Jcrew, Recovery, and You!

Guest Post today by Jackie Clark

Every woman loves the idea of feeling beautiful and powerful, and even if a diagnosis of mesthelioma cancer has become your fate, you don’t need to let it take over your beauty. The truth of the matter is that beauty is all in how you carry yourself and what you are willing to do and be. Beauty is not something that you are born with. Instead, it is something that you bring into your life through a series of actions and decisions, and shopping!

Jcrew style is built on a couple of key pieces of clothing that all interact with each other in different ways. From a pair of fun capris to the colorful blazer that goes with everything, you’ll find that Jcrew in particular has some terrific styles and deals for everyone. Whether you are still undergoing treatment or you are on the upswing, you’ll find that shopping at this notable retailer gives you plenty of options when it comes to creating a kicky colorful style that is all your own. One thing that you will notice is that the style is fairly non-demanding; you can slip into it whenever you like.

Take a moment to think about the control that you are taking over your life when you make decisions about fashion and coming to terms with the way that you are living your life. Even if your life has not gone the way that you want it to, you’ll discover that there are plenty of ways for you to assert your own control over what you are doing. For example, this is where fashion comes in. Fashion is something that you always control, no matter how angry you are with doctors or how tired you may be. Use fashion to gain some leverage over the rest of your life.

If you are in a place where you are thinking about your life and what you can do with it, remember that you start by being the person you are every morning. Think about your clothes and what they say about you. If you realize that your clothes are sending the message that you do not care about what you look like, you’ll find that it is easy to get bogged down with thoughts of tiredness and frustration. Instead, take the time to consider what your options are going to be and how you can move forward through using your own fun style as a tool to get you out of your depressive streak.

Dress to impress, and remember that creating your own unique Jcrew style is a great way to create some lasting change in your life!

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Thank you Jackie for your guest blog.

Don't forget to enter my My Memories Scrapbook Software Giveaway.  Click the banner below for entry details (once you click, scroll down to see the post).  Giveaway ends this Friday, February 10th, so what are you waiting for?

Sneak Peak

Here's a little sneak peak of what I'm working on right now.  I started this last summer, but had to put it on the back burner for a while, a very long while.

I have been wanting to step out of jewelry for a while.  Not that I don't love making jewelry, but I've been feeling like I'm missing something.  I've been wanting to create something that people don't wear.  Maybe it's all the bookmarks I've been making.  I've wanted to make something for those people that don't wear jewelry or maybe aren't fans of statement pieces.  Not that I understand those people at all, who wouldn't want a "look at me" sparkly necklace? :-)

So I've been sketching a bunch of ideas on how to make beaded and mix media art that goes in display cases and on walls.  I'm also hoping that it will help me stand out at art shows.  I already am told that my jewelry is unlike most at shows, so hopefully beaded art will be even more unique.

Don't worry, I won't be completely stopping making jewelry.  I'm just taking a little break and branching out.  And hopefully I'll get me studio in order soon and I'll be more on track with all the other business things (pictures, posting, advertising, etc.)

And on the show front, I'm going through the list of shows and trying to narrow down the ones I'm applying for this year.  I'll keep you posted on that as soon as I know more.


Don't forget to click below for information on how to enter my giveaway for the My Memories Software.  And also to get the coupon code for up to $20 off your next order.  

No Beads Again, But Soon

So I don't really have a lot of bead related news right now.  I'm taking a small break from beading, just a little rest time.  I feel like I have to after my last order.  But good news, we did fix my oxygen concentrator (I love my engineer), so that means my new torch will be up and running by this spring.  Now I just have to finish organizing my studio and get it painted.  I'm hoping to be making beads again before summer.  It's been a long time, so hopefully it's like riding a bike.

I'm also working on designing a brand logo right now.  I guess it's about time that I do that.  I have a few ideas of what I'd like to do, now I just have to translate that to the computer.  So I've been trying to learn Inkscape, a vector drawing program.  It's nice because no matter how you size the image, it won't get distorted.  So, I can design one logo and then just size it to what ever I need it for.  Nice.  I can also use it if I ever want to make any tutorials. Which is nice.

So far I've only been able to create this cute little Kokshi doll.  I followed the directions on one of the many tutorials and I think she turned out pretty cute.  I'm working on a few more tutorials, then I hope I'll be able to try some original designs, once I get a feel for the software.     
 

Also, if anyone else wants to learn, Inkscape is a free software, so anyone can download it.  And if you want to make your own Kokeshi doll, check out this great tutorial.  She also has a lot of other tutorials.

And I'm not writing this for Inkscape, I just am having so much fun that I thought I would share.

Don't forget about my current giveaway.  You could win the My Memories Suite Scrapbooking Software.  That is also a really fun software to play with.  Just CLICK HERE to find out how you can enter this awesome giveaway.  And don't forget about my special coupon code, STMMMS11215, that could save you up to $20 on your next My Memories order.  Check it out today, giveaway ends Friday, Feb 10, 2012 at midnight.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

I told everyone to stay tuned for an awesome giveaway and well, here it is. I have been asked to try out the My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software as well as, this is the best part, give away a copy of the software to one lucky winner.  How cool is that?

Even if you're not into scrapbooking, I think you would still enjoy this software.  I mean, I'm definitely not a scrapbooker, but I had so much fun creating pages. 

Here is the first page I made.  It's by far not the best page ever created, but it's still pretty neat.  Those are our pictures from our trip to the house on the rock.   It was ever so easy to just click and add the pictures.

I decided to begin with their ready made template because I had never used the software or really created a scrapbook page before.  But as soon as I begun I couldn't wait to venture on my own and create some by myself.

Here is the first one I'm attempting to create from scratch.  It's a lot of fun and I think I know how I'm going to make our Christmas cards this year.

Then I thought, why not use this scrapbook software for my jewelry.  I created a few collage type pages of my work.  It was super easy and I think they would be nice to use on my blog as well as printing some out to have on display at shows.  Now I can create really cute picture layouts on my blog.   

 

My Memories Software can do so much.  They have a bunch of templates you can purchase on the website as well as a dollar section and, wait for it, a FREE section.  I was looking through the gallery pages and was just amazed at all the things that you could do with this software.

So now lets get to how you can get your hands on this software.

Head on over to the My Memories webpage and tell me what your favorite scrapbook kit is and what you would use it for.  It's that simple.

And do you want and extra entry?  Of course you do, but how?  Just do one (or all) of the following things and then come back here and leave a comment letting me know what you did.     
Follow the My Memories Blog
Like the My Memories Facebook page
Follow My Memories on Twitter

But wait, there is more.  Because I love all of you so much, I have a coupon code.  Use the coupon code STMMMS11215 to get $10 off the My Memories Scrapbook Software, PLUS $10 dollars off anything in the My Memories Store.  That's a $20 value.  How awesome is that?  I'll tell you, pretty awesome.   


Giveaway ends February 10, 2012 at midnight (central time).  So what are you waiting for?  Get your entry in.  Even if you aren't a scrapbooker, this is fantastic software to have.  So enter today and good luck.

Snuggle Buddy

So I really didn't accomplish that much this past weekend.  I had big plans, but they all fell through.  Between seeing friends we hadn't seen in forever and nursing my lyrangitis, I didn't have a lot of time to bead or do much of anything.

I did make a really cute gift bag for my coworker that is pregnant.  I made it using a cute little tutorial I found on Pinterest.  I made a bunch of these little mini pom poms for the front of the bag.  The tutorial is from The Bakers Twine website. 

They turned out really cute, but did I get a picture of the finished bag?  Of course I didn't, that would have made too much sense.  So, you'll just have to take my word that it was cute.

And when I did get a little time to rest, I had quite the little snuggle buddy.  At times I think she took most of the blanket for herself.  And since I've lost my voice, she's pretending like she can't hear my whispered, hoarse commands.  I think she's actually enjoying me being sick.    

Hopefully I'll have a little bit of time soon to work on a few projects and maybe, just maybe, I'll actually take pictures of these projects.  :-)