So, What Did You Find?

So, when you looked at the picture in the last blog post, what did you find? (Click HERE  for the initial blog with the photo, or scroll down a little on the main page.) Did you see anything that made you have second thoughts about crafting with a Special Needs Kid in the house? Anything that made you feel tense?

Add a comment, and I'll post it in the body of this post. Once we have a good number listed, we'll start going over them. Are you game?

Ready? Set? Tell me! :)


(Ok, in all fairness, in the US and Canada, this is a big vacation week, so I'll let this run for a good week or more before we delve into the details. Sound good?)

Creating With Special Needs Kids In the House – a New Series

This spring, I had a wonderful chat with Mark Lipinksi, and was also honored to be a guest on his radio talk show, Creative Mojo, where we talked about staying creative with a special needs kid in the house. As most of you know, I’m the mom of a Super Special daughter, who just happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome, as well as Sensory Processing Disorder. But, you may not know that Mark, who is a fantastic quilter and phenomenal person, is a special needs dad, himself.  Although our kids have different concerns, there is most definitely overlap when it comes to parenting issues, as well as crafting and the creative process.

We also agreed this subject needs more attention.

So, I’m starting a fantastic new series, which will be sprinkled among my regular blog posts, called, “Creating with Special Needs Kids in the House”, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it!

Why the enthusiasm?

Well, why not? After all, it’s summer (ok, winter for my Australian friends!), and the perfect time to introduce kids to all sorts of crafting, quilting, etc., and the Arts! First, let’s take a moment to be honest, here, and do some fessing up; so many of us have a special needs kid in the house and we may not feel comfortable pulling out the play dough. Or, heaven forbid, paint.

And don’t even mention scissors…

Especially to my sister, whom I gave a haircut to way back when plaid and polyester paisleys actually went together.

“Yee gawds,” you must be thinking, “is there enough cleaner in the world to fix the inevitable chaos following my child’s creative process?”

Relax. We’re going to have fun. Trust me. (We’ll deal with the inevitable messes later.)

Are you asking yourself, “Does she mean crafting with my kid? Or does she mean how having a special needs kid under the roof affects my creative moments? I’m a little confused. I thought this was about me. Or is it about them?”

I mean both. Even with a child with good fine motor skills, there can be concerns when she works with certain tools. And, let’s be honest, for those of us who create for a living, a meltdown in the family room can really ding our personal creative energies.

There is so much to say about the subject, which is why this is going to be a series, rather than a blog plopped here for “blogging day”. For instance, we’ll cover things such as how to find time to create, keeping your child’s weaknesses (and strengths – don’t forget those!) in mind, as well as general safety. And, just like my Facebook page for “Asperger’s in Pink”, I want this to be an interactive series. I value your input as well as your insight. We learn best when we learn from each other, don’t we?

Are you ready?

First assignment, if you will (ok, I know school is finally out, and the last words you probably want to hear are “homework” or “assignment” – or that even uglier words, “test”…), is waiting for you. Look at the image from my studio and see how many hazards you can find. Depending on your child(ren), your answers will likely vary, and that’s ok. Feel free to post them in the “Comments” section, and I’ll reveal my own answers next time. And I’ll bet you see some I’m missing. So, are you in? Let’s do it!

Ready?

Set.

GO!

So I Went For a Walk

So I went for a walk. My mind needed clearing and my body needed motion. And, above all else, I needed to get away from anything electronic.

Except, of course, my phone, which is slowly turning me into a Borg.

My husband, however, would beg to differ. Ever since I upgraded to a smartphone, he thinks the transition to half-human, half-machine occurred almost instantaneously.

But I went outside, in the heat, under the sun, contemplating all sorts of things in an effort to clear my mind. Things such as the electronic cloud where more and more of our data is landing. Clouds used to mean something that brought rain and blocked sun, cooling the air on days such as this. But now, it means something I can’t see, leaving me wondering what exactly this “cloud” is.

Then I reminded myself why I went for a walk. It was to get away from such things and focus on what is around me. Including thick piles of mulch at the base of perfectly aligned trees, stepping a little farther out from them, crossing fingers that nothing would hiss and slither as I pass by. Up on a small hill sat a bunny, staring at me from the gentle shade, then turning, cotton tail waving goodbye as he hopped away.

Then I thought of how I wanted to get home, sit under this laptop and type something about him.

But I caught myself and recalled that the point of this walk is the walk, itself. To be outside, even June’s heat that feels borrowed from some future day in July.

Walking past a neighbor’s yard, I took a moment to slow down and look down. Age makes it harder to keep up with things, and budgets make it hard to enlist others to maintain your lawn, when mind and muscle lack the strength and energy of earlier days. Thinking to myself how others around me have complained about spaces like these, even when mown, I took a moment, looked and recalled walks and hikes by fields mixed will all sorts of greenery. And I smiled and wondered, what makes something a weed, yet another a flower?

And I continued to recall days spent outdoors, when indoors wasn’t where I wanted to be. And how things in my daughter’s generation are so dependent on electronics, and how we’ve somehow allowed that to strip us of even a tiny bit of our connection with nature, and I felt a tinge of sadness.

So, I went for a walk, and I returned to my home a little more resolved to spend this summer connected more to nature than my computer.

Or even my phone.

Do you ever feel the same?

Talking ArtFire While I Wait for my Husband to Blog

My husband is an excellent writer, and I’ve somehow roped him into writing a post for the blog. But he’s been busy, and hasn’t had much of a chance to sit down and do one yet.

Despite my reminders.

Or, in plain English: nagging.

While I wait, I wanted to switch gears a little and tell you about a side of my art business, in case you’ve ever debated doing the same sort of thing. It’s pretty exciting to consider myself a “business woman”, but my husband, as supportive as he’s been about this venture, will be even more excited if  it ever pays the mortgage off. :)

Like many “mompreneurs”, I started my business online, and, boy, was there a lot to learn – and there still is! There are tons of venues out there to sell on, and I continue to explore them, but I must say I have no regrets on starting out on ArtFire.com, so wanted to share a little about it with you in case you aren’t quite sure if it would work for you. ArtFire really was a shot in the dark, as I wasn’t familiar with selling online at all – or even in person. But I love it there!

Why, you ask? Oh, you didn’t? Well, you know me, I’m gonna tell you anyway. But since I’m so often verbose, I’m going to just keep it to five fave reasons. Ready?

1.       The cost. There are two studio options to choose from in order to sell on ArtFire, known as “PRO” and “Basic”, and I have one of each. What’s the difference? (Click on the links for examples of each.)

a.      For a PRO account, there is a monthly fee – but that covers everything. Whether you list one or one thousand items, there are no listing fees, and they never have to be renewed. If you make any sales, you don’t pay any extra. This makes it easy to just create and list, as you always know what your bill is going to be at the end of the month.

b.      A Basic studio is free – no listing or selling fees at all. No kidding. But there are differences, such as fewer seller tools available, plus your studio will have ads placed next to your items. And I’ll be honest, they can be tacky. But, hey, it’s a great way to start out, especially if funds are super tight.

2.      My opinion matters. My goodness, can you believe ArtFire actually wants my feedback? Ok, not just mine, but from all sellers? The “admin” is always around, and isn’t above stepping into discussions. You may not always agree with them, but they are very present and accessible.

3.      ArtFire is like business school in a box. Tony, who is the main “face” we see, COO, and marketing guru, is always providing tips on how to become successful with our businesses. I haven’t always liked what I’ve learned, but he’s been right so far, which works for me.

4.      The Collection of the Day! Oh, I just love these! They are one mass email mailing that I actually open up each time it lands in my inbox. It showcases a dozen beautiful items from fellow artisans, and is such a bright spot in the day. (Click here to sign up for them.)

5.      It continues to move forward. As the online world spins faster than the speed of light, change (which folks like me rarely embrace!) is survival. ArtFire is not one to keep things “as is”, but keeps progressing, which is necessary for any ecommerce platform.

So, that’s part of the non-Asperger side of my life. But it’s also an important one to me. My daughter is looking to join up, as well, hoping to earn some money towards college. If she does, I need to remember to use this link when she signs up, as she’ll get her 3^rd month free, if she chooses a PRO studio. (Actually anyone can click on it and use it.)

If you have any questions about ArtFire, feel free to ask. I do sell on a few other venues, but ArtFire has worked best for me so far. As always, I’d love your thoughts! And there's a poll -->>> if you'd like to take it, too!

What Started it All (My Studio)

It all started one cold and rainy fall morning about a year ago. My daughter’s school offered up a yard sale opportunity for parents to sell their stuff, putting all the proceeds toward a very expensive field trip to our nation’s capital. We couldn’t really swing the cost, so, as much as I am uncomfortable with these things, signed up for the tag sale.

We didn’t have a lot to offer up. We’re relatively simple people, and much of the excess we did have was donated during the move. But one thing I did have was plenty of fabric. Not one to give up easily, I decided to spend the previous day sewing fabric plastic bag holders. I made the pattern up as I went along, and found a way to eliminate elastic from them. Not only ingenious, so I thought, but cost and time effective as well.

The big day came, and the crowd was sparse. More came to sell than to buy, as the cool mist called for so many to sleep in that Saturday morning. We only sold a few things, one of which was a bag holder. It drew the most attention of anything we had, and seemed to pique a lot of interest. But at the end of the morning, we packed them all up, along with old jeans and a few baking dishes, and headed home. Not enough money to make a dent in the trip, but enough inspiration to wonder if I could sell the bags elsewhere.

Over the next few months I wondered how I could do just that. Jobs are hard to come by, and the longing to work consumed me. So, in true “Julie form”, I decided to make my own work. I opened up an artisan studio on ArtFire.com, listing the better made bags from the yard sale. Now I find myself several months later going in a new direction. The longing to make practical art pieces works well with totes and placemats, but not so well with the bag holders. And as of this morning, they are now being discontinued.

It’s a bittersweet thing, really. The piece that started it all is the first to “go”. But I’ve learned a lot, and continue to learn. Among other things, I’ve learned to narrow down my studio’s focus and create that which gives me energy – not saps it.

And as for the field trip? In true Asperger form, my daughter decided some of the stops would be too sensory for her to handle. We couldn’t argue with that. And neither could our checkbook.