New and Improved!

It's been a long time coming, but I have finally updated my website! It now shows all of my new work, and a lot of old, upcoming events, pages for both of my shops, and more! If you've been there before, be sure to hit your browser's refresh button to see all of the changes. I would love to hear what you think!

The evil side of craigslist

My friend Ryan recently wrote a blog article about posting ads on craigslist, using my shop as an example. She's a smart marketer, and it's a good article.

But as a recently single person with more alone time on my hands than is probably healthy, I've been finding myself perusing the evil side of craigslist--the personal ads. Now, don't get me wrong, I am in no way looking for a date--I am not even close to ready for that yet. But I thought it would be entertaining, so away I went. Now I feel a little bit like puking (thankfully I'm NOT looking to date yet, or I would probably actually BE puking). I thought I would share with you, my readers, some of the gems I found there (warning--profanity follows so read no further if that is going to bother you).

Let's start with the headlines. Here are some really great ones (please note sarcasm):
“looking for girlfriend/roommate--free rent!” Umm...creepy.
“let’s do some shit” Yeah, let's do some shit! You sound so intelligent!
“Must have kids--single moms only” Now, this person may be sincere, but as a single mom I find that more than a little creepy.
“I am bored--wanna chat?” You are bored. That sounds really boring.

Now for some fantastic content:
“I am 420 friendly. I have a criminal background. I want a down-ass woman. I don’t drive.”
Erm...yeah.

“I am with someone right now but that has run its course.”
This one doesn't deserve a comment. I hope his girlfriend isn't looking.

“I am a Bible-based Disciple. I am looking for a friend: A Bible-based, God-seeking Christian, preferably slim.”
No comment.

“No BBW’s!!!”
Okay, so I understand if you are really fit and you want the same from a partner, but really. Some women look fabulous at 200 pounds. Either way, must you be a jerk about it?

“195 lbs of prime beef”
Ew.

“I am cursed! Fat women find me irresistible. I’m looking for someone fit, attractive, and understands that I am cursed and how I can break it.”
This was almost the entire ad. I get it. You want someone fit and attractive. Do you give a crap about the personality of your partner? Good luck, asshole.

“If you need help with bills or like being spoiled, I am your sugar daddy. If you can host, I like big girls, the bigger the better.”
This WAS the entire ad. Do YOU give a crap about personality or brains or anything else? You are at least as much of a jerk as the last guy.

Okay, so I admit, there are decent-sounding guys on there too. But their ads are so boring I can't even read all the way through them. Maybe I am just a jerk, too. Oh, and while I'm bashing people--why do men (I use that term lightly) on myspace think they can email me with things like, "yo, I saw your pix, u r so hot." Don't you even have anything interesting to say at all?!? Disgusting.

Hello pretty pendants!

This cute lil' owl, along with all of his friends (aka my other art pendants) are receiving an upgrade this week! I have been unhappy with the little bails that I was using before--they were pretty but not as sturdy as I would like, and I really was never satisfied with the satin cords I was using. So! Thanks to my drill (I ♥ power tools!), all of my pendants will now have jumprings and come on your choice of color of organza ribbon, with a sterling silver lobster-claw clasp. Now they are prettier than ever, and durable enough even for smaller children (since they seem to have appeal to kids and grownups alike). They also come in sweet little pillow boxes that I made myself. Yay!

In addition, I am offering the ribbon necklaces by themselves in my shop for only $3 each or ten for $25, so if you have some pendants that need a necklace to hang on, stop by and pick one up!

It's my 2-year Etsy-versary!!

Today is my 2-year Etsyversary! Yay! I honestly can't remember anymore how I found etsy, but I know that when I did, I fell instantly in love. I saw a lot of potential there, and opened my 1st shop http://LeaKarts.etsy.com to sell my artwork. A lot has happened in two years, and now as you probably know I also have a successful supply shop. I have had a lot of memorable moments on etsy, from selling my 1st ACEO, to meeting some amazing chicas at PDX Etsy Tea to sleeping on the half-pipe at the Etsy Labs when I went there for the PDX Etsy Trunk Show (I've heard that the half-pipe has been taken down to make room for more practical space now).

So, in celebration of 2 years, I am offering FREE SHIPPING in both of my shops all day today (until midnight EST)! That includes everything from original artwork, prints, the pocket mirrors you see above (which I will be listing all day today and feature my artwork on the other side), washi paper, adjustable ring blanks...if it's in either shop it ships for free. Just go ahead and pay and I will refund the cost of shipping (or you can ask me to send you an adjusted invoice). Yay!

Don't be afraid of the PayPal monster!

When PayPal first came out with their multi-order shipping tool, I was scared, nay, terrified to use it. What if I got all of my packages mixed up and sent to the wrong customers?!? What if the labels didn't print out correctly--would I lose them? Would I be able to get my money back? I had a lot of fears and questions, but at the time I had a booming business on eBay and printing shipping labels out one at a time was sucking up way too much of my precious days, so I decided to give it a whirl.

That particular eBay business is long since done now, but with my supply shop keeping me busy, and occasional sales in my art shop and even the rare eBay sale, I still rely heavily on PayPal's multi-order shipping. There are other services that are great for busy businesses, such as Endicia, but if you are like me you aren't ready to shell out their monthly service fees just yet. Once you give PayPal multi-order shipping a try, you will see that it is easy to use, and it will even automatically upload all of your orders that have been paid with PayPal onto one screen, and you can even upload other addresses if you had some payments by check or other means.

Here is how it works:

1. You may handle it differently, but for me I find it easiest to keep track of all of my orders by printing up each transaction, from both of my etsy shops and my eBay sales as well. As I pack up each order, I write the customer's name on the outside of the envelope so that they don't get mixed up later.

2. Log in to your PayPal account. In the upper left-hand corner, click the "PayPal multi-order shipping" link.

3. Make sure your browser is set to accept pop-up windows from PayPal. A small window will open--click the "import" button. You will then be able to choose if you want to import all orders paid with PayPal or all eBay orders (if you are an eBay seller this is helpful if you had some customers pay with checks or money orders).

4. You will be presented with a screen listing all of your orders in chronological order. You can click on any one of the headers to re-order them by name if you would like.

5. Click on the top order. Make all of your choices from the two drop-down menus--type of shipping (priority, first-class, etc), and weight of the package. If you are using Priority it will also ask that you fill in the dimensions of your package.

6. Look at the column on the right-hand side of the screen. There you can double-check your customer's name and address with the address on the Etsy receipt that you printed up earlier and make any necessary changes. Just below that is a small window showing you the cost of shipping for that order.

7. Repeat #5 and #6 for each customer until you are finished. The box on the left-hand column will turn green next to each order that is ready to go.

8. Now you are ready to print! Click the "print" button on the top left-hand side of your screen. You will get a review of all orders, and you can also change the shipping date if you need to (if, for example, today is Sunday and you won't actually be shipping until Monday). Make sure the date is correct or the post office might not accept your packages!

9. Click the tab at the top of the screen that says "pay and print." Your printer's pop-up screen will come up and you just hit go. If you are using sticky labels make sure they are loaded in your printer so you don't have to re-print or tape them all on! (I know you are smart, but I might have made this mistake several times...maybe....)

10. Viola! It prints up in alphabetical order, and since you have all of the names written on the outside of your packages, you are all set to go! My post office has a loading dock in back that I can just drive up to and hand them all over. Yay!

Now, if your printer freaks out or misprints, or one of the labels sticks to itself and gets all messed up, re-printing is very simple. Just click on the "history" tab and you can easily re-print whichever label you need, or all of them if you (hopefully never) have to.

The only drawback for me is that you cannot use this option to ship international packages, so you may still have to stand in line at the post office for that. (Priority International can be done through PayPal, but still have to be done one at a time due to the customs forms). Your time there will be shorter and sweeter, though. And if you are a tiny bit twisted like me, you might take a bit of pleasure in freaking out the people in line behind you with your huge bag of packages, only to hear their sighs of relief as you hand over mostly all-ready-to-go packages :)

This is my Brain on Craft

It appears to be my dining table (yes, I swear it's under there somewhere), but it mirrors the state of my brain. On craft. Here are 10 easy steps to having a brain just like mine:

1. Wake up early, at least 6am, and make the strongest pot of coffee you can stomach. Feed the cat and then stare into space like a zombie while the coffee is brewing.

2. Draw for awhile, forgetting about the cup of coffee. Suddenly remember that you have coffee only to realize that it is now cold. Start to walk into the kitchen to heat it up, turning on the computer on your way.

3. Sit at the computer and check your etsy shops and email. Be so distracted that you don't hear the microwave ding. Suddenly realize that you forgot the coffee again. Pull it out of the microwave only to find that it is, once again, quite cold.

4. Fast forward a little to later morning, work time. Start a custom painting. Decide that you are not sure what to do next with it. Set it aside. Pull out a canvas and put a neutral-toned wash on it for another custom painting. Set it aside to dry. Start making magnets. Realize that the glue needs to dry and set them aside (all of this is happening on a 3 x 3 foot table--very important!).

5. Go get more of your damn cold coffee out of the damn microwave.

6. Check both etsy shops, your email, myspace, twitter, facebook, linkedin, squidoo, flickr, deviantart, craigslist, myspace again, email again, and both etsy shops again.

7. Realize that shipping tomorrow will be much easier if you put together all of the washi paper scrap packs today. Squeeze all of your other projects, coffee cups, vitamins, and housekeys to the perimeter of the table and make a little assembly line of paper packs. Yay paper packs!

8. Put the paper away and finish the 1st painting, then the magnets and tins for the magnets. Clean it all up.

9. Decide you need more coffee. Repeat the early morning process minus the blank zombie stare.

10. Finally, and most importantly, during this entire day, throughout the projects, lukewarm coffee, and obsessive computer checking, scribble notes containing thoughts, ideas, projects, things that need to get done and things that need to be ordered, errands to run, goals, life plans, budgets and more on little scraps of paper and leave them all over the apartment, wherever you happen to be sitting at the time.

Viola! You have now entered the Brain of Lea. Now to figure out how to get out again...I'm sure it's written down here somewhere...maybe on that scrap under my empty coffee cup???

You asked for it--you got it!

Let me introduce my latest LeaKarts goodies--magnet sets! The first set is called "Inner Woman" and the second is "Wild Animals." They are tiny prints of my artwork carefully sealed on the back of fabulous glass squares and attached to super-strong magnets and packaged in super-cute tins.

Thanks to the survey contest that I had a couple of weeks ago, these are the first in a number of items that I will soon be offering in my shop. More to come, including pocket mirrors, prints, and.....well you'll just have to wait and see!

Father's Day and the end of a great week

These two smiles are what made this week the perfect summer kick-off. Along with Indigo, my brother Dylan, and my niece Raven I didn't get a lot of work done this week but I had an amazing time. Between walks to Laurelhurst Park (my favorite ever), the International Rose Test Garden, the Nickel Arcade and a movie, and an overnight stay at Canon Beach (see Goonies Rock...erm, Haystack Rock above), and late-night chats with my brother, I had a great time. The girls are 3 years apart, with my niece not quite in Kindergarten yet, so there was some bickering, but the sheer bliss on their faces at the beach made up for it completely.

Now it's Sunday, Father's Day, and I have the whole day to myself. Which is great because I have 2 custom paintings to work on, and just got some awesome glass bits in the mail from the Crafty Dragonfly that I am going to use to make magnets out of, plus errands to run, laundry to wash, and about a hundred other projects that I am sure will take me the whole week :) And don't worry, I've also got a hike scheduled with a friend this morning, and a hot soak in the bath in my plans for this evening, so it's not all work today, either.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads, step-dads, and other men who provide or have provided a positive role model to kids out there, plus to all of the single moms who have to be dad too!

Nostalgia

"Surely She's a Mermaid," 2008 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

My little brother, Dylan (yes, named after Bob), is 30 years old. Ever since the clock turned on his February birthday, we two Aquarians have both been in our 30's and let me tell you, that is just weird to think about. As I write this, Dylan and his daughter, my niece, are on an airplane on their way to come for a week-long visit. It is making me a bit nostalgic this morning.

When we were kids, at almost exactly 2 years apart, we were really close. A lot of my childhood memories are at my dad's house, which is weird because we only spent every other weekend there. Like a lot of divorced families, though, one parent has to deal with the day to day discipline, errands, homework, chores while the other parent gets to try to make up for missing out on it all by having a mini-vacation with few rules every other weekend.

Every other weekend. We would eat at Wendy's, rent a ton of videos and video games, and spend the weekend at our dad's playing in between watching all of those videos. We would spend whole days in the 3-foot-tall above-ground swimming pool until our sides were cramped and Dylan's shoulders were covered in painful burns and water blisters, until I had a deep tan and my stepmom would call me her little island girl, until we decided to cover the yard with a plastic drop-cloth and call it a slip-and-slide (not quite the same, let me tell you).

Then my dad and stepmom (now ex-step) bought a house in Colorado's foothills, and while the schedule stayed the same, our stomping ground grew. We would ride our bikes around long curvy roads to the store to buy candy, play with the goats and feed the chickens, run around on the giant hill that was nested up against the back of my dad's property. On that hill was a cave that we would dare each other to walk through. At the other end of the cave was an opening through which we could see the 2-lane-highway far below.

These are some of the best memories that I have of my childhood. There were times when I was in high school and was much moodier, that I didn't want him around as as much, and as we became adults and life got in the way we often didn't stay in very close touch. But we have always been close. I can't wait to spend this week with my brother.

And the winner is....

Here is a great big thank you to all of you who voted! After a very elaborate decision-making process (as you can see from the photo), the winner is blogger mattos of http://bellacosaart.com
Yay! She wins $10 to spend in my shop as well as some extra goodies :)

Of course, I will always be offering new original artwork, but thanks to the poll results, keep your eye on http://LeaKarts.etsy.com for some prints and other fun stuff! And remember, I want you to have the artwork that you love, so I am always willing to work with you whether it involves custom work, a payment plan on an original piece, or a print that may not be available yet in my shop. Just let me know!

Aural Bliss

"Presence," 2008 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

I have never blogged about a band before, but today I was hustling through the park listening to VNV Nation's album "Empires" for the gazillionth time and I was inspired just like the first time I ever heard it. I realize it is quite likely that this will not be to many of your tastes, but to me, it is perfection to my ears and my heart. I am not kidding-when I am happy it lifts me higher, when I am sad it lets me wallow a bit, when I am working out it makes me want to work harder, when I am creating art it inspires me to be more creative. That is some serious stuff right there. The lead singer's voice is deep and sexy, with a little bit of sad to it, the lyrics are thoughtful and moving, the music is very dramatic...and gosh darnit, I can really dance to it :D Haha, sorry, I really couldn't help myself :D
Here is one of my favorites from them:

How to deal with LIFE when you work for yourself?

Self Portrait, by Lea Keohane, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday I ate two cups of coffee, one fried egg and toast, some crackers, a couple of cocktails, and finally some french fries ('cus I had to, not because I wanted them really). No, it is not some new weird diet, it is called Break-Up Belly No Hungry. And it sucks.

Saturday night, Steve and I broke up after nearly 2 very good years. I do not want to go in to detail here--suffice it to say that we are both very good people and I'm sure we actually will continue to be friends. Probably really good friends once the pain wears off a bit.

I have been going back and forth about writing about this in my blog, but after all this blog is about me, and about working for myself and this is a big deal in my life. When I used to work in an office, when something bad would happen I would absolutely dread going in to work. But I went anyway and being around other people, and working on someone else's projects was distracting to some extent. It probably did help me take my mind off of things, especially in the long run, no matter how much I hated being there.

However, one of the biggest challenges that I have with being my own boss is this: My brain runs at 100 miles an hour most of the time, I have gazillions of ideas at a time, and I find it very hard to decide what I should be focusing on. I manage to make it happen somehow (lots of list writing, scribbling thoughts as they occur on random bits of paper, who knows what else!), but now I am extra-distracted. I don't feel like painting. I walked at least 6 miles yesterday and I don't want to do that today and journaling about it is no help right now either. I have an unreasonably long list and very little motivation.

Okay, so here's what I am going to do today:
*Pick 3 simple things from my list and just do them.
*Exercise. I don't feel like it, but I know it will help. Endorphins are a good thing.
*Take a lot of deep breaths so that I'm not a crazy woman when I go pick Indigo up from school today. I also have to figure out what exactly and how I am going to tell her.

That's not too bad, right?

Sold!

I have been on Etsy's front page a couple of times before, and have gotten a lot of exposure from it, but never a sale. Until today!!
MissPurl did it again--put together one of the prettiest treasuries. She was sweet enough to include my newest item, a tiny little paper doll in a slide-top tin dollhouse. I just barely got a screenshot of the front page and woohoo! it sold! Very exiting :)

In other news, I want to remind everyone to vote on my poll (upper right-hand corner of my blog), then post a comment here, including your contact info, to be entered for a fun prize drawing! Contest ends June 4th, so hurry up!

Finally, if you get a chance, visit my new customer appreciation blog! So far I've featured 3 amazing artists, and there are sure to be a lot more as time goes on.