You may call me...

"I don't like myself, I'm crazy about myself!" Mae West

My sister-in-law sent me that quote in response to my announcement that my new business cards will pronounce me Queen of the Universe. I love it!

I'm not kidding about the Queen of the Universe. Just ordered the cards. It's printed small and tastefully under my name. It will make me smile every time I hand one to a customer. Bowing and groveling is not required.
However, one can buy my favors with chocolate.

Didn't know we design business cards here did ya? Banners too. Now you know.

More about fonts

I keep seeing the term 'Word Art' popping up on blogs and forums. Word Art. Hmmm. Used to be called calligraphy. The art of beautiful writing.
I've always, always been enamored of the written word. Not just what it says, but how it looks. I started out in grade school practicing and practicing my cursive writing so that I would be the best cursive writer in the class. I was. I used to copy entire chapters from books just because I love the 'feel' of writing.
It was no surprise to me when I picked up a quill pen that the beautiful calligraphic letter forms would flow from my fingers almost effortlessly. Don't get me wrong, learning a new alphabet is hard work and takes much practice and discipline, but it was effortless because it is such a joy.

So now that computers have taken over my life and my creativity, I don't spend my time dipping a pen tip into a jar of ink. The 'undo' button is my constant companion and a blessing. (When you're putting ink to paper... man, it's there. There is no undo.)
The choice of fonts is almost endless. 20 or so years ago, there was presstype. You could get the big fat book with a few hundred fonts to choose from and the world was a great place to be. Now... there are thousands, possibly millions of fonts to choose from and the world is a FABULOUS place to be.
And there are new fonts being created every day.
Just for me.
Okay... for you too.

I'll get you, my pretty!

I want to talk about fonts. I love them. I have many thousands of them. Some are free, some are not so free. Most of the time, the ones really worth having are the ones worth paying for.

Through a little net surfing I found a couple more this morning to add to my collection. They are very grungy and messy and not something I would try to use for cut vinyl, but for web use and printing... yep, they'll do just fine.

Some of the fonts I have in my collection are there strictly because I love the name. "Batman Beat the Hell Out of Me" "Monkey Brains" "Zombies in Space" "Your Ex-Girlfriend" pretty fun stuff.

I have the titling fonts to many of the major movies, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... and so on. It's fun when I get asked to do quotes for someone's in home theater and we can use a movie font for the quote. ("Let the Wookie Win" is always good advice and looks great in the Star Wars font.)
That reminds me... I better check the mail. I'll bet there's some movies in there for the weekend!

Do what you like, like what you do

It's so wonderful to have a little extra time right now to be creative. January is typically the slowest month for us, so it's the time to decide what to shoot for in the coming year. What we need to drop, what we need to add what's the best way to go about it. It's pretty darn exciting, I must say.

I've dusted off my tablet and pen and been working on some digital paintings and a couple of fonts too. It takes a lot of time and considerable patience. It's also very addictive. I sit down to work and before I know it, it's the wee hours, I've had waaaay too much caffeine and my rear has lost all feeling from sitting so long. I love every minute of it!

I've always read that you should find something that you love to do and find a way to make your living doing that. How fortunate I am to have been able to do that for a very long time.
Now if I can just work it so that I spend the winter on the veranda in Hawaii....

...and the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Don't worry.... be happy!

Miracles Happen... you are what you think.

That's what the sticky note on my monitor says. I have to be reminded from time to time; which is why it is stuck to my monitor.
"Energy flows where attention goes". Something else I believe.
I don't always keep these thoughts in the front of my head, which is why I keep them in front of my eyes. It is to keep me focused on the positive, the abundance and all the joy that is in my life.
This is one of the aspects of my business that I love the best. Helping people surround themselves with positive words and attitudes. "Dream. Believe. Imagine. Laugh. Shine. If you can dream it, you can do it."
It's all true, you know.

This year is abounding with concerns about jobs and the economy and.... for whatever reason, the end of the world and Armageddon seem to be a topic that the media feel the need to keep pounding us with. Yeah... that makes me feel all cheery and upbeat!
With all of that coming at us from all directions, it is important to surround ourselves with reminders of all the good and wonderful things that are in our lives. Surround yourself with the people and the things that make you happy. Be grateful for the abundance that blesses your life.
And if you need a few well written words to stick on your wall to remind yourself that all is well.... honey, you know where to call.

So... if I am what I think... well then... I am joy.
I know that everything works out for my good. I know that I have the ability to make my life fabulous. And just by saying that... it is!

A place for everything and... well, you know.

There's something so refreshing about a clean desk. It's amazing! And since my desk is hardly EVER clean, I'm basking in a glow that I just don't feel that often. I thought everyone would like to share in my joy, so here's a photo for ya. Actually, I just want to show proof that this miracle has truly occured.


What's that you're saying? This desk doesn't look all that clean? Well, let me assure you that compared to what it looked like before, this is total organization. Notice the awesome order book in the corner? The little slots all containing items that are where they should be... the jar of change that hasn't found a place yet, but soon.

Even the monkeys are happier... and you know how important that is!

A use for everything

Well, I've put it off long enough. Yep, this weekend I'm gonna have to do some cleaning around the shop.
The Christmas rush starts for us in September, so everything to do with neatness or organization goes right into the "I'll do that after Christmas" pile. Hmmmm, well... it's after Christmas now.
I ordered some nice industrial looking wall files from a company on Ebay... I love ebay... so I can't wait for them to arrive and bring order into my life. Bought a big shiny new binder, for organization purposes, and now realize that I have no cubbies on my desk that are big enough to accommodate this gigantic folder of colossal awesomeness. So I'm gonna have to clear the shelf above the computer which currently holds photos of family and a jade Buddha and my Star Wars Mr. Potato Heads, Darth Tater and the Spud Trooper.

Along with dusting all of the bazillion monkeys that reside in the office, I've got to clean up the shipping area too. I'm a big believer in recycling so I reuse all the boxes and bubble wrap and packing stuff that comes to me when I order supplies. That means that I now have 4 huge boxes of packing peanuts that I'm never gonna use. (They don't work well to pack around vinyl letters) I also have many, many, MANY empty tubes that I keep hanging on to cuz I just KNOW that at some point I'm going to find a use for them. I use some for shipping, but still they are gaining on me.
I've got it! I'll keep saving them until I have enough to build a garage on the side of my house. I can stuff them with the packing peanuts for insulation, glue them together with tacky glue, just like linkin' logs, then varnish them with the old can of mod podge that I've been hangin on to. It'll make them shiny AND waterproof. Genius!

A little list of things...

I received this list in an email this morning. I love it. It has some things that I truly believe and I need to be reminded of from time to time. Hope you like em too.

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this really matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Be thou an example...

“Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Seems like everyone I've talked to this past week or so is looking for this scripture for display in one form or another. It's this year's Young Women's theme, so understandably, it's in demand right now.
So... I'll be posting some layouts for different uses. Something for a tile or picture frame, for small wood blocks, a line for the wall... I'm open to suggestions.

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
Golda Meir

This little light of mine...

New Year's Day. WooHoo!!! A fresh new year all stretched out like a blank canvas ready for me to decorate. I know that every day, every minute is a fresh new canvas, but since we celebrate it and make a big deal of the changing of the year, it seems to have more significance... a little more oomph.
My birthday last month, being a milestone year, had me already in the mode to reassess my life. Take stock and decide what is important and what is not. I don't feel old, but I do feel the need to prioritize. "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'." a quote from one of my favorite movies The Shawshank Redemption. That's what I feel.

Like I mentioned a post or two ago, I always have a theme for the year.
This year I'm gonna SHINE!

I work a lot. Really. A lot. So much, in fact, that the talents and many of the hobbies and things that I love to do have been pushed not just to the side, but completely off the table. I'm gonna pick 'em up off the floor and dust 'em off and put 'em to use again.
So instead of focusing on what I don't have, don't do, should have done... all those things that are past and I can't do anything about them anyway, I'm going to bring out the things I can do. Not going to wait until I'm the perfect weight, until I can afford it, until somebody invites me, until.... whatever it is I'm waiting for.
I'm gonna sing and paint and write and laugh and.... all the things I love.
I'm going to get healthy and take care of and enjoy what I've been given. I'm gonna do the best I can. And you know what? The best I can is pretty darn good.

Let it Shine... let it Shine, Shine, SHINE!!!