Excuse me, but you're getting your creative juices all over me.

Aaaaaaah, there is nothing like satisfying my inner geek. Weather it be TV, video games, anime or manga, when I've done something geeky that I love, I just feel super awesome. This time I feel awesome because I got to attend Anime Boston again this year. Anime Boston was actually the first anime convention I ever attended, and it instantly stole my heart away. The talented costumes, freeing atmosphere, and puking glowing glow stick fluid at 4 in the morning on some street corner, how could you not fall in love? Though my interest in anime has wained since my first convention in 2003, I still manage to find something I enjoy every year.

6:45am isn't easy on a loli with a corset

After arriving in Boston Friday night my weekend of inspiration began.  It started by visiting and old high school friend Paul.  Paul is currently studying print making at Mass Art and exploring gender and sexuality in society ... I think.  Regardless his work blew me away and nearly brought me to tears, he was just that amazing.  After naping for two hours, Miss Lumpy and I woke made our way to the convention.  Well that's not true. At four we started getting ready and after a lost wallet, disgruntled charlie ride, and a rain storm we were sure was going to destroy Miss Lumpy's bonnet, we finally arrived at the convention center at about 6:45am.

Normally I'm one to spend my time all over the convention watching AMVs, joining in on panels, and strolling through the artest alley and dealers room.  But this year I was given a unique opportunity to help my friend Miss Lumpy sell jewelry from her web shop Amaranth Opulent. While there, I got to meet and get to know the lovely Caro-Chan, author of F-yeah Lolita. I was happy to be at the convention, but more importantly, I was inspired. I've always wanted to be my own boss. Even with my first job at CVS when I was 16, I knew that I wanted to create something of my own and pave my own path. I've been mulling around a few ideas in my head of what to do, never fully convinced it will be a success. But then I realized that everything doesn't have to be a success. Looking around the artiest alley at Anime Boston, I saw nothing but people doing what made them happy and trying to make a few bucks from it.  Miss Lumpy and Caro-Chan were shining examples of this selling their hand made jewelry and bonnets.  And theres no reason I can't do that too.

I currently work about 65 hours a week, and will be going to, literally, 80 hours a week starting May 1st. Though the money is good, it's been draining on my overall happiness. It's ironic, but hurting my back and having to lay in bed for a week was quite possibly the best thing to of happened to me in a very long time. With nothing but time on my hands I was able to do what I loved. I cooked, sewed, crotched, nearly every craft out there, I tried. And with that, I realized just how much I hate my work life. I hate being told what to do every minute of my day, I hate being pushed around by customers, and I HATE opening my paycheck and feeling as if there are a few hundred dollars missing. "I definitely work harder then $200 a week, right? RIGHT?" And I do, and I know working for myself I'll only work harder and be paid even less, but it'll be my work, not someone else's, and thats worth every penny I might earn. So thank you Miss Lumpy, thank you Caro-chan, thank you for kicking my butt in gear, no matter how unintentional it might have been. Here's to a whole new me!

As a side note, here are a few shots from my, hopefully, life changing weekend in Boston.

Ever Lovely Paul

Finding the Time

Photo from Ask My Sister Mary Martha

The first question that comes to my mind when I've decided to make something isn't how to accomplish it, but instead, just where am I going to find the time!  Having ungodly amounts of debt, the price of living and of course having to support my crafting habit, I've taken on 60 to 70 hour work weeks.  Thusly, most of my time is spent smiling at people I despise on the inside, instead of sitting at home snuggling with my cat and making something new.  When I first took on these busy schedules I made no attempts to find time for myself and trucked on until I burned out and had an emotional break down.  It was then that it became clear that finding "me time", even if it was only an hour a day, was beyond important.  Here are a few tips on how and were to find your "me time".

• Write a Schedule:  This might seem obvious, but I feel it's a tool many people don't use anymore.  I always write out all my work hours, appointments, and even free time on my calendar.  With this I have the perfect tool to help me with my next tip...
  
• Plan ahead!  And with that, stay organized too.  Each night before I go to bed, I prepare myself for the next day.  Set out my cloths for my first job, pack a change for the second job, lunch, and what ever you're currently working on.  This way, whenever you find that moment of down time, instead of taking out your phone to play your favorite addictive game, you can finish a few more rows with your knitting or rip that ridiculous seam you made.
  
• Know your opportunities:  Think about your day and find where you can steal a moment for yourself.  Even if you only have a half hour break for lunch in your day, it's something, and who says you can't eat and work at the same time.  Be careful though, I love to multitask and eating while working is nothing to me, but be sure not to be pressuring yourself to eat fast or complete too much in one break.  It's time for yourself to relax,
  not stress yourself out over a time limit.
  
• Look for slow jobs:  I understand not everyone can do this, nor are they always available, but if you can find one, your golden.  I knew I would need to work a lot, so I was sure to be on the hunt for at least one of my jobs to be low key.  What I found was a job as a receptionist at a motel down the road from my house.  It's often very quite and very few guests stop in at the office.  This allows me to be sewing in the back room, or crochet at the front desk on "busier" nights.
  
• Ditch your friends:  Don't take me too strictly on that tip.  I think it's perfectly fine to cancel a night out just to have an opportunity to find time alone and with your work.  But becoming a recluse isn't going to do you much good either.  I find this especially helpful to sit my my room and work on my project when I'm stressed out more then usual.  Turn on your favorite musical you've seen a million and a half times and sing along, or throw together some brownies to smell and drool over while you work.  It's especially important to eat at least half the brownies in one sitting when you might be stressed or worn out.  I don't care what people say, that much goodness when you're feeling down is nothing but good for you.

I hope these are of some help  to you.  I live a pretty hectic life for who I am, and these tips have helped me keep my sanity and find time for the things I enjoy doing.  Craft on!

Spring into Crafts! Part 2: Rose Scrap Barrette

I don't know if I can rightfully call this a second installment of my spring into crafts series.  It might be more of a 1.5, but I'll just call it 2 anyway.

Sunday, doped up on pain killers from an injury the day  before I went for a stroll through the woods.  The weather was gorgeous, and there were threats of rain in coming days, so I decided to take advantage and dress up a little too.  It was definitely a bad decision to go for a walk with my injured back.  But at the time I didn't understand just how hurt I was.  After all, pain killers make you feel GREAT! Here's a few pictures from the day.

Strolling through the woods made be really wish I had my rose crown with me.  Unfortunately, as lovely as it is, it isn't very practical for simple outfits.  Seeing as I had so many little bits and pieces left over I thought that I could make another hair piece with the same feel as my crown, but would be much more appropriate for day to day life.  

First, I gathered my tools: Scissors, left over scraps, glue gun, and well, I needed a barrette clip so I decided to salvage one from a clip I hardly ever wear.

Next, I bundled my little twigs together and held them with a bit of glue.  I was so concentrated though I forgot to pause for a picture.  Luckily I remembered to take a moment and capture my progress once I added the flowers.

The flowers where much easier to attached for this clip then for the crown.  All I had to do was arrange them how I wanted and slid them through a space in the twigs instead of placing each one in a specific spot.  I hit the base of each rose with a dab of glue and they weren't going anywhere.

Next I trimmed the stems to create an even base.

It may look a bit like a hot glue mess underneath.  Don't worry, it will all be hidden by the barrette clip, and also give it a little more to hold on to.

When attaching a barrette clip there is one main thing to look out for.  On both sides of your clip there should be two small holes.  These are there so that your glue can seep through them a little and create a stronger hold.  Be sure to apply a little more glue to these areas.

Here's the finished hair clip both worn and on it's own.  There are a few twigs sticking out that could make it look a little more messy then I want.  Luckily the material I used for them has a wire center, allowing me to bend them into place and look more orderly.

Did you know it's nearly impossible to take a decent picture of the back of your head?  Maybe it's just me, but it took me about 25 tries just to get the crummy shot you see above.  

The spring has made me fall in love with these floral pieces and I'm trying to find new ways to incorporate flowers into every part of my life.  Has spring inspired anything in you?  Have you started any new projects with the change of weather?  Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Spring into crafts! Part 1: Crown of Roses

It's spring time! And what better way to enjoy the warmer weather then by hiding inside and crafting all day? Ok, I admit it, there are probably some better things I could be doing with myself. But, nature played a mean April fools joke today and gave me snow. So I gave it roses.

Tons of crafts were added on my "wanna-do" list recently. The idea for a flower crown is not only new but jumped up to the top of my list. I knew I wanted it to be something that would last forever so it of course had to be made of cloth flowers. What would the rest of it would be made of? No clue! Regardless, I knew that cloth flowers could be a bit expensive so I planned to subscribe to the craft store Michael's flyer and wait patiently. But, by a stroke of luck, just as I went in today to subscribe it seemed there was a 40% off sale on all their spring flowers! In truth, I'm not very good at waiting, so I just went right ahead and got what ever I thought would be useful. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the raw materials so I'll just list what I got.

• 1 spool of beige wired ribbon
• Plastic with wire center branches
• Cloth flowers
• Strands of pearls on "fishing wire". (It's really a decorative piece for flower arrangements.)
• Two shades of pink, small roses
• Hot glue gun

When I got home, I still wasn't quite sure how everything would come together. But I rest assured knowing that, have glue gun, can craft. And show I began glue gunning my little heart out. It took me a while but I was able to bend and mold the branches into a base circle.

After that I added in the strands of beads. I didn't want them to be too over powering so I only placed a few.

I got so carried away when I started adding the flowers that I didn't even think to get a picture of it in process so heres the finished product!

The flowers make something of a swoop moving from the right to the left. I really think they're gorgeous and look very delicately placed. It reminds me so much of this wicker wreath I once had as a child. At some point I decided it was ugly and threw it out! I can't believe myself now, recreating it in this piece. The pearls that I was worried would be overbearing where hardly noticeable in the end! This is even after adding two more strands after the flowers were all on. I also added the wire ribbon around the back of the piece. I wasn't sure what I would use it for when I bought it, but I knew it would be handy. I ended up using it to cover the base of the twigs, which were a bit unsightly. Even still, I love the loo of it and would of probably added it anyway.

And now a few shots of me wearing it! I quickly threw something other then my T-shirt on and neglected make-up. Sorry I look so dead. I was smiling! I swear! I guess starting work at 5:30 just sort of buries anything other then an ear to ear smile.

Thanks for reading!