Where To Start?

I had decided that my next post would be about this most wonderful of magazines. That decision was the easy one; trying to decided exactly what to write hasn't been so easy. There is just so much to say. I could write about the wonderful artists profiled and how every one of them said something that absolutely touched my heart. OR I could write about their art, the different mediums used, their creative process. OR I could write about the amazing spaces each of them has created, each of those spaces is a work of art itself, as unique and special as the women who created them. OR I could write about the little basket of trinkets in one studio or the box of buttons in another that had me saying "How perfect!". OR I could write about the page after page of serious eye candy. OR I could just tell you to buy, beg or borrow an issue and experience it yourself.

And then I can tell you that Where Women Create has a Facebook Fan Page and a Blog and that Jo is running a 1st Anniversary Contest and that you should dash right over there and read her wonderful posts and get yourself entered. (If I did it correctly the title of this post should link to the WWC Blog - fingers crossed)

Woo Hoo! I took a Picture!

One of the things I've just had a hard time doing is taking photographs. Probably stems from my dislike of having my photo taken...It's true I hate having my picture taken. Some people photograph well, others, like me, seem to morph into some sort of alien life form as soon as the camera is aimed at them. Honestly, I've seen photos of myself that I didn't realize were of myself . I suppose that could be because I'm in serious denial that I have, in fact, reached the age that I have and no longer look cute and perky (well I was never really perky but I did have some cute going on).

So anyway - to get back to the point - I haven't worked much with cameras and have pretty much only scanned (my other mantra has been "If I can't scan it I don't sell it"). However, I have finally come to accept the reality - if I don't start doing the photo thing my Etsy shop will have only a small portion of the wonderful goodies I have to share and this blog will be seriously boring....since I hate boring and I would very much like to build my Etsy business here it is - my first inventory photo. Yes, I know, it certainly can't be considered eye candy. It's not composed very well. The color and contrast isn't great. But it's start...a baby step...and oddly I'm rather proud of it!

If At First You Don't Succeed

So it's been over a year since my last post. I was tickled by how easy it was to start a blog but seriously flusterbated by not being able to make it look the way I wanted. Honestly, it was downright ugly - really ugly. It made me cringe when I looked at it. So today I took a deep breath and - with the help of the wonderful folks at The Cutest Blog on the Block got it looking much much much better! Thank you THCBOTB people - as soon as I figure out how to link I will!
Besides adding links, I still need to practice adding photos, figure out how to add buttons, add the Etsy Shop link and then there are all those wonderful bloggers I follow and would love you to meet.
"Baby Steps" is today's mantra so I'll stop with this baby success. I promise it won't be a year until I post again! Pinky Promise!

So I'm prowling around "down celler" (as we say here in the Northeast) at a Flower Shop that's been in business here on Cape Cod for 76 years and I spy this box of old ribbon. I didn't squeal, honestly I didn't, though it was tough not to. The gal who's worked there for about 20 years tells me that it was all ready down there when she started to work, her guess is it's from the late 70's or possibly early 80's. Hmmm, I'm trying to remember when the flocked wallpaper and such was "in". I started working in the florist business in the late 80's and I never saw any of this then. Doesn't matter, it's way cool now. This is my favorite color combination, and sadly, the one I have the least of.

The Not So Easy Part

So, it's only been two months, just a blink of the eye really. Actually, it sort of is if you live in a summer vacation spot; July and August are fast and wild, especially if your outside-of-the-house-pay-the-bills job(s) have anything to do with the "summer people" and all 3 of mine do. You just strap on your work shoes and off you go for a whirlwind couple of months. September slows down bit in some ways but there's still allot going on. Truly I think September and October are the best months on the Cape. I hope to share with you a bit of this beautiful place I have the pleasure of living in. But first I need to get a little free time, then I need to figure out how to get pictures on this blog. Starting the blog was easy, getting it to look the way I want it to, not so easy. However, I did manage to get a visitor counter - not that anyone has visited yet, but hey, a girl can hope. Because of that knowledge I figured out how to add a button thingie for the coming soon www.Lollishops.com that promises to be a wonderland of a place to visit to shop and drool and shop and oh! and shop and ah! and shop some more. And maybe now I can figure out how to add the Etsy button thingie, the allready here wonderland of a place to shop and...

IT'S ALL HER FAULT

This is how it started. I don't really remember how I first found Amy Powers of http://inspireco.com. (I'm of an age where we are allowed to have lapses of memory) but I do know that hers was the first blog I read and she started it all for me. I began to visit her blog, then I began to check out her friends and in the blink of an eye I was hooked! How odd is it that I want to be just like her when I grow up but I'm older than her? I can't imagine that anyone reading this doesn't already know of Amy but, just in case, trust me, this is a woman you want to know. Visit her blog and you'll immediately know that she's someone you would love to have as a best friend. She couldn't have picked a better name, she is Inspiring! Amy, if you ever read this, Thank you!

THAT WAS JUST TOO EASY!

Apparently I have a blog now. I filled in a few spaces, clicked a few things and suddenly "Congratulations! You have successfully created your blog". Damn Skippy, had I known it would be that easy I would have done it ages ago.

I have been in heaven since I discovered the world of blogging. It has been such a joy to visit the blogs of all these wonderful, creative, artistic, generous women (yes, I know there are wonderful men blogging too I just haven't visited them). I find a blog that touches me, then I visit their favorite blog friends and then their friends and on it goes. It's almost overwhelming, but I love it. No, actually, the better word is intoxicating, I almost feel tipsy after a blog binge. One of the things I love about it is this amazing sense of community, a meeting of kindred spirits. I am touched, and yes, a bit envious, of the stories of friendships that have been started through blogs. Some of these lovely people do meet face to face, others not, but the connection and the caring is deep and strong. I must admit when I first heard of blogging I thought of it as an activity for loners and recluses, those who were afraid of or uncomfortable with real social interaction. How silly was I? I am so excited to start my own blogging adventure! I look forward to the journey and do hope that I'll have some company along the way. I'd love to hear from you.