I love finding surprises in nature.  A few days ago, I was in my yard and walked over  to see my Calla lily bloom (noun – I wasn’t actually going to watch it bloom out). I planted it several years ago, but this was the very first (and only) bloom. As I stepped in the flower bed to look at it, I saw something on one of the large leaves.  It was a tiny green frog, slightly over an inch long.

I told a friend about it. She has been to Costa Rica and said that the green tree frogs there usually live their entire life on one leaf. I don’t know long this one will stay, but he is still here leaf perching. This morning, after several days on that leaf, he had moved to the next leaf.  I know these little frogs are pretty common, but all I have seen around here are the brown “hoppy” toads. So I hope that he does stay. I’ve always loved frogs and have included some in my art as well as quilt designs. Humm, maybe he will inspire me to create a new collection!

Put a little nature in your life today, ribbit!

Phyllis

Have you ever thought about all the “fork in the road” situations throughout your life – where they lead you?  A tiny turn here, another turn there can lead to profound changes. Even a random “hello” while waiting to cross a street during a tradeshow or seminar, a brief introduction to someone on an escalator, or engaging in a conversation on a shuttle bus can create a tiny fork in my business. Where do these forks lead?

I have a friend who sends inspirational messages every few days. I received one this week that really hit home with me.

“Choosing a goal may cause only a slight change in your life’s direction at first. It’s like one of those huge freighters at sea: If the captain shifts course by just a few degrees, it won’t be noticeable immediately. But in several hours or days, this change in direction will bring the ship to a completely different destination…Start turning your freighter now, because up ahead, just a short distance away, is your future.” (Anthony Robbins, from his book Notes from a Friend – A quick and simple guide to taking charge of your life)

My entire career has been based on this philosophy. And quite unintentional. But looking back, I see all these little changes in directions. Some changes were based on intentional choices of what I wanted to work on. Others were so minor, like a random conversation or a brief introduction, that resulted in gradual, but huge changes in my career. You just never know when that change in direction will come or from where. Will it be something that is a well planned, thought-out change, or will it come from some insignificant, low-key randomness.

Although I guided my career with intentional directions and choices, so many of the changes in direction were the result of a small randomness. The one thing that is constant is that each fork in the road or change in direction leads to other forks/changes which lead to others. Even if you pick the wrong direction, the next change can correct that direction in an even better way. Think about it.

Thanks to my friend who passed this inspirational message to me this week. And who, by the way, I met on a shuttle bus at Quilt Market over 15 years ago.

Which direction will you take today?

Phyllis

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and luck of the Irish to you! I have a lucky patch of shamrock’s growing in a natural area close to my house and nothing says St. Patrick’s Day better than a shamrock. I love to look through patches of clover for a lucky 4-leaf clover and did so this morning.  I figured that finding one on St. Patrick’s Day would be extra lucky. Right?

And I did find one. I didn’t pick it like I usually do, but left it to grow, hoping it will bring better luck that way.

After having good luck finding my 4 leaf clover, I’m now going to look for a rainbow so I can find the pot of gold. I know its out there somewhere!

Happy St. Patty to all of you!

Phyllis

Everyone loves Pinterest!  One word describes it – beautiful!  The pin’s (photos, images, tutorials, crafts, etc.) are all so gorgeous and inspiring.  You can get easily lost in a time warp with Pinterest (I know that from first hand experience!).  Its one of the fastest growing sites as well as becoming one of the most important tools for driving traffic – if used correctly.  There are also some pitfalls – such as violation of the copyright laws. Sometimes people are unaware of the copyright laws and without realizing it, violate them.

One way to avoid infringing of copyrights is to secure permission from the image owner before pinning it.  Plain and simple – case closed!  Some people may not want an image they posted pinned and Pinterest recently developed some code you can use to prevent pinning of an image.  Meanwhile others love having someone pin their images (and I’m one – see below).  And when you do pin something, always provide a link to the blog or website that the image came from (read below for the correct way).  Always!

I found this blog that explains how to pin correctly with 4 simple tips. Basically, when you pin, find the link where the image is located. Do not give the general url for the blog or website but use the permalink.  For a blog, click on the title of the article containing the image.  That will give you the permalink  showing at the top of the web page and is the link you should use.  In Pinterest, click at the top on “Add”, then paste the permalink.  You will get a dialog box where you can select the image that you want posted.

When pinning correctly, someone can click on the image pinned  and go to that web page to find out more information about the image pinned.  This way, you are really “sharing the love” of the pin. I have found many interesting blogs and a lot of useful information by clicking through the image.

I want to say that I personally love to have someone share my images on Pinterest, if done correctly with a permalink.

Also, to help protect your images when you are posting an image on your blog or website, place your name and link directly on the image so that it has your identifying information on it in case it “strays”, whether on Pinterest or elsewhere. I recently had one of my images found in Google inages show up on someone else’s’ blog without crediting me (a big blog no-no and a copyright infringement). Someone I know saw it because of my identifying information and contacted me. So protect your images (and put the identifying info where it can’t be easily cropped out by someone unscrupulous, and yes, unfortunately there are some of those people out there)!

Also be aware that Pinterest’s Terms of Service are becoming quite a controversy. I’ve read a lot on the for and against them, mostly against, and personally feel that they need to really make some big changes in them, BIG changes. So you need to weigh the pro’s and con’s when pinning an image.

For more on the benefits of using Pinterest for marketing, here are 56 ways to market your business on Pinterest.

Have fun pinning the correct way!

Phyllis

UPDATE – Flickr has now added coding so that the images on that site cannot be pinned.

Sometimes (or most of the time) we are so focused on what we are doing or thinking that we don’t look around us. By just stopping to observe our surroundings, there is so much pattern, detail and color that we normally don’t notice.

While in Atlanta for the Gift Market this month, I looked down the escalators in Building 1 and snapped a photo because it looked interesting from my viewpoint.

This photo was taken on the 14th floor. The 6th floor is at the bottom of the escalator shaft.  After attending Gift Market many times and going round and round and round on the escalators from 6th floor to 18th floor, I never noticed the pattern seen from looking down the center of the shaft.

Walking in Building 3 of the Mart, I looked across the center  from around the 7th or 8th floor and saw this pattern formed by the elevator shaft and escalators.  I wish I had taken a picture looking down from a higher floor, but thought this looked very balanced.

This is another view of the pattern formed by the open floors in Building 3 looking from the escalators. The curvature of the floors from this angle gives a different look and pattern.

After I took the pictures of the floor patterns in Market, I was in a mental mode of observing other patterns.  As I walked through the lobby of the Marriott Marquis on the way to the Hilton where I was staying, I looked up and saw this dynamic view of the floors and arrangement. It was really beautiful to see, especially since the floor vertical arrangement is not symmetrical. Previously being mentally focused on other things, it took several trips through the Marriott before I looked up and noticed it.

I noticed that the Hilton also has a pattern by looking up.  This is looking up from the 14th floor, but there were almost solid floors looking up and down so the view wasn’t as dramatic.  This view is interesting with the elevator shaft going up through the opening.  It looks like a higher view would have a better view pattern formed by open floors.

So, take a moment to look up, look down and all around you to really observe things you might be missing. Its so easy to be tunnel visioned in your thoughts or conversations.

Phyllis

Each year, as the year gets close to the end, I always wonder how can it be over already. It seems like only a few months have passed. I think working hard and working with something I love makes the time fly faster. I love creating both new art and new quilting/sewing designs so the days just whiz by.

Thinking ahead to the new year always brings thoughts of new resolutions. But by January 10th or so (if that long), they are usually forgotten as I’ve settled back into my normal daily routine. So, I’ve settled on one word for next year’s resolution – TRY. That’s all one can do, and my “try” will be trying some new things and some new directions as well expanding on the things I’m already doing. OK, I know there’s only so many hours in the day to “try” to squeeze my new resolution in, but there are some 2-word sub-resolutions that can help, “Better Organization” or “Less Sleep” (I really don’t like the last one so I need to work on the first).

TRY reminds me of an old saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. I’m not quite sure I like that saying because you don’t have to fail or not succeed to keep trying. By trying, you can improve on something good or successful. TRY can also cover a multitude of plans, from trying to be a better person to trying to keep my plants alive by remembering to water them.

Thinking back over the past year, I am thankful for many things. Foremost, I’m thankful for my family and friends. My son moved back to Birmingham this year, to my delight, so I get to see him much more often. I enjoyed spending more time with other members of my family as well as friends.

I am thankful for all of you who read my blog, comment or send me emails. You all mean more to me than you know!

I wish each of you a great and Happy New Year, peace and happiness!  I hope your wishes and dreams come true!

Phyllis

I finally got around to it!  I’ve been wanting to change my blog for forever, but just finding the extra time to just sit down and do it was a deterrent. So today was the day – I started tweaking and finished it. That’s not to say I won’t tweak it some more. To me, the hardest part of any job, no matter how small, is getting started. The rest is easier.

I hope you like my new look!

Phyllis

When I get the urge to redecorate or rearrange things, nothing can stop me.  When I start focusing on a room, the ideas just hit me and I have to do something. My husband hates it when I’m siting quietly and my eyes and head are in a constant state of turning and looking (not quite like in The Exorcist because my head doesn’t turn all the way around). It usually means something is going to change

Since I spend most of my time in my studio, I tend to frequently move things around, repaint the walls and so on.  OK, I’m really tired of putty colored filing cabinets.  They are so blah!  So after hitting the stores looking for a good color, I decided on just the right shade of light aqua by Rustoleum, my favorite color.  I couldn’t wait to get home to start spraying this beautiful color on this 2-drawer filing cabinet  which is outside drying.  The color in the photo is more intense and darker than the aqua actually is because its in the late day shadows but take my word for it, it’s great! I have a couple more cabinets to finish and am excited at the way this one turned out. But I have to space myself and get some work done in between painting them.

Go ahead and make some changes in your space. Even the smallest changes can make a difference.

Phyllis

I am looking forward with excitement to The Creative Connection Event, co-founded by Jo Packham, Editor in Chief of “Where Women Create” and “Where Women Cook”.  Held in St. Paul, MN starting September 17, this is the 2nd year of the Event. I decided to attent after hearing great things about last year’s event.

Geared toward creative women, the event focuses on handmade and on food and cooking. I guess I don’t have to tell you that since I had to choose one direction, I chose handmade. In addiiton, a day will be devoted to social media and blogging.

And, Pitch Slam slams are being held one afternoon where one can pitch a product or literary idea to a panel of professionals for each of several fields. The Pitch Slams are limited to 9 people for each category, with the 9 people selected randomly.  It was a “whoohoo!” moment for me when I found out that I was selected for one of the pitch slams. So, I am busy working on my “product” to pitch in a time frame of 3 to 4 minutes.

The Creative Connection Event will also have a market place and a book store, 2 of my favorites for any event!

I haven’t been to St. Paul, but have been to Minneapolis a few times and love the area. I’m especially looking forward to visiting the area and attending the event! All this plus some good friends who are also attending should all combine for an inspirational few days, learning new things and great networking.

Check back as I will write all about my experiences at TCC!

Phyllis

In a mad dash outside in the heat and humidity to quickly water some plants, I was stopped by the beauty of this spider and her (his?) web. The beautiful Chevron stitch down the center of the large web in my rose bush was spectacular.
This spider knows needlework, so I’m assuming it’s a her (I know there are men who create gorgeous needlework and think Rosie Grier  and his needlepoint, but women do outnumber in this category). I know spiders can be terrifying, in spite of being such small creatures. But you have to admit that this one is a beauty with its yellow colors.

I did find this spider on the internet and its name is, are you ready?  ”Black and Yellow Garden Spider”.  That’s not very imaginative and I think she deserves a much prettier name. Any suggestions for a name – please leave a comment if you do!

I wonder if she knows any other stitches….

Phyllis

Note, it has been almost a week since I posted this and the spider is still there.  But her body has doubled in size!