Shirts now available in my shop

click to view in shop

click to view in shop

click to view in shop

My business goals have been really shifting this year and I've been experiementing a lot with what I want to do for my business. I started out doing screenprinted t-shirts because I thought it would be a good way for me to share my artwork with the world and maybe make a living off of it. I found that I really don't like doing the screenprinting part and once I accepted that fact, I was a happier person. I forced myself for many months to print the shirts and it was messy, irratating and really annoying. I'm a very, VERY impatient person and dealing with ink and screens and things getting smooshed and printed wonky was driving me crazy! I let it go in the back burner while I concentrated on my new love.. making hats! Now that has become something that I enjoy so much that I know it's the right thing for me to be making.

Shirts will still be around but I've found out what works and what doesn't work. So I will only be offering children's clothing from now on and a much more limited variety of colors and styles. So I'm going to be concentrating on getting rid of old product I don't want to cart around anymore. It takes a TON of energy to unload and load up a car for all these craft shows and markets. I am concentrating on cutting down to the bare essentials and these shirts just haven't been selling enough to make it worth it for me to bring them. I will be offering them for select sales but for now I will be presenting the best of the best up in my etsy shop.

It's interesting that even your own business you have to make sure you are doing what you really like. In a way I'm firing myself from doing that task. hah! I am releasing myself form the burden of printing at home. I felt so free and happy when I did that. I will still be doing shirts but I will commission the printing out to local printers and other artist. So I will still be the one designing but not doing the printing part which I HATE SO MUCH! Printing by hand with just a loose screen is hard work. Printing with a press is easy and fast and makes them SO perfect. If I had the press at home I would totally do it too but I don't.. I am just a one room operation with my sewing machine and piles of fur and felt. It's fantastic to remove the printing supplies from my studio. I'm organizing like crazy! I bought a TON of tupperware and I'm sorting and filing and removing all crafts that I no longer want to do. I'm simplifying my business. This is a very hard thing for me to do but as an artistic creative person it MUST be done. I have too many things I want to do.. too many things I want to sell.. too many things I want to try out. I must just write them down.. save them for later and concentrate on what really matters right now.

The biggest threat to an artist? yourself.

I'm gonna make the best damn hats you've ever seen. Time to get ready for the Christmas season! yeah!

Kittenpop Photography

I had the pleasure of meeting Grace this last month through my Foundations class at Mercy Corps NW. She recently started an etsy shop called kittenpop.etsy.com You can find more of her work here.

Beautiful work! Worth a peek.

New Aprons in the shop!

I have had these aprons around for a while and been meaning to put them up in my shop. This pattern was developed by me and my mom when she was visiting me one weekend. I really wanted a button strap that looked big and chunky. The pockets are great and right at arm's length. The ties in the back fit all heads and bodies with no uncomfortable velcro closures.

Available in my shop here and here and here.



They would be great gifts for christmas! I can put together custom designs as well and I've done versions with bears and bunnies. I'm working on getting more into my shop but this is what I have for now.

Grandmas, great for grandkids! Awesome gift for nieces or nephews!

Wolfy Family

This order was by far my favorite this Halloween. I rushed out a whole set of wolfy hats for Mama, Papa and little baby wolf. The arm and leg warmers was an experiment and I think they came out great! I just love getting these photos and it gives me great satisfaction that everything looks great and fits like I thought it would.

Thanks Kristi for sending in the great photos!








Do you have any photos you would like to send me! I would love to post them in my blog and website! Show your lolly-tots pride and be a star.

Black Teal Cat/Wolf Hat

This is my new favorite hat! I love the feel of the fleece it's so warm and comfy like you head is getting hugged all day. I have also been testing out the pull ties and you can wear a hat like a hoddie and pull it off and have it resting on your shoulders. It stays in place pretty well even un-tied but you can tie it in a loose knot for safety.

Available in my shop here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34357169



This style also looks great on guys too. Johnathon will demonstrate.

John from work tried it on too! Haha your photo is on the internet! I hope this doesn't damage your "reputation".

Blue Billy Goat Hat

New hat today! I'm so excited to finally get some photos of this design. I was going for more of a general monster look but it ended up looking like a billy goat or cow.
Available in my shop here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=34355722


Some people said it looks like Paul Bunyan's Babe. What do you think?


Fun around the office!


Great on kids too!

Test

Ok world. I need a video camera.

Who has one?

Fund the new lollytots video channel with a camera so we can start making some crazy movies!

Maybe you have one you need to get rid of and pass on for a discount? Eh?

More Tiny houses

Now I'm obsessed!

From my hometown of Portland, Oregon




Watching these videos inspires the builder in me. It's like building a fort except you can live in it all the time! I know it's not a simple thing and it would take a lot of planning and work. I just love the idea of using and spending less. It would be worth it in the long run.

I have something to save for now. Seriously this has really inspired me.

Tumbleweed Tiny House company is based here in Portland, Oregon. See the website here: www.tumbleweedhouses.com and his cool blog here: www.tumbleweedhouses.com/blog

Tiny Houses

At the boom of this housing bubble I was feeling very frustrated that I would never be able to own a home. There was no way I could afford to pay 300,000 for a run down home that would still need money put into it. I have a limited income and I don't want to have to push myself that much just so I could afford something. If I worked all the time I wouldn't be able to enjoy it anyways! My goal in life is to work LESS and enjoy life MORE. I want to be around my family, be able to work in the garden, have leisure time to enjoy nature, have time to work on crafts and build my business. I don't want to be stuck in a office to afford things I don't need anyways.

Now that the housing bubble has burst I started to think again that maybe it was possible I could afford a house. Then I saw the work that went into fixing up a house that would be in my price range.. it's still a LOT. What I really want in a dwelling is not just a house but I want land and a farm and a place away from the pressures of the city. I want an escape.

Have you ever heard about tiny houses? After reading about this housing movement I have been re-inspired. Home ownership may be a simpler thing than we once thought.
Check out the tiny house blog



I already live in a tiny space and I follow the practice of simple living and try and keep my personal items to a minimum. I could see myself easily transitioning into a dwelling like this. Perhaps home ownership is not that far from my grasp?

I'm thinking saving up enough for a downpayment.. say around 20,000 - 30,000 could be used to buy land and have one of these houses built. It that a real possibility? Mix that with what I've been watching with homes built from from recycled materials and I may have my dream home full paid for in the same amount that someone would just use as a downpayment.

Now this might work for me because I'm a single person with simple needs. I don't need lots of space and I don't have kids or animals to think of. That would all increase the space requirements. Then there is my business. I would LOVE to make a nice compact studio with tons of storage. It could work right? With the right kind of modifications for my needs..

It gets one thinking!

Check out these other videos I found about using recycled materials to build homes for low income families! Wouldn't it be great if no one had to be homeless anymore?

Buying Local - Bread!

This month I'm attempting to buy local and keep within the 100 mile diet guidelines. I'm doing it one item at a time and trying to switch out my regular items with more local sources.

My second item was bread! I am still searching and exploring a really LOCAL place that makes bread from wheat GROWN in Oregon. Is there such a company? I was under the gun this week and needed bread fast but I knew I was trying to do this challenge so I thought I might slide and get something that I usually get just to be cheap and convenient. I was pleasantly surprised to find this bread at my local bread shop! It was only $3.00 and full of healthy goodness.


The company that makes it is based in Portland, Oregon and practices green farming and is fully organic. I couldn't find where the wheat comes from but the rest of it sounds good! Check out their site here: www.greenearthbaking.com Further research found that this company was actually owned by Franz bakery. I know most of you don't live here so you wouldn't know of this wonderful place. Their bakery is a landmark of Portland and when they are in full baking mode you can smell the sweet bread for miles. They have a HUGE loaf of bread that rotates above the factory and is lit at night. You can walk by the factory and they have HUGE windows where you can watch the bread being made from beginning to end as it rolls by you on a conveyor belt. They also own the company "Oregon Bread" which supports local farmers. This bread has been available to me right in my neighborhood and I didn't even realize I was already buying local! Check that one off my list.


I have also become a new fan of Dave's Killer Bread! It's made in Milwaukie, OR and it's REALLY tasty. You can even meet Dave! He's an actual person and his story is really inspirational. Check out more info here: www.daveskillerbread.com

What happens when you get what you want

Be careful what you ask for.. because it just might find you!

I realized that happened for me and didn't even realize it. Not until it hit me recently. I am still reaching a full year from when I had a huge breakup and fall out with some old friends. It was a huge part of my life and set me into a tailspin. I recoverd though. This year I cut it all out.. all the infected bad parts. I let myself heal and grow and learn. I brought in new wonderful talented people to my life. Someone once said that you must first open the door to let good things in. I had to have the spot empty and OH MY GOODNESS it hurt so much. I am still confronted with the decision to fall back into old patterns or stand up for myself and not let myself go back. I still don't talk to these people.. They keep trying to come back and don't seem to get how much they hurt me. That's the reason they do cause pain, they think only of themselves and can't understand someone else's pain, they only see their own pain not the hurt they are causing. Self absorbed, self focused, they forget about you as soon as they are busy again and only call you when they are bored. Then they act like nothing ever happened even if they left you crying and broken. These are NOT true friends..

So I wrote a list.. I wrote a lot of lists this January. I was really hurting and really lonely and not sure what would happen in my life. I had new friends but I had just met them and my old safe friends were gone. I had no one to fall back on. What happened was I got really close with my mom and my brothers. I now have such a close relationship with them because of what I went through last year. Through the heartache of losing someone I cared about and being hurt by my closest friends. I was wounded but open and this allowed me to truly love those I had around me. I grew closer with my new friends and made efforts to stay in touch. Now I am so blessed to have them in my life. They have offered such support and are always so encouraging and inspiring. I'm honored to be their friend and that they would be so interested in my development as an artist. You see I lost my best friend and companion. I lost my confidant, the one I told everything to.. the one that supported me. He just walked away and disappeared. I haven't heard from him in a year.. He's absolutely gone and I will never know what really happened. As a replacement I was given the love and support of my mother. I was given friends that could help me out with all my ups and downs of running a business. I was given so much more!

Now I find myself more whole. I feel stronger to my core. I feel love very strongly. Instead of feeling saddness I feel overwhelming floods of joy. I cry very often because I am so happy and feel so blessed. The beautiful souls in my life have a bigger impact on me than they may know.

This list I wrote up had my goals and ambitions and lists of things I wanted to be like. I look at them here on the wall next to me and I can see that so many of them have been fulfilled this year. I am truly living the life of my dreams. It is still a work in progress and I enjoy the ups and downs because it is changing me bit by bit.

I also had a partner list up there on the wall and it models for me what kind of guys I want in my life. I love my female friends but I also needed to be able to have a positive friendship/relationship with a guy. I needed to heal that part of me that was un-trusting and hurt. The universe brought me what I was looking for, just what I needed. It didn't happen right away but I can see it now. I finally convinced my brother to move here to Portland and that has opened up a big door for me. I finally have family here in the city and I have found myself growing closer with him and my other brother so far away in another state. They both inspire me and I feel happy that they are good people. It helps to have your faith in male kind renewed! I also have some really awesome male friends in my life that encourage me as well and keep me going (you guys know who you are.. you rock!). It's all on the list though, that's the weird part that blows my mind. Everything on the list.. all the qualities I needed are there around me in these great guys that are in my life. I am so honored and touched. (Artistic, Loves to build things, caring, loving, ambitious, honest, musical, good character, etc, etc.)

This little heart is mending more and more each day and trying very hard to just appreciate what I have in my life. These beautiful souls that make me want to be a better person, to be a better me. That my life is full of nurturing people that are ambitious, loving, caring, funny and artistic. No longer full of people that are bitter and manipulative and full of lies. My ambition is nurtured not resented. My dreams are encouraged not stifled. My long rants about work are matched with more stories about their work, I am finally connecting with true craftsmen and artists. I am around friends with HEALTHY relationships and learning how it's supposed to go. This very encouraging and educational for me.. to just be around healthy, loving people!

This proves to me that what I went through was for a reason and that I have been rewarded with more than I could have ever dreamed of. Because of letting one person go I have a whole family of awesome friends.

Every night I say a little prayer of thanks.
I don't know what huge force is guiding my life.. but thanks whoever you are. Thanks for showing me that there can be light from the darkness. That if you write a list and stare at it every day.. every thing on that list can come true. That everything you wish for and dream of, can come true right before your eyes.

Be Careful what you wish for. :)

Dino-crazy

Dinooooomyte!!!

Spotted at the Saturday Market too.

This costume was so much fun! I can't wait to make more. I have lots and lots of ideas for everyday wear that involves looking like a monster or furry animal. Halloween every day!

Happy Halloween!

Hey there people. I'm sporting my dino costume today.. totally went to work with it. Got so many stares from people at Safeway this morning as I stopped in to buy some cookies for work. Oh yeah.. dino in public. So far I'm the only one I've seen in costume.. sad but true. I'm letting my freak flag fly. I really need to get better photos of this costume to show you guys!

So here is a little lovely treat for you. Some Halloween rap!