Stick Girl JAM on Etsy!

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Remember when I asked you to Write this Down and answer hard questions like what brings you joy and happiness?  This has been on my mind a lot in the past year.  I had some goals like starting a blog – check.  Getting a dog – check.  Exercising regularly – check.  Crafting more – check.  Opening an Etsy shop – whoa, whoa, whoa.  That’s a little scary.  And it was. Until I just sat down one day and did it.  So now I’m happy to say it’s checked off the list and I can proudly introduce Stick Girl JAM on Etsy!  I have some sweet stuff (see what I did there?  That’s cute, right?!) and would be so thrilled if you head on over to Etsy, check out my shop and let me know what you think. I imagine that I’ll keep moving from one craft to the next and updating the shop as I go – I always tend to overdue it, get obsessed with something, make more than necessary and then have nothing to do with them so Etsy has been a perfect place to put this energy. 

I’ve been plugging along, filling orders and have found that I just adore working with Etsy shoppers – so nice, so fun, so inpsiring!  My first order shipped to a lovely lady in Singapore, no less!  (Hey, when they talk about diving in head first, it’s always in the deep end, right?)  I thought to myself, we’ll give this a go, try it out, ease my way into it…and then my first order is international?!  Just goes to show you that you shouldn’t put limitations on yourself due to fear.  What’s the worst that could happen?  In my case: you end up at the post office three times in one day.  Hey, I can tell you, not as bad as you’d think! Ha!

Go big.
Jump in.
Dive deep.
Give it your all. 
Do it.

What do you have going on in your life that you need to get to, try more, pursue harder, or celebrate?  Please share!

Inspired by: street art

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While doing some of my internet perusing (gotta stay fresh – I’m known in certain circles for my internet prowess!), I came across this post about popular street art from 2011 (okay, yeah, not so fresh). But wow! Full of impressive and extremely creative transformations (albeit, there are definitely some super creepy ones in there too – like zombie people rising up from puddles in the street…gross), this collection from Street Art Utopia is sure to inspire and delight. Wouldn’t you just love to happen upon some of this on a walk through your neighborhood this weekend?!

I adore that crochet tree and would love to be reading a book underneath it right now (Hunger Games, anyone?!), I need one of those clothespin statues somewhere in my life, the pacman is super cute and clever, and that electrical box made to look like an apartment building reminded me of the scene from Men In Black where we discover our world is kept inside a locker.  Click here to see more of these fantastic photos (creepy ones included), and if you click through to learn more about any of them, you’ll stumble onto other sites that you can get lost in for hours [true story].

Doesn’t all that awesomeness just make you want to go out and find something ugly so you can pretty it up? Good, then it’s not just me. Go forth and make something pretty today, my friends!

Write this down

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It’s February already, my gosh, and by all accounts most people have given up on New Year’s resolutions and are surprised to see themselves swirled away by the busyness of 2012.  It’s a good thing to be busy, to be swept away, so caught up in doing things that we feel time has flown by.  But not noticing time has flown by also usually means that we’ve lost track of what is most important in our lives, so I’d say it’s also a great thing to make time for yourself and to commit to plans that get you to accomplishing the goals you have.  No one sets about making resolutions at the beginning of the year because they don’t want those things for themselves – they do want them! – it’s just that we are all guilty of getting caught up in the day-to-day ongoings of our lives that we sometimes neglect the big stuff for which we had the highest intentions and hopes. 

So, month two of 2012: Hi. Let’s get back on track with what we want for ourselves this year.  Here’s a quick little exercise to get your brain back in the mood:

My definition of happiness is _________________________. 

A checklist for achieving this happiness will include:
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________

I will encourage myself with confidence, bravery, recognition, and rewards by ______________________ when I ___________________________.

In my daily pursuit of happiness/health/success/wealth/love, I will commit to ________________________.

Maybe we also need to talk about what we’re not going to do?  Sometimes it’s positive to be negative.  Here’s some inspiration:

I will not sit back and “wait to see what happens.”
I will not put a to do list together without crossing at least one thing off of it, even if that one thing is “make a to do list.”
My happiness doesn’t look like anyone else’s so I refuse to rely on others to bring me success and happiness.

If you followed through on everything above to manifest happiness in your life would you be better for it?  The answer to that is probably a resounding yes.  It might even be a “hell, yeah!” or “you betcha” if that’s more your style.

People often say it’s the simple things in life that mean the most. Very simply, what means the most to you?  What brings you joy?  Find ways to concentrate on that joy and work towards increasing it every day. 

Wishing you happiness today and every day.

Pinterested?

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Are you on Pinterest yet? I keep pestering everyone I know about Pinterest because I’m really quite obsessed and it’s been taking up a lot of my free time. Free time which I don’t really have, and actually my perusing on Pinterest is just giving me more brilliant crafty ideas to take up the rest of the free time I don’t have.

It would have been incredible to have this handy tool while planning my wedding, but now I’m putting it to good use to help Dr. Merrett pick details for hers, and for me with her bridal shower.  I’ve got inspiration boards to visualize ideas for party themes and decor, home decorating, craft projects, recipes, and more!  It really does help us see what we are creatively and passionately drawn to in our lives.  What’s your favorite board on Pinterest about? 

You can follow me on Pinterest here and be sure to let me know how to follow you if you’re on Pinterest too!