Interview

I'm turning in my profile for our Etsy Texas Crafters Membership booklet today. It's going to be a CD of profiles of all the members and we'll use it as a promotional tool. Here are the questions and what I wrote:

Etsy User Name: Scribbles

Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, achievements/awards, and any personal stuff you want to share).

My name is Mandi Flint and I'm a right handed Leo born in the year of the boar. I'm a hippie-liberal type from Austin, who went to school at Texas A&M for a history degree, then moved to Dallas. I'm an artist, peace activist, feminist, and I have a bead addiction. I've been beading since I was 10 when my grandma gave me her loom. I had my first jewelry show at age 12, nearly sold out, and made $78. I thought I was rich! Lately I've experimenting with other ways to use beads besides jewelry. I love writing, so I was already a fan of the G2 Pilot Pens for the fun colors and the smooth gel ink. The only problem was they looked so ordinary. I combined the pens with my passion for beading and BANG, Scribble Scrabble Beaded Pens was born.

Are you an Etsy Buyer, Seller, or Both? both

What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

That’s a hard one, so I’m glad it’s the first thing you remember making. My grandma taught me to sew at a very early age. She got me a book that had several sewing projects in it. I think the first was a bag to keep all my sewing supplies in. She allowed me to choose any fabric from her large and deliciously colorful stash. I chose a green fabric that had big pink hibiscuses on it. I think I still have it somewhere!

Why do you create?

I create because it’s a meditative freedom. My mind and creativity are free to go anywhere they want without hindrance. Whatever I’m feeling goes into what I’m making, and I love that I can just lose myself in it.

What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

I’m deeply inspired by other artists and the stories behind their work. I’m also inspired by nature, color, feelings, even books.

What are your favorite materials?

Beads; with the definition of beads being anything that has a hole through it :)

What is your favorite color?

Purple

What are your most and least two favorite films? My favorite is a toss up between Boondock Saints and Pulp Fiction. My least favorite film has to be What Dreams May Come just because I don’t like the way it affected me.

What are you reading right now?

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things. It’s really changing how I look at things and what I choose to buy. It gives the word consumer a whole new meaning.

What is your favorite item you have purchased on Etsy?

I’m going to go with my red velvet cupcake pin cushion! My beading needles just weren’t happy with the boring old tomato pin cushion.

Now I have to choose which photos I'd like included!

2 more mini pens!

I posted this Pink Butterfly Mini Pen last night along with a Turquoise Peace Mini Pen. I love making the little mini pens! I went to the store last weekend to buy some more, and I found a surprise. They came out with some mini mechanical pencils! They look just like the mini pens but with a little eraser on top. I've already made one and I plan on posting it later this week.

The next 3 projects on my list are:
1) go look at wedding invitations and get ideas so I can make my own
2) get some pens made for the funky pen and notepad swap on swap-bot
3) work on my profile for the ETC membership book!

Bumblebee Mini Pen

Here is my new pen design, and I am soooo proud of it! I made a cute little bumblebee, and gave him 4 violets all to himself :) I have 3 other mini pens that I will be adding to my shop this week. I'm going to try again on the posting one item per day for a week. I have a mini butterfly, another peace sign, and another waves pen.

I got so much stuff done over the weekend and caught up on a lot of my favorite podcasts. All the sampler packages have been sent out, so I'm hoping people like my pens and come have a look at my store. Then I will be working on my new website! I kind of want to model it after www.betzwhite.com. She has a link to her etsy store under "shop" and a link to her blog. I'd also love to have a gallery. I need one of her cupcake pincushions, too!

Butterflies & Dragonflies ATC Swap

I had so much fun making the ATCs for the swap. I think the 3rd one is my favorite though. I made two for each of my swap-bot partners. I hope they are enjoyed! I loved the explanation of the butterfly effect:

The flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil can set off a storm in Texas. Isn't that an amazing statement? Physicists call this theory "The Butterfly Effect" to explain how the breeze produced by a butterfly's wings could set of a series of reverberations that over time have a tremendous affect on weather patterns thousands of miles away. Now imagine the impact of millions of butterflies...

I love the idea that we all have the power to change the world, and it can start with a small action.