I was back from Dallas for a little over a week before jumping on another plane for another trip. This time Mark joined me and we took a red eye home to Indiana on the 3rd of July. Arriving on the morning of the 4th in Indianapolis (after a 4 hour layover in Detroit which …
Once again I’ve allowed the busyness of business (and a bit of Facebook wasting time) to prevent me from posting a blog about my Dallas adventure last week. So here goes. I flew down to Dallas on Weds the 20th of June. Blessed to have so much family around! My brother Dennis and wife Leslie …
Just when I saw JR Ewing on the front page of the Datebook section of the San Francisco Chronicle today, I was thinking that I’m headed for Dallas in a week. JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen are back on TV! Now my Mom was a HUGE fan of Dallas but I was out partying and …
Not sure when I could pin the actual “Birth…Day” for Words and Watercolors. I officially launched in June of 2010 at the Denver New Age Trade Show. That is why I’m thinking W&W is 2 years old this month. In anticipation of June 1st, I thought, Words and Watercolors is a toddler! Using the analogy …
It’s Memorial Day, Monday the 28th of May Well over a week since the last entry. Happy to report that the Stationery Show restored my confidence (it was lagging) in what I’m doing. I wrote orders, talked to lots of people, received great feedback on the boxed cards, and made some great contacts for both …
I’m so happy to report that I’ve had the best day I’ve had in a Long Time!!!! So thankful since tomorrow is the 1st day of the Stationery Show and I’d much rather go into it feeling JOY in my heart rather than worry/anxiety. My sister, Mary Alice, and my cousin, Geri, and I all …
I’m thrilled to be introducing my NEW Boxed Notecards next week at the NYC Stationery Show. It’s been quite the challenge getting ready for this show. Doing a show in NYC is different from elsewhere. I admit to being in a bit of overwhelm but hoping this show proves successful. I’m in a 1/2 booth. …
The brilliance of the full moon shone through my bedroom window last night…as much as I love full moon energy, it often keeps me awake bathed in it’s brilliance. Last night was no exception as I tossed and turned, considering the mysteries of the goddess energy shining brightly. In my sleeplessness, I asked the …
I was listening to a Success CD (each month Success magazine comes with an audio CD inside) today as I drove and heard the suggestion from a marketing guru that one should blog daily. I was a bit taken a back by that frequency. Especially when I realized that my blogging efforts have been waylaid …
Angel/Healing energy I’m migrating back and forth…this blog became a page on my site but because the integration could not happen the way I had wanted, it’s back on it’s own platform, yet still integrated into the site…but wait…the changes ARE forthcoming as I’ve now got Lauren, master PR/Marketing whiz, reworking both my website and …
A bit of a woo woo post…I’ve been thinking about energy and how we all vibrate at various rates. Over the years I’ve read countless books on energy, metaphysics, dreams, angels, positive thinking, past lives, intuition, etc….you name it and I’ve most likely read about it. That in and of itself explains some of the …
Easy to tell that days are swiftly passing by when I don’t get to posting any new blogs. This morning as I was meeting Amy, who was the graphic designer who converted my website to WordPress format and then added my new 25 cards, for the first time I exclaimed “I’m going to go home …
Saturday morning and, finally, feeling better about things now that we are back “wired” to the world. Our internet has been working sporadically as has my printer. Mark called comcast yesterday morning. He was told that the comcast connection was good. The guy asked how old the router was…Mark looks to me and asks me. …
I’m happy to report that this has been the best Gift Show yet for me. It helps that this is my 4th show. People come by that have written orders in the past to say Hi! even if they aren’t ready to write another one yet. Others who have talked to me before but didn’t …
The old saying is true, “Time flies when you’re having fun”….or in my case being busy (and having fun!). Difficult to believe that is has been nearly 3 weeks since last posting an entry to the blog. What have I been doing?? Orders and more orders…which takes time to input into Quick Books, pull the …
(Began this blog entry Wednesday morning…..January 25th) I’m sitting in a room at my new printer’s office. I’ve been sequestered here since yesterday. I forgot that doing “proofs” for offset is waaaaay different than “proofs” for digital. Once I “OK” by signing my name and date, to a proof sheet, the printer runs the required …
More than 1/2 way through my trip, I’m sitting in my brother’s kitchen, contemplating the past week. Though my booth location was poor in Atlanta, I tried to make the best of it. I enJOYed talking to my booth mates and made some good connections for potential licensed opportunities for my artwork. It’s a long …
I’m on my way to Atlanta…literally on the plane with my laptop open typing away. The Atlanta Gift Show starts on Friday so I’ll be setting up my booth tomorrow afternoon. Come Friday 9AM I’ll be ready with cards in the racks, catalogs in a basket and order sheets in hand! Sadly Emily won’t be …
I can’t believe I’m sitting with the last day of 2011…ready to literally leap into the NEW YEAR of 2012! I can’t wait to see what unfolds in the coming year!! The title “prayers answered” came to me as I was silently giving thanks for John Frisch and Leewood Press. I knew in September and …
Just returned from dropping off 5 boxes at FedEx. The boxes contains all I need to set up my booth in January at the Atlanta Gift Show…cards/envelopes for the racks (those are shipping new from a vendor in Chicago), cards on colored ribbons, complete decks of cards for ordering purposes, matted cards, new catalogs, baskets …
I’ve been buzzing around flitting from one thing to another as I go about preparing for 2012! I have the sense that it is going to be a breakthrough, huge year for words and watercolors!! My confidence level has increased a zillion times over where it was about a year ago as I was still …
It’s been over a week since I last posted and Thanksgiving has come and gone. Two Turkey dinners and lots of leftovers later and I’m finally getting back into gear with the next phase of Words and Watercolors. The newest 25 designs have been printed (last week) and will be ready for pick up tomorrow …
I’m sitting at San Francisco Airport (SFO), 8:10am Friday morning waiting for my 9:20 flight to Seattle (SEA). Can’t wait to see Miss Em and Bob (and Ryan, Em’s boyfriend)…It’s going to be an action packed 4 days as I’ve got lots of people to see this trip and things to do. “Grateful” is in …
It’s been 2 weeks since I wrote a post…that reflects how busy I’ve been…that and the cold that finally caught up with me last week prevented me from getting to this blog posting. Last Thursday evening, after attending the annual “Imagine Bus Project” fundraiser (a charity that Words and Watercolors supports) I was inspired to …
After watching the movie “The Way” last night, I considered the importance of traveling a path…be it a Labyrinth, like the one I walked at Grace Cathedral yesterday afternoon after delivering a re-order of my cards to their Gift Shop, or the Camino de Santiago that Martin Sheen’s character walks in the movie. Both have …
When in Portland for the Nursery Trade show in August, I had a chance to get a “reading” from my very favorite astrologer/tarot reader Lucy Pond. Lucy has been instrumental in helping me “see” things for a number of years. She also used to live in Seattle and we’d meet at her office in her …
Out on a walk last week, I was contemplating the idea of “going full circle”. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile as I realized that my birthday marked my 30th anniversary of quitting my job in Indiana for my 26th birthday present to myself. I had decided, while riding on a boat surrounded by …
Notice I don’t have a Birth…DAY. I actually have a Birth Month. I think I may have noted earlier in the month my Birthday Challenge, which was to paint and/or draw every day in the month of September. Coming down to the wire and I’m proud to say I’ve done good!! Some days have only …
I couldn’t believe it when I went to the FAX machine to pull off an order for Armstrong Garden that my rep in SoCal called to tell me about. Underneath that fax was another from the Chicago Rep group for $839.00!! I’ve never had an order for that much faxed to me!! WooHOOO!!! Not only …
OK, It looks like you may have to sign in to Chirply to vote for me but please, anyone who reads this GO to this website and vote for these 2 designs: Do both please!! You are going to be voting for my design on a DODOcase which is a very cool iPad holder that …
I’ve lately been feeling like Words and Watercolors is gaining traction…and it is a GOOD THING!! Sarm and Nostovski is repping my cards in the Midwest!! They have a showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and rep coverage in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minn, Wisconsin and Eastern Mich. WooHOO!! In addition to the Midwest, I …
Has it really been a week since I packed up my car after the Nursery Trade show in Portland and headed north to Seattle?? It seems longer than a week and yet like just the other day that I pulled into Emily’s driveway and hugged my baby girl as she came out to greet me. …
I LOVE LOVE LOVE being back in the Great Northwest. As I drove into Portland, I began singing out loud with joy my made up song (“I LOVE LOVE LOVE being back in the Great Northwest!”). It is soooo green here. Evergreens are everywhere. Mt. Adams looming in the distance. It’s simply beautiful. Not only …
The Far West Nursery show begins Thursday in Portland, OR. I’m going to participate in their Garden Pavilion which will showcase vendors that have products that sell in Nursery Gift Shops. Words and Watercolors is a natural fit for such venues! I’m beginning the drive tomorrow, planning to stop at Grant’s Pass, OR, 7 hours …
I texted my daughter Emily last Saturday, “life appears more precious when death is near”. She had called me that morning to let me know that Debbie, her boss and a friend of mine, had slipped away in the night. Debbie was truly an angel on earth for the 49 young years that she lived. …
What a difference a year makes!! I kept thinking of that phrase throughout the four days of the SF Gift Show. Last year my doubt about my dream becoming a reality was still very high and that doubt cast a shadow over what I was trying to accomplish, I believe. Last year I shared a …
“You are definitely doing what you are supposed to be doing” stated Patty Cullen as she read through many of my cards and asked if I were Buddhist. She owns a coffee/gift shop, Konditori, in Portola Valley, CA. She was my first order at the show (after a very successful chat with Bruce, the buyer …
The title of this blog came to me on the last day of the Atlanta Gift Show as I talked to Tara, from Eco Papers, one of my new booth friends from the show (these trade shows can be grueling as you stand around your booth for hours on end). I’ve been meaning to post …
Mark and I start the day reading from inspirational books most mornings. We’ve read and reread countless times Wayne Dyer’s little book “10 Secrets to a Successful Life”. One of his Secrets is “Don’t die with the music still in you”. His message being do what you are passionate about…no matter what that is…singing, playing …
OMG, I’ve been soooo busy since I returned from Denver and now I’m in Atlanta!! Flew in yesterday. The largest Gift Show in the World, Atlanta, begins tomorrow. Just returned to my hotel after setting up my booth. Happy to say that I got a larger booth space than I expected, that extra space makes …