What Do You Love?

I have found that I LOVE making jewelry, but it took a while!

Do what you love!  Have an amazing life!  What happens if you don't even know what you like, never mind what you love?

You only know that you don't particularly care for what you're doing right now and you're feeling restless.  A part of you that believes you have the potential to do much bigger things.

You were born to share your gifts, if only you could put your finger on exactly what those are...

How do you find your strengths?  How do you figure out what your dreams are?

Here is how I began to get clear on what I really want to have in my life.

I started by really paying attention to what I was doing and breaking it down.  I started noticing when something pulled me in.  What exactly I was doing when time passed quickly and when it dragged.

If I found something online that made me want to know more I paid attention to what is was exactly that intrigued me and I wrote it down in my journal (this is how I found art journaling!)

I started noticing what sections of the bookstore I gravitated to.  What was I always looking at? (Business, Creative Stuff, Interior Design.)

I started examining what the favorite parts of my job were (understanding what motivates people and future planning) and what really made my eye start to twitch (I will hold my tongue because my grandmother taught me to.)

I made cards about the people I most admire and the qualities they had, things like "positive energy", "generous", "they talk about things I find interesting" and "kind." This helped me to know what kind of people I want to surround myself with. The type of people I wanted to draw into my life.

I began trying things that interested me even if I thought I wasn't good at them.  Like painting and making jewelry.  Like teaching kids.  Like designing a web page.  If it sparked an interest for me, I tried it and gave myself permission to do it wrong or badly, which really took the pressure off.

I also started making a list of things that I no longer wanted to have in my life.  Things I was ready to release and be done with.  The challenging part here was that many of the things I wanted to let go of, were intricately tangled around me in ways that made them difficult to release.

It has become a process of loosening the threads, one by one, like cutting gum out of a little gir'ls hair.  You want to chop out the wad all at once, but it's better in the long run if you go slowly and try to preserve the good things, while getting rid of the sticky-icky mess.

I encourage you to start paying attention and noticing what pulls you in.  Right now, in the next hour, throughout your day.  You will start to see where you most like to explore and where time disappears. 

Following this path will lead you back to what you truly want.  What is it you love?

Where Does the Money Come From?

I love it when bloggers share how they make money from their businesses.  You can see how having different sources of income really adds up to a living and how people build successful products and services.

Here are two of my favorites:

Writer Extraordinaire, Alexandra Franzen gives a glimpse inside the guts of her business in this blog post.  She includes the services she offers, her go to tools and how she gets paid.

Jewelry maker and marketer Lisa Jacobs shows her various income streams for 2014 and how she makes money from her Etsy Sales and online business. She compares it to what she might make in a traditional job.  I celebrate her courage in honestly posting good months and not so good months.  She also pays attention to why sales decreased and where she could do better, which we can all learn from doing as well.

These women teach me that making a living from doing what you love is possible.  They've built systems and they pay attention to both what is working and also what they most enjoy doing.  They follow what they're most enthusiastic about and that energy is tangible.

You may be in the process of setting up your business and looking at what you enjoy and how you might make money while also making a difference in the world.  There is much to sort out, but that's what we're here for.  To begin figuring it all out. 

To begin building a life that is perfectly designed for you, by you.

Creative Giveaway Celebration!

Drawing Friday, May 2nd!

Today I went down to the County Office Building and registered Have All This as a real, official business!

And guess what?  The woman who processed my paperwork at the Clerk's office got really excited over the bracelet I was wearing (one of my Wonderwraps) and bought it right off my arm! (And she wants me to come back with a display case so she can pick more out!)

Sometimes the Universe lets you know you're heading in the right direction. 

To celebrate the official launch of my business, I'm giving away the Wonderwrap above to one subscriber on my e-mail list (I love giving gifts so more to come for lucky subscribers!)
I hope it will delight you as much as the woman who purchased mine today!

You can sign up here:

Get super helpful tips to build your creative business  

Getting Things Done When You Work Full Time

Like many things in my life lately, the Philadelphia Bead Fest this past weekend was a lot to take in.  So many booths filled with color, so much to look at and see...

Sometimes when I have too much in front of me, I start to feel overwhelmed.  Thoughts begin to swirl...What should I do first?  Where should I begin, how will I get through all of this?  It happens at work (which issue should I tackle first?), at home (laundry? dishes?  mopping? putting clothes away?  making dinner?) and in my business (I need to redesign my website and there are so many options, where do I begin? Should I do it myself or hire someone?  I need an online shopping cart and a space to host online classes...how hard could it be to set up my own Wordpress site?)  

Then I just want to lay down and take a nap.  

There is so much to do that I want to do exactly NOTHING.

I have to continually remind myself that what always works best for me is to do what is in front of me to do next.  The important things first of course and then, just whatever is next.

It's simple.

It GETS THINGS DONE.

I often jot down lists because they help me stay focused.  I'm pretty loose about them. I don't put  them in order.  I just dump out the tasks onto paper so that I can get them out of my head and remember to do them.

Here is a sample from today.  Keep in mind I work full-time, so this is my after 5pm. or on my lunch hour list for my business and home life.


Over the next couple of days:


Send personal thank you notes to people who bought from me at the Heritage Wholesale Show I participated in this week (My first one-a huge risk for me, but I'm so glad I did it.  I ended up having a 50-unit sale of my Wonderwrap bracelets and making connections with a couple of different store owners!) I think it is so important to send a personal, hand-written thank you note to show how much you appreciate their business.

Register my daughter for summer camp

Go grocery shopping for food for the week

Stop by the antique store for more jewelry display ideas

Stop by Michaels' for some wire (I think I can do this on my lunch hour today)

Set up dates for upcoming classes

Email the students on my class list the dates of upcoming classes 

Work on creating a calendar for my blog posts and newsletters

Catch up on B-school Trainings and watch the Wordpress tutorial again

Facebook people in my jewelry groups regarding my new idea to create jewelry displays from antique or re-purposed items to see if there is a demand

Fold laundry and put it away

Celebrate the successes of my week (had great sales at the wholesale show, learned a new jewelry making skill, toured the country's first penitentiary in Philadelphia, got to spend some time in the sunshine, listening to a band play in Philly, spent good times with my family!)

I know it can seem like there isn't time to accomplish all that you want to do, but I encourage you to just begin doing one thing at a time and you will see the momentum start to build. Momentum is that beautiful thing that keeps you moving and motivated.

Be gentle on yourself if you don't get it all done. It's really ok if we have only 83 bracelets for the upcoming whole sale show instead of the 100 we hoped to have ready.  It's ok if you take a night off from your list to just do something fun and juicy.

Celebrate what you are able to accomplish. Look back over the past few days and spend some time complimenting yourself for the things you did-many may not have even been on the list, but they moved you forward just the same.

It's Time to Make Room for the Good Stuff

In times of transition, I have a fierce need to clear my space.  

Not just my physical space, but a widespread sweep of all the clutter that is glomming up my days.  Too much junk mail in my inbox, noise, time spent in ways that I resent...and right now, I am so ready to cut the cord. 

Are you ready for a shift?  And not just a shift in trying to find the positive, the good, the gratitude that you're wrangling out of moments that result from choosing what you don't want. I mean, are you ready to clear some internal and external space to allow for transition to occur?

If you're ready, it's time to seriously take an industrial-sized Swiffer to your life. To seek out every little nook where you are holding that which needs to be let go. To be uncompromisingly (yes-this is not a time for compromise!) ruthless in setting free what you no longer want to be a part of your life.

Do you have a house mostly full of things you don't want but feel obligated to keep?  If you're like me, you have walls that aren't the colors you chose but can't find time to paint.  The furniture is mostly from family members or former houses and just don't work now.  The closets are stuffed full sentiment or that which you feel guilty to let go of.

And then there are the things we might use someday, when we have the lake house or that garage sale or that might work perfectly in that next art project.

It's time to declare Enough!  To send what we do not love to a new place with someone that will receive joy from having it.  

You need to be ruthless with weeding out whatever it is that is cluttering both your mind and your physical space and the reason is this:  You want to make room to invite the good things in.  

It sounds simple, but think of this:

If your inbox is full of junk mail, will you miss the important invitation to join something you've been dreaming of?

If your mind is cluttered with thoughts of the past are you missing what's happening right now?

If you are settling for Aunt Margaret's hand me down furniture, will you have space for that fabulous piece you just spied at the Antique Fair?

Keeping what you don't really want (no matter what it is) actually drives away or holds at bay something you really do want.

It's time to release and here is my challenge:

Everyday, find at least 3 things to clear or cleanse from your mental or physical space. 

Need ideas?

I recommend choosing a small area to attack:

• Go through your bathroom cabinets (the bane of my existence!) and toss old makeup, mostly empty bottles of gunk, hair spray from the 80's...you only have to get rid of 3 things, but once you get going, who knows what might happen?
• Ransack your inbox and unsubscribe to sites you're no longer interested in (except this one of course...)
• Say "no" when they ask you at stores for your email address.  I do this with no explanation and it delights me.  Here is practice for you:  Store: "Can I have your email address?" You:  "No" 
• Put yourself on the "Do Not Send Junk Mail" list (you can find the contact at the bottom of any credit card advertisement)
• Tackle small spaces in your art studio and get rid of old projects, dried up paints and use up stuff you thought you might one day work in somewhere (we all have them, it's a dirty little artist secret) Don't go for the gold and try and do the whole room in one day.  Just pick one little area to start with like that box of collage items...
• Give yourself a few minutes of quiet meditation each morning before you dive in to your day.  Like sit on your bed and listen to your breath for 5 minutes. 

My goal is to have an actual space for everything I own that isn't the kitchen island, dining room table or any other flat surface I can find.  Splitting it up into tiny, little chunks works for me.

So here is the mantra:  "Declutter!  Purge!  Set it Free!  And open the door for all good things to come." 

My Secret to Making Ear Cuffs

I've been making these ear cuffs for people who are way more hip than I am...

This style is easy to make, thanks to this you tube tutorial (thank you Meilris!):

I did not opt to add the little chain and I use much smaller beads that fit more with my style.

 

No two are ever alike. There is always variation depending on where you place your bends and how you make your spirals.

Give it a try at home or join us for jewelry making class in January where we experiment with many types of designs and styles.  Here's a little peak at what we made during one class in October.

Samples of our student's creativity

What You Can Learn by Doing

For many years, I sat and wrote about having my own business in my journals. I was prolific about what businesses I could start, what strengths I could bring to each, what my downfalls might be and in what ways I might succeed or fail.  What I did very little of was take those ideas into the arena and DOTHEM!  I dabbled in things here and there, but I didn't make a commitment or really invest in making things happen.

Now that I'm diving in, I'm learning things I never could have imagined sitting out on my deck with my glass of wine, pondering all that I might do some day.

I began teaching jewelry making classes through my school district's Adult Education Department which has evolved into partnering with my friend Libby Dow to teach mobile classes in our community.  On Saturdays I teach kids art classes at Orenda Springs (did I mention I still work full-time?)   Every spare moment I have I make bracelets-I'm so excited that the orders just keep rolling in for them! Beads, elephants, skulls...My kitchen island is a sea of color! 

As I'm playing with teaching, creating and launching a business, my first and constant question is always "Do I enjoy this?"  Do I enjoy writing this blog?  What is it I like about it?  Do I enjoy twisting and bending wire?  Do I enjoy teaching kids?  What is it that gets me the MOST excited about what I'm doing and how can I do more of THAT?  That is the road I want to follow.

What have I discovered? 

I  LOVE Co-teaching. I love the collaboration, sharing and confidence that having the support of another in the room brings.  I've co-taught my last 3 classes and I've LOVED them.  When I teach alone, I sometimes leave with a sense of unease and I keep replaying things in my head that I should have said or done.  I don't feel that way when I co-teach, partly because the other person is always there to catch you if you stumble.

I'm going to make mistakes. I know that I have a crap load to learn about my online selling options.  I have my "jewelry" sales page set up to sell directly to those of you interested.  It's verified and secure and it works perfectly if you just buy one thing, but I have it set up to only sell one thing at a time!  That's not very efficient!  Fortunately, the person who taught me this by attempting to buy 3 bracelets was kind and helpful about it and now I know about it and can fix it.  It is just a matter of going back into Paypal and setting up a shopping cart vs. a Buy Now button-a distinction I did not realize the importance of until this happened. 

I need to figure out what's most important in growing my creative empire and make sure I give them time.   I'm spending so much time making that I have little time left for growing or promoting my business (or in participating in fun stuff like the online classes I signed up for this month and time with my family).  My next step is to begin planning in those important things so that I don't cut everything off at the knees by just making and nothing else.

Learning is what it's all about for me.  I'm getting clearer about what I really want to have in my life. I feel like I'm just at the beginning of something big.  It's uncertain, unknown and scares the crap out of me, but what could I gain if only I to rise to meet it?