Pssst!!! Spring is here, and that means it's Spring cleaning time! So head over to my ArtFire Shop to check out my latest creations and catch 35% off select items in the sale section of my store!
Happy Spring!
Showing posts with label ArtFire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ArtFire. Show all posts
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Nostalgia and the Imagination
When I was a kid, I loved going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They were the epitome of perfect grandparents. My Grandma always scratched and rubbed my back before bed, and Grandpa and I used to walk down to the park and play on the playground. Then we'd always sneak to the 7-11 for ice cream before dinner. Try as she might, Mom could never stay mad at Grandpa for spoiling us so. My grandparents had a limited number of toys, though they were well built and had seen many a years of kids hands. My favorite toy of all was a little painted wood dog that you pulled behind you, and his little rubber feet would flop around and around on wheels making a slapping sounds against the concrete while his little spring tail with a red wood knob on the end bounced merrily. I played with that dog everytime I went to see Grandma and Grandpa, walking back and forth underneath thier porch pretending he was my very own dog and we were out for a stroll.
Memories like this are precious, like gold. Whenever life gets too much, I look back on those fond memories and remember what it was like not to have to worry about bills or getting gas in the car, or whose turn it was to vaccuum. When I saw this adorable little Turtle Push Toy by berkshirebowls, I was immediately taken back to my childhood days at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and I thought to myself, "I want my children and grandchildren to have memories like that."
Though seemingly simple and archaic, this toy offers something that modern technology and the digital age cannot: imagination. Growing up, that's what we lived on. Our bicycles were horses, our Barbies real people that WE made the voices to, and our stuff animals and our inanimate creatures went on great adventures! And, most importantly to me, Scruffy was my puppy and we would go on great walks through the mountains and to the park. He made me happy. The seemingly lifeless creature was full of life, and was loved.
Many people sneer at these simple toys, calling them barbaric and claiming they won't teach their child or grandchild anything. But those of us who had "simple" toys know better. We know that a "simple" toy can supply days, weeks, years of entertainment and fun. The greatest thing these toy teach us is the power of the imagination. For without imagination, life loses it's magical quality and becomes too analytical, too robotic.
So open your mind, and as the door creaks open, reminding you of all the possibilities your mind could unravel in an instant, think of how inspiring that could be to a child.
"Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun." ~George Scialabba
Memories like this are precious, like gold. Whenever life gets too much, I look back on those fond memories and remember what it was like not to have to worry about bills or getting gas in the car, or whose turn it was to vaccuum. When I saw this adorable little Turtle Push Toy by berkshirebowls, I was immediately taken back to my childhood days at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and I thought to myself, "I want my children and grandchildren to have memories like that."
Though seemingly simple and archaic, this toy offers something that modern technology and the digital age cannot: imagination. Growing up, that's what we lived on. Our bicycles were horses, our Barbies real people that WE made the voices to, and our stuff animals and our inanimate creatures went on great adventures! And, most importantly to me, Scruffy was my puppy and we would go on great walks through the mountains and to the park. He made me happy. The seemingly lifeless creature was full of life, and was loved.
Many people sneer at these simple toys, calling them barbaric and claiming they won't teach their child or grandchild anything. But those of us who had "simple" toys know better. We know that a "simple" toy can supply days, weeks, years of entertainment and fun. The greatest thing these toy teach us is the power of the imagination. For without imagination, life loses it's magical quality and becomes too analytical, too robotic.
So open your mind, and as the door creaks open, reminding you of all the possibilities your mind could unravel in an instant, think of how inspiring that could be to a child.
"Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun." ~George Scialabba
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday...again
Another month is flying by quickly, and our wedding date is literally right around the corner. I have to say I'm pretty excited. Especially when we still have enough free time to work in the yard. This past weekend alone, AJ and laid sod in the backyard, which took two days of tilling, shoveling, raking, smoothing, watering, laying, smoothing, watering again, and smoothing again. Plus, we started edging the walkway to lay down some nice tan brick stones to accent the red brick walkway. Add to that the fact that I worked twelve hour night shifts all weekend and that sense of accomplishment is pretty high. However, the lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me...so forgive any run on sentences or misspellings (thank goodness for spellcheck...I've already had three. :^)
Anyhoot (purposefully misspell :^), I must toot my own horn for a minute, so bear with me here. So amid all this work, I have my second "job," which is my handmade card and paper goods store on ArtFire (foreversmemories.artfire.com). Last month, I kinda let my shop slide because I was too busy to craft anything new. Well, I decided I missed all my AF friends, so I made a few items to post and started getting busy there again in the forums and the guilds, and I was so happy to be back interacting and following them again. They are all such nice people, and AF is such a great community! (Ok, seriously, I'm done...maybe lol). But anywho, I made some new collections, and one of them was selected as the daily email!!! Which is like a big deal over there, so just pretend to be astonished and excited ok? :^) This is my second daily email selection in about 4 months, so I figure I have to doing something right, right?
So now what I'm curious about is how they select these daily emails...Is it a clever title? (my most recent being named "The Eclectic Librarian") Or a certain feel to the collection? Or how many views/comments/ratings it gets within a certain time frame?
Yes these are the crazy wanderings of my mind...I taking something wonderful and think: "How does this happen to little old me? I don't deserve this! I just like putting pretty items together that I really wish I could buy, but will collect instead just in case I happen to get permission to use a rich man's black credit card..." hehehe (ok, seriously? I think the sleep deprivation is starting to show...)
Ok, well, now that I've gotten this out of my system, AJ is awake and getting ready to leave for work, so I'm going to spend the precious few early morning minutes with him. I love him so much...
~ Jen
Anyhoot (purposefully misspell :^), I must toot my own horn for a minute, so bear with me here. So amid all this work, I have my second "job," which is my handmade card and paper goods store on ArtFire (foreversmemories.artfire.com). Last month, I kinda let my shop slide because I was too busy to craft anything new. Well, I decided I missed all my AF friends, so I made a few items to post and started getting busy there again in the forums and the guilds, and I was so happy to be back interacting and following them again. They are all such nice people, and AF is such a great community! (Ok, seriously, I'm done...maybe lol). But anywho, I made some new collections, and one of them was selected as the daily email!!! Which is like a big deal over there, so just pretend to be astonished and excited ok? :^) This is my second daily email selection in about 4 months, so I figure I have to doing something right, right?
So now what I'm curious about is how they select these daily emails...Is it a clever title? (my most recent being named "The Eclectic Librarian") Or a certain feel to the collection? Or how many views/comments/ratings it gets within a certain time frame?
Yes these are the crazy wanderings of my mind...I taking something wonderful and think: "How does this happen to little old me? I don't deserve this! I just like putting pretty items together that I really wish I could buy, but will collect instead just in case I happen to get permission to use a rich man's black credit card..." hehehe (ok, seriously? I think the sleep deprivation is starting to show...)
Ok, well, now that I've gotten this out of my system, AJ is awake and getting ready to leave for work, so I'm going to spend the precious few early morning minutes with him. I love him so much...
~ Jen
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
You might be a writer if...
So I just saw a link to an article that said "You might be a writer if..." Ok? So now there are stipulations you have to meet to be a writer? Doesn't seem fair to me.
In my opinion, everyone's a writer. Only you might not write. Some people can give the most eloquent speeches without having a think wrote down, yet I count them as writers. Some people can create poems on a whim and recite them to their friends and loved ones, yet never write them down. And some people write things down, and sometimes those things are not legible, or make no sense, but they are still writing.
Every single person has their own unique style and voice when writing, so who gets the right to determine who would make a writer?
No one, you say? Yeah, that's why I thought.
Needless to say, it really makes me grit my teeth when I see things like this. While I will admit, some writers are able to have their works published, while others will be unseen, but does this make those who are published better than those that are unseen? I think not.
I guess my point is, the next time you see something that boasts: "How to know if you're a ______" or "You might be a __________ IF," I'd suggest ignoring it and just go for it! What's the worst that can happen? You find out you don't like it, or you don't have time for all that's invovled in it. What's the best thing that can happen? Your taking a chance and doing what makes you happy ends up becoming your career or your life long hobby.
As they say, "Be You."
~Jen
In my opinion, everyone's a writer. Only you might not write. Some people can give the most eloquent speeches without having a think wrote down, yet I count them as writers. Some people can create poems on a whim and recite them to their friends and loved ones, yet never write them down. And some people write things down, and sometimes those things are not legible, or make no sense, but they are still writing.
Every single person has their own unique style and voice when writing, so who gets the right to determine who would make a writer?
No one, you say? Yeah, that's why I thought.
Needless to say, it really makes me grit my teeth when I see things like this. While I will admit, some writers are able to have their works published, while others will be unseen, but does this make those who are published better than those that are unseen? I think not.
I guess my point is, the next time you see something that boasts: "How to know if you're a ______" or "You might be a __________ IF," I'd suggest ignoring it and just go for it! What's the worst that can happen? You find out you don't like it, or you don't have time for all that's invovled in it. What's the best thing that can happen? Your taking a chance and doing what makes you happy ends up becoming your career or your life long hobby.
As they say, "Be You."
~Jen
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Beginning
Ok, so this blogging thing is very new to me, so go easy on me. I've read a bit about it and the general advice is that you have to be funny, catching, and prepared for the inevitable downers that rain on your parade. While that's all great advice, I've decided to treat this like a diary, only one I wouldn't mind my little sister finding and reading.
That being said, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Jennifer; I'm a 27 yoa female who lives in the Energy Capital of the Nation. Whilst you are "Googling" where that may be, let me warn you, it's not what it proclaims to be. Simply a modest town of around 40,000 people and a lack of good restaurants. I suppose when the bulk of the population has a career in coal, oil, or natural gas, food service is not the end all to careers. However, Smiling Moose and Old Chicago have finally decided to move in, and the whole city is abuzz with excitement. What can I say? We're easy to please.
I can say this: the crime rate in my city is extremely low. Now excuse me while I knock on some wood...but we haven't had a murder in over ten years, and violent crimes are rare. Most of our crime is petty crimes (larceny (google our infamous "Gnome kidnappings"), thefts from auto, and some vandalism here and there). Overall, my city is pretty safe. And I attribute much of that to the police force. Their policies focus more on preventing and preparing for crime, rather than reacting to it. But that's a whole new blog.
Anywho, moving on...so currently I live with my wonderful fiance, AJ. We're going to get married June 2nd of this year (yay!) and I must say that he's is everything I've ever wanted and needed in a husband. They say everyone has that person in the world that makes them feel whole, makes life seem better and easier, and makes you look back and go, "Um, do you remember our last argument? Cuz I don't." Well, that's my AJ. Join him with our two German shephards, Abby (7) and Molly (2), and our cute, cuddly, and ever so abnoxious cat, Figaro, and that completes our little family. But don't worry, there will be more to come later. I'm thinking roughly a year from now we'll have a snuggly bundle of joy added to the mix. Hopefully by then, we'll be in a new house.
"Why move?" You ask. "You have a great home, much better than what some have. Why give that up and buy something more expensive." Two reasons: Neighbor lady and space. My neighbor is very abnoxious. When I moved in, she took an automatic "I'm not talking to you" policy and has stuck with it for over 4 years. Everytime I tried to talk with her, she blatanly ignored me. Even better was when her little yappy dog decided to dig a hole in the fence and come play with my dogs. I caught her dog and knocked on her door. She proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs and stare at me. I literally had to hold the dog up to the window to get her to answer. And what did she say, "Thanks" and slammed the door. Right...and I suppose that's the reason you sent your 2yoa daughter out with "treats" that she fed them through the slats in the fence and that made my dogs sick within 20 minutes of eating them? Thanks indeed! Next time, I'll just call Animal Control to collect your dog. You can pay the fee to get him out.
Then there was the time she tried to get AJ fired (or at least in trouble) with his work. We have enough space on the street between our two driveways for a large truck to park, and when AJ would come over for lunch, before he moved in with me, he would park there. It's a public street, you don't own the street in front of your house, the city does. So she decided to call his boss and complain that he was blocking her driveway. Now I'm very strict about the law, and have high moral, and I'd never allow that to happen. So his boss came to him and asked him about it, and told him the lady that called wanted him wrote up, but he didn't feel that was necessary. So thank goodness his boss stuck up for him. I ended up talking to a police officer and having him call her and explain the parking ordinances in Gillette and to next time call the police department instead of AJ's work. Needless to say, she hasn't called about that again...but she did call that next summer about "garbage" in my backyard. Gee, I didn't know a stack of lumber to redo our deck (which we did in the afternoon hours mind you) and dog toys were considered garbage. That was last year; and guess what they decided to do this spring? They decided to redo their deck too!! And now their yard is full of "garbage" too...huh...
But anyhow, I'm way off topic now. I can't deny though, that this is a primary reason why we want to move and have a house on a lot all our own. However, there are other reasons. One of which is space. We've been needing more space for awhile now, mostly because I've been really working on developing my business, Forever's Memories. I create handmade cards, tags, invitations, and sell digital photography (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/foreversmemories if you are interested in seeing my work). I've already overtaken one bedroom and part of the living room with my craft supplies and work space. Needless to say, my bedrooms are not very big, otherwise this wouldn't be a problem. So, my next house will have either a large bedroom I'll convert to an "office" or will have an office built in. I'm looking forward to having enough space to let my creativity flow.
Speaking of letting my creativity flow, I should go craft some cards. I have two custom orders to finish and I need to replish my stock. I've decided that tonight, I'm going to ignore the looming stack of wedding to dos, and nourish my soul with a little creativity. It will wonderful. I will post my creations this weekend, so you'll have something to look forward to.
Well, thank you for sticking around and entertaining my ramblings for a bit. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? But I hope it's good!
Jen
That being said, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Jennifer; I'm a 27 yoa female who lives in the Energy Capital of the Nation. Whilst you are "Googling" where that may be, let me warn you, it's not what it proclaims to be. Simply a modest town of around 40,000 people and a lack of good restaurants. I suppose when the bulk of the population has a career in coal, oil, or natural gas, food service is not the end all to careers. However, Smiling Moose and Old Chicago have finally decided to move in, and the whole city is abuzz with excitement. What can I say? We're easy to please.
I can say this: the crime rate in my city is extremely low. Now excuse me while I knock on some wood...but we haven't had a murder in over ten years, and violent crimes are rare. Most of our crime is petty crimes (larceny (google our infamous "Gnome kidnappings"), thefts from auto, and some vandalism here and there). Overall, my city is pretty safe. And I attribute much of that to the police force. Their policies focus more on preventing and preparing for crime, rather than reacting to it. But that's a whole new blog.
Anywho, moving on...so currently I live with my wonderful fiance, AJ. We're going to get married June 2nd of this year (yay!) and I must say that he's is everything I've ever wanted and needed in a husband. They say everyone has that person in the world that makes them feel whole, makes life seem better and easier, and makes you look back and go, "Um, do you remember our last argument? Cuz I don't." Well, that's my AJ. Join him with our two German shephards, Abby (7) and Molly (2), and our cute, cuddly, and ever so abnoxious cat, Figaro, and that completes our little family. But don't worry, there will be more to come later. I'm thinking roughly a year from now we'll have a snuggly bundle of joy added to the mix. Hopefully by then, we'll be in a new house.
"Why move?" You ask. "You have a great home, much better than what some have. Why give that up and buy something more expensive." Two reasons: Neighbor lady and space. My neighbor is very abnoxious. When I moved in, she took an automatic "I'm not talking to you" policy and has stuck with it for over 4 years. Everytime I tried to talk with her, she blatanly ignored me. Even better was when her little yappy dog decided to dig a hole in the fence and come play with my dogs. I caught her dog and knocked on her door. She proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs and stare at me. I literally had to hold the dog up to the window to get her to answer. And what did she say, "Thanks" and slammed the door. Right...and I suppose that's the reason you sent your 2yoa daughter out with "treats" that she fed them through the slats in the fence and that made my dogs sick within 20 minutes of eating them? Thanks indeed! Next time, I'll just call Animal Control to collect your dog. You can pay the fee to get him out.
Then there was the time she tried to get AJ fired (or at least in trouble) with his work. We have enough space on the street between our two driveways for a large truck to park, and when AJ would come over for lunch, before he moved in with me, he would park there. It's a public street, you don't own the street in front of your house, the city does. So she decided to call his boss and complain that he was blocking her driveway. Now I'm very strict about the law, and have high moral, and I'd never allow that to happen. So his boss came to him and asked him about it, and told him the lady that called wanted him wrote up, but he didn't feel that was necessary. So thank goodness his boss stuck up for him. I ended up talking to a police officer and having him call her and explain the parking ordinances in Gillette and to next time call the police department instead of AJ's work. Needless to say, she hasn't called about that again...but she did call that next summer about "garbage" in my backyard. Gee, I didn't know a stack of lumber to redo our deck (which we did in the afternoon hours mind you) and dog toys were considered garbage. That was last year; and guess what they decided to do this spring? They decided to redo their deck too!! And now their yard is full of "garbage" too...huh...
But anyhow, I'm way off topic now. I can't deny though, that this is a primary reason why we want to move and have a house on a lot all our own. However, there are other reasons. One of which is space. We've been needing more space for awhile now, mostly because I've been really working on developing my business, Forever's Memories. I create handmade cards, tags, invitations, and sell digital photography (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/foreversmemories if you are interested in seeing my work). I've already overtaken one bedroom and part of the living room with my craft supplies and work space. Needless to say, my bedrooms are not very big, otherwise this wouldn't be a problem. So, my next house will have either a large bedroom I'll convert to an "office" or will have an office built in. I'm looking forward to having enough space to let my creativity flow.
Speaking of letting my creativity flow, I should go craft some cards. I have two custom orders to finish and I need to replish my stock. I've decided that tonight, I'm going to ignore the looming stack of wedding to dos, and nourish my soul with a little creativity. It will wonderful. I will post my creations this weekend, so you'll have something to look forward to.
Well, thank you for sticking around and entertaining my ramblings for a bit. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? But I hope it's good!
Jen
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