Friday Features - Pantone Emerald

Most of the time my favorite color combo includes pinks, purples and teal/aqua blues. But I have to say, this year's Pantone color is so beautiful! Emerald is one of those colors that looks great on everyone and is just so striking! I love its rich hue and striking appearance! I found some beautiful wearables to show off my love for emerald today :)

Emerald Womens Tank Dress Cotton Empire Gathered Front scoop neck - Ready to Ship size XL

by ellainaboutique 

Emerald Green Tennis Bracelet with Swarovski Crystals - READY TO SHIP

 by BeadedTail

Vintage 1950's/1960's Kelly Green Emerald Floral Brocade Fishtail Cocktail Dress XS/S

 by RubyFayesVintage 

Rough -Raw- Emerald Ring - in Sterling and Pure Silver - Custom size

 by metalmorphoz 

Are you digging this year's color? 

Supporting Local Artists

While Jesse and I were in Mexico back in December, our resort had a market set up with local artists and vendors out on the walkways around the beach and pools. Some things were obviously mass produced while others you could tell were handmade. I knew I wanted to buy something handmade to bring home with us.

We walked about half way through the market and stopped at one table in particular. A man was hand painting his work right there at the market. He didn't haggle us or try to get us to barter with him. He told us his prices and went back to his work. After being haggled at every other booth, it was nice to stop and watch this man work. He painted every painting with his fingers and finger nails!

I knew right away one of his paintings was coming home with us. The hard part was deciding which one. After much debate, we decided on the one that most represented our trip. I will most remember the blues and greens in the ocean, the palm trees and the white sandy beaches. I think this painting shows that well :)

It is pretty common tradition in Mexico to barter with the vendors and haggle them down to the lowest price. In fact, they expect it. But I couldn't bring myself to do it for this piece of artwork. Being an artist myself, I know how much love and work goes into each piece. How could I haggle on something like that? So I paid his asking price and walked away with a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork that will forever remind me of our trip to Cancun :)

 My only regret...not getting a picture of him while he painted!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Keep an Eye Out!

We had to keep an eye out for these little guys while we were in Mexico...Jesse's sister-in-law had one in her dress while we were getting ready for the wedding!

Making 2013 Rock!

Last year I set monthly goals for myself, my shop and my blog. While I liked keeping tabs on a regular basis, this year I'm thinking bigger and more long-term. I've put together a list of goals I have for the entire year. Some I can get done in the short-term and others may take the entire year to accomplish.

I'm pretty happy with how things went last year here on my blog, so I don't plan to make any changes or post any goals about that. Most of these goals are business related. Because let's face it, when you're self-employed...business is pretty much your entire life :)

And as most of you know, I'm a big believer in not just having goals, but writing them down. And even more, sharing them with others. The graphics in this post all relate to the importance of writing down our goals.

(Thank you to Allison Morris and onlineeducation.net for allowing me to use these graphics. See the entire post here.)

Short-Term Goals

Stay up-to-date on my cost log and tax info: This used to be something I did at the end of each month. I was able to do this on my breaks at my full-time job and was always up-to-date. Now that I work from home full-time, I haven't been setting aside the time to do this! I'm certainly paying for it now since I'm 6 months behind. Not this year!

Learn about self-employment taxes: I know I should have been doing this since last June when I started working from home full-time. But I knew I had 6 months of other taxes that would help offset my end-of-year taxes. Now that I'm going to be self-employed the whole year, I need to make this a priority RIGHT NOW!

List the jewelry items that I have made: I actually have tons of jewelry items made that aren't in my shop yet. I got so busy with Christmas orders at the end of last year that listing new items had to be pushed aside. Well, those items aren't doing me any good just sitting in a bin. I need to get them listed soon.

Mid-Term Goals

Make and list new wood invitation and wood greeting card designs: My Wood Invitations have done awesome! To reach more buyers, I know I need to expand my designs and styles offered for these. I also have several new ideas for my Wood Greeting Cards. My goal is to add 5 new designs for each item over the course of the year.

Add wedding sets: I get asked for RSVP cards and other matching wedding items to go along with my invitations. During 2013 I want to add some wedding sets including: RSVP Cards, Save the Date Cards, Matching Table Numbers and a Guest Book. So the whole theme is tied into the wedding.

Organize my storage space and work area: This seems to be an on-going, never-ending goal of mine. I guess the goal should be to STAY organized once I get there! Our attic is one big storage area for my inventory and shipping supplies. I know where everything is, but I'm sure no one else would...what a mess! I want to take a little time each month to start organizing that space as well as my studio and make my most used items more readily available.

Long-Term Goals

1,200 Sales on Etsy in 2013: Last year I set monthly sales goals, but this year I'm looking at the big picture. I know certain months will be slower than others and certain months will be a lot busier than others. So I'm setting a more long-term goal that can be assessed throughout the year. It's a pretty ambitious goal, but I'm hoping I can get there :)

Learn about graphic design: One area where I am lacking in my invitation and card designs is the graphic design side. I'm able to use the clip art and graphics I already have to create my designs, but I get asked a lot for special designs. I'm not able to create new designs from scratch yet, but I have all the software and tools needed, now I just need the know how. I want to look into taking an online class or local class to learn how to use my Corel Draw better and advance my skills.

It's a long list of goals, but I'm confident that I'll be able to reach them all this year. I like having them broke down into sections knowing what needs worked on now and what I have to think about for the coming year.
I plan on making 2013 ROCK!

Treasury Thanks

Welcome to another edition of my Treasury Thanks! Each week I like to thank my treasury curators from the past week by featuring their treasuries as well as an item from their shop. Please help me in thanking them by clicking on their treasuries and checking out their shops :)

Eugenie of MulberryWhisper featured my Destination Wedding Invitation in her Into the Woods Treasury!  Eugenie's shop has so many beautiful cushions and these Berry Colored Cushions are just gorgeous!

Sharna of perfectlycloudy featured my Carved Tree Wedding Invitation in her Rustic Winter Wedding Treasury! Valentine's Day is just around the corner and these Red Sparkle Geo Earrings would be perfect for a romantic dinner :)

Margaret of SplendidLittleStars featured my Wooden Anniversary Card in her Sweet Hearts Treasury! Give your little sweet heart this cool Heart Tie Dye Tshirt!

Trina of trinasclaycreations featured my Light Pink Starburst Earrings in her Pretty Pastels Treasury! Trina makes the most beautiful Wedding Cake Toppers and she can personalize them any way you like!

 Thanks again to my curators! You've made my week :)

Friday Features - Dolphins

Today's features are inspired by my awesome Swim with the Dolphins that I blogged about yesterday. I looked for something special while in Mexico to remember our experience by, but couldn't find the right item. So when I got home, I started searching Etsy and found these lovely items that remind me of our trip and our swim.

Dolphin Girl - blonde hair - That My Heart May Sing - Scripture Art Print - Children's wall art - girl's nursery decor

by  willowofwonder 

Sterling Silver Dolphin Pendant Beautiful Scrolled Design

by jewelbecharmed

Life Is A Journey - Dolphins

 by namasteworks

Carved Dolphin Ostrich Egg

by artophile

Dolphin Necklace, Mint Green Sea Glass Pendant, Ocean Jewelry

 by cindylouwho2

Swimming with the Dolphins

  One of the highlights from our trip to Mexico back in December was swimming with the dolphins. This is something I've always wanted to do and I was SO excited when I found out it was offered at our resort! There were 8 of us that participated and we all got to go together.

I was so amazed at how smart the dolphins are. They learn by hand signals, so we were told to do certain things with our hands and the dolphin would act accordingly. Here are two examples of the dolphin following different hand signals. The dolphin knows to touch your hand(s), so where ever you have them, the dolphin will go. When I had one hand out, it reached up with its nose. And with two hands out, it reached up with its fins.

And when you cup your hands, the dolphin knows you want a kiss :) I was able to get a kiss from the dolphin and give it a kiss in return...too cute!

This was called "the clock" and the dolphin would put its nose in your hand and spin you around. Don't you love Jesse acting like a ballerina :)

The best part was getting to ride the dolphin! We swam out into the ocean (which was sectioned off) and the dolphin would swim to us and then flip over when it saw our hand. We just grabbed on and went for a ride.

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend swimming with the dolphins. They are such amazing creatures and this was an amazing time!