"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not."

For the past few days I've been crafting with one of my favorites, Lucy.  For those of you who don't know, Lucy and I are currently working on plans to open a small business after graduation where we can sell our handmade goods.  Now, you may be laughing already but we're totally serious about this.  I am completely aware that my life is made up of endless pipe dreams, however, this is not one of them.  As one of my other favorites, Jessica, quoted tonight, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not."

So here's the plan:  We are going to start on the web.  We're working on building a base of products that we have crafted so that we can get pictures of them up on our soon-to-be website.  Besides just creating things that we already know how to make, we also want to be your "go-to" crafters.  How many times do you see something cool and think, "I could make that," or "I wish I was creative enough to make something like that," but you know you'll never attempt it.  All you have to do is call up Lisa and Lucy and we will make it for you!  Turning your dreams into reality--one craft at a time.

Lucy's specialty is sewing--especially bags and purses.  My specialty is--well, I don't have one yet but I'm working on it.  For the past few days I've been on a "paper rolling" kick and here is what I have come up with so far:

Rolled paper picture frame and wine bottle vase--this picture does them no justice, but you get the point

These crafts seem a little elementary when compared to Lucy's wonderful bags, but I'm still pretty proud and am currently taking orders for anyone wanting some of these masterpieces.  I dare you to take a guess at how many hours were spent rolling strips of magazine paper to create just these two items...

The next craft to try on my list is silk painting, a skill that I aquired my senior year of high school and won "Best in Show" for in the 2006 State High School art competition.  I'll let you all know how it turns out.

For those of you who took me up on my dare, I think I spent about six finger aching, paper cutting hours total rolling magazine pages to make enough for these two projects.  Besides my now heightened risk of developing arthritis, this is a very theraputic task.  Rolling up magazine strips for hours really gives you the opportunity to let your mind wander, and as my mind wandered these past few days, a certain phrase seemed to echo in my head pretty regularly: "I should blog about that!"  For those of you who know me well at all probably can guess that even the most simply thoughts that were deemed "bloggable" quickly escaped my brain and now I can't remember many of them.  Oh well, I'm sure life will throw me some new ideas tomorrow.

I've spent a little time researching, and for those of you who are still doubtful of Lucy and I's future plans, here are just a few businesses that became when someone chose to act on his or her idea:

JoAnn Fabrics:  founded in 1943 when Hilda and Berthold Reich, and their friends Sigmund and Mathilda Rohrbach, opened an imported cheese store in Cleveland, Ohio.  Eventually, they removed the cheese and added fabrics and opened the first Cleveland Fabric Shop. Expansion in the 1960s led to the company's new name, Jo-Ann Fabrics.

Men's Wearhouse:  George Zimmer began by selling polyester sportcoats out of the trunk of his car.  Just a few years later, he and his college roommates opened up the first store.  They couldn't even afford a cash register and stored their money in a cigar box.

HP-Hewlett Packard: William Hewlett and David Packard Started their company in a garage.  Know who else started in a garage?  The inventors of Google and Apple.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think our small crafting business (that we plan to name "LiLu's") will make us millionaires.  If anything, it will just be a little something to help us pay off our student loans faster.  But we are young, talented and posess the drive to turn our dreams into reality, so why not try it out?

 

 I hope you enjoyed my second blog post!  I think I've procrastinated studying, job searching, and sleeping long enough.  

 

Song of the Day:  "Dance With Me Baby" by Ben Rector 
-Shout out to lovely Andrew who is just too far away right now.  Miss you tons and can't wait to see you in 53 days! 

 

 

The first song for my mixtape

I've always sworn against blogging, but after a weekend with my homies in Kansas I've had a revelation. I am TERRIBLE at keeping in contact with people and this seems to be a great way to do it. So, here I am. Blogging. Now, I don't claim that this will be even mildly entertaining for most of you. If entertainment is what you are looking for, head on over to Woody's place to read about his Arkansan adventures--they are always pretty funny.  This blog currently doesn't have a mission statement, but if it did, I'm sure it would include the purpose of giving you all a look at the world from my point of view (which is usually pretty backwards), random rants, and to document my life in this pivotal time.  I don't have the best memory, so I guess this is doing my life a great service.  I think I'll even end each post with a Song of the Day, just so I can look back in years to come and remember the great music of my past.

So stay tuned for what's ahead.  In the future, you will be following me on my journey in the world of job searching (which was described to me today as a "full-time job in itself"--so true!) and the emotional journey that is quickly approaching as I get closer to entering the real world.  Hey, I might even talk about my handsome boyfriend Andrew.  He's the tops.

Lastly, is it breaking blogger code to do one of those survey things on here that we used to cover our myspace and xanga pages with?  Well, my good friend Lucy showed me this one and I really like it and guess what--this is my blog and I'm gonna post a survey if I want to.

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Choosing only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think. Repost as "my life according to (band name)"

Pick your artist: Saves The Day

Are you a male or female:
"She"

Describe yourself:
"Through Being Cool"

Describe where you currently live:
"I'm Sorry, I'm Leaving"

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
"Where Are You"

Your best friend is:
"Coconut" --HAHA

You and your best friends are:
"Freakish"

What's the weather like:
"Don't Go Outside"

What's your favorite time:
"Anywhere with you"

If your life was a TV show, it would be called:
"All-Star Me"

What is life to you:
"Deciding"

Your current relationship:
"I Melt With You"

Your fear:
"All I'm Losing Is Me"

The best advice you have to give:
"Shoulder to the Wheel"

Thought for the day:
"Seeing it This Way"

How you would like to die:
"Sell My Old Clothes, I'm off to Heaven"

Your soul's present condition:
"Blindfolded"

Your motto:
"Tomorrow is Too Late"

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Song of the Day: "No Stress" by Laurent Wolf
-I first heard this song playing in my favorite store in Washington DC this summer and its my theme song of the week.