Lex and I just spent the past week in FL with my family in a condo on the beach. I’m so used to waking up and having coffee on a balcony and watching as a pod of dolphins swim by–three adults and two babies. Every morning! And once as a storm was coming in, they swam by again, only much closer. It was so amazing! Beautiful creatures for sure.

But now we are back to “real life”, where we get to watch our (and the neighbors) cats play instead. Still very entertaining, but not quite as awe-inspiring. Yet, I really missed them while I was away.

It’s good to be home. I really have to say. I missed our house and was already excited about getting orders ready and new items made to put on Etsy. This has been the best motivator for me! Instead of sleeping in every morning until 10:30, I’ve been getting up around 7 or 8—with enthusiasm I might add—to get started with my day. I really love it.

I’m really surprised at how much I have enjoyed making the jewelry. It was an experiment to start, but I’m really fond of it, and think up new ideas all the time. I’m going to work on a new batch this week. They will be different than the last batch—a bit more vintage inspired.

I also have a few ideas for some mugs. You have to wait and see. They are lighthearted and humorous, and more geared for the male population than the ladies, although I think the female population might think them cute. We will see.

Last night, I tackled a MAJOR obstacle that I’ve been avoiding for months upon months. I finally made my way through the piled up junk in our guest bedroom/craft room to do a bit of organizing. I’ve been wanting to turn the ‘craft’ side into a work station for packaging & shipping items in clay, photo storage and editing in photography. So, I moved a few things around, separated everything into piles and cleared out the irrelevant things and put the ideal things into place. And I must say, I’m pretty pleased with it so far.

Although the space is workable and somewhat cute, the room itself is far from finished. I still have to paint the room and hang a few things on the walls, among other things.

Here are some photos, although I need you to use a bit of your imagination Imagine that the wood behind the desk is painted  a lovely soft, bright, cottagey color of some kind.

This is my new little work nook. I made the tabletop a few years ago as a gift for my husband. I had quite a bit of help from my dear friend, Megan. On top, I placed my typewriter, which I’ve been antsy to use for awhile now. Thanks to Ebay, I just put in  a fresh ribbon that’s already been used by my eager fingers. Above the desk is an old window frame, which I knocked loose of its broken shards of glass and replaced with some old rusty chicken wire. I bought a few mini-cloths pins and am using it as a pin-up board for random bits of inspiration. To the right of the desk is an old window shutter I found at an antique store. I’m using it as a filing cabinet. I covered the slots from behind so that the folders won’t fall through and are still displayed.

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Close up of my pin-up board. This is sooo easy! And so fun. The chicken wire was  a gift from my friends Justin and Melissa. They had a giant roll of it in the backyard of the house they are renting.

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Here’s a close up of my make-shift filing cabinet. Again, so so easy!

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This is a photo of the little mailbox I put on the door entering the room. Quite adorable.

The mailbox was a gift of a yard sale find from my good friend Bethany.

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This lovely little contraption was also a gift, from my friends Mandy and Larry. I’ve had it for almost a year and just bought a new ribbon for it, which I put in yesterday. We are still honeymooning.

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There’s just something lovely about the quirky, imperfection of typewriter type. Adore it.

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So, I’m excited about my new little improvements. Now maybe I can actually get some work done in a sane manner.

Magic happens when you a make a space your own.

You suddenly love being a place that drove you nuts two days ago.

With a little bit of de-cluttering, rearranging, & a few creative touches,  you’ve got yourself a new little world ready to be enjoyed.

Hurray! It has started! My Etsy shop is now up and running! I only have a couple of pieces on there at the moment, because my camera died in the middle of taking photos. I’ll have a few more over then next few days. Couldn’t wait to share the news

You can browse my Earthen-Whimsy necklaces here, at beckonthestarsstudio.etsy.com.

I’m attending a workshop at the Appalachian Center for Craft this week. It’s with Mark Issenberg of Lookout Mountain Pottery. He’s a great potter, working with ash glazes. It’s been a neat experience. I”m learning a lot, but I’m SO worn out at the end of the day! Arriving at 9 am and staying busy til 5:30 pm with an hour lunch break…it’s quite a day.

Here are a few photos from today:

Large Bottle

 

 

 

His signature mug, upside down, after attaching the handle

 

Mixing Ash Glazes

 

After glazing pots—his mugs and large bowl

Coffee mugs by b. pope pottery

 for sale at Sweet Sallie’s Bakery and Cafe!

$15 each

Go by and check them out (and grab yourself a delicious cupcake while you’re at it)!

Why, yes sir, I do! I do have my very own business card, thanks to miss Brittney Dinsmore, Graphic Design Artist Extraordinaire! She took my random ideas and words and made the following from scratch. Pretty neat-o, eh? I told her I wanted something whimsical and fun, yet elegant and not over the top. I had some printed today…just a small quantity to start. I wasn’t sure if I should make just one or two separate ones for photography and pottery…but I went with an all encompassing one. I especially like the little bird sitting on the branch, singing to the sky…or as I like to think,… “beckoning the stars”. Isn’t he adorable?

Front:

Back:

 

This is all so new to me. Sometimes I don’t really know if I know what I’m doing. But I guess I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and see where this leads. I wrote up a business plan a couple of nights ago. I gathered up a bunch of random scraps of paper I’d been jotting notes on here and there and I finally made an official write-up. It helped to articulate what my vision and plan is for all of this. I’ve had a lot of help from a little book called Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business. It suggested to write a Creative Mission Statement, which is a verbalized belief system articulating motivations, values and vision. That was probably my favorite part. I’ll add it on as a page in the future. It’s nice to keep in mind my own vision, but I’d like others to see how I plan to operate also. I think I may just do that now…

So, I just across something in my search for Polariod film that said that Polariod went out of business? Apparently last year. Am I took late?! Ah, that breaks my heart. Well, apparently those who also love it made a tribute to the dying form of photography. Twenty-five Polariod photographers collaborated to make a book called For the Love of Light: A Tribute to the Art of Polariod. It’s sold out at the moment, but I’m keeping my eye out for it.

I found out that you can still buy Polariod film, but its ridiculously priced due to it being on the endangered (borderline extinct) list. Perhaps there is a company out there that still sees fit to make and carry it? Let’s sure hope so. Let me know if you find out.

So, I just found out about something pretty amazing. It’s called the International Mixtape Project. You basically sign up for it ($10/6 months isn’t too bad) and within the month, you’ll receive a name and address of some random person. You basically make them a mixed tape and mail it to them. All the while, someone, somewhere is doing the same for you. There’s no guarentee if you’ll like what you get, but at least you’re getting a taste of what music is out there. So, I’m pretty pumped about it. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Another thing I’m excited about is the Polariod Sun600 I picked up at Goodwill the other day for$2.99. I adore Polariod photos. It’s in perfect working condition. The kicker is that I looked up film for it and its nearly 20 bucks for a 10-pack of photos. Sheesh! Guess I won’t be taking those too often. I still can’t help but be excited about it though…

That’s all the funness that is share-worthy at the moment. Be sure to check into the IMP!