Checking in

I did not get goodies made this weekend. I did, however, get to the post office to pick up mail - lots of lovely things from lovely people! - ran some business errands, and got a lot of work done on a website I'm designing for someone else, which is now almost done. ::knock wood:: I still have to learn zen cart, and frankly, I'm not looking forward to that experience at all. And I hope the flash movie that I'm making for it is as easy to make as I think it will be, otherwise I will be cursing and pulling my hair out. But the site is totally adorable, and I can't wait for it to go live. :) I really enjoy this an extension of my business. When it goes right. There are times when it's more eeehh, not so much.

I can't make up the jewelry I have to make up until next weekend, for the simple fact that I have to spend quite a lot on parts, and I don't have that kind of money until then. Ah, the glorious world of small business. At least web design costs me nothing...

Sample goodies go out this week. And I still have the documentary to wade thru, a newsletter to write, jewelry to fabricate, and email to answer.

Whew.

Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in.

::sigh:: Back at work in television, Monday thru Friday, and trying not to cry.

Free earrings or necklace to the person who supplies me with a mission statement I like and decide to use. And yes, I will see the Switchboards too.

Gotta get stuff MADE and my printer fixed.

::sigh again::

Natural and crystal jewelry and adornments? Gee, that's catchy.

Okay, you guys, I have to admit it. I mean, I can admit it; I did so two years ago, and then again a year ago, when I totally ignored my advertising whiz brother's help at choosing a new one, and now, seriously, I really, really, really have to find an actual USP. Tagline. Motto. Thing that makes you want to buy my stuff because it effectively sums up in one short, sweet sentence - nay, phrase - everything that Dragonfly Design is all about.

::sigh::

Please help me.

Plop-Plop, Fizz-Fizz

I had to pull out of the SIJA this weekend. It was just too crazy making.

I also had to quit my new day job. It was just too horrendously underpaid for too much hassle. I feel good about finding another one, anyway.

So now I have more time to plough thru the rest of the documentary footage, start landscaping the grounds here so it can be sold, put together my Christmas samples and fabricate the designs I need to for Nesting with Style and Lizzy Wishes. :) Oo! And write my newsletter! Hooah!

Jenie

ps. the fresh baked sample boxes are ready to go and a steal at only $18!!!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Wow, I'm so happy! :)

I was inspired by Wickedly Chic's Fresh Baked samples and wanted to do some kind of small sampler to send along with orders this holiday season, so I asked if anyone on the Switchboards wanted to send me samples, and quite a few people took me up on it! How much fun is that?! :) So I will now have a variety of fun little extras to toss into people's boxes this Christmas! Hurrah!!!

Now might be the time to sign up for the Dragonfly newsletter, too. This year's might have neat stuff in it. Like some kind of coupon-y thing or a free gift. Or both. One never knows. (Seriously. One never knows. It might, it might not. It depends entirely on how slammed I am between now and November 1, but I'm working hard to get it all worked out and the newsletter written.)

Okay, I must go now. As I said, I'm slammed.

Slammed.

When Good Things Happen To Nice People

Oo, I'm so excited, and I can finally talk about it today!

Amy Jagminas of Wickedly Chic has purchased Lizzy Wishes!!! She is currently redesigning the site (check out the cute placeholder page!) and will re-open soon, and Dragonfly's sister label, Waterlily Studios, will be doing some custom designs for her...the other half of those exclusive designs I just posted about half an hour ago.

I am so excited, because Amy's shared some of her ideas with me (back when I thought they were a little further in the future, the sly little fox!), and they are GREAT!!! Seriously, I am so pleased and excited for her, it's ridiculous. :) I love when good things happen to nice people, and Amy is one of the nicest. :) And I'm really excited that I get to be a part of her success; thank you for sharing the wealth, Amy!

(I have met some really good people lately, and it just thrills me to death that good things are happening for several of them. I think they work hard, so they deserve every bit of their success. :)

I will keep you guys posted on when the new Lizzy site is up and running; I'm really excited about the unveiling, both because I think it'll be so cute, and also because that Amy has some pretty keen ideas. :)


Jenie

Nothing in life is sure but death and TAXES

My taxes are finally done! Scratch one hideously onerous task that took my entire weekend and my Friday besides. I finished at 8am today, after pulling one last, desperate all-nighter to finish. 8:00am, on the button. Which gave me a sadistic sort of pleasure, since at 6am, I was praying to God to please let me finish by 8*. Kudos, God. And thanks. :)

So that's one need met. Maybe now I'll stop having nightmares of the BOE shutting me down and the IRS padlocking my door while tiny little men in suits and glasses poke me with their sharp little pencils and gleefully inform me I owe 5 years back taxes and am going to rot in prison the rest of my natural life.

Not that I ever owe back taxes, but when you have about a million things you need to do, all of equal importance, and all so dreadfully time-consuming that multi-tasking is a fantasy only the superheroic can afford, you start to have really hideous nightmares every night, in which all those things vie for attention and slowly drive you into an anxiety-filled pit of despair.

Okay, slight exaggeration. But only slight.

Now all I have left to do is memorize 23 meaningless produce codes (to go with the 27 already committed), finish up the last 8 days of the documentary, design and fabricate some exclusive pieces for Nesting with Style (!) and another site I am not yet at liberty to discuss (but am DYING to!!!), endure 4 days of training for a day job I'm not going to have more than 90 days, design a website for a new store (not mine), help someone convert all their frames pages to prettier, functional, non-framed pages, and landscape the areas on either side of the front gate.

Sounds like a lot, huh? :)

Jenie

* I had a meeting today, and I didn't know how long it would last, so those babies HAD to be done before I left the house, and I knew if I went to bed and tried to get up early to finish, it wasn't going to work, so I HAD to finish before I went to bed. Good thing, too, because I overslept and got to the meeting 15 min. late.

Introducing a new blog index...of sorts

I have the flu, so I'm going back to bed, but I published an index page for the blog, so if you're searching for a particular Friday Find, Tuesday Treasure, article on a mineral (ie. jade) or looking for a piece of jewelry I introduced in the blog, you can now click the link at right entitled "Partial Index of Past Posts". Hopefully, that will make your search a little easier. To return to this main blog, just click "Dragonblog" at the top of the page. I tried to keep the links over on the right, but for some reason, I could not keep both sets, and since I didn't feel like figuring out the CSS, it's pared down. I'll deal with it later. Maybe.

Night.

Friday Finds WE 10/09/05

Yes, it's the return of the Friday Finds...on Saturday. Friday is such a horrible day for me to get anything done, frankly. The sig other is setting up for band practice and there's always a lot of traffic in and out...maybe I'll start posting them Thursday night, so youse guys can read 'em at work on Friday. :)

Sorry these are not fashion finds. I have not done much fashion browsing lately. No time. So here are just some random links.

I'm going to start with handsdown my most favorite site of the entire month. Harvey Danger is currently offering their new album, Little By Little, for free on the web. Total free download of the entire album. Free. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but you don't have to pay for a single note of a single mp3. It's FREE, people! A free album completely FREE! You can buy the cd too, for $12, which is cheap as all get out for an album, and I am happy to report, it's a damn good album. There's only one song on the whole thing I don't like, and that one isn't so much bad as just rather long and I found it kinda tedious. I find songs tedious sometimes. It just happens. You might remember Harvey Danger from a kinda cheesy song they released back in 1998 called "Paranoia". It was a little kitschy, and frankly, I think it was a shrewd move on the band's part to release this album for free, because I probably would never have purchased one of their albums, having written them off as a one-hit kitsch wonder. Which would have been a gross underestimation of the band, because this is a seriously good album, with solidly-crafted songs. Some of them are just awesome, too. "Little Round Mirrors" is beautiful and thoughtful and reminds me of Simon & Garfunkle's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for some reason. I also really *love* the catchy 60's innocence of "Happiness Writes White". It's sort of like if Paul McCartney, First Class, and the Beach Boys had gotten together and cooked up a happy summer love song, and I would just about love the album on the basis of that song alone. I also really like "Moral Centralia" and "Diminishing Returns". On the surface, "Wine, Women and Song" is kind of strident, but around halfway thru it, I start liking it. It's got a sort of Cabaret kind of subversive feel to it. I could totally see it in a modern musical. The band has an explanation of why they're releasing the album free, and frankly, it makes me love them. I will shell out money for this when I have disposable income again, because I think they should be rewarded. Both for their vision in releasing this free and for the quality of the music. Harvey Danger has made a fan out of me, DAMN IT! ;)

I have no idea how or why I bookmarked Pomegranate.com about a million years ago, but I love this little birthday date book. If any of my friends are trying to figure out a cool birthday present for me... ;)

I heart my webhosting company so here's the link to ABS Internet. :) It's a small business run by a workaholic, and I always get great service and help. XO, ABS. :)

Ten Things to Avoid in Authoring a Web Page - I'm amazed how many people don't pay attention to this stuff. All Things Web is a pretty good research site, for those of you maintaining websites for your business.

Zuzu's Garden has a new, fall-based image on the front page. I like it. :)

Fantasy art by Jessica Galbreth and stuff utilizing said art.

Speaking of art, I love Art Magick. It's a great site. Used to be easier to browse, though. I don't like so much the way they've changed it. Still, if you want to look at art on the web, they have a huge supply of it. It's where I developed my addiction for Waterhouse, one of my favorite artists ever. :) And this is one of my favorites of his works.

Oo! And Thriller done completely and entirely in Legos!!!

That's it. Happy weekend...or Monday. Whichever. :)

Samples Away!

All the samples are ready to go out for the Wickedly Chic sampler. :) I just have to mail them. I think they're really cute, too. All but 5 have little sheets of vellum with inspirational quotes attached with a really pretty olive-green grossgrain ribbon. I have to say, I never want to have to write out 50 sets of directions and ingredients again. Stupid printer.

But let's not go there. The good news is that all the samples are done, and I think I have finally completely perfected the mask, so it can go up on the site as soon as I can figure out cool labeling...which I have to do before November 1, because that's when the sampler goes out. Hoo-ah. :)

Jenie

Bzzzzzzzy

Whew! I have been a busy little bee the last two days, trying to get samples together for the Wickedly Chic Fresh Baked Samples going out November 1. What with the documentary, I had no time to get stuff together until Monday, and then things got dicey...my friend Hope is going thru a breakup, Nicole has had a trauma or two, and I had a few issues of my own to deal with. But I finally got packaging together yesterday, which I think is so cute and pretty, I wish *I* was getting a sample! Unfortunately, it's also rather time-consuming packaging, because I have to write the ingredients and instructions out for 50 samples of Soothing Oatmeal Mask, thanks to Epson's crappy design of the Stylus C86, which I most definitely do NOT recommend you buy. EVER. I was hoping to wrap my packaging today and mail them to Amy tomorrow, but it's looking like Friday will be taken up with labeling...I have a dinner to go to tomorrow, so while I'm going to be a labeling fool until I have to leave (to drive an hour there and an hour back), I don't think I'm going to get to the lion's share of it until Friday. Still, they're cute; have I mentioned they're cute?! :) If you haven't made Wickedly Chic a habit, I just want to know why. :)

Round Two of the documentary should arrive in the mail tomorrow. I'll start on that Saturday and work on it straight through until at least the following Saturday, and probably the Wednesday after. And then I have taxes to file.

Yes, taxes. I ended up not having everything and had to file for an extension until the 15th of this month, so yay. And, ick. :(

And now I have to go to sleep, because between this sample project, Hope's drama, and an evil Cubis 2 addiction, I haven't had enough sleep lately and I'm tired.

Night night,
Jenie

Tuesday Treasures: Spot Organics

He gives kisses on command and waits to eat until you get home from work. He never laughs when you shriek during scary movies, and he lets you cuddle up against him whenever you like. And the time you left him on his own for an entire week while you went skiing with your girlfriends with nary a word of explanation, he still greeted you with enthusiastic joy when you got home. Oh sure, his pedigree might be lacking, and he sometimes eats his weight in shoes, but for all the happiness your dog brings you, shouldn't he be pampered too?

Certified aromatherapist Kyla Sims thinks so. When her best friend Sasha developed allergies at the age of three, Kyla put her talents to use and developed a line of all-natural grooming products for pampered puppies and problematic pooches like Sasha. All of Spot Organics' products are formulated from 100% organic herbal ingredients, from soothing lavender to refeshing lemongrass and exotic ylang-ylang, and chemical-free bases of sweet almond and essential oils.

The Spot Organics product range is astonishing. Sims has covered every need a dog could have. In addition to the prerequisites like organic flea and itch shampoos, Spot Organics also offers ear wipes and cleansers, and "Aromutt-therapy" products to meet every dog's need. There are specially formulated sprays to deodorize bedding, fight fleas, freshen breath and sooth itchy skin, while essential oil blends can calm a hyper dog, fight travel sickness, even help prevent embarrassing canine pda's. Skeptical? Spot Organics offers samples at reduced prices, or try the Pampered Pup Kit. It features five of Spot Organics' most popular products and is a steal at only $28.00

Dog can not live by spray alone, so Spot also carries pillows and bedding. My favorite is the organic travel bed that rolls up and has straps for easy storage. I wish I'd had one when I used to travel with my very large german shepherd. All are washable, and the beds can be ordered as-is or custom-made.

Spot's prices are excellent; much less than most organic pet products and even most non-organic ones. The site is cute, clean, and easy to navigate, and contains full descriptions of each product: how it works, what it's made of and how to use it. There's also an ingredients page, a listing of brick & mortar shops carrying Spot products, and a blog to keep you up on all the latest Spot Organics news. (I think it should be called "On the Spot," but I suppose that's a little too cute...!)

So whether your best friend is large or small, high or low-maintenance, the very model of decorum or a Jack Russell terrier on speed, he gives you every bit of love and adoration he has. Doesn't he deserve a little in return? No matter his needs, Spot Organics has the perfect product to pamper him with. ...Just keep your Manolos safely in the closet.

With a Little Help From My Friends

I'm tellin' you guys, if you don't get over to Wickedly Chic soon, you're going to miss out on all kinds of cool stuff. :)

I got a thank you card from Paper Bride. You guys, it is so cute! The website image just does not do PB's products justice, lemme say. This card is just so adorable. I feel really good about making PB a Treasure; my faith was utterly justified. :)

I have gotten a little chummy with Ms. Jeaneen Benson, of Yatta, and I would like to belatedly congratulate her on two good things. :) First, Yatta will be designing a new line of bags for American Pig Brand!!!! You guys, Jeaneen is smart, savvy, and works her butt off, so I'm really happy to have gotten to know her and to be able to share in her happiness. I think she really deserves it. :) In addition to that clever little coup, Jeaneen also runs CraftView, which is a marketplace alternative to eBay. She's really put a lot of work into that, too, so it's gratifying to see it catching on. If you have stuff to sell, you should consider listing over there. It doesn't cost much at all (waaaaaay cheaper than eBay), and she gets all kind of traffic there. She's affiliated with Momstown, and they're going to be featured on Dr. Phil in like a week, so you know traffic is going to go thru the roof there. Good exposure if you've got stuff to sell. :) I only wish I had the money right now. I'm so getting left out. :(

Rachel at Sea of Stars has been a busy bee and crafted some all new purses and the like. I am in love with this cute elephant wallet. :) The plaid wristlet on the wallets page is also so cute. :) My favorite things on the site are the apron tops and dresses. Especially the Grateful Dead Bear apron top at the top of this page. :) How can you not love a whale named Willard? :) There's tons of new stuff over there. :)

I wish Kristen would update!

I don't know what happened to the CraftJoint blog. I hope Shareta is okay. :(

Round Two of the documentary will be here by Wednesday or Thursday. Only 8 hours of tape, this time, which is a relief, frankly. The last 11 or 12 were taxing. Interesting subject matter, but one hour is a long time to type what someone is saying, especially if he/she is longwinded and stutters a lot.

That's it for now. I feel kinda bunk and am going to bed.

Ciao, bella.

Jenie

Snoopy Dance With Me, Now

Back in the day, when something cool would happen, I used to "Snoopy dance". You know, the happy little dance Snoopy does on all the Peanuts specials, with the fast feet and all full of glee, to the Vince Guaraldi Trio? The song is actually called Linus & Lucy, but I call it the Snoopy dance song. So when something cool would happen, I would tell my friends "Snoopy dance!" and then start moving my hands around and being goofy while singing the Snoopy dance song. I've done this now since like junior year of high school. So when I first got into the wonderful world of television, it spread among my fellow transcribers, and when we would finish a particularly heinous tape (or just one we thought would never end), we would say "Snoopy dance!" and hum the song while dancing around in our chairs, and our neighbors would join in.

I have just finished a tape so hideously, horribly, horrendously, foul-ly awful that literally the very second I realized the tape was over, I actually heard the Vince Guaraldi Trio playing the Snoopy dance song in my head.

Dude.