Vocation

A little article on Work We are what we do, and the more we do it, the more we become it.  By giving a job your time, you are giving it your consciousness.  Eventually it will fill your life with the reality that it presents.  So look beyond the superficial attractions of a particular job or profession.  Consider what it will require you to do on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute basis.  See if that is how you want to spend your time.  If it is not, your job will become your prison rather than the vehicle for your dreams.  And a person without dreams is only half alive. You should think of work as vocation, which comes from the Latin word for calling, which comes from the word for voice.  In those meanings it touches on what work really should be - something that calls to you, that gives voice to who you are and what you want to say in the world.  If you find a vocation, embrace it.  You have found a way to contribute to the world with love. Find what it is that burns in your heart and do it.  Choose a vocation, not a job, and your life will have meaning and your days will have peace. By Teesha Moore You should check out her Eye Candy of a website~ even go to one of her Retreats! The first "art" retreat I ever when to was with her, her hubby Tracy & Michael DeMeng. I was let's say life changing! it has lead me on the road not only to be a better person but to find myself , chase my dreams and well find a job that is calling to me! I'm not there yet with the job thing but I am letting go of my "Prison" job in Aug to do my Vocation lets just hope I can make some moola at it lol!

Recycled Plastic Bag Flowers

I use to make these a lot and it's actually a mini project in my book but just like everything you grow tired of it so I sold out of what I had and then just a few weeks ago I lost interest in everything else except sitting on the couch with my hubby and making these! I made some Pins and some Barrette's. I still have one on my purse and it's been through hell but is holding up. Some of the girls in my girl scout troop bought some from me at a local craft fair and they wear the barrette's on their headbands~ clever girls!

So get your flower looms and plastic bags out and weave away to a new brooch from your spring coat!

you can find them for sale at www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com

Craptastic

So I am an avid drinker of WoodChuck which is a cider draft ~ it's apple cider liquored up! anyway the green glass bottle it comes in are not returnable~ Michigan has .10cents  returnables but for some reason these ones aren't so I recycle them but we can't recycle glass in our curbside recycling bin and the big recycling dumpster at work only takes clear glass. So i have to drive a ways to the recycling center that will take them. So now you can image this gets to be a pain in the rear on some occasions so I thought I should just make something out of this glass! So I bought an industrial rock polishing thing and thought I could break the glass then tumble it to look like sea glass~ It did just that but then it sat there I just didn't have the drive to do anything else with it. So then I got the idea that I must have a kiln to melt it then I would use it in some jewelry pieces. Great idea but I really didn't want to plunk down $500 bucks on a kiln then for it to sit there because it didn't really do what I wanted. I talked about this kiln must have for a long time then a friend saw this Microwave kiln and it was cheap (well cheap enough I could justify it!) it worked right off the bat but now it's not doing what it was before but still melting the glass! I have to figure out the bugs.

Now that I had my melted glass piece I was finally inspired to make something with it! I made this necklace it's main piece is the woodchuck glass then the rest of the charms are recycled pieces like a used gift card, metal bottle cap, button, star charm that was in the junk drawer! I want to call these necklaces "CrapTastic Necklaces " but I am not thinking that will fly with the customer that might want to purchase it! Any suggestions would be welcome!

Find more at www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com

Green Craft Spring 2011

The New issue of Green Craft is due to hit news stands any day now! it's packed full of wonderful ideas as usual! I have an item in the Gallery as well as in the Article Package Toppers. Here's a sneak Peek!

Regina Lord

Nancy Baraw, Rubyellen Bratcher, Monica Johnson, Tracy Schults & Cean M. Schopf

Wow Hoops

I found this Yummy shop on Etsy just now~ she bought something from me last month so I like to check out everyone's shop if they have one~ and who would have thunk it custom Hula Hoops?? I wish I could Hula~ afraid I might pull something but after I get in better shape I will be sure to buy one of these and hula in my front yard all summer long!!!

www.NiceHoops.etsy.com

Almost Famous

It seems lately every time something happens and I get excited it doesn't follow thru so after the last let down I decided to keep my mouth shut until the proof was out! So back in December I got a call~ wait wait let's go back further~ I had a show in Fenton, MI and there was this lady at my friends booth what seemed like most of the day and I chatted with her on and off but not really about my goods, she was very excited about my friends upcycled vinyl purses. So the show was wrapping up and that is when she saw my goods and my book so we chatted this time about my stuff and how I began and blah blah well she said that she had a reporter friend that she was going to tell about me because i was a local person. So I didn't really think about it because sometimes folks have the best of intentions but things don't come to fruit~ then she called me and let me know she passed my info on to her friend~ really how nice is that to call and let me know not to many folks out there like this fabulous lady! so again I didn't put much stock into it because he had to want to talk to me~ he called and set up an appointment to come to my house along with a photographer! crap now I have to clean my house!!!!!!!! so they came and all was fab. then the article came out this past Sunday in the livingston Press & Argue (michigan paper). I read it online then went to pick up a copy and to my surprise my mug was on the front page! whoot whoot~ ok not the most attractive picture but I'm not going for Ms. Michigan! and the article inside was wonderful too~ hubby said it doesn't get any better than that for a newspaper article! very excited and I have gotten a lot of calls and emails!

You can read the article here  http://tinyurl.com/4r4sagn

scraps

When you fuse shopping bags you end up with a lot of scrap from the bottom of the bag and the handles of the bag. You can't throw them away that defeats your efforts but you can use them to stuff thing like this hanging heart.

for purchase at www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com

But when I store my scrapes I line them all up and the a piece of scrap around them this makes it look like a pom pom! so I have all these plastic pom poms around my sewing room. Well I have been wanting to put them on a stick and glitter them up~ today was the day I finally came thru! I used an old chopstick~ not sure where they come from but seems I always have a ton of them in my silverware drawer! I hot glued the chopstick up in the middle then hot glued around the base so that it stays put! I trimmed up the pom pom to make it look its best then sprayed it with glitter spray! this would be a cute, quick, cheap & eco friendly way to make some pom poms for those sporting events! oh I will have to make my friend some for football season since her son plays and she of course goes to every game to cheer him on! I think I can even spray paint them to match the school colors!