"Stinkerbell Entertainment Presents:"

My daughter turns 10 today. To her, it's a big, monumental birthday. Granted, it's not 13 nor the 'Sweet 16' but to her, it's still a big deal. (And what kid doesn't think that their birthday isn't monumental every year, right? LOL)
She's this HUGE Taylor Swift fan and really wanted a "Taylor Swift Party" theme for her slumber party this coming Saturday. Well, considering that we live in a rather small town and the chance of me getting to the city before her party was pretty slim (and finding any sort of Taylor Swift party supplies might be hard because I don't even know if there are any that exist), I decided just to use my creative design skills to make some myself! I was actually sprung onto the idea of creating "backstage passes" when my daughter and I were looking at events for Cheyenne Frontier Days in July. Happens to be- Taylor Swift is going to be playing again this year (opening for Kenny Chesney, I believe.) My daughter was begging and pleading for me to buy tickets and also asked me if I could buy backstage passes because she would absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE to meet Taylor Swift. I did have to give her the unfortunate news that buying tickets would have to wait and that you can't just "buy" backstage passes....(But I did tell her that if she helped save up money towards tickets and did more chores and such, I'd consider getting them....) And then that led to the idea of making backstage passes for invitations to her slumber party.

They're printed on a pearl metallic paper that I had at home and laminated in those self-stick laminating sheets for pictures that you can buy in the office supply section or office supply store. The sheets come in packs of 5 for around $3.00. I also had rivets at home so I was able to punch out holes and secure eyelets to run black ribbon through. I think that they turned out really cool and my daughter and her friends absolutely LOVE them! And I know that my daughter will look back at this birthday and remember those invites and that really means a lot to me. :) "Sleeping Bags and Singing Voices Required at door....." There's karaoke at this party which means I'll need to go find some ear plugs next! LOL

They're just fun, I had to share! Happy Birthday, Miss Stinkerbell!

Across the sea, she sings to me...

So, I was on Etsy.com last night, just browsing and looking to be inspired. I am wanting to start selling my own stuff on there soon. I have to get my act together and get some stuff done and organized so I can do it...Anyhow, I ended up finding this awesome little felt bird named "Kirsty Kingfisher" on Etsy's main page and just HAD to have it! She sings to me in such a familiar song, I just knew I needed her to come live at my house. (scroll to the bottom of this blog and you might understand...) The seller, cherrypips, has a bunch of other great felt brooches listed on there and will also do custom designs for you as well. This is my very first purchase on Etsy (although I could probably spend a fortune on there!) I can't wait to get this!!! Thank you soooo much, cherrypips!

Crocheted Jewelry!

This is gonna be a quick post but it's just something that I found that I absolutely love! I was just browsing Etsy, just for a break from the mundane and found this awesome crocheted necklace by

irregularexpressions and I am raving about it! There are a lot of other really cool and unique pieces that she has made with crochet. I really want this and what a perfect way to express to the world that you are a designer, right?!

A Belated Christmas Card

I know this is really late posting but it's taken this long just to get pictures taken. Granted, I also realize that these are not the best pictures because they really don't do the card justice (it's hard to tell but the little green hearts are glittery), but it's at least something for now until I can get better ones taken....

Anyhow- this is the Christmas card that I designed for this year. My plan is to expand more on stationery design and have my own line out by the end of this year. There are a few places that I know of that are willing to sell my work and then, of course, there is Etsy.com which I plan to utilize this year...it's baby steps but it's working in the direction that I really want to go in. I know that I have the creative ability and talent to do more with my work than my day job allows. I can't let that go to waste. It would be a crime worthy of punishment, in my opinion. So while I'll be plugging along doing production design during the day, I really want to push myself more creatively by night. hehe

I hope everyone had a great New Year's...I cannot believe it's already 2009!

What do *I* Want 2009

I decided that instead of coming up with a list of resolutions for this year, I wanted to think of things a little differently. I thought of calling it my "Aspirations List" or even a "Reminders for 2009" list. But it just really doesn't fit for what I really really need it to be. I need something more direct, more blunt...Maybe it's from watching The Notebook this last week or maybe The Women just recently but something struck a nerve and really got me thinking..."WHAT DO *I* WANT?" Really....what is it that I want? I have been thinking that if I can truly come up with the answer to this, I can create my own little list and from there, create the babysteps needed to accomplish those things. I mean, I keep thinking in my head, "what do I want? what is it that I truly, deeply want? Not what others want, not what I think others want me to want (okay that was a bit much)...but truly...what do *I* want?"

So, here is my idea: During the month of January of this brand new year, I will aspire to create a plan, use an entire wall if needed to visually communicate to myself what it is that I want. Some might call it a "Dream Board" or an "Inspiration Board" or whatever. But that doesn't really work for me. I dream enough as it is. Sometimes I think that if daydreaming could be a paid occupation, I'd have a load of wealth but my dreams would eventually fade. That would be a very sad thing. But anyhow....what I want and what I need is something that is visually more demanding of me. I need that wall to literally scream at me "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" and demand that I answer. But here's the catch- I really have to dig deep for what I put up there. What I put up there, they have to be things that I have to work for and earn. And once it's on the wall, I have to commit to doing the work needed to try and accomplish it. If I don't succeed, it won't be because I didn't try. But I'll never know until then. I know that for most part, the things that I really want are attainable. If it's something I really want, wouldn't it be worth investing more time and effort in accomplishing?

No more resolutions, no more wish lists....it's time to start demanding more from myself, leave no room for excuses! It's 2009- BRING IT ON!!!!