I’m blogging late today after running errands again for my dad & mom. My dad got the green light to drive himself on short trips from the cardiologist this morning. So yay! A bit of freedom for both of us.
In looking for inspiration, I came across the We Scout Wednesday post from ScoutieGirl’s Tara Gentile about Gifts of Enthusiasm. It reminded me that just last night, in the minutes before sleep, that I was swept away with a discovery.
I’ve always been enthusiastic about paper. As a kid, I would ask to go to the Five and Dime or the local stationery store and could literally spend hours reading cards, touching stationery and ogling at all the paper goodness. At home, I would make my own notepads from lined paper and staples and draw picture after picture in them.
Since I started my business and have really hunkered down to design, I’ve struggled with my style (touched on in this New Year post.) Since January, I’ve worked hard to make discoveries in my designs and be judicious about my creations. I realized last night that I’m feeling Enthusiastic (with a capital E!) about where I’m headed. My style is emerging and becoming definitive to me and I can’t tell you what a gift that is. I’m giving this particular gift of enthusiasm to myself for now, so I can share it with others as soon as I’m able.
Category Archives: Design
Admitting Your Problem is the First Step
I can’t help myself… I’ve done another redesign of my site. Could this be a problem? It’s almost compulsive and when I start to tweak, I can’t stop. I’m happy with the end result though. So, how much of a problem can it be? Last night, my dad went into the hospital by ambulance with…… Continue Reading
Bowling Party
I love working on custom designs – something good always comes out of it. I recently did a set of cards for a math teacher friend of mine, who wanted to send each of her students a hand written note. I asked her some questions about her class, some of the lessons and what her…… Continue Reading
Color Palette
It’s been a rough morning with some technical issues on my site. (Hackers are mean people and you know what the bumper sticker says, right?) Anyway, it has held up what I was originally going to post. I’ve been furiously working on the Specialty Shops on RDP and it’s very close to how I want…… Continue Reading
Umbrellas
There’s something romantic about umbrellas. The shape, open or closed, is so definitive. I really could look at them endlessly. I’ve always owned an umbrella with some style. I came close to crying when my Chagall design broke a few years ago. Those deep blues… sigh. So, today I’ll do some designing from the sketches…… Continue Reading
Office Area to Studio Space
One of my dreams is to have a studio with room to create whatever I can imagine. As with many of you crafty people out there, I’m sure you make due with whatever space is available. I have been slowly taking over “the playroom,” which was briefly an office B.K. (Before Kids.) Now that these…… Continue Reading
Yearning to Design
Running a small, online paper goods store and being the sole owner, designer and the everything else-er, makes time seem to tick quickly. Mostly, I enjoy all the aspects of the business, but when it’s tax time in particular, my mind is yearning to design. We were recently on vacation and I was able to…… Continue Reading
MN Week – Clean and Simple Design from the Humorous Cathy Zielske
Preamble to the profile MN Week was born out of the discovery of people I admired online. If I dug them enough, I would click on the About and find a Minnesotan. A few of these discoveries happened in quick succession and I didn’t have to be hit with a snowball to see a pattern.…… Continue Reading
Out with the Old
Hello out there! Seems like it’s been awhile… how do you like the new look? I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Still tweaking here and there, but have begun the big renovation of the main site. Thank you to all that have supported me and my business in one way or another this…… Continue Reading
Kid Paper
My boys are learning to ice skate in this nifty program through our town hockey group. It’s three sessions in three days with equipment included. Which gave me time in the cold rink to sketch some designs. I’ve been meaning to add ore designs to my children’s stationery “line” and here are a couple I’ve…… Continue Reading
