Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You may or may not have noticed as the changes have been relatively subtle, but I have again been revamping my blog. I'm not talking about making pretty new layouts and that sort of thing. This is a bit more serious.

If you've had a chance to talk to me since December, or if you've read my posts on Facebook/Twitter, you probably know that I'm am pretty much officially a Ramit Sethi fangirl. I admit it. Can you really blame me? C'mon. The guy's information has transformed my outlook on life and my finances. That's a big deal!

So, as a proper student of his I read all of the emails he sends. I have yet to open one and it not be highly valuable content. At the very least, I get a chuckle from his crass attitude and sarcasm which totally weirds out my coworkers when I suddenly start cackling in the middle of the office (which doubles my amusement).

In one such email I recently received from his Scrooge Strategy mailing list, he featured a blog post by Erica Douglass. This girl is brilliant, and I really enjoyed reading her blog posts. They were very helpful, and very insightful in regards to small business advice.

 The most helpful thing of hers I came across was her Blog Success Manifesto. This is why I've been tinkering with my blog, and how I've been going about it. It might all seem pretty basic to some people, but for me, not all of this was purely intuitive stuff! Oh, and this ebook is free. Totally worth signing up on her mailing list for.

To be perfectly frank, up until this point this blog has been pretty half assed. The entire point of it was just for my own entertainment and to have fun with my friends. That's still what my blog is mostly about, but I'd like to gear my blog more towards fostering a community of artists and creative thinkers other than just my handful of close friends (but don't worry I still love you guys!!). I'm confident that Erica's advice has set me on the right track to do just that.

So if you're browsing through my posts and suddenly things look crazy. Relax. You're not crazy. It's just me tinkering away.

Before I forget, another thing that is being revamped: This blog is now on a schedule. That's right! You've just read the very first scheduled post. My blog will now officially be updated on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Wednesdays are reserved for informational topics regarding small business, jewelry design, tutorials, etc. Sundays will be a review of what I've created, what business goals I've met, and what goals I'm setting forth for the next week. I hope the consistency will help make the timeline of my writing a little easier to follow, and that my posts will help other fellow artisans and crafts persons who are also figuring out how to run their own businesses for the first time.

That's the gist of the "revamp" this time around. I'll be seeing you darlings on Wednesdays and Sundays. If you're totally jonesing for a chance to catch up with me before then, there's always Twitter and Facebook. I warn you in advance that I ramble about pro wrestling a lot on Twitter. That's right. Pro. Wrestling.

Much love,









Edit (07/27/12): For whatever reason, it looks like Blogger didn't feel the need to post my post even though it was scheduled. You should have seen this post on Wednesday. Better late than never?  XD

Forgive me, as I'm a bit fuzzy brained after a lovely vacation over the Fourth of July. I spent five days with my dad in Oklahoma, which is always awesome. I love getting to catch up with my family in my hometown, but getting back into the swing of things once I come home to Texas always leaves me feeling a bit frazzled for the first couple of days.

Anyhow, before I forget what I'm supposed to be writing about, let me formally introduce you to my lovely Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Barb Fernald. This lady is downright amazing, and she sent me SO many things! I've made 5 pieces of jewelry so far, and still have beads to spare. I've enjoyed every minute of working with Barb's beautiful silver beads.

Speaking of, check out some of her work:

She drills these stones herself! So neat!

The look of the metal "stones" next to the natural ones makes for some excellent contrast.

Seriously! This stuff is amazing, and very inspiring. It makes me think that I most certainly need to save up for a kiln so I can tinker with some of this art clay stuff.

But the beads! What about the beads, you say! Here they are. I meant to take better photos, but in my excitement I found that I had already starting stringing and tinkering with things before I remember that... hey! I was going to take better photos. Ahh well. I promise to take good photos of the jewelry. Pinkie promise!

I think Barb is psychic and knew my Sunshine polishing cloth needed replacing soon. Talk about an awesome surprise after having forgotten to purchase one in my last bulk supply order. Thanks, Barb! ♥

Gemstone beads, glass beads, lucite, pearls, and lovely silver findings made by Barb herself!

Those freshwater pearls are simply divine. Top drilled, even!

There was much squealing over that little bird. I didn't realize it was still folded up in the tissue paper. It was quite a pleasant surprise to find it after I thought I had unwrapped everything.

And there we have it. My beads from my amazing partner. Can you blame me for diving in right away to work with these amazing gifts? I didn't think so!  ;)

Much love,