An Hour at Michaels... Priceless

Today the family and I stopped at Michaels, just to browse.  Of course I know I'm only kidding myself when I say that I just want to browse.  My browsing took me all over the store and an hour later... and almost $100 later (I don't know how it ended up being that price...lol) I've got some new ideas to give a try.

Of course I thought I'd do my Ring A Day... which turned out to be one.  I'm terrible at doing anything for any amount of time.  It's like I've got ADD... there are just so many things to do - and my mind bounces around like it's a ball in a pin ball machine.  All - Over - The - Map.  I'm just hoping with my new little purchases ... I'll be able to do a bit more focusing on my clay and start to get back into it.  I've not done any clay work in month...and quite honestly I'm missing it!

I picked up some frames for my clay, so you can hang a few
around the neck, a bird cage, 2 bird houses, some rings, pinheads,
bead / pearling rods some clay and black embossing powerder.

The start to my little polymer clay terrerium

It was quite a a bit of an eye opener when I did get my bill.  I didn't realize what I'd bought would come to that amount... I also picked up some Valentine's Day bits and bobs... so really, I guess it wasn't so bad.

I think my first project will be my little terrerium.  I picked up 2 bowls like this... of course they may get a little dusty because there is no lid, but I couldn't find anything that was enclosed and small - either they were larger flatter bowls, larger more rounded bowls (all of which would be very awesome), but I'm just wanting to do a few mushrooms, toadstools, little home, trees and grass maybe.  I'll draw out some ideas - just to be sure that I don't end up forgetting something... or maybe I'll just go for it and let the creativity go where it wants to.

Hunting down a Domain Name

For the past couple of days I've been on a search to find a domain name for me to put up a website and add my little crafts.  Am I having any luck?  No.  Not so far.  I've tried:

• LovelyLittleCreations.com
• Anything that has to do with the word "Clay"
• I've even tried some with "Raven" in it because I like Ravens... and then added "Clay"
• Anything "Clay" with the words "Cottage, Studio"
• "Doodle Bug", "Doodle Bug Studio" was taken

It's been frustrating to say the least.  Then I went to Etsy to see what other lovely clay artists have done... and it's been mostly their name and clay beads, or some cute concoction of their names/beads/studios/etc.

I'm frustrated... can you tell?

Maybe I'm over thinking it a bit, but I would like something short-ish in a name, no dashes in the domain name and something cute I can put on my cards when I'm selling my bits and bobs.  I really do feel like I'm overthinking.... and I think my mind went to the birds when Lovely Little Creations was taken.  GAH!  So it's like starting all over again and then I'm in a bit of a panic... do I now start another blog.... keep this blog for the stuff I'm doing... am I going to lose it all and close shop before I even try opening one.  SIGH!!!!

Well, I'm not going to give up... I'm just going to have to put my thinking cap back on and come up with something that I like.

Of Mice and Men

Loads of mice... but not a man in sight

I spent some time back in February making some little clay mice... it was mostly to create one that my daughter could give to her friend at school... out of the three little mice she took the middle one.  The big mouse as a decidedly sparklie nose which I thought added that special charm to him... and now the mice are sitting at my computer desk looking up at me.

Cruising by way of The Mini Food Blog I found the website I found the link to TinyHands (her site is quite awesome). Who in turn has some really fabulous work and a new website... and because I have a love/hate relationship with my past job experience as a graphic designer I almost had a heart attack when I clicked on the link to a WordPress theme designed for selling jewelery and well... anything charm-wise...basically what we do here at Lovely and can use it on this theme.  Oh My God... seriously I'm getting giddy just thinking about the possibility of having my own little shop on the web. Check out the really awesome looking WordPress theme for a Jewelery Shop... here.

I have to say I've been rather lazy with my clay work, jewelery work, or basically anything crafty for the past couple of weeks.  I'm not sure if it's a case of "I have too much on my plate at the moment... excuse me..." or if I'm just generally procrastinating, realizing that my workspace that is the kitchen table just isn't really cutting it.  It got me thinking today to go hunt down a cheap second hand table (or just cheap table) for me to setup my clay stuff and well all my craft stuff I've got wedged in my kitchen cupboard and feel like I have a place of my own to create.

See... start a website, sell my stuff, get a table... it's swirling around and I feel almost paralized to do anything.  Ask me why... I really don't know... maybe it's the roadblocks I place in front of myself that I never get anything accomplished.  Maybe it's time to change that and get excited about making a change, making cute charms, beads, jewelery, stuff.... just get something going that I love to do.

Good times :)

A creative wobble

I must have one of those wobbles every couple of days.... I just sometimes get very caught up in the beauty of other fabulously crafty and creative people and their websites and feel like I need to step it up.  I found some really fun, whimiscal sites and I love what they do and their creativity just seems to explode from their websites.  Some I've seen have to do with scrapbooking and I see these women who have whole rooms dedicated to their crafts!  I have serious envy, since I'm working at my kitchen table.

Since the site has primarily focused on polymer clay and a smidge of bead work, I'd love to try new things.  I'd like to get back into graphic design and maybe put out some free web templates for anyone to use, maybe try some digital scrapbooking... maybe even try the hands on kind of scrapbooking where you need to cut things out and glue them!  I'd like to try some more wire bead working and make some fun earrings or a necklace.  I need to find my journal and give myself some time for drawing out some new ideas for clay... or just to draw.  Maybe I'll get into creating Etsy store fronts.... I don't know.  I feel like I want to burst and feel really really restricted.... monitarily - because it takes money to get the programs, the equipment, the foot in the door for Etsy and my budget is pretty tight.  Where there's a will there's a way right??  LOL.

I'm not even sure I should be posting that I'm feeling this way... since most of the blogs I've come across keep it pretty professional and stick to the topic at hand.  I just feel like blabbing and this is my place to do it. 

I figure since it's my blog and my fan base isn't all that huge I won't be insulting anyone or making anyone move away from reading this blog if I happen to splurge and go in a few different directions and then share my little adventures with you.  If you don't like it, wait a couple of days and I'm sure my focus will switch to something different... since I can never really focus on just one thing... ever!


Some ideas I have so far:

• Create my own website, to blog and sell my stuff
• Get back into my graphic design and create a free web template
• Get back into Digital Scrapbooking
• Try my luck with hands on Scrapbooking... paper cutters and all that good stuff
• Try making miniature food
• Create some wire beading and make some earrings
• *maybe* try a selling at a craft show (it really depends on what I've done and how much it would $$)

It's a start right... and I'm all for trying something different!