Raige Creations

Wow,  I don't even want to think about how long it has been since I blogged. I don't even want to go through all the trials and tribulations we have gone through to get us to this point in our lives. (Let me tell you, when I sit and think about it, I am amazed at all the crap I have gone through, all the hard work I have done, and so many, many failures, difficulties, and frikin crazy bitch people I have had to deal with!) I am actually quite amazed we have made it here . Here , being a place where I wake up and am so thankful for the beauty around me. Here , being a place where stress is so much less than it was a mere year ago. Here , being a place where I can actually understand that I would not be here unless I went through all that crap. (well, and also wouldn't be here without the help of family and friends to get me through all that crap) All those here's are a state of mind, really.  A state of mind knowing all the hard work and pa...

Sounds ridiculously fun, no? Well, my bird thinks it is! Orange Soda Bird House source: Raige Creations She crawled in the soda box at the opening at the top, slid down, then stuck her head out the handle. I thought she might be stuck in there, but no, she was just having fun! Dangling Boxes - Joy for the Birds source: Raige Creations Ever since I got lost on the internet that one day, and found I could MAKE bird toys, I have actually  been  making my own bird toys. It started with the register paper rolls. I used up the ones I had, even bought more and used those up.  Then I discovered I could use boxes and tee shirts. I got lots of ideas from here , and have since found this Pinterest board . I now recycle in a completely different, and fun, way. My mini recycling center source: Raige Creations I hoard boxes, paper towel cardboard rolls, toilet paper rolls, tee shirts, anything I think I can use. The area by the bird cages looks like a messy r...

"Serendipitous Timing" Uttered to me today by a wonderful new person I met. Before I jinx anything, I will just say a few things. All my worry last night , lack of sleep, and stress about getting everything done, led to a huge relief of sorts. After some driving around and few phone calls, I made the best phone call which made the end of my day rather pleasant. photo courtesy of photobucket Of course, lots of prep, planning, organizing, logistical figuring was figured into the day. Working to achieve a smooth transition out of one location is not an easy thing.  But if all goes well, this wonderful new person will be saving me from dread and unpleasantness beyond what I could handle at this point. AND, as it turns out, I will be helping her in a way she didn't anticipate happening at this time, yet wanted to. I am bringing her closer to a goal she has had, she is bringing me close to a goal I have. Serendipitous. We met not quite by chance, as most serendipi...

It is tough when you start the week already behind. Story of my life these days....so today this song popped in my head. Listening to good music always helps me get through when I am working with stressful things. I did have some inspiration from a great new radio station  here. They play some great rock-n-roll that I haven't heard on the radio since we moved here. I have been hearing Candlebox , Collective Soul , and some great old  G-n-R , to mention just a few.  So even though I have already started the week far behind, at least I have great music to enjoy while I stress. It does help take my mind off of it a little. It reminds me of enjoyment, beautiful things, good times. It sometimes reminds me of easier times, and reminds me that things will get better. This stress won't last forever, we will find a better way. We have done it before, and we can do it again.  Good music always help shift our mindset. I need to listen to more of it! Do you listen t...

I could say I took a vacation of sorts, just not the vacation I wanted. I took a vacation from my run/walks. I took a vacation from even just walking. I hadn't been exercising in about 2 weeks!  This morning, as I sat in front of the computer, a usual morning event, I scrolled through FB bored, I checked email finding nothing exciting, I avoided my spreadsheet knowing full well there was lots of work to be done, I sat looking at my Artfire and Zibbet shops thinking of all the listing I had to do. I kept pushing out of my head the bills coming due and the panic of how the heck we were going to pay them.  Suddenly I knew my exercise vacation was over. I needed to get out there and clear my head. I think my companion really missed our walks too.  So off we went. But dang it was cold out. Frozen bird bath and everything. Looking at this reminded me of my mosaic projects. Another bunch of projects waiting to be done. I didn't even finish getting the tiles from...

Wow has it really been a month since my last post? I am so sorry all!! If you haven't heard, we opened a shop in downtown Asheville - Blue Rage of Asheville . It is celebrating Asheville - Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. We have vintage and antiques in honor of Asheville in the Art Deco period when it was flourishing.  We have local talent creating jewelry, pottery, and arts and crafts to celebrate the vibrant community of Asheville today.  And we will be featuring up and coming talent in our gallery section to celebrate Asheville tomorrow. Because of this new venture, I have been quite absent from Raige Creations and this blog.  But, here on my second day off since we started this whole new venture of Blue Rage, I thought it was time to get blogging again. And because it's Tuesday, that means you get 2 musical selections. First, because we have vintage records at the shop, and we have been listening to them on our record player, I want to feature John Lenno...

Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem literally means "to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather" . But it was used in the sense of, "to enjoy, seize, use, make use of" since 25BC . Having been in movies , songs , and even clay animation , this phrase has latched onto inspirational motivators and has been used to empower us, motivate us, and be our mantra to life. Seize the Day! Sometimes easier said than done, but still, it is a short and concise phrase that can apply to almost anyone or any situation. Today, it has helped me get through the day, the week really, as I prepare for The Big Love Fest this weekend. Just SAYING it gives me energy, purpose. It makes me feel like this is the best thing I can be doing, because I AM seizing the day, the opportunity that presented itself. Another saying that helps me right now is this:   There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path Okay, so Morpheus said it, in a science fiction film . It i...

Opportunities arise when you least expect them. And sometimes they involve things you never thought you would  try. The key is to let go of your limits, to step outside the box. Sometimes it is finding your way through a coffee bag. An opportunity presented itself at the beginning of this month that Raige never thought of. A coffee grinder had some coffee bags they wanted to see turned in to other things. They didn't want to just sell the bags, they wanted to give them to someone to inspire them to create, and then they wanted to showcase those creations in their coffee shop.  Coffee bags. Burlap. This is a medium Raige had not explored before.  The question to Raige was: "So, are you a seamstress?"  Raige: "What??? Um, NO. I would certainly not call myself a seamstress. But I CAN sew a bit."   Thank goodness Laura was as willing to take that leap of faith as Raige was. She gave me a bag, and thus began the journey through a coffee bag. As with any ...

I knew I had a lot of work to do today. But I didn't realize just how much I had! I was supposed to get a package to South Carolina mailed today, for the Craft Bazaar on Nov. 5th   Moncks Corner, SC next Saturday, Nov. 5th. B ut after my coffee this morning, I knew I would never be able to make the Post Office deadline of noon.  A package of 22 Toekini's had to be carefully packaged, half of which still needed to be sealed. (I seal the ends of each Toekini with wax to delay the fraying of the yarn)  Not to mention I had to take pictures of the latest Toekini's  before they took their trip to SC. I needed pictures so they could be listed.   Furry Snowman Toekini's - Artfire / Zibbet Of course the sun was not out . And it was quite cold outside, so outdoor pictures was not going to happen.  After deciding the deadline would not be met, I decided Monday mailing would have to be the plan. Then I would be able to relax and find the Christmas T...

I have only missed 2 days of posting every day this month for NaBloWriMo . So far . But the end is so close I would hate to add to that based on the  lazy feeling that has kept me from posting today.  Well, not completely lazy. I DID get a lot of work done. Made some cute Santa Toekini's , and worked on a custom order I got from the local gift shop. AND struggled with the Snowman Toekini's ...they are still in progress. (It is the yarn I am struggling with, but you will soon see.) The lazy feeling relates to not feeling like writing. It is something I have to force myself to do tonight. But the funny thing is once I start, it comes naturally tonight . This does not happen very often! I think I will let it flow , and enjoy the ideas as they come .  Stop and smell the flowers, so to speak . Come to think of it, we did just that on Sunday , during our hike. (more on the hike tomorrow in the Walking on Wednesday series )   Grouping of small, beauti...

Well, it was supposed to free of  Raige work . I was going to focus on home stuff, like laundry and dishes and picking up kids from sleepovers . And the morning was full of that. But then I checked the mail , and found a package from my favorite charm maker , Daresa, of Clay Art by Daresa . These yummy looking candy canes will soon be appearing on a set of Christmas Toekini's . Also in the works are a set of Snowman Toekini's .  And what Christmas is complete without Santa ? So look for Santa Toekini's too.  AND A first for  Raige  - Christmas Stockings . I am still working on the idea but the local gift shop   (their main web site here - all proceeds from sales in the gift shop in Weaverville go towards the personal care business) would like some Christmas things. I offered stockings, and they said SURE . Just gotta figure out how to get Toekini's on Christmas stockings.....what was I thinking? I wish I could say I have one of each Toekini...

"The idea is simple: every day, for a month, you write a blog post. Any blog post. You can blog about anything you want: your hubs, your kids, that weird lady who smells the bananas in Hell-Mart...really, the possibilities are endless. The only catch is that, for the entire month of October, you write an entry every single day."   From Heather, at NaBloWriMo . This about sums it up. Starting tomorrow , we will post a blog every day , and do so for the whole month of October. We are a group of bloggers who want to challenge ourselves. But as this sounds daunting, we are supporting each other.    I have been saying for months how I want to blog more consistently, grow my readership , begin offering advertising , and make the ' dream of being a writer ' (one I have had for several years now) less like a dream and more like reality.  This sounds like a great way to get myself in the habit of writing, meet some wonderful bloggers, and have a little fun ! ...

These may look familiar , but they have since been upgraded. They needed a facelift, upgrade, some bling - and the flowers were just the thing. And the are exclusively  in Raige Creations' Artfire Store .  Blue with White Flower for your phone - or whatever You don't remember Gadget Cozies? What are they? They are wool, they are felted, and they cozy up your most prized gadget. It will fit a cell phone, an ipod, your glasses, and many other gadgets that you need to carry. You can hook it to yourself easily, and travel lightly.  Cream and Blue for your Gadget, old or new  I am still working on more embellishments, and will add more as they are finished.  I love making these flowers and plan to add them to as much as I can!  I will even be adding brooches and pins to the mix as soon as I figure out the best way to do that.  Classic Pink and Blue for you I am also working on business cards, finally, and am thinking of incor...

I was so excited to try my hand at growing some basil, dill, sage, cilantro, and chives once we moved. I didn't plant anything all summer because I knew we were moving. Once we got settled, I bought some dirt and planted the seeds I had been holding onto since we sold our house way back last year. I started with 4 pots, 2 kinds of basil, cilantro, dill, chives, and sage. My high expectations of pots overflowing with lush, green sprouts were met with this. A sad little potted herb garden. I had 2 different kinds of Basil, so they both went into the big pot.  My daughter was helping, so she filled one side with one kind of basil, and filled the other side with the second kind of basil.  What grew?  Seven.  A measly seven. You can hardly see them in this pot above.  I thought the few that came up were kaput, especially since a squirrel planted something in the pot. But last week I saw some new leaves trying to grow.  So there is hope th...