A whole post about inspiring stuff.

I am on a custom roll right now and have just added a few new listings to my Etsy shop. It just dawned on me with all this motivation that i haven't ever offered a "mini" option for my SCRAPZ pendants - a tiny pendant that holds one single letter or number.

So, now I have!  This picture is terrible, however, and every rechargeable battery that I own is now sitting in the charger. It will be a few hours before I can make good.

I am now also offering a "custom color scheme" for my woven cuff bracelets to the right. I've sold several of these in garnet both on Etsy and through stores, and also in shades of blue - the currently listed one, my "Night Sky" cuff, is on its way to a local store. I guess I'm having a day of things occurring to me, because it occurred to me just now that people might want a different color scheme other than blue or red, or perhaps a different collection of gemstones. I've got a decade's worth of beads collected. Throw it at me! I reserve the right to select the beads myself, however. You pick the color scheme and let me accomodate creatively.

Finally, while we're on the topic of inspiration, I was snooping around the purchases of some of my Etsy buyers (hey, if you weren't allowed to do this, it wouldn't be possible, lol). In doing so I just discovered a seller, Soul Sister Designs, whose work I really love!

She is very much in the spirit of SARK, tho I must admit something here. Much as I love SARK and the work she does (I own several of her books) Jen Lemen gets my artwork vote! In her Etsy shop, she sells limited prints, candles, baby onesies, tote bags and even altar kits all with her signature inspirations and illustrations.

Her blog, too, is AWESOME!  I've just scratched the surface this afternoon and the next time I have a quiet moment, I'm looking forward to digging in a bit deeper. I am almost afraid to, however, as the most current post is a link to others who apparently inspire her. This could go on for days. Jen is also available for hire as a writer, illustrator and a doula!

For now, I am off to complete the online testing for the Manpower employment agency which has set up a system wherewith you get a PASS to take those Microsoft Office skills tests at home on your own computer.  This is absolute and sheer brilliance in my mind, as the last agency I went to had a bunch of front desk girls chattering about lip gloss a few feet away while I was trying to think my way through Excel.

I didn't come here to work an office job though, at least not permanently! I came back to Portland, Oregon, because it's creative and entrepreneurial, and because my community is extremely supportive of creative endeavors here. Regardless, I still need to pay the bills - at the very least, this desperate need for cash is helping my ingenuity along - without the lazy acceptance of a regular paycheck I'm being forced to figure out ways to attract money on MY terms. And despite the fact that being broke and getting ten calls a day from bill collectors is depressing, reminding myself that I've got bootstraps to pull myself up with, well, I can find inspiration in that. Definitely.

So tell me about some things that inspire YOU when the rest of the world seems conspired to smash you flat on the pavement! Also, if you offer custom items for sale, I'd love to see 'em. :-)