06.25.08
Posted in Main, Mind Wanderings, Sharing the Handmade Love at 1:53 pm by carrie
Trying to push myself to do more art. It’s tough! Nathan got me some awesome watercolor colored pencils for my b-day so having this new medium/tool has been helpful.
I added another dimension by gluing on acetate cut-outs and lime-green flowers. Eventually, I would like this sort of work to evolve to dense, covered mixed media… with found materials and bits of vintage papers.
By searching for new patterns and color palettes for inspiration, I’ve become somewhat interested in vintage fabric and wallpaper. I’d like to start a little collection… I already have a massive stack of vintage hankies that I’ve been collecting, but what box are they in? eek! I have to admit, I’m not completely unpacked and I’m so far from organized. But, I’ve been working on a web design project… so I have an excuse to not be organized :)
It’s taken a few months, but I’m really starting to feel the loss of not having the shop. It had a built-in passion… it came with the desire to create. Each day I would open the door and be inspired. It’s so much harder to feel the need to create here. I had tangible items, an audience and instant gratification… and input. I miss it so much.
I was joking with my friends that I need to have a wake for all the items that I left behind, and that I’m mourning the loss of. An old radio cabinet, my very old couches, a mop, sheets of plexiglass that I really could have made into something cool here… a laundry list of little pieces of the store… five years to put together and about 6 weeks to dismantle. *sigh* Well, I’m hoping, at the very least, to take these emotions and put it into my art… celebrate the joy that the shop created… and some of the frustration, too. Perhaps I can bind it all together and make a book about having your own little store… the mundane business paper pushing, the overwhelming responsibility, the joy, how rewarding it was and also all of the many annoyances. Towards the end, so many things seemed unfair… the joy was slipping away… and having to deal with outside forces… it seeped into my little magical fairy world and destroyed it. Next time… if there is a next time, I will make sure that my business is protected from the negative, that way it will thrive and grow, the way I intended it to. (And I may hire a bulldog to run the store while I get to just create… I’ll be the first to admit that I’m uber-hyper-sensitive to anything negative… or anyone who is negative, for that matter).
And here is a work in progress… I think I’m going to journal on it a bit… let vab know how much I miss her :) I think once I find closure on the closure, I’ll be able to get the website up and running again… I can once again share my passion for art and pretty little things :)
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04.25.08
Posted in Main, Mind Wanderings at 2:56 pm by carrie
I’ve never seen a Robin’s Egg before… that wasn’t plastic or in a Martha Stewart magazine..
In the front of our new house, a nest with little blue eggs… my favorite blue color in the whole wide world, actually :) I had no idea this color occurred in nature.
Wow… this year. I’m the first to admit that I’m frightened by change… so I assume that’s why I changed half-a-dozen major aspects of my life in one swoop. It’s like taking off a dozen bandaids… at once. Sure, it hurts… but only once!
North Carolina is different… but not as different as I thought it would be. The air is cleaner, but a tad thicker… it’s a bit humid right now. The people are incredibly friendly… and I’m so accustomed to people waving to me as they drive by that if someone doesn’t wave… I take it personally ;)
As everyone knows, moving is a chore… we’ve been here a week and there are still boxes everywhere, I can’t find any scissors, I still have bills to pay from Los Angeles and the store… but which box are the stamps and envelopes in, or… the company checks?? *sigh* They’ll turn up… along with my marbles ;) Pictured above is Meg guarding our new front door which has a clear glass “screen” door… for bird watching ;) She loves it… and she loves this house. The second we got her into that yard she pranced around like she owned the place then went up on the deck and I could swear I heard her say… “mine”. She runs up and down the stairs and all of her toys have made their way to the top of the stairs, where she likes to perch and keep an eye on things.
Our going away/wedding party was wonderful… so many faces that I haven’t seen in over a decade. The photo booth was a HIT, and I would recommend using Capital Photo Booths to anyone because it really was a lot of fun! Darin, the owner, was so nice and had a great sense of humor. I’m getting the disc with all the pictures from the photo booth “sittings” and will post some later :)
Here are some pics of the party setup:
We had blue, green and white hydrangeas on each table… along with a welcome card and candles with custom matchbooks.
Sprinkles cupcakes… in 7 flavors.
Little tags on each cupcake grouping.
I got this idea to do a picture tower/may pole thing with lots of ribbons and hanging black and white photos of Nathan and I as kids… but… it looked a little messy… but we got a lot of color in there! We also made these rose balls and hung them on there… which I LOVE. These were the lemonade roses… a yellowey-green rose that smelled divine, they were so gorgeous!
I just love lime green and robin’s egg blue together… even the house is getting that color scheme…
Well, it’s going to take me a while to get back into some sort of routine… I have several business ideas but not sure where to start :) We’re going to the
Raleigh Flea Market on Saturday to get furniture and ideas… pics to come in a few days. Thanks so much for following me on this journey… and now into the next chapter of my novel here… we can write it together ;)
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02.09.08
Posted in Main, Mind Wanderings at 12:40 am by carrie
So, for YEARS… I had this dream of being #1 on google.
If you googled “Violets are Blue”, it came up #2 or #5… but today….
We’re #1!!!
And we’re CLOSING.
That’s funny Universe, really funny.
I beat out amazon.com, James Patterson and poetry how-to sites. All in the last 3 weeks of having a store.
At least the website will be #1 for a wee bit. (And my website says Merry Christmas or something dusty like that).
After the zaniness dies down… re-vamp of EVERYTHING cyber. Woo hoo!
To bed now… hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!! Your homework… google your name (full name)… then google your name with “quotes” around it.
What do you find???? :)
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02.04.08
Posted in business-a-go-go, Main, Mind Wanderings at 2:50 am by carrie
Wow. A sale. Normally, a sale takes time to prepare for and it’s a tad chaotic.
A clearance sale. Now, that’s something that strikes fear in the hearts of retail workers everywhere.
But… a “going out of business” Sale. Holy Cow. Run for the hills.
I have never ever ever been as busy as I was this weekend. Ever. EVER.
I told the “We’re moving… adventure… website business… mental breakdown in December” story… about 150 times and 14 different ways. By the end I was just saying “Moving, sorry… miss you”. Tina thinks I’ll be down to one word by the end of this week ;)
The store looks so strange. Things strewn everywhere. Very distinct sections are now not so. Stuff on the floor, furniture missing… gaps everywhere.
I’m not sad yet, but I’m sure it’s going to hit me soon. A very french-sounding Amelie song came on and I was trying to get misty and nostalgic… as the accordion played, little toy piano notes danced, I tilted my head and leaned up against the wall… just waiting to embrace a little moment with the store… customers happily hunting for treasures and enjoying the music… I looked round with a slight girlish grin… then two kids started fighting, a very loud something crashed to the floor about 20 feet away followed by an audible “oops!”, someone complained that a piece of furniture they wanted was sold and then the phone ring. I snapped out of it very quickly, and reality set in ;)
I’m being teased by a certain someone that I should write a book about owning a store. Start out with beautiful pictures and optimistic quotes and anecdotes, then slowly progress into the chaotic, time consuming, Holiday-loathing truth that it is ;) I’m exaggerating… but you’d buy that book, wouldn’t you? ;)
I must take pictures. I must document how quickly the store is selling off… piece by piece. 5 years in the making, 24 days in the taking-down.
Reminder… 30% off Friday the 1st of February until Thursday the 14th… then on Friday the 15th, items will be marked down 40%. Also, as things clear out we are putting out more things from storage and also working our way into art supplies (Mosaic stuff, soap-making supplies etc)… so you will definitely see NEW things every time you visit!
Have a wonderful week… thanks for reading :)
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12.21.07
Posted in Main, Mind Wanderings, sidenotes at 8:59 pm by carrie
Okay, this is a first… there is a lady wandering around the store having a full-on argument on her cell phone. I hear bits and pieces… and I’m currently trying to hide because I don’t want to be in the line of sight while she is upset, pacing and hissing. “You know WHAT!?!” and “Shame on you!”
eeek!!!!
This has been a very odd Season I must say… hard to explain, but it feels totally different than the other 4 years. When I can put my finger on it, I will blog about it. Perhaps it’s just me?
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11.18.07
Posted in business-a-go-go, Main, Mind Wanderings, Sale! at 3:13 am by carrie
I actually am the proud owner of some CDs made from obscure, awesome old records with songs such as “Jingle Bones” and the Partridge family singing “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree”. Thank you Susan… helping to make the holiday season less dull for those in the thick of it… with needle popping and scratching, too! yay!
I’m beat. These last few weeks have been trying for this entrepreneur ;) Our 5th Christmas. Wow. Fast. I don’t have any pictures of our first Christmas, for some reason. I vaguely remember the tree in the window, but pictures? They have to be somewhere.
A third person asked me about franchising again today… my first instinct is to quizzically ask “how come?” I tend to lump owning a store into “working”. You know, a job. I guess the only difference is my coffee breaks are a bit spaced out but I still dislike my boss ;) hehe.
So, I turned in the Holiday postcard at 4:35 am the other day… fingers crossed I’ll get them on Monday or Tuesday, but no guarantees. So, I’ll make the announcement here and in some emails later on…
Click on each image to see a larger image… so you can actually read it :)
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And more pictures of the store :) Here’s our mantle window… It looks great at night!
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These colors are so happy!
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The happy little Christmas chandelier… everyone should do this at home! As of this evening, all those ornaments have been sold! Glad I got a picture when I did!
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That’s what half of the store looks like when I run out into traffic!
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A blurry shot of the turquoise you-wouldn’t-normally-have-this-at-home tree!
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The pink and red pig tree and friends…
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Happy little snowmen made of, what looks like, old sweaters and socks!
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Jennifer Murphy’s little mousey in a stocking… “There’s no coal in YOUR stocking!” Too cute!
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The Nicol Sayre corner…
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Pastel wonderland…
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Wow, that’s a lot of stuff
Christmas 2005
I can sort of see how the holidays are getting more and more overwhelming… the above was my “main” Christmas area in 2005… a little sparce compared to the way I smash it in these days :) I couldn’t imagine it any other way, though.
I keep promising a giveaway. It keeps getting away from me, I apologize. Also, my website is all Halloween-ed out. I’ll get to changing that, too.
In the world of crafting and creating… I got the bug to make soap and bath goodies today. I haven’t wanted to make bath stuff in years… I mean, had the desire to make stuff. It was quite strange. I feel like Goldilocks and the three cosmetic companies… this one is too expensive, this one has terrible packaging and this one is just right… but they won’t email me back! So… guess I’ll whip it up myself! ;) We’ll see… so many things a-brewin’!
What are you all up to next week? Turkey? Shopping? Crafting? Rocking back and forth in a corner wishing it was still June? ;) I don’t know anyone who absolutely hates the holidays, but I know that I really wish my Arbor Day celebration idea would catch on… I rarely show up for Thanksgiving anymore and Christmas is a sleepy blur… Arbor Day… April 27th… would be perfect!! Who’s with me??!?
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10.19.07
Posted in business-a-go-go, Main, Mind Wanderings at 3:01 am by carrie
Ahh… candy. Once again I went a little cah-razy at a wholesale warehouse but I really love the look. The day of the party I added little labels to each jar.
The progression… First, you see Babs’ dainty little fingers getting a piece of candy…
Then she slapped on a beanie hat and mimicked some of the vintage ads you see where the kids are just koo-koo for sugar…
And another… She takes her job seriously. (Sidenote… this was ALL her idea… now I know where I get it from)
Lovely halloween Decor…
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I love this little black chandelier… just adding a little Halloween ornament turned it into a statement!
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I hung thick ribbons from the ceiling… it adds a “cave” element… so it feels more safe and homey. I started hanging ribbons, streamers and lanterns from the ceilings all over the shop… it really jazzes up the place and even if you don’t notice it all, you know it’s there :)
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These three pumpkins are in the window and they blink in intervals. The “magic” sign is made by Bethany Lowe. (This is the last one I have! eek!)
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I risked life and limb to get this shot ;) I ran out into the street, frogger style, to snap this picture. This is the outside of our window at night… hard to see since I didn’t bring a tripod and it got a bit blurry.
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We have an old TV case in the window and I play vintage movies all night long. Currently showing is “It came from Outer Space!” from the early 1950′s. The scary alien ships are really pie tins hanging on strings with lights and smoke. Awesome.
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Here are a few small pictures of our Christmas items. Didn’t we just put up these trees??
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Wendy Addison out-did herself this year… more glittery stars, snowflakes and even Eiffel towers this year! I can’t wait to get it all unpacked!
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I got SO much new jewelry….
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It’s spilling over every display :)
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Although the weather has been teasing us all month… I got new scarves. Let the cold begin!
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Our logo, backlit by the Christmas trees! :)
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I’ve got some fun new ideas on the horizon! A Violet’s frequent shopper card, a new tell-a-friend promotion and other events for the Holidays! I’m super excited!! Must get to work… and I’m putting the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes. Be afraid… be very afraid ;)
Have a wonderful Monday!
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09.19.07
Posted in business-a-go-go, Main, Mind Wanderings at 8:34 pm by carrie
Can I get a hallelujah that the Fall has actually come to us! No more constant a/c… cloudy and breezy… I love this change! Yippee! (I knocked on wood, therefore there is no jinx factor! It’s a rule I made up!)
Dang it, I haven’t crafted, or taken pictures or done anything creative in weeks and weeks! Still fighting the cough after the cold and I’m currently unpacking 60 boxes of candles at the store! Which brings me to my next idea:
We’ll be having a GIVEAWAY any day now… definitely a candle or twelve…that and perhaps a Webkinz and something Halloweenie… to get in the spirit!
I’m supposed to be assembling some sort of post card and mail it out for the shop’s 5th annual Halloween party… but I can’t think of anything to take a picture of or draw. I think the cold and large amounts of Robitussin have killed my inner artist! Temporarily, at least.
I need inspiration… the 300 pounds of Pumpkin Pie Candles just aren’t doing it.
Ooh! Something sort of sparked… just now! To the art cave! ;)
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