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.

Galla15 and Her Giveaway

This is a little over due, but hey at least I'm getting around to it.  galla15 has amazing jewelry pieces. I LOVE the necklace in the pic above. It's part of a new collection and I'm glad it's here.

And guess what? She's having a giveaway. You have the chance to win one of her rings. Believe me, once you have one you will want more. Lol they're sort of addicting. Check out her blog to see the details on how to enter and good luck!
http://galla15.blogspot.com/2011/01/treasure-hunt-contest-win-swarovski.html

Promotional Frenzy Special Feature

I wanted to share with everyone some great shops from the Promotional Frenzy thread on etsy.

First up I have Lbtoyos. There are so many beautiful pieces in her shop. But the things that really stand out to me are the beaded pieces. They look like so much time and work go into them. I don't know how she does it but they amaze me every time I see them.

Next is marcenebt. One of the things I love about her shop is you can buy many things as sets. You can get 3 piece sets, two piece sets and also buy individual pieces. And there are so many great colors available.

Marcene has also opened a jewelry supply shop that contains beautiful beads and clasps.

giftbearer has great tribal style jewelry. She does great work with silver and with mixing colors that work well together. Her pieces are sure to stand out in a crowd. ( I'm a little partial to this piece because I own to snakes)

Next we have petitehermine. I never heard of fertility tracking bracelets before seeing her shop. They beautiful and interesting, I urge you to check them out. One of the pieces that stands out the most to me in the shop is the peach pit necklace and bracelet. Who knew! They're pretty and earthy.

Now up is sewinggranny.  Don't you love the shop name? Anyways she has great sewn items. She has bib sets, place mats and lots of great house hold things to spice it up a little. One of my favorites is this wall hanging. It reminds me or where I vacation every summer up in the north woods of Wisconsin.

Oh sabtisdesigns! The first thing I think of is pearls! She has so many great pearls. She has a great wedding section in her store. Know of any June weddings? I'm not a very pearly girl, but her shop makes me like them.

If you like crystals you must check out sunnycrystals. There are sooo many beautiful crystals. I didn't know there were so many cool colors. The gem chip jewelry really catches my eye. I can't begin to guess the amount of tiny little chips are used. But they look great!

Last but not least is PowersOfLove. She has a great selection of crocheted hats and other crocheted items. There is a wonderful variety of colors and style, there's definitely something for everyone. My favorite item is this scarf. It's fun and stands out.

Thanks for checking out all these amazing shops! They have lots to offer and they're all great people.

BOLO- Be On the Look Out

I wanted to share with everyone the other shoes and purses I've made. They will slowly be making their way into AngelasPaperArt. So be on the look out for them.

Valentine's Day

In the past 10 days or so I've listed some items that would be great for Valentine's Day. And don't worry all my jewelry makers out there, I listed lots of red beads for you guys. I will be listing more things in the next few days so don't forget to stop into AngelasPaperArt to check them out.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65072772/pink-and-white-flowered-heart-box

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/65374435/blooming-heart-box

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/65444346/elegant-red-paper-beads

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/65562010/roses-card

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/65417603/firey-reds-and-oranges-paper-beads

Canine Allergies

I know that some of you know that my dog Lady has allergies. So I wanted to share with you guys the process so far. Usually by August she's a complete mess. And she takes benadryl everyday but that doesn't help before the allergies start.

You can see in this picture how red her face and neck are from scratching at it.

We decided instead of having her calcium deposits removed we would take her to an animal dermatologist to see what she's allergic to and help her not be so miserable. She had her skin test this week. She's allergic to one grass, one weed, several trees and cats! So strange to me that she's allergic to cats. But they have sent out her blood for further testing to see if there are any other allergies that she has.

This is what the allergy test looks like. You can still see the spots that she was allergic too and it's been a few days. The test is a little different than a human test. When I had mine done years ago they put a droplet of liquid on my arm and then poked it with a needle to slightly pierce my skin. With Lady they inject small amounts under the skin to form a small bubble and then watch to see how they react.

I'm hoping that these test will help her. Once we get the results of the blood test then she will start immuno therapy injections which we will give her at home. For some reason giving her shots myself bothers me far less than dropping her off for her test, lol. She's like my child. Thanks for reading and most likely I will keep you updated when I find out more.

Lady says thank you for reading!

This Week....

I figured today I would let everyone know what I've been working on today. And what I plan on working on tomorrow since I'm pretty excited. Today I got another paper shoe done..pics coming soon. I also cut out the pieces for another one which I will hopefully start tonight or tomorrow morning.

I also have a few designs in mind for the new purse line I will be doing also. They will be 3-D like the shoes. I'm excited about them. I love shoes and purses and love working with paper so why not combine the two right? I hope you guys will stay tuned for what is soon to come.

I thought I would add a pic just for entertainment.