Ruminous

Sale and Giveaway: 15 More Days!

Just a reminder that my September Etsy shop sale (enter HARVEST at checkout for 30% off your order) and giveaway end in a mere 15 days, on September 30th.

For this giveaway, one listing purchased this month equals one entry--a lucky buyer will win this autumn-themed stationery set made from recycled book pages, complete with sage green-colored cardstock inserts:

Winner will be drawn on 10/1: please see the full details of this sale and giveaway here.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

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P.S. The holidays are quickly around the corner.  Don't know what to get for the witty little girl in your life? You know, the one who doesn't really like frilly dolls, but has a deep appreciation for playthings in general. Or for the doll aficionado who collects uniqueness rather than mass produced?  Check out this blog post: GoHeyJudy!: Little Girl Dolls.  The lady behind it all has an absolutely high quality, witty, and unique shop--and not to mention, some enviable mad sewing skills!

Best Buds

Doll and bird handmade by GoHeyJudy.

My Judy doll and my newest addition, Ferb, are best buds...and after seeing them together in all their cool cuteness, it dawned on me that they are 100% handmade, right down to Judy's meticulously hand-sewn hair.  Someone made them: took the time to design them, cut the fabric just so, stuff them; sew them.  For me, looking the process-plus-end product, rather than just the finished product, does indeed bring about a sense of wonder, of awe really, to the definition of handmade. 

To that end, I hope you don't mind me sharing some photos of Ferb:

Check out that rockin' hair and those cool shells!  I can readily imagine Ferb gracing a shelf, a collector's box, or even hanging sweetly above a little one's crib...

...and let's face it: yellow gingham makes my day brighter.

If you're interested, visit GoHeyJudy's shop here.

Wishing you all a fruitful August weekend!

The Sparks and the Ruts

Yes, those are my new little oregano plants sprouting up.  These little babies appear to be quite hardy, and were easily germinated--from the eleven tiny seeds planted, nine have sprouted.  In both form and function, these seedlings will be wholly useful.  Stare at them, I must, for they are so beautiful in their seedling state; when they are older, their dried leaves will be provide perfectly-palatable seasoning.*

Getting back on topic, the oregano plants are an example of what constitutes the current sparks in my creativity.  In other words, the seedlings' mere being allows me to engage, relax, and just be, myself.  Not actively thinking or anxiously fretting about creativity or work, I enjoy the moment and throw myself fully into it.  Sometimes the creative moment lasts the entire day, and those are the best of days spent and (at the same time) are the ones most longed for.  

In theory, it sounds like an easy task, this relaxing, engaging, and just being, while riding the creativity wave--but it isn't so for me.   Has anyone else ever experienced this difficulty (and almost guilt) in being able to relax?  This appalling anxiety?

The other part of my dichotomous blog post title, the "ruts," refers primarily to what the word means.  Not that "rut" is an entirely negative word, although its connotation may prove otherwise.  We need the ruts in life in order to have the sparks; without one, the other cannot be compared to, defined, or even physically, emotionally, or mentally felt.

Seemingly different from the sensory and synaptic junctures of the mind and body, our entire lives also continually run this one-or-the-other creative spark or rut course: sometimes one and sometimes the other, depending on circumstance and mindset.  From this, I believe that we learn greatly about oneself and about oneself in relation to others.  I leave this entry with an appropriate blog post from my political opposite, my hermit friend, GoHeyJudy--"She has a name.  She has a story."  Brilliant!

*Regarding planting seeds:
If you're interested, I used coco (coconut) coir rather than amended soil to grow my indoor plants because I am a germophobe.  So far, I am happy with the results of this media, since coco coir has great water retention and my plants are growing healthily.  The downside of this soilless mix is that it requires some care: nutrients need to be added on a weekly basis for optimal plant growth.

Thank You

Lately, I've been getting into the holiday spirit in my own hermit-y sort of way--creating gifts for people, cutting up books (that will be a chronicled in a separate post sometime soon), and dreaming up ways to stay unique in a world that urges prototypical conformity.  It's not an easy task!  However, there have been some recent developments that have reminded me why I do what I do.  And for them, I am thankful.  

As I blogged about not too long ago, I sent my hermit friends their holiday cards very early because one's destination is across the ocean.  One of these wonderful friends, GoHeyJudy, blogged about her excitement upon opening the envelope--in addition to saying such nice things about my shop.  Not that her excitement wasn't warranted, but you should see what she sent me:

 My very own Guardian Judy doll...

...isn't she absolutely charming?!?

GoHeyJudy makes the most unique and spunkiest rag dolls, and I've had my eye on her Angel Judy for some time now.  Needless to say, I was very touched by her gesture.  "Thank you so much!" doesn't have enough leverage here.

Also, I've had some really kind return customers this holiday season, and some sweet feedback, too.  These actions are reminders to me that all those long days and nights spent agonizing and obsessing over how to wrap and present my shop items were well worth the anxiety and sleeplessness.  It has taken me a year to get into the groove of how to present items purchased from my shop.  Taking photos, listing the product, and describing the item came quite easily to me, but conveying the Internet look into real life, physical items was a difficult task for a very long time.

It's like taking the uni-dimensional, flat words on a book page and translating them into a three-dimensional image.  You will undoubtedly get lost in translation (pardon the cinematic pun), stumbling over tiny details ranging from color, to ambiguity in word meaning, to tone.  The same occurs when one attempts to translate a photo into a book or story...there are so many variables to consider.

This is one constant variable: a gesture of thanks.