PolkaDotPassions

Another Rainy Monday

2009-04-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well its Monday and its raining, again. The weekend was beautiful and I enjoyed every second. I got some nice new work done which can be found in my shop this week. I am continuing my quest for old vintage mirrors in need of a fresh face! I am excited to expand PolkaDotPassions to include vintage items. My fiance is doing well with his etsy, www.thingswehandeddown.etsy.com ! He has inspired me to include vintage in my own shop as well. At first I was concerned with mixing new and old items but once I found this passion for upcycling mirrors and frames I think the shop will flow nicely. I am taking steps to make the business end of my shop more professional. I am tweaking spread sheets and tracking sheets so that at the start of 2010 I will be ready to run PolkaDotPassions as a true business. I am setting a goal that by 2011 I will be able to significantly supplement my income. My goal has been from the beginning to be able to stay home with my kids and work part time. Until now I assumed that the PT job would have to be out of the house but wit PDP I may be able to do what I love, Stay home with my kids and make money! We shall see....If you dont have a dream it cant come true.

Happy Monday

Quote of the Day - April 17th

2009-04-17T06:06:00.003-07:00

In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.
Albert Schweitzer

Looking forward to this Wonderful Weekend

2009-04-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

To purchase this item go to - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23781349

Well I have survived the cold rainy week and I am hopeful and excited for high 70's and sunshine this Saturday! I have been ignoring my garage and my growing number of projects because I could not take the rain and cold. I was able to get a little time in last night after work and I added a few items to my shop. I am so excited about my Dose of 70's Sunshine vintage mail holder. I took an old beat up vintage mail holder bound for the trash and gave it a bright fresh coat of sunny yellow paint. Then just because I love antiques I distressed it a bit to give it character! :) I hope it finds a home with someone who enjoys its quirky character and warm sunny appeal.

Living for the weekend

2009-04-04T04:13:00.000-07:00

I have survived another week of work and now its SATURDAY! My fiance has a track meet all day so I got up with 6 AM, I am on my second cup of coffee and I am getting ready to make the most of it. I plan on spending some time cleaning up our house but a lot of time in the studio. I got some new fun supplies I have never used before this week and I am excited to play with them. I am out of tiles though so a trip to the hardware store is probably going to have to fit in somewhere. I will post pictures later of what I accomplish today!

Enjoy the day!

My Treasury!

2009-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

If you know etsy you know how hard it is to score a treasury...chewing on your fingernails as you watch the seconds count down and then quick click as fast as you can!

Well I got one today and I love how it turned out....

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=49627

Leaving work early today to pick up my little niece from daycare! So excited...here she is...

Sneak Attack

2009-03-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Last night I participated in my first Etsy Sneak Attack. What is a sneak attack? It's a way to support independent artisans who are trying to sell their wares online. Three days a week at an appointed time, an Etsy shop with few or no sales is announced on this site. As many people as possible then buy items from that shop, resulting in a frenzy of surprise business to the unsuspecting shop!

It was may random act of kindness for that day. It was fulfilling emotional and I got these awesome tags for my shop!

The victim of my sneak attack was www.gooseberrymoon.etsy.com

If you are interested in participating in a sneak attack please visit www.handmademovement.com for all the information!

My New Promo Magnets

2009-03-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

I am super excited. I just got in my first set of inspirational promo magnets. I designed this magnet on VistaPrint.com and put one of my favorite quotes and my web page on it! Cant wait for my next sale so I can send out my first magnet!

Design Style Guide

2009-03-30T13:46:00.001-07:00

Please check out my Moms etsy shop....www.RagsByRebecca.etsy.com

Well as I mentioned I joined my first Etsy Team - which has its own website for handmade interior design producs www.designstyleguide.net. I currently have a treasury featured on the front page!

Today was a long Monday at the FT job but it is almost over and I will be going right home to list my new creations from the weekend. I made it to AC Moore on my lunch break...they currently have 50% off a single item. Here is the link for the printable coupon. http://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/2006/04/ac-moore-coupons.html

Every week that website will update the coupons for AC Moore and Michaels and both stores take printed coupons! I try to get to both stores a couple times a week on my lunch break! The more I save the more I can pass on to the customers. Today for example I got a 32 ounce container of Modge Podge for half price!

Happy Monday!

1st Edition - Quote of the Day

2009-03-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

I am going to begin today posting a quote of the day - The first quote is....

"Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness - both the ones you have received and the ones you have given - you can no longer believe that what you do does not matter."
- Dawna Markova

My Reorganized Space!

2009-03-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well I have been inspired lately. I joined a fabulous etsy team - www.designstyleguide.com! I am still learning but so far it is wonderful and I am super excited about the possibilities it will bring in expanding my network. I was also inspired to reorganize my working space. Business has been picking up and an organized work space was essential. Now this space my not be as pretty as some but I have made the most of it. I have a little corner in our garage which serves as all of our storage (we have no basement or outdoor shed). So while I share the garage with the lawnmower and all the holiday decorations I have managed to carve out a nook that is all mine!

All Day Today

2009-03-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

So last night I had a freak out about how over crowded and unorganized my studio in the garage had become. How could I create beauty in something so ugly! So today I spent all day reorganizing and reinspiring my space! I am anxious to share pictures with you. Today was dark and rainy so I skipped the photos hoping tomorrow will bring some sun.

Creating a space that inspires me is so refreshing!

My Fiance - To All The Days Together!

2009-03-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Its almost the weekend and almost time for my fiance and I to venture to the local thrift stores and flea markets to find our treasure! In the midst of family drama, stressful jobs and an overall chaotic life we find peaceful moments together hand in hand digging through thrift store racks and flea market boxes. Little trinkets to decorate our own home or finds we just have to share with others on my fiances etsy www.thingswehandeddown.etsy.com. With our wedding coming fast and the thoughts of starting a family entering our minds we find comfort in knowing we will always have these quiet days and joy in a common hobby!

Random Acts of Kindness

2009-03-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yet again I have let months go by with no post! and yet again I am vowing to make good on my promise to post on a consistent basis. We shall see!

My sister gave birth to my God Daughter, Mary Katheryn, last Wednesday! Healthy and happy little girl! I spent a good deal of time helping her over the weekend and my Etsy suffered. I am anxiously awaiting the warm weather so that I can get more garage time in! February was a very busy month for Polka Dot Passions. March has not produced the same busy results but I am confident that it will continue to grow.

My fiance is doing an awesome job on his Etsy, www.thingswehandeddown.etsy.com! Check him out for some awesome vintage finds! We spend our wonderful weekends together searching for eclectic antiques.

My goal for the next month is to find ways to bring Polka Dot Passions back to its roots, spreading passion. I have ordered thank you magnets that encourage others to practice Random Acts of Kindness and I am looking to make more projects with quotes and inspiring messages. I will post a picture of my inspiring magnets as soon as they are in!

Thanks!

"The years teach us much the days never knew"

2009-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

My fiance set me up my own little "studio" in the garage. It may not be much but its all mine and it is the start of something wonderful! Secretly I know he did it just to get all my junk out of the house :) My neighbor made me my first store sign to hang over my work area and I got a new digital camera from my fiance to take all my photos. A fresh start to a fresh year. 2008 drained my emotional energy and 2009 will be a challenge but I am entering it with a fresh enthusiasm. I have learned more about life in 2008 then all the rest of my years combined. I got engaged, was deceived, lost faith, found hope, fought off tears and laughter. I became an adult. In 2009 I will plan the rest of my life with the man I love, become a God parent to a child who faces a long journey, take pleasure in the simple things in life and work hard to ignore the trivial.

Holiday Season In Full Swing

2008-12-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is in full swing. The days seem to be a blur. I cant seem to find any spare minute to get my shop updated. My product total has dwindled to the low 30's and the prospect of finding time to make additional product seems unlikely. My home computer is still suffering from a terrible virus and so work is my only access. I am hoping the holiday break gives me time to gear up for the spring season. I have some new products I cant wait to show you all. Back to work now.

2008-12-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Etsy is going very well for me. Considering the time I am able to put in (which isnt much) I am getting a great return. I look for fabrics and patterns that I can imagine in my own botique and then I find something to create with them. I consider myself a creator not an artist. I cannot paint, draw, sing or dance. I just take ordinary everyday things and try and make them passionate....which brings me to my name..PolkaDotPassions. I love Polka Dots. Polka dot everything! Purses, socks, folders, sheets, picture frames, cards, wrapping paper, clothes, pens! It doesnt matter what it is...it will look even better with polka dots on it. My polka dot passion started with a book bag. I was getting ready to start my student teaching and I found a polka dot backpack. I knew teaching was going to be tough but I though..hey how sad or angry can I really be if i carry a polka dot book bag. Needless to say the kids loved it and so began the polka dot craze. The passionate part stems from a deeper part of myself. I have had times in my life where I just woke up, went through the day and went to sleep. Nothing was exciting, nothing to look forward too, just breathing eating and sleeping. I accepted that life was just the way it is. I smiled yes, and even had a good time here and there but I was sleep walking. I wasnt passionate about anything. Through some choices of my own and some I had no control over I now live a totally different life. I now look for passion in everything! Passion in slow Sunday afternoons and on hectic Monday mornings. Passion in the things I disagree with and the ones that I embrace. I try and remind myself to stop and enjoy moments and not to rush through even the boring days. Passion can be for things you love or things you protest. Either way it is powerful and without it life is a long tired place. PolkaDotPassions is for the passionate things that we love. The color pink, warm winter boots, christmas lights, hot coffee, fresh flowers, childrens laughter, kindness of strangers, companionship of friends, movie nights, beach days, writing wishes in the sand, holidays, yard sales, clearance racks, classic novels, new music. The list can go on forever. If you find yourself without a list, without a passion, do the best you can to remember one. I suggest a Dr. Suess book or The Little Prince. Something to take you back to when you were a child and passion was all there was.

This time I'll follow through.....I hope

2008-12-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is yet another attempt at starting and maintaining a blog. I have been inspired by a fellow etsian to start up this blog again. I went ahead and deleted all the old posts because I want a clean start. For the most part Im going to stick to Etsy related topics but Im sure from time to time I will wonder into other aspects of my life. I live with my awsome fiance who tolerates all that comes with creating. I stumbled across Etsy while looking for cool unique gifts for my bridesmaids. I found them! I bought each of my brides"maids" aprons from SassyApron. I was then inspired to take my own creative ideas and display them on Etsy. Months later I have created a shop I am proud of and friends all over the world! I hope that someday I will find more time to dedicate to my shop and make it more then just a hobby.