Life goes on

I listed 2 new pens this week. The Spring Jagged Motion Pen (pictured), the Camo-Metallic Jagged Motion Pen, and the AGGIES Pen. I sold a ton of the AGGIES pens at the Winter in Aggieland Craft Show this past December, and I'm debating making an Aggies section in my shop. I'm really proud to be an Aggie and I'm hoping to get some more Aggie customers. Okay, I just talked myself into that one : )

I had a second interview with an advertising company yesterday. It really wasn't an interview at all. I spent 6 hours in the rain watching a trainer try to sell tickets to businesses on the assigned street. I wish they would have told me they were a canvass only to begin with. I thought they had the actual advertising account for the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars, but they really just hire people to go out and sell tickets door to door. I'd do that for the environment like I did for my last job, but I won't do it for tickets, no matter how great the deal is. I thought it was part of their advertising strategy, but not the only strategy. So, the job search continues...

Spring has Sprung

I'm so glad spring is here! The warm weather, flowers, and ladybugs. I saw a cute lil ladybug when I was putting down the top on my jeep, and she inspired this mini pen. You can view the listing here.

I've been listening to a lot of reggae lately on internet radio. I just might have to do a reggae inspired pen as well! Other ideas on my list for the week are: clouds, rainbow fade, camo, and music notes. I also want to play more with the design I named "jagged motion." I've already posted the Aqua Jagged Motion Pen. I signed up for another swap, too. It's called "no more naked envelopes," and I'll post my creations before I mail them out : )

1st Swap on Swap-bot

Here are the two packages I'm about to send out to Carole and Cheryl, my first swap-bot buddies! The swap was to pick from a list of things to send to your partners, and I chose memo pad and gel pen. Those square magnets came with the notepads, and I think they're pretty cute. Since the gel pens I'm sending aren't full-sized, I'm also sending some loom bracelets that I made. =) I painted the envelopes with watercolors, too. Presentation is everything right?

I'm not working at Texas Campaign for the Environment anymore. I'm sad because I loved that job, but I decided I needed to find something better for me and my family (the hours were 2-10pm). I had an interview with Sewell Automotive yesterday, and there are a few more steps in that hiring process. So being proactive, I went ahead and applied for 10 other positions today. Most were administrative positions, and one was for studio photographer! I don't care how long it takes, I just want to find somewhere I like working at. Wish me luck!

New Style

Here are the new pens I made this weekend, and I will be listing them on etsy today and tomorrow. I have to get all the photos taken first. It's a variation on the swirl design really. Instead of going around and around with the colors, I move them up and down as well. The mini pen is straight up and down evenly. The regular size one was an experiment with both techniques that turned out sweeter than I imagined! I'll be experimenting more in the future :)

I went to a peace rally yesterday! We marched from Mockingbird Station (Dallas) to a park near the site at SMU for the Bush Library. My sign said "Make Art, Not War" I posted a picture on my myspace page. The reggae band that played was awesome, and there were some excellent speeches. Three SMU students had signs across the street from us, and the one I remember the most said "Yay Bush". I was glad to see them exercising their first amendment rights, too. More people need to stand up for what they believe in. I draw the line at kid who cussed out a priest that was with us and told the priest he was going to hell. Violence is never the answer.

Purple Butterfly Pen

Well I made another version of the purple butterfly pen, and it looks fabulous! This is a complicated pattern, so I finished it over 2 days. It was about 8 hours all together, and I watched some CSPAN because they had some Senate Iraq debates on. They're working on passing a resolution that basically follows the suggestions of the Iraq Study Group. I followed that up with the movie Patton. I'm a pacifist, but I have a thing for war movies. Maybe, in a past life, I was a soldier fighting a "war for empire" or something, and thus died for someone's greed instead of something worthwhile like freedom. Hmm...I didn't think this post would take me down this path, but it did!

Wear Your Heart on Your Pen

This is the new mini pen that I have listed today. It featues a seafoam green heart on a midnight purple background, and is trimmed up in white. I love the name: Wear Your Heart on Your Pen. I have a bunch of mini pens up now, so I need to get busy making some regular size ones too.

If you have been reading the blog, you probably know that I love the environment, and I'm trying to make Scribble Scrabble Beaded Pens a green business. Well today I will be trying out the awesome transit system in Dallas, and hopefully I can use it to get to and from work without driving my jeep everyday. It doesn't get great gas mileage, and it's going to take me awhile to save up for a hybrid. Plus with summer rolling around, gas prices will go up, and it will still be $40 for a month-long rail pass. You can't beat that!

PEACE Beading Bag

Today I had to share my peace-themed tote made by Nancy Angellotti of stitchz.etsy.com! It was another gift in my peace swap box. It has become my new beading bag that I can take to the coffee shop when I want to work on things there, or beading classes, or beading parties! It's really well made and the fabric is purple, my favorite color. Thanks Nancy, I love it!

I have listed two new pens this week. The first one is the Purple Punk Mini Pen and it is a swirled design with black, silver, and purple. Of course, it writes in purple : ) The second is the Green Peace Mini Pen, and features a green peace sign on a cream background; writes in green, too. I plan to list something new everyday this week, including another of the famous purple butterfly pen pictured on my business cards!

Pink Punk Mini Pen

I made this one yesterday, and it's the first new pen I've listed in awhile. I call it the pink punk pen because the colors give it a punk rock feel: black, pink, and silver. It also writes in hot pink! I think I'm going to make another of these in purple.

I think I'm going to try to design one with a tree on it. I want to give all the proceeds to TCE. I'm just not sure if I should make it a mini one or the regular size one. Maybe a black regular and a green mini and they can be a set! I'll have to think on it : )

Organization Needed

Well now that I have Wednesdays off, it will be easier for me to stay organized. My desk is a disaster area! I finally got some beading time in today, too. I mailed off a custom order today as well. It was a pen for Ilysa of ilysaart.etsy.com, and you can view it here. It's blue with her name done in silver letters. She works with polymer clay, and her work is AMAZING! Okay time to get busy organizing so I can make some new pens. I only have 3 in my shop right now!

Cradle to Cradle

Wow, it's been a whole month since my last post! Now that I am in the rhythm of my new job and having a puppy, it will be a lot easier to set aside time to blog and read others' blogs : ) I just finished the first chapter of this book Cradle to Cradle, and I just love it. Instead of figuring out what to do with the waste after we consume something, we should remake the way we make things in the first place. This book was not made out of paper, or even recycled paper; it's made from "plastic resins and inorganic fillers." It's a "technical nutrient" that can be made into many other things! I used my new book thong from my peace swap box to mark my place. It has a peace charm on one end and a "believe" charm on the other end. It was made by Debbie Clark of littlesomethings.etsy.com: cute creations to give and to keep. Thanks, Debbie! I'll be posting more of the things I received in the peace swap this week, too.

Green Power!

I have been so busy! I started working at Texas Campaign for the Environment last Tuesday and I love my job...I'm just not too fond of the hours for family reasons. I work 2-10pm M-F and we go out in the neighborhood and give people a voice on local issues regarding clean air and water. We are working on electronic waste right now. E-waste (computers and tvs etc) is being thrown away in landfills and contaminating the drinking water with mercury, lead, and cadmium. Our solution is producer take back, and we want the producers of these products to take them back and recycle them for free...responsibly. We've already got Dell on board, and they are actually profiting from their take-back program! Now we are looking to pass a state-wide resolution by collecting contributions and generating letters to Texas lawmakers. It's very nobel and important work because some people don't know it's going on or don't know how to help. When a representative has 50,000 letters from their constituents sitting on their desk, it makes a pretty strong statement! The hours aren't great like I said but I love it because I'm saving the world...one door at a time :)

Here are some ways that Scribble Scrabble Beaded Pens is becoming more green:

1. Packaging- I have introduced green mailers! I made them from this boating magazine that keeps showing up in our mailbox. The boat/lake pics are great for the mailers so they're pretty on the outside, and the type is great to wrap the pens to protect them.
   
2. Photography- I use all digital phtography, so there are no prints or contact sheets. A recycled cardboard box made a great home-made light studio. The lights I chose are energy saving and burn at a cooler temperature.
   
3. Transportation- I have to drive to the post-office because it's a very high-traffic area, and it would be dangerous to walk or bike. So I'm choosing to limit my trips to Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday only. I'm also saving up for a hybrid car!

I've added some earth-friendly links to my sidebar as well! If you have other green business suggestions, please leave a comment. I'm open to other ideas I haven't thought of. Also to track your own carbon footprint, visit www.carbonfootprint.com. Have a fantastic Monday everyone!

3 New Pens

Here are three new mini pens I've done. The peace sign pen will end up in my etsy shop. The other 2 will be future items of the Sampler. I'm going to make 25 total to give for my first contribution, and I'm really excited! It's going to take a lot of time to make all these pens, so I'm shooting for the March or April deadline. Go subscribe, and one of my pens just might end up in your mailbox!

I've had a thing for the color green lately after listening to a new podcast I found. It's an earth-friendly podcast called More Hip Than Hippie. The hosts Val and Dori read articles and discuss them and every episode they rate a different beer and chocolate. Have a listen to find out if your dryer needs balls ;)

Sweetness!

I am in love with my cupcake pin cushion from Pukashell Creative Designs! My beading needles got totally bored with my ordinary tomato pin cushion, and this red velvet cupcake was too delicious to pass up! It's normally filled with beading needles and extra nymo, but I just finished a whole batch of pens. I will be sharing the new designs tomorrow.

Snow Day & Peace

It snowed yesterday...in TEXAS! Ruby and I had a great time playing in it. It was the first time for both of us to see snow, and it was awesome. The previous few days were icy and windy, the kind of cold that rips your skin off. The cold we had yesterday was different. You still had to bundle up, but it was just plain cold. I didn't feel like I wanted to run back inside ;)

Today I finished up my peace pens for our Etsy Peace Swap. I also made one extra for the basket of Peace items we plan to sell for charity. We haven't chosen a charity yet, but my suggestion is Peace Action. I think we will end up picking one that is international so everyone will feel included. I added a quote about peace to go with my pen:

"Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."
-Muhatma Gandhi

Promotional Buttons

I got my promotional buttons in the mail last week and I just LOVE the way they turned out. They have my avatar and say "I Scribble" with my etsy address underneath. I ordered 100 and got them from kneecola.etsy.com. I was also her first sale! I loved the p[rice and she worked with me on my design to make it look just right. I will be sending these with my orders, and handing out randomly. Thanks Nicole!

Greek Flag & Valentine Pens

I finished the Greek Flag Pen this weekend and listed it this morning. Here's the direct link: Greek Flag Pen. I think it looks great on the blue pen, and I'm glad I chose that one over black. I also listed a Valentine Mini Pen that would make a cute, original Valentine gift!

It's been really, really cold and icy here the past couple days. Many schools were closed today as well. This type of storm is rare in Texas, so it was cool to see all icicles everywhere. I've still never seen snow though. My puppy Ruby doesn't mind the weather with her thick fur coat, but I get real cold real quick. So, I've been taking her out more often for shorter periods of time. The great part is there's nothing to do all day except stay inside and bead!

Greek Flag Design

This is my design for Greek Flag pen that I am making for a customer to give to his girlfriend. It was hard to make the cross look right, and the blue stripes are thicker than the white. It was the only way I could make them all fit though. I might play with it a little more later tonight, but for the most part I like the way it turned out.

My customer is one of the hosts of the incredibly informative and funny Evil Liberal Propaganda Network. They have a blog and an internet radio show that airs Mondays and Thursdays at 10-midnight eastern time on indieairplay.com. They "fight CONservative liars with Liberal fire." They make part of their shows into podcats that you can find on itunes. I listen to it all the time when I bead, and I highly recommend their show.

Peace Swap Update

I have completed the first set of pens for the peace swap. I changed the pattern a little from the one I showed before. These have a caps of color on the top and bottom, and the peace sign is centered. The sea green on dark green is the color combo I like best. I also took the keyrings off so they'd be easier to photograph. I hope my swap group likes them.

New Addition

This is the newest addition to my family. My fiance and I have been wanting to get a dog for a long time. When we went to pick up some jeep doors for a friend on Sunday, and they had 3 lab/ retriever mix puppies left to give away. I picked the shy, sweet girl, and it wasn't long until we picked the perfect name, Ruby.
I took a day off yesterday to get Ruby settled in. She is more of a hand full than I expected, mostly beacsue she starts crying whenever I'm not in her view. For now she is comfortable in her bed under my desk. So I think I'll try to finish up the pens for the peace swap today!

Etsy Peace Swap

When I found out about this swap, I had to join it! We are to make 10 peace-themed items, and send them to the coordinator-Holly. In return we will each receive 10 different items from the other participants of the swap. I saw these pens at Office Max yesterday, and they conveniently had a "buy 2 get 1 free" on all Pilot writing instruments. I didn't see the mini pens I normally buy, but I liked the idea of the rings so you can attach then pen to keys and bag zippers etc. I designed the peace symbol last night, and beaded up the first one in turquoise. I think I'll make each one a different color combination so I won't get bored! I might have to add this design to my shop as well.