It's Been A While

Hello everyone! I know, it's been forever since I've blogged...and really been around. Lots and lots has been going on the past five or so months. Right now I will give you sort of the cliff notes version of whats been going on. And then fingers crossed that I will be back around shortly to go more in depth on a few things.

First off I got a job! Yay me!.....sort of why I disappeared. While I'm not using degree I love that I'm working with dogs. You all know I love animals, especially dogs. It's a great company, small which I like. For you fellow dog loving Chicagoans you should check it out, it's called Canine Social Club. Or anyone can check it out really.

sshhh they're finally relaxing

Sadly I am no longer a leader or member of the Promotional Frenzy team on etsy, as most of you have probably noticed. It truly is a great team. I learned a whole lot while I was there and am glad I got to know so many people on the team. Never would I have imagined I would be talking to people from all over the U.S, Canada, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and many more places all at the same time. SO many good times were had. And they have a kick ass leader Janet, check out her shop....love her rings! I learned sooo much from her about the crafting world and online world. She helped me out a lot and my shop wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for her.

Ok enough of that lol it's making me emotional. What else, what else.

I no longer have my turtles who I loved. They were getting very big and messy. They now live in a man made pond with plenty of space and food. It's heated in the winter and has a pump going all year long. So I know they have a great home. That still didn't make it easy to say good bye to them, but it's better for them.

good bye...yes I was crying

I went on a vacation to North Carolina. After four years of my cousin living out there I finally went in her last year there. But of course with my luck it was in the 50s and 60s while I was there. It was the coldest it had been in years for that time of year. I had a lot of fun and it was nice to visit with family that I haven't seen in over a year. But while I was gone my snake Sammie who I had for 9 1/2 years passed away.

awesome pier...but was damaged in the hurricane

I have decided that I am for sure doing a craft show. I don't know when yet...but I am. I have been working to build up my stock. It's taking a lot of time because I don't quite have a whole lot of time to dedicate to working on things for it. But I am building my inventory. It's scary but exciting all at the same time.


Ok I need to get to bad. But I will be back to fill you in and show you progress on things. I really really am hoping to be around more. Ok I just downloaded the blogger app. So now I really don't have an excuse. lol.

Oh and p.s I joined a gym, have a new boyfriend and bought have two button quails that are living in my room. But I'll save all that for another day.

Donna's Garden Flower Shop

Some exciting news! For both my shops actually. In my store angeladesigns I have sole painted flower pots in the past. A local flower shop has consigned some of my flower pots and also some cards from AngelasPaperArt. This is the first time any of my things are being sold in a non-etsy environment. I've never sold at any craft fairs, consignment shops or rent a space shops. So this was very exciting for me and I spent a lot of time the last few days making more cards and painting more pots for them to have.

For you Chicagoans my things are at Donna's Garden Flower Shop. It's 4155 W. Peterson Ave.

Here's a few pics of some of the things that I brought over today.

 

 

A couple hours after dropping these things off today I got an email from them saying they had sold 2 of my cards. So I hope a lot more will sell.

For those of you who don't know I got the job I interviewed for on Saturday. So I want to thank all of you who crossed your fingers for me. It's going to be full time, I'm not sure of the hours exactly yet. But my first day will be next Tuesday, I'm nervous but excited to start. And of course it's with dogs!!

Pit Bulls

Now that the weather is getting warmer (now if only it would calm down with the rain everyday) I walk Lady a lot more. In case you don't know Lady is my dog. And I have a gigantic pet peeve, so sorry for my complaining I just want people to see the truth and maybe learn a few things.

Pit Bulls (American Pit Bull Terrier or APBT) do NOT have locking jaws. For some reason many people think this. But they do not. Like many other breeds of dogs out there once they grab on they don't want to let go.They do not have the strongest jaw out of all dogs. There was actually a test done by Dr Brady Bar from National Geographic to help disbar this myth. Pit bull actually have the lowest pressure PSI (per square inch) out of a rottweiler and german shepherd dog. The rottweiler had the highest PSI ( rottweilers are actually my favorite breed)

Many years ago before they were used for fighting they were owned by butchers. Using dogs to take down bulls was more cost effective for the butchers. The dogs were turned on the bulls and take them down. Many times a dog would grab the bull by the nose and not want to let go. If the dog let go it would be thrown as the bull was bucking and thrashing. These dogs were bred to each other because they brought the bulls down faster and more effectively. They did not damage the hide of the animals. People began realizing this was sort of fun to watch it was cheap entertainment and interesting to see dogs bring down such a strong large animal.

It soon became a sport. Breeding became very selective. This is where the term "pit bull" came from. They were the dogs that fought bulls in a pit. Eventually bull baiting was outlawed in many places and this soon turned to dog vs dog fights. It became an underground, gritty yet lucrative sport. And it still is until this day.

**I do not recommend playing tug of war with any dog unless the dog is fully submissive to you and understands that you are the boss.***

Ok this may be a shocker for some people. Every year the American Temperament Test Society, Inc test hundreds of dogs of many many breeds. The test is composed of several categories. Some examples are: behavior and reaction to strangers, sounds, new things, being touched, etc. If you ever watch any of the Animal Cops shows on Animal Planet then you have seen parts of this test. It's when they take a bowl a way, open an umbrella, check their teeth, etc.

Here are some of the results for some common breeds.
 

     Breed                   Number of Dogs:   Tested  Passed   Failed    Percentage

AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER     772     664       108      86.0%

AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG          184     145        39        78.8%

BEAGLE                                           71       57         14         80.3%

BICHON FRISE                                30       23          7          76.7%

BOXER                                             418     351        67        84.0%

CAIRN TERRIER                             49        36         13        73.5%

CHIHUAHUA                                    38        27        11         71.1%

COCKER SPANIEL                        227       186       41         81.9%

DACHSHUND (STANDARD SMOOTH)48  33        15          68.8%

DOBERMAN PINSCHER               1,574    1,222    352        77.6%

FRENCH BULLDOG                         28        27          1         96.4%

GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG           3,038     2,559   479      84.2%

GOLDEN RETRIEVER                     746       631      115       84.6%

GREAT DANE                                  275        219      56        79.6%

ITALIAN GREYHOUND                     50        41         9          82.0%

LABRADOR RETRIEVER                763       704       59        92.3%

MALTESE                                          16        13           3         81.3%

POMERANIAN                                   33        25          8          75.8%

PUG                                                   44         40          4          90.9%

ROTTWEILER                                  5,357     4,470    887       83.4%

SAMOYED                                         282       224       58        79.4%

SHIH TZU                                           41         32          9          78.0%

SIBERIAN HUSKY                            295       257       38         87.1%

SOFT COATED WHEATEN TERRIER 36      26        10         72.2%

STANDARD POODLE                      243        209      34          86.0%

WEIMARANER                                 215       173        42         80.5%

WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER 60       53          7           88.3% 

 Lady with my cousin

To see the complete list or read more about temperament testing visit:

http://www.atts.org/index.html

Once upon a time in the early 20th century Pit Bulls were considered "America's Dogs." They were much more popular than labs, golden retrievers, german shepherds and came long before all the oodles, doodles, and apoos of today. 

 My grandfather in 1945 with his puppy pit bull.

They are smart, don't shed a lot and can be amazing dogs if you know how to deal with them. They are strong willed and will stand their ground wanting you to back down. They will test you with that every day. They need consistency as all dogs should have. But they need a firm handler or they will take advantage. 

Big pet peeve of mine! HUGE!!! The color of your pit bulls nose does NOT mean anything. You will often see dogs advertised and hear people talking and they say my pit is a red nose or my pit is a blue nose. That means nothing, I don't care what color nose you dog has. A pit bull is a pit bull. The color means nothing. Lady is blue, which is now a trend. People want blue dogs because they think they are rare and will charge 3 times as much as a brindle. Pit bulls come in any color pretty much. And technically the color blue in any dog besides a merle great dane, aussies, dapple dachshunds and weimaraners is a genetic mutation. They have allergies and sensitive stomachs also. Notice how all of a sudden many breeds have blue? Labs, boston terriers, french bull dogs, shar peis? 

Blue dogs have always been around. Now they are considered unique and rare and are "worth" a lot of money. However in the past when a blue puppy was born it was euthanized immediately. Since the coloring of the dog was not a breed standard breeders did not want people to know that their blood lines produced these mutated genes. As years went by some people felt bad about euthanizing puppies. So breeders would drop the puppies of at shelters, breed rescues or give them away to people they know.  Now these blue dogs are seen as a hot commodity because they can charge so much for them. A reputable breeder will not charge more for these dogs, they should be the same price or even less because they are not desired among the show circuit.

I also can't stand when people say the pit bull is half blue and half brindle...but the dog is black and white. How does this make any sense?? That's like you have a lab that is black but you say it's half yellow and half chocolate because that's what the parents are. 

Another huge problem is several people cannot properly identify a pit bull. So when reporting dog bits and such if they see that it was bulky strong, athletic dog they automatically say it was a pit bull. I discussed this in college in my urban sociology class. I made this poster and asked my class of 46 to identify the adult pit bull and the puppy and not a single person including my professor could do it. What does that say? 

 

Do I recommend a pit bull for everyone, no of course not. I think before any one gets a dog they should research particular breeds carefully. Just because it looks cute does not mean it is a good match to you and your family. 

Talk to someone who knows about dogs (I'm available), meet dogs of a particular kind you think you want. Maybe go through a process with a local breed rescue to foster a dog. Is having a dog even right for you?  

I know I'm missing a ton of points and things that bother me, lol but it's late and I can't think anymore. Before I go I'm going to share with you some of my favorite pics of my Lady. Then I will give you the answers to the Can you spot the APBT.

 

Waiting patiently to open her presents.

New sweater for Christmas!

Chewing sticks with bella

Great Deals!

Great BNR open right now on etsy. It is geared towards last minute mother's day shopping, but of course we can all use a little pampering here and there. In case you are unfamiliar with a BNR, it stands for buy and replace. If you have a en etsy shop and you buy from one of the featured shops, your shop will replace theirs.

If you don't have an etsy shop but you buy into the BNR then the person you bought from will stay in. Below is the link to the BNR and several coupon codes. Use the coupon code at checkout if you see a code from someone you would like to buy from.


You check back regularly as more codes may be added. Thanks and happy shopping!!!!

www.etsy.com/treasury/4db7403cd65b8eef965d285a/open-bnr-amazing-spe...

1. galla15 - Use Coupon Code TREASURE to receive 10% off of my jewelry

2. BijiBijoux - Use Coupon Code bnr10410 For 10% OFF

3. Prittyfy - Code BNR10 for 10% off my jewelry ONLY.

4. Rhett - BNR15 for 15% Off anything in the shop!

5. bloomandbling - BNR10 for 10% off anything in the shop!

6. KaitlinandKylies-BNRSALE for 10% off anything and ILUVMOM for 20% off Mother's Day Samplers only.

7. Powers Of Love ~ BNR15 for 15% OFF anything in my shop.

8. Turtlexiii~ FRIENDS for 15% off, OR FREESHIP for free shipping. Please only use one coupon.

9. nan gates designs - SPRING15 for 15% off

10. ChristaEllen - BNRLOVE for 10% off anything in my shop

11. GlitterbirdGlamour - GG15OFF for 15% anything except my keychains

12. CrimsonHillSoaps&Scents - FREE Lip Balm with any $10 purchase. Enter PROMOOBNR in note to seller.

13. Moody & Sanguine - 15% off JEWELRY with coupon code MAMALOVE

14. CalliopeAZCreations - 15% off JEWELRY with coupon code CALLIOPE15

15. Angelsneverlastings - 15% off with coupon code PROMOFRENZY15

16. Makenzi & Madilyn - free domestic shipping with: BNRFREE

17. jQjewelrydesigns - Use Coupon Code jQU15 to receive 15% off

18. HogansHandiwork - Coupon BNR2011 for 10% OFF!
***PLUS--I can now mark the scarf or cowl of your choice down 50%!! Just let me know your selection, and I will adjust the listing!!

19. CarolsJewelryOrchard- Use Coupon code BNR20 at checkout for 20% off

20. Use coupn Code: FORME and recive 10% off
lissies.etsy.com

21. MoanasUniqueDesigns - for anyone who purchases a tray for Mothers day, I will add a free vase, otherwise SHOP10 for 10% off.

22. ModBrush - I have a Mother's Day Sale section and running same special as last week;) shirt35 for 35% OFF any shirt AND 2shirt45 for 45% of ANY TWO items in shop

23. IsabellesAttic- use coupon SPRINGSALE and get 10%. off

24. Haydenbrook - 3fer special.... coupone code: BUY3SAVE20PERCENT

25. KuteKlipboardsByAmy - FREE US SHIPPING on all purchases over $20 - I'll refund back to paypal.

26. Victoriaruhl- all my wire wrapped studs are 25% off this week for a mother's day sale, no code needed, prices are marked through etsyonsale!

27. amays3402 - code SPRINGFLING 20% OFF

28. GrapeVineCeramicsGft 0 10% off with BNR10

29. PaintedMemoriesByRos - Free shipping in US on Mother's Day Cards

30. Leah R. Hood- BNR10 for 10% off all purchases. APRILSHOWERS for 15% off orders over $10

31. Linda B Jewelry - Get 10% purchases $10 and OVER off with Code 10EPASS - for jewelry and kippot only (no destash)

32. Sprinkles Candy Cake Oh My - code SPRINGFUN for 10% off

33. Lbtoyos TYSS Handmade Jewelry - code MOM11 to get a 10% off in all shop. Spend 30$ or more (before coupon) and I will refund the shipping cost and send it to you free by registered mail.

34. NewCreatioNZ - code BNRLOVE for 10% off storewide

35. Camillescloset- code RETURNCUSTOMER for 10% off and always free shipping.

Treasury!!

I haven't made a treasury on etsy in so long. I have been fortunate enough to be featured in many treasuries lately. So I've made one again finally. I have featured many people that have featured me.

I didn't include a pic because that takes part of the fun out. So please click and comment on it. Even buy something from one of the featured stores if you would like.

Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4db218d51fb68eef0241a19e/spring-sky

Coupons!!!

This week I have 2 topics sort of. I know that many of you know that I bird sit quite often for my neighbor's Love Bird. He passed away this past week. He was 16 years old, I've been watching him for 13 years. She often referred to me as his second mom and second home. So RIP to Buddy.

This is buddy watching the turtles a few years ago. I will definitely miss him, he was a great little bird.

Next I'm going to share with you some coupons. I may start sharing coupons on a more regular basis. So let me know what you guys thing, if you find it useful or not. I will say what the coupon is and then give a link for it.

First is a Hobby Lobby coupon. 40% off sharpie markers, good for sets or singles. That's a good deal! It's good through April 23. 
http://www.hobbylobby.com/assets/dynamic/_weekly.coupon/2011_17_coupon.gif

Next is a few Michael's coupon's. One is for 40% off any one regular priced item. Good through April 21st (act fast)
And attached to it there is also a 25% off regular and sale priced entire purchase wall and table top frames, framed art and display cases.
http://dealspl.us/michaels-coupons/251874p

Checking In...

I've been try to list lots in AngelasPaperArt recently. So here are some pics and links to some things you may have missed.

some beads of course. I love the colors in these. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/71784488/funky-blues-paper-beads

Love focal bead, the pastels are great in this one.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/71719026/love-postage-stamp-focal-bead

Finally listed an ACEO.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/71456137/goldfish-aceo


So there you have some of my newer listed things. I will be listing more soon.....as in a few minutes. lol, have to stay on top of things!

Pictures!

I  do not consider myself a very good picture taker. And my sister makes fun of my crappy camera saying it only takes good pics of green things. But I'm going to share with you some pics I've taken over the years that I like. And maybe just some fun ones.

Such a foggy morning. Lost Land Lake up in Northern Wisconsin.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pics! Lady says hello too! lol

Where The Work Gets Done

This week I will show you a glimpse of where I do a lot of my work. I just have one pic, the others didn't turn out so great. Maybe another week I will show you some supplies that's stashed all over the place.

I do a lot of work at my computer and also my drafting table which is where I also take my pics for the store. I was actually working on some beads while I took the pic. My space is typically cluttered with paper, glue and scissors. They are never out of arms reach.

Under my drafting table I have many items boxed up that are listed in my store, all my quilling paper is under there as well as some other papers.

So this is pretty much it besides supplies stashed in various drawers and boxes and a closet or two. Oh and ps my desktop is a pic I took in Florida. I love that picture....and Florida.

After It Sold

I hope you guys aren't sick of my paper beads yet. Today I wanted to show you what people have made with my beads. It's so exciting for me to see what a magazine page looks like in the magazine, once I make beads out of it and then what customers make with them.

First crochetedbycharlene made this necklace with them. It's a little rustic mixed with a little bit of whimsy. I love it!

Next is this necklace by tantancharms. I didn't realize my paper beads can look this sophisticated.

For a wide variety of my beads check out my store.
Once you're done creating something convo me a link to your item or send me pics. I would love to do more posts like this of all the wonderful things people create with my beads.

Thanks for checking out these items!

Paper Beads

I'm sure many of you have seen lots of my paper beads in my shop. For today's blog post I want to give you a peek at the ones you haven't seen. ...I have lots!

My little drawer full of beads. You can't really tell but they're piled about 4 inches high.

A little bit of overflow from drawer one.

Close up of the premiere bead collection.

And a cup of focal bead!

Help me, help your bead stash. Spring is approaching and I have lots of new things to list and I'm sure your busy whipping up some new spring designs. Plus I'm trying to hit 150 sales, lol. So from Tuesday 3/8 at llpm (etsy time) until Thursday 3/10 at 11 am if you buy two or more batches of beads you will get one free.

***Make sure to put BLOG in the notes to seller so that I know you are a buyer who saw this post.

Vitruvius

I'm not much of a reader, I would rather watch a movie. That way I can make things and watch at the same time rather than using my hands to hold a book. BUT there is one book that I will never forget and love. It's Vitruvius' "The Ten Books of Architecture". I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves architecture or design.

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman architect and engineer who was very ahead of his time in my opinion. His career began long before any of us existed or our ancestors for that matter...way back in the first century B.C. Vitruvius served in the Roman Army under Julius Caesar.

In this book Virtuvius talks about so many things that architects and engineers still take into consideration. He speaks about how the site for a building is important and how you need to start with a firm ground and a good foundation. He also talks about the positioning of buildings in regards to the sun rising and setting as well as the wind.

He also describes how to layout theaters to have the best acoustic quality and how to align the seating so it will sound best to those attending. He wrote about columns and the proportions for them. In a time before large industrial kilns were used to dehydrate wood fro building he talks about when is the best time of the year to harvest trees so there is not excess sap. And to even cut partially through the trunk to let the sap dry because damp lumber isn't good to build with.

He was a wealth of knowledge. But many of you probably know of Vitruvius in more of an indirect way. By the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci. In the book Vitruvius discusses how the human body is composed of geometrical principles. If you have ever taken a drawing class where you drew people, you have used these principles without knowing.

Below is an excerpt of the book describing the human body, followed by da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

"For the human body is so designed by nature that the face, from the chin to the top of the forehead and the lowest roots of the hair, is a tenth part of the whole height; the open hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger is just the same; the head from the chin to the crown is an eighth, and with the neck and shoulder from the top of the breast to the lowest roots of the hair is a sixth; from the middle of the breast to the summit of the crown is a fourth. If we take the height of the face itself, the distance from the bottom of the chin to the under side of the nostrils is one third of it; the nose from the under side of the nostrils to a line between the eyebrows is the same; from there to the lowest roots of the hair is also a third, comprising the forehead. The length of the foot is one sixth of the height of the body; of the forearm, one fourth; and the breadth of the breast is also one fourth. The other members, too, have their own symmetrical proportions, and it was by employing them that the famous painters and sculptors of antiquity attained to great and endless renown. Similarly, in the members of a temple there ought to be the greatest harmony in the symmetrical relations of the different parts to the general magnitude of the whole. Then again, in the human body the central point is naturally the navel. For if a man be placed flat on his back, with his hands and feet extended, and a pair of compasses centred at his navel, the fingers and toes of his two hands and feet will touch the circumference of a circle described therefrom. And just as the human body yields a circular outline, so too a square figure may be found from it. For if we measure the distance from the soles of the feet to the top of the head, and then apply that measure to the outstretched arms, the breadth will be found to be the same as the height, as in the case of plane surfaces which are perfectly square."

Reviews, Feedback and Testimonials

I was inspired to do the this post from toystorynutty's blog post last week. AngelasPaperArt has been open for less than a year and I'm so happy with how things are going with it. I'm grateful for all my wonderful customers and all their kind words they've given me about my work. So I thought I would share some of it with you here.

"Thank you so very much for the beautiful box and the smile on my daughter's face."

"So beautiful and delicate. The detail work is unbelievable!"

"Absolutely AMAZING seller! Highly recommend her work. This was a custom order that she was able to create in one day, and shipped SUPER FAST!! This is perfect, I LOVE IT :) THANK YOU!"

"Absolutely beautiful. Magnificent work, great attention to detail and perfectly packaged. Thanks so much."

"Love Love Love this box. My daughter was so thrilled with her little surpise. I immediately ordered another custom keepsake box because I loved this one so much!!!"

"I am in love with your beads and your shop! Your paper goods are amazing. Thank you."

"Smooth transaction. Great communication, very fast shipping, the beads are exactly as expected. Thank you. I will be back :)"


Thank you again to all my customers. I've been working hard on new spring items and can't wait to for everyone to see them. 

Stay Tuned

I hadn't done much quilling recently because I was so busy making paper beads. I finally sat down and did some. I've decided that I will be adding a whole NEW spring line!! It will include quilled ACEO's and brand  new 3D quilling both unique to my store. (ACEO = Art Cards,Editions and Originals
Mini works of art the size of a trading or playing card -2.5 x 3.5 inch )


So keep your eyes peeled for these exciting new additions to AngelasPaperArt

Not Forgotten

I have some great items and shops for everyone to check out. They are from a wonderful tea, on etsy... The brand new Promotional Frenzy Team

This is a shop that's new to the team and has great logos and shop banners for other etsy sellers. The shop is kellyjsorenson. Below is one of my favorites. I love paisley patterns and the birds are adorable.

Next up is jQjewelrydesigns. Jill has so many great pieces in her shop. She has so many pretty beaded gemstone pieces. For someone that doesn't make jewelry like me, I definitely get a lesson on what different stone are in her shop. This necklace is one of my favorites though. I don't think I've seen something quite like it.

bagsofblessing has great felted bags and purses, jewelry and great cowls. One of the first things I always notice is all the bright and vibrant colors. All of the items really stand out, who doesn't like to stand out every now and again.

Oh galla15! So many shiny and sparkly things. I love shiny and sparkly. She has a great selection of button rings..and many other things. But I love the rings. There's always new and exciting colors and shapes.

I also love SeaFlowerStudios. There are so many great items, she has bracelets, earrings, necklaces, wishing beads and even wool wrapped bangles. Those are really cool. Even though it's much more simple in design than a lot of her other pieces, I love this necklace!

Last but definitely not least is newcreationz. I don't know how to even begin to describe her store. There are so many amazing sections and such a wide variety of things, there is something for everyone. There is wonderful photography that make you want to take a trip to New Zealand, there's, cards and paintings and much more.

Thank you for looking at all these great shops. And for those who were featured.....you make it really hard to pick things to feature.

The Inside Scoop

One of my goals this year was to blog more. So I thought I would give you guys a little bit of an inside scoop on my creative process, lol if that's what you want to call it.

This may seem weird to some but this works for me. When I'm not on etsy during the day and I'm working on things to build up my inventory, I watch movies. It prevents me from constantly looking at the clock but gives me a way to gauge time. When I don't do this I look at the time and think wow an hour went passed already, what did I get done?

But watching a movie or starting a season of CSI or Deadliest Catch helps with that. I know that each episode is about 43 minutes. So when an episode is over I grab a snack, switch a load of laundry, or look over what else I need to do for the day. I get a lot done doing this.

Then in the evening I pop a movie and just work. You'll be surprised at how much you get done. But just a warning, you have to play something you've watched a few times. Otherwise you watch instead of work. So here are some pics of my ever growing dvd collection.

I hope to add more parts to this inside scoop to make it a series in the future.

For the Ladies

I've been sick all week and laying around doing pretty much nothing but sleep and try to eat. During this down time I thought of an article I read a while back. I don't remember where I read it, but it was very true. It talked about how as woman we naturally worry about everything and everyone else.

We worry about what all needs to get done, how much time we have or don't have to do it. Cooking, cleaning, animals, kids, husbands, boyfriends, parents, grandparents. All of those things are somewhere in our minds pretty much all day. What about ourselves? What do we really do for ourselves besides seek that time to chat with our etsy friends?

The article talked about how everyone woman has their favorite perfume that was probably a little more expensive than the others and we only wear it for special occasions. Do you have that? I do! and I didn't even realize that I did that until I read the article. Why not wear it everyday, or put it into rotation with the others? You know the feeling when you're getting ready for a night out and you look in the mirror at how great you look and you're happy and finish off your outfit with your favorite accessories and perfume. Why limit yourself to feeling like that on that one day you get a month to go out? Why can't everyday be like that?

After all we bought those cute shoes to be worn. Now they sit in the closet waiting for that one day to be worn. Where them! This goes for a lot of things, favorite shoes, purse, bra, whatever it may be. It feels good to use these items that we set aside for special days. Why not make more special days?

I don't do a whole lot for myself either. I'm always doing things for other people or my etsy shop or the animals. And I thought why not? I don't think it's selfish to want to take care of ourselves. So one day I was painting and figured I would list it for sale in my etsy shop and I really liked the painting. It was something I secretly hoped would expire because no one would buy it and then I would keep it. I painted it because I wanted it in a way. I decided I'm going to keep it for myself. The one thing I've made for myself in over a year, and it felt good to do it for me.

So I challenge all of you to make something for yourself this week. Even if it's a dinner you know everyone will hate. Who cares, you deserve to do things for yourself. Make yourself a scarf, a piece of jewelry. What ever it may be, do it for you. Trust me, you will get a lot of satisfaction from doing something for yourself instead of constantly for others.

This is the painting I did and decided I would keep for myself. And it felt nice to hang it on the wall and know that I did it for me and it's not going anywhere.