Full Circle

Some time in the Spring of 2011, I was sitting on the porch on a warm sunny morning looking at a magazine I'd borrowed from my mom.  I'd never heard of it, but it only took a few minutes to fall in love with it.  It was called Somerset Studio. Since then, I've become very familiar with not only Somerset Studio but also all the other magazines that Stampington publishes (and there are a number of them).  In fact, I may have a little bit of a problem.

It was in that Somerset Studio that I first learned about Kelly Rae Roberts.  After reading the article about her life and her art, I went to her website and learned that her Flying Lessons class was about to begin.  Registration for that class was my first step toward starting LeissnerArt.

I received an envelope in the mail yesterday with this label.  I dug it out of the trash because I realized I needed to save it.

This was the letter inside.

GreenCraft is a Stampington magazine which highlights the virtues of reducing, reusing and recycling.  If you want to know how to use soda pop tops to make jewelry, this is your source.  If you want to know how to make cuff bracelets from Styrofoam hamburger packaging, you can find that here, too.

And, this month, you can also learn how to convert cigar boxes into Blessing Boxes!

Being published in a Stampington magazine has been a goal of mine since the beginning. I guess this is what they call "full circle".  Thanks for being here to share it with me. 

May the good Lord bless you with some dreams come true, too.

<3 Lori

Organized!

Organize is not my word of the year, but I always like to start the year off a little less chaotically than I end it. Lucky for me, my life is often such a mess, it's not too hard to improve a lot.

Here's a big truth nugget:  I lovelovelove when people like the stuff I make enough to buy it. It makes my heart soar.  I sing and dance and am happyhappyhappy...for about five minutes. Then I realize I'm going to have to mail it to them.  In a box.  Using tape and bubble wrap and more tape (which I can never ever ever ever find no matter how many fancy dispensers or how many economy sized rolls I buy) and it needs to look cute and there needs to be a thank you note and I have to remember an invoice and I have to go the post office where I have to wait in line behind the woman who apparently has 876577 grandchildren who all live in remote villages on other continents. ::vigorouslybangsheadondesk::

I have been doing shipping in the most disorganized way possible, I'm sure, because I'm an over-achiever like that.  I basically dumped every possible shipping item into a brown paper bag (at least it had a handle) and dragged it all back and forth to work with me.  At about 4:45 each day I would finally remember there was something I was supposed to do, at which point I would tap the side of my head with my forefinger and think, "Hmmmm, what was that?"  My brain would eventually screech, "MAIL!!!!!!". I would jump out of my chair, grab my paper sack and furiously commence creating a nightmarish mess of tape, paper bits, torn cardboard, crumpled tissue paper, twine and who knows what all else might have ended up in those packages...except sweat. There was probably a lot of sweat. Sorry about that.

I decided to do something about it because, honestly, I can't afford any more brain cells.

I shopped around my own house for the sweet fake wall made of old screen doors (which my handy man brought upstairs for me and cut to fit), the record stand I got at a yard sale for $1, and some bins and baskets; got a couple things at Walmart and an official shipping scale from Sam's.

 Behold my new shipping station upstairs! (Do you hear the angels singing?)

I'm all set now.  I'm going to be a wrapping fool.  Y'all go order something.

<3 Lori

The Winner!

The winner of the Limb Chop giveaway is Sofia Dabalsa! Thanks so much to everyone who shared your words with me.  Wishing you all a blessed and happy New Year!