The Brain Storm - When it Rains, it Really Pours #CraftersForKids

A much delayed post (by several weeks) as I have been busy crafting away for CraftersForKids (see below). 😊😗

In case you were checking, yes, I know "brainstorm" is one word. :) ;)

Lately I have spent a lot of time brainstorming various business ideas and ventures and product lines both alone and with friends. I definitely would not call myself a marketing expert by far; however, it's amazing what ideas just come pouring out once I get started with my friends.

A lot of people have asked me for advice on various topics throughout the years. I have help friends prepare for more job interviews than the very limited number I have ever been on, and in a variety of fields not "within my expertise." I have edited countless cover letters, college and graduate school admission essays, and even articles for peer-reviewed medical journals. It's interesting how knowledge really does seem to have no bounds. What I learn in one field or from one experience, I easily find application for in another. It's truly intriguing how the seemingly discombobulated steps of your past lead you to your present and onward towards your future.

The current "mascot" for CraftersForKids.

Originally, this post was meant to be a commentary on the sheer number of exciting ideas I have been having over the last few weeks and how once the brain starts rolling, things really start rolling, but not, as with most of my posts, it's about something else entirely - my latest passion: CraftersForKids.

As you all know, giving back has been on my mind and had already previously inspired my American Hero Necklaces for Charity for disaster relief victims, and in the future veterans and active servicemen organizations. Well, last week my mother posed an interesting question to me, she asked what I would do if I create a bunch of products that I couldn't find a market for. I told her that I didn't think I had create so many pieces that that would happen, but that night I continued to give her comment thought and in the middle of the night I hatched a plan!

How awesome would it be to donate pieces to hospitalized children at the local Children's Hospital! Everything I have created is brand new and I would hope that the children would find my items truly unique. It is always wonderful to receive a commercial gift, but to receive something handmade just gives a recipient an extra special feeling!

Immediately the next day I spent a few hours walking through the hospital on a Friday afternoon finding the right department and right person to talk to and finally ended up in the right place! It was exciting to see that the lady I talked to seemed genuinely interested in what I had to offer. She was especially excited because she said she felt many of my items would be perfect for the teenagers in the hospital who don't receive very many donations.

I came home super excited and continued to give my idea some thought, especially as most of my creations are catered to girls. In the end, I decided that it would be amazing for the children to receive gifts from *hopefully* all around the world. I set a new goal for myself and created CraftersForKids, a thus far private organization run on private funding to recruit, create, and provide handmade gifts for children at Boston Children's Hospital.  I truly hope that make this a success and plan to expand my operation onto the West Coast some time next year as well.

Wish me luck and check our CraftersForKids on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more! (www.craftersforkids.com)

XoXo,

Joyce

The Desire to Do More - Making Pieces with a Purpose

I have been thinking a lot about giving back lately. As the weather gets colder here in Boston, I see the homeless people here struggle and part of me wonders how they are planning to survive the winter. I have been approached for money numerous times already while riding the T or walking through the streets. I have given a little here and there based on what I have on me at the time; however, of all the people I met asking for help, what struck me the hardest was a scraggly old man holding a simple sign "Asking for a Little Kindness" in front of the old State House. It was both his sign and the forlorn, head half-cocked way that he was kneeling on the cobblestones that impacted me deeply. Unfortunately, I did not have any spare change on me at that time and I hope that someone did offer him some kindness in terms of food or water, as it was an extremely hot day.

Our nation's servicemen and veterans have also been on my mind a lot as of late, in part due to the fact that I live very close to the VA here, but also because I have thought about our vets a lot over the years, as well as our servicemen who will one day become vets. Not to mention that our servicemen are near and dear to my heart as my cousin is a Marine and I have a number of friends who are in ther service and/or are married to servicemen.

American Hero Charity Necklaces available in my Etsy shop!

The terrible natural disasters faced by our country and in others parts of the world at this time have also motivated me to think long and hard about how I can help others. The damage suffered by the people in Texas, Florida, and Mexico is both saddening and profound. And the harrowing reminder of the anniversary of the September 11th tragedy is still within our midst. I watched a great livestream by the creator of Marshfellows on Instagram (@Marshfellows) the other day and was excited by her idea of creating a Texas Strong Marshfellow character based upon an idea from one of her many followers. I decided that I too wanted to do something meaningful and charitable so that I could make a donation to those who have suffered in these recent tragedies.

At first I was tempted to create products with flags from Texas or Florida (this was before I learned about Mexico). However, I quickly gave up on that idea once I took a good look at Florida's flag. There were too many details to incorporate into anything small. Additionally, I wanted to create a piece that was not just for these specific events. I wanted to create something that reflected my sense of American pride and the beauty of our country and its people. I also wanted to create a fun patriotic piece that could be worn on any occasion.

 I spent the day yesterday creating prototypes and working on creating the perfect piece and here is the end result. I hope you like it! :) Each piece will vary slightly due to the handmade, hand-sculpted, and hand-painted nature of the piece, and I plan to write something special (messages and sentiments will likely vary) on the back of each piece as well.

PURCHASE YOURS here TODAY!

American Hero Necklace on Ball Chain (above)
and cable chain (below).

At least 50% of the proceeds 
(excluding shipping and handling costs) 
from each piece sold will be donated to charity.  

At this time, donations will be provided to the disaster relief victims; however, in the future, proceeds will be donated to servicemen and/or veteran organizations.

Thank you for supporting my mission to give back! :)

XoXo,

Joyce

FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY: Bearycakes Dangly Cupcake Earrings

As promised, here is the information regarding my first every giveaway, celebrating 100+ followers on Instagram! :) No purchase is necessary to enter this giveaway; however, there are many ways to rack up additional entries. Entries will close September 26, 2017.  I will thereafter use a randomizer software to select a winner.

International entrants are welcome, so share with your friends and family! :)  The more the merrier!

Pierced Stud Version of the Bearycakes earrings.

Invisible Clip On Version of the Bearycakes earrings. 

WAYS TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

Good luck everyone!

XoXo,

Joyce

Getting Opportunity to Knock on Your Door

It's one thing to wait for opportunity to knock on your door, but quite another to actively engage in opportunity finding. I am not advocating to go out there and seek opportunity every chance you get. That's not my style. I am far too shy to do that; however, I have found that learning to recognize opportunities and simply allowing for them to come to be organically works wonderfully. It seems that it is when I am not actively thinking about the task at hand or worried about outcomes that life surprises and continues to surprise me. It is under these conditions that I seem to meet the right people or be at the right place at the right time. I feel that as I have become increasingly open to the idea of what may come may come, then what I desire to be manifests itself to be.

Learning not to butt heads with opportunity can be a tricky skill.
One of Phil's Yellowstone photographs from our recent cross-country trek.

Recently the most obvious instance in which I have found this to be true has been in relation to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/daintylittlegarden/), my Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/daintylittlegarden/), and my Etsy sales (https://www.etsy.com/shop/daintylittlegarden/sold).  

So excited to have 110 followers!

It is always when I'm least expecting it that something happen. When I sit an wait for something to happen, nothing happens. It's the quintessential watched kettle never boils story.  A few days ago I was patiently awaiting having 100 Instagram followers and preparing for a giveaway in celebration thereof.  The more I watched and waited, the less anything happened.  And lo and behold, last night I hit 104 followers and today 110! :)

I truly could not be more excited and pleased! And to make things even better, I also sold additional items this week. It's truly been a wonderful week. I've had fun with friends, made new friends, created a new product line that I will be launching soon (stay tuned!) and have just been having an overall blast.

On that note, I'm going to make the same exciting announcement here that I made on my Instagram...

Stay tuned for details regarding my FIRST ever GIVEAWAY!  I will post details on each of my social media accounts and notify all of my previous customers regarding the details for entry in this giveaway shortly.

And just so that everyone gets a taste for what I've been up to, here is the sneak peek photo I posted yesterday on Instagram:

Getting my bake on! Prepping for an earring giveaway. :) Stay tuned!
#daintylittlegarden #giveaway #sneakpeek #cupcakelovers
#sweettooth #minifood #minibakery #polymerclayearrings
#dangleearrings #invisiblecliponearrings #clipearrings #giveaways

Can't wait to get this giveaway raffle started!

XoXo,

Joyce

A Little Each Day Goes a Long Way

I often have to remind myself that although there is a time and place for thinking, doing accomplishes more.  If we never get up the courage to try, nothing will ever happen.  Inaction guarantees failure, but action provides the possibility of success.  This lesson continues to challenge me, especially in the world of instantaneous results we have grown so accustomed to in our high-tech society today.  Hope and optimism are great, but progress takes actual effort.

Sunshine and butterflies.  This little figurine is from quite a while back.

Without trial and error, there is no growth, although sometimes it is hard to see success until we take the time to look back at where we have been.  Lately, I've spent a lot of time looking back at some of my older sculptures and pieces, and where I was once satisfied with what I saw then, I can look back at these older pieces and see definite improvements in my precision and skill.  A little over a week ago was the first time that I had ever made a series of dolls all at once, and oddly enough, even by the 6th or 7th doll I saw drastic improvement and ultimately experimented with and created new techniques and skills.

A OOAK Circus Inspired Megumi Doll. She's got a super cute updo in the back.

However, as I have never been the type of person who works on a single idea or project at time, and because I truly enjoy trying whatever comes to mind, in between taking breaks from making multi-colored doll hair (which is a lot of work when working with alternating strands of color that are placed one by one), I decided to try making miniature cupcakes as well.  The skills that I gained doll making transferred into creating teeny tiny cupcakes, and vice versa.  The next challenge I have set for myself is to become faster without sacrificing any quality.

Feeling goofy with these Spooktacular cupcakes.

Here's to patience, guidance, and perseverance.

XoXo,

Joyce

The Work Behind the Fun

It may come as a surprise, but the art of crafting necessitates a lot of research and hard work in the pursuit of perfecting one's "craft."  There is a constant search for perfection, at least on my part.  There is market research, learning how to use various types of social media, actively posting and expanding a social media following, learning how to troubleshoot creative issues, finding the most efficient and effective methods to achieve your results, and of course, making time to do the actual crafting and photographing of your latest creations. 

In this respect, the countless hours I have spent learning how to conduct and conducting legal research, as well as my background in Communication seem to pay off heavily.  There is a constant thirst for knowledge and the security of knowing that I can find the answer so long as it is out there.  I once spent a few months searching for a particular type of molding compound.  All I knew was the color of the compound, no more and no less.  I searched for the compound on and off again whenever I had some spare time, and I found it!  Not only did I find it, but I also located a supplier to sell it to me from overseas!

The result of fun time! One of the new hairstyles I created over the weekend.

In all honestly, that's the not the first time that I've gone on a seemingly wild goose chase for something that caught my interest.  In college, I researched and contacted the number one Japanese nail sticker company after buying a pack of nails stickers and delighting at all the crafting possibilities they opened up (Yes, I came up with ways to use them for decorating jewelry boxes, creating your own body tattoos, facial stickers, and much much more...).  Surprisingly, my passionate email reached the attention of the company's president, and for a long while, I was the authorized U.S. distributor of their products.

It's easy to get downtrodden by the sheer amount of work that is necessary to achieve the goal at hand, but rest assured, each bit of work that's done is a little less that needs to be done tomorrow, and a lot less that will need to be done later.  The work gets easier and easier, faster and faster, and the fun grows exponentially as well.

With a little hard work and a lot of practice, anything is possible!

If the endangered piping plover can do it, we can too!

XoXo,

Joyce

Flashback Friday and a Sneak Peek for Next Week

What better way to take it easy at home while nursing a vicious cold than going through some of my past creations. :)

I had so much fun making this ring.  It all started when I was exploring making my own polymer canes.  I created the blue base as part of what would later become flower petals and decided that it would make a great looking pond in a ring.  

At first I was thinking about making a koi pond, and then I added a bunch of colorful flowers and some Swarvoski crystals, and this is what I got. 

It reminds me of a reflecting pool.  It is so amazing what is created when we just go with the flow and see where life takes us.

This was one of my very first creations.  I was very into the harajuku and decoden style at the time, but wanted to give it my own glamorous, sparkly twist.  Making this necklace took a lot of thought and much trial and error.  I made each one of the glass covered discs unique (AB porcelain roses, metal roses, rose cabochons, faux pearl hearts, crystals, and more) and surrounded the rose centerpiece with both faux pearl cabochons and Swarovski crystals.

I truly love creating one-of-a-kind pieces, even if all the business journals and guidelines I have been reading tell me that that is not the way to go.  Time will tell, but I will definitely be making one-of-a-kind pieces all the time.

In case you couldn't tell, pink is one of my favorite colors! 

A few of my miniature doll figurines from when I discovered braided and multicolored hair! :)

 When I got the idea to make my very first miniature doll, the name "Megumi" literally came to me in a dream.  When I looked up the meaning of the word (which I had never heard before), I discovered that it meant "blessing" or "grace."  Pretty cool, huh?

I have since made these little dolls into lucky charms for my necklaces and bracelets (coming soon due to popular demand!) and hope that they will bring joy, luck, and love to their owners!

And on that note... here is one of my little dolls today!  I have named this one Persephone!  She's got gorgeous pink, purple, and lilac hair and has a hot pink flower and Swarovski crystals in her hair.

I have even made a little companion for my dolls! :)  He's not a charm, but a cute miniature friend, nevertheless.

Perhaps an inspiration for dolls with companions! (coming soon?????)

Keep an eye out for sister and best friend necklaces (my latest idea) coming soon to my store!

XoXo,

Joyce