Tag: Chocolatedogstudio

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Passion is Over-rated!

Passion is quite frankly over-rated. I am really down on passion these days. Passion is a flash in the pan, a moment in time never to be attained again in precisely the same way.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/153674550/taylor-hanson-passion-chalkboard

Now that I have your attention I will say that following your passion in business is over-rated. So  are the statements “create what you love and you will do great in your artistic life”, “be true to yourself”,”be who you are”. All of those statements are truthful to a point but the real truth is that  unless you put old fashioned HARD WORK you aren’t going to make it. Hard work is what keeps you making that one item the hundredth time. Hard work will keep you creating when you are tired and worn out. Hard work and not passion is what keeps musicians practicing in tiny rooms for hours at a time. Passion might put them in the room but hard work is what keeps them improving and practicing for long hours with no audience.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/109005760/kevin-durant-basketball-inspirational

“Create what you love and you will do great in your artistic life”. Hmmm, where do you think the term starving artist came from?  If you are doing your art or craft to pay bills, you might have to compromise your vision with what the people will buy. It is a terribly tiny line that you walk between earning money and following your dream. Somewhere between your dream and reality lies the middle line. Your job as an artist is to find a middle point that fulfills you as an artist and provides a living. At least until you have made a name for yourself. I know that there are people that will disagree with this, but if you are going to spend time and money creating, then you need people to buy your items to finance more creating. What do you think?

 

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Icy and Cold

It has been an icy weekend here in Tulsa, OK. While we certainly weren’t hit the hardest with the ice it was certainly icy and cold.

2013-12-21 12.33.46

 

2013-12-21 12.30.08My clothes line covered in tiny three inch icicles.

2013-12-21 12.31.14Our deck and a volunteer tree.

The oak tree in back was hit pretty hard.

2013-12-21 12.30.19 2013-12-21 12.39.54

2013-12-21 12.30.42

 

It is a Shumard oak and drops it’s leaves in the spring. We will have to trim some branches back. It has been pretty cold and the dogs are hanging out inside most of the time. We are staying pretty cozy with home made soup and family games.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

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Google Analytics…help!

Help! I have had Google Analytics for years and have never really understood what I was doing. Here are some websites that should help you understand what it is and what an incredible FREE tool it is!

This list covers a bunch of tutorials, explanations, videos and blog posts about using Google Analytics.

http://blog.kissmetrics.com/50-resources-for-getting-the-most-out-of-google-analytics/

http://www.designsponge.com/2013/03/biz-ladies-how-to-use-google-analytics-data-to-grow-your-business.html

http://www.movements.org/how-to/entry/analytics-tools/

 

I hope that it helps you understand a bit more about Google Analytics. Evidently, I haven’t even scratched the surface  of the information available in Google Analytics much less used any of the tools. I know so little about it. I have just been using it to find out where people are coming from to find my Etsy shop or this blog.

I am going to have to change all of that. This looks like another item to put on my To Do list.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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The Speed of Life

Do you ever get frustrated at the speed of life? I know I do, sometimes life seems to crawl along and other times it is moving at light speed. I wish that I knew the secret of keeping life at a steady pace. When life is zooming by me, I tend to feel like I am missing something important. When life is at a snails pace then I feel that life is passing me by.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/165353781/great-things-take-time-fine-art

Well, I think this all boils down to one thing contentment. Learning to  be content with our lives and not reaching for the one thing that is out of reach will help us to live in the here and now. When times are slow I need to prepare myself for the days when spare minutes are non-existent. When times are fast I need to learn to slow down enough to enjoy the ride. I feel that God wants us to learn to lean on him throughout all of the times of our lives. Thankfully life’s speed tends to ebb and flow like a river during the seasons.  It is ok for life’s speed to change we just need to be ready to work or rest depending on what our life speed is.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/154501027/how-we-spend-our-lives-inspirational

https://www.etsy.com/listing/154501027/how-we-spend-our-lives-inspirational

What is the speed setting on your life?

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Things to do with Kids: teach them how to Really Cook!

I started teaching my oldest (7) how to make toast in a toaster when a good friend told me that she was teaching her 7 year old to fry eggs on the stove. I was amazed here, yet again was a creative outlet for my then oldest (he was also 7) that would teach him needed skills. The pride he had when he finished frying his little egg was overwhelming. He quickly moved on to making cookies, spaghetti and other things. I, of course, supervised him closely when he was little. The harvest is great because now he is 23 and he can cook a whole meal for us (when he feels like it and has time)!  His younger sister can bake cookies, bread, follow a recipe and make cinnamon rolls.

All of the kids have made mistakes, cookies running off onto the bottom of the oven, no salt in the cookies, etc..! In the meantime they have all learned to pay attention to what they are doing. :0) The middle son learned to make pizza crust from scratch. He is rather a particular eater and his interest is being awakened to try new foods. All four of the kids know how to cook basic food from scratch and to follow a recipe.

I would also add that we use regular cookbooks. I am on hand to explain anything so the kids cookbooks don’t work for us. I guess there is not enough volume of food! Having four teenagers or near teenagers it worked best for us to use a regular cook book.

I would suggest that you allow them to cook and then clean up after themselves. Allow them to pick the recipe, if they are interested in the food then they will pay closer attention to what they are doing. Edit their choices a little, if they pick a pastry shop style cake redirect them to a pound cake with whipped cream.

We love the Betty Crocker cook book for its wealth of easy recipes.  We also like  learning  to use crock pot recipes and freezer cooking recipes. We will turn to www.allrecipes.com when we can’t find what we want in our home cookbooks.

Here are some Favorite recipes for young cooks:

Dip for veggies or fruit. (There are many recipes out there and no cooking is involved)

Chocolate Chip cookies, There are so many recipes out there for chocolate chip cookies. Just find one and follow the directions.

Spaghetti with sauce from a jar. Follow the directions on the package for the spaghetti.

Pound cake from scratch. There are many recipes on the internet for pound cake. It is really hard to ruin a pound cake.

Baked potatoes (I have the kids wash, prick and put the potatoes in a cold oven, that way they don’t get burnt. I also take them out if they are under 12.)

After they master some basics I would pretty much let them browse the recipe book, guiding them a little bit and keeping them from exotic ingredients that we didn’t have on hand.

What have you taught your kids to cook?

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Owl Applique

I have been working on owls lately and decided to make an applique for free download.   This tutorial is photo rich as I feel that one picture is worth more than one thousand of my words and probably much clearer as well. This owl is simplified and  super easy for beginner applique seamstresses. You can use this as a patch on a blanket, pillow, pants, where ever you decide to use it.

I put my owl on a cross body bag for my daughter. It is a perfect size for her phone, glasses, a pen and anything else she wants to carry. It has a zipper on the top and a strap that can be used several different ways. I used up-cycled denim, fabric scraps and  some jelly roll strips and a remnant for the lining. There will be a tutorial for the bag later.

Cut out your pattern pieces. Pin them to the fabric of your choice and then cut them out.

 

You can use a fusible web tape  behind each piece to keep it aligned. I didn’t do this as I used pins and it isn’t rocket science.  The background is a 4  x 6 piece of recycled denim.

 

Center your body onto the background fabric. Pin it to keep it straight.

Here are the wings, and eye patch cut out.

You will need to adjust the settings on your sewing machine. Mine has a button to keep the needle down when the machine stops stitching. You will want to do this either manually or simply push the button.

Change your stitch to the blanket stitch. You also need to change the stitch width. I put my stitch width to about a 2.5 or 3.  

Position your needle at the edge of the body shape so that the straight stitch will be on the denim or background fabric. The blanket part of the stitch will be into the body of the owl.

See that little bit where my attention wandered.  Thankfully it fits under a wing and I don’t feel any compulsion to rip it out and start over.

Ahh, this is the right way to sew it.

One wing placed, pinned and sewn… and now to the other.

Pin all your pattern pieces together so you don’t lose any.

Place the beak and pin it like so. Sew down one side and then move the pin to the last edge you will sew. I simply leave the needle down and lift the pressure foot and rotate the  whole thing until it lines up where I need to sew. Then put the pressure foot back down.

Like so!

See the beak is finished and now we add the eye patch.

See how the pin is in the fabric. I will be able to sew two directions  and leave that pin in for most of it. Treat the eye patch like a box shape when you are sewing and it will be easier. There is a bunch of sew,stop, leave the needle down, lift the pressure foot, and turn to this part.

Now your Owl is finished except for his eyes. I sewed the eyes on at the very end of making the purse/bag.

Isn’t he cute. I know that the sewing purists in you would say. Where is the interfacing and the stabilizer? My thought is:  I made this for a teenager. In two months or less she will probably not be using it as she will want something else.  I can always make her another. If I wait until I have all of the things needed to sew, I would never sew. This isn’t rocket science or even an entry to the fair. It is a bag for my girl. i learn something every time I sew and I am getting better at it everyday.

talk to you later,

P.S. She loves it!

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sweater Frogging…

Sweater frogging not to be confused with hunting frogs or knitting tiny sweaters for frogs, can be a great stress reliever.

When I started frogging sweaters for the yarn. I found Dawn’s blog to be the best description of how to do it. http://dawnprickett.blogspot.com/2008/01/recycling-sweaters-for-yarn.html  She has very clear pictures and great descriptions of what to do. The only things that I changed when frogging my sweaters.

  1.  I do not have a swift to unravel the yarn onto. I use the back of a chair as my swift. It works great and holds my yarn for me as I unravel.
  2. I also did not tie the yarn with a figure eight tie. I wish I had, my yarn was rather tangled after washing.
  3. I used Dawn dish soap to wash the yarn and I frogged 100% cotton sweaters.I wanted the yarn as clean as possible before I start using it.

This is the red and white yarn being rinsed.

The yarn drying out on the clothes line.

 

Here is the yarn in new scarves!

IMG_2928-001

A great way to recycle old sweaters.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Things to do with kids: Build a city!

Kids often need toy extenders as I call them. Things that extend their play in an imaginative way, props would be another word for it. There are a wide variety of ways that you can make a city for your kids.

1. Use cardboard

http://keriene.wordpress.com/category/homemade-toys/page/2/

As my kids are now all in high school or graduated. I am showing you Emelia’s beautiful cardboard city. There are more photos on her blog. http://keriene.wordpress.com/category/homemade-toys/page/2/

2. Wood houses. I really like these as you can write on them with chalk. I think these would make excellent Christmas gifts.

http://mommo-design.blogspot.it/2013/03/diy-for-kids.html?m=1

3. I love these little felt houses by Sarah Nichols.

http://www.sarah-nicol.com/shop.html

The kids and I usually made our toy extenders out of cardboard covered with paper that they cut out and glued on. It took more time that way and they were practicing their fine motor skills. We would use the houses until they looked like trash and then recycle or put them in the trash. What things do you make to help your children’s imagination to grow?

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Monday Goals

When I list out my goals it tends to look a lot like a To-Do list of a type A incredibly organized person. I have needed to scale back on my To-Do lists and just write the most important items down.

Family

1. Make cookies with the kids

2. Pick up the college girl for Christmas break

3. Take youngest DS driving so he can get his license

4. Bake Banana bread

Home

1. Do a basic clean sweep of the house.

2  Organize the Laundry room

3. Touch up the paint in my bathroom

Studio

1. Get shipping ready every day

2. Pick up the clutter in the studio

3. Work on custom orders every night

Personal

1. Water Aerobics once this week

2. Read pinned information about blogging

3. Complete devotional times

4. Plan 2 Christmas dinners….and see what needs to be done!

5. Complete Christmas shopping

6. wrap gifts

Ok, I just need to stop. This list is huge already and I keep tacking things on.

 

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Christmas GIfts #2 Toys

I love giving and receiving homemade Christmas gifts. It just seems to add a little more heart to the season. It also means that I don’t have to spend time driving around trying to find the perfect gift.

Here are some wonderful handmade toys!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/newborn-guinea-pig

https://www.etsy.com/listing/167137792/crochet-pattern-bowling-crochet-toy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/100400839/crochet-toy-pattern-ice-cream-amigurumi

https://www.etsy.com/listing/128879584/amigurumi-pattern-for-crochet-toy-of

These are so cute that no words are needed!

I hope that it inspires you to create something wonderful for the children in your life!

Karen