Making it work

Today I am having trouble getting motivated. I just don't want to do anything and that is a huge problem for me. Working out of your home with yourself as the boss makes it very easy to blow off working in favor of anything more interesting. Believe me, I can give you a list:

Like yesterday, went to a flea market...I did manage to score some vintage chains so I guess it was product development. But I can make any trip out work for me. Because I use weird things to make into jewelry, I've got to go to weird places...so if you see me at the junk yard, just wave. If you see my feet hanging over the edge of a dumpster, check to make sure I can get out. If I am digging in a box at the goodwill, step over, but if you see me at an estate sale, get out of my way and hang on to anything you are thinking of buying cuz those are my favorites!

I am making it work! Trying to make something out of nuttin' and creating things for the market place that are different. The piece in the picture if from an antique button and a Victorian picture I hand colored...one of a kind, like everything in my shop.

But before this turns into a commercial for Queen G, I should let you know a few of the things I couldn't make work:

playing the piano...fail
cross country skiing...fail
gardening...fail
learning Chinese...epic fail
photoshop...fail
excel...mondo fail
exercises in general...huge giant kamaha-maha fail

But these things don't make me happy so I don't really care. I just need to keep myself busy, relevant and occupied and I am happy. And some day my dream will come true and Tim Gunn will wander by and say..."make it work!"

gifts from strangers

The necklace in the picture is an antique ceramic domino sent to me by a fellow Etsian who I never met. She sent 6 and I made this to send back to thank her. I love the way people will look at things and think 'I bet she could use this'. It makes me think people understand what I am trying to do.

My friend Connie, (bless her little cotton socks)found a box of padded envelopes and drove them to Michigan to give me...hundreds!!! That saves me so much money and was a huge sign that this is what I am suppose to do. THANKS CONNIE!!

Others see boxes of old buttons and broken jewelry and bring them to me, how awesome! I try to make something wonderful and gift it back, just to keep the love fest going. Cuz to me, that's what this is all about.

Sure, there is an element or recycling, some creativity and a big helping of challenge in what I do, but its more about giving the object a second chance to 'be' something.

And we all need second chances. (or thirds...)

And while the people who show up at my door bearing boxes of broken stuff think it is a small thing, to me, it is huge! You took time out of your busy day to think about me!!! Wow!

So lets all think about each other today and remember even the most insignificant thing in your eye may be a blessing in disguise to someone else...

Its that kind of day

Yup, a doughnut seed kinda day, at least in my mind. And more than a day, a week, a month, (who are we kidding, it's my life). Doughnut seeds, you know the thing that looks like it makes sense till you think about it...maybe too much.

Like yesterday...went to the drug store to talk to the Pharmacist about a poison ivy cream to act as a barrier to poison ivy.

Me: I saw some of this cream...yada yada yada...its really expensive and I want to know if it works.
Pharm: (confused look)
Pharm assistant: POISON IVY CREAM!
(did I mention the Pharmacist is like 3 days younger than God?)
Me: cuz like its $12 a tube...
Pharm: painfully getting up and lumbering out of his little cage, he limps past me and down one isle and up another till we find the poison ivy cream (yeah, he had no idea about it) turns and hands it to me and says; This the stuff???
Me: well, yeah
Pharm: looking at me like 'well????'
Me: reading the ingredients...Its just Zinc Oxide with some sun screen, so maybe I just need that...cuz when the dogs go in the woods they get covered with the oil...
Pharm: *blink-blink*
Me; and so maybe I really need...dog shampoo...
Pharm: lumbers away
Me: or doughnut seeds! anybody??? anybody???

yeah, its just me.

good day~sun shine...

Today is a good day. I managed to get my hair cut without wanting to beat both the beautician and myself to death. I avoided the chocolate chip cookies in favor of some nice sweet dried apricots and I found OPI nail polish for $3...I think I am going to bed before this all comes crashing down on my head.

That's the way it works for me, something good, then something bad. It keeps me balance, I guess.

I'm not whining, there's no point in that....sure I am still 'not looking for work' and trying to be content with my at home business, but there is a part of me that longs for the days of 'Ginya, queen of the road!'. I miss going to airports and business meetings, bad coffee and deadlines. I miss the interactions with people...but then I remember those people, the back stabbing, lieing and manipulating people and I thank God I am here in my jammies.

I think the entire world is made up of the yin~yang of everyday existence. The sun comes up, and then goes down. We can look on the bright side or the crappy side...you get the flu...bad, loose 10 lbs because of it...good, seek out the flu to loose weight...stupid. Its all perspective.

So while the sun is still shining and before karma makes me her personal bi&*# I think I will just enjoy the moment.

wow...sorry

It has been a long time between posts! Sorry about that, I would like to say I have been busy with housework (snicker), or studying for exams (not bloody likely) or rehabilitating an injured puppy..but alas, I am just lazy. I really don't like to write and find it hard to muster up the givadamn to get it together.

Time, got plenty of that...spend my days waiting for the phone to ring, making jewelry and thinking about what my next adventure in life will be. I also spend an inordinate amount of time tweaking my shop, yelling at the dogs and thinking about how I can get out of making dinner.

But every once in a while I catch a glimpse of whimsy that makes me want to jump online and share with everyone, and yesterday was one of those days.

Went to town to enjoy some junking and some decent food. Hubs and I are sitting in teeny-tiny Thai restaurant (love pad Thai with tofu!) and there are two sweet little old ladies there enjoying some Thai ice tea...classic American little old ladies, 75-80 at least, complete with the polyester sewn in pleat pants, matching twin sets, orthopedic walking shoes, bad perms and sparkle jewelry.

And I overhear this:

'you know I am looking for some new toons to listen on my Ipod' (yes, she said toons)
'well are you just listening or are you cleaning or listening in your car"
(see, I was hooked at the concept of the grandmas having an Ipod)
'no, for all around'
'well you can't go wrong with Lady GaGa, I really rock out with her"
"Ya, know, I find her too much like Madonna, too derivative to me...'

at this point I just looked at David with the patented 'scooby-doo' head tilt and crossed my eyes...he (in typical husband fashion) had no clue what was being said.

It was magic!

what sparks you?

I found this small metal spark plug tag a while ago and was looking for the perfect venue to place it. I really love the weird and funky stuff I find in my scrounging and this one fits in with the rest of my weird and wacky crap. Why be normal when there is an entire world of wonder out there?
It got me thinking about what 'sparks' my creativity, what makes me look at old upholstery tacks and drawer pulls and think...jewelry??? Is it the same misguided gene that makes me look at antique wheelchairs and think...furniture, or ancient farm equipment and think, plant stands???
And what does that say about my other choices in life...well, a lot.
I was raised by parents who lived through the depression. Our house lived on these basic set of rules:
make it do
wear it out
use it up
go without
Clothes were passed around the family like the chicken pox...canning was the summer time activity and Dad did all the car repairs. New shoes once a year, new coat every other year...it wasn't till I was in high school that I realized we were not poor.
Not that I am complaining, I love making do, beating the system and working around the obstacles.
Scratch and dent food...I'll check it out, no problem.
Home made hair do's, yeah I'm a victim of my own handiwork.
I still own a rotary phone...cheap? meh, but it still works, can find it in the dark, never runs out of batteries and people think its 'cute'.
we drive our cars till the wheels fall off and haven't bought 'new' (as in still has the tags) clothes in forever. Even as I type I am drinking some off brand Mexican cappuccino I got for half price at big lots. I love me a bargain!
So what sparks you? What makes you happy, excited, creative? I would love to know!

when life give you zippers...

make a zipper necklace...

I have always been a firm believer in playing the hand you are given. Trying to be something you are not can only lead to frustration, confusion and sadness in the end. I know I will never be...oh, say a:

supermodel
rock star
accountant
mother in law
famous chef (infamous maybe..anyone want a scoop of 'Dundee surprise'?)
talk show host

but I can be a:
good friend
salvager of broken crap
professional job interviewee
Beatle fan
competitive whiner
coffee freak

I can spend my days gluing things together and calling it art (and do) or I can spend my days looking for a job and whining that no one will hire me...(I do that too) or I can be handed a broken zipper pull and see the necklace inside.

So lets all forget about the broken zipper and look for the hidden jewelry!