Breaking Out of a Creative Slump

I'm not actually in a creative slump right now, but working with a medium other than the one you normally work with is a great way to break out of a creative slump.  I have a whole pile of jewelry made that I haven't listed yet because I haven't sold any since before Christmas.  So instead of making even more jewelry I decided to make a Space Invader on my wall out of Post-It notes.  Because I'm awesome and also because I have a lot of Post-It notes that I never use because I prefer virtual Post-It notes.  It was pretty easy and also slightly time-consuming to make.  I found a picture of a Space Invader on Bing and then I drew it in pixel form.  Then I got my Post-It notes and started putting them on my wall.  Then they started to fall off so I grabbed my duct tape and attached it to the back of each one.  It wouldn't have taken nearly as long if I didn't have OCD.  As it is, it still isn't perfect.  The bottom arms don't line up.  But I'm happy with it.  The whole thing took me about an hour and a half.

 

 

 

 

I also finally fixed my feather earrings after forgetting they existed for about a year and then discovering them in a bag full of hair ties (along with my black heart earrings which have been missing for the same amount of time).  I bought them for $20 at the University District Street Fair my freshman year of college.  I wore them all the time and then one of the feathers fell off of the leather strip that it was glued to, which attached it to the earring hook.  I removed the other feather from the leather (heehee it rhymes) and attached them both to tiny metal clamp things that I purchased on Etsy.  I also added lightning bolts that were on a different pair of earrings because I thought it would look cool.  And it does.  And yes I am wearing a Back to the Future shirt in these photos which I thrifted from the men's section at Goodwill two years ago.  Go ahead and be jealous.

Yoga is Kind of Amazing

I'm not sure if you guys know this, but yoga is kind of awesome.  It helps you relieve stress while exercising and increasing stamina and/or strength.  It also helps boost your immune system.  I like to do yoga in the comfort and privacy of my room while catching up on my Hulu queue or watching Netflix.  I started doing yoga every morning for about an hour two weeks ago.  I haven't been doing it while I've been sick because it causes coughing fits which are no fun.  My yoga routine tends to be a mix of strength and cardio yoga.  The following poses comprise my main routine, but sometimes I'll do other poses too.

Images and descriptions via: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

I also like to (well actually force myself to) do sun salutations, which I have the most trouble with.  Right now I can only do two at a time.  I also do cobra pose, which I actually enjoy, alternating with child's pose.  It's really great for stretching your back and stomach.

I have also discovered this site which is a great source for yoga beginners.  It says beginner poses but look at those arm balances!  So they're clearly not all beginner poses but still a wonderful resource.

And the Winner Is...

Michelle Pickett!  Please send me an email at jaythejedi(at)live(dot)com with your mailing address and your 200x200 ad.

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway.

I Still Have the Flu

Today is day 7 of me having the flu.  I still have a fever, my lungs hurt, my throat hurts, and my back hurts.  One good thing has come out of this though.  I have finally started watching 30 Rock on Netflix and I love it.  Liz Lemon is ridiculous and awesome, even moreso because of all of the Star Wars references she makes.  So I am sorry for neglecting my blog but I just need to rest and try to get better right now.  Thank you for understanding.  I have also been reading Pinterest Fail blogs and Pinning like crazy.  Check out all of my Pin boards, organized in true OCD fashion by number of pins.

Predictions for the Year 2013

Taylor Swift will release her next album this year.  It will be opera.  It will be called "I Think This is the Only Musical Genre I Haven't Tried Yet".  It will include the hit singles "There Could Never Ever Be Anything Wrong With Me", "I Broke Up With Him Not the Other Way Around", and "Can't You See How Perfect I Am?"

The most popular hair trend will be reverse ombre hair.  For those of you who don't know, this is ombre.

If this is your photo, let me know in a

comment so I can give you proper credit

It just means that the hair is one color on top and a different color on the bottom.  This used to be called a gradient but that word just isn't cool enough anymore.  So reverse ombre will be this:

via Box No. 216

 

At first glance, you may just think this is a picture of a girl with dyed hair and grown out roots.  And You would be right.  Because that's what it is.  And this part is completely serious, this is actually already starting to be a thing.  It's just not called reverse ombre yet.  So go ahead and throw away your root touch-up hair dye because laziness is finally in!  (At least when it comes to hair dye.)

 

What are your predictions for 2013?

 

Friday Flu

I have it.  I also had the Wednesday Flu and the Thursday Flu.  Since I don't really feel like making an intense post, I decided to share my handwriting.

DIY Wine Bottle Jewelry Holder

I saw a version of this on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea.  I looked for cool bottles in thrift stores, but couldn't find any that I really loved, so I ended up using this sparkling cider bottle.  You could also use a wine bottle or a vase or any old bottle.  In the original version, they use resin to keep the wires in place, but I like the idea of being able to rearrange the wires.  Plus my way is much cheaper, because resin is expensive! (and time-consuming)  I made my version in about an hour.  I used wire that I already had.  I bought it from a craft store awhile ago.  The wire I used was perfect for lightweight jewelry, which is what I intended this for, but if you plan to hang heavier jewelry you should use heavier wire.  You can buy floral wire at Dollar Tree or you can buy wire at a craft store or online.

This was super simple and fun to make.  All you have to do is cut pieces of wire of varying lengths.  Make sure they are the length of your bottle plus enough extra for a loop.  I cut all of my wire pieces first and put them in the bottle.  Then I made spirals on the end of each wire with round pliers.  Then I just hung my jewelry on it and that was it.

This jewelry holder looks different from different angles, so it also serves as a cool piece of art.

For another DIY jewelry holder idea, check out the end of this post.



Etsy Love: My Selvaged Life

I discovered this shop on Etsy yesterday and knew that I had to share it.  Everything is super unique and very interesting and she takes gorgeous photos of all of her jewelry. 

This is what the shop owner has to say about her shop.  "Welcome to MySelvagedLife.etsy.com, where you will find unique, unusual, eclectic, humorous, sometimes alarming, and always conversational jewelry for women and men. African, Tribal, Geometric, and Nautical pieces; Woodland, Nature-Inspired and Seasonal themes, elegant wedding choices and quirky and cute pieces perfect for gift giving, or for keeping for yourself!"  I love how she makes jewelry that fits so many different styles, yet every piece is very much made in her own style.  Some of my favorite things in her shop are the Snow White Necklace and the butterfly necklaces.  Everything is very reasonably priced and arrives in a brown kraft paper box "uniquely wrapped with upcycled papers and tied with contrasting washi tape, seam binding, or ribbon".

Here is a small selection from her shop.  With 408 items in her shop right now, there's something for just about everyone.

Freebie Friday: Coppergoose is Legit!

I discovered Coppergoose.com when they advertised on my site last year with Project Wonderful.  I check out all of my sponsors and this one was no exception.  I found out that it was a site that claims to give away a prize to a lucky winner every single day.  It sounded too good to be true, but I tried it anyway.  They didn't ask for my social security number, credit card info, or bank account info.  How it works is every day they give away a different prize.  You can either enter to win the prize or pass.  If you pass, they give you one Karma Point for allowing someone else to win.  Karma Points work as extra entries when you really want to win something.  I had been needing to get a laptop fan for awhile.  It was to the point where my laptop would overheat and the screen would freeze and I would have to hold in the refrigerator until it unfroze.  One day Coppergoose was giving away a laptop fan, so I used all of my Karma Points (over 200) to enter the drawing.  I won it and it arrived at my house within a week.

Click picture to view listing on Amazon

I won the laptop fan above.  It's really cool (pun intended).  It runs off of USB power which is especially cool for me, since I only have one outlet in my room.  This fan costs $26.98 on Amazon and I got it for free!  In short, if you like free stuff, you should definitely check out Coppergoose.com.

Ad Space and Gift Cards Giveaway

Hey everyone, it's time for another giveaway!  The prizes are a $15 Fandango gift card, a Jack in the Box gift card (I think it's for $10), and 1 month of large (200x200) ad space on my blog.  One winner will win all of the prizes.  Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One of My Newest Favorite Artists

One thing I adore about Pinterest is the fact that I'm discovering all sorts of amazing artists, who I would have probably never heard of without it.  Today I would like to share one of newest favorite artists with you.  Her name is Courtney Brims, and not only does she make amazing art, she has one of the coolest websites ever.  Check out the entry screen.

Courtney Brims does a lot of great fairy tale themed art.  You seriously need to check out her gallery.  Her gallery shows tiny thumbnails of each piece, so you should click them to see the whole thing.  She has done so much amazing artwork!  She sells prints, greeting cards, gift tags, and postcards in her shop.  Her images are copyrighted so I'm not going to post any on here, but trust me and check them out.  You will not be disappointed.

Who is your favorite artist?

Call for Sponsors

I know that most people post this sort of post near the end of the previous month, but I am not most people.  And since I do ads through Passionfruit, you can sponsor my blog anytime you'd like to, not just at the beginning of the month.  Passionfruit automatically runs each ad for 30 days at a time, which makes it really easy.  This isn't an ad for Passionfruit ads.  I just really like running my ads through them.

I'm sure that you're wondering, of all of the bloggers I could sponsor, why would I pick you?  Well I'm glad you asked.  For one, I always visit my sponsor's sites.  If I really like it, it could even become my Shop or Blog of the Month at some point!  Besides that, I will share links to your posts or products on Twitter and Pinterest.  If that's not enough to convince you, I could really use the little bit of money I would gain from you sponsoring me.  I still haven't been able to go back to work since I'm still very sick and weak from all of this celiac ridiculousness, and nobody has been buying any of my Etsy products for awhile.  (I only made one sale during the Christmas season.)  So I have zero income, which is super stressful.

If you would like to help me out but don't want to sponsor me, you can check out my new Valentine's Day jewelry collection on Etsy.  Even if you don't buy anything, I would really appreciate it if you could share it with your friends through social media.  Thanks.

Blog and Shop of the Month: Tragic and Creative

My Blog of the Month was an easy choice.  I also found out that her birthday is this month, which is a happy coincidence.  I have been following her blog for quite a while, and she never ceases to make me jealous of her sewing abilities and laugh at her handrawn comics of conversations she has with her family and people at work.  She blogs for herself and not for fame, which is what I do too.  Kerry is my Blogger of the Month and you can find her blogging at The Tragic Whale.  Also make sure to check out her Etsy shop.  She makes the cutest purses, bags, and clutches.  I own a purse that she made and I love it.  They last a long time too.  Use the coupon code BIRTHDAY25 in her shop to save 25% off your orders all this week!


Blog | Shop | Twitter

I only discovered my shop of the month a few days ago while browsing jewelry makers on Google+.  She makes the cutest wood jewelry.  She only has two sales so far, so she is a perfect candidate for Shop of the Month.  Check out Sinead Creative for darling deer necklaces, heart and spike collar clips, and heart necklaces.   Now through February 11th, use the code Love20 to get 20% off your order.

Shop | Google+ | Facebook