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Seriously. I am so far outside my box that I don't even know where my box IS any more.
On January 1, 2010, I would've bet you $1,000,000 there was no way that by December 31 I'd have:
* launched an e-commerce website THAT I CAN WORK MYSELF!! And on which ACTUAL PEOPLE ACTUALLY BUY ACTUAL THINGS!!!
* come to love blogging as a way of expressing Bean Up The Nose Art's spirit in words and pictures, and communicating with all of you;
* bought and fallen in love with an iphone for its fast and creative way of managing information;
* moved into the Facebook world to hook up with clients, and old friends, and new.
And you, my friend, would be $1,000,000 richer. Because I would have lost that bet. All those things have come to pass this year. None of which I ever thought I could, or would, do.
And even more weird: I'M HAPPY DOING THEM!!!! (In fact, I have been known to kiss my iphone good-night as I turn it off.)
What lesson from this? That what we judge and assume about things might actually turn out to be -- dare I say it? -- WRONG. That maybe I should try more often to switch my internal buttons that say "No," to "Yes." (Or, at least to, "I'll give it a try.") While I'm at it, try switching the one that says "Hate," to "Receive." All the better to receive the creative visions we're meant to manifest.
Creation. Loving it. Bean Up The Nose Art's products have more than doubled since January 1. Sales have increased 400% over the last 365 days, too. We've been picked up by a sales rep for the West Coast.
All of this? Through creative collaboration with you . . . making things, liking things, buying things, suggesting more things, taking classes and learning from each other, posting love and support in all sorts of fun and silly social networking ways. YAY! In fact, a BIG OLD FAT HAIRY, "YAAAYYY!!!"
And, in case you have not yet guessed this: none of what's occurred in Bean Up The Nose Art world in 2010 would have been possible without all of you folks. I am profoundly grateful to be in creative collaboration with all of you.
Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. And then . . . .
 Looking forward to rocking it. With all y'all!!!
Thank you Necessity, oh mother-of-invention! (Or, of "remembering." Because I am sure I learned this technique somewhere else, from other crafty-craft-pants craft women . . . but it was not at the forefront of my mid-life brain.)
Working on images for upcoming Valentine's Day cards. (Yes, we are just past Christmas, and no, we have not even celebrated New Year's yet.) Cutie-pie images . . . from another one of Sugarskull7's terrific stamps.
 But it turns out the collage piece wanted white pie slices. On dark brown paper. (I follow the creative dictation of whatever I'm working on. It's WAY easier to follow those directions, instead of feeling like you have to MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN yourself.)
How to get a cool white image on brown paper fast? Our friend, Titantium White acrylic paint! (Here, from Golden.) Use a small brush to apply a thin layer of the acrylic across the top of the stamp. (I used the paint straight out of the tube -- did not thin with anything.)  Press it down onto your paper just like you would with ink. Voila! Love the way some of the stamp areas are filled in with the paint. How lucky is it that this happened in the spot with the dollop of whipped cream? Part of the life and fun of the creative process . . . experimenting with what you've got on hand to respond to a "problem," and the resolution turns out to be more interesting and satisfying than the whole thing would have gone if you didn't have the "problem" and resulting experiment.  Hoping your creative endeavors are rocking along in this week between Christmas and New Year's!!!!
This Christmas morning in West Marin, CA . . . it's raining, it's pouring, and no doubt the old man Santa Claus is snoring -- having worked so hard these past weeks and made all those deliveries last night. GOOD JOB, SANTA! We still believe.
 No matter what you are doing today -- celebrating, or not . . . being with family and friends, or not . . . taking some fine solo time to walk in the winter wonderland, or not -- here's hoping you will find all the peace, love and joy that you deserve. And all the color that you could ever want.   Which brings us right to the next topic: BEST. CONVERSE. EVER.
Color? Read on.
As Beans blog-readers know, fabulous daughter Meryl Rose Phillips has her own art thang going on. Check it out at Meryl Munches Macaroni.
I am the lucky recipient of many of her finest wares. And this Christmas, this is what I got.  Think that is amazing? Can you spot that all four sides of the shoes are hand-painted with a different color scheme!?!?!?!? Holy guacamole!!! Check it out.
 As in, "Things Are."
. . . . Blue skies today for the first time in many days.
. . . . A terrific time last night at our third annual Non-Traditional Family Holiday Celebration -- where the vote this year was to spend time at the amazing House of Air in San Francisco's Presidio. Think jumpy-jump for kids of all ages . . . big areas of trampoline, and one area devoted exclusively to DODGEBALL in a trampoline-floored space. (If you are within driving distance, do yourself a favor and check it out. Much fun for grown-ups and kids alike.) After that, gift-giving festivities at Liverpool Lil's. A good time was had by all.
. . . . And . . . Bean Up The Nose Art just got a West Coast sales rep. HOLY FREAKIN' COW!!!! How exciting is THAT?!?!? I am incredibly grateful to Chantal at The French Artist Club, which will be rep-ing Bean's greeting cards, luggage tags, and business card holders. And eventually, Fun-On-A-Stick. Not only does it feel wonderful to have folks believe in your work, but it opens up time to create more of it. (And, as everyone knows, a person can't expect take over the world all by herself.)
Sending out vibes of hope and intent that things are looking up for you folks these days, too!
Well, a middle-aged woman's version: with a cup of coffee and still in jammies at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Because you're POOPED!
Why pooped?
Because you woke up very early on Saturday morning, after staying up late on Friday night to pack your car, to drive into San Francisco and start building your own little 1o' x 10' store before the show opened. You went from this (which should have been photo-ed even earlier . . . with nothing there, before car-unloading began):
 to this:  Very quickly. With the aid of many power tools. And with the benefit of a little grace when some things that worked in the building-up for the last show didn't work the same way this time. But still, ending up lovely.
Here is Bean Up The Nose Art's portion of our store. And here's a shot of some of Meryl's amazing hand-painted shoes.  You can also see in the background a sampling of the mass of humanity that entered the building on Saturday. It was NUTS! Folks in the Bay Area were definitely getting their holiday shopping on. And that included folks from my own family tree . . . . half-sister Kim, step-mom Nancy, my dad Gary. And yours truly. (I may or may not have a bean up my nose in this photo.)  Getting Beans out there in the world was great. The volume of people coming through was amazing, especially on Saturday. Luggage tags went like hot cakes. THANK YOU!!!
And there was also opportunity to peruse the wares of other terrific artists, and therefore to be inspired.
That includes the wonderful type-writer, key-board, and map-based (and more!) jewelry of The Weekend Store:  It also includes the sweet ceramics and muslin art of Rae Dunn.  Fortune cookie ornaments?!?!? YAY!!
Dogs and words on muslin bags?!?!?! YAY!!!  This fabulous party platter lit up my eyes. The Bean Up The Nose Art award for crafty-best shop set-up goes to this old-school booth by thishumbleabode, which sells ties and other cool hand-sewn items. And is here staffed by Christina of theheated.  Which makes its own brand of very cool screen-printed goodies, including this tea-towel . . . perfect for your holiday gift-giving. (Or to snag and keep for yourself.)  And in the booth right next to ours was the ultra-wonderful rarrarpress, maker of "letterpress printed miscellany" that will make you go, "Wow -- how creative is THAT?!?!"  And, especially if you are a potty-mouth like me, will make you howl with laughter. (Caution to the cussing faint-of-heart: clicking on this image will reveal f-bombs.)  My oh my . . . .
. . . . and then, after the show was over at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday night, you broke down your store, packed it up, and drove on home. And unpacked that car. Again.
And that's why, at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning, your afterparty is so quiet. But happy.
A big, gigantic THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Renegade and supported the artists who put their hearts and souls and time and money into making these products, and then put their hearts out on the line again by saying, "Want some?"
And a big gigantic THANK YOU to all those vendors for doing just that.
The force of all of you folks, all together, launched Bean Up The Nose into its biggest sales days ever, hands down.
(And to first-time readers who got here via Renegade, a hearty holiday, "WELCOME TO THE BLOG!!")
Now it's time for more coffee. And to get a move on!!!
That's right! Tomorrow's the big day. And Sunday, too. Scroll down to the next post for all the information about Renegade that you'll need.
And here's the answer for how to get a 10% discount on your Bean's purchase if you buy at Renegade . . . this is our best-selling luggage tag:  Totally looking forward to seeing you!!!!
 This is a one-stop indie arts & crafts-people extravaganza, where you can check out in one location (with free admission!) the wares of very cool artisans. Click on over and scroll down to view thumbnails of all the folks and the kinds of very cool things they'll be offering. What a great way to finish (or, for some of us, uh . . . start) our holiday shopping, AND support real live people who are getting their creative on in their lives and putting it out in the world. Inspirational!! And jolly good fun.
What is one of the very best parts for me? That I am sharing a booth with Bean daughter extraordinaire Meryl Phillips, and all of her fabulous wares . . . click right here, right now, to see all the amazing things she makes. Hand-painted tennis shoes that will draw (as it were) compliments from at least 10 strangers the moment you wear them down the street. Totally cool hand-made "abacuses" for babies' rooms.  She even designed this ultra-cute and hip banner for our booth.  Which I like to think of as renegade moms and daughters doing their renegade thing in a South Parkian kind of way: energy, creativity, some sarcasm for fun. And lots of bright colors. And the jolt of curious optimism that says when you're three years old, "Why don't I stick a bean up my nose?!?!?! Seems like it would be a good fit. And let's see what happens!!!"
Watch out, crows.* You're about to be eaten.
 (Cute little top-hat dude courtesy of our gal Sugarskull7.)
I was never going to have a blog. I scoffed at people who had blogs. Now, look at me.  I was certainly never going to be on Facebook. I scoffed at people who were on Facebook. And yet, I got myself a page or two this month.  In the space where it asks "relationship status?" my real answer should read, "In a committed relationship. With her iphone." Which was another thing I was never going to get. I scoffed at people with smart phones. But last week, I continued my slide down technology's slippery slope and got this beauty . . . . which I do indeed love. (Sorry, Clarke.) So, folks, what have we learned?
1. Be careful what you mock. Because you just might end up buying/turning into one of them.
2. Technology can be pretty darned fun, after all. And a good way to communicate for fun and businesss. And therefore, I will soon also be twittering and all manner of other things I used to mock. SO WATCH OUT!!!!
@@@ @@@ @@@
* Note: no actual crows were harmed in this process. Indeed, according to Wikipedia, it's not actually crows -- the birds -- that are eaten when we "eat crow." No. "Crow" was 1850s American slang for animal innards. I presume the animals were already dead for other reasons when people ate their insides as part of their "'umble pie" meals of chagrin/embarrassment.
A gigantic Bean Up The Nose Art HOWDY our newest brick and mortar friend, Once Around in Mill Valley, CA.
 Arts and crafters, I now know what heaven is going to look like. Because when I stepped into this store two weeks ago, I knew I'd found it. You'll see a sparkling peace sign on the front door.
And then, you will exhale in deep relaxation and delight as you see, spread out before you in a delicious space that miraculously incorporates -- in clean lines and organized brilliance -- EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE COOL STUFF!!! And, super cool stuff already made by other folks, too! Just look at the place.
While you are there, sign up for workshops -- some of which are taught by crafting buddy Virginia.
And check out Once Around's sweet blog, too.
Thanks so much, Julie, for opening your fabulous store, and for staffing it with such wonderful folk. And for even providing yummy treats for us while we shop. YOU ROCK!
Woke up this morning ready to load up the car with Bean Up The Nose Art goodies for today's big holiday sale at Beach House Style, which we've been promoting here, in e-mail blasts, and via postcards to you on our mailing list.
Nature had other ideas: a really bad tummy.
So, no sales at the sale. because no products at the sale. But I did rally enough to make the 1 p.m. date for ART DAY. Yay! Had a fabulous time making " Fun On A Stick!" holiday crowns and stars . . . inside this super-cool tent at Beach House style.
 Here are all the items one needs for fun.  And here is a wonderful gift I received today from Julie K., who is quite a terrific ART DAY attendee and all-around good person . . . a stupendously gorgeous big red felt flower for pinning -- here, on the "lapel" of my down vest. It was such a treat to walk around with it on all afternoon.
 Got tons of compliments from people, many of whom asked whether I made it. NO WAY!!! Though I love the juicy colors and pattens of fabric as much as I love paper, I long ago came to terms with the fact that I just cannot sew. Do not waste your bandwidth telling me I can, or there is a way I can learn. My lack in this regard is well- and long-established. Indeed, over 20 years ago when my daughter Meryl made a Mother's Day pin cushion for me in preschool, she presented it to me with the explanation that it was "in case I found any pins."
Thanks, Julie, for the lovely, lovely gift. I'm really glad YOU can sew!
Yay! It's time again for another of Beach House Style's Sunday fun days.
This Sunday, December 12, it's a flea market . . . and craft faire . . . and an ART DAY from Bean Up The Nose Art!
Come by Beach House Style -- 779 Center Blvd., in Fairfax, CA -- and shop any time from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Here's Beach House Style all tricked out for a flea market over the summer.
 Bean Up The Nose Art will be there, selling all manner of cards and stocking-stuffers. And from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. . . . it's ART DAY!!! For $25.00 per person, we'll supply you with food and drink, and art supplies and a handy-dandy art lesson to help you make your very own version of "Fun-On-A-Stick!" which you get to take right home with you. And give to someone you love. (Which includes yourself.)   Come play! There are a couple of spots left for ART DAY . . . post here, or tamara@beanupthenoseart.com to sign up.
And please: visualize sunshine. Or, at least no rain.
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Looking forward to rocking it. With all y'all!!!
