The Artists Struggle …

Hey, Everyone !! Been awhile since I last blogged anything. So last night my husband and I went to a local event called the 626 Night Market which was pretty much a Night Swap meet sorta with many different booths and most of them being handmade items and food trucks. Being I have Social Anxiety Disorder “SAD” I wasn’t to thrilled about being around a crowd of people and when I say crowd I mean like eyelash to eyelash … canned sardines packed crowd of people. Probably over 1000 people walking around browsing the booths, checking out the foods, etc.

It wasn’t until my husband and I were just about ready to head home that we found a section that we didn’t explore yet and I kinda wanna call it the Art District as it was a small nook or section of Artist booths who were displaying and selling their Art works. It was really inspiring to see these booths as one of my dreams is to someday have a booth with my own handmade items and artwork up for display and sales.

My husband and I briefly chatted with one of the artists and he talked about the struggles he went through to get to where he’s at right now. How it took a couple years and a few homeless living outta his car moments in his Life to get there and I agree being an Artist is tough. I would have to say out of all the careers and professions you can choose … choosing to be an Artist is probably the hardest one. It’s rough mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually … Uhhh … let’s just say it’s hard on ALL levels !!

I’ve been doing art all my Life and just about a few years ago decided to try Social media mainly to just share my artwork and slowly working towards trying to make a few bucks for art supplies and personal Artist dreams/ambitions but it’s been tough to get anyone to seriously wanna pay for something you made. I am grateful enough that my Facebook page has 307 likes which I am eternally happy about. But due to current circumstances my Etsy shop stays stagnant as I am currently not in the position to ship out package like I would need to if I sold my handmade polymer clay sculptures or canvas art, etc.

Part of me did sulk and feel disappointed/discouraged that I have not made it well enough to have a Artist booth like they did but I’m not going to give up and hopefully overtime my current situations will improve to where I can start doing small local events and set up a booth to display my art and sell a few things. But only time will tell and until that day comes I’ll continue to share my art on Facebook, Instagram, and post things up on Etsy when I have a few $$$ to post something up. But the Life of an Artist although a satisfying one is definitely a struggle one of the reasons for struggle is Haters Gonna Hate. But that ain’t gonna stop me from doing what I love !!

Go Away … Pesty Pessimism !

(_ _) Lately I’ve been in a Eeyore-ish mood. It’s gotten to where I look at all the things I have drawn, crafted, made, etc. and think what’s the point ? I’ll never be good enough. I guess I’m just impatient ! As you know I opened an Etsy shop *Etsy.com/Shop/MYTCR8TiV* but do to current circumstances there’s no much I can sell besides my handmade cards and so far the shop is a flop.

I honestly envy those who open up a Etsy shop and it immediately takes off with sales and products going in and out more than the artist can keep up with. Many of them said it took them years before their shop even took off but I know some that are like me and moved from private sales to public via Etsy and eBay and they got enough sales that they quit their full-time job(s) to do their business.

I guess you have to get known more and have more people know who you are. I’m still a nobody even thought my Facebook page *Facebook.com/MYTCR8TiV* has almost 300 likes. But lately the pessimist bug has bit me to where I feel like giving up on my passion of arts and crafts. The pessimist bug keeps whispering in my ear that I’m just not good enough and worthy of anything.

Hopefully this pesky Pessimist bug will GO AWAY so I can get back in the mood and groove of creating things that I make best and put me in a better place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually !!

Hard Working .vs. Not Working at All

Happy Memorial Day, Everyone ! First off I’m gonna have to apologize ahead of time as this post isn’t really a CR8TiV one but more a Rant and Rave. So Sorry for the gloomy negativity that may lurk in this blog post. But I really have to get this off my chest and hopefully see some changes being made to this store.

Store ? (o~O) Did that perk up your interest ? 😛 L0L Yes, my rant is about a Craft Store and particularly a well known craft store but in just this location. I have been to other store locations and have had better if not a tad better than this store location experience. So without further ado let’s continue on … Shall we ?

This craft store I am going to be Rant & Raving about is JoAnn’s Fabrics & Craft store in Glendale, CA on 1000 s Central Ave. It was formerly a Albertson’s which I also shopped at often but when it closed down *Boo hoo no more fried chicken* it became JoAnn’s. JoAnn’s was originally on Orange Ave. not too far away from it’s current location.

So when it openly and awhile there after the store was always a positive experience. The workers were friendly, helpful, and positive attitude. One worker in particular by the name of Courtney stood out. She was always smiling, interested in knowing what crafty project you were working on, and very friendly-chatty-positive attitude. She made shopping there a great experience and you left the store with a smile.

After awhile I no longer saw her working there and a few of the familiar faces faded into memory. The store slowly started changing and what once was a cheerful place to shop turned gloomy and dark. When you walked into the JoAnn’s store before it was bright cheerful and you can feel the positive energy. Now it’s dark gloomy and stank ! What changed ? Manager ? Pay Decrease ? Long hours ?

In my experience the job of a Manager is SUPER crucial to how an entire store runs and operates. A Manager is essentially like a Shepherd or Sheep Herder. You keep your sheep in order and a pleasant compassionate Shepherd in turn leads a herd of Happy sheep whereas a mean hateful Shepherd who cracks his whip and yells at the herd will lead a herd of sheep Unhappy and scared of the Shepherd.

Well, in the workplace the way a Manager herds or encourages the workers will determine how the store operates and how the store experiences will be like. I’m guessing the manager changed at this JoAnn’s store and the *new* manager isn’t a pleasant shepherd. From my recent shopping experiences I had encountered that workers are unfriendly, unhelpful, lazy, and easy to argue or start a conflict with you. The current workers seem to not believe in the service with a smile, friendly-positive attitude, helpful-respectful manner, and making customer service a priority.

I have shopped at this JoAnn’s store since the day they opened their doors and I have to say that it’s been great for quite awhile but recently I have dramatically noticed the changes. Below is a list of things I noticed that changed …

#1 Inaccurate Price -The most annoying thing when shopping is price inaccuracies. At this JoAnn’s store the prices marked were often wrong from the price that is scanned at the register and when you question the price to tell them … Wait !! The price marked said $9.99 but you charged me $19.99 ? Instead of saying … Oh really ? Let me call up for a Price Check for you or go check the price themselves. They’d just say … It was probably in the wrong spot or you looked at the price wrong and didn’t see the $1 in front of the $9.99 price. It happens ! You still want it ?

Ok, so before they would quickly go check the price themselves or call up someone to go check it. I have even had one instance where the worker at the register grabbed their smartphone and looked up the price on the website as the prices should be the same. But now they are Lazy, Make Excuses, or Lazily pinning the error on you and disrespectfully hinting that you’re blind and just didn’t look at the price right or whatever.

#2 Price correction or Miscalculations – My Birthday passed a few weeks ago and one gift I received was a JoAnn’s gift card for $40. I was eagerly happy to have $40 *Free bucks* to spend on anything I wanted in the store within that price budget. I generally have to bit my lip and pass up items I can’t currently afford even if it’s just $10-20. So I grabbed a few things that has been sitting on my JoAnn’s wishlist for quite some time. Plus+ I had a Birthday coupon mailer from them for a 20% off entire purchase. Yay !!

So after some purchases that I made at a different JoAnns location. I had $19.03 remaining on my gift card. I had one item I did not like and decided to return. I purchased a magazine that was $12.99 + tax was $14 something and returned at $9.99 item but after the magazine purchase and the return my balance on my card then was $13 something. I’m not so great at Math and I thought something wasn’t right. Also being Learning Disabled didn’t really help that the calculation was correct but I just couldn’t comprehend that they were. Rather than respectfully helping me and my husband understand the Math she argued and was disrespect about it. No friendly-positive attitude !

#3 Store Employee Work Ethics – Since that incident with the store manager I feel like my husband and I have a bad reputation when at the store now as troublemakers for needing assistance with calculations. When I visited the store yesterday to use some coupons one that was expiring soon I was again met with price inaccuracy of an item that on their website said $20.99 but the in store label said $14.99 but the item was ringing up as $39.99. Three(3) different prices !! I first handed them my 40% off coupon but the coupon did not accept. I then handed him the 20% off coupon which expires today but again that coupon did not accept. He asked the fellow worker next to him why this product isn’t accepting the coupons. His fellow worker looked at the product and coupon and said this product is excluded from the coupon. The cashier looks at me with this … You heard the guy look. I said … nevermind then and walked out the store.

While in the car I read the coupons fine print it did not say anything about Cricut products being excluded from the coupon. I felt like they just made up some excuse to avoid having to go do a Price check and research why the coupon wasn’t working. It could of easily been a computer glitch or coupon code could of been manually entered to accept it. They didn’t seem to care to wanna help you or go the extra mile for a customer. They just seem to wanna check out your purchases and move on to the next customer in line. I really didn’t feel the customer service compassion nor the friendly-positive attitude.

#4 Lacking Cashiers – This rant isn’t really an issue but if you go to this store location on a busy day whip out your smartphone while in line bcuz sometimes they are really long and slow. I think that alone puts a lot of pressure on the cashier workers to avoid answering customer questions and just keeping the line moving so that the customers don’t have to wait long to check out.

(¬~¬) There’s like five(5) unmanned cash registers that if they hired more cashiers there would be more customers being able to check out instead of just having Three(3) cashiers. I Love this store *not this location but the company in general* and if they were hiring Cashier I’d apply to be one. But they aren’t hiring cashiers or anyone at the moment.

So overall with this rant unless they make some changes I’m going to have to make a bit of a drive to go to other JoAnn’s locations where I’ve had positive friendly experiences and one location I will name is the JoAnn’s in Covina on 1460 N Azusa Ave. The workers at this location are very friendly, eager to help you and answer questions or find a certain product, prices are accurately labeled, the store is very organized, and you can feel the vibe of the store is positive unlike the JoAnn’s store in Glendale.

There is another JoAnns on Los Angeles on 1250 S. La Cienega Blvd. which I’ve had semi-positive experiences with aside from the fact that the cashier did not greet me or say a word to me but rather busy chatting with the employee standing behind her. She did not tell me the remaining balance on my gift card or say anything just did her thing then shouted next customer without handing me my bag or any Goodbye greeting. But I share this store only bcuz they’re store is organized pretty nicely and prices are accurate with the pricing label and it’s the only 2 story store I know of. Fabrics and such are on the 2nd floor … General craft items on the 1st floor.

So another long blog post by me not really a CR8TiVity related one but more a rant and rave but don’t be afraid to speak out and complain, file an email through the website, and know that you are important to voice out to a company so they can learn, acknowledge, and make some changes that needs to be made to make your shopping experience the best it can be.

Feel free to comment below any of your opinions about a JoAnn’s store experience or share your thoughts on this. *Please, keep it positive or your comment will be deleted*

Who is that guy in the corner ??

Hello and Happy Friday !!  So many of you are curious and have been asking me what is that emoticon looking face in the corner of my drawings. Well, (∩⌂∩”) that is my Artists signature !! It composes of the initials of my name MYT and F. (¬_¬) Now please be respectful and do not steal or use my Artists signature in anyway !! I am happily sharing and answering your question by showing you what the little emoticon means. So please respect that it is solely original like your signature on a personal check or document. Thank you !

*Ahem* (≥~≤”) So my Birthday name is Mary Yuuko Takahashi. I think I have disclosed before that I am of Japanese decent either on my Art Blog or my CR8TiV writing blog *WordPress.com/PsychoBabblesBlog*. So by initial my name is MYT. Let me give you a short story of the origin of MYT ! Growing in elementary like Kindergarten – 1st grade my belongings were often labeled MYT and my then friend asked who My T *Mighty* and I said I am. She giggled and said L0L You’re Mighty Mary ! 😛 From that day forward the nickname My T *Mighty* clung to me up until about maybe 3rd or 4th grade when not so pleasant nicknames replaced it.

Anyways don’t wanna get into the sob stories. But if you look at the image above I have broken down what every part of the emoticon *EMO con* as some of you called it is. I really LOVE my Artist signature as it gives me an endless way of CR8TiVity due to the open space above his head. Below main drawing I gave a few example of what I can do with the open space above his head. For a Birthday card I can put a Birthday hat, Easter … Rabbit Ears, Halloween … Cat Ears, A Wedding Card or Formal card … Top Hat and Bowtie, and could also be a Birthday card but a Crown. I can add anything I want and it gives my artwork a more unique charm !! ( ‘u^)

So that my fellow CR8TiV mushrooms is what that little emoticon guy in the corner of my artwork is. It is my unique and MYT CR8TiV Artists Signature !! I’d be happy to help you create a unique signature of your own just comment below or send me a message through my Facebook page …. Facebook.com/MYTCR8TiV

Monday CR8TiV Challenge …

Happy Monday my fellow CR8TiV worms ! So today I kinda want to give you guys a challenge and that challenge is to create something using things you have around the house. Like the image above captions … Use What You Have. I’ve been crafting for a long time but only recently started blogging about it and posting up my creations on a Facebook page. But I can tell you that creating art isn’t cheap ! To create anything Artistic or Crafty does require a decent sized wallet.

BUT that does not mean you have to break your bank account or go broke. I have found many frugal as some may say but I call it CR8TiV ways to still find art supplies if you are on a limited income or budget. For example … many artists use Prismacolor pencils but Crayola colored pencils work just as well. There are techniques you can use to stretch the quality of your colored pencils further even dollar store colored pencils. Like using a little bit of Baby oil. I found rubbing alcohol doesn’t work as great with Crayola colored pencils as they do with Prismacolor but they’re still colored pencils none the less.

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that I’m currently in a cardmaking phase and I’ll post up photos of my small yet growing handmade card collection on my Facebook page *Facebook.com/MYT CR8TiV* later today. But some cards like the shaker cards which are cards that have moving confetti or colored sequins inside a plastic window require you to have acetate film to make the shaker card window. I made my 1st shaker card a few days ago and it was really fun to make.

Now I have no clue where to buy acetate film or what that even is. I “Used What I have” which was an empty Q-Tip Cotton Swab box and I cut up the box giving me a small clear plastic rectangle. I gave the wiped the window with a baby wipe and used it towards my 1st shaker card … it worked great !! My 1st shaker card may not look so great as I lack supplies that could of made it better like using distressed inks and blender tool but as it was my 1st card and a card going to my Husband I didn’t think it mattered much as he loved anything I make for him.

My only tip is to double layer the foam tape you use to seal in the sequins or confetti put into a shaker card so that when you shake it the shaker items are loose and not clumped in corners like a single layer is. I only had enough foam tape to make a single layer and with that I noticed the sequins aren’t very loose and clump together. I am gonna double layer my foam tape next time I make a shaker card for more looser shakes.

But I challenge you to create using things you already have and to be/think CR8TiVly when you craft or create. Wishing you had a Tim Holtz blender tool for blending inks but can’t afford one or don’t have money for one ?? Make your own !! Dollar stores sell foam makeup pads those can easily be used and discarded after use or washed with soap and water then reused again.

If you MUST have the Tim Holtz blender tool you can easily make your own. Go to a Hardware store like HomeDepot and buy a cabinet drawer knob and ask the lumber department if they have any scraps of wood that you can have. Most have large dumpsters full of wood scraps and you can ask them to cut it into a circle. After just take some glue and glue the cabinet drawer knob to the wood circle base and attach self-adhesive velcro to a dollar store makeup pad and you have your own DIY Blender tool made for under a few bucks.

You just gotta think outside the craft store and use what you have. So I hope I inspired you to try to use what you have and I challenge you to create something using thinks you already have. Post up your creation(s) on my Facebook page or comment below. B3 B0LD … B3 iNSPiR3D … B3 CR8TiV … MYT CR8TiV.

MUST-HAVE … MUST-BUY !!

Happy Saturday my CR8TiV kittens ! So last night I made a trip to my local RiteAid Pharmacy for some prescription refills and they generally take about 15-20 minutes to get the refills done. So I browse the store for snacks, maybe a drink for the drive home, see what’s new in their stationery section. But I always browse their bargain rack where they have items priced from $1~$3.

Yesterday I found some really great storage boxes but I bought like the one shown above. It’s not the exact brand but it’s pretty much the same. It’s black in color – plastic – and has 9 small compartments … Perfect for polymer clay storage, eyepins, small gems, and other craft supplies. It has two(2) holes on the back to hang the box onto your walls. The best part was it was $3.00 !! I was tempted to go and buy all of them so I can have a vast storage system hung on my wall with all different types of craft supplies in each compartment. But the hubz says one is good enough.

I immediately put this baby to work and stored my Premo clay bricks in them and they perfectly hold two(2) stacks of clay bricks. I’ll try to take a photo of it so you guys can see it. But in the lower compartments I organized my clay scrap balls by color which made it so much easier. Red, Yellow, Green … I had to put a small cardboard divider in the red to store some of my blue scrap clay. But for $3 this is totally worth it !! I think Akro Mils has a similar storage box that sells for like $15-16 bucks.

For those of you who live in Los Angeles here’s the address/location of the RiteAid I found mine at …

531 n. Glendale Ave. Glendale, CA 91206

The Bargain section is near the soda/beer display and a small rack at the end of the laundry detergent aisle. If you walk down the laundry detergent aisle … make a right and it’s at the end of that aisle. There were some other stackable storage boxes in bright colors for $2 I think which I was itching to wanna get but I don’t really have space for stackable boxes at the moment. I’m not really sure if all RiteAids carry this storage box but I just wanted to share with you a great deal and steal if you do see it … I recommend to get it !!

Gettin’ Back in the Groove …

Hey, all you MYT CR8TiV bunnies !! Sorry I’ve been quiet lately and kinda MIA “Missing In Action”. Been dealing with some personal issues that was fogging up my creativity. I’m not going to go into detail about my personal issue as they’re called Personal for a reason. But I’m slowly getting back into the groove of things. While I’ve been under the gloomy Eeyore cloud I’ve just mainly been watching YouTube videos, sifting through Pinterest, and just doing everything and anything to keep my head above the gloomy cloud.

Valentine’s was sadly gloomy also and this year spent uncelebrated so to speak. But I’m getting back into my groove and working on making Easter cards. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube tutorials on card making by KWernerDesigns *https://www.youtube.com/user/starofmay* , LawnFawn *https://www.youtube.com/user/lawnfawn*, and JenniferMcGuireInk *https://www.youtube.com/user/jennifermcguireink* The videos by KWernerDesigns really was the spark that started my interest in Card-making.

Like I said before I’m kinda an ADD creative artist to where I’m always bouncing from one interest to another. If you remember my last interest was watercolor and I was trying out many resist techniques. I bought a set of watercolor paint in the tubes and not the dry chalk looking kind. But after watching card-making tutorials by Kristina *KWernerDesign* My Watercolor phase sorta blended away. It’s still there but not as dominant as before.

So I tried making my own cards using whatever materials I had on hand. I had some cardstock both plain colors and some with patterns. I have my Promarkers and a few stamps I’ve collected. Mainly they’re dollar stamps from the JoAnn’s dollar craft section and stamps I’ve found for cheap like 50¢ in a bargain bin. So my 1st card I made came out really great and my husband says … Is there anything you make that doesn’t look great ? (ñ~ñ) He kinda flattered me by saying it’s Hallmark worthy. L0L I’ll post pics up of my 1st greeting card I made tomorrow … Hopefully !

But I was looking through StampinUp, SimonSaysStamps, LawnFawn, and a few other websites that sells stamps and oogling and googling over wanting this one and that one and this one and that. Mama Elephant stamps are really cute !! But when I designed my 1st card I hand-drew the tulips on the card. It LOOKS stamped but I hand-drew those tulips and colored them in with my Promarkers. The only stamp I used was a Thank You stamp. The banner was hand-drawn and cut out with regular craft scissor not die-cut.

So I was looking at this card and it dawned on me !! I have the largest stamp collection ever … it’s called my artistic brain !! I don’t really need to go purchase some cutesy stamps bcuz I can hand-drawn any stamp design I like. I admit I’m still gonna buy some if the prices are within my budget like sentiment stamps and flowers. I Love Flowers ! But I’m gonna add my hand-drawn/handmade cards as one of the many things I’m planning to post up when I open up a shop.

It won’t be anytime soon as I’m currently still not quite ready to open up my own shop. There’s still so many skills I need to perfect, things to learn, supplies to collect, and a dedicated space to create in. Hopefully soon maybe within the next 2-3 yrs. my hubby and I will purchase our 1st home so I can call dibs on a room to dedicate completely to create my own MYT CR8TiV studio. I have plans to start doing video tutorials on YouTube for you guys.

I said to my husband even if we don’t have space for me to create a dedicated art studio if we have a roomy backyard we can buy one of those large garden sheds and convert it into a art studio space. I have seen some at HomeDepot that look like they could be a small playhouse for children. A few DIY skills and knowledge + a MYT CR8TiV mind and you can turn one into a nice man cave if you wanted.

Anyways stay tuned to my Facebook page for Art updates and subscribe to my blog. I appreciate your likes to my Facebook page and even though I don’t have a store per say I do accept request via private message or email @ MYTCR8TiV@Yahoo.com and more than happy to work with you regarding an art request or custom request til I get an actual shop open.

**********UPDATE **********

I said I’d share pics of my 1st handmade card made without any stamps. Well, I used one stamp which is the tiny Thank You sentiment. Everything else was handrawn from the Tulips to the Banner around the stamped Thank You. I thought I’d post it here for those who haven’t liked my Facebook page *Facebook.com/MYTCR8TiV* to be inspired to create cards without store-bought stamps and to encourage those like myself who can’t quite afford to start a stamp collection with LawnFawn, MamaElephant, StampinUp, SimonSays, etc. stamps to just create your own ! I think cards made with your own handrawn art makes it a bit more special and unique compared to one made with a store-bought stamp that millions of other handmade card makers are using. So without further ado … Here’s the 1st handmade card I created with handrawn art. Hope you like it and it inspired you to go without stamps or how I like to say tippy toe quietly instead of stamping loudly ! L0L

Farewell 2014 … Hello 2015.

Hello ! (ⁿ⌂ⁿ)/ *waves* Well, there’s only three(3) days left of the 2014 year. As every year for me there’s been ↑ups and ↓downs but I always manage to survive through it. How was your Christmas ? Did Santa bring you something really special ? Did you eat a BIG meal with all the holiday trimmings. In my family everyone is kinda on a restrictive diet due to health issues so we don’t feast as much as we used to.

Anyways I’m more of a giver than a receiver and don’t really care nor expect to receive anything from anyone. But it kinda saddens me that my family doesn’t seem to know me. I am all about Art and the #1 gift to give would be anything Art related from a watercolor set, polymer clay, or a gift card to a Arts and Crafts store. But oddly I was given a crock pot.

Either way I’m start 2015 off by trying expand my Artistic repetoire. I’m always up for learning *new* things and right now I’m trying out oil pastels which my husband got me for Christmas and watercolors. (∩u∩) My husband got me a basket of Art Supplies and in it was Oil Pastels, Gel Watercolor crayons, 64 colors Pipsqueak markers, Doodle Pad, Some Paper, and outline pens.

I’ve never worked with Oil Pastels before so it’s the 1st *new* art medium I am trying out for the *new* year. So far my only tips for working with oil pastels is … WEAR GLOVES !! This stuff gets on your hands very easily and colors stick to everything ! I put on gloves for smearing and blending the colors with the tool most oil pastel artists recommend which is your finger. I also kept a moist paper towel or baby wipe nearby to wipe off my finger when working with other colors as the previous color will stick to you and smudge into the *new* color.

I haven’t tried blending with any liquids yet but I heard mineral spirits, turpentine is used but if you can’t get those baby oil was said to work to blend colors a bit better than your finger. I’m going to try to see if rubbing alcohol would work. It works great in getting crayons, colored pencils, and markers to blend like watercolors. Baby oil works well too in blending the above items. I found that if you can find the Baby oil gel version it’s less messy and doesn’t bleed through your paper too much.

I tested using the liquidy baby oil and the gel version I got from Target. The liquidy baby oil bled through my paper and was runny. I was only dabbing with a cotton swab but it still felt like it soaked too much. But the gel version which is thick like honey didn’t bleed through my paper and stayed put. I was able to blend colors more nicely with the gel version.

Hopefully in 2015 things will be a bit better for me that I can post up actual video tutorials and even photo tutorials for you to see on here. Right now I don’t have a space or studio area to do such filming or photo shooting. Maybe 2015 will be a better year for me to get to do that for you guys.

Thank you for liking my Facebook page and hopefully 2015 will be more productive in pushing MYT CR8TiV towards becoming what I’d like it to be and possibly opening up an actual shop somewhere instead of taking requests by private messages. But 2014 has been a good one and I am looking forward to what 2015 has in store. Let’s all continue to be CR8TiV and make 2015 just as CR8TiV as 2014.

MYT CR8TiV Etsy Shop ??

Hi !! (∩w∩)/ *waves* So Christmas is around the corner but first Thanksgiving ! As some of you know I am physically disabled and do not work nor receiving any financial assistance. But many of my close friends tell me that my CR8TiV talents are money worthy and suggests I sell my handmade things. I have had a few of you ask me if I have an Etsy shop to buy my clay creations or to request a custom order. I do take custom orders via private messaging through my email.

I always dreamed to have a successful shop to sell my own creations like many CR8TiV Artists I follow on Facebook who are very successful selling their items. But the only thing about Etsy is they take a percent of your sales profit. I’m not saying I’m greedy but I put in the time, effort, and hard work into my CR8TiV creations that I feel I deserve 100% of the sales profits. In order to get 100% of the sales profits I’d need to create a website with a shop that people can use PayPal to purchase with. Kinda wish that WordPress allows you to open a shop through your own blog page since this is kinda my website.

In all honesty I don’t think I’m really ready for mass sale orders. I haven’t perfected secure packaging of my polymer clay items, yet and I don’t really have a dedicated crafting area where I can constantly create inventory to post up on the shop. Please, feel free to comment below if you have suggestions on how to securely package polymer clay items and prevent them from breaking during the shipping process. A few previous custom orders I shipped arrived broken even with the use of bubble wrap, cotton balls, newspaper, etc.

There’s a lot to be done before I can open a shop online. At the moment I’m mainly selling privately via email and in person. For example I was quite busy with Paracord bracelet orders from my husband’s co-workers. Every order I receive get’s a *FREE* Surprise gift and sometimes the surprise gift can value more than the custom ordered item. But I was curious if I should try to make my 1st attempt at selling my craft creations to earn some Christmas spending money. I have a decent amount of Christmas themed polymer clay sculptures that I can post up for the Holidays. What do you think ? Would you be interested in purchasing something I made whether it’s a Polymer Clay thing or a handrawn print ?? Comment below whether you would shop if I opened up a Etsy shop.

Pratice what you Preach … (=⌂=”)

I’ve posted many of these on my Facebook page and I am punching myself in the face for not practicing what I preach. I truly apologize to Paul of Phoenix Glass for making a suggestion to his creation and saying it’s a bit too bland and needs something more. Of course as an Artist you will go through all sorts of criticism and you just have to learn to take it with a grain of salt and sometimes with a shot of vodka or tequila. But as an Artist myself I should know better than to suggest to tamper with someone else’s artistic creation. When someone creates something it’s perfect in their eyes “AS IS” but everyone’s views and opinions are different. The Artist who created it might feel it’s perfect but to someone else it might be missing something and boring or ugly. That’s purely their opinion and everyone is entitled to hold their own.

But as a Artist I always hated when someone made a remark about my Artwork that you should add this or used this color or that color instead of this or that or you should of changed this or that and this is a little crooked and one eye is slightly bigger. /(>D<)\ SHUT UP !!! It always annoyed me when people did that to me but at the same time I appreciated it and considered it a lesson for growth and to grow from their criticism whether negatively hurtful or positive. I also took note if it was repeatedly said or done. I took note that maybe I need to improve in that area or this area as it’s repeatedly being criticized. I also took note on what people seem to like more. So that I can occasionally cater to those who enjoy those types of Art. For example … Kawaii or cutesy Art seems to be favored by many and colorful creations that are full of color seem to catch their eyes.

This blog post isn’t really about my art or crafting but more a word of wisdom to remind you to practice what you preach. Don’t tell one person something then do the complete opposite. Like believing in Christianity and doing things that are completely opposite of what Christians do and believe. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not everyone needs to hear them especially if it’s a hurtful opinion that may not sit well with the person who’s hearing them.