Lambs

The early crop of lambs on my friend's ranch are now eating hay and will be weaned shortly.  That will be a noisy few days as babies and moms really don't like to be separated and spend a time calling for one another.

The lambs are very curious.  You can stand at the fence and chirp at them and they will come and take a close look at you.  Here's one brave boy who wants to check out 'Rooster'.  Rooster is my Shetland Sheepdog who competes in herding events.  A properly trained herding dog does not see the stock as something to chase or harrass but simply as creatures who need to be taken here and there at the direction of the person in charge.  He's okay with the lamb coming up to see him but he won't stand there long.  Too boring doing nothing for him.  He likes action.

This is the tiny twin who was shown in an earlier blog.  While small, she is sturdy and healthy.  They call her color 'red and white'.

Look at the greedy lambs actually in the feeder.  They are lots of fun to watch.

Not in Kansas...

I'm getting back into Polymer Clay.  I have some definite plans (which are continually changing shape) and am quite excited about this.  It has been many years since I've worked with the clay and boy, have things changed

I'm used to sculpting but not with the new materials and the new products provide unlimited creative opportunities.
Also, toaster ovens have gotten more accurate, temperature wise and convection ovens are available.

At Leah's suggestion, I got a convection oven.  I'd never used one before but liked the concept.

I tried it out the other day with a 'practice' piece of clay.  I carefully put my soft clay item on my piece of paper and a small feather and a tuft of dog hair (freshly clipped for the occasion), placed this in the convection oven and turned it on.

It looked like a tornado had touched ground in that oven.  Things were whirling around like mad.  Even the clay was bouncing!  I turned it off and stillness reigned.  It was truly a "Your're not in Kansas any longer, Dorothy!" moment.

Learned a lot with that little episode.  Now I use glass rather than the traditional paper and I'll glue in the feathers and fur (mixed media items) after curing.  Such fun!  I'm experiencing a learning curve for now but will post some pictures when I have some finished items.

The Cheetah Bead necklace is the first thing I ever sold in a gallery.

Busy Times

This has been a very busy time for us.  We have the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows here that run from the last week in January through the second week in February.  This is a series of over 140 different events at different sites.

In spite of my Cataract Surgery last Wednesday, I was able to go to events starting the following day with the aid of my 'Seeing Eye Husband'.  My vision wasn't terrific but he did the driving and made sure I didn't trip over curbs on the way into the buildings so I didn't have to miss much.

I had hoped to take some pictures but the organizers of the events had signs saying that this was not allowed.

I saw many of my favorite people and met some new ones, most notably Christi Friesen, a talented and energetic Polymer Clay Award Winning artist and teacher.  I was so impressed that I signed up for one of her workshops on Super Bowl Sunday and had a ball!  This lady is a scream.  I did discover that my vision wasn't good enough for tiny detail work but I learned a ton.  Be sure and visit her booth should she ever be in your area.  Her things are fun even if you are not a Polymer Clay person.  Take a look at her one of a kind creations.   http://www.cforiginals.com/http://www.cforiginals.com/

No pictures of the big event though I could show you my empty wallet. 

I'm including a couple of 'new lambs at the ranch' pictures.  These are twins but the boy is huge and the little girl is tiny.  Maybe I should try to sculp them just for practice.

Goals Update

I reviewed my stated goals and feel that I'm off to a good start.  I've set up a system of keeping receipts organized for tax purposes.  I've increased and worked my circles.  I've been very active in the team promotional activities.  (Actually, I will be tied up a lot starting soon and going to mid-March so I want to get lots of promoting done now.) I've increased my items which will be helpful when I hit this busy patch which will include being out of town a lot as well as some minor but inconvenient surgery.

No progress on Google, tags or organizing my materials.  Still, a pretty good start.

Here is my newest item.

2012 Goals

My shop goals for 2012 tend to be functional in nature...things I wish I had done/known this past year.

I will learn more about Google, Tags and timing trends and then, impliment some of these skills.  The information is there thanks to the hard work of so many wonderful team members.  I WILL take advantage and learn.

I will organize my materials.  I can't find a thing!  I've purchased some containers and actually have an overall plan.

I will keep better records of receipts, inventory and sales.

I will increase the number of items in my shop.  I met this year's goal in this area but need to keep going.

I will tweak my circles.  I met my goals here as well but plan to increase numbers and pay closer attention as to who to keep and who to replace.

I will continue to be active in the threads and team activities.  Without the help and support of all my friends none of the above would be possible.

A thousand thanks to everyone for last year.  It was a blast!

Going Postal

I really, really, really wanted to mail my package that was going to central Alaska so that it would be heading out Monday morning. I was waiting for one last gift ordered on-line to make an appearance in my mailbox. It arrived Saturday afternoon, was quickly wrapped and slipped into the waiting large Priority Mail box. I flew out the door trying to make the 4:30 Post Office closing time. I didn’t, primarily because they close at noon on Saturdays.


A young girl (looked about 12 but was driving and all so she must have been older) was there and suggested I stop whining and pounding on the closed, locked and empty section and use the Do It Yourself Package Mailing Kiosk. This sounded good until I discovered that it was related to a computer! You know how I am about following directions on a computer.

Well, no one was around so I figured I could always grab my package and run out the door if I botched this job too badly. Got almost through when I noticed the 12 year old girl (who drives a car) was back and watching me. I hate an audience when I’m stumbling around. Fortunately, for a change, I managed to follow the directions and get the job done and she only had to remind me to hit NO at the end to clear the screen.

All I had to do was to take my large package and put it in one of the two bins. Neither bin would open. Yanking, pulling, kicking and muttering unladylike comments didn’t work. It wouldn’t fit in any of the slots (duh) so I had to take it home and bring it back Monday. (The 12 year old didn’t have any luck either but she had a small package and was able to slip it into a letter slot. Not fair!)

Returned Monday, in the rain, and felt that since I was now a pro at managing the kiosk, skipped the lines and went to the machine. Unfortunately, this time I had an envelope and I couldn’t find the Delivery Confirmation. Fortunately, the Maintenance Man was there cleaning the doors and came over to offer assistance. We worked around the menu a bit and discovered that if I called my small envelope a ‘package’ I could get the Delivery Confirmation. Thanked the gentleman profusely, added addresses to my printed labels and jauntily tossed the three packages into the now functioning bin.

I’ll use the Kiosk again…as long as there is a 12 year old girl or a maintenance man handy to hand-hold me through the hard parts.

Take the time to enjoy your holiday's.  It doesn't matter if the floors are scrubbed or the silverware is shined.  Relax and enjoy good company and family. 

Golden Pouches

I want to share some information with you about one of our Promotional Frenzy Leaders.  I made a BNR purchase from Magda and happened to include an order for some little pouches.  What a lovely surprise.
I can't tell you how fabulous the Jewelry Bags or Pouches from magdamagdaFashion  are.  They come in sets of 4 and are beautiful.  The fabric is a lovely shimmery gold (which doesn't show well in my pictures) and are heart shaped  A beautiful jeweled button is the closure.

Attractive packaging can be found but the question is, how well does it work with your product.  Let me show you.

Medicine Stones, Delicate Pendant Necklaces and items with sculpted figures all worked comfortably with Magda's pouches.  She will customize these for you if you'd like.  I love them and plan to see if Magda will make some in other colors for me.  We all know how talented and inventive Magda is.  I can hardly wait to see more of these.