Organizing business & family √

Okay, yeah, I changed the name but haven’t changed being late! A whole week! Eeek! 😦

CHECK IT √ — tuesday Status Report: **

√   wk 17–> business cards & grand-daughter joy
x    wk 16–> down & out 😦
√   wk 15–> organizing — life & house
√ wks 14 through 1 –> please see Check It √ page index

This Week’s Project [+ previously missed week]

Well, the √ encouragement 2 weeks ago didn’t get me organizing — but the regular stuff was kept up so I didn’t add to the mess.

I’ve hit a major writer’s block. It doesn’t matter what I attempt to write, it is overshadowed by the words I am aching to say but am afraid of exposing.

Cristian Mihai eloquently expresses this in his article, Write About What You Know. I know I need to ‘let it all hang out‘ but my experiences almost always involve other people — some of whom, not ready or willing to deal with my observations or perceptions, would be quite upset.

Actually, all my creativity has kinda shut-down — the same little glass project waits on my table simply collecting dust, there’s no $$ for planned home projects, paint for finishing the trim hides in the closet, & even my garden has suffered from lack of watering.

Then, finding my order from Vistaprint in the mailbox sparked a little creative fire.

I’d ordered sticky labels from Vistaprint before & was pleasantly surprised by the quality for such a low price. I need business cards than the homemade-looking ones I print out — Vistaprint’s offer of 250 cards for $10 [before taxes but including shipping] was my first choice.

For some time, I’ve been trying to create my own design, stored on Vistaprint’s wonderful site. I played with fonts & making some sort of design which incorporated my Dawn Over Water piece in a window of some sort & butterflies representing me [Vanessa = butterfly in Greek] & my three sons. It’s been a frustrating waste of time.

Finally, a couple weeks ago, I decided I’d simply pick one of Vistaprint’s pre-designed selections even though I hadn’t seen ‘the perfect one‘ previously. Lo & behold, within a few minutes, I found this beauty — even better than what I had in my mind! [Sorry, my camera just can’t give me sharp focus I need!]

There’s the perfect square to fit in my glasswork. There’s butterflies & they just happen to be in my favourite orange-monarch colour. And there’s even daisies — a favourite flower of mine — 3 small ones for my sons & a larger one for me. I love the way it’s like a garden setting & even has a little cloud in the sky.

For $5 more, I also got printing on the back, so I made sure every inch was used with a sections for products I make, price rates, & a 1st-time client special. [Again, please excuse the lack of focus.]

I especially love the background of a faded selection of the glasswork photo I’d uploaded. And, overall, I’m extremely pleased with what I got for less than $20 — especially considering shipping rates in Canada. Now, how to meet prospective clients?

The focus of most of my time has been with my family. I was exceptionally happy with the wonderful visit with my grand-daughter & son this past Sunday.

We enjoyed several of her favourite activities including assembling a styrofoam plane to fly a little bit, riding her favourite Horsey, playing hide-n-seek among the huge tree trunks whereby we all squealed with joy whenever found, using crow & owl bird calls for playground tag until Nana was tired [yes, I did run a lot], then followed by lots of giggles while we collected fallen leaves into a big pile so she could jump into it & have the lovely leaves rain upon her.

I was even more glad that I’d remembered my camera, so this time I was able to capture some lovely moments of son & grand-daughter having fun. It fills my heart with much-needed joy to see the happiness & love upon my son’s face as he guides or listens to his daughter.

Next Week’s Project

The week has started with huge, long-needed steps finally completed to start the process of resolving each of two major issues in my life.

So, again, the next week is about getting some business done but I do have some glasswork to get back to — my focus will be on:

catch up on replying to emails & writing important letters,
prep porch for painting,
finish a couple small glass pieces for upcoming birthday presents,
continue writing at Dawne Thoughts & update project posts here.

The fall weather is still warm & gorgeous to be out in. My mood is better & I have some hope.

Sometimes there’s a threat of a bit of rain but the sun prevails. Now is when I start feeling sorry for other Canadians who are already starting to experience the frosts of winter. Of course, that simply makes me enjoy our paradise here even more.

Check back next Tuesday [October 9th] to see how I do at Check It √ Tuesday!

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design