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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Fall Craft Shows!

Wow, a whole week without any posts. What can I say, I've been busy!

Anyway, I officially have 3 craft shows lined up for this fall!

10/23, 9am - 3:30pm @ Sts. Philip & James School, Phillipsburg, NJ
11/13, 9am - 2pm @ Easton Area High School, Easton, PA
11/20, 9am - 4pm @ Warren Hills High School, Washington, NJ

I'm debating doing a 4th craft show on December 11, but that evening my husband and I are throwing a party to celebrate this guy's birthday:


Yes, his birthday is actually Dec. 12, but that's a Sunday this year. Dec. 11 works better AND conveniently lends itself to a midnight birthday champagne toast!

So I am a bit worried that doing a craft show that would end mere hours before the party starts might be a bit much. But I do have at least one private demonstration set up, and I planning to set up some stuff at my day job for people to look at around the holidays, so I'm not sure I truly need (or can handle, for that matter) a 4th show, regardless of the date. ;-)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Watch the Sky

It's past my bedtime. I was about to curl up in bed and read some more of Packing for Mars, but I decided to let Elvis out, and when I stepped outside I actually gasped when I saw how bright Jupiter was. My camera really can't do it justice, but I just had to share a picture.


Needless to say, the really bright object in the top right is the moon. Jupiter is near the bottom left. It's a lot more amazing in real life.

If you get a chance during the next few days, I recommend that you go outside at night and watch the sky.

(I'd nearly forgotten about the song I linked to above until I wrote that sentence. I just fell in love with it all over again.)

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Craft Show and the Introvert

Earlier this week, Melissa from Oh, My Darling post a link to this article, entitled "Caring for Your Introvert."

I felt like I was reading my own life story. Especially this part:

"Many actors, I've read, are introverts, and many introverts, when socializing, feel like actors."

This couldn't be more true, at least for me. While I certainly don't mind being around other people, and most of the time I genuinely enjoy it, I do feel a bit like I am performing the entire time. It's exhausting, to say the least. I can handle it in small doses, but then I need some "me time" to recover.

One of the comments on that article linked to the The Introvert's Corner on the Psychology Today website. I found everything there very interesting, but this post, which is about how shyness and introversion are not the same, is what really resonated with me so far.

You see, I used to be not only introverted, but painfully shy. Ask my mom, she'll tell you about how I spent most of my first few days of nursery school hiding under a couch and crying because I was afraid of the other kids.

I starting coming out of my shell when I started doing theater in middle school, which probably contributes to the fact that I feel like I'm performing when I'm around other people. But despite my new confidence, I remain an introvert. I'm more willing to talk to strangers, but it still takes a lot out of me. I get incredibly nervous before an interview, or even making a phone call to someone I've never spoken to before, but I figured out that if I channel that nervous energy the same way I did before I'd get on stage back in middle school and high school, I could fool other people into thinking that I'm both confident and socially competent. ;-)

That presents quite the challenge when it comes to doing craft shows, since I spend ALL DAY talking to complete strangers and experience that nervous energy for hours on end. I've only done a handful of craft shows so far, but my experience with them was pretty varied. Sometimes I'd chat it up with all these new people with no problem whatsoever, but other times just a smile and a "hello" seemed to take a herculean effort.

After reading this article, I started thinking really carefully about what the difference between those shows might have been. It was how I spent the night before the show. Was I sitting quietly at home, relaxing and recharging, or was I out socializing? If it was the former, interacting with strangers the next day seemed a lot easier. If it was the latter, I felt tired and awkward and even a little cranky.

And you know what? The shows where I was able to easily interact with my customers were the shows where I made the most sales. Now, I'm sure there were other factors that affected my sales to some degree or another, such as the number of people attending the show, the time of year, etc. I doubt my demeanor wasn't the sole factor in how much or how little I sold, but it's probably a save bet that it played a role.

As of right now it looks like I'll have at least 4 shows lined up for October and November. With these new insights in mind, I'm going to make a point of spending the evening before at home. I'll get everything I need for the next day packed up and then I'll read a book or watch a movie, and make sure I can put my best face forward for all my potential customers.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Winner!

And the lucky winner is...
Number 14, The Favour Shoppe!

Congratulations!!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Elvis and Dylan: BFFs

My dog Elvis is best buddies with a big, long-haired German Shepherd named Dylan. Dylan's owners live right behind us, and Dylan comes over to play with Elvis almost every day.

And I don't mean Dylan's owners bring him over. Oh, no. Elvis and Dylan arrange their own play dates. They're independent like that.

Today I took Elvis to the vet for his yearly vaccines, and I intended to clean the house as soon as I got home. But Dylan came over and the two pups were being far too entertaining for me to focus on cleaning!

Here's a little clip of Elvis and Dylan playing their latest favorite game, "Elvis defends the front porch from a Dylan invasion."



Note how well my dog listens to me. When I tell Elvis to "Get him!" he decides it's time to lie down for a bit instead. ;-)


Guess now I should go get that cleaning done, huh?

Also, less than 7 hours left to enter the September giveaway!

And don't forget - if you use the coupon code "Kitty15" in my shop between now and September 20, you can get 15% off your total order in my Etsy shop! :-)

I'll announce the winner of the giveaway tomorrow. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

My Pseudo-Vacation

I mentioned in my previous post that I took some vacation time from my day job last week.

I didn't actually go anywhere, unless you count that Wedesday evening in New York, but it was still amazing.

Apart from working at the library Thursday night, I spent most of Thursday and Friday lounging around the house.

Had a farmers market date with my mother-in-law Saturday morning, and bought lots of yummy stuff! Just relaxed for the rest of the day. I really don't even remember specifically what I did, but I'm pretty sure the hammock and a book were involved.

Sunday was pretty exciting though, Glen won a comedy competition at the Allentown Fair! Yay, husband!! :-)



Took Elvis to the dog park again on Monday, it took the dogs awhile to warm up to one another, but in the end they wound up chasing each other around the park until they were all exhausted. So cute. :-)

I definitely needed that break. So far this week I've been way more energetic than usual. Less trouble waking up for work in the morning, I don't feel like I need a nap afterward, and I even went to the gym last night!

Hopefully now that I'm back on a more normal schedule, with one night a week at the library (and the same night each week, no less!) I'll be able to get into a good routine to prepare for the craft shows I plan to do this fall.

Once I get confirmation for all the shows, I'll post them here - if you live in or near the Lehigh Valley, you should come say hi! :-)


Also, don't forget to enter to win this lovely copper leaf necklace! The giveaway is open until Friday night!

Monday, September 6, 2010

September Giveaway!

Hey everyone!

As evidenced by my lack of blog posts (and comments on other blogs, sorry!!), I've been on a bit of a vacation for the past week. I didn't even go anywhere special, I just took Wednesday - Friday off from my day job so I could have a super-long Labor Day weekend.

It was delightful. Apart from going into NYC on Wednesday night to see my husband perform at Comix, I mostly stuck around the house, reading and making jewelry.

Which brings me to the important part: Among the jewelry I was making was a necklace for Mischievous Kitty Jewelry's September Giveaway!

How cool is this? It's a copper-plated leaf. An actual leaf. Chrysanthemum, to be precise. The green and peach beads are unakite, and the red beads are carnelian. I picked those colors because the combination made me think of how the trees look when the leaves first start to change.


Here's a picture of the whole necklace. It's 20" long and the chain is copper. Perfect for autumn, right?

So, here are the rules:
  1. The contest is open until this Friday, September 10. All entries must be made by midnight, EST.
  2. All you need to do is visit my Etsy shop, then come back here and leave a comment telling me what your favorite piece is.
  3. You can get an extra entry by spreading the word about the giveaway. If you have a blog, you can include a link to the blog post in a separate comment below. If you post about it on Facebook, just remember to tag "Mischievous Kitty Jewelry" in your post and tell me about it in a separate comment on this blog.
  4. I will select a winner on Saturday, September 11, using the random number generator on Random.org.
Good luck, and enjoy the rest of this beautiful Labor Day weekend!!


P.S. Just for stopping by, here's a coupon code, good for 15% off any purchase in my Etsy shop and good through September 20, 2010. Just enter "Kitty15" in the "notes to seller" during checkout, and I'll send you a revised invoice!
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