BOOKS and the Bookstore Obsession

Went Shopping today. Again. For books. I love books. I especially Love craft books. I love the little 6 shelf Sew Section in Barnes and Noble ( I scored an Educational Discount!! 25%!!) and I love the 2 Shelf Beading and metal work section and I love the clearance section.....I just love it. Granted, I buy 30238 books a year and read 4....but i have them and I love them and they give me a warm fuzzy feeling of education when I see them. Yep, i love books.

I love the smells, the new crisp papers, the gloss and the pictures. I love the fact that they are unbroken and have yet to be read and defiled by anyone. They are new and ready to go. i especially love just grabbing them from the shelves into a little pile on my arms and the excitement it gives me.

Books are a great resource for inspiration. Regardless of the fact that you may read it once, breeze through the pictures a few times. Its the High you get from the possibility of ideas, from a change, from something new. Seeing an awesome set of earrings and knowing that you could do that too.....or at least try. I love learning about new techniques and possibilities and living vicariously through the craft artists in them. They make it seem easy and Quick. Like I could make a whole slew of shirts, baby blankets, earrings and home items in one weekend.

I love sitting on the floor of a Barnes and Noble Reading away. Its Free really. But I always end up buying at least 2 books....

Timeline Part II

* 2007 - 2008 : Set up an Etsy Store, started researching what people were buying, the styles and finding my own niche. Decided upon a Logo that is ever changing, colors and ect.

*2009: Formed the NY Artisans Collective with some great girls and got motivated to take my crafts to another level.

*2010: Joined the NewNew Collective in Brooklyn and have officially thrown myself into LadyThree Designs.

Along the way I learned how to Solder metals (still not very good at it) , cut hard metals, use a power drill on sensitive materials, Threw myself into Paperie and scrap-booking, STAMPING! i love stamping.....Have spent countless hours on YouTube "How To's", Learned to Knit, Crochet, Honed in my Sewing Skills, Spent many a night reading craft books, Sharing tips and ideas with other awesome people, Melted records into Bowls, tried and tested lots of different jewelry techniques, Bought and tested different glues and adhesives, visited many different antique and vintage stores, Went to many estate Sales, picked my favorite tools, became a hardware store guru and have pledged that this Christmas I will hand make 90% of my gifts! PHEW. yep. thus is the journey of a crafter.....

The Beginning

I started the 'about me" section with : Twenty Something Female on the verge of a Mental Collapse when she thinks about her Future" and quickly deleted it. I dont think I am Mentally Collapsing, Not really, but it sure feels that way sometimes.  So I am going to use this blog for a number of things, but mostly to find answers for a few questions:

1. How do You turn a passion for something into a career/very lucrative Side job that can help financially pay for a down payment on a condo, trips to exotic countries and a new Car for Mommy?


2. Why is it that women can do everything these days, but feel so inundated by all the options and possibilities?

3. How do we narrow down the possibilities and options to only stuff we can be good at and actually love and make money from? ( I know im not the oly person who thinks this)

4. Whats the best way of going about all of this, Still being a superwoman, super daughter, super girlfriend, Super Friend and still Keep sane, in this nasty Friggin Economy! argh.

Girls Girls please raise your hand, I cannot take all the advice given all at once!!! man oh man. this is going to be a fun journey.

I guess I should start with a little timeline.

* 2001College- Started making Jewelry for shits and giggles. then found that I really liked it.

* 2005- After College- Got really good at it, started going to flea markets and buying old vintage jewelry found in Shoe Boxes and fixing it up to make my own versions of AWESOME.

* 2006-First Apartment in Astoria - Finally had some money ( credit cards) and got into the Michaels Scene. Oh that devilish Michaels, its like a crack den for Crafters!! not only can you do jewelry, But they have Knitting, Paper, Stamping..... OH MY! ALSO Discovered also that the Dollar store is a great resource for cute odds and ends that can be used in EVERYTHING.

Ok its almost 3am. Chris is sleeping next to me and is taking the whole bed. Must go to sleep before he Dominates the bed!
More timeline tommorow.