ebb + flow

As I sit in my studio, the sky is a non-color, the trees are leafless. I know that spring is coming and soon my window will be filled with the most pungent rose bush on the planet. Soon it will be hard for me to stay indoors and work. Then it hits me. Creating is just like nature. There is a natural ebb and flow. If an artist doesn't rest, or take a break they will burn out. Nature knows best, it's okay to rest. Soon enough it will be time to bloom.

being creative

Last week was difficult. I felt that my creative spirit had left, and I certainly didn't know when it would be back. Perhaps it's the gray skies that permanently hang like a wall in January. Or maybe it was that company that decided not to carry one of my products. I was down. A friend suggested that my creative well was dry and that I needed to refill it. But how?

Beside just letting the moment pass. They eventually do. I decided that I MUST do something creative with my hands. No matter what it turned out like. I worked with the felt balls creating some funny creatures. I used beads, buttons, embroidery floss, needles and anything else that added personality to the little creatures. They turned out not too bad.

Also, I've been reading Sue Monk Kidds' book "Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story". It has helped me through this hard time. In the book, Kidd is struggling with confidence to continue to write, "The Secret Lives of Bees". Her self doubt, the questions that all of us have. It made me feel better that even the successful, creative women, like Kidd, has her days too. We all know what happen with the "Bee" book. A movie and the sixth bestselling novel of the last decade!

Kidd also mentions in her writing a "necessary fire".  My creativeness is my "necessary fire". It makes me alive. The fire is something that is inborn in my heart. And is part of my reason for being here. I just need to remember, that some days the fire will grow big and other days, it will be a small glowing flicker. But I know this, my fire cannot be put out.

Wool Felt Ball Creatures

The love of felt continues... I bought these 2 inch colorful wool felt balls and while back. They sat and sat until I thought they would make wonderful odd creatures. This is just two that I am working with. The wire is fun, but difficult to make look right. The bead legs are pretty, but not unique. A work in progress. The photo below is from my trip to Tokyo in March. So cute!

New Cards for the Gift Show

Just finished these little gems. They are a take-off from the 2010 calendar that I illustrated. They are headed to NYC today. My lovely rep. Constance Kay will be showing these at the New York Gift Show at the Javits Center, January 30 – February 3, Booth 6513.

If I only had the money to fly, stay and walk around the gift show. It would be wonderful to soak in all that creativity and seek other mentors. Perhaps one day I'll do my own trade show!

Happy Felt Garland

I have this red and white baker's string, which I love to use to wrap packages. But it has a surprising festive look when I used it to string my brilliant felt beads. I start with nine feet of string, and end up with just about 7 feet. Perfect to hang in your office, kids room or my personal favorite is to make about three and hang vertically on a plain wall or in front of a window. For a little flair I added buttons of many beautiful colors. You could use glass beads, which would look wonderful in a sunny window. Tip to keeping your garland from getting tangle. Recycle a piece of cardboard from a cereal box, or shipping box and wrap the garland around it. That's it!
http://www.presentbydesign.com/products/happy-felt-garland

pretty things

My grandma gave me a apple box full of beads. She collects buttons, and it seems that beads are always tagging along. I've put together the beads that I love and then found these great glass cabochons. I cut out circles to fit the bezel, then pop in the glass and use my grandma's beads to finish it.

Happy Felted Balls

I am in love with felt! Felt puppets, felt shoes, felt flowers, everything felt. Maybe it's the soft fuzzy warmness of the material or the brilliant colors, simply, it make me happy.

How to make felt balls?

1. You will need carded wool, hot water and a bar of soap (liquid works too). Pull a little bit of the wool, the size of a quarter, it all depends on the size you want in the end. You don't need much. Dip your fingertips in soap and rub just a little on a piece of wool. Wind it into a ball.
    
2. Dip it quickly in hot water and roll between your palms. Kinda of little rolling a ball of Playdoh. But roll very lightly at first. Towards the end it will be hard. If the ball looks more oval or little cracks. Just pull some of the ball wool and put it in the area that is the problem, dip in water and more soap and continue to roll in your palms. The soap is like glue.
    
3. It takes a few minutes to get it to the final firm ball. You can place a wooden skewer through the ball, if you plan to use it for a bead. This will create a nice hole to thread. Place in a sunny window or by a heat vent and let dry. A day should be plenty.

I have these beautiful felt balls, I plan to create some wonderful garland.    

Four Hundred Gift Guide

We made the Four Hundred Gift Guide with our fun and quirky Fortune Tootsies! You can find us under childs Play. 

http://www.rjcollective.com/clients/fourhundred/gift/

Helping Women Entrepreneurs Soar!

This year has been wonderful for me personally and professionally. When I quit my full-time a year ago to pursue my passion, it was an uncertain time, and in many ways it still is! But success has come with lots of hard work and I owe it all to you for purchasing my creations, spreading the word, and offering praise.

I want to to continue the cycle and help other women entrepreneurs by micro-lending. I am happy to say that two women I chose to help are now fully funded. Ifeyinwa (left) of Nigeria, is 30 years old and a fashion designer. She sews very well and a lot people patronize her business. She has been sewing for four years. "I love my business and I love seeing people in fine wears," she says. She sustains and supports her family with her business. She hopes to expand her business in the future and add sarongs and tailoring material to sell.

Elise (right) ASSOGBA was born on February 11, 1975, in Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. She's married to Alim ADECHI and the mother of one school-attending child. For five years, Elise has been living with her child and her husband in the Avotrou neighborhood in Cotonou. She supports the family on her own and she never attended school. For about four years, she's been selling fabrics by the distribution system. Elise is also a hairdresser who sells hair extensions. She gets her supplies in Dantokpa, an international market in Benin.

If you are interested in helping women soar, contact Kiva.org.

We can all be great with a little support! I'll keep you posted on their success.

Circle Garland

I love paper and found a project that my 4 year son could share his expertise. He punches the circles out of paper and I sew them together. We put them in cute little metal tins. We also use paper beads and glass beads in between the circles for a shimmery effect. Absolutely cute!

Earnshaw’s is the premier media resource serving the children’s market, including apparel, juvenile products and gifts. With more than 90 years of experience, the magazine is the established voice of the industry. Earnshaw’s magazine features fashion events and informed on the latest trends, and keep their assortments fresh.

We are pleased that our Fortune Tootsies is featured in their "Pampered - Baby Products & News" section. Below is a link to the article.

http://earnshaws.epubxpress.com/link/earn/2009/jul/18?s=0

In the News

From A to Z: Moscow woman's Scrabble tile necklaces offer something for everyone

Moscow woman's Scrabble tile necklaces offer something for everyone. Julene Ewert is one of five generations of Scrabble enthusiasts.
Her grandfather handcrafted his own Scrabble board out of wood when he couldn't afford to buy one in 1955.
More than 50 years later, Ewert has turned her love of the popular board game into a creative art form.
The Moscow resident and former University of Idaho graphic designer creates necklaces and earrings using Scrabble tiles and images she creates out of colorful paper and cuts out of random books and magazines. She scans and manipulates the images with computer programs and applies a clear coating that gives the pieces a glossy finish.
Ewert sells the tiles at the Moscow Food Co-op, Prichard Art Gallery, Wild Ivy and locations in Alaska, Oregon and Montana. She also attends fairs and trade shows across the country, selling her tiles and getting feedback from potential customers. The necklaces are the top seller for Ewert's business, Present by Design. She also sells socks for babies, handmade cards and other creations.
Ewert started the business four years ago after creating a few necklaces to sell online. "We made a few to put on the Web and it really took off," she said.
As sales increased, Ewert quit her job at the UI to pursue her venture on a full-time basis and take care of her 4-year-old son. Ewert has always been drawn to crafts. Her first endeavor came when she was a child, selling her crocheted creations at her grandmother's yard sale. She once dreamed of creating cards for Hallmark.
Today, Ewert creates her handmade cards and jewelry pieces at a studio in her home. She collects Scrabble tiles from old games she finds in thrift stores and online, as well as tiles that have been donated to her. Every product she uses is environmentally friendly, from the clear finish to the recycled cardboard she uses to package the earrings.
The Scrabble tiles depict a wide array of images including flowers, animals and patterns, as well as more quirky and random designs like nuns, a man shaving, a toaster and a brain.
"I didn't realize that a tile I had created was of a carcass beetle until my dad asked me why I had a tile of a carcass beetle," she said with a laugh. "Some of my tiles are so random, and people choose the craziest things. One woman had to have the toaster because she said she loves toast."
She said she gets a lot of ideas for tiles from customers, and she recently returned from a trip to Japan, where she drew inspiration from the unique paper she found.
Ewert is working on an order of necklaces with skull tiles to sell at a specialty shop in Spokane called Boo Radley's.
"I went in and within 10 minutes I had an order," she said.
She is thrilled to see the Scrabble tiles take off the way they have.
"A lot of people love the Scrabble concept, and it's a pieces of art," she said.
"It's great to work from home and create something, and make a living following my passion," she said.

Written by: Omie Drawhorn
Photo Credit: Moscow/Pullman Daily News