Thursday's Thoughts: Take a Stand

Dress Form - Original Papercut Art
by Papercut Art by Tina Tarnoff

Talk around my work team is on a recent article professing that folks who sit for eight hours daily at work are 54% more likely to die of a heart attack than those who stand at work. WOW! I sit for 40 hours a week at my day job and then I sit for about 50 hours a week in the studio.

Regardless of whether sitting actually leads to an increased risk for a fatal heart attack, I know that sitting so much is really hard on my back. So I, and several of my coworkers, decided to make a change. We're working on converting our workspaces into standing stations - I'll have mine done next week and will post some pictures.

Since I actually spend more of my time in the studio than I do at work, I decided to make a change there too. After my April shows, I will be raising my cutting table to waist height. They say that standing  while cutting improves accuracy anyhow, so that's a good thing. The only issue is that I am very tall - waist height for me is 48" so I think I will put my tables up on cinder blocks to get the height I need. The other areas of my studio will be uplifted as well: shipping station will go up on blocks, photography station gets some height, and the ironing board is already raised for stand-up ironing. The only thing I will still sit for is sewing, but I think the up and down from the sewing chair to the rest of the work spaces will be good exercise.

I'll post pictures of the transformation and keep you posted on how its working for me. What do you think? Do any of you work standing up? Thinking about making the change? Here's a great blog post if you're interested in making some changes to make your space work better for your body.

Thursday's Thoughts: Inspiration

Flame - Fine Art Photograph
by Honey Tree

I'm often asked where I get my inspiration for some of my creations, so I thought I would share what inspires me in this Thursday's Thoughts.

1. Images in nature.
The combination of the gold, scarlet, and sunfire leaves against a cyan blue sky will drive me to include those colors in a quilt or small work of art. Natures pallette is amazingly inspiring.

2. Floor and carpets.
The geometric patterns on tile floors and the scrollwork on Oriental carpets really get my creative juices flowing! I love creating piecing patterns based on tilework and doing free-motion quilting inspired by the intricate designs in beautiful carpets.




The Sewing Room II
Fine Art Photography Print
by Peaches Pictures



3. Necessity.

Whenever I think, "Oh, I wish I had one of those." or "I wish this was reusable." I write myself a note and work on creating whatever it is. I love making functional and beautiful items that make someone's life easier.

4. Friends.
Friends and customers (who quickly become friends) often have suggestions and requests that inspire me to create something new. I love these suggestions because they are often for things I would never have thought of and challenge me to think outside my little box. That challenge is inspiring, too!

Graphic Arts Valentine

5. Randomness.
Sometimes just a random image or thought will drive an urgent need to create something. This happened just recently. A friend posted a new profile picture on Facebook. It was a black and white image of a boardwalk with a vibrant scarlet heart drilling into the center of the wood. The image was so striking that it inspired my design for this year's Graphic Arts Valentines.

Inspiration strikes from many different directions and not only helps me find new ideas, but gives me the energy and drive to face new challenges and work out difficult patterns. I love seeing something go from fleeting thought to completed design. Inspiration strengthens me for the middle time: the hard work of getting the design to actually work the way it does in my head.

What inspires you?

Thursday's Thoughts: Stress Management

I had a particularly stressful week at work, so creative ways to manage stress are on my mind. I thought I'd share them with you today!

From The Write Network:

Eat nutrients that increase energy
Stay away from diet colas, iced coffees, and chocolate coffee beans - they'll give you a quick high, but you’ll crash soon! A healthier way to reduce stress is to eat foods that increase energy production, which will help your body to cope with stress. Focusing on B Vitamins, magnesium and ribose (ribose is the key building block for energy) is an important part of stress management.

laugh necklace by Piano Bench Designs

From The American School of Laughter Yoga:

Try Laughter Yoga!
Using laughter as a form of exercise is a sure-fire way to reduce your stress. You can download some laughter "exercises" here.

From Elizabeth Scott, MS on About.com:

Create a vision board.
Vision boards are a type of blueprint for the kind of life you'd like to create for yourself -- a visual representation of what you'd like to include (and exclude) in your future. Creating a vision board helps you hone in on your goals and priorities, stay motivated for positive change, and perhaps even draw positive things into your life. You can find out how to create one here.

From Health.com:

Be assertive.
A lot of stress is caused by us agreeing to take on more than we can handle because we're afraid of saying no. Being assertive is an excellent way to take care of yourself and reduce your stress. Learn some techniques here.

And from me:

Get creative.
Drawing up a new pattern or sewing anything at all really help me to relax. Sometimes, though, I'm stressed due to spending so much time on The Quilted House. At time like that, I like to be creative in other ways: cooking, trying a new recipe, making a batch of ice cream, crocheting, rug hooking, beadwork, pretty much any creative activity at all will work. And if I'm still stressed, my absolute favorite activity: a hot, steamy bath paired with a bowl of ice cream. It works every time!

Thursday's Thoughts: Japan Relief

LOVE JAPAN (eathquake and tsunami relief)
Custom Pillow Keychain
by Sweet Mimi Designs

Right now, our hearts and minds are on the tragedies happening in Japan, so I thought I would use this Thursday's Thoughts to bring some creative ways to help relief efforts. Sometimes money is the one thing you don't have to give, but it's still possible to help if you think outside the collection box.

From A Beautiful Idea:

Artists can partner with A Beautiful Idea to donate a portion of their sales to relief efforts. Pooling money as a group feels like such a unified effort. 100 peoples' $20 together as $2,000 feels bigger than 100 $20 donations.

Remember - print
by Designtwentysix

From Halogen TV:

Make your purchases count, either by purchasing from shops donating a portion of their proceeds to disaster relief, purchasing specially created items, like Lady Gaga’s “We Pray for Japan” bracelets, or using services like SwipeGood, which automatically donates the change from debit and credit card purchases to the charity of your choice.



From Playing by the Book:

You can contribute stories and illustrations to Books That Help. The organization will publish a collection of stories, poems, and art honoring and celebrating Japan. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to relief efforts.

I Love JAPAN Mini Dot Cookies
by Artsy Cookies

From Fool.com and Slashgear.com:

If time is more the issue than money, you can text your support:

Text JAPAN to 20222 = $10 to Save the Children

Text MERCY to 25283 = $10 to Mercy Corps

Text REDCROSS to 90999 = $10 to the American Red Cross

Text 4JAPAN to 20222 = $10 to World Vision

Text TSUNAMI to 50555 = $10 to Convoy of Hope
Text JAPAN to 80888 = $10 to The Salvation Army

And from me:

Give to where and however you can. You’ll be helping someone.

One thing to remember, relief organizations around the world still need your support. Often at times of devastation, well-thinking individuals funnel all their charitable donations to support the current issue and other agencies suffer. I’m guilty of this myself. We all have limited resources, so we just need to be aware that organizations and projects that we’re currently supporting with time and money still need our support while our hearts and attention are on Japan.

Thursday's Thoughts: Time Management

Mara Clockpop by REaction Gifts

Time management, one of my favorite subjects because I am so very bad at it! By day, I work fulltime as an Instructional Designer and my afternoon, evening, and weekend hours are consumed by running my business, maintaining relationships, and caring for my home. Not an uncommon story - everyone has demands on thier time that they need to manage. I thought for this first Thursday's Thoughts, I would comb the internet for words of wisdom on time management (which is actually a great use of my time since I have a time management project I'm working on at my day job! Two birds, one stone (not that I would throw a stone at a bird!))

Marilyn1545:

"Take an hour or so the evening before to organize your chores for the next day."

Additions: On social networking:

"You don't have to do everything. It is easy to get sucked in [to social media], so limit your time on each site. 5 - 10 minutes is enough time for facebook and twitter, and the more you stick to a schedule the easier it will become."

Pure Handmade:

"I can not survive in my workshop without having my To Do list very visible on my desk. I have too much to do everyday that the only way to keep up with everything is having my TO DO List update."

Here's a post with more from Pure Handmade on To Do list and a great 1-10 To Do list suggestion.

An Etsy Life:

"DO NOT have a tv in your work space, and if you have no choice,  don't turn it on."

An Etsy Life is full of great time management tips that you can check out by following this link.

And from me:

Use your tools. Technology can be a time drain, but it can also be a time saver. Schedule a little time to explore the calendaring features of your phone, to find apps that will save time, to link work, home, school, and personal calendars in one, etc.

Hopefully some of these tips will help you! I know looking through all the great advise helped me and now off to work I go!

Before you go off to get organized, don't forget to enter Monday's giveaway to win your choice of Gettin' Down to Business Card Wallets!